Disclaimer: The usual.
Note: Read our version of what might have happened to Logan's parents. Enjoy and review!!!
And a million thanks to Alaidh, our patient beta. Thanks for not giving up despite all those missing commas and terrible grammar lapses! We owe you big time!
Catching up
The next morning, Max woke up in Logan's embrace. She couldn't remember a morning when she had felt happier. She carefully freed herself from his embrace and went out to have breakfast. She had heard Beth rummaging in the kitchen.
"Morning." She smiled at the old lady.
"Morning, dear. Want toast with jelly or cereal?"
"Toast please, and some milk."
"Logan still asleep?"
"Yes, I think he is pretty tired; we had a rough couple of days." Max took a bite of her toast and smiled at Beth. "But he's gonna be fine."
"Any plans for today?"
"No, I don't think so. Just hang around and be lazy if that's okay."
"Sure."
***
That was just what they did. Of course Max couldn't sit still all day so she eventually, after lunch, went running for an hour and Logan took a book from the shelf and made himself comfortable in the living room.
"Logan! Phone!" Beth held out the phone expectantly.
"For me?" Logan suddenly felt nervous, wishing Max hadn't decided to go running.
"Come on." Beth impatiently waved at him to come around the table. Logan glanced at her when accepting the receiver and then asked hesitantly, "Hello?"
"Logan? This is Chloe. Do you remember me? We used to play together when you were down here! In your grandparent's pool or at the beach." The voice sounded cheerful and happy. Slowly Logan relaxed but didn't quite let the words and their meaning sink in. The woman on the phone took his silence for ignorance. "I used to live across the street, long blond hair, sparkles, skinny..."
"Chloe?!" Suddenly recognition set in. "Is that really you?"
"Who else should it be?" She laughed, friendly. "Listen, your grandmother told me you and your girlfriend were in town." Logan wondered how quick news spread about Max being his sort of girlfriend. Probably his grandmother hadn't even known that when talking to Chloe. "I thought it would be nice to go out, catch up, you know. I haven't seen you in ages."
"I don't know Chloe..."
"Come on. I just got engaged. Let's celebrate that if a simple night out isn't reason enough."
"Wow, congratulations. Listen, I'm gonna ask Max and call you back. Beth got your number?"
"She does. Don't you dare to bail on me, Logan Cale. Your girlfriend deserves to know what kind of stuff you did as a kid. God, we caused havoc. Do you remember that day on the beach when everybody kept looking for us and we'd climbed up that cliff? Thinking back, that was a suicide mission!"
Logan felt a sting deep down. Chloe wouldn't want to see him like this, not with all the memories of the adventures they had had as kids; now he couldn't even walk a single step.
Tonelessly he agreed. "Yeah, I remember. Listen, I have to go, but I'll call you. Bye."
He unconsciously rolled his chair back and forth, deep in thought, until he noticed Beth standing in the doorway.
"So? What did she want?" Beth leaned against the doorframe, gently smiling down at her grandson.
"She asked us to go out with her and her fiancé."
"That's nice. Max is gonna get along with her very well, I think. Where will you go?"
"I haven't agreed yet. Gotta ask Max first," he added as a way of explaining.
Beth nodded gravely. "Of course." She had a feeling this was not really about Max, but she knew better than to press.
***
"Of course we'll go! Meeting old friends has to be cool. Wow, friends from your childhood."
For Max, it was hard to imagine that somebody had something like that at all, but spending a carefree night out was just what she needed to clear her head. She hadn't told Logan, but ever since that aerosol attack she didn't quite feel like herself, running was suddenly tiring her, and she needed way too much sleep. It worried her, but there was no use in telling Logan. She forced a smile on her face. "Go on! Call your friend!"
"Okay." Logan felt a little nervous, but how could he deny that to Max? He had seen the sparkle in her eyes. He made his way to the phone and found the phone book opened on the right page. 'Grandma', he grinned to himself.
"Chloe? This is Logan. Your offer still up?" He nodded. "Great. See you at eight!"
He put the receiver down. "They'll pick us up."
"Cool."
