Growling at the memory, Logan paced the confines of his room, much like a tiger paces around his cage at a zoo. He was confused. He didn't normally get confused, which made him all the more grouchy. He had lashed out at Scott more often than usual that day...not that he was alarmed about that. If there was one thing that could quell his growing anger, it was picking a fight with prissyboy.

Grabbing the chair out from under his dresser, he spun it around and threw himself upon it, an exasperated sigh slipping from his lips. Pulling his lips thin, he rubbed his temples and shook his head. He'd realized, the moment she began, that something wasn't right. It was in her voice, as well as her stance. Having lived in New York for the past six years, her Mississippi drawl had disappeared completely, only to be replaced by a Yankee accent that would cause just about anyone on the street to confuse her with someone who'd been born and bred in New York.

But no, it wasn't the accent in particular that keyed him in on trouble. It was the fact that, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, her voice shook. It wasn't real apparent, but then, that's what heightened senses did; they pointed out the obvious. In fact, her entire stance had been a little off since the moment she stood before him. Her brow instantly furrowed, and she absentmindedly bit her lip and lowered her eyes to her feet, pretending something on the ground held her interest. "It can't be that bad, kid." Kid. Six years later, her now 23, and he still addressed her as such. Of course, after the information he'd learned today, she was definitely anything but.

"I don't know how to tell you this." That had done her in. She'd never had a problem talking to him before. Usually she couldn't talk fast enough when she needed to tell him something. Now, it seemed as though she were stalling...searching for some kind of escape from having to confess this. Judging from her stance, her attitude, and even the fear slowly drifting off her, he guessed that the news she bore was even more important than when she announced to him that she had learned, at last, to control her powers.

Three short years ago. Of course, since then, they'd done everything they could to take advantage of the situation. He was able, at last, to express how he felt. He was never very good at talking, like Prissyboy. Scott Summers was the one to quote sonnets and get on bended knee to profess his love to the woman he cared for. And Logan? Letting out a little moan, he remembered, word for word, his proposal to Marie. "You wanna...maybe...y'know?" After having a hard time, he'd decided the best way to address the issue was to be blunt. "Look. We've been together, what, three years? I love you, you love me...so I say, what the hell. Let's get married."

Marriage had been easy enough. Nothing changed. True, he had to wear a penguin suit and walk down the aisle, but it seemed worth it. He had Marie. He didn't need to be hounding other guys to keep them away from her. The ring proved it. She was his, indefinitely. Yes, marriage he'd been ready for. But this...? This was bad. "Look darlin', talking about something important is like pulling off a bandaid. The slower you pull, the more it hurts."

"Logan...you an' I...we're sort of..." All right. So this made up for his pathetic attempt at a proposal. They were 1-1. After stuttering for a few more moments, she finally got a hold of herself long enough to depict, using her hands as usual, a large belly. Being dense, and not quite ready to accept what it was she'd just announced, he raised an eyebrow at her and pretended he didn't get it. She folded her arms and glared at him. Ever since they were married, it was like she had heightened senses too. She knew, somehow, that he was lying. Everyone else fell for his lies, but not his Marie. She would fold her arms and glare at him until he mumbled out the truth.

Getting up out of his chair, he resumed his earlier pacing. He couldn't help but chuckle some. Marie had seemed pretty distressed herself over the news. He'd been quick to remind her, of course, that it couldn't be a total shock to her, to which she responded with a blush.

True, he was a little surprised himself at the news, but all the same, he couldn't help but feel a small sense of pride, accomplishment, and responsibility. He helped create this tiny little life. The thought tugged at him til a tiny smile formed. Of course, he wiped it away instantly and reminded himself that, no matter what happened in the future, he would still be one bad ass guy.

---

"Logan! I need you!" Hearing the shrill, he instantly dropped the heavy instrument he'd been using to adjust something underneath his car that had been giving him trouble. Incidentally, the tool landed smack dab on Scott's nose, but Logan had no time to inquire as to his health. Not that he cared of course. Having Scooter wandering around the School with a big puffy nose would lighten the atmosphere a little for him.

Making into his and Marie's room in record time, he saw her lounging about on the bed. She looked absolutely frantic, panic written all over her face. "What is it? Is it time?" A moan from Marie was his only answer. "I'll get Jean in here and-"

"Logan...Logan!" He paused at the doorframe and turned back to her, raising an eyebrow in question. "Let's review...how long ago did I tell you about my pregnancy?"

"About...three weeks ago."

"Good. And how far along was I then?"

