Disclaimer: same as always

A/N: First, I'd like to dedicate this especially to my boo Barbara, who spent endless hours with me in chat while we were working on our story New Horizons. I hope we'll be able to continue with it soon. And thanks for doing the posting and stuff while I'm busy!

Second: to all of you reviewers: Thanks everybody for the encouraging reviews. And yes: I've found my muse again. In fact this chapter wasn't there as it is now, before. Thanks for inspiring me.

agmgdafan, Superblonde, Mackenzie, Brin, heather, akischo: Thanks for dropping me a line.

idlehands, Guevera, jadeangel, Quarkz: I thought so too; it sucks that there are hardly any M/L stories left on ff.net. So how about we change that?!!

Rajana: I've always adored your stories and it was great to hear that you liked it. I think you may be right about Max telling Asha before Logan-just keep reading to find out. As for the burden I put upon them. I'm not gonna let them off the hook to soon, but I'm one for a happy ending ;-)

E5: Thanks for your ideas- I already had included some of them, actually. P.S.: as far as I know "shipper" comes from relationship-so a M/L shipper is someone who is pro a Max/Logan relationship. Am I right guys??

Original D: Love your story, so I'm glad to know you liked mine. When are you going to post the next chapter?

Anyway, stay with me guys, here's the next chapter!

 PS: Please excuse my spelling and grammar flaws -these chapters are un-betaed. If it gets too bad let me know and I'll seek out someone to beta my story.

Chapter 2 –In the middle of the night

Max woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of laboured breathing. She turned around to face Logan. He was lying flat on his stomach, his face pressed into the pillow, cupped in his hands. His whole body seemed to be tense.  She reached out her hand and stroked his back.

"What's wrong, honey?" she asked concerned.

" Nothing" he murmured into the pillow.

" Sure don't look like nothing." Max insisted.

"Go back to sleep. I didn't mean to wake you up." He pressed the words out between gasps for air.

"You think I can sleep worrying about you?" Max asked. "What's going on?"

Logan sighed and turned his head towards her. "I can't sleep. Those spasms are keeping me awake. They won't calm down. It's driving me mad. . I feel like I'm so out of control." He shifted his position a little. "Lying on my stomach it's as bearable as it can get. Stops my f****** legs from flitting around." Frustration and exhaustion filled his voice.

Max moved closer and flung her leg over his legs. She could feel the constant waves of contractions, even through the blanket. Not knowing what to do, she started rubbing his back.

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

Logan buried his head in his hands again. "I don't know Max. It's hurting, itching, …tickling and burning-all at the same time! It' s just a disgusting feeling. …Kind of hard to describe."

"Can I do something to make it better?" Max asked helplessly.

"I don't know. I…I just want some sleep. That's all…." he trailed off exhausted.

"Maybe we can get some medication from Sam tomorrow. Or should we call him right away?" Max suggested still stroking his back.

"No." he gasped. "It's okay. I can wait another few hours…I think. Just leave your leg where it is, okay? Feels like I have a little more control then." He turned his face towards her again his eyes silently begging her to do something, but at the same time he knew, there was nothing much she could do right now.

Max sat up and crawled under the blanket  to sprawling out on top of him, her legs lining up with his, her head resting on his back. She closed the covers around them and felt Logan relax a little.

"How's this?" she asked. "Any better? Or am I too heavy?"

"No, you're fine." He said. "Feels… a lot better…. Can you just stay like that for a while?" he asked feebly.

Max nodded invisible to him and placed a kiss on his shoulder..

"Just try to get some sleep" She whispered, caressing his neck .His breath was becoming more and more even and she could feel his tension ease a little. If it did him some good, she would keep lying like that forever.

Logan woke again at 4 o'clock in the morning. He groaned slightly and checked his watch in the semi-darkness. 'Great!' He had just slept for about  two hours. His dreams had been filled with the worst things that he could even imagine. Max kidnapped, the baby gone, with chaos all around him and on top of it, he had not been able to do anything. He had been trapped, trapped in his own body, his limbs feeling like lead, with him unable to control them. A sick feeling to his stomach echoed the desperation he had felt in his nightmare. He lay still, trying to concentrate on something good, something comforting to make the feeling go away. However, it just did not seem to work. To make things even worse, the spasms in his legs had come back and after a while, he found it impossible to ignore them and lie still anymore.

