The day wasn’t even completely over, but Marie felt as though she had been to hell and back. What made it worse was the knowledge that Logan’s day had been far worse than hers. While she had only been buffeted through the events and forced to react to them, Logan had been the one living through it all. He was the one who had been taken away by people he didn’t know and nearly raped. Just the mere thought of what Logan had been through in that room brought tears to Marie’s eyes. She refused to break down, though. Marie knew that she had to be strong for Logan. He was the one who had lived through it all and been helpless to either prevent or stop it. The only real high point of it all was that Logan’s shoulder hadn’t been damaged when Tanya had tied him to the bed.
Then there was the extreme relief Marie felt knowing that Tanya and Maureen couldn’t hurt Logan again. At that very moment, the two women were locked up in a jail cell for their roles in the events that had taken place in the Vance hotel room that morning. Tanya for what she had done to Logan and Maureen for acting as an accomplice. Marie found it disgusting that the other woman had not only distracted her husband in order for Tanya to get into the bedroom where Logan was sleeping peacefully, but Maureen had also tried to prevent Marie and Pete from entering when they had arrived.
The rest of the day had gone by so quickly that Marie was only just now processing it.
Marie and Madison had taken a visibly shaken Logan to the hospital to get his shoulder checked out by Hank.
While they had waited for Hank to finish with a surgery that had started just before their arrival, Marie had phoned the garage and spoken to Ron who had immediately driven to the hospital despite her protests.
“He’s my best friend, Marie. I gotta look out for him. It’s in the guy code,” Ron had told her just before hanging up.
Eventually they met with Hank who, after a long and thorough examination, had declared Logan’s shoulder to be, “None the worse for wear.” While some of the muscles had been stretched and aggravated, all of his earlier repairs were still intact. The morning’s events would add roughly another week onto the healing, but at least it meant there would be no other surgeries.
While Hank had been gone filling a new prescription of painkillers for Logan, Madison had volunteered to take care of Alexandra until the next day. Unwilling to go back to the hotel where her family had been staying, Madison had contemplated getting another room closer to where Marie and Logan lived until Ron suggested that she take Alexandra back to his house.
“I’m sure that I can just find a room in town,” Madison had protested as she checked through the diaper bag to make sure she had enough supplies. “I don’t want to impose.”
Ron chuckled quietly and went to stand next to her. “No imposition. I love the little munchkin and it really looks like her parents could use some alone time.”
Marie had missed the rest of the conversation because she had turned her full attention back on Logan who was lying silently in her arms. Hank had already given him some Demerol to numb the pain while he examined Logan’s shoulder. It had left helped to calm Logan’s nerves, but Marie knew that Logan wouldn’t be able to stay in that hazy oblivion forever. Eventually, he would have to come to terms with what had happened and Marie planned on being there for Logan like he had been there for her.
Logan’s situation was worse, though, because he had vivid memories of what had happened while she could remember nothing after saying goodbye to Logan that night in the bar.
In the end, Madison had gone home with Ron after promising not to let Ron corrupt Alexandra in any way. And, once Hank had come back with the prescription, Marie had taken Logan home. He didn’t say anything, and slept most of the way home, but Marie could tell that he was relieved to be heading home.
Once home, Marie had given Logan some of the new medication like Hank had instructed and he was down for the count. For the first hour, Marie had laid by Logan’s side, tracing his features with her fingertips and smoothing her fingers through his hair. Only when she was sure that he would sleep peacefully did Marie slip out of the bed and head downstairs.
Marie didn’t really want to leave Logan alone, even while he was sleeping, but there were things Marie needed to do before he woke up. Marie was going to make sure this night was relaxing for Logan at any cost. It was what he needed most of all. He needed calm and peace to counteract everything that had happened that morning and Marie was going to give him that.
Hank had said the drugs would knock Logan out for roughly four hours. At night she was supposed to give him two pills so that he would sleep undisturbed for eight hours. Since he had already slept for about an hour, that gave Marie three more hours to get everything ready for six o’clock. Marie knew that it would take nowhere near that long to prepare everything, but it would also give her time to lay down with Logan as he slept deep in his drug induced slumber.
After the four hour mark had passed, Marie brushed a quick kiss against Logan’s lips before sliding out of bed once again to put the finishing touches on everything downstairs. Marie wasn’t sure when Logan would wake up, but she wanted to be prepared when he did. So that meant everything have to be ready for when he woke up.
