Gracie-Part 1
Disclaimer: see first part
Logan held onto the wall shakily putting one foot in front of the other. He hadn't told Max or Bling about the return of the use of his legs but he had found an incredible new doctor that had carried on with the treatment the doctor from manticore had started before her demise and the treatment had worked wonders. He took two more tentative steps forward and reached out to hold onto the kitchen bench top, the last few steps simple. Things had been heating up between him and Max lately but he still wasn't sure if it was wishful thinking on his part. A sharp rap at the door jerked him out of his reverie. "Coming" he shouted and moved over to the door without his wheel chair knowing that it wouldn't be Max as she usually burst in with out waiting for a reply. He opened the door to a middle-aged woman holding the hand of a beautiful dark haired child with haunting jade black eyes.
"Hello. You must be Logan Cale?" the woman asked nervously looping a strand of hair around her ear with the hand that wasn't holding the girl who had yet to take her eyes off Logan, he nodded "that would be me. What can I do for you?" the woman glanced at the girl who was wearing what looked like a hospital gown "uh, I'm not sure how to say this so I'll say it straight. This is Gracie. She's six and the result of a manticore experiment along with four other children. They have one parent who's rather exceptional for a human you know good-looking and intelligent but still very much a normal human and the other a genetically enhanced human." she paused noting Logan's eyes were wide and staring at the little girl who stared right back. "Logan, Gracie's mother is Max and her father is you"
Logan stared at his newfound daughter, his mind shutting down at the information he'd just been told. "MAX?!" he finally blurted out not quite daring to believe it was true. Hannah nodded the beginnings of a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth "yes Max and before you ask you are definitely Gracie's father. Your meeting with Max was not by chance, don't ask how I know but Lydecker took your DNA when you were in the hospital seven years ago with tonsillitis. He also put a device in you that Max also has so that if by chance you ever met you would feel an instant bond with each other" she seemed to have run out of steam an leaned against the door frame. Logan shook his head and got rid of the last of his stupor, stepping back and opening the door wider for them to come in. Hannah stepped in thankfully tugging at the hand of the sweet, stunned little girl who couldn't take her eyes off her father. Logan crouched down in front of Gracie "hello" he said smiling at her and taking her free hand in both of his the small action feeling like the most natural thing in the world. Gracie smiled back, two small dimples forming on her face "Hi" Gracie flung her arms around Logan's neck burying her face against his shirt small hiccuping sobs racking her small body. Logan gathered her up in his arms standing up and closing the door. He turned around to face a beaming Hannah, Logan smiled back and gently rubbed Gracie's back "shh little one I've got you, your ok" he told her quietly.
Logan led Hannah through to the lounge where she thankfully collapsed back into the soft leather couch letting out a deep breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding "you got her out of Manticore I presume." Hannah looked up at Logan who still cradled Gracie tightly against his chest "yeah, when I found out she was Max's little girl I had to". She watched quietly as Logan disappeared into what looked like a guest bedroom and came out again with a pair of pink silk children's pajamas and a large fluffy towel under one arm, still holding Gracie. "A friend of mine has a little girl a bit older than Gracie, they stayed here for awhile and left some of Sophie's things" he told her setting Gracie reluctantly back on her feet and untying the flimsy gown she wore letting it fall to the ground. Logan wrapped the towel around her and dried her off from the snow she and Hannah had trekked through. He let the towel drop down next to the gown on the ground and carefully drew one leg at a time into the pajama bottom's rage building up inside at the cruel dark bruises that marred her soft pale sugar brown colored skin. "Did they hurt you a lot, Gracie?" he asked her quietly while pulling her arms through the sleeves of the top and buttoning it up the front. Gracie was watching his hands deftly do up the small pearl buttons on the silk shirt when she answered him in her soft musical voice "uh huh, to train us" her brown eyes locked with his blue ones and filled up with tears "It hurt, I didn't like it." Logan held her hands with his own "I won't let them hurt you ever again if I can help it. Would you like to stay here and live with me Gracie?" she nodded her head enthusiastically hugging him and locking her arms around his neck when he stood up. He looked at Hannah closely "stay here I'll just put her in my room, then I want to know EVERYTHING" he told her turning into his bedroom. Gracie waved over Logan's shoulder to Hannah "thank you" she mouthed to her before burying her face against Logan's neck.
