TITLE: Choices 12 "Iridescence"
AUTHOR: Mystic25
EMAIL: yellowrubberduck31@hotmail.com

RATING: PG14

DISCLAIMER: I'm poor, will always be poor until I get my masters in Peds about eleven years
from now. I steal them b/c I can, so-end of discussion Cameron kay?

SUMMARY: Lucia's visit with Max re-surfaces her memories of Ben's death, and Asha drops a potential bombshell on Zack

A/N: Lucia's back like I said; want to go deeper with what I started

A/N#2: I picked out the title because when you look at something that is iridescent, it doesn't
look the same from every angle, and that's kind of what I'm going for

A/N#3: I dedicate all Max/Logan scenes in here to everyone who has seen "Hello Goodbye" and was
either about to cry (like I almost did) or curse a blue streak. The ep minus the cruel parts was good though. I'm not a Max/Alec girl (can't you tell?) but his reaction when she was telling him about Ben was sweet. Dark Angel may be messing with the "going away" thing, but this is MY universe, where things are messed up, but not screwed up, so take THAT James Cameron.

A/N #4: This is like a new record with the notes, heh. Like the last chapter, this is a sorta spin on H/G in my world. Some of the lines may sound like they're from the ep. Did it on purpose to add to the effect. But, they're not a hundred percent the same, so don't add another lawsuit to the list Cameron. Oh and Max's flashbacks to that time with Ben are word for word, I got a copy of the "Pollo Loco" script, so all the info about the ep is correct. No more notes, story starts...NOW

*****

134 FENTAL AVE
SEATTLE
MARCH 2020

Asha wiped the steam off her mirror that had accumulated there from her shower about
half an hour ago, flipping off the light and exiting her bathroom. She entered her living room,
flopping down on her couch to get her shoes out from under it. She grabbed out the black
boots, also pulling something out that wasn't hers, a black glove

/Must've left this here/ she threw the man's glove on the coffee table, and laced up her shoes.
/Last guy to leave his stuff with me was Logan, no wait, Derek, Logan always cleaned up after
himself. Derek wouldn't know a mop if it bit him in the ass/ Asha stood up and yanked her burgundy leather jacket off a chair. Her stomach growled. She checked her watch /2:14, I just ate two hours ago. Stupid PMS crap, makes me hungry too much. What day is this?/ she looked over at her little flip desk calendar stuck on an end table /Late this time, wait, when was the last? After Leo and the others met up with me, five, no six weeks. Remember now it was 2 am. Zack came by right after, boy never sleeps-shit hold up/ Asha finally got what she was thinking /Hell no, he used stuff, didn't he?/

"Uh-uh" Asha spoke this out loud, she grabbed her keys and bolted out the door /No freakin' way/

*****

JAM PONY

"Excuse me" a tall, brunette woman stepped into the building

"Can I help you?" Normal was actually being polite with this woman, mostly because he found
her attractive.

"Hope so" Lucia informed, "I'm looking for an employee of yours, Max-" Lucia broke out of her
sentence, spotting the person she had come here to see.

"Hey" Max stated, after seeing who it was who called her, she really didn't know what else to
say, like before

Lucia was the same way, but after a minute she pulled Max into a hug "How are you?" Lucia
pulled back after a minute

"I'm good" /I'm great at these short answers/ She pulled back and looked at the older woman
"Is there a problem or anything?"

"No" Lucia responded, "I just wanted to see how you were, and I remembered you worked here.
I never really got a chance to talk to you after-"

"Me neither" Max answered honestly "Wanna talk after I get done here? Could come by my house.
Logan's out of town until tonight, so it will be just us and my kids"

"Sounds good" Lucia stated with a hint of a smile, pleased that Max was allowing her to come into her life "Is seven okay?"

"Fine" Max responded "it's at 363 Lyell, penthouse"

"Thank you" Lucia said afterwards "for letting me do this" she put her hand on Max's shoulder "C-ya tonight"

Cindy had seem Lucia come in, and waited until the woman left, thinking that her girl probably wanted to be alone with her. "So that's your moms?" she turned to her friend "Seems coo'"

"Still don't know if I can call her mom" Max admitted "But I want to get to know her"

"Your boy had to miss it too" Cindy referenced the fact that Logan was helping out Aunt Margo
with some affairs. Max had been invited too, but she was afraid of what she might do to the
snobby woman if Margo pissed her off.

"He'll be back tonight" Max informed, "Maybe they'll catch each other" she missed him. He'd
been gone for two and a half days, and though she loved her children, she enjoyed her late
nights talking about the ways of the world, and the sleaze of Seattle with Logan over chess,
or stretched out together on the couch, sipping wine.

"Miss him huh?" Cindy caught the tone in her voice

"I'm that obvious?" Max asked

*****

"Logan dear" Margo's voice echoed off the outside walls of her ridiculously expensive two story town house "This is where you got to" she found him over looking her red rose garden in a white gazebo that stood in the center of the flowers and shrubs "Everyone was beginning to wonder where you disappeared to"

Logan turned to face his aunt "Just came out to take in the scenery" in reality he was out here
to get away from Margo's stuffy friends. He never liked being around rich, old money women.
He'd stood in this gazebo many times as a kid, when his parents dragged him and Marie over to
visit them. "Sorry for just 'disappearing'" he spoke to her politely.

Margo stepped closer "Jennae's daughter is a lovely girl" she spoke of the nineteen year old
blonde inside, who had been hanging on Logan's every word all day.

"That she is" /but she's nothing like my Max/ he didn't speak this out loud, but it was true.
Rainelle was a nice girl, but she was so well bred and polished, and over did the whole
defenseless damsel act. She was the kind of woman Margo and her crowd thought well
suited for Logan. But being around Max, made Logan sick of Rainelle's fawning and cooing
over his every move /"Logan, I can't believe how smart you are, I would've never known that"/
/"No shit Sherlock, what am I, simple?"/ Max's remark filtered through his brain. He missed her, a lot. These people were so fake. He missed his real life, gritty, love you till it hurts, kick ass woman, and would rather be at home with her then here in over posh kingdom.

After a few minutes Logan decided to be polite and join the "party" again.

"There he is" Jennae stood up from the ivory colored sofa "Rainelle was looking for you,
it isn't nice to just dash off like that Logan"

"Sorry" Logan apologized, slipping back into a chair "Just wanted to see Aunt Margo's garden"

"So Margo tells me you're in the newspaper business" Mrs. Fara Kingston remarked. She was
a middle-aged brunette decked out in a Dior white pants suit with a baby blue sweater tied around her shoulders, and about three karats in diamonds on her rings alone.

"Not exactly" Logan pointed out "I mostly do freelance"

"Sounds so exciting" there was Rainelle with the flattery

"Jonas tried to start Logan off into the business, but my brother-in-law didn't do a thing
to encourage it, Logan was just too stubborn like his father" Margo chimed in

Logan gave the cheesiest fake laugh, but hoped no one noticed. He was sick of people
talking bad about his father just because he didn't marry a woman in his money bracket.
/I wish Max had decided to come, then I could at least make up excuses to slip away with
her, maybe even disgrace Margo's garden some/

"Loggie" Rainelle used a name Logan hadn't heard from anyone since the days of Marie teasing
him with it in front of his friends. "Does that mean you're the one in charge? Cause I don't understand the newspaper business" she was all light and innocent in her tone.

Logan's cell rang a second later "Sorry" he flipped it on without looking at the caller ID, just thankful for the distraction "Yeah?"

"Welcome to your connection back to the real world"

"Max" Logan was relieved to hear a voice that didn't want to make him shoot himself. "How's
it going?"

"Not too good" came her reply

"Why?" Logan adopted a concerned tone of voice "Are you okay?"

"Just miss you is all" Max pointed out honestly

"Miss you too baby" Logan admitted /Screw them, I want to talk to my wife the way I always do/

"Baby?" the whispers began "Whose he talking to?"

"That's his wife" Margo pointed out, she didn't really sound too thrilled to mention it

"He's married?" there was Jennae

"Guess I ruffled the feathers" Max could hear all the commotion around Logan. "Your
Aunt Margo there?"

"Yes" Logan replied

"Tell the snooty bitch I said hi"

Logan covered the receiver "Max says hello Aunt Margo" Logan left out the "snooty bitch" part,
he went back to his call "so you off work?"