Since it was too cold to leave Boris outside for the night, Marie coaxed her faithful rottweiler into the back room of the cabin which Marie referred to as “Boris’s Bedroom.” It was, in actuality, the laundry room, but Boris had built himself a bed out of old blankets in the corner near the heater. Under Boris’s watchful eye, Marie cut up a leftover piece of steak and brought it into the back room to place in his food dish. It was really the only incentive the dog needed to spend the night in his “bedroom.” There was a doggy door built into the main door that led out into the yard so he could get out whenever he needed to. Only small amounts of cold air seeped into the room through the small door which was easily counteracted by the heater.
“We’ll start goin’ fer jogs again next week, Boris. Ah promise,” Marie said as she pulled Boris into a hug. “Things have been a little hectic ‘round her lately, but everythin’ will get back t’ normal in a week or so.”
Boris’s response was to lave his broad tongue across her cheek. He then gave Marie a once over before turning his attention to his food. Taking the dismissal for what it was, Marie headed out of the room, making sure to shut the door behind her.
Just as she was about to run into the bathroom to change her clothes, there was a knock at the door. Knowing that it was their dinner arriving, Marie grabbed her purse and rushed to the door before the knocking woke Logan up. Sure enough, on the other side of the door was a pimply faced teenager shifting from foot to foot. The lanky redhead tried to flirt with Marie as she paid for the food and Marie couldn’t help but smile at his attempts. Marie gave a quick wave as she closed the door and, from the expression on his face, Marie was sure that she’d be the star of the boy’s wet dreams that night.
Chuckling under her breath, Marie set the food down on the counter before once again heading into the bathroom. Even what she was wearing had been chosen especially for that night. Marie had first worn the dress when she had Logan had gone out to celebrate Marie’s pregnancy and their engagement. It was a simple slip dress made of ivory silk that flowed over all her curves as though it were made of water. Marie wore no jewelry except her engagement ring, leaving her hair down to fall over her shoulder in dark waves. A quick coat of watermelon lip gloss and Marie emerged from the bathroom just in time to hear Logan shuffling around in their room.
“Marie?” Logan called from the top of the stairs.
“Ah’m in the kitchen, sugah. D’ ya need mah help or can ya make it down the stairs yerself?” Marie called back as she rushed barefoot into the kitchen to get the food out of the take-out boxes and onto plates.
Logan didn’t answer, but Marie heard the stairs creak as he slowly made his way downstairs.
“No! Wait!” Marie cried out suddenly, realizing that Logan would see her surprise before it was all set up. “Ya hafta have yer eyes closed so Ah’ll help ya down so that ya don’t go tumblin’ head over heels!”
Wiping her hands off on a towel, Marie rushed towards the stairs and poked her head around the corner so that she could see Logan who was standing on the top step. He was still dressed in the jeans and rugby shirt he’d been wearing that morning and his hair was rumpled from sleep. To Marie, he had never looked more gorgeous even with the sharp contrast of the white sling against the black shirt.
Logan quirked a smile when he figured out that Marie wasn’t going to reveal anything more than her head. “Do I want to know what you’re doing, darlin’?”
Marie nodded her head vigorously, a huge smile on her face. “It’s nothin’ bad. Ah promise. Now shut her eyes so that Ah can go up there. The food’s gettin’ cold.”
Logan looked a little apprehensive, but shut his eyes. Marie waited a few seconds before slipping around the corner and rushed up the stairs as fast as she could with the long skirt swishing around her legs. She lightly placed a hand on Logan’s left arm to let him know that she was there and slowly began guiding him down the stairs.
“Now, when we get downstairs, ya still can’t peak,” Marie told him as she slid an arm around Logan’s waist. “In fact, Ah’m gonna take ya right inta the bathroom so that ya can do whatever bathroom stuff ya need t’ while I get everything ready. Ya woke up quicker than Ah thought ya would so Ah’m not completely done.”
“Does this mean I don’t get a nice bubble bath like I gave you after....” Logan left the sentence unfinished, his body tensing noticeably.
Marie raised his left hand to her lips and brushed a kiss against the back of it. “Sorry, sugah, but no bubble bath.... At least not right now. That’ll come later tonight. As of now, the bathroom looks very bathroom-ish.”
Logan chuckled quietly and squeezed her hand. “As long as I eventually get a bubble bath with you.”
“Ya will,” Marie promised him. “Yer just gonna hafta be a bit patient. Ah know how difficult that is fer ya, but yer just gonna hafta wait..... Okay, this is the last step.”
“Cute, Marie. Real cute,” Logan deadpanned as the descended the last step.
