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The snow lay over the trees and ground like a huge white blanket. The breeze, although cold, was invigorating. It all looked as though it were a carefully constructed painting that should be hanging on an art gallery wall. The blond that stood on her front porch staring in wonder at it all, lovingly caressed her swollen belly. This was a perfect place to raise her child. She shuddered at the thought of what might have been if Manticore hadn't been destroyed. "Ralph, come inside," Bullet called from inside the house. "It's freezing out there." He walked out onto the porch and placed a jacket around her shoulders. He looked out at the scene before him and understood her fascination. "It's beautiful. Come on back inside. Bugler's awake and looking for breakfast. You need to keep your strength up too." "Alright, Bullet, I'm coming." Ralph smiled to herself. She often thought about Max and how lucky they all were that she had taken the time to ensure they were given a chance at a better life. Casting the landscape one more glance, she headed back inside where Fixit had already started breakfast. Max let herself into Logan's apartment as she usually did. "Logan!" She had, had a lousy day at work. The only thing that had kept her from being totally depressed was a phone call from Jondy. "Hey! Where are you hiding?" It was unusual not to find Logan working away at his computer. She jumped slightly when Logan walked in the front door of his apartment. "Hey. Where have you been?" She stood on tiptoes for a kiss. Logan kissed Max hello. "Getting sector passes and fuel. I wasn't expecting you this early." He beamed at her. "Not that I'm complaining about spending more time with you." "Good." Max smiled back. "I thought I'd head straight here from work. Original Cindy's got a hot date so I figured I'd give her some space." She slumped down on the sofa. "I sure hope your day was better than mine." Logan sat down beside her. "Got a lot done so that I could have the weekend off to spend with a sexy brunette. What happened at work?" Max cuddled up to Logan. "How about you spend the weekend with me instead," she joked as she felt his arm go around her shoulders. "Work wasn't really that bad. Normal was being his usual self. I got a flat tire twice, you know, the same old same old. Jondy phoned though. She said she's just about back to normal." Logan listened patiently. "You fancy a trip across the boarder? I though we could try and get some answers out of Sandeman." He knew Max wanted some of the mysteries about her DNA solved. Max crawled into his lap and sat so that she was facing him. "We could catch up with the X6 kids while we're there." She smiled mischievously. "What are we going to do with the rest of our time?" Logan kissed her neck. "We'll think of something to pass the time." He pulled back to look at her. "Have you got enough warm clothes with you?" They had agreed to take things slow. Max spent her weeknights at her own apartment unless she was doing 'Eyes Only' work and on the weekends she stayed with Logan. Logan had made the effort to get any 'Eyes Only' work out of the way by Friday night so that Max had his full attention. Max shrugged. "I should be alright. Better take along a couple of your sweaters just in case." She smiled sadly. "All of those times Zack tried to get me over the boarder and I wouldn't go. You ask me once and I'm already planning my clothing." Logan pulled her closer. "It obviously makes a difference how you ask." He gently pushed her hair off of her neck and started to kiss his way up from her collarbone to her ear. Max giggled as she felt his beard brush her neck. "Not to dampen the moment, but I just want to call Alec and make sure he drops in to visit Joshua." She grabbed the phone before Logan could argue that Joshua would be fine. As she started dialing Alec's cell phone number, Logan switched to the other side of her neck and started working his way down. Max had dialed the phone number three times before she gave up trying to concentrate through Logan's sweet torture. "Hell, I'll call him from the car." She tossed the phone into an armchair and gave Logan her undivided attention. Logan had organized a passport and sector pass for Sandeman as soon as it was safe for him to travel. The old man had gone into a state of shock after he had found out the man claiming to be his son, Cameron, was an imposter. Lydecker had got next to nowhere with his questions about Max's DNA. In the end they had all decided to allow Sandeman to settle into his new home before questioning him further. Sandeman had been incredibly apologetic of Cameron's treatment of Jondy. Jondy had begrudgingly accepted the apology for Joshua's sake. It obviously upset him to see two of the people he cared about, not getting on. After a couple of days rest, Jondy had gone