2nd Anniversary
Part Two
Logan lay in Max's bed, his arms behind his head and a
contented smile on his lips. He could hear the shower
across the hall and wished Max had left the door open so he
could see her, although from this vantage point he probably
wouldn't be able to see her anyway. He just didn't want to
let her out of his sight, almost afraid she'd disappear and
this night would end up being nothing more than a dream.
"Hell, if this is a dream then I'm never waking up again."
He smiled even broader.
He wasn't quiet sure how they'd made it as far as her room,
before making love. All he could remember clearly was the
feel of Max in his arms, her lips and the feel of her hands
on his body.
When they'd tumbled on her bed they'd both been nearly
naked. Okay, Max had been naked; he'd still been clothed
in his boxers, shoes, socks and exoskeleton. He chuckled
at the memory of Max's consternation, she'd insisted on
getting him out of the rest of his clothes herself,
"Couldn't have used the damn chair tonight. Oh, no, got to
friggin' walk, damn it." She'd muttered through her
clenched teeth. He'd started laughing at her, and she'd
glared at him.
"I could really do this faster myself, I'm pretty used to
getting in and out of it."
"You'd better not be laughing at me." She'd mock
threatened him.
"Sorry," he wasn't, and had a hard time trying not to laugh
again, "but a genetically enhanced killing machine having
trouble with military hardware."
"Hah!" she gave a triumphant shout, when she gotten the
last strap undone.
He'd raised his hips off the bed and she'd pulled the
exoskeleton off him. The rest of his clothes had quickly
followed...
Logan sat up, if he didn't get his mind back on track
they'd end up eating the dinner Max had made for breakfast.
He picked his glasses off the nightstand, put them on and
started searching for his pants. By the time he'd found
them, jumbled in the blankets at the foot of the bed, and
started pulling them on the shower had stopped. He sat on
the edge of the bed and waited for Max. He had an
anniversary present for her too.
When Max emerged his breath caught in his throat. She was
wearing nothing but a towel, her hair still damp from the
shower. God, she was so beautiful, that he couldn't think
of anything he wanted more than to be with her.
She smiled at him, her eyes glowing, "Give me a second to
get dressed and we can go have dinner."
"No problem." He answered.
She dropped the towel to the floor and started pulling
clothes out of her closet. Logan just sat and watched as
her body slowly disappeared from his view. Right at that
moment dinner for breakfast didn't seem like such a bad
idea.
Max could feel Logan's gaze on her. When she'd come out of
the bathroom and seen him sitting on her bed she'd felt as
if her heart would burst. Getting dressed was hard when
all she wanted was to strip his pants off and tumble him
back onto her bed again. But, though she could go quite a
while without food she wanted Logan to keep his strength up
for later. She smiled wickedly at the thought. And
besides it had taken a lot of practice getting that recipe
right and she didn't want it to go to waste.
When she was dressed she turned back to him. She was a
little afraid about how she was going to get him to the
table. She knew how proud he was on being able to get
around unaided and he wasn't going to like her carrying
him, but she'd be damned if he was putting the exoskeleton
back on, not when she'd gone to so much trouble getting it
off.
Logan watched Max's face; he could tell she was worried
about how she'd get him to the table. When she stepped
toward him he held up his hand to stop her. He pulled
himself to the edge of the mattress and stood, grinning at
the look of amazement on her face. He took the two steps
needed to reach her and nearly collapsed in her arms.
She held him, gazing up at him, her eyes bright with unshed
tears. "How?" She asked.
"Long story, I'll tell you as we eat. I think I can make
it as far as the table with a little help."
With his arm around her shoulder and hers around his waist
they slowly moved to the living room. When he was finally
seated at the table he smiled up at her. He reached up and
pulled her to him, kissing her he murmured, "Happy
Anniversary."
It took all the will power he had to pull back from her
lips. He smiled at her again, "Dinner."
"Right, dinner." She said straitening; she picked up both
their bowls and moved to the stove. Her mind was whirling
and far from food right now, all she wanted was to know how
he was able to walk again. Well that or how fast she could
get them back to bed. 'Whoa girl,' she thought, 'food
first, explanations second, then we'll see how fast we can
get to bed.'
