A/N: Folks, here's the deal. I'm sorry it's been so long between chapters, but unfortunately, unless someone does something pretty fast on Dark Angel to completely reverse the damage they've inflicted this year, it'll probably keep taking this long. I love Max and Logan, I'll always love Max and Logan, but I'm slowly losing my will to keep hanging onto a relationship I'm beginning to think is going to go nowhere until five seconds before the show is cancelled.
Out of respect for the freak I'd end up doing if that turns out to be the case, I talked myself into looking for a different program to obsess upon, even for just a few months until I knew whether or not Dark Angel would make it back next year, but I picked a show that was just too good for my own good. My muse has turned tail and run from Dark Angel, and although she's suspended between worlds at the moment, she's itching to begin writing for Farscape. I've never had the ability to balance between two programs, in my world it's all or nothing, and even as completely frelled up as John and Aeryn are, they're becoming my all right now. Regardless of what Aeryn has to say, regardless of what is going on with her body right now, I know she's completely incapable of staying away from John for long, and for once in the history of television, a completely heartbreaking season finale wasn't able to rip away my determination that this relationship will, one day, work.
Now, even before walking head on into Farscape obsession land, I had been planning on retiring from Dark Angel fiction, at least until if/when next season begins to air. Fight or Flight was supposed to be my final Dark Angel fiction, but my muse has been taking beatings too hard lately, and with John and Aeryn occupying my heart and mind, she has been refusing to concentrate on Logan and Max. I will, however, finish Fight or Flight, whether that means one chapter a week, a month, or every other month, but I will finish it. All I can say is that this Friday night I watched Dark Angel, but sat here and did not tape it, and that's when I know for sure that a show is two steps to dead for me.
I'm not planning on giving up Dark Angel entirely, if Cameron can turn it around and it survives this season into next, I'll be waiting with bells on to re-establish my hold on Max and Logan. For now, I will watch it through to completion this season, but once Fight or Flight is finished, that'll be pretty much it for writing until I can get back into the show.
Anyway, thanks for the fun. I hadn't been planning on telling you all this until the last chapter, but considering the length of time it's taken between chapters, I felt like I owed you all an explanation. So, I hope you'll all forgive me. It's been quite the run for me here, and I've made a lot of friends via ff.net that I never would have met otherwise, and I am grateful for the experience.
Fly safe, folks.
Dani
P.S. This part had been planned out long before Borrowed Time, so in the world of Fight of Flight, I'd say nothing since Berrisford Agenda has happened.
Fight or Flight
Part Eight: Pressure
By: Danae Bowen
Email: logansfox@rogers.com
"Max?"
Leaving open the refrigerator door, Logan spun around and rushed back to the living room. Images of Max seizing on the floor rushed unbidden to his mind, along with old memories of holding her body while she shivered and died. His heart leapt into his throat as he entered the living room and took a deep breath.
"Max?"
She looked up in silence, flashes of gold illuminated in the candlelight as the chain he'd given her dangled between her fingers. The box the necklace had come in lay forgotten between her feet, the note Logan had left inside dangling precariously from the coffee table.
"Max?" Logan repeated, searching her eyes for any sign of life.
"I think I broke it." She held up the chain so that Logan could see the delicate half heart suspended by the tiny golden links.
He looked at her in confusion for a moment before he began to chuckle softly. "Someone needs to teach you to read the cards gifts come with before jumping to conclusions, Max."
She smiled at him uncertainly as he moved towards her, rescuing his note and handing it to her before sitting next to her on the sofa. She shifted away from him slightly, causing him to blink twice rapidly to mask his hurt before he returned her small smile.
"The necklace comes in two pieces, Max. Two chains with half of the same heart dangling on each. When you put the two pieces together, they form a complete heart. Kids used to give them to their best friends before the pulse as a sign of affection. This one, however, I found at the market. Obviously, someone had taken the children's idea and made it into something more mature." She eyed the heart carefully, and he shook his head. "Yes, it's real gold."
Max narrowed her eyes as she met his teasing gaze and shook her head. "So where's the other half?"
