After a few transfusions from Max, Zack was released from the hospital with a bottle of painkillers in his pocket and the promise that no one would ever know he had been there. There hadn't been a tearful good-bye like Max only half-expected but instead a match pair of "Take care of yourself" comments and a mock salute. Zack had walked off. That had been one month and twelve days ago. There hadn't been any word from him since.
Max lain in bed, staring at the ceiling. She hardly thought at all and there were no colors - her life already had enough color. The rain beat down on the city and Max hoped it could wash away some of the past. She had hoped for a tidal wave to wash over her and take some of the garbage that littered her shore back out to sea. So far it was calm waters.
She thought of Jondy and hoped that her sister had found her peace. She still didn't understand Jondy's motives, but she could understand the will to live. Manticore seemed to breed that. She forgave her sister because to forever hate her would have been a waste. A waste of energy and of family. She hoped she was fighting them. She hoped Brin was fighting. She hoped they escaped again - together. She found herself hoping a lot lately.
It seemed that, without the easy option, hope was all she had.
When the smell of food hit her, she climbed out of the bed and slipped on the red bathrobe that had somehow managed to become hers.
She walked into the kitchen and greeted Logan with a smile and a kiss.
"Hope your in the mood for pancakes," he said.
"If I can eat it, I'm in the mood for it," she replied with a smile and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Did you get the paper this morning?"
"Nope," he told her and shook his head.
She took a sip of her coffee then set the mug down and went to the front door. She opened it then grabbed the newspaper from the floor and walked back to the kitchen.
She separated out the sections that didn't impact her day - everything but the weather section.
She skimmed the section over with a smile.
Today - Rainy, 63
Thursday - Clear, 70
Friday - Severe Thunderstorms, 55
Saturday - Rainy, 60
Sunday - Slightly Cloudy, chance of Rain, 58
No snow in sight.
"Perfect," she said quietly, her lips curving into a satisfied smile.
The End.
A/N: First, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Second, I'll say that the reason I ended it here was because, well, where would I go after this point? The drama for this fic came, it went, everyone's mostly happy but with the ever so present tinge of angst that is Max's life. This was my first Dark Angel fic in a while and I gotta say it really brought me back to the (broken) world I love. I'll be back, you can count on it. In fact, I'm already working on something new.
Third, I'll just touch on the subject of Jondy. I left her fate open for a few reasons. But, of course, I have a sneaky, sneaky mind and can't share those with you!