**
Max spent the rest of the afternoon basking in the warm spring sun, reading magazines. Logan joined her for an hour, but then felt restless. He went back inside and plugged his laptop in. Sooner or later he would have to face reality again anyway, he may as well get started right away.
**
Max still sat in the sun when Logan's grandmother took a seat next to her. "Do you mind?" she asked Max.
"No, of course not." Max gently smiled at the old lady she already liked so much.
"Logan was so weird earlier, about seeing Chloe..." The petite woman started after a moment. Max had sensed there was something she had wanted to talk about.
"Don't worry," Max calmed her. "He is just a little nervous and scared every time he has to face people from...before, you know."
"He hasn't quite worked things out yet, huh?" Beth looked at Max. "I didn't want to tell him, because I don't think he would want to hear it, but he has changed. I can't even say it's a bad thing, he seems a lot more reserved and serious, and some of his old charm and aura seems to be buried beneath that seriousness. But he also lost his...arrogance, his over the top self confidence."
Max nodded. "Yeah, he was a macho when I first met him," she grinned. "And I wouldn't have wanted to be with him back then, so on some level there is this one good thing coming from the accident. But he just is so hard on himself." She changed the subject. "Does this Chloe know that he uses a wheelchair?"
"Yeah, she knows. I told her when I learnt about it, but when she asked if she should try to contact him I told her not to. I can't say why I did this, I just had a feeling that he wouldn't want all that."
"Yeah, that was probably the right thing to do. But now I think it's going to do him some good to see her. He doesn't have many old friends."
Beth sighed. "He has always been a loner, didn't work hard for relationships. Just for a few ones that really mattered to him. Guess he hasn't change there."
"No, but you don't have to worry. There are enough people in Seattle who will stick with him no matter what. He's not alone."
**
Around seven, Max started to get ready for the evening. She considered wearing the new dress, but as much as Logan would have loved to see it, he argued that it was still too chilly at night, and that she would probably be overdressed. Instead she went for black pants and a simple white shirt. After she returned from the bathroom, Logan went in to have a quick shower, at least as quick as possible under the circumstances, and get changed.
At three minutes before eight they were both ready to go. Logan nervously wriggled the fabric of his khakis. As much as he hated to admit it, this was one of the moments he had learnt to dread. Somebody seeing him in the chair for the first time, and it was even worse when people didn't know, because then they weren't even prepared to put on an act.
The doorbell rang and Beth quickly answered it. "Hello dear! Logan and Max are in the living room. Come on in. Nice to see you, Brennan."
Chloe entered the room, smiling broadly.
"Finally!" she stormed towards Logan and bent down to hug him. He was totally taken aback and answered the hug with a dazzled look on his face. "It's good to see you!" She set him free and straightened. "And you must be Max. Hi, I'm Chloe!" She stretched out her other hand and smiled warmly, her ice blue eyes sparkling. Max liked her immediately. "Oh, and before I forget. Max, Logan, this is Brennan."
"Hi, nice to meet you guys." He was a dark-haired, handsome guy, probably even taller than Logan standing up, with broad shoulders, soft brown eyes and cute dimples. He shook Max's hand and then turned towards Logan, doing the same.
"Okay, you guys ready to go? We can take our car if that's okay. I hope you don't mind, we reserved a table at a really good Italian restaurant at the beach front." Chloe didn't really wait for an answer but threw her long blond hair over her shoulder and rushed outside, Brennan following her with a big grin and a shrug at Logan and Max.
"Wow," Max nodded, amazed. "She is quite a girl, huh?"
"Yeah, I think we're gonna have fun." Logan felt totally relaxed all of a sudden, he had never experienced such an easy introduction since the accident.
"Then let's go." Max let him precede through the front door and waved at Beth. "Good night! Don't wait up!"
Chloe waited next to the car. "The guys can sit in the front, so they feel like men." She winked at Max, then watched Logan transfer with interest. "You're good at that."
"You should see me when my shoulder's intact," he answered.
"What happened?"
"Dislocated it some time ago, still bothering me," he explained, while Max stored the wheelchair away.
"I can have a look at it if you want me to; I'm a physiotherapist," Brennan offered.
"He's working for the TSK Baskets, the local number one basketball team," Chloe added proudly.
