51There's No Such Thing as a Quiet Evening by Maria656
This is my answer to the D.A. R. challenge, also my first post. M/L!
Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel, nor am I making any money from this.
This is solely for my personal amusement, and hopefully that of others.
A/N-I'm in S2 denial, AJBAC never happened, the anniversary never was interrupted, kissing and other adult activities occurred and M & L now spend more non-work related time together.
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Max and Logan were cuddling on the couch, drinking some wine by candlelight and listening to some soft music when the phone rings. Logan checks the I.D.
"It's Matt Sung. I'll try to get rid of him quickly." Logan gives Max a quick kiss as he reluctantly moves her off his chest.
"Hurry back or I'm coming after you," she says with a smile.
After a while, Max makes good on her threat. Logan is still on the phone with Matt and making notes. She joins him in the office.
"What's up?" asks Max.
"Bad news I'm afraid," Logan replies. "Matt found evidence of another smuggling ring. The bad guys have been arrested but they won't talk, and if we don't find the children in the next couple of days they could be dead. "
"Any leads to narrow the search?" Max looks over Logan's shoulder at his notes.
"Matt's going to let me look into their computers that were confiscated."
"I'll go get changed." Max begins to walk away but Logan grabs her by the hand.
"I'm sorry. I know I promised you a quiet evening."
Max gives him a quick kiss. "It's OK. You know I won't allow a bunch of kids to get hurt if I can help it. "
-Max and Logan meet Detective Sung
"Your cover is you're independent computer security consultants, Michael and Kate Roberts," explains Matt. "Max, you went to school with my brother, which makes us chummy but not close enough that they'll expect details."
Matt introduces Max and Logan to his lieutenant then takes them into an alcove.
"We put the hard drives in here. Have at it." Matt leaves, and Logan starts doing his thing.
"I've narrowed it down to three storage locations that are big enough to hold a lot of people, yet remote enough to be useful."
"What do we tell Matt?" asks Max. "His boss will be suspicious if his computer geek friends want to do their own investigation."
"I'm giving a bogus lead to Matt for his boss, a real one for him, and we're taking copies of everything," Logan holds up a flash drive, "for me to go over again later."
"After we do a little B & E?" Max smiles.
"More like S & R. I don't want these kids going overseas. "
"Me neither. Let's bounce. "
Logan talks to Matt then he and Max leave and try to the first location.
"Are you sure this is it? It looks deserted." Max focuses her vision and looks around.
"Well that's kinda the point."
Max opens the car door. "I'll check it out."
"Got you on comms."
Max jumps the fence and breaks into the building. No signs of life around here. She can tell people cleared out in a hurry.
"There's nothing, Logan. I looked everywhere. Whoever was here is gone. I'm heading back. "
Max gets back into the car. "You have blueprints of these places? Maybe there's a hidden room or something. "
"I'll see what I can do." Logan's hands fly over the keys. "Hey, this other listing has something. The room dimensions don't add up. We'll go there next. "
Max looks at the blueprints while Logan drives.
"No signs of life here either."
"Max, be careful."
"You know me," she smiles.
"Yeah, I do. Be careful. "
Max gets into the building and goes to the area with blueprints don't match. "Can you see anything that goes to the missing room-air vent, water pipe, something?"
"There's an air duct between the rear exit and the restroom on the left. Has to go somewhere. "
Max focuses her vision. She goes into the room and finds a panel behind a stall. As she starts tapping on the panel, she hears faint sounds and weak cry for help.
"I'm coming! Move away from the door!" Max rips through the panel, and when the dust clears she sees boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 12, only a few of them are awake and alert. "Logan, call Matt and have him get it least three ambulances here. We have a lot of weak and dehydrated kids." Max's voice starts to break.
"I'm on it Max."
Max starts taking the kids outside, some of the older ones that are okay help the little ones. A few of the children start perking up once they get in the fresh air. Matt and the ambulances pull up.
Max walks over to Detective Sung. "There are several dehydrated kids and they're all scared."
"I'll take care of them Max," Matt replies. "Thanks for your help."
"We need to try to find their parents," Logan adds.
"We'll take some of the ones in aren't critical in the car and meet them at Metro Medical." Max states.
After the EMTs assess everyone for injuries, Max takes two girls and a boy in their early teens, an eight year old girl, and a little boy about five to Logan's car. The girls and teenage boy climb into the back seats. Max holds the little boy with light brown curly hair on her lap.
As Logan is driving, he periodically glances at Max holding the little boy. He could be ours, Logan thinks to himself, with that head full of curls and brown eyes.
Max notices Logan watching her cuddling the little boy and gives him a smile. He could be ours, she thinks, with curls like mine and coloring like Logan's-whoa- where did that come from? Our relationship is substantially better since our anniversary but kids? I don't even know if I can with my whacked biology. Not to mention being on the run with the baby would be insane, and Manticore would be on him like they were on Case ... we never even talked about it ... Still, a baby with Logan ... Max smiles wistfully.
They pull up at the hospital. Max and Logan take the kids inside.
Logan goes to the triage nurse. "These guys were with the others, but they weren't in such bad shape. They should get checked out though. "
The nurse leads them to the back. Max carries little boy. He wakes up when she sets him on the gurney.
