Chapter 50

Dreams and Nightmares

A few weeks later:

She left the door open a crack after putting her son to bed. Her sensitive ears would have picked up any off noise in the room even if the door was shut, but he'd gotten into the habit at Logan's and would burst into tears if the door was completely shut and he was left in the dark.

"Little bugger asleep?" Cindy asked walking into the apartment some time later coming in from Crash.

"Conked out on the couch."

"How was your day off?" she asked dropping onto the couch next to Max.

"Not bad. Logan met us at the park."

"Isn't it getting a little cold to be playing outside?"

"It's not too bad. Logan worked up a sweat running up and down everything." Max gave a satisfied grin thinking of Logan on the gym equipment chasing after Cale, who always seemed to be one-step away from disaster as apparently all toddlers were. Not that she hadn't been chasing after Cale like an idiot too, constantly after him with her hands out to brace him if he fell back. 'First time parents' she'd hear all the time.

"Alec move out yet?"

She shook her head, Alec and Asha had been making some weird type of inroads with their relationship, but he'd been pretty closed mouthed about the whole thing. "Still there eating all of Logan's groceries."

"Hmm"

"Anything interesting happen at work?" Max asked trying to prolong their conversation.

Original Cindy shook her head and frowned, amazed there was nothing actually interesting to talk about, "Sketchy has another date with that new girl."

"That's it?"

Another frown, "Yea it's been a slow week. Even Ronnie's been on good behavior."

Max joined in with a frown before settling into a smile remembering OC's story from the previous week of Ronnie's bottle opening all over Normal's papers…Damn she missed her old job.

They sat in silence for another moment, "Next time we're at Logan's I'll distract Alec while you swipe his tv."

Max pouted as she nodded, "It's a plan."

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

She dropped a kiss down to Cale's sleeping head before she moved around to the other side of the bed and slid in between the sheets. She knew the dreams that awaited her with sleep. They had been the same for almost two months. They would involve Logan. Her patience was wearing thin at this point. She wanted a cure. She didn't want to hear 'it's slow going 'anymore, she didn't want to hear 'it's tricky.' She knew those things and she didn't care, she just wanted the man who was awaiting her in sleep in real life.

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

His face was before hers.

The twinkling eyes, the slightly cocky and always all knowing smile bathed in the light.

The lips were coming closer and then she felt them upon hers. Her fingers found their way into his hair.

"I love you." She whispered over and over, occasionally separating enough to see his face and see his eyes looking so deeply into hers she was sure he could see every thought, down to the deepest part of her.

His hair changed in her fingers, the lips hardened…She pulled back confused to see White's dark eyes instead of Logan's caring ones.

She shook her head and stepped back.

"Haven't you missed me 452?"

"No" she murmured and shook her head.

Logan was before her again, "Max, what's wrong?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced by White's face before her again.

"Come on 452, your boyfriend isn't here to save you this time."

She shook her head and saw Logan's face in the darkness for a brief moment before it was replaced by White's. She closed her eyes and shook her head again, opening her eyes to still see White before her.

"Good, this wouldn't have been any fun if you hadn't been awake for it." His hands came down around her neck and she thrashed for a second and realized she wasn't dreaming anymore as her eyes connected with her son's scared blue ones.

She couldn't scream, she couldn't cry out for him to run, not as White was crushing her throat. Her strength was greater than his; she knew that, but not right now. He'd gotten the upper hand because she'd been sleeping, her body was pinned her throat was being crushed.

"Don't worry; I'll take care of him after I take care of you."

She almost managed to dislodge him as she bucked against him that time. It was enough to give her son a jolt and startle the silent toddler enough for him to drop himself off the bed and run out of the room. Oh god OC please just take him and run…Please don't try to help…Tears would have formed in her eyes if she wasn't fighting for her life, tears besides those that had already formed as her body was being robbed of breath.

"Max?" She heard Original Cindy's tentative voice over her son's tears, "Hush Sug, Auntie Cyn's gonna go chase away all those boogey men."

"You took it all away from me 452, I'm gonna return the favor."

His slight distraction from Original Cindy's voice, finally gave her the chance to break free. Throwing him off of her, she didn't even pause drawing in breath while going straight after him, she would not allow him to get another heads up on her. "You really should know better Amsey," she mocked him before screaming, "Take Cale and get out of here OC."

"Cale?" he smirked as they fought, "He's next on my list."

"Should have just let Josh finish the job last time, not making that same mistake twice White." She said in a slight groan as she came after him again after being thrown into her dresser and cracking it in two.

The fight continued, furniture was smashed, windows broken, drapes torn down, but it stayed in the room. White was smirking at her as she held her stance after kicking him in the face; he was wiping the blood from the side of his mouth. The next thing she knew he was going sideways, she saw him falling even before the sound registered in her mind. She turned to see Original Cindy standing in her doorway with the gun still aimed.

"Is he dead?" she asked tentatively looking over at the body.

"Ya shot him in the head, I think so."

"Oh" she said as she let out a breath and let the gun fall to her side.

"I really had it covered OC." Max said glancing between her pajama clad roommate, whose hair was still wrapped for bed and her former nemesis lying dead on the floor.

"I really like having walls." Original Cindy said turning and rolling her eyes.

"Where the hell did you get a gun and where's Cale?" Max said suddenly coming out of her shock of seeing her roommate blow someone away and remembering her frightened son.

