Disclaimer : same as always
A/N Forgive me if the medical stuff is off. I've tried to make it somewhat possible but this virus is so stupid to start with that it makes a reasonable solution almost impossible.
Three days later Max was standing at her locker at Jam Pony chatting with Cindy when her new cell phone went off.
"Whoa Boo when did you get that?" Cindy asked as she pulled it out of her pocket and snapped open the cover.
"Logan gave it to me after we had some problems hooking up." Max brought the phone to her ear ignoring Cindy's look. "Hey what's up? Wow. So fast? Yeah I can get away Meet you there." She closed the phone and slipped it into her pocket. "Hey Normal, got any deliveries in Sector 5?"
Cindy just watched as Max strode over to the front desk She had a pretty good idea what was up and only hoped that this time things would work out. She knew the strain Max was under and it was her considered opinion that her home girl needed to get this virus bitch gone so she could get herself some lovin' from her man. Cindy believed everyone needed hugs on a daily basis, Max more than most Cindy had done what she could but Max was hurting for Logan. Maybe they never had gotten very far with the physical side of things but she would bet there had been plenty of small, unnoticed touches that had given her girl strength in the past.
Max retrieved a package from Normal and was heading out when Cindy caught up to her. "'m I gonna see you later or are you going to be busy?" she questioned. Max looked at her blankly for a moment then smiled
"God, I don't know. Cindy I'm scared. " Cindy reached out and hugged her.
"Don't be. If this thing works out you take the time you need, to be where you need to be. 'ts about time for you two. Forget the rest of the shit goin' down – you spend the time you need with your boy and you do what the two of you been wantin' to do forever. And don't you give me any crap about not being like that or I'll lay the smackdown on you." Max hugged Cindy back and was gone.
* * * * *
Thirty minutes later she and Logan were standing with Sebastian looking at a small vial on his desk.
"That's it?" Logan asked.
"That's it, Logan. My techs took the notes you gave us from Dr Mendoza and used them to reengineer the virus in Max's bloodstream. They created a new virus that should be completely harmless to anything except the existing virus in Max. When we inject her the new virus should attack the old one. We estimate about 6 hours should do the trick. "Are you sure?" Max asked softly.
"It worked on the virus in your blood sample. No reason to think it won't work on you."
Max and Logan exchanged looks.
"Let's do it then." Max reached for the vial.
"There is one thing. Your enhanced immune system is extremely effective. When we inject this your body may see it as an attack and may react." "How?" demanded Logan.
"There's a chance Max could run an extremely high fever, possibly dangerously high as the new virus replicates and destroys the old. We have to let it happen in order to be sure to destroy all of the old virus. The most we'll be able to do for her if it happens is use ice to cool her down."
"No." Logan exclaimed. "We're not risking her life." Max just looked at him. "Logan, it's the only way. I'm not living the rest of my life not being able to touch you, not if there's a chance this will work." Her voice was determined. "I lived through a heart transplant and Renfro's tortures. I can make it past a little fever." "Max." Logan stopped as she just looked at him.
"Logan, I have a doctor here. She'll be monitored and taken care of. It may not even happen. Max is strong. I think she can do this." Sebastian added his voice to that of Max's.
"Can you give us a minute?" Logan asked. Sebastian nodded and left the two of them alone in the room.
"Logan I'm doing this."
"Max I don't want to live without you again. I can't live without you again." "Logan you won't have to. I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Logan stopped as she repeated to him the words he had given to her once before. He sighed. "I wish I could kiss you before you did this."
"When it's done I'll hold you to that." He nodded slowly and she went to the door to signal to Sebastian to come back in.
* * * *
Five hours later Logan sat in a room watching helplessly as Max thrashed weakly in a bath of ice. Two techs stood by to hold her down if need be but it was a measure of how weak she now was that they weren't needed. The fever Sebastian had feared had set in after 3 hours and had been steadily climbing. Max had been incoherent for the last 30 minutes and seemed to be rapidly weakening.
"Damn it isn't there anything you can do? She's dying." Logan burst out moving towards Max.
