Disclaimer: As always
Note: Sorry it took us so long, but both our computers decided to take a break at the same weekend...but now at least mine is permanently fixed. And Steffi will be back to normal soon- hopefully...
Anyway, enjoy the next chapter and thanks for the reviews!!!
**
After some more hours of driving at a constant and tiring speed, Max felt her eyes starting to itch and her back starting to ache a little. As much as she was designed to be a soldier, she was just not used to sitting still for so long. Besides, the attack and the violent seizures had not passed without an effect. The few hours she had slept at night seemed to be years away and she wished for a bed to stretch out on and at least relax a little.
She looked over at Logan, who was huddled against the window, his head resting against the cold glass.
Without taking her eyes off the road she reached over and touched his good shoulder. Logan stirred and slumped even deeper in his seat, but didn't wake up.
Deciding that they probably both needed a good sleep in a comfortable bed, she scanned the road signs for the nearest city. Max had intended to drive all the way to San Francisco that same night, but it would be just as good to stop a few miles before, maybe in a small motel, which didn't cost much and where they were save.
She pulled off the highway at the next possibility and followed the signs to the nearest motel. The complex consisted of six little bungalows with a bigger house for the reception. Max looked at the clock in the dashboard.
It was half past eleven. The lights in the main house were still burning, so this was probably an all night check-in motel. She turned into the parking lot and killed the engine.
"Logan," she tried, shaking his shoulder gently. "Wake up. We are going to check in here. Get some good sleep. All right?!" Logan slowly moved and squinted at the light coming from the brightly lit motel sign. When he sat up from his position pressed against the window, he groaned. His shoulder sure didn't like to be laid on right now.
"Probably not the best sleeping position, right?" Max said compassionately.
"Let's get out of this car and into a nice warm bed. I'm kinda tired, too.Must be the stupid aerosol they used…"
Logan squinted at the light again and adjusted his glasses.
"Where are we...," he mumbled, still half asleep.
"Couple of miles from San Francisco. I thought we could just as well stop here for the night and drive on early in the morning. At least I think this place is safe."
Logan struggled to sit up straighter in his seat. "Whatever you say…", he replied feeling really indifferent why or where they stayed- as long as he could go back to sleep as soon as possible. He felt a little dizzy and extremely tired and the more he tried to wake up, the more the wave of nausea forced its way up his throat.
"Hey," Max patted his cheek. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…," Logan forced out. "I just think my stomach does not agree with the hamburger I ate." Still squinting, he turned towards the window and tried to open it, only to be reminded of his bad shoulder.
"Ahhh, shit…", he hissed.
Max leaned over to open the window for him. When the cool air blew around his nose, Logan's mind immediately cleared up a little and the nausea subsided.
Without another word Max got out of the car and grabbed Logan's purse from the side pocket of the car where she had stashed it earlier. Bling had brought them a few hundred bucks so they wouldn't have to worry about money for now.
Max adjusted her clothes and brushed her fingers through her hair, then opened the door to the small office.
An old man was sitting there with a small portable TV in front of him, simultaneously listening to some weird country music. There was a small table with two plastic chairs and an ancient coffee maker on it. Hanging on the wall above it there was a microwave oven. Max grinned. So that was going to be the breakfast the sign outside referred to!
"Good evening, Ma'am. How can I help you?" the man asked, hardly looking up from the screen.
"I, ahem, we,…my husband and I would like to rent a room for …two for tonight."
The man lifted his head and looked around.
"He' s still in the car. I just came in here to check first if you had any vacancies," Max explained patiently.
The man slowly turned around and waved at the line of hooks on the wall above his seat.
"You are lucky," he said sarcastically. "You get to chose." There were still four keys dangling from the hooks.
"Well, if you have a room that's wheelchair-accessible -like more than the others- I'll go for that."
The man turned in slow motion and looked her up and down. Max waited for him to explain to her that she was standing in front of him and hence not in need of a wheelchair accessible room anyway. Instead he explained, "Our rooms are all ground floor and the doors should be wide enough-otherwise I'm afraid I can't help you."
"That's fine," Max said quickly, wanting to end the conversation as fast as possible. They would have to take whatever they could get. She was not up to driving another hour and Logan didn't seem in the best condition either.
