A/N: Ah, thanks guys! I appreciate your feedback and hope that I got messages to all of you. I'm really enjoying working on this one right now as well as re-viewing Season 1 as well as some AMAZING stories with that S1 feel on here, too. I've even found some that I've missed. Hope you enjoy this part, too.

Chapter 8

Max swung by her old place to gather a few things that would fit in her messenger bag before she turned toward Sector 9 and Logan as dusk approached. She allowed herself a little grin as she reflected on how much she'd actually enjoyed her day with Marianne. She knew how much Logan missed his relationship with Bennett. She thought that the four of them could work on that.

When Max arrived at the Penthouse, she stored her bike in the front closet and stole quietly into the spare room to hide her purchase out of the way of Logan's prying eyes. He could know about the existence of the suit, but he wouldn't actually get to see it until later. Much later. She dropped her other bag on the bed before she went to look for him in the office.

"Hey," he smiled as he turned toward her as she entered. "Marianne has already called. She had a lovely time and wants us to meet them for dinner tomorrow."

Max smiled as she approached, shrugging. "It was fun."

She took a seat beside him on a relatively bare square of desktop. "Did you buy anything?"

She offered a tentative smile. "No. But you did."

His eyebrows rose as he reached for her. "Oh?"

She nodded as she slipped from the desktop and into his lap. "To be viewed at a later date."

"Oh!"

"Is that okay?"

He reached forward and kissed her collarbone. "Absolutely."

She accepted his embrace before she stood. "I quit my job today."

"How'd that go?"

She shrugged. "Better than I thought it would, actually."

She started toward the kitchen. He followed. "But still, that leaves you a little in the lurch."

She shrugged, leaning back against the island and dropping her bottom onto a barstool. "I'm familiar with the position."

"Still," he placed his hand on the counter beside hers. "This time it's because of me. You're doing this to help me." When he removed his hand, two plastic cards remained.

She picked them up and inspected them. One was an ID card for MacKenzie Guevara and the second was a black credit card bearing the same name. She turned them in her hands.

"Black is the good one," he pointed out.

She set the cards back on the granite surface. "Logan…"

"Nope. You have to take it." He rounded the island so that he sat facing her. "It's my fault that you had to quit your job. We'll revisit everything again later, but for now, what other option do we have?"

Her jaw clenched defiantly. "I take care of me."

He nodded, his blue eyes flaming with equal intensity as he spoke. "You do. And you take care of me, and I need you for these next few months. So please let me take care of you in this way."

She exhaled deeply, knowing how he fought needing others with everything in him. "I don't want to mess us up. We got a good thing going here."

He nodded as she stood again, restless in the small space. "We do, and the last thing in the world I want to do is to push you to a place where you don't feel comfortable or in control."

Max streaked across the room and flopped onto the couch. Logan followed a little behind her after he retrieved the discarded cards. "You did this with Val, right? Took care of her?" she asked barely above a whisper as she glanced apprehensively in his direction.

"There were other issues. Significant issues." He reached his hand and the black card toward her. "I consider this, at least in part, payment for the work you've done and are going to be doing for the next few months. You're the liaison with Zack and the X-5s. That's worth a salary, for sure."

She pulled herself into a sitting position as she considered his words. Part of her agreement with the entire plan was that she'd continue to work for him. This would just be a more familiar agreement than she had expected. Finally her hand extended to meet his. "Well. I guess we can try."

The next day, she roamed and paced the apartment, reminding Logan of a caged tiger. He didn't have any immediate errands for her, and by lunchtime, he was ready to send her back to Jam Pony. She tried to give him space as he worked with Bling, but it still felt awkwardly cramped. When Logan and Bling broke for lunch, she proudly presented them with the sandwiches she'd carefully prepared.

"I wasn't suggesting you start keeping house," Logan ribbed as he accepted his plate.

Max shrugged him off. "I figured I'd better start earning my keep."

"I know this is odd for you, Max, but thanks." He cautiously took a bite, chewed and swallowed. "This isn't bad, either."

She shot him an annoyed look but didn't engage further. "I'm gonna stretch my legs a little this afternoon, if that's okay?"

"Absolutely," Logan nodded. "And you don't have to run things by me. I can page you if we need to be in touch, but what about sector passes?"

She grinned as she pulled her messenger pass from pocket. "Normal was so flabbergasted with my dazzling delivery of my resignation speech that he forgot to take it." She winked at Bling. "And I forgot to remind him."

"I can get you a better one, if you need."

"This is fine. Besides, it would look weird if I had a fancy pass."

"I guess you're right."

"I'm gonna leave you guys to it, though." She stood and cleared her plate. "What time do we need to leave for Marianne's dinner?"

"Seven."

"Ok." She crossed and kissed Logan quickly on the mouth. "If you need anything, page me. I'll be back in plenty of time."

Her first stop was Sebastian's place. She knew he was Logan's informant and possibly even friend, but he'd sniffed out the Manticore connection before he'd even met her. If anyone could elucidate the veracity of Zack's claims about Logan's father, she was hoping he'd be the one. She left him with both a copy of as much information she had about Zack and a portion of the DNA from the night before. His computer-generated voice assured her that he understood the gravity of the situation and that he would only communicate any findings along this line of inquiry to her alone. She thanked him profusely before she moved on.

