"The Gift of Darkness"
by pari106
pari106@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html
Code: M/L
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Thanks to everybody for all the feedback! Sorry this update took so long!
Chapter Four
Whenever Max hopped on her Ninja and blazed across Seattle, she felt all her worries and fears drift to the
very back of her mind. She became lost in the feel of the wind whipping past her, the hum of the engine
beneath her. While she was on her bike she was free, and the bitch called life couldn't touch her. Not
while she was in flight – and she really knew how to make her baby fly.
Today might not have been different from any other. She might have been able to just jump on her bike
and let everything else disappear. Might have…if thoughts of Logan weren't so heavy that even her Ninja
wasn't powerful enough to lift them away. As it was, the ride went a little slower. Her mind went a little
faster – struggling with all of the strange thoughts and nagging questions that were rumbling around inside
of her. And it was just as well – she wasn't on a joyride. She was off to find the object of her thoughts
right now.
After the initial elation that accompanied Logan's "miraculous" recovery, Max had mixed emotions. He'd
gotten what he'd wanted – to walk again. But at what price? How could Manticore have done this for
him? More importantly – why? And what would happen next? Not just for Logan, but for her and Logan.
She knew by now that she was more to him than just a pair of legs for Eyes Only, but how much more?
Would he let her help him if he needed it? He was stubborn enough without his legs – always wanting to
do things on his own, never wanting to let anyone in. He took too many unnecessary risks; was too
damned sure of himself. How much worse would that reckless noble streak of his become now that he
wasn't just better, but better than ever before? Max didn't know how to handle all of this.
And neither did Logan.
"What?" he'd asked, incredulous, when Max had hinted at what she thought had happened. Logan was still
being examined by Bling at that time.
…earlier that day…
Max took a deep breath, then kind of winced.
"Sounds wack, huh?"
Logan just kind of laughed.
"Well, do *you* have a better idea?" None were forthcoming. "Exactly," Max said. Then there was
silence. "So…"
"So?" Logan prompted.
"So what comes next?" Logan got that thoughtful look in his eyes that always drove Max mad. But Zack
was the next one to speak.
"So now we get both your heads examined," he said, looking from them to Bling. The other man just
shook his head.
"I don't know," is all he said.
"Well I do. No way Manticore would go through all the trouble of suping up someone's DNA unless it
suited their purpose."
"Maybe that's what they had in mind," Logan said. "Maybe they just didn't get to that before Jack and I
escaped."
Zack just looked at him. "Yeah, maybe."
"What's that supposed 'ta mean?" asked Max.
"Maybe they didn't get around to it…but maybe they did."
Silence.
"Zack, that's bullshit. We checked Logan for bugs and tracers. He's clean."
Max saw what he was trying to say and she didn't like it. She looked at Logan, expecting him to defend
himself, but Cale just remained quiet.
"What, you think Logan's working for Manticore now?" she asked anyways.
"I didn't say that."
"Yeah, well…"
And then a phone rang in the background.
"I'll get that," Bling said, and rushed off, leaving the others to argue amongst themselves. A few moments
later he came back.
"Logan…it's Russ."
Logan headed to the computer room with Max and Zack trailing behind, involuntarily smiling at how good
it felt to just get up and walk to wherever he wanted to go. His smile disappeared, however, when he came
upon his computer screen. Something was wrong. Russ wasn't on the line he'd used before, and it looked
like he was using a signal scrambler.
He obviously didn't want someone to know he was making this call.
"Russell, what's wrong?" he asked as soon as he picked up.
Over the line came the younger man's laugh. "Quick, aren't you, Logan? Now what tells you something's
wrong?"
"People don't use signal scramblers for social calls."
"No I don't suppose they do. Listen, Logan…somebody's torched the lab."
Logan sat up straighter in his seat. He exchanged a look with his companions when he asked, "Someone
torched your lab?"
"Of course, my lab. What other bloody lab could I be bloody well talking about?" His words were
anything but cheerful, but there was no real heat in his tone. Something like this was just a setback, really
– he had the funds and connections to be back in business in a matter of days. And he wasn't worried about
anyone being on his tail – he had moves. But the fact that someone felt the need for arson, anyhow, did not
bode well for Logan. The trucks that had been seen leaving the area were the same that he'd seen on t.v.
when Logan had been captured a week ago. "Listen," he was saying, "I can't get you those blood tests as
soon as I'd hoped. But as soon as I get set up somewhere I'll let you know."
