TITLE: This Christmas

WRITTEN BY: Drea Jackman

EMAIL: DreaJackman@Literati.co.uk

RATING: G

SUMMARY: Logan invites Max to experience a truly old-fashioned Christmas when he asks her
to spend Christmas with him at his family cabin. What will the season of good will have in store?
(Much festive M/L 'shippery fluff)

DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters involved. They belong to Cameron/Eglee
Producions :(

ARCHIVE: If I've said yes before I'll say it again, otherwise email me 'n' lemme know.

FEEDBACK: Don't make me beg, please? ...D'OH!

A/N: Well peeps, that's a few other things off the shipper-fun list of things to have happen in this
fic. There's a few more choice things to come so I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Can't
tell I'm revelling in the Xmas spirit at all can you? I'm WAY excited this year...and I still don't
really know why. The bug's bitten and bitten hard, I finished this last night and also an Alec-fic
just for the sake of getting away from M/L once in a while. Hopefully I'll get posting soon.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
___________________________________________________________


"What?" Logan asked warily as he looked up at Max.

She'd stopped suddenly on their way back towards the cabin just at the opening to the clearing
that acted like the cabin's backyard. A slow grin spread across her features as she released the
tree she'd been pulling along with one hand while drawing the sled with the other. Logan could
only wonder what plan she was formulating at that very second, although he could guess right
away that it probably involved him.

Max didn't say a word in reply, only smiled openly and walked around behind him. The sled
itself was perched atop the slope heading down towards the cabin clearing, the snow lying thick
in it's wake. Logan jumped suddenly as he felt her gentle but firm grip on his shoulders and
craned his neck around to see what she was doing. Again Max only smiled the same playful
smile that always drove Logan wild.

"Didn't think you were gonna get to have all the fun did you?" she asked somewhat slyly.

Before Logan could respond he felt all the air leave his lungs as he followed by inhaling sharply
at the sudden burst of speed the sled was pushed into. Max took a few long, even strides and
set the sled in full motion, tearing down the slope before leaping onto the back gripping Logan's
shoulders for balance. Her knees settled neatly on either side of Logan as she virtually hugged
him from behind, maintaining their balance at top speed incredibly well.

"Max!" Logan's cry echoed back to her on the wind as they sent snow flying either side.

She didn't have time to respond verbally. Her face took on Logan's expression of sheer horror
as she too noticed the huge snow drift they were headed straight for. The rear of the cabin lay
facing in such a direction that the wind was able to carry snowfall around and lay it upside it,
creating an almighty drift. With no time to redirect, even for Max's enhanced reflexes, the sled
carried on it's merry way, gliding along until everything went white.

A collective impact could be heard in the soft 'Oomph!' that halted their movement.

Silence.

After a few long moments the snow began to shift slightly as Max began to pull herself out of the
drift. Finally clawing her way out she landed with a soft thump on her belly as she caught her
breath, features still betraying the same smile. Reaching in behind her she caught hold of
something and yanked on it, pulling it toward her. Slowly, the dark patch that had been almost
completely covered by the white powder came into view as Max pulled Logan by the collar up
alongside her.

Logan only stared blankly up at the starry heavens above, his expression equally as vacant.
Silence loomed around them before Max finally exploded into a fit of giggles. Before long Logan
had joined her, eventually holding his sides to try and contain the ache. Together they couldn't
remember when they'd felt so at ease and generally happy in anothers company.

"Well that was..." Logan said between chuckles of his own.

"Totally! The most..." Max chimed in as she rolled onto her back and stopped sharply, suddenly
feeling the lump beneath her shoulders.

She'd rolled over in Logan's general direction, but really she hadn't expected his arm to be
outstretched in hers. Without trying she'd rolled right into his arms, but it wasn't a place she
found herself eager to escape. There was a brief moment of silence as they both drew in much
needed oxygen.

"...fun," they both finished together.

More silence, not an uncomfortable one that begged to be filled with meaningless chatter for the
sake of it, but one of companionable ease and enjoyment. Max eventually, and reluctantly, was
the first to move. Sitting up she looked around them briefly and then looked down at Logan. He
looked in all honesty, like a big kid. Hair as disheveled in disarray as ever, the odd snowflake
caught in the scruff of his beard he looked up at her with an awe even he couldn't hide.

Looking up at Max was like looking up, really seeing his angel for the first time. Her hair was
tainted here and there by trespassing flakes of delicate snow and hung loosely around her face.
Her dark hair was bearly distinguishable from the overhead sky, the sparkling, starry diamonds
above framing her beautiful form for him alone. Lips were full and curved into the most delicious
of smiles, the likes of which Logan was sure he'd never seen of her before.

"Wow," Logan breathed bearly an audible whisper beneath his breath.

