Logan slammed into the kitchen just as the phone rang. He tried to ignore it and pulled out a beer. It was Friday night, and he should be going out, he told himself. The night was young. He didn't have anything better to do. Instead of going out, however, he was going to sit around, drink beer, and watch hockey like he did almost every night these days. When he thought about it, he came pretty damn close to depression. So, being the Wolverine and a badass, he didn't think about it. Didn't think about the reason he stayed in, didn't think about what had happened the last time he went out at night for anything except a mission. Just didn't think.

The damn phone was still ringing. Logan finally get fed up as he popped open his beer with a claw. Grabbing the handset off the receiver on the kitchen counter, he pressed the little button with the green circle. Just as he was about to bark “hello” into the stupid thing, he heard Professor Xavier say it instead. Satisfied that the caller had reached someone who would probably rather talk to them than he would, Logan was about to hit the button with the red X on it when he heard it.

“Professor? It's me.” That voice...the drawl was deeper, the voice was huskier from some emotion he couldn't readily identify, but it was definitely her!

Rogue. Marie. Dammit!

“Rogue! It is good to hear from you again, my dear. How are you doing?”

Logan told himself he didn't care. She had left with barely a note to him, and a confusing one at that, making it very clear that she didn't want to be followed. But he didn't hit that red button, although he continued holding the phone in front of him. It wasn't as if he couldn't hear the conversation clearly, and having her voice so close to his ear after so long might have sent his temper flying over the edge.

“Ah'm...Professor, there's a problem down here.” The way she said it spoke volumes. She meant a mission kind of problem.

The Professor's concerned tones indicated that he realized that as well. “Has something happened to you, Rogue?”

A little choked laugh that held no humor. “No, not me. Look, there's a town north of here...a friend of mine, his cousin disappeared up there a couple of weeks ago while she was out shopping. We...we went looking for her, did some recon. Professor...Charles, they have a fucking breeding facility down here!” Now Logan could hear the rage in her voice, one that answered the fury he felt as the implications of what she said sank in.

“You...Rogue, you mean a mutant breeding facility, don't you?”

“Yeah. They're taking men as well as women and...Ah don't know how they do it, either forcing 'em to have sex or invitro or something...we saw at least ten kids in there, Charles. Toddlers! They had a fucking playground set up! Ah guess if they don't turn out to be mutants, they want them to be well-rounded or something.” Bitterness oozed across the line.

“We did some hacking into their computers once we knew where they were, Professor,” Rogue said after several deep breaths. “They're pretty well fortified, but we've got at least twenty mutants here willing to fight to get those people out. Ah just wondered if the X-Men could, you know, help out.”

Logan closed his eyes as he waited for the Professor's reply. It wasn't long in coming. “Of course, Rogue. We will help you out in any way you need.”

A sigh—of relief? “Thanks, Professor. It means a lot to me. Ah'll get you the information on the place. How long do you think it will take to get down here?”

“Hmmm...I think we can manage to get the team ready by tomorrow afternoon, if you can be ready to go on your end,” Xavier told her.

“Yeah. We're ready here. They're not...Ah don't think they're in life or death danger there, Professor, but those assholes are doing some horrible things. Ah want to get them out as soon as possible, especially Angelique. She's...she's only sixteen, Professor!” Rogue's voice broke, and the anguish cut through Logan like a knife. He could tell that she cared about the girl.

The Professor sighed heavily. “We will do everything in our power to help. I will be sending the full team. Will that be...an issue?”

Logan tensed to hear her reaction. “Umm...” A sigh. “No. We need the help. Just...have them meet me at the White Dove at three pm. Jubilee knows how to get there from pretty much everywhere in the city, I think. That should give me time to clear it with my boss. Ah'll show 'em a place where they can stay for a few hours until it gets dark, then my boss will let me go out. He...he knows about all this. He's one of Angie's relatives, too. They're all real worried.”

The Professor's voice was soothing. “That sounds fine, Rogue. On a more personal note,” he added, verbally brushing aside Rogue's thanks, “How are you doing since that incident you mentioned?”

Rogue sighed deeply. “Ah'm working things out. It's difficult, and sometimes Ah'm really tempted to come back just to see if you can help me get rid of this bitch, but Ah have a feeling she's a more...permanent resident than some of the others. Remind me next time a psycho bitch tries to take out my friends to stick to hand-to-hand, okay, Professor? Ah'm more effective with that now, anyway.”

She was?

“I will always be here for you, Rogue, if you need me. You could still come back, you know. The teacher we hired to take your place knows that it's a substitute position only.”

“Ah know. Ah'm working on that, too, Ah promise. Maybe someday soon. It's been nice getting visits. My new friends aren't quite the family Ah had with y'all. You should have seen the ruckus Jubes made when she came down last, though! Ah don't think the Big Easy is ever gonna be the same!”

The Big Easy? Rogue was in fucking New Orleans? Logan thought she hated the south, hadn't wanted to go back...then again, that was one out of his book. Go where they least expect if you're trying to stay hidden. The thing that struck him, though, was that she wasn't trying to hide from too many people at the mansion if she was talking about visits, though. Was he the only one who hadn't had a clue what was going on?

Professor Xavier was still chuckling when Rogue spoke up again. “Oh, and Professor? Could you have the team bring my uniform with them? Ah want something a little easier to fight in than skirts, especially now. Don't want anyone getting a look at what they shouldn't!”

Now why would that occur when fighting?

“I will make sure that they bring it, Rogue. Do you need it altered in any way now?”

“No, but tell 'em not to bother with the gloves.” Her voice had turned hard. “Ah won't be needing 'em.” Logan actually felt a chill when he heard those words. Rogue was definitely pissed. Another part of him approved of the ruthless note in her voice.

“As you wish. Good night, Rogue.”

“Good night, Professor.”

Logan hit the stupid red X once he heard the dial tone. His mind reeled at everything he had just discovered. He was tempted to tear out of the mansion right then and there, head down to New Orleans and find her. The only thing that stopped him was that the Blackbird would get him there faster.

---

Early the next morning, Logan listened with a stony expression as the Professor explained everything that he had overheard the night before. The rest of the X-Men, currently consisting of Scott, Ororo, Jubilee, Bobby and Piotr, grew more agitated as they heard the details Rogue had sent the Professor. Scott had obviously been working on a plan all night. What he laid out was too excruciatingly detailed otherwise. Logan sat with crossed arms and grunted whenever Scott required a comment from him.

Finally that part was over. They had been warned to pack bags, including their uniforms, before the briefing. They grabbed their gear and boarded the plane. Jubilee carried a second bag along with her own, one that smelled of leather and a faint trace of Rogue, probably preserved in the case where her uniform had been stored. While no one was exactly chattering happily, Logan did hear several low-voiced conversations during the flight that revealed even more how much everyone else had known about Rogue's whereabouts.

“So I went to the White Dove the first night I was there 'cause I wanted to see Rogue at work. Damn, is that place awesome! The manager is one fine specimen of a man, too, even for an older guy. I told Rogue she should go for it. I wonder if she did,” Jubilee was telling Bobby, who snorted.

“Jubes, you know you think more with your dick than any guy I know, right?” Okay, so maybe the Popsicle could be funny sometimes.

“Seriously, dude, he is hot! I won't mind getting another view of that eye candy, let me tell you!”

Logan growled as quietly as he possibly could. Meanwhile, up front Scott and Ororo were also talking.

“I wonder how Rogue is doing with her new abilities,” Ororo mused.

“I just hope she can bring them to a fight by now. They would be pretty useful.” Well, that was great. More cryptic remarks on what sounded like an absorption Rogue had made—a permanent one? He knew it was pretty damaging to her psyche whenever she touched someone.

“I look forward to the experience. She was quite graceful last month when we were practicing, although her technique is obviously different than mine,” Ororo said as she examined her nails.

Graceful? Technique? Logan refused to ask. He had managed to avoid mentioning Rogue for the past year through sheer will. He saw no reason to break the habit now, even if they were going on a mission she instigated.

The rest of the flight was relatively quite, punctured by references to Rogue's life and their knowledge of it that he didn't understand. The burning knot in his stomach, however, suggested he was only too willing to find out what was going on once he got his hands on the girl, and maybe not in the nicest ways.

They landed in a field to the west of New Orleans. In the inexplicable way that Xavier sometimes had, two cars had been left near the landing site. Logan took the wheel of one, Scott the other. To his annoyance, Jubilee and Bobby picked the SUV Logan was driving to ride in while Ororo and Piotr went with Scott. Since Jubilee knew where they were going, she played navigator as Logan drove, carefully noting the directions so that they could get back. The group pulled into a public parking lot half an hour later. Once they were parked and had piled out of the cars, Jubilee led them two blocks to the west. The building she stopped in front of was an old row-style house obviously renovated into a business sometime in past half-century. They clustered around her for a moment on the door that held a sign reading “Closed” in a specific pattern.

A tall man answered the door. He was blond, about Scott's age, and lightly tanned. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled.

“You must be Rogue's guests. Please, come in! We'll get y'all something to eat if you're hungry, although the kitchen doesn't officially open for another hour. Rogue, honey, you've got guests!” the man shouted as he ushered them inside. “Ah'm Michel LeBeau, by the way. Ah was glad to hear that you were coming to help us out with our little problem.” His eyes went from merry to dark and brooding in a blink.