"No, hey…" Logan said, guilt and concern in his voice. "Don't worry about that. Just lay low for a
while."
But on the other end of the line, Russ just shook his head.
"Uh-uh. Someone's going through a lot of trouble to keep me out of this, so that's exactly what I shouldn't
do."
Over Logan's shoulder, Bling shook his head. "No good, man. Manticore's onto you."
"If that were true, do you really think you'd be receiving this call from the privacy of Logan's nice
penthouse?"
The simple statement caused everyone on the other end of the line to still. He had a point. If Manticore
was that fast, wouldn't they be beating down the door right now?
"It could just be a coincidence," Zack muttered.
"That's an awful big coincidence, don't you think?" Logan asked in response, causing his companions to
stare at him in surprise.
"What?" Bling asked, while Zack and Max said nothing. Apparently Logan's hearing really had improved.
Zack was standing on the totally opposite end of the room.
Logan didn't seem to notice. He didn't' like putting anyone else in danger, but Russ was right – there was
something strange going on and it all revolved around what had been done to him. Why else would the
same guys who grabbed him go after Russ' lab? And why hadn't they tried to get him again? They
weren't going to get the answers to these questions by playing it safe.
"Okay, Russ, tell me what you've got when you get it, but be careful…is there any way they can trace the
lab to you?" Logan assumed Russ had developed his medical practice the same way he had built the
informant net…in secret.
"Nah, I'm good. I wouldn't be calling if I wasn't…you know I've got a family to watch out for now."
Logan nodded.
"Okay. I'll be going to ground after this. Our friends in the big, black jeep haven't come back for a
reunion yet, but I'm not taking any chances. You can still reach me on my cell, though."
"Alright," Sean answered. "Watch your back, Logan."
Then the call ended. Logan turned back to the others.
"So…if I *am* X5 now…where's the last place Lydecker thinks I'd be?"
Zack had scowled, but Max had smiled.
Now Max had Logan a place to hide out for a while…and just needed to find Logan to tell him so.
Unfortunately, however, Logan had chosen today to run off to God-knows-where, alone and unarmed.
' "going to ground", my ass,' Max thought, but smiled again. Logan had just gotten his legs back. She
should have known he wouldn't waste them sitting around the penthouse all day.
Seattle's a big city, and if she had to search it all day, Max probably would have been pretty pissed by the
end. But Logan knew better than to stray far outside of Sector Nine. Max found him in a park, believe it or
not, sitting in a tree. She gave him a strange sort of look, but after a moment's thought followed after him.
He heard her coming before she'd shimmied up past the first branch – it was a pretty tall tree.
"Hey," he greeted, waiting for her to climb beside him. She did and said, "Hey, yourself." Their usual
greeting.
And then silence.
And finally Logan spoke.
"You hear that, don't you?" he asked, surprising her. Max frowned.
"Hear what?"
"Everything." Logan turned to her and smiled, before turning back to Seattle. She loved that smile. It was
bold, so bright. Logan never held anything back…except when it came to what he considered his weaker
emotions. He didn't look weak now. He looked ready to take on the world. To Logan, there was a whole
new world to take on now.
"You know, the people, the birds, traffic. You hear that? Those bells?"
Max paused, listening, then nodded. Yeah, she did. She never really thought about it, though.
"I know that sound," Logan was continuing. "There's this church on the other side of the Sector…the other
side, Max! I'd know the sound of those bells anywhere…the church wasn't far from the hospital."
Max didn't have to ask which hospital. She knew. Knowing gave the conversation a suddenly serious
tone.
"They have a distinctive ring," Logan said quietly. Max just watched him, wanting so badly to reach over
to him that she could barely resist it.
Then Logan shrugged it off and gestured to the people walking about below.
"And that," he said. "That scruffing type sound down there?"
Max laughed, then listened.
"What, the sound of people walking?"
Logan smiled and nodded.
"Footsteps." Then, at Max's confused expression. "Max, not everyone can hear the the scuff of tennis
shoes from about…twenty yards away, from seven feet up a tree, on a noisy afternoon in the middle of
Seattle."
Max raised an eyebrow. "Oh."
Logan laughed. "Forget it…it's silly."
