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Disclaimer. Don't own anything. Blah blah
Spoiler: Radar Love
A/N: This is in response to a Challenge Fic on Cape Haven. The challenge was to write a Max/Logan ghost story.
Well, it also said to do this in less than 1500 words and I didn't manage the word count part, but anyway, here it is. M/L fluff - as if I could write anything else.
Oh, and thanks to Kasman for betaing!
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Old Friends
After that night they'd spent in front of Logan's window, ignoring Asha's call and Rafer's paging, times were a little more like they'd been before the virus. Max would come over for dinner and Logan would cook.
About three weeks later it was one of those nights too. They'd eaten and were playing chess at Logan's coffee table in the living room, when Max's heightened senses heard somebody at the door. "Are you expecting somebody?" she asked.
Logan shook his head. "Nope. Not that I know of, that is. You heard something?"
Max nodded. "Yeah. Wait here."
She moved silently to the door and waited behind it, holding her breath. There was nothing. Not even somebody breathing on the other side. Carefully she opened it, but there was no one to be seen. She stepped into the hallway, looking left and right, but still - nothing. Irritated she returned and almost stumbled over a little package on the floor. Somebody must have placed it in front of the door. Kneeling down she took it and when she stood up, she could have sworn there was the reflection of a man in one of the windows. 'Must be hallucinating,' she thought to herself and went back to Logan in the living room.
"This was in front of your door, " she said, laying the package on the table.
"No Jam Pony messenger needing a signature?" he kidded.
"Nobody, actually. What's in it?" she wanted to know.
"You tell me! Open it, it's got your name on it," Logan said, after having read the address.
Confused, Max took the package from his hands, careful not to touch him. He was right. There were only three letters on the package. M A X.
"Don't you think this is really strange?" she asked.
Logan shrugged. "...the transgenic asked the underground cyber journalist. I've seen a lot of things that were much more strange."
Nodding, Max agreed. "Yeah, you're right. I guess if we want to know what's in there, I should open it."
She started to unwrap the package only to find a small cardboard box in it, together with a note. When she had unfolded the piece of paper, she read, "Max, Logan, there are rumors you're desperately looking for this. Hope it's what you wanted. Bling."
Handing Logan the letter, again very careful, she opened the box to find a little bottle and a syringe. When she took the bottle out of it and read "inject the carrier - takes effect immediately" her thoughts were interrupted by Logan's whistle.
"Max, this is strange! This can't be from Bling."
"Why not? Don't you think he's got the medical contacts to know somebody who has... who has..." she was too excited to speak the words out loud.
"No, I think that he'd be able to help us, but don't you think I'd have called him right away? Bling died when you were back at Manticore," Logan stood up and started pacing.
"I didn't know that. I didn't know. I thought you didn't need him anymore, with the exo and everything. You never told me," Max stammered. "But who gave this to us? And what do you think it is, then?"
"I know what you think it is and I really hope you're right and it's the cure for the virus. But who in this world should put a package in front of my door with the antidote for the virus and sign the letter attached with the name of somebody I know who's dead? This doesn't make any sense."
Max stood up too, but instead of joining Logan with pacing she went to the window where she thought she'd seen somebody.
"Are you sure he's dead? How did he die?"
"A car accident. Crossed the street and the driver of a car didn't see him. He died right away." Logan sighed. "He is dead, Max. It's not like in the woods with you, there was no hope left that somebody would come to save him."
Sadness showed on her face. Logan had not only lost her during those months, but also his best friend. She had liked Bling. A trusted friend and, judging from Logan's comments, a torturous therapist. Pushing away the thoughts of mourning, she concluded, "Okay, so it can't have been Bling. Who else would know that I'm here at your place? Who else would know about the virus and ... more importantly - would have the right contacts to find the cure? Something even Eyes Only couldn't figure out."
Logan sat down on the sofa again and stared at the chessboard. "I have no idea. But what do we do now? How do we know if this is the cure or not?" He paused. "Do you think we should try it? It could also be a trap."
Max kept staring out of the window. It was raining, as usual. When she'd seen the bottle she'd instantly known that it was the cure. But now that it was clear that the addresser was faked, she wasn't so sure about it all. But what bothered her most was what she'd already asked Logan. There weren't a lot of people who knew she was at Logan's right now. Original Cindy, yeah, and maybe Sketchy. But neither of them would have a cure. If White had figured out where she was, there wouldn't be a cure in this little bottle, but pure poison. If he had figured out. Which was not impossible. But it was impossible that White would add a letter to a bottle of poison and sign it with "Bling". He would never do that. A security she'd seldom felt overwhelmed her.
"Maybe we should stop thinking about it and start acting. I'm willing to try it out." With that she turned around, went back to the table, took the bottle and the syringe and started to fill it with the fluid.
Logan watched her, motionless. While she made sure there were no bubbles in the syringe, he jumped up as if to stop her by touching her, then remembered and stepped back. "Don't! Don't do it. It's not worth the risk."
"It's worth every risk." With those words she sat down and injected the fluid in her arm.
Both looked at each other scared yet hopeful.
Nothing happened.
After a while Max smiled, "Guess it wasn't poison."
Logan smiled back. "Yeah, guess so." So if Max hadn't been killed by this drug, maybe it really was the cure. Maybe they should take the next step and try it out. He was suddenly so sure about this.
He reached out his hand to touch Max's, but this time it was on her to jump back. "Are you nuts?" she shouted at him. "How can you try to touch me?"
"It didn't kill you." He stated simply.
"And what makes you so sure it's the cure? It could have been anything."
"Anything that didn't kill you. But maybe you're right, maybe we should wait a little longer. Even if it was the cure, it will need some time to kill the virus. Why don't we continue our game of chess?" he suggested.
Max shook her head. "Sorry, Logan, gotta blaze. See you."
"No Max, don't go. The note said it would take immediate effect. Let's try it out!"
Max had already left. All Logan could do was to stare at the place where she had just been standing Within record time she'd run through the door and disappeared. Confused he slowly walked to the window. 'What was that all about?' he wondered. 'How in this world did the package get here? Why was she so sure and injected herself the fluid? Why was I willing to touch her? We could both have died.'
