Thanks again for all the reviews - I'm so thrilled you're all enjoying my
first attempt!
Chapter 3
Logan hardly spoke to Bling the entire day, and when Bling finally asked, "Do you want to talk about it?" he'd simply replied, "Nope," in a voice that brooked no further discussion.
For the remainder of the day, Logan barely moved from his computer, attacking the keys with a vengeance.
It was true – he had intended to tell Max about the threats, but only when he'd discovered who the author was. Now he worked furiously for the information he required, but it was a tiresome search, the elusive answer more than content to hide. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt there was something, or someone, he should remember.
"Dammit," he fumed, thumping on the desk with increasing frustration - nearly a whole day gone, and not one lead to go on.
Forcing his shoulders back to stretch them, conscious now of a headache that had been nagging at him for some time, he accepted the fact that he needed to clear his mind.
With renewed vigour he pushed himself away from the computer and called to Bling.
"We'd better get my reps done before it's time for you to go."
"You sure you feel up to doing them today?" asked Bling, noting the red- rimmed eyes and pale face, only accentuated by Logan's usual unshaven look.
"Sure." Logan's reply was curt as he went to the bedroom to change.
Bling raised his eyebrows, privately deciding not to push the stubborn Logan too hard.
Logan had other ideas however, and worked as one possessed.
It was a relief to be doing something physical after the hours of inactivity on the computer, and it was a far more satisfying way of relieving his frustration. Not just his frustration with his fruitless search, but with Max.
Max!
"Of course she'd take that attitude!" he fumed as he lifted the weight in his left hand, his right hand holding him steady on the workout table, feeling strongly justified in not having told her about the letters earlier.
"Eight, nine, ten." Bling finished counting for him.
With an almost imperceptible sigh he put the weight down, surprised at how drained and tired he suddenly felt.
"I'd say we're all done here," said Bling, taking the weights and stowing them on the rack. He then moved Logan's wheelchair to the side of the table so that he could transfer.
Logan took one look at it and dismally thought he didn't have enough energy to get into it.
"Bling, could you get me a drink of water please?" he asked instead, picking up his hand towel and rubbing his face and neck with it, vaguely wondering why he felt so hot.
"Max!" The word rose unbidden to his mind.
That's why he felt so hot he realized - he felt steamed up and angry every time he thought of her.
He'd been staring intently at the polished floorboards, but in his mind he was sitting in his wheelchair, repeating their latest argument, as he had done at least twenty times during his enlightening afternoon on the computer, when he gradually became aware of a funny distant ringing in his ears - or was it a muffled whooshing?
It was a strange sensation, almost as if some invisible hand had turned up the volume on all the noise that was usually in the background.
Putting a hand to his forehead, he suddenly felt very, very, hot, and kind of clammy.
"Damn ..."
The realization of what was happening hit him as he began to topple from the table.
Powerless to stop it, he tried calling out to Bling.
Somewhere a long way away, he thought he heard someone calling his name, and then he was lost in a very deep, black void.
*******************************************************
Logan was first aware of something cold on his face, and then he had the sensation of coming up from somewhere a very long way down. He felt horribly sick.
Opening his eyes seemed too difficult, so instead he lay wherever he was with his eyes closed, for the moment unable to concentrate on anything else other than the cool water that felt so soothing on his face.
After another few moments, thankfully the nausea in his stomach began to recede, and the realization slowly dawned on him that he was beginning to feel more human.
With that thought came the memory of what had happened. His last coherent thought had been of falling. At that, his mind obligingly replayed the episode, but the sensation of falling was so unpleasant that he quickly opened his eyes.
With a shock he looked up into hauntingly beautiful chocolate brown eyes that watched him now with a worried expression.
Max.
Logan really didn't know whether to be pleased or embarrassed - probably the latter, so to be on the safe side, he frowned anyway.
He squinted up at her, speaking slowly as if it was an effort, and sounding vaguely annoyed.
"What are you doing here?"
Not one to be put off, she replied with the hint of a smile, "I was just passing, thought I'd drop in."
Logan opened his mouth as if he were about to speak, then closed it, and looked away from her.
"Damn," he thought to himself again, reflecting that his whole day was becoming more and more like a nightmare.
Still not looking at her, and in the manner of one steeling themselves for the worst, he said, "I suppose I ..."
Max jumped in before he had a chance to finish, and in the voice of 'you probably won't want to hear this' said, "You kinda fainted."
She then added, as matter-of-factly as possible, "Bling was able to catch you – saved you from doing a header off the table. For someone who doesn't like heights, you're beginning to make a habit of this."
Logan didn't see her quick, cautionary look at Bling as she spoke. She doubted very much if Logan would be pleased that it was in fact Max who had caught him.
She'd come in the door just in time to see his slow motion fall and was able to duck beneath him and catch him on her shoulder. Then, with Logan in a fireman's hold, and calling to Bling, she gently laid him on the couch.
While Bling had put pillows under his legs to aid his circulation, Max had grabbed the facecloth from the bathroom to lie on his forehead.