He shrugged. "Here, waiting for you to bring home it's match."
She instantly dropped her eyes to the floor, a low blush creeping up over her cheeks as she tightened her grip on the small chain. She swallowed hard, concentrating on slowing the beat of her now pounding heart, and with a sharp movement got to her feet. She put distance between herself and Logan as she moved to the window and then looked back. "It's sweet. Thank you."
The one thing Logan wasn't, usually, is stupid. He heard the gigantic "but" at the end of her sentence, but when she didn't expand, he didn't press. He also didn't move to stop her when Max flashed him one of her nervous smiles and her eyes flickered to his door. He cocked his head to the side.
"You have some place else to be?"
She shrugged quickly. "Yeah, I guess. I'm supposed to run over to Joshua's with food and I don't want him trippin' if I'm not there on time, y'know?"
"I understand. If it isn't too much to ask, though, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop by this evening for dinner. I have something else for you, and I'm pretty sure this is something you'd want to see."
Max searched his eyes for a brief moment, frowning as she desperately tried to find any sign of what he had up his sleeve, but when nothing beyond calm greeted her in return, she shrugged one final time. "Yeah, I'll be here. Probably be a little late, but I'll be here."
He smiled softly as she moved to the door and disappeared out into the hallway. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, moving to the drawer in which he placed the remaining box, Max's final present. "I'll be waiting, Max."
*******
Max paced Joshua's house silently. Her friend watched her, wisely not commenting, but rather keeping her in the corner of his eye as he added brilliant spots of color to his latest artwork. Max paused at the desk she'd stored in front of Joshua #2, and slipped into the chair he'd left waiting for her. Somehow staring at the sometimes illegible scrawl they'd managed to unbury from the paint relaxed Max, and today she could use all the relaxation techniques she could find.
Joshua glanced down at Max after another hour passed in silence, and she'd not yet begun to write down the calculations she always seemed to find deep within the scribblings on his painting. He approached her carefully, resting a hand on her shoulder as she stared off into her own inner thoughts. "Max?"
Max looked up at him and smiled softly, covering his hand with her own as she glanced back at the painting. "Hey, big fella. S'up?"
"Max unhappy?"
She shrugged softly. "Nothing new."
"Virus bitch's fault?"
She met his honestly concerned expression and sighed. "In a way, I guess. It's always there, always making things hard. I dunno what my problem is, big guy, sorry to be such a downer."
Joshua smiled softly, and stroked Max's head before moving back to his painting. "Max not a downer. Confused. Sad. Need a friend, not a downer. Max wanna talk, come see Joshua. Max wanna feel better, go see Logan."
"Been there, done that. Just made things worse."
"See Logan and act, not think." He walked back to her and tapped her head softly. "Too much in Max's brain, too much to think and do." He moved his hand to tap her chest, over her heart. "Max gotta feel, no worries."
"There are always worries, Joshua."
"Always time, li'l fella."
Max laughed, but it was a bitter sound as she got to her feet and wrapped her arms around her large friend. "Sometimes I think time is the problem, big fella. There's too much time, not time enough, not the right time, time interrupted. And you know what? It's never on my side."
"Sorry."
"For what? Being a good friend? Nah, Joshua, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm not a better person to hang around with tonight, so I'm gonna blaze. Take it easy." She moved away from his embrace and walked out of the house, not looking back at the sad eyes that followed her.
"Pretty whack."
Joshua shook his head and picked up a fresh canvass, beginning a darker, more violent painting than the colorful one he'd set aside.
*******
When Max returned to Logan's penthouse only hours later, she walked inside without hesitation, smoothing her hair back as she brought a smile to her face.
"Hey!" She cringed briefly, hearing the forced tones in her seemingly carefree greeting, however, Logan's head popping out of the kitchen and the smile on his face told her that her charade had been accepted.
"Hey, yourself. Thought you were going to be late."
"Yeah, well, the big guy didn't need me, and Cindy's on 'til last run tonight, so I figured, what the hell, free food."
Logan gave her a knowing smile, and nodded towards the living room. "Thanks for the vote of confidence." He didn't miss the flash of gold that shone on her chest as she passed him by. "So, you like it then?"
