Disclaimer: Please, do we need to go through this again?
Author's Notes: Thanks to Vix who read this chapter months ago and corrected it for me. A special thank you goes out to Topaz for all the emails, and if you're reading this chapter Topaz, email me so I can get your input on the final chapter.
~*~*~*From Chapter Six~*~*~*
"Logan, Logan, Logan," she repeats, watching as life ebbs away from the man beneath her. "Don't die on me, please."
As Max holds onto Logan in the dream world, the surgeons are gathered around his body, busily trying to revive him. "Charge to 200," Sam yells as he grabs the paddles.
"Charging," the OR nurse replies as she flicks the switch on the machine.
"Clear," he exclaims, sending a jolt of electricity coursing through Logan's body. Don't die on me Logan, Max will kill me. Giving the heart monitor a quick glance he sees that no change has occurred, "Charge to 300!"
~*~*~*Now onto Chapter Seven~*~*~*
"Logan, Logan, Logan," Max repeats endlessly willing life back into his body. "Logan," she cries as she places her hand on the side of his face. As she closes her eyes, she hears his sudden intake of breath. "Oh thank God! What happened, are you okay? Don't do that again."
"Sorry, kind of tired," he explains weakly as he tries to sit up.
"No," Max says seeing his motions, "Let's rest for a while."
"Thanks," Logan murmurs as he allows Max to cradle him in her arms.
"Just remember our deal," Max begins, trying to sound nonchalant, "If you die on me…"
"Yeah, yeah, you'll kick my ass," Logan replies, as a slow smile spreads across his face.
"Well," Max glances down at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief, "I was going to say you'll never get to see me naked, but that works too."
"Funny girl," he laughs
"Well, I try," she jokes, briefly returning his smile before turning serious. " How are you feeling?"
"Tired and weak," Logan replies honestly. He turns his head to glance around at the surroundings; they are back on the beach a few feet from the ebbing tide. "I just died Max," he whispers in astonishment, "I just died in both worlds."
To anyone else Logan's answer would have simply been one of wonder, but Max could hear the fear in his voice. "You can't leave me Logan," Max pleads, tightening her hold on him.
"I won't," he says looking up into her face, "I promise."
"Don't make a promise you can't keep," she quickly throws back.
"Have I yet?" he asks sleepily.
"No," she smiles stroking his hair as he closes his eyes. "I don't know how it happened Logan," she says quietly, trying not to disturb him. "I mean all I wanted from you was a statue. The plan was for me to steal from you, not you from me. But you did anyway. You broke down all of my defenses and made me care—about something other than myself. You showed me what it was like to be happy and feel safe. You made me feel loved. You made me a whole person Logan."
Logan pulls away from her embrace, and stares at her in amazement because she has finally opened up. "You were never broken," he whispers wrapping his arms around her.
"I felt like I was," she murmurs against his neck.
He pulls away slightly so he can look into her eyes, "No, you're perfect," Logan declares, accentuating every syllable with a kiss.
"I love you," Max grins as he kisses her lips.
"I love you."
"Why does it take you dying, for me to tell you that?" Max questions. She hears her words echo around her and she notices that the dream world they have created has begun to fade. She turns to look at Logan, only to find that he has already disappeared. In the distance, Max hears a voice beckoning to her.
"Ma'am? Ma'am?"
Slowly Max opens her eyes, taking in the bland colored walls and the cross directly in front of her. Shaking her head slightly to clear her muddled thoughts, she hears the voice again.
"Mrs. Cale," the nurse says again, more loudly.
"Logan," Max exclaims as the nurse's voice finally pieces her consciousness. "Oh sorry," Max apologizes as she sits up on the bed and focuses her attention on the nurse. "Where's Logan? How is he?" She asks hurriedly, afraid that something happened to sever their connection in the dream.
"Mr. Cale is halfway through the surgery," the nurse smiles.
"Thank you. Have there been any complications?" Max asks, even though she knows the answer.
"The doctor will be with you shortly," the nurse states, deftly avoiding the question. "Perhaps you would like to go to back to the waiting room so he'll be able to talk to you there."
As the nurse shuts the door, Max swings her legs over the bed and stands. Glancing at the bed, she gives a frustrated sigh, knowing that the link between them has been broken for the time being. "I don't understand," Max says to the empty room. "How is this possible? Why am I…why am I sharing a dream, correction, another dream with Logan?" She paces the room in long strides, her arms wrapped tightly around her body. "What does this mean? I don't understand…what a joke, the genetically engineered superhuman is confused," quietly berating herself while pacing the room. Hanging her head, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut, trying to reign in her emotions, and failing miserably. Once the tears started there was no holding them back, "See what you've reduced me to Logan Cale," she laughed slightly as she caught her reflection in the window. "This isn't helping," brushing the tears angrily away, she sat back down on the bed. Closing her eyes, she visualized him lying on the operating room table, "I can't do anything Logan. For once, I am completely powerless, but you aren't. You have to fight Logan. Fight for me, because I can't, and it's up to you now. Fight Logan," she willed, "fight for us."