"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks." Logan was, in fact, relieved about the idea of somebody having a look.
"Okay, ready." Max plopped into her seat behind Logan and shut her door.
***
Twenty minutes later, they parked the car and walked the few blocks to the restaurant. Logan was relieved to see that there were no stairs; that was something that had often proved to be a real issue. Other people just were not aware of the fact that even a few steps could prove to be a huge obstacle. But he figured that Chloe had been thoughtful and remembered when making reservations.
Inside, Brennan immediately moved a chair aside so Logan could wheel up to the table.
They enjoyed the dinner and did a lot of small-talk and catching up.
Suddenly Chloe grinned enigmatically.
"What?" Logan raised an eyebrow, suddenly having the indistinct feeling that she had something on her mind that might prove to be embarrassing for him.
"You know, I've been digging a little and guess what I found?" She rummaged in her bag and then presented a little booklet to the group. "Photos!"
"Oh God, you're not seriously gonna show those, are you?" Logan's eyes got big and he blushed slightly.
"I think the people at this table," she looked from Max to Brennan, "deserve to know."
"Chloe..." Logan warned her, a small twinkle in his eyes.
"Come on, now we wanna see." Brennan playfully grabbed the little photo album and Chloe shrugged. "What can I say? I tried to defend it."
"Yeah, right," Logan responded, sticking out his tongue and making a face. Then he turned his attention towards Max and Brennan who were huddled together over the photo album, giggling and commenting.
"What's so funny? Come on, at least let me have a look." He tried to move close enough to see, but couldn't in his chair. "Max!"
"One sec, little naked boy...", she teased him.
"Chloe?! What kind of pictures do you have?!"
"Don't worry, we were like three or four, and I'm naked, too."
"Great." He leaned back, sighing. He knew Max wouldn't stop teasing him about this for ages.
Finally, Max felt enough sympathy to shove the photo album closer to Logan and Brennan leaned over to look at the pictures.
"I can't believe this." Logan let out a laugh. The pictures showed a few kids happily playing at a pool, then playground pictures with the same kids and Logan's grandmother.
"You know, my parents worked all day, and I always loved the summer time when Logan was around. Then I had lunch with them, and we went swimming or hiking, or to Disneyland with his family."
"Yeah," Logan agreed. "I loved having you around. With all those adults it was really boring." Logan flipped through the booklet while Max and Brennan listened while Chloe told a story. Suddenly Logan froze. Max happened to look at him and was alarmed immediately. Before she could react, Logan unset the brakes of his chair and backed up, mumbling an excuse. Max, Brennan and Chloe stared after him.
"What's wrong?" Chloe helplessly looked at Max.
"I don't know," Max answered, absent-mindedly. Instead she pulled the photo album closer and looked at a picture of Logan's Mom and Dad standing in front of a small aircraft, both smiling proudly. Then she discovered Logan's head sticking out through the cockpit window. He must have been about nine or ten years old.
Max shrugged. "I don't understand, he has seen pictures of his parents in our room yesterday, and he didn't overreact."
Chloe finally got a better glance at the picture, and sank back in her chair. "Oh my God, I should have taken this one out. I didn't know it was in there."
Max was confused. "Why?" She felt like going after Logan, but first, she needed to understand what this was all about.
"This aircraft, his parents bought it that summer. They left it in LA, and every year we would go on trips when they were down here. It must have been three or four years later that they had planned on a day trip to some island a couple of miles out to sea. That morning Logan felt really ill. He had been sick all night, so he stayed at home with his grandmother."
Max could see where this was going, but she kept her eyes on Chloe, urging her to go on, though she could see that it was hard for her to recall that day.
Chloe's voice was barely a whisper; tears were streaming down her cheeks. "The plane crashed shortly after take off. They had no chance to survive. God, I'm so sorry I forgot about the picture," Chloe sobbed and Brennan silently laid an arm around her shoulder.
"It's okay." Max got up. "I'll try to find him." She threw one last glance at the couple and caught an encouraging nod from Brennan. She gave him a small smile in return before leaving the restaurant.
**
Ok, this was a rather long chapter, so I think we deserve some extra reviews for that!! The next one's waitin' to be posted, encouragement might make us work faster!
