AS 2.07: Devil's Waltz by Star24 

Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters are copyright 2000-2002 Twentieth Century Fox Studios and James Cameron and Charles Eglee. This original fiction is copyright 2003 Star24.

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Chapter Seven

Manticore Medical Center

Logan was floating in a gray fog. It was warm and soft and blanketed his entire body, including his legs. That was how he knew it had to be a dream. Dreams were the only time he felt his legs since the shooting. But he was definitely feeling his legs, all the way to his toes. So it was a dream. He wished it were one of the ones that included Max. But he hadn't had any of those since she had returned from Manticore.

It was boring alone in the fog and he couldn't seem to wake up, so he concentrated on trying to remember when this particular dream had begun.  He had been propped up in his bed, working on catching up on the emails that had accumulated while he was in the hospital, and he had lost all track of time since Bling had left. He figured that somewhere in there he had drowsed off, because the next thing he remembered was the sound of his door opening.

"You sure you don't want me to show you where the master bedroom is?" Logan recognized the voice as that of Oscar, one of the building's doormen.

"That won't be necessary. We've had a few emergency calls in this building before. If you could just stay at the elevator and make sure it remains on this floor, that would be a big help. We don't know what kind of shape Mr. Cale is in, and we may need to get him out of here in a hurry," said a second voice that Logan didn't recognize at all.

"Good thing Mr. Cale put in that emergency alert system. Him living here alone and being crippled and all." Oscar said cheerfully. Logan frowned. Emergency alert system? What in hell was Oscar talking about? He heard footsteps approaching his room and moved by a sudden impulse, he closed his laptop and shoved it under his bed.

Two men dressed as Emergency Medics appeared in the doorway of his room, pushing a stretcher in front of them.

"I think you have the wrong apartment." Logan said to them calmly.

"Logan Cale?"

"It's him," said the second one, not bothering to acknowledge Logan. He pulled a hypodermic needle from a medical bag that was open on the stretcher and advanced on Logan.

"I don't know who in hell you are or what you want but…" Logan's sentence was cut off as the first medic seized his arm in an iron grip. It was the kind of grip that Logan recognized all too well from experiencing it from Max on occasion. His mouth dropped open and he managed to say, "You're X5…" before a hand clamped over his mouth silencing him, and the second medic plunged the needle into his bicep.

The dream was vague after that. Whatever was in the shot had acted quickly and he remembered being moved to the stretcher, and then being wheeled out through his apartment and into the elevator.  The medics had said something about a fall to Oscar who had nodded seriously, and then he was placed in an ambulance. Next thing he knew was the present fog. He wondered what had set off a dream of being taken by Manticore. He hadn't had them on his mind much lately, not since he had stopped his hacks into their system for a while at Max's insistence.  Maybe it was his frustration at the impasse in their relationship brought on by his physical condition, he reasoned. He had pretty much resolved that he had to let Max go for her own good, rather than saddle her with a helpless cripple. The prospect was bringing back some of the depression he had experienced when he had lost her to Manticore the last time. That must have triggered this particular dream. But the dream wasn't ending, he wasn't waking up, and he was really bored. Giving in to his boredom he let himself drift back into the fog.

******

Max stood staring through the Isolation Unit window at Logan. "Why isn't he waking up?" she demanded of Donald Lydecker. "You've had him here for three days."

"We aren't allowing him to." The Colonel answered calmly. "It's better if he's unaware of the procedures. Less painful for him."

"I suppose I should be grateful that you aren't giving him the same TLC you used to show us as kids." Max said acidly.

Lydecker let that go unanswered. "Is your team ready?" He asked abruptly.

"As ready as they're going to be." Max answered. "When's D-Day?"

"When I tell you it is."

Max shrugged and turned to stare at Logan again. "I want to go in"

"I'd advise against it. There's a risk of infection."

Max laughed. "I'll scrub. And you know as well as I do, that my immune system kills any malignant microorganisms almost as fast as they arrive, so there's no chance of my carrying anything contagious."

Lydecker looked at her for a few moments and seemed to come to some decision. He reached over and pressed a button below the window. "Send a tech to take X5-452 through disinfection. Stat."

Max met his eyes and at his nod, she turned to the door that had slid open on the sidewall of the room they were in. "Thanks," she said briefly as she turned and followed the medical technician who waited for her.

Deck nodded in acknowledgement. He watched as she exited the room and the door slid closed behind her.

******

Logan roused from his fog at the sensation of a soft touch. It felt like a hand was brushing his hair gently back from his face. He struggled to open his eyes but all he could see was the fog.

"Logan." 

That sounded like Max's voice and he tried harder, still with no success. He did smile to himself at the thought that at least he was hearing her in this dream.

"Logan, it's gonna be okay. I promise. Trust me." He wondered what Max was talking about. "Logan, listen to me. It's important." She paused. He felt soft lips touch his briefly and then she whispered, "I love you. It's always only been you. Never forget that, no matter what."

He struggled mightily and managed to pry an eye open. Max's face floated above him, blurred and out of focus. She seemed to be smiling sadly at him. His eyes closed again and he felt another butterfly touch before the fog reclaimed him.

******

Max straightened up. Logan had opened his eyes for the merest fraction of a second when she had kissed him, but she had no way of knowing if he had really been conscious of her or her words. She gently brushed his hair back again and then turned and looked up to where she knew Deck still stood watching,

"Bring it on, Lydecker. It's time to get this bitch over with," she said, knowing he could hear every word. Then she turned on her heels and left the room, leaving the tech standing there, watching her in bemusement.

End of Chapter Seven