Disclaimer: all the same

A/N:

Idlehands, Mackenzie, Suzanne, Kingfisher Feline, lizzzzie: Glad you enjoyed my story! Stay with me for more to come!

Superblonde: Thanks for your thoughts! You're in fact not the only one, wondering why Max told Asha first! Logan did so too! ;-) And yes, you'd like to smack him now and then, but it really wouldn't be him if he didn't have his occasional moments of self-pity and depression, right?! Nevertheless, I think I am going to let him make some progression as we move along. Oh, and please let me know whatever bothers you. Sometimes constructive criticism can be more helpful than any positive review!

E5: I hope that story you were talking about will find its way out of your brain and into ff.net sometime soon! Just give it a try!

OD: Hope you like this one, too. Hey, and what about your story? When can we expect the next chapter?

Anette: I'm not telling if there's going to be a cure, yet. Guess you'll just have to read on. However, I promise the other characters, including Alec will still appear in the story. Just give the two lovebirds some time of their own, 'kay? (I'm not gonna go into the transgenic stuff too much though)

Well, I hope I didn't miss anyone. Thanks to all of my readers! So now it's time to enjoy the next chapter.

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Chapter 3- I need you to be happy

When Max woke again in the morning, she was lying on her side on the other side of the bed. She remembered what had happened during the night and started looking around for Logan. When she couldn't see him in the bedroom she quickly got up and checked out the bathroom. It was empty. She tiptoed over the cold floor towards the kitchen. She was relieved to see Logan standing at the counter, preparing breakfast. Everything seemed to be fine. She walked up to him and put her arms around him from behind.

"Good morning. How do you feel? Did you get some sleep?" she asked.

Logan turned around to kiss her. "Yeah, at least for a couple of hours. Thank you." He smiled at her.

Max looked down at his legs. He was still clad in his boxers and the T-shirt he had slept in. His feet were bare just like hers. She smiled sadly. He had insisted in going bare feet ever since the feeling had come back.

"Spasms calmed down?" Max asked.

 "Finally!" Logan said relieved. "I thought I was going crazy."

"Did you talk to the Sam yet?"

"No. And I'm not going to do so Max." he said determined.

Max frowned. "Why not? I'm sure he can give you something for those..."

Logan nodded "He sure can. But any muscle relaxant or sorts of will also take away any muscle strength that's left." He sighed. "I want to use my legs as long as I can Max! This is probably the last time I ever will." He saw the tears in her eyes and pulled her close.

They stayed like this in silence for a long time until Logan finally pulled away forcing a smile to his face.

"That's why I cancelled all my appointments for this weekend." He announced. " I want to take you out and do all the things I won't be able to do…in a couple of days perhaps." His own eyes were brimmed with tears now. He quickly blinked them away and changed the subject.

"So how about pancakes for breakfast?"

At his words Max' face suddenly turned as pale as a sheet and she bolted out of the kitchen. A few seconds later Logan could hear her throw up in the bathroom. He grabbed his cane and followed her as fast as his legs would permit.

 "Max!! Are you okay? I thought you liked my pancakes." When he reached the bathroom door Max was just cleaning up and washing her face. She looked at him in the mirror with a weak smile. "I'm okay. …Let me introduce you to…morning sickness," she said sarcastically.

A little smile crept to Logan's face. "So you're up for some pancakes now?" he grinned. Max spun around and aimed the towel at Logan in mocked fury.

"No I'd rather go for eggs and bacon!" She said sticking out her tongue.

Twenty minutes later they were perched on the stools at the counter, eating their pancakes. Despite her earlier attack of morning sickness, Max was now shovelling the food into her mouth. She had nearly finished her stack of pancakes, when she realised that Logan had barely touched his.

"What's up? Aren't you hungry?" she asked.

Logan frowned and pushed away his plate. "I don't feel like eating. My stomach doesn't seem to agree with the three cups of coffee I had," he said with a crooked smile.

Max gave him a reproachful look. "When did you get up anyway?"

"Around four." Logan said, wiping his hands on a paper napkin.

"What?" Max called out in surprise. "Why did you get up that early?" she asked worried.

Logan frowned. "I couldn't lie still anymore. Those spasms were bothering me again. So I thought I could just as well get some work done." As if on cue, Logan's left leg started to cramp up, causing him to wince.

"Speaking of which…" he said between clenched teeth, grabbing the counter with both hands to steady himself against the pain.