Marie stood up on tiptoe and brushed a kiss against Logan’s cheek. “Ah thought so. Now we’ll just steer ya inta the bathroom an’ Ah can finish up. An’ no peekin’! Ah want this t’ be a surprise, Logan, so yer not allowed t’ open that door till Ah say so.”
“Are you sure I can’t know what’s going on, Marie?” Logan asked as she led him towards the bathroom. “The last time you started acting like this, you told me you were pregnant.”
Marie opened the bathroom door and flicked on the lights. “Sorry, Logan, but Ah’m not pregnant. Alexandra’s not even two weeks old yet. ‘Sides that, we haven’t even had sex fer about three weeks. So Ah can safely say there’s no baby.... Unless, o’ course, ya’ve got magical sperm that can impregnate with a thought. An’ Ah’m gonna go now an’ leave ya t’ yer bathroom stuff.”
With that, Marie quickly darted out of the bathroom and shut the door behind her. At that moment, Marie felt like she was on one of her and Jubilee’s famous caffeine rushes. After arranging the food to her standards, Marie set the plates on a tray and brought it into the living room. Next she brought in a two liter bottle of Pepsi-- Logan’s medication forbid alcohol --and a pair of champagne glasses.
“Can I come out yet?” Logan called from the bathroom.
“Just a second!” Marie shouted back at him as she placed a CD in the stereo. None of Logan’s 70’s rock or her Oldies. Instead, Marie put on the Braveheart soundtrack that she liked to listen to when she wanted to relax. And that was what that night was about.
Relaxing.
After checking everything one final time, Marie ran back to the bathroom where Logan was waiting for her. Pressing herself up against the door, Marie slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open just enough to stick her head in. Inside, Logan was standing with his butt leaning against the sink to help support himself.
“Am I going to get to see more than just your head tonight?” Logan asked with a smirk.
“Yeah, but first ya’ve gotta shut yer eyes again,” Marie wheedled, pouting slightly when Logan rolled his eyes. “Ah just gotta fix one teen tiny thing then everythin’ will be perfect.”
“You’re weird,” Logan told her as he shut his eyes.
As soon as his eyes were closed, Marie slipped into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She stepped up to Logan and carefully removed his sling so as not to jostle his arm.
“What are you doing?” Logan asked, turning his head in the direction he assumed she was standing.
“Well Ah’m gonna take yer shirt off seein’ as how it doesn’t fit the dress code o’ the evenin’,” Marie informed him as she placed the sling next to her on the back of the toilet. She then slipped her left hand under the hem of his shirt and slid it up his chest towards his left shoulder so that she could help him ease his arm out of the sleeve.
Logan cocked an eyebrow at that comment. “Oh really? Does this mean that you’re topless, too?”
Marie slapped his shoulder lightly from under his shirt. “Ah’m sorry t’ break it t’ ya, but Ah’m fully dressed.”
“Then why am I getting undressed?” Logan inquired, moving his arm as she directed so that he could pull it completely out of the sleeve.
“Because ya are,” Marie giggled as she maneuvered the shirt over his head. “Now quit askin’ all these questions an’ let me get yer shirt off.”
A few moments later the shirt was lying in the pile of discarded clothes made by Marie’s earlier attire. Leaving the sling where it was and ordering Logan to behave himself and not move his arm too much, Marie guided him out of the bathroom, eyes still closed, and then towards the living room.
Slipping behind him, Marie wrapped her arms around his waist and peeked her head up over his shoulder. “Okay, ya can open yer eyes now.”
“It’s about time,” Logan teased as he did as instructed. He was silent for a few seconds and then, “Wow.”
“Ya like?” Marie murmured, pressing a kiss to the back of his left shoulder.
Logan turned his head so that he could see her face and Marie was pleased to see the huge grin spread across his lips. “I like. And I love you,” Logan said softly, turning around and gathering Marie up in his arms.
Marie pressed a kiss in the center of his chest then turned her face up towards his. “Ah’m glad ya like it. Now Ah suggest we get eatin’ ‘fore the pizza starts t’ get cold.”
It was only when she pulled back to sit down at their makeshift picnic that Logan was able to see what she was wearing. He reached a hand out and lightly trailed his fingers along the thin strap that held the dress up.
“I remember this dress very well,” Logan whispered as his fingers continued their journey downwards along the curve of her breast. “That was a very good night.”