Max had turned the heat back on under the pot when she'd
gone for her shower. Lifting the lid she filled both bowls
with chilli. She heard the pop of the cork being removed
from the wine bottle and the sound of Logan filling their
glasses, behind her. There was a basket of rolls on the
table and real butter too. With a little shake of her head
she returned to the table, placing the bowls down she
seated herself across from him.
When she sat down, Logan gave her a quizzical look.
"Chilli."
"What?" She said. "It's the only recipe I know how to make.
And you'd better like it, 'cause it took me a lot of
practice to get it right."
He just smiled, picked up his spoon and tasted the dish.
"Wow!" He exclaimed. "Max this is really good."
"Really?" She sounded pathetically eager to have his good
opinion, he realized if it had tasted horrible he would
have eaten with gusto just to make her feel good.
He looked up at her, "Seriously." He lifted his spoon to
his mouth again. Once he'd finished the next mouthful,
"This is better than what my mother taught me to make."
Max's face positively glowed at the compliment; she finally
picked up her own spoon and began to eat too.
They ate for a while in companionable silence. Once his
initial hunger had been sated, Logan glanced around the
apartment. "Where's Original Cindy?" He asked.
"Staying with friends for the weekend." She smiled at him.
"The weekend?" He asked, grinning himself.
"Mmm hmm." She answered around a mouthful of roll. "Hid
your phone too, this weekend is just for us."
Logan looked rather surprised, "What if someone needs to
reach me?"
"The world will still be broken Monday morning." She
paraphrased him.
He smiled in remembrance of the words.
"Isn't a gentleman supposed to wear a shirt when he sits
down to dine with a lady?" She teased.
"Uh, yeah." He smiled, "The gentleman would, if he could
have found his shirt."
She blushed slightly, remembering her frustration, earlier
at all the buttons she couldn't get undone fast enough.
She'd ended up ripping his shirt open, popping most of them.
Finally Max could contain her curiosity no longer. "Okay,
spill it miracle boy."
He grinned, "Ah, right." He put down his spoon and wiped
his mouth. "I went to see Sam a couple of weeks ago.
Seems that Dr. Vertes treatment did some good. Not all the
regenerated nerves in my spine were destroyed. That and my
using the exoskeleton have been helping my brain rewire the
neural pathways to my legs."
Max just sat listening in stunned silence.
"I still don't have a lot of feeling in my calves or
thighs, and my left leg is still pretty weak. But Sam
figures with physio and practice I may be getting around
with just a cane in a few months."
"Wow." She said in amazement.
"Yeah." He agreed.
"But," her face showed her concern, "isn't physio
expensive. Your not selling off more paintings, are you?"
"Bling," he seemed a bit embarrassed. "He won't accept any
money. Keeps saying he's got too much invested in getting
me on my feet to give up now."
"Out stubborned ya, huh?" Max asked with a grin.
"Something like that, yeah." Logan agreed, smiling a
little sheepishly.
Later they sat on the coach, sipping the last of the wine.
Logan looked at the label on the bottle, as he refilled her
glass. "Prepulse, nice."
He frowned, "Do I even want to know where you got this?"
She smiled innocently over the rim of her glass, "Came with
the wine glasses."
"I'll bet." He chuckled.
Logan placed the empty bottle down and held up his wine
glass for a toast, "To us, and to Sandeman, God bless him
where ever he is."
Max touched her glass to his and barely taken a sip before
Logan slipped the glass from her hand and placed it on the
coffee table. He reached out and pulled her into his arms
to kiss her.
Within moments they were both breathless, Max murmured
against his lips. "Logan?"
"Mmm." He answered; his lips began trailing along her jaw
and down her neck.
"How," she was having a hard time concentrating on what she
wanted to say, "bruised is your delicate male ego gonna be
if I carry you back to my room?"
Logan raised his head to smile at her, "With the right care
and attention, I think it'll recover pretty quickly."
"Thank God." Max said, getting to her feet and reaching
for him.
