DISCLAIMER: Same as all earlier chapters.

A/N: THANK YOU to all of you who have made it this far, and extra thanks for those of you who have helped along the way with comments, reviews, and encouragement. All are appreciated.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: February 14, 2020; 11:57 a.m.
SECTOR 5; Jam Pony.

The day had been hectic; their busiest day of the year, in an economy that seemed to be trying to creep back upward, left Jam Pony nearly empty with all messengers out on runs, the only sounds the phone, Normal offering late callers no promises other than a valiant effort, and the whish and squeak of occasional runners showing up to turn in signatures and grab another delivery. Cindy and Max had appeared for duty at 5 a.m.; the others by 6:00, and all had logged more miles just that morning than they had the rest of the week. So the roommates had been hard at it for a solid seven hours before noon rolled around.

"No wonder chocolate is a Valentine's Day tradition." Cindy muttered to Max as they happened, after several hours not seeing another messenger each trip, to return to Normal's desk at the same time for another pick-up. "Must've been Cupid and his messengers who started that, just so they'd have the energy to keep their li'l wings moving with all these damn deliveries."

"Thanks for working off my debt with me," Max looked to her friend, catching her eye. "I should have known Normal would pick today to demand the overtime – you holding up okay?" She took a package from Normal and shoved it into her bag, with a second that she fixed to her handlebars with a pair of covered elastic cords.

"Yeah, it's all good, Boo – doesn't hurt that the tips are flowing with the happiness of the day." Cindy lifted the packages she'd been handed and zipped them into her bag. "And the way things are going, we'll have Normal paid off by dinner time" she grinned.

"Not if you two stand around gossiping all day. Now bip bi..." A glower from Original Cindy caused Normal to cut off mid-bip, his promise to never bip again still needing frequent reminders. Max stifled a chuckle as she turned to wheel her bike back up the ramp to the street, Cindy beside her. Walking down the block toward the corner, Original Cindy grinned widely and she dared to press the day. "So what do you and Hot Boy have planned for your first Valentine's Day together?" Her delight was clear, glowing for her friend and the knowledge that finally, finally, the two most stubborn people she knew – the two most stubborn in Seattle – had finally stepped to the real and admitted to each other what everyone else had seen for months. "What I've seen of Logan, something ro-man-tic, of course..." she drawled.

Max rolled her eyes, shrugging off the importance of the holiday. "Dinner, I guess; he didn't really mention it..."

"You always have dinner. You can't tell me that Logan doesn't have something special in mind."

"He didn't say anything." Max found herself increasingly nervous about the holiday, about what an obligatory day of romance would do to their newly emerging relationship. Cindy had a point; Logan was the sort to go all out about something like Valentine's Day, but it was new for him too, and he might just be fighting the same battles she was. She had almost been waiting for him to bring it up and when he didn't, she wasn't sure if she was relieved... or hurt. "Look, I don't want everything to go down in flames because of a stupid phony holiday imposed on us..." Honest sentiment, but with an additional nudge toward convincing Cindy – and herself – that it wouldn't matter to her if it stayed just any old day for them...

"It won't." Cindy's expression settled into a sage, knowing look, and asked, "when do you want me to deliver his package?"

"You know, maybe that shouldn't be a Valentine's Day thing," Max, uncharacteristically, stewed yet again. "It's not really traditional and not really from me. And it's not even really for him..."

"Boo, we' been over this a dozen times! What else do you get the boy who has everything? It's perfect and he'll..."

The sound of Max's pager interrupted her words, and Max grabbed it, glanced down, then looked back to Cindy, her nervousness renewed in her eyes. "It's Logan."

"Speak of the devil," Cindy leered, as she followed Max to the end of the street and down a few steps to a pay phone behind Jam Pony. OC watched in amusement, keeping her face as neutral as she could, as Max dialed the number quickly.