He shook his head and listened to the roaring of Max's motorbike down in the street.
Max was heading home. Her thoughts were spinning around the events of the evening as well. 'Why did I take the drug? It could have been anything. What made me so sure? Why was Logan so sure that he could touch me?'
Wordless she passed Original Cindy in the living room and went to bed.
When she woke up the next morning she felt tired and nauseous. Still dizzy she went to the kitchen were her roommate was already cooking coffee. "Hey, boo, what's up?"
Max sighed and sat down on one of the stools. "I feel horrible."
"Hangover?" Original Cindy asked.
"No. Maybe I slept too much," she tried to grin, but didn't succeed. OC was worried.
"You never sleep much. When you came home last night you went through this apartment like a zombie. You sure you're aiight?"
Max laid her arms on the kitchen counter and hid her face in them. "I have no idea," she murmured. A moment later she raised her head, rubbed with her hands over her face and looked at her friend. "Yesterday at Logan's was really strange," she admitted.
"Strange like in we were making out all evening and that was strange or more like in we had a big fight and I don't know why and that was strange?"
"The second. Well, we didn't really have a fight, but we found this package in front of his door. It had my name on it and a letter and a drug in it."
"And what's so strange about that? Doesn't Logan get strange packages all the time?" Cindy asked.
"Yeah, Logan, but not me. And this package was for me. Well, the letter was for both of us. The strange thing about the letter was that it was signed by Bling, who died while I was at Manticore - if Logan hasn't gone insane." Max frowned. "I still can't believe I took the drug. But yesterday I was so sure that it was the cure."
"So it wasn't?"
"Dunno. Well, it wasn't poison 'cause I'm still sitting here with you, but when Logan wanted to touch me I ran away. What if it wasn't the cure? What made him so sure he could touch me?" Max looked at Original Cindy questioningly.
"Maybe the same that made you sure you could take this drug?" she replied simply. "Max, why don't you skip work and go and see a doctor? He can check if the virus is gone. If so, you can be sure, right? And maybe that's the reason you're feeling so bad."
Max nodded. "Right. You're telling Normal that..."
"Sure. See you later."
Only minutes later Max's motorbike was again roaring through the streets of Seattle, but this time she was heading towards Sam Carr's office. The doctor looked up when she entered.
"Max, come in."
"Hello."
"What can I do for you? Logan okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, he is. But I need a favor," Max pleaded.
"Tell me and we'll see what I can do."
"Could you check my blood?" she asked.
"Your blood? You're not feeling okay?"
"I feel okay, only a little tired. But I want to know if the virus is still there. I suppose Logan talked to you about it?" Max assumed.
"Yeah, he asked me about some contacts. Gave him some numbers, but as far as I know they couldn't help."
"Well, maybe we found a solution, but I need proof."
"No problem," Sam stated. "I can take some tests now, but the lab here is not equipped to test for viruses. Might take some time."
"Oh, that's okay. As long as you can give me the results as soon as you have them."
The doctor agreed and a few minutes later Max was on her way to work, the tiredness forgotten and replaced by hope.
In the meantime Logan had woken up. He always needed a little time to leave his bed, which seemed so much more inviting in the morning than in the evening. In contrast to the dream he just had, his bed was empty and his legs were numb. 'Great! Another day in this hell that is my life,' he bitched to nobody in particular and transferred to the chair that was standing next to his bed.
After a cup of coffee the world seemed a little brighter, but the falling rain still depressed him. He went to his computer to start working, but as he couldn't concentrate he gave up and wheeled to the window to stare over the city.
Why had he been so sure that he could touch Max? Why had he been willing to risk his life just to try it out? Nothing could have stopped him yesterday, nothing except Max. And she had stopped him.
He went back to the coffee table and reached for the letter. Reading it over and over again there was one thing that was for sure. This was Bling's handwriting. Bling had left him dozens of notes when he'd still been around everyday. He knew his handwriting and he was sure it was his.
But just assuming that this had been the cure and that the virus was gone now made him smile. Until he saw his reflection in the window. The reflection of a man in a wheelchair.
"It's never been about you being able to walk"
He remembered that night as if it'd been yesterday, but he couldn't remember why he had decided to believe her. This was so stupid. The being on this earth closest to perfection - and him. A couple? Too stupid. She was meant to be somebody who could run with her when it became necessary, somebody who could help her. Somebody like Rafer.
When his cell rang he ignored it. He ignored it all day long, didn't even leave his place in front of the window.
Max had tried to call Logan several times, but he didn't answer his phone. Shrugging she snapped her phone closed and followed OC to Crash.
She didn't speak to him for days, he wouldn't answer his phone and she wasn't brave enough to go over to see him. Assuming that he was still angry at her for leaving that night and maybe preferred meeting a normal girl like Asha, she continued her life until she got a call from Sam Carr almost a week later.
"Max?"
"Yeah?"
"This is Sam Carr. The results from your blood work just came back," he stated.
"So?"
"No virus. Definitely no virus to be found. Hope that's good news."
Max smiled into her phone. "Yeah, I hope so too. Thanks a lot. I owe you."
"Put it on Logan's bill. He owes me big."
"Yeah, I will. Thanks and bye. Need to run and tell him."
"Bye, Max."
She put her phone on the receiver and grabbed her jacket. Original Cindy came from her room. "You're going out?"
"Over to Logan's. The virus is gone."
A smile spread on her friend's face. "I won't wake up for you."
"If it only was that easy!"
"It is. Don't you remember Joshua's words? 'Max and Logan getting busy, that's the plan.'"
Max laughed at her. "Yeah, I remember. And I remember you telling me about stepping to the real with Logan. See you, OC!"
Logan was working. Since that day when it had become clear to him that it had all been a dream, he had been working day and night. A wonderful dream of a future with Max. When she wouldn't run and when she would mean what she'd said. When she'd really love him and not the fake image she'd had of him since he wore the exo all day. When she would leave Rafer to come back and tell him...