*************
Logan closed the bedroom door behind him quietly and turned to Hannah. Gracie had gone to sleep the second her head hit the pillow and Logan couldn't help but wonder when was the last time she had been able to sleep peacefully. Hannah hadn't moved from the leather couch by the window "she was the only one that Lydecker ever had trouble with and didn't kill " she told him still looking out the window at the city below. Logan went into the kitchen and poured some coffee for them both making sure Hannah's had a drop of whisky in it to calm all the nerves she must be feeling. "Go on" he said quietly setting the coffee in front of her and gratefully sitting down in a chair opposite her warming his hands on his own cup. Hannah took the coffee and sipped at it smiling at Logan "just what I needed. Anyway apparently Gracie was the only child that had ever felt the need to find her parents and live outside manticore. Lydecker didn't like this nor did he like the fact that she was becoming more like Max every day so he punished her." Logan stiffened "punished her?" Hannah nodded and sighed "Gracie loves to swim so one of the ways he'd punish her was to dump her in the pool and run electric currents through the water" Logan gritted his teeth " she's only six" he said quietly. Hannah nodded sadly "that's why I came back. I found out from a source about the X9's and knew I had to do something." Logan frowned "so Gracie is a…" Hannah nodded again "yes she's what's called a X9."
In the room down the corridor Gracie's eyes fluttered open and she momentarily panicked, not used to waking up in a comfy bed with sheets that smelled like spices. She smiled the sheets smelled like her father; the man who was sitting in the other room with the lady that had got her out of manticore. Gracie threw back the covers of the double bed and slid out curling and uncurling her toes in the soft light grey carpet. She padded silently to the door and opened it peering out at Hannah and Logan still deep in conversation. Gracie briefly considered eavesdropping on them but it didn't feel right to do that to her father so she opened the door wider and slipped out into the corridor. Logan looked up and smiled "hello sleepyhead what are you doing up?" Gracie shrugged and looked down at her feet "couldn't sleep?" Gracie nodded and looked back up at Logan who held out his arms, Gracie smiled broadly and skipped over to him. Logan gathered her up onto his lap and watched her lovingly cuddle up against his chest. "Gracie did you have any friends in manticore?" he asked her curiously. She smiled and nodded "yep my friend Mia but she got taken away somewhere, I'm not sure where" Logan looked up at Hannah questioningly "Mia was Tinga's child, there were only three X5's used as biological parents Max, Tinga and Jace." Logan's eyes widened "but Jace is pregnant" Hannah frowned "she is?" Logan nodded "Max managed to convince her to leave manticore for the baby's sake the father was a cleaner there or something." Hannah shook her head "well Lydecker hadn't planned that, Jace already has a son called Caleb" Gracie tensed up in Logan's arms when Hannah said that "No she doesn't, not anymore" Logan looked down at his daughter "what do you mean Gracie?" She bit her lower lip near tears. Logan gently rocked her and held her tightly "Caleb tried to stop them from taking Mia cause she was sick so they shot him to get to her" she said now sobbing into Logan's shirt. He kissed her on the forehead and continued to rock her soothingly.
"Logan you here?" Hannah tensed and Gracie clung to Logan for dear life. Logan rubbed her back "hey it's alright it's just my friend" he looked up and nodded to Hannah that it was alright "In here Bling." He appeared in the doorway "umm hi, didn't know you had company" he said glancing at Hannah and starring at the girl on Logan's knee. Logan smiled "you might want to sit down for this one" he turned Gracie around so Bling could see her a small whimper of protest coming from Gracie. " This woman is Hannah she was the one that helped Max escape manticore" he said gesturing to Hannah "and this is Gracie, also from manticore but different from Max. Her DNA is from a X5 and a normal human, in fact her DNA is from me and Max" Bling's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open "so what your saying is that you're her parents and never even knew about her?" Logan nodded. Bling whistled "man and here I was thinking today was going to be another boring Thursday" Gracie peered up at him warily. He smiled at her "hey kiddo, nice to meet you" she gave him a shaky smile. Logan let out a deep breath "well I guess we need to get her an ID if manticore's looking for her" Bling nodded and disappeared into Logan's office. Logan stood up and moved Gracie so she was easier to carry "you want to come with?" she nodded and pouted at him Logan laughed thinking she looked so much like her mother " Gracie's going to help" he told Bling standing in the door way to the office holding Gracie. Bling nodded and glanced at him before freezing and looking back "since when can you walk?" Logan smiled and sat Gracie down in the computer seat and leaning over her to tipe "since I found a new doctor to finish the therapy DR Vertes started before her untimely demise" Bling grinned "that's great man, does it mean I'm out of a job?" Logan glanced up from the keyboard "I might need a baby sitter for Gracie now and then so we'll keep you around" Bling rolled his eyes.
