Marie settled in after a month or two, the lessons weren't as hard as she'd thought, the people were a little weird but then what could she expect from a school of mutants? Everyone was used to the new arrivals that happened through out the year, some staying like her
others passing through on the way to somewhere else.

She'd been a little lonely at first after Logan had left; Bobby had tried to make her feel special, trying to get close to her. However, the tags around her neck would gain weight as if they were turning into lead pulling her down to the ground everytime Bobby got close to her. She could see he wanted her, hell she could smell it all over
him, the hormone scent that upped every single time she entered the room. Reaching into the messed up thing that passed for her brain, she could sense the information from Logan and Magneto. They both had told her, in no uncertain terms, that this was a `bad thing', the whole hormonal driven boy thing was definitely something to avoid. So she had, she'd withdrawn a little, pulling herself inward ever so slowly until she spent most of the day alone apart from her lessons.

Even her room was a single now, she'd moved into Logan's old one, the thought of her bumping into someone in the dark when she was half asleep had filled her with terror. Storm had suggested that she move into Logan's old room, knowing she was feeling the loss of the one person she knew, more than anyone here really knew or wanted to see.

She'd dealt with it in odd ways, she found herself going outside in the middle of the night, just to look at the stars wheeling overhead. The glow from New York obscuring most of them but the brightest were still visible to her sight, now that was something else she'd retained along with Logan's sense of smell. It was as if her entire
body had had an upgrade, her hearing wasn't as acute, but her nose and her sight were sharper. She'd found a towel Logan had used and it still smelled of him, it was under the pillow helping her to relax and sleep.

Marie didn't hold any illusions about how Logan felt about her, she knew he cared about her but he didn't love her like everyone else thought he did. She was his responsibility, he'd made a promise and he'd keep it, the tags hanging around her neck were testament to that. He'd told her he'd be back and he would be but he'd be coming home for more than the pieces of metal hanging at her throat. The things she'd taken from him when he'd held her on top of Lady Liberty were still jumbled, she'd tried to sort them out in her own way but it had just caused her more headaches.

Magneto had been easy to sort, he wanted power and the rest of the world to recognise him for the great mutant he was, and he wanted them to fear him. It was almost sad when she looked through his memories and found the uniform he'd based his own on, she wondered if he'd ever given it much thought. It looked like an SS uniform to her
without the insignia, even down to the black fedora, history repeating itself. History had been fun with him in her head, she'd managed to give an accurate account of the clearing of the Warsaw Ghetto before someone had pointed out to her that maybe she should pick a different subject to study.

It wasn't as if she could control it either, things would just pop up, like the bike incident, she'd been passing the garage where Scott was building a new bike for himself. He'd walked away for a moment when she'd broken out of her little crowd of study buddies and just
replaced a piece of the machine. Scott had been about to ask her what she was doing when she'd just turned looked him in the eye and said, `Scooter if you put that pansy ass thing on there you'll lose torque before the engine even gets warm.' Scott had just looked at her with confusion until her gaze had cleared and her own shock had
come through. She'd apologised, Scott had been good about it and she could see that she'd freaked him a little, thing was she'd been right.


Having two men in her head was a bonus and a curse, especially when it came to gym; Logan in her head was all over the sight of naked female flesh. She'd even growled a few times before she knew how to keep a lid on it, Magneto was no better although he tended to agree
with her own hormones. Making her wonder what it'd feel like to have Peiter's dick buried deep inside her and her own hand on her own erection, although that was where their separate minds diverged. So the entire gym thing was cancelled, she trained alone so she could concentrate and wear as little as she could without worrying about
killing anyone. Scott had made her a training regime to follow and she did it every other day, filling her time with the study and training she didn't feel all that alone until the letter arrived.

The postmark should have given her a clue, Mississippi; her hands had shaken while she'd opened the letter alone in her room. The faded blue flower that had fallen out of the pages coming from the garden she'd left behind over a year ago. Her aunt had written to her, telling her of the break up between her mother and father, how she'd gone to live there with her mom. She'd found the letter from Xavier's Institute and she'd replied to both her and Xavier.
Marie had put the letter down half –finished her heart pulling apart at the seams, knowing she'd never be able to go home now. It killed all hope she'd ever had of trying to see them later, when she was more together.
Rolling up on the bed she'd pulled the towel out from it's hiding place and just felt herself break apart, she felt alone, entirely alone, a freak of freaks in a world where they killed what didn't fit. She withdrew a little more over the next few weeks and this time no one noticed.

**********************************************************

He'd just rolled over when he felt the tickle on the back of his skull, the same as before when Xavier had looked inside his skull before he'd gone. The leggy blond in his bed was still sleeping and he didn't feel like moving her out of it just yet, part of him was upto a repeat of last night. He just hoped she was.

The insistent tickle didn't stop and it forced him to concentrate on it, a request in his head, the number of the place he was in. Turning over he looked at the phone by the bed, the number on a piece of battered paper by the side of it. Half a minute later the thing rang,
hefting the receiver he heard the voice of Jean on the other end, "Logan?" Her tone was wrong, there was something wrong back there, a nasty thought occurred to him and he voiced it immediately.

"What's happened to her?" He didn't add, `what did you do to her?' even though when he'd left he'd seen her fear at him leaving her behind. She'd wanted to go with him, feeling safer where he was but he hadn't needed the extra baggage to be honest. Where he was going it wasn't safe for her and he needed her to be safe, it was important
to him but what if he'd left her somewhere she wasn't safe?

Jean's voice was tired but her tone was friendly as if she was trying to deal with a difficult patient, "It's about Rogue." The silence from his end didn't make things easier for her and he was determined to make it as difficult as possible for her especially if Marie was
hurt.
"She's run again. We thought she'd head north, you know trying to follow you, Scott and Bobby went after her but they couldn't find her. We think she's using a different name and way of travelling, staying away from large groups of people. Charles has tried looking for her but we've had no luck, we were…"

Logan interrupted her.
"What happened?" The phone was silent and he could hear Jean breathing knowing she was trying to get her story straight, "JEAN! What happened to her, what did you fucks do to her!" Rage filled him as he stood up tearing the cover off the bed revealing the naked body of the blond, who was still managing to sleep through his outburst.
Suddenly disgusted with the body laid on the bed he snatched the phone and took it into the bathroom, he could concentrate there without his dick getting in the way.

"She had a letter from home Logan, we didn't do anything to her. She just left a while after that." The words she used weren't right and Logan pulled her on them.
"What do you mean `a while after'? Don't you know when she left?!"
He could feel himself getting wound up, he'd fucked up, he'd left her with people he'd thought would be able to help her, cope with her mutation and help her get through it. Now it looked like they didn't even know where the hell she was most of the time.
"Logan she kept to herself most of the time and we thought because of the skin issue she should be by herself instead in a dorm."

