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Logan felt the morning sun hit his face. He groaned and rolled onto his side opening his eyes to find a pair of chocolate brown eyes watching him. "You alright?" He saw such pain in her eyes. "Your shoulder's not giving you any trouble is it?" Three days before, Logan had shot Ames White, but not before White had shot Max. As a result of the X5 siblings trying to stop White for once and for all, Jondy had lost her sight. They were still waiting to find out if she would regain her eyesight. "I was going to ask you the same thing, except the bit about my shoulder." Max was convinced Logan was mad at her for running off with her family and not telling him. He kept telling her, he wasn't mad at her, but she wasn't so sure. Logan had barely touched her since they had returned home from the hospital. "I'm fine." Logan was confused by her comment. "The contractors are due to start work on the mansion tomorrow. Do you think your family will mind being split between here, Joshua's place and Original Cindy's?" He tried not to jostle her, afraid he might hurt her. "I'm sure that will be alright." Max moved a little closer to Logan. "Jondy's going to stay here, right?" She tried not to look hurt when Logan moved away. Logan sat up and swung his legs out of the bed. "Sure. I guess that means we'll have Zane bunking on the sofa." "I knew it." Max announced as she struggled to sit up. "You are mad at me for running out on you." Although she healed quickly, Max was still in a lot of pain from her shoulder. "I already told you I wasn't mad." Logan moved back beside Max on the bed. "Why would you think that." He carefully put his arm around her shoulders. Max snuggled closer. "You've barely touched me since we got home. You keep calling Original Cindy over and you disappear for hours." The truth was, she felt guilty about the way she had snuck out when he was sleeping to fight White with her family. Logan marveled at how much Max could actually be the normal girl she longed to be. "First of all I know how much your shoulder is hurting you and I didn't want to make it worse. Secondly, I didn't want to leave you alone while I organized the renovations to the mansion, so I called Original Cindy. I also didn't want you to cut yourself off from your friends just because you moved in with me." He couldn't believe she had thought he was mad at her. It was taking every once of strength he had not to jump her bones. "So we're alright?" Max still had trouble believing someone like Logan could love a genetic freak like her. Logan kissed the top of her head. "Yeah. We're alright. I'm going to pick up a few pieces of furniture to replace the ones we broke, so I won't be long. Did you want to go with me?" The real reason he had been calling Original Cindy over to watch Max, was that he was afraid of coming home and finding her gone again. "Nah, I think I'll have a soak in the bath." Max was feeling a little more reassured. "Besides, your car will be pretty full." She figured Jondy and Zane might be coming back with Logan. "How about I make you breakfast before I go." Logan realized he couldn't wrap Max up in cotton wool. She would always be in some sort of danger because of what she was. He had to find a way of dealing with that or risk losing her. Max smiled up at him. "Sounds good." She followed Logan to the kitchen to watch him cook, taking her usual seat on top of one of the preparation benches. Alec raced around the mansion in a panic. Where the hell was she? He finally located Zane on the bottom floor. "Jondy's gone. One minute she was up to neck in bubbles and now she's gone." "Calm down Alec." Zane tried not to panic himself. "She has to be around here somewhere. Have you looked outside? She likes walking around the flower garden." I looked from the balcony and couldn't see her." Alec saw Logan walk in the front door. "She wouldn't try and go out by herself would she?" "What's wrong?" Logan walked up the two X5 men. "Jondy was taking a bath and now she's missing." Zane felt sure she was still somewhere in the mansion. "Which bathroom was she using?" Logan followed Alec up the stairs into one of the many bathrooms. He looked at the bathtub filled with soap sudded water for a moment. He crouched down by the tub and knocked on the side of the tub. "Jondy." The water moved slightly before Jondy's head appeared from under the soapy water. "What's the matter?" She reached out for a towel to wipe the soap suds off of her face. Logan chuckled as he carefully wiped Jondy's face for her. "Your brothers didn't know about your tendency to lay underneath the water's surface." He turned to the astonished X5 men. "Max does that all the time." "Yeah, but Jondy hates the water." Zane suddenly realized that Logan knew more about his sisters than he did. "It's different." Jondy opened her eyes and looked in the general direction she could hear the voices coming from. "You know, I am entitled to take a bath by myself. I'm blind, not an invalid." Her head was aching and she was getting grumpy at her brothers being so over protective. Alec grabbed a couple of towels and a bathrobe and placed them beside the bathtub. "Sorry. I guess we did over react a little." He noticed that the burns on Jondy's face had healed and left pink patches on her face. "We'll wait downstairs for you. There's towels and a bathrobe by the tub." He headed out the door before the others could see how worried he had been. Zane knelt beside the bath tub. "You scared the hell out of us Jondy. Are there any other habits you have that I've lost touch with?" Jondy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think so. Can you tell Krit and Syl to keep it down. They're giving me a headache." Zane leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. "Sure. No problem." He stood and left the room with Logan right behind him. "So, to what do we owe this visit, Logan?" Logan closed the bathroom door behind him so that Jondy got some privacy. "The renovations start tomorrow so I came to let you guys know. I thought Jondy could stay in my guestroom. The sofa's yours if you want it. Krit and Syl can probably stay with Original Cindy. Plus I need to replace some of my furniture which got broken accidently a few days ago." Zane chuckled. "I highly recommend you stick to the bedroom next time Max goes into heat. Less furniture gets broken that way." He banged on a bedroom door. "Krit, you and Syl are going to have to stay at Original Cindy's. The renovations start tomorrow. Oh and Jondy says can you keep the noise down, she's getting a headache." A muffled answer came from behind the door. Logan couldn't hear what Krit was saying, but Zane seemed pretty satisfied with the answer. "So I'll see you and Jondy around seven tonight." Zane nodded. "Sounds fine to me. I'll probably drop Jondy off and go and stay with Alec. So I'm guessing you need a new coffee table for starters. Come on. I'll help you load the car." Original Cindy sat beside Max on the sofa. "You're looking much better Boo. You've actually got some color in your cheeks." She noticed that Max still seemed a little down. "How's the shoulder healing?" Max shrugged her good shoulder. "It's still a little sore. I think Jondy's a lot worse off then I am." She grinned at her friend. "Are you