Chapter Nine

The Clarity of Day


"Ugh," Max groaned and rolled away from the sunlight beating down on her.

Logan laughed as he turned from opening the drapes, "Manticore didn't make you immune from a hangover?"

"Apparently not," she said sitting up slowly.

"So does this mean you're not hungry?"

She gave a sarcastic chuckle, how long had this man known her?

He laughed too, "That was probably a stupid question."

She nodded, "Ugh," she wasn't really hung over, just feeling rather yucky. She opened her dry mouth and partially stuck out her tongue, "My mouth feels nasty."

He shook his head as he laughed again, "Yea you're not getting a good morning kiss until you brush your teeth. I'm gonna go start breakfast. How about pancakes?"

"Mmmm," she murmered with a dreamy smile

"Pancakes it is."

-o-o-o-

Max Voiceover in the shower-

Last night was weird; I had two separate breakdowns all within a night. It used to be I never cried right? Then again I never cared, that's probably the difference now. Poor Logan, he's stuck with a basket case for a girlfriend.

I used to be stable right? I used to not break down when I chipped a nail, okay maybe that's an understatement, but when Zack's helicopter when down, I was fine…

Maybe it's different because it's for real, there's no doubt, I held Tinga's lifeless body in my arms. Still I don't think this is what Logan was expecting a few weeks ago as I told him I loved him.

They were alone in the warehouse; they'd just watched the others leave. Logan and Zack had stopped just short of trading blows because of how Zack had been treating Max.

She couldn't help but smile at Logan's defense of her, she always made such a big deal about not needing a protector, but she had to admit part of her liked it. It wasn't that he doubted she could take care of herself; it was that he wanted to take care of her; he wanted to save her from pain, make things easier for her. She turned and smiled as they were finally alone, "Have I told you how much I love you?"

He laughed, "Why because I just threatened a guy who could kill me with a single blow?"

She laughed, "Yea, that certainly is part of it," she paused for a moment and realized she might as well have the guts to do this now, "I love you for a lot more than that Logan."

He turned to face her, his face showing his uncertainty.

"I just kinda love you. I mean like love you, love you." The words kept tumbling out of her mouth, "Really love you."

He let out an uneasy laugh, her whole little jumble of words was too funny to not laugh a little, "Love me like a friend or-"

She did a combination of a nod and a shake of her head as she tried to get the words across, "I'm in love with you. Like really in love with you."

He smiled and laughed, and cupped the back of her head and pulled her in close to him, he kissed her and whispered, "You sure?"

"Logan if this isn't love, then I don't think I could survive the real thing."

He laughed, "Is it that bad?"

"It's a little intense," she admitted.

"Would it make you feel better to know you're not alone?" he asked softly.

She nodded

"I think I've been in love with you since the moment I saw you Max. I can't believe you love me though." He shook his head as if to prove his point.

"Yea kinda surprised me too…Original Cindy had to beat it into my head…This whole love/caring thing kinda new to me. Kinda really scary. The thought of ever leaving you, of you ever leaving me…"

"It's not gonna happen, don't worry. It's taken us a year to get to this point; I'm not going to let anything separate us."

"Look at you doing the whole macho male thing again," she said smiling once more.

He smiled again and kissed her.

"Max" he knocked on the door before he walked into the bathroom. "Did you drown in the shower?"

She smiled to herself as she turned off the water and grabbed the towel she had waiting just outside the shower, she pulled back the curtain.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

She nodded, "A lot less grimy. How much did I drink last night?" she asked slightly puzzled.

"A lot"

She shook her head, trying to remember the full details of the night before. She had already been drinking when Logan showed up and she had her second breakdown of the night…She'd also woken up in the tank she'd gone out in and underwear, so she must have just passed out when they'd gotten home. "Sorry I got too drunk for you to take advantage of me," she said with a joking smile

He just smiled back

"Ugh," she groaned and briefly closed her eyes, in response to his smile, "I made out with you at the bar didn't I?"

"I'm pretty sure that's going to be all you hear about on Monday," he was still grinning.

"Ugh," she groaned again and looked up in embarrassment, "I barely even do that when I'm in heat," she said without thinking.

He didn't show any discomfort when she said 'heat' and she knew he really had forgiven her, "Then I guess I should feel pretty special." he kept it light

She smiled up at him and shook her head, "You are pretty special. Now how about we get me drunk on syrup and we try that whole taking advantage thing again?"

"We could always go straight to the taking advantage part and go back to the pancakes later," he suggested.

She raised her eyes up to meet his and gave him a look.

"Or not," he laughed.