"Good morning." Anna greeted her grandson with a kiss on the cheek. "Where's Max?"
"Running." He pured himself a cup of coffee.
"What are you up to?"
"I'll g over to Arlington House until lunch. They need some help today."
"What's that?"
"I didn't tell you? It's a foster home, and there also live some young mothers with their babies. They need babysitters sometimes when the girls are at school."
"Cool, sounds great."
"It is." She grabbed her jacket. "Peter will cook. I'll be back around noon."
"Have fun!"
Logan had breakfast and then got his book and settled in a comfortable chair on the sunny terrace.
"Hey lazy guy."
"Hey Max. Feeling better?"
"Yeah, I really need to dosome exercise. Where is everybody?"
"Anna is babysitting and I haven't seen Peter yet."
"Mind if I go for a swim? There is a lake in the park."
"Go ahead. Sounds like fun."
"Wanna come?"
"Can I get there?"
"I think so. Come on, you can take your book with you." She didn't wait for an answer. "I'll get towels and a bathing suit." She kissed him. "When I ran by there was absolutely nobody there, just in case you wondered."
She knew he preferred it that way.
When Max returned to the terrace Logan had transferred into his wheelchair again and waited. She dumbed a bag with bathing suits, towels, a bottle of water and some apples in his lap.
"Should take us about 20 minutes."
"No problem."
Logan liked the place immediately, the lake was fairly big, the ground hard, apart from a small sandy stripe along the shore. And Max had been right, they were the only people around.
He deposited the bag in the shadow of a big tree and the slid out of his wheelchair. He grabbed a blanket and crawled the few feet to the sandy stripe. Max didn't even bother to offer help.
"Can you give me my book please?"
"You don't wanna go for a swim?"
"Not right now. Maye we can try later. For now I'd like to stay right where I am."
"OK, mind if I..."
"Just go, Max." He looked up at her, smiling.
She got undressed, much to Logan's dismay she already wore a bathing suit underneath her shorts and shirt.
"See ya." She ran into the water and dived. When she came back up she waved at him, then quickly disappeared from his field of view. Logan lay back and enjoyed the sun shining in his face until he heard voices.
A young woman settled quite a distance from him, trying to get four kids to listen to her. She friendly waved at him, then turned her attention back on the task on hand.
"I don't want you to go out too far. You always have to be able to stand, OK?"
He couldn't hear the kids' reponses, besides he lost interest. The warmth, the sound of the waves and the soft breeze made him sleepy.
He couldn't tell how much time had past when screams woke him from his daydreaming.
"Oh my god, Jake!Help! Please, I need help!" Logan looked around, the young woman and three kids were standing to their ankles in the water. He followed their gazes and found small boy struggling to keep his head above the water. "Damn it." He searched for Max, but she was proabaly at the other end of the lake, head under water, unaware of what was happening.
"You have to swim to him, keep his head above water!"
"I can't swim! Oh my god,help him!"
Logan hesitated for another second, then he went into auto mode. He threw his glasses on the blanket, thanks god he'd gotten rid of his shoes and pants earlier. He dragged the dead weight of his legs closer to the water. Since rehab months ago he hadn't been swimming, and back then it was a small pool, and Bling was always close to help in case he lost control over his unresponsive limps. He remembered how he had cursed his legs, it's been so weird not to know where they were.
The shouts and screams from the woman and the kids were far away when he fought his way through the shallow water. He didn't care how pathetic he looked, he was completely focused on the boy, praying he would make it in time. When he was able to swim with strong arm strokes it became easier, he covered the distance fairly quickly.
But just when he thought he could reach out for the boy,the kid sank. "F***!"
Logan waited a few seconds, hoping the boy would come back to the surface. When he didn't, Logan took a deep breath and used all of his strength to dive.
Fortunately he could see the boy and could get hold of him. Coughing, he tried to catch his breath when he was back above the water. Just how was he supposed to support the kid, let alone get him to the shore in time?
Max heard the screams and with her enhanced sight she could make out the form of a person in the water. If he really lacked the strength to keep himself above water she wouldn't reach him in time, no matter how fast she was. But then she saw somebody swim towards him. "Logan!" She swam even faster, afraid her boyfriend wouldn't be able to support the person in case he could really reach him and drown himself.
