A/N: Thanks so much for your great reviews. I looked back and realized that this one started in 2009, and some of you have been around the entire time. That's a long time. Thanks for that!

Chapter 11

If someone had told Max she'd be happy to see the drizzly Seattle morning after her days in the California sunshine, she'd have called him a liar. But when her feet hit the tarmac, she felt insides warming despite the chill from the dampness around them. For a split second, she feared the unwelcome onset of a heat cycle, but this sensation differed. When she snapped back, she saw she'd fallen a few steps behind the others. Logan turned to look back for her.

"Max?"

She quickened her pace and arrived at his side a moment later. The four of them crossed the lot to their cars and parted ways after hugs from Marianne and lunch plans for Logan and Bennett in the coming week. Logan opened the door for her before crossing to the driver's side.

"I can drive," she offered half-heartedly across the center console.

"You're already buckled in," he pointed out as he slid into his own place.

She shrugged. "Thought I should at least pretend that I would."

He shot her a grin as he settled into his seat. "I'm sorry we didn't have much time alone," he lamented as they moved into traffic. Marianne had kept the two couples insanely busy for the rest of the trip.

"It's fine. We had our pool time."

"If I'd have known you'd enjoy that so much, I'd have forgotten this trip and spent the money on a pool for the penthouse."

Max's eyes widened. "I didn't know that was an option."

He smiled back at her before he shifted gears in the conversation. "Do you want to talk about any of it?" He sensed that she did, but again, he knew not to push.

"Not really. Not yet. Maybe later." But instead of shutting down when he tried to get in, she realized he might need this himself. She touched his arm. "What about you?"

Anxiety had coursed through his body since the meeting, but he'd tried his best to push down his uneasiness to focus on hers. Thinking about the meeting's future implications left him lightheaded even now as he attempted to drive them home.

He kept his eyes forward. "It's a lot to try to put into words."

"Isn't it though?" she agreed in whisper.

Logan turned toward her, his jaw tense. "And now I'm also realizing how it must be when I pry."

She rubbed his upper arm, wishing she could move closer to him but finding herself restrained by the seatbelt. "You're not that bad."

He faced the road again. "I don't think there's any precedent for this; I don't know where we go from here."

She watched him in profile as he struggled to control his expression and his breathing. "Since when is there any precedent for anything with us?"

He turned toward her, a bit relieved. "I guess so."

"And let's go home."

He nodded, swallowing hard, and drove them to Fogel Towers.

By the time they had unloaded the car and made it up to the penthouse, Logan was fading even though it was barely noon. While Max had slept like a baby in their luxurious bed, he had tossed and turned for the past four nights. He started toward the laundry room with their bags. Max came up behind him and pulled them from his lap.

"No way. You're not doing that now."

"I want to get it started…" he yawned, effectively cutting off his statement and giving her the win.

She draped herself over his shoulders and kissed his neck. "Bed, Logan. Now."

He shook his head. "I don't think I can sleep. My mind is racing."

She nudged him toward the bedroom. "Gotta try at least." She reached for the thermostat and lowered the temperature. Then, she ran ahead of him and pulled the darkening shades, shadows falling across the room. By the time he arrived, she was waiting for him in bed.

"Not that I'm complaining about this, but you have things to do. You don't want to spend the day in bed with me," he started as he approached his side.

"I don't have anywhere else to be right now, and don't be so sure of what I do and don't want to do."

"Okay," he conceded as he climbed in beside her and leaned back against her chest. She massaged his scalp as his breathing slowed and evened. She slid down next to him just in time to hear the last, almost pleading, whisper before sleep took him. "Max."

Max continued to massage until she was sure he was finally asleep. She leaned to kiss his forehead. He'd only managed the one word, but the emotion it held was more than he usually allowed her to see. "I know," she breathed near his ear before she climbed out of bed. She tiptoed down the hall to work on the laundry while he slept. She also knew that when he woke she'd have to tell him everything. Makiko would know everything Max did in a couple of days, and this had to come from Max first. She understood that now. She guessed she'd known all along.