"In about ten" Max responded "Lucia came by to see me today"

Logan was surprised at what she said, "You two get the chance to talk?"

"Invited her over tonight" Max informed, "Maybe you'll get a chance to talk before
she leaves here"

"Hope so" Logan came back

"You're back around nine?" Max asked, although he had told her that before he even left,
she just wanted to hear more of his voice

"Yeah, sounds right"

"Good" Max smiled from her end "They'll be glad to see you. Lexi went around looking
for you all day yesterday. Give them the good news tonight"

This made Logan smile "Kiss them for me?"

"I can do that" Max agreed, "I'm out then, love you"

"I love you too sweetheart" he hung up, and was faced with the women's stares.

"Margo never told us you were married Logan" Jennae started in

"Guess she just never got around to it" Logan let her know /maybe now she won't try so
hard to shove Rainelle on me/

"You have children?" Rainelle was still trying, she might be able to win him over,
if he wasn't happy.

"Two" Logan informed

"Oh" Rainelle came back, her cheeriness had just been taken down a notch, but she tried to
hide it "how perfectly lovely"

"Why didn't she come along?" Jennae asked, she was as ruthless as her daughter "Is there something wrong with her?"

/What the hell's that suppose to mean?/ "She had work" Logan came back "Her boss wouldn't let
her get away"

"What is that place that she works again Logan?" Margo broke in "some sort of delivery service?"

"It's a bike messenger place" Logan answered her question /Not gonna work Margo, I'm not embarrassed by what she does/

"Sounds cultural" Jennae voice was sarcastic "So one level" she had just contradicted herself, but she didn't care

"Well Max wasn't thinking about culture when she started there Mrs. Winston" Logan stated defensively. "Her father abused her and her siblings, so she ran away. She needed money to survive. After we got married, she decided to stay, she had made a lot of friends there, and I wasn't about to tell her no. Even if it is just a 'one level job', Max wants to give our kids what she never had," /take that/

"Excuse me" Logan stood up; he had had enough of these women putting down Max. Any more discussion would make Logan be reduced to painting a big sob story about his poor wife. Max didn't have the ideal childhood, but she hadn't been defenseless. She and the others broke out because they had enough.

"I've got a three hour drive home, and I should get started before it gets too late" a pause
"Nice meeting you all" he tried to keep his voice pleasant sounding.

He headed upstairs to get his bag out of the guestroom, "Bitch" he stated under his breath
as he ascended the stairs /God I can't wait till I see her/

*****

METRO MEDICAL

"Can I help you?" a woman behind the counter asked

"Yeah" /here goes/ "I need a pregnancy test" Asha couldn't believe the words that had just come
out of her mouth. Hardly any drug store sold them anymore since Martial Law passed in the US.
Now, instead of having privacy, women had to publicly announce in a room full of strangers
that they had unprotected sex.

"We ran out of them this morning honey" the receptionist informed "Won't get another shipment
until tomorrow, or I could just make an appointment with an ob for you"

"That's okay" Asha replied /"Do you know who the father is Ms. Moore?" "Oh yeah, it's just this
transgenic guy I've been dating for a while, but keep that a secret okay? He's a little picky about exposure"/ "I'll come back" she headed out of the hospital, walking over to where she had parked her car. /Damn, what the hell am I suppose to do now?/

*****

6:55 PM

"Hi" Lucia stated, after Max had opened the door "I'm early"

"That's coo'" Max informed, "Come in" she moved aside so the woman could enter
the apartment.

"I brought-" Lucia stopped what she was saying when a big ball of teeth and fur came
at her.

"Down girl, she's not going to do anything" Max stated to the dog. Kaja sat back on her
haunches "Sorry, she's wary of strangers"

"Mine are too" Lucia pointed out "Huskies have a thing against intruders" she let Kaja sniff
her hand, after a minute the German Shepherd licked her palm "good girl" she turned back to
face Max "Like I was getting out there before I brought some bosole, it's a Spanish dish, my
husband just loves it"

Max smiled at this "works out good, cause I'm not exactly a novice in the kitchen. Logan
usually handles that part"

Lucia set the casserole dish on the marble table top in the dining room "You have a beautiful
home Max"

"Thanks" Max came out of the kitchen, setting some napkins on the table "You mind a little
rose with the food?" Max held the bottle of wine she had gotten from the rack.

"Sounds great" Lucia reassured "I haven't had a good wine since my last anniversary"

Max set the bottle on the table beside the napkins and silverware. "Hang on a sec while
I get my squad to the table" Max said starting to walk towards the back "Make yourself at
home"

"Thanks" Lucia, sat in a chair and waited, but then got up. She was always an investigator.
She paused at the bookshelf, looking at all the photos. Delivery room shots, sonograms.
She stopped at Max's wedding photo. The young woman wore a deep purple dress, and
was wrapped up in the arms of her new husband /It's simple, but it's beautiful/

"I'm back" Max announced, coming around with her children in tow, Jess by the hand and
Lexi in her arms.

Lucia looked at the kids "They're so cute Max" she proclaimed, "What are their names?"

"Well this one" Max swung Jess's arm with hers "Is Jesse, and Ms. Thang up here" she looked
to her daughter, "is Alexis" she paused "Guys, we have a visitor, this is Lucia, she's a good
friend of mine"

Lucia didn't expect Max to tell them she was their grandmother, she knew that would take
time, but she was touched by the good friend part /Even if it isn't "official" yet I AM a
grandmother, I mean look at them/

"Hello" Jess spoke up first, pondering the older woman

"Hey there" Lucia hadn't raised any children herself, but she knew how to talk to them
"I'm pleased to meet you and your little sister."

"Are you staying for dinner?" Jess asked, still doing all the talking

"Yes I am" Lucia responded "I made something for you all in fact"

Jess smiled "Daddy's gone, so mommy needs a lot of help with food"

Max had to laugh "Hey can't fault him for being right" she roughed up his
hair "Sweetie, go grab a seat"

"Kay momma" Jess answered, he looked to Lucia "You sit by me? Lexi's
too small to sit in a chair yet"

"I'd love it" Lucia came back "lead the way"

*****

"My father had a figurine just like that," Lucia pointed to the statue of Bast that sat in it's
place on the mantle "Always was right next to the Virgin" she settled more into the couch,
sipping the coffee Max insisted that she'd make after they had eaten, since she didn't do dinner.

"The Blue Lady-" Max used the name that Ben and the others had called Her at Manticore.
"When I was little my brother Ben use to tell stories about her, how she was there to protect
us" she spoke in a far off voice, remembering all those nights on the watchtower with him.

"Does he still believe in her now?" Lucia asked an innocent question, not aware of the
implications it brought.

/"Tell me about the Good Place"/ "Ben's gone" Max paused "He died about two years ago"

"I'm sorry" Lucia's voice held compassion "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories-"

"S'okay" Max shrugged "Not like I didn't experience loss before that."

"But you shouldn't have had too" Lucia argued, she touched Max's hand, glad that she didn't
jerk back "You mentioned one brother, did you have anymore there?"

"There were eleven of us that escaped" Max told her "Six sisters, four brothers"

/At least she had them to survive there/ "Wow, do you see any of them?"

"My sister Tinga lives here, about five miles away with her family. The others are spread out.
One of my sisters lives in Mexico with her son. We see each other if we can, but it's not always
easy"

"I understand" Lucia stated "So-" she went in another direction "I'll let you know some about
me. I've been married to Rick for about eleven years now. We don't have any children, well
except for our furry babies, Kira and Abby. I had one brother who served in the marines, but
he was killed in the Persian Gulf, and another brother of mine lives in New York, and we still
keep in touch."

"So no kids huh?" Max asked of her earlier statement

"Honey I tried for five years to have them" Lucia let her know "But no dice. Rick went out
to a kennel on our seventh anniversary and got these little husky puppies for me. He wanted
kids as bad as me, so they became like our children. I never knew what happened to you-"
Lucia said "if I had another child I was going to tell her about her sister" Lucia got chocked
up at the end "How beautiful you looked in those brief moments I saw you after you were
born"

Max didn't know it, but a single tear had trickled down her cheek.

"Momma, what's wrong?" Jess had climbed in beside her, leaning on her arm

"Nuthin' baby" Max reassured wiping away the moisture from her face. She put her
arm around him "You excited about daddy coming home tonight?"