Carefully, not to disturb Max, who was sleeping soundly beside him, he shoved his legs over the edge of the bed, sitting there for a while to get his bearing. Then he reached out for his cane and carefully stood up. Relieved that it seemed to work, he slowly made his way into the bathroom, despite of the trembling in his legs. 'Ignore it, okay, just ignore it,' he told himself as crossed the room. 'You are not going to fail me now! ' he urged his legs silently. In the bathroom he closed the door and switched on the light, thankful for the feeling of control that was coming back with each of the everyday things he saw lying around in the bathroom. There was his bathrobe, that Max was now used to wear, there were her clothes scattered around the floor. He turned around to see the strawberry shampoo that she used. He picked it up and inhaled the fruity scent. Everything was okay. Everything was fine, he told himself. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub and tried to collect his thoughts. The previous night came flowing back to his mind. Max was pregnant. And he was the father. …That was what did it for him. HE was the father? But how... ? His gaze wandered over to the small bag beside the sink, which contained the catheters, antiseptic and everything else he had needed after the shooting. Well, he hadn't needed it a lot during the last few weeks…. 'Logan, there's another issue we need to discuss. About sexual function…' Sam's words ran through his mind. Then Bling's words after the first transfusion : 'The gun is loaded….' Logan smirked. He tried to recall the past couple of weeks. There had been a transfusion about three weeks ago, and then another one before that, approximately six weeks ago. He had started to have some feeling in his legs a few days after that, and then , slowly, day after day, the muscle power had returned…could it have been then that Max had received the child?

He shook his head. He had never considered that an option for him after the shooting. He sighed and got up, to stand in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection. He looked like shit. He had dark circles under his eyes and it was clearly visible that he'd lost a lot of weight. Ever since the transfusions started, he had seemed to lose pound by pound no matter how much he ate. But then he hadn't been very hungry anyway. The constant on and off, in and out of the chair, the never-ending fight to stay on his feet, only to lose it over and over again over the past months had pretty much wrecked him. Sam had warned him all along, not to mess with his health like that, but the temptation was just too big. He couldn't let the chance that seemed to offer itself slip away. And Max had been supportive all the way. But now Logan realised that they had come too far. He had to stop this, if not for his then for Max's sake. He sighed and splashed some cold water into his face, then left the bathroom and went to the kitchen. He brewed some coffee and moved over to the window, staring out into the nearing dawn. He was going to be a father. And he was going to be back in the chair. This time for good. He watched a few birds fly by, melting into the darkness as fast as they had appeared. Where was this leading for them. Were they going to be a happy family or would fate just go and destroy it all like it had so many times before? It seemed like someone or something didn't want them to lead a happy life. Why should it work out this time?

Logan tore his gaze from the window and walked to his office. He could as well get some work done. Asha had asked him to find out about a ring of fur traders who smuggled rare animals from all over Asia into the US to sell them on the black market. People seemed to be returning to the old fashioned status symbols like fur coats and crocodile leather bags, when sometimes there wasn't even enough to eat. This was just crazy. It was all about pretending everything was fine, when the depression was bigger than ever. Logan shook his head to himself, as he hacked into the shipping and fright compartments of the companies that Asha had mentioned the night before. He worked for more than one and a half hours , finishing another two cups of coffee, until he had gathered enough information  for S1W to take over the job from here. He copied everything on disk, then shut down the computer and walked over to the living room, dropping his mug on the kitchen counter on his way. He plopped down on the couch stretching out his aching bones, before he picked up the phone and dialled Asha's number. Remembering he had gotten up that early, he quickly checked his watch before he heard the first tone. Good, it was 6.15, Asha should be up by now. He knew that she was used to get up early, to get some work for S1W done before she went to work at the community centre downtown. She had taken up this job because she had needed the money and she could help underprivileged teenagers at the same time.

"Hello?" came her voice through the line.

"Hi Asha. This is Logan."

"Oh hi Logan. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, sure I…sorry, did I wake you up? I thought you'd be up by now."

"I've been up for an hour. I just didn't expect you to call me this early."

"I've been doing some research on what you asked me for. I got all the information you need on disk."

"Wow. That was quick. Must have been working all night."

"I couldn't sleep very well."

"So did Max talk to you?"

"Yes, she did. She told you, didn't she?"

"Yes."

Logan grew quiet. Asha and Max had never been best friends. Why would she tell Asha about the baby before she told him?

"Logan?"

"Yes. I was just wandering why she would tell you about this before she told me."

Asha sighed. "Maybe she needed to talk to someone a little more ..distant, who is not as emotionally involved-to sort things out, you know."

"Maybe."

"Logan, are you okay?"

"Sure."

"You seem a little off."

"I am as a matter of fact!"

"What are you gonna do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, there'll be a lot of changes. A lot of responsibility."

"I know. "

"If you need any help or just need to talk, give me a call, okay?!"

"Okay. Thank you Asha."

"Anytime. So when can I drop by to pick up the information?"

Logan thought about that for a second. Then he suddenly knew what he had to do.

"I'll send it to you via express. I have some things to do. I think I'll be out all weekend. If you need any more information call me Monday "

"Okay. Thanks. Say hello to Max for me."

"I will."

"And take care." Asha said sincerely.

"Bye." Logan ended the call. He knew what he had to do. And he didn't know how much time was left.