A bit later, she was folding the last of the laundry while listening to music through headphones when he came up behind her. She jumped, not used to being caught off guard. He looked refreshingly disheveled, even though he'd only been asleep for about 90 minutes.

"You look better," she grinned as she reached forward for a kiss.

"I feel a little better." He looked at the stacks of clothes beside her. "You didn't have to do this."

She shrugged. "I needed to do something."

He tugged a hand through his on-end hair. "Do you want to head over to Crash tonight?"

Her eyes lit up. "You up for that?"

"I could be."

"Yeah?"

"It's been a while since you've hung with your crowd. I don't want this arrangement to be all about me. Especially while we're in this holding pattern."

"'Kay. I'll see what's up, but we need to talk about something first."

He paused. "What's that?"

She turned, and he followed her into the living room. She handed him Sebastian's file before she took the seat beside him. He opened the folder and flipped through the pages, inquisitive at first, but with deep furrowing of his brow as he read each subsequent page. When he reached the final page, he gasped and then held his breath for no less than 30 seconds. He finally exhaled, closing the folder as he did so. When he finally spoke, he didn't look at her.

"Where did you get this, and how did you know to get it?"

"Zack saw the name Cale in his file."

"So you…"

"Had Sebastian analyze his sample and compare it to your DNA before we gave them to Makiko."

He unlocked the brakes on the chair and pushed back from her. "Unbelievable."

She stood. "Logan…"

"I'm gonna need a little time with all of this. Okay?"

She nodded and grabbed a jacket as she headed toward the elevator. She expected this reaction, and she also needed to feel the wind in her hair. He'd be okay in a few hours. He'd work through it, and they could talk about it. Or not. He had every reason to be angry, upset, confused, sad. She knew that. He was usually the more rational of the two of them. But this was different. All of this was so much bigger than anything they'd encountered together.

Max sat on the Ninja and nearly started it before she realized that her true instinct here was not to run away but to go back up to him. She wasn't too sure in what state she'd find him, but they were in this together. That's what he said he wanted. It was what she wanted, too.

The elevator opened to the front hall. "Logan?" she called quietly into the apartment. He didn't answer. She closed her eyes for a seconds, doubting her course of action yet again, and walked into the living room. She didn't see him in the office or the kitchen. Then she heard him in the gym. Bling may be on his way over. If he came, she'd go, but until then she'd stay.

"Logan?"

He was on the weight bench, still in the clothes he'd worn on the plane and for the nap. He was sweating so she wasn't completely sure, but she thought he'd been crying. She suddenly felt completely out of place. Why hadn't she given him the space he'd asked for? Instead, she again ignored instinct and moved a bit closer.

"Hey. I started to leave, but I, um, couldn't."

He stared at the ceiling. "It's okay. I shouldn't have asked you to go."

"No, I should have left."

He sat up and wiped his face with his sleeve. "I'm glad that you didn't."

"I should have said something that night I talked with Zack. I don't know why I didn't."

He shook his head. "This is new – for both of us, but we have to trust each other."

"I know. I'm sorry."

He was silent for a long time before he spoke. "Was it my dad?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. Zack didn't know. I don't ever remember seeing Jonas there, but I don't know if that means anything. Makiko might be able to find out. She can do a more in-depth analysis."

After another long pause he pulled the chair closer, still looking down when he spoke. "Why bother the others? I mean, if Zack's willing, that's our answer. We can get to work. I'll email Makiko."

"I hadn't thought about it like that."

"I'm looking for the silver lining here." He moved back into the chair. "I need a shower, and then I'll start something for dinner."

Max realized this was the conclusion of tonight's discussion of Sebastian's report and all its implications. "I'm okay."

He melted a little more, a smile edging the corner of his mouth. "Since when are you not hungry?" She shrugged as her stomach grumbled audibly. Logan laughed a breath. "My point exactly."

She shrugged one shoulder. "I mean, I could eat."

"Twenty minutes. I'll be fast." He started down the hall.

She stood to follow, head cocked slightly to the side. "Well, maybe not too fast…"

TBC