"Logan! Logan!" Max shouted, entering his apartment. When she saw him in his office she stopped, almost breathless. "Logan, the virus is gone!"
He spun his chair around to face her. Her smile seemed real, but he was sure it couldn't be. "Logan, it's gone. I had Sam Carr check it out. The virus is really gone."
Stepping closer she reached out her hand to touch him and even though he knew better he didn't pull away. He watched her kneel down in front of him and he watched her hand on his on the rims of his chair as if it was something completely alien. Why was she doing this? Why had she come back? She didn't want to be with him, that was clear, but why had she come back? He didn't have any money left, not much he could sell. Why had she come back? He wasn't even wearing the exo, he'd been too lazy for the last week. So why was she here?
Max smiled when she touched his hand. She didn't know why he didn't say anything or why he was looking so quizzically, but she enjoyed the feeling of skin to skin.
"It was the cure, Logan. I still don't know who gave it to us, but it was the cure."
Logan nodded slowly, still trying to figure out why she was there. "What are you doing here, Max?" he finally asked.
She kept kneeling in front of him and took both of his hands in hers, kissing them lightly. "What does it look like? I just found out that I can finally touch the man who's most important to me without killing him and he asks me what I'm doing here?!"
Logan breathed heavily, all the thoughts of the previous days in his head. Max looked up to him and saw the clouds in front of his eyes.
"What's wrong, Logan? Isn't this what we always wanted?"
He smiled at her, only carefully, but a smile. "Yeah, it's what I always wanted. What I wanted from the day I met you. But I'm not sure if it's what you want."
"Why shouldn't I want this too?" Max was confused.
"Because there are other people in your life - you deserve to be with them. People like.. like.."
"Like who?" she interjected. "Logan, there is nobody else."
"People like Rafer," he finished scared, scared that she would leave if he reminded her of what she'd left to come here.
"Yeah, so why don't you stick with Asha instead of a genetically engineered freak?" she challenged him.
Logan looked at her surprised. "There's nothing going on with Asha. She's just a friend."
"See, and I wouldn't even call Rafer that. He's just somebody I know, okay?"
Looking at him she saw the clouds disappear and the sun shine through. Suddenly his eyes were so full of love that she had the feeling she couldn't stand it, whereas Logan didn't see anything else but the woman he loved sitting on the floor in front of him. He pulled her to his lap and laid his arms around her. "Forget about it. Sometimes I'm really stupid. I'm glad you're here. And I'm so happy that I can touch you. Finally. Finally, we have all the time in the world."
Max smiled back at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, before she pulled him close for a gentle kiss. Everything was perfect. Right at this second everything was so perfect that nobody noticed the flash of a reflection in the window.
They sat there in Logan's office until Logan turned into the romantic man he'd always been. "Are you hungry? What about dinner? And we could light some candles. The blue of my computer screen is not really creating the right atmosphere."
Max laughed and climbed from his lap. While Logan was in the kitchen she started lighting the candles in the living room and set the table. Joining Logan in the kitchen she asked, "Do you need any help?"
"No, I'm almost done. Sorry, I haven't shopped, so you'll have to take what was left in the fridge," he apologized.
"I think I can handle it," she smiled and looked into the saucepan. "Mmm, smells fantastic."
Only little time later they were sitting at the table and enjoying what Logan had created. They talked about soft topics, nothing serious. When they were done eating they brought the dishes back to the kitchen and headed to the living room, their glasses of wine with them. Max sat down on the sofa and waved Logan to take the place next to her.
"Why didn't you answer my calls?" Max eventually wanted to know, her back resting against his chest.
"I don't know. When you were gone that night, I was still wondering what had happened. And the next morning I was sure that you wouldn't come back. Not back to me."
Max frowned. "But you know that I'll always come back to you, don't you? You're the reason why I'm still here in Seattle with all this crap that's happening out there. With all these transgenics, all these pychos trying to hunt them. Us. Hunt us." She turned her head so she could look him in the eyes and when she did, she added, "It should be the other way round, Logan. I shouldn't have come back, right, but not because I didn't want to be with you, but because I shouldn't put your life in any more danger."
Logan kissed her gently on the forehead and suddenly stopped. "Did you see that? Is somebody here?"
"Can't be," she said. "I'd have heard him. There's nobody out there."
"Maybe it's Rafer, trying to tell you to come home," he suggested, sure he'd seen somebody. "Maybe it's him trying to tell you that he'll always run with you whenever it becomes necessary. In contrast to me, that is, 'cause I'm sure the exo will fail at exactly that moment."
"Yeah, I'm sure it's Rafer - together with your Uncle Jonas who keeps telling you that I wouldn't come back to you," she shot back and turned away, now occupying the space on the sofa the farthest away from Logan. They stared at each other, no one saying a word.
'What if he's right?,' Max wondered. 'What if Zack's been right and that relationships are not meant to be? Not for us on the run'
'What if she's right?,' Logan asked himself. 'What if Jonas and the rest of the family have been right and I'm only the black sheep nobody would want to be with? Especially not a girl like Max.'
The same moment Max stood up, Logan transferred back to his chair.
"If that's what you think, I'm outta here," she shouted at him angrily and headed towards the door.
"Yeah, if you're like Uncle Jonas, you better get outta here fast! Go back to your friend Rafer."
The second he'd spoken it out loud, he already regretted it, but now it was too late.
Max hesitated when his words sunk in, but she continued her steps when he'd finished. She was already sorry about her comment and her starting to leave, but if he was so sure himself...
They never got a chance to finish their thoughts, 'cause suddenly there was a special kind of light in the middle of Logan's living room that made Max turn around. In the middle of the space between them were little lights flying around in the air, like fireflies, but the light they gave was much brighter. Eventually the fireflies disappeared and showed them a well known person.
"Bling?" asked Logan.
"Bling?" asked Max.
It was Bling who was standing in the middle of Logan's living room, even though he was half transparent and there was light everywhere around him.
"Logan, Max. Looks like you're lucky," he said.
"Lucky?" Max asked perplex.