"Hmm?" She turned and glanced at him in confusion.
He shrugged. "You're wearing the necklace, so I take it you like it."
Max nodded and cast her eyes downward even as her hand rose to cover the half heart. "Yeah."
Logan chuckled as he disappeared back into the kitchen. Max's quiet acceptance of the necklace meant more to him than if she'd gone all girly and gushed about it. It's the way Max is, the way she was raised, and something he'd come to accept and love about her. Sometimes, when things were important to her, Max's silence spoke louder than any words ever could.
Satisfied that dinner was nearly finished, Logan left the oven on low and returned to the living room. "So."
She looked up and smiled. "What?"
He shrugged. "You want your next gift, or should I feed you first?"
Max laughed quietly, and leaned back against the arm of the sofa, curling her legs up underneath of her. "Hmm... food or presents? I actually have to choose?" She winked at him, and held out her hand. "Gimme."
"Your wish is my command." His shoulders shook with muted laughter as he moved to the drawer. A larger box had replaced the smaller box now, and he paused as he stared at it, his laughter diminishing as he was suddenly overwhelmed with indecision. He closed his eyes and concentrated on slowing his heartbeat, swallowing hard. When he felt calm enough to face her, he turned, handing the box to Max, his eyes sparkling brilliantly. Max's eyebrow rose as she noticed his suddenly intense expression, and she glanced at him with confused curiosity. "Go on," he said, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. "Open it."
"Okay, you're being too weird about this, what's going on?" She left the present unopened as she met his eyes.
"Just open it. You'll understand."
"Logan..."
He groaned, running his hands through his hair. He thought he had himself under control, but actually handing the box to Max set his heart pounding rapidly, and suddenly he wasn't so sure that the last week had been an entirely good thing. He considered snatching the box away before she looked inside and just telling her about the cure, but his heart overruled his rational mind. He'd spent a week showing Max how much she meant to him, hoping that through his actions she'd understand that he'd always loved her, before the virus, during it, and, if she'd give him the chance, now that it's gone. He just really needed her to open the box so they could begin to move on.
"Please, Max?"
She watched him quietly for a brief moment before sliding the top off the box. It didn't escape her attention that this was the only present Logan hadn't wrapped, but that meant very little to her; the fact he'd gone out of his way, yet again, to give her something meant everything. She frowned as she stared into the box, picking up the thin rolled piece of paper, surrounded by a tiny golden ring.
"Uh, Logan?"
He swallowed hard, his fingers clutching at his pant legs as he moved. "Listen, I gotta get out of the exo." Slowly the panic began to rise in his chest. "I'll be back in a minute, uh, if you want you can start reading that paper. It's pretty, uh, self explanatory."
She watched him in deep confusion as he rushed out of the room, her sensitive hearing picking up his movements as he removed the exoskeleton and shifted into his wheelchair. While he made his way around his bedroom, setting the exo onto its stand, Max pulled the leaf of paper out of the small ring. Her heart slowed down slowly as she realized the ring was not an engagement ring, but rather something similar. The ring was gold, forming the shape of two connecting hearts with a small diamond resting in the center of each. She slipped it onto her ring finger, holding out her hand to admire the sight of the beautiful ring against the golden tone of her flesh. She smiled softly, flexing her fingers and watching it sparkle.
She looked up as Logan wheeled back into the room, her smile brilliant as she met his entrance with a loving gaze. "It's beautiful, Logan."
He nodded quietly, wheeling closer to her. "Do you know what it is?" When she shrugged and looked at him blankly, he sighed and shook his head. "Manticore knew nothing about love, did it? It's a promise ring."
"A promise ring?"
He nodded, swallowed, and took a deep breath. "I love you, Max." He nodded towards the ring. "I have always loved you, and that ring is my promise to you that I always will love you."
Max's eyes filled with tears that she rapidly blinked back, and she ran her hands over her legs, momentarily forgetting about the paper that she'd set back into the box. "Logan, I..."
"Just accept it, Max. Wear it on your hand, or don't, but please, just keep it."