"Hey," her voice inevitably softened for him, "me hittin' you back." Cindy waited, watching her friend's face as she listened, seeing her expression change as she glanced up in something like frustration, thoughts obviously racing to sort out the dilemmas being posed ... and, Cindy anticipated, an excuse that might be offered to Normal on the busiest day of the year. "Okay, I ... you're sure it will only take an hour or so?" She nodded. "Okay. Be there in ten." She hung up and shrugged, "he has an errand he asked me to do a few days ago and it's ready for delivery ... today of all days," she muttered. "I'm just going to get these two delivered an' then call it lunch. I think I can manage without Normal busting a vein."

"Okay – what about the package for Logan?" Cindy demanded again.

"After I'm there and gone!" Max feigned a small shudder. "I can't take the pressure of these relationship- holiday things, girl. Too much drama. Too much chance to screw up..."

"Welcome to the wide, wide world of romance," Original Cindy's eyes twinkled, "Catch you later, boo." They topped the steps to head out different directions, Cindy on her run and Max, to the back alley entrance of Jam Pony, where she might slip in without Normal seeing her and sign out for lunch without his raising holy hell about it...

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: February 14, 2020; 12: 53 p.m.
SECTOR 9; Fogle Towers. Penthouse.

Max came into the penthouse, her discomfort with her choice of Logan's "gift" tempered slightly by a nibbling curiosity about this mission Logan had for her. It was some errand he'd vaguely mentioned in the car after taking Tony to the airport, something about needing her help on a day to be arranged, needing it done on a clear day; she figured it must be some super-sensitive computer component, or some bio-touchy chemical thing, barely catching her attention amid all the other things happening that afternoon. So when he paged her, and at her call told her it was time and they needed to move now, she wasn't really surprised – but had just hoped it might fall on a day when she'd be less likely to have to grovel to Normal about being back late from lunch...

"Logan?" She walked through toward the computer room and had to put on the brakes, suddenly, when she saw him not behind the computer screen but in the kitchen, laying folded linen napkins into a hamper across neat containers of what had to be food, glimpsed before he closed it quickly, a couple wine stems and a bottle of wine lying on the counter alongside his soft-sided carrier. Backtracking, she stood blinking from the hallway at the sight. For once, she was rendered speechless, not ready to assume what it implied...

"Max." Logan's smile shifted to shine a little brighter as he looked up, finding he'd indeed managed to surprise her. "You ready for the mission?"

"I don't know..." Her smile widened as she started moving again, walking slowly into the kitchen to reach toward the basket and pull open the lid. Before she could, though, Logan's hand covered hers and stopped her before she could peer inside.

"Huh-uh," he shook his head, a thread of self-consciousness tinting his cheeks pink. "No peeking."

Surprised, Max looked toward the waiting face and slowly pulled her hand back, a smile daring to begin. "Is this undercover, some sort of reconnaissance?" She found herself hoping that it wasn't...

"No..." He drawled, his grin even wider. "This is in response to a directive you issued a couple weeks ago. What was that you said, something about putting Eyes Only 'back in the box?' Kicking back...?" He dropped his eyes now to putter with the wine glasses, sliding them into their pockets in the carrier and easing the bottle into the insulated sleeve, almost too self-conscious to show his own enthusiasm for his surprise. "I believe a picnic was part of the order ... and, I believe, a 'spin in the park'..."

"Logan Cale..." Max beamed her amazement. "I would never have believed it if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes..." She scrutinized him, and a sudden realization crossed her features. "and I suspect that hanging around with Tony this week helped you see the wisdom of kicking back..." she teased.

"Oh, you think I couldn't come up with this, myself?" He lifted his eyes back to hers, amused and just a bit sheepish.

At which she relented. With an affectionate smile, she leaned over to offer a warm, sweet kiss before straightening to answer, "Well ... odds might have been a bit longer, on your own..." She shifted, and, smile widening, she opened her hands in readiness. "What can I do?"

