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Logan Cale, man of letters, sat there, stunned completely speechless for a very long time. Eventually Max waved a hand in front of his face to make sure that he was OK. He closed his previously agape jaw and glared at her.

"You don't know either!" she accused. The best defense was a good offense.

"What?"

"You don't know either. You just go along with it because it's always been that way and everyone else accepts it. Like professional men should have short hair. Or pancakes are a breakfast food, but not lunch or dinner. Or bottled water is better than tap." Max continued on.

"I get the idea!" Logan snapped. "But in this case there are several perfectly valid justifications for them."

"Which it took you," Max makes a show of glancing at her watch, "seven minutes to think of."

"I know the reasons. I just don't know how to explain it to you."

"If you can't explain it; then you don't really understand it."

"I'm just not sure of how to explain it in terms that you would understand!"

"I'll have you know I understand a great deal. Feel free to use big words. I have a pretty good understanding of physics, biology, mathematics, tactics…"

"Well this would be psychology!"

"All in your head! I knew it! You don't have a solid reason!"

"I do too"

"Not if you have to resort to psychology! They have theories and hypotheses, not solid facts."

"Do you want to hear them or not?" Logan asked, fairly irritated by now.

"Sure, go right ahead."

Logan took a deep breath then proceeded. "It was embarrassing, in my case in particular, humiliating. Max, my …half, a little over half of my body is …practically dead. It's …well, you saw, it's atrophying. I don't like having to deal with it and, well you saw it." Logan took another deep breath, determined to somehow plow on.

Max wasn't about to let him continue to wallow in this self-pity. "I wasn't going to bring that up, Logan. You are the one that insisted on talking about it. Look, nobody gets embarrassed about being naked in front of the cat. Just think of me as your cat burglar."

"I don't think of you as just my cat burglar, Max. You are a woman… a very beautiful woman but ..." Logan looked even more pained.

"Oh, really?" Max purred and knelt down at Logan's feet.

"Max!" Logan nearly shouted. He was clearly alarmed by this turn of events. "You obviously wouldn't understand."

Max looked miffed. "I guess not."

"Max, I know you didn't mean any harm but …still …" Logan couldn't or wouldn't say it, but Max could tell, he was hurt. Something had triggered all his demons, his insecurities. Max knew that it was about his injury, but she didn't know what to do about it. Soothing hurt feelings was not anything Manticore ever taught and she doubted Logan would appreciate hearing about how emotions were merely a weakness to be overcome. Max was still trying to decide how to comfort Logan when he found his voice. "I've got some work to do. I'll see you later."

Feeling very dismissed and immaterial, Max left without another word. She didn't go very far. The view from the top of Fogle Towers wasn't nearly what it was from the top of the space needle, but it would have to do. Especially considering she didn't dare drive home in her condition; not until the streets were a bit more deserted, say 4 am. The only problem was that she could still hear Logan. Typing, sighing, and cleaning up from dinner. She had definitely started heat. She couldn't believe she had practically crawled into Logan's lap after he said she was beautiful! She was going to have to apologize; after she was done with her heat. The only question that she had to contemplate was; how was she going to explain?

Max was fairly deep in introspection when she thought she heard Logan swear. It wasn't much, but it was so out of character she was instantly concerned. There wasn't a crash; she didn't think that anyone else could have gotten into the penthouse. They hadn't come through the roof. She didn't think she had heard the elevator or the front door for that matter, but she wasn't going risk Logan's well being for anything.

The penthouse was dark. He had obviously gone to bed as she was sulking. She would just go in, make sure he was safe, then go back up on the roof to sulk for another three hours until the streets were deserted enough to get home alone. She dropped through the skylight, closing it after her this time.

"Max." It was Logan's voice, but soft and sorrowful. She wasn't sure if he was calling for help but she dashed towards the sound only to find Logan alone in his bed. This was not what she needed right now. If she wasn't very careful Logan would need rescue from her, not by her. She had almost convinced herself that she imagined the whole thing when she heard it again. "Max."

