Hey... sorry this took so long to put up, but I'm just the laziest person on the face of the earth. I finally got around to writing it, so I hope you guys are still reading it, and most importantly, I hope you like it.

-----Max and OC's Crib...-----

"So suga, let Original Cindy get this thing straight: You run outta here like the chopper boyz were on your ass, only to end up at your boy's crib. Then y-"

"Yeah, but that was only because of the seizures..." Max interrupted.

Max had told OC about the events of the past evening, because when she had gotten back to the apartment, the look on OC's face when she found out that she had spent the night at Logan's was full of mischief and gutter-worthy thoughts.

"Whatever girl, lemme finish." Cindy wasn't very pleased with the disruption. "Now where was I... you're at your boyz crib, and you pass out cos of the seizures. Now, since the man is such an angel, he takes care of your sorry ass instead of taking advantage of it. But when you wake up, instead of thanking his angelic ass, you act the bitch."

Max winced at OC's description of events. "Why you gotta make it sound so harsh OC, I was just a lil confused and disorientated. I was not trying to act like a bitch. I mean c'mon, it's not everyday you pass out and wake up in a strange bed with-"

"Let's not forget that the bed is only strange cos you wouldn't admit what you feel for the man and get in there."

Max frowned, "OC...don't start this again."

"Girl, Original Cindy is just trying to keep it real for ya. But seems to me that you don't seem to be able ta handle this reality."

Max just shot her an unreadable expression.

Getting up from the ragged couch in the living room, Cindy moved to the small fridge in the kitchen to pull out a bottle of Gatorade. Taking a sip, she turned back to Max. "Girl I don't know why you're trippin'. You guys have it bad for each other. Do ya think just any man is gonna stick around and take care of a seizing genetically enhanced wonder woman?" She raised a perfectly tweezed eyebrow, "I don't think so boo."

"But it's not that simple. Yeah, I admit I like the guy a bit." At OC's look Max added, "Ok...a lot. But that don't mean I'm gonna just jump everytime he calls."

"Need OC remind you that that is exactly what you always do? The boy just has to sneeze or page and you drop everything and go off to him the next second."

"That's different..."

"And how?" OC wasn't in the loop about Logan being Eyes Only, so it would do no good explaining why she was always at his place.

"It's complicated..." Max said quietly, staring at the abstract patterns made by the coffee and food stains on the couch. This dump is nothing like Logan's crib. The pillows are nowhere near as clean... or a soft...

"Max!"

Looking up quickly, a scowl marring her pretty features, "Whadya have to yell for? I ain't deaf ya know."

"Boo, OC's been trying to get your attention for the past 3 minutes. Why'd you space out on her?"

Max looked up guiltily, "Sorry, I was just thinking about something." ... Someone.

Sighing, OC looked at her best friend with something akin to pity, "Boo, listen up cos Original Cindy is only gonna say this once. What's between you and Logan is simple; there's nothing complicated about it. You're the one that's making it complicated, I mean how is it that one second, you and him are moulded together on the couch, all happy with the world, and then the next second you get shy about a lil kiss and leg it? It doesn't work like that Max; you can't keep giving the boy mixed signals. His heart is in the right place, and his world revolves around you. Did ya know that while we were all cooped up here and freezing our sorry butts off, instead of chilling in his cosy crib and waiting for the blizzard to blow over, he was out there in the freezing cold looking for you at Jam Pony?"

Max looked up in surprise at that revelation. He was looking for me...? But instead, she said, "How the hell do ya know that, you've been stuck in this dump with me all the while, how would you know what's happening at Jam Pony?"

"Max, just cos me and you was snowed in don't mean the rest of Seattle was too." Seeing her unconvinced look, she continued, "Charlie told me when he stopped by, said a guy about Logan's description came looking for you a couple of times. He thought maybe we should know."

Charlie was a guy that lived a lil up the street from Jam Pony. Even though he didn't work there, he was a friend of the gang's and, like OC, was in the loop about Max's differences, but only cos he had been witness to a few of her extraordinary abilities. Just like Cindy, he was sworn to secrecy.

