DISCLAIMER: Same as before. Wish I had something different to report.
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RURAL WASHINGTON: February 9, 2020; 2:10 p.m.
Road to Seattle
"So how did you two meet, anyhow?"
Tony DiNozzo was in the passenger seat of his cousin's Aztek as the two headed back toward Seattle, the last to leave the family cabin. The five of them had spent a lazy Sunday morning over brunch, late enough that lunch wasn't necessary; they all headed down to the lake to talk and skip stones and make promises that it wouldn't be so long, the next time. One by one the vehicles were loaded, hugs passed around, laughter shared...the cabin was closed up for what all agreed would be a briefer time than in the past. Marianne and Bennett pulled away in their sedan, Max hopped on her baby, nearly having to wrestle Tony for the honor, and, last in line, and after a slow, looping drive around the lake and all the familiar paths for Tony to get one good, last look, the cousins were pointed back to Seattle.
They'd barely started back onto the road out toward the highway. Tony had decided that it was high time that he have a talk with Logan about his self-doubt, especially when it came to Max. And where better than in the car, the two alone, at least a half hour from Logan's place? Tony got to the topic as quickly as he could without seeming too obvious...
"Who...Max?" Logan asked, trying to be nonchalant, eyes on the road as he drove along the long-familiar route.
A snort. "'Who...'" Tony repeated, rolling his eyes.
"Well, you might have meant Bling..." Logan murmured–he'd found himself trying for casual several times over the weekend, and just as often, found Tony wasn't buying it. Relieved and gratified that Tony could get past his injury so quickly, he considered the downside–that his cousin probably had no qualms about confronting him on just about anything ... Sort of like Bling and Max, he suddenly realized ... and felt an oddly mixed sense of affection and consternation to realize it...
"We haven't mentioned him for ten minutes. Max, on the other hand..." When there was no response for several moments, Tony prodded, "Well?"
Logan shrugged, not taking his eyes off the road. "We, uh...well, I had a couple people over one evening, and ... she dropped in..." He could feel Tony's unabashed stare, knew the wry smile of amusement that would be there. "What?" Logan looked over briefly, facing the silent smirk. "It's the truth," he defended, eyes swinging back to the road.
"Uh-huh." Tony grinned, knowing there was more and knowing the details didn't really matter, it was the reaction that spoke volumes. "How long ago was that?"
"Almost a year" Logan said immediately, just as immediately assuming Tony was asking if she'd known him before. "I only saw her two or three times before I was shot..." he explained, "if that's what you were asking..."
"Well, it wasn't, but I guess it's important to know – if it's important to you." Tony's response challenged. "Actually ... I just wondered how long you two had known each other..."
Logan glanced over to Tony, awkward for a moment at the exchange, but quickly relaxing back into his renewed trust in his cousin. "A year," he smiled slightly toward the road ahead of them.
" She's a remarkable woman, cuz. Bright ... great sense of humor ... and gorgeous, to boot. Phew..." Tony leaned back, ready for the showdown to start, mind solidly fixed in the 'innocent caring relative' mode... "You're a very lucky man..."
Logan felt the old ache rise, the familiar thoughts a bit more tender coming from his cousin. "She is, everything you say, but ... we're ... not like that..." Even the familiar, well practiced words rang hollow to his ears, given the past hours...
Tony laughed, nodding, "Yeah, right." But when Logan didn't join in, he chuckled again, this time in some uncertainly. "...you're joking, right?"
The direct question told Logan he was again under Tony's scrutiny, and he knew he hadn't affected his disinterested stance soon enough. "She's a good girl..." he tossed, trying for offhand, remembering that he'd actually said that once before and his attempt at being the cool, older, more serious grown up guy fell flat then, too. It was just that, at the time, Original Cindy hadn't known him long enough to set him straight as she would have, now. Or as his cousin might...
"Who do you think you're fooling, Logan?" Tony voice carried surprise at the denial – or so he hoped. "The two of you ... you might as well be wearing signs around your necks– 'I love Max', 'I love Logan'..." Tony watched more closely as Logan tried not to react but failed miserably, looking miserable in the process. "Do you mean to tell me you two really haven't gotten any closer than what I've seen between you, the past couple days?"
Logan finally shrugged, "We ... do some work together; she does some errands for me and I feed her – part of her payment, I guess." he tried. "She's there a lot, so I know her, she knows me, but ... that's it; we haven't..." he trailed, glad he had to keep his eyes on the road.