“Ah'm coming, Mike! Ah was just putting together some sandwiches in case they were hungry!” Rogue shouted from the back.

Michel led them into the main room of the bar. Red walls gave the room a darker, more brooding atmosphere. The wood of the old, worn furnishings gleamed in the light coming in from the bar's one large window. Michel waved toward the very well-kept bar and said, “Please, sit at the bar. It's easier to talk here.”

Just then, Rogue came out from the back carrying a tray piled with sandwiches. Logan gaped in shock.

She was wearing a dark green t-shirt that barely managed to cover her midriff, a short black skirt and black flats. Was he just imagining that there was more white in the dark hair piled into a high ponytail on the back of her head? The neckline of her shirt left hardly anything to the imagination, and she wasn't wearing gloves of any sort. Which meant that she could control her mutation! In fact, she moved easily by mike, not cringing away as he patted her shoulder, something that made Logan's blood boil.

“Rogue!” The shout from Jubilee broke his reverie. He scowled as he noticed that Rogue was somehow looking at everyone except him when she smiled a welcome.

“Jubilation Lee, Ah swear that if you make me drop these sandwiches, Ah will kick your ass from here all the way back to the mansion!” Rogue warned as her friend bounced up, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

“Promise?” Jubilee asked in a whisper, a somber light in her otherwise laughing eyes.

“Someday, maybe,” Rogue amended. Jubilee shot her a look then subsided, claiming a barstool as Rogue placed the platter of food on the bar before taking her usual place behind it.

“Now, what can Ah get y'all to drink?” she asked, starting with Scott and Ororo. Down the line the answer was water until she got to the end.

“Whiskey.” Rogue hadn't looked at him yet, hadn't wanted to see his usual apathetic gaze fixed on her. Her lips tightened briefly at his order, but she reminded herself that he wasn't her problem anymore, and besides, he was there to help.

“Coming right up!” she said as brightly as she could manage.

Once she had delivered the waters and whiskey, still not looking at Logan, Rogue settled onto her own stool behind the bar. “Thanks so much for coming down here, y'all. This thing, it's really got me worried,” she said carefully.

“We have the particulars from Professor Xavier, so don't worry about briefing us. Why don't you tell us how you've been?” Ororo suggested, cutting Scott off with a look as she bit into her sandwich.

Rogue shrugged. “Ah'm doing good. It's a slower pace here than in New York. Ah've fallen in with a group...” she said, then glanced at Michel. He winked at her.

“Rogue here is what we like to call unofficially a member of the Thieves' Guild here in the Big Easy,” he drawled.

The X-Men stared at her in shock. Rogue blushed and shook her head. “It's not as bad as all that, y'all. Ah'm honest, even if my friends aren't always,” she said, wrinkling her nose at Mike. “That issue Ah had a few ago involved saving the lives of a few of their members, which apparently means that Ah have some sort of call on their immortal souls or something like that.”

Jubilee shook her head. “Dammit, I left at the wrong time, chica! If I had been here for that, we could have gotten into some wicked fun!”

Rogue's expression tightened before she could stop it. “Don't be stupid, Jubes. You might have been killed like some of the others and then would Ah have done? Ah didn't say everyone made it out alive,” she snapped.

Silence descended for a moment before Jubilee reached out a hand. “Sorry, Rogue. I forgot about that. Was she...has it been really hard living with her in your head?”

Rogue rolled her eyes but clasped her friend's hand for a second. “Babe, it's been a piece of cake having a homicidal maniac stuck up there twenty-four seven, let me tell you,” she said softly. She met Jubilee's eyes and smiled weakly. “Ah'm dealing.”

The sound of glass shattering startled them all. Rogue finally looked at Logan. He was glaring at her, his fist clenched around what was left of his glass. Blood, whiskey, and ice pooled in the glass shards under his hand. Rogue felt as if he were trying to strangle her with his eyes...which he probably was.

“Logan! What the fuck?!” she yelled automatically, grabbing a towel and rushing over to clean up the mess. She pried his fingers away from the remainder of the glass, but once she dropped the jagged pieces into the trash can she felt him catch her hand in his strong grip.

“What the fuck is right, Rogue,” Logan growled at her. “We need to talk. Now.”

Rogue glanced at the rest of the X-Men, all of whom had decided that the bar's granite counter top had absolutely amazing patterns that required further analysis, thus they were staring at them very intently. It looked like they were done shielding her, then. Good thing she didn't need a shield anymore. Rogue looked back at Logan and smiled tightly. She flexed her fingers oh so gently and watched his eyes grow wide as she drew her hand away from his adamantium-clad fingers. Rogue knew he was thinking that she shouldn't have been able to do that. She tossed the towel to Michel and told him, “Ah'm going out back for a minute with Mr. Growly here, honey. Ah'll be back in time to collect them all before opening.”

Then she slipped by him to go through the kitchen and office areas, feeling Logan's brooding presence following her. She opened the metal door to the back courtyard and almost had it shut behind the two of them when she heard Michel yell, “No holes in the walls, Rogue! That brick is expensive to replace!”

Silence was thick in the hot air as Rogue leaned against the outside of the building, arms crossed, still looking anywhere except at him. She kicked her heel back toward the brick carefully, mindful of Michel's warning. No holes, not from a casual kick, and definitely not from throwing someone into the wall because she got pissed off at him. The shuffling sounds nearby told her that Logan was pacing around, restless. She was a little surprised at that, to be honest. Despite what the others had been telling her for the past year, she had thought that Logan would get over her leaving fairly quickly. After all, they were only friends. Then again, you don't threaten to kill most of the staff of a school because they helped your friend start a life somewhere else—not even when most of that staff could usually take care of themselves in a fight. That notion had thrilled her when she first heard it, she was honest enough to admit that to herself. He hadn't even tried to find her, though. As usual, he hadn't cared enough. That one burst of anger had obviously been all he had in him for her.

Suddenly Rogue found her head framed by two hands that came crashing down onto the wall on either side of her, palms flat against the rough surface. She refused to look up at him, though. Too much had changed, and yet the same old feelings were still there in her, like they had a choke-hold on her. She wasn't about to admit that part, though.

“Why?” Rogue had expected a roar from him. Instead, Logan's voice was almost too low for her to hear. She tried to harden her heart toward the plea she heard in it.

Jaw clenched, Rogue finally stated, “Because Ah had to.”

“Why the fuck did you have to, Marie?” There was the yell she had been waiting for. She needed that. It gave her the strength to yell back because, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't block out his pain. She could sure as hell shout, though.

“Ah got tired of watching you self-destruct, Logan! You needed us to be strong. You needed to go out and get shit-faced night after night, sleep with every woman in the state who would have you, and repeat ad nauseum. You needed to wrap everyone around you up in layers of cotton so tight that we were suffocating just so that you wouldn't run the risk that one of us would be outside of your goddamn control and get hurt!” Rogue said loudly, finally allowing her eyes to flash up to his as she stepped forward, green clashing with hazel, slamming her finger into his chest with every point she made. Since she wasn't being nice, he was forced back a step each time.

“Meanwhile, what did the rest of us want? It didn't fucking matter! What did Ah want? Who cares? As long as Logan is happy, everything is good, right? Fuck NO!” she shouted at him, throwing her hands up in the air. “Ah wanted to live, Logan! Ah wanted to be loved, to be treated as an equal instead of a fucking china doll up on a mantel who wasn't allowed to do anything or be anyone you didn't think Ah should be! Ah got sick and tired of the world revolving around what was best for you and finally, finally got on with my own life because, no matter how good a friend you were, Ah did not deserve that!”

Logan was staring at her as if he had never seen her before, and in a way that made Rogue feel even better. Damn straight, buddy, look your fill because the meek little girl you thought you knew was a fucking illusion, she thought with a twisted satisfaction that did nothing to relieve the lump in her throat.

Rogue let her voice drop some. “And if you're thinking that Ah'm wrong in the way Ah saw things, maybe you should just wonder why everyone in that damn school knew where Ah was and what Ah was doing except you. Why didn't anyone let it slip, not once this past year, Logan?” she asked.

He was stills taring at her with a look in his eyes she didn't recognize. It wasn't apathy or indifference or even mild affection, all the expressions she was so used to from him, and she couldn't take that. Rogue whirled around and walked back toward the door. His voice stopped her.

“Why didn't you just say all of this to my face, Marie, instead of running away?” There was pain there, a pain that made her own heart feel like it was ripping in two.

“Ah didn't think you cared enough to listen to what Ah really had to say, Logan,” Rogue admitted softly, knowing he would hear her. Then she slipped inside without looking back, leaving Logan in that scorching courtyard staring at the gray metal of the door.

---

Logan glared at the door Rogue had just disappeared through in shock. He felt his hands clench and the claws pop out, but in a way the pain felt good. It was grounding. So many thoughts were running through his mind that it was almost impossible to latch on and finish any of them.

She thought he didn't care.

She didn't want to care about him.

He had suffocated her.

She wanted a life away from him.

Her eyes were dark green. When did that happen?