"Oooh Logan gotta call him back." She turned out of the room, "Cale's in my closet."

Max followed Original Cindy out of the room and rushed past her into the other room, "Mama" Cale cried as she opened the door with outstretched his arms.

"Oh it's okay baby." She said holding him and rubbing his back.

Original Cindy followed her into the room and still in shock was looking down at the bed where she'd thrown the phone after making a frantic phone call to Logan as she realized what was going on, to the gun resting in her hand. She took a deep breath as she looked around the gun for where to place the gun out of Cale's reach. She gingerly placed it on a dresser before picking up the phone, her fingers only slightly unsteady as she punched in the numbers as Max continued to try to soothe Cale.

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

Both women turned in shock at the sound of the breaking door and Alec entering the apartment.

"You just busted up my door." Original Cindy said stunned by the amount of damage that had been done to their place in such a short amount of time.

"You're a little late Alec, it's all over. And you're gonna fix that." She nodded towards the door.

"What happened?" he asked glancing around the room seeing nothing out of place. He'd been woken up by Logan and hadn't even had time to react just throw on sneakers and a shirt over his pajama bottoms.

"White's dead in my room."

"Nice going Maxie" he said with a smile as he walked towards her room to check it out.

"Wasn't me, OC here decided to plug him with a 45."

"I stand corrected, nice going Original Cindy." Alec said looking into the room, "So was he kicking your ass?" he asked Max with a haughty grin.

"He was not kicking my ass." She glared.

"Whatever you say Maxie."

Logan arrived a few minutes later having taken his cell phone with him unlike Alec, he'd slowed down knowing the threat was over and there was no reason to be pulled over, he looked down at the busted door as he walked into the apartment.

"Alec was a little over-eager."

"I thought you were being killed Max." Alec said defending his actions not for the first time since he'd arrived.

Logan nodded, while walking into the apartment and glancing into Max's room and seeing the destruction, "Wow." He looked back out at everyone and like the room, they were standing in; they didn't appear to have a scratch on them.

"Dada" his son cried, still shaken by the events.

"Hey Buddy" he said walking over and taking Cale into his arms. "You get scared?" he asked dropping a kiss down on his head. Just then, he saw the handprints around Max's neck, "Are you okay?" he raised a gloved hand to Max's neck.

She raised her hand up touching his, still decently stunned by the events of the last half hour she hadn't even thought about the marks on her neck. "Yea I'm fine."

"I called Zen and Vida."

Cleanup right, disposal of White's body, she nodded still amazed none of her neighbors had called the cops. "You should get Cale out of here."

He dug into his pockets and pulled out his keys as he walked over to Cindy, "Can you take Cale back to my place?"

"Not a problem" she said taking the little boy into her arms looking relieved to be getting out of there.

"Bye sweetie" Max said walking over and dropping a kiss on his head and watched as Cindy left the apartment, still in her pajamas and slippers with her hair wrapped.

She turned back to Logan and Alec who were staring into the room, discussing what to do, "You gave Original Cindy a gun?" She suddenly remembered to be annoyed. "When the hell did you give her a gun?"

"South Africans killed her landlord." He said simply, refusing to feel guilty. "Where's the van parked?" he asked her quickly moving on.

"End of the block." She answered back about one of the van's they'd use in missions and simple food transports that was kept by her place in case she needed to go somewhere with Cale in a rush, though she rarely used it.

"Well let's get cleaning folks." Alec said shaking his head, "Garbage bags Maxie?" He asked walking towards the kitchen.

"Under the sink."

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

"Night guys" Alec said as they entered the house.

"Night" they both responded even though the sun would be coming up in just a few hours.

"I don't know about you, but I could use a drink." Logan said turning to her.

"I think we could use the whole bottle at this point." Max said dryly.

He chuckled as he led the way to the kitchen.

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

Max poked her bed into Cale's room after they made their way upstairs some time later, "He must be in bed with Cindy," she said viewing the empty bed. Her roommate would be in the newly created guest bedroom of the house, since the furniture from Logan's apartment had been brought over last week.

They lingered in the hallway between the two rooms for a few moments, neither wanting to say goodnight so pointless conversation was traded. Cale emerged at the end of the hallway, awoken by his parents' soft voices.

"Mama" was the soft whimper that came out of his mouth as he made his way sleepily to them. His normal blinding adoration for his father above everyone else forgotten after tonight's events.

"Oh hey buddy," she said softly walking over and lifting him up close to her.

"Daddy" he softly murmured from the safety of his mother's arms as his head rested on her shoulder.

Logan smiled as he placed the gloved hand on his son's back.

"We should probably go back to bed." She nodded, her eyes connected with Logan's.

She watched his mouth open, they both knew the words that he was going to speak, but he stopped himself, "Goodnight" he said instead of inviting her to stay with him instead of Original Cindy. "Night Cale." He said raising his hand up to stroke the back of their son's head.

"Night Logan." She nodded and ordered herself to walk away and not turn back into his arms. Patience, she reminded herself.

The problem was she wasn't really a patient person, turns out neither was Logan. She turned as she was about to walk into the room and Logan was emerging from his room again. They met up halfway down the hall.

"I don't wanna wake." She began

As he began, "You'll probably wake."

They both smiled and turned back towards Logan's room.

AN: I hoped that worked for you guys. I saw it in my head, but I don't know if it worked on paper. Thanks for reading!