"What are you doing here?" Logan wanted to know. "I thought you were dead."
"I am. But lucky for you it's been the 31st of October for exactly one minute and.." he checked his watch "...twelve seconds. That means it's Halloween today and that means it's my only chance to talk to you directly. Which is absolutely necessary since I've never seen anyone more pig-headed than you two." Bling stared at the two of them. Max, who was still unsure if she should continue her way to the door. and Logan, who was sitting in his chair close to the sofa and was looking really confused.
"Pig-headed?" Logan asked, even though the questions in his head were more like 'Why is Bling - who's dead - standing in my living room and is mad at me? And Max?'
"Yeah, pig-headed. I was trying to get you two together when I was still alive and I failed. Well, it wasn't exactly my fault, but it didn't work either. Then I died and you know all the things they say about restless spirits, needing to fulfill their last task? It's true. I wanted you two to be happy together so badly, that I tried everything possible," Bling, or better, Bling's ghost, tried to explain.
"So it was you who gave us the cure for the virus," Max assumed, ignoring the confusing fact of talking to a ghost.
"Who else? You two were so busy pitying yourselves that you needed some extra help with that cure. But it wasn't the virus that made my job so hard, it's always been the two of you. Max, why couldn't you listen to Joshua once? Max and Logan getting busy... Hello? Where do you think he got that from? And Original Cindy? But no, you two had to start dating Asha and Rafer. I couldn't believe it. No wonder you got jealous. You're making me sick! But let me tell you one thing: if you're ever gonna find a cure for a deadly virus in front of your door, don't talk so much about it. Take it as it is. You were both so suspicious, I had a hard time persuading one or the other that it was okay."
"Now I get it, " Logan said. "You could always only persuade one of us that it was the right thing to do. So when you'd persuaded Max that it was okay to take the drug you persuaded me that it was okay to touch, but that made Max suspicious again."
"Exactly."
Max stepped forward. "Being suspicious is a good thing if you grow up with a secret government agency after you. So, I have to admit, this makes me suspicious, too. We're talking to Bling, who's actually dead, but who's standing here in your apartment, shining like a Christmas tree?! Logan, please!"
"I'm trying to believe that this is a strange dream brought about by too much wine. I don't wanna think about what's really happening," Logan replied and made Bling shrug.
"Think whatever you want, as long as you're listening to me."
Max and Logan exchanged confused glances but didn't move.
"Okay, so this is what you both need to understand and remember for the rest of your lives: Logan, Max will always come back to you. She will always be there for you and will never leave. Well, maybe she'll run every now and then, but she'll be back. She'll never again run to find herself in the arms of somebody like Rafer. He's not..."
Logan interfered. "Not again? So she found herself in the arms of Rafer? Great, that's what I wanted to hear."
"Logan, that was on the night of our anniversary. I explained it to you and I thought you'd forgiven me. I'm sorry I met him again, but that was in an accident. Turned out he's a paramedic," Max tried to explain.
Bling watched the ceiling as if someone would come down to help him.
"Stop it, both of you. Logan, you'll have to live with the fact that Max knew other men before you. Just as she'll live with the fact that you knew other women before her. Hell, you were married. So don't play the teenage boy who thinks he's her first."
His eyes wide open Logan closed his mouth that he'd just opened to say something. Bling was right. It was childish. There was no need not to trust Max now that she was not seeing Rafer.
Bling continued," Anyway, Rafer is not playing in her league. You are. And what she said on your anniversary was true. A girl like Max doesn't care about legs. Every human guy is physically inferior to her, but that's not why she wants to be with someone. For her you're not the black sheep of the family, but somebody she can enjoy being with. Somebody she show her weaknesses to and still be sure he'll be there. You're the one she's been looking for all her life. The one for whom her running and hiding stops."
"I've been telling him that for ages, but he won't listen," Max interjected.
"I know, that's why I'm telling him again. Maybe repetition will do the thing. And about you, Max. Logan is willing to take every risk that's necessary to be with you. And he knows what risks he takes. We're not talking about a High School boy here, we're talking about Logan. He would do everything for you, he would even let you go. He waited for you to return when everyone around told him you were dead. Don't be mad at him that after you and I had left, Asha appeared and became a good friend. There's never been anything going on between Logan and Asha. So don't make him let you go, don't break his heart like that. You're all he ever wanted. If you screw this up, I'm gonna put Original Cindy right on your track."
Logan smiled at Bling and then at Max. "It's what I keep telling you all the time. But you won't listen either."
"See, that's the point. If what I said about Logan is right, don't you think what I said about you is right too? Could you please stop all this running and hiding your emotions and finally be honest? Please? If you don't get this straight, I'll have to wait for another year to talk to you again," Bling pleaded.
Max hesitated, not knowing what to say. Even if this was the weirdest thing that had ever happened, Bling or whoever that was, was right. She stared at the floor in front of her. "I'm not going to leave, I promise. Not tonight and not ever. You're stuck with me, Logan Cale. And even if you kick me out of your apartment, I'll come back sooner or later. I love you, Logan."
Logan released the brakes of his chair and slowly wheeled towards her, careful not to wheel through Bling and the halo of light that surrounded him. "I'm sorry for what I said. Sometimes these feelings of inferiority are just there, I can't simply push them aside. I will always need my 'me' time, but this has got nothing to do with the danger that's always right behind you. I love you, Max, and I'll follow you wherever you go. It might just take a little longer."
"I know. Sorry, Logan. I keep forgetting that you're not always the solid rock for yourself, that you're in my life. I can only offer to be your rock every now and then, if you continue to be mine."
"Sounds good to me," Logan smiled and pulled her down to him. "We'll never leave each other again, promise?" He asked.
Max smiled back at him. "I promise. And we're not gonna start one of those silly arguments again, okay?"
"Okay."
Together in each others arms, they didn't realize that Bling's spirit had disappeared and that he was again only fireflies.
"Take care" they heard his voice.
Logan watched the beautiful woman in his lap and whispered, "Thanks, Bling."
The voice out of nowhere seemed to laugh. "I always told you, you got a thing for this girl."
