Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to us, we just borrowed them from James Cameron.
A/N: This is our Christmas gift to everybody reading this. We didn't have it betaed because we were kind of in a hurry with Christmas coming up. Please try to enjoy it anyways.
MERRY CHRISTMAS to everybody!!
THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
Chapter 1
Max pushed her bike through the crowded streets of Seattle. People looked stressed out and busy as they fought their way through the white masses. Rain had turned into snow last night, totally unexpected.
She looked up for a moment, blinking as snow fell from her cap into her jacket and made it's slow and wet way down her back. She shuddered, but then concentrated on the lights in the windows. Everything seemed so festive, despite the chaos surrounding her.
Suddenly her beeper went off, making her jump
She took off one of her gloves and fingered for the beeping thing
"Damn it..." she mumbled when she almost hit a kid running across the street right in front of her.
She took a look at the display: Logan. This could only mean work. She frowned. Lately he had been burying himself in work again, telling everyone that he needed some distraction. Max rolled her eyes. As long as it kept him from killing himself.
She swallowed at that remark. It wasn't funny, she knew it. She still couldn't quite believe he had been so close to giving himself up and she hadn't had a clue.
And she was angry and frustrated. After they had returned from cape haven, she had dropped by every day, to check on him, but in the end he had just thrown her out, telling her that he didn't need a babysitter
And now he would be the sweetest guy again, asking her to do his legwork, but hiding everything else from her again.
Reluctantly she pushed her bike over to the nearest payphone and dialled his number.
"Hello?" came his voice through the line.
"It's me." she said shortly, trying to wipe some snow from her jacket.
"What do you need? I'm pretty busy here, you know."
"Max, ...I...nothing important. I was just thinking." Logan said, feeling insecure because of her bad mood.
Her heart fell, he sounded like a little child
"I don't wanna keep you from doing your job?"
She sighed, collecting herself. "I'm sorry. What's up?"
"You remember Bling telling me that I worked too much, that it was not good for my health, whatever?"
"I dimly remember him mentioning it like every day, yeah."
Logan made a sound that sounded like a chuckle: "He warned me that he was not gonna watch this any longer yesterday."
"So? You will start to listen to him all of the sudden?"
"Not really, unless I have no choice. Bling kept his word. He showed up this morning, forced me out of my office, locked the door and took possession of the key. Told me I wouldn't get it back before the day after tomorrow," he paused to hear Max's reaction.
"He did what?" Max couldn't believe it. "Wow."
"Yeah, I still can't believe he did that either! Then he shoved a piece of paper into my face. Said something about getting out, fresh air, catching the Christmas spirit. Anyway, it was an article about where to go and what to do to get into the right holiday mood. I told him to go to hell. But after he was gone and I had nothing to do, I took a look at the paper. There's actually one thing I always wanted to do since I was a kid," he explained.
"You did." Max listened, still grinning at the image of Logan sitting in front of his closed office.
"When I was seven or eight, my Dad had to do some business in Germany. It was around Christmas, so my mom and I went along. We basically had a lot of fun while my dad was working.....Anyway, they have those traditional Christmas markets there, where they sell all kinds of craftwork and food and play Christmas music and...."he caught himself. "I'd always wanted to go there again."
"To Germany." Max stated, trying to find out of he had gone completely insane or if he had been drinking.
"Oh...no. "Logan laughed. "There is one of those markets in a German community near Vancouver. I thought I might go there, given that I can't get any work done anyway."
"Sounds good. And now, do you want me to feed your imaginary cat?"
"No. I thought maybe you'd like to come. 'Catch the Christmas spirit'," he quoted the article.
"To Canada? Just like that? Are you crazy?"
"Ahhh, come on. It's not that far. A couple of miles. I can do the driving," he added, teasing her.
"You wish." Max leaned back against the telephone box. "I don't know, I mean I'd like to, but Normal would be pissed like hell and I'm not so sure, I mean considering our last vacation."
"Oh, I see....okay." Logan said, trying not to sound too disappointed.
Max's heart melted. He had sounded so excited, and she knew it was just what he needed. Didn't she owe it to me? After all she had promised herself to help him through this.
"Listen, I'm gonna see what I can do. I'll call you ASAP."
"Okay. Great." Logan answered relieved. At least she would try.
Max smiled. "I gotta jet. See ya."
She hung up without waiting for an answer and jumped on her bike. She actually started to like the idea. She had never had a real Christmas. Maybe this would be the first time.
She sped through the streets, this time not noticing the crowd or the snow. She just hurried to deliver her packages to get back to Jam Pony and tell Normal she needed the next few days off. He would probably kill her, but it was worth the risk.
**
An hour later she was on her way to Logan's. Normal had accepted, well, he hadn't had much of a choice as she had simply walked out. He would calm down over Christmas, she hoped.
Logan opened the door with a big grin on his face. "Glad you made it," he greeted her.
She shook the wet snow from her jacket, right into his lap. "Did you ever have any doubts?"
Then she walked past him. "First of all I need to see this locked door, and then we can get going."
Logan smirked. "Take a look for yourself."
Max giggled when she tried to slide the door open. "Wow. Bling's good."
"At least he keeps his word, right!"
"Okay, so what exactly did you have in mind?"
"I thought I told you?"
"Yeah, but are you serious about this?"
"Sure! Did you bring some warm clothes?" he asked, inspecting the waist length top, she was wearing under her jacket.
"Of course not. I don't really go to work with a suitcase packed every morning, you know."
She shrugged. "We'd have to swing by at my place."