sure you don't mind Krit and Syl staying with you? Jondy called a couple of minutes ago. She says Syl's in heat this time but Krit's taking care of her, whatever that means." "It's fine." Original Cindy studied Max's expression for a moment. "You know how freaked Logan gets when you get hurt, right?" She paused long enough for Max to nod. "Then don't take it personally if he's afraid of hurting you. I don't how the boy's managed to restrain himself this long." "I guess." Max moved her injured shoulder slightly to test it out. "He doesn't have to completely avoid touching me though. It just means we have to get a little more creative." She groaned. "Which is going to be even more difficult with Jondy in the guest room and Zane on the sofa." Original Cindy wiggled her eyebrows. "Where's your sense of adventure, Sugar." Max giggled. "The last time we used our sense of adventure, we broke the coffee table and a lot of other pieces of furniture." "Nuf said." Original Cindy shook her head. "So where is hot boy?" "Over at the mansion." Max tucked her legs underneath her. "Getting us a new coffee table and letting the others know about the renovations starting tomorrow." Original Cindy chuckled. "I hope this coffee table's stronger than the last one. The chuckle turned into full blown laughter when Logan and Zane walked in the door carrying a coffee table. "Where's Jondy?" Max couldn't see her sister with the two men. She had assumed that Logan would be bringing her back with him. Logan put the coffee table down in front of the two women with Zane's help. "She's back at the mansion. Alec's keeping an eye on her." He leaned forward to give Max a quick kiss. "I'll bring her over later." Zane assured his sister. "She's been getting pretty bad headaches the last day or so. I don't really want to move her around too much." "That could be part of the healing process." Max suggested. "That's the down side of healing faster than your average human. Double the pain." "So how's the shoulder?" Zane sat down in the armchair. He had noticed his sister was keeping her arm on her injured side tucked in close to her body. "It's healing." Max caught Logan's eye. "I just have to be a little creative at the moment so that I don't jar it." Zane smirked. "Logan, I'll help you unpack the rest of the car when I bring Jondy back tonight." He turned to Original Cindy. "You want to come back to the mansion with me? I may need some help getting Krit and Syl out of the room they're in." Original Cindy could tell by the expression on Zane's face that he was trying to give Max and Logan some time alone. "Sure. It'll give me a chance to visit Jondy." Zane walked towards the door. "See you guys at seven." He waited for the elevator doors to close. "Well that gives them seven hours. Think they'll use them well." He grinned at Original Cindy. "If Sister Girl has anything to say about it, they will." Original Cindy chuckled at the tall man. "When did you start playing matchmaker?" "Since I started spending more time with my sisters." He grimaced. "They may be rubbing off on me. That can't be good." Jondy eased herself down into a chair. "So, are you going to tell me what's been on your mind for the past week? It's more than catching Asha lying to you, isn't it?" Alec sat down beside Jondy. "Is it really worth it?" He watched her forehead crease with a puzzled frown. "Getting involved with normal people. Is it really worth the complications?" "No relationship is without complications, Alec." Jondy knew Alec had been hurt by Asha lying to him. She also knew about Rachel. Max had filled in a few things about Alec. "Anything worth having, the journey is always difficult getting it. I guess that's what makes it worthwhile." Alec thought about what Jondy had said for a moment. "Have you ever loved anyone the way you loved Devon?" He knew Jondy would give him an honest answer. "No." Jondy shook her head slightly. "You love who you love Alec. I don't think anyone ever chooses who they love, they just do." "I guess that explains a lot." Alec murmured deep in thought. He jolted back to the present when Jondy took hold of his hand, a look of concern on her face. "I mean Max and Logan are so different. I don't know what the attraction is there." Jondy smiled. "They're not so different. They both have a stubborn streak. Besides, haven't you heard? Opposites attract." Logan rustled up some lunch for he and Max, trying frantically not to notice how sexy Max looked in his sweater that she had thrown on over a pair of sweat pants. It got harder not to be distracted when Max moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Did I tell you? Zane's going to stay with Alec." "No." Max kissed his shoulder through the fabric of his shirt. "Jondy mentioned it when I phoned her. She said Zane and Alec are driving her nuts with all the fussing they're doing over her." Logan chuckled as he put the plates on the table. "You should have seen Alec's face when I got to the mansion this morning. Jondy had completely submerged herself in the bath and Alec thought she had gone for a walk outside. He was completely panicked." He sat down at the table after gently untangling himself from Max. Max was getting frustrated as hell with Logan's side stepping techniques. "Yeah, well Jondy's a private person at the best of times. She probably just wanted some time alone." She sat down on Logan's lap. "I'm not made of glass, Logan. I'm not going to break if you touch me." She started to nibble her way along Logan's collar bone. She couldn't help the smile spreading across her face as she felt Logan's defenses come crashing down and his arms go around her. British Eddie looked through the gates at the Cale Mansion. He couldn't believe his luck when he caught sight of Alec walking around the grounds with Jondy on his arm. He had just been trying to work out how to rob the place, but now he realized he'd hit the jackpot. Jondy stopped in her tracks. "Alec. Who's watching us?" She could feel somebody's eyes on her. Alec looked around him. Zane and Original Cindy were walking ahead of them, but they turned to face in Alec and Jondy's direction. As he turned to face the gate, Alec saw someone duck out of sight. "Zane, somebody's casing the joint." He kept his voice at a normal level knowing that Zane would hear him. Zane gestured for Original Cindy to wait with Jondy and then raced with Alec towards the wall. Never breaking his stride he leapt straight over the wall. The street was clear, but in the distance he could see someone watching them. "Alec. Is that someone you know?" Alec adjusted his vision to see who Zane was looking at. "British Eddie. Just as well you guys are moving out tonight." "I gather he's connected to White somehow." Zane walked back through the gates beside Alec. Alec nodded. "White was offering top dollar for Max and Jondy. At least he was before Logan shot him." Zane rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't why, but I get this eerie feeling that we haven't seen the last of White." Alec looked at Zane as though he had gone mad. "You saw Logan shoot him. His aim was spot on." Zane shrugged his shoulders. "I know. But doesn't it strike you as strange, at how easy that was." He left Alec standing by the gate considering what he had just said. "What's up Boo?" Original Cindy