"No," Max said the one syllable with such force it startled them both. "It's not silly. It's new. That's
cool." She really didn't want him to feel uncomfortable about sharing with her. She shrugged. "I guess
sometimes I just…take things for granted, you know?"
"Yeah…" Logan looked at her. "A little too well," he said, and Max felt caught in those blue eyes of his;
eyes that were looking at her now, serious and intent.
That look made her forget all about living arrangement and footsteps.
Logan scooted a little closer her direction on the branch.
"Guess I've been taking some things for granted for too long…like the fact that you'd be there beside me
when I woke up."
Max's heartbeat began to pick up.
"I didn't just dream that, did I?" he asked and Max knew what he was talking about, though it surprised
her. He remembered – when she sat there beside him, back at the penthouse, holding his hand and willing
him to be okay. He remembered.
She just shook her head.
And knew that he wasn't just referring to her sitting there and holding his hand – he meant all of it: the way
she'd looked at him, the way she'd spoken to him. The way she loved him…did he mean that, too? Did he
know?
"Why'd you do that, Max?" he asked her. "After the way I pushed you away…"
Max's laugh was sharp. "I think I was the one doing the pushing, Logan."
Logan conceded that point, but he also had one of his own. "I let you," he told her.
And Max did what she'd wanted to do for a long time now – she reached out and touched him. Simple,
gentle; she just placed the palm of her hand on his cheek, and he immediately turned into it, planting a kiss
there that burned into her skin. He placed his hand over hers.
"Logan, I *needed* to push you away," she said. "Or at least, I thought I did…it's not like you abandoned
me, or something, just because you gave me a little space. I needed a little space to deal with the shit that's
been going down in my life lately."
"Do you need that much space now?" he asked.
It was one of those moments where everything just seemed charged with the emotions that were radiating
from Max and Logan; the chemistry. They were just inches apart; so close. She looked into his eyes – so
blue; he was wearing another pair of glasses, like the ones she said had made him look "sexy and
intellectual". The side of his face was rough underneath her hand with stubble, and Logan gazed into her
dark eyes, then down at her soft lips as though fascinated.
His question was an opening, and Max knew it. There was a whole lot of meaning behind those few words,
and her answer was the one they'd both been running from for over a year now. They weren't running any
longer.
"It gets lonely," she said, "…pushing people away all the time."
She scooted even closer to him, smiling now through the nervous heat that had taken over her. If she
hadn't known better she would have sworn she was in another one of her cycles – the temperature in that
tree had just risen a good several degrees. But as she'd said once before…this wasn't Manticore, this was
her. And Logan.
"I know the feeling," he was saying. He came closer. They were sitting thigh-to-thigh now, facing one
another.
He was still holding her hand with one of his own, and was now gently caressing the side of her face with
the other. It was driving Max mad.
"I'm tired of space," she said, and Logan smiled. Their voices had been getting lower and lower as their
heartbeats had become louder. Now he was barely whispering to her.
"Highly overrated," he quipped.
And then he leaned in and kissed her.
And their branch broke.
With the brand of luck – or lack thereof – characteristic to their lives, Max and Logan's romantic moment
quickly turned into a would-be life-threatening one. Would-be, that is, if neither of them had had the
reflexes of an X5.
As it was, when the bough broke, sort of speak, down came Max, Logan, screams and laughter and all…
…and they landed straight on their feet, much to the slack-jawed awe of bystanders nearby.
Then they got the hell out of there.
At a safe distance from their audience, Max and Logan collapsed to the ground underneath a tree, still
laughing like mad people.
"That just figures," Logan finally said, between laughs, when he began to recover himself.
"It does, doesn't it?" Max said, looking over at him.
She was torn between amusement over the situation and frustration over the lost kiss. And unbidden the
thought came to her mind: 'There's no branch to break here.' But she shrugged it off with a sigh.
'Get a grip, girl,' she told herself. 'Logan needs to straighten out the dealio with him and Manticore before
you go jumpin' the boy's bones.'
She shook her head, telling herself it was for the best. And not believing it one bit.
"Anyway…why don't we go check out Eyes Only's new crib?" she asked.
Logan was looking at her strangely – the same way she'd been looking at him, she imagined. Then he
smiled, rising and offering her a hand.