Thank you!
Note: Read our version of what might have happened to Logan's parents. Enjoy and review!!!
And a million thanks to Alaidh, our patient beta. Thanks for not giving up despite all those missing commas and terrible grammar lapses! We owe you big time!
Catching up
The next morning, Max woke up in Logan's embrace. She couldn't remember a morning when she had felt happier. She carefully freed herself from his embrace and went out to have breakfast. She had heard Beth rummaging in the kitchen.
"Morning." She smiled at the old lady.
"Morning, dear. Want toast with jelly or cereal?"
"Toast please, and some milk."
"Logan still asleep?"
"Yes, I think he is pretty tired; we had a rough couple of days." Max took a bite of her toast and smiled at Beth. "But he's gonna be fine."
"Any plans for today?"
"No, I don't think so. Just hang around and be lazy if that's okay."
"Sure."
***
That was just what they did. Of course Max couldn't sit still all day so she eventually, after lunch, went running for an hour and Logan took a book from the shelf and made himself comfortable in the living room.
"Logan! Phone!" Beth held out the phone expectantly.
"For me?" Logan suddenly felt nervous, wishing Max hadn't decided to go running.
"Come on." Beth impatiently waved at him to come around the table. Logan glanced at her when accepting the receiver and then asked hesitantly, "Hello?"
"Logan? This is Chloe. Do you remember me? We used to play together when you were down here! In your grandparent's pool or at the beach." The voice sounded cheerful and happy. Slowly Logan relaxed but didn't quite let the words and their meaning sink in. The woman on the phone took his silence for ignorance. "I used to live across the street, long blond hair, sparkles, skinny..."
"Chloe?!" Suddenly recognition set in. "Is that really you?"
"Who else should it be?" She laughed, friendly. "Listen, your grandmother told me you and your girlfriend were in town." Logan wondered how quick news spread about Max being his sort of girlfriend. Probably his grandmother hadn't even known that when talking to Chloe. "I thought it would be nice to go out, catch up, you know. I haven't seen you in ages."
"I don't know Chloe..."
"Come on. I just got engaged. Let's celebrate that if a simple night out isn't reason enough."
"Wow, congratulations. Listen, I'm gonna ask Max and call you back. Beth got your number?"
"She does. Don't you dare to bail on me, Logan Cale. Your girlfriend deserves to know what kind of stuff you did as a kid. God, we caused havoc. Do you remember that day on the beach when everybody kept looking for us and we'd climbed up that cliff? Thinking back, that was a suicide mission!"
Logan felt a sting deep down. Chloe wouldn't want to see him like this, not with all the memories of the adventures they had had as kids; now he couldn't even walk a single step.
Tonelessly he agreed. "Yeah, I remember. Listen, I have to go, but I'll call you. Bye."
He unconsciously rolled his chair back and forth, deep in thought, until he noticed Beth standing in the doorway.
"So? What did she want?" Beth leaned against the doorframe, gently smiling down at her grandson.
"She asked us to go out with her and her fiancé."
"That's nice. Max is gonna get along with her very well, I think. Where will you go?"
"I haven't agreed yet. Gotta ask Max first," he added as a way of explaining.
Beth nodded gravely. "Of course." She had a feeling this was not really about Max, but she knew better than to press.
***
"Of course we'll go! Meeting old friends has to be cool. Wow, friends from your childhood."
For Max, it was hard to imagine that somebody had something like that at all, but spending a carefree night out was just what she needed to clear her head. She hadn't told Logan, but ever since that aerosol attack she didn't quite feel like herself, running was suddenly tiring her, and she needed way too much sleep. It worried her, but there was no use in telling Logan. She forced a smile on her face. "Go on! Call your friend!"
"Okay." Logan felt a little nervous, but how could he deny that to Max? He had seen the sparkle in her eyes. He made his way to the phone and found the phone book opened on the right page. 'Grandma', he grinned to himself.
"Chloe? This is Logan. Your offer still up?" He nodded. "Great. See you at eight!"
He put the receiver down. "They'll pick us up."
"Cool."
**
Max spent the rest of the afternoon basking in the warm spring sun, reading magazines. Logan joined her for an hour, but then felt restless. He went back inside and plugged his laptop in. Sooner or later he would have to face reality again anyway, he may as well get started right away.
