An Emergency Change of Command, 12
by pari106

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

Disclaimer: See part 1; Code: M/Z, Logan/Syl; Zane, Krit, All; Rating: PG-13



An Emergency Change of Command, 12
by pari106


Later that night, a fire was burning in the fireplace. It was dark out, and the night sky was filled with stars.
It was a peaceful night, with the sound of crickets in the air, the sound of the wind whispering through the
trees.

Meanwhile, inside the cabin, came the sound of ice crunching, as three X5 males nursed their bruised jaws,
shifting their makeshift ice compresses, and wincing at the movement.

Syl and Max were sitting on the couch, catching up. Their laughter filled the main room, and the stereo
was on so music played in the background. And Zane's "surprise" had yet to arrive.

Eventually Krit just couldn't take it anymore – the giggles were starting to get to him. So he plopped down
on the couch between his sisters, determined to either get in on the fun, or to spoil it and cause a little
action around here.

Zack watched him with a shake of his head. Then he saw Zane retreat to the kitchen, so he followed.

Zack had to laugh when he saw the look on Zane's face as he added ice to his compress.

"It's not funny," his brother insisted. "Max has one hell of a right hook."

Zack smiled, thinking of that time back at Logan's cabin. Surprised that he could think of that morning
with a smile now – that day had been the day he'd gone back to Manticore.

"Tell me about it," he muttered. Then he shrugged. But Zane was still grumbling.

"Yeah, well it's different when she fights with you."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really. Bet you don't care whether she's hitting you or not, as long as you get to feel her hands on
you."

Zack blinked. That was new – Zane's teasing him about Max.

He'd told Zane everything about he felt; about what had happened, or hadn't happened, whatever, that time
at Logan's cabin. But that had been that night of Zack's seizure, and they hadn't really spoken of anything
said that night since then. Sure, there had been a reference or two to Zack's feelings for Max. That was a
part of why this reunion had come about. It wasn't just about seeing family, though that was big. It was
also about showing Max that Zack could do that. He could compromise and do things her way – family
reunions. Families. Maybe a family with Max? Zane had gotten this idea that if they whisked Max away
for a weekend, surrounded her with a bunch of X5s he intended to sway to his side, that eventually their
combined influence would throw her off badly enough that Zack could woo her into loving him back. And
if that failed, and considering the fact that Plan A rested solely on Max's vulnerability to being "thrown
off" and on Zack's charm – which Zane was convinced he had none of – Zane had devised Plan B. He and
the other X5s would simply torture Max until she agreed to love their big brother.

Or maybe not.

But if Zane remembered correctly, Max did have this really ticklish spot, right on her back beneath her left
shoulder blade. That could be considered an instrument of torture, right? She'd have to give in.

But what Zack *hadn't* told Zane was about Max's saying that she loved him. He didn't know why. He
supposed that, at the time, it was because he hadn't been certain that she had meant it. He'd spent all his
time between leaving Seattle and joining Zane helping Brin get located elsewhere. Helping her try and
recover from the emotional trauma Manticore had caused her. He'd so preoccupied himself with his
concern for her that he hadn't had time to think about Max's admission. And when his seizures hit, he was
just beginning to think about it. It had been too soon for Zack to know what the impromptu confession had
meant. So he hadn't said anything about it.

And neither he nor Zane had mentioned that night since, so Zack hadn't known how to bring it up. So
Zane, naturally playful though he was, didn't consider the situation comfortable enough for teasing.

But now he was doing just that. Zack supposed it was the swollen jaw talking.

But he didn't mind. The feel of Max's lips was still on his mind, as was the memory of the look in her eyes
when first she saw him there by the lake. If there was any time Zack could handle a little harmless teasing,
it was now.

He smiled.

"Can't argue with that," he told his brother, reaching past him and into the fridge for a beer. Trying not to
laugh at the expression that crossed Zane's face as he said this. "She has nice hands, you know. Soft."

Zane dropped his ice pack.

The towel fell open as it hit the kitchen's tiled floor, and little chips of ice scattered everywhere. And this
time Zack did laugh.

"Here, you can have mine," he said, tossing the little bundle in Zane's direction. This, too, hit the floor.
Zane was just standing there, staring, shocked.

Zack shook his head and sighed.

"You…you're joking around," Zane said, as though accusing his brother of something suspicious.

Zack rolled his eyes and frowned. He wasn't usually *that* uptight, was he?

"What, you don't think Max has soft hands?" he asked.

"No. I mean, that's not what I meant. I mean…" Zane shook his head. "You smiled."

