Chapter 8: Miracle
A/N/Disclaimer/Summary: We're almost done here...a little bitty epilogue, and then it's on to the world of sequels. I hope you guys are still enjoying this. I'm sure it'll still be a work in progress after I get this bad boy done. Parts of season two still don't jive with this, but anyway...
This is still not mine, and I'm still just playing with the characters for the afternoon. Thanks to James Cameron and the rest for letting me borrow Max, Logan, and the others.
Summary: Much chaos ensued, a rescue was accomplished, two people died, and now Max and Logan are getting married, dammit.
See ya in the epilogue!
~*~*~*~*~*~
A penny for your thoughts now baby
Looks like the weight of the world's on your shoulders now
I know you think you're going crazy
Just when it seems everything's gonna work itself out
They drive you right back down
And you said it ain't fair
That a man walks
When a bird can fly
We have to kick the ground
The stars kiss the sky
They say that spirits live
A man has to die
They promised us truth
Now they're giving us lies
Gonna take a miracle top save us this time
And your savior has just left town
Gonna need a miracle 'cause it's all on the line
And I won't let you down
The river of your hope is flooding
And I know the dam is busted
If you need me I'll come running
I won't let you down... no, no
You're looking for salvation
You thought that it'd be shining like an angel's light, yeah
Well, the angels left this nation
And salvation caught the last train out tonight
He lost a hell of a fight
He said: "I'm just one man, that's all I'll ever be
I never can be everything you wanted from me
I've got big plans so big that any blind man could see
I'm standing in the river
Now I'm drowning in the sea
Gonna take a miracle top save us this time
And your savior has just left town
Gonna need a miracle 'cause your heart's on the line
And your heartbeat is slowing down
Your feet are grounded still you're reaching for the sky
You can let 'em clip your wings 'cause I believe that you can fly
Well my eyes have seen the horror of the coming of the flood
I've driven deep the thorny crown into the soul of someone's son
Still I'll look you in the eye 'cause I've believed in things I've thought
And I'll die without regret for the wars I have fought
Gonna take a miracle to save you this time
And your savior has just left town
Gonna need a miracle 'cause your heart's doing time
And your conscience is calling you out
It ain't all for nothing
Life ain't written in the sand
I know the tide is coming
But it's time we made a stand with a miracle
--"Miracle" Jon Bon Jovi
The ride up was a lot easier than the ride down. This time, it was Alec and a little boy crashed out in the back seat, while Jordan took shotgun. The girls had commandeered Alec's rattling old Cadillac convertible. Logan noticed his cousin using the rear-view mirror to check out the red car that drove behind them. Whatever Jordan had going on with Jondy, he had no doubt that it would straighten itself out in time.
He felt bad about leaving Bree so abruptly, but there wasn't exactly a transgenic doctor he could take Max to in San Diego. First thing on his list was getting Max in to see Sam Carr. The second was planning a wedding. Max's brothers and sisters seemed to have already taken care of that. The girls were going shopping for dresses while Max was at the doctor, and it shouldn't take much to alter his mother's wedding dress to fit the newest Cale bride.
"Hey, Logan?"
Logan waited in silence for Jordan to continue. With a sigh, he finally responded. "Yes, Jordan?" Again, the silence. "Jor, if you want to ask me something, you have to actually say it. I can't read your mind. I know someone who could, but she's in Hawaii right now." He couldn't help chuckle at the horrified look on his cousin's face. Maybe now wasn't the best time to mention Manticore's little foray into Psy-Ops.
"They're different, aren't they? With this whole family thing and shit. Because Zane's been plotting my murder every time he sees me, and I don't know any brothers that look at their sisters the way he looks at Jondy."
And Jordan had never met Zack. Logan could hear what sounded like a snort coming from the back seat. "Remember what it was like before my dad died?" Jordan had been young then, not even five.
"After Aunt Sara died?" Jordan was quiet. "A little. I remember when Uncle Logan..." Logan's dad hadn't gotten drunk often. He wasn't constantly in a state of alcoholic stupor like Uncle Jonas, but that one time a month was bad enough.
"Yeah. Imagine that every day of your life, when you don't have parents who love you and a school to escape to. Imagine that Bennett and Robert and me we're all you had, and that was drilled in your brain from the time you were three years old." Everyone had demons, and Logan knew that nothing he'd ever experienced could match a day of what Max and the others had seen at Manticore. Alec had only had it worse, after the others escaped. None of them talked about it--not in his presence anyway, but Asha said once that sometimes Alec woke up at night, crying.
"Shit" was Jordan could say.
"Colonel Lydecker taught Max's squadron that they had to depend on each other for survival. She said that brother was one of the first words she learned. Her family..." Logan shook his head, not knowing what to say. He'd spent so many years trying to distance himself from the Cales that Max's obsession with her family still baffled him.
"They felt loved," Alec's voice spoke up from the back seat. "Lydecker made them into his own worst weapon because they depended on each other for everything. Transgenics aren't supposed to love, but they taught each other. And all it did was screw them up to deal with the rest of the world."
Or saved them.