"She's strong Logan. She hasn't lost consciousness which is a good sign. In another 40 minutes we can give her something to reduce the fever." Sebastian spoke calmly. "Why can't you give it to her now?"
"We could but the virus might not be completely destroyed if we do."
"I can't lose her Sebastian."
"I know Logan." Sebastian was silent for a moment then pressed a button on his headset with his chin, summoning a technician. He spoke to her softly for a moment then the technician walked to Logan and asked him to come with her for a moment. Logan balked but then reluctantly followed her out of the room at Sebastian's look. She brought him to a cabinet which she opened and after looking at his hands a moment pulled out a pair of elbow length surgical gloves.
"Please roll up your sleeves and hold out your arms." she instructed. Logan complied as he realized what Sebastian had in mind. The technician expertly put the gloves on him and then smiling indicated he should return to Max's room. The techs were gone leaving him alone with Max. Sebastian had had a chair brought in while Logan was absent and it was positioned next to Max's head. Logan quickly went to it and sat down noting as he d did so that Max seemed weaker than she had minutes earlier. "Max." he reached out and began to stroke her forehead, remembering as he did so another time she had lain on his couch weak from her seizures and he had sat by her side. She murmured weakly but her eyes were closed. "I'm here Max. I promised I wouldn't leave and I won't. But you promised too and you have to keep that promise. You can't leave me." Max still showed no signs of hearing him and he could feel the heat from her fever through the thin surgical gloves. "Max you wouldn't let me leave, that time I had the surgery. You came to me and gave me your blood and you told me if I died you'd kick my ass. You danced with me Max. We shared that dream together."
He paused then began again "You told me my walking didn't matter to you and I finally believed you. You told me I was your family and you took me up on the Needle with you. You left me Max but I never believed you were really gone and then you came back. I can't believe you came back just to leave me again. I need you Max." The last was almost a sob and tears were running down his face. He sat there silently for a moment continuing to stroke her forehead. Glancing at his watch he noted that there were still 20 minutes left before they could give her anything to fight the fever. Taking a breath he continued to speak to her, reminding her of the times they had shared together. As he spoke he reached out and took her right hand in his as he continued to stroke her forehead and ran his fingers around the outline of her face. She had quieted but she seemed more relaxed, and her fever seemed to be slightly less. Logan lost all sense of time as he sat there with her willing her to be okay.
"Logan. We can give her some medication now." Sebastian had returned with the doctor. Moving to the far side of the bed he reached down and pulling Max's left arm out straight injected her with a clear liquid.
"Will she be okay Sebastian?"
The doctor spoke for the first time. "Her fever seems to be dropping a little on its own.
This will help bring it down more quickly. She should come out of it in about 20 minutes. If she doesn't then we have a problem." Logan nodded, and as Sebastian and the doctor left the room, went back to talking to Max, reassuring her and himself that it would all be okay. He was running out of things to say and wanted nothing more than to just lean down and kiss her when he was startled to see her eyes open. "Logan?" Her voice was soft but there was sanity in her eyes and he felt a jolt of relief run through him. "Did it work Logan? Do we know?" He had forgotten all about the purpose behind her ordeal and her words brought it back in a rush. "I don't know, Max. I thought we were going to lose you and to be honest I forgot all about it. Let me get the doctor and Sebastian."
"While you're at it get someone in here to get me out of this ice." Max demanded. Logan quickly moved to the door and opening it caught the attention of the same technician who had given him the gloves. When she came over he gave her his request and she hurried off to attend to them. Shortly thereafter, Max was more comfortably settled and the doctor had drawn a blood sample from her arm. "Give him a little time to analyze it and see how it looks." Sebastian told them. "Can I get some food in the meantime? I'm starving." Max demanded already looking almost herself again. Sebastian nodded and instructed his technician to find something for Max. "I'm sorry we don't have much here, this isn't a hospital, it's more of a research facility. But we can find you something to take the edge off." Max smiled at him and then looked at Logan who continued to sit holding her hand. Their eyes met and exchanged messages as they waited impatiently to hear if the treatment had worked on Max.
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