Title: Happily Ever After...
Author's name: Roxy
Author's email: roxymusic38hotmail.com
Beta Reader: Rose
Beta's email: arwenqis.net
Category: Action, Humor and Romance. (M/L)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. I don't own Dark Angel, though Noah and Lou do belong to me. I am making no money out of this.
Summary: This is my hit at a 3rd season. Max and the others are trapped in TC, surrounded by White's men. A new little sister comes along. Deck reappears (isn't he just our favorite bad guy?). X5s reunion. More Familiars and how to deal with them.
Previous Chapter: The trannies are getting used to leaving all together with their own up and down. Trainings have started again, though less tyrannical than they used to be. Lydecker has allowed Lou to stay in contact with her English parents. Ames White is trying to keep from the public the fact that the transgenics had long fled TC when the air raids started. Joshua's thinks Lydecker should find Sandeman.
Feedback: tabitha5: Wow, you were quick reading and reviewing... I love Alec because, as an author you never feel really bad about putting his character into embarrassing situations, I think that's just so much something he could do... Thanks.
BlackRose9: Glad you like this version better. Beta babe (AKA Rose) will be glad to know that as well lol!
M/L Only: Yeah, well, what can I say? Zack's my man, right? God, his 'Watch- me-go-as-I-save-the-whole-world-on-my-own attitude is soo hot... getting carried away here. You shouldn't get me talking about him, you'll regret it lol!
Big Edna: Ok, so I came across a comment you made in darkangelfic on LJ about a fic you liked better than the books, taking place right after FN, and you were asking the author to update chapter III... you weren't more precise than this and I'm not pretentious enough to believe that you were talking about my fic... which is why I didn't answer your comment... but just in case you were talking about the fic below, well, you'll be happy to know that here is chapter 3 and that I've just sent chapter 4 to beta-babe... Review next time, helps me know who my readers are-no matter how few they are ;D
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Happily Ever After...
Chapter III: Patience, patience...
She was late. Then again, she always was. It had to be part of the whole snooty brat character. Max had long ago understood that there was no compromising with Lou. You could never force her to do something; neither could you ever forbid her anything. She was immature and stubborn and you could be sure that whenever you said 'no', she would go and do it just to prove to you that you were wrong.
Max checked her watch for the zillionth time and sadly came to the conclusion that time hadn't stopped or even slowed down and she cursed her baby sister for it. She was parked outside the facility's main entrance, waiting for Lou to go and see Logan. He absolutely had to see the runes on her sister's body in order to make sure they were the same as the ones on Max's.
Max had suggested bringing him photos but the poor guy was dying to interact with other people that weren't wearing a white medical uniforms. Max was at least sure that after Lou's visit, Logan would reconsider the whole 'interacting with people' idea.
You don't know what you've got till it's gone, right? And Max couldn't agree more. She wished Logan was here to help her deal with this whole situation, to calm her down when Zack would be cold and distant, when Lou would get out of control, when Alec would make yet another smartass remark, when Mole just wouldn't hear anything and when Lydecker would just be ... alive.
It was nice living all together but sometimes, Max would only dream of one thing: finding her own room empty and silent. Very paradoxical when you looked at it: all day long she felt lonesome.
Max had always been a solitary girl but now she had come to realize that she was alone, that by placing herself at the head of the transgenic cause, she had condemned herself to complete solitude. They were all like a bunch of kids, not really aware of the dangers outside. Most of them had never come face to face with Ames White or with a Familiar, most of them just had no idea.
Zack seemed to understand sometimes. Then again, Max thought she might be mistaking his cold and silent attitude for an adult and understanding one. If Zack had decided to claim her responsible for taking his life away for the rest of their existence, then he was just as much of a child as the others were.
Max knew she was being unfair to him, but she couldn't help it. The only thing that ever seemed to matter to Zack were the 09s and trainings. It was like nothing had changed for him, like the Familiars didn't exist, like the government wasn't waiting for them to put a single toe out of line to...
She was thinking too much.
