Disclaimer: Same as always, we don't own the characters and do not intend to make any money out of this.
We are just having fun playing with them!
Author's Note: This isn't exactly an incredibly long chapter either, but the next strang of action belongs somewhat together, so you have to live with this much for now. Next chapter's already waiting to be posted though!!
Enjoy!
**
San Francisco
They reached San Francisco within half an hour and dove into the thick traffic. Max did the driving and Logan guided the way. They crossed Bay Bridge and made their way to one of the quieter parts of the city. After some time of searching for an accessible hotel they checked in and left immediately for a sight
seeing-tour.
Max was eager to see everything the city had to offer as she had never been there before. Down-town, they went to the top of a tall office building to enjoy the view over the city, then they strolled through the busy streets of China Town, now and then browsing though the colorful and kitchy stores.
Max was fascinated by those little jingling silver balls they sold almost everywhere. She picked a pair of them up and tried to circle them in her hands like the shop owner had shown her. Logan chuckled when he saw her struggle not to drop them onto her feet. But after a few moments she seemed to be perfect at it.
'Must be the revved up Manticore blood', he thought lightly.
Challenge done, Max soon got bored and wanted to go on. But she was caught by something glittering in the corner of her eye on her way out. She stopped and looked closer, calling after Logan, who was already waiting outside.
"Oh, look. Those are nice." She examined the small shining silver amulets that were hanging from thin leather strings. They had Chinese signs on them. "What are they?" she asked Logan who had turned his chair around and wheeled closer.
"Oh, they are probably some kind of lucky charms or something," he said indifferently, turning away again.
"Hey,wait!" Max called out. "Don't you like them?"
"I thought you weren't into jewellery and stuff." Logan looked back at her.
Max let the shiny silver thing glide through her hands. Then she looked at the attached tag more closely.
"Says on here that this one is for SERENITY." She picked up another one. "This one's for STRENGTH."
Logan nervously tapped the handrails of his chair. He really wasn't up for this supersticious stuff and he was surprised Max was even interested. Maybe it was just because it was shiny he thought to himself.
"Oh, now here's one for you!" Max said, holding the necklace out to him, smiling.
He reluctantly took it and read the sign. "It says LUCK." He remarked matter-of-factly." Why do you think it's for me?"
Max put her hand on her hip and gave him a look. "It's not like you have been the luckiest guy lately..." Logan raised his eyebrows.
"I mean...first of all the shooting, Herrera being killed, your ex-wife playing you, Dr. Vertez...and last but not least those guys tracking you down...," she paused, studying his reaction, not sure whether she had said too much.
Logan handed the necklace back to Max, frowning. "Okay, okay. Stop it! I get the picture." For a moment Max thought to have seen a mixture of sadness and fury cross his eyes, before he seemed to have caught himself again. "I don't need this kind of crap. I don't believe in things like that anyway." He turned around
sharply and left the store, leaving it up to Max to follow him.
Max looked after him for a second, berating herself for pushing his buttons, when he had been so calm and relaxed. Then she put back the necklaces she was holding in her hand, in the process dropping the one she had shown Logan, onto the floor. She checked if the shop owner was looking, then bent down, pretending
to tie her shoe, slipping the necklace into the side pocket of her pants quickly.
Then she followed Logan onto the street. Outside, she grinned to herself. Maybe, when the time was right she would give this to Logan and he'd have to accept it.
'And who knows', she thought to herself, 'maybe it will do some good-one way or another'.
"So what's next?" she asked cheerfully.
With the endless row of chinese shops, all offering the same, they agreed on moving on to another part of the city.
So they took a cab to Farmer's Market, where they still sold a whole array of fresh fruits and vegetables. To Logan's surprise, the Pulse didn't seem to have changed that. Max got big eyes at the sight of all the fresh produce. She bought herself half a kilo of red grapes which she finished in a matter of minutes.
She didn't even find the time to offer Logan some, but he would still have to be careful with what he ate anyway.
"What now? "Max asked, sitting down on a bench in the sun. "Anything else I shouldn't miss?"
"What time is it anyway?" Logan asked, searching for his cell-phone to have a look at the time.
"It's half past three already!" he said surprised. "How about we go to the marina, it's called Fisherman's Wharf. It's a real nice place. Lot's of little stores. Maybe I can get some clothes there."
Max stood up energetically. "Okay. Sounds good! Let's go!"
She got up and was about to walk down the street when she realized she had no clue if that was the right direction and that Logan wasn't following her. She turned around to see what was going on. He was sitting there, not moving, apparently he had seen something of interest. Max followed his gaze and swallowed when she realized what, or rather who, he was staring at.
Only a couple of feet away a guy in a wheelchair was waiting in front of a shop which was not accessible for him. He was yelling something at somebody Max couldn't make out. Curiously she stepped closer to Logan and finally saw a little girl standing in front of the guy, grinning from ear to ear, an ice-cream cone in her hand, her shirt already marked with brown stains. The guy shook his head, laughing, and drew her closer to wipe away some ice cream that was about to drop from her chin.
Right at that moment, a small blond woman, carrying a baby, left the store and bent down to kiss the guy. Then she carefully placed the baby in a buggy and the girl automatically climbed on her father's lap, still enjoying the ice cream.
Max heart wrenched and she suddenly realized even more of the impact the shooting had had on Logan's life. "Logan?"
"Yeah, let's go," he answered automatically, his gaze still on the happy family that had turned away and was strolling down the busy street.
Max hestitantly put a hand on his shoulder. "They looked happy, huh?"
Logan looked up, realizing only now Max knew what had been going on. "Yeah, they do." He nodded, then drew away from the sight. "And now come on, let's do some shopping."