Jess nodded "Why did he go away for so long again?"

"Because your great aunt asked him to her house" /the bitchy schmuck/ "And I hung around
here to be with you guys" she looked over at Lexi, who was toddling over to Lucia. The little
girl had her first birthday the day before Logan left, and Tinga, Cindy and everyone else had
given her a big party.

"Hi" she was developing more of a vocabulary from her first word. Her blue eyes gazed into
Lucia's "Up?" she held out her arms, wanting to be picked up, something that she loved.
She was very choosy though about who she asked, didn't do it unless she liked the person.

Lucia looked surprised, but that look soon vanished as she picked up the child. Lexi got
comfortable in her lap, yawning. It was ten 'till nine, and Max's "no sleep" genes hadn't
kicked in on her yet.

"You tired little one?" Lucia touched the girl's brown hair "Bet you waiting up to see your
daddy. He'll be here soon." she spoke reassuringly "Your momma is waiting too" she
smiled at Max, who had glanced at the clock for about the tenth time in five minutes.

Max shrugged sheepishly, trying not to do it again. /Something happen? What if-knock it
off girl, it's early. He'll come. Yeah, but it's only ten minutes early-/ Max was broken out
of her thoughts, by a soft voice. She turned to see Lucia singing a lullaby to her daughter.

"Durmetes nina linda-" her voice was very harmonious as she sang an old Spanish lullaby
that her mother had taught her. "En los brazos del amor. Que te arulla tu madre, cantando
te a la ru"

/Oh hush my pretty baby/ Max translated the song. Manticore had equipped them to know
many tongues. She could speak six different languages /Sleeping in the arms of love. While
your mother sings you, a lullaby from above/ "That's beautiful" Max stated.

"No, THAT's beautiful"

Max looked up, to see Logan standing by the doorway; his luggage bag slung over one shoulder.

"Daddy!" Jess was the first one to pounce on him

"Hey boy" Logan picked up his son and hugged him hard "I missed you guys" he kissed him.
He stepped over to Max. /God she's such a sight for sore eyes/ "Hey you" he carefully set Jess down on his feet.

"Hey stranger" Max stood up and was in his arms half a second later.

Logan hugged her to him hard, drinking in her scent and warmth /She's amazing, and she's
mine/ "I missed you too ya know"

Max's response was to kiss him, long and hard. She didn't pull back for about fifteen seconds, finally breaking contact when she remembered that Logan couldn't hold his breath as long as she could.

"Daddy's home babe" Max picked up Lexi, who had squirmed out of Lucia's lap when she saw Logan
come inside.

"Hey princess" Logan hugged his daughter "How's my big girl?" he kissed her right above her ice blue eyes.

Lexi giggled, at the ticklish feeling his kiss produced on her forehead, and returned his gesture.

"Daddy this is a friend of mommy's" Jess announced, gesturing towards Lucia "this is my daddy"
he pointed out to the older woman.

"I'm Logan Cale" Logan introduced himself to the woman "Max's husband, we didn't get a chance to meet last time"

Lucia shook the hand that he offered "Max has told me a lot about you though" Lucia pointed out
/but not how handsome he looks in person/

Logan looked to his wife "Should I be worried?"

Max knocked him lightly upside head "Shut up"

/This is the kind of stuff I missed, Margo better not get anymore bright ideas to call
me up to see her/ "Do you have to go yet?" Logan asked the older woman in his living
room.

"I can stay for a while longer," Lucia pointed out "I told my husband I'd be back around
ten, it's about a thirty minute drive to my home"

"Then please-" Logan gestured for her to sit back down

"Thank you" Lucia replied taking a seat at the end of the couch. "I just want to
thank you both again, for letting me come into your lives" Lucia spoke sincerely.
"After I ran from that base, I believed that if my child ever got out of there and
grew up, she would want nothing to do with me."

"It's aiight" this time Max touched Lucia's hand "Hanna told me what you tried to
do"

"Hanna?" Lucia hadn't heard the name of that woman in years. She had seen her
many times when she was pregnant /"Please Hanna, don't let them take my baby"
"I can't make that promise Lucia" Hanna had to tell her the truth "There's nothing I
can do"/

"She took me in for a while" Max told her "but I bolted shortly. She lived too close to Manticore, and I was almost captured" /"Search everywhere!" the op ordered his group "fan out!" Nine year old Max laid buried under two feet of snow just to the right of the woodpile. She stayed there for twenty minutes until they left, before sneaking into the surrounding woods/ "Never came back, I wandered into Seattle, lived with this foster family for a while, but the father liked to abuse me and his daughter Maria. After I left there I hooked up with a girl who let me live with her, then she had to move so I lived with her friend Kendra" /"This is Max boo," Cindy stood beside the sixteen year old, speaking to the tall blonde named Kendra "Needs a place to live"/ Then I met up with Logan, and well" Max shrugged "The rest is history" /"We kinda got engaged last night" "Bout freakin' time gurl!" Kendra was ecstatic "I never knew what love was, until I met you" Logan spoke his own written wedding vows to Max on the beach/

Lucia looked at the couple in front of her /What would have happened if I had left before
Max was born? I still wish she didn't have to suffer as much as she did/

"Does your husband know about-" Max broke in with this question.

"I told him what happened that night after I left the hospital" Lucia responded, "It shocked
him, I'll tell you that much" she paused, seeing the look in Max's eyes "But he was more upset about what I had undergone then why I was there"

"Sounds like a decent man Mrs. Weston" Logan commented, putting an arm around Max's shoulders.

"He is" Lucia agreed "And let's get one thing straight sir" Lucia addressed the younger man "No more of that "Mrs. Weston" crap, it's Lucia okay?"

Logan had to smile at the woman's fire "Got it" /she reminds me of someone/ "So long as you call me Logan in return"

"Think I can do that" Lucia smiled "Can see why Max loves you so much"

"You can?" Max started to make a joke "I can't" she ducked when Logan threw a cushion at her.
"How was your Aunt Margo's?" Max asked of her husband.

"Dull" Logan returned, "The place is great, a lot of beautiful scenery, gardens, but those women" here he rolled his eyes "Margo's friends are very high society shmucks. They talked about noting but the over pricing of help, and saving up to by another set of diamonds" he dipped his head back on the couch and sighed "Was all I could do to keep from ending it with a shrimp cocktail fork at that afternoon brunch"

"Logan's got money relatives" Max explained to Lucia "Kinda sleazy blue blooded inbred thing.
They weren't exactly thrilled about a street girl marrying into the trust funds, so I'm sure I wasn't missed"

"At least not by any of them" Logan shot back, rubbing her shoulder with one hand.

This made Max smile "glad that there was someone on my side at the festivities"

Lucia glanced at her watch "I guess I should go. Sector police are very thick around here"
she stood up from the couch.

"Thank you for coming over" Logan stated, stepping beside her "It was nice to finally meet you"

"And you" Lucia returned, "I appreciate you letting me come over Logan" the older woman held
out her hand to him.

Logan returned the handshake, but then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

Lucia blushed slightly "If I told Rick that another man kissed me tonight, we won't make love for-" she calculated in her head for a second, "hours" she smiled at her joke.

"It was so great seeing you again Max," Lucia informed "Now we have to do this more often"

"That'd be good" Max returned

Lucia pulled the younger woman into a hug "You turned out so beautiful Max, I'm just sorry I missed it all" she kissed her forehead. "Bye" she gathered up her stuff, and soon the front door closed.

"So that's Lucia huh?" Logan spoke up after a few seconds

"Yep" Max turned to face him, wiping a few stray tears off her face

Logan wiped off one that she missed "Something in your eye?" he joked lightly

Max shook her head.

"There is now," Logan returned, he leaned over and kissed the exposed part of her left eyelid.
He dipped his forehead to hers "Wanna continue the party?"

"Party hasn't started yet" Max returned seductively, wrapping one arm behind his neck "After
the kids go to sleep. You had two days of 'vacation' Sir" Max smiled a Cheshire cat grin "That
calls for an entire night of multitasking to make up for it"

"God, I love having a lot of hard work," Logan returned

*****

"If you have this number, you know who this is, leave a message" *beep*

"Hey, it's Jondy, just checking in, haven't been tailed in a while" Jondy smiled,
sitting in a stool at a local bar in San Francisco "No bad guys on my ass so
far, but there are several guys after my ass, just to keep you informed big brother."
Jondy laughed at the sight of a man falling off his stool "Gotta go see
how much feline DNA is really in me. Oh and anything Krit tells you about
tonight is a damn lie. I'm out"

*****

CRASH

*beep*

"It's Asha. Guess you turned your cell off again, or don't have it on you, whatever." Asha rested her elbows on the bar "Need to talk to you. Tonight, tomorrow, don't care, but soon. Bye"
she ended the call, only playing with the shot glass in front of her.

