Part 8
Chimaera stepped out of the shower half an hour later, feeling refreshed. She went into the guest room and got her pajamas on, then headed out to talk to Max. She found Max sitting with Logan in the living room, watching COPS. It was strange the things that remained after The Pulse. She sat down on a chair as quietly as she could so she wouldn't disturb them. The show was just coming to an end as Max sat up and turned to Chimaera.
"Do you want Logan here?" she asked her.
"I don't really care. Are we planning on discussing anything he shouldn't hear?" she replied.
"Hey. I'm sitting right here," he said, making sure that they still noticed his presence.
"We know," they both said.
"So what's the plan?" he asked.
"Well, do you want to stay here or go to bed?" Max asked him, "I'd personally like to have you here."
"Then I'll stay, that is if it's alright with you, Chimaera."
"Whatever."
"Then it's settled. I'm going to go get some coffee before we get into a deep conversation," Max said jokingly as she got up and walked to the kitchen. She really wanted to leave those two alone to see what Logan said about her.
After a short period of uncomfortable silence, Chimaera spoke up.
"So you are in love with Max?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"I just want the best for my big sister."
"Well I try."
"So how long have you known Max and how did you meet?"
"It's actually a funny story," Max said as she came out of the kitchen, carrying the tray.
"I'll let her explain it to you," Logan said, relieved that he wouldn't have to attempt to tell Chimaera the confusing way that he and Max met.
"Well, we met about seven months ago. I broke in to steal a statue of Bast to fence so I could pay a private investigator to find the other X 5s that escaped. He caught me, I escaped and he got a tape from the building next door where I had made a delivery earlier and by examining it, he managed to track me down. We kinda beat around the bush for awhile before we hooked up," Max said, as she was sitting back down and getting comfortable. "So now that you know the answer to that question, lets get started. How were you treated by Lydecker?"
"Well," Chimaera began, "since there was four of us, two of us were trained, but still raised like normal children, and two of us were raised a little worse than the rest. Terra and I were the lucky two to be raised normally. Jessica, Jondy's twin, and Alex, Zach's twin, were the two that were raised the other way. When we escaped, they paired up and God only knows where they could be. I pity anyone that crosses them. They were raised to basically hate everyone except Lydecker and a few doctors and soldiers. They can be very violent. I'm actually glad Terra and I paired up, even though she drives me crazy. Well, enough about how I was raised, what about you?"
"I was raised like the others until we escaped in '09. After that, I lived in a bunch of foster homes. I've managed to forget almost everything about them though. I guess my life really started when I moved to Seattle. Now I have friends, a job, and a boyfriend. The only drawback is Lydecker and his goons trying to find me. It's riskier to stay, but since when have I listened to reason?" Max said, barely taking a breath.
"I agree with that," Logan spoke up.
"Hey!" Max said as she elbowed him, "just remember I know where you sleep."
"Oh, I'm so scared."
"You should be."
Chimaera found this flirting rather funny and let it go on while she kind of drifted off to sleep. The next thing she knew, she was in the guest room and Max was covering her up.
"Hey. Sorry I fell asleep," she said to Max, who had just noticed that she was awake.
"That's ok. Well, I'm gonna go to our room. Knock if you need anything," Max said as she gave her sister a hug.
"Ok. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."


Part 9
Max shut the door to Chimaera's room and walked down the hall to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and got ready for bed. She went in to her and Logan's bedroom and got into bed.
Logan, who had been reading some files, turned to her and said, "Are you ok?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine," Max said, obviously preoccupied by something.
Logan put his files on the table by his bed, "Max, what is it?"
"Nothing," she hated lying to Logan, but if he knew she was pregnant, he'd try to baby her even more. She wasn't even totally sure that she could make it through. She was already taking more Tryptophan to make sure she didn't lose the baby to seizures. She knew that there was no telling how long this pregnancy would last with the feline DNA in her. She had to tell Logan, but how?
"Oh, well," she thought, "maybe Chimaera can help me. I'll ask her in the morning." With that, Max, kissed Logan goodnight and rolled over and went to sleep.
Logan knew something was up, but decided to let her sleep and went back to his reading.
When Max woke up eight hours later, she noticed he wasn't next to her and got up to look for him. She heard voices coming from the kitchen.
"Just ask her Logan," Chimaera said.
"But are you really sure that's what's wrong with, Max?" he said just as she walked in.
"Hey, where's my coffee?" Max said.
"Here," he said, handing her a mug, "Chimaera thinks she knows what wrong with you."
"I told you nothing is wrong with me," Max said nervously. "How could she possibly know?" she asked herself.
"Max, I know what's wrong don't hide it," Chimaera said to her.
"How can you possibly know what is wrong with me? Are you in my head? Do you know what I am thinking? No! Just lay off," Max shouted, immediately regretting it. Any more of these emotional outbursts and that Chimaera's suspicions would be confirmed. She had to tell them before they found out on their own. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. It's not my fault, well not entirely. We can blame Logan too." "Oh smooth Max, real smooth," she thought to herself.
"Oh God," Logan said, as leaned on the counter for support.
"Don't blame God, Logan, you were there too," Max found his reaction rather humorous.
"I told you. Pay up," Chimaera said, sticking her hand out.
Max just laughed as shock subsided and reality set in on Logan.
"How far? How long have you known? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked her.
"Near as I can tell, three months. I've known for almost two. And you baby me enough. I didn't want to get your hopes up until I knew for sure."
Chimaera was beginning to feel like a third wheel and started to back out of the room. The motion caught Max's attention and she quickly turned to face her, "Don't think you're leaving. Someone has to help me with him," she said, gesturing to Logan, who still looked dazed.
Chimaera just laughed.



Part 10
Once Logan regained his composure, well as much as he could with what he'd just found out, they began to discuss doctors that could be trusted enough to examine Max. After some time, they agreed on Sam, Logan's doctor and friend, and made an appointment for later in the day.
Two hours later, the three were in the Aztek and headed for Sam's office. Chimaera hadn't wanted to come, but Max had convinced her. She felt like a third wheel, but it was her sister that had her worried. She had seen what happened to some X 5's during pregnancy and was scared for Max's safety. It wasn't that she didn't want any nieces or nephews, she just wanted to be able to get to know Max better.
They arrived at Sam's office and he ushered them right into his office.
"Hi Logan, hi Max, hi, uh-oh, which one is Max?" Sam was confused by Chimaera's presence and since Logan was still in a bit of shock, Max explained the situation to him.
"This is Chimaera, my identical twin," she said to Sam.
"Oh, ok. Hi Chimaera, I'm Sam Carr," he said, offering his hand.
"Hi," she replied as she shook it.
"Ok Max, now let's get you up here and check and this baby out," Sam said.
"Ok," Max climbed up onto the table and the exam began.
A few minutes later, Sam was finished.
"Everything seems fine to me. Just make sure you take these daily," he handed her a box of pre-natal vitamins, "and no more playing super hero."
"I'll try," she replied hoping down. "Come on Logan."
"Thanks Sam," Logan called as Max and Chimaera lead him to the car.
Once they were in the Aztek and headed for home, Max looked into the box. There was a small note folded up in the bottom corner. Being as curious as she was, she pulled everything out to get to it. She grabbed it from the box and unfolded it as Chimaera leaned over the seat. Together they read it.
"Oh God!" was the comment from them both.