Some solid M/L stuff at last! Now you've just got to get through the rest of the chapter =P (which is primarily Ana.) And need I even tell you to review?

Chap 5 - Presumptions and Pretenses

The minute Ames' car pulled away from the building, Anastasia dropped the act of the rebellious but compliant prisoner. So far her act seemed to be working, but she couldn't be sure just how long she could keep on going. As amusing as she found White' arrogant attitude and sarcastic way of speech she was perfectly aware of the danger she was in. That he hadn't tried to interrogate her yet had not served to placate her as he'd hoped it would but rather it had served to unsettle her. If White wasn't asking question then it meant he must already have the answers she had to offer - so what did that mean for the other deflectors? And as she dried the dishes they had used for breakfast doubts and question flew through her mind at a thousand miles a minute.

She would try to use the situation to her advantage - AKA using her proximity to the enemy to gather Intel - and to not panic until she knew just what all this was about. But she had left her life and responsibilities behind without warning and she still did not know what had happened to Jon. There was a chance he'd found his way to one of the X's they'd been helping, (setting X-series' up with normal lives had been their main occupation since Manticore's collapse,) but that she couldn't be absolutely sure of his fate troubled her to no end.

The question that bothered Ana the most however was why White acted as if they knew each other intimately. Her memory about her time before Manticore was at best foggy and unfortunately she'd never bothered to ask Sandeman about her life before they deflected. It had sent alarm bells ringing when she'd found a few of her favorite foods waiting for her at breakfast. Just how well had the two of them known each other? And was their 'relationship', whatever it may have been, the reason he seemed to actually give a damn about her? Having finished with the dishes, Anastasia went to the door the gather the pieces of the broken one. It may have been slightly over theatrical of her to throw it- but she knew that little losses of temper like that would make him underestimate her in the long run.

Dumping the pieces in the trash Ana remembered what White had said about books in his study. Idly she walked around testing the few doors in the apartment until she found one that was locked from the inside, she knew it was White's and while disappointed it was what she had expected.

Further down the hall she found the entrance to his study, a very bright room, (though it lacked the giant floor to ceiling windows his living room had,) and a very, very, large one. Two entire walls were covered by bookshelves while the other two had what were undoubtablely two way mirrors. (The mirrors were of course, on the outside of the building.) The only other objects in the room was a plush comfortable looking window seat and a massive desk who's top was eerily clear of any clutter what so ever. She gave the shelves a brief glance and decided that they could wait, choosing instead to indulge her curiosity by seeing what the desk concealed.

At first glance the desk contained only three drawers, one of which was locked and two of which were empty. Upon closer inspection however it was obvious that the third drawer had a false bottom. Intrigued Anastasia tried to open it, and found that it had been hidden in a way characteristic of the nineteen fifties. Grinning at its crudity Ana set to work on it and had it open within minutes.

Inside there was slim black photo album with a single red rose engraved onto its cover. She could tell it was old but it had obviously been taken care of. Opening it she was surprised to find a large photo of herself on the first page. She wore the conclaves ceremonial robes with a cowl drawn over her head and when this photo had been taken she was just beginning to pull the cowl away from her face. It was an eerie shot, the photo was filled with the darkness of torches and the light of stones, and she herself looked like a ghost ascending from the tunnels of Hell. Turning the page she was greeted by another photo of herself, this time with White and Sandeman besides her. Confused, Anastasia flipped through the album to find photo after photo of herself, occasionally there were others she recognized in the photos but she was the focus of every shot.

Unpleasant bewilderment wound its way through her mind as she shut the book and put it back where she'd found it. It's not everyday one has their entire identity called into question and when it did the questions one asked seemed impossible - just who was she and why couldn't she remember? Why hadn't Sandeman ever told her just who Ames White was?

***

Max had at first been concerned when Alec came in to work unshaven and wearing what he'd been wearing when he'd left Logan's apartment the previous night. Three runs later however she was more angry and concerned. "You're crazy Alec!" He had spent the time relating his plan to her - a plan that she found Ludicrous. "It isn't possible, and even if it was I would never Logan at that kind of risk -."

