"Oops, I did it again"
by Kirsten Tapp

Disclaimer: Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. The characters of Tek and Rein however do belong to the author. No copyright infringement intended.
Summary: Logan and Max come back from their Honeymoon to find some things never change.
Timeframe: Occurs after Freak Nation, follow up story to And the Bride Wore Red, White and Blue.
Rating: PG - some graphical violence
Category: Drama, Romance, Action

------=====================------

Ames White was a sorry sight to behold. Most people who had encountered him before his arrest had considered that he had a screw loose. Recently he had been muttering to himself about 'The Coming' and his idiot brother. Nobody knew what his insane ramblings meant, but they could pin point when they had started. Ever since the tape of the Cale Recreation Center opening had been delivered, White had been acting completely insane.

Clemente stood beside Matt Sung at the coffee machine. "Any change with White?"

Matt Sung shook his head. "No. I'll give a couple of people a call that I know. They may be able to make some sense out of White's insane ramblings."

Clemente nodded, giving his authorization for the call. "Do it. Keep me informed."

Matt quickly dialed Logan's number and left a message on the answering machine, realizing that Logan wasn't back from his Honeymoon yet. "I hope Logan can help with that nut job White."

Logan kicked the apartment door closed behind him as he carried his bride of four weeks into their home.

Max burst out giggling. "Our luggage is still downstairs with Bling. I don't know about you, but most of the clothes that I own are in those bags."

Logan chuckled as he walked into the bedroom and laid his wife down on their bed. "We won't be needing any clothes." He left Max long enough to close the bedroom door.

Bling unlocked the apartment door and carried the luggage inside with some help from Original Cindy. "So the Pilot walks up to me and asks if Max and Logan are friends of mine."

Original Cindy put the bags in her hands down by the closed bedroom door. "So what did he say when you said yes? And Max and Logan were where by the way when all of this was happening?"

Bling also put the bags he was carrying by the bedroom door. "They were about to turn the departure lounge into a hotel room. So the Pilot tells me that Mr and Mrs Cale are banned from flying with that particular airline, because they spent the entire flight using the bathroom cubical as the Honeymoon suite."

"Damn." Original Cindy had known that Max had been in heat when on the flight leaving Seattle, but not on the flight back from Paris. "I'd never pictured Logan being that adventurous. I'm impressed that they can both still walk. Do you think they saw much of Paris?"

"I doubt it." Bling shook his head remembering the conversation at the airport. "Then this other Pilot who overheard our conversation, tells me that the same thing happened on the flight that he was piloting from Seattle to Paris a few weeks ago."

Original Cindy chuckled. "Maybe Logan got some rabbit DNA in that last transgenic blood transfusion he received."

"You know, we can hear you two in here." Max's voice called out from the other side of the closed bedroom door.

"Yeah, well according to the Pilot of your return flight, everyone on the plane could hear the two of you." Bling called back.

"That would explain the applause." Logan retorted.

"We're gonna go now and leave you two to set a world record or two." Original Cindy couldn't believe that Max and Logan were still acting as though it was their wedding night. "But you'd better be out of that room by eight tonight, ready to feed us and share non x-rated details of your time in Paris." Without waiting for confirmation Original Cindy walked out of the apartment with Bling behind her.

When Logan finally checked his messages, he was surprised by how many people had been looking for him. He hadn't realized that going on his honeymoon would be so inconvient to others. The strange thing was, he didn't care. Problems could be sorted out now that they were back. He wasn't going to trade his marriage for a war he didn't start. Logan would still try to help, but for him it was now a case of Max came first.

Max walked in as Logan was reading his last email. "So I guess the world is still broken." She sat down on his lap.

"Yeah." Logan wrapped his arms around his wife. "Bullet called. He and Ralph are now the proud parents of a baby boy. They've called him Jayden. He also mentioned that he thinks Sandeman is heading for Seattle."

Max raised an eyebrow. "I guess that will make CJ happy. I spoke to Jondy. She said to say hi."

"How's she doing?" Logan was rather fond of his sister in law and wondered if life would ever treat her kindly. She had, had more than her fair share of rough times.