"Maybe...three months?" He cocked his head, not entirely sure where she was going with this. Tapping a foot in impatience, he waited for her to finish her pointless lecture. He was used to them, after all, and he'd learned that interrupting her only brought about one of those mood swings. He could take on Sabretooth, Magneto, and the rest of the evil mutants out to destroy humanity without a single inkling of fear. Put him up against a pregnant woman with unpredictable moodswings, and he was down right terrified.

"Now you're talking! Okay Logan, one more question. How long does a pregnancy take?"

"Up to nine months?"

"That's right...you do the math!" For a few minutes he stood stalk still, utterly confused. Then he realized...she was making fun of him!

"Dammit Marie, I can't help it I'm worried. I've never been through anything like this before..."

"It's all right Sugar, I understand. I just thought by now you'd catch the hint that every time I yell for help it isn't because the baby's coming but that I'm-"

"Hungry?" He knew he was in for it the moment her eyes grew wide.

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Means you're hungry. It's natural." Her angered frown slowly dissolved into a pout, the lower lip quivering slightly. "Oh...now look Marie...I wasn't saying anything like that..." Hunching his shoulders some in defeat, he shut the door again and trudged over to the bed to sit beside her. "I don't think you're fat."

"Really...?" The sniffles kicked in next. He'd analyzed her after the shock of the first mood swing wore off on him, and realized it was all a big cycle. First, she would be sweet as day. Next, the PMS type deal kicked in. Followed by the pouty, whiney, crying stage. Then she returned to the sweet stage. After some time of thinking it over, he decided that he didn't like any of the stages. Of course, it's obvious why he would dislike the last two...an angry Marie is nothing to laugh at, and a crying one is even worse. It wasn't entirely the anger he was afraid of. It was the fact that the woman with the anger also had super strength, and could send him through the next three walls if he so much as looked at her funny. Even the sweet, Southern Belle stage was bad though, because during that time she'd walk around the house smiling sweetly and calling him stupid pet names like "hunnybunny" and "snugglepuss" and things that would make a grown man blush. He had a reputation to think of, and everytime he allowed her to call him such things, he watched it shrink a little more...

"Yes really." The cycle was over. He kissed her forehead softly and smiled at her, a smile which she immediately returned.

"You're so sweet, honey bunch..." Inwardly he groaned and shuddered. Outwardly, he gave the biggest smile he could and endured it all. If you've ever seen Beauty and the Beast, you know the kind of smile. It's the big toothy kind that was about as loving as a growl. But Marie seemed amused by it, so to make her happy, he often used it.

"Thanks, darlin'. So, if you aren't havin' the kid, what did you need?"

"Weeeell...y'see...I am a little hungry...so I was wondering if you could go get me something from the kitchen?" He managed to keep in his grumbling. He didn't mind doing things for Marie. If it'd make her happy, he'd find a way to get the moon out of the sky and into her room for decoration. But this was different entirely. By the time he'd reach her room with the food, she'd change her mind.

"Whadda ya need?" Somehow, he kept the growl from coming out through his words.

"I was thinkin'....cheetohs...and...grapefruit juice."

"Cheetohs and grapefruit juice..." For some reason, he could just taste that, and it wasn't pleasant. Still, looking at her face, all bright and enthusiastic, he could see she was pretty set on the idea. "If you say so." Pushing himself up off the bed he loped over to the door and left before she could make the list any longer, silently praying that this pregnancy went by fast. There was only so much a man could take before his sanity drained away.

---

His eyes followed Jean's every movement, as she bustled around Marie. He was just waiting for an excuse to cream her. This pregnancy stuff had certainly managed to make him even more protective of Marie, which in turn was pretty unsafe for just about three forths of the male population at Xavier's school. Suddenly he realized how much men were looking at her, and how they would get this glint in their eyes at the sight. It made his knuckles itch, but he knew there was nothing he could do. At least, there was nothing he could do without getting caught in the process.

"Well?" He knew he was growling at her, and the fact that Jean actually jumped almost brought a smile to his lips. "What's going on?"

"Everything is perfectly all right, Logan." Raising an eyebrow at her in disbelief, he shifted his stance slightly to look a little more menacing, in hopes that she'd give him the truth. When she didn't budge, he realized maybe she was.

"All right? But she was havin' those funny cramps..."

"Those weren't cramps, Logan..." The fact that Jean was about to laugh at him made him pretty annoyed. He didn't know what the hell was going on, and making fun of him for it wouldn't get her far. He didn't like being left in the dark about anything, and so far that's where he stood the entire six months Marie'd been pregnant.