"There's just so much to think about... the virus..."
He blinked twice, and sighed. "It's not an engagement ring, somehow I figured you'd walk out that door and never come back if I asked you to marry me tonight." He forced a smile to his face, and grinned as Max blushed quietly. "And as for the virus, I need you to read the paper that was wrapped in the ring. You'll get the gist better than I can explain it if you just do that."
Max frowned but didn't hesitate as she leaned down and picked up the curled paper. Logan found that his breath stalled in his chest as her eyes moved rapidly across the paper, quickly absorbing the large amount of information contained on the single page. Slowly, she glanced up at him, her eyes filled with the fear of understanding. "Does this... does this say what I think it says?"
He nodded silently, his voice strained as he forced air into his lungs. "If you think it's telling you that the virus is gone, then yes."
"Gone? For good gone?"
"For good gone."
"How? Wait, forget it, I don't care how! This can't be real!"
"Trust me, Max, this is as real as it gets."
The smile that crossed her face in that instant made Logan's heart stop beating entirely. Every last fear melted away from him as her eyes began to glow with a happiness he hadn't seen in her since she'd returned from Manticore. For a single moment, Logan's life was perfect, and he inched the wheelchair towards her, setting his brakes only a few feet away from where she sat.
Unable to believe that the virus was truly gone, Max lowered her eyes back to the paper in her hands, reading over and over the final test results that cleared them of the latest bitch to ruin her life. It was the fifth or sixth time she read the results when she caught sight of the date of the report.
Logan didn't miss the change in Max's demeanor, her shoulders suddenly stiffening as her eyebrows drew close together and the paper began to tear in her grip. "Max? What is it?"
When she looked up, all the excitement that had filled her gaze a moment before was gone, and instead Logan looked into cold darkness. "How long have you known about this?"
He swallowed hard, his fear coming back in full force. He thought about telling her that the papers had come in the mail that day, but his conscience kept him from being able to lie. He met her gaze dead on as he curled his fists against his legs and braced himself. "Several days."
Her eyes were dead cold as she climbed to her feet, and before Logan could fully comprehend what she was doing, she was standing over him and her ring was resting on top of his dead legs. "You son of a bitch." Her words were calm, but Logan was unable to miss the sheer destruction in her tone.
"Max..."
"Shut up." Her tone never changed, and very slowly Max leaned down, resting her hands on the back of the wheelchair, one on each side of Logan's body. Her breath burned across his face, and he resisted the urge to draw back from the cold fury that burned within her. "I used to think you were different, Logan. I believed OC when she convinced me that you weren't like other guys. I believed her when she told me that you didn't just think with your balls."
"I didn't mean to..."
"Didn't mean to what, Logan? Make me feel like a slut? 'Cause that's what you did. Virus is gone, so let's see how much you can screw with my heart before screwing me? I'm fucking safe now, so what, you spend a little money and I'm a sure lay?" She stopped for a moment, blinking back the sudden hurt that flashed in her eyes. "You know, for a minute there I actually believed you when you said you loved me. Goes to show you that even genetically engineered killing machines can make mistakes."
Logan winced in pain, forcing himself to hold her gaze, pleading with her silently to see the truth in his eyes. "Max, you have to calm down. Just let me explain, please!"
Max moved then, pushing him away as she turned towards the door, forgetting in her hurt and anger that his brakes were set and she was stronger than the average human. The sound of his cry as the chair slid out from under him and the thump as Logan hit the floor made her turn. For a single instant she moved towards him, the need to help him overwhelming her anger, but in the next instant the hurt came flooding back, and she shook her head.
She turned back towards the door, opening it, pausing one last time. "Hey, at least I know I have some place to come when I'm in heat."
"Max!"
"Goodbye, Logan."
His eyes closed as the door snapped shut behind her, and pain filled his features. When he opened his eyes again, he forced himself into a somewhat upright position, and his fingers closed around the tiny golden ring that had fallen beside him. He sat there for a moment, his heart heavy, staring at the door as if sheer will alone would make Max realize she'd over reacted and come back to him, but when five minutes passed, then ten more, and Max never reappeared, Logan realized how badly he'd screwed things up this time.
