"Inbetween Out and Red"
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 Out and Red.
Spoilers: Out and Red
Rating: PG
Category: Drama/Romance

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Max couldn't believe it. Hell had actually frozen over, there was no other plausible explanation. Logan Cale, fighter for all that was good and true, was taking the night off from saving the world.

She had told him not to hold the war up on her account. Secretly though, Max had been thrilled that he had put aside his mission of saving the world so that he could cook her dinner. In fact, the same meal that she had Kendra help her prepare a couple of nights previously.

Max couldn't believe that she had almost walked away from Logan because her feelings had been hurt. She had felt that he was choosing his obsession with saving the world over dinner with her. Of course if she hadn't had help with dinner, she could have understood why Logan would find an excuse not to eat the meal.

She started to fill a saucepan with water for the pasta. Max knew this was Logan's way of saying sorry for blowing off dinner at her apartment and insisting she help him on his mission.

Logan knew Max had had every reason to be mad with him. It had been difficult for her to prepare a meal for him. Even with help. Cooking wasn't her strong suit, yet she had still made the effort.

If he hadn't been so wrapped up in avoiding his feelings for Max and burying himself in saving the world, he would have seen the signs that he and Matt were being set up.

So consumed with stopping Bronk was he, that it was only now that he recalled the sight of Max soaking wet, storming around his apartment wearing only a towel and a pissed off expression. That vision did things to his body that for once made him grateful that he was able to stay sitting down.

Max had all but melted when Logan had shrugged off his latest mission with a 'the world will still be broken in the morning' and a sparkle in his gorgeous blue eyes. For a moment she felt like the most important woman in the world. "So, you want any help other than boiling the water?"

Logan pushed the memory of Max in his towel to the back of his mind. "Sure. Why not?" He suspected that Max's lack of cooking skills weren't so much because she didn't have the ability to cook, but more because nobody had ever taught her. He had known Max long enough to know that she didn't like staying still for too long, so the trick was to keep her busy.

Max began to notice that she was actually doing quite a bit of the cooking this time around. This cooking thing wasn't as difficult as she had thought. The real test would be if it tasted as good as Logan's usually did. Hell, she'd be happy if it was at least edible.

When the pasta was happily boiling away, Max looked down at Logan. "I hope you're not going to make a habit of getting me to do the cooking."

Logan had no intention of doing that. If Max could cook her own culinary miracles, she'd have no reason to drop by for dinner. "No, I thought you could help me this once to properly earn your 'Eyes Only' secret decoder ring." He teased her by using her earlier comment.

"I can live with that." Max grinned. "So how long do I leave this pasta boiling?" She gave the sauce a quick stir so that it wouldn't burn.

"Test a piece of the pasta." Logan hadn't moved out of his wheelchair, so he wasn't high enough to see for himself. "If it's still firm and crunchy it needs to cook a bit longer." He, himself could tell just by looking at the pasta, but this way was easier for Max.

Max followed Logan's instructions. "I think it needs a few more minutes." She gave the sauce another stir. "Do I still get the secret decoder ring if this meal isn't edible?" Despite the fact that Logan had instructed her under a watchful eye, she was still nervous that she had ruined dinner.

In that instance Logan was willing to consume every crumb on his plate, even if it resulted in him having to get his stomach pumped. "It'll be fine. Just keep an eye on the sauce." He busied himself setting the table and lighting candles. He was sure that the meal would be delicious. Max didn't know how to fail and cooking dinner would be just another skill to add to her list.

Max began to relax again. She had been doing everything that Logan had instructed her to do. There was no reason that she could see that the meal wouldn't turn out well. Maybe then she could actually invite Logan over to her apartment for dinner without needing Kendra's help.

As much as she cared about her friend, Max would just once like to be able to have dinner with Logan without being tormented with the same questions and comments from her friends. There was only so many times you could be asked if you were 'banging the gong' with someone you considered a friend. Eventually it stopped being funny and just got old. Besides, she wasn't sure that she wanted Logan to be her sex slave.

Max tested the pasta again and decided that it was ready. She was so tangled up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Logan was watching her finish preparing their meal with great interest.

She had always figured that making love was the ultimate joining of two people that loved each other. Sex, on the other hand was just a matter of scratching an itch. Never, in either case was one person the others sex slave. The perfect intimate relationship at least in Max's mind was a partnership where both people were equal.

Realizing her mind had completely strayed off of the task at hand, Max blushed and dished the meal onto two plates. As she raised her head to ask Logan if he wanted wine with dinner, Max caught him watching her.

Logan had never seen Max blush and couldn't resist asking. "You seemed miles away. What were you thinking about?" There was that blush again. He couldn't ever remember seeing Max blush, let alone do so twice in one night.

Max tried to shrug the question off, while wondering how long Logan had been watching her. "Nothing important. Did you want some wine with dinner?" God, how embarrassing. Being caught thinking about sex by the person all of your friends thought you were banging it with.

Logan knew better than to push Max into answering his question truthfully. It was obvious to him that whatever she had been thinking about would have at the very least been interesting judging by her blushing. "The wine's on the table."

"Oh." Max silently cursed Kendra for her previous train of thought. "Well, we'd better eat this before it gets cold." She carried the plates to the table hoping that Logan wouldn't notice that she had been distracted by something other than cooking dinner.

Logan poured them both a glass of wine before tasting the food on his plate. "This is good." He hadn't doubted for a moment that Max could cook a decent meal. All the same, he was grateful that he wouldn't be returning to hospital with food poisoning.

Max tasted her cooking herself, thinking that Logan was just being kind. She was surprised that not only was the food edible, it actually tasted pretty good for someone who wasn't used to cooking. "What do ya know, I can cook."

Logan gave her a toothy smile. "I'm pretty sure you can do anything you put your mind to Max." She looked so proud of herself that Logan couldn't help but stare in awe of her.

"So what's 'Eyes Only's' latest mission in the fight against corruption." Max had wondered what Logan had put aside to trick her into cooking dinner.

"Word is that there's a witness willing to testify against Mayor Steckler. That is if he makes it to the courtroom alive." Logan had been attempting to make this a work free dinner.

"So when you find out where the Cops are hiding the witness, I just go and get him and baby sit him in the safe house." Max had forgotten that she had quit working for Logan.

"Are you sure?" Logan however, hadn't forgotten. "I don't want to take up all of your spare time."

"No problem." Max shrugged her shoulders. "Mr Multiples is back in town so Kendra will probably be out tomorrow night." Logan had delayed his caller until the following day. She figured nobody would try for the witness until dark.

"Mr Multiples?" Logan frowned. "Do I want to ask?"

Max shook her head. "You really don't."

They finished their meal in a comfortable silence before playing a few games of Chess. Finally, when Max noticed that Logan was getting tired, she left so that he could get some sleep.

As Logan moved from his wheelchair to his bed, he remembered what his mother used to say: The world is right on schedule. Logan chuckled to himself. Yeah, his and Max's world was back on schedule.

The End