Disclaimer: The usual applies. Nothing's changed.
A/N: Many thanks to alaidh and catherder for the beta. Well...the story continues. I can't say how regularly I'll be posting at the moment, but rest assured, I'm not going to be stopping this one any time soon.
Chapter 35 – Beware of a big surprise
Logan, as was the case more often than not, woke to find himself alone in the bed, although upon reaching a hand across to touch Max's side, he found that her side of the bed wasn't yet completely cold. He pushed upright and sat on the side of the bed, gazing out into the soft light of a fine morning. Looking through the window, he could see Max walking around the lake with Eva on her hip. Every now and then, she bobbed down to pick up a stone, sending it skimming across the surface of the water before it sank from view.
"Flat, round stones are better, like this one," he said, handing her a round pebble from the lakeshore. "You need a hard, low, flat throw, and flick your wrist a bit so it spins; that way, the stone will bounce along the surface."
"Like this?" she pitched the pebble, which immediately sank.
"If you do it right, it can put your elbow or shoulder out." Logan grinned and reached for another pebble, the exoskeleton whirring as he bent his knees. "More like this," he said, skipping the stone across the water, 4, 5, 6 times, before it dropped with a plop.
She scanned the ground at her feet and pounced on a rock, "Ah ha!" This time, Logan took her hand, molding his body to hers, the two of them moving as one. The projectile bounced, and again, and one more time before dropping into the lake. Max turned to face him, looking up, eyes shining. "How'd I do, professor?"
"Not bad. You're getting the hang of it," he smiled.
A few minutes later, Logan wheeled out onto the porch, a bowl of cereal in his lap. Max was slowly headed back. He couldn't help grinning as she miscued a stone, having it sink from view at the first bounce. She must have sensed his eyes on her, because she turned, smiled, and waved. He returned the gesture.
The sound of boots trudging down the stairs signaled that Joshua was awake. The lighter patter from Ben's sneakers followed soon after.
Logan turned to face them as they came outside. "Good morning."
"Good morning, Logan," Joshua responded in his strangely clipped speech.
"Hey, Dad."
"Plenty of cereal in the kitchen if you guys're hungry."
"Okay, Logan."
"Aren't ya gonna make us somethin' special, Dad?" asked Ben, disappointed.
"Not today. Gotta do some shopping if we're going on a picnic today."
"'Kay, Dad. Can I come?"
"Don't you wanna finish that puzzle?" Logan said, raising an eyebrow, and half-smiling. Why would anyone stay indoors on such a sparkling morning, he mused, forgetting how many such days he missed when submerged in his work.
"Got all day for that." Ben gave a bright smile and a wave on seeing his mother slowly walking back. He ran down the ramp to meet her.
Logan and Joshua exchanged amused looks. "Kids," they both said together and laughed.
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Logan slowly pushed his way down the cramped aisles of the market, a plastic basket in his lap. He had already selected a bag of crisp rolls and a plastic container of strawberries. They had brought the ingredients for salad with them from home, and he'd bought a cooked chicken from a fast food outlet down the street, intending to strip the carcass and add the pieces to the salad. He stopped in front of a display of wines, trying to decide what to buy. Unfortunately, the better vintages were on the top tier, away out of reach. He sighed and gazed up at the top shelf in frustration.
"Do you need some help?"
Logan turned his head in surprise. He hadn't heard anyone come up behind him. He saw a solidly built, dark-haired young man dressed in black trousers and white shirt. "Yes, thanks," he said, gratefully. "Top shelf, third bottle across." He backed out of the way, allowing the young man access.
"Okay." He handed Logan the bottle with a flourish. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"I think I'm okay with the rest. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Logan nodded, thinking, Manners aren't dead, after all. Once upon a time, he'd have been offended by that kind of offer of assistance. Max had eventually beaten some sense into him, rightly pointing out that there were more important things in life than getting upset because someone wanted to help.
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Max handed Eva to Joshua. "Can you take her for a few minutes? Something I gotta do."
"Sure, Max."
She went up into the loft, banging around in the storeroom for a few minutes before she found the cooler and the picnic basket, covered by a bag of old clothes. She came back downstairs, grinning in triumph, and walked through to the kitchen. "Logan'll want these when he comes back," she said to Joshua, who had followed her from the living room, trying to gently pry Eva's fist from his hair. Eva was pulling with all her baby might. Max dumped the basket and cooler on the table before turning her attention to rescuing Joshua from Eva. "Come on, baby, let go of Uncle Joshua. You're hurting him," she said gently.
"Thanks, Max," he said, relieved, when Max had managed to get the baby to release his hair. He reached his other hand round and pulled it back from his face. "I forgot what little babies do to hair," he laughed, a hoarse, barking sound.