"Just give me the one that's farthest away from the road," she added with a fake smile.
The man turned again slowly to pick up a key and hand it over to her. "That will be 25 $ the night, you wanna pay now or later?" His voice sounded as if he was going to fall asleep any minute.
"I'll pay now", Max said and put the money on the counter. She quickly grabbed the key before she had to enjoy another one of the man's displays of slowness.
"Thank you very much. Good night!" she shouted over her shoulder as she left the house.
Max went back to the car and started the engine again. She was going to park the car as far away from the road as possible. That way it also would be easier to get the sleepy Logan into the room without too much fuss.
She stopped the car in front of room or rather bungalow number 6, then got Logan's chair from the back of the car.
Making sure Logan wasn't leaning against the door again, she opened it and set up the chair. Logan sat there motionless in a daze, staring onto the dashboard.
"Hey, come on, Logan. Wake up already! You gotta at least try to help me a little."
He turned his head and looked at her puzzled, as if he was seeing her for the first time.
"Earth to Logan! I just rented this room. So let's get you in there and into bed. The sooner we get in the sooner you can go back to sleep, okay!?" Max explained soothingly.
Logan groaned and tried to shift in his seat with the use of his good arm, but gave up quickly. Max saw that there was not much he could do to get himself out of the car right now, so she leaned in and let him put his left arm around her shoulder. Thus stabilized, she lifted his legs out onto the ground and then shoved his body over into the seat of the wheelchair. He didn't even complain. He just let her do what had to be done.
When Max had pushed Logan over the small step at the door, she paused and looked around. There were two queen size beds in the room and a small table with an armchair and a lamp for reading. There was a door leading to the adjacing bathroom, which had a toilet, a small sink and a shower in it. Despite the old and shabby appearance of the motel, the room looked nice and clean, with fluffy pink towels in the bathroom and a piece of wrapped lavender soap on the edge of the sink.
Max went back to check on Logan, who was still sitting there, slumped in his chair, not willing to move an inch.
"Boy, that stuff knocked you out pretty badly, huh?" She said more to herself, not really expecting an answer from the man in front of her. Shrugging, she wheeled him over to the bathroom. "You wanna use the bathroom first," she asked. "I'm gonna get our bags."
She turned around, leaving the door open a crack behind her, to make sure she heard when Logan fell or needed some help.
When she returned she heard Logan rummaging in the bathroom, running water, groaning from time to time.
After five minutes she knocked on the door.
"You okay?" she asked carefully.
"Ahem, yes.." came Logan's muffled voice. "Could you just...pass me the bag Bling brought for me. Max went back to the bed and picked up the little bag Bling had prepared for Logan. Whatever was in there, there was certainly not enough room for clothes and everything. They'd probably have to go shopping the next day, if Logan felt better.
Max changed into hot pants and a T-shirt which she was used to wear at night and lay down on her bed.
A few minutes later, Logan appeared in the bathroom door, a sour expression on his face.
"Could you…,"he whispered embarrassed, but too exhausted to let his pride win."Could you help me take off my pants. I can't lift myself with my arm in that bandage and …"
Max got up and stood behind him. "If I lift you up, can you manage?"
"Sure," he replied although he didn't seem all too sure. But he managed to wriggle down his pants with his left hand, so they were resting at his knees.
Max then rounded Logan, grabbed the legs of his pants and pulled them over his feet.
"You wanna take your shirt off, too?" she asked, not giving him time to think about the awkwardness of this situation.
"No, I'd have to renew the bandage then, the way its wrapped around my body. I'll sleep like this."
"Okay, you're ready for bed?" Max asked.
When Logan nodded, Max pushed him over to the side of the bed. She took his arm again and lifted his butt out of the chair onto the bed. Then she swung his legs under the covers and helped him settle down comfortably.
Logan squinted at her and yawned.
"Thanks…",he said in a sleepy voice. And within seconds he had drifted back to sleep.
"No problem, "Max answered to herself, carefully sliding his glasses off his noise, putting them on the nightstand.
Stretching out on the soft mattress underneath her, Max fell asleep herself only a few minutes later.
**
TBC...soon!!!
