by: iluvaqt@hotmail.com
Chapter 5: Repercussions
As soon as Logan brought Max in, Sam instinctively brought Dr. Shankar called for assistance. It wasn't that he didn't have the expertise to attend to Max himself, but more the experience in previous unconscious female patients, that they weren't entirely comfortable being left vulnerable. It would be a precaution to have a friendly female face, there to greet her when she came around.
"How is she?" Logan asked.
Sam noted there was no lost apprehension in the other man's tone since the last time they spoke. He smirked to himself, the guy was so smitten. Usually, Logan had complete faith in his word, but when it came to Max...it seemed the confident and logical man went out the window.
"I've done a preliminary exam and as I said before, she should regain consciousness anytime now."
Logan almost groaned in frustration. "You said that. What I meant was, what's wrong, she doesn't usually just pass out like that. And well, she said there were no more seizures..."
Sam set his board down and took a seat opposite Logan. Resting his palms together, he went over things again. More for his benefit than for Logan's, "I just want to get this straight - it might sound stupid but - you found her in the bathroom, unconscious, right?"
"Yeah." Logan replied, looking at the doctor curiously.
He looked through the glass at Max, who was still asleep on the bed in the next room. He wondered what she was dreaming about right now, or if she was dreaming at all. In his gut he had this sick feeling that he couldn't shake, and having no one to give him any reassurance, wasn't at all a comfort. Somehow his instinct was telling him that something wasn't right. That something bad was coming...
"Logan?" When Logan seemed to respond again, Dr. Sam Carr continued, "...I was saying she could have slipped while coming out of the shower. An accident and from what I can tell, there isn't any internal bleeding or swelling. I have a friend who's going to run a few scans and tests..."
"I trust you, Sam but-" Logan began uneasily.
"Don't worry. Dr Shankar is very reliable and I trust her implicitly. I already told her to hand over the results to me personally for review."
When Logan heard that it would be Beverly Shankar, who would be doing Max's tests, he felt suitably relieved. Maybe before she started the tests he could put in a word. Beverly was a dedicated Eyes Only informant. It wouldn't be the first time that she'd been involved with information pertaining to Manticore. Max would be in good hands.
Max slowly opened her eyes to find a familiar face, hovering near the end of her bed.
"I know you," she said. Turning her head, to try and iron out the major crick in her neck.
"That's a good sign." Dr. Shankar smiled. "What else do you remember?" She checked Max's chart, and moved in close, so Max wouldn't have to careen her neck to see her.
"Dr Beverly Shankar, ME's Office." Max reached up and rubbed the back of her head, wincing slightly when she ran over a particularly tender spot. "And that my head hurts like hell. Where's Logan?"
"He's with Dr. Carr. Once we've finished going over a few things, I can call him, if you like." Beverly leaned on the bed rail and adjusted her stethoscope. "I wanted to do the physical exam when you were awake. If you want to lie back and relax, we can start now."
Max reluctantly complied, and stayed as still as she could, while the doctor pulled back the sheet and began gently pressing different areas on her abdomen and torso.
"Tell me if it hurts."
"Ah..."
The doctor added more pressure.
"Yeah!" Max growled, eyes blazing.
"I wanted you to be sure," she said simply. Pulling the sheet back up, she reached into an over head compartment and pulled a few more pillows. She helped Max sit up and propped them behind her, to help her relax into a comfortable upright position. "I'll go and see if the tests are done. Be right back."
Beverly went over the results again, smiling as she went. They seemed like a very close couple, and Logan most definitely looked serious about her. She hoped that what she had to deliver was great news for everyone. Young couples these days didn't always take the news well, most couples for that matter. It seemed that today, less couples wanted to bring children into a world of corruption, hardship and hopelessness. But in her mind, life had always been a gift. Something her mother taught her. It was why she went into medicine, to study life, help preserve it, find out what went wrong. Sadly in her line of work, most of the time it was that man went wrong.
Walking back into the room, she smiled warmly at the young woman in the bed. She looked like she'd been expectantly awaiting her return from the moment she left.
"I was hoping I'd find you resting."
Max half smiled back. "Never been one to get much sleep."
Beverly looked down at her chart and back up at Max. "I'm afraid maybe you won't in the near future either." Holding the board to her chest, she studied the woman's face, trying to gauge a reaction.
"What exactly are you trying to tell me?" Max asked impatiently. She was still leaning against the pillows. And now the intravenous tube in her arm was beginning to itch.
"You're pregnant. Thankfully the mild concussion didn't do any harm to the baby. Must be strong like the mother-" she stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Max pale.
"I can't be. I mean Logan and I..." Max stopped dreading where her next thought was going. They had always used protection, even the first time when they'd been almost totally lost in each other. There was only one way to determine if her conclusion was right. "How far gone am I?"