had gotten used to reading Max's well disguised facial expressions. Now she could see the concern on Zane's face even though he hid it well. "There ain't black helicopter boys hiding out there, is there?" Zane shook his head. "Someone called British Eddie was casing the joint. Alec seems relieved that we're all moving out tonight." "That moron never learns." Jondy muttered. "He's a steelhead. Did he have any of his freaky buddies with him?" "Not that I saw." Zane looked at Original Cindy who just shrugged. "You've been up against this guy before Sis?" "He made an appearance just seconds before my water broke when I was pregnant." Jondy started to rub her aching temples. "I nearly ripped his girlfriend's spine out. Not one of my best days. Although I was rewarded with the twins." Original Cindy remembered that Sketchy had, had a run in with the Steelheads about a year before. "I don't think these Steelhead idiots will be much of an effort for you guys to tackle. I get the impression they're not too smart." "They're not too bright." Alec agreed as he walked up to the threesome. "But Jondy is at a slight disadvantage at the moment, when it comes to fighting." Zane had a feeling that his sister would manage just fine if she got into trouble. It was part of her nature to adapt quickly to whatever life threw at her. "Come on. We'd better get ready to move out. We still have to get Krit and Syl out of that room." Original Cindy looked up at one of the windows on the top floor of the mansion. "So Krit reckons he keeps Syl busy by making her do push ups, sit ups and playing cards while she's in heat." Jondy gave an unladylike snort. "Yeah right. I may not be able to see at the moment, but my hearing is working just fine. If they're playing cards, it's strip poker. As for push ups and sit ups; I'm not even going to go there." Zane put his arm around his sister's shoulders and chuckled. "How long have you known about those two?" Apart from Max and Jondy, none of the X5 siblings were really blood related. Yet Zane still couldn't bring himself to look at the X5 women as anything but sisters. Jondy shrugged. "I sort of suspected there was something between the two of them, when we were helping Max get back on her feet in San Francisco." Alec wanted to get his family out of there as quickly as possible. "Well, lets start packing. The sooner we're out of here, the better." Original Cindy reached out and stopped Alec from racing inside. "You'd better all hide out at my crib for a few hours. Don't want to walk in on Max and Logan banging the gong on the coffee table." "Good point." Zane led Jondy inside. "Let's go toss Krit and Syl in a cold shower." Otto watched the monitor beside the hospital bed, rhythmically beeping. He loyally waited for Ames White to respond to the news the British Steelhead had told him. By all rights, Ames should have been dead. It had been a miracle that the Familiars had gotten him to the hospital in time. "You're sure you saw the redhead?" White didn't trust the Steelhead as far as he could throw him. "Where is she?" British Eddie grinned. "Now, if I tell you that, what do you need me for? I'll take half of the money up front and the other half when I deliver the redhead." "What about X5 452?" Otto enquired. "Any sightings of her?" White managed a grim smile. "Where X5 210 is, X5 452 will be close by." His arm snaked out and caught British Eddie by the collar. "The redhead is not to be harmed, understand. I don't care what you do to the other one." "Understood." British Eddie took a step back from the bed. "Loud and clear." He waited patiently by the door. "You'll get half of the money at 6pm tonight." White started. "Otto will bring it to you. You have one week to bring the two X5 women in. That's seven days. If you don't fulfill your side of this bargain, I will be sending someone to get my money back. It won't be pretty." "I'll deliver." British Eddie gave White a mock salute. "It's a pleasure doing business with you." He calmly strutted out of the room, full of confidence. By next week, he was going to be a rich man. White glared at Otto. "Make sure that creature never graces me with his presence, ever again. I don't care if he delivers X5 210 and 452 or not, make it look like an accident when his body is found." He leaned back against his pillows. "And don't get blood on my money." Logan looked up from the vegetables he was chopping. "I found Sam Carr. He's been laying low ever since your clone put the smack down on his ass." "Is he alright?" Max was sitting on the bench across from Logan as usual. It was bad enough her clone had almost turned her over to White and Logan had taken a hit from her as well. "Yeah. She put the fear of God into him though." Logan understood his friend's fear. It had been quite a shock to his system seeing two Max's. "He's hoping we'll understand that he's going to stay clear of us for a while. I told him we would." Max nodded. "That's fair enough. I'm just sorry she even had a reason to go near him. We'd better be more careful when Jondy and I go to see Beverly for our check ups. Don't want anyone to get suspicious of her as well." "I was thinking that maybe Beverly could come here." Logan tossed the vegetables into a casserole dish. "You know, stay well clear of the hospital." He was more concerned about Max and Jondy's safety than anything else. "Sounds good to me." Max hated hospitals. If she could find a way to avoid them, she would. "Wish we knew for certain that Jondy was going to get her eyesight back." "Zane told me that Julia and the girls don't know that Jondy's blind." Logan switched the oven on and put the casserole dish inside. "She doesn't want to worry them." Max knew her sister's reasons for not telling her mother in law or children about her injuries. "Once Jondy is sure that it's safe for her family to go back to San Francisco, then she'll let them know what happened. They can't do anything from Canada. Jondy doesn't want to be treated differently because of a handicap. Especially seeing as her blindness may not be permanent." She looked Logan straight in the eye. "You of all people should understand that." Logan took hold of Max's hand and led her to the sofa. "I do understand. But if I remember correctly," he pulled Max into his lap as he sat down. "I didn't want to be treated differently because I was in a wheelchair, but I didn't think I was good enough for you because I was stuck in a wheelchair." Max rolled her eyes. "I kept telling you the wheelchair didn't make any difference to me." She touched her forehead to his. "Actually, I always found it a big turn on when you did that wheeling from side to side thing with the chair." Logan chuckled. "Yeah, well I hated being in the chair so I expected everybody to feel the way I did." "Do you two want us to come back later?" Krit's voice came from behind them. "Hope you've got enough food Logan. I'm starving." Logan nodded. He had expected Krit, Syl, Alec and Original Cindy to turn up with Zane and Jondy for dinner. "Help yourself to drinks. Dinner will be ready in about half an hour. Should give me enough time to finish unpacking my car." "We'll give you a hand." Zane made sure Jondy was seated comfortably on the sofa before following Krit, Alec and Logan out the door." Original Cindy walked into the kitchen to get