Disclaimer: the characters belong to James Cameron, I just borrowed them.
Note: As I said before, don't hate me or where I'm going with this story!!!
**
Logan laid awake next to Max, caressing her upper arm. The moon shone in through the open window, bathing the room in a soft glow, the curtains moved slightly in the light breeze.
He swallowed hard, Max looked haunted and tormented, even in her sleep. He wished he could take the pain away from her, bury it somewhere and then go on, living a normal life. But he knew that was just a naiv dream. His normalcy ended with a single bullet, Max never even had experienced it.
Pain and sorrow seemed to be a cruel constant in both of their lives.And even running from its sources had not helped. It chased after them and had caught up- with both of them.
Logan had to deal with the wheelchair again, and Max with the burden of what had happened in Seattle.
It was not her fault, and on some level he was even glad they had escaped in time. After all, Max might have been buried in the rubble. No superhuman, genetically engineered strength would have helped her. She was not invincible.
But he understood the feeling of guilt, probably better than anybody else. He had been driven into doing EYES ONLY out of a feeling quite similar to that.
Nobody had been able to convince him otherwise, make him belief he didn't hav eto feel that way. Max had been the first to make him look beyond it, though, who made his life worth living, even without the mask to hide behind. He prayed that he could offer the same to her now.
Suddenly the cell phone rang and interrupted his thoughts. He looked around and realized it was in the backpocket of his wheelchair. While Max stirred next to him he struggled to sit up and reach for the chair. Finally he found the phone and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Logan? That you?"
"Alec? Oh my God, are you OK?"
Max squeezed Logan's upper arm until he let out a hiss of pain, and glared at her for a second.
"Where are you?"
"On my way to Canada. Seattle's a mess, they are trying to find all of us."
"Are you alone?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Let me talk to him!" Max nearly fell over Logan and then from the bed when trying to reach for the phone. Finally, Logan handed it to her.
"Alec? Max. Where is Joshua?"
"I'm doing Ok here, thanks. No life threatening injuries, thanks for asking." The young X-5 shot back, sarcastically. Then he continued in a calm voice."I'm sory, Max. I'm not sure. We were seperated..."
"He made it out?"
"Yeah, along with a few others. We were lucky as we were close to the perimeter."
"How many?"
Alec was silent for a second. "Eight. But I don't know who else..." His voice broke and he angrily cleared his throat before changing the topic. "Listen, I'm on my way to Canada, I'll try to leave Washington somehow tonight, and then get on a plane. Can I pay you a visit?"
"Of course! You got Logan's money? And the passport?"
"Yes, always kept it in my jacket, just in case I had to run..."
"Then hop on a plane to Europe. Contact us again when you arrived. Gotta play it safe." Max was all CO again.
"Ok, got it. Talk to you soon- hopefully. Bye."
"Alec, take care."
"Sure. Say hi to your lover." With that he hung up the phone and Max received static. She sat there motionless, her hand resting on Logan's thigh, the other still holding the cell phone.
"Are you Ok? Max?" He gently took the phone from her grip and put it on the nightstand.
"Joshua survived..." she explained tonelessly. "We have to help them!" She snapped out of her state of shock and looked directly at Logan, her eyes blinking with determination.
"What do you think we can do? I'm sorry, Max. But we can't return to Seattle right now. You will be of top priority on their list."
"I know," her shoulders fell, and her eyes turned wet.
"Listen, I'm gonna contact Bling and Matt Sung. Maybe there is something, anything, they can do. Joshua is a clever fellow, ifhe made it out of Terminal City, he'll know where to hide. He is good at that," Logan tried to sooth her.
"You think so?" She looked at her boyfriend with big brown eyes.
"I definitely do." Logan looked right at her, understanding her need for encouragement. "It's gonna be fine."
"We have to find those who did this, Logan. They have to pay for it," Max continued after a few minutes of silence. Her voice was steady again, and full of determination.
"We will. But right now we have to wait for Alec, maybe he can provide more information. And I'll start hacking tomorrow. First, we have to get some sleep though." He kissed her on the forehead, pulling her down with him. "Try to rest, Max. I'm here."
"Thanks, Logan...for everything. I love you."With a slight smile around her lips she closed her eyes and relaxed against his strong chest.
