Bob: Very nice review, you totally helped to shape part of my chapter with the maturity comment, since I had their actions/thoughts based more on complacency in my head (though the dictionary does not appear to agree with my definition of the word, it's the one I'm using :-P since others do it aside from me)

Maggieann: Ahh don't start with the "don't leave" again…I got yelled at so much after that got brought up the last time. I'm definitely not going anywhere after this story is done (after all at the moment this is only one of five and those still have plenty of work left to be completed).

AN: Okay so the final chapters have been all plotted out and I think they may seem a little rushed. X-318 graciously agreed to look over a rough outline for them and she agrees with me that they do indeed seem rushed, but she's like me and we can't think of what we'd do to change that or even if it needs to be changed. So I'm sorry…Oh and if there's anything you wanted to see included in this now would be the time to say so. Anymore characters you'd like to see make an appearance? Or anything I missed (yes I know a cure…I mean anything else)?

Hmm totally changed my vibe to this chapter after reading some NCIS fics (Sequitur in case you're interested, though I think I'm the last person to discover their stories). I swear my original version of this chapter was so much more bubbly.

Chapter Seventy-Five

Layers

He slid the file into the false bottom that had been built into the second drawer of his desk. Preparation for any would-be-robbers that came and made their move while he was out of the house.

The material things they could get away with, though probably wouldn't, not with the discrete surveillance he had sent up around the house. The secrets this house kept were another.

Sometimes he felt like the superhero they occasionally teased him about. However, it was generally because no matter how hard he fought, how many bad guys fell, there would always be another to take their place, there would always be another edition or a sequel.

Though they seemed to be lessoning now or maybe it was just a lull. Whatever it was, he was glad he wasn't quite so alone in it anymore. It had felt that way before. Even with the informants, the body guards, the other groups who were also trying to do their own little bit of good…He had felt alone in the fight until she came into it.

Alone was the last thing he was now.

He shifted everything back into position, nothing a common thief would take notice of, hell he'd seen X-5s miss it and they were trained to take in everything (a benefit of having it constructed by an X-5).

His thoughts shifted back to the comic book thoughts…He had a secret lair and gadgets that would have made them all proud. His computers were rigged with booby traps built into the constant need for passwords. A screw up occurring more than twice meant the entire hard drive was dumped.

They were backed up of course, upstairs in the actual 'Secret Lair.' A section of attic that had been cornered off and the difference made invisible to any passing glances. Zen had pointed out its necessity in those very first months they'd lived together as Logan could no longer keep his secret hidden since he was no longer allowed to be alone.

The house was a prime target for those would-be-robbers with no security guarding it 24/7 unlike his previous address. Not to mention the penthouse had been secluded, isolated, just him and the very few others he allowed in.

This house…

This house reminded him of Grand Central. People were coming and going constantly, something always seemed to be going on within it. Knocking was just for show, no one ever seemed to actually wait for him to open the door. Doors were just flung open and names were called.

If that didn't clue people into his identity in the middle of a broadcast, he was sure Cale zooming around with whatever toy he was playing with would.

Yea he had a secret lair now; complete with probably the coolest gadget he would have been able to dream up as a boy in the exo. And he would give it up in an instant...

He looked down at the large ruled paper that Cale practiced his abc's on. He looked at the carefully crafted D's in both capital and lower case.

When he thought about it carefully now, Eyes Only scared the shit out of him.

It didn't only put him in harms way, but Max and their friends and most importantly Cale who had absolutely no say in the matter.

A necessary evil/risk though. Seattle had to be kept on the road to recovery; the anti-transgenic sentiment had to be suppressed, until the day it could be alleviated completely.

His fingers traced over the indentation of 'M. Cale' written in the blue ink of the teacher's bubbly print.

The kid couldn't be like Madonna or Cher, they'd decided early on and he certainly couldn't be Cale Cale, for the sake of being normal, he needed two names and Logan still wasn't willing to share his. Cale needed his own identity, just as Logan had as a child. So Michael Cale was the name he was learning to write, even though Cale was the name he was still called. His teacher seemed to appreciate the unusual choice they'd made by having him referred to as his last name since she already had three Michael's in her preschool class.