She was so much more vibrant than he remembered.

Had she been repressing all of that because of him?

She smelled so damn good.

He missed her.

He wanted her back.

She didn't want to come back.

He couldn't lose her again.

That last fragmented thought snapped Logan out of the shock he was feeling. It was true. Somewhere along the line, she had become too important for him to lose. Just seeing her again, being in the same space and breathing the same air, felt right no matter how pissed off she was at him. Nothing in the past year had felt like that. He had to convince her to come back, to give the mansion—and him—one more chance. She was right in some ways about how he had felt before, the way he treated her. Now he had to make it up to her, show her how important she was to him. His mind still shied away from exactly why that was so important. It just was. Rogue was.

Logan went back inside the bar filled with a new conviction that he had to make things right between them but unsure how to make that happen. He took his seat again without looking at his teammates or Michel. He stared at the new glass of whiskey in front of him for several minutes just listening to the conversations murmuring around him before slowly taking a sip. The burn felt good, so soothing, and he was finished by the time Rogue hopped back off her stool.

“All right, Ah have an apartment where you can change, and then we'll just wait until night to head out. Mike, please let Remy know we'll be meeting at the St. Louis Cathedral at sunset,” Rogue said, reaching up to pat the man's cheek as she passed him by.

“Anything for you, Rogue,” Michel told her. “And Angie.”

Rogue shot him a sad smile before turning to the X-Men. “Ah got a ride here today from a neighbor, so can I hitch with one of you?” she asked.

“Sure, Rogue. C'mon, we have tons to talk about!” Jubilee said, jumping forward and grabbing her arm before anyone else could respond.

The X-Men headed out and down the street. Logan watched Rogue and Jubilee as they walked, heads close together. The city noise and conversations of the others made it a little difficult to filer out what they were saying, but Logan felt that he needed to keep tabs on Rogue now. To do that, he needed to gather as much information about what she'd been doing as possible.

“I can't believe you haven't tried for Mike!” Jubilee said.

Logan watched a blush creep up Rogue's neck and knew it reached her cheeks. “Jubes! He's my boss, for one thing. And he's not really my type.”

“Oh, so what's your type, chica? Tall and red?” Huh? Damn! What the fuck was that about?

Rogue laughed a little. “That was just a bit of craziness, babe. The boy's too inclined to sniff around, if you know what Ah mean. It was fun while it lasted, but it wasn't for keeps, and we both knew it,” she said, confirming Logan's fears but setting most of them to rest at the same time.

Jubilee shook her head. “I don't know, Rogue. He seemed pretty gone on you when I was here!”

Rogue shook her head. “Trust me, Jubes. He was gone on another girl the night after Ah told him Ah wasn't going to be going out with him anymore. Remy's just like a tomcat, always in heat!”

Logan's knuckles itched. Remy, huh? He wondered if the guy they would be meeting later and this one were the same. He was betting they were.

“Those are the ones who are the most fun, though!”

“Oh, Ah had my fun, Jubes. Don't you worry about that,” Rogue laughed. Logan's gut clenched at the little purr in her voice.

“So is he any good in the sack? Now that I don't have to worry about you, chica, I might give him a whirl,” Jubilee said eagerly.

“Sensational. Get him to do the card trick. He'll know what you mean,” Rogue said, that purr even more evident. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Ooooh, after seeing what he can do with a deck of cards, I can hardly wait!”

“Of course you can't, babe. You're as bad as he is!”

That didn't sound very good. Logan knew much more than he ever wanted to about Jubilee's sex life due to the fact that her room was a little too close for comfort sometimes. If this Remy person had a similar appetite...not good. He might have to kill him before Jubilee could have her fun.

They finally reached the cars. Somehow, in the shuffle everyone else piled into one car. This left Rogue and Logan to take the other one. Logan saw her lips tighten before she held out her hand.

“It's my apartment. Ah'll drive,” she said.

Logan shook his head. “You can just give me directions,” he told her.

Rogue glared at him. “See what Ah mean? You always have to be in control!” she said through gritted teeth.

Seeing that he was proving her point, he reluctantly tossed her the keys. “Fine. Drive,” was all he said.

Rogue slid in behind the wheel and adjusted the seat and mirrors. Logan saw her glance at him before she pulled out. “You know they did that on purpose, right?” she said as she entered traffic.

Logan snorted. “Yeah. I think they were afraid to get caught in the crossfire.”

Rogue smiled slightly. He loved seeing her smile. It was just one of the many things he'd missed about her. “Ah have a feeling you're right. Never would have thought of them as cowards, though,” she mused as she drove.

Logan settled back in his seat. “There's a difference between facing deadly fire and friendly fire,” he said.

Rogue just smirked, nodded and kept driving. They were quiet for a few minutes before Logan turned his head to look at her again. Yeah, there were definitely more white strands in her hair. He hadn't been mistaken about her eyes, either. They were green, a deep velvety green instead of the chocolate brown he was familiar with, and he wondered for the first time how well he really knew Rogue. Yes, they had lived in the same house for years, and for a couple of years before she left they would hang out pretty regularly, but he was beginning to realize that there were a lot of things he didn't know about her.

Logan figured it was time to focus on one of the more recent things he didn't know, though. “So, what was that about the homicidal maniac?” he asked, trying very hard to be casual about it when really he wanted to rip someone's throat out at the thought of Rogue near someone matching a description like that.

Rogue sighed, rubbed the back of her neck with one hand. “Nothing Ah couldn't take care of,” she told him shortly.

“Obviously. I'm still curious, though. I can tell you're a lot stronger than you used to be, physically.” Logan almost choked on his own understatement, but he was still trying for casual.

Nodding slowly, Rogue finally said, “Ah was out with a guy a few months ago, at a party with him and some of his friends. Ah found out later they were mostly Thieves' Guild members. Ah guess someone had it in for some of them because suddenly a fucking hole was in the wall, and a woman walked through it. She had this crazy cold look in her eyes, and she looked around for a few seconds like she was trying to find a target. Well, then she started laying into this guy Jean-Pierre, and the next thing Ah know he's on the ground, his skull just flattened like a pancake on one side. Then she comes after my date. Ah...hadn't told any of them that Ah was a mutant, even though Ah knew some of them were. Ah wanted an ace up my sleeve, you know? So just as she was drawing back to deck Remy, Ah grabbed her bare arm and turned on my skin.” Rogue fell silent for a few minutes.

“That's new, isn't it?” Logan finally asked. When she glanced at him he added, “Your control. You weren't able to do that before.”

Rogue's lips tightened in a way that told him she was annoyed. It took her a few more minutes to answer. “Yes, Ah was.”

“You were?” Okay, maybe he shouldn't have yelled that, but what the fuck?

“The day Ah left Ah came to dinner without my gloves on. You didn't even notice, Logan.”

Oh. Shit. He'd been so focused on keeping everyone safe and his lingering grief that he hadn't paid attention to one of the most important days of her life. That could not be good, and the only thing he could think to say was, “I'm sorry, Marie.”

He saw her lips quirk up a little at the corners. “Ah figured you would be. Ah got over it, mostly.”

When she didn't say anything else he prodded, “So what happened once you touched that woman?”

Rogue grimaced. “Ah realized that she wasn't gonna stop. She was a mercenary named Carol Danvers, and the government fucked her up pretty good at one point, actually driving her crazy. The people who hired her...they weren't gonna stop, either, as far as she knew. Their price for the heads of my friends was certainly high enough to give her plenty of incentive to keep going. So Ah held on until she stopped moving, and then she stopped breathing. Ah knew Ah had killed her, but Ah was so busy with what was going on in my head that Ah just couldn't care then. Remy tried to pull me away from her, and Ah was screaming at him not to touch me because Ah couldn't get control back right away. He just wrapped me up in his jacket and took me back to my place. He made some calls, and the body was disposed of.” She said it coolly, but he could smell the controlled terror and anger that the memories were bringing to the front of her mind.

“So you killed her. Did you keep her mutation?” That seemed like the next logical question, although there were a thousand others he wanted to ask about this Remy guy.

Rogue nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, Ah did. Ah'm getting real good with 'em, too. Show me some claw,” she demanded.

Logan looked at her like she was demented but eventually obliged. He cursed when she wrapped her hand around it quickly, squeezed and let go. “Fuck, Marie!”

Rogue held up her hand. Her perfectly smooth, uncut hand. “My skin is invulnerable, Logan. Ah don't have to worry about pesky things like bullets or blades anymore,” she said smugly.

Logan just stared at her hand until she dropped it back to the wheel, trying to recover from the shock. “And when have you encountered adamantium since that happened?”

“Ah haven't.”

Logan restrained the urge to strange her for her stupidity. He growled instead and glared out the window at the pedestrians and cars they were passing. That's when he noticed how fast they were going. When he looked in the side mirror and saw Scott still following, he didn't say anything. If the girl wanted to be a speed demon, let her. Hopefully she knew where the local speedtraps were and would avoid them. The minutes ticked as they drove,and the silence was getting to him. Before she left, they used to be able to sit together quietly for hours. It was comfortable then. Maybe it was the the unasked questions from the past year, but something was making it a little difficult for him to keep his mouth shut.

