Ten minutes after the accident had occurred, police cars swarmed the area, while the ambulance waited for Max's unconscious body to be place in it.
Logan, all decked out in his tuxedo was trying to answer all the cop's questions, but everything was just too surreal, and the accident had just happened so quickly.

Elizabeth stood right by Logan's side, hanging onto his arm. Right now she didn't know who she hated more, Logan for leaving her at the altar for another woman, or herself, for not seeing the signs before hand. Logan never talked of any of his past girlfriends. He rarely ever talked about life before they had met. Around the same time each year, he would get into these moods. Where he would just seemed so sad. Nothing Elizabeth said or did made him feel any happier. She just usually past if off as stress, and within a day or two, he would be back to his normal self again.

And finally all the puzzle pieces had come together. Max was the reason for Logan's entire odd behavior. Elizabeth didn't know what had happened between the two, but guessed it was something tragic. She couldn't be mad at Logan now, angry and upset would come later. Right now, she needed to be there to comfort him, even if it was over his old flame.

"I...I don't know! It just all happened so quickly! She was upset and ran off, I tried to stop her from going, but she released herself from my grasp and ran off into the street." Logan spoke hastily, trying to recollect his thoughts.

In the mean time, Jake, Bling, and the maid of honor all were explaining things the best they could to the guests. Jake did most of the talking, he was good at speaking in impossible situations.

Later that night, Logan, Bling, and Elizabeth all waited in the emergency room. Logan had to go on and explain about Max's 'birth defect' in which her blood was, special. Bling overheard the entire conversation, and didn't understand a thing of all of Logan's medical jargon. But after awhile, the doctors seemed to have bought it.

When Logan came back over to the waiting area, Bling was the first to ask "Any change yet?"

"No, she's still unconscious. But they said her breathing was beginning to stabilize. And if she can wake up before tommorow, there's a good chance there will be no brain damage. But it all depends on when her tests come back, and when she wakes up." Logan stifled and looked in the direction where he knew Max's room was.

Bling put a hand on his friend's should as Elizabeth clasped Logan's hand.
"You two must have been... really close." She said, as she tried to read what was going on inside Logan's head.

Bling took this as his cue to leave, he knew Elizabeth and Logan needed to talk and sort things out. "Well kids, I better call Jake and see if he got all the wedding guests out of the church, and make sure everything went ok."

Elizabeth place a hand on Logan's cheek and slid it down. But Logan didn't even flinch. "Please Logan, talk to me."

"Me and Max, we're complicated. The thing you need to know is, I haven't seen her for over 7 years. She died in my arms one night, gunshot wound straight through the heart. She died, right there. And I don't know what happened after. I don't know how she got better. She had no pulse when I last saw her, her eyes rolled up into her head, and she sank, lifeless in my arms. And I guess I never really got over it, over her." Logan wasn't crying however, he just stared out into space, and talked.

"I see. But you love her?" Fearing for the worst, Elizabeth thought she might as well put it out there.

Logan kept the same look in his eyes, and still didn't move at all. "I did love her. I guess I still do. It's just been, too long, and things have just happened too fast. And, I don't know." For the first time since they arrived at the hospital, Logan sat up straight and grabbed Elizabeth's hand. "None of this changes how I feel about you though. I still love you. I just need some time to think everything through, but my feelings for you still haven't changed."

He reached up and wiped a single tear off of her cheek. "I understand" Was all Elizabeth could say, before a nurse walked into the area.

"Mr. Cale?" The woman asked.

Quickly looking over at her he said, "Yes? Is it Max? Did something change?"

"Indeed it did. She has just woken up. The doctor figured since you're the closest one here to her, you should go in first to see her."

Logan gave Elizabeth a quick glance, she squeezed his hand, before releasing it from her grasp. "Go see her." Logan smiled weakly at her, before following the nurse down the hallway.

"Logan" Max's voice crackled as she talked. "What are you doing here?"

"I can to see you, somebody had to save your ass, and make up an excuse to tell the doctors about your abnormalities." Logan smiled as he saw Max lightly laugh. He couldn't help but notice how weak and...human she looked.

Her look quickly turned sullen. "You shouldn't be here though. You should be on your honeymoon. This is why I hesitated coming back, no matter what I do, or where I go, I manage to screw things up." Max coughed a little after she spoke.

Logan tilted her chin so her eyes would meet his. "Max, look at me. I am here on my own free will. I care about you, I've never stopped caring about you. I talked to Elizabeth, and she understands. Besides, seeing you again has made me forget all of the reasons I wanted to marry her." Logan broke eye contact with her and look down at his feet.

"Logan, please don't talk like that." Max's sudden words caused Logan to pick his head back up. "I'm not going to make it."

Staring in disbelief Logan said "Come on, let's be realistic. You're a genetically enhanced human. You're telling me, that after all the battles you've fought, after all the crooks and rivals you've defeated, you're not going to make it through one automobile collision?"

"I just don't have it in me. I've beat Manticore twice, I've struggled all throughout my life. I can just feel it, my mind and body can't fight it anymore." Tears began coming down her face. "Please Logan, listen to me. You have no idea how much I love you, how much you mean to me. I thank God everyday that I robbed your apartment that night. Because you became the world to me. You started off as my friend, then you became my confidant, then with all that trust and friendship, it just grew into an unspoken love. All the times I was too scared to admit it to myself, and to you. Maybe things would have been different, then again, maybe I would have still ended up here." Max stopped talking long enough to take a good look at Logan, and she could see the water around his eyes begin to well up.

"Max, please, can't you fight it, just one last time? I don't think I could lose you again, it was hard enough the first time." Logan gulped in air as he waited for her response.

Max began to cough violently this time. Logan saw how the light and radiance that once resided in her eyes all those years ago, was now gone. Deep down, he knew Max was telling the truth.

"No, I'll be fine. Maybe there's even a Manticore heaven up there, where I can be with all my departed brothers and sisters. You never know. Don't think that I've completely gone though. I'll always have my eyes on you, even from the great beyond. You're the one true love of my life, and not even death can take that away from me. But, I know you're going to be fine. You have a fiancé out there, who loves you. And you will go on to be married. Because, let's face it. You'd be a great husband and a father. You're one of the good ones. Good-bye Logan Cale, protector of the downtrodden, blah, blah, woof, woof, isn't that right?" Max smiled meekly.

Logan smiled as well, as the memory of one of their conversations all those years ago. "Yeah, you remembered." Logan stopped a beat, before proceeding. "I love you so much. I never stopped. You've always been in my heart. You will forever be in my heart."

Max closed her eyes and felt Logan press his lips against hers, both were salty from their teardrops. Max opened her eyes one last time and looked at Logan, who was holding her left hand between both of his. She smiled as she drew in her last breath of air.

Suddenly, Logan felt the grasp of her hand go limp. He released one of his hands and placed it over his mouth while he sobbed over Max's deceased body.

Elizabeth entered the room to console Logan. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her. The steady, non-stopping 'beep' from the heart monitor proved to her the reason why Logan was in such tears.

Within a few minutes, doctors and nurses had rushed in, wanting to put her on a life support machine. But Logan fought against it. He knew Max was in a better place now, a place where she didn't have to run and hide anymore. Oddly enough, that was comfort enough for Logan, just to know that Max was in a safe place.


The End