She was going to see Logan and it would all be OK then. He would take on his calming and confident tone and make her believe that everything would be all right, that they would all see it through. But that was just never going to happen if Lou didn't show up in the next two seconds!!
Where was the damn girl???! That drew the line between being fashionably late to make an entrance and purposely being a pain in the ass!
Max stepped out of the car, slammed the facility's door open, rushed up the stairs and nearly blew the door to Lou's room off of its hinges.
"I was just coming to warn you" Noah said standing in front of her "I think you should either postpone or go ahead without her. She can always meet you there" Noah stepped aside so that Max could see what was going on.
Her eyes widened and she immediately felt guilty for all the things her soldier's mind had imagined doing to her baby sister if she could lay her hands on her.
Lou was lying on the bed, under the sheets and shaking uncontrollably. Max recognized the seizure symptoms from the times she had them. Lucky for her, her last trip to Manticore had cured her of those. Poor Lou had never been back to Manticore and therefore could not have benefited from seizure treatment.
"Have you called a doctor?" Max asked as she knew there were several doctors in residence in the facility, not that it made her feel any safer.
"Was there a minute ago" a voice said, voice belonging to someone Max hadn't noticed yet.
It was Alec. What was he doing here? Still following Noah around? You'd thought that a certain event involving Krit and no clothes would have been enough.
"Has she had some tryptophan?" Max asked again.
"Yep. Nearly a whole bottle. Doesn't seem to be having any effects though" Alec went on.
"Apparently, she's used to having intense seizures like you used to have, like me and like Jack" Noah said her voice becoming a whisper as she spoke the name of their deceased brother.
"The doctor said there's nothing he can do while she's still seizing" Alec explained, "He'll take care of it once it's stopped"
"Max?" a weak voice rose from the bed. Max came closer and kneeled near it, finally seeing Lou's head.
"Hey you" she said softly all her impatience from in the car forgotten.
"Tell Logan I'm sorry he won't have the pleasure of being in my company" Lou said in a jerky voice.
Ah, posh X5 was still there and somehow, it came as a relief to Max.
"I'm sure he'll be really disappointed. Tell you what? You can hook up with us later in the day when you feel better. This won't take more than a couple of hours, right?" Max smiled indulgently.
"Better not" Lou said trying to sound threatening but failing, "cuz I've got a life"
"A thrilling and busy one as we all know" Max said pushing away Lou's curls with her hand, "Lots of people to grant with your time, yes we all know that too"
Lou was like a sick little child that all three of them were trying really hard to make feel better. Not that she really needed it; in two hours she would be driving them crazy all over again probably about how her top was all wrinkled. It was just something that they felt like they had to do.
"So I can still meet you guys later?" Lou asked hopefully.
How could you ever say no to that? Actually, it didn't really matter what Max answered, Lou would've tagged along anyway but still, posh X5 could pride herself in being a master at manipulating.
-------------------
He was on his bed, legs crossed, back arched over some paper he was scribbling on, forehead frowned as he seemed in deep concentration. Yet, not in deep concentration enough for him not to hear her step into the room.
Not that Noah had tried to enter the room silently, the bed not facing the entrance, she was sure she could've done so without him noticing it. She placed that on her virtual list of 'things to do before the Familiar blow our asses off the face of the earth' right beneath 'getting rid of Alec' which she had already achieved with the Krit/Alec/bedroom thing and 'eating a strawberry pie all to myself' which was so far the hardest thing on the list.
Strawberries were so hard to find these days! And she was so bad at baking, not that she had actually tried but she was sure she'd be bad at it if she ever did.
"How's Lou?" he grunted without even lifting his head up.
Noah sighed inertly: now that was the nice macho welcome she had expected him to give her but still sometimes a girl hopes that...
"I left her with Alec"
"Alec?" Zack lifted both his brow and his head from his papers.
Jeez, when you have to talk about a guy for your boyfriend to even look at you, you start asking yourselves questions and reconsidering the Alecian theory of 'lots of repressed homosexual tendencies!
