Disclaimer: you know this part....yawn
A/N: Here's the next bit. Thanks to our beta Alaidh! Enjoy.
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Friends.
"Have you ever been to LA before?" Logan asked.
"No. Never been much into travelling, you know."
Logan nodded. Max had never told him much about her life after the escape, before she had come to Seattle. Maybe this was not the right time to ask, but then the right time would probably never come.
"Where did you live before you came to Seattle anyway?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
"You know about Manticore," she said, irritated.
"I'm not talking about Manticore."
"I came right to Seattle," Max explained shortly.
"You said you were nine when you escaped..." Logan asked again.
"So?"
"Never mind. I thought you had perhaps lived somewhere else," he let the topic drop. She obviously didn't want to talk about her past, so he wouldn't press it. It probably wasn't his business anyway.
But Max surprised him. "I went to live with that family, when the pulse hit, I was there. I told ya before, right?"
"Yes..."
She stared out of the window. "I guess I never learnt to live with a family, you know, interacting, going to school, playing with other kids...It was all new to me. I was confused and didn't feel accepted. And the family I stayed with didn't try to understand me, just as I didn't try to fit in." She shrugged. "On some level I felt worse than at Manticore. Back there at least I knew where I belonged, I had a purpose and my siblings."
"So how did you deal?" Logan asked. He knew that was a stupid question but it was all he could think of right now, without risking her barricades going up again.
Max shrugged again. "I ran. After the pulse it was easy to disappear. I laid low and somehow survived on my own."
"You were all by yourself?" Logan asked in disbelief.
Max nodded. "Sometimes I stayed with an old guy named Jack and his dog Puppy. And sometimes with some other street kids."
"Where did you sleep? How did you get along?"
"We slept in rundown houses, in parks when the weather turned warm, wherever we found a cozy spot. Something a rich, spoiled boy like you can't even imagine, right?"
Logan was shocked by Max' revelations and the sudden harshness in her voice. He had assumed she had had a hard time after the escape, but that she'd lived on the streets was beyond his imagination. He suddenly felt the urge to take her in his arms and comfort her, to take away all the suffering of her past.
"No, I guess I can't imagine that, Max. I'm sorry you had to go through it!"
"Come on, don't go all sentimental on me. I survived, and it wasn't all bad." Her voice cracked slightly, though.
Logan nodded and stared into the dusk. "Still, it's not fair. After what happened at Manticore you'd have deserved better."
"Life's never fair." Max replied. She looked at his legs, but quickly turned her head away.
"I'm sorry for getting you into this, Max. " Logan suddenly said. "Now you're on the run again. You left so much behind in Seattle..."
"Like I told you before, no big dealio." She smiled at him. "I could never have let you do this on your own."
Logan let her words sink in and replayed them over and over in his mind.
"Why not?" he finally questioned. Why would she leave everything behind for an unknown future just like that?
"We're friends, right?"
Friends. "Right." Logan answered.
Max looked at him again. "And if I learnt one thing, it's that friends are the most important thing in life."
Logan thought about that for a minute. Sure, she was right. But still, he had never had any of his so called friends do something that big or meaningful for him. Thinking about it, most of his friendships had been rather superficial and after he had escaped his uncle's control he had "socialized" less and less. He had been too occupied with his fight as Eyes Only.
"Anyway," he heard Max say. "We're almost in LA. Do you know where to go? And don't you think you should prepare me for who'll be there? Any secret wives?"
He chuckled. "No, no more wives. And what do you mean by "prepare"?"
"What do I know? I have to behave one way or the other, and it couldn't hurt to know what will be appropriate. Besides, you never mentioned any friends in LA." She raised an eyebrow. "We have never really talked about your friends. The only one I know is Bling."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you. No friends in LA either," he answered shortly.
Max considered his answer. "Where are your friends?"
Logan sighed. " I don't know Max, okay?" That came out louder than he had intended to. He had to admit to himself that the question stung somewhere deep inside. Hell, where were his friends? Apparently he didn't have any, or why did nobody stick with him after the accident? He had had spoiled, rich university buddies he'd met every now and then to go out and have a beer or two, but real friends?
Max raised her hands in an effort to appease him. "All right, calm down! So if we're not visiting friends, who are we visiting?"
Logan rolled his eyes. "Boy, you can be stubborn, Max! Okay, okay, we're visiting family." He finally gave in.
"Wow."
"Wow? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, you never even talked about your family, apart from Uncle Jonas and his folks- and...wait a sec...are these people from the same genetic pool? Because then we might reconsider..."
"Don't worry. It's my mom's side of the family. Nothing to do with the Cale clan," Logan reassured her.
"Cool. When was the last time you saw them?"
"I think that might be a couple of years ago."
