Title: Vacation days

Name: Joy

Email: [email protected]

Rating: R

A/N: Thanks to Rachel and Jack! I get far less grammar slams when they're involved.

The Cape Haven incident proved to be both a blessing and a curse for Logan Cale's mental state. He had proved to himself and Max, whom he suspected hadn't any need of proof, that he could defend them if necessary. However, he had never taken a life before and 'Out, Out Damn Spot' wasn't working for him. As they drove home, Logan diverted from their itinerary and headed toward his uncles cabin. He needed a real vacation, with no Eyes Only distractions- only 'Max' type distractions.

As he drove the memories of the last few days haunted him. Kill or be killed was a very foreign experience for Logan, so tried to process it. Those men would have killed all of them… They intended to kill them and they would have followed through had Logan not acted, alone, without Max. He definitely used his noodle in planning the defense of the house more then Max would have since he wasn't a Manticore prototype. As dumb and chauvinistic as it was, his chest still swelled with pride for that accomplishment.

Max smiled happily when she recognized where they were going. The boy was actually going to take her on a vacation as they had planned. She knew it meant that some where inside Logan he partial understood she could care less about the wheelchair. Logan was Logan on wheels or standing. She wanted him to be able to walk and be healed for his own self-esteem, but in her mind, he wasn't impaired.

As they pulled up to the cabin, their minds wander back to the last time they were there. The car stopped and so did time. This time there was no Lydecker to run from or Zach to be the third wheel. They were at the spot where they kissed and said goodbye, but no goodbye was anywhere in site. This trip was much more of a step closer to something more. They sat in the car revisiting the past in their minds before their eyes sheepishly found each other's faces. Their gazes darted back and forth, trying to avoid the intimacy that seemed natural at this location.

Since their last visit, a ramp had been installed and a couple futons replaced a couch by the fireplace to accommodate Logan. Although his uncle felt he was the black sheep, his children would never allow Logan to feel unwelcome in the family cabin. Max and Logan quickly unloaded the car and went inside. Few words were spoken between the pair as luggage was deposited in the house. Logan would stay in the living room on one of the futons, while Max would bunk upstairs, though she figured her stuff would stay upstairs while she'd conveniently sleep on the futon opposite Logan.

Max came down the stairs and heard Logan groaning softly while he attempted to massage his own back. "What happened?"

"I think I pulled something moving the chair out of the way," he said as she came closer.

"Come here," she ordered as she sat down on the futon. He eyed her in protest but gave in after a momentary stare off. He came to sit next to her as she positioned his back toward her. Her nimble fingers found the source of the pain and kneaded the knot that had formed under his skin. Logan held himself still as she worked. "Hey! Relax- We're on vacation, remember? Your back is holding a lot of stress… Let me help, please."

With a great sigh, Logan released himself to the feeling of his friend, partner, or whatever Max was, rubbing his very sore back. She was right about his back holding his stress. All the fear and pain over the last few days had wound their way into the muscles of his back. He had fought a good fight and now Max was helping him with his wounds, much in the way he normally did for her after a big fight. Her thumbs found each knot along his spine and pressed hard, then soft on the fiber until it surrendered to her touch. In a few minutes, neither Logan nor Max were aware of the others presence. They were functioning as one. Max's hands healing his hurts and healing her own hurts as well.

Max's hands traveled up to the base of Logan's neck gently caressing the stress out of it. He lowered his head to stretch the muscles himself, rocking his head back and forth. Her fingers worked over his neck again before running down the length of his back. She scooted closer to get a better angle on some sections of his back. He could feel her breath on the back of his neck. It was very enticing to have her so close to him, her hands caressing his body and her hot breathe on his flesh.

Max could feel the attraction as well. Sitting in the same cabin with Zach with the novelty of a rainy night, a fireplace and wine didn't stir her senses the way this did. She could feel the heat from his body and all she really wanted was to wrap her arms around him and pull him close.

Her body got ahead of her mind, as her hands made their way to his sides and rested there. Logan relished the sensation of Max's hands on his body, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world to lean back into her waiting arms that encompassed his chest in seconds. Without further thought, Max hugged Logan from behind resting her chin on his shoulder as he rested his arms on top of hers. They cuddled without facing one another, to avoid the inevitable questions. Both were content to hold each other, feeling that this moment was right.

The moment soon became wrong as Max's right foot began to complain of the weight it had borne since the beginning of the massage. A few minutes into the hug, Max grimaced and muttered, "Awwoa…"

"What?"

"My foot… I've been sitting on it for a while and now it hates me," she said trying to maneuver it from under her without letting go.

"Well, we can't have that…" Logan replied sliding to the side to remove the annoyed foot from under her. He seized the opportunity by taking the offended foot into his hands. "My turn," he said looking Max in the eye steadily. He hoped she didn't see the trepidation in his eyes. Experience had taught him massages anywhere on a woman's body, even or especially her feet, if done well, could have wonderful side effects.

Logan de-shoed and de-robed her right foot. His hands rubbed gently down the base of her foot. Max's eyes shone with a bit of vulnerability as he caressed the blood back into her sore appendage. His eyes met hers and were very soft. "Close your eyes and relax," he whispered. Something in the way he spoke made her breathe deeply and lay back to enjoy his attention. The pins and needles she had been experiencing gave way to warm sensations. Without realizing it, Max lifted her other foot to rest in Logan's lap.