"From the tests, just over two months...Max, you hadn't noticed any symptoms - cramps, nausea, tender breasts? When was your last menstruation?"
Max swallowed with difficult and set her jaw. She had, had those signs, but she hadn't thought anything of them. The nausea came and went, and most of the time she'd plot it back to something weird she'd eaten or having an all-round sucky day. As for the cramps, when ever she got really nervous, she got mild ones. And her new start with Logan had been enough to start a swarm of butterflies rampaging through her stomach. The breasts thing had only hit last night...and that - well that - she'd naively attributed to the dizzying new heights she'd reached.
"I don't menstruate."
Beverly was taken back for a moment, recovering quickly, she wondered if she'd heard correctly. "You never-"
"My wonderful 'designers' thought it wouldn't be crash if their prefect soldier came down with a compromising condition every month. Well at least that's what I figure. I never knew that women had them till I got out."
"Right," Beverly replied in complete understanding.
Max threw off the blanket, ripped out the needle in her arm and struggled to get out of the bed. Beverly was at her side in a blink."You don't have to go. Just relax. You'll be okay here. No one knows anything. Sam and I have been handling your case." She rested a reassuring hand on Max's shoulder.
Max looked up at her. "I know you didn't tell Logan anything about me visiting you. After Ben...please don't now."
Beverly dropped her hand. "It's not his," she said. Max didn't have to reply. She could see it all over the younger woman's face. "When you came to see me, after I called you. I wasn't sure even how to bring the topic up. I wasn't even sure if you'd run and never look back, or if you'd kill me. But I had to know. Years ago I'd heard about Project Manticore, but most people I asked dismissed it as one of these wild conspiracy theories. Genetic super soldiers, created as perfect assassins. Made in a lab, with barcodes on their necks...Well I never told Eyes Only about you, or our conversation. Your past is safe with me, Max."
"What about this?" Max asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Doctor-patient privilege. I'll tell him, he can see you now. Call me, if you need anything." She gave Max a last glance before leaving the room.
Closing the door behind her, she sagged heavily and leaned against the wall. Curiosity killed the cat, Bev. Next time, keep your hunches to yourself. It'll keep you out of other people's business, and your life a lot less complicated. Not that she ever regretted calling Max, and seeing her on occasion since then. It was just her life was complicated as it was, juggling nosy lab techs, watching her back after pulling jobs for Eyes Only and now facing a career cross-road. To add to it all, playing silent witness to something she knew wouldn't be easy for either Logan or Max to discuss and accept. Sighing inwardly and shaking her head, she walked down the hall to Sam's office. Where she knew Logan had been patiently waiting for the past hour.
"I was kindly informed you asked for me?" Logan said with a tentative smile. "How you feeling?"
Max smiled warmly at him, she hadn't really moved since Dr. Shankar had left her moments before. "Fine. I'd really like to get out of here. You think you could help me slip past my overly fanatic doctors?"
Logan chuckled. That was his Max, never one to be overzealous when it came to hospital visits. "Sam'll fix everything up. Are you sure you don't want to relax and kick your feet back. Dr Shankar will give you a certificate, that'll take Normal off your back...if you're worried about work that is."
"Logan, shut up and take me home."
They both smiled and Logan helped her stand and collect her things. In ten minutes they were headed home. Max slightly bruised and no worse for wear than other accidental collisions. Which were far and few, it usually tended to be the other guy with the headache.
"So you really just slipped from the shower? You're okay?" Logan glanced over at her, keeping his hands on the wheel. Even though the stray curl threatening to fall over one eye was seriously tempting him.
"Yep. Stupid of me to be careless like that. Remind me to move that mat closer to the screen."
Logan chuckled but grew serious, sending a sideways glance in her direction before reaching for her hand. "It might sound really crazy, but I was pretty freaked out finding you like that this morning. I thought-"
"Forget about it. Really, I'm fine, just a bump. I've had a lot worse."
The car grew quiet and as his hand squeezed hers, somehow she knew this wasn't the end of the conversation. She'd have to tell him sooner or later. And sooner rather than later.
She couldn't exactly keep seeing him and one day spring on him, "Hey, Logan, guess what? I'm gonna be a mommy, but you're not the father. Sorry. Serious momentarily lapse in judgment but what's a girl gonna do?" Yeah, that'd go down real well. That was if he didn't notice something strange about her sudden transformation in appearance in the next couple of weeks. Logan wasn't dull, if she didn't tell him, he'd figure it out on his own and that would be a whole lot worse than her just telling him straight off. Mentally berating herself for her monumental stupidity, she cringed inwardly thinking about how much more her life could possibly suck. Things had been going so well. Just went to prove her suspicions that she was cursed. God, I hate you Renfro.