"Logan's risk would be minimal Max and you know it." Alec's eyes blazed with anger and desperation as he listened to Max's argument. "Hell, he'd be in be in more danger if you went into heat and you know it!" Max stopped cold when she heard this, rounding on Alec slowing and angrily, she had every intention of hurting him badly but the haunted look on his face stopped her immediately - bringing back memories of Ben. "Please Max, just talk to him. I know you care about Logan - more then you admit even to yourself, but this might be our only chance - my only chance." Max hated to admit that he was right, but at present there was no better alternative, giving in she nodded and agreed to ask Logan for him.

"Great, and hey if you do go into heat - I'm always around." For that comment Alec received a sharp kick to the shin from Max. "Ouch!" But as she turned away from she fought a slight grin. Same old Alec… nothing kept him down for long, and if this worked - well his 'old self' might be annoying as hell but anything was better then seeing Ben in his every motion.

***

Sitting on the window seat in Ames' study Anastasia watched the people come and go as they returned to their homes after a hard day's work. Her day had been dull to say the least, after her discovery early that morning she had found little else of interest and after reading one or two books the length of War and Peace she had decided to raid his fridge and see what she could cook up. From the state of his spice cabinet and cookware it wasn't hard for her to summarize that he didn't cook very much and for a few hours she had amused herself by trying to cook without many of the essential things any good cook needed. At last however she had conjured up something that she deemed edible and it now sat keeping warm in the oven.

After a good while she saw a familiar Lexus draw up to the building. Enhancing her sight she watched as he got out of the car and began bags out of the trunk. The labels were all from stores that sold women's apparel and she smirked to herself as she thought about how embarrassing all that shopping must have been for him. Serves him right. A few moments later however she became less amused when she saw the number of bags he carried.

When she heard the front door open, she got up and walked over to where he stood in the entryway. Crossing her arms and leaning against the door of the living room she watched silently as he hung his coat and jacket up. Once he closed the door to his closet however he seemed to be unsure what to say. Keeping still and silent a few moments more Ana waited until she was sure he was unsettled to speak. "How much did you spend."

Her tone was incredulous and the accusation there stopped White dead. It wasn't what he'd expected so he answered automatically, with all of his usual sarcasm. "Why, do you plan on paying me back?"

"Nah, just trying to figure out how long you plan on keeping me here." White shrugged, this was a question he'd expected, but not one he intended to answer.

"I just wasn't sure what you'd need." Handing the bags to her and picking a few up himself he helped carry them to her room then retreated towards the Kitchen.

"Dinner's in the oven." He heard the words she shouted and decided to help set up the table, a bit amazed that she'd bothered to cook. It all felt odd to him, like she was playing games. "So what did you do today?" Being asked that question at the dinner table was something that he had dreaded every night of is marriage. This time however it wasn't his wife asking, and this time he could tell the truth.

"I Pretended to be angry at those incompetent government agents of mine for letting you escape. And you?" Unknowingly he had just given Anastasia information that she hadn't had before - but she'd played the spy one too many times to let on she was surprised.

"Being bored stiff." Smiling deceptively Ana washed her hands and sat down to eat. This game of theirs was getting to her, but at least now she was getting some information.

**

Later that night Ana put away the clothes White had bought for her that day. While a few items were purposely meant to either make her blush or wrinkle her nose all the other clothing, shoes, and other accessories were to her tastes - and not to mention size - exactly. All of the clothing, even the stuff he'd bought as a lark, were of good expensive quality. Looking at all of it she felt something tug at the edge of her memory as she once again wondered just what kind of relationship they had shared. In the silence of her thoughts she suddenly heard his voice and roughly pushed them aside, to her surprise however he was on the phone.

"Otto? Yeah it's me, listen if you're not busy I need a favor…." When she heard no familiar greeting (AN: pardon the pun) she lost interest and decided to give him his privacy. Finishing with one bag of clothing she moved on the next one, the first thing she pulled out made her flush scarlet. Christ - who the hell would wear this?

