"Inbetween Cold Comfort and Blah, Blah, Woof, Woof"
by Kirsten Tapp

Disclaimer: Dark Angel doesn't belong to the author, but to James Cameron, etc. No copyright infringement intended.
Summary: What went on between Cold Comfort and Blah, Blah, Woof, Woof.
Spoilers: Prodigy and Cold Comfort
Rating: PG
Category: Drama/Romance

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Max couldn't believe Brin was back at Manticore. She had only just got her sister back. It was so unfair. None of them had realized when they had escaped from Manticore, what a botched up job had been done with them. The seizures Max could handle, but Brin's illness shook her to the core.

She felt a sense of pride in the way Logan had handled Zack's aggressive attitude. Refusing to be intimidated by her brother despite knowing what he was capable of, gave her even more reason to respect what Logan stood for.

She hadn't been prepared for Logan to warn her to be careful though. That meant he cared about her, which scared her. The last person, make that guy she had let close to her had been cheating on her with one of her so called friends. She wasn't going to let that happen again. Still, she couldn't picture Logan doing that to her. It was something to consider, when he wasn't sitting across the table from her.

Logan ate his dinner silently observing Max, not wishing to disturb her from her thoughts. Not having any brothers or sisters of his own, he could only guess what it must feel like to get in touch with your sister only to lose her again.

After meeting Zack, he was even more confused about his feelings for Max. He had picked up a strange vibe off of Zack when he had asked Logan what was between he and Max. It wasn't the first time his intentions had been questioned by somebody's brother. But Logan had felt that Zack's reasoning behind his question was more than brotherly concern.

Max glanced up from her dinner to see the concerned look on Logan's face. "Sorry, I guess I'm not really hungry." She misunderstood his expression and hastily added. "The food's great though."

Logan studied her for a moment before speaking. "It was Brin's choice to go back, Max. It's not your fault Manticore didn't find out and fix any problems before they decided to play God and make a team of perfect soldiers."

"I know." It was as though Logan had been able to read her thoughts. "I just wish I could have had more time with her. Instead we end up on the run from Lydecker. Again." Max shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it was stupid to get my hopes up."

Logan shook his head. "It's never stupid to have hope Max. There was nothing that you and Zack could do for Brin. It would have killed you watching your sister die if she hadn't let Lydecker help her." He wondered if he was getting through to Max.

Max stared at Logan. "You're just saying that to make me feel better." She wasn't about to tell Logan that it was working.

"You know that's not true." Logan gave her a mock frown. "Besides, how else am I supposed to get you to eat all of your dinner?" He grinned. "I'm guessing if I tried to spoon feed you, you'd probably deck me."

Max laughed. She couldn't stop herself. The image of Logan trying to feed her while she clamped her mouth shut and crossed her arms in front of her like a child refusing to eat her greens, was just too funny. "Probably." She stopped playing with her food and ate a mouth full. "Where'd you learn to cook this good."

The grin fell from Logan's face. "I took a few classes after Valerie started hitting the bottle. It was either learn to cook or starve. We couldn't go out to restaurants because Valerie was always so plastered that she couldn't sit up straight." Logan shrugged off the self pity. "Still, at least feeding you, I know for sure my cooking's good."

"So I'm basically being fed to boost your ego." Max teased, not that she was complaining. She couldn't remember eating food that tasted this good before she had met Logan.

Logan was relieved that Max's mood had brightened up, so he let her teasing slide. "I guess you could look at it that way." A sudden surge of guilt flowed over Logan. What if Zack was right? Maybe he was putting Max in further danger, wanting her to stay in Seattle. Logan pushed the thought aside, reasoning that Zack was probably just jealous because Max wouldn't leave with him.

"What's wrong?" Max noticed the worried look on Logan's face.

Logan hadn't realized his emotions were showing so close to the surface. "Do you think it's safe enough for you, staying in Seattle now that Lydecker knows what you look like?" As much as Logan wanted Max to stay, he didn't want her in any unnecessary danger either.

"I'll keep my head down." Max tried to reassure him. "It's not as though Lydecker knows where I work or live. I'm not exactly listed in the phone book."

"I guess you're right." Logan knew in the back of his mind that Lydecker wouldn't stop until he had hunted down all of his kids. "Do you want to play a game of Chess?"