Max shrugged. "You know Jondy. She never complains, but I think she's keeping herself busy with work and the children. She sounded lonely. I'm not really sure what Alec did to make her dump him, but Zane looked about ready to kill him at our first wedding reception."

"At least she's safe for the moment." Logan cautiously approached his next sentence. "Matt Sung left a message on our answering machine. Seems that White has gone even more insane since Lydecker sent that tape to him. Matt says he's been muttering about 'The Coming'. I'm wondering if Sandeman coming to Seattle means 'The Coming' whatever that is, isn't far away."

Max let an exasperated sigh. "This is not the way I pictured us starting our marriage. I figured saving the world would be a seventh anniversary event." She gave Logan a quick kiss. "I'm going to Terminal City and check in, tell CJ that his father could be arriving. Maybe I'll find more out about 'The Coming' now that he's not doped up to the eye balls."

"Ok. I'll get some work done while you're out." Logan was frustrated that the outside world was already intruding on them. "Remember we have guests coming for dinner."

Sandeman walked through the Seattle streets. He had no idea when he created the transgenics, that it would all come to this. The transgenics were reasonably safe inside Terminal City. No matter how well the buildings inside the fences of Terminal City had been restored, the trans humans were still inside a cage. At least it was a bigger, better furnished cage. Still it was the only chance the transgenics had of living a normal life.

Sandeman watched from a short distance away. His creations seemed happy enough and despite the transgenic detectors that were fitted to most police cars, he suspected that some of the more human looking transgenics were still walking outside the fences somehow undetected. If his suspicions were correct, it would prove difficult to locate Max.

The National Guard had the exits pretty closely guarded. There was no way he could sneak in. All he could do was wait for someone who could lead him to Max. He hoped that he wouldn't have to wait long. 'The Coming' was approaching fast and Max was the only one who could prevent it.

Max sat beside CJ in the control center. "Do you know exactly when 'The Coming' is going to happen?" She didn't want to dampen CJ's enthusiasum about his father coming to Seattle, but Max had a feeling they didn't have time to waste.

CJ shook his head. "No. Father knows though. It has to be close cause the ritual with the snakes and the costumes and the make up with the dancing around the fire had already taken place."

"Great. More snakes, costumes and make up." Max stared at Joshua who was leaning against the door. "I don't suppose Sandeman shared anything to do with 'The Coming' with you back at Manticore."

Joshua shook his head. "Sorry Little Fella. Remember what Logan said about the runes he translated. You are the one to stop 'The Coming'. So father will come looking for you."

Max could see the sense in what Joshua said. "Thanks Big Fella. Providing he's been watching the news, he'll probably head straight for Terminal City."

Joshua moved away from the door and gently patted Max on head. "We'll keep a look out for Father. It's time for you to go. Remember Original Cindy and Bling are coming around for dinner."

Max wished Joshua could be there too, but things hadn't improved outside the fences enough to risk Joshua being seen. "I brought you some things back from Paris." She handed him the paper bag she had brought with her. "It's from Logan and me."

Joshua pulled the contents of the bag out. Max and Logan had brought him a tiny statue of the Eiffel Tower and one of Notre Dame as well as postcards featuring both monuments so that Joshua could see a part of Paris. "I can't go to Paris, so you brought some of Paris back for me." He kissed Max's forehead. "Thank you. Thank Logan for me too."

Max wondered if the world would ever accept Joshua. The world was losing out big time if it didn't. "You're welcome. I've gotta blaze, but I'll see you guys tomorrow." As Max headed home, she felt a pang of guilt that Joshua would never get to go to places like Paris or even out of Seattle. She kept to the shadows so nobody saw her leave, not even Sandeman.

Original Cindy flicked through the photos that Logan had handed her before he went back to cooking dinner. "Glad to see you two left the Honeymoon Suite once during your time in Paris." She handed the photos to Bling.

Logan chuckled. "We had to pick up some things so we put aside one day for that." He remembered the look of excitement on Max's face when they visited the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. It was worth leaving the hotel room just to see Max's face light up as it had that day.