"Just going to sit there and admire it?" Alec slid into the vacant stool beside Asha

Her response to this was to slam down the shot and drop the empty glass back down on the
bar. /Isn't drinking bad if your knocked up? I don't know yet, so I'll reform later/ "You want
something Alec?" she turned to him.

"Depends" Alec returned

Asha glared at him "Don't even start with that crap tonight" she pushed some blonde hair behind one ear.

"On whether you want my company" Alec finished "You have a dirty mind sometimes Asha" he took
a drink from his beer mug "You and Zack get into something?"

"We didn't have a fight Alec" Asha responded, "It's really none of your business" she turned the glass upside down on the counter surface

"So nothing's going down, but your sitting here alone to get wasted" Alec didn't buy her explanation

"Exactly" Asha stood up and paid for the drink. She grabbed her jacket off the bar.

"Good luck with that" Alec raised his mug at her.

"Goodbye Alec" Asha's voice was annoyed. She grabbed her keys out of her pocket and left
the bar.

Once outside she checked her watch /11:22. How long is this damn night gonna last?/ The cool
air made her stuff her hands into her coat pockets /great time to forget my gloves/ She
slid into her Cherokee, turning on the heater.

She drove through the darkness, back to her apartment. The elevator soon dinged on her
floor. Her front door opened silently. She flipped on the lights, collecting the ads that had
been slid under her door. She slid out of her jacket on the way to her bedroom, throwing it
on a chair. She started unbuttoning her blue shirt before flipping on the light. After she
adjusted to the brightness, her eyes focused on a reflection in the mirror, and her hand
instinctively went to the Colt in its holster.

A hand grabbed the barrel of the gun as soon as she turned around.

"Zack," Asha exhaled, lowering her weapon "You scared the shit out of me" she clicked the gun on safety, and threw it on the bed.

"Came across your message in my voice mail" Zack spoke up "Is there a problem?" his voice hinted of concern

"Not really" Asha replied, re-buttoning her shirt /Not that he hasn't seen that before, just not a good state of dress for this kind of conversation/ "Zack we need to talk"

*****

"Satisfied?" Logan looked at his wife curled up next to him under the sheets. They had just
spent the past two hours giving each other an extremely intimate welcome home party.

"Hell yeah" was Max's reply "Multitasking was never this good before"

Logan laughed quietly at her remark "Can't complain anymore about it now" Max's heart beat one
second slower against his bare chest then his own, creating a rhythmic beating that mingled with the sounds of their own breathing.

"Shut up" her response held no anger, only sarcasm. She pulled herself up and straddled
him, the sheet covering her bare form like a wrap.

He looked at her, clad in only a cotton sheet, long brown locks tousled, dark skin shining with
sweat in the lamplight, and wondered again how the hell a woman like this found her way into
his life.

"Can't ogle me without givin' the verdict" Max broke him out of his thoughts

"You're so beautiful" he ran a hand down her bare shoulder "Like an angel"

She blew him off "I'm no angel" she leaned down closer to his face "But the beautiful part
is coo'" she kissed him.

He returned the gesture, sliding a hand behind her neck, directly over her barcode. "I missed this" he caressed the pattern of lines and numbers. "I know you hate it baby, but this is a part of who you are, and who I fell in love with"

Max hated her barcode, hated being cataloged, tagged and easily referenced. "I hate what I am"
she spoke out, breaking the tranquil mood, and she knew it "Sorry for being a party killer" she
pulled back and laid back on her side of the bed "Not very nice for a woman who hasn't seen her man in two days" she was turned so she was staring at the ceiling

"There aren't any set rules on how you should feel sweetheart" he scooted over so he was
looking down on her now. "Your barcode does not define you Max. All that time at Margo's
made me miss that mixture of in your face honesty and down to earth hard love that you have.
THAT'S who you are" his voice was gentle, but firm "Not a damn string of numbers" he caressed
her face with one hand.

"Nothing like a bit of melodrama after sex" Max made a light remark to deal with the heavy atmosphere.

"Shut up" this time it was his turn to say it. He kissed her again in the soft lamplight. "Even though the super soldier might still be on full alert, this mere mortal husband is tired"

"It was only two hours" Max stated playfully.

"Of pure, unadulterated, mind blowing-"

"Yeah, your right" she interrupted teasingly, a yawn catching her by surprise "Guess it's lights out time"

He smiled at her sudden tiredness, and couldn't help but feel a little sense of male pride in knowing that he was able to satisfy her. He switched off the light, bathing the room in ebony darkness.

The pair got comfortable in the bed, Max taking her favorite position pressed up against his back, and Logan snaking an arm around her waist.

"Baby?" Max spoke up after about a minute of silence

"Hmm?" his voice was somewhat muffled by the pillow.

"Were their blue blooded snits at Margo's?" her voice was defensive, waiting for the answer /I'll lay them out if there were/

"I handled it" Logan's breath ticked her ear. "Would never cheat on you, you'd kick my ass"

She smiled "Just checking" her eyes closed, and she lay there, waiting to fall asleep.

****

FENTAL AVE

"Zack say something" Asha had just finished telling him.

"What is there to say?" Zack spoke out. He was sitting on the arm of her couch "Nothing will change it if it's true"

"Means you wouldn't want to keep it huh?" Asha stood across from him, slowly lowering herself onto her coffee table.

"I don't know" Zack shot back, he looked up to her, seeing hurt behind hiding behind her eyes. /She looks so much like Maxie when she does that/ "It's not that I don't love you Asha. But you have no idea what it would be like for a baby that would be half Manticore. I've seen it too much already with Maxie and Tinga"

"You love me?" Asha ignored everything else Zack had just said, concentrating on the one thing
she never thought would come out of his mouth. The relationship was good, but because of their
past, every X5 had trouble getting attached to anything.

Zack realized that he had just spoken that feeling aloud /Shit, can't believe I just said that.
Well say something soldier, cat's out of the bag now. Great, my damn thoughts read like a drill
sergeant./ With slow movements he moved to sit on the opposite couch arm.

"I do" he didn't repeat the words again, because he wasn't like that "I always tried to avoid love, because it creates weakness, something that others could use against you because they
knew it would bring you down. I love Maxie, and I was used because of it a hundred times over
to bring her back to Manticore if I didn't want to see her die. I feel the same way about you" he tucked some loose hair behind her ear, much like he had done to Max in Logan's cabin when they were fleeing to Canada. "But I know the implications of something like that"

"Zack I love you too" Asha said the words he kept hinting around for the past ten minutes
"And I'm not going anywhere just because there are asses out there who like to hunt down
transgenics. Call me stubborn, but that's how it is" she traced a pattern down the edges of his
face.

He suddenly kissed her long and hard, making her lean further back in her "chair" "I gotta go" he pulled back abruptly after ten seconds "Have to think about things"

"Just come back tomorrow" Asha watched him slide back into his leather jacket "Whether or not
you stay around, I'm gonna keep it if I find out it's there"

"Look for me sometime tomorrow then" he headed for the door, which made a sturdy click as
it closed behind him.

Asha dipped her head into her hands, wiping the tears off angrily.

****

(MAX'S DREAM SEQUENCE)

/"Ben's gone" he died about a year and a half ago"/

"Don't leave me here. Don't let them take me." Ben pleaded to Max. He was gasping for breath at the pain radiating from his broken leg.

"Ben I can't"

"Please, you know what they'll do to me, they'll put me down there with them..the nomalies, please"

"Tell me about the Good Place" Max didn't look at him when she asked this, but continued to hold her dying brother in her arms.

/"Always was right next to the Virgin"/

Max pulled back the cloth, and saw them, bloody teeth laid at the feet of the Holy Mother

"For one brief moment, you were what you were meant to be--a predator" Max whirled around and
saw him. He was a dead ringer for Alec, except for the haunted crazed look in his eyes.

