DISCLAIMER: I don't claim to own them, but if you want to give me the rights I'll accept happily, then I'll band together with other DA fans to get the series back on our television screens, even if only on ours.
Hmmm, a series straight to tape, I see the possibilities.
A/N: Thanks to Milla, who although she was on a business trip and so tired she forgot the conversation counselled me through doubts on this chapter, you are an awesome zen-master.
To all you guys who reviewed this was going to be the last chapter, but again my muse – and my beta – are pretty sure I should keep on with it so, another chapter is in the works, but once I finish with AJBAC that's it. (foot stamps as Abre stares down muse.)
Enjoy, and don't be too scared by the insanity in my author's notes, medication is not an option.
Handing her a glass of wine he returned to the final preparations, nursing the sauce as it slowly thickened.
"So," they both began, lapsing back into awkward silence as their words overlapped.
Taking a sip of wine for strength, Max looked at Logan, who was peering into the oven, and decided to try again to start a conversation.
"So…"
Logan's movement drew Max's attention to his upper arms, the highly defined muscles rippling beneath his shirt.
Oh God, she shouldn't have come here tonight.
"Max," said Logan, when it became obvious that she wasn't going to continue, "Can we just forget about last night, until after dinner? The whole idea of this anniversary dinner was to give you a little mirth; so far all it's been is awkward."
Mutely she nodded in agreement, shaking off the lust and searching her brain for something to say.
"So," she said, "I'm guessing you're not serving chicken tartare tonight."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
They had managed to keep up a lively conversation for the entire meal, the awkwardness of earlier almost gone - except for the odd moments now and then.
Max savoured the chocolate soufflé he'd prepared for dessert, its delicate sweetness sending thrills through her taste buds.
Swallowing the last bite, she placed her fork onto her plate and met his gaze across the table. Realising that the conversation about the night before was rapidly approaching, she jumped from her seat, reaching to take his plate.
"That was great Logan, definitely another five star meal from Chez Cale." Silently, he placed a hand on her wrist, stilling her movements, but she continued talking. "I'll take care of the dishes, then we can have that talk."
"The dishes can wait Max," he said firmly. "How about you take the wine and relax in the living room while I clear the table."
For a few moments they remained motionless, locked in a battle of wills, until Max closed her eyes and she yielded.
Grabbing the bottle and both of their glasses, she left the room; Logan rinsed the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher, allowing her some time to prepare herself before their talk. It was obvious she was anxious, and he was a little nervous himself, about both the night before and revealing the exoskeleton.
With a deep breath he closed the dishwasher and headed to the living room. Max was settled on the couch, staring out the window as she sipped from her glass of wine. She had shifted one of his armchairs, the slight re-arrangement of his furniture allowing just enough room for his wheelchair to manoeuvre into the space.
"So," he said, sliding the chair into position and putting on the breaks, "have I supplied any mirth, or do I need to break out my stand-up comedy routine."
"Stand-up comedy?" she asked, leaning forward to top up both glasses, handing one to Logan before sitting back.
"Yeah, I even considered going on the comedy circuit if the whole Eyes Only, save the world, secret hero gig didn't work out," he said, watched her closely.
She raised an eyebrow at him, his humour cutting through the tension she had again been feeling.
"So about last night…" she began hesitantly.
"Hmmm, it doesn't seem like such a big deal now; I just didn't want you to push me away." He replied, sipping his wine as he studied her.
"I owe you an explanation. See, I go through these phases." For a moment she wasn't sure where to look, glancing around the room as if searching for an escape before meeting his eyes
"Phases?"
"'Cause of my feline DNA. Oh, God, this is something I so don't want to talk about." Looking away again she blushed slightly. "You know… cats? Mating cycles?"
"Oh... cycles. Really?" His eyes were wide as he considered the implications of Max's confession. "So, you go into...wow, and that's why?"
"Why last night happened because, well…because."