"And of course Max had to drag me into all this shit and warp my world view, but hey, it's all good." Alec opened his eyes, meeting Logan's in the rear view mirror. "I'll forgive her for it eventually."
"Survival, Jor. That's all it was. They aren't exactly your conventional family." Logan looked over at his cousin, taking his hand off the hand-brake long enough to pat Jordan's leg. "And it looks like they might've adopted you."
~*~*~*~*~*~
As they drove through Sector Nine, Max couldn't help feeling like she was coming home. It wasn't something she thought she'd ever feel. Seattle wasn't a bad place to raise a kid. She'd raised herself here, and her family seemed to like passing through.
But before she stopped back at Logan's, there was someone she had to see, someone she owed a visit to.
Jondy leaned forward, poking Max in the shoulder. "Maxie, we just passed the turn-off to Logan's."
"Just taking a little side-trip." Her eyes strayed towards Syl and Star, crammed into the back with Jondy. "I can drop you guys back off at the crib if you want."
"Joshua, huh, boo? Your boy's been missin' his little fella all week. It's gettin' close to that time of year when he starts missing his Annie again. I think Dawgie Dawg's startin' early this year." Cindy shifted in the passenger seat, stretching her legs. "And Original Cindy will be damn glad to get out of this pimpin' mobile. I don't even wanna think about what Alec had in the back seat."
Max laughed as her sisters both made faces and shifted closer to the doors.
Jondy leaned forward again, resting her arms on the back of Max's seat. "Joshua was that one from Terminal City, wasn't he, Maxie? The one who kept talking about Father?"
"Joshua's my man. He's all about the 411. Brother-man got mad skills with his paints too," Cindy said. "You gonna invite him to the wedding, boo?"
"Gonna see if Big Fella'll walk me down the aisle." Max shrugged with a grin. "He busted my ass out of Manticore after all."
Joshua's neighborhood was quiet as they pulled up in front of Sandeman's old house. Max turned the car off and turned to her sisters in the back seat. She wondered if Syl still had nightmares about the nomalies.
"What's wrong, Max?" Syl pointed to Max's hands, clenching the faded vinyl fabric so hard that she'd ripped the seat cover. "Who's Joshua?"
"He's a transgenic. He's the first one Manticore ever made, and he's not...he doesn't look like everyone else."
Syl actually shrank back. In her blue eyes, Max could see the little girl her sister had been back at Manticore, too scared to sleep at night because of the nomalies in the basement.
"He's not a nomaly, Syl. He just looks different." Max reached out, stroking her sister's long blond hair. "They put a little too much canine DNA in his cocktail." She gave her sister a grin.
Syl's grip on Jondy relaxed slightly. "He doesn't bite?"
Jondy snorted. "Zane probably bites worse than this guy does. He might hurt a flea, but nothing bigger, Syl. He's an artist. Besides, it's not his fault that Manticore fucked with his DNA." She hopped out of the convertible, holding out her hand to Syl. "Ready, little sister?"
Syl nodded, taking Jondy's hand. "Ready."
Star hung back as the four moved towards the porch. "Where you goin', girl?" Cindy held out her hand to the X-6, the same as Jondy had to Syl. "You're part of this family now. Joshua gonna love you just as much as Original Cindy does."
Max turned back to her roommate. Star looked just as startled. She still looked at the X-6 and saw Jen sometimes. Manticore seemed to have liked recycling DNA more than anyone thought. "You mean it?" Star's green eyes were serious as she stepped towards Original Cindy.
Original Cindy took Star's hand, kissing it gently. "Every day, boo. Every day."
"Little fella?" The door opened, and Max could see Joshua peering out from the shadow of the doorway. "You're back." Even in the gloom of the house, Max could see Joshua's smile.
She ran up the steps and into Joshua's waiting arms. "I'm back, big fella. Medium fella didn't even have to bail me out this time."
"Alec was worried. I was worried too." She could feel Joshua kiss the top of her head. He pushed back from her suddenly, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed. "Something different about little fella, something changed..." He looked over her shoulder. She could hear the sounds of footsteps on the stairs as her sisters entered the house behind her. "X-5. Two X-5s. Cat in cocktail." His nostrils flared again as Joshua's face broke into a big smile. "And horse. X-6."
"These are my sisters, Joshua. You remember Jondy, and the other one's Syl." Max backed away, dragging them further inside. "And Star."
Joshua held out his hand, shaking each of her sisters' hands gently. "Max's sisters, welcome to my house. Do you want macaroni and cheese?"
Jondy's stomach rumbled in response as she smiled. "I'm always down with the mac and cheese."
As Max settled in her chair with a plate of macaroni and cheese, Joshua moved past her again, nose twitching. "Max. Max and Logan been getting busy?" She heard her sisters laugh. "Max is...Max is..." He knelt in front of her for a long time, nostrils flaring. Finally, a wide smile lit up his face. "Little fella's two."
"If you needed more proof, boo, I think you got it now." Original Cindy came to lean on the back of the arm chair. "Brother-man's all about the down low."
"Damn straight, my sister," Joshua said with a huge grin. "Logan's happy about having another little fella?"