"So what's stopping you?" Tony demanded. "It's you, isn't it? You're the one who's shy around her, she spent the evening waiting and watching for you to talk to her..." Weighing his cousin's silence, Tony persisted, "I know it's not about you in that chair, for her ... she wouldn't look as you as she does if she had a problem with it." DiNozzo tried to assess. "What is it, some sort of macho pride thing?"
Logan snorted. "Do I look as if I have much pride left?"
Tony was actually caught short on that one, blinking at the statement; any act he might have begun vanished. "God, Logan, do you really feel that way?" Tony looked at his cousin, no longer able to try fooling him into the discussion. Under Tony's scrutiny, Logan shrugged, wanting to play off his too-glib question, but the sudden lump in his throat wouldn't let him. At his silence, Tony said intently, as direct – and sincere – as Logan had ever heard him, "The changes that have happened to you don't minimize you, Logan. I wish you could see how Bling and Max look at you, hear how Matt talks about you." He watched his cousin closely, wondering if he could get through the scar tissue around Logan's battered spirit. "These are intelligent, discerning people – and the respect and affection they have for you is enviable. If nothing else – you ought to let their feelings tell you how much pride you should feel. I'd add my opinion in there, but you've got to know I've always been proud of you – and that's damn well not going to change for something as irrelevant to who you are, inside, as whether you're on your feet or in the chair."
Logan swallowed, blinking hard, and chewed at his lip, hard, staring hard at the road ahead, working to control the emotions he felt pushing at him with Tony's words. As the back road from the lake wound down toward the county road that would take them on to the highway, Logan slowed, coming to a stop at the deserted rural intersection. Struggling with all of it – not trusting his voice quite yet, but uncomfortable in Tony's silence as his cousin waited to hear his response, Logan sat still, staring out, unseeing, at the road ahead. The car idled at the intersection, its driver's mind no longer on their destination...
The silence was hard to take and unfamiliar, Logan at a loss to guess what was in the usually-talkative DiNozzo's mind, and made the emotional muddle he was feeling even more uncomfortable. After several moments, Logan finally cleared his throat, and managed to explain, "All of you ... you, Bling ... Max ... mean everything to me." He drew another breath, still staring ahead, too self-conscious to meet Tony's gaze. "I do value the trust and...caring... I've seen from each one of you. If I ever took it for granted, before, believe me...I haven't, since ... well, this past year."
Tony was quiet for another several moments, then sighed, looking to his cousin, concern still etched there. "Are you letting your injury prevent you from starting a relationship – a real, physical and romantic relationship, with Max?"
No one had ever asked so directly ... but somehow if anyone was to do so it was fitting that it be Tony DiNozzo. Logan chewed his lip again but this time it was in self-conscious self-assessment. "That's not all there is to it..." he began, knowing Tony would refuse to understand...
"Then what?" Tony asked.
"Well, the age difference..."
Tony scoffed. "Chronology isn't that big a deal..."
"Tony, she's barely twenty, for God's sake..." Logan finally met Tony's eyes. "I'm thirty-two ... She hangs out at a bar called 'Crash' with a group from work–more of them like Sketchy; you talked with him – those are her friends, the people in her life." He turned away again, wishing there were a way to escape the discerning green eyes, showing their challenge – and concern – for this most tender of topics...
"Not the Max I've met this week. She may hang out with them, may even enjoy them for a few hours, but she needs more mental stimulation than that. She craves intelligence, cuz, and comes to you for more than nourishment for her stomach." Tony watched Logan consider his words – and, he thought, react to the truth in them. "She is more attracted to someone her intellectual equal than her age."
"But it takes more than chess to make a relationship ... and she's not only a lot younger but is in perfect health, whereas..." Logan wavered, then went on, "from about the waist down, I have nothing to offer her at all..." In spite of himself, he could imagine what Bling would have to say to that ... but he was making a point, and went on, "how long will it be before she figures out that there are guys out there, with functional parts, who would be happy to share them with her...?"
"She's not that shallow..." Tony frowned.
"But she's not likely to be planning a life of chastity, either – so how do I fit in?"
Tony shifted for a more direct look at his cousin, trying to decide if he was overstating his point – or if he honestly believed there was nothing there for him – or for Max. Still not quite sure, Tony finally spoke – his voice low and direct. "If you are asking me that, seriously, then you've come to the right place ... because I could fill three volumes of 'how to' for you and not even make it down to your belly button ... or hers..."