THE END
Disclaimer. Don't own anything. Blah blah
Spoiler: Radar Love
A/N: This is in response to a Challenge Fic on Cape Haven. The challenge was to write a Max/Logan ghost story.
Well, it also said to do this in less than 1500 words and I didn't manage the word count part, but anyway, here it is. M/L fluff - as if I could write anything else.
Oh, and thanks to Kasman for betaing!
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Old Friends
After that night they'd spent in front of Logan's window, ignoring Asha's call and Rafer's paging, times were a little more like they'd been before the virus. Max would come over for dinner and Logan would cook.
About three weeks later it was one of those nights too. They'd eaten and were playing chess at Logan's coffee table in the living room, when Max's heightened senses heard somebody at the door. "Are you expecting somebody?" she asked.
Logan shook his head. "Nope. Not that I know of, that is. You heard something?"
Max nodded. "Yeah. Wait here."
She moved silently to the door and waited behind it, holding her breath. There was nothing. Not even somebody breathing on the other side. Carefully she opened it, but there was no one to be seen. She stepped into the hallway, looking left and right, but still - nothing. Irritated she returned and almost stumbled over a little package on the floor. Somebody must have placed it in front of the door. Kneeling down she took it and when she stood up, she could have sworn there was the reflection of a man in one of the windows. 'Must be hallucinating,' she thought to herself and went back to Logan in the living room.
"This was in front of your door, " she said, laying the package on the table.
"No Jam Pony messenger needing a signature?" he kidded.
"Nobody, actually. What's in it?" she wanted to know.
"You tell me! Open it, it's got your name on it," Logan said, after having read the address.
Confused, Max took the package from his hands, careful not to touch him. He was right. There were only three letters on the package. M A X.
"Don't you think this is really strange?" she asked.
Logan shrugged. "...the transgenic asked the underground cyber journalist. I've seen a lot of things that were much more strange."
Nodding, Max agreed. "Yeah, you're right. I guess if we want to know what's in there, I should open it."
She started to unwrap the package only to find a small cardboard box in it, together with a note. When she had unfolded the piece of paper, she read, "Max, Logan, there are rumors you're desperately looking for this. Hope it's what you wanted. Bling."
Handing Logan the letter, again very careful, she opened the box to find a little bottle and a syringe. When she took the bottle out of it and read "inject the carrier - takes effect immediately" her thoughts were interrupted by Logan's whistle.
"Max, this is strange! This can't be from Bling."
"Why not? Don't you think he's got the medical contacts to know somebody who has... who has..." she was too excited to speak the words out loud.
"No, I think that he'd be able to help us, but don't you think I'd have called him right away? Bling died when you were back at Manticore," Logan stood up and started pacing.
"I didn't know that. I didn't know. I thought you didn't need him anymore, with the exo and everything. You never told me," Max stammered. "But who gave this to us? And what do you think it is, then?"
"I know what you think it is and I really hope you're right and it's the cure for the virus. But who in this world should put a package in front of my door with the antidote for the virus and sign the letter attached with the name of somebody I know who's dead? This doesn't make any sense."
Max stood up too, but instead of joining Logan with pacing she went to the window where she thought she'd seen somebody.
"Are you sure he's dead? How did he die?"
"A car accident. Crossed the street and the driver of a car didn't see him. He died right away." Logan sighed. "He is dead, Max. It's not like in the woods with you, there was no hope left that somebody would come to save him."
Sadness showed on her face. Logan had not only lost her during those months, but also his best friend. She had liked Bling. A trusted friend and, judging from Logan's comments, a torturous therapist. Pushing away the thoughts of mourning, she concluded, "Okay, so it can't have been Bling. Who else would know that I'm here at your place? Who else would know about the virus and ... more importantly - would have the right contacts to find the cure? Something even Eyes Only couldn't figure out."
Logan sat down on the sofa again and stared at the chessboard. "I have no idea. But what do we do now? How do we know if this is the cure or not?" He paused. "Do you think we should try it? It could also be a trap."
Max kept staring out of the window. It was raining, as usual. When she'd seen the bottle she'd instantly known that it was the cure. But now that it was clear that the addresser was faked, she wasn't so sure about it all. But what bothered her most was what she'd already asked Logan. There weren't a lot of people who knew she was at Logan's right now. Original Cindy, yeah, and maybe Sketchy. But neither of them would have a cure. If White had figured out where she was, there wouldn't be a cure in this little bottle, but pure poison. If he had figured out. Which was not impossible. But it was impossible that White would add a letter to a bottle of poison and sign it with "Bling". He would never do that. A security she'd seldom felt overwhelmed her.
"Maybe we should stop thinking about it and start acting. I'm willing to try it out." With that she turned around, went back to the table, took the bottle and the syringe and started to fill it with the fluid.
Logan watched her, motionless. While she made sure there were no bubbles in the syringe, he jumped up as if to stop her by touching her, then remembered and stepped back. "Don't! Don't do it. It's not worth the risk."
"It's worth every risk." With those words she sat down and injected the fluid in her arm.
Both looked at each other scared yet hopeful.
Nothing happened.
After a while Max smiled, "Guess it wasn't poison."
Logan smiled back. "Yeah, guess so." So if Max hadn't been killed by this drug, maybe it really was the cure. Maybe they should take the next step and try it out. He was suddenly so sure about this.
He reached out his hand to touch Max's, but this time it was on her to jump back. "Are you nuts?" she shouted at him. "How can you try to touch me?"
"It didn't kill you." He stated simply.
"And what makes you so sure it's the cure? It could have been anything."
"Anything that didn't kill you. But maybe you're right, maybe we should wait a little longer. Even if it was the cure, it will need some time to kill the virus. Why don't we continue our game of chess?" he suggested.
Max shook her head. "Sorry, Logan, gotta blaze. See you."
"No Max, don't go. The note said it would take immediate effect. Let's try it out!"
Max had already left. All Logan could do was to stare at the place where she had just been standing Within record time she'd run through the door and disappeared. Confused he slowly walked to the window. 'What was that all about?' he wondered. 'How in this world did the package get here? Why was she so sure and injected herself the fluid? Why was I willing to touch her? We could both have died.'
