Disclaimer: same again.
A/N: Okay, this is a short one. It's not really essential to the story plot but I still wanted to post it. This is another bit of the medical stuff and I'm not gonna let go of the issues Logan and Max have to face yet. I thought I'd give the medical facts quite a bit of thought in this story-though I don't claim them to be entirely correct. I just did my best to keep them as close to what reality might be as far as I know. Although I tried to keep it as modest as possible. I thought I'd warn you: in case you don't feel comfortable reading about, well- sexual function, just skip this chapter. You'll still get the plot from the next chapter.
Okay, now thanks everybody for the encouraging reviews! By the way; for those who want to know how far along Max is; you'll find out later but of course it would have to been at least 5 weeks for her to take that test, right-and this is all happening within a couple of days, so….go figure!
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One more thing
**************
When Dr. Carr returned a couple of minutes later, Max had calmed down again.
He burst into the room frantically searching his pockets for his pager which was beeping insistantly. He had to get back to the ward soon, but there was still one thing he needed to discuss with his patient here. Pressing the button to silence it for the next couple of minute, he slid the pager back into the pocket of his coat and turned towards Max.
"Sorry about that…"he said slightly out of breath, sliding into his chair. "Okay, Max. I talked to Dr. Steinman. She will see you the day after tomorrow, nine am. Is that okay? She'll meet you up in the ward. It's 21b, fourth floor, left wing. I didn't tell her about your …secret, yet because she was quite busy and I figured you'd rather tell her yourself, then. …Don't worry she's trustworthy," he added when he saw the doubt clearly written in Max's face.
Max nodded hesitantly. "Thank you."
Dr. Carr stuck out his hand to her. "I got to discuss something with Logan here. Would you mind giving us a minute?"
Max got up a little confused, but too tired to object. "I'm gonna be outside then. Gotta call Cindy anyway. Check if she's got me covered with Normal this morning."
Dr. Carr led Max to the door and closed it behind her. Then he turned around to Logan who was eyeing him suspiciously. What was that all about? And why shouldn't Max hear it? His mind started working all the possibilities frantically. It had to be something bad. Maybe there was something else about the child or Max's seizures, which the doctor didn't think Max could take. Or could it be it something about him. Another migrating bullet fragment ? Not again! He couldn't take the risk of going under the knife again, especially now that Max was pregnant. That couldn't be it, right?! Hadn't they told him that all the fragments had been removed. And there hadn't been a recent x-ray or CT they hadn't discussed yet. Shifting nervously in his seat, Logan braced himself for the worst, before Sam finally began to speak.
"Look, I'm not sure how to address this. I'm not even sure if I'm in the position to address it at all. But I find this too important to stay silent about it, too. So,…"
"What is it Sam?" Logan asked impatiently.
"Well, you remember us having that long talk those months ago?"
"I believe we did quite a lot of talking over the past months." Logan gave back slightly irritated now.
"I'm talking about how, shortly after the surgery we had that long talk about how much function you'd presumably regain after the initial shock phase and how the odds were that you'd be able to reproduce, remember."
Logan drew a face and nodded. "Yeah. I do remember that. "
"At that point-given your level of injury- I would have considered it highly unlikely, that you'd ever have children of your own… "
"I got you Sam. But what's the point?" Logan interrupted, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. This was not exactly one of his favourite subjects.
"See. Even now, that prediction wouldn't have changed. I mean even given the fact that you were back on your feet for some time, I wouldn't think that EVERYTHING got back to normal that quickly. Considering that perfectly healthy couples often need months until the woman conceives a child , I find it hard to believe that, in your case it would have "just happened." He paused, waiting for Logan's reaction.
Logan shrugged: "Lucky me I guess. And well, Max is not your run of the mill female, right? I believe I told you about those…phases… she goes through…" he added, giving Sam an odd look, still not getting his point. A couple of months ago he had asked Sam for advice, when she had been literally out of her mind during one of those phases. He had hardly been able to keep her temper in check then.
Sam sighed "That's kind of what I'm worried about. I mean, considering the plain medical facts..I'm sorry, but I have to ask this: Are you sure that you're the father of this child?"
Logan sat there baffled, letting the words sink in. When the meaning of this implication struck him he cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes.
"Are you suggesting that Max has been cheating on me?" A mixture of anger and confusion mingled in his mind. How could Sam even think of that?! But then, he had to admit, he had been reluctant himself to believe that he'd ever be a father after the shooting.
Sam raised his hands appeasingly.
"Look, I'm sorry. I probably overstepped my boundaries here. But I have witnessed how hard the past year has been on you and I wouldn't want you to get your head up in the clouds over something that could possibly not be true. I'm just saying you should be aware of those facts. It's not my intention to offend anyone. I just speak from experience. I've had patients come to me completely devastated because their partners looked for the sexual satisfaction elsewhere or even consciously made certain arrangements just to conceive a child -which their partner couldn't give them. "
Taken aback by this information, Logan shook his head vehemently. Max had been in heat a while ago. But she had spent all her time with him. She had practically jumped his bones and been all over him. He smirked at the thought. No, he thought, he trusted Max even when she was in heat and although there had been difficulties in the beginning, their sex life had become more wonderful than he'd ever dreamt it could be and he was confident that Max was as satisfied as he was. She'd never cheat on him!