"What?" she replied.

Logan jumped and let out a strangled sound that wasn't quite a yelp, but it wasn't too far from one either. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you call me, so I came back. Are you OK?"

"Yes."

When he didn't elaborate even after Max tilted her head and arched an eyebrow at him she broke down and asked. "Why did you call me?"

"I didn't."

"OK, why did you say my name?"

"I was just thinking out loud."

"About me? In your bed?" That sounded so wrong. Intellectually, Max knew that she needed to get out of here. Physically, she so wanted to get in there with Logan. Emotionally, she didn't want to blow the best relationship she had ever had and it was fairly obvious that he had no interest in doing anything more with her than dinner, chess and a few felonies. Granted with his injury there probably wasn't a lot more they could do, but he didn't seem interested in even exploring any of it… at least not with her anyway.

"I'm sorry?" Logan could not believe he heard that. Max looked so … anxious and sad.

"I'm sorry, too. I'll go."

"Max! Wait." Logan lifted himself up to try and get a good look at Max. "What's wrong?"

Max let out a deep sigh. Now would be a good time to explain. Gee, Logan, you have a female feline in heat a few inches from your mostly naked, incredibly sexy body and you are one wrong moan away from getting pounced on and me finding out for myself what still works because you won't talk to me about anything you feel or want. Yeah, she could just imagine his reaction to that one. Better wait until she was under control, in a day or four. Damit!

"Max, I'm sorry I got upset at you earlier. I overreacted because … well, because …"

"It's not that."

"Then, what?"

"I'm a freak!" Max blurted out before she could think to censor it.

"Max, you are not a freak."

"Yes, yes, I am. I am something that escaped from a lab! I …" Max breaks off.

"Max. It doesn't matter where you came from. Not to me. Nothing you could say is going to make me think any differently." Logan reached out to try and comfort Max.

"I think I'm in heat." Max blurts out. If Logan does touch her … but as expected that froze Logan in his tracks.

"What?"

"Heat! Like any other bitch!" Max choked out, then blurs away.

"Max!" Logan called out after her. He was afraid for a moment that she had darted out of his life forever, and he couldn't even run after her. He had just transferred into his wheelchair to go try and call her back, when he heard the shower running in the main bathroom. He pushed himself into the other bathroom. "Max?" Her clothes are on the floor and he could see the silhouette of her incredibly sensuous, perfect body in the shower.

"I'm sorry. I think I am in heat. That's why I didn't go home. I didn't want to be out on the street like this. I have no judgment. I'm sorry. I was going to stay on your roof until about 4am when the streets are deserted then sneak home. I heard you call out. I though you might be in danger. Not that I can really think clearly right now. I'm sorry."

Logan was stunned both by her words and her presence, or he would never have tolerated her self-depreciating monologue for as long as he did. Eventually his voice started working again. "Max. Stop. You have done nothing you need to be sorry for …"

"Yes, I did. My judgment is shot, and I didn't realize it at the time, but I hurt you. I'd never do that on purpose Logan. You know that don't you?" Max sounded so sorrowful.

"Yes, Max. I know."

"If you want, we can be even now." Max opened the shower door so that Logan could get a good look.

Logan swallowed. The water was obviously frigid. She was as perfect as he had imagined.

"So, does this make us even now?"

He took a deep breath and decided on a course of action. After all, he laughed to himself, wasn't one of his major issues the fact that she was perfectly safe with him. "Max, turn off the water. You're going to catch cold." He took a towel from the rack.

"No, I am not. I survived five minutes under ice, then ran another couple miles barefoot in the snow. I'll …survive."

"I don't want you to just survive Max. There is more to life than that. Come here." Logan held the towel open.

Max turned off the water and slowly went to Logan's arms. She curled up on his lap and he wrapped the towel around her. He took another towel and ran it over her body, trying to warm her. "Logan?" Max asked. "What do you want?"