Logan desperately fought to keep his hold on the boy, but he lost hope. He just wasn't able to swim holding the boy. All he could do was trying to keep both their heads above the water.
In the moment something grabbed him from behind. He immediately recognized Max. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah, help the boy! Get him out!"
Max realized with one look that he as not breathing. "Can you hold yourslef above water?"
"Yeah! Go!"
She grabbed the kid and made her way to the shore in record time, she hoped the people on the beach were too shocked to ponder her speed. She could easily have gotten both, Logan and the boy, to the shore. But Logan had been right, every second might count.
Max dropped him in the sand and then tried to make him breathe again. "Come on!" The other woman knelt down next to her,herface tear-stroked. "Oh my god, come on, Jake! Breathe! Come on!"
Horribly long seconds passed before hecougehd and weakly struggled to breathe. "Shh, relax, you are fine. Just breathe, slowly. Very good. Ok." Max supported him as he coughed up water and gasped for air. She smiled at the other woman. "He isgoing to be fine." She watched teh young woman embrace him and got up, looking for Logan. She found him sitting in the water close to the shore, struggling to maintain his balance and catch his breath. His wet shirt clung to his muscular chest and his hair was patted to his head.
"Everything alright?"
"Yeah, thanks to you. I would never have made it." His tone wasn't bitter, just tired and relieved.
"Without you,I would have been late in thfirst place." She knelt down and embraced him, theyn the ywatched the young woman calm the boy, still holding each other. Max could feel him tremble.
"Damn, that was close."
They sat there for another minute before the blond woman came over.
"I don't know how to thank you."
"You're welcome."
"No, I mean,without you..." Her voice broke.
"It's Ok, really. Don't think about what might have been.He made it, that's all that matters." Logan fought again to keep hi balance so Max laid her arm around his hip to stabilize him.
"Yeah..." She stretched out her hand. "I'm Kylie by the way."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Logan."
"Max."
"And his name's Jake."
"Listen, Kylie. You should get Jake to the hospital, just to make sure he is OK."
"Yeah, I will. But he needs some more minutes, and we have to walk back, so..."
Max looked at Logan, knowing what he thought. When he shrugged she offered. "Maybe we can walk you back..."
"I can't expect that."
"It's ok, I need dry clothesanyway." Logan smiled.
"Thank you so much, I'll pack our stuff."
"And you? May Ihelp you? Max stood up.
"Just get my chair as close as possible."
Max did as she was told, set the brakes and watched Logan crawl towards her, his arms still trembled and the sand stuck to his wet skin.
Fianlly he'd reached her.
"Maybe you should clean yourself first."
"Probably." He settled in the grass and grabbed the towel she offered. Max looked over his head and saw Kylie starein disbelief at thewheelchair and theman still sitting on the ground. Apparently she hadn't realized before Logan couldn't walk.
Her attention was turned back to Logan when he groaned, trying to push himself up into the chair. Without asking, in order to avoid an argument, she grabbed him around his chest and hoisted him into the seat.
"You've already done enough for today." She bent down to kiss him gently, partly it was to show Kylie he was just a normal guy.
Max quickly packed their stuff and threw the bag at Logan. "I'll get your passenger."
She walked over to Kylie and teh kids who were packing their stuff. Jake was still sitting on the towel,shaking and pale. "He can ride home on Logan's lap if he doesn't mind."
"Sounds good. But how the hell did he...I meanhe's not really...he can walk, cant he?"
"No,not a single step." Max smiled adly.
"Oh my god, but then how.."
"Let's just say he is an amazing guy."Max's voice was filled with pride and admiration. She was trained to be strong and fast, but for him that was all so much harder. He was the real superhero in this relationship.
"That much is sure. Wow." Kylie hoisted jake up and carried him over to Logan who waited close to the path.
"Hey, ready to go?"
"Yeah. Listen, I didn't know you...I mean, I think I even yelled at you to help and..." Logan friendly grinned at her.
"It's Ok, don't worry." He held out his hands and Kylie deposited teh boy in his lap. Jake gratefully cuddled close, too exhausted to even open his eyes.
"'K Max, I know I told ya never to push that chait while I'm in it, but right now I have my hands full." He honestly didn't feel like he could push the chair with the extra weight over the rough ground. His arms still shook from the effort earlier.
"Sure thing."
+++++
Hope you liked it. I have a new computer and the spell checking program is not installed yet, so please bare with me. And review!!!!!!