"I can borrow you something." Logan offered impatiently.
"Logan! Your stuff is way too big for me! It won't take long. How long are you planning on staying anyway?"
"We'll see. How long are you off?"
Max shrugged. "I guess it won't make much of a difference."
"I think we will be back on Christmas Eve." He was really beginning to like that idea
"Okay. Let's go," he grabbed his bag and was out the door, leaving a stunned Max behind.
She shook her head before following him. "You've been really sure I'd come, haven't you?"
"No, not really, but I've been wishing for it so badly-it had to come true," he turned back and winked at her.
Max smiled and followed him to the car. He stopped in front of her building and she ran upstairs to throw some warm clothes in her black duffel back. Then she quickly wrote a note for Cindy. For a moment she felt bad about leaving her home girl alone. But she knew that Cindy would kick her ass for not going with Logan. Then she ran down the stairs again and was back at the car in no time. "Ready," she announced while throwing her bag in the backseat.
"Good, off we go." Logan said. Then he grew serious and turned to Max. "Listen about last week. ...I didn't mean to throw you out."
"I guess you had your reasons." Max answered carefully.
"I thought I just wanted to be alone, but actually that's not true." Logan finally said.
"I missed you as soon as you'd left." he added shyly. "But sometimes it's easier not to have to face anybody." he finished off.
"It's okay. I understand. I never meant to push you, it's just that I have been worried. I felt like I didn't know you at all, and I couldn't comprehend what was going on. So I guess I tried to find out by staying with you."
"I know. Thank you."
Max didn't know an answer. She just stared out the window, watching the decorated houses of the richer suburbs. "I never understood what Christmas is all about," she said when the silence became unbearable.
Logan thought for a moment. "Oh yes, you do. It's all about caring and giving something of yourself. Being together with the one's you love. It's as simple as that."
"This is not what people make of it. Look at them. They are busy, in bad moods, tired. You can't tell me they will go home and enjoy spending this one evening with their families."
"People tend to forget..."
"What was Christmas for you when you were a kid?"
Logan smiled. "Of course there were the presents. And the huge Christmas tree with all the glimmer and glitter and we had a big dinner and stuff. But what I loved most was that the family was together. Everybody. No excuses, no work or other obligations. And the spirit. It was as if something special was in the air, happiness, excitement, love. Sorry, this must sound incredibly cheesy." Logan stopped.
Max shrugged. "Sounds like you were happy."
"I was." Logan nodded. "Sometimes I wish I could go back in time, just to have that special feeling again. Carefree, and just plain happy. Like anything could happen and it didn't matter."
"No chance you might have that feeling again?" Max asked softly.
Logan looked at her. "I thought I felt a tiny bit of it this morning, when I read the article."
Max looked at him from the side. "When was the last time you have been happy, Logan?"
Logan looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"
"You know what it feels to be really happy. When was the last time you felt this way?"
"I don't know." he said, shaking his head. "I mean the last couple of years have just consisted of work, failed relationships, spiked with some tragedies." he said bitterly.
"See, and all Christmas does is stir up those feelings with a vengeance."
Logan frowned. "Still I'd like to think that it is a time to forget all the bad stuff, to simply enjoy what you have and forgive all wrong. I think that's what people like about Christmas. It makes it easy to forget."
"I will never forget what happened to me and I can't forgive the people who id this to me. Can you?"
"No, not consciously, but maybe emotionally. See, they say 'it's the coming of the lord, he who knows everything, sees everything, forgives everything.' or something along that line. Maybe if we forgive whatever happened, it won't hurt that much anymore, and it won't tie us down or haunt us. I envy people who can make peace with the world and themselves. Because it makes life that much easier.
Max shrugged. She didn't want to remind him that apparently he was the last person who could forget and just let go. At least until now. Maybe Christmas was actually helping him come to peace. So what the hell, if it was doing him some good, she would just play along, pretend to believe all this crap? And maybe, just maybe, there had even been some truth in his words. She would find it out.
Then she decided to drop it for now. "When are we gonna be there anyway? Do you have some CDs in your car?"
Logan checked his watch. "I hope to be there in about an hour or two. I might have some CDs in the glove compartment. But I fear it'll not be your style."
She switched on the radio and landed on a station playing Christmas songs. "Guess that fits."
Max leaned back in her seat, letting her thoughts wander. This morning she had just gone to work, and now she was sitting in Logan's car on her way to Canada. This was crazy.
Why had he been able to convince her that easily? She didn't care about Christmas!
All this crap about buying presents and Jesus and going to church, being with the family. It was just too far-fetched.
But if Logan thought this was special and important to him, she would do him the favour. Hey, she had been there already!
"I think you'll like it." Logan said out of the blue. He had been thinking about the Christmas market he had seen in Germany and couldn't wait to see if this one would be as fascinating.
Max looked at him, still doubt in her eyes, but she sad nothing.
"Just wait and see." Logan said, noticing her hesitation. "There'll probably be a lot of good food," he teased.
Max grinned. "That'll do it anytime."
"You like those Candy apples?" Logan asked
"Candy apples?"
"Yeah, like an apple on a stick, coated with coloured sugar."
Max grinned. "Sounds yum."
"Oh, I loved them just as much as my mom hated them, because I always ruined my clothes."
Logan chuckled.
"I can imagine you, your face and shirt all dirty." She retorted, grinning at him.
Logan smiled. "Hey it was enough of a job to eat the sticky thing. I couldn't concentrate on anything else!" he said amused.