Noah smiled: thank god she didn't always speak her mind. Zack probably wouldn't have appreciated that last thought.
"Yep" she said letting herself fall heavily to the bed next to him.
Zack just emitted a low groan. Translation: he did not think much of the whole idea but had better things to do then care about the sex lives of his brothers and sisters.
Noah knew this was the time to take matters into her own hands... both metaphorically and literally. So, she placed herself behind him and let her hands go around his waist and beneath his shirt, allowing her fingers to run along Zack's stomach and chest.
Then, she softly placed her chin on his shoulder and whispered to his ear:
"What's up?"
Zack didn't refuse the touch but neither did he seem to really notice it. He was still wearing the constipated look, deeply focused on his papers.
"Well, this is all rather boring but these calendars need to be done so"
"You very well know that it's not what I'm talking about"
"And what are you talking about?" Zack feigned not to understand, still lost in his papers.
"I'm talking about the whole situation. You know, Manticore all back together and having to face certain people again"
"Oh, that situation"
"Yeah, that situation" Noah said taking the papers away and out of Zack's reach.
"Hey" he said not knowing whether he wanted to be pissed off or amused, "Some people are trying to work here"
"Yeah, well some people are trying to have a conversation here" she said disregarding the papers by dropping them to the floor.
Zack was a real soldier and it was hard to catch his attention if it wasn't a matter of life and death. But hopefully, if there was one thing Noah was good at, it was attracting attention.
"What d'you wanna know?" he sighed knowing that she could reveal herself just as stubborn as Lou.
"I wanna know what you're thinking" Noah said perfectly serious "I know it can't be easy for you to have to face Max. I know she's taken this sorta leader position, does it bother you?"
"No" Zack said honestly, "I don't mind because I feel her and the others still regard me as their CO"
"I don't" Noah smirked like a proud little girl.
"Yeah, well you're my annoying little brat, aren't you? So that doesn't really count, right?" he said smiling back.
"And what about having to face Max?" Noah asked becoming serious again.
"I..." Zack hesitated for a moment "I still blame her for what happened"
"Yeah, well somehow I guessed that. And I think she did too" Noah said sarcastically.
"She doesn't seem the least bit sorry about it"
"Have you tried putting yourself in her position? What if you had been her and she had been the dangerous psycho killer from Manticore?" Noah asked.
"And you had been Logan?" Zack asked rising from the bed.
Noah silently nodded letting him time to imagine the whole thing while he paced the room, his hands running though his blonde hair. When he didn't respond she broke the silence and said:
"You would've done the same, wouldn't you?"
"Probably" he grumbled the way he always did when she was right.
"I know you need to blame somebody for this, but don't blame Max, blame Manticore" Noah said rising from the bed as well.
"It's funny hearing you defend Max. Before we got here you held her responsible for what had happened just as much I did" he snorted.
"Yeah, well, can't blame me, can you? I had been jealous of the damn girl for like six years!" she laughed then becoming serious again "but I got to know her here and she's a good person"
"So you're not jealous anymore?" Zack asked teasing her.
"Oh, puh-leese, that is all way behind me. I know I've got nothing to be afraid of!" she said feinting self confidence, "Right?" she added not looking so sure anymore.
Zack laughed at her attitude. Maybe Noah was good at guessing what he was thinking but he had known the main reason behind the whole conversation.
He put one arm around her neck and the other around her waist and dragged her body closer to his. Firmly pressing her against him in his macho you're-mine-and-I'm-not- letting-you-go way, he looked at her straight in the eye, blue meeting green, as he said:
"You know I love you"
This kind of declaration didn't come along very often from Zack so Noah knew this was the moment to forget the let-me-make-you-eat-my-dust-to-show- you-I-only-belong-to-myself look.
Sure she knew he loved her, but a girl isn't against some kind of reminder once in a while. Especially when your boyfriend's previous twelve year crush reappears in his life all of the sudden.
Noah had expected coming across Max sooner or later. She just hadn't expected to live with her and risk reopening Zack's old wound.
