Disclaimer: They are still not mine, unfortunately
A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update. I had taken a break to study for my exam. But now that I passed it (yay!) I'm free to write again. I hope everybody who read this before will pick it up again. I got some more fluff to come. Now I hope you enjoy this little bit and please let me know what you think of it. (I'm practically starved of reviews after not having been able to post for that long! ;-) )
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WHAT IF...
The next morning Max and Logan were waiting impatiently for doctor Carr. They had registered at the desk and had been sent to wait in one of the examination rooms. The nurse at the reception desk had promised to page Dr.Carr to see if he could squeeze them in. Logan was sitting on the chair opposite the small desk, nervously flipping through the flyer he had picked up in the waiting area for the hundredth time and Max was perched on the examination bench, drumming her feet against its metal side.
"Max!" Logan cried out annoyed. "Could you please stop that?!"
Max jumped off the bench and strolled over to Logan. "I don't see why we are here at all. I'm fine."
"Max, you said yourself that last night scared you as much as it did me. So we're gonna find out what caused it …" He was interrupted by the door opening and Sam hurrying into the room.
"Logan, Max" he nodded, dumping a huge stack of files onto the desk. "Sorry to have you waiting so long, but today is like crazy. " Settling down behind the desk he eyed the couple. "So what is it? You said it was an emergency?"
Logan was about to start explaining about last night's events, but Max, still reluctant to accept the necessity to tell Sam about her seizures was quicker."You go first." She interrupted, smiling at him pleadingly.
Logan shook his head at her careless attitude and reluctantly started.
"Well, Sam. I told you about those…ahem...experiments we did with Max's stem cells, trying to find a way of my body accepting them, so they'd regenerate the destroyed nerves in my spinal chord…"
Sam nodded. "I do remember that...and although I'd really like to see you back on your feet I remember having warned you not to mess around with that!" he said seriously. "The risk is too high, Logan. No one knows what'll happen if your body attacks the stem cells again. You could even trigger some autoimmune reaction…" he drew in some air, realizing that he was getting too emotional about this. " Listen, I told you before that you can't just experiment on your own body like that, unless there's scientific proof and a reasonable chance of it working out. Even then, you wouldn't know whether any change would be permanent. There are studies to be made and you don't even know if…"
Logan held up his hands defeatedly to stop him " Relax. We are giving up on it. There's no use in it anyway," he interrupted the doctor, his voice full of frustration.
Sam raised his eyebrows. "How's that?" He asked motioning towards Logan's legs.
"Even though I don't appreciate what you have been doing, it looks like you are walking again. And you were a couple of times before, when I saw you over the past months."
"I am…I was" Logan corrected himself. "But like you said; it's not permanent. Now, the effect is wearing out and quicker than ever. So, sooner or later I'll be on wheels again." He said with a bitter smirk.
Sam looked from Logan to Max with concern, then back to Logan. "After the previous transfusions it could very well be that your immune system is now developing pre-formed antibodies that attack the stem cells a soon as they get into your system." He shot Logan a meaningful look, then straightened in his chair. "So you gave up on those experiments for good?" he asked.
"Yes. We're done." Logan said with conviction.
Sam furrowed his brow. "How come you're giving up now whereas I couldn't in the world talk you out of it for months?"
A small smile crept to Logan's face "Well, the circumstances have changed a little," he said, holding out his hand for Max to move to his side. Max jumped off the bench and perched on the armrest of Logan's chair, slinging her arm aroud his shoulders.
"Max…," Logan went on, looking up at her to get her okay to spill the good news, "Max is pregnant." At hearing those words spoken out loud, a big smile spread on both their faces.
Dr. Carr looked at the couple in surprise, then smiled back at them. "Well, that's good news for a change!.. .Congratulations! Did you do a test yet?"he adressed Max.
Max shrugged. "I did one of those you get in a drugstore."
Sam nodded. "Those are quite reliable nowadays, but you should have a lab test done also. Just to make sure. Just a couple of hours and we can be sure…."