"Nothing makes sense out here Maxie" Ben stepped closer to where Max was beside the
statue "They don't understand us" he pushed past her, and laid a fresh handful of teeth
below the Virgin "This is who we are"

"No it isn't" Max argued, "Just because we were spliced in a lab doesn't make us killers"

"But it's true. You killed me little sister," Ben reminded, "When they were coming for me, I asked you to kill me, and you did it without hesitation-"

"I didn't want them to take you" Max's voice was softer now "I didn't want to do it, I loved
you-" the church suddenly morphed into leafy vegetation, the woods where Ben had fallen.

He was there now, lifeless, his neck snapped by her own hand.

"I loved you so much Ben" Max held his still form "I didn't want too-" she opened her hand.
The palm was coated in blood, and a cluster of human teeth rested in its center.

****

"Ben" her voice was a low whimper as her eyes snapped open in the darkness.

"Max?" Logan flipped on the lamp "What is it, what's wrong?" he was concerned when he saw
her rapid breathing, obviously from a nightmare

"I didn't want to kill him Logan" her words came out in-between harsh breaths "They were coming
for him, and Ben didn't want to go back. We were in the woods and he asked me to kill him, he
told me I knew why I had to kill-" her words were becoming more frantic I didn't want to, but
I did it. Deck dragged his body away from where I left it-" a sob broke free

Logan hugged her to him then, feeling her tremble from the onslaught of emotions brought on
by her dream.

Anguished tears streamed down her face "I killed my brother, I killed Ben-" her words were choked behind behind the sobs

"You tried to save him baby" Logan told her, "You didn't want them to take him back to Manticore" he embraced her tighter, resting his chin in her long hair, felling her cry into the hollow of his throat.

"I loved him so much Logan" her words were desperately sad.

"I know" he whispered this, kissing her tear-stained face, moisture welling up in his own eyes at seeing his wife re-living this kind of pain.

"I just wanted him to stop" she bowed her head down again. "I never wanted to do it-"

He brushed his lips to her forehead, pulling her back to him "Of course you didn't" he rubbed her back over her tank top "It's okay" the issue of Ben would never be okay with Max, but he couldn't just listen to her suffer. He loved her too much; he had to offer her something.

After a few minutes of hugging her, and rubbing her back, Logan pulled back and leaned back into the pillows that rested on the mattress, grabbing her hand at the same time.

She came without a fight, scooting up further on the bed. She stretched her form on top of his so that the side of her head rested just above his collarbone.

He wrapped both arms tightly around her waist, placing one hand on top of her left, feeling the cool jade of her wedding band on his palm. Though it was 1:55 a.m. sleep was now the last thing on either one of their minds.

*****

Asha had lost track of the time since Zack had left. She had shut off all the lights in
her apartment, sitting on her couch in the dark.

/Never in my life has a day gone by so slow, not even that time that we were held up in
that sewer to hide out from the Sector Police/

The glowing red numbers on her digital clock seemed to taunt her, so she flipped it around to
face the wall, effectively ripping the plug out of the outlet in the process.

"He said he loved me, never thought that would happen" she spoke this out loud to herself.

/FLASH: "You wanna come up for a while?" Asha suggested to the man who stood outside her
apartment. This had only been their second "date", but there was a hint of something there and
she wanted to know how deep it ran.

"Depends on if you don't mind black helicopters flying over your building" Zack responded
cynically. He was leaning against his black Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle, glasses pulled on top of his head./

Zack was a very good with the cynicism and sarcasm. It was a weapon he developed after
years of running and keeping watch over his siblings. But Asha somehow managed to find a way
in through his hard ass side, and got him to accept her feelings concerning him.

She never thought in her wildest dreams she would comeback to Seattle to see and old flame, only to fall for his wife's brother. And now this, how would it be if-?

She dipped her head back on the couch with a sigh /Life sucks sometimes/

*****

FOGGLE TOWERS
9:15 AM
THE NEXT DAY

Morning found Max and Logan still in the same position. Logan was the first to open his eyes when he heard a noise from outside the penthouse.

Logan rubbed his eyes with one hand "Max" he gently shook her "someone's at the door"

An upset moan escaped Max's lips "Who the hell comes by this early?" she didn't bother to open her eyes

Logan listened for a second "Sound's like Alec"

===

(OUTSIDE THE PENTHOUSE)

"Guys" Alec pounded on the door again "Don't want to stand out here all day. Have better things to do then having to bust down your front door"

====

"Why is he here?" Max asked, her voice was heavy.

"Normal probably sent him," Logan noticed the time on the clock that sat on the nightstand
"Your late for work angel"

This time Max opened her eyes, and looked over at the clock. She groaned again and lowered her head back down on Logan's chest. "Not gonna here the end of this today" she reluctantly de-tangled herself from his body "Go let Alec in before he scares the piss out of the neighbors" she was now laying on her back staring at the celling.

"You gonna be able to get moving?" Logan looked down on her, blocking her line of sight.

"Just give me a minute to get it together, I'll make it"

He kissed her, and climbed off the bed.

"Morning Jess" Logan greeted his son, who came into the living room in his pajamas.

"Hi daddy" Jess returned, "Why is mommy still here?" his voice held the concern of a
three year old for his mother.

"She didn't get much sleep last night" Logan told him honestly /Partly due to that nightmare
and partly due to the little after hours party/ He picked Jess up "So she decided to sleep
a little later" Logan carried his son to the foyer, and opened his front door.

"Bout time" Alec spoke up after the door opened "I got short changed by Normal for finding
out the reason that Max isn't quote "at work this very second doing her job while she still has
one" he paused "I know that you just got back Logan, but I have better things to do then
chase Max down for work because you two decided to have an extended nightly greeting"

"What does he mean daddy?" Jess suddenly asked. He was advancing at a very rapid pace, but
on matters like these, he was still three years old.

"Nothing Jess" Logan returned quickly.

"Something you'll learn when you're older kid" Alec ruffed up the boy's hair. "Can be an awful lot of fun"

"You wanna drop this conversation?" Logan suggested, "He's only three"

"He's smart though," Alec reminded, "Not like he wouldn't understand if he found out"

Logan glared at him, setting Jess down on his feet, who was squirming to get down.

"Mommy," Jess called out to Max when she walked into the living room "Alec's here"

"I see that" Max returned. She was now dressed in a black sports tank top and gray cargos.
She kissed her son good morning, setting Lexi down beside him. "Guys hang here for a second
so I can talk to him" she stood back up, and walked over to where Alec was.

"So this is what Normal was reduced to sending?" Max stated, moving to stand beside Logan.

"Well maybe if you and Logan didn't decide to knock boots all night long I could've been
somewhere else" Alec informed

"What we do is none of your business" Max remarked

"C'mon Max" Alec began again "I could care less what you two do to each other. I'm just
looking out for a fellow X5 employee so she doesn't get fired"

"How sweet" Max's voice was sarcastic

"Do it all for you Maxie" Alec came back

/FLASH: "This is for you Maxie. So you finally understand what I'm doing" Ben looked at her, his foot on Father Destry's neck, ready to add another to his killings./

"Let's just go" Max said suddenly, turning away from Alec. She couldn't look at him right now,
his eyes were just like-

"Baby are you okay?" Logan's voice broke her out of her thoughts. He put one hand on her shoulder. He had seen the far off look in her eyes.

"Yeah" she answered quickly "I'm fine" she turned to face him completely "Should get going" she
stepped closer and kissed him "I'll be back about five"

Logan kissed her back. "Try and have a good day sweetheart"

She gave a small nod "Bye guys" Max called out, turning to face her kids

"Bye momma" Jess answered her from the living room

****

"Very domestic little scene that just played out there Max," Alec walked beside her to the
elevator.

"Got a problem with that?" Max snapped back

"Just never really saw you in that kind of setting," Alec answered "Somehow doesn't fit the whole bad ass thing you tote around everywhere else. You know I like Logan, just not the same way as you because that'd be really disgusting" Alec stepped through the doors, and pushed the button for the garage.

"Don't put that kind of an image in my head" Max informed, "That's my husband you're talking about remember?" she watched the numbers light up on the panel.

"Relax Maxie-"

"And stop calling me Maxie!" Max screamed this, effectively scaring the woman behind them. She
got off the elevator with a strange look in her eye.