The kiss had confirmed for Logan that his plan had been a good idea after all, and he beamed with the joy she brought him. "Nothing – I've got it all covered." He reached for the parka he'd tucked over the back of his chair to be handy and pulled it on, then slipped the wine carrier into his backpack and lifted the hamper into his lap. "Blankets're already in the car." He paused; unable at the sight of her there before him to resist, Logan reached for her hand and gently pulled her closer, Max eagerly responding. After a long, thirsty kiss they parted lips, looking into each other's eyes for proof that they weren't simply dreaming again. When Max finally straightened, a dazzling smile crossed Logan's features as he spoke again. "Hope you're hungry..." The youthful, happier look of recent days still glowed in his face, and Max found in his countenance such reason for hope...

"Never been a problem so far." Her smile in return sparkled, and Logan wondered briefly how he would remember his way to the front door.

Taking no chances, he tipped his head toward the hall. "After you," he managed.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: February 14, 2020; 1:11 p.m.
SECTOR 9

After the brief drive down the block to the park, past the basketball courts where Logan came so often, they settled into a quiet spot further in, away from the street noise, amid evergreen bushes and firs. "I like this place," Logan had offered, "even in winter it stays green, just as if it's summer."

"Not quite like summer," she grinned. "But no rain and even some sun – how did you manage that?"

"Max, you know I've got connections." She glanced down to see the boyish grin on Logan's face as he pushed ahead, not looking at her, eyes on their destination but well aware of her glance, and felt his enthusiastic anticipation for their picnic. Is this what trust does for him? she wondered. With the belief that I can see him as I would any other man ... that he can be just like any other man... he can be happy? And a happy Logan Cale is a miraculous thing to behold... "How's this?" He stopped along the path and nodded toward a sunny spot nestled between dark green holly bushes and several small junipers.

"Perfect," she nodded. If it makes you so content, it really is perfect...

The ground off the path proved level and dry enough for both reasonable chair travel and a comfortable picnic surface. Logan directed Max's actions in throwing out first a waterproof ground blanket, then a softer quilt, as he deposited the hamper and wine cooler on the ground. As he started to open the hamper, though, Max interrupted him.

"You know, it's not much of a picnic if you stay up there." She blinked up at him from where she'd plopped down on the quilt and patted the spot beside her, wondering if he was ready to relax this much just yet. "C'mon ... I won't bite..."

"That wouldn't be my main reason for staying put," he tried joking, but it just sounded suddenly wistful. And at that moment, Max decided she wouldn't let him miss out anymore, not if there was something he wanted to do...

"Then get down here, with me," she urged. "It's just us, Logan." She watched the emotions parading across his features and supplied for him, "'I know, Max, that's just it...'" Her eyes softened and she replied to 'his' protests, "I don't really care how you get down here, Logan, just that you're here. Here," she emphasized the quilt, beside her. "Soon. And if it takes much longer ..." her mouth curled up into a winsome, encouraging smile, "I'll just have to wrestle you down here myself."

His look to her was long, his emotions clearly mixed, but then a small smile began to rise on his own lips ... and in his eyes. "Promise?" he finally twinkled.

It wasn't long before he was on the blanket beside her, one of his chair's wheels making an acceptable backrest, and the hamper was opened before him. Max had prodded him to hurry with their food, which served only to slow his movements, his expression suddenly even more sheepish than when she cajoled him to join her.

"Max..." She looked up at that, his voice suddenly a mixture of solemnity and his affection for her. She waited, and he managed, "I know that, given what you must have been doing all morning, you know better than anyone what day it is today." Max felt a shiver run through her, the excitement that he remembered and was broaching it ... and the fear that it was simply too early for Valentine's Day for them, no matter what the calendar said... "If only you could read my mind and know all the thousands of ideas I've had about Valentine's Day and us, all the times I'd imagined that there could be Valentine's Days for us..."

She found herself nodding readily. Could it be that he was exactly as torn as she'd been, wanting to promise the stars and the moon but afraid to mention them before they'd even gotten off the ground? He caught her reaction and paused, looking at her hopefully, not trusting his luck that she knew just what he meant when the words came from her. "I know. Me too..." She smiled, almost shyly, to help, "the day came up pretty quick, didn't it?"

