So finally I found the time to continue this story! Sorry for taking so long! Unfortunately my studies kept me busy, so I didn't have time to write.
I still feel I'm not quite in shape, but I'll try anyway.
Enjoy! And Please review!
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Chapter 4
Bling and Logan made their way through the old market towards the area with the fresh fruits. After the pulse this was one of the few places where one could get some fresh produce, albeit at ridiculously high prices.
But tonight it didn't matter. Logan wanted to prepare a nice and decent meal, not only for himself, but all and foremost for Max. She had to be very hungry after having left him without anything to eat due to his empty fridge.
He thought back to their encounter earlier that day with mixed feelings.
He had been glad to see her, but his nightmare was still clouding his thoughts and confusing his feelings. She had caught him off guard. He just could not keep up a quiet conversation with all this stuff turning in his head.
He had felt the sudden need to touch her, to feel her near him, while she was standing over there by the fridge. Her tight clothes had surely been a turn-on, but there was something else. This wasn't just pent up sexual desire that had built up inside him ever since the day he had been shot, reducing his private life to nothing but clinical aspects. This dream had waken something inside his head that he had tried to lock away for all those years, making him feel so helpless and vulnerable again.
He had felt the urge to move over and hug her, to be near her, to be near someone, to get this devastating feeling off his chest and the lump out of his throat.
At the same time he'd felt incredibly embarrassed and ridiculous, sitting there, all messy and sleepy, longing for some comfort from this incredibly beautiful woman standing there in front of him, however being to proud to accept it anyway, even if she'd offer it.
So he had pushed the thoughts away, as far back as he could. But they threatened to come back even stronger. With every word he told her about his new case, he felt his composure break down and the locked up feelings creep to the surface.
Then he had heard her offer her help. No Max, don't you dare stir up those feelings even more! Or else I might not be able to refrain them anymore. And I have a promise to keep.So he had just brushed her off, telling her that he didn't need her help, that the case was rested. This was just too personal. Too painful to relive.
***
Bling and Logan had reached the stall they had been heading for and Logan picked out some nice strawberries, to go with the desert he was going to make. He was surprised that they had strawberries. After all, it was winter. Even in pre-pulse Seattle it would have been extremely difficult to find strawberries in this time of the year. But they would fit perfectly with the Tiramisu. Max would love it. His mother had brought the recipe from one of his parents holidays from Italy. She used to say that it was the best painkiller there was in the whole world, even better than morphine.
"Can I help you with something else?" the woman behind the counter asked politely, as she handed Logan the strawberries, wrapped in a plastic bag.
"No thanks, that's all for today." Logan responded. Handing the fruits to Bling who packed them into one of the big shopping bags he was carrying.
Logan smiled: "Thanks for being my mule and carrying all those bags."
Bling nodded. "That's okay. Your wheelchair would break down with all the weight, you know?!" he smiled amusedly. Maybe we should get you a trailer sometime."
They had spend all afternoon gathering all the stuff, Logan wanted to buy and his arms started to ache from the weight he was carrying around.
"Ha ha" Logan uttered, punching Bling 's side playfully.
"Why did you let it come this far anyway. I mean didn't you notice you were running out of food or have you just been to busy to care?"
"Suppose I just didn't notice..." Logan said.
"You seemed quite busy with that case, when I came in this morning. What was that all about anyway? Something hot?"
"Nah, just regular work, some fraud going on, nothing in particular."
"So that's why you stayed up all night, messing with your health and all, just because it's a regular case, huh?!" Bling said sarcastically.
Logan rolled his eyes. " Listen Bling, you're not my mother. I don't need another one of your talks right now, okay!"
Bling nodded silently.
"Okay," he finally said. "No need to be…" He was interrupted by the ring of Logan's cell phone. Logan hectically reached for his pocket and flipped it open.
"Hello?" he asked curiously. "Ah, Detective Sung,… yeah…. I've been waiting for your call. Did you arrest any of the…?…. Oh, I see…So they deleted all the files from their system….Let me see. They collect the donations via the hospitals directly. There have to be some written receipts left there. Maybe Eyes Only can locate some of the records…Which one are you working on right now?….Southside Children's Hospital…Okay, we'll check that immediately…..Thanks, bye"
He closed his phone and put it away.
"So, that was about the new case." Bling asked "Didn't sound like nothing particular,"he stated calmly.
"For heaven's sake, Bling. You can be stubborn!" Logan exclaimed. Noticing that their conversation was becoming too loud and people started looking at the strange couple he lowered his voice and pushed his chair away from the crowd towards the parking lot.
"Fine," he conceded, " I'll tell you. There is some major fraud going on in the 'Make them smile again' foundation, money is being transferred to secret accounts in Europe, without ever reaching its destination. I managed to transfer the money back, but now the police needs names and evidence to track those who are responsible down. Unfortunately all of the data of the last two years was deleted in a mysterious computer crash down this morning."
So this is personal!, Bling thought to himself. All of the sudden everything made sense.
That was why Logan was so tense and wouldn't talk about this case! During one of their endless talks in rehab Logan had only once confided to him about his family and what happened to them. Bling was sure he still had no idea how much that affected Logan or how he really felt about that.
But coming in touch so closely with his past definitely could not be easy.
"So this is something personal," Bling finally spoke out loud.
Logan looked up at his friend and hesitated. "…Obviously. Yes." He finally admitted with a sigh. "I just have to fix this!"