"Does that mean you and my Boo got us presents." Original Cindy looked around her. "Speaking of which, where is Max?"

"She went to Terminal City to let them know that we're back." Logan glanced at the clock on the oven, wondering what was taking Max so long. Just then he heard the front door open and a moment later Max walked into view. "I was going to phone Terminal City and get them to tell you dinner would be ready in five minutes." Logan joked as he kissed his wife.

"Don't you two get started on that again." Original Cindy jokingly warned. "I'm starving and don't need a floor show with dinner. Plus I want whatever you brought me back from Paris."

Max rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll go get your presents while Logan finishes dinner."

Dinner was a mixture of laughter, stories of Paris sights and longing looks between Max and Logan. It was midnight before Original Cindy and Bling decided that they couldn't take Max and Logan drooling over each other any longer and went home.

Max reached up and hooked her hands around the back of Logan's neck. "As much as I love Bling and Cindy, I prefer having my husband to myself." She raised herself on her toes and kissed Logan. "I missed you while I was at Terminal City."

Logan gave her a dazzling smile. "I missed you too. I agree with you about Bling and Original Cindy. I don't like sharing my wife." As he swept his wife up into his arms, Logan remembered one of the reasons that she had gone there. "By the way, did CJ tell you when we can expect 'The Coming' to arrive."

Max shook her head. "He doesn't know. We'll have to wait for Sandeman to arrive to find that little tib bit out. All CJ could tell me was that it must be pretty close because the snake dance around the fire has already happened." She frowned at Logan. "Can I just say that discussing 'The Coming' is a real passion killer."

"Sorry." Logan walked towards their bedroom. "I promise I'll make it up to you." And so he did. For several hours.

The next morning at Terminal City, Mole called Joshua into the command center. "Max isn't even living here anymore and we're still doing her dirty work for her." He grumbled before Joshua walked through the door.

"I heard that." Joshua growled. "What do you want?" He had grown tired of Mole's constant grumbling.

Mole quickly realized that he was pushing his luck and lightened up. "There's this old guy outside the fence. He's been there for a while. You've seen Sandeman recently." He pointed to a figure standing in the shelter of a nearby building on the screen. "Is that our great creator?"

Joshua looked at the man on the screen. "That's father. Call Max. I don't know how much time we have until 'The Coming'. If father is in Seattle, I'd say we haven't got long."

Logan groaned as the sound of the ringing phone dragged him from his blissful sleep. He carefully reached for the phone so that he didn't wake his sleeping wife, who was cuddled up against him. "Hello?"

"Logan. It's Mole. We think we've spotted Sandeman." Mole resented having to deal with a normal, but it was better than being bossed around by Max. "I got Joshua to ID him just to make sure."

"Where is he now?" Logan knew it was important to contact Sandeman, but he and Max had only just come home. He had thought they'd get a little time to themselves.

"He's watching Terminal City from the old bank. I think he's been out there all night." Mole stared at the man on his screen. For a man that was the creator of just about everything living inside Terminal City, he didn't look like much.

"We'll be right there." Logan knew they probably didn't have time to leave Sandeman hanging around outside Terminal City. There was too greater chance that one of Lydecker's men might find him. "Thanks Mole."

As Logan hung up the phone, he realized with great surprise that Max was not only still asleep, but that she was still in bed. Even on their honeymoon Max had either been awake watching him sleep or walking around trying to find something to eat. He felt her forehead to make sure that she wasn't running a temperature. No. No temperature.

"Max honey." Logan gently woke his wife. "Mole says Sandeman is standing outside Terminal City." He hated waking her. It was so rare that he got to watch her sleep.

Max stretched as she woke. "Is it time to save the world again?" She opened her eyes to see the worried look on Logan's face. "What's wrong?"

Logan shook his head and kissed her fore head. "Nothing. It's just not like you to sleep so long. Are you feeling alright?"

Max nodded. "I feel fine. You must be wearing me out." She joked as she swung her legs out of the bed. As she showered and dressed, Max realized she had been sleeping a lot more than she usually did. Shrugging she pushed the thought aside, deciding she would ask Jondy if there was any need for concern the next time she spoke to her.