"Hey sweetie. It's OK. What's your name?"
He answers her in a very soft voice. "Brian."
"Hi Brian, I'm Max ... how old are you?"
"5 and 1/2 years old"
"0h-You're a big boy. I have another question for you-can you tell me your mom or dad's name or where you live?"
"I live on Main Street in the white house with a blue door. I never met my dad, but my mom's name is Judy. She got sick and went away." Brian began crying, and Max picks him up.
"Oh sweetie, it's gonna be OK." Max holds him and rubs his back. Logan comes in and goes to Max. "Logan not all these kids have homes to go to. What to are we gonna do ?"
"Matt and I will work on it. Once we know who has family and who doesn't we'll find them homes." Logan puts his arm around her. "It'll be OK. "
Max has the beginnings of tears shimmering in eyes. "He doesn't know his dad, his mom is dead and he's been kidnapped. I won't let him go into foster care." Max has a flashback of her and Lucy hiding under the stairs at her foster father's house.
Logan kisses Max's cheek. "I know, Angel. I promise he'll be safe. "
Detective Sung comes in with another officer in takes the older kid's information. A nurse practitioner comes and checks the kids and all of them are given fluids and food to eat.
"These kids don't have to be admitted," says the nurse.
"The older ones can stay till the parents come to get them," replies Matt.
"Can we take Brian until we find a home for him?" Max asks. Logan looked sharply at her but says nothing.
"Sure," Matt answers. "I know where to reach youif Ifind anything."
Logan and Max go to the car with Brian. Brian is dozing back to sleep in the backseat while Logan is driving.
"This is ok, right?" Max asks hesitantly.
Logan looks over at Max and smiles. "Nice time to ask." They both chuckle. "It's fine Max."
Back at the penthouse-
Brian is now asleep, and Max carries him into the guest room. He starts to cry in his sleep, and Max sits on the bed next to him and he lays his head on her lap. She talks quietly to him and strokes his curls. Logan watches from the door and she smiles at him and waves him in.
"Come in with us." Max slides over with Brian to give Logan room.
"You need anything?" Logan sets a glass of water on the nightstand.
"No. "
Logan lies down with his arms around them both. Max is still stroking Brian's head.
"Isn't he beautiful?" she says quietly.
"Yes he is." Logan runs his hand through Max's hair. "Is someone getting a case of baby lust?"
"Couldn't say-don't know what it is."
"The irresistible urge some women have to have a baby."
"I have enough to worry about without having a baby on the run."
"Didn't say you had to follow the urge. And you didn't answer my question. "
"If, and I'm not saying it's the case, but if the thought ever entered my mind about a baby ... would that totally freak you out?"
"No, it wouldn't freak me out, but I would be worried."
"Why? Because of my screwed up biology or the government agency tracking me down?"
"... because of my screwed up biology. I don't know that I could give you a baby. "
"I guess we should discuss it with Sam at your next appointment. Else this whole conversation could be irrelevant. "
Logan puts his hand over hers. "The baby doesn't have to be ours biologically to be ours. There are other options. "
"I know. We can discuss them if and when it comes to that point. "
"Okay." Logan kisses Max's neck. "Listen to us-planning a family and we are not even married. "
Max turns around the face Logan with a shocked face. "You want to marry me?"
"What you don't want to marry me?"
"I didn't say that and stop answering a question with a question."
"Yes Max. I planned on asking you on our year-and-a-half anniversary. I'm not wasting any more time dancing around with you. I love you. "
Max has tears in her eyes. "I love you Logan." She kisses him.
"Does this mean to you might say yes-when I ask?"
"Yes, even though the 'all the days of my life' part may be shorter than most."
"It doesn't matter. I mean, I'll take whatever I get; if I get 100 years or 100 hours, I want them with you. I love you, Max. "
He kisses her, gently at first, then more thoroughly. Max reluctantly pulls away.
"We better cool it in here," she smiles. "At least till we get to our room. I just want to stay with Brian a little longer. "
"I know, baby. Just nudge me when you want to go. "
They settle back down with their arms around each other and the sleeping boy. Max strokes the little boy's cheek.
"Nothing bad's gonna happen to you on my watch," she whispers. She kisses Brian's head.
Max and Logan drift off to sleep. Bling finds the three of them in the morning. Brian sees him and taps Max on the shoulder. She wakes up, surprised as she slept as long as she did and looks around and sees Bling. She smiles at Brian.
"It's OK. This is my friend, Bling. Hey, Bling. "
"Hey baby girl. Who's the new edition?"
"This is Brian. He's hanging with us for awhile. "
"Cool," Bling replies. "Get Logan up and I'll start breakfast."
During breakfast the phone rings, and it's Detective Sung...
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Your choice:
A-Sung has found a relative that will take Brian.
B-No relatives are found and Logan finds him a good family possibly with Maria on the farm or with Jude
C-No relatives are found and Max and Logan keep him.
This is not a cliff-this is a fork in the road.
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A/N-Thank you to Reilynn for being an awesome Beta and making this as painless as possible.
Thanks to RTForever for cheering me on.