It had been six months, Rogue realised, as she regarded her reflection, in the full-length mirror before her, and considered the situation she currently found herself in.
Six months to the day since she'd nearly died.
Six months since Logan almost died saving her life.
Five months, three weeks since Logan left.
Four months, one week since she'd utilized the combined knowledge and memories of Logan and Erik to ace the placement exams Ororo made her sit for official enrolment at 'mutant high'.
Three months since she'd officially graduated High School on the coat tails of that knowledge… she sometimes wondered if she should feel bad for doing that, Logan told her she shouldn't, Erik was just silently smug.

Since officially graduating, a year earlier than her peers, she'd thrown herself into personal study, mainly on the topic of history, trying to match dates and places to the memories she sometimes found herself contemplating, memories gleaned from either Erik, Logan, or occasionally a weird mash up of the two. This had seen her be assigned the position of assistant tutor for Ororo's history class.

She'd also thrown herself into training, partially for something to do but mostly to shut Logan up, as he continually berated her for being too distracted and unprepared. She'd worked out fairly quickly though that he was mostly mad at himself, for walking away and leaving her at the mansion alone. Teaching her how to protect herself was the next best thing to being there to do it himself. Real-Logan might have trusted the X-Men but Mind-Logan had decided he'd got to know them well enough to conclude 'they couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery', or so he said.

Scott had walked in on one of her early morning solo-but-for-Mind-Logan training sessions, and asked her to join the Junior X-Men training group. She'd agreed. Then she'd quickly been promoted from just weekday group lessons, to additional thrice weekly one-on-one lessons with one or more of the Alpha Team. Logan always preferred the one-on-one lessons with Scott, so he could gloat over the fact that Rogue actually could kick his butt; she'd even sent him to the med lab, with profuse apologies on her part, a few times.

And that, is what had landed her here, standing in her private room, in front of her mirror, dressed in the black X-Men leathers she'd been handed that morning, when the Professor and Scott had told her she would be going on her first official mission. It was a lab raid, medium security, their intel suggested it was primarily a records dump, they were hoping it would contain information that would give away the locations of other labs in the area, however, there was also a possibility of mutants being housed on the single sublevel.

Though neither man wanted Rogue on missions yet, it was determined that this mission was perfect for the traits she'd been honing, mostly gleaned from Logan, and would be helpful on this mission. So, it was a one-off, she was told. Mind-Logan was bitching about Scott not being man enough, and 'sending a kid to do his dirty work', while simultaneously telling her it would be a piece of cake after reviewing the available intel and mission brief, and threatening her that if she got herself hurt he'd 'find his sorry ass in whatever hole he'd crawled into up North, just so he could kick her ass for getting herself hurt'.

They weren't leaving until 9pm, but Logan had made her suit up and go directly to the gym that morning, to 'break in the leather' he'd claimed, though she got the distinct impression he just wanted to ogle her ass and boobs in the multiple mirrors. He'd never admit that's what he was doing but she was sure it was, not least of all because of how he got all growly and non-communicative, and went to sulk in the back of her mind whenever she asked him if that's what he was doing.

She was grateful to him though, the leather had been really stiff and tight when she'd first put it on but it had progressively gotten more pliant over the last several hours, she now had a full range of motion, and the leather barely creaked as she moved. She'd eventually called it quits and gone back to her room to try and sleep before the mission, no point going if she was going to be too wired from excitement and tiredness to actually be of any help, she'd need full focus tonight.

And now here she was, half an hour to go.

Her phone rang.

Rogue turned and regarded the landline phone on her bedside table, that phone had never rung, she didn't even know the number for it, she'd assumed it was just an emergency line for her to ring out on. By the third ring the thought suddenly occurred to her, she should probably answer it. She dove across the bed, grabbing the handset.

"Hello?"

She expected Scott, or maybe the Professor, calling her down for another pre-mission briefing. Instead, "Hey kid," Logan's deep voice replied. Rogue lay there in shock, how she managed to keep hold of the phone she wasn't sure, though sitting there with her mouth open, not even breathing let alone replying, probably wasn't the brightest move.

"You there Marie?" Logan spoke again.

"YES!" Rogue shouted, suddenly remembering how to speak, before realising she didn't have to shout for Logan to hear her. Dropping the volume, she continued, "Sorry, yes, yeah I'm here, sorry just had a total mind blank, you were not who I was expecting to be on the other end of this call... How are you?" she asked, hurriedly.

