Consequences, Choices, and Confessions
by pari106

pari106@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html

Disclaimer: Cameron…Eglee…FOX…



Chapter 13

Logan Cale had developed a precise method of relieving stress over the years. A formula for it, really.
Applicable to all sorts of levels of stress.

Say, for instance, he was having a bout of 'the-world-is-going-to-hell' kind of stress. A little candlelight,
soft music…that usually did the trick. Before the shooting he usually preferred exercising this particular
method while in the presence of good company…good company of the female persuasion, that is. But he'd
no longer considered that an option after having landed in the chair. Not just because he felt unsure with
dating in his new lifestyle, but also because of Max.

But mostly because of Max. He would admit that now.

Still, woman or no, good music and good food could definitely help him relax.

Or sometimes just throwing himself into his work. That helped. Unless, of course, his stress originated
*from* work. In which case he would revert to method A, or method C: alcohol.

But…method C he'd come to rely on less and less over the years. A fact he refused to attribute to growing
older.

Now, stress of the ultimate kind: Max stress, Wow-Valerie's-back stress, Nathan-Herrerro stress, Bruno-
Anselmo stress...those kinds of stress required another tactic. A method of relaxation one could
scientifically term "pissing-Bling-off".

That's how Logan relieved major stress. By pissing Bling off.

It wasn't conscious, really. But it was definitely a working cure for whatever ailed him. Because when
you have an angry Bling on your hands, you really don't have time to worry about anything else.

But since Max had left to be with Zack, Logan had found that none of these methods were working.
Despite the occasional crisis for Eyes Only, Logan's life had been nothing but constant thoughts of Max.
Concerns about how she was doing and *what* she was doing. And, particularly, whether or not she'd
been doing anything with Zack.

And she'd only left three days ago.

Logan had burned half his candles down to stubs…he'd listened to Sibillius countless times. He'd gone
through a bottle of his best wine. And Bling wanted to kill him. If he didn't find some way to appease his
rightfully agitated friend, within the next forty-either hours, he'd probably have to change the locks to his
penthouse.

And it had only been three days.

It was hopeless.

Logan sighed, staring out a window in his dining room, and ignoring the food cooling on his plate.

Okay, maybe not hopeless. It wasn't the end of the world, after all. He loved Max. But he'd been aware,
for some time now, that he might never have anything with her. If he were to be brutally honest with
himself, he would have to admit that that was probably why he'd become so desperate to win back her
affection over the last couple of months. It was a part of his nature. He just couldn't help fighting that
much harder for the lost causes.

Not that he didn't really love Max. He did. It would probably take him some time before he could stop
picturing a future for himself with her in it. But he realized that love was not going to be returned. It was
not going to be fulfilled. And he had to move on.

He just hoped Max and Zack were doing so, as well. He hoped Max was right about the other man. When
he looked at Zack he saw one world-hardened kid, but if Max looked at him and saw someone she could
build a life with…well, Logan wanted that. Just as long as Max was right and Zack was that someone.

Logan wondered how Zack had reacted when he'd heard about the baby. Would he see it as an
inconvenience? Or would he see it as a chance to embrace his humanity on a new level? No doubt that
Alpha-male mentality of his would find its ego stroked. It had taken Logan some time to come to terms
with what had happened between Max and Zack. But once he had, he hadn't disagreed with Max when she
told him she believed Zack loved her; that she'd just scared him away. Logan had known for a long time
that what Zack felt for Max was far from brotherly in the sense that other humans saw it. Logan's only
concern was how that love manifested itself. As he'd said, time and time before, Zack was good at loving
from afar. Showing up when times got tough and lending a hand. But he wasn't so sure the young man
could handle conventional love – home, family, that kind of thing. And Logan knew that was what Max
wanted. If only she'd let him be the one to give it to her…

Then a sound brought Logan out of his thoughts.

"What…"

He began to wheel out of the bedroom…and stopped when Max suddenly appeared in the doorframe.

"Max!"



**** ****



Logan got this distinct feeling of déjà vu.

Here he was, again, sitting at the dinner table, again, with Max. And he could tell she had something on
her mind, but that she wasn't ready to talk about it yet. She'd yet to tell him what had happened with Zack.
But at least, this time, Logan knew Max's reticence stemmed from the need to think things through and not
from some feeling of distance towards him. So they made it through dinner. But when Max volunteered to
do the dishes, Logan wheeled into the kitchen with her and decided to broach the subject that was on both
their minds.

"What happened, Max?" Logan asked. Max probably hadn't even realized he'd entered the room, she was
so preoccupied. And now Logan watched her back stiffen before she gave up her chore, for the time being,
and turned to him.

Max sighed and leaned against the counter. She didn't meet Logan's eyes.

"We…fought," she finally admitted, then winced at her own exaggeration.

Okay, so it hadn't been a fight, exactly. She'd soccer-punched him. Then, while he was still too shocked
to react, she'd given him a right hook, and then a left. Then she'd blazed out of there like hell itself was on
her tail. But she supposed that could be considered a fight…in some countries.

Max sighed again. Why did things always blow up between her and Zack?

As Logan watched these emotions cross Max's face, he felt his jaw stiffen. Zack had fought…with a
pregnant woman? Well, not physically, after all. Even Zack wasn't that far gone. But he'd upset a
pregnant woman? He'd upset Max?

"Did he not want the baby?" Logan asked quietly. He wanted to be sensitive to Max's situation but his
eyes were beginning to narrow. Had Zack turned her and the child away? The almighty, dutiful big
brother couldn't accept his duty towards his own offspring? Zack was dead. Logan didn't know how –
because, honestly, Zack could chew him up and spit him out if he had the inclination – but Zack was dead.
Somehow, Logan was going to kill him.