What do you think so far?
Note: Sorry it took us so long, but both our computers decided to take a break at the same weekend...but now at least mine is permanently fixed. And Steffi will be back to normal soon- hopefully...
Anyway, enjoy the next chapter and thanks for the reviews!!!
**
After some more hours of driving at a constant and tiring speed, Max felt her eyes starting to itch and her back starting to ache a little. As much as she was designed to be a soldier, she was just not used to sitting still for so long. Besides, the attack and the violent seizures had not passed without an effect. The few hours she had slept at night seemed to be years away and she wished for a bed to stretch out on and at least relax a little.
She looked over at Logan, who was huddled against the window, his head resting against the cold glass.
Without taking her eyes off the road she reached over and touched his good shoulder. Logan stirred and slumped even deeper in his seat, but didn't wake up.
Deciding that they probably both needed a good sleep in a comfortable bed, she scanned the road signs for the nearest city. Max had intended to drive all the way to San Francisco that same night, but it would be just as good to stop a few miles before, maybe in a small motel, which didn't cost much and where they were save.
She pulled off the highway at the next possibility and followed the signs to the nearest motel. The complex consisted of six little bungalows with a bigger house for the reception. Max looked at the clock in the dashboard.
It was half past eleven. The lights in the main house were still burning, so this was probably an all night check-in motel. She turned into the parking lot and killed the engine.
"Logan," she tried, shaking his shoulder gently. "Wake up. We are going to check in here. Get some good sleep. All right?!" Logan slowly moved and squinted at the light coming from the brightly lit motel sign. When he sat up from his position pressed against the window, he groaned. His shoulder sure didn't like to be laid on right now.
"Probably not the best sleeping position, right?" Max said compassionately.
"Let's get out of this car and into a nice warm bed. I'm kinda tired, too.Must be the stupid aerosol they used…"
Logan squinted at the light again and adjusted his glasses.
"Where are we...," he mumbled, still half asleep.
"Couple of miles from San Francisco. I thought we could just as well stop here for the night and drive on early in the morning. At least I think this place is safe."
Logan struggled to sit up straighter in his seat. "Whatever you say…", he replied feeling really indifferent why or where they stayed- as long as he could go back to sleep as soon as possible. He felt a little dizzy and extremely tired and the more he tried to wake up, the more the wave of nausea forced its way up his throat.
"Hey," Max patted his cheek. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…," Logan forced out. "I just think my stomach does not agree with the hamburger I ate." Still squinting, he turned towards the window and tried to open it, only to be reminded of his bad shoulder.
"Ahhh, shit…", he hissed.
Max leaned over to open the window for him. When the cool air blew around his nose, Logan's mind immediately cleared up a little and the nausea subsided.
Without another word Max got out of the car and grabbed Logan's purse from the side pocket of the car where she had stashed it earlier. Bling had brought them a few hundred bucks so they wouldn't have to worry about money for now.
Max adjusted her clothes and brushed her fingers through her hair, then opened the door to the small office.
An old man was sitting there with a small portable TV in front of him, simultaneously listening to some weird country music. There was a small table with two plastic chairs and an ancient coffee maker on it. Hanging on the wall above it there was a microwave oven. Max grinned. So that was going to be the breakfast the sign outside referred to!
"Good evening, Ma'am. How can I help you?" the man asked, hardly looking up from the screen.
"I, ahem, we,…my husband and I would like to rent a room for …two for tonight."
The man lifted his head and looked around.
"He' s still in the car. I just came in here to check first if you had any vacancies," Max explained patiently.
The man slowly turned around and waved at the line of hooks on the wall above his seat.
"You are lucky," he said sarcastically. "You get to chose." There were still four keys dangling from the hooks.
"Well, if you have a room that's wheelchair-accessible -like more than the others- I'll go for that."
The man turned in slow motion and looked her up and down. Max waited for him to explain to her that she was standing in front of him and hence not in need of a wheelchair accessible room anyway. Instead he explained, "Our rooms are all ground floor and the doors should be wide enough-otherwise I'm afraid I can't help you."
"That's fine," Max said quickly, wanting to end the conversation as fast as possible. They would have to take whatever they could get. She was not up to driving another hour and Logan didn't seem in the best condition either.