Logan chuckled. "Yeah, I've been meaning to call but one thing after another you know, I'm good. Figured I'd check in and see how you're doing, it's been..."

"Six months," they both said simultaneously.

It was Rogue's turn to laugh. "I was actually just thinking the same thing myself, and how so much has changed in the last few months... I finished high school, I admit, I shamelessly raided the knowledge stores of the folks in my head to pass everything early, I'm assistant teacher for History now, and I've been training, both for personal reasons and then for the X-Men too; you should come back, see if I can kick your butt like I can kick Scott's."

"Oh well, that settles it, I definitely have to come back soon, definitely want to see you kick Scott's ass," Logan replied, "Doubt you'll be able to kick mine though kid, sorry."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Rogue replied, lying back against the headboard of the bed, intent on enjoying this rare social call, "The you in my head has given me quite a few tips on how to best you."

"Don't listen to that guy darlin', he wouldn't know what he was talking about," Logan replied, starting to sound mildly uncomfortable. "What else has he been telling you?"

Marie smiled to herself. "Well let's see, how to drive stick, how to best Scott in hand-to-hand, how to not get caught sneaking booze, hot-wiring cars - though he did say that was for emergencies only and driving Jubilee to the mall was not an emergency - and apparently, I look hot in skin-tight black leather." Marie heard a muffed choking sound through the phone. "Are you okay Logan?" she asked a moment later, when Logan finally managed to catch his breath.

"Just what the hell are you doing dolled up in skin-tight black leather?" Logan demanded.

"I'm hardly 'dolled up'," Marie scoffed, "I'm just breaking in my X-Men uniform," she told him.

"Why the fuck do you have a uniform? You're too inexperienced to go on missions," Logan stated matter of factly.

"Yeah, it's not ideal," Marie agreed, "But it's just this one tonight, it's an important one, it's not too dangerous but it's going to need a bit extra man power than just the Alpha Team. Scott only agreed to me going because of how my training's going, and..." she stopped, unsure of whether to tell him what else she'd been working on lately.

"And?" Logan prompted.

"And, I can still access some of your healing and senses, which are going to be needed for the mission tonight," she told him.

"Then they can come and get me and I'll do it, they shouldn't be dragging you into this." Logan was pissed now.

There was a knock on Marie's door just then and she called out a quick 'come in', expecting Jubilee, however Scott walked in as she continued her conversation with Logan.

"There's no time for that Logan, it's got to be tonight and..." she started.

"I don't give a fuck, you are not going in there Marie, where the fuck is Scott, what the hell is stick-up-his-ass-Summer's thinking agreeing to this shit!" Logan was obviously pacing now, shouting and growling down the phone.

Sighing exasperatedly Marie replied, "Hold on I'll ask him ... Scott 'what the hell were you thinking' allowing an in training X-Man to go on a low-level, medium security mission, which she's been training for to the point where she can even kick your ass?" she sassed.

Scott tried to refrain from laughing at her tone, clearly meant to hint at Logan that he was being overbearing, all he replied with was, "We're leaving in 10 minutes. You can hold your own and this is a simple in and out mission, I wouldn't have agreed otherwise." Then he turned and walked out.

"That's not good enough," Logan fumed down the phone, obviously having heard him despite the distance.

"Well sorry, he's gone, and I have to go too," Marie replied, "Why don't you give me the number wherever you are and I'll call you when I get back so you know I'm okay?"

"I won't be here when you get back," Logan replied, "I'm pulling out now, gotta kick a cyclops ass, you better in one piece by the time I get back there... Be careful Marie."

"I will be," Marie replied, "You always make sure of that ... How long until you'll be here?" she asked, hoping against hope that he wasn't bluffing and he really was going to come back, even if it was only to kick Scott's ass.

Logan sighed, and she could hear him running a hand through his hair as he was obviously considering his answer. "Two days, I can be there in two days."

"Cool, I'll see you in a couple of days then," Marie smiled again, "Drive safe."

"Yeah, yeah, now you better go before Scotty boy comes looking for you again, actually, on second thought, hide somewhere so they have to go without you," Logan replied.

"Ha, ha, very funny Logan, I gotta go, bye?"

"See you soon Marie," he replied, hanging up before he had the opportunity to try again to convince her not to go.