"Lead the way," he said. And they headed for Logan's new place of residence.
by pari106
pari106@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html
Code: M/L
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Thanks to everybody for all the feedback! Sorry this update took so long!
Chapter Four
Whenever Max hopped on her Ninja and blazed across Seattle, she felt all her worries and fears drift to the
very back of her mind. She became lost in the feel of the wind whipping past her, the hum of the engine
beneath her. While she was on her bike she was free, and the bitch called life couldn't touch her. Not
while she was in flight – and she really knew how to make her baby fly.
Today might not have been different from any other. She might have been able to just jump on her bike
and let everything else disappear. Might have…if thoughts of Logan weren't so heavy that even her Ninja
wasn't powerful enough to lift them away. As it was, the ride went a little slower. Her mind went a little
faster – struggling with all of the strange thoughts and nagging questions that were rumbling around inside
of her. And it was just as well – she wasn't on a joyride. She was off to find the object of her thoughts
right now.
After the initial elation that accompanied Logan's "miraculous" recovery, Max had mixed emotions. He'd
gotten what he'd wanted – to walk again. But at what price? How could Manticore have done this for
him? More importantly – why? And what would happen next? Not just for Logan, but for her and Logan.
She knew by now that she was more to him than just a pair of legs for Eyes Only, but how much more?
Would he let her help him if he needed it? He was stubborn enough without his legs – always wanting to
do things on his own, never wanting to let anyone in. He took too many unnecessary risks; was too
damned sure of himself. How much worse would that reckless noble streak of his become now that he
wasn't just better, but better than ever before? Max didn't know how to handle all of this.
And neither did Logan.
"What?" he'd asked, incredulous, when Max had hinted at what she thought had happened. Logan was still
being examined by Bling at that time.
…earlier that day…
Max took a deep breath, then kind of winced.
"Sounds wack, huh?"
Logan just kind of laughed.
"Well, do *you* have a better idea?" None were forthcoming. "Exactly," Max said. Then there was
silence. "So…"
"So?" Logan prompted.
"So what comes next?" Logan got that thoughtful look in his eyes that always drove Max mad. But Zack
was the next one to speak.
"So now we get both your heads examined," he said, looking from them to Bling. The other man just
shook his head.
"I don't know," is all he said.
"Well I do. No way Manticore would go through all the trouble of suping up someone's DNA unless it
suited their purpose."
"Maybe that's what they had in mind," Logan said. "Maybe they just didn't get to that before Jack and I
escaped."
Zack just looked at him. "Yeah, maybe."
"What's that supposed 'ta mean?" asked Max.
"Maybe they didn't get around to it…but maybe they did."
Silence.
"Zack, that's bullshit. We checked Logan for bugs and tracers. He's clean."
Max saw what he was trying to say and she didn't like it. She looked at Logan, expecting him to defend
himself, but Cale just remained quiet.
"What, you think Logan's working for Manticore now?" she asked anyways.
"I didn't say that."
"Yeah, well…"
And then a phone rang in the background.
"I'll get that," Bling said, and rushed off, leaving the others to argue amongst themselves. A few moments
later he came back.
"Logan…it's Russ."
Logan headed to the computer room with Max and Zack trailing behind, involuntarily smiling at how good
it felt to just get up and walk to wherever he wanted to go. His smile disappeared, however, when he came
upon his computer screen. Something was wrong. Russ wasn't on the line he'd used before, and it looked
like he was using a signal scrambler.
He obviously didn't want someone to know he was making this call.
"Russell, what's wrong?" he asked as soon as he picked up.
Over the line came the younger man's laugh. "Quick, aren't you, Logan? Now what tells you something's
wrong?"
"People don't use signal scramblers for social calls."
"No I don't suppose they do. Listen, Logan…somebody's torched the lab."
Logan sat up straighter in his seat. He exchanged a look with his companions when he asked, "Someone
torched your lab?"
"Of course, my lab. What other bloody lab could I be bloody well talking about?" His words were
anything but cheerful, but there was no real heat in his tone. Something like this was just a setback, really
– he had the funds and connections to be back in business in a matter of days. And he wasn't worried about
anyone being on his tail – he had moves. But the fact that someone felt the need for arson, anyhow, did not
bode well for Logan. The trucks that had been seen leaving the area were the same that he'd seen on t.v.
when Logan had been captured a week ago. "Listen," he was saying, "I can't get you those blood tests as
soon as I'd hoped. But as soon as I get set up somewhere I'll let you know."