Or, at least, he entertained the thought for a moment. But then Max was shaking her head.

"No. No, he wanted the baby…" Max hesitated, then corrected herself. "He wants the baby."

Logan looked up at her in surprise. Really? He felt equal parts relief and selfish disappointment at that.
But, then, what was the problem?

"Did you and he…"

Max didn't let him finish. She turned back to the dishes.

"No, Logan, we're fine," she told him sharply. Then she paused. Why the hell was she getting angry at
Logan?

Logan stiffened. Why the hell was she getting angry at him?

Max turned back.

"I'm sorry, Logan," she said. "I'm just…" Suddenly Max's eyes filled with tears.

Logan saw the moisture collecting in her eyes and frowned, rolling closer to her.

"Hey. Max, it's okay…" He reached out and took Max's hand.

Max nodded, reeling her emotions back in and taking a shaky sigh.

"I know, I just…" she gave him a weak smile. "Screwy pregnancy hormones, right?"

Logan tried to return her smile.

"Zack and me just had a little fight, okay? I need some time to cool off…" Then Max smiled again. "And
I could use a friend?"

Logan squeezed her hand.

"Of course."



**** ****



Zack waited a while to pursue Max. Partly so his bruises could heal, and partly because he wanted to give
her time to get where she was going. The last thing he wanted was to meet her on the road and
inadvertently provoke her into some kid of road race. He had a pretty good idea she'd be returning to
Seattle, anyhow, so he knew where he'd be able to find her.

He hoped.

He'd become so paranoid about Max; so afraid of doing the wrong thing. He wanted to give her time to
cool off. But then he remembered what he'd said about always backing away. He didn't want her to have
time to do something rash…like go to Logan, perhaps. And he didn't want to just assume that that was
what she'd do. He had more faith in Maxie than that. He should have had that much faith in the beginning,
then he would have realized the baby was his and wouldn't have asked what Max had obviously considered
an insulting question.

Anyhow, Zack waited, and then he set out after her.



**** ****



Zack arrived in Seattle late that night. There was no distraught Max rushing down the hall when he headed
for Logan's penthouse this time, but the whole thing felt an awful lot like that night Zack had come to
Seattle two months ago to win Max over.

Well, that had gone real well.

He supposed he should feel like he was back where he started; in a way he was. He'd handled a situation
with Max badly, again, and now he was trying to pick up the pieces…again.

And, once again, when Zack got to the penthouse only Logan was at home. Only this time, he was sitting
in the living room, rather than the computer room, and he wasn't in the sorry state he had been that night he
and Max had fought over the training pictures.

Zack slipped quietly into the room and saw Logan's muscles tense as he realized he was not alone. Despite
himself, Zack felt a small glimmer of admiration for the other guy. This wasn't an X5; Logan was human,
so he didn't have the capabilities that X5s possess. But he was unusually aware of his surroundings. Zack
wondered if that was something he'd picked up from Max, or if he'd always been this wary of the world.
He had a feeling that he always had been.

Logan turned, and two pairs of cold, blue eyes met. This was the first time Zack could ever remember
being in Logan's presence and not feeling truly threatened by the other man. Cale would probably find that
hilarious, but it was true. This little human man in a wheelchair intimidated Zack like no one else ever had,
except perhaps Lydecker…and Zack would kill anyone who accused Zack of being intimidated by him.
He'd felt intimidated by Logan because Logan, like no one else, had the ability to take Max away from
him; he had a power over Max that no one else had. And he had a confidence, even when faced with an
opponent twice as powerful as himself, that Zack didn't even have himself.

Now that Zack no longer felt threatened by Logan he let himself acknowledge these things. He let himself
consider that perhaps he and the other man didn't always have to be at one another's throats. After all,
Logan had found Max her doctor. It probably hadn't been easy for him…knowing it was Zack's baby that
Max carried. But he'd helped her, all the same.

And, besides. Even if he were a threat to Zack…Zack was soon learning that the biggest threat to his own
happiness…was himself.

There was silence for a moment. In that silence, while Zack studied his rival, Logan did the same.

He had to admit that he was surprised; and that surprise took a bit of the heat out of his anger at the X5. He
was surprised that he'd never noticed certain things before. He'd always realized that Zack was young, like
all of the X5s. But he'd never noticed how young he really looked until that moment. He looked confused,
too. Imagine that? The great and powerful Zack, scared and confused…scared? Yeah, there was a little of
that. For the first time he could remember, Logan detected uncertainty in the other man. Max did that, he
knew. Max broke through all those ironclad defenses of Zack's, and made the guy *feel* for once. For the
first time, Logan didn't focus all his thoughts on what being with Zack might mean for Max. Now he
thought about what Max's being with Zack might mean for *Zack*.

These were some strong revelations, for both of them. Zack was realizing he didn't hate Logan. And
Logan was realizing that maybe Max wasn't the only X5 who needed someone in their lives. Despite all
his posturing, maybe Zack needed her, too. On some level, Logan had probably always known this. It had
just been easier convincing himself otherwise.

And one meeting and a couple of surprising insights weren't going to suddenly erase all the tension that
had been there between the two men in the past.

Still, Logan had told himself this was what he wanted, right? He wanted Max to have a life with Zack, if
that was what she wanted and if Zack was up to building one with her. Zack was here. That was one step
in the right direction.

"She's on the roof," Logan finally spoke. Then he turned, going back to the files he'd been studying.

After a moment, Zack nodded. But before he left, Logan's voice stopped him.

"It's not always easy... doing the right thing…" he said. He didn't know if he was talking to himself, or
Zack. Maybe both.

Then he turned to the other man again.

"Don't let me regret this," he told Zack simply.

They stared at one another.

"I won't," Zack replied.

Then he headed for the roof.