**
Max still sat in the sun when Logan's grandmother took a seat next to her. "Do you mind?" she asked Max.
"No, of course not." Max gently smiled at the old lady she already liked so much.
"Logan was so weird earlier, about seeing Chloe..." The petite woman started after a moment. Max had sensed there was something she had wanted to talk about.
"Don't worry," Max calmed her. "He is just a little nervous and scared every time he has to face people from...before, you know."
"He hasn't quite worked things out yet, huh?" Beth looked at Max. "I didn't want to tell him, because I don't think he would want to hear it, but he has changed. I can't even say it's a bad thing, he seems a lot more reserved and serious, and some of his old charm and aura seems to be buried beneath that seriousness. But he also lost his...arrogance, his over the top self confidence."
Max nodded. "Yeah, he was a macho when I first met him," she grinned. "And I wouldn't have wanted to be with him back then, so on some level there is this one good thing coming from the accident. But he just is so hard on himself." She changed the subject. "Does this Chloe know that he uses a wheelchair?"
"Yeah, she knows. I told her when I learnt about it, but when she asked if she should try to contact him I told her not to. I can't say why I did this, I just had a feeling that he wouldn't want all that."
"Yeah, that was probably the right thing to do. But now I think it's going to do him some good to see her. He doesn't have many old friends."
Beth sighed. "He has always been a loner, didn't work hard for relationships. Just for a few ones that really mattered to him. Guess he hasn't change there."
"No, but you don't have to worry. There are enough people in Seattle who will stick with him no matter what. He's not alone."
**
Around seven, Max started to get ready for the evening. She considered wearing the new dress, but as much as Logan would have loved to see it, he argued that it was still too chilly at night, and that she would probably be overdressed. Instead she went for black pants and a simple white shirt. After she returned from the bathroom, Logan went in to have a quick shower, at least as quick as possible under the circumstances, and get changed.
At three minutes before eight they were both ready to go. Logan nervously wriggled the fabric of his khakis. As much as he hated to admit it, this was one of the moments he had learnt to dread. Somebody seeing him in the chair for the first time, and it was even worse when people didn't know, because then they weren't even prepared to put on an act.
The doorbell rang and Beth quickly answered it. "Hello dear! Logan and Max are in the living room. Come on in. Nice to see you, Brennan."
Chloe entered the room, smiling broadly.
"Finally!" she stormed towards Logan and bent down to hug him. He was totally taken aback and answered the hug with a dazzled look on his face. "It's good to see you!" She set him free and straightened. "And you must be Max. Hi, I'm Chloe!" She stretched out her other hand and smiled warmly, her ice blue eyes sparkling. Max liked her immediately. "Oh, and before I forget. Max, Logan, this is Brennan."
"Hi, nice to meet you guys." He was a dark-haired, handsome guy, probably even taller than Logan standing up, with broad shoulders, soft brown eyes and cute dimples. He shook Max's hand and then turned towards Logan, doing the same.
"Okay, you guys ready to go? We can take our car if that's okay. I hope you don't mind, we reserved a table at a really good Italian restaurant at the beach front." Chloe didn't really wait for an answer but threw her long blond hair over her shoulder and rushed outside, Brennan following her with a big grin and a shrug at Logan and Max.
"Wow," Max nodded, amazed. "She is quite a girl, huh?"
"Yeah, I think we're gonna have fun." Logan felt totally relaxed all of a sudden, he had never experienced such an easy introduction since the accident.
"Then let's go." Max let him precede through the front door and waved at Beth. "Good night! Don't wait up!"
Chloe waited next to the car. "The guys can sit in the front, so they feel like men." She winked at Max, then watched Logan transfer with interest. "You're good at that."
"You should see me when my shoulder's intact," he answered.
"What happened?"
"Dislocated it some time ago, still bothering me," he explained, while Max stored the wheelchair away.
"I can have a look at it if you want me to; I'm a physiotherapist," Brennan offered.
"He's working for the TSK Baskets, the local number one basketball team," Chloe added proudly.
"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks." Logan was, in fact, relieved about the idea of somebody having a look.