**
TBC
We are just having fun playing with them!
Author's Note: This isn't exactly an incredibly long chapter either, but the next strang of action belongs somewhat together, so you have to live with this much for now. Next chapter's already waiting to be posted though!!
Enjoy!
**
San Francisco
They reached San Francisco within half an hour and dove into the thick traffic. Max did the driving and Logan guided the way. They crossed Bay Bridge and made their way to one of the quieter parts of the city. After some time of searching for an accessible hotel they checked in and left immediately for a sight
seeing-tour.
Max was eager to see everything the city had to offer as she had never been there before. Down-town, they went to the top of a tall office building to enjoy the view over the city, then they strolled through the busy streets of China Town, now and then browsing though the colorful and kitchy stores.
Max was fascinated by those little jingling silver balls they sold almost everywhere. She picked a pair of them up and tried to circle them in her hands like the shop owner had shown her. Logan chuckled when he saw her struggle not to drop them onto her feet. But after a few moments she seemed to be perfect at it.
'Must be the revved up Manticore blood', he thought lightly.
Challenge done, Max soon got bored and wanted to go on. But she was caught by something glittering in the corner of her eye on her way out. She stopped and looked closer, calling after Logan, who was already waiting outside.
"Oh, look. Those are nice." She examined the small shining silver amulets that were hanging from thin leather strings. They had Chinese signs on them. "What are they?" she asked Logan who had turned his chair around and wheeled closer.
"Oh, they are probably some kind of lucky charms or something," he said indifferently, turning away again.
"Hey,wait!" Max called out. "Don't you like them?"
"I thought you weren't into jewellery and stuff." Logan looked back at her.
Max let the shiny silver thing glide through her hands. Then she looked at the attached tag more closely.
"Says on here that this one is for SERENITY." She picked up another one. "This one's for STRENGTH."
Logan nervously tapped the handrails of his chair. He really wasn't up for this supersticious stuff and he was surprised Max was even interested. Maybe it was just because it was shiny he thought to himself.
"Oh, now here's one for you!" Max said, holding the necklace out to him, smiling.
He reluctantly took it and read the sign. "It says LUCK." He remarked matter-of-factly." Why do you think it's for me?"
Max put her hand on her hip and gave him a look. "It's not like you have been the luckiest guy lately..." Logan raised his eyebrows.
"I mean...first of all the shooting, Herrera being killed, your ex-wife playing you, Dr. Vertez...and last but not least those guys tracking you down...," she paused, studying his reaction, not sure whether she had said too much.
Logan handed the necklace back to Max, frowning. "Okay, okay. Stop it! I get the picture." For a moment Max thought to have seen a mixture of sadness and fury cross his eyes, before he seemed to have caught himself again. "I don't need this kind of crap. I don't believe in things like that anyway." He turned around
sharply and left the store, leaving it up to Max to follow him.
Max looked after him for a second, berating herself for pushing his buttons, when he had been so calm and relaxed. Then she put back the necklaces she was holding in her hand, in the process dropping the one she had shown Logan, onto the floor. She checked if the shop owner was looking, then bent down, pretending
to tie her shoe, slipping the necklace into the side pocket of her pants quickly.
Then she followed Logan onto the street. Outside, she grinned to herself. Maybe, when the time was right she would give this to Logan and he'd have to accept it.
'And who knows', she thought to herself, 'maybe it will do some good-one way or another'.
"So what's next?" she asked cheerfully.
With the endless row of chinese shops, all offering the same, they agreed on moving on to another part of the city.
So they took a cab to Farmer's Market, where they still sold a whole array of fresh fruits and vegetables. To Logan's surprise, the Pulse didn't seem to have changed that. Max got big eyes at the sight of all the fresh produce. She bought herself half a kilo of red grapes which she finished in a matter of minutes.
She didn't even find the time to offer Logan some, but he would still have to be careful with what he ate anyway.
"What now? "Max asked, sitting down on a bench in the sun. "Anything else I shouldn't miss?"
"What time is it anyway?" Logan asked, searching for his cell-phone to have a look at the time.
"It's half past three already!" he said surprised. "How about we go to the marina, it's called Fisherman's Wharf. It's a real nice place. Lot's of little stores. Maybe I can get some clothes there."
Max stood up energetically. "Okay. Sounds good! Let's go!"
She got up and was about to walk down the street when she realized she had no clue if that was the right direction and that Logan wasn't following her. She turned around to see what was going on. He was sitting there, not moving, apparently he had seen something of interest. Max followed his gaze and swallowed when she realized what, or rather who, he was staring at.
Only a couple of feet away a guy in a wheelchair was waiting in front of a shop which was not accessible for him. He was yelling something at somebody Max couldn't make out. Curiously she stepped closer to Logan and finally saw a little girl standing in front of the guy, grinning from ear to ear, an ice-cream cone in her hand, her shirt already marked with brown stains. The guy shook his head, laughing, and drew her closer to wipe away some ice cream that was about to drop from her chin.
Right at that moment, a small blond woman, carrying a baby, left the store and bent down to kiss the guy. Then she carefully placed the baby in a buggy and the girl automatically climbed on her father's lap, still enjoying the ice cream.
Max heart wrenched and she suddenly realized even more of the impact the shooting had had on Logan's life. "Logan?"
"Yeah, let's go," he answered automatically, his gaze still on the happy family that had turned away and was strolling down the busy street.
Max hestitantly put a hand on his shoulder. "They looked happy, huh?"
Logan looked up, realizing only now Max knew what had been going on. "Yeah, they do." He nodded, then drew away from the sight. "And now come on, let's do some shopping."
**
TBC