At this point, Bling came into Logan's line of vision with a blood pressure kit, which he proceeded to put on Logan's arm and pump. Logan viewed the apparatus with disgust as he considered blood pressure kits were for invalids.
"Yeah. Next time could we have a little more warning from you?" the trainer smiled absently as he studied the read out.
Logan gave him a perfunctory half smile. "Can I sit up now?"
Bling shook his head in exasperation. "If you could see the colour of your face, you wouldn't ask such a fool question."
Logan folded his arms at that, favouring Bling with another of his frowns.
Max called it his 'spoilt, rich kid' look. He did do it remarkably well.
"Logan, your blood pressure is really low," said Bling seriously, putting the kit away.
"Is that why I passed out?" asked Logan warily.
Bling looked directly at Logan. "You wanna tell me the last time you ate or drank?"
Logan didn't have to answer - his expressive eyes betrayed him.
"I thought so," nodded the trainer with a resigned expression.
Logan studied his feet intently, but Max saw his eyes narrow, and the way he swallowed hard as if he was trying to bite back a retort.
"Hey, it's easy to forget a few meals when you're busy, right? I do it all the time," Max admitted.
At that Logan looked up at her and laughed in spite of himself. "I don't think I've 'ever' known you to forget a meal. What happened to – I'm hungry Logan, feed me?"
"Well, I burn a lot of calories kickin' ass," she smiled down at him.
Max flashed a look at Bling over his head, and then said on a gentle note, "Hey, you wanna get some sleep?"
Logan immediately went to say, "No, I'm fine," however seeing the look on both their faces, with a considerable lack of grace he murmured, "I guess I don't have a choice."
In truth he didn't even feel he had the strength to sit up. The thought made him frown. It took a lot of effort to get into his wheelchair. "Don't think about it," he said to himself.
It seemed strange to be lying on his own couch with Max at his side. He was torn between enjoying the attention, and being furious at himself for his own weakness in front of her.
As if reading his mind, Max leaned forward, her eyes locked to his, and said quietly, "Hey, this time you're the one on the couch, and I get to take care of you."
Max watched the green eyes gazing back at her intently, a myriad of emotions reflected in their depths, till at last he gave her a half grin. "Well," he said lightly, "it does seem only fair."
"Now, will you close your eyes ...pleeeeese?"
Obediently he did as asked. Taking a deep breath he could feel the tension slowly ebbing from his body.
"Perhaps it 'was' good to have her here," was his last thought before he drifted quickly into a deep, refreshing sleep.
TBC
Chapter 3
Logan hardly spoke to Bling the entire day, and when Bling finally asked, "Do you want to talk about it?" he'd simply replied, "Nope," in a voice that brooked no further discussion.
For the remainder of the day, Logan barely moved from his computer, attacking the keys with a vengeance.
It was true – he had intended to tell Max about the threats, but only when he'd discovered who the author was. Now he worked furiously for the information he required, but it was a tiresome search, the elusive answer more than content to hide. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt there was something, or someone, he should remember.
"Dammit," he fumed, thumping on the desk with increasing frustration - nearly a whole day gone, and not one lead to go on.
Forcing his shoulders back to stretch them, conscious now of a headache that had been nagging at him for some time, he accepted the fact that he needed to clear his mind.
With renewed vigour he pushed himself away from the computer and called to Bling.
"We'd better get my reps done before it's time for you to go."
"You sure you feel up to doing them today?" asked Bling, noting the red- rimmed eyes and pale face, only accentuated by Logan's usual unshaven look.
"Sure." Logan's reply was curt as he went to the bedroom to change.
Bling raised his eyebrows, privately deciding not to push the stubborn Logan too hard.
Logan had other ideas however, and worked as one possessed.
It was a relief to be doing something physical after the hours of inactivity on the computer, and it was a far more satisfying way of relieving his frustration. Not just his frustration with his fruitless search, but with Max.
Max!
"Of course she'd take that attitude!" he fumed as he lifted the weight in his left hand, his right hand holding him steady on the workout table, feeling strongly justified in not having told her about the letters earlier.
"Eight, nine, ten." Bling finished counting for him.
With an almost imperceptible sigh he put the weight down, surprised at how drained and tired he suddenly felt.
"I'd say we're all done here," said Bling, taking the weights and stowing them on the rack. He then moved Logan's wheelchair to the side of the table so that he could transfer.
Logan took one look at it and dismally thought he didn't have enough energy to get into it.
"Bling, could you get me a drink of water please?" he asked instead, picking up his hand towel and rubbing his face and neck with it, vaguely wondering why he felt so hot.
"Max!" The word rose unbidden to his mind.
That's why he felt so hot he realized - he felt steamed up and angry every time he thought of her.
He'd been staring intently at the polished floorboards, but in his mind he was sitting in his wheelchair, repeating their latest argument, as he had done at least twenty times during his enlightening afternoon on the computer, when he gradually became aware of a funny distant ringing in his ears - or was it a muffled whooshing?
