Leo was sitting in a wheelchair, feet flat on the floor, two parallel bars before him.

"Whenever you're ready, Leo," Dr. Kodah smiled reassuringly at him. Leo tried to reply that he was.

It was finally time. All he had to do was grab the bars and stand up.

Leo's heart was in his throat. Dr. Kodah, a single nurse, and Max were the only people present. No huge crowd to gawk at him, only a few people for moral support.

He was a Marine, for fuck's sake! He had nothing to be nervous about, and even if he was nervous, it was nothing he couldn't grit his teeth through.

But what if he couldn't walk? What if he never made it past this point? What if he lost feeling in his legs again? What if-

"On your feet, Victorion!" Max ordered, loud enough to make everyone else jump.

Leo's heart was racing, but his mind went quiet. He answered, "Yes sir!" on instinct, and grabbed the bars. Then he planted his feet and pulled, lifting himself upright out of the chair.

And just like that, Leo was standing.

His knees were locked, he was putting all his weight on his arms, and he was shaking like a leaf, but by God, Leo was standing.

Leo let out a shaky, amazed laugh and looked down at his feet. He was up on his own two feet again. Beaming with excitement, Leo looked to Max, and found the other man grinning proudly at him.

Leo hadn't expected to care about Max's approval so much.

Slowly, Leo loosened his white-knuckle grip on the bars and let his legs bear his weight. Amazingly, everything felt fine. He could feel the pressure in his feet, adjusted his stance easily, and soon enough was barely holding onto the bars.

"Looking good so far," Dr. Kodah assured him, eyes flicking back down to a small holo-screen. "Are you up to trying a few slow steps? Don't worry, we'll be right here to catch you if you stumble." He and the nurse started to move closer to Leo's sides, but then Max stopped the doctor with a hand on his shoulder.

"Absolutely not," Max shook his head, frowning. "You two will do no such thing; Leo can catch himself." Dr Kodah started to speak, but Max cut him off. "Stop babying him and let the man walk." There was no room for arguing.

"Go on," he said to Leo, "show me what you've got."

"Yes sir," Leo answered again, and looked down at his feet. He took a deep breath to steady himself, and took a step.

As soon as Leo's foot left the ground, his other knee buckled and he went down.

Leo clung to the bars to catch himself, managing to hold on as he went clumsily down to one knee.

Oh God I was right, I can't walk. Leo felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes, and he clenched his teeth together hard enough to ache. He didn't want to break down again, but this was too much, he couldn't-

"Leo!"

Leo winced at Max's call, but turned to face him anyways, and was surprised to see Max still holding back the doctor and nurse from rushing over to him. Max said nothing else, but he held Leo's eyes. For the briefest of moments, what Leo saw in Max's stare wasn't like that of a soldier or a BPS agent.

It was the way Leo's father had looked at him when Leo had left for service. Worried, but so proud and full of confidence in him.

Max nodded and released the doctor and nurse who started to come over, but Leo held up a hand to stop them. "No, don't help me. I've got this."

The two looked unsure, but backed off nonetheless. Leo readjusted his grip on the bars. His hands was steadier now, less shaky. Slowly, carefully, Leo hauled himself back to his feet. His movements were jerky and mechanical, but he could still feel his legs. He wasn't going to let one tumble stop him. Not now.

When Leo tried again to take a step, he fell once more.

Another attempt, another fall. Again. Again.

"Leo," Dr. Kodah said, "you've already made incredible progress today, you should take a break."

"No," Leo said, and was surprised at how calm his voice was. "I can do this."

Max walked over and stood beside the bars, and placed a large hand on Leo's back. "You're overthinking things. Yours cybernetic legs are a part of your body now; just let them move naturally."

Leo nodded, and tried again. The comforting presence of Max's hand never left his back.

Leo carefully moved one foot forward. His legs held him up. He moved the other foot. Leo didn't even speak; he barely breathed. He focused harder than he'd ever focused in his life, and let the momentum of his step carry him forwards. Then he did it again, and again, until suddenly Leo had walked the entire distance of the parallel bars.

Leo didn't even realized he had collapsed from the overexertion until Max was catching him, both arms around him and hugging him tightly to Max's chest.

"Ha ha! You did it!" Max cheered, squeezing Leo tightly in his hold. Leo was quiet for a moment as he processed everything. He had walked. Leo could walk again. Max was hugging him in celebration because Leo could walk again.

Leo almost choked on a startled laugh as he looked up at Max, returning the hug and beaming with a flabbergasted smile.

"I never doubted you for a moment," Max smiled at Leo, carefully helping him sit back down in the wheelchair that Dr. Kodah had brought over.

"I.. I just can't believe it," Leo said in amazement as he settled into the chair. He was still shaking and his heart has racing, but he knew it was from excitement now, his whole body buzzing with the aftershocks of what he had just accomplished.

Dr. Kodah came around to clap Leo on the shoulder. "You should be very proud of yourself. Your progress today is outstanding."

"Thank you," said Leo, still somewhat breathless.

Dr. Kodah motioned the nurse forwards. "Could you take Leo back to his room? I think that's more than enough for today."

The nurse nodded and stepped forwards to take the handles of his wheelchair, but just before they left, Leo called out to Max.

