Max was bored. It seemed that lately she and Logan were always working. She had spent more time at home in her apartment with Original Cindy in the last month than she had with Logan. She wished that they could get away together, just the two of them, if only for the weekend.
Logan poured himself another cup of coffee. It seemed like years since he and Max had spent any time alone together. He glanced at his computer desk thoughtfully. It wasn't as if there was anything on his desk that couldn't wait for a couple of days. Come to think it, his family still had that cabin in the woods. It was one of things they had managed to hold onto when his Uncle Jonas had been killed and Cale Enterprises had been exposed.
Before he could change his mind, Logan quickly picked up his phone and dialed Max's phone number. The phone was picked up on it's first ring. "Hey, it's me. What are you doing for the next couple of days?"
"I thought I'd write a novel. You know something along the lines of girl gets bored so she decides to runaway and join the circus." Max joked. "Why?"
"I thought we might try and get away for the weekend." Logan loved her sense of humor. "My family's cabin is free, so I figured we could both use the break."
"You're not bringing your lap top with you, are you?" This sounded too good to be true.
"No." Logan rolled his eyes. "But I am taking the cell phone." He heard her groan down the other end of the phone. "Just in case of an emergency. The phone in the cabin was cut off. How about I compromise with the cell phone and only switch it on if we need it."
Max smiled to herself. "Deal. Calling Bling to see if you have any messages doesn't count as needing to use the phone though." It was Friday evening and she had to work on Monday. "When were we planning to leave?"
"Can you have a bag packed and ready in twenty minutes?" Logan was eager to leave before anything important came up.
"Hell, yes." Max could be packed in five if need be.
"See you soon." Logan was grinning from ear to ear as he put the phone down. It wouldn't take long to get to the cabin and then he and Max could get some much needed R&R.
It was close to midnight when they got to the cabin. The wind was blowing so hard that sticks and leaves were hitting the outside of the cabin. Max started collecting loose wood for a fire while Logan carried the bags inside and unloaded a box of food from the car.
Half an hour later, they were both cuddled up in front of a roaring fire. The harsh winds were whistling through the trees outside of the cabin. "Sounds as though a storm's heading this way." Logan was glad he had parked the car on the other side of the cabin away from the river.
"Good thing I didn't have any plans to go skinny dipping." Max teased him. It was perfect being snuggled up together, while the winds battered the cabin.
Logan chuckled. "Maybe the storm will have passed by morning and you can rethink that skinny dipping idea of yours." He started tickling her.
Max was wriggling and shrieking so much that they both ended up falling on the floor. She looked up at Logan. "It's a good thing I heal quickly otherwise I'd be constantly covered in bruises."
"Could be fun kissing all of those bruises better." Logan's blue eyes sparkled as he kissed her collar bone, then her neck and finished with her lips. "This definitely warrants a closer inspection." The ended up making love on the floor in front of the fire.
Sometime during the night, they actually made it into the bed. The rain started in the early hours of the morning pounding against the roof. It got so loud that it woke them both up.
The next morning Logan made them both breakfast. He looked out the window while they ate. The rain had been so heavy that the river was overflowing. He could see at least one tree that had fallen under the pressure of the rain. The view was unclear due to the heaviness of the rain still falling. "Guess it's a good job we planned to stay the weekend."
Max nodded while she munched on a piece of French toast. "Must have been a rough storm last night. The river bank's closer than it was, when we got here." Even with her feline vision, Max couldn't see clearly through the rain.
"I'll look and see how much wood we have left for the fire after breakfast." Logan poured himself another cup of coffee. "At the very least I should be able to find some wood we can dry out for tonight."
"You know there are other ways to keep warm, right." Max reached out and brushed a crumb off of Logan's face. "You don't have to do the macho thing and get soaked collecting wood to impress me."
Logan caught hold of her hand and kissed the palm. "I'm not trying to be macho." He grinned. "Well, maybe a little. I want to make sure the storm didn't do any damage to the cabin. I also want to make sure the car isn't stuck incase it doesn't stop raining by the time we have to leave."