He raised a hand to his head, running his fingers through his hair as he ground his teeth together in frustration.
"Well, shit."
End Part Eight
Out of respect for the freak I'd end up doing if that turns out to be the case, I talked myself into looking for a different program to obsess upon, even for just a few months until I knew whether or not Dark Angel would make it back next year, but I picked a show that was just too good for my own good. My muse has turned tail and run from Dark Angel, and although she's suspended between worlds at the moment, she's itching to begin writing for Farscape. I've never had the ability to balance between two programs, in my world it's all or nothing, and even as completely frelled up as John and Aeryn are, they're becoming my all right now. Regardless of what Aeryn has to say, regardless of what is going on with her body right now, I know she's completely incapable of staying away from John for long, and for once in the history of television, a completely heartbreaking season finale wasn't able to rip away my determination that this relationship will, one day, work.
Now, even before walking head on into Farscape obsession land, I had been planning on retiring from Dark Angel fiction, at least until if/when next season begins to air. Fight or Flight was supposed to be my final Dark Angel fiction, but my muse has been taking beatings too hard lately, and with John and Aeryn occupying my heart and mind, she has been refusing to concentrate on Logan and Max. I will, however, finish Fight or Flight, whether that means one chapter a week, a month, or every other month, but I will finish it. All I can say is that this Friday night I watched Dark Angel, but sat here and did not tape it, and that's when I know for sure that a show is two steps to dead for me.
I'm not planning on giving up Dark Angel entirely, if Cameron can turn it around and it survives this season into next, I'll be waiting with bells on to re-establish my hold on Max and Logan. For now, I will watch it through to completion this season, but once Fight or Flight is finished, that'll be pretty much it for writing until I can get back into the show.
Anyway, thanks for the fun. I hadn't been planning on telling you all this until the last chapter, but considering the length of time it's taken between chapters, I felt like I owed you all an explanation. So, I hope you'll all forgive me. It's been quite the run for me here, and I've made a lot of friends via ff.net that I never would have met otherwise, and I am grateful for the experience.
Fly safe, folks.
Dani
P.S. This part had been planned out long before Borrowed Time, so in the world of Fight of Flight, I'd say nothing since Berrisford Agenda has happened.
Fight or Flight
Part Eight: Pressure
By: Danae Bowen
Email: logansfox@rogers.com
"Max?"
Leaving open the refrigerator door, Logan spun around and rushed back to the living room. Images of Max seizing on the floor rushed unbidden to his mind, along with old memories of holding her body while she shivered and died. His heart leapt into his throat as he entered the living room and took a deep breath.
"Max?"
She looked up in silence, flashes of gold illuminated in the candlelight as the chain he'd given her dangled between her fingers. The box the necklace had come in lay forgotten between her feet, the note Logan had left inside dangling precariously from the coffee table.
"Max?" Logan repeated, searching her eyes for any sign of life.
"I think I broke it." She held up the chain so that Logan could see the delicate half heart suspended by the tiny golden links.
He looked at her in confusion for a moment before he began to chuckle softly. "Someone needs to teach you to read the cards gifts come with before jumping to conclusions, Max."
She smiled at him uncertainly as he moved towards her, rescuing his note and handing it to her before sitting next to her on the sofa. She shifted away from him slightly, causing him to blink twice rapidly to mask his hurt before he returned her small smile.
"The necklace comes in two pieces, Max. Two chains with half of the same heart dangling on each. When you put the two pieces together, they form a complete heart. Kids used to give them to their best friends before the pulse as a sign of affection. This one, however, I found at the market. Obviously, someone had taken the children's idea and made it into something more mature." She eyed the heart carefully, and he shook his head. "Yes, it's real gold."
Max narrowed her eyes as she met his teasing gaze and shook her head. "So where's the other half?"
He shrugged. "Here, waiting for you to bring home it's match."
She instantly dropped her eyes to the floor, a low blush creeping up over her cheeks as she tightened her grip on the small chain. She swallowed hard, concentrating on slowing the beat of her now pounding heart, and with a sharp movement got to her feet. She put distance between herself and Logan as she moved to the window and then looked back. "It's sweet. Thank you."