"How do you know it was Logan, for all I know, it could be Lydecker."

"Max, listen to yourself. How many men are there, who fit Logan's description: Tall, Deep Blue eyes, glasses, Dirty blonde hair, Lean but muscular..." OC studied the dreamy look on Max' face when she gave a description of Logan. And she says she's not obsessed with the guy... "Plus, it was a dead give away when he said to 'let Max know Logan stopped by'."

"Okay okay, but that doesn't prove anything. He may have wanted to speak to me about something, ask me something, I don't know. That doesn't necessarily mean that his world revolves around me."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself Max. Original Cindy has given her opinion; it's up to you to decide what to do about it. As magically delicious as rich boy is, he is just not OC's idea of a cosy night in." By this time, OC had returned back to the couch, and covered herself with a thin blue excuse for a blanket as she tried to get comfortable on the dingy couch.

There was silence for a moment as Max tried to digest what Cindy had told her. After a while, Max turned to Cindy, who had begun touching up her manicure, "OC, it's more complicated than you think."

"Whatever, Max." OC replied in a dismissive tone of voice.

"Cin, c'mon you have to understand were I'm coming from; I can't get involved with him. It would be tactically suicidal, getting involved with someone. Its bound to cloud my judgement... slow me down..."

"Max, who's the one talking? I see you, but I hear Zach. Even if you won't admit it to yourself, you are already involved with Logan. You've known the guy for almost a year, and you haven't so much as flirted with another guy except for the time you where in heat; the same goes for him. For two people who are not in a relationship, you guys sure give a good impression of one; you've even got the dreamy look down to damn near perfection. All this crap about it clouding your judgement...that's just plain ol' Bullshit. I've seen you when you're with him, your sense of danger doesn't dull; in fact, I could almost swear it heightens. You know you don't really believe anything you said, so suga, stop quoting Zach and speak your heart. Cos lemme tell you something: Your heart's the truest thing in the world. It aint never gonna lie to ya."

"I know what I said before were Zach's lines, but what if they're true? What is what I feel for Logan is just phoney sentimentality? What if I'm just imagining everything? I don't know which is worse, to stay and find out that it was all a lie, or to run away from something that could've been real."

"Trust me boo, it's real." Cindy felt her friend's pain and confusion, so she moved to envelope Max in a gentle hug.

"Thing is, I don't know what I'd do if he got hurt because of me. Like this morning..."

Pulling back, Cindy looked up at Max at this comment. Max had told her about the whole knife incident at Logan's, "Boo, loads of people cut their fingers when cooking, it's nothing major. Feeling guilty about it is just stupid."

"Sure, now it's just a knife that hurt him, but what happens when it's a bullet? How the hell am I supposed to handle that reality then? Knowing that I was the reason someone I care about got hurt?"

"Don't start being all overdramatic and whatnot Max. It's not your style...its mine." Max smiled at Cindy's words. "You can't put getting nicked by a knife in the same category as getting shot. Logan is a full-grown man, one who is very capable of making his own decisions. He knew what he was getting himself into when he got involved with you."

Max contemplated what Cindy said for a moment, and then leapt at her, pulling her into a great big bear hug. "What would I do without you Cin?"

When Max finally let go of Original Cindy enough to let her breathe, she replied, "Without me... you would burn!"

Both of them dissolved into a fit of giggles. After a while, as Cindy was doing Max's manicure she carefully brought up the topic of Logan once again.

"Sooo... Christmas is in a couple of weeks." Cindy said eyeing Max from the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I've been saving up, so I'm gonna get you something special this year."

"That's all well and good boo, but what you gonna get your boy toy?"

Max scowled slightly at OC's description of Logan. "I don't know... Do I have to get him something?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Original Cindy stopped in the middle of applying clear nail polish to Max's fingernails, "You've gotta be kidding me. Of course you have to get him something." Then, looking at her boo more closely, she added, "But you already know that. What gives?"