"So I guess we're gonna see if you are able to multitask now. You should be old enough."
Logan just grinned. "I wanna see how you manage, though." he said.
Max chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about that. I learnt to eat."
"You'll see, these things are tricky."
"Anyway, what time is it?"
"Okay, okay. Almost noon. When are we gonna be there anyway? It's boring to sit around like this."
"You just asked that! But we have to be close. Can you check the map please? The name is....has to say so in the article," he nodded towards the dashboard where he had thrown the newspaper page earlier.
Max quickly checked and gave him some directions, and then she leaned back. "What are we gonna do first? Find a hotel?"
"Hmmm, to be honest I didn't think about that yet." Logan said. "I was just concentrating on getting there," he blushed.
"Cool, Eyes Only without a plan, that's new."
"A motel or something will do. We can choose one later. Let's go find this place first." Logan was really beginning to like this trip. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so spontaneous.
Max watched him from the side, he looked so relaxed all of the sudden. She hadn't seen him like that since...well, probably since before the shooting. But then he hadn't been the nice guy he was now.
She decided not to say anything but to just enjoy his company. If only he could be like this more often, it didn't suit him to be all serious and depressed.
They kept on driving for another hour until they finally reached the parking lot that was assigned to people visiting the Christmas Market. Logan had always stubbornly refused to use the handicapped tag he had in the glove department, but when they couldn't find a parking spot Max wordlessly pulled it out and motioned to a row of free parking spots right at the entrance.
Logan shot her a glare but eventually shut off the engine.
"See, it's that easy." Max opened her door and stretched, looking around. Foreign, but interesting smells and the sound of festive music made her curious. She watched people, packed in warm clothes to shield themselves against the cold walk by. They all seemed happy and relaxed. Kids jumped around, their eyes glowing with excitement.
Suddenly she felt like she had missed out on something and a sadness and hate washed up. Those years, those experiences were lost on her, and Manticore was to blame. But that didn't change it either.
"Hey, you okay?" Logan put a hand on her arm and looked up worriedly.
"Yeah, I was just thinking." She smiled back, pushing the bad feelings away. "Come on. Let's go."
Logan frowned for a moment, but said nothing. Max would not open up when he would press. He would have to wait for her to do it, as much as he hated to see her sad. But now it was up to him o make her feel better. He smiled and quickly caught up with her, following he through the gate that wrote: Frohe Weihnachten- Merry Christmas and was decorated with branches and red Christmas decoration.
They slowly strolled through the small crowd, surrounded by the different smells. Christmas carols were filling the air. Some stands sold sausages, sweets, cakes and cookies, others Christmas decoration, handbags, toys or clothes.
Max stopped at a small shop where they sold a great variety of handmade Christmas decoration.
"Logan, look!" Her eyes were big and sparkling.
She touched a small angel that was wearing a blue dress and had long golden hair. The wings were made of white, glittering material with golden strings in it.
"Shiny things just attract you, huh?" Logan joked.
She stretched out her tongue at him, and let go off the figure. But she couldn't help but look at it again. It reminded her of something.
The blue lady!
Only that this small angel only meant good things, no threat, no bad memories, were attached to it in her eyes.
Logan noticed her excitement and stopped. "Hey, what about you get us two glasses of 'Gluhwein' over there? I want to see if I can find one of those things you put on top of a Christmas tree. Maybe I'll get a Christmas tree this year. And I remember it was missing."
"What's Gluhwein?"
"The right expression for mulled wine. It's a kind of punch made of red wine, Juice and spices-like cinnamon, cloves and ...whatever. Just try it. It's good!"
Max wrinkled her nose. "Over there?"
"Yeah, I'll be right there." Logan called after her.
Max shrugged and turned around to do as she was told.
When she was out of sight, he quickly addressed the saleswoman. "Excuse me! I'd like to buy this one." He picked up the little blue angel and handed it to her.
"Would you like me to wrap it as a present?" the woman asked. "Yes please." Logan quickly answered.
He looked into the direction of the gluhwein booth, checking if Max was watching.
The woman grinned at him. "It's for your girlfriend, huh? I saw her look at it, she loved it."
Logan blushed and grinned. "I thought so, too." The woman put the present into a small plastic bag and handed it to him.
"That'll be six dollars." she said. "Be careful so it won't break."
Logan gave her the money and thanked her. Then he carefully hid the small package inside his coat.
*
Max looked around, feeling a little lost. People around her were standing in groups, laughing. She carefully nipped on the cup and hissed when the hot liquid came in contact with her lips.
In her other hand she held Logan's cup, so she couldn't really do much about it.
"Damn it."
Logan made his way over to Max. He could see her fight with the two cups in her hand and couldn't help bur grin. She was so cute! And she was here with him!
"Hey, why should a nice girl like you curse on a day like this?" A dark-haired, tall guy asked her, smiling down at her.
Max looked up at him, surprised, almost spilling the hot drink in her left hand.
"Careful there. Can I help you?" The guy held out his hand offering to take the cup from her hand.
"No...I....okay," Max shrugged, relieved that she could get rid of the hot cup.
Logan sat there, watching that guy hitting on Max and he felt something sting inside him.
"Actually I'm just waiting for ...someone." Max said, thrilled by the perfect smile on guy's face. She took a sip from her cup. "So how do you like your Gluhwein?" he asked. "It's the best you can get in all of North America," he winked.
"It's actually good. I've never had one before, so I can't say if it's the best, but still..." Max shifted uncomfortably.
"I'm Michael, by the way." He held out his hand.