Outside of the Terminal City fences Zeak sat in a car watching the normal everyday occurrences inside the fences. Every experiment that had been conducted to recreate the Manticore soldiers had been a complete and utter failure. With X5 210 dead, there was only one other person with the knowledge to bring Manticore back to life and Zeak was beginning to think Sandeman was a ghost.

A movement from a nearby building caught his eye. Zeak watched as an old man moved out of the shadows and greeted a woman who looked remarkably like X5 452. Dialing a number on his cell phone he kept his eyes on the man and woman while he waited for his call to be picked up. "Deck. I've got good news. I think I've found Sandeman."

"You're a hard man to track down." Max felt some satisfaction noticing that she had made Sandeman jump. "We'd better get you inside Terminal City before Lydecker and his friends show up."

"Why would that be a problem?" Sandeman was confused. The last time he had seen Donald Lydecker, it had seemed as though they were all on the same side. Although he did recall there was some reluctance on the part of the X5s.

Max signaled someone to come and get them. "Things change. Lydecker decided he wanted to be King of the Manticore castle and swapped sides. He's working with the South African's to recreate Manticore. So far he's lacked the one person that can make his sick, twisted dream a reality."

Sandeman took a guess at what Lydecker's missing person was required to do. "So he needs your sister Jondy or myself to be able to splice the different DNA together."

"Pretty much." Max opened the door of the van that had just pulled up in front of them. "Get in. We'll take you to CJ."

Sandeman was shocked. He knew that Logan had promised to try and find his son, but he hadn't got his hopes up that they would succeed. "Are you sure this is actually my son?" He had been tricked once. He didn't want to go through that again.

"As sure as we can be." Max climbed into the front of the van beside Logan. "We'd better get our cargo inside the perimeter quick. I saw Deck's buddy make a phone call. We're going to have company real soon."

Logan turned the van around and headed for the hidden entrance into Terminal City. "Great, just what we need. We're trying to stop something similar to the ending of the world as we know it and Deck wants to play mad scientist."

Once they were safely inside the perimeter, Max headed for the command center while Logan took Sandeman to see CJ.

Max raced through the door. "Heads up Boys. The Lydecker Brigade is heading this way. He's been tipped of that Sandeman's in Seattle and I'm not in a sharing mood."

Mole snorted. "Why don't they just toss their weapons over the fence. It'll save us the trouble of taking them off of them. It's not even a challenge anymore."

"I can't see that ever happening, but we can dream." Max pointed to the monitor. "If we can keep them contained in this area, we can use the rear entrance to come and go when we need to."

"You want Sandeman to stay here at Terminal City?" Tek wondered if that was a good idea considering the knowledge that Sandeman had. Every man and his dog would want to get their hands on him.

Max nodded. "It's the safest place for him at the moment. As soon as we can, we'll relocate both Sandeman and CJ. If the conclave freaks find out he's here, they'll want to stop him as well."

Joshua could sense the tension in the room. He knew that neither Tek nor Mole wanted the added danger that Sandeman's presence brought upon them. Everyone in the room knew that they needed Sandeman's help to stop 'The Coming'. "I'll watch over Father and CJ. We may need more help in stopping 'The Coming'. Most of us can't go outside the fence line without getting shot at."

Max had considered that already. "First we find out what we're going to be facing with 'The Coming', then I'll call in my siblings if I have to."

"Just call that red headed sister of yours in." Mole joked sarcastically. "She's pretty terrifying when she's pissed off."

"I'm not calling anyone until I know what we're up against." Max rolled her eyes. "In the meantime, let's see if we can get Lydecker and his gun toting merry men out of the way. Even if it's only temporary." Max headed out of the door with Joshua right behind her. "How many times do we have to keep saving the world before these nutcases stop going 'oops, I did it again. There goes civilization as we know it."

Sandeman couldn't control his relief at getting his son back. How he could have possibly believed the decoy that Ames had set up with was his son. Hugging CJ, he knew without a doubt that this young man was his son.