He chuckled quietly as Max relaxed and started enjoying his touch. The second foot finding its way into his lap was a bit of a shocker, but he took it in stride. He soon had her left foot naked as well, attending to it with the same care. Max was content to let her mind drift away as her body became increasingly at peace by his ministrations.

Logan's glanced up from Max's feet to her sweet face. He watched the peaceful look on her face and the relaxed posture of her body before noticing her chest rise and fall. He had been infuriated by the way that the guys at the pool hall 'admired the view' of Max, the way he now allowed himself to 'admire' her. In seconds, his mind began to fantasize about the possible endings of this massage. None of them included anything like a handshake.

He pictured rubbing her feet the way he knew turned women on, then kissing her ankle and licking up her calve. He'd do the same to the other foot and ankle, playing with her toes along the way. He would push himself up to her face and lie on top of her. She would meet his mouth and plunder it with her tongue.

As the thoughts raced through his hormonally induced brain, he began to massage Max's feet more aggressively than before. One strong caress at the base of her right foot sent pleasant sensations rocketing through her core in ways she didn't know were possible from a simple foot rub. Max sat straight up and then locked eyes with Logan in a second, unsure how to proceed. They were now both extremely turned on, but what to do about it was a mystery.

"I'm… I shouldn't…" Logan muttered, damning himself for not being more in control of his faculties. As his eyes met hers again, he spied a smoldering flame in them. /I hope she's not mad… or offended. /

Logan still held Max's foot as they stared at one another. A question appeared in her eyes after a while, "How?" She shook her head, "Did…" was all she got out.

Logan's eyes drop as he lay her foot down in his lap. "I shouldn't have," was the only response he could muster.

"Wanted to?" she asked with her head bowed as well, not really understanding what she was asking. The broken conversation was exceptionally difficult for these two who were so close and yet so far from each other.

"I don't know…" he finally said.

"Did you?" she asked a little more forcefully.

"Did I what?"

Max raised her head in determination. Something had just happened and she wanted to understand it. "Did you mean to?… Did you want to?… Did you want me to?…"

He was sunk. He had a way with finagling around topics like these in the past, but he didn't think he could avoid lying to Max. It took all his courage, but he decided to raise his eyes to hers and hoped they would speak for him, since his tongue would only screw it up.

She saw the fear and self-loathing in his eyes. His actions had caused him to feel weak and worse then the scum that had been ogling her at the bar. More then anything he need to feel forgiveness for taking advantage of the situation. Max looked at him and moved closer, sitting right next to him, Indian style. His eyes still loomed heavily with guilt. "I'm sor…" was all that slid past his lips before she silenced him with a small kiss.

"I'm not," she said looking into his wide eyes filled with surprise.

"I still shouldn't have," he shook his head.

"Why?"

"Because I did know what it would do…to you. It was… I was…being manipulative," he said with much pain in his brow.

Max reached over and grabbed Logan's hand, "I'll get over it. It's fine."

He shook his hand free of hers in utter frustration. "No it isn't! That's not what I want… I don't want to be…" His sentence broke off there and he wouldn't look at her.

She brought her hand to his face to turn it to hers in question, "What? You don't want to be what?" Logan refused to speak; his eyes were fiery with rage. Her eyes darted back and forth as if she looked at him in just the right way at the right moment he would let her in. Soon she tired of the game or contest or whatever Logan was playing at. "So, you don't want to talk to me or accept that I forgive you for being male- Fine!" she snapped as both feet were planted squarely back on the floor.

She gathered her socks and shoes to put them on. As she stood up, Logan grabbed at her arm and vented, "I don't want to be that way WITH YOU!" He then sighed, took a deep breath, and said more softly, "I don't want that with you."

Max's face softened. She dropped her shoes. They stared each other for a while, then he stated, "I can and have been manipulative with you and… I hate it. I hate myself for it… I also hate looking at you… well, like those thugs did."

Max smiled as Logan babbled, but felt the need to stop him. "You know there is a major difference between you and the thugs in Cape Haven."

"What? All of them are dead now?" Logan said bitterly.

"No! I didn't enjoy it when they looked at me that way." The surprise shone in Logan's face was amazing. She had just said in a few words something he had only hoped in the back of his mind. "Did you ever think I might enjoy the idea of you looking at me with desire?" she asked the dumb-founded man next to her on the couch, then chuckled as she put her shoes on.

When Max's head returned to his level, Logan took her by surprise and met her lips with his own. He pulled her face closer with both hands as he nibbled at her full lips. After a few seconds Max relaxed and returned Logan's kiss, sinking into the arms that surrounded her. She opened her mouth slightly to see if he would deepen their kiss. He toyed with her lips with his tongue for a few moments before fully invading her mouth. When oxygen became an issue for them, they dimmed the intensity of their kiss.

As their mouths parted, Max's brown eyes sparkled with the same delighted intensity that shone in Logan's. Max licked her lips tasting him again before saying, "So, you gonna tell me what you were thinking about before you stroked my foot in a way that could have possibly made me come under different conditions?"

Fire in Logan's eyes rose as he responded seductively, "Take your shoes off and I'll show you!"