Logan reddened, speechless. Even Bling hadn't been that blunt with him yet...
"...and you know damn well that's not the problem. I have a hunch you've had this talk, with Bling – no, correction ... I have a hunch Bling has tried to have this talk with you, and probably tried to tell you there's a whole world out there for you and Max to try, if you'd get over yourself. How much you let him – or listened – I'm not sure – hard to say which would be worse, that hard-headed, stubborn streak of yours – or the three ton elephant in the room..."
That damnable silence again...
"What 'elephant'?" Logan grudged, finally, his cheeks still burning.
"How desperately and completely you love Max," Tony said calmly, "and just like when you fell for that girl at college – what was her name, Marie? You're scared to death to ask her out, because you're afraid she'll say no, and your heart will be broken." He shook his head, "Well, I don't know about Marie, but I have seen Max. God, Logan, how can you miss the way she looks at you?" Tony asked, really wanting to know. "The girl has it, bad..." When Logan didn't respond, Tony prodded, gently, "And so, cuz, do you..."
Logan glanced down, still not able to look Tony in the eye after the last challenge. After several silent moments, he finally drew a pained breath to concede, "Yeah ... well ... that's sort of what leads to the issues, isn't it?"
"Why?" Tony didn't get it.
"I can't do this to her..."
"Do what? Love her? Cherish her? Make her happy, amuse her, feed her, comfort her, support her when she's worried or hurting or afraid or ill?" Tony watched Logan's face convey the anguish his conflicted emotions caused him, and felt a surge of frustration that Logan could beat himself up so badly that he was making himself his one and only stumbling block for finding happiness with the woman he adored. "You know damn well with her it's not being there to open the mayo jar for her..." Tony blurted, and immediately paused – apparently he'd just come to a decision he'd been debating over the weekend. Less abruptly, he added, quietly, "You can't afford not to...and not just for you...but for her, too."
Logan suddenly felt a chill, a sense of foreboding, despite the fact that it was Tony there with him. But the silence made it worse ... and he finally asked, "Why would you say that?"
Tony stared out at the spectacular view of the hills and the woods around them, unseeing ... remembering another woods, another time ... And said in an apparent non sequitur, "Do you remember, maybe seven years or so into my time at NCIS, when I was seriously thinking about leaving? The seven year itch, maybe." He mused, seeing Logan's nod from the corner of his eye, as Logan dared now to lift his chin slightly away from staring at his lap and turn, the feeling of dread weighing his movements, to watch Tony as he spoke. "I was frustrated that I couldn't get anywhere; I worked for a guy who was incredible at his job, and who taught me a lot–and showed no sign of slowing down at all and no interest, at that time, in being kicked upstairs. Seven years, and I started thinking maybe I ought to head a team, you know? There weren't any openings at the Service, the other teams' leaders seemed nearly as indestructible as Gibbs. I was thinking about making a move, maybe to the FBI, or some other service..." He trailed, then said, almost as if he was reminding his cousin, "I never said why I changed my mind..."
Logan glanced over, his apprehension not abated. He'd never heard Tony sound so serious, so grim. And to make matters worse...Logan was very sure this wasn't a non sequitur at all... Tentatively, he tried, "You said something about the men you worked for, not being able to find others of that character, and being loyal to those who would do the right thing, no matter the orders or who was giving them..." He saw that Tony looked back to him at that, and he explained, even in his fear for what was ahead, "It made an impression, at the time, not only what you said, but ... the intensity of your reaction. I knew something had rattled you."
Tony looked back ahead, eyebrows flicking up slightly with the thought, then nodded. "Right about that time, there was a call up about a special military operation, deep black op, not sure which branch, maybe even a service wide project. It was a call for investigative service teams to help with a search; some military detainees had escaped and the detention center guards overcome. After about twenty four hours, when the military police came up dry, they wanted specialty teams like we had at NCIS, with the extra investigative training and equipment and skills, to assist in the search. FBI was in on it too, and someone there, I guess, put my name in as a team leader, that I take a couple agents from NCIS and a couple from FBI; there would be four mixed units sent out." Tony was lost in memory, seeing the events of over a decade before. " I thought it was great ... but my boss, Gibbs ... he seemed a bit unsure, like he knew something wasn't quite right, but at the time I was too juiced about being noticed for a big assignment like that, multi-agency stuff ...as much as I learned from Gibbs, and liked working for him – I knew I'd never go anywhere working for him; he was bigger than life and always overshadowed his team. Here I'd been wondering if I ought to transfer, and this opportunity came up ... and I thought I might, finally, be getting some important cases on my own, too ..." He mused. "No way was I going to say no to the assignment. And, despite his gut, and his warnings – he knew I'd have to go, so he gave his qualified blessing ... and off I went, ultimately in charge of all four teams."