"Wow! So it's really gonna be a surprise. Have you been in touch?"
"A call or a postcard for Christmas. That's about it." Logan responded.
"I see."
"The last time I saw them was my grandma's 80th birthday, I think." He counted back the years in his head.
"Geez! That must be almost 5 years now!" He had never realized how long it had been since he'd seen his family.
"Pretty long time. You get along?"
"Yeah, we do! My grandmother is the greatest person in the world. I loved to visit her when I was younger. She could make the best cakes and knew the best ghost stories. But my parents didn't visit my grandparents too often, because the Cale side of the family did not really approve of it. Uncle Jonas nearly freaked out when my Mom's family was mentioned. "
"I always knew he was an ass."
"I don't know why he hated them so much," Logan continued, " Probably because they were just simple people, no big time businessmen. Very good and faithful people. Very hard working. But not good enough for Jonas, I guess."
"Sounds like I'm gonna get along with them."
"Hmmm.." Logan mumbled, lost in thought. "After my parents died, I totally lost touch with them, until I broke free from uncle Jonas and his bunch. We talked on the phone now and then and met for special occasions. But not very often, actually."
"Well, then I think your grandma is going to be really happy to see you."
"I hope she's not mad at me for not visiting her for so long."
"Don't worry. When will we be there?"
"Twenty minutes."
"Great. I want a piece of that cake you mentioned." Max put her feet up on the dashboard and snuggled deeper into her seat.
"Don't worry. My grandmother works magic when it comes to cake. She always seems to have something in store, just in case someone stops by." He smiled, feeling his mouth begin to water at the thought of freshly made cake.
"That's where you got it from!"
"What???" Logan looked at her puzzled.
"Your talent to always be able to offer food."
"Oh, you think so? Well, I'm honoured. But nothing like my grandmother's cooking! You'll see. I hope we can stay for a while," he added with concern.
Max shrugged. "We have all the time in the world. Or so they say. But you know, we really have to take a break long enough to think about how we're gonna get out of this mess. Running is not gonna solve anything."
Logan sighed. "Yeah, you're right. We can't be running forever."
"Believe me, no fun." Max stressed.
"We'll try to work something out."
"But first of all, cake, more delicious food and a cozy bed., she smiled.
"Absolutely!" Logan confirmed.
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A bit shorter this time, but the next one's waiting to be posted already.
TBC.......
A/N: Here's the next bit. Thanks to our beta Alaidh! Enjoy.
*********************************************************************************
Friends.
"Have you ever been to LA before?" Logan asked.
"No. Never been much into travelling, you know."
Logan nodded. Max had never told him much about her life after the escape, before she had come to Seattle. Maybe this was not the right time to ask, but then the right time would probably never come.
"Where did you live before you came to Seattle anyway?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
"You know about Manticore," she said, irritated.
"I'm not talking about Manticore."
"I came right to Seattle," Max explained shortly.
"You said you were nine when you escaped..." Logan asked again.
"So?"
"Never mind. I thought you had perhaps lived somewhere else," he let the topic drop. She obviously didn't want to talk about her past, so he wouldn't press it. It probably wasn't his business anyway.
But Max surprised him. "I went to live with that family, when the pulse hit, I was there. I told ya before, right?"
"Yes..."
She stared out of the window. "I guess I never learnt to live with a family, you know, interacting, going to school, playing with other kids...It was all new to me. I was confused and didn't feel accepted. And the family I stayed with didn't try to understand me, just as I didn't try to fit in." She shrugged. "On some level I felt worse than at Manticore. Back there at least I knew where I belonged, I had a purpose and my siblings."
"So how did you deal?" Logan asked. He knew that was a stupid question but it was all he could think of right now, without risking her barricades going up again.
Max shrugged again. "I ran. After the pulse it was easy to disappear. I laid low and somehow survived on my own."
"You were all by yourself?" Logan asked in disbelief.
Max nodded. "Sometimes I stayed with an old guy named Jack and his dog Puppy. And sometimes with some other street kids."
"Where did you sleep? How did you get along?"
"We slept in rundown houses, in parks when the weather turned warm, wherever we found a cozy spot. Something a rich, spoiled boy like you can't even imagine, right?"
Logan was shocked by Max' revelations and the sudden harshness in her voice. He had assumed she had had a hard time after the escape, but that she'd lived on the streets was beyond his imagination. He suddenly felt the urge to take her in his arms and comfort her, to take away all the suffering of her past.
"No, I guess I can't imagine that, Max. I'm sorry you had to go through it!"
"Come on, don't go all sentimental on me. I survived, and it wasn't all bad." Her voice cracked slightly, though.
Logan nodded and stared into the dusk. "Still, it's not fair. After what happened at Manticore you'd have deserved better."