"Yeah, they sure like to try and rip it out."
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Logan carefully added the last few items to the picnic basket and shut the lid. Max had already loaded the cooler full of wine and other drinks into the back of the car and then settled herself in an armchair to feed Eva. Ben and Joshua were outside kicking a ball around in a never-ending game of soccer. Logan balanced the basket on his knees and, as an afterthought, grabbed the novel he'd been reading from the kitchen table and set it on top. He smiled at Max in passing before rolling out to the car.
The ball came flying from behind, whacking Logan hard on the shoulder as he pushed the basket in. "Hey, you! Watch where you're kicking that!"
"Sorry, Dad," called Ben. "You okay?"
"Yeah," he said, rubbing his shoulder. He muttered half under his breath, "...attacking mere mortals from behind..." and pushed the basket further back.
"Max, we're ready to go," he called.
"Give me a couple of minutes!" she called back. "Logan, is there a blanket in the car?"
Logan pushed himself back up the ramp. "Nope, forgot it," he said, popping over the step to go inside. He went over to the linen closet and peered inside at the lower shelves. "Must be up top," he said. He checked that the brakes on the wheelchair were locked and, oblivious to the fact that Max was watching in appreciation, grabbed the sturdy upper shelf with both hands and pulled himself up. "Ah, there it is." Max couldn't help grinning. The navy blue ribbed turtleneck Logan was wearing emphasized his well-developed shoulder and arm muscles, and owing to the oblique angle, she was being treated to a very nice view of his ass. He pinched a corner of the blanket under his fingers and lowered himself back down, finally pulling the blanket from the shelf and dropping it in his lap. Logan finally felt the eyes boring into his back. He unlocked the brakes and spun around to face Max. She still had a lingering upward curl on her lips. "Were you watching me?" he asked suspiciously.
"Hey, can I help it if I think you're sexy?" She stood up, adjusting her clothes one handed, before walking to the door. She stopped and saucily cocked her left hip in Logan's direction, holding Eva on her right, and winking at the same time, gave a hoarsely purred, "Rowr," before stepping out the door.
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Logan nosed Bessietoo out onto a grassy hilltop and killed the motor. "Will this do?" he asked, turning to look at Joshua.
Joshua smiled and nodded. "Yes, this is good."
Logan turned back and surveyed the scene. A light breeze ruffled the grass and swayed the branches of a small clump of trees. There was a wide level area, abutted by a sharp slope, that he knew led to a small stream. He'd been coming to this place on family picnics and other outings for as long as he could remember. It was scenic and secluded - a good place for private family gatherings.
Joshua and Ben were first out of the car. Joshua wandered to the edge and looked down at the stream, while Ben started kicking the ball around. Max brought the wheelchair around, then released Eva from the child restraints.
One of the reasons Logan had chosen this place was a single large rock that protruded from the otherwise nearly smooth hilltop. Logan flicked the blanket out in front of the rock, while Max and Joshua followed with the basket and drink cooler. While Logan slid to the ground and settled himself on his seat cushion with his back to the sun-warmed rock, then shoved the wheelchair back out of the way, Max and Joshua set the food and drinks within arm's reach. Max set Eva in the middle of the blanket with a couple of toys, where she sat very straight and looked around, her eyes huge and dark in her face, and sucked hard on a wet fist. Content to keep an eye on his daughter, Logan reached for the basket of food and started shredding the chicken into a large round container, already partly filled with chopped lettuce.
Eva crawled closer to her father and sat beside him, watching the movement of his hands. Logan stopped what he was doing, moved the container aside, wiped his greasy fingers on a towel, and picked her up, standing her on his legs and letting her dance up and down while he held her. She was a strong, active baby, stronger even than Ben had been, and also very strong- willed. Logan picked her up and held her in the air, laughing as she reached for his glasses and always tantalizingly keeping her just out of arm's reach of the frames. She wriggled and laughed. Eventually, he sat her on his lap, her back curling into his belly, where she sat drumming her heels into the tops of his legs and trying very hard to pull his fingers into her mouth to chew. He picked up the novel with his free hand and started to read.
Max came and sat beside Logan after briefly joining in the never-ending soccer game with Ben and Joshua. She flicked him a quick smile, which he reciprocated before turning his attention back to the book.
"Ah, this is nice," sighed Max, snuggling into Logan's warm shoulder. "It's all so...ordinary."
"Okay, so...define ordinary for me," Logan said as he placed the book face down on the ground beside him. A half-smile played on his face as he turned to look at her.
"You, me, the kids, Joshua. Having a picnic on a sunny Sunday in Washington."