Marie felt a stupid grin break out across her face as she suddenly realised, Logan was indeed coming back. Dropping the phone back on the cradle, she jumped off the bed with a whoop and raced down the hall and into the elevator to reach the basement levels where the rest of the team were gathering. She burst into the hanger, almost skipping, her unusually chipper attitude drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Suddenly noticing the four sets of eyes turned towards her Rogue sobered some.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologised.

"You're bang on time actually but don't do that next time," Scott replied, "And what did Logan want?"

"Logan!?" Jean and Storm looked surprised, looking between Scott and Rogue.

"He's coming back," Marie replied, suppressing the stupid grin before it could break out again, "And sorry to say Scott but I think he's gonna kick your ass the first thing back."

"Figures," Scott shrugged, Rogue could tell he still had his own reservations about letting her come on this mission.

"I guess I better make sure the med lab is well stocked when I get back," Jean joked, throwing the large med kit on board the jet. The team had a smaller 'standard' med kit but lab raids had their own expanded version as Jean tried to prepare for any eventuality, even though they weren't expecting any mutants at this lab it was best to be prepared.

"When are we to expect Logan to return?" Charles asked Rogue directly.

"He said two days," Rogue replied, "I can make sure his old room is ready once I get back if that's okay?"

"That would be wonderful thank you Rogue. Did he mention anything about his search by any chance?" the Professor queried.

"Uh..." Rogue dropped her voice so only the Professor could hear her, "He avoided talking about it, I took that to mean he didn't find anything." She shrugged resignedly. She'd known, and the Logan in her head had agreed, it was a longshot anyway but hope is hard to kill, even for Logan.

"That is unfortunate," the Professor added, "You'd best be off now, good luck."

Rogue smiled back at him and jogged onto the jet, Scott moved on board behind her, closing the hatch behind them. Storm was already at the controls firing the jet up, and Jean had just pushed the last cargo hatch closed before directing Rogue to a seat and making sure she got her seat belt on; gloves made most things tricky, seat-belts included. As the jet lifted off, she pushed the news of Logan's impending arrival to the back of her mind, running again over the procedure for the upcoming mission, her job was only really to scout the basement level and be sure there were no mutants being held down there, evac if needed.

Twenty minutes later Rogue felt the plane begin to descend, she watched out the window as they dropped below the treeline, spying a couple of floodlights that marked the main entrance of the complex they were heading for. They weren't going in by the front door however, they would be slipping in through the rear entrance by the helipad, which their intel suggested was currently unmonitored due to security maintenance. This meant there would be more guards but once the guards were taken care of there would be no cameras to pick up their entrance, it also had more direct access to the control room.

Silently slipping through the forest Rogue could feel Logan on high alert, she expertly sidestepped twigs and other forest debris that might cause a sound that would give away their location, she flinched as someone behind her didn't, a faint crackle sounding from under a misplaced boot, she tamped down on the Logan urge to turn and glare at the owner of that boot. Reaching the edge of the forest they paused to observe the guards on duty. There were two on duty, though they seemed more engrossed with their conversation with one of the two soldiers working on electrical components at the open hanger door. None noticed as a thick fog rolled out of the forest, the four X-Men slipping, speedily and silently, towards them.

As the fog began to close around them the two guards realised something wasn't right but had no time to react before Cyclops and Rogue silently knocked them out, Storm and Jean taking care of the other two. Quickly and silently the four unconscious men were bound, gagged, and deposited out of sight before the group moved into the base.

Their first port of call was the control room, another three guards were dispatched there, before the team moved out, each to their objectives; Jean was staying to man the control room, Cyclops and Storm were raiding the records room, Rogue was heading for the basement level. The security cameras showed lights on down there, and an energy reading which appeared to be an electrical field of some kind, so she was fairly confident something was down there.

The group moved together until they got to the sub-level elevator, Storm continued on to the records room while Cyclops pulled Rogue up, holding the elevator while he spoke.

"I don't like sending you alone, scope out as quick as you can, don't be seen, if there is nothing down there get straight back up, and for god's sake don't get hurt, Logan will kill me if anything happens to you down there," he scowled around his visor, and Rogue had to bite her lip to hide her grin.

"I'll be back in a flash, safe and sound," she replied, pushing his hand off the elevator door so it could close.

The ride down was short but she had the time to pull Logan's heightened senses to the forefront of her mind, before she flattened herself against the wall as the door began to open. Peering out cautiously to see who, if anyone, was immediately present, she was relieved to find the short hallway empty. She scented the air as she had seen Logan do before, and was surprised when Logan immediately responded.