He seemed to gulp a little in some relief, hoping this might be easier than he'd feared. "Max... what I'm feeling ... and what I'm ready to say ... what I'm thinking you're ready to hear from me ... are still worlds apart." Almost without thought, he sat forward, leaning on one hand while raising the other to her cheek, to stroke it tenderly, "I don't want to say or do something to frighten you off," he finally admitted. "So for this first, very quickly arriving Valentine's Day..." He reached into the hamper and from inside, pulled out a small drawstring bag of red satin, and lifted it to her. "Just a little reminder."

She took the bag and felt a weight heavier than she'd have expected for the size, and her curiosity prickled again. With anticipation in her eyes, she opened the bag and let the contents thud quietly into her hand – and there she saw a three-dimensional, puffed heart about an inch tall, and nearly as thick, of what felt like and looked to be fine marble, suspended on a single silver chain... but this marble was of a valentine red that Max knew did not exist in nature. There was a beauty to it, though, the red color was bright and cheery, the smooth coolness and weight somehow soothing ... she smiled wider in the sweetness of the moment. Turning it over in her hand, she could now see the tiny seam that spelled its artificial creation in a mold, and she looked up to Logan, beaming. One of the wealthiest men in Seattle, and he gave her a bright red heart that even she could afford, wrapped twice with silver wire and dangling on a sparkling silver chain. Sweet, simple ... no pressure ... but a valentine, nonetheless.

She hadn't thought that she could love him even more than she had... but the simplicity of his gift spoke of his understanding that the day shouldn't push them into romantic gestures and pronouncements that they just weren't ready to make. She looked up into the waiting green eyes, filled with his hope that she'd understand, and when he saw her reaction he relaxed into his own smile, gratified that she had. "It's perfect," she promised, leaning to bestow on him a soft, affectionate kiss. "Thank you."

Her response emboldened him to continue, "you're welcome... but that's not just an ordinary heart, Max..." At her questioning look, he continued, "it's a 'remembering heart.'"

His gentle, pleased expression and tone tugged again at her curiosity, and she found herself falling into his trap. "A remembering heart?"

His eyebrows flickered up a little, and his smile widened as he too reached up to touch the pudgy heart as she dangled it up, before their eyes. "Ah, well, it's a very powerful talisman ... one that will work only for you. Its magic is that it's guaranteed to make me remember, when I lose track of us ... if I'm being an ass, show it to me and I'll remember to be reasonable ... if I'm stubborn, show me and remind me to be more open-minded. If I'm selfish, it will remind me to be more generous... when I'm impatient or unreasonable or..."

"Logan..." she interrupted, suddenly not wanting to hear him admit his failings, usually so tied to his injury and the pain it caused him... not wanting to remember the times she forgot his pain and let his moods try her patience... "Someone as selfless as you are..." she trailed, finding words insufficient for what she wanted to say. Wavering, finally giving up, she shrugged, "you're entitled to be stubborn once in a while."

He smirked, undaunted, his handsome mouth in a half-grin, so close to hers, and she leaned in close to brush her lips across his, actions feeling far more articulate at the moment than any words she might find. He returned the kiss, his lips parting to let his tongue trace slowly along her bottom lip... but after a moment he pulled back, looking long into her eyes. Finding safety in her warm, desirous gaze, he licked his lips and decided to tell her the rest... "It's also another sort of reminder for you, I guess ..." Again he lifted his fingers to touch the heart again, dropping his eyes to look at its smooth contours as it rested now in her upturned palm, "...that everything I have is yours. Everything." He looked back up to Max, speaking in quiet, calm tones to let her know he'd finally taken the step he'd considered for many, many weeks now. "I called my lawyers and I arranged..." Her brow drew in uncertainty, and in response, he anticipated, "Max, you've always had to live on the run, in hiding, such a hard-scrabble existence. That's over. It's all up to you now. This way, you have the means to do as you want, whenever and however you decide. I even have all the papers in here if you want to have them handy right away..."

She shook her head slowly. "Logan, what are you saying?" Even her genetically enhanced, superior mind was having difficulty understanding his words; anyone would: Max Guevara -- of the Invented-Last-Name Guevaras -- was suddenly a very wealthy woman indeed...