"Hmm...sunny in Washington – that's not ordinary," he quipped. Logan pursed his lips, thinking. "So, ordinary is the paraplegic cyber-journalist, his wife, the escaped X5 campaigner for transgenic rights," he grinned, "their two half-transgenic children, and said wife's...brother, the half-dog, half- man."
"Oh you," she punched his leg and rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."
"Yeah, I know. And you're right. This is all kinda ordinary...normal...and that's nice."
"So ordinary girls aren't so bad?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Who said you were ordinary?"
Max looked down at Logan's feet and grinned. "You know, your shoelace is undone. Wouldn't want you to trip over it or anything."
Logan gave her a sidelong look, put Eva on the blanket beside him, and pulled his leg up to tie the lace. He left his leg there, hands interlocked behind his knee, as he leaned back against the rock and closed his eyes to the sun.
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Max's head shot up as she heard a roar from the engines of a couple of SUVs. A moment later, the two vehicles shot into view, pulling to a stop near the Aztek. Joshua immediately turned away and adjusted the hood of his jacket so it shaded his face. Ben drew close to him, looking concerned, as two heavily armed men got out of the lead vehicle and walked across to where Max was slowly getting to her feet. She straightened, casting an alarmed glance at Logan, and in a deceptively innocent gesture, dusted off her behind.
Logan straightened and put a protective arm around Eva, restraining her. He shot a glance at Max, then looked up at the two men curiously as they approached, restraining himself from putting a hand out for the wheelchair. If push came to shove, he wouldn't have a hope of getting into it in time, but like a security blanket, he needed to know it was there. Max, her instinct sensing they weren't in direct danger, bobbed down to pick up the baby, holding her loosely on a cocked left hip, and then donned her most charming smile. "What's up, boys?" she asked sweetly.
"'Scuse the intrusion, ma'am. We're looking for an escapee from justice – broke out of jail last night. Very dangerous."
"Oh!" Max's eyes rounded in surprise. "Well, as you can see, he's not here."
"I can see that, ma'am. But he was last seen headed in this direction. You folks might want to pack up and have your picnic somewhere...safer." The deputy cast a pitying look at Logan. Logan instantly bristled and Max had to smother a smile, sensing his reaction.
"Well, we'll think about it, but we're really just a family having a picnic. No one could possibly want to do anything to us."
"You folks take care, now."
"Yeah, have a nice day," said the other, who had remained silent until then.
Max smiled sweetly again. "Good luck with your search, gentlemen." The first man gave a salute with his rifle, before turning and heading back to his vehicle.
As they drove off, Max looked at Logan, who returned the eye contact, relaxing again now that they were gone. "Nothing like a visit from a bunch of armed men to ruin the quiet of your day," she said. "So, we stayin' or goin'?" she continued.
"Well, what do you think the chances are?"
"Oh, 'bout a million to one."
"We're here," said Joshua firmly. He had joined them as soon as the vehicles were out of sight. "Might as well stay."
"Good, 'cause this girl's hungry."
"Ah, now that I can fix," replied Logan, smiling. He pulled the basket closer to her and opened the lid.
"Hmm...decisions, decisions," she said, selecting one of the crusty rolls and the spinach dip. Logan turned his attention back to the salad as she broke apart the roll and dipped it in, then took a bite. "Mmm....", she said, and offered him the second half. She held him with a sultry look. Logan took that as an invitation and accepted the morsel, licking the last bit from her fingers. There was a promise there that he fully intended to follow up on later.
Joshua grunted, reminding them that he was there.
"Help yourself, Joshua," said Max, handing him the rest of the roll.
"Save it for later, you two," said Joshua, quoting Alec.
Max laughed at that. "Hey, we won't do it in front of you," she said, causing Logan to blush.
Joshua joined her with a harsh laugh of his own. "I-I wish I had..."
Max looked at him seriously, "I know, big fella," she said softly. "Life's a bitch when you're different."
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Logan packed the last items into the cooler and checked to see that there wasn't anything else on the blanket before he transferred into the wheelchair. Nothing remained of the meal. Even Ben had scarfed down every last bit of the salad on his plate, not protesting at having to eat rabbit food. The strawberries had been especially sweet and the wine beautifully complemented the food. Ben had protested loudly at only being allowed Coke while everyone else had wine or beer, but his parents had stood firm. "You're under age," had been his father's firm response, and in the end, he had stopped grumbling.
Max had taken Ben and Joshua down to the stream and rinsed off the plates quickly, leaving Logan to pack away everything else while he kept half an eye on Eva, who sat in her stroller, confined but happy for the moment. He felt among the folds of the blanket for the corkscrew, noting that it was missing from its place in the picnic basket, then froze as something sharp was pressed into his neck. "Don't move," said a cold voice next to his ear.