End
For now
Part Two
Logan lay in Max's bed, his arms behind his head and a
contented smile on his lips. He could hear the shower
across the hall and wished Max had left the door open so he
could see her, although from this vantage point he probably
wouldn't be able to see her anyway. He just didn't want to
let her out of his sight, almost afraid she'd disappear and
this night would end up being nothing more than a dream.
"Hell, if this is a dream then I'm never waking up again."
He smiled even broader.
He wasn't quiet sure how they'd made it as far as her room,
before making love. All he could remember clearly was the
feel of Max in his arms, her lips and the feel of her hands
on his body.
When they'd tumbled on her bed they'd both been nearly
naked. Okay, Max had been naked; he'd still been clothed
in his boxers, shoes, socks and exoskeleton. He chuckled
at the memory of Max's consternation, she'd insisted on
getting him out of the rest of his clothes herself,
"Couldn't have used the damn chair tonight. Oh, no, got to
friggin' walk, damn it." She'd muttered through her
clenched teeth. He'd started laughing at her, and she'd
glared at him.
"I could really do this faster myself, I'm pretty used to
getting in and out of it."
"You'd better not be laughing at me." She'd mock
threatened him.
"Sorry," he wasn't, and had a hard time trying not to laugh
again, "but a genetically enhanced killing machine having
trouble with military hardware."
"Hah!" she gave a triumphant shout, when she gotten the
last strap undone.
He'd raised his hips off the bed and she'd pulled the
exoskeleton off him. The rest of his clothes had quickly
followed...
Logan sat up, if he didn't get his mind back on track
they'd end up eating the dinner Max had made for breakfast.
He picked his glasses off the nightstand, put them on and
started searching for his pants. By the time he'd found
them, jumbled in the blankets at the foot of the bed, and
started pulling them on the shower had stopped. He sat on
the edge of the bed and waited for Max. He had an
anniversary present for her too.
When Max emerged his breath caught in his throat. She was
wearing nothing but a towel, her hair still damp from the
shower. God, she was so beautiful, that he couldn't think
of anything he wanted more than to be with her.
She smiled at him, her eyes glowing, "Give me a second to
get dressed and we can go have dinner."
"No problem." He answered.
She dropped the towel to the floor and started pulling
clothes out of her closet. Logan just sat and watched as
her body slowly disappeared from his view. Right at that
moment dinner for breakfast didn't seem like such a bad
idea.
Max could feel Logan's gaze on her. When she'd come out of
the bathroom and seen him sitting on her bed she'd felt as
if her heart would burst. Getting dressed was hard when
all she wanted was to strip his pants off and tumble him
back onto her bed again. But, though she could go quite a
while without food she wanted Logan to keep his strength up
for later. She smiled wickedly at the thought. And
besides it had taken a lot of practice getting that recipe
right and she didn't want it to go to waste.
When she was dressed she turned back to him. She was a
little afraid about how she was going to get him to the
table. She knew how proud he was on being able to get
around unaided and he wasn't going to like her carrying
him, but she'd be damned if he was putting the exoskeleton
back on, not when she'd gone to so much trouble getting it
off.
Logan watched Max's face; he could tell she was worried
about how she'd get him to the table. When she stepped
toward him he held up his hand to stop her. He pulled
himself to the edge of the mattress and stood, grinning at
the look of amazement on her face. He took the two steps
needed to reach her and nearly collapsed in her arms.
She held him, gazing up at him, her eyes bright with unshed
tears. "How?" She asked.
"Long story, I'll tell you as we eat. I think I can make
it as far as the table with a little help."
With his arm around her shoulder and hers around his waist
they slowly moved to the living room. When he was finally
seated at the table he smiled up at her. He reached up and
pulled her to him, kissing her he murmured, "Happy
Anniversary."
It took all the will power he had to pull back from her
lips. He smiled at her again, "Dinner."
"Right, dinner." She said straitening; she picked up both
their bowls and moved to the stove. Her mind was whirling
and far from food right now, all she wanted was to know how
he was able to walk again. Well that or how fast she could
get them back to bed. 'Whoa girl,' she thought, 'food
first, explanations second, then we'll see how fast we can
get to bed.'