back to San Francisco. A week later Sandeman had traveled to Canada. The roads were relatively clear so Max and Logan had started their trip early that morning. Max had offered to drive as neither of them had gotten much sleep last night, but Logan assured her that he was fine and he would swap driving with her if he had a problem. They drove in a comfortable silence with only the sound of classical music floating through the car. Max knew that Logan had made an attempt to try and locate Sandeman's family so that they had something to bargain with, but hadn't come up with much. Max pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and pushed a speed dial number. She waited patiently for the phone the other end to be picked up. "Hey, Boo. How was your evening last night?" She giggled as Original Cindy gave her a humorous summary of her date. "Logan and I are heading to Canada for the weekend. Do you think you'll have time to visit Joshua a couple of times for me. I'd ask Alec but Joshua seems to get into trouble every time the two of them are left together." She was relieved when Cindy promised to visit 'Dog boy'. "Thanks, Boo. I'll see you when we get back." Logan marveled at the enchanting scenery passing them by. Nothing could compare to the beauty seated beside him in the car in his opinion. "Did Jondy tell you if she was back at work yet?" He had dressed the X5s wounds for her a couple of times and had voiced his concerns to Max about her sister's condition. Max shook her head. "Not yet. Julia called Nigel at the bar before Jondy got back to San Francisco. She told him that Jondy had been attacked in Seattle and needed a week off." She chuckled when she recalled Jondy's rant when she found out Logan had phoned Julia and told her what had happened. "Your name is mud by the way. I wouldn't ask Jondy for any favors for a while." Logan grimaced. "I only did it for Jondy's sake. She'd already reopened that side wound three times." He had known when he had phoned Julia that Jondy would be upset with him. "How mad is she?" The last person that had made Jondy mad had been found hanging naked by his ankles from the Golden Gate Bridge. Her temper certainly matched her hair color. "If you're lucky, she'll forgive you in a couple of days." Max tried not to laugh at the worried look on Logan's face. "When she's calmed down and back at work, I'm sure she'll realize you were only acting out of concern and not interfering." "I hope you're right." Logan relaxed a little. "We can always threaten Sandeman with a visit from Jondy if he doesn't co-operate. Do you think he'll remember what your DNA was designed towards? It was a long time ago." Max pushed her long hair off of her face. "He's got to. There is no one else to ask." Sandeman was the hope she had to answer her questions. She wasn't ready to let go of that hope just yet. Logan had rented a cabin to stay in for the weekend. It wasn't huge, but it would suit the two of them for their brief stay. It was isolated and out of sight of any passersby, which gave them the privacy they both needed. Max laid a map out on the dinning table while Logan set his lap top up on the coffee table in front of the sofa. They had contacted Sandeman as soon as they got to Canada and he had agreed to meet them at the cabin for dinner. As always Max was mapping out an escape route in case they got into any trouble. After about an hour Logan felt himself starting to nod off. The lack of sleep from the night before was starting to catch up with him. Standing, he stretched his arms and glanced over to where Max was sitting staring out of the window. He frowned to himself when he saw the look of uncertainty on Max's face. "You alright?" He walked over and sat down beside her. Max smiled at his concern. "It's nothing." She rolled her eyes when Logan made no attempt to move away or change his expression. "It's stupid really. It's just I've always known I was a genetically engineered freak. Now I find out I'm a freak with a purpose, I just don't know what it is yet. Maybe I don't want to know." Logan reached out and took her hand. "First of all, you're not a freak. Whether we find out what your DNA is engineered towards or not, it doesn't change the way I feel about you. I love you, no matter what. As for not wanting to know what the purpose of your DNA is, you know it will drive you crazy if you don't find out." Logan hoped he was getting through to Max. Max chewed on her lower lip before looking Logan in the eye. "I love you too. I guess you're right about needing to know." She noticed for the first time how tired he looked. She stroked his face with her free hand. "You look tired. Why don't you get some sleep. I'll wake you in a couple of hours." Logan turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand. "You sure you're alright?" He was treated to a dazzling smile and a nod from Max. "Alright. I could use some sleep." He kissed her forehead and walked off to the bedroom. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow. Zero jerked to alert when he heard someone moving through the snow-covered bush. He and the other X6s had become adapted to more human behavior these days, but some of the old habits were hard to shake. Creeping silently through the bush he saw the intruder. He was surprised to see it was an old man. "You lost?" Zero stepped out from his cover and startled the old man. He thought for a moment that the intruder was going to have a heart attack at the sight of him. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. We don't get many visitors around here." Sandeman managed a nervous smile. "I'm supposed to meet a couple at their cabin it's somewhere near here. I guess I took a wrong path." Zero took a guess at which cabin the old man was referring to. "You're not far off track if it's the cabin I'm thinking of. Come on, I'll show you." It would give him a chance to see who had rented the cabin. He was extra cautious of strangers since Ralph had found out she was pregnant. "Thank you." Sandeman was grateful for the assistance. The people in this area, he had discovered, kept pretty much to themselves. This was something he had begun to appreciate. He had given up on locating his wife and son, after being betrayed by Cameron. They were either so well hidden that he had lost hope of finding them or Manticore had made them disappear. Either option was pretty dismal. Zero pointed to the cabin almost hidden by the surrounding trees. "I think that's the place you're looking for. There's not really anything else around here." Sandeman reached out and shook the young man's hand. "Thank you for your help." "No problem." Zero headed back into the snow covered brush and hid so that he could see who opened the door. He was surprised to see Max standing in the doorway. He noticed that once she had let the old man in, she cast a quick surveying glance. He grinned as he saw that she had spotted him and waved, signaling where he and the other X6s were staying. He saw her nod before he turned and made his way back to the others. Sandeman glanced over his shoulder and saw only the brush. "What do you see?" He turned back to Max. "A friend." Max gestured to the living room. "Logan's just about got dinner ready. Why don't you take a seat." She closed the door trapping in the magnificent aroma coming from the kitchen. Sandeman sat down on the sofa, taking in his surroundings. "How's Jondy doing?" He felt responsible for Cameron's treatment of Jondy, even though he hadn't known what was going on at the time. Max sat down in the armchair opposite him. "She got home safely. She's not happy about having to take it easy until she's fully healed, but apart from that she's fine." Sandeman managed a brief smile. "Good. I thought I had finally found my son when Cameron showed. He was the right age, he had the right color hair and eyes. He even had the birth mark on the back of his neck." He shrugged his shoulders. "I should have known it was too good to be true." Max found herself feeling sorry for the old man. She knew what it was like to be searching for your family and constantly come up empty handed. She pushed the feelings aside. "Why was your family targeted? Didn't you start Manticore?" Sandeman saw Logan laying the food on the table behind Max. He wondered how much Logan knew. Max didn't appear to be holding anything back from him, so he answered her questions. They all moved over to the dinner table before Sandeman began explaining. "When I thought up the idea behind Manticore it seemed the answer to a lot of problems. People were losing family in wars because children were sent into wars ill prepared for what they would face. The concept was that we would create the perfect soldier. It would cut down the casualties of war. This soldier would have animal instincts as well as the best training." "You took it for granted that your toy soldiers wouldn't mind being science experiments." Logan pointed out. He always got angry at the conditions Max had been raised in. "They weren't meant to be subjected to the experiments that ended up being practiced." Sandeman ran his hand over his face. "I got financial backing for my idea, but tried to turn it down when I realized what the down sides would be. My wife's life was threatened. Rather than risk my wife, I went ahead with Project Manticore. It was named after a mythological creature." Max raised an eyebrow at him over her dinner. "I'm a science experiment named after a myth. Gee, that really makes me feel special." Sarcasm was dripping from every word. Sandeman continued. "It took a while before we discovered the DNA of your average household feline worked the best with human DNA. It heightened all of the normal human senses needed in combat situations. The