Logan watched as Tony grew quiet again, clearly remembering more than he was saying ... maybe looking for the right way to say what he wanted to tell his cousin ... Logan shivered, involuntarily...
Tony suddenly became aware he'd gone silent and that Logan was watching him, carefully ... he shrugged a little and went on. "So ... we were flown out west, then 'coptered to a remote site ... nearest town was a place called Gillette, Wyoming..." His eyes raised to see Logan register the name, as he expected, but kept his voice steady, "where I met with the commander of the facility and the military police ... or ... whatever they were ... in charge of rounding up the escapees. At that time, he filled me in on the particulars of these detainees – the ones so dangerous they needed sixteen special agents, with state of the art location and detection capabilities, and the combined power of the military and government ops..." DiNozzo's voice held a bitterness even now that Logan had never heard from him before. "And when he told me that the 'escapees' were a dozen kids, eight, ten years old ... barefoot ... in nightshirts, for God's sake..." Tony had barely blinked, didn't look away ... but he wasn't there with his cousin anymore, he was back in that frozen Wyoming night, eleven years earlier. "I ... I ordered the teams back and we returned to Washington. The others never knew what their orders were. I knew that they might be put right back on the next flight out, but ... they weren't going to be assisting in the search, that night. We got in, I ordered them to return home and to not respond to any calls or orders for twenty four hours – hell, I don't know why I did that; just to clear some time, I guess, to gum up their reassignment back out there..."
Logan looked over again to his cousin; his last words were the first that had shown any emotion in the telling of events, and he could see that Tony still found the revelation disturbing ... not sure what it would mean for Max yet, he waited, still listening...
"I went back and ... just ... sat there, at my desk, waiting for Gibbs to come in. I had my resignation typed and ready for him; but he'd already been called by the Director, who'd been ordered by some faceless power that I was to be terminated immediately. Charges were being prepared, interference with law enforcement..." Tony drew a breath. "Of course, Gibbs was ... curious ... as to what had happened in the twenty four hours since he'd last seen me, what the hell even I could do to mess things up so badly..." Tony even chuckled, ruefully, without humor – a private joke, maybe, Logan thought... "He took me down to one of the observation rooms, someplace private, and asked me what had happened... So ... I told him everything, all I knew ... he never said a word, just let me talk, and then got up, left me there ... I went upstairs and even started packing my desk; I was expecting the MPs to show up and detain me ... Gibbs was gone, oh, two, three hours, my desk was packed ... so I went home. He showed up at my house, what, another two hours later, wanting to know where I'd gone and why my desk was cleared out..." Tony mused, "Nothing more was said, but I learned later that Gibbs and the Director intervened...no record of my termination or the charges ever made, but no record of the operation or the teams, either..." He was quiet for a few moments before continuing. "Maybe another twenty four hours after that, Gibbs told me that the official word was that the search had been called off all together, and that the whole matter – the captors, not the escapees – would be investigated by the FBI. I never could find whether or not those who were to blame were dealt with ... or ...if it was all swept under the rug..."
He finally looked back over to Logan, whose knuckles had turned white on the hand control he still held, staring at his cousin now, pale... DiNozzo understood, and continued, "Of course I poked a bit, to see if I could learn anything, but could find only bits and pieces ... it was one of the darkest ops we'd ever stumbled into, in all the years I've been with the agency." Tony's head dropped back on the headrest, the memory still one that was disturbing ... painful. But now the story had a new chapter ... and he added, "and ... until this weekend ... that was the last I'd heard about any of the children who escaped from Project Manticore."
The silence in the car now was shards of glass, steel knives, as Logan's mouth went dry and he felt panic for the woman he loved. Not his own cousin? A government agent, what would DiNozzo feel he had to do about finding Max? What could he offer to make Tony keep her secret? In cold, black dread he asked, "Tony ... what are you going to do now?"
