Disclaimer: The only character that I claim so far is Jen. She's mine. Everyone else is…well, not.

Author's note: Jen is only used as a catalyst, so don't get put off by how she seeming importance in the first chapter. She fades away soon enough. Also I would really appreciate your reviews.

I'M A REVIEW JUNKIE!

Well, no one told me about her
Though they all knew
Well, it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know, why should I care
Please don't bother trying to find her
She's not there....
Well, let me tell you about the way she looked
The way she acted, the color of her hair
Her voice is soft and cool
Her eyes are clear and bright
But she's not there...

Max was laughing, a full-throated, full-bodied laugh. The sound pervaded the apartment like the smell of roses on a summer's day. It was beautiful and arresting and the second it reached Logan's ears he went completely still. His hand stayed outstretched to pick up a piece of paper, mouth hanging open in a curious "o" not forming the rest of the word he had been in the middle of, and head cocked slightly to the left as he stared uncomprehendingly into green eyes. The thought struck him suddenly to wonder whether he had heard that sound before. As pink lips screwed up he knew the answer was 'no' and it filled him with regret that he had never had the occasion to.

Letting his hand drop just short of its destination he gave a weak smile to the owner of the eyes and turned in his chair. "What the –?' The words died on his lips as his breath caught in his throat at the scene before him.

Alec's muscled arms were wrapped tightly around Max's slender waist as he tried to wrest a bag of Skittles from her. "Come on, give 'em to me! I want the red ones!" He managed to choke out between laughs.

"I don't think so, I found them they're mine!" With a swift elbow jab to his stomach she was dancing away holding the Skittle's bag up in triumph, her ebony hair swirling around her shoulders like a belly dancer's veils. He recovered quickly and snatched it out of her hands mid-victory dance.

With the classic Alec smirk he opened the bag, "They're mine now."

"God, can you get any more immature?" The malice that would usual fill that remark though not completely gone was softened by the smile stretching her perfect carnelian lips.

"Um, nah nah na boo boo?" The smirk was plastered across his face as he poured out a handful of Skittles and offered it to her. Logan bit his lip as he watched the exchange trying to ignore the itching in the back of his head that he had been fending off for over a month now. Alec seemed to be popping up more and more as time wore on, especially after Max had learned about Rachel. A potent reminder that she had been wrong about him all along and she seemed determined to make up for it. Though the two X5s weren't completely comfortable with each other it seemed they were making an effort.

"They seem to get along quite smashingly don't they?" Logan turned at the sound of the smooth purr to stare into cat green eyes. They belonged to a woman with long blonde hair and the name Jen. She was part of the S1W and was currently working with Logan on cracking a code that Max and Alec had just brought to him. Liberated from a dirty millionaire who had worked quite happily along with Manticore. She had a striking face; full lips, pale skin, and wide upturned eyes the color of new leaves that didn't miss a thing and that face had an odd way of looking amused so that Logan was always wondering what the joke was. He had the sudden apprehension that right that moment he was.

With a pained smile Logan ignored the stab of emotion he refused to name, "Yes, well, I'm just glade nothing's actually being smashed for once. They do have the habit of ruining some very expensive pieces of art."

She chuckled softly in his ear from where she was leaning over his computer. Jen was intelligent and had a tendency to be too witty for anyone else's own good. She straightened her back in an almost feline stretch before once again turning back to the computer screen. "They're just like two little kittens fighting over some string. It's cute."

"Yeah. Don't you think we should focus on the code rather than the antics of my cat burglars."

"I think it's appropriate."

"Max!" The bellow made everyone in the room jump except for Alec who had bellowed and, of course, Max who blinked at him innocently.

"I can't figure the base of the code." Logan reached desperately for anyway to distract the keen gaze of the blonde.

"Alec!" it was his turn to look innocent. The smirk two seconds later ruined the whole effect, of course.

"Try multiplying the numbers by three and matching them to the alphabet. Did dirty Harry know any other languages we might need to know about?" She let the words drip from her lips as languidly as if she were stretching.

"Not according to any of my information."

"I'm so gonna kick your ass." The petulant voice of Max was almost a relief until she started laughing again.

"Then it shouldn't be too horribly complex." She her lips quirked up as she looked down at the screen. "Which means I'll probably be here all night."

"Mm hmm." Logan was trying not to look at the wrestling match that had broken out behind him but it was getting harder with every piercing laugh. The bright green of her eyes seemed to glow for a fraction of a second before she chuckled again. She stood up straight and turned so that she could rest against the edge of the computer table her arms crossed over her chest.