A shrug. "I smile sometimes."

"You laughed!"

"Yeah, Zane. I did."

Zack couldn't help smiling again. He tugged the cap off his beer bottle and tossed it aside, where it landed
with a clink. Then he just leaned back against the counter, taking a drink.

And Zane watched him.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well, what the hell are you laughing about?"

A little smile was starting to replace the slack jaw Zane was sporting. Zack just raised a brow, then pushed
away from the counter and headed for the door.

"We're a little old for kiss and tell, don't you think?" he called over his shoulder as he left.

And Zane just stood there a moment more before his grin began to grow.

"I'll be damned."

Meanwhile, Fluffy, who had been lying by Zane's feet, looked up, curiously.

"Am I good or what?" Zane asked. The dog barked.

And Zane sent him a glare.

"Who asked you, anyway?" he mumbled.

Fluffy just tilted his head and wagged happily.



**** ****



Max sat there on the couch, rolling her eyes at Syl and Krit's antics as they wrestled for the unopened beer
sitting on a nearby end table.

"Why don't you two just go to the kitchen and get another?" Max asked, knowing the answer even before
she did.

"No!" Syl and Krit replied simultaneously.

"It's the principle," Syl insisted, reversing the loose chokehold her brother had on her. "That's my beer. I
brought it in here."

"Bullshit!" Krit countered, reversing the chokehold yet again, coming out on top. "You've hat it since you
came in here and you haven't opened it yet. Therefore, it's up for grabs."

"Says who?"

"Says me. It's going to get hot, Syl!"

"So? Maybe I like my beer hot."

"Eww!"

And they went back to flipping each other over, rattling any furniture in the vicinity as they did.

Max shook her head.


"Forget it. *I'm* going to go get y'all another beer."

"No!" came the simultaneous response, yet again. But neither Syl nor Krit looked up from their places on
the floor.

Max laughed to herself, heading for the kitchen. Then she stopped, nearly bumping straight into Zack.

Since they'd come back from the lake, she and Zack hadn't been alone together. And she'd gotten over her
earlier mortification. But apparently she hadn't gotten over the effect of their earlier kiss, because just
standing there next to him, there in the firelit cabin instead of next to a chilly lake, caused Max's pulse to
speed.

"Hey," she said softly, feeling lame. But Zack didn't seem to mind. He smiled at her.

'Oh, shit, he's smiling.'

He really had a gorgeous smile. One she didn't see often, and that was all the more special because it was
so hard to earn.

"Hey," he said back, and Max could have sworn his eyes were smiling, too.

Max felt that same odd sense of…something that had come over her on their walk back to the cabin. That
sneaky little flutter of hope.

"About earlier. At the lake," she began carefully.

To Max's surprise, Zack's smile didn't fade.

He took a step closer.

"What about it?" he asked.

And Max knew she had to be imagining things. He couldn't be speaking in the low, hot tones she thought
she heard. He couldn't be looking at her with the kind of glint in his eyes that she thought she saw. But
Max swallowed anyhow. And she swallowed hard.

Zack lifted his beer to his lips, taking a slow sip without looking away from her face. And Max suddenly
forgot what she was saying.

'Oh, give me a break!' she thought of her own weakness.

"Something wrong, Max?" Zack was asking.

"I…"

She what? She was sorry for knocking him into the lake? Maybe she wasn't. She certainly wasn't sorry
about kissing him.

Zack was just looking at her, waiting.

"I…"

Then the sound of their siblings, feuding in the background, intruded upon the moment.

"Say it," a fierce female voice commanded.

"No."

"Say it!"

"No! Ow!"

Max and Zack rolled their eyes as one and Max had to kind of laugh.

"Here, have mine," Zack finally said, setting his bottle down on the table next to the one Syl and Krit had
been fighting for.

Syl wrinkled her nose. "But you've been…"

But whatever she was saying ended in a yelp, because Krit apparently had none of the same hygiene issues
as his sister.

"Thanks, bro!" he said, rising quickly enough that Syl was surprised and, having been crouched on top of
him, fell to the floor with a soft thud, landing straight on her ass. Krit grabbed the bottle and plopped down
on the couch, taking a swig.

Syl looked at him, incredulous.

"What the hell!"

"What?"

Syl glared. "If you just wanted any beer, then why the hell were you fighting for mine?"

Krit smiled at her, looking smugly triumphant. "It's the principle, remember?" he told her. Then he took a
drink as he gestured at the bottle still sitting by its lonesome. "Besides," Krit shrugged. "Yours is hot
now."

