Disclaimer: Although I've been playing with them for twenty chapters, the characters, background story, names, etc. do not belong to me, and I do not claim anything but the plot of my stories and the characters I invent. Now, if Cameron and Co. want to buy the rights to the Patterson family, I'd be willing to negotiate...
A/N: Well, here it is. Apparently, when I said Sunday midnight, I meant Wednesday midnight. This is the last installment of my little epic:
Chapter Twenty: Denouement
It was raining when they finally arrived in Seattle. Night had enveloped the world some hours before, and only the professionals and the compulsively nocturnal roamed the darkened streets, though very few chose to show themselves. The entire city seemed to have somehow calmed, as if, for once, it would see night for what it was – the time of rest, the time of repose. The moon shone half-heartedly from behind the bank of storm clouds, casting very little light, but continuing to bestow a promise of beauty and peace on the otherwise dirty and corrupted city.
The rainy, dreary night was beautiful to Logan. It was the night he was bringing Max home, and it would have taken another Pulse to destroy the almost childlike excitement that grew steadily within him as the miles between him and his home rapidly evaporated. He was going home, and Max was going with him. They were going home.
The goodbyes between Max, formerly known as Grazia de Mayo, and William Lucas-Patterson III were strained and uncomfortable, though it was apparent that neither of them was very sorry to do it. The way Will looked at Max was no longer unbearably loving, but almost fearful. She was the mysterious being who had turned his entire life upside down, and it was clear that he wanted nothing more to do with her. The woman he'd fallen in love with no longer existed, and he would mourn the loss of her while he grieved over the death of his father.
They offered to take him back to Seattle. They offered to keep him safe, to intercede on his behalf with the San Francisco authorities. Politely, but with a hint of that instinctive nervousness that undoubtedly urged him to remove himself from their company as quickly as possible, he'd refused their offer. Logan tried his best to persuade the younger man that Eyes Only would be an important ally, but even his eloquent tongue could not do its job. For all his effort, he could not convince Will to return with him to Seattle, and, as not one of them truly wanted him there, he was allowed to go on his way without too much difficulty. They'd dropped him off at the airport, and hoped he would successfully board the first plane out of the country. He'd return when things settled down a bit, and he'd have a famous, expensive lawyer with him to solve all of his problems.
"After all," he'd said quietly, avoiding Max's eyes with determination, "rich guys don't get convicted of murder." Logan had almost replied that it was attitudes like that which had led him pursue the elder Patterson in the first place, but he kept his silence. It was very difficult to undue over twenty years of brainwashing. In the end, Will was just as elitist as his father; he was just more squeamish. It was disappointing, but there was nothing left to be done.
The parting with Alec was far more agreeable. He was heading back to Canada, and would undoubtedly return to Seattle afterward. At most, he would be back to annoy them in three weeks, and Logan wasn't sorry for it. Alec was a friend, no matter how hard they all tried to deny it, and he was, in a way, Max's family. However, that didn't mean that Logan wanted to be trapped in a car with the cheeky transgenic for the long ride home. In the end, he was indescribably relieved when Alec made known his plans for making off with Grazia's famed Mercedes - after removing all the bugs, of course.
Thus, Logan and Max were left to find their own way home, which was exactly what they both really wanted. They were finally alone, and they exulted in the time together. They talked, really talked, and while a car is not generally considered the best place to conduct deep, heartfelt conversations, it was somehow easier for them. Sometimes it's easier to confess things when one doesn't have to look one's listener in the eye. It's certainly easier to keep one's hands to oneself when driving, even when listening to what amounts to a declaration of love and devotion, and even when the listener feels the same as the speaker.
They were exhausted when they fell into bed. It had been a very long, very emotional, and very bloody day. Yet, somehow, as they lay side-by-side on the large and comfortable bed, weariness fell away and all thoughts of sleep were forgotten. In the blind and silent darkness, they allowed themselves happiness. Their movements were instinctual, their sighs and moans involuntary, but the emotions behind every movement, the thrill produced by every meeting of skin, and the ache for contact that they could only hope would never be fully satisfied, all of it overwhelmed them.
Later, as he was lying in bed, listening to the rain brushing rhythmically against his windows, fingers lightly tracing the curves of Max's body, Logan was awed by the feelings of contentment and tranquility that she could produce in him. The world felt safe and just and right when he made love to her. He hadn't felt that life was fair since his childhood, since before his mother's death, but, with Max in his arms, all was peace.
Sadly, sleep was threatening to steal away his current feelings of blissful comfort, and, though he tried to fight it, though he wanted the night Max first slept in his bed to last forever, he couldn't help but recognize that his mind was wandering. Each random thought became longer, more relaxed and less focused, the beautiful, rhythmic mixture of their breath and the rain lulled him, and when he finally gave in, he couldn't help but remember something an English professor had once told him. "Every time it rains in a book or a movie, pay attention. It's usually a sign of rebirth." The thought made him smile. He certainly felt like a different man than he'd been four days earlier.
Il est fini.
A/N: I just want to take a minute and thank everyone who actually made it through all twenty chapters. I can't even believe it lasted this long. It wasn't supposed to last much longer than chapter seven, really, but then a plot revealed itself, and I felt that I had to follow it through. I apologize to anyone who might be disappointed.
A/N2.0: Oh, and the lines about rain scenes - I had a wonderful English professor for three out of my four semesters at Cuesta Community College, an amazing and very intelligent man. He taught me a lot, and I miss him, so I guess this is my little shout-out to him. He's right about the rain scenes (/shower scenes/near-drowning scenes), by the way. Don't believe me? I could give you a list.
A/N3.0: I have another story in the works that I'm hoping to post in the next few days. With any luck, I haven't scared off all of my lovely readers who have been so wonderful to me.