"No, hey…" Logan said, guilt and concern in his voice. "Don't worry about that. Just lay low for a
while."
But on the other end of the line, Russ just shook his head.
"Uh-uh. Someone's going through a lot of trouble to keep me out of this, so that's exactly what I shouldn't
do."
Over Logan's shoulder, Bling shook his head. "No good, man. Manticore's onto you."
"If that were true, do you really think you'd be receiving this call from the privacy of Logan's nice
penthouse?"
The simple statement caused everyone on the other end of the line to still. He had a point. If Manticore
was that fast, wouldn't they be beating down the door right now?
"It could just be a coincidence," Zack muttered.
"That's an awful big coincidence, don't you think?" Logan asked in response, causing his companions to
stare at him in surprise.
"What?" Bling asked, while Zack and Max said nothing. Apparently Logan's hearing really had improved.
Zack was standing on the totally opposite end of the room.
Logan didn't seem to notice. He didn't' like putting anyone else in danger, but Russ was right – there was
something strange going on and it all revolved around what had been done to him. Why else would the
same guys who grabbed him go after Russ' lab? And why hadn't they tried to get him again? They
weren't going to get the answers to these questions by playing it safe.
"Okay, Russ, tell me what you've got when you get it, but be careful…is there any way they can trace the
lab to you?" Logan assumed Russ had developed his medical practice the same way he had built the
informant net…in secret.
"Nah, I'm good. I wouldn't be calling if I wasn't…you know I've got a family to watch out for now."
Logan nodded.
"Okay. I'll be going to ground after this. Our friends in the big, black jeep haven't come back for a
reunion yet, but I'm not taking any chances. You can still reach me on my cell, though."
"Alright," Sean answered. "Watch your back, Logan."
Then the call ended. Logan turned back to the others.
"So…if I *am* X5 now…where's the last place Lydecker thinks I'd be?"
Zack had scowled, but Max had smiled.
Now Max had Logan a place to hide out for a while…and just needed to find Logan to tell him so.
Unfortunately, however, Logan had chosen today to run off to God-knows-where, alone and unarmed.
' "going to ground", my ass,' Max thought, but smiled again. Logan had just gotten his legs back. She
should have known he wouldn't waste them sitting around the penthouse all day.
Seattle's a big city, and if she had to search it all day, Max probably would have been pretty pissed by the
end. But Logan knew better than to stray far outside of Sector Nine. Max found him in a park, believe it or
not, sitting in a tree. She gave him a strange sort of look, but after a moment's thought followed after him.
He heard her coming before she'd shimmied up past the first branch – it was a pretty tall tree.
"Hey," he greeted, waiting for her to climb beside him. She did and said, "Hey, yourself." Their usual
greeting.
And then silence.
And finally Logan spoke.
"You hear that, don't you?" he asked, surprising her. Max frowned.
"Hear what?"
"Everything." Logan turned to her and smiled, before turning back to Seattle. She loved that smile. It was
bold, so bright. Logan never held anything back…except when it came to what he considered his weaker
emotions. He didn't look weak now. He looked ready to take on the world. To Logan, there was a whole
new world to take on now.
"You know, the people, the birds, traffic. You hear that? Those bells?"
Max paused, listening, then nodded. Yeah, she did. She never really thought about it, though.
"I know that sound," Logan was continuing. "There's this church on the other side of the Sector…the other
side, Max! I'd know the sound of those bells anywhere…the church wasn't far from the hospital."
Max didn't have to ask which hospital. She knew. Knowing gave the conversation a suddenly serious
tone.
"They have a distinctive ring," Logan said quietly. Max just watched him, wanting so badly to reach over
to him that she could barely resist it.
Then Logan shrugged it off and gestured to the people walking about below.
"And that," he said. "That scruffing type sound down there?"
Max laughed, then listened.
"What, the sound of people walking?"
Logan smiled and nodded.
"Footsteps." Then, at Max's confused expression. "Max, not everyone can hear the the scuff of tennis
shoes from about…twenty yards away, from seven feet up a tree, on a noisy afternoon in the middle of
Seattle."
Max raised an eyebrow. "Oh."
Logan laughed. "Forget it…it's silly."