Max had turned the heat back on under the pot when she'd
gone for her shower. Lifting the lid she filled both bowls
with chilli. She heard the pop of the cork being removed
from the wine bottle and the sound of Logan filling their
glasses, behind her. There was a basket of rolls on the
table and real butter too. With a little shake of her head
she returned to the table, placing the bowls down she
seated herself across from him.
When she sat down, Logan gave her a quizzical look.
"Chilli."
"What?" She said. "It's the only recipe I know how to make.
And you'd better like it, 'cause it took me a lot of
practice to get it right."
He just smiled, picked up his spoon and tasted the dish.
"Wow!" He exclaimed. "Max this is really good."
"Really?" She sounded pathetically eager to have his good
opinion, he realized if it had tasted horrible he would
have eaten with gusto just to make her feel good.
He looked up at her, "Seriously." He lifted his spoon to
his mouth again. Once he'd finished the next mouthful,
"This is better than what my mother taught me to make."
Max's face positively glowed at the compliment; she finally
picked up her own spoon and began to eat too.
They ate for a while in companionable silence. Once his
initial hunger had been sated, Logan glanced around the
apartment. "Where's Original Cindy?" He asked.
"Staying with friends for the weekend." She smiled at him.
"The weekend?" He asked, grinning himself.
"Mmm hmm." She answered around a mouthful of roll. "Hid
your phone too, this weekend is just for us."
Logan looked rather surprised, "What if someone needs to
reach me?"
"The world will still be broken Monday morning." She
paraphrased him.
He smiled in remembrance of the words.
"Isn't a gentleman supposed to wear a shirt when he sits
down to dine with a lady?" She teased.
"Uh, yeah." He smiled, "The gentleman would, if he could
have found his shirt."
She blushed slightly, remembering her frustration, earlier
at all the buttons she couldn't get undone fast enough.
She'd ended up ripping his shirt open, popping most of them.
Finally Max could contain her curiosity no longer. "Okay,
spill it miracle boy."
He grinned, "Ah, right." He put down his spoon and wiped
his mouth. "I went to see Sam a couple of weeks ago.
Seems that Dr. Vertes treatment did some good. Not all the
regenerated nerves in my spine were destroyed. That and my
using the exoskeleton have been helping my brain rewire the
neural pathways to my legs."
Max just sat listening in stunned silence.
"I still don't have a lot of feeling in my calves or
thighs, and my left leg is still pretty weak. But Sam
figures with physio and practice I may be getting around
with just a cane in a few months."
"Wow." She said in amazement.
"Yeah." He agreed.
"But," her face showed her concern, "isn't physio
expensive. Your not selling off more paintings, are you?"
"Bling," he seemed a bit embarrassed. "He won't accept any
money. Keeps saying he's got too much invested in getting
me on my feet to give up now."
"Out stubborned ya, huh?" Max asked with a grin.
"Something like that, yeah." Logan agreed, smiling a
little sheepishly.
Later they sat on the coach, sipping the last of the wine.
Logan looked at the label on the bottle, as he refilled her
glass. "Prepulse, nice."
He frowned, "Do I even want to know where you got this?"
She smiled innocently over the rim of her glass, "Came with
the wine glasses."
"I'll bet." He chuckled.
Logan placed the empty bottle down and held up his wine
glass for a toast, "To us, and to Sandeman, God bless him
where ever he is."
Max touched her glass to his and barely taken a sip before
Logan slipped the glass from her hand and placed it on the
coffee table. He reached out and pulled her into his arms
to kiss her.
Within moments they were both breathless, Max murmured
against his lips. "Logan?"
"Mmm." He answered; his lips began trailing along her jaw
and down her neck.
"How," she was having a hard time concentrating on what she
wanted to say, "bruised is your delicate male ego gonna be
if I carry you back to my room?"
Logan raised his head to smile at her, "With the right care
and attention, I think it'll recover pretty quickly."
"Thank God." Max said, getting to her feet and reaching
for him.
End
For now