"M...Max," she said, swallowing another sip of her drink. "Actually, my..."
"You are American, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"I'm living in a small town not far from here. But originally my family is from Germany. So we love to come here," the guy explained.
"Cool."
Logan came closer. "Hey." He said short handed, feeling out of his element and ridiculous, he against that guy? He stood no chance!
Max turned around startled. "Oh, hi. Did you get everything?" she asked confused.
"Yes." Logan's jaw tightened.
"I got us some Gluhwein." She looked around; needing a second to remember Michael was holding Logan's. Max held out her hand to the cup in Michael's hand. "Here's yours. This ....Michael was as nice as to hold it for me. - Ahem…thank you." She took the gluhwein from the tall man. "Logan, this is Michael, right?! Michael this is Logan."
"Hello." Logan took the cup and held it in both hands, not saying another word.
For a moment an uncomfortable silence hung in the air. "Listen, Max. I did not mean to cause trouble. Have a nice day here." He smiled at her and then nodded at Logan. "Bye and Merry Christmas." With that he was lost in the crowd before Max could even say another word.
Logan stared in his cup. "Nice guy."
Max glared at Logan. "Hey, what's up with you? Am I not allowed to talk to anyone here or what?"
"No, sure you are. I just said he was a nice guy."
"Yeah, right." Max rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her drink.
She had nearly finished it and she was beginning to feel the warmth inside. Could it be she was a little drunk already?
Logan glanced at her sideways. He knew he wasn't acing reasonable but he couldn't help it either.
"Could it be you're jealous?" Max suddenly shot at him
"What?" Logan felt himself blush. "Don't be silly."
"Am I?" Max insisted. Why else would he be acting that weird?
He bit his lips. "I know I can't stand up to a guy like this." He frowned at his own choice of words.
Max rolled her eyes. "Aw, come on, Logan...!"
"What? We both know that's a fact." He took a gulp from his cup, desperately needing some alcohol.
"Can't you stop it for a day?! That's so..." she shook her head at a loss of words. How often would he start off with this topic again?
"That's so what, Max?" Logan felt the alcohol in his system and anger rise. Not a good combination.
Max put down the empty mug the nearby table that was now accessible. "Let me think. ..." She said annoyed, her tongue lose from the alcohol. "What was that favourite word of yours...Pathetic?" she said. The words came out louder than she had intended. Her own words echoed in her head. Had she really said that? Oh no! Stupid alcohol
Logan's face fell for a second before he regained his composure. He took a deep breath; he hadn't come all the way to argue with her. "Listen, Max." he carefully glanced around, glad that nobody seemed to follow their conversation. "I'm sorry, I should not have acted like a total jerk, but," he swallowed, "sometimes this is not easy for me, you know."
Max immediately felt sorry for being so rude.
On impulse, she bent down and hugged Logan quickly. "I'm sorry. You are NOT pathetic. In no way," she said softly. When she straightened up again, she swayed a little, from the alcohol that was kicking in.
'Damn' she thought, 'What the hell was in there?!"
Logan swallowed. "It's okay, Max. You don't have to apologize." He watched her testing. "Are you okay?"
He sipped from his Gluhwein, noticing how strong it actually was.
"I suppose so. It's gotta be the Gluhwein. Gosh, how much is in there?" she asked reproachful.
Logan giggled. "Quite a bit, it's supposed to keep you warm." He took another sip. "I guess I can count myself lucky I'm sitting anyway." he smirked, not really sure why he had said that. Usually he couldn't joke about it.
"Listen, do you want to walk around a little longer? It's about to get dark, and with the lights and stuff, it's gonna be a lot better."
"Sure." Max shrugged. She straightened up to regain her balance. She couldn't believe such a small cup was getting to her head that quickly.
Slowly they made their way through the crowds, totally charmed by the festive atmosphere.
One after another the little lights that decorated the booths were turned on and the glittering around them grew more and more intense.
After some time Logan stopped at one of the booth and pulled Max back on unsteady, her eyes shining and her face flushed.
"Let's take a look here," he said, squeezing in between the other customers who were crowding around the booth.
They sold all kinds of antique handmade toys, some made of wood, some of tin.
Max followed him, curious what made him so excited.
The people around them were busily trying out the toys. There were rattling and jumping tin animals, wooden trains and cars, little wood-peckers, pecking there way down a wooden post and tons of other things that were just asking them to try out.
Logan grinned at Max, as she stood behind him. "Isn't that cool?" he asked excited.
"Yeah, if you are a kid." She raised an eyebrow.
"No Max! Just look at them. I love how detailed all those toys are and how simple at the same time!"
Max took a closer look, if only to satisfy him. But she had to admit they looked really nice.
"And everything was made by hand-not some machine," he added, picking up wooden crane.
Max nodded, still not quite understanding his excitement.
Her eyes fell on a little girl who stood next to the booth. Her clothes were pretty dirty and shabby, but her eyes were awake and sparkling while she looked at the toys. When she noticed Max's eyes on her, she flinched and suddenly looked haunted and scared. Before Max could react the girl turned on her heels and disappeared behind the booths.
"I had some toys like that when I was little. My mom had a liking for those things. She didn't like all the plastic stuff they sold in the big toy store." Logan continued unaware of Max's distraction.
"See that on over there..?" he chuckled. When Max didn't react, he turned around in his chair. "Hey, earth to Max! What's up?"
"I'm not sure, this girl...something about her." She looked at him, considering. "Are you gonna wait here? I'll be right back."
"Sure." Logan said, still fascinated by the toys.