The words sank into his stomach as he realised exactly what he'd left her with, the look of good-natured nastiness on their faces as they'd explained to her just how dangerous she was. How she had to be careful not to be too near anyone just in case, Jean interrupted his thoughts, "She was staying in your old room." The tone was one of disapproval and dripped of unknown conversations between her and Marie. There was no point trying to talk to Jean right now, he just wanted to rip the fuck out of something. It was his fault she'd run he'd left her alone there, he'd thought it through weighed the risks he was supposed to be the adult here. He'd fucked up big style, Jean was talking again and he wasn't really listening until he heard the ice-kids name mentioned in the same sentence as Marie's.

"What?"
"I said Bobby was concerned for her when she stopped coming down to dinner but she liked to eat in the kitchen she said. Least chance of someone bumping into her while she was eating." Logan listened as Jean told him her routine, lessons, then gym, eating alone and studying, usually in her room. It was only after three days that
anyone really noticed she was gone, he could hear the plastic of the receiver creak when Jean told him that.

"We don't know where she's headed, we thought you might have a clue We've already been to her old home, the response we got wasn't positive." There was something else she hadn't said underlying her even tone, something had gone on there but he didn't have the patience to try an find out about it now. He had an idea of how she
might be travelling but he wasn't going to tell them anything, he didn't even answer Jean, he just put the phone down on the sticky vinyl floor.

A few minutes later, the itch was back and he just growled loudly until the itch went away, his anger enough to show Xavier he wasn't in the mood to be contacted.
It took him ten minutes to be packed and gone, leaving the blond sleeping in the motel bed he'd paid for. The stars were out and he stopped to look up at them shining down on him, a wish on his lips as he dropped his head to start the bike, `God, please let her be safe.'
Knowing from experience that it was unlikely, especially if she was using the way he thought she would. He'd done it himself more than once and it was no way for a lone girl to go cross-country.

**********************************************************

She'd gotten herself wedged in, a knife in her left hand hidden under her coat just in case. The cattle carts weren't guarded overnight and the seals were easily broken and redone, she'd managed to get out of New York on a paper recycling pod. Hiding under the cardboard had
kept her warm as it had travelled south, she'd just hopped onto the cattle truck when it started moving. Knowing she'd have to be quick or she'd be dog food, the train was headed for Richmond, then Greensboro.

Quickly getting herself settled in, the cattle not giving
her any trouble as she wedged herself between their feed bags and hay. The soft flatulent warmth lulling her to sleep, as the train pulled out, she was going home, there was nothing else left for her to do. She needed to see her mom, to find out if she wanted to see her to know her, Logan's memories had provided the way of getting
there. All she had to do was find the right freight train and she'd get home, going south was a good bet for now and she let the memory of other cattle carts fill her mind as she tried to sleep. Magneto's own fond memories of being held by his mother, rocked to sleep by the
movement of the train, not knowing what was waiting for him at the end of the journey, only enjoying the touch of his mother.

**********************************************************

He'd been in Meridian for two weeks, she'd told him where she'd come from but not where she'd lived. So he'd just let himself wander the streets, searching for a clue, always taking in the freight yard every night just in case. He'd gotten a room in a low rent block near the railyard, knowing she'd come home, his instincts were telling him this was the way she'd come.

He was rewarded on his third week of waiting; a dishevelled figure was climbing over the fence. Her coat instantly recognisable to him as was her scent, mixed though it was with the smell of diesel, animals and dirt. He was down the steps and out before she'd finished coming down the fence, standing across the road from her he waited for her to see him. She straightened up and stopped, sensing something she turned and saw him, her eyes went wide as he moved over the quiet street toward her. Watching her, as she couldn't decide what to do, where to go until he wrapped himself around her, letting out the breath he hadn't realised he was holding in. When her arms wrapped around him finally he felt her shudder with relief, she was thinner than he remembered. Probably stealing as she went, a person without money or food had to do what they had to to survive. Her scent was full of emotion as he held her, just rocking back and forth with her in his grip knowing it was enough for now. They'd talk later but for now, she needed someone to hold onto.

He took her back into his small apartment, the area well known for people not to ask questions of what they saw just to accept it. He shuffled her indoors watching as she just stood there, keeping a few feet distance between her and him. The very act of being in such a small place with him making her nervous, seeing her eyes dart to the
small bathroom and kitchen trying to find some space she could hole up in. "Marie? I'm not going to hurt you, you know that." Her gaze rested on his for a moment and he saw her relax a little.
"Ah know. It's just been a while since anyone's been this close to me." She moved to the small sofa and perched on the end, trying to keep the dirt from marking the pale cream fabric. Logan watched her move, she was tired, thin and worn, she wasn't the same kid he'd left behind at Xaviers, something had died in her and he blamed himself
for it.

Taking a spot on the bed directly across from her he looked at her face, her eyes were ringed darkly and she looked tired. Her whole body was tense even her jaw was clenched tight, she was beat and he didn't know how she'd managed to get here intact. Sighing he just pulled her up off the couch and stripped her coat from her; she was
about to protest when he spoke, his tone annoyed. "It stinks Marie and I'm not spending time in a room with it if possible."
She was quiet after that watching him bundle the coat up and throw it in the tub in the bathroom, "We'll wash it tomorrow." He looked at the rest of her clothes, they were just as bad, going over to the bed he reached underneath and pulled out his own duffel. Searching through he pulled out a set of long johns and a red plaid shirt, "Here, go get a shower. I'll order some food. You still like pizza?" She just blinked and nodded to him as she shuffled to the bathroom, listening to the door lock click into place. The sound worrying him for some reason, he kept his eye on the door as he ordered.

The feeling of panic rising as he put the phone down, the sound of water running was the only thing he heard. No breathing, no slide of soap on skin or padding of wet feet on the bath bottom, smashing the lock open the scent of blood met his nose. Rich and deep, the red stream from her open arm mingling with the flow of the warm water, the small knife laid on the green of her coat. It's fabric drenched with water and blood, swearing Logan grabbed her using the coat as a shield. Lifting her head to see if she was still there, her eyes were rolling back
into her head and if he didn't act fast he'd lose her. Resting on the floor next to the bath he touched her cheek with his bare palm, the link roared open. Pain bloomed up his nerves as she took his healing from him, the edges of his vision clouding to grey as her eyes rolled back down. Their deep brown fired with something like anger, grinning as the world turned black he felt himself slip to the floor. The last thought on his mind was that he'd brought her home, he'd caught her again and this time he wasn't going to give her away.


Marie waited until Logan's breathing had steadied before moving him; she'd finished showering first keeping one eye on him. Her gaze going to the knife she'd used and half considering using it again until she'd remembered that, his mutation would stay with her for a day at least. So she had no out that way, if she ran he'd find her and drag her back she `knew' that without a shadow of a doubt. The new Logan in her head was pissed, royally pissed at Xavier and the rest of them and even a little at her for not talking to him. She'd always been honest with him from the start and he was upset as to why she felt uncomfortable with him now. He didn't know the changes she'd allowed herself to undergo the gentle gradual withdrawal into herself, the calmness it had given her until the letter had come.