It was a strange sensation, almost as if some invisible hand had turned up the volume on all the noise that was usually in the background.
Putting a hand to his forehead, he suddenly felt very, very, hot, and kind of clammy.
"Damn ..."
The realization of what was happening hit him as he began to topple from the table.
Powerless to stop it, he tried calling out to Bling.
Somewhere a long way away, he thought he heard someone calling his name, and then he was lost in a very deep, black void.
*******************************************************
Logan was first aware of something cold on his face, and then he had the sensation of coming up from somewhere a very long way down. He felt horribly sick.
Opening his eyes seemed too difficult, so instead he lay wherever he was with his eyes closed, for the moment unable to concentrate on anything else other than the cool water that felt so soothing on his face.
After another few moments, thankfully the nausea in his stomach began to recede, and the realization slowly dawned on him that he was beginning to feel more human.
With that thought came the memory of what had happened. His last coherent thought had been of falling. At that, his mind obligingly replayed the episode, but the sensation of falling was so unpleasant that he quickly opened his eyes.
With a shock he looked up into hauntingly beautiful chocolate brown eyes that watched him now with a worried expression.
Max.
Logan really didn't know whether to be pleased or embarrassed - probably the latter, so to be on the safe side, he frowned anyway.
He squinted up at her, speaking slowly as if it was an effort, and sounding vaguely annoyed.
"What are you doing here?"
Not one to be put off, she replied with the hint of a smile, "I was just passing, thought I'd drop in."
Logan opened his mouth as if he were about to speak, then closed it, and looked away from her.
"Damn," he thought to himself again, reflecting that his whole day was becoming more and more like a nightmare.
Still not looking at her, and in the manner of one steeling themselves for the worst, he said, "I suppose I ..."
Max jumped in before he had a chance to finish, and in the voice of 'you probably won't want to hear this' said, "You kinda fainted."
She then added, as matter-of-factly as possible, "Bling was able to catch you – saved you from doing a header off the table. For someone who doesn't like heights, you're beginning to make a habit of this."
Logan didn't see her quick, cautionary look at Bling as she spoke. She doubted very much if Logan would be pleased that it was in fact Max who had caught him.
She'd come in the door just in time to see his slow motion fall and was able to duck beneath him and catch him on her shoulder. Then, with Logan in a fireman's hold, and calling to Bling, she gently laid him on the couch.
While Bling had put pillows under his legs to aid his circulation, Max had grabbed the facecloth from the bathroom to lie on his forehead.
At this point, Bling came into Logan's line of vision with a blood pressure kit, which he proceeded to put on Logan's arm and pump. Logan viewed the apparatus with disgust as he considered blood pressure kits were for invalids.
"Yeah. Next time could we have a little more warning from you?" the trainer smiled absently as he studied the read out.
Logan gave him a perfunctory half smile. "Can I sit up now?"
Bling shook his head in exasperation. "If you could see the colour of your face, you wouldn't ask such a fool question."
Logan folded his arms at that, favouring Bling with another of his frowns.
Max called it his 'spoilt, rich kid' look. He did do it remarkably well.
"Logan, your blood pressure is really low," said Bling seriously, putting the kit away.
"Is that why I passed out?" asked Logan warily.
Bling looked directly at Logan. "You wanna tell me the last time you ate or drank?"
Logan didn't have to answer - his expressive eyes betrayed him.
"I thought so," nodded the trainer with a resigned expression.
Logan studied his feet intently, but Max saw his eyes narrow, and the way he swallowed hard as if he was trying to bite back a retort.
"Hey, it's easy to forget a few meals when you're busy, right? I do it all the time," Max admitted.
At that Logan looked up at her and laughed in spite of himself. "I don't think I've 'ever' known you to forget a meal. What happened to – I'm hungry Logan, feed me?"
"Well, I burn a lot of calories kickin' ass," she smiled down at him.
Max flashed a look at Bling over his head, and then said on a gentle note, "Hey, you wanna get some sleep?"
Logan immediately went to say, "No, I'm fine," however seeing the look on both their faces, with a considerable lack of grace he murmured, "I guess I don't have a choice."
In truth he didn't even feel he had the strength to sit up. The thought made him frown. It took a lot of effort to get into his wheelchair. "Don't think about it," he said to himself.
It seemed strange to be lying on his own couch with Max at his side. He was torn between enjoying the attention, and being furious at himself for his own weakness in front of her.
As if reading his mind, Max leaned forward, her eyes locked to his, and said quietly, "Hey, this time you're the one on the couch, and I get to take care of you."
Max watched the green eyes gazing back at her intently, a myriad of emotions reflected in their depths, till at last he gave her a half grin. "Well," he said lightly, "it does seem only fair."
"Now, will you close your eyes ...pleeeeese?"
Obediently he did as asked. Taking a deep breath he could feel the tension slowly ebbing from his body.
"Perhaps it 'was' good to have her here," was his last thought before he drifted quickly into a deep, refreshing sleep.
TBC