"Look, I don't want to interrupt this family reunion," Logan butted in. "But CJ seems to think the preparations for 'The Coming' have already started. Is there anyway we can stop this before it's too late." He wanted to add 'without getting my wife involved' but he knew from what little information that they had, that Max was somehow the key to stopping 'The Coming'.

CJ nodded enthusiastically. "The ritual dance around the fire with the snakes had already taken place."

"How long ago?" Sandeman didn't realize the preparations were that far along.

"About eight months ago." Logan was concerned at the tone of Sandeman's voice. "We don't have a lot of time, do we?"

Sandeman shook his head. "No. As soon as the planets align it will only be a matter of hours. The Head Priestess will perform the ceremony, but there are certain ingredients she will need. If we can stop the ceremony being preformed or prevent the conclave from obtaining several of the ingredients, then we can stop 'The Coming'."

"What's to say the conclave haven't already obtained the ingredients." Max's voice made everybody jump.

"It's not possible." Sandeman looked Max straight in the eye. "You're one of the ingredients."

Logan felt as though an icy hand had gripped his heart. "What the hell have you done Sandeman. You told us that Max had the ability to survive some sort of germ warfare when the rest of us can't. Now you're telling us that she's part of the cause not the solution."

"She's both." Sandeman didn't know how he was going to explain to everyone in the room, especially Logan. He had only just noticed the matching wedding bands that Max and Logan wore. "Congratulations on your marriage by the way."

Joshua stepped in between Sandeman and Logan. "If Little Fella is one of the ingredients, won't it stop 'The Coming' just by stopping the conclave from getting to Max?"

Sandeman shook his head. "That's not enough. The conclave must be stopped from completing the ceremony. We won't even know where the ceremony is going to take place until the planets align."

Max avoided looking at Logan. She knew that there was no way that he was going to put her in danger even if it meant saving the planet. "First let's see if we can find out when the planets are going to align. Then we'll call in the X5 factor." Once she had an idea of how much time she had then she could try and work through everything with Logan.

Logan headed for the command center to use the computers. This wasn't fair. He had only just married Max and now he was in danger of losing her. His fingers swept along the keys as he tapped into several astronomy sites, so that he had a more accurate answer for the others.

He felt Max walk in behind him just before she rested her hands on his shoulders. "It looks as though we have exactly a week. Seven whole days."

Max maneuvered herself around in front of Logan and sat down on his lap. "I have to do this. We don't have a choice."

Logan pulled Max closer and buried his face in her hair. "I don't want to lose you. There has to be another way. Let somebody else save the world for once."

Max wished this could be somebody else's burden. "You're not going to lose me. We need to get my siblings into Seattle fast. We always have Jondy as a wildcard if we need to play that hand. Besides, I know you're going to do everything possible to keep me safe. Everything's going to work out fine."

"Don't suppose I can get you to agree to run away and hide with me." Logan was only half joking.

Max managed a weak smile. "No. You can help me phone my siblings though." She had a feeling that they were going to need as many X5 hands on deck as possible.

Logan gave her a reluctant nod. "That shouldn't take too long. If we call Jondy, she'll contact Zane. Syl will contact Krit and Tinga will contact Jace. That just leaves Alec and Rein. We can stop by and up date them on our way home."

"Why don't you call Jondy while I call Syl?" Max knew that her sister would reassure Logan that between the lot of them, they would keep Max safe and stop 'The Coming'. Jondy was the calm before the storm and the storm all wrapped into one.

Alec walked up to Joshua and slapped the dog man on the back. "Hey Joshua. What's going on?" Then he spotted Sandeman. "When did the Manticore King arrive?"

"This morning." Joshua, for once wished that Sandeman had never existed. Maybe then they wouldn't be trying to stop 'The Coming'. "He was waiting outside the perimeter all night."

"I guess that explains why Lydecker and his troops are all sitting out front." Alec hadn't been surprised to see the uninvited guests when he had arrived a few minutes ago. What did surprise him was the depressed look on Joshua's face. "Hey, I thought you'd be happy to see Sandeman."