"Well, I'm glad you're here, and let's just forget about it."
Max sipped at her wine, strangely unsatisfied with his willingness to forget the night before. Wasn't that what she had wanted?
"Yeah, let's." She hadn't thought what they'd done had been so horrible. A little uncomfortable maybe, but still satisfying…extremely satisfying, in fact.
Picking up on her mood Logan reassured her. "Max, it really is okay."
"No, it's not. I hate it." Standing, she glared at him, lip trembling slightly with emotion. "I hate that this happens to me. I hate what it does to me, the things it makes me do. "
"Max…" She walked to the window, staring silently at the lights of Seattle below before turning back to look at him.
"I should have stayed home, but I didn't. Instead I practically rape you, because I can't control myself. It's just something Manticore tricked up inside of me. Makes me feel... like no matter what I do or how far I run I can never get away from them. Never."
Staring out the window she rested her head against the cool glass, willing the tears burning behind her eyes to disappear.
"It's all right," Logan murmured, standing behind her, a hand on her shoulder. Turning in shock, she stared at him. Logan was standing. "Courtesy our crazy friend Phil."
"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded, her emotions everywhere as she tried to deal with the heat and its problems, as well as her joy at Logan's miracle.
"I wanted it to be a surprise, an anniversary gift."
"I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for...or ashamed of… 'Cause I know who you are." Reaching a hand out he stroked her cheek slightly, looking into her eyes as she forced a wan smile.
"Even if something Manticore did to you caused this, it wasn't rape Max, I… didn't exactly fight you off. If you want to just forget everything I guess I'll have to deal with that, but last night I discovered I had feelings for you. If you don't feel the same, that's fine, but if there's a chance to make something of this 'thing' between us, I'd like to take it."
"I…" She stopped as memories of the night before filled her mind. If she and Logan became something more, he could satisfy the want burning inside her, again and again. Max wanted to be satisfied, almost more than she wanted to breathe.
Shaking her head to clear the rush of hormones she spoke slowly.
"Logan, I think I'm still in heat and I'm not sure what is me and what is hormones."
"Take some time to think about it
then. I don't want you to regret anything that happens between us."
"Okay…." Leaning in she kissed his cheek gently. "Thank you for understanding."
"Happy anniversary," he replied, returning the gesture. As they pulled away their eyes met and they drew closer again. Slowly she kissed him, hands sliding around his back as she aligned her body with his. At the feel of their bodies pressing together the kiss grew more heated.
Suddenly Logan pulled away from her slightly. "Maybe, uh... maybe we should wait. You know, until you're yourself again. "
"You're probably right; I suppose I should go home." Leaning in for another quick kiss she walked toward the hallway, turning just before she left his field of vision.
"You want to cook for me tomorrow night?" she asked with a grin.
"It would be my pleasure," he replied, and then she was gone, leaving him staring out the window at the city and wondering what the future would hold for them.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Max was relieved that her heat was over, because now she could clearly see that to have a relationship with Logan was to put him in danger. The only thing that made sense was if she left Seattle.
Only problem was the plan only made sense in her head, 'cause when she tried to explain it to Original Cindy it just sounded stupid.
"So, you're tellin' me that you explained to the man, and he wants a relationship or somethin' with ya, but now that you're over the scratching bitch, you plannin' on leavin' the city?"
"It's my only option," Max replied, staring at her manicure. This was the first time one had lasted more than one night.
"You know what, boo, Original Cindy is gonna break it down for you. All this leavin' Seattle talk is a bunch of BS. You're just runnin' scared 'cause you're in love with Logan."
As Cindy handed her a cup of coffee and sat down on the couch, Max sighed.
"I'm not in love with Logan. The fact is we'd both be better off if we'd never even met."
"Yeah, right," drawled Cindy.
"He has to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair on account of me."
"I didn't see you on TV pullin' no trigger."