Logan seemed happy enough. Half the time, he wandered around with a dopey look on his face, looking even more dazed than he had after she accepted his marriage proposal. The other half of the time... Max was surprised he actually let her out of his sight long enough to drive back from San Diego with her sisters. But she needed that time, since she never saw them all in one place--all three of them.
"Logan got a smile so big it's blinding, boo," Cindy said with a matching grin. "That baby boo gonna have Daddy wrapped around his little finger."
"Her," Joshua corrected. "Little girl fella." His eyes dropped to Max's stomach. "Max and Logan get busy and make a girl."
From across the room, Max heard Jondy cough. She shot Jondy a dirty look, but her sister only shrugged and smiled innocently. Jondy didn't need to know about all the times Joshua asked her if she and Logan had gotten busy lately. At least Alec had the tact only to crack smarmy remarks for the first five minutes and then let it go. As if he and Asha were any better...
"But that's not why we came, big fella." Max reached out, turning Joshua's face towards hers again. "I wanted to ask you a question."
Joshua nodded, his eyes fixating on her face again.
"Logan and I are gonna get hitched, and I wanted to know if you wanted to give me away." She held up her hand, letting the ring catch the light and cast a sparkling shadow on the wall. Lex had taken both the wedding bands for safe keeping.
Big fella was quiet for a while as he looked at her, and then at the ring. His voice was soft when he finally spoke. "But all the out-there people, little fella. The screaming, and the beatings..." One large hand came up to protect his face, as if he still felt the blows. Max was still surprised they'd both made it out of 2021 alive, after Ames' witch hunts and everything that happened. It had taken enough convincing to drag Joshua out of Terminal City.
"Our brother Lex is a priest, Joshua." Jondy shoved Max over, sitting in the arm chair beside her. "And Maxie knows this priest guy who'd let us use the church. If we did it after midnight mass, and had it over in the side chapel, no one would see you."
Syl moved to stand beside Original Cindy. She studied Joshua for a moment. "It shouldn't be too hard to bust him out of here. Pull his hair back, maybe put a hat on him..."
"Hat?" Joshua jumped up and ran into the other room. Max could hear him rummaging through boxes and tossing things around. He came back into the front room, cradling a bike helmet in his arms. "Alec gave me bike helmet when I delivered his packages." Joshua put on the helmet to demonstrate. "See? Out-there people can't see my face. Ride the bike to church, no out-there people screaming."
Max was surprised to hear Syl laugh. "That works. Then we don't need any pyrotechnics for a distraction." Her sister actually looked disappointed.
Before Joshua could answer, Max felt her pager vibrate. The number was Logan's. "Someone's wondering where we are."
Joshua picked her up out of the chair and hugged her again. "Congratulations to you and Logan. Joshua will give you away, since Father isn't here. Father supposed to, like at Meg's wedding in Little Women."
But that was kinda hard, when you had no father, and the closest thing was either the Colonel who tortured you as a child, or a fucked-up breeding-cult reject who wanted to make his own master-race.
"C'mon, boo. Don't wanna keep your boy waiting." Cindy grabbed Max's hand, tugging it gently.
As they drove back to the penthouse, Max couldn't forget the smile on Joshua's face. Letting everyone out of Manticore, freaks and nomalies included and all the trouble they'd caused, was almost worth that smile. And the fact that her family was there, and her baby would have aunts and uncles that already loved her...it wasn't quite the happily ever after she'd always wanted, but it was close enough.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ready, Max?" Max stood in front of the mirror in the vestibule of the church, shaking. "Maxie?" Jondy fumbled in her purse for the Tryptophan. Her baby sister would choose now to have a seizure...
"No, big sister. It's not those kinda shakes." Max's hand caught hers, the palm cold and clammy. "Fuck. I'm not supposed to be nervous. It's not like I have to walk a wire or anything."
"Maybe it's the white dress," Syl suggested from where she sat, arranging flowers in Star's long hair. "It does kinda scream 'here I am, shoot me.'"
"Somehow I doubt Logan would go for a camouflage wedding," Asha said with a slight smile. She sat backwards in one of Father Destry's desk chairs, resting her chin on the chair back. Her dark blue skirts belled out around her feet. The blonde actually had a wistful look on her face. Jondy was just glad that she wasn't the only one who felt out of place in a fancy dress.
"I'm just glad that his mom's dress fit." Max scratched at her collar-bone. "The beads itch."
"My mom always said that Mrs. Cale wanted a fairy-tale wedding." Asha stood, smoothing the long off-white skirts over Max's hips. Cindy said the fabric was brocade or something expensive-sounding. Even the flowing sleeves of the dress looked expensive and delicate. "Logan's dad wouldn't let her get married at the castle at Disneyland, so she settled for a fairy-tale dress instead."
"Just be glad the waist is high enough, Maxie. That way, five years from now, the baby won't ask why Mommy was all fat at the wedding." Jondy ducked and grinned as Max lunged for her. "Be careful. If you rip that dress, Logan might--"
The door from the church opened, and Alec poked his head in. "I hope no one's decent." He grinned, dodging the hairbrush that Asha chucked at the door. "Lex is ready to begin, and the other priest-guy is starting to really creep me out."