He shook his head and listened to the roaring of Max's motorbike down in the street.
Max was heading home. Her thoughts were spinning around the events of the evening as well. 'Why did I take the drug? It could have been anything. What made me so sure? Why was Logan so sure that he could touch me?'
Wordless she passed Original Cindy in the living room and went to bed.
When she woke up the next morning she felt tired and nauseous. Still dizzy she went to the kitchen were her roommate was already cooking coffee. "Hey, boo, what's up?"
Max sighed and sat down on one of the stools. "I feel horrible."
"Hangover?" Original Cindy asked.
"No. Maybe I slept too much," she tried to grin, but didn't succeed. OC was worried.
"You never sleep much. When you came home last night you went through this apartment like a zombie. You sure you're aiight?"
Max laid her arms on the kitchen counter and hid her face in them. "I have no idea," she murmured. A moment later she raised her head, rubbed with her hands over her face and looked at her friend. "Yesterday at Logan's was really strange," she admitted.
"Strange like in we were making out all evening and that was strange or more like in we had a big fight and I don't know why and that was strange?"
"The second. Well, we didn't really have a fight, but we found this package in front of his door. It had my name on it and a letter and a drug in it."
"And what's so strange about that? Doesn't Logan get strange packages all the time?" Cindy asked.
"Yeah, Logan, but not me. And this package was for me. Well, the letter was for both of us. The strange thing about the letter was that it was signed by Bling, who died while I was at Manticore - if Logan hasn't gone insane." Max frowned. "I still can't believe I took the drug. But yesterday I was so sure that it was the cure."
"So it wasn't?"
"Dunno. Well, it wasn't poison 'cause I'm still sitting here with you, but when Logan wanted to touch me I ran away. What if it wasn't the cure? What made him so sure he could touch me?" Max looked at Original Cindy questioningly.
"Maybe the same that made you sure you could take this drug?" she replied simply. "Max, why don't you skip work and go and see a doctor? He can check if the virus is gone. If so, you can be sure, right? And maybe that's the reason you're feeling so bad."
Max nodded. "Right. You're telling Normal that..."
"Sure. See you later."
Only minutes later Max's motorbike was again roaring through the streets of Seattle, but this time she was heading towards Sam Carr's office. The doctor looked up when she entered.
"Max, come in."
"Hello."
"What can I do for you? Logan okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, he is. But I need a favor," Max pleaded.
"Tell me and we'll see what I can do."
"Could you check my blood?" she asked.
"Your blood? You're not feeling okay?"
"I feel okay, only a little tired. But I want to know if the virus is still there. I suppose Logan talked to you about it?" Max assumed.
"Yeah, he asked me about some contacts. Gave him some numbers, but as far as I know they couldn't help."
"Well, maybe we found a solution, but I need proof."
"No problem," Sam stated. "I can take some tests now, but the lab here is not equipped to test for viruses. Might take some time."
"Oh, that's okay. As long as you can give me the results as soon as you have them."
The doctor agreed and a few minutes later Max was on her way to work, the tiredness forgotten and replaced by hope.
In the meantime Logan had woken up. He always needed a little time to leave his bed, which seemed so much more inviting in the morning than in the evening. In contrast to the dream he just had, his bed was empty and his legs were numb. 'Great! Another day in this hell that is my life,' he bitched to nobody in particular and transferred to the chair that was standing next to his bed.
After a cup of coffee the world seemed a little brighter, but the falling rain still depressed him. He went to his computer to start working, but as he couldn't concentrate he gave up and wheeled to the window to stare over the city.
Why had he been so sure that he could touch Max? Why had he been willing to risk his life just to try it out? Nothing could have stopped him yesterday, nothing except Max. And she had stopped him.
He went back to the coffee table and reached for the letter. Reading it over and over again there was one thing that was for sure. This was Bling's handwriting. Bling had left him dozens of notes when he'd still been around everyday. He knew his handwriting and he was sure it was his.
But just assuming that this had been the cure and that the virus was gone now made him smile. Until he saw his reflection in the window. The reflection of a man in a wheelchair.
"It's never been about you being able to walk"
He remembered that night as if it'd been yesterday, but he couldn't remember why he had decided to believe her. This was so stupid. The being on this earth closest to perfection - and him. A couple? Too stupid. She was meant to be somebody who could run with her when it became necessary, somebody who could help her. Somebody like Rafer.
When his cell rang he ignored it. He ignored it all day long, didn't even leave his place in front of the window.
Max had tried to call Logan several times, but he didn't answer his phone. Shrugging she snapped her phone closed and followed OC to Crash.
She didn't speak to him for days, he wouldn't answer his phone and she wasn't brave enough to go over to see him. Assuming that he was still angry at her for leaving that night and maybe preferred meeting a normal girl like Asha, she continued her life until she got a call from Sam Carr almost a week later.
"Max?"
"Yeah?"
"This is Sam Carr. The results from your blood work just came back," he stated.
"So?"
"No virus. Definitely no virus to be found. Hope that's good news."
Max smiled into her phone. "Yeah, I hope so too. Thanks a lot. I owe you."
"Put it on Logan's bill. He owes me big."
"Yeah, I will. Thanks and bye. Need to run and tell him."
"Bye, Max."
She put her phone on the receiver and grabbed her jacket. Original Cindy came from her room. "You're going out?"
"Over to Logan's. The virus is gone."
A smile spread on her friend's face. "I won't wake up for you."
"If it only was that easy!"
"It is. Don't you remember Joshua's words? 'Max and Logan getting busy, that's the plan.'"
Max laughed at her. "Yeah, I remember. And I remember you telling me about stepping to the real with Logan. See you, OC!"
Logan was working. Since that day when it had become clear to him that it had all been a dream, he had been working day and night. A wonderful dream of a future with Max. When she wouldn't run and when she would mean what she'd said. When she'd really love him and not the fake image she'd had of him since he wore the exo all day. When she would leave Rafer to come back and tell him...