"Anything to which I have ready access, you do now, too. Some of my accounts are merely investment returns so if I can't sell the principle, you can't either," he skipped across the accounting details, "and there are some other things I have that aren't readily liquid ... but there are significant accounts that can be drawn, by check or credit card ... I have the temporary access cards here for you too; they'll have the permanent ones next week..."

Max looked up with a sudden thought, bringing a look of concern and genuine alarm into her eyes. "If this is because you think I meant it, all this time, when I made those cracks about your being a meal ticket..."

"No," he chuckled, touched, his response clearly an honest one. "I mean ... I worried, before, a couple times ... well, a few times..." he confessed, "but in these past days I've finally admitted to myself that I can see what Bling says he's seen, what Tony told me was there. I've seen myself in your eyes and I hope you've seen what it's meant to me." He colored a little, but went on, "I've wanted to do this for a long time, Max, not just because of Valentine's Day... and not just because of what the last week has meant for us. You've come to mean so much, in my life, and even if the past week had never happened, your friendship has gotten me though some of the worst times I've ever had ..." His soft voice caressed her, and she felt the power and depth of his feelings for her, like strong arms holding her safe. "Anyway, I've been pretty lucky with my health, but you never know sometimes about injuries like this and what can suddenly be a complication..."

"Logan," she breathed in sudden fear, "if there's something that you haven't told me..."

"No, nothing, I promise" he soothed, again moved by her response, "just thinking ahead... what with Eyes Only and a pretty dramatic physical injury last year, I have a couple risk factors over the general public, that's all ... and I wanted to make things easier to sort out, just in case... Bling is taken care of; there are bequests that will allow EO to continue and some other set asides, for Tony and Sam and Matt..."

Tears glimmered in her eyes and he suddenly smiled encouragingly, "hey, that wasn't the point of all this, you know ..." Tenderly, he traced a stray curl back behind her ear. "There's just ... plenty to go around, so you have some choices now, and can decide for yourself about things, like work ... a safe place to stay ... you know..." He curled his fingers around hers so her hand wrapped around the cool stone heart, and said quietly, "I just want you to be free, Max, as free as I can help you be. I haven't done too well yet in helping you find the others, or taking down Manticore or Lydecker... but maybe this way I can give you some freedom to do what you want, to move as you wish, to work or not work, live where and how you like ... nothing would make me happier than to know you could feel a little safer for it." His smile settled a little. "Given how we met ... what you felt you had to do in order to get information about the others ... it seems fitting that if I have so much, I share ... and there's no one I'd rather share it with than you."

Her eyes were huge. The enormity of his actions had begun to sink in, and she felt overwhelmed with the trust he'd shown in her. Like giving me the keys to the candy store, she thought... "You've already given away fortunes as Eyes Only..." she protested.

"And I'm glad I have... but this is different. It's all up to you, Max, whenever you feel like you need or want it." The tears that had pooled in her eyes now spilled onto her checks, and with a rueful smile, Logan leaned in tenderly to brush them away with his thumb. "I don't think tears are traditional for Valentine's Day ... but since we're not exactly traditional, I guess that's okay." He wavered, and suddenly a bit self-conscious now that he'd told her what he'd done, dropped his eyes to say, "you must be starving..."

As he turned back to the hamper to raise the lid, she suddenly saw through her daze to notice his discomfort, and shook her head, catching his hand on the hamper lid as he'd caught hers back in the kitchen. "Huh-uh," she stopped him, shifting around to sit on her knees, facing him more directly. She lifted the stone heart by its chain and dangled it between them, in front of his eyes. "Take a look, Logan," she managed, barely noticing that another tear had joined the rest as she faced the man who had just given his entire world to her... and had over and over given her the stars... given her herself. "This is to remind you that you are, without question, the most selfless, giving, thoughtful – the most remarkable – man I have ever known..."

The sheepish look, left on his face after he'd seen her tears, faded with his smile at her words, and when she scooted closer to burrow into his chest, his face glowed with a delighted smile as he wrapped his arms around her. "Happy Valentine's Day, Max" he whispered. "Thank you for daring to take me on."