Then it had opened the whole complex issue she hadn't been ready to deal with, and being alone she had no one she could have turned to. So she'd run, the decision coming over the lonely days and finally weeks, seeing that no one really noticed her anymore, letting her have her space, getting on with their own lives and so she'd slipped away.

Putting Logan on the bed wasn't as easy as it looked so she dragged the covers off and piled them up under his side and rolled him onto the pile. She curled up on the sofa dressed in the shirt and long johns, her bare feet tucked under. Watching him breathing, the slow rise and fall of his chest, like the sea, the sound comforting to her as she felt sleep approaching. Too tired and worn Marie let her head hit the arm of the sofa, she'd nap a while check on Logan in a little bit and she'd stay awake. He'd want to talk to her when he woke up, the Logan in her head was insisting on it and she wasn't going to get him even more riled than he would be already. Eyelids dropping Marie closed her eyes, feeling safe and wanted for the first time in months.

**********************************************************

He was on the floor, snapping awake he looked at the dark room, he could hear Marie breathing, seeing her body curled up on the sofa. Going over to the lamp he switched it on, the light casting everything in a soft warmth. The knock on the door startled him until he smelt the familiar smell of pizza wafting through the door, going
over he checked through the small spy hole first. Satisfied he paid for the pizza closing the door and bolting it shut, she wasn't going to bolt on him tonight, even if he had to hold her while she slept. She wasn't stable and she'd proved that in the bathroom earlier,
putting the food in the kitchen he thought about her actions. She wasn't like that, or at least she hadn't seemed like that, had he gotten it wrong, was she really that fragile or had it been staying with the X-geeks that had done this to her?

Whatever it was he still felt he was to blame for most of it, if he hadn't left her she wouldn't have been treated the way she had been, like a pariah. Dishing out the hot food he took their plates back into the room, seeing her nose finally get the scent of melted cheese and meat. Seeing her move awkwardly as he came closer, "Here, eat."
He didn't say anything else just yet, he was just going to let her start talking, she'd taken from him and as such, she'd know what he wanted to hear from her. Like why had she tried to kill herself when he was in the next room and if she'd asked him he'd have done it a lot faster and less painfully too. His eyes met hers and she blushed a little as she accepted the plate from his hand careful not to touch his skin.

Eating in silence, they demolished the entire 15" pizza, Marie looking brighter and more herself the more she ate. Pleased to see her appetite had returned Logan waited for her to speak to him, he knew she'd have a new version of him in her head. Knew what he wanted to hear from her and he didn't have to wait long, "Ah'm sorry."

Quirking an eyebrow he just let her continue as he kept his seat on the end of the now bare bed. "Ah didn't want them to drag you away from your search, ah thought they wouldn't know ah'd gone." She curled her arms around her knees trying to make herself as small as possible, she was trying to blame herself for his lack of care, he'd
stop that right now.
"They don't know I'm here and as far as this concerns you, it's none of their god damned business." His tone was flat and strong, her eyes widened a little as she heard him answer her, "As far as they're concerned I'm still looking for you and have been for nearly a month." He watched the information enter her watching and scenting
her changes as she realised that they'd already given up looking for her.

"Ah see." It confirmed what she'd felt when Logan had left her there she didn't fit, never had. When Jean had talked to her about her mutation and the risks it placed on the other residents she'd known then that no matter what the people at Xaviers said it would always make her feel an outsider there. Tears sprung even though she'd known they really didn't care about her; it had been a nice dream though for a while, that was until she'd been given the guestroom Logan had stayed in.
The way it had been suggested had replayed in her head all the way down here, the way Storm had made it sound so good for her. That she'd be close to Logan still, that she'd feel more at home there, even though it had been the place she'd hurt him. It had been her refuge for a while until the loneliness had entrenched itself in her heart, when the very sight of the bed reminded her of the night she'd come to help him only to end up nearly killing him.
She'd slept on the floor her last week there; she couldn't bear to sleep in the same bed as he had. She'd been alienated from him as well as everyone else, Logan's voice in her head had faded in time until the doubts and insecurities had whispered the loudest. That even he hadn't cared for her, that he'd saved her because it had been the only way to stop Magneto.

Jean hadn't helped her thoughts either she'd taken her aside to `talk' to her about Logan, about her little mannerisms that she'd adopted from him. Her looks at the other girls had been noticed and commented on by others, she'd thought she'd kept herself under control. Thing was was the thought that Jean was trying to hit on her in someway, as if she was trying to get her to open up the small store of Logan she'd had in her head. Trying to get her to reveal it so she could find out if he really was interested in her or if it was just a knee-jerk reaction to her being an attractive woman.

Everything Marie felt she wasn't, Jean would look at her after a rough night of nightmares and know she was looking inside her head. The familiar tickle of her mind was something she'd had to force out of her head more than once, feeling it searching through her memories. The single comfort she'd had of feeling Logan with her when
she'd awoken sick to her stomach and retching, him apologising and trying to comfort her had been stripped away by Jean.
She'd been thinking about the Logan in her head comforting her when she'd heard the derisive snort leave her perfect nose. Turning round to see Jean trying to hide a smile as she'd spoken to her, telling her she was projecting her thoughts and did she really think Logan would care about something he knew nothing about. She'd closed that part of Logan off in her mind after that and had withdrawn further.


Logan could sense her fear of being here with him, she was frightened of getting it wrong, of annoying him and making him even more upset. It was as if she didn't know him or he hadn't risked everything he'd had to bring her back from the dead. Whatever they'd done to her had been progressive and on purpose an for that he'd be going to visit Westchester after Marie was settled and have a few `discussions' with the residents. His growl slipped out and he saw Marie twitch nervously, he cleared his throat and moved off the end of the bed toward her. She tried to dig into the back of the sofa as the tears slipped free of her control, "Logan ah'm sorry, ah never meant to
hurt you, or drag you here. Ah know you want to be somewhere else, you don't want to be dragging around a kid."

Her head was lowered and he held in the growl he wanted to shout out, diverting himself he grabbed his duffel and threw on a shirt, his gloves as well. Standing over her he pulled her off the sofa, wrapping himself around her, feeling her struggle for a moment trying to get free. "Stop Marie, I'm not gonna hurt ya. Tell me what happened; tell me what they did to ya. I'm not mad at you, it's them I want to carve into." Her arms slowly wound round him and held onto him like he was the last
standing piece of life in the world. Her tears were soaking into his shirt and he could smell the relief coming from her, as he gently rocked back and forth with her like he'd done in her head. Soothing her until she was ready to face the reasons why she'd run and why she
was here, he wasn't the most patient of people but for Marie he'd wait.