I suppose you haven't consulted a gynaecologist yet?" Sam continued, knowing full well how wary Max-with her background- was about seeing a doctor.
Max shot him a glance.
"Of course not." Sam answered his own question. "But you certainly should. …" He flipped through the address directory on his desk. "Let me see….Normally I'm not allowed to recommend a specific doctor, but I guess this has to be an exception from the rule…" He continued searching for a while, then jotted down a name and telephone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Max. "You should see Anna, ...that is Dr. Steinman. She is a qualified doctor and a trusted friend of mine.Your secret will be safe with her.SHe can also do the lab test then.I'm gonna call her later to arrange an appointment, if you like."
Max hesitantly accepted the piece of paper and nodded almost invisible. Dr.Carr turned back to Logan."So, back to you. I take it you stopped the testing because Max is pregnant, right?
"Yes, I could never forgive me if anything went wrong…"
Dr. Carr nodded, relieved. He really didn't like the thought of those two experimenting with their blood, especially not with a child on the way."Then let's see how you're doing." He said to Logan. "Could you walk a few steps for me?"
Logan pushed himself up from the chair and slowly started to move across the room. His legs were constantly trembling with spasms now and his gait was anything but steady.
Dr Carr frowned. "Okay, you can sit down again." He motioned towards the examination bench.
"Take off your pants, please."
Sam started with testing Logan's reflexes. Max and Logan were surprised by them being extraordinary lively. Seeing their puzzled looks, Dr. Carr made a calming gesture.
"That's nothing unusual. But then it's nothing to be happy about. Your reflexes are so strong because your brain fails to subdue them due to the severed nerve connections. This is actually a sign of deterioration. ...I'm sorry, Logan."
"I think it's about time we had that line printed on T-shirts." Logan said frustrated although he hadn't expected to hear anything else. It was just too obvious that the nerves in his spinal chord were starting to disassemble again.
Sam continued with examining the sensation in his feet. He saw him prick a little needle into each of his toes, then move up his foot. Nothing. He shook his head. When he reached his heel he could feel a dull, tingling sensation. Then the needle made its way up his calf. Logan smiled. The feeling was still there.
Dr. Carr turned and sat back down at the desk.
"I'd like to tell you something more positive, but I'm afraid I can only tell you what you already know. Considering what you told me, it's very likely that you'll be back where you started soon."
Logan lowered his gaze and stared at his hands. He had known before but still hearing Sam confirm his expectation made it seem even more final. "How long will it take?" he asked. Max sat down beside him on the bench and took his hand in hers.
"That's hard to tell. …When did you start losing the feeling again?" Sam asked.
"Three or four days ago."
"Mhhh…that's pretty quick. I can't tell…a couple of days, a week maybe. What about these spasms. When did they start?"
"About the same time I started to lose the feeling, I guess. But they have been real bad since last night. They used to come only at night on and off. But now they seem to be there all the time."
"Are you in any pain?"
"More like a burning sensation and my legs feel real sore. At first it was just this weird feeling but now it feels like my legs are burning up."
"I assume its worse when you're walking." Dr. Carr interjected.
"Yeah, but it's not exactly a good feeling sitting still either."
Sam nodded: "That's because the nerve roots are irritated , presumably by the inflammatory reaction going on. I can give you something for that."
By now Max was looking at Logan accusingly."You said you were okay!"
Logan sighed. "I was!" he tried to defend himself. "It actually got worse this morning." He added even if he didn't think she'd go for that. He struggled to put his pants back on and moved back to sit down in front of the desk.
Disregardless of the little discussion that was going on in front of him, Dr.Carr got out a prescription and wrote down something in his unreadable handwriting. Then he handed it over to Logan.
"This is a muscle relaxant in combination with a mild pain killer. You had that one before. Take one of those twice a day, mornings and evenings. Should help calm the spasms and relieve the burning sensation. If this isn't enough, come see me again. The other one is a corticosteroid to keep the inflammatory reaction in check. Maybe this way we'll be able to slow down the process a little. Take one of those in the evening. And you should be aware of the fact that the drugs may impair your driving. All right? Do you have any questions?"