Jondy was surprised to see Max blush. Her little sister muttered something about explaining later.
"Give us five," Cindy said, moving to close the door on Alec. "Miracle Boy waited this long, he can wait another minute to get his groove thing on."
Alec snorted. "So not an image I need now..." The door shut quietly behind him.
"C'mere, boo." Cindy dragged Max away from the mirror and hugged her tight. "You look beautiful. And if you don't melt Logan's heart, you'll definitely make the brother-man's little soldier happy."
"Like that didn't get me in trouble in the first place." Max rested her head on Original Cindy's shoulder. Jondy could almost see the years that they'd been together, and how much she'd missed of her little sister's life. "I can't believe we finally got here." "You just like the post office, boo. Fires, floods, viruses, evil cult men and their black helicopter boys--you beat the shit outta them all." Original Cindy's face grew serious. "And no matter how many times you run, you always came back. And this sistah's proud of you for that. You made it work, sugar. Even if we had to put a smackdown on your ass a few times to keep you going."
Max chuckled, and even from where she sat, Jondy could see tears in her baby sister's eyes. "Kinda hard to forget the plan when Joshua keeps asking if me 'n Logan are getting busy."
Original Cindy leaned closer, kissing Max's cheek. "We come full circle, boo. That's what this whole family shit's all about." And before Jondy could feel too left out, Cindy reached out for her too, drawing her into their circle. "All my girls."
The door opened again, and someone coughed discreetly. "Logan's starting to panic. Unless you want the man to have a coronary, we might wanna get this show rolling." Alec stopped in front of the mirror and fumbled with his tie. Jondy tried not to laugh as Asha stood with a sigh and fixed it for him. Over the blonde's shoulder, Alec winked at Jondy.
As the others trailed out into the vestibule of the church, Cindy caught Jondy's hand one last time. "She still your baby sister, sugar. You missed a few years, but you're back together again." Original Cindy smoothed some of Jondy's long hair back behind her headband. "Ain't nothin' can't break you two apart, not even some hip lesbian who loves your girl like family."
If Max hadn't fallen through the ice that night, and they'd stayed together... No one could say if Zack would have still focused so much on finding Maxie. He might even still be alive now if things had gone different. But it was hard to compare and weigh the life of her sister with the life of Zack. If they would've stayed together, the way Tawny and Syl had, and Krit and Zane, and even Ben and Jet... "We could've rocked this world together," Jondy finally said softly, leaning into the other woman's arm around her shoulders.
"You two rockin' it now, boo. Full circle." And with a kiss to her forehead, Cindy ran to catch up with Star.
Jondy heard a familiar song being played on a slightly out of tune organ as she entered into the vestibule of the church. Max clung to Joshua's arm, a panicked look on her face. It was the same look that she'd worn the night of the escape, right after Lydecker shot down big sister Eva in front of their eyes.
Syl took a deep breath and followed Asha down the aisle of the small side-chapel. Looking through the doorway, Jondy could see the men and a little brown-haired girl clustered around Lex and Father Destry in the heart of the chapel. A statue of the Blue Lady stood behind them. For once, the Virgin Mary's smile actually looked kind and compassionate, as if she really did give a shit.
Cindy and Star followed. Counting the beats of the Wedding March, Jondy knew it was almost her turn. She held out her hand to Max until her sister gripped her arm, wrist to wrist, the same way they had when they were small. "I'm here, baby sister. We all are. We're gonna kick this bitch for good."
Max nodded, eyes wide. There was a small smile on her face, the same one Jondy remembered from when Ben used to make shadow puppets on the wall for them. She leaned in to kiss her sister, and then began her walk down the narrow aisle between the ten rows of pews.
The past wasn't something she could fix or change, but they still had a long time ahead of them. No more of this borrowed time crap. They'd live each moment, because transgenic or human, you never knew which moment would be your last.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Quit it," Logan muttered to Jordan, who was jingling his keys in his jacket pocket. His nephew stood at Jordan's feet, staring at the bulge that Jordan's hand made in the jacket. At least the little boy didn't have Jordan's leg in a death grip anymore.
The girls had reached the center of the side-chapel, Syl and Krit standing together, Star and Cindy with their arms about each other's waists. Asha stood behind Alec at the organ, hands on his shoulders as he played, though Alec tried to look nonchalant about it. Jondy paused, as if she couldn't decide where to stand. Her face lit up at the sight of her brother Eri, standing next to Tawny. Eri's little girl Eva just looked around the chapel with a vacant look in her brown eyes, clutching a basket full of red and white flower petals.
"If I have to quit it, you have to quit tapping your toes," Jordan muttered back as Jondy moved to take her place beside them. "The exoskeleton makes those weird-ass mechanical noises when you do that."
"Or you two could both shut up before I attach your lips to your ass," Jondy threatened with a bright smile on her face. Logan chuckled as Jordan's jaw dropped. His cousin could now almost be considered a grown-up man, but he still had a way to go.