"Okay, ready." Max plopped into her seat behind Logan and shut her door.
***
Twenty minutes later, they parked the car and walked the few blocks to the restaurant. Logan was relieved to see that there were no stairs; that was something that had often proved to be a real issue. Other people just were not aware of the fact that even a few steps could prove to be a huge obstacle. But he figured that Chloe had been thoughtful and remembered when making reservations.
Inside, Brennan immediately moved a chair aside so Logan could wheel up to the table.
They enjoyed the dinner and did a lot of small-talk and catching up.
Suddenly Chloe grinned enigmatically.
"What?" Logan raised an eyebrow, suddenly having the indistinct feeling that she had something on her mind that might prove to be embarrassing for him.
"You know, I've been digging a little and guess what I found?" She rummaged in her bag and then presented a little booklet to the group. "Photos!"
"Oh God, you're not seriously gonna show those, are you?" Logan's eyes got big and he blushed slightly.
"I think the people at this table," she looked from Max to Brennan, "deserve to know."
"Chloe..." Logan warned her, a small twinkle in his eyes.
"Come on, now we wanna see." Brennan playfully grabbed the little photo album and Chloe shrugged. "What can I say? I tried to defend it."
"Yeah, right," Logan responded, sticking out his tongue and making a face. Then he turned his attention towards Max and Brennan who were huddled together over the photo album, giggling and commenting.
"What's so funny? Come on, at least let me have a look." He tried to move close enough to see, but couldn't in his chair. "Max!"
"One sec, little naked boy...", she teased him.
"Chloe?! What kind of pictures do you have?!"
"Don't worry, we were like three or four, and I'm naked, too."
"Great." He leaned back, sighing. He knew Max wouldn't stop teasing him about this for ages.
Finally, Max felt enough sympathy to shove the photo album closer to Logan and Brennan leaned over to look at the pictures.
"I can't believe this." Logan let out a laugh. The pictures showed a few kids happily playing at a pool, then playground pictures with the same kids and Logan's grandmother.
"You know, my parents worked all day, and I always loved the summer time when Logan was around. Then I had lunch with them, and we went swimming or hiking, or to Disneyland with his family."
"Yeah," Logan agreed. "I loved having you around. With all those adults it was really boring." Logan flipped through the booklet while Max and Brennan listened while Chloe told a story. Suddenly Logan froze. Max happened to look at him and was alarmed immediately. Before she could react, Logan unset the brakes of his chair and backed up, mumbling an excuse. Max, Brennan and Chloe stared after him.
"What's wrong?" Chloe helplessly looked at Max.
"I don't know," Max answered, absent-mindedly. Instead she pulled the photo album closer and looked at a picture of Logan's Mom and Dad standing in front of a small aircraft, both smiling proudly. Then she discovered Logan's head sticking out through the cockpit window. He must have been about nine or ten years old.
Max shrugged. "I don't understand, he has seen pictures of his parents in our room yesterday, and he didn't overreact."
Chloe finally got a better glance at the picture, and sank back in her chair. "Oh my God, I should have taken this one out. I didn't know it was in there."
Max was confused. "Why?" She felt like going after Logan, but first, she needed to understand what this was all about.
"This aircraft, his parents bought it that summer. They left it in LA, and every year we would go on trips when they were down here. It must have been three or four years later that they had planned on a day trip to some island a couple of miles out to sea. That morning Logan felt really ill. He had been sick all night, so he stayed at home with his grandmother."
Max could see where this was going, but she kept her eyes on Chloe, urging her to go on, though she could see that it was hard for her to recall that day.
Chloe's voice was barely a whisper; tears were streaming down her cheeks. "The plane crashed shortly after take off. They had no chance to survive. God, I'm so sorry I forgot about the picture," Chloe sobbed and Brennan silently laid an arm around her shoulder.
"It's okay." Max got up. "I'll try to find him." She threw one last glance at the couple and caught an encouraging nod from Brennan. She gave him a small smile in return before leaving the restaurant.
**
Ok, this was a rather long chapter, so I think we deserve some extra reviews for that!! The next one's waitin' to be posted, encouragement might make us work faster!
Thank you!