"You don't have to worry about Max. I promise" he said like he was reading her thoughts.
-------------------
She was her bouncing Duracell self again but she just hated it when it happened, when she was so powerless and completely vulnerable. She wasn't designed to be this way and she was going to make sure that when she got back to the facility the doctors would make it so she'd never be again. Bye- bye seizures!
Syl had dropped her off, no need for some militaries part of the whole government-monitoring plan to know that 2 X5s had been out of the facility for no valuable reasons in their eyes.
Syl had, probably following Zack's orders, once again asked if Lou wanted her to come with her but posh X5 had just rolled her eyes and claimed that she could manage to find Logan and Max all by herself.
She was a 17 year old genetically engineered soldier not some foolish and carefree kid that was about to blow their cover. Ok, maybe she was a little foolish and a little carefree but she most certainly did not consider herself as a kid!
So Syl had driven back home and Lou had entered the little hospital in which she was now, and she was chewing her cherry flavor gum when she walked up the counter of the humongous lady whose hands disappeared into a bag of chips.
"Excuse me" Lou said politely, managing to hide her disgust, "I'm here to see my brother-in-law. Dylan Jackson"
"I'm on a break" the monstrous secretary grunted, she almost sounded like Mole which made Lou smirked inertly.
"I perfectly understand that Mam, but I just want to have his room number" Lou insisted still showing an impressive deal of calm and self control.
"Well, if I gave it to you, that wouldn't be a break, now would it kiddo?"
Ok, she called you 'kiddo'. Still no need to make a scene, you can get through this, Lou inhaled heavily.
"I know that you must have had the most exhausting day " Lou went on with a tense smile, "therefore the sooner you give me the number, the sooner I'll be out of your hair"
The lady leaned further upon the desk and Lou hoped that it would not support her impressive weight and that the lady would then crash to the floor. However, and against all odds, it held on.
The secretary gave her a grim smile, revealing two decayed teeth to Lou's great displeasure.
"Now listen here kiddo. You're gonna go sit next to the gentleman over there and in 20 minutes, that's the end of my break, you'll have your room number"
"Oh come on!" Lou's grew angry and her feet stomped the floor in impatience "It's just a room number, just give it to me! Pleeeeeeeease!"
"No" the lady said, taking an extreme morbid pleasure in pronouncing these two letters and pointing at a vacant seat next to the suited man.
Lou stomped her feet in frustration some more before resigning herself and turning her back on the secretary. All that, not without pouting and crossing her arms on her chest.
Then, she let herself fall heavily onto the metallic chair next to the man. She put her head back and closed her eyes: it was her turn to take an extreme morbid pleasure in imagining herself bursting that horrible pack of grease with nothing more than her pinky and maybe a pair of tweezers... Oh yeah, go with the tweezers and maybe a-
"Some pig she is" a low male voice next to her jolted her out of her thoughts.
"Straight up, she might actually loose some weight if she ever happens to get her hand out of that bag and check something on her computer" Lou said bitterly looking at the man in a suit.
He snorted and in cold yet sophisticated kind of way said:
"I think she's way beyond that, I'm thinking of a mercy killing"
"Not too much of a gentleman now are you?" asked Lou smirking.
"Who ever said I was?"
"Cookie Monster over there. You're in luck, I think she just might fancy you" Lou winked.
"Have mercy" the man rolled his eyes.
Lou couldn't repress a laugh while the man in front of her snorted once again. Then she asked in a casual way:
"Who are you here for?"
-------------------
Why would a father deliberately go through so much trouble just to make his son's life a living hell?
Not that Sandeman had ever intended for his son to undo his beautiful transgenic work, Ames White very well knew that. But still, sometimes he wondered what had ever gotten into his father for him to turn his back on thousands of years of cult. Ames White had an idea of course, but he was aware of only knowing half of what had happened in his father's mind.
Sure, there had been the CJ problem... First of all, his father never should've run an experiment to find out whether or not his oldest son would survive the test.