backers for Manticore wanted the failed experiments destroyed, but I threatened to pull the plug if they did. It wasn't fair to kill them because they were different." "So they were kept in the basement locked away instead," Max added. "We used to call them nomalies. We thought that was where we'd be sent if we were less than perfect." Logan frowned. "So they were portrayed as sort of a boogey man. A scare tactic for kids." Sandeman nodded to Max. "Your unit was the last one I took part in. Lydecker had been brought on board and the treatment of the surrogate mothers and children was getting worse and worse. My wife had given birth to our son whom we named Cameron and any attempts I made to try and improve the conditions were met with threats to my family." "So you hid your family where Manticore couldn't find them," Max guessed. "But when you went back to get them, they weren't waiting for you." "It had been five years." Sandeman could remember it as though it were yesterday. "It took me that long to find a way out. It was too dangerous for me to even try and take Joshua and Isaac with me so I left them behind. I still don't know if Manticore got to my family first or if they moved on to stay safe." Logan felt for the guy, but Max needed answers and he was going to get them out of Sandeman for her. "What about Max's DNA? Why hasn't she got any junk DNA?" "Manticore wanted a soldier that could survive even in disease infested zones. They literally needed the one perfect soldier that could even out last their own unit." Sandeman looked Max straight in the eye. "You were the special one. Lydecker even played favorites with you. I don't think he knew what was so special about you, but he could tell there was something. I kept you a secret so you would be safe. I encoded the secrets to Manticore to your DNA so that there would be one person to stop the madness that was bound to erupt." Logan shook his head in disbelief. "Well somebody found out your secret and that put Max's life in even more danger." They had the answers they had wanted, all but two. "What did Renfro want with Max? And why would she tell Max to find you?" Sandeman shook his head. "I don't know. I never met anyone called Renfro. She must have joined Manticore after I left." "Makes sense." Max looked over at Logan. "Remember when we broke into Manticore to blow up the DNA lab? Lydecker said Renfro was the new director at Manticore." Logan shrugged. "Could be she had a lesser position at Manticore and worked her way up." He glanced at Sandeman. "She could have been one of the lab assistants when you were there." "Could be." That certainly made sense. Sandeman thought back. "There were two young women that worked as assistants, but I only know them by their first names." It had been so long ago that he was having trouble recalling what they were. "I can't be certain, but I think their names were Liz and Joanna." Max recalled seeing an ID card in Renfro's briefcase just before she was shot diving in front of Max. "Elizabeth Renfro. That was her full name." Sandeman suddenly remembered her. "Liz was very determined. She was hungry for any knowledge she could get. If I'm remembering correctly, she wasn't much of a team player. Always looking out for number one. That doesn't explain why she told you to find me though, does it." Max shook her head. "No. I guess that still leaves me with some unanswered questions." Sure, she had answers as to what her DNA had been designed for, but now she had more questions without answers. Logan reached over and grabbed his laptop. "I found out your wife and son moved to Atlanta just before you disappeared from Manticore. Joshua remembered the approximate date you stopped coming to visit him. I'm sorry, I lost the trail there. Could be your wife knew Manticore was following her and took a new identity for safety." Sandeman looked at Logan in amazement. "They could still be alive?" He didn't know why, but he felt he could trust Logan. "If anyone can find them, Logan can." Max beamed at Logan proudly. He had come through for her on more than one occasion. Logan felt his ego expand at her praise. "I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but I do have a couple of contacts in Atlanta. It would help if you could give me a photo." Sandeman reached into his pocket and pulled out a rather worn wallet. "Is this one alright?" He handed a black and white photo to Logan. Logan smiled. "This should be fine. We'll let you know if we find anything else out." A knock at the door startled them. Max cautiously approached the door and peered out the side window. She frowned slightly. "It's Bugler." She opened the door and smiled at the little boy. "Hey. We were gonna come and see you guys tomorrow." At least that had been her intention, she just hadn't filled Logan in that she had already seen Zero. Bugler grabbed her