Logan silently took the prescription from Sam and shook his head. He had feared that he would be pumped with drugs as soon as he came here. And he knew about the nasty side effects of those medications. Hell he'd had to take them often enough since the shooting. Max had come up behind him and now squeezed his shoulders gently. He put her hand on hers that was resting on his shoulder,remembering why they had come here in the first place.
"There is something else we'd like to talk about," he started. This time Max didn't bail out. She just slipped her hands from his shoulders and moved over to the window, her back turned to the two men as Logan started to explain.
"Last night, Max had one of those seizures. A real bad one. Actually the worst I've ever seen."
Sam cringed his brow again. "How long did the seizure last? ...Max?" he, asked with concern in his voice.
Max turned away from the window and shrugged, still trying to display her careless attitude. But under the surface she was seriously worried.
"I don't know. Maybe ten minutes or something," she said evasively.
"Max!" Logan exclaimed. "When I found you, I assume you had been lying there for some time and then it was another fifteen minutes until the seizure subsided." He wasn't going to let her play it down.
Max crossed her arms in front of her chest defensively: "Excuse me, I wasn't taking the time!" she snapped.
Dr.Carr stepped in, trying to calm her. "Look, Max. This is important. It's not about who's right or wrong. But you shouldn't be playing this down. It's not only you who suffered through that seizure but also your baby. So we need to get the facts right, okay?" he added in a softer voice. …How about twenty minutes? Do you think that comes close to it?"
"Mhhh." Max muttered.
„I think that's close enough," Logan confirmed.
Sam entwined his fingers and cast a long look at the couple before he continued."See, what's kind of worrying here is that the seizure lasted that long. During a seizure the blood circulation and distribution of blood to the placenta can be impaired. This can cause a lack of oxygen supply in the child,which could- in the worst case- lead to permanent damage, especially in those early stages of the pregnancy."
Instantly Max' eyes were tearshot and she looked helplessly from Dr. Carr to Logan and back again. "But…why… I didn't know…I mean…" she stumbled over her words.
Sam motioned towards the second chair next to Logan. But Max sunk down in Logan's lap, blindly searching for his hand and clasping it tight. Logan wrapped his arms around her trying to comfort her. He had never seen her that helpless.
Eventually Sam spoke again. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you Max. But you need to realise that those seizures do not only affect you but also your child, so they need to be taken seriously. We have to try and do whatever we can to prevent that from happening again, all right?"
Max nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek. "But it's never been that bad before. It came totally unexpected." She whispered.
"Nobody's blaming you, Max. It's not your fault. " Logan intervened.
Sam nodded affirmatively. "A lot of things are different during a pregnancy. The whole metabolism changes. You share everything with your child; food, liquids, drugs, even drugs. ...You were taking tryptophane to prevent those seizures, right?"
Max nodded.
"It could very well be that the child uses up part of it, too. Considering that your body can't produce it there is a fair chance of your child also having a deficit of that neuro transmitter. You'll have to make sure you take in enough to last for the two of you."
Max sniffled. "Does that mean the baby might inherit my flaws?" she asked desperately.
Sam drew a deep breath. "Well, I'm afraid that could be possible. But then, there's also a fair chance that Logan's genes make up for that. …" he paused, checking their reaction, but they were both just staring into space, both lost in their own thoughts.
"So, I gather that you used to take the supplement only when the seizures started?" Sam tried to get them back on track again.
"Yes, …kind of. …I could always feel it before it really hit me." Max forced herself to answer.
"Still, as we can't risk you going into a seizure again, I suggest that you take those pills on a regular basis for the duration of your pregnancy. How many pills do you usually need to get rid of the symptoms?"
"A handful. Maybe five or ten, depending on how bad it is." Max sighed.
"And how often do you need them?"