Second of all, when Sandeman did find out, he shouldn't have tried to protect CJ and turn his back on them, turn his back on Marcus! Well, they had taught him well. They hadn't killed him but the fact of living with such a burden: seeing his son being turned against him and seeing his wife... Ames White didn't want to think about his mother.
It was like Wendy, if only she had tried to understand, if only... then maybe he would've been allowed to love her back.
Ames White shook his head: this was no time to get all emotional over some old family tragedy. He too was living with a burden and though he had changed his last name, he still carried the shame his father had brought upon the family. Ray would've helped him redeem the family name in the eyes of the whole cult and the eyes of Marcus.
Ray would've understood if that scumbag 452 hadn't taken him away. White was sure deep down inside that his son had survived, that he was out there and that finding 452 would lead him to Ray.
That's why he had to concentrate on the transgenics. They had escaped TC, fine. But he had forced them into broad daylight and that was far from being an advantage to them. They had more enemies now than allies and nobody would ever hide them for a very long time.
Ames White had men working 24/7 on finding the new transgenic hideout. He also had other teams looking for transgenics that where still out in the world and who hadn't had the honor of crossing his path. With that new thermal detector, it would make things a whole lot easier to spot X series.
But Ames White not only wanted to get rid of the transgenic filth, he considered any human that helped them just as subhuman. He was also going to take care of the little friends they had. And for that, he had to start by the most important one: Eyes Only AKA Logan Cale.
Ames White knew that the human had been in TC with no possible way of getting out for days. He now justifiably suspected that the human was in hospital and White had therefore used all of his contacts to find Cale.
They had scanned all the hospitals in and around 5 states but the FBI way hadn't turned out very fruitful. However, the Familiar way had been most productive as always.
A Familiar doctor that happened to work in a little hospital in a State neighboring that of Washington (was keeping a close eye on a certain Dr Cummings that had just been transferred).
Dr Cummings' report said that he hadn't worked in a hospital for the last ten years; he had been working for the army all this time. Why this sudden interest in civilians the Familiar couldn't help but ask himself? Interesting question indeed.
So, the Familiar had kept a close eye on Dr Cummings' patient and noticed something odd: a man corresponding to Logan Cale's description suffering from pneumonia but was actually suffering from nothing more than boredom only two days after his arrival... That might have been what sparked the Familiar's curiosity.
The name of the 'pneumonia patient' was Dylan Jackson but he had been transferred from the ER service to the Observation service a few days earlier. The Familiar hadn't been able to give White his room number, but White didn't care, he could take it from there.
Moreover, he was here incognito. He hadn't obtained this information by legal ways; therefore it was better if he didn't burst into the hospital with several TAC teams and his FBI badge.
Plus the government wouldn't really appreciate his way of handling things. He already was walking on thin ice ever since the Jam Pony hostage situation, now with the TC incident, things just couldn't get worse. Because if they ever did, he would loose his job and would be of no more use to the Conclave.
His own pride couldn't bare another humiliation. He had had enough and learned to his expense, that massive and expensive deployments never revealed themselves as good strategies concerning transgenics.
White was going to get Logan Cale with nothing more than his gun and his superhuman skills. He would then torture him, Cale would spill the beans concerning the whereabouts of his little friends, White would kill him and then he would send the Familiars after the whole furry population.
White sighed in relief and contentment: now that sounded like a nice calm and well thought out plan. He could even manage to get his son back in the whole process.
The only obstacle between him and restoring the family's image was not an inconsequent one. No, it sure wasn't! A secretary weighing probably more than 'Free Willy' all by herself was not to be taken lightly.
Ames White wasn't a very patient man and yet there he was next to some teenage girl with a punkass mouth (not that he considered it a bad thing) waiting for the secretary to give him Dylan Jackson's room number.
He thought he might as well phone his Familiar-doctor and ask him to give him Cale's room number but he remembered a saying that went: Revenge is a dish better served cold.
"Who are you here for?"
"I have a friend that's coming out today. I'm here to give him a hand" Ames White answered Lou's previous question.