“So what else have you been up to besides taking out psychos?” Logan asked, keeping his eyes on the scenery even though he desperately wanted to look at her.

“Oh, this, that and the other thing. Ah bartend on the weekends, and Ah do some substitute teaching to get by,” she replied. Just then she swung the SUV to the side and whipped into a parallel parking spot in front of a slightly-rundown apartment building. “We're here!”

Rogue jumped out of the SUV and looked at Logan. “Are the bags in the back?” she asked. When he nodded, she went around and started pulling out duffels even as the rest of the team pulled up in the other SUV and got out. Jubilee pointed out which bag held Rogue's uniform. She grabbed it and headed into the building, trailing the others behind her. She led them through the pale blue hallway and up the backstairs to the third, and top, floor. Rogue fished her keys out of her purse and opened her door, gesturing for the team to go in first.

Rogue's apartment consisted of a large living area, a nondescript kitchen tucked off to one side with appliances that might have been purchased around the time of her birth, and a bedroom that fit her king-sized bed and little else. The best part, and its one saving grace, was that it had an inordinately large bathroom for its size. Rogue watched those who had never visited before take in the amenities, especially Logan. He walked around looking at her sparse hand-me-down furniture, and she could see his nostrils flaring as he sniffed. She wondered what it was that he was looking for.

“Just make yourselves at home. Ah wouldn't suggest changing into your uniforms until closer to the time to meet. It'll get pretty hot in here with all the body heat, and adding leather to t hat is like asking for heat stroke! Bathroom's through the first door to your right. If anyone wants a nap, my bed's available,” Rogue said, struggling not to blush as she realized how that sounded. Jubilee smirked at her, and since her friend was close enough, Rogue smacked her lightly on the arm.

“Does the TV work?” Logan asked as he dropped onto her couch and looked dubiously at the old set she had purchased recently.

“Of course it does!” Rogue replied indignantly. Trying to control the urge to smack him somewhere a little more damaging than his arm, she turned to the others who were prowling around. Jubilee had already made herself comfortable in her favorite chair, a black leather thing that she insisted always went well with her yellow. Piotr joined Logan on the couch, and Bobby, Scott and Ororo settled for the small dining table against one wall.

“Can Ah get any of you something to drink?” Rogue asked as she headed toward the kitchen. A chorus of “No, thank you”—or variants—followed her even as the TV was switched on. The guys were lucky in that she had been watching a hockey game last, so ESPN was on.

Rogue was pouring herself a glass of water when her doorbell rang. Glass in hand, she headed toward the door and looked out the peephole. Glowing red eyes stared back at her. Grinning, Rogue opened the door and gave her visitor a hug.

“Remy! Ah thought we said we wouldn't meet until tonight!” she said as she pulled him inside and closed the door quickly.

“Eh, petite, Remy wanted to meet these friends of yours. Remy sees a dangerous one in here already,” the red-haired man said with an answering grin as his eyes light on Jubilee, who had jumped up. “Chere, you lookin' good!” He let go of Rogue's waist and moved to take Jubilee's hand, dropping a kiss on it. Rogue watched in amusement, rolling her eyes a bit at the way Jubilee's glazed over at that kiss.

Rogue sipped her water to hide her smirk as Remy greeted Ororo. He hadn't been in town when Ororo visited last, although he had been the one to call the mansion and talk to her after Rogue's run-in with Carol Danvers. Watching the interaction between the serene beauty and the too-suave Cajun was highly entertaining. Apparently Remy wasn't used to his lines falling flat like that. Hell, even Rogue had given in for a short time, albeit grudgingly and with an eye toward seeing if maybe that charm could help her get over a certain mutant glowering on her couch. Unfortunately, that plan hadn't worked very well, although the effort had been enjoyable in and of itself.

“Remy, what are you doing here?” Rogue asked again after she introduced him to the men as Remy LeBeau, otherwise known as Gambit among the thieves.

“Petite, Remy think maybe we go over the two groups' plans, come up with just one,” Remy told her, moving back to where she was leaning against the wall next to the table.

Rogue grimaced. “You're right, Ah guess. Ah wasn't sure how they'd react to our ideas,” she said, silently amending that she wasn't sure how Logan would react to them. She was aware that she had caught the X-Men's attention, though.

“What idea is that, Rogue?” Scott asked, his eyebrows raising over the ruby-quartz lenses of his sunglasses.

Shrugging, Rogue replied, “Well, Ah figured that you'd have made plans to distract most of the guards while getting the prisoners out as safely as possible. Ah told my friends, and they made a pretty valid point. We don't just need a distraction. We need bait.”

Of them all, only Logan seemed to understand at first. “No fucking way!” he growled predictably.

Rogue ignored him. “We need a mutant, preferably female, who will appeal to their greed. Oh, if only they can take her during the fight, defeat the rest of these meddlesome mutants, breed little mutant babies on her to sell to the highest bidder...just think, they could be rich!” she said, sarcasm dripping from her lips like poison. “It will have to be someone who looks fairly weak in the physical sense and with a mutation that they think is more defensive than offensive, one easily tamed with drugs and valuable on the black market after she pushes out so many brats she loses the ability to breed more from exhaustion or something.”

Realization came quickly for the rest of the X-Men. Rogue was pleased to note that most of the expressions were considering, not forbidding in the way she had feared. There was, of course, one glaring exception—literally. His hazel eyes burned her as he tried to get her attention, but she persisted in pretending that she didn't notice.

“So you want to play bait, Rogue? Do you know what that means?” Scott asked as he leaned forward over the table.

Rogue nodded. “Yeah, Ah do. Ah'll have to let them get pretty close to me, and Ah won't be able to use most of my new mutations until we have enough of them out of that building to make sure that the team going in will have an easy time getting pregnant women, weak men, and children out,” she said. Chin high, she told him, “Ah can do it. They won't be able to trank me, so there's no way they can get their hands on me. Ah'm the best one for the job.”

“Why the fuck do we need bait, anyway? We're not exactly lacking in firepower just with the people in this room, not to mention the reinforcements the Cajun can get us,” Logan asked loudly, still staring at her.

Rogue swung to face him, hands on her hips. “We need bait because that will draw out the ones with the real firepower. Those are the people we need out of the way while the rescue is underway. Otherwise, one of those poor women might get killed, or one of those babies, and no fucking way am Ah gonna let that happen if Ah can avoid it!”

“What happened to being bullet proof and all that shit? Why do you need to put yourself out there even more?” Logan was really shouting now, which made Rogue raise her voice to match his for the second time that day.

“Because Ah want to, Logan! If Ah didn't have these damn extra powers Ah'd be just as vulnerable as those other women to predators like these! What good would my skin have done before against tranquilizer darts or beatings as long as it it was covered? The bullet proof skin and the strength and everything make it my responsibility to stop what's going on now that Ah know about it, because they can't! It's my life, so butt out!”

Logan opened his mouth to argue, but he was cut off. “I agree with Rogue. This is something that will help the plan succeed. The more effective the distraction, the easier it will be to extract the mutants being held,” Scott said, calm and cool.

Rogue smiled tightly at him. “Thank you, Scott. Now, Ah need a little fresh air. Ah'll be back in a minute,” she said. Draining her glass, she put it in the sink, ignoring the looks that Scott and Ororo exchanged.

Rogue stalked past the crowd in her living room and out to the small balcony attached to it. Even that wasn't enough space for her raging emotions after a few minutes, though, so she glanced inside to make sure no one was watching, then took the fire escape up to the roof. Once she reached the flat concrete expanse, Rogue tried to breathe deeply as the Professor had once taught her. Centering her emotions was a little difficult at present, though, so Rogue decided that physical activity was in order despite the muggy heat of the afternoon. She looked at the opposite side of the roof, smiled a little, and ran toward the edge. Jumping lightly, she was airborne.

---

Logan watched Rogue go out to her balcony and ran a hand through his hair. Why the hell was the damn woman insisting on doing this? Okay, so admittedly she might be the best one for the job, but did she have a death wish? She was right. They would see her as a prize to be gained at all costs, especially if all she was showing was that deadly skin. In the past he had considered things like that, how valuable his various teammates would seem to the government. It was something that had to be taken into account when they were on some types of missions. Who do you try to keep out of the government's reach the hardest? He had talked about it with Professor Xavier several times. In fact, they had come up with a vulnerability chart for every student and former student of the place so that they could keep their eyes open for the ones whom the government would be all too glad to get their hands on.

When Logan saw Rogue go up the metal steps of her fire escape out of the corner of his eye, he decided to follow. The others were pretty absorbed in figuring out who would do what out of the two groups, so he slipped out onto the balcony and went up the rickety stairs himself. He reached the top just in time to see Rogue run for the edge and jump off. Yelling in horror, he ran for the spot she'd disappeared. A strange and incredibly beautiful sight met his eyes.

Rogue soared just above the level of the top windows of her building. She shot up high into the sky, twisting lazily in the sunlight. Logan felt his breath catch in his throat. If he had thought her beautiful before, he thought her gorgeous now. So full of energy and power, her whole body seemed to vibrate with it as she flew. She must have seen him standing there because she landed lightly after a few corkscrews and a dive that had his heart in his throat until she pulled out of it at the last second.