Absolutely clueless.

"What was it then?"

"Logan, the baby was just sayin' hello." Logan moved his glance from Jean to Marie, then cocked his head and stared at her as though she had two heads. She just laughed and shook her head at him in the same "Poor clueless Logan" way she had for the past couple of months. She was the only one to get away with such an action. He'd have pounded anyone else who might try to imply that he was foolish. "Come here."

For a moment he stood still, straightening his stance, but otherwise remaining as he was. His glance shot from Jean to Marie and back, and finally one of them got the hint. "I'll be outside, Marie. When you're finished, give me a call. I have a few more tests I'd like to run." As she was leaving, he made his way over to the table where Marie was laying.

"What is it?" Of course, he tried to look as uninterested as possible, but in the end, he succeeded only in announcing the knawing curiosity. After all, it wasn't everyday a baby tried to say hello, right?

"Give me your hand..." Skeptical, he pulled his hand up and looked at it a moment, before finally handing it over. She placed it gently on her stomach, moving it around a bit, face fixed with concentration. "Okay now...just wait a second..." The next instant, he pulled his hand away in shock.

"What the heck do you call that?" She giggled at him, and took hold of his hand again.

"Logan...that was the baby kicking."

"Kicking?" Again his curiosity peaked. He didn't know babies could do that...at least...not when they weren't even born yet. Pulling a chair up alongside the bed, he sat down and stared at the buldging stomach a second, trying to reason with it and himself silently. Since it was just himself and Marie in the room, he decided that his next action, which was anything but manly, was acceptable. Pulling the chair in just a little closer to her side, Logan carefully leaned over and rested his ear against her stomach. With his heightened senses, he was able to pick up quite a few noises...but the one he had been looking for amazed him the most. He could hear the little baby's heart beating. It was relaxing, too...especially since it was accompanied with Marie's heartbeat as well.

He was tongue-tied. He'd seen and heard some amazing things in his lifetime, but suddenly, none were comparable to this. This left him breathless, because he realized he was a part of this. He and Marie worked together to make this little thing growing inside her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been a part of anything that worked for good. Yeah, there was the X-Men, but that wasn't entirely good because no matter how you talked around it, someone ended up getting hurt at some point. But this...this act was pure. He was almost surprised he was capable of something like this.

Placing a gentle kiss atop her belly he set his ear back down against it. "Now...you be nice to your Mama, y'hear me...? Don't kick too hard. There'll be plenty of time for movin' around soon enough." He felt Marie move slightly beneath him, and was aware that she was laughing faintly. He didn't care really, just so long as she was the only who saw him like this. "We are going to keep this between the two of us, right?"

"Of course."

"Hey Marie?"

"Hm?" He frowned slightly and sat up straight, not sure how he wanted to phrase the next bit. It was hard to spit out, even moreso because it was something he'd never ever dealt with since as far back as he could remember.

"You...kinda...y'know..."

"Afraid?" When he nodded, she did also. "No one ever goes through somethin' like this without being a little afraid..."

"I'm just...not used to the feelin'. I can fight the biggest and the best without flinching. But this is different, y'know? We're going to have this tiny little baby..." he held out his hands, looking into them as though he could already imagine it being there. "And it's different for me. I'll have to watch myself more, y'know? Watch what I say, what I do, so that he or she doesn't pick up my bad habits."

"It'll be rough in the beginning. We'll get a good handle on things though. Just takes time and practice."

"Always the patient one," he grumbled, tucking his hands into his pockets and leaning up against the chair. "You always manage to have all the right answers."

"Comes from years of practice." She grinned slightly and tapped her temple, bringing a slight grin to his lips as well. "You go on to dinner. I'll be up, soon as Jean's finished with me."

"You sure? I can stay and-"

"Really, Logan...I think it's best if you go." He frowned, getting to his feet. Sure, he'd admit it, he was being some what of a nuisance. But he was only acting in Marie's best interest.

Going to their room, instead of the kitchen, he popped on some terrible music that he liked only because it bugged the hell out of Scott, and sat down on his bed. His eyes ran over the room, looking for something he could use to entertain himself. He found a stack of magazines and books piled on the bed. Curiosity once again taking over, he went to the bed to look them over. Baby books. Baby advice. Baby names...