*** Half an hour latter ***
"Ok so we got a passport and birth certificate for a Miss Gracie Eva Cale daughter of Max Guevara and Logan Cale. What else do we need?" Bling asked stretching. Logan thought for a second "things a six year old girl would need like toys and clothes" Bling nodded "yeah but do that tomorrow it's to late to go shopping now and anyway Max doesn't even know yet does she?" Logan got up from the computer chair cradling Gracie fast asleep in his arms "how's she going to react Bling?." He shrugged following Logan into his room and watched him lay the little girl under the covers and kiss her good night, Hannah had gone to sleep in the spare bedroom. Logan and Bling went back out into the lounge "I don't know Logan but you have to tell her sometime" Logan sighed and thankfully collapsed back into the leather chair emotionally drained "will she think it's wonderful like I do that we have a beautiful little daughter?." Logan sighed " I don't even know she likes me all that much" Bling laughed and shook his head "Max doesn't like you she loves you, head over heels in fact just like you are with her. Do me a favor Logan tell her you love her and Gracie, things will be so much easier for everyone involved" Logan shrugged and nodded.
*** Crash ***
"What is your deal boo? You been quiet all day" Max shook her head and looked up at original Cindy "huh?" her friend eyed her then nodded to her self leaning back in her chair "what's up with richboy?" Max glared at her and shook her dark curls out of her eyes "why do you think I'm thinking about Logan?" Original Cindy raised an eyebrow. Max bit her lip trying not to smile "he writes poetry and he wrote a poem about me" Original Cindy leaned forward smirking "well where is it". Max sighed and pulled it out of her pocket handing it to her watching as her face broke into a smile and she looked up at Max "boo, he's got it bad" Max rolled her eyes and snatched the poem back "does not." Original Cindy frowned at her and glanced over at sketchy being thrashed at a game of pool "girl you got it as bad as he has" she smiled when she heard Max's grumble of annoyance. A shrill beeping sounded "gotta blaze" Max pushed back her chair "say hi to lover boy for me, Kay?" Max rolled her eyes "I won't even answer that. Seeya sketchy don't do nothing I wouldn't do" she received a distracted wave.
Max pushed through the crowd and was astride her bike in a minute flat. She weaved her way through the traffic watching the life around her go around doing their own things even at ten o'clock at night children played on the sidewalk. She pulled up outside Logan's and leaned the bike against the wall. She climbed the stairs quickly; curious about what Logan needed her to do. She knocked once and walked in "Logan?" she called walking into the office. Bling was sitting in the lounge "hey, where's Logan?" Bling stood up "hey Max, he's in his room but go quietly" Max's heart clenched "is he alright?!" Bling smiled "never been better". Max frowned and went over to Logan's room opening the door quietly at first only seeing Logan in the dull light his bedside lamp made but as she looked closer she could see a little girl lying with her head on Logan's chest and her thumb in her mouth. Max slipped inside the room and closed the door behind her "Logan?" she whispered. He looked up from the little girls face and smiled "Hi Max" she smiled back and sat down on the side of the bed "who's this?" she asked tucking some of the little girls hair behind her ear. Logan watched Max touch their child, terrified of how she would react to her "her name is Gracie" Max nodded "she's beautiful" Logan swallowed "just like her mother." Max looked up at him "why is she here?" Logan sighed "Hannah bought her here, she's an X9 one of Lydecker's latest projects. He wanted to see how a child of a normal human and a genetically enhanced human would turn out so he picked the DNA of three X5's and three X6's to be half the biological parents and six humans to be the other halves. Hannah got Gracie out because she wouldn't co-operate with Lydecker and he hurt her for it. They used the DNA of Jace, Tinga and you" he looked up at Max who had tears running down her face. He reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand she sniffed and looked at him "they used your DNA to didn't they" she stated. Logan looked surprised but nodded "she's got the same look that you have when you sleep" Max explained a faint smile on her lips before she started to silently sob. Logan put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her down next to him letting her sob against his neck "shh, It's ok Max" she shook her head "no it's not, I know what it's like there It would have been hell for our perfect little girl" she sobbed. Logan rubbed her back "well we have her now and there's no way they'll get her back." Max smiled through her tears and looked up at Logan "there's no way" she agreed and kissed him gently on the lips pillowing her head on his chest next to Gracie's, watching her child sleep and listening to the steady rhythm of Logan's heartbeat.
TBC
AN/ This is the first story I've ever written that has no plan for a begging, middle or end so if you want me to continue it please say so. Also I wrote this just after Polo Loco so I didn't know about Tinga's kid.