"Just give me the one that's farthest away from the road," she added with a fake smile.
The man turned again slowly to pick up a key and hand it over to her. "That will be 25 $ the night, you wanna pay now or later?" His voice sounded as if he was going to fall asleep any minute.
"I'll pay now", Max said and put the money on the counter. She quickly grabbed the key before she had to enjoy another one of the man's displays of slowness.
"Thank you very much. Good night!" she shouted over her shoulder as she left the house.
Max went back to the car and started the engine again. She was going to park the car as far away from the road as possible. That way it also would be easier to get the sleepy Logan into the room without too much fuss.
She stopped the car in front of room or rather bungalow number 6, then got Logan's chair from the back of the car.
Making sure Logan wasn't leaning against the door again, she opened it and set up the chair. Logan sat there motionless in a daze, staring onto the dashboard.
"Hey, come on, Logan. Wake up already! You gotta at least try to help me a little."
He turned his head and looked at her puzzled, as if he was seeing her for the first time.
"Earth to Logan! I just rented this room. So let's get you in there and into bed. The sooner we get in the sooner you can go back to sleep, okay!?" Max explained soothingly.
Logan groaned and tried to shift in his seat with the use of his good arm, but gave up quickly. Max saw that there was not much he could do to get himself out of the car right now, so she leaned in and let him put his left arm around her shoulder. Thus stabilized, she lifted his legs out onto the ground and then shoved his body over into the seat of the wheelchair. He didn't even complain. He just let her do what had to be done.
When Max had pushed Logan over the small step at the door, she paused and looked around. There were two queen size beds in the room and a small table with an armchair and a lamp for reading. There was a door leading to the adjacing bathroom, which had a toilet, a small sink and a shower in it. Despite the old and shabby appearance of the motel, the room looked nice and clean, with fluffy pink towels in the bathroom and a piece of wrapped lavender soap on the edge of the sink.
Max went back to check on Logan, who was still sitting there, slumped in his chair, not willing to move an inch.
"Boy, that stuff knocked you out pretty badly, huh?" She said more to herself, not really expecting an answer from the man in front of her. Shrugging, she wheeled him over to the bathroom. "You wanna use the bathroom first," she asked. "I'm gonna get our bags."
She turned around, leaving the door open a crack behind her, to make sure she heard when Logan fell or needed some help.
When she returned she heard Logan rummaging in the bathroom, running water, groaning from time to time.
After five minutes she knocked on the door.
"You okay?" she asked carefully.
"Ahem, yes.." came Logan's muffled voice. "Could you just...pass me the bag Bling brought for me. Max went back to the bed and picked up the little bag Bling had prepared for Logan. Whatever was in there, there was certainly not enough room for clothes and everything. They'd probably have to go shopping the next day, if Logan felt better.
Max changed into hot pants and a T-shirt which she was used to wear at night and lay down on her bed.
A few minutes later, Logan appeared in the bathroom door, a sour expression on his face.
"Could you…,"he whispered embarrassed, but too exhausted to let his pride win."Could you help me take off my pants. I can't lift myself with my arm in that bandage and …"
Max got up and stood behind him. "If I lift you up, can you manage?"
"Sure," he replied although he didn't seem all too sure. But he managed to wriggle down his pants with his left hand, so they were resting at his knees.
Max then rounded Logan, grabbed the legs of his pants and pulled them over his feet.
"You wanna take your shirt off, too?" she asked, not giving him time to think about the awkwardness of this situation.
"No, I'd have to renew the bandage then, the way its wrapped around my body. I'll sleep like this."
"Okay, you're ready for bed?" Max asked.
When Logan nodded, Max pushed him over to the side of the bed. She took his arm again and lifted his butt out of the chair onto the bed. Then she swung his legs under the covers and helped him settle down comfortably.
Logan squinted at her and yawned.
"Thanks…",he said in a sleepy voice. And within seconds he had drifted back to sleep.
"No problem, "Max answered to herself, carefully sliding his glasses off his noise, putting them on the nightstand.
Stretching out on the soft mattress underneath her, Max fell asleep herself only a few minutes later.
**
TBC...soon!!!
What do you think so far?