Author: Caro
Title: Timeless
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Sad as it may be, I don't own a single thing :(
Summary: Set many years after AJBAC, Logan is ready come to terms with Max's death
Logan heard the ocean waves crashing against the rocky shore beneath him as he stood on top of the high cliff composed of tiny stones millions of years before. Tomorrow he would marry his beautiful fiancé Elizabeth. But even Logan knew that before he made that lifelong commitment, he needed to first let another loved one go...forever.
He had waited 7 years after the fateful night when Max had died in his arms to propose to Elizabeth. She made him laugh and smile. Which was something he hadn't done since Max. Funny though, something in his heart still felt as if she were alive. He couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere out there, Max was alive. He had made up his mind the previous year that he wouldn't waste another day pining away for somebody who wasn't coming home, somebody who was never coming home.
Sure Elizabeth wasn't Max, she could never be Max. But Logan loved her. She knew nothing of Manticore, and after Max's death, Logan never resumed his role as Eyes Only. He did however tell her about his legs, and how he needed the exoskeleton to walk. Elizabeth never gave it much though, it wasn't an issue to her. Logan's fortune did in fact remain. Stockholders in his uncle's company refused to let their fortunes go down the drain as well, and after months of court hearings, and fighting with the law, the shareholders and company workers won the right to keep the Cale business alive. And being a Cale, a check was still sent monthly to Logan's apartment.
No longer living in Seattle, Logan and Elizabeth bought a luxurious apartment in northern California, a few miles from the ocean. Logan had said he wanted to get out of Seattle because of all the rain and because he needed a change. But those closest to him, besides Elizabeth, knew that he didn't want the constant memories of Max. Every time Logan would look at the space needle, he would picture Max sitting up there, thinking of the world and all of it's problems, wishing to be a normal girl. Logan neared tears just thinking of it, and since Elizabeth had most of her family in northern California, Logan agreed to move there, so she could be closer to them. One of Logan's favorite meditation spots was on this very ledge. His fear of heights had somehow dissolved, and instead of fearing the height, he embraced it. Somehow feeling closer to all his lost loves ones, namely, Max. But instead of contemplation today, he came for a final farewell.
Logan stood holding a box, no bigger than a shoebox. The inside contained the last remnants of Max. An old T-shirt she once left as his Seattle apartment, a bottle of shampoo Logan bought her because she was using up all of his, and a picture Bling once snapped of them before either could object.
"Well, here I am Max. I can't wait forever with this feeling in my heart that somewhere you're out there. I love Elizabeth, she's been my comfort and my strength since you left me." Logan opened the box and took a quick glance at the photo. "She's not you though. The love I feel...felt for you was something I can't even begin to describe. But Elizabeth is now apart of my life, and besides you, I can't imagine anyone else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with. I need to move on with my life, even if that includes letting you go. If I'm to fully give my heart to this woman, I need to give you up, I need to give the dream of us up." Logan's hands were slightly quivering as he continually clasped the box.
The calm sound of the waves soothed Logan's nerves slightly as his fingers tightly grasped the edges of the box, and with all his strength, Logan threw the box over the side of the cliff. In those few brief seconds, as he watched all of the boxes contents fly out and slowly descend down into the rushing water, all of Max came back to him. Her voice, her smell, the way she looked at him when she was angry, the way her eyes looked at him in the candlelight.
Since the night of her death, Logan had never cried over Max. The first few weeks after, all he felt was anger. He was mad at the world, at Manticore for doing this to Max, to him, and to the relationship they were just starting. Then afterwards it was just a general depression. It wasn't until almost a year that he started to improve and people noticed he began leaving his apartment more and going outside. But never did he cry during all those years, not a once.
"Hey Logan" a voice called out to Logan, interrupting his thoughts.
"Bling? I thought your flight wasn't until tomorrow morning?" Logan asked, walking over and shaking his best man's hand.
Both men taking a seat on the hard rocks, Bling shook his head "I was actually able to catch an earlier one, so here I am. I stopped by your apartment quickly and Elizabeth was there, packing a few things before she headed over to her parent's house for the night. She told me that this is where you come most often when you need to be alone. Now tell me what's on your mind Logan, because those don't look like happy tears I saw you wipe away as I was walking up."
Taking a quick glance at the current look in Logan's eyes, Bling didn't even need Logan to answer his question. "I should have know you'd be thinking of Max. On the phone however for awhile now you haven't mentioned her at all."
"I have no reason to talk about her. It's not like there is any current news on her. She's dead, I have accepted it and moved on.