The one thing Logan wasn't, usually, is stupid. He heard the gigantic "but" at the end of her sentence, but when she didn't expand, he didn't press. He also didn't move to stop her when Max flashed him one of her nervous smiles and her eyes flickered to his door. He cocked his head to the side.
"You have some place else to be?"
She shrugged quickly. "Yeah, I guess. I'm supposed to run over to Joshua's with food and I don't want him trippin' if I'm not there on time, y'know?"
"I understand. If it isn't too much to ask, though, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop by this evening for dinner. I have something else for you, and I'm pretty sure this is something you'd want to see."
Max searched his eyes for a brief moment, frowning as she desperately tried to find any sign of what he had up his sleeve, but when nothing beyond calm greeted her in return, she shrugged one final time. "Yeah, I'll be here. Probably be a little late, but I'll be here."
He smiled softly as she moved to the door and disappeared out into the hallway. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, moving to the drawer in which he placed the remaining box, Max's final present. "I'll be waiting, Max."
*******
Max paced Joshua's house silently. Her friend watched her, wisely not commenting, but rather keeping her in the corner of his eye as he added brilliant spots of color to his latest artwork. Max paused at the desk she'd stored in front of Joshua #2, and slipped into the chair he'd left waiting for her. Somehow staring at the sometimes illegible scrawl they'd managed to unbury from the paint relaxed Max, and today she could use all the relaxation techniques she could find.
Joshua glanced down at Max after another hour passed in silence, and she'd not yet begun to write down the calculations she always seemed to find deep within the scribblings on his painting. He approached her carefully, resting a hand on her shoulder as she stared off into her own inner thoughts. "Max?"
Max looked up at him and smiled softly, covering his hand with her own as she glanced back at the painting. "Hey, big fella. S'up?"
"Max unhappy?"
She shrugged softly. "Nothing new."
"Virus bitch's fault?"
She met his honestly concerned expression and sighed. "In a way, I guess. It's always there, always making things hard. I dunno what my problem is, big guy, sorry to be such a downer."
Joshua smiled softly, and stroked Max's head before moving back to his painting. "Max not a downer. Confused. Sad. Need a friend, not a downer. Max wanna talk, come see Joshua. Max wanna feel better, go see Logan."
"Been there, done that. Just made things worse."
"See Logan and act, not think." He walked back to her and tapped her head softly. "Too much in Max's brain, too much to think and do." He moved his hand to tap her chest, over her heart. "Max gotta feel, no worries."
"There are always worries, Joshua."
"Always time, li'l fella."
Max laughed, but it was a bitter sound as she got to her feet and wrapped her arms around her large friend. "Sometimes I think time is the problem, big fella. There's too much time, not time enough, not the right time, time interrupted. And you know what? It's never on my side."
"Sorry."
"For what? Being a good friend? Nah, Joshua, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm not a better person to hang around with tonight, so I'm gonna blaze. Take it easy." She moved away from his embrace and walked out of the house, not looking back at the sad eyes that followed her.
"Pretty whack."
Joshua shook his head and picked up a fresh canvass, beginning a darker, more violent painting than the colorful one he'd set aside.
*******
When Max returned to Logan's penthouse only hours later, she walked inside without hesitation, smoothing her hair back as she brought a smile to her face.
"Hey!" She cringed briefly, hearing the forced tones in her seemingly carefree greeting, however, Logan's head popping out of the kitchen and the smile on his face told her that her charade had been accepted.
"Hey, yourself. Thought you were going to be late."
"Yeah, well, the big guy didn't need me, and Cindy's on 'til last run tonight, so I figured, what the hell, free food."
Logan gave her a knowing smile, and nodded towards the living room. "Thanks for the vote of confidence." He didn't miss the flash of gold that shone on her chest as she passed him by. "So, you like it then?"
"Hmm?" She turned and glanced at him in confusion.
He shrugged. "You're wearing the necklace, so I take it you like it."