It took ten minutes of holding her until she was capable of stringing a full sentence together, his shirt took most of the tears but his temper still wasn't settled. It wouldn't be until he got to the bottom of what had happened since he'd left nearly nine months ago.

He pulled her into the blankets and the covers that were still on the floor, wrapping her up first and holding her through the warmth. "Why are ya here Logan?"
He had to think about it for a second before giving her the truth.
"You need me." It was the truth plain and simple, she'd needed him there and he'd been chasing ghosts for the first three months and drifted for the rest of it. Pissed off at the world for not giving him what he wanted, being a child about it instead of going back and seeing how she was.
She moved a little to look at his face, "How long have you been here?" inside she knew he'd remembered what she'd told him about her home. The times she'd been happy before things had gone wrong and she'd skipped town with only fifty dollars and a few pieces of jewellery stolen from her mother.
"I told you, I've been here a while waiting for you. I knew you'd come this way so I just waited."
"You knew huh?"
"Yup."

She was silent for a while as her mind filled in the blanks for herself, looking around the small apartment she could see the signs of occupation. He'd been here a while, a couple of weeks at least if the amount of wear on the carpet near the window was any judge. She knew he was a pacer, if there was something on his mind he'd stick
near the place he needed to look at and wait. Changing position every hour almost on the hour, she'd done it herself over the months until his presence had faded inside her mind until he was just a set of habits she'd clung onto. He'd been waiting for her to arrive and he'd
known just how she'd come too, "You knew I'd be coming by train?"
Logan nodded and his gaze went outside his arm hugging her to him.
"I knew it when I left, after they'd told me they couldn't find you. Best place to get lost is in a place filled with other minds, cattle may be stupid but there's more than one. Easy to hide in and warm."

He felt her relax a little more into his grip on her, her breathing settling down as she fought sleep. He had some news though, something she had to hear just in case she wanted to go home, he didn't want her walking into something unprepared. "Marie?" Her face surfaced out of the calm warmth and fug it had settled into.
"Hhhmm?"
"There's something you should know, Xavier sent someone here to find you. They went to your home." The words made her tense and her eyes go wide in something between anger and fear.
"They…they went…" her voice was shaking her scent turned to terror and she withdrew again.

**********************************************************

The letter that was now paper mache in her pocket of her green coat came back to haunt her, the words on the paper burning into heart. Her mother had found God, believing in the words of the religious right, that she had been punished in the eyes of God. Her child was a demon and should have no rights in the kingdom of heaven or on earth, her aunt had tried to convince her that she was wrong. That the words she was hearing from the preachers were against the teachings of Christ, that he taught tolerance and love not hatred and anger. But her mother had lost everything and it had seemed that they had all
the answers and prayers, she'd found a new family in their thoughts and embrace.

Her aunt had asked her to come home, to show her that she really wasn't a monster that she was still her daughter, still human. She had nothing left at Xaviers, no one would miss her and she knew the whole place would feel more relaxed without her there. Logan was following his own past, trying to piece together whatever he had left
and she'd known she couldn't be a part of that either. So she'd gone, hoping against everything else telling her that she could find something to hold onto back home, that there was part of her life that wanted her still.

When she'd seen Logan she'd thought they'd sent him to bring her home, to find her and hand her over to the fake smile of Jean and the well meaning talks from Xavier. She couldn't let him do it, not after she'd taken all the risks to get here, the nights of hopping trains of waiting for the right connections under platforms. Listening to the conversations of people and crying herself to sleep when the pain of loneliness ate too deep into her, knowing she had to make it home.
Yet, when she'd seen him she'd hoped it had been a dream that he wasn't real that she'd made him appear out of her memories. His touch on her had solidified everything, his hands his warmth as he'd held her, his scent telling her he was real. An if he was real then they'd found her and she'd be made to go back to Westchester, she belonged
to Xavier now, she had no place else to be, nowhere else wanted her.

Listening to the words Logan had told her, that they'd been to her home before she had, she could almost see the porch and the way Scott and Jean would've handled it. Being polite but firm asking about her and finding her not there, her mother answering the door and her face souring as she realised what they were and who they were. It shattered her brittle insides, she'd kept the hope of being the first to see her mother alive, but they'd ruined that as well.
She knew what Jean was like when she came upon people that she thought of as bigots; she'd be nasty, manipulative and cruel. Scott would just look superior, backing up his wife, trying to look the better of the two, his own silence telling the recipient that he was the alternative to discussion. The threat implied by his silence and demeanour, making Logan look soft by comparison. If they'd been there she couldn't go home, not now, it had been worthless, the entire thing had been a waste of time. No matter where she went they'd reach out and touch her life, staining it in someway and making it impossible for her.

She wanted to die, her last hope gone she clutched at the arm wrapped around her, feeling the solid muscle and knowing the death it held within. "Logan."
"Yeah kid?" She lifted her face to see his looking at her and she knew he could sense what she was going to ask him, his eyes grew hard and he shook his head. "No. We go see first, I'm not going to let this stop you. You've come this far and I'll be coming with you. You're not alone Marie, not anymore."
His eyes softened as he said it, sensing his own guilt at her state she let him make the decision. He deserved that much from her, after all, he'd saved her again when he didn't have to, she could feel him inside telling her she was safe now. She had nothing to worry about he wasn't going to leave her behind, she was his and he'd take care of her. The shattered parts of her ego were wrapped around that thought, that maybe Logan was the only person who gave a damn about her. The one person who actually cared about who she was and how she felt, a small chuckle left her mouth as she thought about the irony. Wolverine, the bad-ass king of the cage worried about a girl who'd he'd only known for a few days but had risked his life to save four times now. Settling into that meagre warmth she fell asleep, her body wrapped up safely in a blanket her head resting on his shoulder listening to his heartbeat as she fell away into darkness.

**********************************************************

She slept well but he didn't, he kept going over what her reaction to him had been, as if she'd expected him to just hand her back over to Xavier. Her fear of him and her desperate attempt at freedom had closed every avenue concerning them for him. If she thought dying was a better option then she'd never be going near them again, he just wondered exactly what could have happened to her for that to be her response.

Angry his mind went through the information Jean had given him over the phone, realising it wasn't enough he had to know. Glancing at the clock, he read the dial, 11.30pm, that would be 10.30 at Westchester, there'd be a good chance that someone would still be up. Pulling over the phone he dialled the number on the back of his wallet, he'd written it there just in case. He wasn't going to leave himself without a back up plan and Chuck had told him he'd be welcome back. The phone rang three times before it was picked up; the cheery voice on the end of the line sounded a little drunk, "Yes titanic engine rooms how can I help you?" The sound of laughter rankled him and he moved the phone to his other ear, leaving Marie sleeping on his thigh his gloved hand resting in her hair.