Max hesitated for a moment. "Well... the truth is: I have no idea what to get him. Whatever he's gonna get is probably gonna be very expensive, and what I'll get him will look like stick figures next to a Picasso."

"You're doing that drama thing again girl...quit it. Logan would love whatever you get him, as long as it comes from your heart. Obviously, if you get him something just to impress or compete, then there's gonna be problems, but if you get him something that you genuinely think he's gonna like, then all's well with the world."

"Easier said than done OC. What do you get the boy that has everything?"

Cindy looked at Max knowingly, "Oh I don't think he has everything yet." At least I don't think he knows he's got everything.

"I don't like that look on your face... you've got something cooking in that evil head of yours..."

Cindy smiled innocently, "Now why would you think that?"

Max studied OC for a second and just shook her head. "You're a piece of work OC... a bloody piece of work..."

"Girl...I'm a damn fine piece of work. And don't you forget it."

They dissolved into another fit of giggles while OC finished the manicure and moved on to a pedicure. All the while, Max was still hung up on what to get Logan. What could he possibly want for Christmas?

----Back in Foggle Towers----

Logan had spent the better part of the day wondering around his apartment and doing odd jobs. He was on holiday and he had no idea how to spend it. After Max had left, he had called Bling, his physio and good friend, and over a strenuous workout they had discussed the new development in his and Max's relationship. At the end of the 3 hour session, he was left both physically and emotionally drained. Bling had always been known for his probing questions, and Logan had been made to answer all sort; he had even had a few of his answers analysed. Like when he told Bling about fooling around with Max about the cut on his finger...

Logan had been studying his finger during the short break between crunches and push-ups.

"What's up with the finger? Let me take a look." Bling said as he reached out for Logan's hand. Logan had been his boss and best friend for nearly 8 years, and in that time, Bling had come to know that when it came to mending his own personal injuries, Logan was an absolute ignoramus.

"No!" Logan said sharply when Bling tried to grab his hand. When he saw Bling's raised eyebrow he smiled sheepishly, "there's no need to look at it. It's already been cleaned."

"Need I remind you that that's exactly the same thing you said about the fungus on your foot? Man if I hadn't finally forced you to show me that thing, they probably would have had to chop the whole thing off at ER."

"That was different... I didn't realise the foot had gotten infected until it was too late."

"And how do we know that this would be any different?"

"Well it can't be infected... I only got it today."

"At least let me check it out and make sure it's up to standard."

"I think it is."

"You thought the foot was." Bling was getting a little impatient with Logan and his weird ways. Sometimes he didn't understand why he bothered trying to understand what made him tick.

"This is different." He was getting irritated with Bling's persistence about his cut. As far as he was concerned, nobody was going to take a look at that finger until Max got back...

"How so?" Now Bling was starting to think that maybe something was up with the Finger. Logan was never this adamant about letting him patch things up for him.

"Because...Because." Logan replied gesturing vaguely around him.

"Logan!" Bling said sharply.

"Just leave it Bling. I said it's fine and I mean it's fine."

"Then why have you been touching it all this time? Since we've been taking a breather, you haven't let go of that bandage.

"I'm just making sure it's still there is all. No biggie."

"C'mon Logan, just say what the dealio is with the bandage. It doesn't matter if you fungified your wound again. I won't think any less of you, you know..."

Gritting his teeth in slight irritation, Logan said, "The wound's fine Bling. Let it go."

"Well either something's wrong with the Bandage or Max is involved with it somehow." Logan avoided his gaze, and a grin grew on Bling's face, "Oh...I get it. Your little woman fixed your cut and now nobody else can touch It," he said in a sick sweet voice.

"Shut up Bling." Logan said behind gritted teeth, and placed himself to begin doing push-ups. "And she's not my little woman."

"Aw...poor Logan. Did she kiss your booboo all better?" Bling continued teasing in a sickly patronising voice.

