A/n: the first part wasn't terribly well received. Still, this is very different from my usual work so I should probably expect that. This chapter explains things a bit more, lets you know where I might be going with it.

Cale Comfort

When Brin was taken I had no choice but to contact Max. She was the only one I could reach to help me with my injuries. And she took me to meet him.

Logan Cale. And I began to see what drew her to him.

I've never seen a pair of eyes like that anywhere else. The deepest, most beautiful eyes I've ever beheld. The fascinating thing about them is that they actually change colour. From green to grey to crystal blue, shifting like the sea according to his moods. Undeniable intelligence sparkling in the depths, drive and passion overlaid with a calm strength, a detachment from the world around him. The small glasses he hides those eyes behind do nothing to diminish their power. The intensity of his gaze is so strong that it feels like he can see right through me, through the defences I've maintained so carefully for the last ten years.

His voice was the next thing I noticed. Calm, assured, with a note of wry ironic humour in his words. That voice made me want to obey his every word, the tone of command was stronger than any I'd heard since I left Manticore. Lydecker has a voice like that, as if there's no possibility of any disagreement. But Lydecker never had the unmistakable warmth, the compassion, the desire to help. The anxiety for our safety as he warned Max to be careful; like it was the most important thing in the world that she, and by association I, come back. No one ever cared that much for my welfare in my life before. I couldn't help but wonder who was this man? Why does he exude power when his physical condition makes him weak and vulnerable?

I tried so hard to deny how much he affected me. I lashed out, to get him to go away, but he just sat there, that slight twitch of his eyebrow the only indication I'd annoyed him. He's almost as good at hiding his emotions as I am, however well he evokes them in those around him.

I can't help but wonder what happened to him, how he became a cripple. I get the impression that he doesn't like to talk about it. There was frustration in his amazing eyes as we left that he could do no more than wait for our return, confined to his own personal prison like we were for the first ten years of our lives. And why does he need so much computer equipment in his apartment? The man is an enigma. Trust Max to find the most complicated, mysterious person in the city and tell him her deepest darkest secret.

I was reluctant to meet Logan without Max there. I'd have preferred to beat on Lydecker a little longer. The first time I was alone with him, I told Logan he was putting Max at risk by making her want to stay in Seattle. Partly to test him, partly because it's the truth.

Max can't leave Logan, however many times she denies she stays in Seattle because of him. I'm having a hard time leaving myself. The illusion of safety in his company is alluringly powerful, his unwavering presence comforting however serious the situation.

He clearly took my words to heart. If there's one thing he cares about above any other it's Max's safety. He said he didn't know what it was between them. It was obvious even to me that they shared some unbreakable bond, some link nothing could sever.

When Sanders caught us my first thought wasn't that Lydecker had betrayed us. It was that by letting Max be captured I'd let Logan down. And it felt so bad I'd have given anything to stop it happening again.

I find myself watching from across the street again as Max talks with him, her pain and guilt over Brin eased by whatever it is he has to say. I wish I could hear it, perhaps it would ease the same emotions in myself. From his lips I can believe any words, just because he's the one saying them.

I still wonder what he did to make her trust him with everything she knows. Was it just his personality, his charisma and determination, or something else, some earth shattering knowledge or event that made her certain he'd do anything in his ability to protect her. Ironic, really. The cripple protecting the supersoldier.

I need to get out of here for a while, try and stop my thoughts dwelling on Logan Cale. I'll go on the grand tour, visit all the others and break the news about Brin before I come back to check on Max. I don't see her going anywhere anytime soon. And while I'm gone, I know Logan will look out for her any way he can.

Let me know what you thought.