Quickly shutting the door to the room, he laid out on the bed and picked up one of the books. The Art of Pregnancy. "Hmm..." Flipping through the pages, his eyes landed on a nice, graphic picture of a delivery. He felt the blood rush from his face and quickly slammed the book shut. Coughing slightly, he decided to leave that book til last. There were a few things he'd need to discuss with Marie about this later on, after all. Grabbing a parenting magazine of sorts, he raised an eyebrow, shrugged slightly, and began to read, all the while keeping his senses on alert, should someone be coming his way. True, he wanted to be as good a parent as possible...but not at the risk of his reputation.

---

Unfortunately, the day of the arrival was inevitable. Now, it wasn't that he wasn't looking forward to having this done and overwith. Marie was very testy these last few weeks, and the sooner that moody cycle ended, the better it would be for all of them. It's just that...well...he couldn't stop picturing that magazine article he'd read. More specifically, he kept getting flashes of those pictures detailing the delivery, step, by step, by step...

He shuddered at the thought of it. Which is why he had to speak to Marie about it. If that was the way this was going to go, well then, he'd have no part in it. Of course, he'd wasted his breath. Fighting with a pregnant woman is like fighting with an ornery Sabretooth. No...the woman was definitely the worst of the two. Which is exactly why he was where he was now. In the delivery room, thanking God that his entire skeleton had been laced in adamantium, and that he was blessed with a healing factor. Otherwise, Marie's screaming would have made him go deaf, and her iron-like grip on his hand would have shattered the bones to pieces. Attempting her didn't seem to help much either. She just screamed that he should try to shove a watermelon out his butt and see how pleasant that made him. Thus, a permanent wince was set onto his face. He had to wonder how in the world Jean and Hank could have let Marie do this without medication. But it was too late for that now. "That's it...just breathe..." Logan nodded at Jean's comment and slowly began to breathe rhythmically, until his heart beat was going down. When he looked back at the women, they were staring at him as though he were growing a second head. He just shrugged it off and remained at Marie's side like a good husband would and waited for this all to be over. At one point in time, he even remembered cursing the child, promising it that he or she would hear a whole mouthful of the trouble he or she had caused Logan on this day.

When he snapped out of his mental pouting of sorts (or rather, discussion. Men don't pout.) it was all over. He was surprised to say the least. And then he was filled with the fatherly instincts that had, until then, remained pretty dormant. The kid wasn't crying. His heart clenched in panic, and he spun around, looking at Hank as though he would rip him to shreads if that baby didn't start to cry.

Luckily, for Hank anyway, she did start crying. Logan's muscles relaxed, and he leaned up against the wall, trying to catch a glimpse. While Hank did all the normal procedures, like weighing her and cleaning her up, Logan moved over to Marie's side. She looked tired. Of course, when she so bluntly offered him a mental visual of what she was going through (you remember, the one that involved the watermelon...) he could understand why. "Next time...Sugah...you have the baby..."

"I would if I could." He chuckled, mainly because he knew how big a lie it was. He wouldn't wish something like this on his worst enemy. Okay, maybe his absolute worst...but...

"And, here she is." Logan turned in time to see Jean handing Marie the little bundle, all wrapped in blankets and making the usual noises babies make. He watched Marie, moreso than the baby. He'd have plenty of time for that later, after she was asleep. The look of exhaustion that had etched across her face disappeared instantly. And right after that, the baby talk started.

"That's my wittle girl..." Logan froze a moment, chalking up another note on his mental chalk board. No baby talk. If there was ANYTHING unmanly, it was that. Of course it suited Marie. Her whole face lit up and even if she did start to look tired again, she was beautiful. He hoped, glancing sideways into a mirror in the infirmary, that she got her mother's looks. If she got her father's...well...he really didn't want to think about that.

"How is she?" Contrary to popular belief, he had opted for a girl. There were many reasons involved, but as he thought about it, he realized the number one reason was that if any guy dared to look at his daughter in a way he didn't like, he planned to rip him up, inside out, in a matter of seconds. Any boyfriend of hers better have adamantium lining around his guts, 'less he wants them to be removed. Of course...that was thinking much too far ahead. For the time being, he had to make sure no body hurt his little girl.

"She's beautiful." That settled it, she looked like her mother. "Would you like to hold her?"

"No...no that's all right. She looks all right where she is." Marie opened her mouth to protest, but a quick look from Logan made her change her mind. He'd deal with this in his own time. At least, she hoped so.

Logan remained by Marie's side long after she, and the little baby, had fallen asleep. She'd need a name, of course. He was almost tempted to give her a horrendous name, like Chastity or Pepper Ann, or any other terrible name he could think of. It wasn't, of course, that he didn't care for his daughter's feelings. It was simple that, with a terrible name like that, teasing would be prompted, and that created a longer list of people Logan could use as a personal punching bag.