Suddenly, his phone rang and he hoped for Otto's sake that A) it better be worth disturbing him right before he caught Eyes Only and B) that it was good news. And actually it filled both categories; Otto's job was safe for now.
"Excuse me" he politely told Lou as he got up and walked to the end of the hall on their right.
Lou couldn't see his face anymore as he had his back to her but she could easily eavesdrop if she wanted to. Not that it was a very polite thing to do, but it was in her capacity to do so.
There was definitely something weird about this guy. When one of your friend is getting out the hospital, one would assume that you had visited them earlier and that you would therefore know their room number. And one would also assume you would be happy about it. Lou looked up and saw 'Cookie Monster' opening her extraordinary big mouth to swallow a slice of chocolate cake.
Right, Lou reminded herself, then again, there are some things that can just put you in a bad mood no matter how content you may be feeling.
But still, Lou was good at guessing other people's game and this guy was... weird. First of all he seemed to have a lot on his mind and the permanent frown on his forehead was there to prove it.
He was a good looking guy and his suit said that he wasn't living on a low paid job. What was up with him? There was just something emanating from him, like he was... danger. Like he was dangerous for her.
Lou shook her head. Maybe she was just a little disturbed because of the seizures she had had this morning, she was probably getting it all wrong.
How could anyone be a danger to her? She could cause more damage to humans than they could to her. Plus, she didn't even know the guy.
That was it. She didn't know him and yet she knew that she shouldn't. It's like fire, you get close to it and you feel that if you touch it, it's going to burn you. You don't have to really experience it to have that certainty.
That was the feeling she was getting about that guy and somehow-
"There you are" Max said coming out of an elevator.
Lou got up, forgetting her burning thoughts about the handsome man in a suit and met her sister half way.
"I've just called Zack and he told me that Syl had dropped you off 20 minutes ago. What have you been doing?"
As they passed the monstrous secretary on their way to the elevator, Lou turned around very loudly:
"I'm sorry Christina but SOMEBODY just wouldn't give the number of the room"
When the elevator's door closed, Lou sighed and said:
"How can you stand coming here so often to see... that!"
"I come here to see Logan. And please tell me you haven't made a scene" Max frowned.
"No. You can tell Zack that I've been a nice little girl" Lou paused for a few seconds and then wondered out loud:
"I wonder where she gets all those pre-pulse junk food in a third world country..."
-------------------
"You've located them?" White repeated what Otto had just told him on the other line.
"How many are they?" White paused, "Three. That's excellent. Now don't establish contact until I'm back"
Another pause as Otto speaks.
"That will be when I have decided to. Don't worry, they're probably looking for other members of their filthy siblings, they won't be going anywhere"
"I won't be long" he added before hanging up.
Now that was the kind of phone call that he appreciated! Worthy and positive. Looked like the wheel was turning and that he was the one in luck now!
What he needed was to get Cale fast so that he could get back to the office and develop a plan. He had no time to loose.
He turned around, barely noticing that the teenage girl that had been sitting next to him was gone, and determinedly walked up to the counter.
"I want Dylan Jackson's room number. And I want it now" he said drawing out his FBI badge.
So much for the incognito approach! Cookie Monster nearly choked on her banana flavor sucker, she didn't even look at her screen and immediately stammered.
"Room 645. Fifth floor. Observation"
White paused in his anger.
"How can you tell me this without even looking at your screen? I take it you don't know all of your patient's room numbers by heart?"
"N.. no Sir. Just the ones that have a lot of visits. Sir"
"Explain" he ordered coldly.
"The kid that was sitting with you. She was here to see him too. She left with his wife, Sir" the secretary didn't dare leave a detail out.
"His wife?" White mumbled searching his pockets, "Did she look like this?" he asked showing a picture of Max.
Cookie Monster just nodded.
What was wrong with this guy? Was he really an FBI agent or was he checking on his wife? That would explain why he had a picture of Christina Jackson in his wallet.
"452" he muttered under his breath as he headed for the elevator.