"Is Jean there?" The noise rose and the voice shouted out for Jean, the shouts of the party were grating on him further and he almost put the phone down. The voice returned and he could almost hear the bottle being emptied by the side of the receiver.
"I'm afraid we don't have a Jean here at the moment but we do have a Kitty, a Andrea, a Jubilee and a very drunk Annabel." His patience snapped.
"Listen you little fucker, get Cyclops or fucking Jean on this line right now and I might forget your voice when I finally get round to coming home!" The silence on the other end was almost palpable and he could hear the smash of glass on the floor on the other end.

"Wolverine?" The voice was timid and suddenly the shouting stopped in the room behind the voice as the word settled out across the room.
"Fucking `A – star', well done! Now where are they?!" The voice trembled on the other end of the line, swallowing quickly.
"Erm, they went out on a rescue mission, there's no one here except the older students. Even the Professor went with them." Logan grunted, if he'd gone with them, then it must have been important.
"Get this number down and tell them I want someone to ring me as soon as they get back, its IMPORTANT." He was about to give him the number when he heard someone call the listeners name, `Who is it Bobby? Is it the Professor?' Logan seethed as he finally put the voice and face together. Blond hair, blue eyes, that vacant middle class stare and the preppy attitude, growling he ground out his words.
"You're Bobby?" The voice on the other end was silent but he could hear the heartbeat increase, "If I find out you hurt her in anyway bub I'll be coming back to visit you. Personally, privately." He heard the breathing on the other end cease, "You still there kid?"
The voice answered shaky and now very sober.
"Yes sir, I'm still here."
"Good, now get this number down," he rattled off the number of his phone making Bobby repeat it three times to be sure he had it right. "You personally stay up until they get back and I want your voice to be the first one I hear when this phone rings. Understand me, boy?" He emphasised `boy' and his tone was understood, just
before he put the phone down Bobby spoke up, his voice a little stronger, a little eager.
"Did you find her, have you found Rogue?" Logan rested his hand on her head wondering what she'd think if she heard him saying what he was about to say.
"Why? It's not as if you kept looking, it's none of your business if I have or I haven't." He could hear the start of an argument behind Bobby, someone was having trouble with the ending of the party, a crash sounded out and he heard Bobby's voice shout out `Will you
please shut the fuck up! Jesus John, I'm trying to find out if Rogue's been found!' Logan dropped the receiver when he heard that and he could almost see the young man looking at the dead phone in his hand and wondering if he should dare to ring him back.

The phone didn't ring, in fact, it didn't ring until 3.40 am and it was Bobby who spoke first. "Logan? Doctor Grey is here." Listening as the phone was handed over he knew the kid was hovering nearby listening to the conversation.
"Logan?" Jean's voice was tired and she must have been working on adrenaline to even be having this conversation.
"I've found her."
The relief in her voice was almost believable if he hadn't sensed the fear from Marie when he'd held her and understood that she thought he was sending her back.
"Where are you? We'll come collect you, it wouldn't take long the jets just got back and we'll be there as quick as we can."

"Jean." His tone stopped her dead; "We're not coming back." He could hear the confusion settle through her and heard Bobby move closer to the phone.
"Why not?"
"I was hoping you'd fill me in on that one. What did you do to her Jean? What have they all done to her?" The anger in his voice was rising, trying to keep calm he stroked her streak with his fingers, feeling the brittleness of the hair.
"I don't understand, Logan what has she told you…" he'd had enough of them trying to dodge the question.
"Jean either you fucking tell me straight or by all that's holy I'll come an beat it out of you!" Jean's voice became cold and indifferent.
"It would help if I knew what you wanted to know Logan."

Settling his breathing a little he thought before he spoke again.
"Why would she rather die than come back to you?" The intake of breath was slight but he heard it, Jean recovered well but the slight shake in her voice was enough to know he'd rattled her perfect cage.
"Rogue was a little depressed, we all tried to help bring her out of it but she preferred to be alone. I even tried to give her counselling about the dreams she had…" Logan cut her off there.

"What dreams?"
"She has nightmares, they started about a week after you left. Experiments she said, sometimes an internment camp." The truth settled on his bones like lead, she was having his nightmares Magneto's too by the looks of it, a bitterness entered his voice.
"You didn't think to contact me about it?"
"No, why? Would you have come back over a few nights of bad dreams?"

Jean didn't know what she was saying; she hadn't been in one, the feelings of being opened up by knives and scalpels, the stink of burning metal and bone. The sickness it woke you with, the urge to throw up water that wasn't there, he knew his answer, he would have
come back if someone had told him. After all her first reaction to their first night under the roof of Xavier's had been to comfort him when he'd been going through one of them. He'd have come back for her because she had for him; his hand rested on her shoulder smoothing her hair.

"Jean, I want to know what you talked to her about, about me." Jean had told him Marie was taken with him when he'd woken up, and he'd known that when he'd seen her in the foyer. It was in her eyes but she hadn't asked him stay she knew his need to find something of his life was important to him and she'd understood it. She hadn't liked
it but she'd understood it and so he'd left her where he thought she was safe, they'd looked like good people it was only now he was seeing them for what they were.
"I told her the truth Logan, that you weren't interested in her. That you'd done the best you could and you'd come back one day probably with someone in tow. It was best for her to know the truth Logan, I mean you weren't exactly shy with me or Storm."

It was the truth he had to admit he wasn't interested in her like every other woman he saw. He wanted her to be safe, protected, cared for, not just a quick fuck and to be forgotten down the road. Jean's voice changed, deepening as she spoke, "Are you coming home? We've
missed you here Logan, I'm sure you'd be happy here if you'd let yourself." The words were sweet but he could taste the bile within them, Marie's head shifted a little and he saw her pale skin against the dark blue of his jeans. Jean wanted him there but she hadn't asked much about Rogue, not if she was healthy or if she was injured.

Steeling his heart Logan answered.
"Rogue."
"What?" The confusion in Jean's voice solidifying his thoughts about her.
"Rogue, I'm calling about her Jean, not about you. What did you tell her?"
Her tone was positively icy now, "I told her the truth, that you wouldn't be interested in someone you couldn't touch." Logan's hand stopped stroking her hair and his breathing slowed the silence in the room built into towering thunderheads a potential awaiting release. Slowly and very calmly Logan knew he didn't want to talk to them anymore, understanding that Jean was more concerned about herself then she ever had been about Marie.

"Goodbye Jean and tell Chuck if he ever tries to contact me again I'll make him regret ever doing it." He put the phone down and pulled the thing from the wall, there was no way he was going to ever go back there. He didn't want either of them near people who thought like that, they saw Marie and took her in as a charity case. Untouchable, unlovable but maybe a weapon to be honed and used in the
correct way, *their* way.
Like a spoiled child at Christmas with too many presents, they sifted through the mutant population giving those they thought could be useful in their fight a home. Leaving the others to fend for themselves or join up with Magneto, at last Magneto told them what they were getting into at the start. The X-geeks just let the weight of peer pressure and emotional guilt do it for them, he could just see it now. Marie having to kow-tow to the demands of the teachers, for her to have a space all around her `just to be on the safe side'.