**
TBC…tomorrow
A/N: This is our Christmas gift to everybody reading this. We didn't have it betaed because we were kind of in a hurry with Christmas coming up. Please try to enjoy it anyways.
MERRY CHRISTMAS to everybody!!
THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
Chapter 1
Max pushed her bike through the crowded streets of Seattle. People looked stressed out and busy as they fought their way through the white masses. Rain had turned into snow last night, totally unexpected.
She looked up for a moment, blinking as snow fell from her cap into her jacket and made it's slow and wet way down her back. She shuddered, but then concentrated on the lights in the windows. Everything seemed so festive, despite the chaos surrounding her.
Suddenly her beeper went off, making her jump
She took off one of her gloves and fingered for the beeping thing
"Damn it..." she mumbled when she almost hit a kid running across the street right in front of her.
She took a look at the display: Logan. This could only mean work. She frowned. Lately he had been burying himself in work again, telling everyone that he needed some distraction. Max rolled her eyes. As long as it kept him from killing himself.
She swallowed at that remark. It wasn't funny, she knew it. She still couldn't quite believe he had been so close to giving himself up and she hadn't had a clue.
And she was angry and frustrated. After they had returned from cape haven, she had dropped by every day, to check on him, but in the end he had just thrown her out, telling her that he didn't need a babysitter
And now he would be the sweetest guy again, asking her to do his legwork, but hiding everything else from her again.
Reluctantly she pushed her bike over to the nearest payphone and dialled his number.
"Hello?" came his voice through the line.
"It's me." she said shortly, trying to wipe some snow from her jacket.
"What do you need? I'm pretty busy here, you know."
"Max, ...I...nothing important. I was just thinking." Logan said, feeling insecure because of her bad mood.
Her heart fell, he sounded like a little child
"I don't wanna keep you from doing your job?"
She sighed, collecting herself. "I'm sorry. What's up?"
"You remember Bling telling me that I worked too much, that it was not good for my health, whatever?"
"I dimly remember him mentioning it like every day, yeah."
Logan made a sound that sounded like a chuckle: "He warned me that he was not gonna watch this any longer yesterday."
"So? You will start to listen to him all of the sudden?"
"Not really, unless I have no choice. Bling kept his word. He showed up this morning, forced me out of my office, locked the door and took possession of the key. Told me I wouldn't get it back before the day after tomorrow," he paused to hear Max's reaction.
"He did what?" Max couldn't believe it. "Wow."
"Yeah, I still can't believe he did that either! Then he shoved a piece of paper into my face. Said something about getting out, fresh air, catching the Christmas spirit. Anyway, it was an article about where to go and what to do to get into the right holiday mood. I told him to go to hell. But after he was gone and I had nothing to do, I took a look at the paper. There's actually one thing I always wanted to do since I was a kid," he explained.
"You did." Max listened, still grinning at the image of Logan sitting in front of his closed office.
"When I was seven or eight, my Dad had to do some business in Germany. It was around Christmas, so my mom and I went along. We basically had a lot of fun while my dad was working.....Anyway, they have those traditional Christmas markets there, where they sell all kinds of craftwork and food and play Christmas music and...."he caught himself. "I'd always wanted to go there again."
"To Germany." Max stated, trying to find out of he had gone completely insane or if he had been drinking.
"Oh...no. "Logan laughed. "There is one of those markets in a German community near Vancouver. I thought I might go there, given that I can't get any work done anyway."
"Sounds good. And now, do you want me to feed your imaginary cat?"
"No. I thought maybe you'd like to come. 'Catch the Christmas spirit'," he quoted the article.
"To Canada? Just like that? Are you crazy?"
"Ahhh, come on. It's not that far. A couple of miles. I can do the driving," he added, teasing her.
"You wish." Max leaned back against the telephone box. "I don't know, I mean I'd like to, but Normal would be pissed like hell and I'm not so sure, I mean considering our last vacation."
"Oh, I see....okay." Logan said, trying not to sound too disappointed.
Max's heart melted. He had sounded so excited, and she knew it was just what he needed. Didn't she owe it to me? After all she had promised herself to help him through this.
"Listen, I'm gonna see what I can do. I'll call you ASAP."
"Okay. Great." Logan answered relieved. At least she would try.
Max smiled. "I gotta jet. See ya."
She hung up without waiting for an answer and jumped on her bike. She actually started to like the idea. She had never had a real Christmas. Maybe this would be the first time.
She sped through the streets, this time not noticing the crowd or the snow. She just hurried to deliver her packages to get back to Jam Pony and tell Normal she needed the next few days off. He would probably kill her, but it was worth the risk.
**
An hour later she was on her way to Logan's. Normal had accepted, well, he hadn't had much of a choice as she had simply walked out. He would calm down over Christmas, she hoped.
Logan opened the door with a big grin on his face. "Glad you made it," he greeted her.
She shook the wet snow from her jacket, right into his lap. "Did you ever have any doubts?"
Then she walked past him. "First of all I need to see this locked door, and then we can get going."
Logan smirked. "Take a look for yourself."
Max giggled when she tried to slide the door open. "Wow. Bling's good."
"At least he keeps his word, right!"
"Okay, so what exactly did you have in mind?"
"I thought I told you?"
"Yeah, but are you serious about this?"
"Sure! Did you bring some warm clothes?" he asked, inspecting the waist length top, she was wearing under her jacket.
"Of course not. I don't really go to work with a suitcase packed every morning, you know."
She shrugged. "We'd have to swing by at my place."