Joshua shook his head. "Father told us that Max is the only one who can stop 'The Coming'. She's also one of the main ingredients in it being brought forth."

Alec let out the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. "How's Logan taking the news?" Considering Max and Logan had only recently got married, this was not the perfect start to a marriage.

"Not well." Joshua looked over Alec's shoulder at Sandeman bonding with his son. "They're going to call the others into Seattle. I think they're making the phone calls now."

Mole and Tek walked in while Alec and Joshua were talking. "The lovebirds are organizing a one month anniversary family get together." Mole rolled his eyes. "We're supposed to keep Lydecker and the South Africans busy and out of the way."

Tek glared at Sandeman. "Logan found out that the planets are due to align in seven days." It was like looking at a human shaped bad luck symbol. "So are you planning on ruining anymore lives while you're in town."

Sandeman was about to argue that he wasn't to blame, but he had hidden the cure in Max's DNA. In a way he was to blame. The thing that hit home just how hard the news he had brought with him had affected the people of Terminal City, was Joshua's silence. The huge man hadn't uttered a word to him since Max had left for the command center. "I'd say I'm sorry, but I doubt anyone would believe me."

"When we all get through this," Logan's voice startled all of them. He stood in the doorway with his arm around Max. "I'll find somewhere safe for you and CJ to relocate to. After that, I never want to clap eyes on you ever again. If I find out that you are anywhere near my wife after that time, I will kill you." Nobody had ever seen Logan look so mad.

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Sandeman wasn't sure he could stop 'The Coming' even with Max's full co-operation.

"What did you mean to do when you started Manticore?" Logan wished that he and Max had stayed in Paris. "Not that I'm ungrateful for my wife being created, but you could have put a stop to all of this a long time ago. Look around you Sandeman. You're surrounded by people that you helped create. They're good people but the minute they step outside these fences, they might as well paint a target on their backs. My sister-in-law has a scar zig zagging down her body that won't heal. All because you started something that Lydecker wants to finish and he wants Jondy's unwilling assistance to do that. Obviously the conclave doesn't need Max alive to bring forth 'The Coming' as your son Ames ran over my wife with a truck last year. You didn't mean for any of this to happen? Well, excuse me if I don't give a shit."

Max tugged gently on Logan's hand. "Come on. Let's go home." She wanted to get Logan out of there before he completely lost it and attacked Sandeman. "Alec, could you let Rein know what's going on."

Alec nodded. "Yeah, no problem. When are the others arriving?" If they only have seven days to stop 'The Coming', they would have to work fast.

"Syl mentioned something about Krit borrowing a plane and flying some of the others in." Max felt a little better knowing that her siblings were already heading for Seattle. "Some of them will be here in the morning." She left the room practically dragging Logan behind her.

For once Mole actually felt sorry for Max and Logan. "Come on Tek. Let's see what we can do about the toy soldiers out front."

Tek followed Mole. "Why don't we just move the fence line and trap them in here with us?"

Mole grinned. "That's not a bad idea."

Lydecker stepped out of his vehicle and went to stand beside Zeak's car. "Are you sure it was X5 452 you saw?"

Zeak nodded. "You know your kids better than I do Deck, but it seems strange that everything's gone so quiet inside those fences."

Lydecker glanced into he grounds. Zeak was right. It was too quiet. "They know we're here." He got the sense that he was being stalked. "Move out."

"We can't Sir." One of the men gestured around them. "I don't know how they did it, but they've caged us in."

Lydecker looked around him. The transgenics had quickly, quietly and efficiently put up three wire fence panels and connected them to the existing fence line. "They're doing what they've been trained to do. Catch the enemy with their guard down." He saw one of the soldiers go to shove the fence. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He bent down and picked up a stone and tossed it at the fence. Sparks flew off the fence when the stone made contact. "They're keeping us out of the way. The question is why?"

In the command center Mole and Tek chuckled as they watched Lydecker thump the car he was standing by in frustration. That was one problem out of the way, now all they could do is wait for the X5's to arrive. Only time would tell whether or not they could stop 'The Coming'.

...to be continued.