Earlier, he had picked Max up and taken her to a government lab to do a quick Eyes Only job.

"I need to be back by nine for the Jam Pony Christmas party," she said. She looked great, too, in black leather pants and a ruby red v-neck sweater.

"I can't make any promises."

Max had huffed, and when he had given her the disciplinary stare, she said, "We have Secret Santa this year and I got a really special gift."

For Alec? He had wondered, jealous and upset. He found himself questioning for the first time if what they technically didn't have meant less to her than it did to him.

"What do I need to grab?" she had asked, preparing to sneak inside. She zipped up her black overcoat and returned her warm gaze to him.

"There's a disc in that lab. The disc has some important research on it."

"Back in a flash!" she said, almost happily.

The door closed before he could tell her to be careful.

Max didn't return to the car until nine-fifteen. "Why didn't you tell me what was on the disc?" she asked angrily, slamming the door closed.

"Um, Merry Christmas?" he responded, eyebrows lifted as if to suggest he was sorry.

"Why would you ask me to steal it without telling me that it's me on this disc?" She waved the disc between them.

"I just thought it would be a nice thing for you to have – a video file of your mother giving birth… to you."

Max focused her attention forward. "Can you please just drive me back?"

After the most uncomfortable and silent thirty minutes of his life, Logan pulled up to Jam Pony to drop Max off. "I guess I'll see you," she had said.

Logan watched as Max entered the building and was greeted by Original Cindy and Sketchy. She took a couple of steps in and took of her coat. Alec appeared, looking and pointing upward. Max had followed his gaze, and if Logan's vision wasn't failing from forty feet away in the rain, she had blushed.

Alec had stepped forward with a suddenly serious face, and Max had stood on her tip-toes, and they had kissed lightly. She handed Alec a present. Logan couldn't see it, only that it had been wrapped in some kind of burgundy cloth. As he opened it, he gained a wondrous expression on his face and embraced her with a 'thank you.'

Logan sat alone in the dark in his living room, looking out the rain-soaked window and savoring his whiskey-soaked tongue, wondering if driving her to Jam Pony that night had driven her away.

Mistletoe. Secret Santa. I hate Christmas parties.