-------------------
"Would you please stand still and stop moving Lou?" Logan begged for the third time.
"I'm sorry. It's just... I'm not feeling very comfortable"
Lou was holding her shirt up, so that Logan could look at the runes that had appeared on her stomach the previous day. Logan was taking this very seriously and Max was in a corner of the small hospital room, leaning against the wall. Logan gave Lou an awkward look.
"No" Lou sighed, "That's not it. I'm feeling uneasy in this hospital, this building. It's just, the sooner we get outta here the better"
"And I thought I was the one with social problems" Logan scoffed.
"People are weird in this country, you know. First there's that unbearable secretary, I mean, d'you think she actually manages to walk or does she just sleep on her chair and ask for people to bring her food in the morning?"
"Yes, and we all know that only secretaries can be absolutely unbearable" Logan smirked.
Lou just winced while Max did nothing but snort.
"And then there's this guy that was just as weird with his whole brooding complex. I know some girls go for it, but still... And they are, like, the only two humans I've been in contact with, beside you and Lydecker! Though I wonder if Lydecker can be qualified as human you know... he has this sorta bad-guy-from-video-game perseverance. I mean what was up with the whole resurrection thing? Anyway, Cookie Monster and Angel wannabe are like the only two persons I've talked with ever since I've arrived. Certainly doesn't make you wanna know the rest of the country, I tell you!"
"I used to be a fan of Angel myself" Logan said.
Lou and Max both raised their brows to give him the off-topic look that made Logan feel really old for a second.
He shrugged and went on:
"What was wrong with the guy downstairs?"
"Mystery man has a lot on his mind and he wasn't in a good mood either. And I started to get these burning thoughts about him and-"
"You have the heat cycle thing too, right?" Logan asked worriedly taking his hands away from her.
"That's not what I meant" Lou sighed again as Max remained unusually silent.
Was Logan obsessed or what? Not enough sex can do that to a guy... And Lou started explaining the whole you-didn't-have-to-touch-fire-to-know-that-it- was-dangerous idea when-
"Logan!" Max suddenly burst out.
Logan startled, gave her a questioning look.
"Remember that thing that happened at Jam Pony about me knowing the Familiars were coming? Well it's happening right now!"
"I told you I hated this building" Lou pouted.
-------------------
The elevator was just taking too long to get down so Ames White had come to the conclusion that maybe revenge was a meal better served cold but that Logan was only starters.
The stairs then become the best alternative. He was furious! Furious against them and furious against himself for having one of them sitting right beside him and not noticing! Punkass mouth kid! He would show her when he got his hand on her.
Two X series and a human. Maybe one TAC team wouldn't have been a luxury after all? But he no longer had time for this. If 452 had come down to get the brat then maybe she had seen him and that they were already gone! No this couldn't be! He had to get Cale no matter what!
He arrived on the fifth floor and checked the numbers of the rooms around him to know in which direction he was heading. 641... 642... 643...
He loathed them all! 645!
He drew out his gun and with a well placed kick, blew the door off of its hinges.
The small hospital room was quiet and still so he carefully stepped in which was exactly what Max had hoped for.
Right over Ames White's head, hanging to the ceiling like a spider, Max fell on him at the moment he lowered his gun.
While White was still on the floor, stunned and surprised, Max grabbed the first thing that came to her hand, in this case, a metallic chair and smashed it on White's back.
She had long ago learned not to give him a single opportunity to get up and respond.
However, White was lying between her and the exit. Max decided to go round his inanimate body to reach the door.
Suddenly, White reached out his hand and grabbed her ankle. As he pushed himself onto his knees with his other hand, he kicked her behind the knees; a kick Max could never have eluded without a jump she couldn't manage since he was holding onto her ankle.
She fell to the floor beside him but before she could even react he was on his feet madly kicking her, setting all his rage loose on her. Max blocked as much as she could but answered with a single kick aimed at White's chest that propelled him against the opposite wall.
Lou popped out of nowhere on the threshold and yanked Max to her feet.