"No," Max said the one syllable with such force it startled them both. "It's not silly. It's new. That's
cool." She really didn't want him to feel uncomfortable about sharing with her. She shrugged. "I guess
sometimes I just…take things for granted, you know?"
"Yeah…" Logan looked at her. "A little too well," he said, and Max felt caught in those blue eyes of his;
eyes that were looking at her now, serious and intent.
That look made her forget all about living arrangement and footsteps.
Logan scooted a little closer her direction on the branch.
"Guess I've been taking some things for granted for too long…like the fact that you'd be there beside me
when I woke up."
Max's heartbeat began to pick up.
"I didn't just dream that, did I?" he asked and Max knew what he was talking about, though it surprised
her. He remembered – when she sat there beside him, back at the penthouse, holding his hand and willing
him to be okay. He remembered.
She just shook her head.
And knew that he wasn't just referring to her sitting there and holding his hand – he meant all of it: the way
she'd looked at him, the way she'd spoken to him. The way she loved him…did he mean that, too? Did he
know?
"Why'd you do that, Max?" he asked her. "After the way I pushed you away…"
Max's laugh was sharp. "I think I was the one doing the pushing, Logan."
Logan conceded that point, but he also had one of his own. "I let you," he told her.
And Max did what she'd wanted to do for a long time now – she reached out and touched him. Simple,
gentle; she just placed the palm of her hand on his cheek, and he immediately turned into it, planting a kiss
there that burned into her skin. He placed his hand over hers.
"Logan, I *needed* to push you away," she said. "Or at least, I thought I did…it's not like you abandoned
me, or something, just because you gave me a little space. I needed a little space to deal with the shit that's
been going down in my life lately."
"Do you need that much space now?" he asked.
It was one of those moments where everything just seemed charged with the emotions that were radiating
from Max and Logan; the chemistry. They were just inches apart; so close. She looked into his eyes – so
blue; he was wearing another pair of glasses, like the ones she said had made him look "sexy and
intellectual". The side of his face was rough underneath her hand with stubble, and Logan gazed into her
dark eyes, then down at her soft lips as though fascinated.
His question was an opening, and Max knew it. There was a whole lot of meaning behind those few words,
and her answer was the one they'd both been running from for over a year now. They weren't running any
longer.
"It gets lonely," she said, "…pushing people away all the time."
She scooted even closer to him, smiling now through the nervous heat that had taken over her. If she
hadn't known better she would have sworn she was in another one of her cycles – the temperature in that
tree had just risen a good several degrees. But as she'd said once before…this wasn't Manticore, this was
her. And Logan.
"I know the feeling," he was saying. He came closer. They were sitting thigh-to-thigh now, facing one
another.
He was still holding her hand with one of his own, and was now gently caressing the side of her face with
the other. It was driving Max mad.
"I'm tired of space," she said, and Logan smiled. Their voices had been getting lower and lower as their
heartbeats had become louder. Now he was barely whispering to her.
"Highly overrated," he quipped.
And then he leaned in and kissed her.
And their branch broke.
With the brand of luck – or lack thereof – characteristic to their lives, Max and Logan's romantic moment
quickly turned into a would-be life-threatening one. Would-be, that is, if neither of them had had the
reflexes of an X5.
As it was, when the bough broke, sort of speak, down came Max, Logan, screams and laughter and all…
…and they landed straight on their feet, much to the slack-jawed awe of bystanders nearby.
Then they got the hell out of there.
At a safe distance from their audience, Max and Logan collapsed to the ground underneath a tree, still
laughing like mad people.
"That just figures," Logan finally said, between laughs, when he began to recover himself.
"It does, doesn't it?" Max said, looking over at him.
She was torn between amusement over the situation and frustration over the lost kiss. And unbidden the
thought came to her mind: 'There's no branch to break here.' But she shrugged it off with a sigh.
'Get a grip, girl,' she told herself. 'Logan needs to straighten out the dealio with him and Manticore before
you go jumpin' the boy's bones.'
She shook her head, telling herself it was for the best. And not believing it one bit.
"Anyway…why don't we go check out Eyes Only's new crib?" she asked.
Logan was looking at her strangely – the same way she'd been looking at him, she imagined. Then he
smiled, rising and offering her a hand.
"Lead the way," he said. And they headed for Logan's new place of residence.