“What do you want?” she asked. Okay, so she was still angry.

“Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry, alright? It's just that the thought of you going into danger...I've never liked it,” Logan admitted. He was startled by her snort.

“You're so predictable, Logan. Ah knew you wouldn't be happy with my decision. That doesn't mean Ah'm gonna just give in and stay on the sidelines. Ah meant what Ah said. These new abilities of mine—Ah feel wrong if Ah'm not doing something with them when Ah know it can help. Ah feel like her life—and her death—was wasted,” she told him as she sat on the edge of the roof looking out, away from him. Logan realized that she meant the Danvers woman.

“You said yourself that she was going to kill your friends, Marie. You did the right thing,” he told her, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Rogue finally looked at him. “Ah still killed her, Logan. Ah felt every beat of her heart through her wrist, felt when the blood stopped flowing. Just because it was the right thing doesn't make it easy,” she said bitterly.

Logan nodded slowly. “Yeah, I know. And I guess I can see how you'd want to do what you can to make up for that death. I feel the same way sometimes,” he admitted, thinking about Jean, about things that haunted his sleep some nights that he couldn't remember in the daylight.

Rogue was silent, but she did reach up to grip his hand even as she turned to look back out at the city.

After a few minutes of silently standing there like that, grateful for that one touch if nothing else, Logan asked, “If you want to make a difference so much, does that mean you'll be coming back?” He held his breath as he waited for her answer.

She opened her mouth, hesitated, and then replied, “Ah guess so. Someday. Ah just...Ah can't live there like Ah did before, Logan. Ah can't stand...Never mind. Thank you for the apology.” The smile she gave him was overly bright, but he wasn't sure what to say, what to ask.

Logan moved back when she swung her legs back over to the roof and stood up. He stared into those eyes that were so different and yet held so many familiar, nameless emotions. Well, emotions he had never tried to name before. She smiled again, a small, sad smile this time, then took his hand.

“C'mon. Let's go back to the planning before all the good jobs are taken. After all, Ah have to have some fun after being 'bait',” she said, drawing him along behind her. He allowed her to, marveling at the feelings her small hand in his were producing inside him.

Logan noticed that all heads turned their way as he and Rogue went back into her apartment. No one said anything, however, and the conversation barely paused as Logan reclaimed his seat on the couch. Rogue meandered around the room, carefully not looking at anyone.

“Remy has five vans available for transport. We think dere are at least six women in da building, plus kids and men. Dey use some kind of mutation suppressor, we t’ink, to keep the prisoners subdued,” the red-haired man was saying in what had to be a fake accent. No one really talked like that, right? What kind of idiot referred to himself in third person?

Logan tried not to glare at the man who must be the one Rogue and Jubilee were talking about earlier, the one with the “card trick.” He couldn’t help wondering how Rogue really felt about the man, though. She seemed friendly toward him—was that usual for someone you broke up with? Logan didn’t have much experience in that department since his usual preference had always been for one-night stands. Had they even been dating, or did they just fuck? Had Rogue had any other relationships in her year here? Did he care? Did he have a right to care?

Fuck. That girl was making his head spin more in one day than in the entire seven years he had known her.

“—Wolverine?”

Logan glanced at Scott, who had obviously just asked him a question. He had no idea what the question was, though.

“Oh, I’m sure Wolvie will be happy to be on distraction detail with Rogue, Remy and me, Cyclops,” Jubilee said, throwing a dark grin at Logan. “I bet he just can’t wait.”

When Logan just grunted Scott sighed and nodded. “All right, then the rest of us will handle the extraction,” he said. Logan let his attention wander again as the Fearless Leader went on to explain their plan to Remy.

Logan watched Rogue out of the corner of his eye, saw how she listened intently to what Scott was saying. She had always taken missions very seriously, so much more than him sometimes, but he knew she was also very aware that things rarely went according to plan. He could practically see the gears in her head turning as she began to spin her own alternate plans, her own just-in-cases. That was something he had taught her to do, and he felt the old familiar warmth of pride in her overlaying all of these new feelings—or maybe it was just new revelations about old feelings.

---

Rogue saw Remy out after a grueling hour of planning. It was odd, using her living room to plan a mission, but at the same time she couldn’t help but feel grateful that the X-Men had come. If anyone could help rescue Angie, they could. Rogue felt that the chances of a successful rescue had increased a hundredfold.

The sun was lower on the horizon, but not quite low enough for them to change into their uniforms. They broke up into their original small groups, talking quietly or watching TV. Sometimes the waiting was the hardest part of a mission. Patience was a difficult thing to cultivate when you knew someone was in danger and wanted so desperately to help. Rogue found herself listening to Jubilee’s bubbling gossip about the other mansion residents, smiling at the occasional protest when Bobby or Piotr heard her “ridiculous exaggerations.”

Finally the time came to change, and the women went into Rogue’s bedroom with their bags. Replace the soft pink walls and deep rose-colored bedspread with gray metal lockers and stark white paint, and it was as if the year had never happened, as if they were just suiting up for yet another mission. The women laughed and joked as they pulled on the butter-soft black leather. Ororo's eyebrows rose when she saw that Rogue's hands were bare. Rogue stared at her solemnly, and the weather goddess simply nodded slightly and finished dressing while Rogue redid her ponytail. Jubilee gave Rogue a thumbs up as she slid back into her sleeveless yellow leather jacket, the one accessory Scott had not been able to ban her from wearing with her uniform.

When the women emerged from the bedroom, they found the men in pretty much the same positions as they had left them, mysteriously already geared up. Rogue and Jubilee exchanged smirks while Ororo just sighed. The bags containing their street clothes were piled into the bedroom, and then it was time to head back down to the cars. This time Jubilee would be joining Rogue and Logan since they would be on the same team for the mission. There was a tense moment when Logan realized that Rogue still had the keys and had no intention of giving them to him, but after he resigned himself to the passenger seat they headed out to meet Remy and his thieves.

The trip was fairly short but silent in the SUV. Even Jubilee seemed unable to think of a topic that they could talk about casually, so she just sat back and stared at the two dark heads in front of her. Rogue knew that her friend was doing her best to read her profile, so she struggled to maintain a calm and serene expression despite the fact that her attention wanted to head more in the direction of the large man next to her than the road. Somehow they made it safely to the cathedral parking lot, however, where they were met by Remy and a few others in the first van. Remy clambered into the SUV, settling behind Rogue and giving his friends a thumbs up sign. The van pulled out first. Rogue and Scott followed in the SUVs a few minutes later. At various times on the drive towards the outer limits of the city Rogue caught sight of one or more similar vans, just as knew she would, and then they were on a rural route with very little traffic at that time of day, when most regular people would be sitting down to dinner. Suddenly Rogue was following a line of vans as if by magic, and she grinned at Remy in the rear view mirror.

“Y'all just have to make an impression, don't you, Remy?” she teased him.

Remy smiled slightly. “But of course, petite. Gambit knows how to impress,” he said.

Jubilee and Logan spoke at the same time. “Gambit?” Jubilee sounded amused, while Logan was incredulous.

Remy just nodded. “Oui. Remy goes by 'Gambit' while on a job,” the flame-haired man said with a wink towards Jubilee, who grinned.

Before Logan could make a comment, which she was sure he wanted to do, Rogue jumped in. “That's right, Gambit. Ah forgot to clue you in on our codenames. Ah still go by Rogue in the field, and Jubes is Jubilee because she won't answer to Sparky,” Rogue said, flashing a quick smile at her friend. “And Logan is known as the Wolverine.” Rogue's eyes raked over him as she returned her attention to the road once more. She felt the blood rush into her cheeks as she remembered the first time she had heard that name and how much—or rather, how little—had covered Logan's very fine back at the time. It really was one of her favorite memories, no matter how much she tried to deny it. “Scott is Cyclops, Ororo is Storm, Bobby is Iceman and Piotr is Colossus,” she finished breathlessly, telling herself that Logan wasn't staring at her, examining that tell-tale blush.

Remy was quiet for a moment before he said, “Huh. What kind of a codename is Wolverine?”

Despite the seriousness of their mission, Rogue burst out laughing. She was actually looking forward to the hour-long drive ahead of them now. It obviously wasn't going to be boring, although she really did hope that Logan wasn't going to gut Remy before they managed to rescue the captured mutants.

Ten minutes later, Rogue had to admit to herself that the promising start to the drive had quickly descended into what threatened to be the most boring sixty minutes of her life. She kept glancing to her right at Logan or into the mirror, hoping to catch Jubilee’s eyes or even Remy’s. Those two only had eyes for each other, though. In any other circumstances it would have amused Rogue to see the hot looks flashing between them. After all, with two such combustible personalities, let along mutations, that could definitely turn out to be an interesting pairing. Right now all Rogue wanted was a distraction from the man sitting next to her, though.

“So, Remy, Jubes was telling me how much she’d love to see some more of New Orleans before heading home. Ah was thinking you might know a few places Ah hadn’t thought of,” Rogue said as casually as possible, totally ignoring the quickly choked squeak from her friend. After all, she couldn’t let Jubilee be all noise and no action, could she?

