Chapter 3: Rude Awakening
Max woke up because something uncomfortable was digging into her ass.
The room she was in was dark, and the predictable sound of rain did a lot to soothe her upon waking. She remembered Logan helping her into bed, but everything after that was dreamless sleep. She arched her hips a little and found the offending object. It felt like a tube, and seemed to be connected to�
Max�s heart raced as she moved her other arm to find a light and discovered there was another tube connecting her left arm to a bag of saline, with more little wires attaching little sticky tabs from her chest to a heart monitor. The tube between her legs was undeniably a catheter. Stunned, she sat up in the bed and examined her surroundings in the dark. She had to be in Logan�s bedroom. The guest room had a smaller bed and lacked all the personal touches of alarm clock, keys tossed on the overstuffed dresser and framed photos of his parents.
Nothing could explain all the medical equipment, however, and she flipped on the light.
Logan wheeled into the room seconds later, his eyes immediately going to her arm.
"Don�t take that out," he commanded. She obeyed, guiltily snatching her hand away from the needle.
"Logan, what the hell is going on?" Max demanded, unable to keep a tremor of fear out of her voice. "What is all this? What happened?"
Logan reached her bedside and took a deep breath.
"Say it," she barked.
"You�ve been unconscious for a week and a half," Logan told her succinctly.
Max sat back against the headboard in disbelief. She wanted him to laugh and tell her it was all just a joke, but his pale, worried face told her he wasn�t kidding. Logan�s eyes flicked to the heart monitor, up to the IV bag, and back to the scared look in her eyes that was too fierce to hide. He took her left hand in his and squeezed it gently.
"Calm down," he said softly.
Max felt tears well up in her eyes and almost let them fall. She could handle the surprise of waking up attached to a bunch of tubes and machines, but Logan�s knowing words threatened to undo her. He knew. He knew that her practiced look of complacency belied the fact that inside she was screaming, climbing the walls and ready to escape.
"I�m calm," she lied, snatching her hand back. "Explain how half a pill could knock me out that long."
"I can�t," Logan told her honestly. "The best we could figure�"
"We?"
"Bling and I. Would you rather I took you to a hospital, or maybe gave Manticore a ring?"
Max grunted, but let him continue without interruption.
"I think your unique body chemistry reacted unfavorably with the ingredients in the drug. I never should have talked you into doing this. I�m so sorry, Max."
Max wanted to give him hell, because she was scared, but took one look at his ravaged face and chose compassion instead. She�d taken the drug without coercion. Neither of them suspected anything would go wrong. No one was at fault. No one should be blamed.
"It was an accident," she said with a lighthearted shrug. "No big dealio. �Course, our plan is now shot to hell, but don�t worry, we�ll think of something else."
"I couldn�t wake you up," Logan whispered, blinking back tears. "You wouldn�t wake up."
"Logan�"
"I thought you�d be out maybe a day. Not four. Not eleven whole days. I thought I�d killed you."
"I�m fine," Max assured him, sliding her hand back into his. She doubted he was aware of the hot tears cascading down his unshaven cheeks or that he was holding her hand so tight her fingertips tingled. Logan finally let go of all the fear and stress he�d been carrying, put his head down, and wept. Max put a comforting hand on the back of his neck and rubbed gently where his barcode would be if he was an X-5. She was speechless. She�d never seen a grown man so overwrought with emotion that he actually sobbed like a child. In a way it was more intimate than a kiss.
When Logan finally cried himself out, he lifted his head and looked past Max to the window, where a heavy rain pelted against the glass.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"No shame in it," she told him honestly.
"I�ll go call Bling to come over and get you out of this stuff," Logan said in his normal, efficient-sounding tone of voice. Max plucked at his shirt to keep him from wheeling away.
"I�ll do it," she assured him. "Who did you get to steal all this medical equipment, anyway, if I was out of commission? You got another cat burglar on retainer?"
"Yeah, a whole string of them," Logan said. "Actually, I just ordered it all of the internet."
"No way."
"Way. Overnight express Jam Pony delivery. Normal dropped it off himself."
"Okay, now you�re messing with me."
"I�m not," Logan said, smiling. "Figured it was all my fault your life was suddenly and inexplicably on hold, so I paid good money to have him go with Original Cindy on the run. He�s not a bad guy. Kind of anal, but you should have seen his face when he saw you lying in a coma. Thought he was gonna break down right then and there."
"Oh yeah, okay."
"Original Cindy, on the other hand, kicked my ass."
"That�s my homegirl," Max said proudly. "Wait, she did?"
"Verbally, anyway. My ears are still ringing. I�m ordered to call her three times a day until you wake up."
"Can you call her first thing in the morning? I don�t really feel up to a visit right now," Max said, quickly peeling the heart monitor tabs off her skin. The machine started beeping frantically and Logan switched it off.
"How do you feel?" he inquired.
"I can�t wait to get into the shower," Max said with enthusiasm. "But I have a headache and feel kinda slow and achey. Like a fat house fly." Slowly, she eased the needle out of her vein and raised that arm over her head, carefully stretching it out. "You should have Sebastian do a lab report on the Carfanol I took."
"Done," Logan said. "He said that without complete blood work, we won�t know why you reacted so violently to it, and we can�t invite Manticore into the investigation, so we�ll just have to settle for the mystery."
"Damn," Max swore softly.
"Well, I can call Lydecker if you want, but I thought you�d rather deal with the lack of knowledge."
"No, not that. This."
Max got up on her knees and reached under the hospital johnny. Her fist closed over the catheter and she just wanted to yank it out, no matter how stupid that would be. It frustrated her that she couldn�t see it. She had two choices. She could let Logan fumble his way down there, or�
"I�ll get you a mirror."
"That�d be swell."