At the sound of Logan's voice, Tony looked back up to see the plea in his cousin's eyes – the fear – and he spoke quickly, "Nothing – nothing at all; my God, Logan, it's a miracle, isn't it, that she survived? She deserves some peace, at the very least, just a chance to live without looking over her shoulder every moment." Tony paused. "Logan..." he wavered, and felt remorse that he'd let his cousin fear his actions, even for a moment. "I'm sorry if you thought I'd do anything else..."
Logan nodded, and finally admitted, "I've almost lost her, to someone hunting her. They're still hunting her..."
"I know..." At Logan's quick look to him, Tony explained, "Every once in a while, over the years, if ever I was researching something that could look as if it was tangentially related to any part of it, I'd broaden my search, or try to sneak in something that might give me a bit of news ... if I did find anything, it seemed that the search was still on..." He looked up. "Have you run into a guy named Lydecker?"
Logan wavered, then nodded.
"Watch out for him, Logan, he seemed to be the most connected to the escapees and the one most often connected to the continuing search..." Logan only nodded again, and Tony admitted, "I'd really hoped that when they told Gibbs it was over, they were being honest." There was another long silence as both men considered the obscenities done by their government, engineering children, keeping them captive – and refusing to let them have their own lives, even this many years later. Finally, Tony drew another breath to ask, "So much for what I'm going to do now ... what about you?"
Logan's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden question ... and he wanted to believe he didn't know what Tony meant. "About...?"
"About Max–about your feelings for her. About giving her a normal life..."
"I want only what's best for her – because of all that she's been through ... because of who she is, who I am, what she deserves ... she might actually be able to have a normal life, with someone else ... maybe even someone like her ... someone who won't slow her down if she has to run..."
"Look – you need to get a grip on the fact that your walking isn't on the top of the list of what Max needs – what she needs is you" Tony said, in a voice suddenly stronger than it had been moments ago, "and exactly what you have to offer her. Even discounting the look she has in her eye every time she's around you – is there anyone else in her life who knows her as you do, who knows who she is – what she is? Who knows about the seizures, and keeps a stash of tryptophan in their medicine cabinet just in case...? Yeah, I peeked," he admitted, at Logan's sidelong glance. "Who else can hack into government sites to keep her safe? Who else is bright enough to appreciate her as the woman she is?" Tony shook his head, "Damn, you bullheaded dope! All that, and the two of you knew instinctively what to do – you fell in love! The only reason it's hard is cos you're fighting it so hard! So let her take care of all the physical stuff – you and I both know she had you beat in that department, long before you were shot. You can be stronger than she is when she needs you – she already looks at you as if you're some kind of super-hero! If you can't see that ... then you need a lot more therapy than the kind Bling can give you."
Logan frowned, and finally spoke the words out loud... "I love her too much to risk it..."
"Maybe it's more of a risk not to." Tony mused. "The image of a happy home, a normal couple, common as rain ... It might actually be the safer way for her." He shrugged. "Take things as they come, stay together while things are going well. If things turn bad, decide then what you need to do." Tony looked at his cousin, hopeful that Logan was really listening. "Don't throw away the love of your life because of 'what ifs.' When your soul mate drops into your life, you can't afford to let her go..."
It was quiet for long moments as Logan sat, eyes not focused on the road before him but on his thoughts, the memories that Tony could only imagine. The scar tissue was deep and older than merely his injuries, Tony knew, but he found himself hoping that he'd made a dent in his cousin's obstinate, misplaced altruism.
At least he'd dented something: Logan shifted out of his stare, drawing a deep breath. After another moment , he turned to Tony and, now showing concern, asked, "What happened? What gave her away?"
Tony understood then, why the worry–and even smiled slightly. "Taking care of Bling. As soon as she saw he'd been shot, she pulled off her t-shirt, so he could use it to put pressure on the wound and stop the bleeding. I was just standing at the right place at the right time when her hair was pulled up and away from her neck..." Certain Logan would know the reference, he nonetheless watched his cousin carefully, who barely reacted, other than just a nod. And only someone who knew about the Manticore bar code would find that to be a satisfactory answer...
Tony watched Logan chew on the knowledge that his cousin knew Max's secrets, trying to balance the trust he had in Tony with the fierce protectiveness he held for Max. Poor Logan, he thought, a woman like Max with her nose pressed up against the window of his affections, and he's still sitting here, worrying about how to keep her safe at the same time he's finding even more reasons he ought to run her off...