"Twice a month I'd say." She turned towards Logan as if waiting for him to confirm that. He nodded.
"Okay," Dr. Carr scribbled down something on a sketch pad. "You should take five of them twice a week on a regular basis. I hope we can supress another seizure with that. And for now I'll make sure you get an appointment with Dr.Steinman. So she can make sure your baby is okay. All right?"
Max stared down at her hands. Those seizures affected her bad enough. But thinking that they could harm her baby was horrible. And what if she had passed on the defect to their child?
"All right. That's good. We'll do that, " she heard Logan answer for her.
Dr. Carr stood and gathered his things. "If you don't have any more questions I'll leave you alone for now. I'll try to call Dr.Steinman right away. I'll be back in a couple of minutes. You can wait here if you like."
Logan nodded. "Thanks Sam. We really appreciate your help."
With a nod and an encouraging smile Sam left the room.
***
Logan turned his attention back to Max who was still sitting on his lap motionless.
"Hey sweetie. Don't worry. It's gonna be okay. I'm sure our child is tough given his or her mommy's super genes, huh?!" He reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"But that's where the trouble starts! How do you know the baby will be okay? Even a full-grown trained super soldier won't do good without oxygen for much longer than twenty minutes! So what effect will this have on such a small creature?" Tears were running down her face again.
Logan drew her close and hugged her tight. "Max we'll go see that gynaecologist. She'll make a sonography and some more tests. Maybe then we'll know more. Okay? Don't panic. It's gonna be okay." He wished he could believe his own words as much as he wanted Max to believe them.
Max sat up again and searched his face for an answer.
"What if our child is not that strong. What if our child is…."she trailed off at a loss of words.
"That won't be the case" Logan said firmly. "But even if it is not perfectly healthy; wouldn't we love that child just the same?" He added confidently. "Isn't that what you keep trying to tell me?"
Max drew a little smile and embraced Logan deeply.
"And what if our child has the same screwed up genetics as I have?" Logan broke their embrace and looked at her, smirking now. "Then we'll be a whole little screwed up family."
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TBC…
A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update. I had taken a break to study for my exam. But now that I passed it (yay!) I'm free to write again. I hope everybody who read this before will pick it up again. I got some more fluff to come. Now I hope you enjoy this little bit and please let me know what you think of it. (I'm practically starved of reviews after not having been able to post for that long! ;-) )
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WHAT IF...
The next morning Max and Logan were waiting impatiently for doctor Carr. They had registered at the desk and had been sent to wait in one of the examination rooms. The nurse at the reception desk had promised to page Dr.Carr to see if he could squeeze them in. Logan was sitting on the chair opposite the small desk, nervously flipping through the flyer he had picked up in the waiting area for the hundredth time and Max was perched on the examination bench, drumming her feet against its metal side.
"Max!" Logan cried out annoyed. "Could you please stop that?!"
Max jumped off the bench and strolled over to Logan. "I don't see why we are here at all. I'm fine."
"Max, you said yourself that last night scared you as much as it did me. So we're gonna find out what caused it …" He was interrupted by the door opening and Sam hurrying into the room.
"Logan, Max" he nodded, dumping a huge stack of files onto the desk. "Sorry to have you waiting so long, but today is like crazy. " Settling down behind the desk he eyed the couple. "So what is it? You said it was an emergency?"
Logan was about to start explaining about last night's events, but Max, still reluctant to accept the necessity to tell Sam about her seizures was quicker."You go first." She interrupted, smiling at him pleadingly.
Logan shook his head at her careless attitude and reluctantly started.
"Well, Sam. I told you about those…ahem...experiments we did with Max's stem cells, trying to find a way of my body accepting them, so they'd regenerate the destroyed nerves in my spinal chord…"
Sam nodded. "I do remember that...and although I'd really like to see you back on your feet I remember having warned you not to mess around with that!" he said seriously. "The risk is too high, Logan. No one knows what'll happen if your body attacks the stem cells again. You could even trigger some autoimmune reaction…" he drew in some air, realizing that he was getting too emotional about this. " Listen, I told you before that you can't just experiment on your own body like that, unless there's scientific proof and a reasonable chance of it working out. Even then, you wouldn't know whether any change would be permanent. There are studies to be made and you don't even know if…"
Logan held up his hands defeatedly to stop him " Relax. We are giving up on it. There's no use in it anyway," he interrupted the doctor, his voice full of frustration.