"No Sam!" he said out loud. "I trust Max. I love her. I'm gonna marry her!... She'd never do that to me!"
Sam held up his hands again in an appeasing gesture. "Okay okay," he said sincerely , " I'm sorry I brought this up in the first place. I probably shouldn't have done that. But I was worried about you." He continued, studying Logan's face carefully."…Well, I guess we have another small miracle here." Smiling now, he stuck out his hand to Logan.
"Believe me; I wish you two all the best. Congratulations."
Logan hesitantly accepted his hand. "Thanks. Is that it for now, Sam?" he said, still unmistakably irritated about the assumption Sam had just made. He knew he had only wanted to warn him, but it still bugged him. Max would never cheat on him! She'd never do that! He rubbed his thighs nervously. He couldn't wait to get outside-partly because of the tense atmosphere in the room, but also because he felt the need to check how Max was doing. She shouldn't be alone now, worrying about their child. And he didn't want to be alone now either.d
Sam gathered his files and got up. "One more thing." He said hesitantly. "I know it's a lot to ask, but maybe you should think about whether you might want to have another child later. In that case you should consider banking some sperm- just in case there won't be another miracle." he said seriously.
Logan sighed deeply. As if he didn't have enough to think about already! "I'd have to talk to Max about that. " He leaned back in the chair and rubbed his face with his palms. "I don't know what to think anymore. All this stuff… I mean. It's enough to deal with being back in the chair and becoming a father. I don't think I can handle any more just now. …" He tiredly looked up at Sam who gave him an encouraging nod.
"I know it's not easy. ..Just talk that over with Max and find out what's best for you. If you like, you could also discuss that with Dr. Steinman. She's very qualified in that field. -My take on that is that you have nothing to lose in preserving some sperm. -But you have to feel comfortable with that. …Just don't take too long…" Sam finished, giving Logan a sympathetic smile.
Logan nodded. His head was spinning and he felt a wave of panic threatening to overflow him. Too many issues, too many decisions. Too few answers. And he felt like he had no control at all. He said his goodbye to Sam and slowly followed him outside, frowning at the persistent spasms in his legs. Why couldn't ir be one thing at a time. Did it always have to be three or four issues all at once. What was he supposed to do? Where the hell was this going? For him, for Max and their child. He just didn't know.
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TBC...
A/N: Okay, this is a short one. It's not really essential to the story plot but I still wanted to post it. This is another bit of the medical stuff and I'm not gonna let go of the issues Logan and Max have to face yet. I thought I'd give the medical facts quite a bit of thought in this story-though I don't claim them to be entirely correct. I just did my best to keep them as close to what reality might be as far as I know. Although I tried to keep it as modest as possible. I thought I'd warn you: in case you don't feel comfortable reading about, well- sexual function, just skip this chapter. You'll still get the plot from the next chapter.
Okay, now thanks everybody for the encouraging reviews! By the way; for those who want to know how far along Max is; you'll find out later but of course it would have to been at least 5 weeks for her to take that test, right-and this is all happening within a couple of days, so….go figure!
********************************************************************************************
One more thing
**************
When Dr. Carr returned a couple of minutes later, Max had calmed down again.
He burst into the room frantically searching his pockets for his pager which was beeping insistantly. He had to get back to the ward soon, but there was still one thing he needed to discuss with his patient here. Pressing the button to silence it for the next couple of minute, he slid the pager back into the pocket of his coat and turned towards Max.
"Sorry about that…"he said slightly out of breath, sliding into his chair. "Okay, Max. I talked to Dr. Steinman. She will see you the day after tomorrow, nine am. Is that okay? She'll meet you up in the ward. It's 21b, fourth floor, left wing. I didn't tell her about your …secret, yet because she was quite busy and I figured you'd rather tell her yourself, then. …Don't worry she's trustworthy," he added when he saw the doubt clearly written in Max's face.
Max nodded hesitantly. "Thank you."
Dr. Carr stuck out his hand to her. "I got to discuss something with Logan here. Would you mind giving us a minute?"
Max got up a little confused, but too tired to object. "I'm gonna be outside then. Gotta call Cindy anyway. Check if she's got me covered with Normal this morning."
Dr. Carr led Max to the door and closed it behind her. Then he turned around to Logan who was eyeing him suspiciously. What was that all about? And why shouldn't Max hear it? His mind started working all the possibilities frantically. It had to be something bad. Maybe there was something else about the child or Max's seizures, which the doctor didn't think Max could take. Or could it be it something about him. Another migrating bullet fragment ? Not again! He couldn't take the risk of going under the knife again, especially now that Max was pregnant. That couldn't be it, right?! Hadn't they told him that all the fragments had been removed. And there hadn't been a recent x-ray or CT they hadn't discussed yet. Shifting nervously in his seat, Logan braced himself for the worst, before Sam finally began to speak.