"Logan! Logan!" Max shouted, entering his apartment. When she saw him in his office she stopped, almost breathless. "Logan, the virus is gone!"
He spun his chair around to face her. Her smile seemed real, but he was sure it couldn't be. "Logan, it's gone. I had Sam Carr check it out. The virus is really gone."
Stepping closer she reached out her hand to touch him and even though he knew better he didn't pull away. He watched her kneel down in front of him and he watched her hand on his on the rims of his chair as if it was something completely alien. Why was she doing this? Why had she come back? She didn't want to be with him, that was clear, but why had she come back? He didn't have any money left, not much he could sell. Why had she come back? He wasn't even wearing the exo, he'd been too lazy for the last week. So why was she here?
Max smiled when she touched his hand. She didn't know why he didn't say anything or why he was looking so quizzically, but she enjoyed the feeling of skin to skin.
"It was the cure, Logan. I still don't know who gave it to us, but it was the cure."
Logan nodded slowly, still trying to figure out why she was there. "What are you doing here, Max?" he finally asked.
She kept kneeling in front of him and took both of his hands in hers, kissing them lightly. "What does it look like? I just found out that I can finally touch the man who's most important to me without killing him and he asks me what I'm doing here?!"
Logan breathed heavily, all the thoughts of the previous days in his head. Max looked up to him and saw the clouds in front of his eyes.
"What's wrong, Logan? Isn't this what we always wanted?"
He smiled at her, only carefully, but a smile. "Yeah, it's what I always wanted. What I wanted from the day I met you. But I'm not sure if it's what you want."
"Why shouldn't I want this too?" Max was confused.
"Because there are other people in your life - you deserve to be with them. People like.. like.."
"Like who?" she interjected. "Logan, there is nobody else."
"People like Rafer," he finished scared, scared that she would leave if he reminded her of what she'd left to come here.
"Yeah, so why don't you stick with Asha instead of a genetically engineered freak?" she challenged him.
Logan looked at her surprised. "There's nothing going on with Asha. She's just a friend."
"See, and I wouldn't even call Rafer that. He's just somebody I know, okay?"
Looking at him she saw the clouds disappear and the sun shine through. Suddenly his eyes were so full of love that she had the feeling she couldn't stand it, whereas Logan didn't see anything else but the woman he loved sitting on the floor in front of him. He pulled her to his lap and laid his arms around her. "Forget about it. Sometimes I'm really stupid. I'm glad you're here. And I'm so happy that I can touch you. Finally. Finally, we have all the time in the world."
Max smiled back at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, before she pulled him close for a gentle kiss. Everything was perfect. Right at this second everything was so perfect that nobody noticed the flash of a reflection in the window.
They sat there in Logan's office until Logan turned into the romantic man he'd always been. "Are you hungry? What about dinner? And we could light some candles. The blue of my computer screen is not really creating the right atmosphere."
Max laughed and climbed from his lap. While Logan was in the kitchen she started lighting the candles in the living room and set the table. Joining Logan in the kitchen she asked, "Do you need any help?"
"No, I'm almost done. Sorry, I haven't shopped, so you'll have to take what was left in the fridge," he apologized.
"I think I can handle it," she smiled and looked into the saucepan. "Mmm, smells fantastic."
Only little time later they were sitting at the table and enjoying what Logan had created. They talked about soft topics, nothing serious. When they were done eating they brought the dishes back to the kitchen and headed to the living room, their glasses of wine with them. Max sat down on the sofa and waved Logan to take the place next to her.
"Why didn't you answer my calls?" Max eventually wanted to know, her back resting against his chest.
"I don't know. When you were gone that night, I was still wondering what had happened. And the next morning I was sure that you wouldn't come back. Not back to me."
Max frowned. "But you know that I'll always come back to you, don't you? You're the reason why I'm still here in Seattle with all this crap that's happening out there. With all these transgenics, all these pychos trying to hunt them. Us. Hunt us." She turned her head so she could look him in the eyes and when she did, she added, "It should be the other way round, Logan. I shouldn't have come back, right, but not because I didn't want to be with you, but because I shouldn't put your life in any more danger."
Logan kissed her gently on the forehead and suddenly stopped. "Did you see that? Is somebody here?"
"Can't be," she said. "I'd have heard him. There's nobody out there."
"Maybe it's Rafer, trying to tell you to come home," he suggested, sure he'd seen somebody. "Maybe it's him trying to tell you that he'll always run with you whenever it becomes necessary. In contrast to me, that is, 'cause I'm sure the exo will fail at exactly that moment."
"Yeah, I'm sure it's Rafer - together with your Uncle Jonas who keeps telling you that I wouldn't come back to you," she shot back and turned away, now occupying the space on the sofa the farthest away from Logan. They stared at each other, no one saying a word.
'What if he's right?,' Max wondered. 'What if Zack's been right and that relationships are not meant to be? Not for us on the run'
'What if she's right?,' Logan asked himself. 'What if Jonas and the rest of the family have been right and I'm only the black sheep nobody would want to be with? Especially not a girl like Max.'
The same moment Max stood up, Logan transferred back to his chair.
"If that's what you think, I'm outta here," she shouted at him angrily and headed towards the door.
"Yeah, if you're like Uncle Jonas, you better get outta here fast! Go back to your friend Rafer."
The second he'd spoken it out loud, he already regretted it, but now it was too late.
Max hesitated when his words sunk in, but she continued her steps when he'd finished. She was already sorry about her comment and her starting to leave, but if he was so sure himself...
They never got a chance to finish their thoughts, 'cause suddenly there was a special kind of light in the middle of Logan's living room that made Max turn around. In the middle of the space between them were little lights flying around in the air, like fireflies, but the light they gave was much brighter. Eventually the fireflies disappeared and showed them a well known person.
"Bling?" asked Logan.
"Bling?" asked Max.
It was Bling who was standing in the middle of Logan's living room, even though he was half transparent and there was light everywhere around him.
"Logan, Max. Looks like you're lucky," he said.
"Lucky?" Max asked perplex.