He smiled once more looking down at those large, slightly sloppy letters, far better than any of the other kids in his class. Cale had already caught up to the class, despite only being in school for less than two months versus their six.

He was reminded of Alec's words as he moved to return the paper to its counterparts on the small wooden table under the windows as he thought of C ale enrolled in Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School (Max's choice of course after actually witnessing first hand what the public schools were like nowadays).

Alec had called them mature.

It had happened just a few short weeks ago as Alec realized their detailed/scheduled/organized lives. School was from 8:30 to 3:15. Logan took him on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Max picked him up, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Meaning Logan had him, Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. They shared him on Wednesdays. Max picked him up and kept him until around 5:30 when she'd head over to Logan's with him. They'd do family stuff then, dinner, playtime, whatever the mood called for, but they spent the entire night together. Almost nothing interrupted or separated them. They were together through cooking dinner, bath-time, playtime, through story-time and up until bedtime.

Mature though?

That world had startled him.

It was certainly a more grown up life than he'd ever expected, more than he'd ever expected for Max, certainly more than he ever expected from them together.

It was frighteningly scheduled.

Cale's time just about perfectly divided between them and they'd both chosen to adjust their work hours to suit Cale and maximize their own time with him.

He wasn't sure though, if their lives were a matter of maturity or necessity.

They needed the rules to govern their lives.

It wasn't really maturity, but complacency maybe?

They did what they had to do.

This was what they had to do.

All of it.

The doorbell rang, startling him. Caused him to look down at the papers he'd picked up to straighten and had forgotten to put down. He did so now as he moved to turn out of the room wondering who exactly had used the doorbell, half amazed it even worked.

-o-o-o-

He'd been startled to see her. She expected that. He'd done everything in his power to keep her out of his house. But part of her had deep down believed that startle would quickly turn to a happy surprise.

He looked happy to see her, but she wasn't quite so sure he meant it. He continued to look slightly puzzled and double checked that the plan had been for him to pick her up at 4; even they both knew for sure it had been.

Instead she had been on his doorstep at 3:15; she'd known it was his house from the time he'd quickly stopped by after work for a bottle of wine with her in the car on the way to her place. Dating for over two months and not seeing the inside of the other person's place set off more than just a few alarms. She'd grilled Gabby after one drink too many just a week ago. All she'd gotten was hot ex and cute kid.

She knew the cute kid part, she'd seen pictures and she understood him not wanting to introduce someone temporary into his son's life. She knew the days and times she got to be Logan's girlfriend.

It wasn't really something that bothered her; in fact it was kind of nice. They knew what to expect from each other…Nothing too serious…It was nice…Suited her life…Her job prided itself on discrimination, marriages were looked down upon, kids were strictly forbidden or you got kicked to the curb. They were always supposed to be models of perfection in their 1940's secretary's appearance. Full face of makeup, perfect hair and trousers were looked down upon but were begrudgingly allowed in the cold winter months, but even those along with the rest of their wardrobe highlighted their femininity.

Kind of job that would have any feminist in an outrage. To most though it was a godsend, including her. She actually earned enough to live and live well, it was a guaranteed paycheck at the end of the week and at least the building was always heated to make up for the exposed skin.

Kind of job though that made you distrust males…Especially males who after two months of sleeping together had yet to show you the inside of their place. That creeping feeling that he had a wife had home was starting to look a hell of a lot more like a possibility because photographs of him with that ultra cute little boy she'd already seen pictures of were with a woman…One single woman and she was all over his living room.

Happy pictures.

Pictures so happy they looked staged. They also set the scene for what looked like a normal happy family home, certainly not one of a bachelor, even one with a kid.

She turned as he entered the room, now changed for their date into a pair of jeans instead of the sweats he'd lazily thrown on after his shower earlier.

"So this is Max?" she asked picking up what she assumed was the most recent photo of the young woman whose name she heard frequently pass the lips of the guys at Doyle's. Never any actual details, just quick questions about her, sometimes paired with things about Cale, sometimes on her own. Kerry didn't have any doubt that men would be so crass and bold to mention the name of the wife or girlfriend in front of the ignorant girl on the side.