"I can borrow you something." Logan offered impatiently.
"Logan! Your stuff is way too big for me! It won't take long. How long are you planning on staying anyway?"
"We'll see. How long are you off?"
Max shrugged. "I guess it won't make much of a difference."
"I think we will be back on Christmas Eve." He was really beginning to like that idea
"Okay. Let's go," he grabbed his bag and was out the door, leaving a stunned Max behind.
She shook her head before following him. "You've been really sure I'd come, haven't you?"
"No, not really, but I've been wishing for it so badly-it had to come true," he turned back and winked at her.
Max smiled and followed him to the car. He stopped in front of her building and she ran upstairs to throw some warm clothes in her black duffel back. Then she quickly wrote a note for Cindy. For a moment she felt bad about leaving her home girl alone. But she knew that Cindy would kick her ass for not going with Logan. Then she ran down the stairs again and was back at the car in no time. "Ready," she announced while throwing her bag in the backseat.
"Good, off we go." Logan said. Then he grew serious and turned to Max. "Listen about last week. ...I didn't mean to throw you out."
"I guess you had your reasons." Max answered carefully.
"I thought I just wanted to be alone, but actually that's not true." Logan finally said.
"I missed you as soon as you'd left." he added shyly. "But sometimes it's easier not to have to face anybody." he finished off.
"It's okay. I understand. I never meant to push you, it's just that I have been worried. I felt like I didn't know you at all, and I couldn't comprehend what was going on. So I guess I tried to find out by staying with you."
"I know. Thank you."
Max didn't know an answer. She just stared out the window, watching the decorated houses of the richer suburbs. "I never understood what Christmas is all about," she said when the silence became unbearable.
Logan thought for a moment. "Oh yes, you do. It's all about caring and giving something of yourself. Being together with the one's you love. It's as simple as that."
"This is not what people make of it. Look at them. They are busy, in bad moods, tired. You can't tell me they will go home and enjoy spending this one evening with their families."
"People tend to forget..."
"What was Christmas for you when you were a kid?"
Logan smiled. "Of course there were the presents. And the huge Christmas tree with all the glimmer and glitter and we had a big dinner and stuff. But what I loved most was that the family was together. Everybody. No excuses, no work or other obligations. And the spirit. It was as if something special was in the air, happiness, excitement, love. Sorry, this must sound incredibly cheesy." Logan stopped.
Max shrugged. "Sounds like you were happy."
"I was." Logan nodded. "Sometimes I wish I could go back in time, just to have that special feeling again. Carefree, and just plain happy. Like anything could happen and it didn't matter."
"No chance you might have that feeling again?" Max asked softly.
Logan looked at her. "I thought I felt a tiny bit of it this morning, when I read the article."
Max looked at him from the side. "When was the last time you have been happy, Logan?"
Logan looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"
"You know what it feels to be really happy. When was the last time you felt this way?"
"I don't know." he said, shaking his head. "I mean the last couple of years have just consisted of work, failed relationships, spiked with some tragedies." he said bitterly.
"See, and all Christmas does is stir up those feelings with a vengeance."
Logan frowned. "Still I'd like to think that it is a time to forget all the bad stuff, to simply enjoy what you have and forgive all wrong. I think that's what people like about Christmas. It makes it easy to forget."
"I will never forget what happened to me and I can't forgive the people who id this to me. Can you?"
"No, not consciously, but maybe emotionally. See, they say 'it's the coming of the lord, he who knows everything, sees everything, forgives everything.' or something along that line. Maybe if we forgive whatever happened, it won't hurt that much anymore, and it won't tie us down or haunt us. I envy people who can make peace with the world and themselves. Because it makes life that much easier.
Max shrugged. She didn't want to remind him that apparently he was the last person who could forget and just let go. At least until now. Maybe Christmas was actually helping him come to peace. So what the hell, if it was doing him some good, she would just play along, pretend to believe all this crap? And maybe, just maybe, there had even been some truth in his words. She would find it out.
Then she decided to drop it for now. "When are we gonna be there anyway? Do you have some CDs in your car?"
Logan checked his watch. "I hope to be there in about an hour or two. I might have some CDs in the glove compartment. But I fear it'll not be your style."
She switched on the radio and landed on a station playing Christmas songs. "Guess that fits."
Max leaned back in her seat, letting her thoughts wander. This morning she had just gone to work, and now she was sitting in Logan's car on her way to Canada. This was crazy.
Why had he been able to convince her that easily? She didn't care about Christmas!
All this crap about buying presents and Jesus and going to church, being with the family. It was just too far-fetched.
But if Logan thought this was special and important to him, she would do him the favour. Hey, she had been there already!
"I think you'll like it." Logan said out of the blue. He had been thinking about the Christmas market he had seen in Germany and couldn't wait to see if this one would be as fascinating.
Max looked at him, still doubt in her eyes, but she sad nothing.
"Just wait and see." Logan said, noticing her hesitation. "There'll probably be a lot of good food," he teased.
Max grinned. "That'll do it anytime."
"You like those Candy apples?" Logan asked
"Candy apples?"
"Yeah, like an apple on a stick, coated with coloured sugar."
Max grinned. "Sounds yum."
"Oh, I loved them just as much as my mom hated them, because I always ruined my clothes."
Logan chuckled.
"I can imagine you, your face and shirt all dirty." She retorted, grinning at him.
Logan smiled. "Hey it was enough of a job to eat the sticky thing. I couldn't concentrate on anything else!" he said amused.
"So I guess we're gonna see if you are able to multitask now. You should be old enough."
