Chapter Ten
Late that night, around ten o'clock, both Max and Logan sat exhausted on the couch. Max was leaning back, her arms thrown haphazardly over her eyes. Logan was leaning over to rest his forehead on the arm of the couch. Maddy was curled up on the couch between them, her head resting in Max's lap as she blinked back from sleep.
"When you said she was a handful." Logan finally managed. "That was a big understatement."
"No kidding."
After they had returned from Cascade Lake, with a small detour to a small pizza parlor to pick up a pepperoni pizza. "With Extra Cheese!" Maddy had shouted from the back seat as Max had gotten out of the car, leaving Logan and Maddy alone. After they had gotten home, Logan watched amazed as Maddy ate almost half the extra large pizza on her own. She was a tiny little girl, but she ate six pieces of pizza and then had energy enough to run both Max and Logan all over the house as she forced them to play hide and seek.
Now, several hours later, Maddy had finally wound down enough to curl up on the couch with her exhausted parents. "Maddy," Max said, finally sitting up enough to pull Maddy into her lap. "Come on, time for bed."
"I'm not tired." Maddy said automatically even as she struggled to keep her eyes only.
"I know baby." Max murmured as she stood with Maddy in her arms, moving towards the stairs.
"Few more minuets…" Maddy's voice was quickly trailing off.
"Sorry baby, its almost eleven already. Say goodnight to Logan."
Logan smiled softly at Max's direction to Maddy. That's some major progress, acknowledging his existence.
"Goodnight Logan." Maddy said as she laid her cheek on Max's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her neck.
"Goodnight Mad." Logan called back deliriously happy for no reason at all. It was nice being able to do this, say goodnight to his daughter.
About ten minuets later, Max flopped back down on the couch. "For all my genetic enhancements, she isn't even bioengineer-ed and she has more energy than me."
A thought popped into Logan's head, and he turned to Max. "Does she have any, like, after effects of you being an X5, like seizures or anything?"
"At this point, no, she is relatively normal. She's really quick, really smart, and she never get tired." Then Max frowned. "Of course, I didn't start getting seizures till I was nine, so I guess there is always a chance of something."
Logan pulled off his glasses and ran a hand over his face, then carefully asked. "Well, how are your seizures?"
Max frowned, confused. Logan seemed, almost concerned about her. After everything, he was still concerned. "I'm fine. I have to take an injection every night, puts me to sleep, but other than that it works a lot better and a lot quicker than the pills I used to be on."
The sat in silence for a couple of moments, each staring at spots on the wall. "Well, listen, I have to go back to Seattle tomorrow and take care of some stuff. I didn't think I'd be gone for more than two days, so I have to get Bling to take care of the informant net for a while."
Max's face remained impassive as she listened. So he was here, and it was going to be like that for a while. Max didn't know why she expected any different from him. She'd seen the way he was with Maddy. He was completely natural with her, patient and affectionate with her. He was way to moral of a person to ignore the fact that he had a child, even if he'd just found out about her a day and a half ago. Max never figured him as the father type, in reality. She more or less figured she'd be getting a large check once a month. But here he was, making arrangements to spend time out here. The question was, was this going to be a permanent thing? Or was he just going to satisfyingly clear him self of guilt then be on his merry way?
And what worried Max the most is she wasn't sure which one she wanted more.
"So." Logan's voice snapped her back to the present. "Can I trust you enough that you'll still be here when I get back or are you going to try and run. Because I'll warn you know, I wont let you go nearly as easily as I did four years ago."
Max smiled sardonically. She expected no less. "I'll still be here."
Late that night, around ten o'clock, both Max and Logan sat exhausted on the couch. Max was leaning back, her arms thrown haphazardly over her eyes. Logan was leaning over to rest his forehead on the arm of the couch. Maddy was curled up on the couch between them, her head resting in Max's lap as she blinked back from sleep.
"When you said she was a handful." Logan finally managed. "That was a big understatement."
"No kidding."
After they had returned from Cascade Lake, with a small detour to a small pizza parlor to pick up a pepperoni pizza. "With Extra Cheese!" Maddy had shouted from the back seat as Max had gotten out of the car, leaving Logan and Maddy alone. After they had gotten home, Logan watched amazed as Maddy ate almost half the extra large pizza on her own. She was a tiny little girl, but she ate six pieces of pizza and then had energy enough to run both Max and Logan all over the house as she forced them to play hide and seek.
Now, several hours later, Maddy had finally wound down enough to curl up on the couch with her exhausted parents. "Maddy," Max said, finally sitting up enough to pull Maddy into her lap. "Come on, time for bed."
"I'm not tired." Maddy said automatically even as she struggled to keep her eyes only.
"I know baby." Max murmured as she stood with Maddy in her arms, moving towards the stairs.
"Few more minuets…" Maddy's voice was quickly trailing off.
"Sorry baby, its almost eleven already. Say goodnight to Logan."
Logan smiled softly at Max's direction to Maddy. That's some major progress, acknowledging his existence.
"Goodnight Logan." Maddy said as she laid her cheek on Max's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her neck.
"Goodnight Mad." Logan called back deliriously happy for no reason at all. It was nice being able to do this, say goodnight to his daughter.
About ten minuets later, Max flopped back down on the couch. "For all my genetic enhancements, she isn't even bioengineer-ed and she has more energy than me."
A thought popped into Logan's head, and he turned to Max. "Does she have any, like, after effects of you being an X5, like seizures or anything?"
"At this point, no, she is relatively normal. She's really quick, really smart, and she never get tired." Then Max frowned. "Of course, I didn't start getting seizures till I was nine, so I guess there is always a chance of something."
Logan pulled off his glasses and ran a hand over his face, then carefully asked. "Well, how are your seizures?"
Max frowned, confused. Logan seemed, almost concerned about her. After everything, he was still concerned. "I'm fine. I have to take an injection every night, puts me to sleep, but other than that it works a lot better and a lot quicker than the pills I used to be on."
The sat in silence for a couple of moments, each staring at spots on the wall. "Well, listen, I have to go back to Seattle tomorrow and take care of some stuff. I didn't think I'd be gone for more than two days, so I have to get Bling to take care of the informant net for a while."
Max's face remained impassive as she listened. So he was here, and it was going to be like that for a while. Max didn't know why she expected any different from him. She'd seen the way he was with Maddy. He was completely natural with her, patient and affectionate with her. He was way to moral of a person to ignore the fact that he had a child, even if he'd just found out about her a day and a half ago. Max never figured him as the father type, in reality. She more or less figured she'd be getting a large check once a month. But here he was, making arrangements to spend time out here. The question was, was this going to be a permanent thing? Or was he just going to satisfyingly clear him self of guilt then be on his merry way?
And what worried Max the most is she wasn't sure which one she wanted more.
"So." Logan's voice snapped her back to the present. "Can I trust you enough that you'll still be here when I get back or are you going to try and run. Because I'll warn you know, I wont let you go nearly as easily as I did four years ago."
Max smiled sardonically. She expected no less. "I'll still be here."