hand. "You gotta come quick. Ralph's bleeding. Bullet says it's too early for the baby to come." He started to tug at her hand so she would follow him. Logan grabbed everybody's coat and the first aid kit. This was becoming an automatic reflex for him these days. "I don't know if we can help but we've gotta try." The three of them followed Bugler to a nearby house. The four older X6s were happy to see Max, but the urgency of Ralph's condition stopped them from voicing their joy. Max turned to Sandeman. "How up to date is your knowledge of the medical profession?" There didn't appear to be enough time to contact Jondy and get her there to take care of Ralph. Sandeman was the best option. "Logan and I have delivered babies, but I think this is out of our league." Sandeman took the first aid kit from Logan. "I'm going to need some clean towels, some room to move and your help, Max. Everyone but Max and of course Ralph, I want you out of this room." Bullet was about to refuse when Logan placed his hand on the X6s shoulder. "Max will stay with her. Come on, the others won't panic if you talk to them." It was rather obvious that Bullet had assumed the role of leader. Logan was relieved when the X6 man left the room without an argument. Max waited for the bedroom door to close before she took hold of Ralph's hand. "Everything's going to be fine." Ralph appeared to calm down at the sound of Max's words. Bullet started pacing. They had been sitting in the living room for the past hour. "What's taking so long?" He was afraid not only for the baby's life but for Ralph's as well. Fixit put a cup of coffee down in front of Logan. "I'm sure Ralph and the baby are going to be fine, Bullet." She wished she felt as certain as she sounded. "Who's the guy in there with Max and Ralph?" Zero tried to break the long silent pauses that kept descending on the living room. "I found him wandering around earlier." Logan sipped his coffee. "He used to work for Manticore. Managed to disappear when they threatened his family. We had some questions about Max's DNA and he had the answers." Logan decided it was best not to go into too much detail. Bugler sat down beside Fixit. "Is Ralph gonna be alright?" His eyes were wide with fear. All of this was a new experience for the youngster. "She's going to be fine." Max walked out of the bedroom. "She's got to stay in bed and off of her feet until the baby's born. Sandeman's going to come by and check on her everyday just in case." "Can I go in and see her?" Bullet had been going crazy with worry, not knowing what was happening. Max smiled at him. "Sure." She walked over and sat down on Logan's lap. "Don't wear her out." She warned as the other X6s followed Bullet into the room. She felt quite worn out herself. It had been too much of a painful reminder of the baby she had lost herself. "You alright?" Logan could guess what was going through Max's mind. He, himself, could easily imagine how Bullet had been feeling. He tightened his hold slightly when Max nodded and laid her head on his shoulder. "How about we say goodnight to everyone and head back to the cabin. Max stood and took hold of Logan's hand. "That sounds like a good idea to me." They poked their heads around the bedroom door and said goodnight as well as promising they would stop by in the morning. It was in silence they walked back to the cabin, hand in hand, Max leading the way as she could see better in the dark. The dinner dishes had been left on the table in their haste to get to Ralph that night. Logan started to clear the table until he felt Max's arms circle his waist from behind him. "Can that wait until the morning?" Max laid her cheek against his back. "I'll even help with the washing up." She knew she didn't have to bargain with Logan, but she wanted to forget the events of the later part of the evening. Nobody could help her with that better than Logan. "Sure." He turned so that he was facing her. Logan had learned a while ago that Max wasn't real big on voicing her feelings. He had become rather adapt at guessing what was going on inside her and right now she needed to forget what she was and be just a normal girl. "You tired?" He ran his fingers through her long dark hair. Max grinned mischievously up at him. "Exhausted. You better take me to bed before I fall asleep on my feet." She burst into giggles when Logan swept her off of her feet into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. Minutes later they lost themselves in each other, all other thoughts had been pushed aside. Logan woke when the sun hit his face the next morning. He wasn't surprised to roll over and find Max's side of the bed empty. It was a routine he now had memorized. She would get out of bed, shower, open the curtains so that the light would wake him instead of a piercing alarm and go and switch the coffee machine on. He quickly pulled