How to arrange another meeting with Zack tugged at the edges of her mind as she set out toward South Market. Somehow, she knew he'd only come to her once she'd analyzed his sample. After the recent complications with Brin and Tinga, and the fact that she had chosen Logan over the safety of her "family" again, he wasn't going to compromise the locations of the others if he didn't absolutely need to. He'd agreed to help Logan, but at this point, he considered it a personal task. The others didn't need to know about Max or anything else. He'd been perfectly clear on that. The problem was, she felt certain that he was holding out even more information than the locations of the rest of their siblings. He knew more Manticore information than he'd been willing to tell her – maybe even things he'd learned during his last few weeks of captivity. While the use of psychoactives by the Manticore team would render his initial recall sketchy, he'd likely held onto some of what he'd witnessed. She needed every bit of ammunition available in Logan's corner, and she needed to decipher how to obtain it without Zack's resistance to her ultimate goal.

By the time she'd made herself visible in all the places he'd likely be if he was still in Seattle, she was cold and wet and almost late for Marianne's dinner. A little after six, she started back across the sectors to Logan's. She found him engaged in his own form of pacing in the front room when she blew through the door at 6:30.

"Where have you been?" he asked, hair still a bit damp and wearing only pants.

She squeezed his bare shoulder and nipped his ear as she slid past him and into the spare bedroom and then bathroom. "I'll be ready," was all she offered.

Fifteen minutes later, it was Max who was waiting for Logan in the living room. She'd showered quickly and was leaving her hair to dry naturally in soft, beachy waves. Original Cindy had sent her out with some new and different wardrobe options the day before. What had arrived as a crumpled black ball in Max's messenger bag the day before had effortlessly transformed itself into a sleeveless jersey dress with a slight scoop neck that hit her right above the knee. Cindy had gushed that Max would love the ease but also sophistication of the garment. Max had made a little noise through her nose and rolled her eyes, but she realized now that OC was right on the money. She saw the fabric hugging her body in all the right places. She saw Logan realize it, too, as he joined her in the front hall.

"That." He stopped and took a breath before continuing, "Is amazing."

"Better than the wedding?"

"Don't get me wrong," he shook his head as he gathered his thoughts. "You were gorgeous that night, but this is more you." He paused again. "A more refined you, but just slightly."

"You don't look so bad yourself," she decided as she took in the dark grey trousers with a light but bright blue shirt and coordinating tie. "Although I am partial to the tux."

He blushed. "We should go. We'll be late."

"Where are we going?"

"Bennett's house. Marianne decided to cook instead of going out. Is that okay?"

Max nodded. "Perfect. I always enjoy seeing how the other half lives."

"Um, keep your hands to yourself this time, okay?" Logan half joked as they entered the elevator. "Bennett doesn't have anything that should belong to me."

Max rolled her eyes playfully, recalling the wedding and the locket. "Just lookin' out for your interests, Logan. You know that's what I'm all about these days."

He glanced up at her and smiled again. She didn't sound melancholy or sarcastic, so he hoped it was the truth. "God knows I need it," he deadpanned in return as the doors opened before them. "After you," he offered, taking any opportunity he could get to watch her walk away from him, as long as he knew she would eventually be coming back. And tonight she would.

Max wasn't exactly sure what to expect at the other Cale house. Their wedding had been super fancy with doormen and waiters and valet parking. But that had been at Jonas and Margo's place. Bennett's house was slightly smaller and about three blocks from his parents' house in the same posh development. Logan parked the Aztec in the front circle, noting the addition of a ramp in the front garden as he exited them car.

"Looks like they literally rolled out the welcome mat," he mused as they approached the house. Max placed her hand on his shoulder. He sighed, but his muscles tightened even further under her touch. Before they moved any further, the door burst open, spilling forth a bubbling Marianne with Bennett trailing close behind.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Marianne exclaimed as she reached forward to embrace them both. She looked toward the ramp and then back to Logan. "Do you think it's okay? You're the first."

Logan relaxed a smidge, touched by Marianne's concern. "I'm sure it will be great. Thanks."

Bennett drifted back toward the porch. "Mare, let them in the house. It's freezing out here." She nodded and backed into his arms as they led the others inside where she collected coats and accepted the bottle of wine Logan had brought as a hostess gift. Bennett took the wine into the kitchen to open for dinner while Marianne directed the other couple into the sitting room and grabbed cocktail orders.

Once they'd settled with drinks in hand, he needed to make sure Max was okay. Without really thinking, he placed his hand on her leg beside him. He quickly realized that they had never done anything like that in public because they'd never really been in public as a couple before. Max bristled for a second before her free hand found the top of his. She offered him a smile that reached all they way to her eyes, and he finally felt the tension in his shoulders release.

Marianne sat forward on the settee directly across from them, a smile further enlightening her expressive face. "Dinner will be in a few minutes, but before that I thought we might want to discuss the LA trip." Bennett's hand rested softly on her arm as he glanced over at his cousin with a quick and affectionate roll of his eyes. "I know you all have business to attend to," she continued, "And things have changed quite a bit in the past ten years, but there are still a few sights and landmarks left down there that Max has to see."

Logan squeezed Max's hand with a quick wink in her direction before he replied. "We'll make time for the important stuff," he affirmed. "What did you have in mind?"

TBC