"Lou? What are you doing here? I told you to stay with Logan! What if White's men get to him!" Max pleaded.
"Relax Maxie" Lou said, "Logan's fine, I left him in the car"
White stunned once again, back against the wall, legs spread, thought that this was, strategically speaking, the best moment to get up and draw out his gun and did so.
Max gave Lou a look that more or less meant 'ready?' Lou nodded and two seconds later, White found himself completely immobilized.
Max was behind him and was nearly strangling him with her right arm locked on his throat. Lou on the other hand, had grabbed the gun and was now having a great time its proprietor with it.
When Max felt that White could no longer stand on his feet, she nodded at Lou who unloaded the gun before throwing it aside and they both made for the door.
On the threshold, Max turned around, looked at White and said with a cocky smirk on her lips:
"By the way, may I introduce to you Lou, my baby sister"
Then both girls rushed down the stairs, slowing down as they heard security guards coming their way. But who would ever have suspected two gorgeous looking young women with angelic smiles?
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The facility turned out to be exactly what Logan had pictured. Grey, ugly and the smell reminded him of the one that lingered in the hospital he had just left. Wouldn't be much of a change now would it?
In the car, Max had warned the facility that White had tracked Logan down and that they were bringing him in this very minute.
This phone call explained why most transgenics (at least all those that knew Logan personally) were gathered in the entrance hall as Lou pushed the door of the facility open. It pretty much resembled a welcome back party.
Lydecker was the first to shake his hand and Logan knew that only him could've achieved the miracle of magically making them disappear from under White's nose and found another place for them to stay thanks to his various contacts.
Joshua showed up next; his dog-face beaming as he drew Logan onto an unexpected bear hug. Mole stood against the wall, smoking his cigar. He merely looked at Logan and made a small nod towards him and it seemed to Logan as unexpected as Joshua's welcoming.
He shook hands with Alec, Krit, Syl, Gem and her daughter next. Logan then fell upon the massive figure that was Zack. They looked into each others' eyes for a second and that was enough.
They had to put their differences aside (the main one being the fact that one had tried to kill the other) because they were both needed here, in different ways. Logan stuck out his hand and Zack shook it grumbling something that sounded like a 'thank you'.
Logan couldn't keep his eyebrows from reaching his spiked up hair. A thank you from Zack? Logan wasn't even sure why the X5 was thanking him but somehow he didn't think it would be wise to ask for an explanation in front of so many people. In fact, he didn't think it would be wise to ask for an explanation at all!
Somebody next to Zack cleared their throat and Logan took his eyes away from the former CO to the small frail female figure on his left.
He immediately recognized the curly hair though it had grown longer and the caramel skin, a shade tanner than Max's. Noah's green eyes were staring back at him while a smirk wandered on her full lips.
"Noah" Logan said in a tone that neither betrayed surprise nor discontentment but just a light sound of pleasance.
"Logan" Logan now understood why Zack had thanked him.
The reason was right there, next to them, still smiling. And Noah looked miles away from the furious female rogue she had been when they had first met. It seemed so long ago.
"So, you did find him" Logan told Noah ignoring Max's questioning looks.
It was a long story he hadn't mentioned to her because Noah had asked him not to. But Max should've guessed by now that Zack hadn't recovered his full memory without the help of another X5, unless of course she believed that Lydecker was the one that found Zack in the first place.
"Pretty much looks like it" Noah said "Thanks to you"
Noah had paid him a late night visit months ago looking for Zack and he had given her the address of the Eyes Only contact where she could find him.
What had convinced him to do so? To go against Max's will and to endanger himself in such a way? What was it that Noah had said? Oh yeah...
"Love? Tell me Logan, would you let Max down out of love, knowing that she still needs you?"
Maybe it was that determination in Noah's eyes or maybe because he, himself wished that the only thing standing between him and toughing Max was an address. But, Logan hadn't given up then and he wouldn't be giving up now. Noah would make sure that both Max and him would show enough patience. She owed Logan that much.
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End of the Chapter (pleeeeeease review!!!)