Logan just grinned. "I wanna see how you manage, though." he said.
Max chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about that. I learnt to eat."
"You'll see, these things are tricky."
"Anyway, what time is it?"
"Okay, okay. Almost noon. When are we gonna be there anyway? It's boring to sit around like this."
"You just asked that! But we have to be close. Can you check the map please? The name is....has to say so in the article," he nodded towards the dashboard where he had thrown the newspaper page earlier.
Max quickly checked and gave him some directions, and then she leaned back. "What are we gonna do first? Find a hotel?"
"Hmmm, to be honest I didn't think about that yet." Logan said. "I was just concentrating on getting there," he blushed.
"Cool, Eyes Only without a plan, that's new."
"A motel or something will do. We can choose one later. Let's go find this place first." Logan was really beginning to like this trip. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so spontaneous.
Max watched him from the side, he looked so relaxed all of the sudden. She hadn't seen him like that since...well, probably since before the shooting. But then he hadn't been the nice guy he was now.
She decided not to say anything but to just enjoy his company. If only he could be like this more often, it didn't suit him to be all serious and depressed.
They kept on driving for another hour until they finally reached the parking lot that was assigned to people visiting the Christmas Market. Logan had always stubbornly refused to use the handicapped tag he had in the glove department, but when they couldn't find a parking spot Max wordlessly pulled it out and motioned to a row of free parking spots right at the entrance.
Logan shot her a glare but eventually shut off the engine.
"See, it's that easy." Max opened her door and stretched, looking around. Foreign, but interesting smells and the sound of festive music made her curious. She watched people, packed in warm clothes to shield themselves against the cold walk by. They all seemed happy and relaxed. Kids jumped around, their eyes glowing with excitement.
Suddenly she felt like she had missed out on something and a sadness and hate washed up. Those years, those experiences were lost on her, and Manticore was to blame. But that didn't change it either.
"Hey, you okay?" Logan put a hand on her arm and looked up worriedly.
"Yeah, I was just thinking." She smiled back, pushing the bad feelings away. "Come on. Let's go."
Logan frowned for a moment, but said nothing. Max would not open up when he would press. He would have to wait for her to do it, as much as he hated to see her sad. But now it was up to him o make her feel better. He smiled and quickly caught up with her, following he through the gate that wrote: Frohe Weihnachten- Merry Christmas and was decorated with branches and red Christmas decoration.
They slowly strolled through the small crowd, surrounded by the different smells. Christmas carols were filling the air. Some stands sold sausages, sweets, cakes and cookies, others Christmas decoration, handbags, toys or clothes.
Max stopped at a small shop where they sold a great variety of handmade Christmas decoration.
"Logan, look!" Her eyes were big and sparkling.
She touched a small angel that was wearing a blue dress and had long golden hair. The wings were made of white, glittering material with golden strings in it.
"Shiny things just attract you, huh?" Logan joked.
She stretched out her tongue at him, and let go off the figure. But she couldn't help but look at it again. It reminded her of something.
The blue lady!
Only that this small angel only meant good things, no threat, no bad memories, were attached to it in her eyes.
Logan noticed her excitement and stopped. "Hey, what about you get us two glasses of 'Gluhwein' over there? I want to see if I can find one of those things you put on top of a Christmas tree. Maybe I'll get a Christmas tree this year. And I remember it was missing."
"What's Gluhwein?"
"The right expression for mulled wine. It's a kind of punch made of red wine, Juice and spices-like cinnamon, cloves and ...whatever. Just try it. It's good!"
Max wrinkled her nose. "Over there?"
"Yeah, I'll be right there." Logan called after her.
Max shrugged and turned around to do as she was told.
When she was out of sight, he quickly addressed the saleswoman. "Excuse me! I'd like to buy this one." He picked up the little blue angel and handed it to her.
"Would you like me to wrap it as a present?" the woman asked. "Yes please." Logan quickly answered.
He looked into the direction of the gluhwein booth, checking if Max was watching.
The woman grinned at him. "It's for your girlfriend, huh? I saw her look at it, she loved it."
Logan blushed and grinned. "I thought so, too." The woman put the present into a small plastic bag and handed it to him.
"That'll be six dollars." she said. "Be careful so it won't break."
Logan gave her the money and thanked her. Then he carefully hid the small package inside his coat.
*
Max looked around, feeling a little lost. People around her were standing in groups, laughing. She carefully nipped on the cup and hissed when the hot liquid came in contact with her lips.
In her other hand she held Logan's cup, so she couldn't really do much about it.
"Damn it."
Logan made his way over to Max. He could see her fight with the two cups in her hand and couldn't help bur grin. She was so cute! And she was here with him!
"Hey, why should a nice girl like you curse on a day like this?" A dark-haired, tall guy asked her, smiling down at her.
Max looked up at him, surprised, almost spilling the hot drink in her left hand.
"Careful there. Can I help you?" The guy held out his hand offering to take the cup from her hand.
"No...I....okay," Max shrugged, relieved that she could get rid of the hot cup.
Logan sat there, watching that guy hitting on Max and he felt something sting inside him.
"Actually I'm just waiting for ...someone." Max said, thrilled by the perfect smile on guy's face. She took a sip from her cup. "So how do you like your Gluhwein?" he asked. "It's the best you can get in all of North America," he winked.
"It's actually good. I've never had one before, so I can't say if it's the best, but still..." Max shifted uncomfortably.
"I'm Michael, by the way." He held out his hand.
"M...Max," she said, swallowing another sip of her drink. "Actually, my..."