Sam raised his eyebrows. "How's that?" He asked motioning towards Logan's legs.
"Even though I don't appreciate what you have been doing, it looks like you are walking again. And you were a couple of times before, when I saw you over the past months."
"I am…I was" Logan corrected himself. "But like you said; it's not permanent. Now, the effect is wearing out and quicker than ever. So, sooner or later I'll be on wheels again." He said with a bitter smirk.
Sam looked from Logan to Max with concern, then back to Logan. "After the previous transfusions it could very well be that your immune system is now developing pre-formed antibodies that attack the stem cells a soon as they get into your system." He shot Logan a meaningful look, then straightened in his chair. "So you gave up on those experiments for good?" he asked.
"Yes. We're done." Logan said with conviction.
Sam furrowed his brow. "How come you're giving up now whereas I couldn't in the world talk you out of it for months?"
A small smile crept to Logan's face "Well, the circumstances have changed a little," he said, holding out his hand for Max to move to his side. Max jumped off the bench and perched on the armrest of Logan's chair, slinging her arm aroud his shoulders.
"Max…," Logan went on, looking up at her to get her okay to spill the good news, "Max is pregnant." At hearing those words spoken out loud, a big smile spread on both their faces.
Dr. Carr looked at the couple in surprise, then smiled back at them. "Well, that's good news for a change!.. .Congratulations! Did you do a test yet?"he adressed Max.
Max shrugged. "I did one of those you get in a drugstore."
Sam nodded. "Those are quite reliable nowadays, but you should have a lab test done also. Just to make sure. Just a couple of hours and we can be sure…."
I suppose you haven't consulted a gynaecologist yet?" Sam continued, knowing full well how wary Max-with her background- was about seeing a doctor.
Max shot him a glance.
"Of course not." Sam answered his own question. "But you certainly should. …" He flipped through the address directory on his desk. "Let me see….Normally I'm not allowed to recommend a specific doctor, but I guess this has to be an exception from the rule…" He continued searching for a while, then jotted down a name and telephone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Max. "You should see Anna, ...that is Dr. Steinman. She is a qualified doctor and a trusted friend of mine.Your secret will be safe with her.SHe can also do the lab test then.I'm gonna call her later to arrange an appointment, if you like."
Max hesitantly accepted the piece of paper and nodded almost invisible. Dr.Carr turned back to Logan."So, back to you. I take it you stopped the testing because Max is pregnant, right?
"Yes, I could never forgive me if anything went wrong…"
Dr. Carr nodded, relieved. He really didn't like the thought of those two experimenting with their blood, especially not with a child on the way."Then let's see how you're doing." He said to Logan. "Could you walk a few steps for me?"
Logan pushed himself up from the chair and slowly started to move across the room. His legs were constantly trembling with spasms now and his gait was anything but steady.
Dr Carr frowned. "Okay, you can sit down again." He motioned towards the examination bench.
"Take off your pants, please."
Sam started with testing Logan's reflexes. Max and Logan were surprised by them being extraordinary lively. Seeing their puzzled looks, Dr. Carr made a calming gesture.
"That's nothing unusual. But then it's nothing to be happy about. Your reflexes are so strong because your brain fails to subdue them due to the severed nerve connections. This is actually a sign of deterioration. ...I'm sorry, Logan."
"I think it's about time we had that line printed on T-shirts." Logan said frustrated although he hadn't expected to hear anything else. It was just too obvious that the nerves in his spinal chord were starting to disassemble again.