Max nodded and cast her eyes downward even as her hand rose to cover the half heart. "Yeah."
Logan chuckled as he disappeared back into the kitchen. Max's quiet acceptance of the necklace meant more to him than if she'd gone all girly and gushed about it. It's the way Max is, the way she was raised, and something he'd come to accept and love about her. Sometimes, when things were important to her, Max's silence spoke louder than any words ever could.
Satisfied that dinner was nearly finished, Logan left the oven on low and returned to the living room. "So."
She looked up and smiled. "What?"
He shrugged. "You want your next gift, or should I feed you first?"
Max laughed quietly, and leaned back against the arm of the sofa, curling her legs up underneath of her. "Hmm... food or presents? I actually have to choose?" She winked at him, and held out her hand. "Gimme."
"Your wish is my command." His shoulders shook with muted laughter as he moved to the drawer. A larger box had replaced the smaller box now, and he paused as he stared at it, his laughter diminishing as he was suddenly overwhelmed with indecision. He closed his eyes and concentrated on slowing his heartbeat, swallowing hard. When he felt calm enough to face her, he turned, handing the box to Max, his eyes sparkling brilliantly. Max's eyebrow rose as she noticed his suddenly intense expression, and she glanced at him with confused curiosity. "Go on," he said, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. "Open it."
"Okay, you're being too weird about this, what's going on?" She left the present unopened as she met his eyes.
"Just open it. You'll understand."
"Logan..."
He groaned, running his hands through his hair. He thought he had himself under control, but actually handing the box to Max set his heart pounding rapidly, and suddenly he wasn't so sure that the last week had been an entirely good thing. He considered snatching the box away before she looked inside and just telling her about the cure, but his heart overruled his rational mind. He'd spent a week showing Max how much she meant to him, hoping that through his actions she'd understand that he'd always loved her, before the virus, during it, and, if she'd give him the chance, now that it's gone. He just really needed her to open the box so they could begin to move on.
"Please, Max?"
She watched him quietly for a brief moment before sliding the top off the box. It didn't escape her attention that this was the only present Logan hadn't wrapped, but that meant very little to her; the fact he'd gone out of his way, yet again, to give her something meant everything. She frowned as she stared into the box, picking up the thin rolled piece of paper, surrounded by a tiny golden ring.
"Uh, Logan?"
He swallowed hard, his fingers clutching at his pant legs as he moved. "Listen, I gotta get out of the exo." Slowly the panic began to rise in his chest. "I'll be back in a minute, uh, if you want you can start reading that paper. It's pretty, uh, self explanatory."
She watched him in deep confusion as he rushed out of the room, her sensitive hearing picking up his movements as he removed the exoskeleton and shifted into his wheelchair. While he made his way around his bedroom, setting the exo onto its stand, Max pulled the leaf of paper out of the small ring. Her heart slowed down slowly as she realized the ring was not an engagement ring, but rather something similar. The ring was gold, forming the shape of two connecting hearts with a small diamond resting in the center of each. She slipped it onto her ring finger, holding out her hand to admire the sight of the beautiful ring against the golden tone of her flesh. She smiled softly, flexing her fingers and watching it sparkle.
She looked up as Logan wheeled back into the room, her smile brilliant as she met his entrance with a loving gaze. "It's beautiful, Logan."
He nodded quietly, wheeling closer to her. "Do you know what it is?" When she shrugged and looked at him blankly, he sighed and shook his head. "Manticore knew nothing about love, did it? It's a promise ring."
"A promise ring?"
He nodded, swallowed, and took a deep breath. "I love you, Max." He nodded towards the ring. "I have always loved you, and that ring is my promise to you that I always will love you."
Max's eyes filled with tears that she rapidly blinked back, and she ran her hands over her legs, momentarily forgetting about the paper that she'd set back into the box. "Logan, I..."
"Just accept it, Max. Wear it on your hand, or don't, but please, just keep it."
"There's just so much to think about... the virus..."