"What are you doing here?" Logan wanted to know. "I thought you were dead."
"I am. But lucky for you it's been the 31st of October for exactly one minute and.." he checked his watch "...twelve seconds. That means it's Halloween today and that means it's my only chance to talk to you directly. Which is absolutely necessary since I've never seen anyone more pig-headed than you two." Bling stared at the two of them. Max, who was still unsure if she should continue her way to the door. and Logan, who was sitting in his chair close to the sofa and was looking really confused.
"Pig-headed?" Logan asked, even though the questions in his head were more like 'Why is Bling - who's dead - standing in my living room and is mad at me? And Max?'
"Yeah, pig-headed. I was trying to get you two together when I was still alive and I failed. Well, it wasn't exactly my fault, but it didn't work either. Then I died and you know all the things they say about restless spirits, needing to fulfill their last task? It's true. I wanted you two to be happy together so badly, that I tried everything possible," Bling, or better, Bling's ghost, tried to explain.
"So it was you who gave us the cure for the virus," Max assumed, ignoring the confusing fact of talking to a ghost.
"Who else? You two were so busy pitying yourselves that you needed some extra help with that cure. But it wasn't the virus that made my job so hard, it's always been the two of you. Max, why couldn't you listen to Joshua once? Max and Logan getting busy... Hello? Where do you think he got that from? And Original Cindy? But no, you two had to start dating Asha and Rafer. I couldn't believe it. No wonder you got jealous. You're making me sick! But let me tell you one thing: if you're ever gonna find a cure for a deadly virus in front of your door, don't talk so much about it. Take it as it is. You were both so suspicious, I had a hard time persuading one or the other that it was okay."
"Now I get it, " Logan said. "You could always only persuade one of us that it was the right thing to do. So when you'd persuaded Max that it was okay to take the drug you persuaded me that it was okay to touch, but that made Max suspicious again."
"Exactly."
Max stepped forward. "Being suspicious is a good thing if you grow up with a secret government agency after you. So, I have to admit, this makes me suspicious, too. We're talking to Bling, who's actually dead, but who's standing here in your apartment, shining like a Christmas tree?! Logan, please!"
"I'm trying to believe that this is a strange dream brought about by too much wine. I don't wanna think about what's really happening," Logan replied and made Bling shrug.
"Think whatever you want, as long as you're listening to me."
Max and Logan exchanged confused glances but didn't move.
"Okay, so this is what you both need to understand and remember for the rest of your lives: Logan, Max will always come back to you. She will always be there for you and will never leave. Well, maybe she'll run every now and then, but she'll be back. She'll never again run to find herself in the arms of somebody like Rafer. He's not..."
Logan interfered. "Not again? So she found herself in the arms of Rafer? Great, that's what I wanted to hear."
"Logan, that was on the night of our anniversary. I explained it to you and I thought you'd forgiven me. I'm sorry I met him again, but that was in an accident. Turned out he's a paramedic," Max tried to explain.
Bling watched the ceiling as if someone would come down to help him.
"Stop it, both of you. Logan, you'll have to live with the fact that Max knew other men before you. Just as she'll live with the fact that you knew other women before her. Hell, you were married. So don't play the teenage boy who thinks he's her first."
His eyes wide open Logan closed his mouth that he'd just opened to say something. Bling was right. It was childish. There was no need not to trust Max now that she was not seeing Rafer.
Bling continued," Anyway, Rafer is not playing in her league. You are. And what she said on your anniversary was true. A girl like Max doesn't care about legs. Every human guy is physically inferior to her, but that's not why she wants to be with someone. For her you're not the black sheep of the family, but somebody she can enjoy being with. Somebody she show her weaknesses to and still be sure he'll be there. You're the one she's been looking for all her life. The one for whom her running and hiding stops."
"I've been telling him that for ages, but he won't listen," Max interjected.
"I know, that's why I'm telling him again. Maybe repetition will do the thing. And about you, Max. Logan is willing to take every risk that's necessary to be with you. And he knows what risks he takes. We're not talking about a High School boy here, we're talking about Logan. He would do everything for you, he would even let you go. He waited for you to return when everyone around told him you were dead. Don't be mad at him that after you and I had left, Asha appeared and became a good friend. There's never been anything going on between Logan and Asha. So don't make him let you go, don't break his heart like that. You're all he ever wanted. If you screw this up, I'm gonna put Original Cindy right on your track."
Logan smiled at Bling and then at Max. "It's what I keep telling you all the time. But you won't listen either."
"See, that's the point. If what I said about Logan is right, don't you think what I said about you is right too? Could you please stop all this running and hiding your emotions and finally be honest? Please? If you don't get this straight, I'll have to wait for another year to talk to you again," Bling pleaded.
Max hesitated, not knowing what to say. Even if this was the weirdest thing that had ever happened, Bling or whoever that was, was right. She stared at the floor in front of her. "I'm not going to leave, I promise. Not tonight and not ever. You're stuck with me, Logan Cale. And even if you kick me out of your apartment, I'll come back sooner or later. I love you, Logan."
Logan released the brakes of his chair and slowly wheeled towards her, careful not to wheel through Bling and the halo of light that surrounded him. "I'm sorry for what I said. Sometimes these feelings of inferiority are just there, I can't simply push them aside. I will always need my 'me' time, but this has got nothing to do with the danger that's always right behind you. I love you, Max, and I'll follow you wherever you go. It might just take a little longer."
"I know. Sorry, Logan. I keep forgetting that you're not always the solid rock for yourself, that you're in my life. I can only offer to be your rock every now and then, if you continue to be mine."
"Sounds good to me," Logan smiled and pulled her down to him. "We'll never leave each other again, promise?" He asked.
Max smiled back at him. "I promise. And we're not gonna start one of those silly arguments again, okay?"
"Okay."
Together in each others arms, they didn't realize that Bling's spirit had disappeared and that he was again only fireflies.
"Take care" they heard his voice.
Logan watched the beautiful woman in his lap and whispered, "Thanks, Bling."
The voice out of nowhere seemed to laugh. "I always told you, you got a thing for this girl."
THE END