"Running." He pured himself a cup of coffee.
"What are you up to?"
"I'll g over to Arlington House until lunch. They need some help today."
"What's that?"
"I didn't tell you? It's a foster home, and there also live some young mothers with their babies. They need babysitters sometimes when the girls are at school."
"Cool, sounds great."
"It is." She grabbed her jacket. "Peter will cook. I'll be back around noon."
"Have fun!"
Logan had breakfast and then got his book and settled in a comfortable chair on the sunny terrace.
"Hey lazy guy."
"Hey Max. Feeling better?"
"Yeah, I really need to dosome exercise. Where is everybody?"
"Anna is babysitting and I haven't seen Peter yet."
"Mind if I go for a swim? There is a lake in the park."
"Go ahead. Sounds like fun."
"Wanna come?"
"Can I get there?"
"I think so. Come on, you can take your book with you." She didn't wait for an answer. "I'll get towels and a bathing suit." She kissed him. "When I ran by there was absolutely nobody there, just in case you wondered."
She knew he preferred it that way.
When Max returned to the terrace Logan had transferred into his wheelchair again and waited. She dumbed a bag with bathing suits, towels, a bottle of water and some apples in his lap.
"Should take us about 20 minutes."
"No problem."
Logan liked the place immediately, the lake was fairly big, the ground hard, apart from a small sandy stripe along the shore. And Max had been right, they were the only people around.
He deposited the bag in the shadow of a big tree and the slid out of his wheelchair. He grabbed a blanket and crawled the few feet to the sandy stripe. Max didn't even bother to offer help.
"Can you give me my book please?"
"You don't wanna go for a swim?"
"Not right now. Maye we can try later. For now I'd like to stay right where I am."
"OK, mind if I..."
"Just go, Max." He looked up at her, smiling.
She got undressed, much to Logan's dismay she already wore a bathing suit underneath her shorts and shirt.
"See ya." She ran into the water and dived. When she came back up she waved at him, then quickly disappeared from his field of view. Logan lay back and enjoyed the sun shining in his face until he heard voices.
A young woman settled quite a distance from him, trying to get four kids to listen to her. She friendly waved at him, then turned her attention back on the task on hand.
"I don't want you to go out too far. You always have to be able to stand, OK?"
He couldn't hear the kids' reponses, besides he lost interest. The warmth, the sound of the waves and the soft breeze made him sleepy.
He couldn't tell how much time had past when screams woke him from his daydreaming.
"Oh my god, Jake!Help! Please, I need help!" Logan looked around, the young woman and three kids were standing to their ankles in the water. He followed their gazes and found small boy struggling to keep his head above the water. "Damn it." He searched for Max, but she was proabaly at the other end of the lake, head under water, unaware of what was happening.
"You have to swim to him, keep his head above water!"
"I can't swim! Oh my god,help him!"
Logan hesitated for another second, then he went into auto mode. He threw his glasses on the blanket, thanks god he'd gotten rid of his shoes and pants earlier. He dragged the dead weight of his legs closer to the water. Since rehab months ago he hadn't been swimming, and back then it was a small pool, and Bling was always close to help in case he lost control over his unresponsive limps. He remembered how he had cursed his legs, it's been so weird not to know where they were.
The shouts and screams from the woman and the kids were far away when he fought his way through the shallow water. He didn't care how pathetic he looked, he was completely focused on the boy, praying he would make it in time. When he was able to swim with strong arm strokes it became easier, he covered the distance fairly quickly.
But just when he thought he could reach out for the boy,the kid sank. "F***!"
Logan waited a few seconds, hoping the boy would come back to the surface. When he didn't, Logan took a deep breath and used all of his strength to dive.
Fortunately he could see the boy and could get hold of him. Coughing, he tried to catch his breath when he was back above the water. Just how was he supposed to support the kid, let alone get him to the shore in time?
Max heard the screams and with her enhanced sight she could make out the form of a person in the water. If he really lacked the strength to keep himself above water she wouldn't reach him in time, no matter how fast she was. But then she saw somebody swim towards him. "Logan!" She swam even faster, afraid her boyfriend wouldn't be able to support the person in case he could really reach him and drown himself.
Logan desperately fought to keep his hold on the boy, but he lost hope. He just wasn't able to swim holding the boy. All he could do was trying to keep both their heads above the water.