something to drink, followed by Max. "Hope we didn't arrive to early, Sugar." "No, we were expecting you." Max got the glasses out of the cupboard. "Did you guys all come straight from the mansion?" Original Cindy shook her head. "No. Alec and Zane spotted one of those Steelheads watching the mansion, so they packed everyone up and headed over to my crib. I tell ya Boo, it was an interesting few hours trying to keep Syl from climbing all over Krit." "I bet." Max turned around to find Jondy curled up on the sofa asleep with her head on Syl's knee. "How long's Jondy been like that?" Original Cindy glanced over her shoulder to see what Max was talking about. "Off and on for the past few hours. She doesn't complain but I get the feeling she's in a lot of pain." Max had been getting the same vibe all day. "Logan suggested getting Beverly to come here instead of us going to the hospital. I'll see if he can get her over here tonight." The four men walked back into the apartment, their arms full. Logan saw the worried expression on Max's face, then caught sight of Jondy asleep on the sofa. "Just put this stuff in the back room. I'll sort it out later." He put the painting that he was carrying down and picked up his phone. Syl watched Krit walk into the back room. "Stop it." She heard Jondy speak even though her sister made no move to open her eyes or more. "Stop what?" "Syl, I can practically hear you purring every time Krit's within sight." Jondy muttered. "Sorry." Syl mumbled. "You know I can't help it at the moment." She helped Jondy sit up. "The headaches are still pretty bad, aren't they?" Jondy winced as she nodded. "I'll probably be fine in a couple of days. I guess that training exercise they made us do at Manticore, where they blindfolded us is coming in handy now. Remind me to thank Lydecker for that when hell freezes over." Logan put his phone down. "Beverly is going to come over after dinner. You know, to make sure I didn't do any damage to Max's shoulder this afternoon. So I asked if she could check you over as well Jondy." He knew Jondy didn't want to make a fuss, so he tried not to be obvious that he had called Beverly for her sake not Max's. "Well, we'd better get some dinner then." Alec held his hand out to Jondy and waited. A moment later she sensed what he was doing and took hold of his hand. "Let's eat." He guided her to the dinner table as the timer went off on the oven. "Great timing." Krit chimed in as he caught hold of Syl's roving hands. "I haven't eaten all day." "Girl, you better keep your hands on the table where we can see them." Original Cindy warned Syl. "I'd like to keep my dinner down." Zane chuckled at his blond sister's antics. "Are you sure you're going to be alright stuck with those two tonight Cindy?" Original Cindy nodded. "Don't worry Boo. I picked up some ear plugs on the way over. I'm just grateful I don't have enhanced hearing like you guys." Syl nodded towards Jondy, trying to ignore the fact that Krit was sitting next to her. "Jondy's got it worse. Because she can't see at the moment, it's made all of her other senses stronger." Max squeezed Jondy's hand. "Just as well you're staying with Logan and me." She went to help Logan carry the food to the table. "Thanks for calling Beverly." She stole a quick kiss as she past Logan to get to the table. Zane watched Jondy out of the corner of his eye. He had learnt quickly that Jondy didn't like being treated like a child because she couldn't see. If she wanted help, she would ask for it. He shook his head as Alec moved to help her get the food on her fork. "Let her be, Alec." Alec hated to see Jondy struggle, but Zane knew his sister better than he did. He turned to Max. "So Normal's bitching loud and clear about your frequent absences again. Couldn't exactly tell him you'd been shot. Again." "Normal will get over it. He always does." Max shrugged her good shoulder. "If the worst comes to the worst, I'll just flash my newest scar at him." Original Cindy chuckled. "He's still getting over the last time you flashed him. I told him you got attacked leaving the Crash. He's under the impression you're accident prone." "He's not too far wrong." Max rolled her eyes. "So much for my dodging bullets skills." Logan watched Jondy feeling around the table for her drink. "It's at two o'clock Jondy." He continued eating his own dinner once Jondy found her drink. Zane stroked his sister's head gently. "You're more quiet than usual J. The headache's still pretty bad?" Jondy reached up and took hold of Zane's hand. "Yeah. I think I'll go and lie down." She squeezed his hand as she pushed her chair back and stood. "Dinner was delicious Logan, thanks." "No problem." Logan gave his apartment a quick glance. "There's a painting leaning against the wall just beside the bedroom door. If you take a couple of steps to your right, you should be fine." "Got it." Jondy could picture the layout of Logan's apartment in her head despite the throbbing ache. Moving slowly she maneuvered her way to the guestroom, stumbling slightly when she got near the sofa. "That coffee table's longer than the last one." She muttered to herself. "So how bad is that headache of hers really, Max?" Krit caught hold of Syl's roaming hand and placed it back on the table. Max glanced over at the now closed bedroom door. "Let's just say I'm glad that Beverly's coming over later." Syl focused on the conversation going on instead of wanting to jump Krit. "At least Jondy knows how to get around without her sight. She was always the best at finding her opponent when blindfolded at Manticore." "So what was the purpose behind that exercise?" Original Cindy asked. "You guys can see in the dark." She gestured to Max. "Sister Girl here even rides her motorbike at night with shades on." "Yeah, but it was Lydecker putting us through the drills." Zane reminded her. "He wanted to make sure that we could defeat the enemy no matter what the odds were." "He's sadistic that way." Max quipped. British Eddie and his team sat in the bushes outside the mansion gates. Bird let out a long sigh. "Maybe they all went out to dinner with friends. Maybe they drank too much and decided to stay the night instead of driving. Maybe ......" "Maybe, you should shut your hole." Eddie snapped. "They won't be back tonight. One of the Manticoreans must have seen me. We'll take shifts watching for them to come back." "What if they don't come back?" Tuck couldn't see anything that hinted someone was living there. "You said we had seven days to catch those two women. Have you got a plan other than us sitting here in the bushes watching that big house." Lux glared at the mansion. "Yeah, well I owe that bitch for almost ripping my spine out.' She moved her gaze to Eddie. "I want payback." "Sorry love." Eddie squeezed Lux's hand. "White insists that he gets Red in mint condition. Of course what happens to her after White's paid us, we can't be held accountable for." Lux gave him a satisfied smile. "I can wait until we have the money. Just this once we're gonna have our cake and eat it too." Beverly Shankar walked out of the guest bedroom to find seven anxious faces staring at her. "It's still too early to tell if Jessica will get her eye sight back, but she is definitely healing faster than anyone I have ever seen with her type of injury. Due