After the doors closed again Alec turned to Max "Is there something going on-"

"Don't call me that again Alec" Max's voice was void of all humor "You look too much like him"

Alec was now completely confused "Like who?" he followed her out into parking garage "What
are you talking about?"

Max turned to him briefly once she reached her Ninja "Like Ben" this was all she was willing to give him

/FLASH: Young Ben is looking out the window, at the trees on the ground, making up stories for his siblings lying in their bunks FLASH AGAIN: Ben is grown, tattooing his own barcode on the back of a man's neck that he had captured/

"Ben?" Alec repeated the name "As in my twin Ben? I never met him" he went in another direction
"They found him in the woods when I was still at Manticore-"

/FLASH: "Don't leave me" Ben pleaded, "Ben, I can't carry you, we'll both get caught" the words came out of Max's lips in a rush/

"Someone had broken his neck, and left his body there"

/FLASH: Max gripped Ben's neck, feeling the bones under the skin. She quickly snapped his neck
and Ben fell silent in mid-sentence/

"Just stop, okay?" Max whirled on him "I know what happened" she climbed on her Ninja

"I'm sure" Alec agreed, "he was in your unit, word gets around-"

"No," Max interrupted "I know because I was the one who did it" she raised the Ninja's kickstand

This caught Alec off guard "Max-"

She didn't answer him and blazed down out of her parking spot.

****

JAM PONY

"Bip Bip Bip Max" Normal tapped his watch "Time is money, and you've already wasted enough of
it by being late"

Alec approached Normal's desk, leaning his elbows on the counter "Cut her a break, her husband was gone two days and just got in last night, she probably wanted to catch up"

"Look at me, do I look like I care?" Normal returned. "Why are you so keen on defending Max this morning?"

"Just looking out for a friend" Alec notified.

"Uh-huh" Normal shoved some boxes at him "And I'm just looking out for my job"

Alec grabbed them and dropped the boxes in his pack with a sigh.

"Max, can I talk to you for a second?" Alec interrupted Max's conversation with Cindy.

"Guess I should get something done" Cindy stated, and left the two alone.

"What's this about?" Max asked

"Not here" Alec stated cryptically "Back" he pointed to a storage room that was open.

Max was becoming more confused "Alec-"

"Just trust me this once Max okay?" Alec told her

****

"So what's the big secret?" Max asked, crossing her arms after Alec shut the door "'Cause if you want me to do you any whacked out favors just forget it"

"I want to know what happened to Ben" Alec answered.

Max didn't expect that "What happened to him is that he died" She headed for the door, but Alec blocked her path

"You said you did it" Alec grabbed her arm

"Alec don't-" Max did not want to have this conversation, with him of all people.

"I'm not gonna arrest you or anything Max" Alec stated "I've killed people too remember?
I just want to know what you meant"

Max jerked out of his grip, turning away from him "Ben killed ten people about a year ago" she stated the facts first. /FLASH: "Yesterday a body was found in the woods outside of the city, had a barcode on the back of his neck" Logan gauged her reaction as he told her/ "He broke their necks and removed their teeth as a gift for the Blue Lady" /FLASH: Max approached the alter, lifting up the white cloth to the sight of bloody human teeth/

"So my twin was that whacked," Alec said this all in one breath "They told us that he had some problems, but a serial killer-"

"Ben couldn't get use to life outside" Max interrupted /FLASH: "Nothing makes sense out here Maxie"/ "He put barcodes on all his victims, his/"But you're not just giving them any barcode, you're giving them yours"/ "he wanted to kill himself over and over" she took a breath before continuing "He went after Father Destry. I chased them into the woods" /FLASH: "Run Father!" Max screamed to the other man, pounding on the steel door that separated them "Yes Father, by all means-" Ben stated in the voice of a hunter "Run"/ "I fought Ben, I told him to stop." /"We can let him go.."Max pleaded to her brother "find someone better"/ "But he told me that he had to do it" /"This is for you Maxie"/ "Destry got away, but Ben was hurt. Manticore had followed us out there I heard all the jeeps. Ben didn't want to go back"

"Confinement" Alec stated "Or worse" He knew if his twin had been taken back to Manticore alive, he would've been kept down in the basement, only let out to run tests and be experimented on.

Max silently acknowledged him "He begged for me to stay-to-" the next part caught in her throat "he wanted me to kill him, he asked me to. So I did" /"Tell me about the Good Place" Max looked down at her older brother. Ben actually smiled "Where no one ever gets punished" "And no one gets yelled at" Max went on, remembering the tales. "And no one disappears. And when you wake up in the morning you can stay in bed as long as--" he never got the words out, falling silent as Max snapped his neck/

"The jeeps were coming closer" unbeknownst to Max, two tears had fallen from each eye "I ran,
I just left his body there for Lydecker to drag away so I could save my own ass" another tear joined the first ones.

Alec stood there in quiet silence for a second. "Max I'm sorry" one hand touched her shoulder
"I didn't know" he came up behind her and rested his cheek against the top of her head.

She didn't acknowledge his presence, wiping the tears off her face "Gotta get moving" she
opened the door and stepped out of the room.

"Hey" Max called out to Alec after they exited the storage room

"Yeah?" Alec stopped walking and turned to face her

She stepped towards him "Thanks for hearin' me out, even though I look upon you as a pain in the ass most of the time"

Alec shrugged "Not a problem Max. I can understand it. Gotta be hard looking at me and seeing Ben"

"Maybe that's why I diss you so much" Max agreed.

Alec gave a small smile, putting one arm casually across her shoulder "Or maybe I'm just a pain in the ass you can't live without" this made Max smile slightly. Alec looked up seeing someone enter the building

"This isn't what it looks like" Alec informed Logan who had just entered Jam Pony. He removed his arm from Max's shoulder.

Logan didn't say anything to him. "You alright?" he asked his wife "You looked upset when you left"

"I'm okay" Max reassured, "Just shaking off that bad dream still"

He hugged her strongly, no words, just silent communication.

"Think I'm gonna go do some work now." Alec informed the pair "Always a pleasure Max" he stepped past her "Hey Logan how's it going?" he asked when he passed the other man, not waiting for a response.

After a minute or two Logan pulled back and kissed Max's forehead "I got someone to look after the kids-"

Max cocked an eyebrow at him "What are you suggesting?"

"It's noon Max" Logan told her "I wanted to take you out to lunch." he paused "Why? What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing," Max shrugged "I just get "bad" thoughts when I'm food deprived," she stated in a come on.

"I'll keep that in mind next time I cook dinner" he returned with a smile.

"There's not many places around here where the food is actually edible ya know," Max told him straight out

"Think I can handle it for one day" Logan told her "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Aiight," Max agreed "but if I get whacked out, you better resuscitate me"

"Not a problem angel," he kissed her and led her out the door with his arm across her shoulders.

*****

METRO MEDICAL

/Here I am again-medical hell/ Asha stepped up to the recptionist desk

"Can I help you dear?" the woman working the desk this morning was older then the one
there yesterday. Sweet looking at first glance, but eyes that had the look of a nosy old
crone that gossiped her mouth off about who came into her workplace with what.

"I'm here to pick up a pregnancy test," Asha told the woman

"Just one second honey-" the woman rolled back in the swivel chair she was seated at, searching under the counter

/Sometime this year would be nice lady/ Asha leaned against the Plexiglas window and waited

"Here it is" the woman set a white box on the counter in front of Asha "that's eight dollars"

Asha threw the money at her, and jammed the box into her coat pocket.

"There's a restroom just across the hall dear-" the woman pointed out

"Thanks, but I have an apartment" Asha told her "and there's one in there too. So if it's just
the same to you I'd rather go home so every freakin' worker at this place doesn't know my
damn business" she slammed the Plexiglas door on the woman and walked out of the hospital.

****

PUCHERA'S CAFÉ

"Told you bad food came with the Pulse" Max watched Logan pick at the remnants of chicken on his plate

"It wasn't THAT bad" Logan objected, "I've eaten worse things" he took a sip of iced tea.

"Rusty nails?" Max shot out in a question "Manticore served better crap then this" she
threw a wadded napkin on her half full plate.

"But they more then make up for the shotty food with the lovely sense of style" Logan threw out, looking around at the dusty counter tops and graffito tagged tables and walls.