In the rear view mirror, Remy’s eyes lit on Jubilee as he grinned. “Really, chere? Remy does know maybe a few places you might like to see,” he said cryptically.

Rogue heard Logan snort softly beside her, and she couldn’t help but smirk. She knew he was thinking that Remy was going way overboard. He was probably right, but it was funny to listen to. It was definitely a way to beat the boredom of the drive ahead, egging on the flirtation between two good friends.

“You should take her to Frenchmen Street. We didn’t get there the last few times she came here,” Rogue suggested.

“Do you like jazz, chere? Frenchmen has some of the best jazz ever created. It will break your heart then fix it right back up,” Remy said, an unexpectedly poetic statement like he was sometimes capable of.

“Oh, that sounds wonderful,” Jubilee gushed. Rogue rolled her eyes and kept driving even as Logan snorted again.

Instead of finding the budding lust between her friends distracting, Rogue began to let her mind wander as their banter took on a sort of droning quality. As usual when he was nearby, her thoughts reluctantly turned to the man next to her and the situation ahead of them beyond the current mission.

Rogue knew that she would have to quit hiding eventually. She was pretty sure she was in a better mental place than she had been in years. She knew who she was now in a way that she never had before. She also acknowledged to herself that Logan was right earlier. Her new abilities and the way she felt about them meant that she would be returning to the X-Man fold, sooner versus later. That would mean dealing with how she felt about living in close proximity to Logan once again.

On one hand, the thought that she would be seeing Logan every day sent a little thrill through Rogue. As much as she hadn’t wanted to admit it, she missed him. She missed hearing his voice, the times they managed to enjoy the simple pleasure of hanging out whenever he wasn’t wallowing in guilt and sorrow at what fate had forced him to do. She missed looking up and seeing him standing at a window looking out, tracing the line of his body with her eyes and wishing it was her hands. In a way, he was like a drug to her, one she had forced herself to quit because she was drowning in him as much as he was drowning in the liquor every chance he got.

The question at this point was whether or not she was strong enough to resist the drug. Could she go back to the mansion and ignore how much she needed him, wanted him? Did she want to ignore it, and if she didn’t, what would happen?

---

Logan did his best to ignore the idiotic banter behind him as Jubilee encouraged that ridiculous Cajun to flirt with her. Really, how much smarm was that guy going to spread, and how in the world was it working on women who otherwise he would say were some of the smartest he knew?

He realized that allowing his thoughts to travel along those lines was probably a little dangerous for his sanity, but Logan couldn’t help wondering how Rogue had gotten mixed up with him in the first place and exactly what their relationship had been like. Of course, he couldn’t ask her. No matter how much he wanted to.

A quick glance to his left showed that Rogue was frowning ahead, her grip on the steering wheel turning her knuckles white. Logan couldn’t help himself. He reached over and put his hand over one of hers.

“We’ll get them out,” he said quietly, assuming that she was thinking about the captive mutants and their children.

“Hmmm…oh, yeah, Ah know,” Rogue answered absently. She flashed him a small smile, the first true smile he had seen directed at him since his arrival. The smile almost distracted him from the disquiet he saw in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” He still spoke quietly enough not to be heard over the banter in the back seat.

Rogue shook her head. “It’s nothing. Ah’m just…thinking.” Her voice was equally quiet.

“About?”

“The future.”

That threw Logan for a moment. She seemed tense; did she feel like the future was so grim? He decided that nothing could be hurt by asking.

“What’s so bad about it?”

Rogue’s lips twisted. “Did Ah say it was bad?”

Logan shook his head. “No, but you looked like you think it will be.”

She shrugged, loosened her grip on the wheel and let out a long breath. “No, Ah don’t think it will be. Ah hope it won’t be.”

He frowned. “That doesn’t sound like you’re very sure.”

“Ah’m not.” She shook her head and then seemed to perk up. “They’re turning off. I think we’re close.”

Suddenly all of the attention in the car was focused ahead of them. Logan scanned the lengthening gloom, anxious to get this mission completed with all mutants safe and as many of those bastards dead as he could manage. Then he could focus on what the hell was going on with Rogue.

The vehicles in the caravan dimmed their lights as they approached the trees that shielded the complex from prying eyes. Rogue followed the other mutants as they parked in a clearing half a mile south of their target. She turned to her three passengers.

“Everyone ready?” She threw a wild grin their way and opened her door. A strong grip on her wrist made her turn back.

“Don’t take too many chances, Marie,” Logan said, his eyes serious. “We still have a lot to talk about.”

Rogue’s smile softened. “Ah won’t take too many, sugar. Just enough to get the job done,” she promised, pulling her wrist away to step out of the car.

Jubilee grabbed her by the waist after hopping out from the back seat. “What’s up with you and Wolvie?” she tried to whisper in Rogue’s ear. Jubilee still had no idea what a whisper was.

Rogue rolled her eyes. “Shush. Are you ready to have some fun?”

“Do I get to see aerial acrobatics?”

“It’ll probably be the easiest way to get their attention without ripping down the fence…Ah might do that later, though,” Rogue mused as they joined the others.

A quick rehash of the plan—Rogue, Wolverine, Jubilee and Gambit would cause a distraction, the rest would go in once it looked like enough guards were occupied—and then the larger group melted into the trees while Rogue lifted into the air and flew slowly towards the entrance to their target. The other three jogged behind her, far enough away to be able to remain out of sight until she had the guards’ attention. After a few short minutes the gate was in sight, two bored looking men the only ones in sight. Rogue shook her head in mock disapproval at the way one was reading a magazine while the other kept flicking a knife into a nearby sapling and then running to retrieve it. That would be the one to take out first, she decided.

Rogue flew forward a bit faster until she was across the road from the two men but just over the treeline so that the moonlight would shine on her. “Yoo-hoo!” she called loudly, her voice echoing in the otherwise still twilight. “Y’all have a friend of mine, and Ah want her back!”

Their heads snapped up. Knife-thrower had just released his knife, and it stuck in the sapling while he looked at her, jaw dropping. Magazine-guy threw down the glossy pages and drew the firearm at his hip. “Stay where you are!” he yelled as he took aim.

“Oh, sugar, why would Ah be scared of little ole you?” she asked as she flew just a bit closer.

Magazine-guy kept her in his sights as she drifted higher. That was just fine to Rogue. He never saw Wolverine run in, but he sure felt the claws ripping into his chest moments before his eyes glazed over and rolled back into his head. Knife-thrower shouted, just as Rogue hoped he would, and ran towards the sapling holding his knife, apparently his preferred weapon since he left his gun propped next to the small guard shack. A shower of white-hot sparks exploded in his face at the same moment that a flaming card flew into his back, catching his dark uniform shirt on fire. Rogue glanced back to see Gambit and Jubilee grin fiercely at one another.

A movement to her left caught her eye, and Rogue looked back in time to see Wolverine slicing through the fence ten feet away. That must have set off an alarm because bright white lights began flashing across the compound, spotlights searching out the slightest movement, while ten heavily armed men poured out of a door in the middle of the largest building. Rogue maintained her height, giving them plenty to focus on as the lights slid over her dark hair, white streak prominent and setting her apart as different if the flying didn’t clue them in right away.

“C’mon and play, boys,” she yelled loudly, hoping that the sound of their boots slapping on the pavement combined with her taunts would distract them from the sound of movement in the trees behind her. Jubilee came to stand beneath her, hands sparkling like the Fourth of July. Gambit and Wolverine, finished shredding the steel fence like it was paper, held back, letting the two showy women lure out the guards even though Rogue knew it must be killing them both.

---

It had been months since Wolverine had had a chance to have a really good fight, and even though his first target hadn’t been much of a challenge he was hopeful for the next group. Even the adrenaline rushing through him didn’t stop him from worry about the woman hovering above, however. He tried to keep an eye on her even as the larger part of him focused on the first man coming out of the hole he had made. This one was hers, he knew, even though it galled him to let her attack. It always had. He had trained her, knew what she could do, so he tried to bury the worry in admiring her skill.

Admiration turned to surprise when she pulled a move he didn’t recognize. Rogue flew higher then dove back down to slam her fist into the guard’s temple before popping back up into a kick that would have incapacitated him even if she hadn’t been high enough to gracefully catch his throat with the tip of her boot and fling him back into his compatriots. The other guards flung him to the side, obviously not caring that he fell with a heavy thud. Their eyes were focused on Rogue and Jubilee, just like they were supposed to be. Wolverine decided that if Rogue kept fighting the way she was, he was safe to go down the fence a bit more and make a second and then a third hole large enough for three or four people to pass through side by side. He shot a glance into the woods as he finished the third hole and returned to the fray.

Wolverine was back in time to throw a punch at the man who was going for Jubilee’s back while she was distracted with kicking the ass of a tall redhead who probably thought she would be an easy target. “Thanks, Wolvie!” Jubilee called over her shoulder as she slammed into the giant in front of her, catching him off guard and knocking him to the ground. That’s where Jubilee’s advantage was, he knew, getting them once they were down.