Looking at his cousin, wanting to make things easier for Logan, Tony suddenly found himself starting to smirk. With mock indignation, Tony shifted to face Logan a bit more directly and griped, "Logan, will you look at yourself? Did you just hear what I said?"
Looking up to make eye contact, eyes still troubled and mind light years away in his worry, Logan clearly wasn't sure if he had, aware that his thoughts had left everything else behind. Blinking his silent question, he waited...
"You're just told that two red-blooded males stood by as the girl of your dreams took off her t-shirt, and you don't even flinch? Geez!" DiNozzo warmed to his act, gratified when he saw it, finally, a tiny curl at the corner of Logan's lips as his words sunk in. "I thought I taught you better than that." Logan's head lifted, finally, and the smile took shape as he looked over at his cousin and slowly shook his head, laughing a little. "And you stopped driving, you know that, right?" Tony grinned, "We've been sitting here, not moving, for a good five minutes now..."
Logan's smile broadened to light his face as Tony's words let him relax, in spite of everything, reminding him that it was really Tony there with him, saying these things, the one person through everything whom he could trust ... Still not speaking, Logan moved to release the brakes when Tony stopped him again...
"Wait ... before you start driving again, just one more thing..." Logan looked back, eyebrows lifting at the sound of DiNozzo's voice. The green eyes, so like his own, had become serious again.
"What?" Logan stopped the car again, concern flickering again at the sight. Trust, he reminded himself...
Tony took a moment, now the one to look away, gathering his thoughts. "You know," he began, "when I first got here, those first twenty four hours...you had me scared shitless, man... The stuff you were able to put together, just with your home computer, the information you managed ... and with Matt, the detention order he got for you, the materials you whipped up to send him, even the messengers from Max's job..." he shook his head, "Logan, maybe I haven't worked with that many journalists – but I have worked with a whole lot of investigators...and I know what they can do, with or without government assets. What you're doing, out here, on your own..." DiNozzo just shook his head. "The thought of what it would mean, if it were anyone else doing it all, the red flags for black market or illegal trade or any other one of a million illegal things that could get you killed or thrown into jail – or both, if that were possible," he muttered the small jab, hoping for something to ease his intensity – and to ease the look of worry that Logan was trying hard to conceal. "And I just couldn't ask you, because if I learned something that I felt compelled to report...I don't know what I would have done. So ... I pumped Matt about what went on there Friday, just...to see what was up with your connection with him, hoping maybe I could learn something..." Tony half smiled, finally glancing up to his cousin. "And I did...mostly, that Matt Sung thinks you're the last honorable man on the planet." He shook his head, "and that's enough for me. I trust Matt; I checked him out a little and then sat and talked with him for about an hour. I trust my gut; my gut trusts him; he trusts you – no, he trusts and respects you – and likes you. So I'm done. Whatever it is, whatever you're into ... it's your thing, and I won't go any further than that. But for God's sake, Logan, just ... be careful. And if anything ever happens, if I can help ... even if you're not sure that I can help – I want you to call me, alright?"
Logan had managed to keep his breath even. Tony's revelation about his near discovery of Eyes Only was rattling, especially coming as it did so soon after his confession about his brush with Manticore and discovering Max's connection to them. But Tony was trusting him, giving him a pass, knowing there was more involved and that it was best for Logan for him not to press further ... he swallowed, hard, and nodded.
"I'm serious, Logan. I'm really glad you called me about Bling...well, along with the obvious, that we finally got another weekend together, after way too long...but for Bling too; we got Parks and his mother, we avoided losing anyone else...you made the connection that no one else would have made and got it to us, so we could help, what little NCIS added in..."
"C'mon, you figured it out..."
"You were ahead of me; you just didn't know it." Tony looked long at his doppelganger, and grinned suddenly. "What a team we'd make...if you thought it was bad this weekend, all the cracks about looking alike..."
Logan wavered, and felt a lump growing in his throat. "Damn, Tony...what am I going to do when you go back?"
Tony almost met his match, this time, the words – and the face – he couldn't toss off with a glib line. After only a beat, though, he lifted his chin slightly. "You're going to make Max a fantastic dinner, light some candles, put on some music and pour her some wine and tell her everything you told me, about your feelings for her..." He sat back with a self-satisfied smile. "That ought to keep you busy for a while..."
Stay tuned...more to come...