to the accelerating healing, she's experiencing a lot of pain behind her eyes." "Any idea how long we'll have to wait until we know for sure about Jessica's vision?" Zane cursed himself for thinking more about Beverly Shankar's marital status than his sister's health. But in his defense, the Doctor was one fine looking woman. Beverly shrugged her shoulders. "Could be a few days, but I can't be sure. I'm sorry. I wish I could be of more help. I've given Jessica some pain killers. She'll probably sleep through the night." "That'll be a first." Krit quipped. He couldn't get over how sappy his brother was acting around the doctor. But then he couldn't wait to get Syl back to Original Cindy's place so that they could be alone. More or less. Logan handed Beverly a cup of coffee. "Thanks for coming over at such short notice Beverly. We didn't want to chance setting foot in the hospital at the moment." "No problem." Beverly took a seat on the sofa. "I'm happy to help. Now about Max's shoulder." She gave Max a sly wink. "Have you done any strenuous activities in the last few hours." She burst out laughing at the panicked look on Logan's face. "Relax Logan, I'm joking. Max is fine and healing quickly. Jessica asked me to tease you about it. She thinks you're too uptight." "He wasn't a few hours ago." Max muttered as she started clearing the dishes off of the dinner table. She nudged Logan as she walked past him. "I told you I was fine. You worry too much." Logan chuckled good naturedly. "At least I keep your family amused. May I remind you all that I wasn't the one racing around the mansion in a panic this morning looking for my sister who was soaking in the bath." Zane grinned sheepishly. "How were Alec and I to know she was under all of those bubbles. I gotta tell you Logan, it's a little disturbing that you know more about my sisters than I do." Logan slapped Zane on the back. "It's more disturbing that you all know so much about Max and mine's sex life." "Hey, we wouldn't know so much," Krit jokingly jumped to the X5's defense. "If we hadn't had to spend six hours sitting outside your apartment door waiting to speak to Max." Syl giggled. "I don't know what was worse, the banging and crashing not to mention the screams of ecstasy coming from inside this apartment. Or trying to keep a straight face while J explained what all of the noise was about to her children." Alec chuckled. "I think Joshua wanting to go inside to join in the religious wrestling was the worst part." Original Cindy shook her head as she laughed at the group. "That's not as bad as how long it took to get those two to admit they had feelings for each other. Bling and I thought we were going to have to hit them both over the head. Always saying 'We're not like that." Max snuggled back against Logan's chest as he put his arms around her. "Well, we weren't at the time." Beverly smiled as she sat amongst the group. The transgenics were so different from the humans. But they had the same problems when it came to their love lives. "Well, I've gotta get going. Thanks for the coffee Logan." "I'll walk you out." Zane offered. "It's time Alec and I got going anyway." He didn't want to appear too eager around the Doctor. "We'll see you tomorrow." Max hugged Zane and after a moments hesitation hugged Alec as well. She watched her brothers follow Beverly out the door. She leaned back and looked up at Logan who still had his arms around her. "I think Zane has the hots for the good doctor." Logan kissed the top of Max's head. "Lucky Beverly. I hear once you've had transgenic you never want to go back." "On that note." Original Cindy nodded to Krit and Syl. "I think it's time we blazed as well. We won't disturb Jondy. She could probably do with the sleep." She hugged Max and slapped Logan on the back before leaving. "Alone at last." Logan nibbled on Max's ear, causing her to giggle. "Why don't you check on your sister while I do the dishes, then we'll turn in for the night." Max was pleasantly surprised. "Don't you have some 'Eyes Only' work to do?" Not that she was complaining about the attention she was now getting from Logan. "It can wait." Logan was less worried about hurting Max, now that Beverly had given her a check up. "You're more important." When he got into the kitchen, he saw that someone had already loaded the dishwasher and started the machine. As he walked towards the bedroom, Max came out of the guestroom. "Is she alright?" Max nodded. "She's sound asleep. Those painkillers that Beverly gave her, really knocked her out. So are the renovations really starting tomorrow? How'd ya get a crew to work on Sunday?" Logan shrugged his shoulders as he removed his glasses and put them on the night stand. "They needed the money. I figure the quicker we get stared, the sooner the recreation center will be open and I can spend more time with my sexy girlfriend." Max beamed. "I'll have no complaints about that." She crawled across the bed to Logan. "Need any help with the renovations? I'm pretty good with a sledge hammer." She yanked his shirt off over his head. "And I'm sure my brothers will help out. Hell, it'll give Syl a way to burn off some excess energy." She let the shirt drop to the floor. Logan leaned down and kissed her. "Don't want to tip anyone off about your super powers. I'll keep your offer in mind though." His hands drifted up her hips to the hem of Max's shirt. "You don't really want to talk about renovations right now, do you?" Max pulled Logan down onto the bed. "I don't want to talk at all." Bird yawned with boredom. "So what are you going to do with your share of the money, Tuck?" He flexed his mechanical arm. Tuck shrugged. "Don't know yet. Maybe get myself a bike, you know like a Ninja or something. What about you?" "A car. You know, one with a revved up motor." Bird grinned. "Then maybe I'll learn to drive as well. How much money are we looking at, anyway?" "A lot." Tuck looked over at the dark mansion. "What do you think White wants with two Manticore women? I know they're hot looking and all, but why two?" "Maybe he's just greedy." Bird sighed. "They're not coming back here tonight." He frowned. "How come we always manage to draw the short straws and get the night shifts." Tuck shrugged again. "I guess we're just unlucky, that's all." Zane and Alec watched the two Steelheads from up a tree. Zane rolled his eyes. "If either of these two had a brain cell, it would still be lonely." "We're not going to just leave them watching the mansion. Sure we can keep Max and Jondy away from here," Alec pointed out. "But Logan still has to be able to get in and out of there." Zane grinned as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "How about we get the police to earn their salary." He dialed 911 and waited for an answer. "Hey there. I live next door to the Cale Mansion and there are these two weird looking guys sitting in the bushes outside the place. Oh my God, they're flashers. That poor woman." Alec chuckled at the mock panic in Zane's voice. "Tell them your wife saw them hanging around the place yesterday trying to get in." Zane nodded. "What's that honey? Oh and officer, my wife says she saw them trying to break into the mansion yesterday." He listened to the voice on the other end. "Thank you Officer." He hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. "They're