" No, but I could've protected him and I didn't. That's on me, one hundred percent. I'm nothing but trouble. I'm poison. The best thing for me to do is keep my distance before I get him killed."
"Well, he don't seem to be too worried 'bout that, the way he's always callin' you up for dinner and lookin' at you all dreamy-eyed," said Original Cindy, sipping at her coffee as she watched Max's head spin.
"And what do I do?" Max replied angrily. "I practically rape him, because of my stupid hormones. Sounds like a perfect love story to me."
Putting an arm around Max's shoulders, Original Cindy did what any real friend would do. She told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
"Girl, you need to stop runnin' from the reality here and step to the real before your little head explodes. You're in love with Logan and he's in love with you. Now unless you're gonna play for the all-girl's team, you're lettin' the best man you're ever likely to meet get away."
When Max glanced at her in shock, Cindy laughed slightly.
"But what do I know, I'm just a big ol' lesbo."
Standing, she headed to the kitchen to refill her cup, leaving Max to stare into space as she considered what OC had said.
"You really think he loves me?" asked Max suddenly.
"Unless he keeps turning up at Jam Pony to see Normal," she laughed. "Speaking of Normal, we'd better get to work, before his head spins round and explodes."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Max happened to be in Sector 9 just in time for her lunch break. Checking her watch she decided to head to Logan's, just to tell him that maybe this could go somewhere.
Standing in the doorway to the computer room, she smiled when he looked up in surprise.
"Max, I thought you were going to come over tonight."
"Well I was nearby, thought maybe you could be persuaded to feed this female."
"Sure," he said, flicking over to a different window on the screen and typing a command. "Is a sandwich okay?"
"Great," she replied. "There was something else too."
When he met her eyes she smiled, this time hesitantly. "I thought I'd tell you yes. That is, I'd like to see where this could go."
"We'll take it slow," he said, standing and hugging her briefly. "Now I suppose I should start on that sandwich."
As he moved toward the kitchen the exo let out a high pitched whine and he fell to the ground, the machine convulsing as he struggled with the off switch.
"Dammit! Sorry, let me just..." he said, looking up into her concerned face as he managed to get the switch off, and he stopped shaking.
"I'm sorry."
Kneeling next to him Max faced him squarely.
"Logan...you've got nothing to be sorry for or ashamed of. It's never been about you being able to walk--not for me."
"Will you look at us?" he asked, a touch of ironic humour colouring his voice.
"Pathetic," she suggested.
"Hopeless," he agreed.
"Lucky we hooked up." Slowly they moved closer, the nearness of their bodies drawing them together.
After a gentle kiss Logan pulled away again.
"Very lucky."
Then they were kissing again, the heat between them slowly building until they satisfied the same urges that had brought them to this moment.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Later Max sat on the couch with her head on Logan's lap. He was gently stroked her hair as she talked on the phone.
"So anyway, I probably won't be home tonight."
"That's cool, boo, as long as you and your man are enjoying yourself, and you can give Original Cindy all the non-disgusting details tomorrow over lunch."
After a few moments of more chat, Max hung up the phone, shifting to smile up at Logan.
"So what do you want to do for the rest of tonight?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," he replied. "Can you think of anything we could do?"
"Well are there any missions for Eyes Only that need doing?" She smiled when he shook his head. "I guess we'll just have to wait around then, maybe something that needs handling will pop up."
Leaning down he kissed her, smiling as she purred in the back of her throat.
"Guess so."
Turning so she was sitting on his lap, she smiled. "Maybe we could make out while we wait."
Instead of a verbal reply Logan choose an oral one, kissing her deeply as his hands slid under her top. Slowly as the heat built between them, they shifted, Logan stretching full length onto Max's body, each of them straining for closeness as they enjoyed the building sensation between them.
Suddenly a voice intruded from the doorway.
"Looks like I caught you at a bad time," Zack said sarcastically. "You want to go save Tinga or has something more important come up?"