He blinked twice, and sighed. "It's not an engagement ring, somehow I figured you'd walk out that door and never come back if I asked you to marry me tonight." He forced a smile to his face, and grinned as Max blushed quietly. "And as for the virus, I need you to read the paper that was wrapped in the ring. You'll get the gist better than I can explain it if you just do that."
Max frowned but didn't hesitate as she leaned down and picked up the curled paper. Logan found that his breath stalled in his chest as her eyes moved rapidly across the paper, quickly absorbing the large amount of information contained on the single page. Slowly, she glanced up at him, her eyes filled with the fear of understanding. "Does this... does this say what I think it says?"
He nodded silently, his voice strained as he forced air into his lungs. "If you think it's telling you that the virus is gone, then yes."
"Gone? For good gone?"
"For good gone."
"How? Wait, forget it, I don't care how! This can't be real!"
"Trust me, Max, this is as real as it gets."
The smile that crossed her face in that instant made Logan's heart stop beating entirely. Every last fear melted away from him as her eyes began to glow with a happiness he hadn't seen in her since she'd returned from Manticore. For a single moment, Logan's life was perfect, and he inched the wheelchair towards her, setting his brakes only a few feet away from where she sat.
Unable to believe that the virus was truly gone, Max lowered her eyes back to the paper in her hands, reading over and over the final test results that cleared them of the latest bitch to ruin her life. It was the fifth or sixth time she read the results when she caught sight of the date of the report.
Logan didn't miss the change in Max's demeanor, her shoulders suddenly stiffening as her eyebrows drew close together and the paper began to tear in her grip. "Max? What is it?"
When she looked up, all the excitement that had filled her gaze a moment before was gone, and instead Logan looked into cold darkness. "How long have you known about this?"
He swallowed hard, his fear coming back in full force. He thought about telling her that the papers had come in the mail that day, but his conscience kept him from being able to lie. He met her gaze dead on as he curled his fists against his legs and braced himself. "Several days."
Her eyes were dead cold as she climbed to her feet, and before Logan could fully comprehend what she was doing, she was standing over him and her ring was resting on top of his dead legs. "You son of a bitch." Her words were calm, but Logan was unable to miss the sheer destruction in her tone.
"Max..."
"Shut up." Her tone never changed, and very slowly Max leaned down, resting her hands on the back of the wheelchair, one on each side of Logan's body. Her breath burned across his face, and he resisted the urge to draw back from the cold fury that burned within her. "I used to think you were different, Logan. I believed OC when she convinced me that you weren't like other guys. I believed her when she told me that you didn't just think with your balls."
"I didn't mean to..."
"Didn't mean to what, Logan? Make me feel like a slut? 'Cause that's what you did. Virus is gone, so let's see how much you can screw with my heart before screwing me? I'm fucking safe now, so what, you spend a little money and I'm a sure lay?" She stopped for a moment, blinking back the sudden hurt that flashed in her eyes. "You know, for a minute there I actually believed you when you said you loved me. Goes to show you that even genetically engineered killing machines can make mistakes."
Logan winced in pain, forcing himself to hold her gaze, pleading with her silently to see the truth in his eyes. "Max, you have to calm down. Just let me explain, please!"
Max moved then, pushing him away as she turned towards the door, forgetting in her hurt and anger that his brakes were set and she was stronger than the average human. The sound of his cry as the chair slid out from under him and the thump as Logan hit the floor made her turn. For a single instant she moved towards him, the need to help him overwhelming her anger, but in the next instant the hurt came flooding back, and she shook her head.
She turned back towards the door, opening it, pausing one last time. "Hey, at least I know I have some place to come when I'm in heat."
"Max!"
"Goodbye, Logan."
His eyes closed as the door snapped shut behind her, and pain filled his features. When he opened his eyes again, he forced himself into a somewhat upright position, and his fingers closed around the tiny golden ring that had fallen beside him. He sat there for a moment, his heart heavy, staring at the door as if sheer will alone would make Max realize she'd over reacted and come back to him, but when five minutes passed, then ten more, and Max never reappeared, Logan realized how badly he'd screwed things up this time.
He raised a hand to his head, running his fingers through his hair as he ground his teeth together in frustration.
"Well, shit."
End Part Eight