Hot? Yea maybe, kinda young though. Logan was worldly and wise, the girl in the picture sitting in what appeared to be this very living room in front of a Christmas tree with Cale on her lap…Well girl was the proper term. Probably completely naïve to the bs her hubby (or whatever he was) was pulling.

"That is Max," he nodded slowly, wondering where exactly this was going. Really wishing he'd just taken her upstairs with him to get dressed instead of leaving her down here.

"So does Max live here?" her eyes firm and focused, not bothering to pussyfoot around the subject.

He laughed and shook his head, "No Max lives across town with her roommate."

"You sure about that?" Straightened strawberry blonde locks were brushed back over her shoulder as she studied his reaction.

"Quite positive," he nodded as his lips twitched with amusement and his eyes sparkled.

She didn't look convinced.

"Would you like to go look inside my closet?"

She debated.

He laughed again.

Could just be a really good bluff, she thought to herself. There was something hidden about him. A part of him he always kept to himself, granted a wifey at home was a bit larger than she expected…

She thought about the picture in her hand once more…She was so young. She had a light in her face that Kerry couldn't remember the last time she'd seen in her own. Reminded her of Logan's whenever he talked about Cale, that proud papa pride.

Logan chuckled again and shook his head, the smile remaining as he moved to retrieve the picture out of her hand as she continued to study him.

The cornflower blue eyes took in the twinkling light green. Such honest eyes…

The front door swung open, "Hey Logan, using your can, apparently this cannot wait five minutes."

A blur sped past the doorway, a blur of dark blue with a red hat.

A slower moving form appeared in the doorway. One that contained the face from the pictures. Her hair pulled back in a sloppy knot, her face showing the barest traces of makeup, maybe mascara or eyeliner to darken and emphasize those already dramatic eyes, a gloss over her lips or maybe she'd just licked them. Clothing didn't really fit someone she could see with Logan. The black jacket over the light pink v-neck shirt and black pants, the gloves still on from the outdoors, she didn't know why exactly, just didn't.

She had a startled look on her face and from the corner of her eye, Kerry could see not only a startled expression on Logan's as well, but one of guilt that wasn't quick to hide.

-o-o-o-

Sucker punched, Max thought as Logan and the girl (Kerry she was guessing after prying the name out of Alec last week), looked over at her stunned.

"Sorry," she forced the word to come out as she watched Logan in a half embrace with the woman just a little taller than her, with strawberry blonde hair that fell just past her shoulder blades, creamy skin that was making her light eyes look especially focused. "No matter how many times you ask, Do you have to go?" she shrugged not exactly where she was supposed to go with this story.

Logan nodded after he fully shifted away from Kerry once the photo was settled in its original position and finally remembered he was supposed to be saying something. "It's always, I hafta go now," he smiled, wondering exactly how he was supposed to make this less awkward.

He assumed it was impossible, because try as he might, he still hated Jeff for no good reason. Just that he got to do what Logan dreamed of every night.

She smiled back.

"Uh, Max this is Kerry, Kerry this is Max and that little person who just ran past with no manners is my son, Cale." He smiled at the end.

"When you gotta go, you gotta go," Kerry smiled. Interesting development, she thought in the midst of it all.

"So where are you two headed?" Logan asked as the room once more returned to the uncomfortable silence.

"Over to OC's new squeeze's for some home cooking," Max tried to keep it light.

"Max's roommate," Logan supplied after nodded, suddenly realizing Kerry would have no idea what they were talking about.

"Oh," she smiled and nodded as fake as everyone else in the room.

The question, What about you guys? Was about to roll off Max's tongue until she realized she really did not want to know the answer.

"Should be a good time," she nodded.

What was taking that kid so long? Max wondered as she stood there with a small smile plastered on her face. If Logan could teach him how to go, he should be able to teach him how to hold it.

Thanks for reading folks!

Sorry it didn't turn out to be the lighter version I had planned.

Oh and if anyone's got any complaints about the pink shirt and Max, remember her wardrobe was refitted after the incident at Jam Pony, so she's still going to be wearing some of that.