Max rolled her eyes. "Fine. Don't blame me when you get soaked to the skin and end up catching a cold. I'm not going to play nurse maid to you." It was nice being fussed over though. On the rare occasions they weren't working, Logan did treat her like a Princess.
"I promise to put a raincoat on." He reassured her. He finished his breakfast and started clearing the dishes. The sky outside the window was getting darker and darker. This storm was only going to get worse. "I'll be back in a minute." Logan grabbed his coat and ran outside.
The car was sheltered from the storm by the cabin. Logan had left his glasses inside knowing they wouldn't be of any use in this weather. He could barely keep standing upright as the wind was so strong. The smaller trees had been torn down with the wind and the rain.
Just as Logan turned back towards the cabin, part of the riverbed crumbled sending a flood of water towards him. He heard Max scream out his name as his legs were pushed out from under him. He could feel branches from the fallen trees ripping at his clothes and skin as he reached out for something to stop him from being swept away. Finally he caught hold of the trunk of one of the stronger trees and pulled himself upright. Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, he used one arm to hang onto the tree and the other to grab large braches floating past him. It was slow going but he managed to wedge the branches into the crumbled part of the riverbank.
"Are you insane." Max appeared beside him. She had found a rope in one of the cupboards and had tied one end to the cabin and the other end around her waist. In her haste to reach Logan, she hadn't dressed properly, so she was now socked and her shirt was clinging to her tiny frame. "Come back inside before you get yourself killed."
Logan wedged some more branches into the bank. It was starting to slow the flow of water down, forcing it to take it's natural path downstream. "Just a few more should do it." He was having to yell above the rushing sound of water.
Max grabbed some branches and helped to speed things up. She kept glancing at Logan, who looked as though he was going to loose his footing at any moment. Sure enough in the next moment Logan slipped and fell straight into the water. Max learched forward and grabbed him, resisting the urge to scream as she felt a rock jab into her ribs.
Logan reached out and grabbed hold of a rock embedded into a more secure part of the bank. He wasn't concerned for himself, after all it was his own fault, he was in the water. He was terrified that he would drag Max in with him. Battling against the wind he pulled himself out of the freezing water and onto more stable land. "Let's get inside." He waved towards the cabin.
"It's about time." Max's ribs were killing her. She heard a thundering crack and looked up to see one of the larger tree falling towards them. "Run!" She shoved Logan ahead of her, but got caught in the thick branches of the falling tree herself. The last thing she heard was Logan yelling her name before she slipped into the darkness.
Logan grabbed hold of the rope that Max had secured to herself and the cabin. He broke branches clear to get to her. He broke branches clear to get to her. Luckily Max wasn't trapped under the truck of the tree. Carefully pulling her clear of the tree, Logan lifted Max onto his shoulder and followed the rope back to the cabin.
Once inside Logan lowered Max onto the sofa. Quickly he grabbed some blankets, dry clothes and the first aid kit. A red stain had appeared on Max's white shirt which he hastily removed. The cut didn't look too deep though. She had cuts and bruises all over her lovely face. Logan gently tended her injuries, changed her into clean, dry clothes and wrapped her up in the blankets. He lit the fire with what was left of the dry wood and brought the same pile which had been sitting outside the door, inside to dry. He checked on Max again before changing his own wet clothes.
Logan stared out the cabin window. The storm had taken out a few more of the trees and the accompanying flood had pushed the bank closer to the cabin. They were safe for the moment, but how long would it last. He spun away from the window when he heard Max stirring.
Although Logan knew the cuts and bruises would heal quickly, he felt guilty that she had been hurt in the first place. He knelt beside the sofa and pulled the blanket up under her chin. If he hadn't gone out in the storm, Max wouldn't have gone out to help him and ended up being hurt.
"Logan?" Max slowly opened her eyes. "You alright?" She winced when she tried to sit up. "Ow. Where's the bus that ran over me?"
Logan reached around her and gently lifted her into a sitting position. "I'm fine, but I think you have a couple of cracked ribs. You're pretty battered and bruised. You also have a rope burn around your waist."
Max managed a weak smile. "Great. Original Cindy will probably think we got up to something kinky, while we were away." She reached out and touched Logan's forehead. "That's a pretty nasty cut you've got there."