A warm sensation coursed throughout her body, as if she was just waking from sleep. Opening her eyes, Max felt comforted, as if she was being held. The warmth seemed to be a promise, and in that moment Max knew Logan would not die today. Smiling, she lifted her head, drawing in a deep breath when her gaze focused on the cross, once more. Inherently, she knew that there was more to this whacked out idea of a Blue Lady. She pushed away from the bed and came to stand in front of the brass cross, running her fingers over the cool surface. "Thank you for bringing him back," she began awkwardly, gaining confidence with each word. "I know that he has work left for him to do, especially with me. He's an amazing man, but you must know that. I'm not one to admit my weaknesses, but I need him. I need him. I remember back at Manticore we had to study philosophy, and I'll never forget Socrates. That's what Logan is to me, he's the missing half of my soul. Hell I didn't even know I had a soul until I met him, but when he spoke I felt it. I felt that intense connection fusing the two of us back together. I understand life better now, and I know I can't face it without him. I need him there with me. I'll always need him. I know we won't have forever now, and I understand that—we needed the disease to make us admit things to one another. But if you could just spare him for a few more years, I'll try to make this whole prayer deal a ritual. Please, let me keep him around for a little while."
~*~*~*TWO HOURS LATER~*~*~*
Max looks up as the waiting room door opens, and tosses the magazine back onto the table and she sees Sam walking towards her.
"Max?" Sam begins.
"What's wrong?" Max interrupts Sam mid-stride, "Is he alright? Did something happen?"
"Why don't you come into the conference room?" He suggests nodding his head towards the door. "Come on, Max," he says taking her hand and leading her into the room.
"What's wrong, Sam?"
"There have been some complications," he explains. "We lost him once on the table. He's lost a lot of blood, but we did manage to repair the artery. The transplant team is evaluating him at the moment."
"When can I see him?" Max asks anxiously.
Sam smiles and shakes his head, knowing that if he doesn't allow her to see Logan, she'll find some other way into the recovery room. "He's only been in recovery for ten minutes, Max, normally we don't allow visitors in the room."
A small smile spread across Max's face as she heard the word, "Normally?"
"Give me thirty minutes, and then meet me in the hall," Sam surrendered.
~*~*~*ICU RECOVERY ROOM~*~*~*
"Thank you for keeping your promise," Max says quietly as she watches Logan sleep. "When am I going to learn, don't doubt Logan Cale, Protector of the Downtrodden? Thank you for coming back to me, for fighting for us. I may be the soldier, but you're the strong one." She brushes a lock of hair from his forehead, "After the hell I put through, you were fighting with this all along. I'm so sorry Logan," she whispers, her voice thick with unshed tears. "I guess we both need to learn to lean on each other, how to accept help when problems get to big for us to handle alone. We're stronger together than we are apart."
"Colonel Mustard with the rope," Logan mumbles as he begins to wake up. "Pink elephants on parade."
"Well, Mr. Cale," Max smiled, "at least we know your imagination is still intact." Logan's head turns slightly at the sound of her voice, "I'm here, Logan, I'm here."
"Always there for you," Logan mutters.
"I want you to know, I'm there for you too."
Logan smiles weakly at her, without opening his eyes, "Love you," he whispers before falling back asleep.
"Logan? Logan? Did you just say that you love me?" Max questions. Assuming that he's fallen asleep once more, she smirks. "Whatever, you're on I want some of it."
Slowly opening his eyes and pinning her with his gaze, Logan responds to Max in a voice so soft only she can hear, "I love you Max, but shut up. You're going to give me a headache," Logan winces at the sound of his own whispering, "and I don't think I need any more pain."
"Well, Mr. Cale, it's nice to see that you're awake," the nurse says as she steps up to his bed.
Max grins, "Saved by a nurse."
"You're doing well, Mr. Cale. Blood pressure is good, pulse a little high, normal temperature," she rattles off as she makes a note in the chart. "Hmm," she says flipping the page, "you haven't taken any pain medication since you came out of surgery; let me go ask Dr. Carr what I can give you."
"No pain meds since surgery?" Max questions, raising an eyebrow.
Logan grins sheepishly at Max, "Damn, can't get out of that now."
"No, you're stuck with me," she whispers bending over to kiss him, "for life."
~*~*~*If anyone thinks Sam let Max in quickly, you should see how fast my mom got us in to see my dad after a ten hour liver operation. He had been in recovery, not ICU, but recovery for all of fifteen minutes before we were in there with him. Thanks for reading, and look for the concluding chapter sometime this week.