"Not tonight." Max stood and carried the dishes to the sink. "I promised Original Cindy I'd meet her at Crash. She wants to tell me how they stopped the guy interested in buying Jam Pony from signing the cheque. How about tomorrow night?"

"No problem." Logan was already working out what he would cook for dinner. "I'll see you tomorrow night."

Max grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. "Thanks for dinner. See ya tomorrow."

An hour later Max was laughing as Original Cindy, Herbal and Sketchy relayed the days antics. "How long were you locked in that room for Sketch?" She wiped the tears away that were running down her face from laughing so hard.

"Too long." Sketchy was grinning from ear to ear. "I tell ya, I've never seen anyone so eager to get away from Jam Pony and that really something considering everyone that works for Jam Pony wants to leave."

Original Cindy nudged Max. "So where've you been tonight, Boo? Spending time with your sugar?" She grinned mischievously.

"He's not my sugar." Max groaned. "He cooked dinner, we ate, I left. That's all there is to it."

"Rich boy cooks?" Original Cindy was surprised . "He doesn't get someone into do the cooking? Is he any good?"

Max grinned. "The man is a God in the kitchen. I have never tasted food that good before."

"So what's he like in the bedroom?" Original Cindy wiggled her eyebrows.

Max rolled her eyes. "I don't know. We're not like that."

"Why not?" Original Cindy demanded. "Don't tell me the boy doesn't heat your blood. I've seen the way he looks at you like you're dessert on his dinner menu."

"Is this the guy in the wheelchair that came looking for Max at Jam Pony a couple of months back?" Sketchy looked up from his beer, his words slurring.

"That's him." Original Cindy grinned. "He's kinda hot for a member of the three legged species."

Sketchy nodded. "O.C's right. He's got it bad for you. Being rich is a bonus for you."

Max raised her palm out in front of her. "Stop right there. We are just friends who eat the occasional meal together."

"Kendra tells me that you spend too long over at Rich Boy's apartment to just be eating dinner." Original Cindy nudged Herbal. "Whatcha think Max and Logan are doing at that big ole apartment of his after they finish dinner?"

Herbal opened his mouth to answer, but was met with an icy stare from Max. He shrugged. "The washing up."

"If you must know, we play Chess." Max's patience was wearing thin with her friend's teasing. "If I'd known that you guys were going to hassle me this much, I've would have stayed and beat Logan at Chess four or five times."

Original Cindy put her arm around Max's shoulders. "Come on Boo. You know we're only teasing you because we care." She realized she'd probably hit the nail on the head regarding Max's feelings for Logan and that was why her friend was getting so snappy. As long as she had known Max, her friend hadn't liked to admit she had a weakness of any kind.

"I know, it's just sometimes you guys care too much." Max didn't want to analyze her friendship with Logan to pieces. She enjoyed having dinner with him, then playing a couple of games of Chess with him while forgetting that the rest of the world existed. "So get your caring over and done with, because I will be at Logan's tomorrow night for the Chess game I missed out on tonight and he will probably have dinner ready by the time I get there."

"Have a good time." Herbal was the only one that spoke after Max's outburst, although Sketchy did ask Original Cindy later if it was that time of the month for Max.

Max sat in Logan's apartment the following night in the process of beating him for the fifth time that night. Even though dinner had been delicious, there was something off with Logan. She usually beat him at Chess, but tonight he seemed to take even longer to make each move than usual. She had also noticed that Logan was a little pale and hadn't eaten very much dinner.

When Max beat Logan again he managed to joke about her unfairly using her superhero powers to take advantage of him. He was surprised when she asked him to join her at crash. He was so tempted to say yes, but the pains that had been shooting through his back for most of the day reminded him that he would only slow her down and hold her back from having fun.

When Max had left, Logan had a hot shower to try ease the pain but it didn't work. He had been hoping to avoid going to his doctor. Going to the doctor quite often involved needles, and he hated needles. Another sharp stabbing pain forced him to make the phone call. He would call Bling in the morning to let him know about his Doctor's appointment, so that his physical therapist wouldn't be alarmed when Logan wasn't in his apartment. Time would tell exactly what was wrong.

The End