To train alone because it was too risky for her to be around others when her skin was on show, not to swim or
wear something a normal teenager could. Even her sleep was haunted by others nightmares and dreams, waking up and knowing you were alone, at least when he had a nightmare he could go find some company. Someone he could lose himself in even if it was for a few hours, Marie didn't even have that. Just the thought of her waking up alone in his room at the mansion and knowing how much she must have wanted someone there to hold her, someone not to be afraid of her skin. Knowing it should have been him, just to hold her for a moment while the sickness left her stomach.

He knew what isolation did to you, it made you withdraw and the further you withdrew the less human you became to those around you. Guilt burned in his chest, pulling her up off his lap he laid down fully dressed with her head on his chest listening to his heartbeat and his breath. Holding her to him as she went back into deep sleep,
whispering into her hair before he closed his own eyes, "Your home Marie, nothin's gonna hurt ya now. Not anymore."

**********************************************************

She'd slept well for the first time in months, her eyes opened on the scene of Logan coming out of the bathroom half naked, she was on the bed wrapped up in blankets. His eyes met hers immediately and he came over still wet from the shower, beads of water were dripping from his
hair and sideburns landing on her bare fingers. Suddenly as if she'd just remembered she tried to hide her hands, Logan's own hands stopped her own.
"No. Not with me Marie, you keep them uncovered hear me?" His gaze was fierce primal and she just nodded, a smile enteredhis face as he touched her hair. "How you feelin' this morning?"

Marie considered everything, how she felt, how she was doing inside and who was here with her; a small smile crept across her face as she met his gaze.
"Better than yesterday."
His gaze deepened a little as he shifted around to sit properly on the bed, he still hadn't let go of her hair twisting it in his fingers.
"Marie, what happened? Why did you try to kill yourself yesterday? What did you think I was going to do, take you back?"

His proximity made her need to touch him surface, she needed to be held but he wasn't safe like this, he noticed her discomfort and pulled his shirt over. Dropping it over his head and pulling her into his embrace so her head rested on his shoulder, the still wet hair tickling her skin.
"Ah thought you'd want them to collect me, so you could get on with everything you were doin'." He sighed heavily and rumbled in his chest, the vibration going through her and making her hold him tighter.
"Marie, I didn't know what had been goin on there. If I had, I'd have been back a hell of a lot sooner. I'm sorry I left you there Marie, I never should have left you with them, you should have come with me. At least then I knew you'd have been safe when the dreams came."
That made her move her head up to look at him, eyes wide, she was about to ask when Logan told her. "I called home, they told me about them and some other stuff too but I want you to tell me." He looked pained and upset by the news of her dreams, as if he was to blame for them which
he was in a way, but he wasn't for the way she'd been treated when she'd had them. Seeing the hurt in him open for her to look at she realised she had to tell him everything pour out the poison so they could start again, she just hoped he'd want to after what she told him.

Not sure where to start, Marie just began telling him her routine, up at 6am, down to the kitchen for a quick breakfast alone. Going out to the track to run for an hour, moving inside for an hour on the machines when the rest of the school were eating breakfast. From there to her room to shower and change, then off to class, Logan interrupted her then. "You sit with anyone?" Her face must have answered for her because he just asked her to carry on; she covered lunch on the roof in the small container garden with Storm. Logan amended his `to kill' list leaving Storm on the `just maim' for now as he listened to the rest of her day.

After class, there were several clubs and activities but she made others uncomfortable and she'd stopped going after a month. Doing her homework instead in her room alone, watching tv or reading after it was done. She told him about her going outside to watch the stars, the feeling of peace it gave her, as if everything could stop and she'd still be safe.

Logan listened to her life, to the restraints and rules that were all over it, he asked several questions yet the answers were always the same, `It's not safe for me to do that Logan, not where there are others'. He watched as she slowly wound herself up with the telling of it, until she was covered nearly head to toe with the blanket. Her
face the only thing showing, the look in her eyes dead and dull, an automaton, something alive but not aware.

"So what did Jean say to you?" His words made her eyes swing upward to meet his and the look in them almost ripped him apart the pain residing in them was so acute. Her words were slow in coming so he knew she'd thought about it before speaking to him.
"She said you didn't care about something you didn't know. That you'd come home with someone, that you'd forget about me out there. Thing was she never forgot about you."

The last bit of her outpouring struck home the final piece of the telephone conversation making sense to him now, dropping her gaze Marie just held herself in the
blanket. Wrapping his arm around her he forced her to look at him, her eyes were wet but the tears were unshed. Her chin trembled as she spoke, the pleading tone of her voice made him hate himself for leaving her there, to the indifference and neglect. "You didn't forget me did you? You did remember ah was there didn't you?" He nodded to her the words lodged as he tried to get past the blockage
in his throat, clearing it he answered her looking at her as he told her the truth.

"Yeah I didn't forget you, I just got lost out there for a while. Chasing stuff that wasn't important when I could have been finding out about what was going on with you there. I should have come back sooner, hell I'd still be out there if they hadn't rung to see if I'd seen you." His own guilt ran across his face and Marie grabbed it.
"No, you had to go, it was important to you Logan. It's what you've been looking for all this time." Now she was crying, her tears were for *him* not for herself, that she'd stopped him from finding what he'd been searching for.
Holding her close, he spoke into her hair, "There's nothing to find Marie, whatever was there is long gone. I'll never know the truth but I know this, I fucked up by leaving you alone. I made a promise and I'm going to keep it, you're the one good thing I've done so far and I almost fucked it up. You can bet your life it's not gonna happen again." He could scent her relief, as if he'd told her she'd just won the lottery, her hands opened the blanket and she turned to hold him. Her voice thick as she held onto him, telling him she wouldn't be a burden, she'd do as he told her when he told her. Logan held her and felt his heart lighten a little as she moved to look at him, her eyes were red and her skin blotchy yet to him she'd never looked better.

"There's something else ah need to tell you," her voice wavered a little and his brows creased.
"What?" Marie fumbled with the blanket and she dropped her gaze to her hands, her nerves filling the room, he had to try to stay calm for her sake but her body language was screaming terror at him.
"Marie what is it? What happened to you?" His mind was filling in all sorts of horrific spiteful things that could have happened to her while he was away. Finally, she looked at him, eyes filled with remorse.
"Ah lost your tags." He sat for a second and the relief he felt flood his mind was unbelievable, sighing he pulled her closer.
"Fuck, is that all?"