Logan stared out at the water, thinking of all of Max's memories, just floating around in the cold water. "Truth be told, I haven't really thought about her that much lately. I've been so busy with the wedding preparations and all, that I haven't had time. Not that I want too, I mean, Max is apart of my past, and Elizabeth is my present and future. I'm just... I'm just still having a hard time letting Max go. I can't help but think of where we would be now if that night didn't happen."
"Hey, you're not having doubts about getting married tomorrow are you? Because you do know it's natural to have pre-marital jitters." Bling was worried that his friend might go and do something stupid less than 24 hours before the wedding.
Logan looked over at him. "You know, I have been married before. But no, it's not jitters. It's just this feeling I have that she's still out there. And I have this terrible fear that she's going to come back, and I will be a married man, with my wife and kids maybe, and I just won't know what to do."
"It's been 8 years since then, I knew Max, and I knew her strength and will. If she were alive, she would have come back already. You're doing the right, healthy thing. You're moving on. Now come on, we can go get a few drinks before you need to get some rest for the big day."
Smiling, Logan said "Yeah, you're right. But I just need...a moment, just a moment. To say goodbye."
"Sure man, I'll be waiting on the street for you." Logan watched as Bling climbed down the rocky cliff, until he was sure Bling was gone.
Logan stood at the very edge of the cliff, where if he moved even 5 inches, he would fall into the dark abyss below him. But he wasn't worried, he was confident that gravity was on his side. "I love you and I'll forever be grateful that you came crashing through my window that night. I will never regret any of the time we spent together, and you will eternally have a piece of my heart. I owe you my life in so many ways, and I know you never thought of yourself as a hero, but you were. You were my hero. You made me feel as nobody ever has. You accepted me for who I was, despite all of my flaws, you loved me. And each day I thank every higher power for that. But time has changed, not all for the better, but not all for the worse either. And tomorrow I'll give myself to Elizabeth. And I know, you're probably looking down on me thinking 'Logan Cale you're such a sap. Put up, or shut up and move on, don't waste tears on me.' And it comforts me to know that you're in a place where Manticore doesn't exist, and you don't have to hide anymore. You can get the rest you've so desperately earned. Good-bye Max."
Wiping the fallen tears that were slowly dripping down his cheeks, he stepped backwards, and headed down the rocks, to where Bling would be waiting on the street. "You all set man?"
"Yeah, I think I've just closed to book of Max for good. But I'll never forget her." Logan said, getting into Bling's rental car.
Starting the engine up, Bling responded "I don't expect you too forget her. You guys had that whole love at first sight kind of love. Even if you never admitted it."
"Maybe that's why I've had such a hard time forgetting her. I never got to say good-bye. I never got to tell her I loved her. There was never any closure to our relationship. All those wasted months of just hiding from the truth, when we could have been experiencing life...together."
Bling quickly interrupted Logan's reminiscent thoughts. "Now listen, what's done is done. Thinking of it is not going to take you back in time to make up for all the things you want to do over again. Come on, I think I past a bar on my way to your house."
"Yeah, that's probably "Riley's Bar" I've only been there once or twice since we've moved here though." Logan answered Bling.
"Perfect, you can tell me all about the wedding details, and we can get you drunk hopefully as your last night as a free man." He and Logan both laughed as his last comment.
The next morning Logan's stomach was completely tied in knots. "Why do I not remember being this nervous the first time I got married."
"Maybe that was because when you were a young careless teenager." Jake commented as he walked into Logan's room to help him. Jake was Elizabeth's maid of honor's husband, and a good friend of Logan's as well. He was a natural funny guy. On some conversations he would have his wife, Elizabeth, and Logan completely in tears they were laughing so hard.
Logan shot Jake a feigned hurt look. "I'll have you know I was 24 when I married Valerie."
"And look how well that turned out." Jake said, rolling his eyes in good humor.
"Valerie was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I never should have married her. I never did get a good feeling about her, not like I felt about M-" Logan closed his mouth.
"Who? Logan what were you going to say?" Jake probed him.
Logan wracked his brain for an escape route. "I mean, not the way I feel about marrying Elizabeth."
"Ah, ok, I see." Jake said just as he was picking off a few loose threads on Logan's tux. "There we go buddy. Now it looks like it's time to get you to the altar and make an honest man out of you."
Logan looked at him for a moment "Oh, funny..."
"Why thank you, by the way, have you seen Bling? I haven't seen him in awhile." Jake asked.
Logan pointed toward the door. "He was helping me a little while ago, but went to make sure everything with Elizabeth and the bride's maid's were all set. I just think he got sick of hearing my nervous jitter talk."
"I don't blame him...Well, let's go Cinderella." Jake said as he patted his friend on the back, and they both walked out of the groom's room and take their places at the alter.
