Later- the control room (from here until I say otherwise, 'Max' and 'Maxie' are just DA Max. Except if the characters are talking about Roswell Max, but that will be clear.)
When Max walked in, she was relieved to see that Logan was alone. She took a deep breath, and dove into the deep end.
"Hey Logan." She said, a little too casually.
"Hey yourself." He said, spinning round. "You ok?" Max sat down slowly, trying to work out how to begin.
"Yeah. I'm fine." She bit her lip. "You talk to any of the Roswell crew yet?" Logan nodded, not sure where this was heading.
"Yeah. I talked to Max and Jondi. Interesting bunch." They both laughed shortly. "It is really true? What they say they are?" Max nodded slowly.
"Yep. They're the Roswell aliens. Freaky, huh? That's really what I wanted to talk to you about. Y'see, Max has healing powers." Logan nodded, he already knew this, and she continued. "Well… he healed me." Logan frowned, confused.
"What do you mean? You got hurt?" he was worried suddenly.
"No, no, nothing like that. I mean, he can heal other things than just wounds. I had something in me that wasn't supposed to be there, and he took it out of me." Logan's eyebrows shot up as the look of dawning understanding crept across his face.
"The virus?" he gasped. Max nodded. "Oh my god! You're serious?" Max nodded again, but wouldn't look at him. Logan walked towards her, and tentatively reached out a hand to touch her cheek. Max willing leant into the touch she had longed for, for such a long time. His skin felt warm against hers, and he knelt down to be level with her. She finally looked up, drawn by the deep blue eyes she knew she would see. Eyes she had not seen this closely since that night so long ago. She touched his cheek in a similar fashion, brushing the rough stubble that covered it. He smiled softly, putting the other arm round her. She didn't resist, but a tear trickled down her cheek. Logan didn't understand. "Max…?" she stroked his cheek with her thumb, gazing into his eyes,
"Logan… I can't." He shook his head.
"What do you mean? You can't what?"
"We can't…" getting her meaning, he shook his head again, clinging to her, as she did to him.
"Why?"
"We just… I love you Logan. But we cant do this." Max found that once she had started, it was easier to just keep going. "We wont work Logan. I love you, but I… I can't start all this again, when I know in my heart that we can never really work. I love you. But I am not in love with you. I think there was a time when I was, but that time has passed… our time has passed." Tears cascading down her face, in Logan's eyes, Max was more beautiful than ever before.
"But I love you." Logan breathed. "If I love you, and you love me, then…"
"You know its no that simple. There are always gonna be things you can't understand, and there's always gonna be someone or other on my tail. I'm always gonna put you in danger." Logan tried to interrupt, but she silenced him, and continued. "It's not just that. Every time we get close, something happens, something stops us. And hell, you know I'm not one to give up without a fight, but this time… I don't think I can survive going through all that again. The way things are now… the way they've been for a while now, I don't think you can… this sounds so awful… you can't be there for me the way I need. Its not your fault, it's no ones fault. I just… we can't be Logan, not anymore. Can't we just be friends, the way we have been for ages now? I think it's better this way." She was still crying, and Logan's eyes were wet too, but no matter how hard he tried to find her wrong, Logan couldn't. He knew that what she was saying was the truth. They could never be what the other really needed. She would always have things that she couldn't explain to him and he would always slow her down, probably get her hurt. However much it hurt, Max was right. But he wasn't going to tell her that just yet.
"We could still try. We love each other, Max…"
"Please don't make this harder. Logan please. I will always love you, and maybe this is totally the wrong time to finally tell you that, but you know I'm right." Logan nodded slowly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Then something occurred to him.
"Is there someone else?" Max broke eye contact.
"Not exactly. There could be, but I haven't actually talked to him about it yet." Logan laughed softly at this. She smiled. " I know it sounds dumb." She said, her eyes beginning to dry up.
"And you think it will work better with him?" Logan couldn't help but ask. Max nodded slowly.
"I think it might." She shrugged. "Or maybe not, but I think I should give it a go. You wont be jealous, will you? Or mean?" He shook his head,
"No. It's ok. I understand. You are right, I guess I just didn't want to admit it." He leant towards her, and Max pulled back, a little shocked. He smiled, then kissed her on the cheek.
"Sorry." She smiled. And kissed him back. They broke apart, and Max headed for the door. Just as she reached it, she turned back round. "Just in case you didn't notice, Asha is totally hot for you. K?" she grinned. He laughed shortly, and smiled back.
"Thanks." He said. Max left, smiling. Alec, across the large room she'd just entered, saw her face, and it wrenched at his insides. In the back of his mind, there was a mocking voice, laughing in disbelief that he had ever thought that Max might pick him.