on their way." "Flashers?" Alec was impressed. "I would never have thought of that one. So the Cops can arrest them for indecent exposure and suspicious behavior." "How about we stick around to make sure the police don't have any trouble arresting these guys and then go get a beer?" Zane shifted to make himself more comfortable. "Sounds good to me." Alec moved onto a sturdier branch. "Did it really bother you this morning that Logan seemed to know more about your sisters than you did?" Zane shook his head. "No. It surprised me at first. But then I realized, it was to be expected. I mean, Logan lives with one sister and another visits on a semi regular basis. He sees more of them than I do." "I guess." Alec could see Zane's point. Although he would never admit it, Alec did admire the way Logan stood up for what he believed in. The next morning Original Cindy slumped down on the sofa in Logan's apartment. "I'm telling you, Girl. I almost didn't get the door open in time." Max giggled. "I thought you'd be used to that sort of behavior by now. You saw me through being in heat a couple of times." "You never tried to use the door in my presence like Krit and Syl did." Original Cindy pointed out. "How much longer is Syl going to be like this?" "Today should be the last day." Jondy walked out of the guestroom. "Logan have you got any tea made?" "How'd you know I was still here." Logan put a mug full of tea on the table as Jondy eased herself into a chair. "Everyone has a unique scent." Jondy felt out the cup. "As weird as it sounds, I can smell you." "We didn't wake you did we Sugar?" Original Cindy was worried she had been too loud. "No." Jondy brushed her hair out of her face with the back of her hand. "Zane did. He and Alec went to check on the mansion last night and found two Steelheads watching the place." "Where are the Steelheads now?" Max frowned. She had figured British Eddie wouldn't be stupid enough to try and take on any X5's after last time. She guessed she had been wrong. "In police custody." Jondy smiled mischievously. "Zane called the police and reported two weird flashers were trying to break in." Original Cindy rolled her eyes. "That brother of yours has the strangest sense of humor." "I'll call Matt Sung and see how long he can keep the Steelheads locked up." Logan didn't want to chance taking the X5s into the mansion if the Steelheads were still looking to collect the bounty on Max and Jondy. Max glanced at her sister. "How's the headache this morning?" She noticed that Jondy had a bit more color in her face today. "It's not too bad." Jondy admitted. "My eyes sting a bit, but I haven't got the thumping headache that I had yesterday." Logan came back from making his phone call. "Matt says he'll try and hold onto the Steelheads for us as long as he possibly can. You feel up to eating some breakfast Jondy?" He was worried that Jondy wasn't eating enough. She had barely touched dinner last night and she was already thin. "Sounds good." Jondy figured the others had already eaten breakfast as she could smell the aroma of bacon, eggs and toast having been cooked recently. It was eleven o'clock before Logan actually made it to the mansion to let the building crew know what needed to be done. He kept an eye out for any uninvited guests, but as he didn't have the enhanced eyesight that the X5's did, he couldn't be sure that no one was watching the place. Ames White was obviously feeling much better as he was barking out orders left, right and center. Some of the nurses were jokingly threatening to pull the plug on some of the machines he was connected to, because of his rudeness. "Sir, I just received word that two of British Eddie's men are sitting in a holding cell at the police station." Otto reported. "Should I post bail?" "No." White snapped. "Leave them there. Nobody will believe them if they talk, so there's no reason to waste more money on those freaks. Besides, if Eddie is as good as he claims to be, being two men down isn't going to make any difference." He glared at Otto. "Now who do I have to kill to get out of here?" Beverly Shankar stared at the name on the file she had been handed. "What happened to his regular Doctor?" The nurse raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "He didn't want to treat that asshole any longer. He was concerned he might accidentally on purpose give him something he's allergic to." Beverly smiled at the nurse. "He can't be that bad, Clare." "I'd pull the plug." Clare mentioned as she turned and walked away. Beverly walked into her office and quickly dialed Logan's cell. "Hi, it's Beverly. Guess who I just got as a patient." The living room in Logan's apartment was so silent, you could have heard a pin drop. Finally Krit spoke up. "So Beverly's sure it's the same Ames White?" Logan nodded. "I went over to the hospital myself to make sure. Beverly said the last Doctor took himself off White's case before he accidentally killed him for being an asshole. Most of the nurses don't want to go near him either." "Yep. That's our Ames White." Max let the breath out she was holding. "Now what do we do?" "We carry on with our lives." Zane suggested. "I seriously doubt White expects us to return to our homes. He's probably had people watching to see if we would return ever since we blew his compound up." Syl shook her head. "No, he never found out where any of us actually lived. He knew where a couple of us worked and which states we were in, but not where we lived." "Syl's right." Jondy agreed. "At the worst we may have to get different jobs. I have a feeling British Eddie still has White pulling his strings. If I'm right ....." "Then White thinks you are all in Seattle and living at the mansion." Logan finished for her. "He was certainly up to yelling orders when I saw him. Beverly said White's trying to get himself released from the hospital." "If I didn't think that man was nuts before," Original Cindy shook her head in disbelief. "I sure as hell do now." "We'll give it till the end of the week before we bring Joshua and the others back into Seattle." Max suggested. "Then we can start checking the different states to make sure it's alright for you guys to go home." It had been kind of nice to have her family mostly all in one place. "Sounds like a plan." Alec was just getting used to having a big family around him. He would be sorry to see them go home. "Hey Logan, got anything to eat?" Lux sat impatiently in Eddie's car watching the going on's at the mansion. "Think we can get in as a member of the building crew?" They only had two days to White's deadline left. Bird and Tuck were still in jail, which wasn't a problem. As Eddie had pointed out it just meant they only had to split the money two ways instead of four. "It's a possibility." British Eddie nodded. "Looky what we have here." He saw Logan's car pull up to the front of the mansion. Eddie's jaw dropped as he watched Logan get out of the car and help Jondy out of her side. Jondy felt her way along the side of the Aztec while Logan set the car alarm. Then she took Logan's arm and let him lead her inside. "This is going to be easier than I thought. The redhead's blind." Lux looked worried. "I thought White said she had to be in mint condition. How are you going to explain her being blind?" British