"Yeah, wow," Max echoed as she leaned over him as he lay flat out in the snow.

After a few more moments of gazing blissfully, the rising tension began to take hold and the pair
shifted against it with only the intention of easing it for the other in mind. Logan himself knew
what he'd wanted to tell Max, probably since the first day he'd met her, he'd known what he
longed for between them.

But, as with all things, he was cautious, never wanting to scare her away or push her before she
was ready. Unknown to him, Max had similar issues with herself. She was finding it more and
more difficult herself to find reasons to make the 'we're not like that' excuse work as she felt his
warm breath on her lips. She wasn't even sure she wanted to make it work anymore. The mild
breeze sent chills through them both as snow began to fall gently around them in light waves,
breaking the moment.

"Suppose we'd better go inside," Logan breathed beginning to pull himself upright in the snowy
bed he'd managed to settle in.

"I'll get the tree," Max suggested as she stood quickly and walked off back up the slope towards
tree following their sled tracks all the way.

Logan was in the slow process of pulling the sled back out of the drift when he felt a sudden
hard impact on his upper back, the snow rushing down his neck where his scarf had come
undone. Shivering he turned quickly to face the direction of his sudden attack. The tree was
half way down the slope, but Max was nowhere to be found.

Puzzled, Logan scanned the area suspiciously as he leaned on the sled by his side. "Max?"

No reply. No movement whatsoever, only the gentle sound of the breeze blowing through the
branches all around as the snow continued to fall calmly about him.

"Ma...OOOPH!" Logan's second cry was cut off by an abrupt impact to the upper chest, knocking
the wind out of him.

Quickly dusting himself off he realised that it was a fully fledged ambush and he'd better do
something to defend himself. Flipping the sled up onto it's side Logan leaned over and used all
his upper body strength to dig it into the side of the snow drift. Now effectively covered on at
least three sides Logan took cover behind the solid body of the sled and peeked out to scan the
area once more.

"This means war, you know that right?" he called out blindly to the clearing. While making his
war declaration Logan had already begun to gather huge handfuls of snow, shaping and
moulding them into his weapons of assault.

"Defend yourself then soldier!" came the military-esque reply, giving Logan a fix on her general
location.

"Whatever you say," he whispered to himself as he launched his first wave of attack at the fallen
Christmas tree to be.

The snowballs all landed within the same region of the tree, breaking off it's thick branches and
exploding into a white haze of glittering dust. Max crouched behind the tree and shuddered as
the softest of the snow dusted her from above in thick clouds, sticking to every inch of her
exposed skin.

"Gotta do better than that Cale!"

Another round exploded off the back of the sled on which Logan leaned behind. Ducking
suddenly he was coated in the same fine powdery mist that chilled to the bone. Shaking his
head to work off the worst of the attack he launched his second wave, again covering her in
snow.

Max couldn't repress a giggle at the fun she was having. As a child she'd never known what it
was like to experience Christmas, let alone the pleasures of just playing. The care free air it
brought warmed her to her very core even as the snow around tried to cool it. Finally having had
enough of the hidden attacks she leapt out from behind the tree and gathered up her ammunition
for her next attack quickly.

"How 'bout this?" he asked as another two snowballs shot over her head, the last finally
connecting with her right knee.

Ducking suddenly she retaliated with practiced ease. "Not bad, but I got moves you haven't
even seen yet."

Logan attacked again, this time all three shots connecting one after the other with their target.

"Ow, hey!" she grumbled, falling ungracefully into the snow. Grappling quickly she hurried to
replenish her diminished supply of ammo. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"I owed you, remember?" came the distant reply.

As another volley of projectiles impacted the sled Logan laughed and pulled himself up into a
crouched position behind it, preparing his final assault. While Max was busy thinking about
reloading he finally saw his chance. Pushing the sled over forwards it fell flat in front of him.
Throwing himself on his side Logan quickly took up the remaining three snowballs he had and
launched them one by one at the now vulnerable Max. As they all hit home, the last of which
exploding off her arm raised to shield her face, it coated her face in thick snow, the flakes
hanging heavy in her hair.

"I surrender!" she quipped, raising her hands and beginning to stand up. "Consider me a willing
P.O.W."

Logan chuckled to himself again and shifted himself over to sit on the sled again, his motionless
legs lay outstretched before him. "Willing? Would that be because you've heard how well fed
my prisoners usually are?"

Max looked back over her shoulder with a slight smile as she pulled their Christmas tree the rest
of the way down the slope and set it by the door of the cabin. Turning back she went to Logan
looked down as if in askance. Breathing an airy sigh he nodded and no sooner had he done so
than he found himself in her arms again, the standard fireman's life to carry him inside over the
uneven snow disregarding the sled.