"You aight Bu?" Cindy asked, joining Max out on the roof where she liked to sit. Max smiled genuinely.
"Yeah, I'm good." She answered. Cindy smiled.
"So you talked to Logan then? Or more than talked…" she grinned. Max smiled at her friend.
"You got it all wrong sweetie." She said. "I told him that we can't be together."
"But you said that Max got rid of the virus."
"Yeah. He did. But Logan and I, we just… I love him, and I probably always will, but I am not in love with him."
"You sure?" Cindy was shaken. Max had told her that she wasn't totally sure about what to do, and that there was another guy involved, but no more. "So you gonna tell me about mystery boy?" Max laughed a little.
"You wouldn't believe me if I did." Cindy cocked her head to one side.
"Uh-uh. You don't get away that easily. Come on, when did you meet him?"
"I've known him ages." Cindy bit her lip, thinking of the fastest way to the truth.
"Ok then, when did you realise you liked him?" Max grinned at this, knowing Cindy was an expert at this sort of 'game'.
"Yesterday." She said simply.
"Yesterday? But most of yesterday it was just you, Alec and the Roswell bunch."
"Uh-huh." Cindy thought a little more.
"Well it can't be Max, cos, no.1, serious name confusion, and 2, I know you wouldn't do that to Jondi. You said that Michael had a girl back home, huh, and you only met them yesturday, so that just leaves… Bu, did you hop onto the other team without telling me?" Max laughed, amazed at the depth of her friends denial.
"No!" she said, nudging Cindy.
"But Bu, if it's one of them;" Max nodded. "And you ain't a lesbo." Max shook her head. "And it ain't Max or Michael." Another shake. "Then that just leaves…" she didn't need to say it, and just looked at Max, doubtfully. Max's cheeks were glowing pink, and the smile on her face was sweet, almost innocent. "You're serious, huh?" Max nodded. "We are talking about the same guy, right? Annoying, looks a lot like one o' your brothers…" Max laughed again, nodding. "And you think it can work better than the alternative?"
"I really think it might." Alec, heading to the roof, froze when he heard the girls' voices. "I just don't think the 'alternative' would be able to really go anywhere. I thought it might, but it couldn't. You get me?" Cindy smiled and nodded.
"I get you girl. An' if that's what your heart tells you, then even if there's gonna be difficulties, it's probably the right choice. I know he cares about you, that's for sure." Alec couldn't take anymore. He went back inside, cursing himself and his stupid human weakness. " The only thing is, do you really think you could ever love him?"
"I really think I could. In some ways I already do. This is what I want. I want to be with Alec."
Later that evening, Alec was sitting alone on his bed in his small room, reading, when there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" he called
"It's me." Came the voice he would know anywhere. He clumsily dropped the book onto the chair nearby.
"Oh. Come in." he stuttered, cursing himself again. Max entered cautiously, unsure of exactly how to start this conversation either.
"Hey." She said.
"Hey." He was shocked even now at the effect her presence had on him. He'd always liked Max, but after feeling her touch, the sight of her face, so close, was enough to stop the very breath in his throat.
"So I talked to Logan." Max managed. Alec nodded.
"Right. I'm really happy for you guys. I hope you're…" she stopped his desperately calm babble.
"Alec." He met her eyes, guided by the force of her voice. "I told him that we can't be together. That we just can't work, and that there might be someone else…" He gazed at her in astonishment. "I mean, if it's ok with you, I thought, maybe, y'know, we could give it a try?" without taking his eyes off hers, Alec pinched his arm, and flinched.
"Huh. Not dreaming."
"No." she smiled. "Not dreaming."
"Are you sure this is what you want? I heard you talking to Cindy, and you said, it sounded like you said…" Max frowned, trying to work out what he might have heard. "I just don't think the 'alternative' would be able to really go anywhere. I thought it might, but it couldn't. You get me?"
"I get you girl. An' if that's what your heart tells you, then even if there's gonna be difficulties, it's probably the right choice. I know he cares about you, that's for sure." Max smiled.
"Dumb ass. You left too early. If you'd stayed, you'd also have heard me say exactly who I meant." He was still confused, but Max was walking towards him. "I said that this is what I want." She was right in front of him now. "I want to be with you." Alec swallowed, and reached out to her as she put a hand on each shoulder. He encircled her waist as she lowered herself to kneel across his lap, a knee on either side. Their breath mingling, she finished "So it's all up to you. A simple 'yes' or 'no'." she draped her arms round his neck, starring into his eyes. Alec swallowed again,
"Yes." he said, and kissed her.
Hee hee! Max and Alec… there's more of these to come… not continuations, so far, but more possibilities.