Eddie shrugged her question off. "I'll just tell him we found her that way. It's not as though she's going to blame us. Hell, she can't even see us." Lux wasn't convinced. "What about the other one, the brunette? I don't see her anywhere." "White seems to think if we get hold of one, then the other won't be too far behind." British Eddie grinned. "Don't worry, Love. We're going to be rich." Jondy could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up. "The mansion's still being watched, Logan." Logan carefully guided Jondy around the tools and planks of wood lying every where. "I'll make sure we're not followed home Jondy." He hadn't wanted to leave Jondy alone in the apartment, but he was hesitant about bringing her with him. Max, Alec and Original Cindy were all at work. Krit, Syl and Zane were waiting at the sector checkpoints to help get Joshua and Jondy's family back into Seattle. "How did Julia and Rebecka react when you told them about your eyesight?" Jondy made a mental note of the path Logan was leading her on. "Rebecka promptly burst into tears. Julia, on the other hand knows how quickly I heal. She seemed pretty confident I'd have my eyesight back in no time." "Do you think Rebecka will ever get used to the uniqueness that is you and Max?" Logan, himself still worried about every scratch and scrape that Max ended up with. "I don't know." Jondy admitted. "I wonder if it was such a good idea letting her know Max and I were her daughters. We can't be worried about her bursting into tears every time we get hurt." "Yeah, well mothers worry about their kids." Logan reminded her. "I've seen how concerned you get with your kids. Don't tell me it's different because you and Max are genetically enhanced, either." "Fine." Jondy replied snottily. "You know I hate it when you're right." Logan chuckled. "Yeah, so does Max." "Hey Logan!" One of the builders yelled out. "Is this the Max who you keep talking endlessly about?" Logan was relieved Jondy couldn't see how red his face was getting. "No. This is her sister Jessica." He saw Jondy had the attention of all of the builders. "God, are all the women in your family as hot looking as you, honey?" The builder cast Jondy an admiring glance. "And if they are, are any of them single?" Jondy laughed. "They're all better looking and spoken for. Sorry. Better luck next time." Logan smirked at the builders. "No checking out my girlfriend when she gets here, either." Beverly Shankar shot White a frustrated look. "I realize you have healed remarkably fast Mr White. However, I can't in good conscious sign your release form until I am satisfied that you have fully recovered." "Then I'll sign myself out." White snarled. "Think of it this way Doc, you'll have a bed freed up for someone who's really ill." "That's entirely up to you." Beverly tried not to smile at the applause coming from the nurse's station outside the room. "I've told you my opinion, if you choose to ignore it, I can't stop you." She turned and walked out of the room. She was as relieved as the rest of the staff to be getting rid of Ames White. She quickly decided to give Logan a call to warn him about White releasing himself. Logan settled Jondy in a corner of the foyer where she wasn't in danger, before answering his ringing cell phone. "Hello. Beverly? Hold on I can barely hear you. I'll just go outside where there's less noise." He nodded to one of the builders. "Graham! No hitting on my sister-in-law while I take this call." "I won't promise anything." Graham yelled back. Eddie nudged Lux. "Here's our chance to get Red." He pointed to where Logan was standing outside talking on his cell phone as a truck turned up with more timber. Eddie and Lux climbed out of the car and walked through the gate as the truck drove in. Running up the steps they made their way into the foyer. Eddie picked up a nail gun as he made his way towards Jondy. "Hello Darling. Somebody wants to see you and we've come to do the pick up." Jondy stood with her arms crossed in front of her. "If you're talking about Ames White, I'd rather shoot myself with the nail gun you picked up." Lux snickered. "I don't have a problem with that." She stopped suddenly as she realized what Jondy had said. "How did you know Eddie had a nail gun? You're blind." "I may be blind." Jondy gave Lux an evil smile. "But I'm not stupid." She could hear Graham and his men edging forward. "Graham, keep your men back." She didn't want them moving where she couldn't hear them. "By the way Lux, how's your spine?" Eddie fired the nail gun at Jondy, but she heard the nails coming and quickly moved out of the way. There were two of them and only one of her. It shouldn't be this hard to catch her. He signaled to Lux to move in the opposite direction to him. They would circle her and catch her by surprise. "Logan!" Max called out as she walked through the gate. "You didn't leave my sister with a bunch of builders did ya?" Logan put his cell phone back in his pocket as he kissed Max hello. "Yeah. I'm sure she can handle them." He took hold of her hand as they walked inside. "Beverly just called. White's released himself from the hospital." "We've got bigger problems at the moment." Max had just spotted the two steelheads. "Can you get your guys out the back. Don't want them to witness the genetically engineered females fighting a couple of Steelheads." "No problem." Logan walked back out of the mansion and around the side of the house. He knew one of the windows had been left open. He climbed in and silently started to usher the men out. Graham shook his head. "You can't honestly want to leave her alone with those freaks." Logan noticed that Max had taken a fighting stance. "She's not alone. Go and call the police. Ask for Matt Sung. I'll stay here." Graham hesitated a moment longer and then followed his men out of the window. Unclipping his cell phone from his belt, he quickly dialed 911. Lux and Eddie circled Jondy, unaware she was listening to their every move. She knew exactly where they were. When Lux leapt at her, she easily back handed her across the face. The blow sent the female steelhead flying across the room to land at Max's feet. Max yanked Lux to her feet and wrenched her arm behind her back. "You just never learn do you." Eddie wrapped his arm around Jondy's neck and aimed the nail gun at Max. "Let her go and I might consider not killing Red here." "She's no good to you dead." Max retorted. "White wants her alive and unharmed. You kill her, you might as well kill yourself. You'll end up dead either way." "He doesn't care if he gets you dead or alive." Eddie hissed at Max and fired the nail gun. But Max moved quickly behind Lux and the nails embedded themselves in the Steelhead's chest. Moving just as quickly as her sister, Jondy reached behind her and placed one hand on either side of Eddie's head. "Kiss my genetically engineered ass." Instead of her English accent she always used, Jondy's comment came out in a strong American accent. With a quick twist she broke Eddie's neck and let him drop to the ground. "Freak." "Logan!" Max stepped over Lux's body where it now lay on the ground. She was worried that the flying nails may have hit him. "Logan, are you alright?" "I'm fine." Logan slowly walked towards Jondy. She had the strangest look on her face. "Jondy. Are you