As the music shifted into the bridal theme that Logan remembered all too well, he couldn't help seeing flashbacks from his first wedding. Val had trailed down the formal staircase at Uncle Jonas' to this same music. So many people had been crowded into the great room that Logan remembered feeling like his bow-tie was strangling him. He'd felt no connection to anyone in that crowd except for maybe one or two people. One of those stood with him the second time, even though she was ten years older. But the bride that he waited for here wasn't cold and already calculating her next step to social domination. His life with Max had never been conventional, but if Logan wanted a normal life, he probably wouldn't have gone into the saving the world business in the first place.
She was beautiful. There was no other word for Max as she walked down the aisle with Joshua. Her curls were gathered up on the top of her head, the same way she'd worn her hair in that dream four years ago. She looked like a fairy-tale in his mother's wedding dress, Beauty at her Beast's side, white train trailing behind her. Logan had to admit that the canine transgenic cleaned up well. Alec had even convinced Joshua to slick his thick hair back. It had been hard enough trying to find a tux that would fit the big loveable beast...
As Max and Joshua approached, Logan could see her eyes light up at the sight of Eri and Jet. It had been easy enough to find Jet. Convincing him to come back to a country he hadn't set foot in for almost ten years was another story. It had only been a week since they'd been back in Seattle, but everything had fallen perfectly into place. Crowded in a pew with Sketchy were the five transgenics Max had first helped over the border after the fall of Manticore. Bullet and Ralph held hands while twelve year old Bugler made faces. The rest of the bridal attendants gradually filed into the first pew on the other side of the chapel.
Max stopped in front of him, giving him that beautiful smile that was his alone. Logan held out his hand to her, but before she could take it, Joshua picked her up and set her on his other side.
"Not until I give you away, little fella," the transgenic said, looking to Lex for approval. Lex nodded, smiling slightly.
As the wedding march faded into silence, Alec moved to Max's other side, taking her free arm in his. At her surprised look, Logan watched Alec lean in to whisper in her ear. "Medium Fella gets to have a part in this too, don't I?"
At Lex's cough, everyone turned to face the two priests. Lex opened the worn leather book he held in his hands, and flipped to the page he wanted in a practiced gesture. "We're gathered here tonight to witness the love that binds the two individuals before us: Logan Robert Cale, Jr. and Max Guevara. Who gives this bride to be wed?"
Joshua stepped forward, dragging Max and Alec with him. "That's us. We do. Me and Alec." He gently removed Max's hand from his arm and pushed her towards Logan. "Now you two can get busy. Little fella's yours now."
Logan could feel his face burning. From the snickers coming from the pews, he knew every transgenic had heard that too.
"Take care of her, Logan." Alec placed Max's other hand in Logan's, his eyes serious. "If you don't make her happy, she's got this whole family who's willing to put you in a world of hurt."
Lex coughed again. Alec shot the other X-5 a hurt look as he moved back to stand with Asha and Sketchy. "Marriage," Lex started, once again becoming Father Alexander, "is a very solemn occasion. True love is what has brought us here together."
As Lex continued to read from the book in his hands, Logan noticed Jordan shaking slightly at his side. He resisted the urge to kick his cousin in the shins.
"Twue wove," Jordan mouthed to him, trying to stifle his laughter. It took a moment for Logan to recognize the quote. It was sort of appropriate for his cousin to quote the Princess Bride at his wedding... Looking down at his feet, Logan noticed a small black combat boot pressing on his foot before retreating back beneath the long white wedding dress. Max glared at Logan and Jordan before turning her attention back to her brother.
"World of hurt," he thought he heard her mutter. It wouldn't surprise him too much if he was right.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The ceremony was brief. Max couldn't remember too much of it, aside from the shock of seeing her entire family together, and the constant sound of Jordan snickering behind Logan. It wasn't like she'd expected some perfect wedding. She had hoped that the ceremony would've been more memorable...
When it came time to say the vows, she could almost feel a sense of anticipation building in her stomach. It was either that, or the burrito from South Market that she and Jondy had grabbed on the way over. This was the moment that normal girls dreamed of from the time they were nine years old. It was the moment she would pledge her life to Logan for as long as mortally possible.
But when she opened her mouth to speak the words he'd already heard twice before, they wouldn't come. It wasn't something she even needed to say. She unconsciously pledged her life to Logan more than four years ago, when she first risked her ass to save his unconscious body before Bruno Anselmo took his hospital room out with a rocket launcher.
"There were times I was lost, and you found me," she said finally, looking up into Logan's eyes. "It was usually at the top of the Space Needle, or in the sewers, but you always found me. You never gave up hope." He smiled that blinding smile that always made her insides melt. Her smile. He was hers. "Life sucked ass for a while, but you always believed that we'd make it through. Even when I tried my hardest to push you away, you never left completely. You've always been there when I needed you."
"That's never going to change, Max," Logan interjected. She could still see the toll of those years on his face. With all the shit they went through, Max was still surprised that his hair wasn't gray. "That never will change."
He raised her hand to his lips, kissing it gently. "Times have been good, and times have been bad. Times have gone to hell in a hand basket, but our love has endured...and triumphed. Through passion, through sorrow and hope..."
"Through death and life," Max added. But from the look in his eyes, Logan didn't need to be reminded of that particular miracle.