Syl blinked. Then she looked at the bottle…then at Krit…then back at the bottle. Then she got this gleam I
her eye that made her brother's smile slowly disappear.

"Oh….uh-uh." Krit held the bottle to him, realizing what was on Syl's mind. "Don't even think it."

Syl thought it.

And they were at it again.

Standing there in the doorway, both Zack and Max laughed. But then, Zack caught Max's gaze with his
own, and the atmosphere suddenly became less humorous.

It was tense. Damn, but he wasn't good with this kind of tense.

"You want to go talk outside?" Zack asked. Max nodded and they slipped out the front door.

Neither caught Syl staring at them as they left, but Krit noticed her sudden preoccupation.

And he wasn't above using it to his own advantage.

He made a successful leap for the much sought-after bottle and Syl finally sighed, rolling her eyes and
pushing Krit out of the way as she rose to her feet.

"Fine, take the damned beer," she grumbled.

Then the grabbed the other bottle, leaving to drink her warm alcohol in peace.

Krit sat there a moment, wondering about his sister's abrupt mood swing.

Then he shrugged.

Who really understood X5 women, anyhow?







Zack followed Max out of the cabin, and when she sat down in the bench swing on the porch, he surprised
her by sitting down next to her.

Then they just sat there a moment.

"So…" they both said, simultaneously.

They both kind of laughed, and Zack ran a hand through his hair.

It was a pretty night outside tonight. Granted, Zack couldn't remember ever having used the word "pretty"
in a sentence before. But he figured Max would think it was pretty. The starry sky, the still woods, the
fireflies that could just barely be seen from a distance. Zack didn't think it was too bad, either. It
was…nice. Peaceful.

And Max was here with him, smiling a beautiful smile.

' "Pretty" and "beautiful" all in the same matter of moments. Getting soft, soldier,' came the habitual
thought. But Zack figured he was entitled to a soft side, after having lived such a hard life.

A bit of one anyhow. There was only so much 'soft' Zack could tolerate in himself.

Besides, he'd always known Max was beautiful.

But as much as he'd like to just sit there and stare at the woman he loved, the situation was still so
unresolved. He wasn't comfortable with reveling – even now that he'd decided to make some changes in
his life, to slow down. So he stopped reveling in pretty scenery and beautiful smiles and got to the point.

"About the lake," he reminded Max.

And Max smiled again, guessing Zack's thoughts. The gesture became a little nervous, however.

"About the lake…" she repeated. Then she looked at him. "About the kiss…"

Zack's eyes strayed off to the distance for a moment, then returned to her face. As they did Zack moved
closer to Max, who'd suddenly become frozen in her seat, her heart pounding.

Zack reached up and toyed with a strand of her hair.

He looked into her eyes, searchingly.

"You regret it?" he asked.

He knew a good soldier never made assumptions. Max's enthusiastic greeting, coupled with her
declaration months ago, made Zack assume that he could interpret Max's feelings behind the kiss as being
the same kind of feelings he was having. But he knew he had to keep himself open to the possibility that
he'd assumed wrong. And his heart began to beat faster, as well, both from Max's nearness, and from
uncertainty about what she'd say next. From the fear that he'd made a mistake.

But it seemed that his fears were the only things mistaken.

Max looked up at him, bringing a hand to his cheek.

"Never," she whispered.

They were staring into one another's eyes, breathing I one another's scent. The evening air suddenly
seemed sultry, and the beat of their hearts eclipsed the sounds of the countryside. They were each thinking
how gorgeous the other was, how perfect, how wonderfully imperfect, ad they were so close…

And this time it was Zack who closed that final distance between them. He leaned over and kissed Max.
And before they knew it, they were wrapped up in each other's arms, holding, touching.

After a lifetime of not quite fitting – not quite fitting with anyone, not quite fitting in anywhere – suddenly
they just *fit*. They felt like where they were, and who they were was right. For the first time for each of
them, they were holding someone in their arms who they didn't feel the need to hide from. To explain
themselves to, or to apologize to for the way they were, the way they lived.

After what seemed like a lifetime of wanting and waiting and wondering, Max and Zack were together.
And it was worth everything it took for them to get there.

This wasn't a hasty confession in the dark, spoken in a moment of fear and desperation. This wasn't a
hasty embrace, brought on by a long separation or by a day's worth of worries. This was passion and love
and companionship and desire all on its own. This was a conscious acknowledgment of mutual need and
affection. And it knocked the breath right out of both of them.