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 The Kidz Are Aiight and Female Trouble.
Spoilers: The Kidz Are Aiight, Female Trouble
Rating: PG
Category: Drama/Romance
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What the hell was with Logan? One minute he was laughing and flirting with her. The next he was all but kicking her out of his apartment with dinner to boot. Max wondered what had gone wrong. Sitting on top of the space needle didn't help make things any clearer.
Max had thought that getting the use of his legs back would make Logan happy. It had never mattered to Max. What she felt for Logan was the same even if he was in a wheelchair or not. Not that she understood what she felt for Logan. Or even why she had been so nervous at dinner.
Logan had seemed nervous as well. That must have been the reason he had forgotten to turn the oven on. She couldn't help but smile at that memory. The great Chef Cale forgetting to turn the oven on. I guess there really was a first time for everything.
Maybe Logan was still steamed at her for ditching dinner to go and help Zack. God, could Zack's timing have been any worse, even if he had tried. It wasn't as though she could have asked Zack to wait until she had dinner before she went to get him. With Manticore hot on his trial he didn't exactly have time on his side. She had thought that Logan would understand that.
Still, it was hard to forget the look on Logan's face when he tried to stop her from leaving the apartment. It was a mixture of fear for her safety, disappointment at their dinner being interrupted and anger at Max running head first into danger for Zack. She had never known anyone who could combine so many emotions into one look.
Max sighed. There would come a day when choosing between Logan and Zack wouldn't result in her just missing dinner. When that day came she knew that she would have to say good bye to one of them permenantly. The problem was, she wasn't sure that she would be able to choose between her brother and the man she had come to care deeply for.
Max shook her head. That was a problem for another day. Right now she had to make up for missing dinner to Logan. It was hard to get a gift for a man who already had everything. Heading back down to the street where she had left her bike, Max tried to think of something to get Logan. As she climbed on her bike she remembered how much Logan loved basketball. She had heard Sketchy tell Herbal that there was a game on tomorrow night. Perhaps she could get tickets from a scalper that she sometimes did business with.
An hour later, Max had two tickets to the basketball game and her wallet was a lot lighter. She hoped taking Logan to the game would make things better between them. The thing was, she didn't know what had gone wrong tonight so she wasn't sure if she could fix it.
Logan stared at his computer screen. Perhaps he could use the information he had gathered on Manticore to help him. He couldn't believe this was happening to him. He had only had the use of his legs back for a couple of days and it looked as though he was losing it again.
He had come so close to getting a life with Max and he was damned if he was going to give it up easily. There was one name on the list of ex-Manticore Doctors he had managed to track down, who was actually based in Seattle. This particular Doctor had covered her tracks well, but Logan was very clever at uncovering mysteries.
The Doctor in question had done extensive research into reversing the paralysis in some patients. The treatment was pricey and Logan needed that treatment quickly. The only way he could get the money quickly was to sell something. As he looked around his apartment his eyes settled on a painting that his Grandmother had given him.
As he was about to walk out the door with the painting, his phone rang. Despite his urgency to get the money for the treatment for his legs, Logan answered the phone in case it was one of his informants.
Max's voice drifted down the phone line to him, reminding Logan that he had all but shoved her out the door this evening. It surprised him more than a little when she asked him to the following nights basketball game. Accepting her invitation as quickly as possible without being rude Logan resisted asking Max how she had got hold of tickets to a sold out game. After arranging to meet at the penthouse, Logan said good bye and hung up the phone.
After selling the painting for half the price it was worth, Logan set to work contacting the Doctor to arrange an appointment. All the time his fingers worked tapping away at the keyboard, Logan kept telling himself that he was doing all this for Max. It didn't stop the niggling voice in the back of his head that was calling him a liar. It was practically screaming at him that he was selfish and the only person he was trying to help was himself.
Once Logan had arranged with the Doctor to meet with him and see if the treatment would even work in his case, he tried to get some sleep. After tossing and turning for an hour, Logan fell into an exhausted deep sleep.
In his haste to organize an appointment to get back on his feet permanently, Logan had forgotten completely about going to the basketball game with Max. When Bling arrived in the afternoon and noticed the gapping blank space where the painting had once been proudly displayed, Logan brushed aside his friend's query and said he had just got bored with the painting.
Seeing as Max was the only person who knew how much the painting meant to Logan, Bling accepted Logan's answer with a shrug and went to work. Logan tired not to be obvious about keeping glancing at his watch, but Bling still noticed.
"You expecting someone or have you got to be somewhere?" Bling noticed there was something a little off with Logan today.
"I have some things to take care of." Logan was deliberately vague.
"How did dinner go last night?" Bling was starting to wonder if Logan and Max had, had another fight.
"Forgot to turn the oven on and then Max had to leave to save Zack." Logan stayed focused on the computer screen.
"Man, that guy's timing sucks." Bling patted Logan on the shoulder. "Still, Max didn't go with him, did she? She's still in Seattle."
Logan stopped tapping at the keyboard. "Yeah. Max is still in Seattle. She didn't go with Zack. One of her sisters needed some help who Zack took away to safety. Max wishes she had gotten the time to spend with her sister."
Bling nodded understandingly. "That must have been tough on Max." He patted Logan's shoulder. "Despite the fact that she could have gone with her brother and sister, Max still stayed in Seattle. That's certainly something to think about."
"Well, I'll have to think about it later because if I don't leave now I'm going to be late." Logan stood and reached for his walking stick. "Could you finish up here."
"Sure." Bling watched Logan walk out the door. "Sometimes I just don't understand that man."