At his words, she nestled happily into his arms and murmured, "being held by the most remarkable man on the planet? Oh yes, very daring... and a great responsibility..." she teased, even yet sniffing a little. "But you want to know the real Cale miracle here?"

She'd leaned back to look into the green eyes she loved, her own dancing in fun. Seeing that, and finally willing to believe the look of love he saw in her eyes for him, Logan chuckled and played along. "What's that?"

"That you're the hottest man on the planet, too..." she beamed.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: February 14, 2020; 2:24 p.m.
SECTOR 9; Fogle Towers. Garage

Even with Logan's gift and his startling announcement, even with the touches and eager kisses between bites of Logan's warm and filling lunch of tomato soup with home-made, heart-shaped croutons ("I couldn't resist," he told her, "when Mrs. Moreno showed me that she had these little heart shaped cookie cutters...") and vegetable couscous ("Couscous," she had laughed, "don't tell me you chose this because it sounds like kissing...") they were pulling into the garage at Fogle Towers only fifteen minutes later than Max was due back on the clock.

"Not a big deal," she grinned to him. "When I went back to sign myself out for lunch, I was able to sneak away a couple more packages from Normal, when he wasn't watching, and got them dropped off on my way, too. Just a quick adjustment to the delivery time, and I convince Normal I was back, picked up some packages, and am just returning from a run for more."

"Good plan." He pulled into his parking spot and, with a nod over his shoulder toward the lobby where he knew she'd have left her bike, offered, "you know, you could throw your bike in the back and I could drive you..."

"Nah, I can go off street and miss a lot of the traffic signals that would hold you up... but thanks." She wavered, looking at the long lashes framing the green eyes, the stubbly chin ... the aristocratic face and impossible hair ... "Logan, I..." she began, only to find that she had no words for what had happened, what she was feeling. "What you did for me..." She shook her head. "I don't want it to change anything. Not with us... not in me... but especially, not with us, alright?"

His smile widened slowly, his expression one of content. "Okay."

"It's bigger than anything anyone has ever done, for anyone I know, and I..." Max frowned a little, feeling as if the least she could do was to thank him properly and acknowledge the trust he'd placed in her, especially in light of her attempt to steal from him, before... "I think I have to think it through, before I know what to say."

"Alright." His brow clouded a little, and he tried, "Max... you know it's no strings, though, right? I really had been wanting to do this; I just hadn't gotten around to formalizing things... even if... if we'd never crossed that line, I wanted you to have what you needed. I just don't want this to make you feel obligated, or..."

"..or any more..." Say it, Max: any more in love... "attracted?" It was her turn to smile in contentment. "Logan Cale, just when I think I have a handle on you, you surprise me all over again." She leaned in and, with a hand to his cheek, nibbled his lips yet again. "And who else could give me a cute little heart to make our first Valentine's Day less intense while handing me the keys to his fortune – and make it all make sense? Thank you for making this so easy... and so amazing..."

"Extraordinary inspiration demands extraordinary action..." he said softly, seeking his own kiss and pulling her close. She closed the distance between them in the car seats and brought her arms around him too, silently giggling at the thought that they were actually smooching in his car, like a couple fifteen year olds...

So even with Max's sensitive hearing and her hyper-vigilance for both Logan and herself, she let herself get lost in the moment and ignore the small, nonthreatening sounds she heard around them until they were too close to dismiss: opening her eyes just a little to look past Logan out his window, the form which bobbled into view caused a sharp intake of her breath as her eyes flew wide, and her nerves remembered their anxiety of the morning...

"Max; what...?" Reacting in the next moment, Logan's eyes opened to see her alarm, and turned in the direction of her anxious gaze.

"Heya, Boo." The beaming face of Original Cindy looked at her best friend, caught in the act of making up for all the weeks of denial and desire for the man in her arms. Shifting her glance to watch as the green eyes with Max focused to see Cindy there and recognize her as 'friend, not foe,' Original Cindy now cheerily addressed the object of Max's desire with a supressed giggle. "Jam Pony delivery for Mr. Cale..."

...TBC...