***

Logan and Max sat across from each other as they discussed Alec's plan, Logan called it crazy at first, but after some persuasion he began to see it's possibilities. "If it works, it would be genius - if it doesn't we'd be dead." Max thought as much too, but having already decided on a course of action there was little else for the two to do. After an awkward silence Logan finally remembered something with which to fill it. "I carbon dated the photo's today. The first one was taken twenty years ago, the last one two years ago." Max's brow wrinkled, that didn't make sense to her, but she let him go on anyway. "In one she's obviously with the familiars, in the other it's Manticore."

"So keep your friends close and your enemy's closer?" Max made the connection immediately - double agents were one of Manticore's specialties. "So who's the enemy and who's the friend?" Max ended her sentence with a yawn, not having slept much at all. Logan didn't say anything but wheeled out of the room to go get something. When he returned Max had fallen asleep on his couch.

Bathed in moonlight she slept with an innocence and serenity that did not exist for her in waking hours, her face was completely devoid of the pained expressions she usually wore and her eyes were free of the half sorrowful expressions that haunted her so often. Logan watched her with mingling emotions, love, sorrow, joy, all seemed to be one where she was involved.

Ever so hesitantly he reached out and dropped her jacket onto her body, wishing that touching here wasn't so lethal. He loved her, and what hurt most was that he knew she loved him as well. Yet somehow fate had deemed fit that they endure this torment. In a way Logan knew that surviving this would mean they could survive anything - but how long would it be until this virus left them?

In the night there were only the stars to hear his silent questions and if they knew the answers they certainly weren't telling him.

***

Ana woke up at roughly two AM to a sound she couldn't identify. After a few moments she realized that the sounds were coming from the living room. Getting up she quietly slipped to her door to listen for who was outside, praying that Ames hadn't lied about not handing her over to the conclave. The voices out there were all male and she heard something about a break in at White's old place. The important thing was that these people were not Familiars.

Calculating the possibilities this opportunity provided Ana quickly made her decision, stripping off her nightgown as she did so. Quickly going to the closet she slipped out a black satin robe that clung just a little more then it was supposed. Letting her hair down from the braid she'd held it in she quickly tossed it about slightly. If someone else knew she was here then perhaps she would survive after all.

"Ames, why are you entertaining guests at two in the morning?" When Ana came out of the hallway all the men seemed to jump a little not having expected a woman. White cursed silently under his breath before turning to her.

"I'm sorry Ana, we didn't mean to wake you." His eyes widened when he saw what she was wearing - he'd bought the robe to remind her that she was still a prisoner of sorts - how the hell was he supposed to know that she'd turn things around on him? Behind him Otto and the two others who were there literally had their jaws hanging on the floor. Besides the men there was now a piano where there hadn't been one before. Walking to it Ana tinkled a few notes before White took one of her hands and told her she might wake the neighbors. Noticing the looks his colleague's were giving both him and Ana White decided that maybe this had been a bad idea after all. "In fact, Otto and the others were just leaving - they probably need some sleep too."

Smiling White very graciously pushed his 'guests' out of his apartment before wheeling back on Ana with anger seeping out of his every feature. "Do you have a death wish? You're lucky that those men didn't see you while you were in lock up." He ran his hands through his hair and Ana laughed at him, walking forward and dropping herself limply against him.

"What - afraid of rumors flying around the workplace? Or just afraid that they'll call you a cradle robber." White stared daggers at her but Ana once again just laughed him off. She knew that they couldn't be more then two years apart in age - it just happened to look more like twenty. Very suddenly he noticed just how little the robe did to cover her and Ana could feel him gulp. She only laughed into his shoulder again and whispered into his ear. "Serves you right." She pushed away from him then and walked towards her room - her purpose had been served, and she knew that pushing him too far would be dangerous. Leaving him with something to think about, she changed back into her nightgown and dropped right back into sleep.

**

Ok, so now that we've gotten this far I'd like to ask ya'll something - Do you think I should step this up to an R rating? There are things I'm contemplating writing but I'm not sure if I should. Feel free to discuss this on one of the DA message boards with me if you don't mind. Also, this hasn't been proof read so I hope ya don't mind.