"No matter what tomorrow brings," he continued, his hand sliding up to touch her cheek. Max felt tears trickling down her face, but for once, she didn't mind crying like a girl. "We'll face it together."
"Crossed paths by fate, partners by choice. Gonna embark on the greatest adventure two people can share, right?" Max reached up under Logan's glasses to wipe at his eyes with her sleeve. He chuckled.
"As long as you don't mind a tag along. Partner."
She grinned back at him. "Partner."
Lex held out his hands to Jondy and Jordan. "The rings, please."
Max fingered the gold ring that Jondy handed her. Her finger had almost seemed naked without the wedding band. It was amazing how fast she got used to twisting it around her finger. It didn't seem as heavy as she'd thought it would.
"Repeat after me," Lex said softly. He took her left hand and placed it in Logan's. "I, Logan, take thee Max to be my lawfully-wedded wife."
Logan's hand shook as he slipped the ring on Max's finger. "I, Logan, take thee Max to be my lawfully-wedded wife."
Max's brother turned to her, a gentle look in his brown eyes. "Maxie?" Logan's left hand was warm in hers. "I, Max, take thee Logan to be my lawfully-wedded husband."
Slipping the ring on Logan's finger, Max repeated the words. Logan squeezed her hand as they turned to face Lex again.
"Is there anyone here who sees some reason why these two cannot be wed?" When Max glared at Lex, her brother only shrugged. "I have to ask, Maxie. It's nothing personal." He turned his own glare out across the small chapel. "But I'll kick the ass of anyone who has a reason."
Father Destry coughed, but didn't say anything.
When no one spoke, Lex turned to Max and Logan again with an expectant look. "The ayes have it, little sister. I now pronounce you man and wife." He grinned at them. "You can kiss if you want."
From what Logan said, most couples only exchanged chaste little kisses at the wedding. He said it had something to do with the proper amount of tongue and church. Her husband didn't look too disappointed when she kissed him full on the lips. No point in trying to be conventional now. And it wasn't like everyone didn't know they did it like rabbits anyway.
When they finally broke apart, Max was surprised to hear cheering fill the small chapel. She turned around to find her family surrounding her, all wearing silly grins.
"Congrats, baby sister," Tawny said, plucking her from Logan's arms to give her a hug of his own. Max found herself passed around like a plate of hors d'oeuvres as each of her brothers and sisters kissed her in congratulations and luck. She finally found herself facing the brother she hadn't seen since the escape.
"Maxie." Jet's green eyes were as serious as they'd been that night in '09. He'd always been like Zack--quick to follow orders, quick to look after anyone who needed it. No one ever told her why he decided to leave the country a decade ago, but Max knew he hadn't set a foot back on the continent since then.
"Hey, big brother." She stared back at him, not quite sure what to say. No amount of pleading or threatening on anyone's part over the past five years had gotten him to come back. But here he was. "I missed you."
His hand, large like all of her brothers', reached out to touch the bridge of her nose. He smiled a small smile that almost looked like Zack's. "Missed you too, baby sister." He pushed his long sandy hair out of his eyes before shoving his hands in his pockets. Jet had always been the fidgety one. He took apart anything he got his hands on and loved heights even more than Jondy. "Just wanted to make sure that this guy was okay. Tawny gave his thumbs up, so I figured Logan-boy couldn't be too bad."
"So you came all the way from Ireland to make sure the guy I was gonna marry was okay?" If it would've been fifteen years ago, or even ten years ago, Max would've reached out and tickled him on the right side of his stomach, just to make him laugh. Jet was like Jondy, always laughing when they were small, when he wasn't falling out of trees or off the High Place trying to fly. That was Ben's fault, telling stories about the flying transgenics that worked for the Blue Lady.
Jet's face broke into a smile briefly, and for a moment, Max rested in her brother's arms, listening to the familiar sound of his heart against her cheek. "I had to come back eventually, Maxie. And since you're all bent up on this family shit, I figured I might as well be here, since someone else couldn't be."
"I think the Father's getting anxious. Midnight mass starts in half an hour, so it's probably time to move this party," Tawny said, standing on one of the pews. "Alec and I arranged a little reception if anyone's interested."
"If we're going to the Cherry Bomb, you can think again, Alec," Max warned, glaring across the crowd at the X-5 that cowered behind Asha.
"Gimme some credit, Maxie." Max didn't buy Alec's innocent look for a minute. "The Big Rhino rents out its back room and--" He ducked as Max chucked her bridal bouquet at him. Jondy reached out a hand and caught it casually before tossing it back to Max. "Kidding, Max. Geez, try to find your sense of humor next time. Dani from my old squad works at a restaurant over in Sector Nine. She said we could have the back room until morning if we wanted it. The food and all that crap's over there waiting for us."
Ten minutes later, Max was racing Alec and Jondy down the street, Logan clinging behind her on her Ninja. Jondy and Syl had helped her tuck up the skirts of her wedding dress and belt Alec's leather jacket over everything. She could hear Jondy hooting behind them, and Jordan hollering for her to slow down before she killed someone.