"Gotta love the ghetto trash look" Max said in reply, banging on the metal tabletop. She checked her watch "Hate to say it but we gotta bounce. Normal may be a pain in my ass but he signs my checks so I better not be late again" she stood up from the chair "thanks for 'taking me out' baby" Max stated to her husband "next time lets just go home and order in"

"Deal" Logan agreed, taking his jacket off the back of the chair

"Don't forget to tip the maître d'" Max reminded

"Funny" Logan threw back, laying the tip on the table. He followed her out the door, holding it open as she passed through it.

"So I'll see you at home?" Logan wrapped her up in his arms the second they exited the building.

"Defiantly" Max responded, kissing him.

"Get a room!" someone shouted from somewhere "Don't need to see that"

Max broke apart from Logan "Then close your eyes!" she retorted to whoever had made the
comment.

"You should get going" Logan stated. "Before you get any later to work"

"Yeah" Max agreed with a sigh, breaking away from him. She headed over to where
she had parked her Ninja

"Bye angel" Logan called out, watching her gun the engine.

She smiled at how loud he said it to be heard above the revving of the engine. She blew him a kiss on her index and middle finger, slowly moving the bike down the narrow road, and cranking
up the speed once she was clear of parked cars.

After a few miles Max encountered a new sector stop that was set up. She slowed the Ninja's speed, stopping at the end of the long line. /Great/ a check on her watch revealed that it was 12:45 /I'm gonna get chewed out again/ She sighed, looking at the surrounding buildings so she wouldn't have to see how slow the line was moving. Something caught her eye on one of the rooftops

/"I'm going to the High Place-" Ben looked around at his siblings, getting ready to ask the Blue Lady for advice/

"The High Place" Max uttered the same words she had spoken that night when she found Ben at
the Space Needle.

"Let's keep it moving" the sector cop waved his hand at Max who was holding up the line.

Max shuffled through the stop, waving her pass in the cops face. Once she cleared the checkpoint she headed in the direction of a nearby cooperate bank building. People turned to look at her entering the over decorated lobby. Most of them were dressed in suits, and she didn't fit the dress code.

"Ma'am I'm sorry, you can't use our facilities unless you work here-"

Max shoved a random box on the long white counter "Then would you mind it if I delivered this? It's kinda important for MY job"

"Where's it going to?" the woman looked at the address on the box.

Max covered it with her hand before she could get a good look at it "Some office upstairs"

"Well if you'll just leave it here-" the woman was doing all she could to get Max out of the
building.

"I need a signature" Max held up the clipboard.

The woman sighed, "Elevators are down the hall and to the right"

Max smiled "Appreciate it" the smile did noting to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

She stepped into the elevator along with twenty other people all dressed to the nines in
power suits. They all ignored her.

"If someone could press 25 I'd appreciate it" Max called out. She heard someone sigh and the
button be pressed

The elevator was going incredibly slow, mostly due to the fact that it made a stop at every floor /Why do people take this thing for only one floor?/ Finally on the twentieth floor Max had had enough

"'Scuse me" she pushed passed the crowd, ignoring all the comments. She now stood in a long
white hallway whose walls were covered in contemporary art.

She headed down the hall to the fire escape stairs at the back of the building. Being an older building the stairs were the metal kind located outside with small iron landings. Max made sure no one was looking before leaping up and latching onto the landing on the floor above her. She kept this up four more times, finally flipping to land silently on the roof of the building.

"Talk about getting' high" Max stepped over to Zack, who she had seen from the street.

Zack turned and looked down on her from where he was sitting above the door that led to the
roof. He leapt down to stand beside her "Came up here to be alone" he informed

"Sorry I didn't see the 'Do Not Disturb' sign posted on the landing" Max came back

"Why are you here?" Zack asked

"Thought I'd take in the view" Max stated, then added "I saw you from the street, which brings us to the question of what you're doin' up here"

"Good place to think" Zack responded

"That's kinda vague" Max returned, "Think about what?"

"Is my life now your business Maxie?" Zack turned to face her

"Is mine yours?" she questioned

Zack turned to look back out over the traffic "Asha might be pregnant" he kept his eyes focused on the street when he said this

Max took this in "Does she know for sure?"

"She'll know today," Zack answered

"What are you gonna do if-"

"How should I know?" Zack snapped back "I've never had this happen before, not from my own decisions"

"Do you love her?" Max threw this out

"What the hell's that suppose to mean?" he turned his entire body to face her

"Means do you love her" Max repeated, "It's not rocket science"

"I love her okay?" Zack spoke his feelings aloud "But what good will that be if White or anyone else gets their hands on another transgenic kid."

"There's a chance that she's not pregnant Zack" Max stated "But if she is you can't just up and leave. You'd owe her and the kid more then that. He'd deserved to know who his father is"

"Like all of them?" Zack made reference to the interbred X series that had been created from his sperm when he was 12.

"This is different" Max argued "It's not like the warped boys and girls club at Manticore."

"Overall outcome won't change though" Zack reminded, "How many times have your children
been hurt because of what they are?"

"I still love them Zack" Max pointed out "Every parent has to protect their kids, and that's what I do, even though it's a little more intense than the average mom"

Zack sighed looking over the concrete at the traffic below "I know how to be CO. I know how to be a solider, but this-"

"There are not set rules" Max leaned against the concrete boundary "It's sorta learn as you go." "Back at Manticore our whole lives were mapped out for us. After we got out I didn't really know how to do anything for myself, I was so use to orders and the chain of command, being prepped for a situation before hand. That counted for shit when I found out I was pregnant. When I had those seizures after I went into labor it scared the piss out of me.
I was in a situation I couldn't control. The same people who trained me to be a lethal weapon also encoded me with a faulty gene. I was helpless"

"That scared you didn't it?" Zack focused on what she was saying, shifting the attention off of him and Asha for the moment.

"I thought he wasn't gonna make it" Max said in an honest voice "and I couldn't do a damn thing about it. There was no training I had been taught to condition me to watch my son die"

"Would you change it if you could?" Zack suddenly asked, "have the normal life you always wanted?"

"Not even for a chance to bust a cap in Deck's ass" Max responded, "I gave up trying to be normal, I'm just being me" she touched her brother's shoulder "She loves you Zack. She was there before any possible kid. Don't mess it up because of this." she hugged Zack

Zack hugged her back, sharing a rare emotional moment with her "If she is I want to-"

"No you don't" Max argued "Jace already named her son after me, pick another okay bro?"

"Eva" Zack said right after she finished "or Ben"

Max's smile vanished at the mention of Ben. "He's dead Zack"

"So is she" Zack stated

"Not by me" Max didn't look at him when she said this, even though he already knew. She had
confessed it to him a few months ago.

"You did what you had to do" Zack returned, "You didn't let Lydecker hurt him again"

/"They were designed to kill. Coldly...efficiently...and happily. All they need is a trigger"/
"Doesn't make any difference," she argued

*****

OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART CHURCH

Max entered the large church quietly, her feet barely making any noise on the soft carpet.
She glanced to the stained glass windows. Colourful reds, blues and yellows that depicted scenes from the bible. Like the first time she had come here, she slid silently into a pew near the middle of the church.

Near the altar were several people lighting candles, and some kneeling next to the Virgin in prayer. She sat, observing them pay respects to the Lady, asking for Her guidance.

After one man had stepped away from the altar Max stood up and made her way to the front.
She stared at the statue of Mary with Her arms spread open, a silent testimony that no one would be turned away.

"I came to ask you why" Max spoke to the silent figure "I know that I had conscious decision in what I did, you didn't guide my hand to his neck. I just want to know why you didn't save him. He believed in you so much. He was willing to kill for you-"

"I haven't seen you here in a while-"

The voice made her turn away from the Lady. "Father Destry" she spoke to the young priest who
headed the church, the one who she saved from Ben.

"I don't mean to intrude on your time" Destry apologized

"No it's fine" Max reassured

"I saw you when I came out of my office" Destry went on, holding out his hand "It's nice
to see you again"

Max took the hand he offered, not really knowing what to say to that, to the man she had
last seen lying at Ben's feet.

Destry tilted her hand, observing the jade band as it hit the light "Should I still call you Ms. Guevara?"