"Life's never fair." Max replied. She looked at his legs, but quickly turned her head away.
"I'm sorry for getting you into this, Max. " Logan suddenly said. "Now you're on the run again. You left so much behind in Seattle..."
"Like I told you before, no big dealio." She smiled at him. "I could never have let you do this on your own."
Logan let her words sink in and replayed them over and over in his mind.
"Why not?" he finally questioned. Why would she leave everything behind for an unknown future just like that?
"We're friends, right?"
Friends. "Right." Logan answered.
Max looked at him again. "And if I learnt one thing, it's that friends are the most important thing in life."
Logan thought about that for a minute. Sure, she was right. But still, he had never had any of his so called friends do something that big or meaningful for him. Thinking about it, most of his friendships had been rather superficial and after he had escaped his uncle's control he had "socialized" less and less. He had been too occupied with his fight as Eyes Only.
"Anyway," he heard Max say. "We're almost in LA. Do you know where to go? And don't you think you should prepare me for who'll be there? Any secret wives?"
He chuckled. "No, no more wives. And what do you mean by "prepare"?"
"What do I know? I have to behave one way or the other, and it couldn't hurt to know what will be appropriate. Besides, you never mentioned any friends in LA." She raised an eyebrow. "We have never really talked about your friends. The only one I know is Bling."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you. No friends in LA either," he answered shortly.
Max considered his answer. "Where are your friends?"
Logan sighed. " I don't know Max, okay?" That came out louder than he had intended to. He had to admit to himself that the question stung somewhere deep inside. Hell, where were his friends? Apparently he didn't have any, or why did nobody stick with him after the accident? He had had spoiled, rich university buddies he'd met every now and then to go out and have a beer or two, but real friends?
Max raised her hands in an effort to appease him. "All right, calm down! So if we're not visiting friends, who are we visiting?"
Logan rolled his eyes. "Boy, you can be stubborn, Max! Okay, okay, we're visiting family." He finally gave in.
"Wow."
"Wow? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, you never even talked about your family, apart from Uncle Jonas and his folks- and...wait a sec...are these people from the same genetic pool? Because then we might reconsider..."
"Don't worry. It's my mom's side of the family. Nothing to do with the Cale clan," Logan reassured her.
"Cool. When was the last time you saw them?"
"I think that might be a couple of years ago."
"Wow! So it's really gonna be a surprise. Have you been in touch?"
"A call or a postcard for Christmas. That's about it." Logan responded.
"I see."
"The last time I saw them was my grandma's 80th birthday, I think." He counted back the years in his head.
"Geez! That must be almost 5 years now!" He had never realized how long it had been since he'd seen his family.
"Pretty long time. You get along?"
"Yeah, we do! My grandmother is the greatest person in the world. I loved to visit her when I was younger. She could make the best cakes and knew the best ghost stories. But my parents didn't visit my grandparents too often, because the Cale side of the family did not really approve of it. Uncle Jonas nearly freaked out when my Mom's family was mentioned. "
"I always knew he was an ass."
"I don't know why he hated them so much," Logan continued, " Probably because they were just simple people, no big time businessmen. Very good and faithful people. Very hard working. But not good enough for Jonas, I guess."
"Sounds like I'm gonna get along with them."
"Hmmm.." Logan mumbled, lost in thought. "After my parents died, I totally lost touch with them, until I broke free from uncle Jonas and his bunch. We talked on the phone now and then and met for special occasions. But not very often, actually."
"Well, then I think your grandma is going to be really happy to see you."
"I hope she's not mad at me for not visiting her for so long."
"Don't worry. When will we be there?"
"Twenty minutes."
"Great. I want a piece of that cake you mentioned." Max put her feet up on the dashboard and snuggled deeper into her seat.
"Don't worry. My grandmother works magic when it comes to cake. She always seems to have something in store, just in case someone stops by." He smiled, feeling his mouth begin to water at the thought of freshly made cake.
"That's where you got it from!"
"What???" Logan looked at her puzzled.
"Your talent to always be able to offer food."
"Oh, you think so? Well, I'm honoured. But nothing like my grandmother's cooking! You'll see. I hope we can stay for a while," he added with concern.
Max shrugged. "We have all the time in the world. Or so they say. But you know, we really have to take a break long enough to think about how we're gonna get out of this mess. Running is not gonna solve anything."
Logan sighed. "Yeah, you're right. We can't be running forever."
"Believe me, no fun." Max stressed.
"We'll try to work something out."
"But first of all, cake, more delicious food and a cozy bed., she smiled.
"Absolutely!" Logan confirmed.
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A bit shorter this time, but the next one's waiting to be posted already.
TBC.......