Once inside Max set him down gently in his chair and spent no time in coddling. Instead she left
the cabin again to go shake the snow out of the tree before bringing it inside and setting it in the
stand Logan had prepared before they'd left. Shivering very slightly she shrugged out of her
jacket and walked towards the coat rack by the front door. Passing Logan on the way she
grabbed his from him and hung them up to dry.

When she returned Max found Logan over by the fireplace, a now roaring fire awaiting them in
the hearth. Stretching she stood at the opposing end of the hearth and watched the flames in
their hypnotising dance. Logan was already picking the melting bits of snow out of his hair and
with one final move, ruffled it up into damp spikes again.

"I can't remember when I've had so much fun," he said sounding almost reflective.

"Neither can I," Max's tone spoke volumes of her underlying honesty. How could a child of
Manticore have ever experienced such things.

The atmosphere around them was once again filled with the delightful silence of companionship,
with the same underlying tension of wanting more threatening to break through. Max finally knelt
down before the fire and began to warm her hands over the hearth. Logan's chair was right
behind her, so he couldn't deny the request that was forming in his mind.

"Here," he breathed, a silent whisper-soft breath breaking over her neck from behind.

It was followed by the tentative touch of fingertips on either side of her neck, reaching around to
scoop up her hair and drawn it back behind her shoulders, hanging loosely down her back. At
any other time Max would probably have felt the tension almost immediately and pulled away
from such intimate contact, but tonight felt different. As Logan continued to gently pick the
snowflakes from her drying hair he smoothed it back softly, the velvet strands sliding between
his fingers and setting alight a fire within him.

They sat like that for a while, just enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, the intimate contact and the
pleasurable company. Only when Logan's stomach finally made it's discontent known audibly
did he slide his hands from her soft hair and rub his stomach lightly. Max turned to look up at
him, laying one arm over his unfeeling legs as she rested her chin on her forearm.

"Guess it's time to whip up that dinner huh?" he said sheepishly with a grin.

* * *

Dinner was amazing. Logan had managed to successfully outdo himself completely and Max
had joked about how on earth he was going to manage to top it with the Christmas dinner itself.
Logan had only smiled one of his reassuringly knowing smiles and told her to be patient and all
would be revealed in time.

By the time desert was done they'd ended up in front of the fire, Max curled up in the corner
nearest the fire on one sofa, Logan similarly on the other opposite. The wine bottle on the small
coffee table between them was about three quarters empty and both sipped from their glasses
completely enjoying their evening.

Discussion over dinner had managed to cover how traditional Christmas' worked in most
countries, a topic which Max found strangely interesting given her age and experience. Logan's
childhood memories of the season had also been covered, something Max also found pleasing
because she was keenly aware that no other person was likely to hear the same tales from him.
She'd went over some of the things the kids would do at Manticore when they weren't supervised
around that time of year, not that they'd really had any idea what the holiday was supposed to be
able. Most of their information had come from Ben and now she knew the doubt in what he'd
been so eager to believe in himself as a child.

Yawning Logan glanced up at the clock above the fireplace and set his wine glass down on the
table beside the bottle.

"Tired?" Max asked, already knowing the answer from Logan's bleary-eyed appearance.

"Not at all," he said, most unconvincing with his exhausted tone.

"Me neither,"

Max's reply was as soft as his as she too stretched out her tired arms. Usually she'd think
nothing of the kind of exercise the day had brought, but she had to chalk it up to the complete,
new experience of the trip taking a little more out of her. In all honesty she'd never been as
excited about something she'd always considered to be a poor excuse for a commercial holiday.
Logan really was managing to show her the season in a whole new light.

Standing up she took the empty wine glasses and bottle back to the kitchen and set them on the
counter top. When she returned to the living room area Logan had already transferred over to
his chair and was negotiating his way around the back of the sofa, coordination not his strong
suit when visibly tired. Trapsing off towards the other side of the cabin Max was aware of
Logan's presence behind her all the way towards the spot where their room doors lay opposite.

Stopping in the doorway she leaned against the frame and watched him back into his room
slightly before stopping to smile up at her.

"Thanks,"

"For what?" Max asked somewhat confused.

"For a lovely evening. I really don't think I've had as much fun,"

"I should be thanking you for that. I may even understand this season yet,"

"Hmm," he nodded, thinking for a moment before looking back to her. "You're welcome."

"You too," Max replied, a soft smile playing on her lips.

"G'night Max," Logan breathed as he tightened his grip on the rims by his sides, gently sliding
back in his doorway into the room behind.

"Night Logan."

With that both room doors closed slowly and quietly on the silent space between them as they
settled into bed and prepared for what Christmas Eve had in store.