"It's Cale now Father" Max answered

He smiled "I already felt that was the case" he released her hand "You deserve some happiness in your life, and I'm glad you were able to embrace it, and forgive your past"

/"Do you think there are some things that are-- unforgivable?" "God's forgiveness has no limits" Father Destry told her, sitting beside her in the pew" "That's big of Him" Max remarked/

"There are some things you shouldn't forgive" Max looked at Destry solemnly

"Remember God's forgiveness is limitless Mrs. Cale" Destry addressed her politely "Even if we cannot forgive ourselves for our actions, He will always, that's what He is about. Your brother is with Him now, forgiven of all the sins he committed"

/FLASH: "They'll take him to the Bad Place and drink his blood. Then the Nomalies'll take him away" Ben watched the ops drag a boy away who was shaking with seizures/

"My brother believed the Lady wanted him to do those things Father" Max cast her eyes up again
to the statue "What I did to him was purely for selfish reasons, I can never forgive and forget
what I did"

"You will never forget" Destry's voice was wise beyond his years "It will be a memory you will
always carry with you. But forgiveness Mrs. Cale, will keep your soul from being tormented by your memories"

"I'm already tormented by them Father" Max told him "Confessions only clear out the surface, it doesn't touch the scars" she moved again to sit in the first pew.

Destry silently sat down beside her "I can tell you loved him very much" he spoke to her without a trace of anger. The tone of voice that soothed, that only a few possessed. "He was a very troubled man." Destry remembered his encounter with Ben. It terrified him, but the young woman who came after him, risked her own life to save him, trying to talk to his capturer. They were connected souls. "You didn't want him to die; you only wanted to stop his madness, to save him. No matter what else happened that day you're intentions were pure"

"That's what my brother said" Max proclaimed, "That's also what my husband told me" she turned her head so that she was looking him in the eye "But the fact of the matter is he's dead Father. I killed him, and nothing will ever change that" she locked eyes with the Virgin.

Destry placed a hand on her shoulder "But you must forgive yourself Mrs. Cale. We have all sinned in the face of God. He knows of all our faults, but we are still forgiven, and we must do the same with ourselves."

"I have two children Father" Max told him "What do I say to them?" she paused "How can I excuse what I did last year?"

"You tell them the truth," Destry answered "Tell them how much you loved your brother. Do not excuse it, but allow yourself their forgiveness."

Destry rose from the pew, walking over to the rows of candles just to the right of the Holy Mother. He struck a long match, lighting the third candle in the first row "Each light here represents a prayer. I light this for you Mrs. Cale. To ask God to show you the meaning of forgiveness, so you will no longer be haunted by your past"

The curtain in a confessional is drawn back. One of Destry's parishioners touches the woman's
hand who has just stepped out "God be with you my child"

Lucia silently nodded to the older man, adjusting her purse strap before turning around.

Max felt rather then heard someone slid next to her in the pew.

"Hi" Lucia said in greeting "Are you of the faith Max?"

Max turned to see the older woman there "Just came to see an old 'friend'" she looked at the priest.

"Father Destry's a wonderful leader," Lucia said in praise "I've been attending here for almost a year. He's young, but he's good"

"Mrs. Weston" Destry approached Lucia "How are you?"

"I'm doing well" Lucia responded

"I was just chatting with an old acquaintance-"

"We've met Father" Lucia stated "Glad you got the chance too as well" she touched Max's hand when she said this. Lucia suddenly stood up. "I almost forgot" A single match struck and another candle was lit

"Lord I ask for forgiveness for the sins I've committed against my family, for guidance to do right with all new things that have come my way" she looked at Max out of the corner of her eye. "I ask these things in the name of the Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen"

****

OUTSIDE SACRED HEART

"What you said in there" Max looked at Lucia who stood beside her "What I mean is-"

"You're welcome" Lucia answered the unspoken statement. She hesitated for a moment before
hugging Max, who returned the gesture.

"Next time you come by," Max spoke out "don't be surprised to hear Jess and Lexi call you 'grandma'"

Lucia was taken aback so much that she was rendered speechless.

"If it's okay I mean," Max broke in "Cause let's face it gurl, you look too damn young to be a grandmother"

"Hey I don't mind" Lucia's could barely get the words out past the lump in her throat. She had yet to call her 'mom', but by Max allowing her children to call her that, she was acknowledging that fact. "Who says a nana has to be old?" /Shit, I'm not gonna cry/ "I should get going" she kissed Max on the forehead "Bye sweetie"

Max watched her walk to her car. She tilted her head up to face a half circle stain glass window above the main double doors. It had a picture of the Lady on it. /"She's watching over us" Ben held a little picture of the Virgin in his hand/

****

FENTAL AVE

"So what's the verdict?" Zack used this as a greeting.

Asha didn't say anything, moving aside to let him enter the apartment. She closed the door before turning to face him "I'm not pregnant" she leaned against her door "Guess you're glad"

Zack let this sink in "Glad has nothing to do with it" he rested a hand against the door, leaning down to kiss her hard "I love you Asha" he finally said it "Whatever happens as a result we'll handle. A squad looks after it's own."

This made her smile "Squad?"

"What do you want from me? I came from Manticore" Zack threw out

She rested a hand on his shoulder "Thanks for letting me in the group"

"Just don't ask for the for the club tattoo" he came back.

Asha laughed a little and hugged him /Who says you need perfection?/

*****

SPACE NEEDLE
8:45 PM

Max looked out over the broken city, watching the fires created by the homeless people flicker in the darkness. She checked her watch again. She had called Logan, who was out running errands at that time, telling him simply to "Come to the High Place"

Something touched her hair, and she turned to see Logan tucking a loose lock behind her ear "I got your message, and since this is where you normally come to think I figured this was the 'high place' you meant"

"Ben use to go out on the roof to talk to the Lady, he called it the High Place" she turned to him "I scared you that time didn't I?" /FLASH: "I'm not protecting anybody" "Then why did you lie to me?" Logan looked at Max hard, wanting an answer. "If your brother was a murderer would you want people to know?"/

He didn't say anything for a second "It was hard for me to hear what Lydecker said about you, and separate it from who you actually are" /FLASH: "She's not the girl next door" Lydecker spoke into the microphone Logan had placed in the empty room "You have no idea what she's capable of doing"/ "But I realized those pictures and words were Lydecker's ideal of his soldiers. You turned out nothing like that"

"Ben's dead because of me" Max argued, "I turned to be the predator Deck wanted"

"No you didn't" this time it was Logan's turn to argue, "You may have a bad past Max, but you're not a cold hearted killer. You're a smart, beautiful, kick ass woman. Love of my life, mother of my children" he kissed her then "THAT'S who you are"

Max scooted closer laying her head across his lap "Love me that much huh?" she went a little
playful.

"Fraid so" Logan returned. He paused, rubbing her inner thigh with his hand "Was Ben always-"

"Crazy?" Max finished for him "No. There was always something different about him, but he
never really stuck out. He use to tell us stories about the mission" /Ben makes the shadow
of a bird casting it right over a sign in the barracks/ "How we were had a purpose. Always
talked of the Good Place, where the Lady would take us when we're gone. It made us feel-
loved"

"Tell me about Ben" Logan spoke up

"He was my brother, but he couldn't deal with life outside. He killed himself over and over-
/"Hold still" Ben tattooed his barcode on Father Destry's neck "It has to be perfect"/ He
hated being the anomalie in the basement. The very same ones he made up stories about.
So he made his victims out to be them instead"

/"You're the Nomaile Max stated to Ben "The monster in the basement. Some part of you wants
it to end. So end it. You can't keep trying to recreate Manticore"/

She looked directly at Logan "I loved him, I only wanted it to stop"

Logan wiped the tear that had fallen out of her eye "I know" he kissed her, repeated the same phrase he used before.

The streetlights became a swirl of colours from her unshed tears, as she grasped her husband's hand. Her eyes scanned the night sky, the place where Ben said the Blue Lady lived, trying to find him among the stars.

****

END

If I made anyone cry at that last part, sorry. I didn't want it to end all happy. Pollo Loco was powerful because of the emotions presented, and I wanted this to be too. I worked on this so much that I missed the new ep. *Shrugs* I'm a slave to my work. Sides my world isn't as depressing. Plus my mom was showing me this Korean card game, and I got wrapped up in it.

Probably a lot of people are glad Asha's not 'in the family way' I never planned to make her be pregnant, just wanted something to test the feelings between her and Zack.

I'm not Catholic so I hope I got the things in the church right, about parishioners and such.
Hope you enjoyed it R/R please,

peace