In his haste to patch Max up and get her warm, Logan hadn't noticed his own cuts and bruises. "It's not so bad." He handed Max the first aid kit anyway, when she reached for it. "You know, you didn't have to get hit by a tree, just so I could kiss your bruises better." He tried to joke.
Max smiled at him as she dressed the cut on his forehead. "Hey, you're the one who went skinny dipping with your clothes on." She noticed the cuts on his hands. "Did you even check yourself for injuries?" She shook her head when he said no. "Take your shirt off. We might as well have matching bandages."
Logan did what he was told and sat beside Max so that she didn't have to move too much. Despite falling in the river, he was still a lot better off than she was. He never took his eyes off of her once as she tended his wounds. "This wasn't quite what I imagined this weekend turning out like." Every time she winced, he felt it and felt responsible for her pain. "I'm sorry."
Max looked up into his eyes, full of concern. "Why? Did you hit me with a tree?" She had the feeling he was blaming himself for this. "Did you cause the storm? Did you force me out into the rain?"
"You came out to help me, if you hadn't you wouldn't have gotten hurt." Logan watched as Max's petite hands taped a dressing to his side.
"We are so not having this 'It's my fault you got hurt' conversation." Max stroked the side of his face. "How long do you think this storm is going to last?"
"I don't know." Logan's face was still full of concern. "The storms so bad I can't get out on my cell." At that moment the window shattered. Instinct took over and Logan pulled Max onto the floor and covered her body with his own.
The wind and rain was roaring in the broken window, blowing books and ornaments off of tables and shelves. Thinking quickly Logan covered Max with a blanket and raced over to the kitchen sink. He knew a tool box was kept in the cupboard underneath the sink. He just hoped what he needed was in there. "Thank God." He muttered as he pulled the hammer and a packet of nails out of the tool box .
Max watched Logan nail a coffee table over the broken window. He really did surprise her sometimes. Her jaw just about hit the ground when he swept her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom at the back of the cabin. She felt like a child being tucked into the huge bed. The truth was when she finally admitted it to herself, she was so stiff and sore from the cuts and bruises that she could barely move. When Logan turned to leave, she grabbed hold of his hand. "Where are you going?" Her voice came out as a whimper.
Logan knelt beside her. "I'm just going to make sure the rest of the cabin is secure. We don't know how much longer the storm is going to last." He stood and kissed her bruised forehead. "I'll be right back."
Logan was true to his word. He returned with a couple of cups of cocoa. "Are you warm enough?" He noticed her hands were shaking as she took the cup. Then he realized, she was having a seizure. Taking her cup quickly, he placed it with his own on the bedside table and went to grab her pills from her bag.
Max shoved a couple of the tablets into her mouth and nestled down into the bed. She hated feeling this helpless even if she did enjoy Logan fussing over her. The seizure started to ease as she cuddled up to Logan. Finally getting comfortable, she drifted off to sleep.
Sometime during the night the storm passed over. Logan and Max woke to the quiet calming sound of the river flowing smoothly outside. Logan did a quick inspection of the damage outside. One window needed repairing, several trees were down but could be cut up for firewood, the riverbank would need some maintenance, but it wasn't too bad.
Max was limping around the kitchen when he got back inside. "How bad is it out there?" She set a couple of cups of coffee down on the table and eased herself into a chair.
"Not too bad." Logan reached out and took her hand in his. "How are you feeling?" She had already started healing, but was still looking pretty battered and bruised.
Max shrugged off his concern. "Give me a couple of days and you'll never know I had an argument with a tree." She managed a small laugh. "Next time we decide we want a weekend away, how about we just take your phone off the hook and switch the cell phone off."
Logan couldn't help but grin. "Could probably set up a tent in the living room for that mosquito free outdoor experience." He lent forward and gently brushed her lips with his. "How about I make us some breakfast and then we head home?" He had every intention of heading home via the emergency room, so that Sam could give Max a proper check up and a Doctor's note to get off work tomorrow.
"Sounds like a plan." Max, for once couldn't wait to get home. What had started off as a romantic weekend away, had nearly turned fatal for both of them.
THE END