"We always had animals in my house while I was growing up. At one time we had four cats and a German Shepherd. I'm not even going to try and explain how chaotic that period of time was." She gave a half smile to fond memories before shrugging her shoulders. "At some point we just had this one cat, Miss Kitty Fantastico, don't ask my brother was eight, but anyway she was this beautiful gray tiger tabby. We loved that cat to death." She chuckled low in her throat, her eyes staring beyond Logan; he couldn't help but be curious where this story was going. It had some purpose; anything Jen said had some purpose. "There was this blonde tomcat down the street who would come by at least once a week to harass her, he was a nice cat he just loved to rub her fur the wrong way. We all just called him Tom, I don't think he really belonged to anyone."

"What is it with you and stealing my food today?" Max called before the sound of more rustling reached Logan's ears. He refused to turn around to see what had Jen's eyes sparkling.

"It tastes better when it's yours."

"He just loved to harass her." Jen purred softly. "Well, one week he came by and for two days he just followed her around. Everywhere she went he was there trying to bring her presents. We had a lot of half eaten dead mice around, which was really gross." She gave a soft shudder before going on. "We thought, she's gonna kick his little butt all the way around the block. Nope, she was just tickled pink that he was so attentive. She was a indoors cat so every night we would bring her back inside and the second night Tom stood outside our door and cried like a little baby. It was only when she started crying back that we realized she was in heat."

Logan found it hard to swallow around the lump in his throat as his nails dug into the armrests of his chair. "In heat, huh?"

"Yup. We refused to let her out, despite the many protests of our prisoner, hoping against hope to avoid any unwanted situations. Tom just wouldn't go away, he was always in the yard hanging around the doors trying to slip in between our feet. As I said, my brother was eight, so he didn't pay too much attention to when he left the door open when he went out to play." Jen bit her lip thoughtfully as she smiled at the sound of a thud echoing through the room. "We had six kittens to take care of after that."

Suddenly the laughter seemed to mock him as he finally turned around to see Alec holding Max in a headlock as she slapped at his hands. Logan growled under his breath, fighting the urge to yell at them. He couldn't help but hate Alec for being able to do something so simple as touch Max.

"I think we aren't gonna be able to crack this code tonight neither of us is really paying half as much attention to it as we should. Let's work on it for twenty more minutes before we call it a night. I'll just come back by tomorrow."

"That sounds good, but the twenty minutes probably won't do much."

"Not with those two rough housing." She lifted her chin as she smiled brightly in the two transgenics direction. "Hey, you two, c'me 'ere." She grinned as the pushed apart and walked with as much dignity as possible over to her side of the room. Jen looked at Max, shaking her head slightly. "How about you, me, and the tomcat go for a couple of drinks at The Crash tonight?"

"That sounds good," Max's voice was smooth as she smiled running a hand through her tangled hair.

Jen's eyes slitted and shifted towards Logan, "Wanna come along?"

"No, I think I'm gonna keep working." There was a brief flash of triumph when he saw the disappointment on Max's face.

"All right. How about you two go ahead and Logan and I can work for a little while in peace?"

Alec smirked confidently, "we can do that."

Jabbing her elbow into his mid-section she smiled just as brightly saying, "we'll see ya there."

They watched the two leave, bickering the whole way, before Logan let out a small sigh. "Why did you tell me that story? What's the point of rubbing it in my face?"

"I'm not trying to, I just want to make sure you're aware of things."

"Like what? That Max is going to go into heat and do things with Alec that she can't do with me because of the virus?"

"No, because when she goes into heat it's gonna be dangerous."

That stopped Logan from spitting out the reproach he had opened his mouth for, instead what came out in a breathy whisper was. "Dangerous?"

This time she wasn't smiling as she looked down at him. "Watch Alec, he'll know when Max is goin' to go into heat long before anyone else. He won't realize that he knows, but deep down in that part of him that's all cat, he'll know. When she finally does go into heat I suggest you put them in a little padded room away from people."

"Why dangerous?"

"When he gets one whiff of her he's gonna go primal. She won't be far behind. Instincts that have died out in normal people aren't even close to dying out in them. Theirs are gonna be screamin'. Let's just say if he finds anyone tryin' to hit on Max he gonna get…upset that someone is trying to steal his mate." She leaned down close to Logan making full eye contact to push the point home. "It'll get bloody. I'm telling you this so you aren't one of the people he throws into a brick wall."

"You're warning is noted."

"I hope so."

"Why don't you go ahead and go? I'm not going to be able to work on this right now." He closed his green eyes slowly taking a deep breath before looking at her.

"You goin' to see Asha anytime soon?"

"Yeah, we have plans tonight." He bit his tongue as he watched everyone of Jen's muscles freeze.

"I thought you said you were going to work?"

"We are. Some Eye Only work that will probably take most of the night." Jen just nodded her head slowly as she grabbed her coat and headed out the door. "Thanks for the warning." Logan called to her softly just as she was halfway out the door.

"Yeah."