In the moment something grabbed him from behind. He immediately recognized Max. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah, help the boy! Get him out!"
Max realized with one look that he as not breathing. "Can you hold yourslef above water?"
"Yeah! Go!"
She grabbed the kid and made her way to the shore in record time, she hoped the people on the beach were too shocked to ponder her speed. She could easily have gotten both, Logan and the boy, to the shore. But Logan had been right, every second might count.
Max dropped him in the sand and then tried to make him breathe again. "Come on!" The other woman knelt down next to her,herface tear-stroked. "Oh my god, come on, Jake! Breathe! Come on!"
Horribly long seconds passed before hecougehd and weakly struggled to breathe. "Shh, relax, you are fine. Just breathe, slowly. Very good. Ok." Max supported him as he coughed up water and gasped for air. She smiled at the other woman. "He isgoing to be fine." She watched teh young woman embrace him and got up, looking for Logan. She found him sitting in the water close to the shore, struggling to maintain his balance and catch his breath. His wet shirt clung to his muscular chest and his hair was patted to his head.
"Everything alright?"
"Yeah, thanks to you. I would never have made it." His tone wasn't bitter, just tired and relieved.
"Without you,I would have been late in thfirst place." She knelt down and embraced him, theyn the ywatched the young woman calm the boy, still holding each other. Max could feel him tremble.
"Damn, that was close."
They sat there for another minute before the blond woman came over.
"I don't know how to thank you."
"You're welcome."
"No, I mean,without you..." Her voice broke.
"It's Ok, really. Don't think about what might have been.He made it, that's all that matters." Logan fought again to keep hi balance so Max laid her arm around his hip to stabilize him.
"Yeah..." She stretched out her hand. "I'm Kylie by the way."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Logan."
"Max."
"And his name's Jake."
"Listen, Kylie. You should get Jake to the hospital, just to make sure he is OK."
"Yeah, I will. But he needs some more minutes, and we have to walk back, so..."
Max looked at Logan, knowing what he thought. When he shrugged she offered. "Maybe we can walk you back..."
"I can't expect that."
"It's ok, I need dry clothesanyway." Logan smiled.
"Thank you so much, I'll pack our stuff."
"And you? May Ihelp you? Max stood up.
"Just get my chair as close as possible."
Max did as she was told, set the brakes and watched Logan crawl towards her, his arms still trembled and the sand stuck to his wet skin.
Fianlly he'd reached her.
"Maybe you should clean yourself first."
"Probably." He settled in the grass and grabbed the towel she offered. Max looked over his head and saw Kylie starein disbelief at thewheelchair and theman still sitting on the ground. Apparently she hadn't realized before Logan couldn't walk.
Her attention was turned back to Logan when he groaned, trying to push himself up into the chair. Without asking, in order to avoid an argument, she grabbed him around his chest and hoisted him into the seat.
"You've already done enough for today." She bent down to kiss him gently, partly it was to show Kylie he was just a normal guy.
Max quickly packed their stuff and threw the bag at Logan. "I'll get your passenger."
She walked over to Kylie and teh kids who were packing their stuff. Jake was still sitting on the towel,shaking and pale. "He can ride home on Logan's lap if he doesn't mind."
"Sounds good. But how the hell did he...I meanhe's not really...he can walk, cant he?"
"No,not a single step." Max smiled adly.
"Oh my god, but then how.."
"Let's just say he is an amazing guy."Max's voice was filled with pride and admiration. She was trained to be strong and fast, but for him that was all so much harder. He was the real superhero in this relationship.
"That much is sure. Wow." Kylie hoisted jake up and carried him over to Logan who waited close to the path.
"Hey, ready to go?"
"Yeah. Listen, I didn't know you...I mean, I think I even yelled at you to help and..." Logan friendly grinned at her.
"It's Ok, don't worry." He held out his hands and Kylie deposited teh boy in his lap. Jake gratefully cuddled close, too exhausted to even open his eyes.
"'K Max, I know I told ya never to push that chait while I'm in it, but right now I have my hands full." He honestly didn't feel like he could push the chair with the extra weight over the rough ground. His arms still shook from the effort earlier.
"Sure thing."
+++++
Hope you liked it. I have a new computer and the spell checking program is not installed yet, so please bare with me. And review!!!!!!