More guards were running across the grass to join the fray. Wolverine lost himself in the fight, using fists sometimes but mostly claw. These men knew what they were guarding. That made them dangerous to mutants, a classification that meant deadly force as far as he was concerned. Rogue, Jubilee and Gambit appeared to agree because soon the grass at their feet was littered with bodies. It was only when no more came out that he noticed the stumbling line of mutant men and women, most with small children or infants clinging to them, making their way towards the holes in the fence. Scott was in the lead, and the other X-Men and Gambit’s Thieves were helping the frailer or heavily-pregnant women. A couple had kids riding their shoulders. Wolverine let himself relax and the claws snap back in. If they were moving like that, there were no further threats inside.

“We have them,” Scott called.

“Thanks, Scott. We’re gonna stay and do clean up, then we’ll meet back at the White Dove, okay?” Rogue yelled back.

Scott nodded and shot a look back at the building. “Think you’ll need help with that?”

Logan let his lips stretch in a grin as Rogue laughed. “Nah. You get those poor things somewhere safe. Hey, Angie!” she yelled with a wave to a short, blond girl who grinned wearily back at her.

Rogue turned back to him, so Logan forced his smile away. No need for her to know how just her laugh affected him.

“Sugar, I think the Thieves left us a little present by the tree line. Want to help me lug them back?” she asked. Logan just nodded and followed her to what he saw was a pile of red gasoline jugs, their yellow spouts gleaming in the bright lights still circling around.

“Arson, darlin’?” he asked, arching one eyebrow.

“Quickest way to get rid of the evidence,” Rogue said, not showing any discomfort at the endearment. Well, she had been the one to start with the whole “sugar” thing anyway. He thought he could get used to it pretty quick. They each grabbed two jugs and headed back to where Jubilee and Gambit were starting to pile the bodies against the larger building.

Flames licked the sky behind them as Rogue, Logan, Jubilee and Remy trudged away. They had stayed long enough to ensure that the flames consumed the guards’ bodies, but it was time to get out so that the authorities could be called in to control the fires. No one wanted to be responsible for starting a wildfire in southern Louisiana.

Jubilee and Remy walked a little ahead of Rogue and Logan, but Rogue was amused to see Jubilee glance back every few steps as if she was trying to make out what was going on between the two of them. Rogue caught her eye and raised an eyebrow. Jubilee grinned, undaunted, and gave Remy her undivided attention. Rogue shook her head a bit and maintained a tired silence while the two ahead chattered quietly.

The questions that had plagued her on the way to the rescue still rang in her mind. Now that the mission was complete, it was all she could think about. She remembered how Jubilee, devoted to making sure that Rogue stayed current on all of the mansion gossip while she was gone, often reported on how much Logan had changed. The question was, had he changed enough? Had she?

Rogue missed her family. Getting to fight with them had brought out a strange nostalgia in her. It would be so good to do this again, on a regular basis. Was that why she had this desire to throw in the towel on New Orleans and go rushing back to Xavier’s? Or was it the man walking next to her? Was she slipping back into that needy girl who would do anything for a crumb of his attention? If she returned, was she strong enough to stand up to Logan if he got all overprotective again? Would she be able to hold on to her new-found sense of self? Rogue was pretty sure that her assertive side wouldn’t just go back into hiding, that Logan and her ridiculously persistent feelings for him wouldn’t be able to shake that, but was it worth the risk?

Rogue’s contemplations were interrupted by their arrival at their vehicle. She eyed the driver’s door wearily as she fished the key out of the small, tight pocket at her hip. A large, warm hand closed over hers, making her jump. She looked up into Logan’s eyes.

“You’re tired, and you did a lot of good work today. Let me drive?” he asked quietly. Asked, not demanded. It was that as much as Rogue’s exhaustion that forced her to admit how physically and emotionally drained she was, at least to herself. She let the key slip into his hand and then expected him to drop hers. To her surprise, his fingers squeezed hers, his eyes warmed, and he smiled a little, one of the few smiles he had ever directed her way that wasn’t sarcastic or tinged with sadness and grief.

Rogue went around to the passenger side and climbed in. She clipped in her seatbelt, dropped her head back on to the headrest, and closed her eyes. Vaguely she heard Jubilee calling 911 to report a fire even as Logan started the car and pulled out of the clearing. Jubilee must have been using a drop phone; Rogue heard the distinctive sounds of Jubilee’s sparklies and smelled melted plastic. The window behind her rolled down and a clattering sound could be heard on the asphalt even as the window rolled back up. Rogue allowed her mind to drift, reassured that the emergency call wouldn’t be tracked to them.

Rogue woke up with a start when the car stopped. She opened and rubbed her eyes, then murmured good-bye to Remy, who was quietly exiting the vehicle so that he wouldn’t wake up Jubilee where she still slept in the backseat, snoring slightly. Remy whispered reassurances that he would see them later at the White Dove then closed the door. Logan grunted softly at the other man, and then they were off again. Rogue saw that they were driving down a dark, cramped street full of townhomes; she recognized Remy’s neighborhood. Realizing with dismay that she had fallen asleep only to leave Logan driving through an unfamiliar state and then city, she knew she would have stay awake to help navigate.

“Turn left at the next street,” she directed quietly, looking at Logan out of the corner of her eye.

He nodded and followed her direction. They fell into an unexpectedly easy silence, broken only by her instructions at first. After one particularly tight turn she saw him look her way quickly before turning his attention back to the road. Rogue braced herself for whatever he was about to say.

“Have you thought more about coming home?”

Rogue sighed and replied honestly, “Ah’ve been thinking about it for months, Logan. Ah’m just still not sure it’s a good idea.”

“What do I need to do to convince you, Marie? Is it…do you want me to leave?” Logan sounded reluctant and unhappy about the idea. Obviously he had become attached to the school, more than Rogue had thought possible.

She stared at him in horror. “No! Why would you even think that?”

“You left because you weren’t happy, and from your letter and what everyone has let drop that was at least partly my fault. I don’t want to be the one keeping you from your home, if that’s where you want to be. I just want you to be happy. If you can’t be with me there, I can leave. I’ve done it before.” The words were forced, bitter, and they made Rogue want to cry.

She grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly. “No, that isn’t what Ah want at all! Ah told you, Ah just needed to figure myself out, figure out what Ah want outta life,” she protested.

“Did you? Do you know what you want, Marie?” He twisted his hand so that his fingers tangled with hers.

Rogue felt her breath catch. Could she tell him? Did she dare take this leap? If she didn’t, would she really be being true to herself and all the work she had done? Wasn’t all of this about finding out who she was? The truth was, the part of her that was his was still there, still screamed for acknowledgment. Well, why not?

“Ah want you.” The words tumbled out of her mouth almost without her permission. She turned her head away from him to stare out the window blindly, unable to stand seeing the shock and possibly pity on his face.

---

Logan felt a heavy burden lift from his shoulders at Rogue’s words. She was radiating fear, anxiety, and sadness to his senses, and he realized that she was unsure what his reaction to her confession would be. For his part, Logan was so relieved that he could hardly speak. This was what had been bugging him. This was what he wanted, what he needed. He could only raise Rogue’s hand to his lips and press a kiss on her fingers. He was keeping an eye on the road, but he also managed to see her head whip around, disbelief in every line of her body. The few streetlights they passed didn’t quite explain the sheen in her eyes as she stared at him.

“Marie, the second I realized you left last year, I knew I wanted you back. I didn’t know why until I saw you again. I want you too, even if it’s taken me a while to admit it to myself,” Logan told her.

Rogue opened her mouth to reply, but he saw her eyes caught by something behind him. “Oh, hell. We should have turned two streets back, and Ah didn’t even notice!”

Logan sighed and turned onto the cramped street that she pointed to as an alternative. He spent the next minute or two listening to her smooth voice telling him to turn left or turn right, when all he wanted to do was stop the car and make her talk to him. Finally they were back in front of her apartment building. He parked and turned to Rogue, catching her under the chin with one hand so that she was forced to meet his eyes.

“Marie?” He was sure he didn’t need to say any more; she had to know what he was asking, what he couldn’t put into words.

Rogue gazed at him, and he wasn’t sure what to make of the serious look on her face. Then she smiled, just a small one but the happiest he had seen since his arrival in New Orleans. “All right, Logan. Ah’ll come home.”

Logan pulled her towards him. “Good,” he said just before his lips claimed hers. Her scent, the feel of her soft lips beneath his, and her very appealing taste threatened to overwhelm him, and the primitive part of his mind roared silently in triumph when she returned the kiss, parting her lips to welcome in the sweep of his tongue.

An irritating voice broke in, interrupting them. “Okay, guys, can we go in and change now? Isn’t it time to party? Does this mean you’re coming home, Roguey? Hey!” Logan pulled away from Rogue in time to see her swat blindly back at Jubilee, connecting with the side of her friend’s annoyingly bright yellow shoulder.

“Yes, Jubes,” was all Rogue said. She rolled her eyes towards Logan, her cheeks an attractive pink that made him wonder how far down the flush went. She smiled at him again and then quickly got out of the car. Logan watched her open Jubilee’s door and drag her friend out before he got out as well. He wanted to laugh when he heard what she was whispering fiercely to Sparky as she marched her into the building.

“Jubes, your timing sucks. Do you know how long Ah’ve been waiting for that?” Rogue was asking in a pretty good growl of her own.

