Logan’s
Apartment, Fogle Towers – Midnight

Max stepped into
the dim light of Logan’s bedroom. His glasses had slipped down his
nose and his book was resting on his chest. The light glimmered across
his bed, but his eyes were closed and his breathing was even. She
could see the exoskeleton leaning against the chair in the corner
of his room.

As she watched,
his right leg jerked slightly and she saw a grimace quickly cross
his face. She sat down on the bed next to him and picked up his book.
Slipping the marker in the page he was on, she placed the book on
the bedside table.

She leaned over
and smoothed her hand along his face. “Why won’t you talk to me?”
she whispered. Her hand brushed across his lips and his eyes opened
to meet hers.

“Hey,” he said,
his voice gruff with sleep.

Max leaned in and
kissed him lightly on the lips. Her right arm brushed down along his
left until her hand was entwined in his.

“Did they leave?”
he asked.

Max sat back, her
hand still wrapped within his. “Yep. I guess I should just be grateful
that Zack is back to himself, and not be pissed that he left so quickly.”

Logan pushed himself
up against headboard. “They’ll be back, Max. Zack can’t stay away,
and I think Jondy wants to spend more time, not less, with you.”

Max leaned her head
down on Logan’s chest, against his shoulder. “Can you just hold me
tonight?”

He paused, then
smiled at her. “Sure. The world isn’t going anywhere.”

They sat there for
several minutes until Max slipped from his embrace and sat up, looking
him straight in the eyes.

“You would tell
me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you? Like you did the other day
when you didn’t know where Zack was?”

Logan reached out
and smoothed her hair. “Of course. We’re in this together.”

“No matter what?”

“Yes,” Logan answered,
but his eyes moved away from hers. He leaned in and kissed her again.

“You mind if I stay
here tonight?” Max asked, her voice quiet.

“Uh, no, but you
working tomorrow?”

“Yeah, straight
up at 8:00 A.M. No rest for the wicked, according to Normal. Hey,
mind if I grab a shower? Crash was grimy tonight. You could join me,”
Max teased.

“No, you go ahead,”
Logan replied.

Max stood up, stopping
to look back at him. “You’d be straight with me.”

“Straight as an
arrow. Go,” Logan replied, slapping her lightly on her butt.

Max walked into
the bathroom, her brow furrowed. “He’s lying,” she whispered to herself.
“Why start this again?”

Her thoughts continued
to race as she turned the water on in the shower, then slipped under
its pulsing beat. As she reached for the soap, everything suddenly
went white around her.

“What!” she called
out as she slipped to the floor of the shower with a thud.

“Max!” Logan called
in alarm from the bedroom. Using his arms, he slid his legs from the
bed and pushed up, willing them to move forward just this once. He
grabbed for the wall, then the dresser, as he painfully made his way
from the bed. Reaching for the door of the bathroom, he slipped to
the floor and half-crawled until he managed to get to the shower door.

Pulling it open,
Logan found Max crumpled on the floor of the shower, the water coursing
over her body.

“Hey, Max,” Logan
said, panting as he tried to catch his breath. He reached up and turned
the water off.

“What happened?”
Max asked, her voice filled with shock. “Was it a seizure?”

Logan shook his
head. “I don’t think so…I think you fainted.” He reached over to
the shelf of towels next to the shower, pulling a light blue one out
and covering Max with it. As he pulled the towel up to cover her breasts,
his fingers stopped, then traced over the markings on her skin.

“These are new,
aren’t they?” he asked.

Max looked down
at the dark runes now running from her upper right arm to her shoulder
and across her chest. She sighed and raised her eyes to meet Logan’s.
He held her gaze for a moment, then pulled her into his lap and wrapped
his arms around her.

“We’re gonna figure
this out, Max.”

END OF EPISODE 3.13