Yea sorry Babyangel I know you think I have the magic pen, but just couldn't figure out how to make that happen for ya. Yea yea could do the whole Sandeman thing since he's White's dad after all, but yea I'm pretty sure if White gets anywhere near Sandeman he'd kill the old man.

Chapter Forty-Four

Big Baby

Krit moved to the side as Max ended her call, allowing her access to Alec, the man he'd been told was the twin of Ben. It was hard for him to comprehend that his sweet, nurturing brother shared the same DNA as this guy. Then again from what he'd heard about who Ben had become maybe it wasn't so hard.

"I swear to god you are such a big baby." Max said as Alec flinched as she cleaned the wound the best she could with what the had in the van. "Look," Max turned her head to the back of the van where Brin was carefully tending to the minor injuries Connor had received when White and the familiars had found them in Canada, "a six year old is taking this better than you."

Alec looked outraged as Brin slightly laughed while applying a band-aid to a cut on the young boy's arm, "He has a few cuts, I was shot."

"That's the best we're gonna do until we get you back to town." Max said as she finished wrapping the gauze on Alec's arm.

He frowned looking down at his arm and its second bullet wound in less than a year and then up at Max, "So what's wrong with the little guy?"

She shook her head, "Just doesn't seem to want to sleep."

"So what's the deal with that anyway?" Her brother asked listening in on their conversation.

Max knew that question was coming, she'd been waiting for it all day, she'd managed to avoid it up until then because there was so much to tell them about Terminal City. The time was here now and she still didn't know exactly how to answer it.

"I mean how does it work…You know the no touching and all. Got to be a little difficult living together."

She cut him off, "Logan and I don't live together."

"Oh" Krit made a face.

"Okay so then the question is what's the deal with you and Logan?" Syl called from up front, "And can someone come sit with me, I'm lonely." She ended with a smile.

"Oooh" Alec said with a smile, hopped up, and made his way forward, his injury completely forgotten.

"Logan and I are over like that." Max said softly.

"Oh" Krit said in shock remembering their interactions of almost a year and a half ago, not to mention what had happened with Zack, "Sorry I brought it up sis."

"No biggie, got used to it awhile ago."

"I don't suppose someone's going to explain to me what's going on?" Brin said still seated next to the two boys.

"Your mentor decided to put a virus in me to kill Logan." She replied with attitude.

"Max" Syl called out from the front. "Brin is not Manticore; she is not responsible for anything that happened there."

"I know" Max replied unenthusiastically.

"So he's…" Brin nodded her head leaving the words unsaid.

"Yea that's him." Max nodded realizing her sister meant Eyes Only, "He helped us find you."

She nodded, "And that's why 5," she shook her head stopping from saying his designation instead of his name, "that's why they made Zack go after him."

"Yea"

They all remained silent for a few moments, each missing their brother, even Brin whose memories had been resurfacing slowly and in fragments over the past year. Alec remained silent not seeing what the big draw was about the brooding psychopath who had been ready to kill him.

"How's he doing?" Max finally asked unable to stand the silence any longer.

"Talked to Zane a few weeks ago." Krit nodded, "Said they were gonna try to make it to Mexico. If that didn't work they were going to stay in California learn to surf or something."

Max laughed trying to imagine Zack surfing, maybe it was just Zack doing anything fun that she had such a hard time picturing.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

They dropped her off at Logan's with the two boys before they headed over to Terminal City to get Alec's wound attended to. He greeted her at the living room doorway as she walked in carrying the sleeping child with Owen by her side.

"Hey" they both smiled to each other.

"I'm gonna go put him in Alec's room; he said he was staying at TC tonight." She said shifting the dark-haired boy in her arms, "Can you get the gate Owen?" She nodded up the stairs to the safety gate.

"Yea" the teenager nodded and she followed him up the stairs.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

As Max made her way down the hallway after getting the boys settled in, she poked her head into Cale's room to check on her sleeping son and frowned when she saw his bed empty. She headed back to the living room, to find Logan ensconced behind the desk as normal and his namesake sound asleep on the couch covered by a red blanket. He smiled as he saw her looking at Cale, "I tried to move him once and he didn't appreciate it very much."

"I'll just leave him be then." She chuckled slightly as she sat down at the end of the couch.

"I think I might have found Connor and Owen a new home." He'd spent the day planning for the best possible outcome.

"Where?"

" Nevada, a pastor and his wife."

"Seriously," Max shook her head, "how do you find these people?"

He laughed, "Good people do good things." He said simply.

The noise disturbed Cale; he stretched out his body and rubbed his eyes, "Mama?"

"Hey there buddy" Max said taking the sleepy toddler into her arms.

He curled himself into her body and started to fall back asleep.

"I'm gonna go put him down." She said standing, "Why don't you go crash too? You've got to be tired by now."

Logan frowned looking at the corner of the computer screen, it wasn't even one yet.

"You're going to have a house full of boys tomorrow Logan and they're all going to be up with Cale."

Logan grimaced, "Ugh, didn't think of that."

She laughed, "And I've got work at 11, so I'm gonna take Alec's bike and head home."

"You're leaving me alone to deal with three kids?"

"Four since Alec's probably gonna skip out of work tomorrow."

"Ugh" Logan made another face as he started to shut down the computer.