"I love you, too."
TBC
Note: As I said before, don't hate me or where I'm going with this story!!!
**
Logan laid awake next to Max, caressing her upper arm. The moon shone in through the open window, bathing the room in a soft glow, the curtains moved slightly in the light breeze.
He swallowed hard, Max looked haunted and tormented, even in her sleep. He wished he could take the pain away from her, bury it somewhere and then go on, living a normal life. But he knew that was just a naiv dream. His normalcy ended with a single bullet, Max never even had experienced it.
Pain and sorrow seemed to be a cruel constant in both of their lives.And even running from its sources had not helped. It chased after them and had caught up- with both of them.
Logan had to deal with the wheelchair again, and Max with the burden of what had happened in Seattle.
It was not her fault, and on some level he was even glad they had escaped in time. After all, Max might have been buried in the rubble. No superhuman, genetically engineered strength would have helped her. She was not invincible.
But he understood the feeling of guilt, probably better than anybody else. He had been driven into doing EYES ONLY out of a feeling quite similar to that.
Nobody had been able to convince him otherwise, make him belief he didn't hav eto feel that way. Max had been the first to make him look beyond it, though, who made his life worth living, even without the mask to hide behind. He prayed that he could offer the same to her now.
Suddenly the cell phone rang and interrupted his thoughts. He looked around and realized it was in the backpocket of his wheelchair. While Max stirred next to him he struggled to sit up and reach for the chair. Finally he found the phone and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Logan? That you?"
"Alec? Oh my God, are you OK?"
Max squeezed Logan's upper arm until he let out a hiss of pain, and glared at her for a second.
"Where are you?"
"On my way to Canada. Seattle's a mess, they are trying to find all of us."
"Are you alone?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Let me talk to him!" Max nearly fell over Logan and then from the bed when trying to reach for the phone. Finally, Logan handed it to her.
"Alec? Max. Where is Joshua?"
"I'm doing Ok here, thanks. No life threatening injuries, thanks for asking." The young X-5 shot back, sarcastically. Then he continued in a calm voice."I'm sory, Max. I'm not sure. We were seperated..."
"He made it out?"
"Yeah, along with a few others. We were lucky as we were close to the perimeter."
"How many?"
Alec was silent for a second. "Eight. But I don't know who else..." His voice broke and he angrily cleared his throat before changing the topic. "Listen, I'm on my way to Canada, I'll try to leave Washington somehow tonight, and then get on a plane. Can I pay you a visit?"
"Of course! You got Logan's money? And the passport?"
"Yes, always kept it in my jacket, just in case I had to run..."
"Then hop on a plane to Europe. Contact us again when you arrived. Gotta play it safe." Max was all CO again.
"Ok, got it. Talk to you soon- hopefully. Bye."
"Alec, take care."
"Sure. Say hi to your lover." With that he hung up the phone and Max received static. She sat there motionless, her hand resting on Logan's thigh, the other still holding the cell phone.
"Are you Ok? Max?" He gently took the phone from her grip and put it on the nightstand.
"Joshua survived..." she explained tonelessly. "We have to help them!" She snapped out of her state of shock and looked directly at Logan, her eyes blinking with determination.
"What do you think we can do? I'm sorry, Max. But we can't return to Seattle right now. You will be of top priority on their list."
"I know," her shoulders fell, and her eyes turned wet.
"Listen, I'm gonna contact Bling and Matt Sung. Maybe there is something, anything, they can do. Joshua is a clever fellow, ifhe made it out of Terminal City, he'll know where to hide. He is good at that," Logan tried to sooth her.
"You think so?" She looked at her boyfriend with big brown eyes.
"I definitely do." Logan looked right at her, understanding her need for encouragement. "It's gonna be fine."
"We have to find those who did this, Logan. They have to pay for it," Max continued after a few minutes of silence. Her voice was steady again, and full of determination.
"We will. But right now we have to wait for Alec, maybe he can provide more information. And I'll start hacking tomorrow. First, we have to get some sleep though." He kissed her on the forehead, pulling her down with him. "Try to rest, Max. I'm here."
"Thanks, Logan...for everything. I love you."With a slight smile around her lips she closed her eyes and relaxed against his strong chest.
"I love you, too."
TBC