Marie looked confused her brows were knitted together and she looked as if she'd been expecting him to blow his top at her. "But ah lost them, in the lake at the school. They fell off and the some of the other students began throwing them between themselves, one of them missed." The memory of the day returned to her gaze and Logan saw the hurt rise he made her look at him.
"Hey, it don't matter. There's nothing there I want anyway, I've been lookin' behind me when I should have been lookin' at what's in front of me." The words left his mouth and he saw her slowly understand what he was saying, it wasn't the tags he'd been coming back for it
had been her and only her. Not Jean, not the red head with the killer legs and come to bed eyes, this was confusing, the Logan in her head had been concerned for her, wanted to keep her safe. He'd made a promise to her one he'd never made to anyone else, why he had suddenly seemed important, gathering her courage she plowed into the question that was burning across her mind.


"Why me Logan?" He let her go a little and looked at her face, seeing her eyes clearing and her voice stronger, she shuffled back a little and dropped the blanket that had been wrapped tight around her. "Why did you promise that to me Logan, you hardly knew me, you still don't."

He'd known that one day she'd ask him this, needing a reason as to why he'd gone out of his way to help her when he gave everyone else around him a wide berth. He wasn't good with explaining his emotions; he just acted how he felt, knowing inside that there was something
worth helping in her. Looking at her, he could see her need to hear his answer, to know why he'd done so much for her when he didn't have to. Hell, he'd risked his life for her more times, than he'd ever done in the fifteen years he could remember. Blowing out a breath he
sat back on the bed, laying out across the end and fixing her with his stare, he wanted to make sure she understood and believed what he was about to say.

"You're different." He paused, "You're like me, different. You make me want to help you because we're the same, we fit in a way." Watching her face as the blush began to creep over her skin, "Not in that way kid, but something like it. I can't explain it well enough; you just make me feel good when you're around, like I mean something in the world. Instead of being someone people avoid, they look at me different when I'm with you. I'm not saying you're here just to make me feel better, you make a part of me complete somehow. Ever since Laughlin, I've felt it, tried to ignore it, push it onto you especially when Jean told me you cared for me. Make it go away by going after something I knew I'd never get to the bottom of, but you were still there. Even in the ruins of that place you were there with me, part of me wished I'd brought you along but I kind of drowned it out."

She smiled then her own mind showing her the memory of a tawny haired barmaid with hazel eyes and a warm welcome.
"Misty." Logan almost smiled when he heard her speak the name, he just nodded and turned toward her reaching out a hand to her own covered arm. Squeezing her arm and stroking the flesh underneath the soft flannel, "I need you, like you need me. We fit, why I don't know but we do and that's all that matters to me. You matter to me." He
punctuated the words with his grip on her arm watching as her naked fingers hovered over his own tracing the lines between his knuckles where they both knew his blades rested. Her eyes had a strength to them when she spoke again.
"Would you have…if ah'd asked you to…" she left the sentence open and they both knew what she'd been asking, would he have killed her if she'd asked him to. Letting her go if things had become too much for her, if the voices in her head had swamped her own, the Logan in her
head was telling her not to ask this, not now. She noticed the tired pained look enter his eyes and the lines on his face deepen a little, he was thinking it over and she watched as the blades slid out silently. He raised them up for her to see her own reflection in
them, the look in his eyes was filled with sadness and remorse but he answered her.

"Marie, as long as I live I'll never hurt you on purpose but if you asked me and there was no other way…" he paused as she worked out his answer. The Logan in her head was telling her it would never come to that, he'd never allow it to come to that. She gave her full
attention to the look on his face as he spoke, the deep regret and sorrow lodged in his gaze. "Yeah, for you I would but I'd follow you soon after. Life wouldn't be worth much without ya there with me, I've been alone too long as it is."

Marie felt the weight of his stare and realised how selfish she'd been; not thinking about how he might feel about helping her let go of life. Knowing that it'd be his blades that separated her from life, his violence that took her light from his already dark world. Hearing him say it, seeing how much he wasn't saying but his touch on her arm and the look in his eyes said everything else. He did love her, just not in the way everyone else thought, she meant more than that to him. Other women come and go in his bed but she'd always be in his heart because she made life worthwhile for him, someone he
could care for because she let him, she wanted him to. After all, she'd made him promise on the train before Magneto had taken her and the small flare of joy in his gaze when he'd given it wasn't something she'd made up.

To know that someone like her actually wanted him around, someone who cared as much about him as he did her.
"Ah love you Logan," she blushed as she said it and she saw his breath catch. The Logan in her head was silent as the words left her mouth, knowing he was listening as much as the one in front of her now. The look on their faces almost identical as he moved back toward her, his arms open for her to shuffle into. When she was safe in his embrace, his chin resting on her head he purred his own reply, the vibration warming her further. "I know kid, I…" he hesitated and she filled the silence.
"Ah know Logan, ah have you up here remember?" He squeezed her a little and he could feel the smile on her face, he couldn't say it but he had shown her more than once how he felt about her. A word, one that was used too easily by people who didn't understand it's true value, when he eventually said it to her they'd both know how
much it would mean to each other. He wasn't ready to say it and she wasn't ready to hear it, in time maybe but not now.

**********************************************************

They spent the rest of the day talking about the things she'd done while he'd been away and he shared a few things about where he'd been and what he'd found. The conversation wasn't the thing, the words could've been anything, it was the company and the companionship they
both needed.
He made breakfast, bacon, toast and strong coffee and made sure she ate her share. When she was dressed in a pair of his jeans and a shirt he gave her his denim to wear so her arms would be completely covered. They went out into Meridian, into her home and together they walked the once familiar streets to her old home. All the time they were walking, she told him about the dreams she'd had before everything had gone wrong. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulders giving her support as they went, passing the stores that were once her and her mothers favourites. Sensing her need for him to hold her, he was wearing his gloves and he moved his hand into hers, just as a figure walked out of the dry cleaners ahead of them.

The dress was her favourite, the rose pattern flattering her shape as her mother turned toward them both her hands filled with dry cleaning bags. Marie felt herself stop dead and Logan quickly looked at the woman in front of them, seeing the resemblance immediately. He was about to say something when the woman noticed them both, her eyes
locked onto her daughter's then onto their hands. Finally looking at Logan with barely disguised hatred in her gaze she just turned and walked to her car, Marie was in shock. The look of pure hate that had come from her mother ripping through her chest and killing everything
inside her dead. Logan watched her throw the car into gear and the almost reckless speed she drove away, several horns blaring their annoyance at her. Only when she was out of sight did he look at Marie, her face was set and her grip on his hand was making her skin white. Tears were standing proud in her eyes but she wasn't letting them fall, a wry smile was on her face as if she'd just been handed a joke only she understood.