alright?" He didn't want to startle her incase she attacked him. Jondy blinked her eyes. Instead of the blackness that she had started to get used to seeing, she was seeing blurred colors. The effect was actually making her dizzy. Max saw her sister wobble a bit. "J. What's wrong?" She reached out for her sister's hand. "Are the headaches back?" She was picking the strangest vibe up off of her sister. "Everything's blurry." Jondy's English accent was back. "God, my timing sucks." She blacked out as Matt Sung walked in the front door. Matt Sung stood staring at the scene before him. There were two Steelheads laying dead on the floor. Max was checking the pulse on her sister who was unconscious in Logan's arms. "What did I miss?" Logan started to walk outside. "We've got to get Jessica some air. I'll explain everything outside." Max caught sight of the news van pulling up to the gate. "Matt. Any chance we can get rid of the reporters? My sister and I really don't want to appear on the six o'clock news." Matt nodded and went to speak to his men. The building crew had gathered around Max, Logan and Jondy, so it was near impossible for the reporters to get a photo. "Any ideas on how I'm going to get the two of you past that news team?" Logan saw Jondy's eyes flickering open. "Hey, look who's back with us." Jondy's sight was still blurry. "Why am I lying on concrete." She felt around the ground. "Correction. Why am I lying on marble?" "You blacked out inside." Max slid her sunglasses onto Jondy's face. "You alright to stand up?" "I'll give it a go." Jondy reached up so that Logan and Max could help her stand up. "I'm still a little dizzy." Matt walked up to the group. "Who can tell me what happened in there?" He noticed how shaky Jondy was on her feet. "I'll take your statements as quickly as possible so that you can get Jessica home." Max shrugged her shoulders. "There's not much to say Matt. Two Steelheads broke into the mansion somehow. They attacked my sister with a nail gun and missed. One shot the other with the nail gun. The other slipped on the marble floor in the foyer and broke his neck. At least I think that's what that cracking sound was." Matt looked at Jondy. "Is that what happened Jess?" "I don't know." Jondy, as usual was the picture of innocence. "I'm blind. All I know is that I heard the nail gun go off a few times." "Matt, there are plenty of witness' that saw British Eddie threaten Jessica with the nail gun." Logan pointed out. "Works for me." Matt had a feeling there was more to this story than anyone was telling him. There was nothing to prove Max was lying either. "Better take Jessica out the back way. I'll get the mess inside cleaned up." "Thanks Matt." Logan scooped Jondy back up into his arms and turned to the builders. "Might as well call it a day, guys. I'll see you bright and early in the morning." He turned back to Matt. "I'll be back later to lock up. I want to get the ladies home and a Doctor to check Jessica out." "If I have anymore questions, I'll catch up with you when you come back." Matt went to sort out the news team and arrange the coroners office to pick up the bodies. "Sir, I have good news and bad news." Otto cautiously approached White. "The good news is that you don't have to pay British Eddie. He and his girlfriend are dead." "What's the bad news." White could pretty much guess that the Steelheads had failed to capture the two X5 women. The bad news had to be something Otto thought he couldn't guess. "It's X5 210." Otto didn't know what White's fascination with the redhead was, but he was sure that he wouldn't be happy with what Otto had found out. "She's blind Sir. Yet she still managed to take British Eddie out." "How the hell did that happen?" White ordered. "I don't have that information at this time Sir." Otto replied. "Well, find out." White yelled. He didn't know why X5 210 was fighting him so hard. After all, he was her best chance at staying alive. "Women." He muttered. "So will Mom be able to see again?" Belinda asked as she sat on the floor of Logan's apartment. "Yeah, but it might take a while for her to get her sight back fully." Max explained to her niece. "Don't fuss over her too much. She hates that. If Jondy needs help she'll ask for it." Rebecka didn't like the sound of that. "Jondy can't see at the moment. How is she going to find her way around every thing. Perhaps I should go back to San Francisco to help her out." "She won't let you, Rebecka." Julia had known Jondy for too long, not to realize that she wanted to remain independent. "The more you try to help her, the more she will resent you for it." "She's my daughter." Rebecka felt as though she was being pushed aside. "I'm not five years old." Jondy walked into the room carrying her baby daughter. Zane followed her carrying her son. "I don't need to be baby sat. You won't be coming with us when we go back to San Francisco, Rebecka." She didn't want to hurt her mother's feelings, but she knew that she would end up hating her if she let Rebecka return to San Francisco with them. "Grandma can still come and visit us though, can't see?" Leeza asked. "Of course she can." Jondy sat on the arm of the sofa. "Once we are all settled back in San Francisco, she is welcome to visit." Logan could see that the children were satisfied with Jondy's answer but Rebecka wasn't. "That should give you plenty of time to catch up with Max, Rebecka." He didn't want Max to be forgotten by her mother, just because her injuries weren't as serious as Jondy's. Rebecka smiled at Max. "I'll enjoy that." She was beginning to notice that Jondy didn't need her as much as Max did. Both women were very independent, but Max was openingly accepting Rebecka into her life. Where as Jondy's life was already crowded and Rebecka wondered if there would ever be room for her. Zane looked down at the tiny child in his arms. This is what they had all wanted when they had escaped from Manticore, to be a family. But even this had complications to it. "I'm heading to San Francisco tomorrow. If it's safe enough, you guys should be home by the end of the week, J." "You going back to work Jondy?" Krit wondered if that was such a good idea. "Or are you going to get a new job?" "I'm not sure yet." Jondy turned in the direction of her brother's voice. "It depends on how quickly my eyesight comes back. I know Nigel has my back, so I'm not too concerned." Syl was sitting on the floor with the children. "I guess we'll all be looking for new jobs. White got too close for comfort this time." "White's not finished yet." Joshua pointed out. The rage he felt over Annie's death was barely simmering below the surface. They all knew White had killed her. "He won't stop until he's dead." Alec nodded. "Or until he's destroyed all of us. Either way it's going to be a long hard fight." Max leaned back against Logan's chest and felt his arms automatically go round her. "I always enjoy a challenge." She smiled wickedly. "Just look at who my boyfriend is." "Yeah right Sugar." Original Cindy rolled her eyes. "That's what you find so appealing about Rich Boy." Laughter filled the apartment despite their concerns of what could happen in the near future. As long as they fought together, the possibilities of a bright future were endless.
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