Title: Timeless
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Sad as it may be, I don't own a single thing :(
Summary: Set many years after AJBAC, Logan is ready come to terms with Max's death
Logan heard the ocean waves crashing against the rocky shore beneath him as he stood on top of the high cliff composed of tiny stones millions of years before. Tomorrow he would marry his beautiful fiancé Elizabeth. But even Logan knew that before he made that lifelong commitment, he needed to first let another loved one go...forever.
He had waited 7 years after the fateful night when Max had died in his arms to propose to Elizabeth. She made him laugh and smile. Which was something he hadn't done since Max. Funny though, something in his heart still felt as if she were alive. He couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere out there, Max was alive. He had made up his mind the previous year that he wouldn't waste another day pining away for somebody who wasn't coming home, somebody who was never coming home.
Sure Elizabeth wasn't Max, she could never be Max. But Logan loved her. She knew nothing of Manticore, and after Max's death, Logan never resumed his role as Eyes Only. He did however tell her about his legs, and how he needed the exoskeleton to walk. Elizabeth never gave it much though, it wasn't an issue to her. Logan's fortune did in fact remain. Stockholders in his uncle's company refused to let their fortunes go down the drain as well, and after months of court hearings, and fighting with the law, the shareholders and company workers won the right to keep the Cale business alive. And being a Cale, a check was still sent monthly to Logan's apartment.
No longer living in Seattle, Logan and Elizabeth bought a luxurious apartment in northern California, a few miles from the ocean. Logan had said he wanted to get out of Seattle because of all the rain and because he needed a change. But those closest to him, besides Elizabeth, knew that he didn't want the constant memories of Max. Every time Logan would look at the space needle, he would picture Max sitting up there, thinking of the world and all of it's problems, wishing to be a normal girl. Logan neared tears just thinking of it, and since Elizabeth had most of her family in northern California, Logan agreed to move there, so she could be closer to them. One of Logan's favorite meditation spots was on this very ledge. His fear of heights had somehow dissolved, and instead of fearing the height, he embraced it. Somehow feeling closer to all his lost loves ones, namely, Max. But instead of contemplation today, he came for a final farewell.
Logan stood holding a box, no bigger than a shoebox. The inside contained the last remnants of Max. An old T-shirt she once left as his Seattle apartment, a bottle of shampoo Logan bought her because she was using up all of his, and a picture Bling once snapped of them before either could object.
"Well, here I am Max. I can't wait forever with this feeling in my heart that somewhere you're out there. I love Elizabeth, she's been my comfort and my strength since you left me." Logan opened the box and took a quick glance at the photo. "She's not you though. The love I feel...felt for you was something I can't even begin to describe. But Elizabeth is now apart of my life, and besides you, I can't imagine anyone else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with. I need to move on with my life, even if that includes letting you go. If I'm to fully give my heart to this woman, I need to give you up, I need to give the dream of us up." Logan's hands were slightly quivering as he continually clasped the box.
The calm sound of the waves soothed Logan's nerves slightly as his fingers tightly grasped the edges of the box, and with all his strength, Logan threw the box over the side of the cliff. In those few brief seconds, as he watched all of the boxes contents fly out and slowly descend down into the rushing water, all of Max came back to him. Her voice, her smell, the way she looked at him when she was angry, the way her eyes looked at him in the candlelight.
Since the night of her death, Logan had never cried over Max. The first few weeks after, all he felt was anger. He was mad at the world, at Manticore for doing this to Max, to him, and to the relationship they were just starting. Then afterwards it was just a general depression. It wasn't until almost a year that he started to improve and people noticed he began leaving his apartment more and going outside. But never did he cry during all those years, not a once.
"Hey Logan" a voice called out to Logan, interrupting his thoughts.
"Bling? I thought your flight wasn't until tomorrow morning?" Logan asked, walking over and shaking his best man's hand.
Both men taking a seat on the hard rocks, Bling shook his head "I was actually able to catch an earlier one, so here I am. I stopped by your apartment quickly and Elizabeth was there, packing a few things before she headed over to her parent's house for the night. She told me that this is where you come most often when you need to be alone. Now tell me what's on your mind Logan, because those don't look like happy tears I saw you wipe away as I was walking up."
Taking a quick glance at the current look in Logan's eyes, Bling didn't even need Logan to answer his question. "I should have know you'd be thinking of Max. On the phone however for awhile now you haven't mentioned her at all."
"I have no reason to talk about her. It's not like there is any current news on her. She's dead, I have accepted it and moved on.