Logan pulled on her hand and she turned her gaze to his concerned one, the smile slipped as the first tear fell
and he just pulled her into him. Rubbing her back as she cried in the street, his own looks keeping people away from them both, when she was ready he pulled her down the street. Back to his apartment, she'd had enough for one day and he needed some time to deal with the feeling he'd had from her mother. Her look of hate had made him want
to tear into her, to rip her apart for hurting Marie, for injuring her in such a way that he couldn't fix easily.

When they got back Marie went to sleep for a while, her form wrapped up in his bed, upset and hurting he let her sleep, that was until she'd woken and looked at him. Her naked hand reaching out to him as he sat on the sofa, he'd gotten up and let her pull him onto the bed with her. Wrapping himself around her as she'd cried silently,
knowing he didn't have to do anything but be there. His presence was enough to calm her and soon she was asleep again this time with his own comforting weight next to her.


Both of them woke around 8pm, hungry and restless. Deciding to go out they went to find food; Marie guided him to a small restaurant, knowing he'd like the steak here. The place was small, family run and she even managed to smile once or twice, it was over dessert that she dropped her bombshell and she was surprised Logan didn't choke on his coffee. "Logan ah want to go home, mah old home that is." He looked at her and saw something different in her eyes, something had changed inside and he wasn't sure what it was.
"You sure?" She nodded as the waiter passed them by.
"As sure as you love hockey."

Quirking an eyebrow he knew she knew how much he loved the game, the one relaxing thing he could follow without having to think about it too much. Her face had a small smile on it and the look in her eye reminded him of a mongoose that had just seen the snakes nest.
"Okay, but I'm coming with you." His voice was deep and his meaning wasn't lost on her, he was making sure nothing happened to her. She reached over and squeezed his gloved hand, making him smile with her touch.
"Ah couldn't do this without you," her face showed a little weakness then, recovering slightly, she tapped the side of her head. "You give some good advice Logan, ah can't let this hold me back. Ah've got some things to say to her, she might not like them but they're the truth. If ah don't ah'll be stuck here forever and ah don't want
that."

He understood her way of thinking, he'd gone after his own
past knowing if he hadn't he'd have regretted not doing it. He saw her smile and she winked at him, "Maybe after we're done here we can take the long way back to Westchester. Might as well get everything done at once eh?" She was serious and a part of him rejoiced at the
thought of going back and causing some trouble in their so-called mutant paradise.
"When we've done this we'll take the long way, maybe via Alaska." He knew Marie had always wanted to see the vast open spaces there, to breathe in air and know she was as far from humans as it was possible to get. A warmth entered her gaze as she finished her dessert, confidant in her movements, knowing he was with her as long as she
needed him to be.

**********************************************************

The next morning she was stood in the porch of her old home, the veranda was still sticky, the whitewash had been redone recently. Logan was stood only two feet away but it felt like miles, seeing him stood stock still, arms folded just watching her gave her the nerve
to knock. What seemed like hours passed before the door opened and her aunt stood there in surprised shock, "Mah God! I didn't believe it when she told me," she didn't reach out to her or look at anything but her face. Marie was dressed in the same clothes as yesterday, her
hands lost in the arms of the denim; she mentally shook herself and spoke to her aunt.

"Is Mama home?" The soft words galvanised the woman in front of her and a despairing look passed her eyes, Marie knew before the words came out, she wasn't there.
"Marie honey your Mama, she…" tears were already falling when she felt Logan's hands wrap around her back, supporting her, holding her up. If her aunt noticed, she didn't comment on Logan's presence.
"Where is she?"

The sigh that left her aunt was sad telling her of
her own distaste of what was going on in their family.
"She's gone to Alabama, a church retreat. She wasn't going to go until…" Marie nodded understanding what had triggered her going. Seeing her and Logan together yesterday, seeing her smiling and laughing with someone whom cared about her. "Come in, please we need to talk about this." Her aunts hand reached out to her and she felt the growl come from behind her more than hearing it. It filled her completely firing the anger she had inside her own mind, drowning out the pain of rejection and fuelling her hatred of being thought of as worthless by her family.

"No! Ah came here to make mah peace with her but she's gone. There's nothing else to stay here for," her eyes blazed showing her aunt the fire she had inside her. "Tell her ah was here if ya want to, it doesn't matter to me anymore." Turning away, she felt the supportive hands of Logan wrap around her, her aunts tearful voice reaching them both as they left the white veranda.
"Ah'll tell her Marie an ah'll tell her your happy without her honey. You don't need her anymore but if y'all need me ah'm here."


They both stopped and turned to look at the small woman stood on the veranda; "You got mah number honey? Mah home one?" Marie nodded and she saw her aunt smile wiping her own eyes with the heel of her hand. "Ah'm going home when she gets back, you know where to find me if ya need me honey. Go with God and be safe out there." With that
simple blessing she turned away and let her go, opening the door to the house that no longer seemed as big or as important to her.

Logan tightened his grip on her and they left the past behind, the hurt still swirling around her heart but at least she knew where she stood now. She had one friend in her family she could talk to, it was all she needed, smiling as she walked down the familiar streets feeling lighter the further she went until there was nothing but Logan keeping her grounded. Her anchor to the ground, the solid force that held her safe and helped her to steer her way through this pain.

Smiling at him, she saw his gaze lift a little and warm as they got back into town, seeing his features calculating how he could get them out of here without drawing too much attention to themselves. She didn't care how she left, what was important was that she was with
someone who gave a damn and she cared about him. No matter what the world threw at them, they'd always have each other, squeezing his hand she brought his attention back to her. "Come on lets get out of here, ah'm too warm here. Lets go where it's got some snow." The grin
that covered his face warmed her through better than a day resting in the sun could; nodding and pulling her along they headed out. Not sure of where they were going but it'd be together and that's what mattered.

**********************************************************

Epilogue
*********

The dusty old van rolled upto the pristine gates, the ironwork re- enforced with several new bars. The stonework glowing honey in the afternoon light, the sounds of children playing inside reached the occupants ears. They sat in silence for a while just looking at the
gates, knowing what was beyond them was something unfinished, something that still rankled in both their minds. Yet as they looked at each other a shared communication passed unspoken between them and Logan threw the van into reverse.
As they were going back down the autumn coloured road a familiar tickle entered their heads, the unspoken voice welcoming them back his words being ignored by both of them. It'd wait, they had more life to live before they came back to be judged and pronounced guilty for living the way they wanted to. Travelling the continent, working
for who and when they wanted, keeping each other close, their own moral compasses locked together. Logan gripped Marie's bare hand in his own, control had a price and that was trust, it had taken a couple of years but she'd done it alone without anyone else in her head. When you can love yourself, accepting what you are and can
begin to love it, then anything is possible. Smiling at him Marie flicked on the radio, filling the calm silence with a beat of life, together still, the road beckoned them onward. Happiness isn't in the big things, it's knowing your with someone gives a damn.