Leaning back against his chair, he rested his head against the wall and watched Marie sleep. Every few moments he would turn to look at the crib where their baby was, being sure she was completely happy with her situation. They were both beautiful. And peaceful. Which made him wonder why everyone said parenting was so difficult. Looking at the tiny, sleeping form within the crib, he chuckled to himself. "It'll be cake."

---

Staring down at the little kid on the table, Logan raised an eyebrow in question. He had a diaper in one hand, and some kind of powder stuff that was making him sneeze just about every second in the other. Other than that, he was unprepared for what he was supposed to do. It was the third time Marie had showed him how to work a diaper, yet so far, every time he'd tried his fingers got stuck on the sticky stuff, or he taped the wrong side funny, and frankly, he was about ready to suggest they just paper train the kid and forget diapers altogether.

Finally, however, he managed to do it properly without getting a leg stuck in there. "I'll be right back, Logan, I just have to get her a bottle. Else she'll get fussy and I know you don't want that." Flashing a smile that generally was too sweet for comfort, she left the room. It wasn't the first time she'd abandoned him, hoping he'd have a bonding experience in her absence. Still, the baby was pretty small, and with his luck, he'd end up dropping her. Of course...if he sat on the floor with her, there wasn't much of a drop, proving that if he did drop her, the visible signs wouldn't be as clear.

Figuring himself to be a genius, he looked back at the baby. "Hey there Becky...Mind if daddy picks you up?" He'd been reaching to do just that, when he stopped. Daddy? What the hell was that about? It was dad. Or maybe she could just call him Logan or Wolverine like everyone else. Anything but daddy!

Carefully, as if she were glass, he slipped his hands under her back and picked her up, then began to ease his way onto the floor. Mentally, he chanted, "don't fall don't fall don't fall..." which seemed to prove successful in the end. This stuff was easier than he thought!

Of course, all good things come to an end. He'd attempted to humor her before, with disasterous results. With baby talk out, that left him with making faces and tickling. Since the latter didn't seem effective, he went with the former. It'd worked before...and Marie said she'd get fussy pretty soon without her bottle. So, glancing around to be sure no one could see him, he held her up a little closer to his face, and began to stretch his lips and cheeks into positions he never knew possible. It seemed to be working well...that is...until little Becky got an idea of her own kind of entertainment. While he was thoroughly involved in making faces, she reached up and latched onto his hair, giggling some to herself. "ACK! Lemme go! Lemme go!" She didn't oblige, which left him completely stuck in this situation.

"Come on Becky...let daddy go..." No! He'd done it again! "I mean...let me go...please?" Without really thinking, he jerked his head away, which, thankfully, caused her to release her hold. Still, it made poor little Becky none too pleased. He watched as her face scrunched up, then her lower lip started to shake. All at once, a loud wail pierced the nursery, which, thanks to his sensitive hearing, caused an instant headache. Not to mention instant confusion. He hadn't a clue what to do. He attempted to bounce her up and down some, to no avail.

Glancing around the room, he found her teddy bear. Perking in hope, he snatched it up, and began to move it about in front of her. She paused a moment, looked at the bear, then burst into a new flood of tears. Frantic for her to stop, Logan did the only sensible -okay...so it wasn't QUITE sensible- thing he could come up with. He sang. That's right! Out of desperation, Logan sang. "Little bunny foo foo...hopping through the forest...scooping up the field mice, and bopping 'em on the head!" Realizing Becky was silent, that his plan was working, he grinned, and put some enthusiasm into the song. After all, it was almost entertaining, even to him.

When Becky finally fell asleep, Logan carefully got up and set her back into her crib. When Marie came in with the bottle, he shrugged and pointed to the sleeping form. "How'd you get her to sleep without the bottle?" He didn't notice the sly smile that had crawled over her lips while he just shrugged again, shoved his hands in his pockets and left the room. Shutting the light off, Marie followed suit. "Y'know Logan...I'm pretty tired too...think you could sing me a little rendition of Little Bunny Foo Foo?"

"Um..." He'd frozen in place, not sure exactly how he'd get out of this one. She'd overheard him. Good Lord, even he knew that the fastest mode of transportation was Telephone, Television, Tell Marie...so no matter what, he was sunk. "What's a Foo Foo?" When she began to laugh, his shoulders slouched, and he quickly moved to get as much space between himself and her as possible. God...he'd never hear the end of it!