Logan stared out at the water, thinking of all of Max's memories, just floating around in the cold water. "Truth be told, I haven't really thought about her that much lately. I've been so busy with the wedding preparations and all, that I haven't had time. Not that I want too, I mean, Max is apart of my past, and Elizabeth is my present and future. I'm just... I'm just still having a hard time letting Max go. I can't help but think of where we would be now if that night didn't happen."
"Hey, you're not having doubts about getting married tomorrow are you? Because you do know it's natural to have pre-marital jitters." Bling was worried that his friend might go and do something stupid less than 24 hours before the wedding.
Logan looked over at him. "You know, I have been married before. But no, it's not jitters. It's just this feeling I have that she's still out there. And I have this terrible fear that she's going to come back, and I will be a married man, with my wife and kids maybe, and I just won't know what to do."
"It's been 8 years since then, I knew Max, and I knew her strength and will. If she were alive, she would have come back already. You're doing the right, healthy thing. You're moving on. Now come on, we can go get a few drinks before you need to get some rest for the big day."
Smiling, Logan said "Yeah, you're right. But I just need...a moment, just a moment. To say goodbye."
"Sure man, I'll be waiting on the street for you." Logan watched as Bling climbed down the rocky cliff, until he was sure Bling was gone.
Logan stood at the very edge of the cliff, where if he moved even 5 inches, he would fall into the dark abyss below him. But he wasn't worried, he was confident that gravity was on his side. "I love you and I'll forever be grateful that you came crashing through my window that night. I will never regret any of the time we spent together, and you will eternally have a piece of my heart. I owe you my life in so many ways, and I know you never thought of yourself as a hero, but you were. You were my hero. You made me feel as nobody ever has. You accepted me for who I was, despite all of my flaws, you loved me. And each day I thank every higher power for that. But time has changed, not all for the better, but not all for the worse either. And tomorrow I'll give myself to Elizabeth. And I know, you're probably looking down on me thinking 'Logan Cale you're such a sap. Put up, or shut up and move on, don't waste tears on me.' And it comforts me to know that you're in a place where Manticore doesn't exist, and you don't have to hide anymore. You can get the rest you've so desperately earned. Good-bye Max."
Wiping the fallen tears that were slowly dripping down his cheeks, he stepped backwards, and headed down the rocks, to where Bling would be waiting on the street. "You all set man?"
"Yeah, I think I've just closed to book of Max for good. But I'll never forget her." Logan said, getting into Bling's rental car.
Starting the engine up, Bling responded "I don't expect you too forget her. You guys had that whole love at first sight kind of love. Even if you never admitted it."
"Maybe that's why I've had such a hard time forgetting her. I never got to say good-bye. I never got to tell her I loved her. There was never any closure to our relationship. All those wasted months of just hiding from the truth, when we could have been experiencing life...together."
Bling quickly interrupted Logan's reminiscent thoughts. "Now listen, what's done is done. Thinking of it is not going to take you back in time to make up for all the things you want to do over again. Come on, I think I past a bar on my way to your house."
"Yeah, that's probably "Riley's Bar" I've only been there once or twice since we've moved here though." Logan answered Bling.
"Perfect, you can tell me all about the wedding details, and we can get you drunk hopefully as your last night as a free man." He and Logan both laughed as his last comment.
The next morning Logan's stomach was completely tied in knots. "Why do I not remember being this nervous the first time I got married."
"Maybe that was because when you were a young careless teenager." Jake commented as he walked into Logan's room to help him. Jake was Elizabeth's maid of honor's husband, and a good friend of Logan's as well. He was a natural funny guy. On some conversations he would have his wife, Elizabeth, and Logan completely in tears they were laughing so hard.
Logan shot Jake a feigned hurt look. "I'll have you know I was 24 when I married Valerie."
"And look how well that turned out." Jake said, rolling his eyes in good humor.
"Valerie was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I never should have married her. I never did get a good feeling about her, not like I felt about M-" Logan closed his mouth.
"Who? Logan what were you going to say?" Jake probed him.
Logan wracked his brain for an escape route. "I mean, not the way I feel about marrying Elizabeth."
"Ah, ok, I see." Jake said just as he was picking off a few loose threads on Logan's tux. "There we go buddy. Now it looks like it's time to get you to the altar and make an honest man out of you."
Logan looked at him for a moment "Oh, funny..."
"Why thank you, by the way, have you seen Bling? I haven't seen him in awhile." Jake asked.
Logan pointed toward the door. "He was helping me a little while ago, but went to make sure everything with Elizabeth and the bride's maid's were all set. I just think he got sick of hearing my nervous jitter talk."
"I don't blame him...Well, let's go Cinderella." Jake said as he patted his friend on the back, and they both walked out of the groom's room and take their places at the alter.