Max jumped up worriedly and stood next to him, unsure of what to do. "Can I do something?" she asked hesitantly.

"No…Max,…well maybe -yessss…."Logan hissed. "I …need… to… straighten it." Max wordlessly grabbed Logan's leg and carefully moved it against the contracting muscles. Logan winced, but after some time he felt the spasm subside, while Max continued to work on his foot.

"You wanna move over to the couch, so I can give you a massage?" she asked tentatively.

Logan nodded, thankful, and carefully slid off the stool. Slowly they moved over to the living room, Max staying close to him, in case the spasm would come back.

Logan lay down on the couch, while Max took his legs into her lap and started to massage them gently.

"Max?" Logan asked after some minutes.

"Yeah."

"You talked to Asha, didn't you?"

"You mean about the baby?"

"Yeah."

"Sort of. " Max shrugged.

"What 's that mean?" Logan asked confused.

Max shrugged again. "I got a little nauseous and she asked me if I was okay. So I told her."

"Hmmmm."

"What?"

"Why didn't talk you talk to me in the first place?"

" I thought you'd freak out. I mean this is not the best timing to have a baby, right!"

"Hmmm."

"I guess I just needed to practise those words. Hear them myself at least once." Max offered.

Logan nodded, but could not help but be a little disappointed that he hadn't been the first to know.

He watched Max's face suspiciously. He could see that she was thinking about something else.

"Would you have told me at all, if I hadn't overheard you?"

"Of course I would have!" Max said a little too loud and fast.

Logan raised an eyebrow." Honestly?"

Max looked down at her hands avoiding his gaze. "Sooner or later…."

"Max!"

"I wanted to wait until the time was right. Until you were…better. ,"she answered shyly, running her hands over his knees.

Logan ran his palms over his face in frustration "So I'm lucky I found out at all!" he shot at her bitterly.

Max looked up at him confused.

Logan drew his legs from her lap and stood up, feeling the need to pace. " I'm not gonna be 'better', Max! Never!" he shouted angrily, taking a few shaky steps into the room, only to be stopped immediately by a recurrent spasm in his leg. He grabbed the backrest of the armchair, struggling to keep his balance.

 Max hesitated for a second, willing to give him the chance to deal with this alone, but the spasm was getting stronger and stronger, rising up along his thigh to his back. She rushed over and hugged his waist tightly, taking some weight off his legs, steadying him.  "It's okay. Let go," she whispered.

Logan reluctantly removed his hands from the backrest and closed his arms around her as they slowy slid down to the floor. There they sat wordless for a while. Max gently rubbed Logan's back, while he tried to calm his legs.

"I'm sorry." Logan finally said in a choked voice. "It just throws me off that… I just didn't think it would be that quick." 

Max wiped a tear away that was threatening to escape her eye and hugged him deeply.

"It's not over yet. This doesn't mean anything. You can still walk," she said desperately.

Logan shook his head. "You know that's not true.  It' s just a matter of time. I'll be back where we started soon." He thought back to the past six months, with all the renewed hopes and all the setbacks to destroy them again. Only he had never been this close to walking again, after the effects of the first transfusion had worn out. But he knew that he had to put this to an end. Max didn't deserve this. She was just about as exhausted as he was. He had no right to put her through this over and over again. She had seen him through all the good and bad times, had swallowed all his anger and frustration, and had never left his side through all this. She deserved to get some rest. It would do both of them good. He just had to figure out how to live with being in the chair. He drew away from her and watched her closely. She looked so tired.

Max had closed her eyes. "I don't want that to happen," she said, shaking her head. A single tear escaped her long lashes. 

"I thought it didn't matter to you?" she heard Logan's voice from far. She forced herself to look at him only to find the same sadness, she had hoped so desperately not to see in his eyes again.

She swallowed and shook her head again. "It never mattered to me. But I know how much it means to you. And I can't stand to see you so sad." Another tear escaped her eyes now, and Logan reached over to wipe it away. "Don't cry for me, Max. I know I haven't been easy. But I'll find a way to be happy. I promise. And I need you to be happy for me today. Because there are so many things I have left to do as long as I still can!" he said firmly, stroking a lock of hair from her face. Then he pushed himself up carefully and held out his hand for Max to get up. "Come on. No work today. All of this weekend is reserved for you and me…All fun and play." He forced a smile. "…and being happy." he added as if for himself.

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TBC…So this is it for now. What do you think? The next chapters are going to be happier-I promise! ;-)