Logan stopped mid-press, "I said let it go Bling."

Bling noticed that Logan was in no mood to be teased, and the rest of the workout was carried out in companionable silence, broken only by the sounds of Logan's grunts as he pushed himself hard. Occasionally, during the breathers, Logan would feed Bling titbits about the day, and at the end of the session, Bling knew all that had transpired in his absence, and Logan was an emotionally drained pile of sweaty achy muscle.

"Good session, Logan, you were really focused today. I guess you really found your steam. You and Max should share those little kisses more often. It does wonders for your stamina." He wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

Sacked out on the bench press table, all Logan could do was groan. He was way too sore and tired to argue with Bling. "Go away Bling... I'm tired."

Bling just chuckled as he packed up the exercise equipment. Observing Logan from the corner of his eye, he straightened up as a thought struck him. "What are you getting Max for Christmas?"

"Huh...where did that come from?" Logan asked, thrown for a loop by the abruptness of the question.

"You do know that Christmas is in a couple of weeks, right?"

"Huh...uh yeah! Of course I knew that." As Bling continued to look at him expectantly, Logan knew he had to answer the question. "Do I have to get her a gift?"

"No." Bling crossed his arms over his chest and studied Logan. This boy just never learns. Well, there more than one way to skin a cat...

Sitting up sharply, just avoiding knocking his head against the set of weights above it, Logan exclaimed, "What! Why not?"

"I don't know, you tell me. Why do you have to get her a gift?"

"Because..." Logan paused briefly to figure out why he felt he had to give Max a gift. Hmmmm... Because its Max... and I like her... a lot...Love the way she looks when I give her gifts... the way she smiles... the way her eyes light up... Seeing that his brief pause was starting to become long, Logan looked Bling in the eye and stated matter-of-factly, "Because it's Christmas, and everyone deserves a gift at Christmas.

There may be more than one way to kill it, but for Logan, the only way is to beat it. With a stick. Numerous times.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself Logan. It's your business how you want to handle your relationship with Max. She's a damn fine specimen of human perfection, but she's yours, and there ain't nothing I can ever do about it. All I can do is just give you some advice: Don't mess up."

Logan stood up and stretched languorously. "Thanks for the deep and meaningful words Obi-Wan-Kenobi. But this guy has to take a hot shower. I'm sure you can let yourself out when you feel like it." He was obviously putting an end to the 'Max' conversation.

"Ok... I'll stop, but don't say I didn't tell you."

"Yeah, yeah... blah blah woof woof. I'm a grown man, Bling; I think I can handle what's between Max and me just fine." As he made his way down the hall towards his bedroom, he stopped and turned around, "If my legs didn't feel like they were about to give way, I may have been inclined to see you to the door. Seeing as they are..."

Bling made his way to the door, "Ok okay... I get the hint. But maybe you should get Max to give you a massage... it could help ease the tension and pain in your muscles." He paused for a beat, "Plus, it's something fun to do." He wiggled his eyebrows again, and only just managed to slam the door shut in time to avoid one of Logan's trainers from knocking him square in the forehead.

Logan sighed and made his way to the bathroom, pausing only to drop his dirty clothes in the laundry basket and then proceeding on to fill the whirlpool tub with hot water and his bath foam before entering. Groaning slightly as the hot water began to do its job, Logan leaned against the backrest and found his mind wandering once again to the dark-haired angel that haunted his consciousness.

After a while, Logan found that he was no longer content with just thoughts of Max, he needed something more substantial than the over-imaginative images that his testosterone-poisoned brain afforded him. Getting out of the tub, he made his way back to his bedroom, grabbed his phone, and returned to the tub to continue his soak.

Dialling the number to her crib, Logan waited impatiently as the phone rang. He was a little nervous about calling, because this was the first time he had ever called her house number just to speak to her. Usually, he would start off talking about some great Eyes Only project, then later they would find themselves talking about all sorts of things. Their conversations almost always ended in Logan inviting Max over for a meal the next day.