a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt on and headed to the kitchen. He spotted Max wrapped in a bathrobe, sitting on the windowsill, staring out the window with a cup of coffee between her dainty hands. "Morning." He bent down to kiss her good morning. Max smiled up at him. "Morning. What time did you want to head back to Seattle?" "Sometime after lunch." Logan went and got himself a cup of coffee. "You want to go and check on Ralph after breakfast? You didn't really get a chance to catch up with everyone last night." He noticed she had cleared the table and washed the dishes while he had been asleep. Max nodded. "We can take our time. It's not as though I need the sleep before I go to work and your hours are pretty flexible considering you work from home." Logan watched her for a moment. "Are you alright being around Ralph? We don't have to visit if it makes you uncomfortable." He sat down at the table. Max moved from the windowsill to join him at the table. "I want to go and see them. I'll be fine. I guess I was just feeling a little sorry for myself." She shot him a sexy smile. "I'll get over it with a little help from you." Logan chuckled and shook his head. "You keep looking at me that way, we won't be leaving this cabin anytime soon." He stood and kissed the top of her head. "I'd better get you some breakfast." He walked into the kitchen before he could decide to make good on his threat. An hour later they were trudging hand and hand through the snow to the X6s house. Zero was waiting for them on the front porch. "Hey. We thought you'd be here earlier. I was just about to go and make sure you two made it back to the cabin alright." Max nodded towards Logan. "I had trouble getting him out of bed." She caught the glimpse of a smile that crossed Zero's face. "How's Ralph doing this morning?" "Better." Zero opened the front door to let them in. "That guy Sandeman stayed here last night to make sure she didn't have anymore trouble. He even offered to help with the delivery when the baby's due." Logan saw Sandeman come out of one of the back rooms. "Morning. It was lucky you were here last night." Sandeman smiled. "I was happy to help. I live nearby so I'm within reach should any problems arise. I don't think Ralph will have anymore problems as long as she rests." "I'll keep looking for your wife and son when we get back to Seattle." Logan felt it was the least he could do. There was no way he and Max could have helped Ralph last night. "I'm not promising anything, but if I do find out anything I'll contact you immediately." "Thank you." Sandeman was filled with a new sense of hope. "That's all I could ask for." He shook hands with Logan. "I think I'll head home now." He turned to Zero. "Tell Bullet I'll be back this evening to check on Ralph." He waved good-bye to everyone and let himself out. Bugler ran into the room. "Max is here!" He yelled out before launching himself at Max for a hug. "Are you staying with us too?" His grin was infectious. "Afraid not." Max ruffled his hair, which had grown into a nest of light brown curls. "We'll be here for a couple of hours, but then we've got to go back to the cabin and pack to go back to Seattle. We'll come back and visit after the baby's born though, ok?" She promised. Bugler seemed satisfied with her answer. "Come on." He grabbed her hand. "I'll show you my room." Logan chuckled as the little boy dragged Max off to see his room. He followed Zero into the living room and chatted to Bullet and Fixit while waiting for Max to reappear. The morning flew past and it was with great disappointment on both Max and Logan's parts that they had to leave. They both promised to return when the baby was born. They hadn't brought much with them, so it didn't take long to pack and start their trip home. Logan reached for Max's hand while keeping his other hand on the steering wheel. "You regret coming here this weekend?" She had been so quiet in the car. Max squeezed his hand. "No. I'm glad we got away somewhere, where we're not being shot at and none of my family are bursting in at inappropriate moments." She giggled. "One more weekend like that and I'll expect it all the time." "I don't perform miracles." Logan joked. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "I don't know about that." Max leaned closer to him. "You were pretty damn miraculous last night." She nuzzled her face into his neck. Logan managed to loop his arm around her waist. "We are never making it home in one piece with you doing that." He took his eyes off the road long enough to kiss her lips and then went back to concentrating on the road. They traveled the rest of the way back to Seattle that way. There were still a couple of unanswered questions left hanging in the air, but right now they didn't seem to matter. That was a problem for tomorrow.
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