Sam continued with examining the sensation in his feet. He saw him prick a little needle into each of his toes, then move up his foot. Nothing. He shook his head. When he reached his heel he could feel a dull, tingling sensation. Then the needle made its way up his calf. Logan smiled. The feeling was still there.
Dr. Carr turned and sat back down at the desk.
"I'd like to tell you something more positive, but I'm afraid I can only tell you what you already know. Considering what you told me, it's very likely that you'll be back where you started soon."
Logan lowered his gaze and stared at his hands. He had known before but still hearing Sam confirm his expectation made it seem even more final. "How long will it take?" he asked. Max sat down beside him on the bench and took his hand in hers.
"That's hard to tell. …When did you start losing the feeling again?" Sam asked.
"Three or four days ago."
"Mhhh…that's pretty quick. I can't tell…a couple of days, a week maybe. What about these spasms. When did they start?"
"About the same time I started to lose the feeling, I guess. But they have been real bad since last night. They used to come only at night on and off. But now they seem to be there all the time."
"Are you in any pain?"
"More like a burning sensation and my legs feel real sore. At first it was just this weird feeling but now it feels like my legs are burning up."
"I assume its worse when you're walking." Dr. Carr interjected.
"Yeah, but it's not exactly a good feeling sitting still either."
Sam nodded: "That's because the nerve roots are irritated , presumably by the inflammatory reaction going on. I can give you something for that."
By now Max was looking at Logan accusingly."You said you were okay!"
Logan sighed. "I was!" he tried to defend himself. "It actually got worse this morning." He added even if he didn't think she'd go for that. He struggled to put his pants back on and moved back to sit down in front of the desk.
Disregardless of the little discussion that was going on in front of him, Dr.Carr got out a prescription and wrote down something in his unreadable handwriting. Then he handed it over to Logan.
"This is a muscle relaxant in combination with a mild pain killer. You had that one before. Take one of those twice a day, mornings and evenings. Should help calm the spasms and relieve the burning sensation. If this isn't enough, come see me again. The other one is a corticosteroid to keep the inflammatory reaction in check. Maybe this way we'll be able to slow down the process a little. Take one of those in the evening. And you should be aware of the fact that the drugs may impair your driving. All right? Do you have any questions?"
Logan silently took the prescription from Sam and shook his head. He had feared that he would be pumped with drugs as soon as he came here. And he knew about the nasty side effects of those medications. Hell he'd had to take them often enough since the shooting. Max had come up behind him and now squeezed his shoulders gently. He put her hand on hers that was resting on his shoulder,remembering why they had come here in the first place.
"There is something else we'd like to talk about," he started. This time Max didn't bail out. She just slipped her hands from his shoulders and moved over to the window, her back turned to the two men as Logan started to explain.
"Last night, Max had one of those seizures. A real bad one. Actually the worst I've ever seen."
Sam cringed his brow again. "How long did the seizure last? ...Max?" he, asked with concern in his voice.
Max turned away from the window and shrugged, still trying to display her careless attitude. But under the surface she was seriously worried.
"I don't know. Maybe ten minutes or something," she said evasively.
"Max!" Logan exclaimed. "When I found you, I assume you had been lying there for some time and then it was another fifteen minutes until the seizure subsided." He wasn't going to let her play it down.
Max crossed her arms in front of her chest defensively: "Excuse me, I wasn't taking the time!" she snapped.
Dr.Carr stepped in, trying to calm her. "Look, Max. This is important. It's not about who's right or wrong. But you shouldn't be playing this down. It's not only you who suffered through that seizure but also your baby. So we need to get the facts right, okay?" he added in a softer voice. …How about twenty minutes? Do you think that comes close to it?"
"Mhhh." Max muttered.
„I think that's close enough," Logan confirmed.
Sam entwined his fingers and cast a long look at the couple before he continued."See, what's kind of worrying here is that the seizure lasted that long. During a seizure the blood circulation and distribution of blood to the placenta can be impaired. This can cause a lack of oxygen supply in the child,which could- in the worst case- lead to permanent damage, especially in those early stages of the pregnancy."
