From Darkness to Light IV: All Through the Night

Logan wheeled through the door, Max slumped on his lap. She had not regained consciousness in the car and he was getting worried. Original Cindy gave him a little extra push as he moved the chair into the living room.

"Help me lay her on the couch," he said.

Original Cindy came around to take Max from his lap. He could tell that Cindy was upset, both at Max's condition and at what she had seen that night. If they could only get Max on the couch...if only Max would open her eyes and show them that Sebastian's dramatic cure had worked and not short-circuited her brain.

He should have taken her to the hospital. He should have called Sam to make sure she was okay. He knew that Max wouldn't want him to do either, but maybe this time it shouldn't be her call. Maybe sometimes he knew better.

Logan leaned forward and touched the soft skin on her face. She looked so peaceful lying there, but Max was not a peaceful person. It seemed wrong to see her so still.

Yesterday, he had been so fixated on getting out of the chair, it was the only thing he could think about, but as Max lay there, so very quiet, Logan was finding that walking just wasn't as important any more. As much as he dreamed of walking again, what he truly could not bear would be to live his life without Max.

God, please, make her open her eyes, he prayed.

She had slipped into his life when he least expected it. Up to that point, everything had been going along fine. He had established Eyes Only as the only real source for free journalism, and while it was still exciting, his days as a fighter for truth and justice had started to wear on him. It was hard to bear the burden of fighting for the rights of people in an unjust world and some days it felt like that battle was never going to end.

Until the night Max showed up in his apartment holding that statue; it was like someone had turned up the adrenaline. He had to know who and what she was. He had to see her again.

Of course, then Bruno Anselmo came along and knocked him off his high horse...literally. Logan had to be honest with himself. He had not made a good crip at first. He had been sullen, bitter and basically a real ass to be around. But unlike everyone else in his life who tiptoed around him, Max didn't put up with his shit. He had needed that more than she might ever know. Max was the one who saved him. She was his miracle. And maybe she would be again.

He needed her to wake up. She was scaring the shit out of him; let alone what she was doing to Original Cindy in the kitchen. He couldn't live without her...he couldn't even imagine it.

Damn it, Max...what were you thinking? Don't you know that I don't need you to save the world to love you? I need you in my arms.

He could feel her blood in him, when it first flowed into his veins and now as it was coursing through his body. Maybe it wouldn't create the miracle they both had hoped for, but having her within him, it had given him the strength to save her earlier that night. God, he hoped he had saved her in time. If he hadn't, he would never forgive himself.

If she woke up...when she woke up, he was going to pull her close and never let her go. He needed to feel her skin next to his, closer than any two people could possibly be. He needed her back in his bed. He could not bear the thought of never seeing her look at him with those beautiful eyes again, to never hear the sound of her voice. He would not be able to continue without her.

Logan reached down to stroke her hair, his mind still deep in thought. It was taking too long. She should be awake by now.

Without her in his life, he wasn't sure what the past few months would have been like. During his recovery, Max was out there like some unreachable goal. He had no expectation that she might reenter his life, but he had often dreamed about it. After Bling helped him to bed, he would lie there, imagining that she was there, standing in the shadows of his room, watching over him. She was his angel, his dark guardian angel.

When she finally did show up, he had been such a jerk. To be honest, they both were, but Logan could only be responsible for his own actions. He was so afraid of her rejection and at the same time so desperate to keep her in his life that he held her at arm's length. He was so sorry for that now. There were so many changes going on in his life and for the first time Logan found himself lost and unsure. He was no longer the great Eyes Only, but rather a broken man trapped in a body he thought was useless.

She made him realize that he still had a life, that there were many reasons to continue. She gave him the will to live, to recover, and to gain back control over his body and his mission. He had taken so much strength from her. He only hoped that somehow, by finding Hannah or by searching for Zack and the others, that he had been able to return a bit of that to her.

He had never dreamed they could go to the next step, a smile crossing his face as he remembered their first night together. Sure, Bling had told him it was possible, but Max was the one who showed him that he could still love, that he could make a place for her in his heart and his bed. She was the one who gave him the confidence to try things that he had never dreamed he'd be capable of after the shooting. She made him feel sexual again.

I love the feeling of you in my arms, Max, he thought as he leaned forward and touched her arm. I love the way you are so tender and make sure that my needs are being met. You are a kind and giving lover. Each time we've made love has been unique and new for me, as we grow in our confidence and dedication to one another.

He longed to reach down and take her in his arms, to hold her in his lap like he had at the insurance office, the way he had clutched her to his body in the car as Original Cindy drove them back to the apartment. He wanted to give her the strength he had felt in his body as he crawled across the floor to save her.

I'm not used to you being the weak one, to you needing me to save you, he thought, willing her awake. I was so afraid that I would not get there in time, that the implant would have destroyed you. I cursed my body for failing me, again, but hopefully by some miracle, Sebastian's trick has worked. Open your goddamn eyes, Max!

Logan could hear the sound of Max's voice blending with Original Cindy's in the kitchen. He could only imagine how hard that's been for her to keep this secret from her best friend...how hard it was to tell her.