Logan saw Jubilee nod in a world-weary way. “Chica, if I tried to remember back that far my brain might explode. Let’s get out of this leather, okay? I’m baking.”

Hmmmm…Logan liked the sound of that last comment, although it also made him feel a little guilty for not noticing what was right under his nose for so long. Well, that just gave him a lot to make up for, he decided as he followed the two women up the stairs, paying particular attention to one very fine leather-clad ass.

Rogue and Jubilee changed back into their street clothes. Jubilee teased her mercilessly until Rogue let one or two comments about her all-too-obvious interest in Remy drop. That stopped her friend long enough for Rogue to pull on a more flattering top than the one she’d been wearing earlier in the day, this one black and green lace lined with a black silk shell. The black skirt would do, but instead of her flats Rogue pulled on a pair of knee-high boots that she thought Logan might appreciate.

After they were dressed, Rogue and Jubilee grabbed Ororo’s clothes, piled neatly on the bed, and stuffed them into the duffel she’d had her uniform in. Rogue assured Jubilee that there would be a place for her to chance at the White Dove. Better to get there quickly so she could, Rogue explained, than let her neighbors see so many of them dressed all in leather again, putting who knew what kind of notions into their heads on the same night that a mysterious fire might be reported on in the north.

To Rogue’s disappointment, Logan was fully dressed when she and Jubilee reentered the living room. He must have noticed the slight droop in her shoulders because he smirked as he picked up the men’s duffels.

“Ready to go join the party, darlin’?” he asked, obviously pretending to ignore Jubilee who was leering suggestively between the two of them.

Before Rogue could reply, her friend piped up, “I’m sure you two could do some partying of your own here if you want me to give everyone else your regards.”

Rogue blessed the fact that she had a free hand as she smacked the back of Jubilee’s head. “Mind out of the gutter now, Jubes! Let’s go,” she said with a roll of her eyes towards Logan to disguise the embarrassment she felt. He didn’t help matters when his smirk widened. Rogue stuck her nose in the air and led the way out of her apartment.

Logan grabbed her hand as she passed. She squeezed his fingers and then let go to grab her purse from the hook beside the door. The stairs were a little awkward to navigate going down thanks to the large bags; it had been easier carting them up! Finally they were back down at the car, and Rogue fished around in her purse for her keys.

“Looking for these?” Logan dangled her keys in front of her.

Rogue grimaced. “Yeah. Maybe Ah’m still tired,” she said ruefully as she eyed them. “You want to drive again?” There, that wasn’t him taking control or her being weak. She was just acknowledging that her attention might not all be on the road, a dangerous situation at a time of night when they might be dodging drunks, both walking and driving.

“As long as you promise not to fall asleep this time. I think I definitely need the help finding my way around this damn warren of a city.” Logan eyed the narrow street she had lived on for the past year.

Rogue giggled, a carefree sound that surprised her. She didn’t giggle, for goodness sake. Best to nip that in the bud as soon as possible! She forced herself to settle for a more sedate smile, no matter how much it felt like small bubbles of relief were popping in her chest, lifting her spirits. This could work. She started to really believe that being around him, maybe even being in a relationship with him, could be doable.

Jubliee broke into her reverie by pushing forward to open the back hatch. She stowed her duffel, gave Rogue a look, and then climbed into the back seat. Rogue let her grin spread again and threw Ororo’s bag in, relying on Logan to close the gate after he crammed in the other bags. She hopped into passenger seat, buckled her seat belt and then stared out at the New Orleans night in front of her. She was going to miss this city, she knew, but it was going to be worth it to be with her family again. When Logan got in on the driver’s side and immediately took her hand in his, twining their fingers together, Rogue smiled and leaned towards him, ostensibly to give him directions but really just to be close him.

Within minutes they were pulling into a public parking lot a few blocks from the White Dove. Since it was the largest one so close to their destination, it made sense to Rogue to see Scott, Piotr, Ororo and Bobby waiting for them, all still in their leather uniforms. Ororo grabbed her clothes and scrambled around in the back of the SUV she’d arrived in to change, while Scott, Piotr and Bobby took turns cramming into Rogue’s SUV so that they could twist and turn enough to get out of their uniforms and into jeans and T-shirts. Jubilee bounced into the bar, obviously on the look-out for a certain red-haired, red-eyed man. Rogue wished her luck with a laugh.

---

While they waited on their teammates, Logan took the opportunity to wrap an arm around Rogue’s waist and draw her near. When she shot him a quick smile and settled in against his side, he felt a part of himself that had been constantly irritated for far too long settle to a quieter brooding. He knew he wouldn’t feel completely at ease until he had Rogue back with him at the mansion. He wondered how long it would take for her to move back as he stared down at the top of her dark head, mesmerized by the white strands mixing with the dark in her long hair.

Scott stepped up to them wearing jeans and a T-shirt that didn’t look as if they’d been stuffed into a duffle bag hours earlier. Did the man fold up the damn things, Logan wondered. He wasn’t sure what irritated him more, Scott’s immaculate-after-a-battle appearance or the way his eyebrows reached for his hairline when he saw Logan’s arm around Rogue.

“Are you happy we got your friend out in one piece, Rogue?” was all Scott said, though. Logan supposed he should be grateful that the younger man wasn’t trying to interrogate them like an irate father or something.

“Of course Ah am, Scott. Ah don’t know what Ah would have done if they had hurt her or killed her. Now Ah guess we just have to wait and see if there’s any permanent unseen damage,” Rogue said, frowning slightly and shivering.

“The Professor is arranging for all of the former captives to receive the very best medical care and a place to stay if they don’t have one,” Scott said. Then he cleared his throat. “There’s the matter of your apartment…”

Logan saw Rogue stare at Scott uncomprehendingly for a few moments, and he admitted to himself that he didn’t know what Scott was getting at. Rogue caught on a little more quickly, though.

“Oh, you mean the Professor will be needing my apartment to house them?” she asked, consternation flooding those beautiful brown eyes.

Scott nodded slowly. “He at least needs you to share for a while. Xavier only has so many properties here in New Orleans that are habitable, and he doesn’t want to call in too many favors with friends in the area yet when a little rearranging could fit everyone comfortably.”

“And it would leave all of those favors for him to call on later,” Rogue guessed shrewdly. Logan was glad to see that the shock was giving way to plain old speculation.

“Exactly,” Scott said. “You wouldn’t have to share for long—“

“Oh, Ah’m not going to share,” Rogue said, startling Scott but giving Logan sudden hope.

“You’re not?” There was no question that Scott was confused by her apparent defiance.

“Nope. Ah’m going to come back to the mansion where Ah belong,” she said, giving Logan a shy smile. “Ah love New Orleans, but it’s not home.”

From the corner of his eye Logan registered Scott’s shock turn to relief. That surprised Logan a little; Scott was the first one he would have expected to protest any sort of relationship between Rogue and him. Instead, Scott just gripped Rogue’s arm lightly, the one that wasn’t pressed up against Logan’s side.

“We’ll be glad to have you back. Do you want me to tell your boss?” he asked, tilting his head sideways towards the shadowed doorway of the White Dove.

Rogue looked at him with a wider smile and shook her head. “No, Ah’ll do it. Ah think he’s been expecting it for a while. He was the one who asked me to call y’all and get you to come help us with our problem,” she revealed as she pulled gently away from Logan. “Ah’ll just go in and let him know while you two wait for the others.”

Before Logan or Scott could protest, she slipped into the bar and closed the door behind her. They looked at each other. For the life of him, Logan couldn’t figure out why she had done this. He and Scott barely got along. They weren’t going to be having a heart to heart or anything, for goodness sake.

But Scott must have had something to get off his chest.

“You didn’t see her face the day she left, Logan, but I did. Just remember, if you ever do anything to put that look on her face again, I don’t care if you have all that extra healing and the metal skeleton. I will find a way to make you hurt ten times worse,” he said quietly.

Logan just stared at his team leader in silence for a few moments. They stood far enough away from where Bobby was waiting his turn to change that he knew the boy hadn’t heard, but there was no reason to let either younger man think he could be so easily intimidated. Finally he relented and said gruffly, “I already have been.” Then he turned and followed Rogue into the bar.

Rogue stood at the hatch to the Blackbird. Her suitcases and several boxes of belongings that she had acquired over the past year were already inside thanks to the quick actions of the X-Men once they found out she would be returning with them. Her head was spinning a little from how easily she had quit her job with Mike’s blessing. Gathering her things had been a breeze with the newly-motivated Jubilee in charge. Less than two hours after leaving the White Dove, she was about to say good-bye to the city that had sheltered her and helped complete her growth into an independent, confident woman.

Logan stepped up behind her and slipped his hands around her waist. It made her giddy, all of this new touching from him. He leaned forward and whispered into her ear, “Ready?”

Rogue nodded and flashed him a smile. “As ready as Ah’ll ever be.”

She gripped his hand firmly in one of hers and led the way onto the plane. The hatch closed as they found their seats, the last to board, and then the Blackbird rose to reveal the glowing city of New Orleans, lights shining even so late at night. Rogue felt as if the steady light was the city smiling on her as she made her way home.