Marie grabbed hold of Logan’s wandering hand and slowly lowered herself down onto the blanket, pulling him down with her. “This will be a very good night, too. Nothin’ but you, me, some pizza, a bottle o’ Pepsi an’ firelight.”
Marie was soon to discover that not only did the night appear rejuvenating for Logan, but for her as well. She was blissfully content as she and Logan fed each other pieces of pizza and took sips from the champagne glasses of Pepsi. When she had first thought up the idea, Marie had been tempted to get Chinese since it seemed to fit the candlelight picnic setting better. However, she quickly changed her mind because she wasn’t attempting to seduce Logan. This night was more about comfort than anything else so Marie went with pizza since it was both her and Logan’s favourite food.
“Have I ever told you how completely amazing you are?” Logan mumbled sleepily as they two of them lay curled up in blankets in front of the fire.
Marie grinned and pressed a soft, open-mouthed kiss against the side of his throat. “It never hurts t’ hear it, sugah.”
In the background, music was still playing softly and Marie had a feeling that it would continue to do so all night since neither she nor Logan was in the mood to get up. After their dinner, Marie had then taken Logan into the bathroom where the two of them enjoyed a long, luxurious soak in the tub.
Rather than having a bubble bath as Logan had been expecting, Marie had instead scented the water with lavender oil that would relax their senses. Marie had sat reclined with Logan lying comfortably in her arms. While Logan really only had access to her legs and arms, Marie had enjoyed full access to Logan’s body with the exception of his right shoulder which they were both careful to keep out of the water.
Logan was in the process of placing lazy kisses along her throat and jaw when Marie’s right hand, which had been tracing patterns on his stomach, slowly made its way further down his body to encircle his erection. Logan had moaned at the initial contact and lifted his left hand from its position on her leg up to the back of her head, pulling her face towards her so that he could capture her lips in a searing kiss. Keeping her left hand on his stomach to steady him, Marie continued to gently stroke his shaft with her right hand. As Logan’s hips began to thrust jerkily into her hand, the two began exploring each other’s faces and throats with their lips and tongues.
“Marie!” Logan gasped, arching his hips up sharply as he neared release.
“That’s it, Logan. Come fer me,” Marie murmured in his ear as she pressed a kiss against his temple.
A few more quick thrusts and Marie felt Logan’s entire body go limp in her arms as he climaxed. Marie continued to pump him until he softened then once again trailed her hand back up to his stomach.
“What say we get out an’ go lay in front o’ the fire?” Marie whispered in his ear as she raised her left hand to cup his cheek.
Logan had only moaned, turning his head and pressing a kiss against her palm.
The fireplace had been their final destination. As she had expected, the lavender scented water had mad them both feel very serene and languid. Together, they lay cocooned in a pocket of warmth provided by the mountain of comforters that surrounded them from both above and below. They dozed in and out for several hours, touching and kissing each other softly whenever they were awake.
“This doesn’t feel real,” Logan murmured against her cheek as Marie stroked him to climax a second time.
Feeling him near the end and not wanting him to make a mess all over the comforters that would serve as their bed for the night, Marie eased herself down his body to wrap her lips around him. All that it took was the feel of her warm mouth surrounding him for Logan to come a second time. Having already been brought to climax twice by Logan’s talented fingers, Marie felt as though her body was humming as she slowly made her way up to Logan’s mouth.
When she pulled back a few minutes later, Marie lovingly smoothing Logan’s damp hair away from his face. “This is very real, Logan,” she whispered, brushing a kiss against his forehead. “More real than anythin’ Ah’ve felt in a long time.”
It was roughly eleven o’clock when Marie gave Logan the two pills that would knock him out for the rest of the night. Having planned their eventually retreat to the mattress of comforters, Marie had placed the container of pills, along with a glass of water, behind the same statue that Logan had hidden her wedding ring the night he proposed to her. The candles had all been blown out hours ago which left only the fire to light the living room.
“Nothin’ will ever change how much Ah love ya,” Marie said softly before leaning over to press a tender kiss against his lips.
Logan returned the kiss eagerly, arching his neck and slipping a hand behind her head to pull her face closer. Both of them were completely out of breath when the separated a few minutes later and, judging by his half-lidded expression, Logan was on the verge of sleep. Even though it was an effort for him to keep his eyes open, Logan managed to impart one final message before the pills finally tugged him down into sleep.
“Even if I lost my memory again, I would never forget how much I love you.”
With that, Logan fell asleep. Marie stayed awake for a little while longer, staring down at Logan’s face as he slept and thanking whatever higher powers were listening for bringing him into her life.