"Can you come with? I was hoping we could chat for a bit. If you have time, that is."

"Of course, I have all the time in the world today," Max smiled warmly- such a contrast from the commanding presence of earlier- and followed as Leo was taken back to his room.

Once Leo was settled back in his bed and the nurse had left with the wheelchair, Max took a seat in the chair next to Leo's bed. The plastic chair creaked under his weight, but held.

Leo started to speak, but Max beat him to it. "It was the hug, wasn't it? I'm sorry if I overstepped, I just got so caught up in the moment." Max spoke with his eyes on the floor, guilt clear on his face. Leo was so taken aback by the unexpected change in demeanour that it took him a moment to find his voice.

"I... what? No, that wasn't what I wanted to talk about," Leo said, reaching over to pat his knee and smiling. "And I didn't mind the hug at all."

"Really?" Max looked up, surprised. He studied Leo's face for a moment, then sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I'd hate to make things awkward between us."

"Me too," Leo admitted. He hesitated, knowing what he wanted to say next, but unsure if he should say something so vulnerable to Max. He greatly admired the other man, but they'd only known each other for such a short time. Would it be inappropriate? But Max had just hugged him, and seemed embarrassed about it. Maybe now was actually a good time to be open.

Leo kept his hand on Max's knee, but averted his eyes. "I've really come to value our friendship these past months. This may sound crazy, but I've come to think of you like-"

"Family?" Max finished. Leo nodded, and Max grinned and patted his hand over Leo's a few times. "I'm glad to hear you say that, because I feel the same. Never knew I could care so much about someone so fast until I met you."

Leo was startled by the sincerity in Max's tone, and he found himself again at a loss for what to say. "Max, I..."

"Of course," Max laughed and leaned back, "this means that you'll have to meet my wife and daughter once you're out of here."

"Really?" Leo questioned, then realized how rude he sounded. "I mean, of course I want to. That sounds great."

Leo cursed how often he was fumbling his words, especially since this conversation had been at his request. It was such a minor thing to catch him off guard. Max was always so steadfast and strong, yet here he was now, offering to introduce Leo to his family. It was an unusually warm gesture coming from someone like him. But the more Leo thought about it, the more he liked the idea.

"You seem like you've got quite a lot on your mind," Max commented. "Anything you want to share? Did you have different plans for when you get out of here?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about in the first place."

"Go on."

"When I get out of here, after I'm done with Project Esper. I'm still not sure what I do next."

"Ah," Max nodded in understanding. "If I recall, you wanted to re-enlist. Not so sure anymore?"

"I'm not," Leo was surprised to hear himself say it out loud. "I miss my friends and my old life, but I keep having doubts."

"It's hard to give up what you know," Max agreed. "Care to tell me more about these doubts?"

Leo rubbed the back of his neck. "It's hard to describe. I was happy in the Marines, but something about it never felt just right."

"I understand. It's a noble calling, but it's not for everyone. Tell me, Leo," Max leaned forwards, a quizzical look on his face, "what was it about the Marines that drew you to them in the first place?"

"I wanted to help people," Leo answered immediately. "I value serving my country, but more than anything, I wanted to make a difference with my life."

"Those are some grand ambitions."

"I suppose, but I've always felt like I needed to give back somehow. I've been given so much in life."

"And let me guess, now you feel like you need to give back to Cyber Dawn for helping you."

"That's... I..." Leo paused. Max was entirely correct. "I guess I do, now that you say it out loud."

Max snorted and leaned back again, the chair creaking. "You learn to make connections in my line of work. And on that note, have you ever thought of joining somewhere like the Bureau? We could always use someone like you on the force."

Leo almost asked Max if he thought the Bureau life would be a good fit for someone like him, but stopped himself- Max wouldn't have suggested it if he wasn't already sure. So instead, Leo asked, "Do you feel like you make a difference working there?"

"I do," Max said. "There's a hell of a lot of bad shit in this world. Crime, corruption, Goddamn mutants. But out there on the streets, taking down the worst of the worst with my team, well," Max chuckled, "it's hard not to feel like you're at least doing something to make it all better."

Leo pursed his lips, considering Max's words.

"That does sound like something I could do. But I'd need to think about it more."

"Well of course." Max gave him a sort of sideways grin. "And you've still got a long way to go before your doctor even considers letting you leave. But once you're more mobile and able to take day trips away from here, I'll take you by the Bureau headquarters for a tour."

"That sounds great!" Leo might have jumped upright if he wasn't so exhausted.

"And I can show you around Milvallen finally," Max continued, "Take you to all the best spots to eat. None of them even come close to my wife's cooking though. Man, that woman has talent. You'll have to come over for supper soon, I know her and my girl Jeannie will both love you."

Max continued describing the wonders of Milvallen well past the usual length of one of his visits. His attempts to sell Leo on joining the BPS weren't subtle, but Leo listened gladly. Although what stuck out the most to Leo, even after Max had finally left for the day, was how often Max's stories kept circling back to remarks about his family, always with the implication of Leo meeting them.

Leo found himself drawn in, picturing it. A seat at the dinner table, with Max's family welcoming him, swapping stories about work. He could see it happening.

Leo could see himself finding a new home in Milvallen.