Instantly Max' eyes were tearshot and she looked helplessly from Dr. Carr to Logan and back again. "But…why… I didn't know…I mean…" she stumbled over her words.
Sam motioned towards the second chair next to Logan. But Max sunk down in Logan's lap, blindly searching for his hand and clasping it tight. Logan wrapped his arms around her trying to comfort her. He had never seen her that helpless.
Eventually Sam spoke again. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you Max. But you need to realise that those seizures do not only affect you but also your child, so they need to be taken seriously. We have to try and do whatever we can to prevent that from happening again, all right?"
Max nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek. "But it's never been that bad before. It came totally unexpected." She whispered.
"Nobody's blaming you, Max. It's not your fault. " Logan intervened.
Sam nodded affirmatively. "A lot of things are different during a pregnancy. The whole metabolism changes. You share everything with your child; food, liquids, drugs, even drugs. ...You were taking tryptophane to prevent those seizures, right?"
Max nodded.
"It could very well be that the child uses up part of it, too. Considering that your body can't produce it there is a fair chance of your child also having a deficit of that neuro transmitter. You'll have to make sure you take in enough to last for the two of you."
Max sniffled. "Does that mean the baby might inherit my flaws?" she asked desperately.
Sam drew a deep breath. "Well, I'm afraid that could be possible. But then, there's also a fair chance that Logan's genes make up for that. …" he paused, checking their reaction, but they were both just staring into space, both lost in their own thoughts.
"So, I gather that you used to take the supplement only when the seizures started?" Sam tried to get them back on track again.
"Yes, …kind of. …I could always feel it before it really hit me." Max forced herself to answer.
"Still, as we can't risk you going into a seizure again, I suggest that you take those pills on a regular basis for the duration of your pregnancy. How many pills do you usually need to get rid of the symptoms?"
"A handful. Maybe five or ten, depending on how bad it is." Max sighed.
"And how often do you need them?"
"Twice a month I'd say." She turned towards Logan as if waiting for him to confirm that. He nodded.
"Okay," Dr. Carr scribbled down something on a sketch pad. "You should take five of them twice a week on a regular basis. I hope we can supress another seizure with that. And for now I'll make sure you get an appointment with Dr.Steinman. So she can make sure your baby is okay. All right?"
Max stared down at her hands. Those seizures affected her bad enough. But thinking that they could harm her baby was horrible. And what if she had passed on the defect to their child?
"All right. That's good. We'll do that, " she heard Logan answer for her.
Dr. Carr stood and gathered his things. "If you don't have any more questions I'll leave you alone for now. I'll try to call Dr.Steinman right away. I'll be back in a couple of minutes. You can wait here if you like."
Logan nodded. "Thanks Sam. We really appreciate your help."
With a nod and an encouraging smile Sam left the room.
***
Logan turned his attention back to Max who was still sitting on his lap motionless.
"Hey sweetie. Don't worry. It's gonna be okay. I'm sure our child is tough given his or her mommy's super genes, huh?!" He reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"But that's where the trouble starts! How do you know the baby will be okay? Even a full-grown trained super soldier won't do good without oxygen for much longer than twenty minutes! So what effect will this have on such a small creature?" Tears were running down her face again.
Logan drew her close and hugged her tight. "Max we'll go see that gynaecologist. She'll make a sonography and some more tests. Maybe then we'll know more. Okay? Don't panic. It's gonna be okay." He wished he could believe his own words as much as he wanted Max to believe them.
Max sat up again and searched his face for an answer.
"What if our child is not that strong. What if our child is…."she trailed off at a loss of words.
"That won't be the case" Logan said firmly. "But even if it is not perfectly healthy; wouldn't we love that child just the same?" He added confidently. "Isn't that what you keep trying to tell me?"
Max drew a little smile and embraced Logan deeply.
"And what if our child has the same screwed up genetics as I have?" Logan broke their embrace and looked at her, smirking now. "Then we'll be a whole little screwed up family."
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TBC…