"You are American, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"I'm living in a small town not far from here. But originally my family is from Germany. So we love to come here," the guy explained.
"Cool."
Logan came closer. "Hey." He said short handed, feeling out of his element and ridiculous, he against that guy? He stood no chance!
Max turned around startled. "Oh, hi. Did you get everything?" she asked confused.
"Yes." Logan's jaw tightened.
"I got us some Gluhwein." She looked around; needing a second to remember Michael was holding Logan's. Max held out her hand to the cup in Michael's hand. "Here's yours. This ....Michael was as nice as to hold it for me. - Ahem…thank you." She took the gluhwein from the tall man. "Logan, this is Michael, right?! Michael this is Logan."
"Hello." Logan took the cup and held it in both hands, not saying another word.
For a moment an uncomfortable silence hung in the air. "Listen, Max. I did not mean to cause trouble. Have a nice day here." He smiled at her and then nodded at Logan. "Bye and Merry Christmas." With that he was lost in the crowd before Max could even say another word.
Logan stared in his cup. "Nice guy."
Max glared at Logan. "Hey, what's up with you? Am I not allowed to talk to anyone here or what?"
"No, sure you are. I just said he was a nice guy."
"Yeah, right." Max rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her drink.
She had nearly finished it and she was beginning to feel the warmth inside. Could it be she was a little drunk already?
Logan glanced at her sideways. He knew he wasn't acing reasonable but he couldn't help it either.
"Could it be you're jealous?" Max suddenly shot at him
"What?" Logan felt himself blush. "Don't be silly."
"Am I?" Max insisted. Why else would he be acting that weird?
He bit his lips. "I know I can't stand up to a guy like this." He frowned at his own choice of words.
Max rolled her eyes. "Aw, come on, Logan...!"
"What? We both know that's a fact." He took a gulp from his cup, desperately needing some alcohol.
"Can't you stop it for a day?! That's so..." she shook her head at a loss of words. How often would he start off with this topic again?
"That's so what, Max?" Logan felt the alcohol in his system and anger rise. Not a good combination.
Max put down the empty mug the nearby table that was now accessible. "Let me think. ..." She said annoyed, her tongue lose from the alcohol. "What was that favourite word of yours...Pathetic?" she said. The words came out louder than she had intended. Her own words echoed in her head. Had she really said that? Oh no! Stupid alcohol
Logan's face fell for a second before he regained his composure. He took a deep breath; he hadn't come all the way to argue with her. "Listen, Max." he carefully glanced around, glad that nobody seemed to follow their conversation. "I'm sorry, I should not have acted like a total jerk, but," he swallowed, "sometimes this is not easy for me, you know."
Max immediately felt sorry for being so rude.
On impulse, she bent down and hugged Logan quickly. "I'm sorry. You are NOT pathetic. In no way," she said softly. When she straightened up again, she swayed a little, from the alcohol that was kicking in.
'Damn' she thought, 'What the hell was in there?!"
Logan swallowed. "It's okay, Max. You don't have to apologize." He watched her testing. "Are you okay?"
He sipped from his Gluhwein, noticing how strong it actually was.
"I suppose so. It's gotta be the Gluhwein. Gosh, how much is in there?" she asked reproachful.
Logan giggled. "Quite a bit, it's supposed to keep you warm." He took another sip. "I guess I can count myself lucky I'm sitting anyway." he smirked, not really sure why he had said that. Usually he couldn't joke about it.
"Listen, do you want to walk around a little longer? It's about to get dark, and with the lights and stuff, it's gonna be a lot better."
"Sure." Max shrugged. She straightened up to regain her balance. She couldn't believe such a small cup was getting to her head that quickly.
Slowly they made their way through the crowds, totally charmed by the festive atmosphere.
One after another the little lights that decorated the booths were turned on and the glittering around them grew more and more intense.
After some time Logan stopped at one of the booth and pulled Max back on unsteady, her eyes shining and her face flushed.
"Let's take a look here," he said, squeezing in between the other customers who were crowding around the booth.
They sold all kinds of antique handmade toys, some made of wood, some of tin.
Max followed him, curious what made him so excited.
The people around them were busily trying out the toys. There were rattling and jumping tin animals, wooden trains and cars, little wood-peckers, pecking there way down a wooden post and tons of other things that were just asking them to try out.
Logan grinned at Max, as she stood behind him. "Isn't that cool?" he asked excited.
"Yeah, if you are a kid." She raised an eyebrow.
"No Max! Just look at them. I love how detailed all those toys are and how simple at the same time!"
Max took a closer look, if only to satisfy him. But she had to admit they looked really nice.
"And everything was made by hand-not some machine," he added, picking up wooden crane.
Max nodded, still not quite understanding his excitement.
Her eyes fell on a little girl who stood next to the booth. Her clothes were pretty dirty and shabby, but her eyes were awake and sparkling while she looked at the toys. When she noticed Max's eyes on her, she flinched and suddenly looked haunted and scared. Before Max could react the girl turned on her heels and disappeared behind the booths.
"I had some toys like that when I was little. My mom had a liking for those things. She didn't like all the plastic stuff they sold in the big toy store." Logan continued unaware of Max's distraction.
"See that on over there..?" he chuckled. When Max didn't react, he turned around in his chair. "Hey, earth to Max! What's up?"
"I'm not sure, this girl...something about her." She looked at him, considering. "Are you gonna wait here? I'll be right back."
"Sure." Logan said, still fascinated by the toys.
**
TBC…tomorrow