"So that's why you wore the combat boots," her husband whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her cheek. "I wondered what happened to those little white heels Cindy found you." "The stilettos? You can dance in heels. You can't ride a motorcycle in heels. Or kick your brother's ass when he beats you to the restaurant." As she shifted gear, her Ninja's engine began to purr. "It was a theme thing. Everyone else wore them."
"Which makes it okay then." She could feel Logan's hands brushing away the hair at the back of her neck to kiss her barcode. "Sounds good to me, Mrs. Cale."
Mrs. Cale. Max Guevara Cale. That sounded pretty good.
"That reminds me," he shouted over the wind as they turned down 7th Street. "Sam called while you were out with Joshua."
"And?" She leaned back a little, letting the bike slow down. Alec shouted something as he and Asha pushed past, but Max didn't really pay attention.
"Our daughter's perfectly healthy." Logan kissed her neck. "The tests came back completely normal. Apparently she's got a nicely-ordered genetic code too."
The Ninja slowed to a stop. Max turned to face her husband, careful not to rip the slip she wore under the wedding dress. "Daughter?"
Logan nodded, a small smile on his face. He took her hand in his as they straddled the bike, kissing it gently. "Daughter, Max. It's a girl."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jondy fidgeted with her fork, trying not to look at the mechanical bull that sat in the corner. It was only a matter of time before one of her siblings challenged someone to a contest. Beating Max and Alec on their bikes hadn't been as fun as the first time around. Maybe it was because Jordan had been screeching like a little girl in her ear the whole time.
"If they stopped to get busy on the way, I'm going to be extremely pissed off," Alec commented as he flopped down in the chair beside her. "Impressed, but pissed. I put a lot of effort into all this crap."
"It's only been five minutes. You can't get too creative in five minutes." Tawny slid a beer towards Alec as he sat on the other side of the table. Her brother looked thoughtful. "Well..."
Syl groaned. "Don't even go there, big brother. Everything I heard from the time of the escape til Zack split us up again was bad enough. Little sisters shouldn't know that much about their brother's sex lives."
"You've lost your sense of adventure, little sister," Tawny said, reaching out and grabbing a bit of Syl's long blond hair. "Where's the Lia I knew and loved before she hit puberty." Syl stuck her tongue out at Tawny. "She grew up, like the rest of you did." But the look on her face wasn't as annoyed as Jondy expected. Syl and Tawny had been close ever since Zack paired them off before the escape. They were some of the lucky ones who stayed together. If she and Max had stayed together... "Max!" Her baby sister and brother-in-law finally trailed in, both looking slightly stunned. "Maxie?" But before Jondy could hop over the table to rush to her sister, Max stopped in the front of the room.
"It's a girl." Max's words tumbled out in a rush. "Dr. Carr says she's healthy and she won't have a tail and--" Her sister's brown eyes blinked as she stopped. Jondy could see new tears welling up in Max's eyes. "A girl."
"Wait, you're pregnant, Max?" Sketchy's voice broke the stunned silence. "So that's why the wedding..." Original Cindy smacked him upside the head on her way to hug Max. "Stick with the weed, boo. The hard stuff's scrambling your brain."
"Toldja, Maxie." Tawny smirked as he kissed Max in congratulations. "She's gonna have Daddy wrapped around her little finger."
"She already does," Jondy said, nodding towards Logan and the dopey look he got whenever he looked at Max's stomach. She hung back as the others congratulated her sister and brother-in-law. Eri even got Eva to hug Max, something that looked like it surprised both of them.
"Looks like they're gonna get that happily ever after, huh?" Jordan breathed in Jondy's ear. His warmth at her back was comforting, even if she didn't let herself lean into his body.
"They deserve it." But Jondy couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice, and she knew that Jordan would never believe her anyway. All a lie usually took was a wide-eyed look, but Jordan seemed like he was a purveyor of the same tactic, if not the inventor.
"So do you, Jon." She felt his lips brush the top of her head. "I'm sure you'll get it someday. Your prince is still out there."
Alec made a second start with Asha after that whole thing with Rachel. Maybe it was possible that there was some other guy out there, even though that guy would never be her prince. A pretty stable-boy might suffice though...a stable-boy aspiring to be a hero.
"My prince died three years ago when he killed himself so that Manticore could transplant his heart to Maxie."
"But if someone else came along," Jordan persisted, turning her around to face him. "If another guy came along, one who wasn't a prince." He gave her a serious look. "Princes with pedigrees are highly over-rated."
She couldn't help cracking a smile. "If that guy asked now," she said slowly, "the answer would probably be no. I need time, and..."
Jordan nodded in understanding. He gave her shoulders one last squeeze before moving away.
"But if that guy asked later on--" The words popped out of her mouth before Jondy could stop them. Jordan turned, giving her the same bright smile that she usually saw Logan give Max.
"That guy's making a note of it on her calendar. Can he ask you to dance instead?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It wasn't a traditional wedding reception, but Logan didn't mind. Guests came and went, until he thought he saw the entire transgenic population of Seattle at some point in the night. He danced with Max, with Jondy, even with Eri's little girl. Both his niece and nephew crashed about halfway through the night, falling asleep on Max's train under one of the tables.