Just as he was about to question his sanity, someone on the other end picked up the phone. "You've got Original Cindy; make it quick cos I gots people to do and things to see."

Logan chuckled to himself at her remark, "Hey OC, it's Logan. Is Max there?"

"Oh hey, Moneybags, sure, your girl's here." Hmmmm... 'My girl' huh? Don't sound bad... not at all...

There was some background noise as Original Cindy got up from where she was seated in the living room and shouted to Max, "Yo Max! Pick up the phone."

Poking her head out the bathroom where she was in the middle of her shower, Max responded, "Why... tell them I'm busy." With that, she popped back into the bathroom.

"Don't you wanna know who it is?"

"No." she yelled.

"Fine then, suit yourself." As she returned her attention to Logan, she muttered choice words, with words like 'regret', and 'stupidity'. "Sorry Logan, Max is otherwise preoccupied at the moment, but I'll tell her you buzzed when she gets out."

"Gets out of where?"

"The shower." Straight and to the point.

"Oh..." Image after image of Max in the shower flitted through his mind, and once again, Logan cursed the testosterone poisoning.

After Logan didn't say anything for a while OC asked, "Moneybags... you still there?"

A brief pause, in which Logan cleared his throat, "Er- yeah. I'm still here. Tell Max I called."

"Will do." With she hung up, a knowing smile on her face. That boy has got it baaaad for my girl. Not that she's any different anyway.

As Logan put the phone on the edge of tub, he closed his eyes and dipped into the water until his head was just visible above it. Within minutes, he was asleep as happy images of Max flitted through his head, and his body relaxed under the ministrations of the hot water.

Meanwhile back at Max's Place

Max came out of the shower 10 minutes later, hair and body dripping from a long shower, and smiling contentedly. Seems like this water heater might actually last this time.

Spotting OC on the couch, she yelled in her general direction, "What's with you bugging me when you know I was enjoying the benefits of the new water heater?"

"Nothing boo, I just thought you would have wanted to answer that call." OC replied distractedly, as she was engrossed in a pre-pulse movie that was showing on the TV.

"And why would you think that I would want to interrupt my shower for anybody?"

"Well you see, I thought you may have wanted to for this person."

Max was starting to get curious about this mystery caller who OC was so damn sure she would have wanted to talk to. "So tell me, who's this wonderful person who called that you deemed important enough to interrupt my shower?"

"Logan." She returned her attention back to the TV.

Max did a double take, "Logan?!? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You said not to."

"Yeah, but you know with him it's different." OC raised an eyebrow at that statement.

"That's not what I meant; he may have some information on my siblings, or he may have been calling to warn me bout something, or he may have been in trouble or something." Max was starting to panic, with each new suggestion; her voice went up a notch and her face paled.

"Calm down boo. He sounded fine when I spoke to him; nothing urgent about his tone. Ever stop to think that maybe the boy just wanted t talk to ya?"

By this time, Max was in her bedroom, hastily drying off, putting lotion (must have soft skin...) and pulling on a pair of khakis and a tank top. Coming back out of the room, she sat on the couch and tied her shoelaces.

"He never just calls to say hi." He pages...

"So maybe he's decided to change the pattern." Max looked sceptical. "Look boo, if the boy's in trouble then cool, you running off to him would be a good thing. But if he was just calling to say 'what's up', and you barge in there, then you're gonna end up looking like a fool. So way I see it, you should just take a chill pill and think things through a bit."

"Sure. But I'm out." She grabbed the keys to her Ninja and started making her way out of the apartment.

"Should I wait up?" That cheeky grin was back.

"Shut up C." and with that the door was slammed shut and the sound of the Ninja could be heard as she peeled through the night.

That girl isn't gonna know what hit her. I'll laugh my ass off if she barges in on him only to find him in the shower or something.

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My final exams are coming out next week, so I really just wrote this story to escape the pressure. Please review... its something that makes me smile.