She's not going to freak on you, Max. I hope you know that...Original Cindy has got your back, he thought.

The front door closed and Max came down the hallway to the living room.

"Everything okay?" Logan asked.

She nodded and crossed to him. Sitting on the couch, she took his hands in hers.

"I'm sorry I scared you, that I took off like that."

He nodded and tipped his head up and looked at her. "You scared the shit out of me." He wanted to tell her how much, but she looked like she might crack if he said anything.

A small tear slid down her cheek. She looked more upset than he had ever seen her. He held out his arms, inviting her to join him in the chair.

"I just did it, took the implant without even thinking," she cried, her face tucked into his neck, her body heaving with more emotion than he had ever seen.

"You were protecting your friend, Max," he whispered, his face nestled in her hair. He pulled her tight again, trying to comfort her.

"Can we . . .? Can you just hold me tonight?" she asked.

He moved carefully through the room and into the bedroom, Max still on his lap. He stopped next to the bed and reached to pull back the sheets so she could climb into the bed. He followed her, transferring from the chair to the bed.

"Here, let me," he said as she began to slip her shirt off. Her body was covered with sweat and blood from the fight with the Reds. "Do you want to take a shower? I could run you a bath?"

She looked down at her grime-covered body. "A bath."

He nodded and slid back into the chair. Part of the renovation to the apartment had included re-doing the shower and putting in a new bath. Knowing how much Max loved a hot soak, he was glad he had put in the deeper tub, with jets. Tonight both of their aching bodies would appreciate it.

She followed him into the bathroom, sitting on the toilet as she watched him fill the tub. She had been quiet, unusually subdued since she had regained consciousness.

"There, try that," he said, the tub now filled with hot water and just enough bubbles.

She climbed into the water, sighing as it slipped over her tired, aching body. He leaned over and ran the loofah across her shoulders.

"Do you want the jets?" he asked.

"Only if you join me," she responded.

He slipped the clothes from his body, trying to act suave as he pushed himself up in the chair and wrestled the pants down his legs. These were the moments when he would have given anything for a lower injury, more ab control, more glutes...hell, strength in his legs just so he could pull himself up, stand and slip the garments off more easily.

Finally naked, he slid over to the wide edge of the tub and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Move forward, a little bit," he instructed.

She slid forward in the large tub as he grabbed the rail on the far side and lowered himself into the water. His back rested against the end of the tub as Max slid herself between his legs, her body coming to rest against his.

"Jets?" he asked again.

She nodded and he reached to press the button. As the water began to move, Max chuckled.

"What?" he asked.

"You're dancing," she replied, turning to kiss him gently on the lips.

And he was, the water moving his legs back and forth. He slid back further in the tub, trying to move them away from the stream of the jets, but Max stopped him. She kissed him again and then turned back to face forward as she wrapped her legs around his, bringing them to rest once again.

She sighed and relaxed against his chest, her hand reaching down to find his. With their left hands linked, she went in search of his right hand. She pulled it down between her legs, bringing it to rest on her clit.

"Are you up for that?" he asked.

She nodded and smiled. "Sex is good for what ails you, Logan Cale, don't you know that by now?"

She was insatiable. If he had gone through what she had experienced that day, he'd be out of commission for at least a week. It looked like the Manticore genes aided recovery in all areas.

"I love when you touch me here," she said, moving his hand back and forth across her pelvic bone. "It does something to me, makes me wild." She arched back into him as the warmth filled her body. She shuddered slightly as she began to climax. Her hand tightened on his, forcing it to press harder, move faster. The orgasm swept through her body and she collapsed back against him once again.

"Feel better?" he whispered into her ear, nipping it lightly with his lips.

She slipped from his arms and turned to face him, kneeling before him, the water and bubbles sliding down from her shoulders and arms.

"Logan Cale, you are what the doctor ordered," she responded, leaning in to kiss him. His lips parted and she pressed further, her tongue teasing his. She explored further as her hands moved from beneath the water to his chest. She rested them on his strong, broad shoulders. Her tongue plunged deeper now, pressing into him. She slid his body down, until the water covered his body and she was on top of him. His head remained just above the water line and she continued to kiss him. His arms were around her now as she controlled the movement of their bodies. She slipped her hand down and felt his penis. She moved until it slipped in and then used her body to draw him further within her.

He watched, knowing what was going on underneath the water. He thought that he could feel it...somehow, something was happening there. He was growing hard inside of her and it wasn't all Max's efforts...well, at least not her efforts at the moment. It was her blood. It was healing him.

A look of pleasure crossed Max's face as she pressed him against the back of the tub once again. She smiled as she watched Logan's orgasm shudder down his rib cage and into his belly. The man could orgasm just about anywhere on the top half of his body.

He had felt the climax coming, but this time it was different. It felt different. It was below the injury line. It wasn't his imagination.

He was coming back. It was just going to take time, but Logan Cale had never been a patient man. It wasn't in his nature to wait.

FIN

Feedback gratefully received and acknowledged at rachel _wilder@hotmail.com