He remembered lots of toasts, more drinking, and even rode the mechanical bull at one point. Logan knew that was a mistake as soon as the exoskeleton gave a half-hearted whir and belched a little smoke, especially since Syl and Zane took the opportunity to rewire the entire apparatus. They promised to return it in the morning, but that meant that he was stuck in the ever-present wheelchair he still kept in the back of the Aztek.
By morning, Joshua and most of the other guests had gone home, leaving Max's siblings sprawled out in chairs and on top of the tables. Even Alec looked half-asleep, his head resting in Asha's lap. Jordan still couldn't believe that Austin Barlow's little sister, the same one that Aunt Margot had stuck in the bathtub with Jordan when they were five, was the leader of S1W.
"Might as well head out," Max said, extracting herself from his lap. Turning his wrist over, she squinted at his watch. "Shit. I'm supposed to be at work in half an hour ago."
Alec snorted, not even bothering to sit up. "It's your honeymoon, Max. I don't think Normal expects you in today." He lifted his head up, giving her an evil grin. "Course, if you wanna stop by Jam Pony on the way back to the penthouse..."
"I gotta get time off for August anyway. Gem's balance was totally thrown off when she was ready to pop. Don't think I'll be able to ride a bike then." Max held out her hand to Alec, hauling him up.
"Might have to give up that sweet little Ninja of yours for a while, huh? You'd probably wanna leave her in good hands, and since Jondy's already got her baby and yours truly's stuck with a piece of shit bike..." Alec rubbed his hands together with a grin.
"When you cut off your own testicles and manage to grow a set of ovaries, then I might let you borrow my bike." Alec's smirk faded as Max cracked her knuckles.
"We could take a family field trip, give the visiting relatives a tour of Jam Pony," Jondy suggested as they started to gather up their stuff. She helped Max stuff the skirts of her wedding dress into Alec's old leather jacket again. "Tell him you're Alec's sibs, and he'll offer you a job in five seconds flat. Admit you know Max, and you're doomed to the land of Bip Bip Bips."
Max leaned in to kiss Logan as she headed towards the door. "Wanna ride? I'll take it slow." She gave him a crooked grin as he shook his head.
"I think I'll just meet you there, Max," Logan said hastily, wheeling himself towards the Aztek. "Be careful."
She gave him that dazzling smile of hers. His wife. Mrs. Cale. "Always."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You're late, missy. And evening wear is never workplace appropriate, no matter who your uncle is," Normal shouted from his dispatch cage as Jondy walked in, her family trailing behind. "And no, we're not hiring."
"Aren't I allowed to be late the morning after my sister's wedding?" She leaned up against the dispatch counter, giving Normal her best pleading eyes. "You aren't yelling at Alec for coming in late."
"Sister?" Normal looked between her and Max, finally noticing the white dress. Jondy could almost see the light bulb going on in Normal's dull little mind. "You would be her sister," he muttered. "My best riders, and they all have to be related to her. I suppose this means that you got married, Missy?"
"Nah, I just felt like wearing white, even though it isn't Memorial Day yet." Max leaned on the counter beside Jondy, grinning. "Actually, I came cuz I'll need some time off soon."
"Three days for your honeymoon, Mrs. Cale. You didn't schedule the wedding around a weekend like I told that husband of yours." Normal muttered something about not being invited to the wedding. It surprised Jondy that he would even care.
"This is for August, Normal." Max rolled her eyes. "Logan's cousin mentioned something called FMLA, and I'll need that."
"That's the Family Medical Leave Act, Missy miss. You can't have that unless you're--" The older man trailed off, his mouth hanging open like the fish in the creek in the training yard. To Jondy's surprise, Normal's usually constipated face softened. "August, huh?"
Max nodded, looking almost shy for once. She reached behind her to Logan in his wheelchair and caught his hand.
"I warned you, son. I warned you the first moment you walked in here, looking for her." Normal looked them both over for a minute and nodded. "At least you're sure she isn't a transsexual. Never date a woman who used to be a man." Jondy heard someone cough behind her, probably Original Cindy. "Three months. If you're not back here in December for the Christmas rush, Missy, no job for you." As if he finally realized where he was, Normal turned to glare at the rest of the employees. "What are you ingrates looking at? Bip, people! Bip!"
"We've got a lot of work," Jondy said, slipping her hand into her sister's as they walked back out to their motorcycles. "Gotta redecorate the guest room, get baby furniture... You'll probably need clothes and blankets and all that crap. Gotta find me a place too, since our nephew needs a place to crash."
Max stopped dead in her tracks. "You're gonna stay?" Her sister's brown eyes had that same hopeful look Jondy remembered from the barracks, when they'd beg Ben for shadow puppets on the walls to help them sleep.
"Missed this much of your life, baby sister," Jondy said with a grin, pushing one of Max's dark curls back from her face. "I'm not leaving you all alone with these guys and a baby. I'm sure Logan and Alec'll be a big help, but..."
Her little sister laughed. "Betcha five bucks I can get Alec to change the first diaper."
Six months. She could hang in Seattle for another six months, at least to make sure that the baby was born all right. They didn't need to lose another baby. And sisters were a hard commodity to come by in Post-Pulse Seattle.