"Look, I'm not sure how to address this. I'm not even sure if I'm in the position to address it at all. But I find this too important to stay silent about it, too. So,…"
"What is it Sam?" Logan asked impatiently.
"Well, you remember us having that long talk those months ago?"
"I believe we did quite a lot of talking over the past months." Logan gave back slightly irritated now.
"I'm talking about how, shortly after the surgery we had that long talk about how much function you'd presumably regain after the initial shock phase and how the odds were that you'd be able to reproduce, remember."
Logan drew a face and nodded. "Yeah. I do remember that. "
"At that point-given your level of injury- I would have considered it highly unlikely, that you'd ever have children of your own… "
"I got you Sam. But what's the point?" Logan interrupted, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. This was not exactly one of his favourite subjects.
"See. Even now, that prediction wouldn't have changed. I mean even given the fact that you were back on your feet for some time, I wouldn't think that EVERYTHING got back to normal that quickly. Considering that perfectly healthy couples often need months until the woman conceives a child , I find it hard to believe that, in your case it would have "just happened." He paused, waiting for Logan's reaction.
Logan shrugged: "Lucky me I guess. And well, Max is not your run of the mill female, right? I believe I told you about those…phases… she goes through…" he added, giving Sam an odd look, still not getting his point. A couple of months ago he had asked Sam for advice, when she had been literally out of her mind during one of those phases. He had hardly been able to keep her temper in check then.
Sam sighed "That's kind of what I'm worried about. I mean, considering the plain medical facts..I'm sorry, but I have to ask this: Are you sure that you're the father of this child?"
Logan sat there baffled, letting the words sink in. When the meaning of this implication struck him he cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes.
"Are you suggesting that Max has been cheating on me?" A mixture of anger and confusion mingled in his mind. How could Sam even think of that?! But then, he had to admit, he had been reluctant himself to believe that he'd ever be a father after the shooting.
Sam raised his hands appeasingly.
"Look, I'm sorry. I probably overstepped my boundaries here. But I have witnessed how hard the past year has been on you and I wouldn't want you to get your head up in the clouds over something that could possibly not be true. I'm just saying you should be aware of those facts. It's not my intention to offend anyone. I just speak from experience. I've had patients come to me completely devastated because their partners looked for the sexual satisfaction elsewhere or even consciously made certain arrangements just to conceive a child -which their partner couldn't give them. "
Taken aback by this information, Logan shook his head vehemently. Max had been in heat a while ago. But she had spent all her time with him. She had practically jumped his bones and been all over him. He smirked at the thought. No, he thought, he trusted Max even when she was in heat and although there had been difficulties in the beginning, their sex life had become more wonderful than he'd ever dreamt it could be and he was confident that Max was as satisfied as he was. She'd never cheat on him!
"No Sam!" he said out loud. "I trust Max. I love her. I'm gonna marry her!... She'd never do that to me!"
Sam held up his hands again in an appeasing gesture. "Okay okay," he said sincerely , " I'm sorry I brought this up in the first place. I probably shouldn't have done that. But I was worried about you." He continued, studying Logan's face carefully."…Well, I guess we have another small miracle here." Smiling now, he stuck out his hand to Logan.
"Believe me; I wish you two all the best. Congratulations."
Logan hesitantly accepted his hand. "Thanks. Is that it for now, Sam?" he said, still unmistakably irritated about the assumption Sam had just made. He knew he had only wanted to warn him, but it still bugged him. Max would never cheat on him! She'd never do that! He rubbed his thighs nervously. He couldn't wait to get outside-partly because of the tense atmosphere in the room, but also because he felt the need to check how Max was doing. She shouldn't be alone now, worrying about their child. And he didn't want to be alone now either.d
Sam gathered his files and got up. "One more thing." He said hesitantly. "I know it's a lot to ask, but maybe you should think about whether you might want to have another child later. In that case you should consider banking some sperm- just in case there won't be another miracle." he said seriously.
Logan sighed deeply. As if he didn't have enough to think about already! "I'd have to talk to Max about that. " He leaned back in the chair and rubbed his face with his palms. "I don't know what to think anymore. All this stuff… I mean. It's enough to deal with being back in the chair and becoming a father. I don't think I can handle any more just now. …" He tiredly looked up at Sam who gave him an encouraging nod.
"I know it's not easy. ..Just talk that over with Max and find out what's best for you. If you like, you could also discuss that with Dr. Steinman. She's very qualified in that field. -My take on that is that you have nothing to lose in preserving some sperm. -But you have to feel comfortable with that. …Just don't take too long…" Sam finished, giving Logan a sympathetic smile.
Logan nodded. His head was spinning and he felt a wave of panic threatening to overflow him. Too many issues, too many decisions. Too few answers. And he felt like he had no control at all. He said his goodbye to Sam and slowly followed him outside, frowning at the persistent spasms in his legs. Why couldn't ir be one thing at a time. Did it always have to be three or four issues all at once. What was he supposed to do? Where the hell was this going? For him, for Max and their child. He just didn't know.
*******************************************************************************
TBC...