A short, bitter laugh escaped Logan. "What I can't have."

Max makes a soft mewing sound. She arches her body in the most obvious and primordial way offering herself to Logan. "Logan, yes …anything you want."

He takes Max's face in his hands and forces her to look into his eyes. "What I can't, Max. You're safe with me." He tries to smile for her.

"Maybe …" Max starts, but Logan interrupts her.

"Later, we'll talk. Right now, just know that you are perfectly safe with me."

"I've always known I'm safe with you Logan. I just…"

"It'll be ok." Logan soothed as he ran his hands over Max, drying her off.

"I'm sorry." Max looked so lost.

"Shh! It's OK." Logan dried off Max. He felt guilty for enjoying this while Max was so obviously upset and miserable and vulnerable but he knew he'd never have another chance to run his hands over her nude body, so he paid very close attention to what he was doing. "Max, it's OK." Eventually, with Max dry and snuggled into his bare chest, Logan asks, "What do you want?"

"You," Max replies simply without hesitation.

"I can't …" Logan starts to reply, obviously pained.

"Logan!" Max interrupts him. She knows her judgment is shot, but she cannot help the words that come out in a rush. "I just want to be with you. I know you have a spinal cord injury, and I know what that likely means. I am not asking for anything you can't give. I just …I don't want to be alone. I'm tired of having my seizures on the floor of an abandoned building with no one to know or care if I survive and I don't like the thought of you sprawled out on the floor alone because you fell over or had a muscle spasm and no one there and no idea when anyone is going to be there. We don't have to be alone; we could have each other." When Max finally looked at Logan he had such a shocked look on his face that she just buried her head back into his shoulder. "I'm sorry. My judgment is shot right now. I'll be normal again in a few days. I'll go."

The instant she says that she feels Logan's arms tighten around her. "No."

"No?" Despite all her fears and doubts Max can't help but smile; this feels soooo good.

"You're not going anywhere in your …condition." Logan held on to her as if his life depended upon it. Max nuzzled into his neck and let out a contented sigh. "Max?"

"Hm?"

"How do you know about spinal cord injuries?"

"Library. Internet. Stuff like that." Max replied very nonchalantly while running a hand over Logan's bare arms.

Logan wondered what 'stuff like that' entailed briefly. "Checking up on me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Max hesitated before she answered. "I care about you."

"Max, what do you want to happen?"

"I want to make it through this rotten, miserable time without screwing up the best friendship I've ever had. Logan." She looked at him so imploringly.

"Me?"

"Oh for Pete's sake, who else?" Max snapped then covered her mouth with both hands in a gesture that simply amused Logan. "I'm sorry!"

"Shh. It's OK. You're not going to screw this up because of something like this that you cannot control, Max. I promise. It'll be OK. How long does this last?"

"Usually a couple of days, but they are getting worse."

"Hold on."

"Gladly," Max purred.

Logan wheeled them both into his bedroom. Max couldn't help but get excited. She knew that there were some things that Logan probably couldn't do anymore, but there were so many things that he could. He reached into the bottom drawer of his nightstand and took out a large bottle. He opened it and poured out two pills. "Here. They keep giving me a ton of these, but I never take them because they make me sleep."

"I should have known." Max said as she obediently took the pills and swallowed them. She had lots of practice taking pills without water. Lots of practice doing without period, she thought sadly.

"Yes, you should have. Because I don't want to risk blowing this either Max. Lay down, go to sleep."

Max made a soft sound and reluctantly left Logan's warm embrace. The towels slid from her body are as she crawled into Logan's bed. Logan stifled a groan as he got a really good look as she moved slowly into his bed. She looked so sensual and enticing.

"You're not going to be mad at me?" She sounded so young and vulnerable to Logan.

"I'm not mad at you." Logan said as he reached out and stroked her hair. Logan reluctantly covered her up and stayed with her until she drifted off, then pulled on a sweatshirt and went to his computers to do some research.

To be continued ….