'Down the hall, last door on the right, that's the only person down here ... it smells like a kid,' he stated hesitantly.

'A *kid* kid, or a me kid?' she jokingly quipped.

'The first kind,' Logan murmured unhappily.

Rogue quickly and silently slipped down the hall, Jean's soft voice spoke through her ear-piece. "I've got eyes on you Rogue."

Cyclops's voice was heard next. "Status report Rogue?"

"One occupant, last room on the right, give me a minute," she replied.

She regarded the solid door in front of her, it didn't have a viewing window or even a flap for passing food trays through, it was secured by a simple hand-turn deadbolt which Rogue reached for. Her hand was almost to the bolt when Logan called out a warning, at the same time as a spark of electricity bit into her hand. Rogue let out a startled, but muffled, yelp of surprise.

"What's wrong? ... Rogue? ... Are you okay!?" filtered through her ear-piece as all team members radioed through to her.

"I'm fine, the doors electrified, are you able to shut down the electricity Jean?" she asked, looking around to see if she could see anything that looked like a control panel at her end. "Never mind, I think I've got it," she spoke again, spying a glowing dial back by the elevator. Sure enough, when she got close, she saw it had voltage readings showing, quickly spinning the dial around to zero she jogged back to the door. She could hear quick shuffling movements from inside the room now, like whoever was in there had suddenly realised they weren't alone.

Rogue quickly unlocked the door, cracking it open, she watched more of the room come into view gradually as she tried to spot the rooms occupant. There was a soft glow lighting up the room, similar to moonlight, casting just enough light for Rogue to see a small head of tousled dark hair peeking at her from behind a metal bed frame that had been flipped on its side.

Logan growled in fury as she spotted the child, he couldn't have been much more than three years old. She gently pushed the door open all the way, all senses on alert to be sure there was no one else she may have overlooked. Once the door was fully opened, she slowly moved closer, stopping when she saw the dark eyes of the small boy narrow, and heard a soft growl echo around the room.

"Can I come in?" she asked, softly, positioning herself in such a way that looked as non-threatening as possible.

'Crouch down darlin',' Logan directed, 'Get closer to his level, move slow and smooth, keep your hands in sight, palms up and open.'

Rogue followed Logan's guiding, crouching down but keeping her feet under her in case she needed to spring up in a hurry, she noted that the little boys growling stopped when she asked if she could enter, and she took that as her cue to slowly move into the room. She stopped in the middle of the room before speaking again. "Can you come out from behind there sweetie?" she said softly, holding her hand out to him.

The little head that was peering over the overturned side of the bed dropped down, before reappearing from around the bed end, soon the ragged mop of dark hair was joined by a grubby, chubby face, an arm, an equally grubby torso, and eventually his chubby little legs. Like Rogue he was crouched, poised to jump and run at a moments notice. One hand stayed holding on to the bed but the rest of him moved toward her as far as his reach allowed. He stood for a moment, visibly scenting her, before his hand released the bed and he tentatively crept forward. He reached out when he was close enough and poked at her hand, before sitting back on his haunches regarding her, appearing almost confused.

"Rogue we need to hurry, whatever you've found grab it and get out," Cyclops ordered in her ear. She watched the little boys ears perk up at the sound, that was meant to only be audible to the wearer.

"Sweetie, I know you're scared right now, you were very brave coming out to see me but we have to go now," she nodded towards the door, "Will you come with me?" she asked, holding her arms out as one would when asking a child for a hug.

The little boys eyes seemed to brighten, he cocked his head curiously, moving closer to her until he was standing between her outstretched arms but she knew she couldn't just grab him, she had to wait for him. Just then a loud siren began to wail, the boy panicked for a split second, throwing his hands over his ears, before diving into Rogue's arms and burying his head in the crook of her neck, his face protected from her skin by the high collar of her uniform. "Run," he whispered.

Not needing anymore encouragement Rogue wrapped her arms around him, picking him up, feeling his chubby little legs wrap around her waist, and his little arms wrap around her neck, holding onto her tightly. She sprinted for the elevator.

"Cyclops we're coming up the elevator, do we have cover?" Rogue yelled over the siren.

"Copy, I'm in position to cover you." The door slid open at ground level a moment later revealing Cyclops, standing at the ready, he didn't give her a second look simply directed her down the corridor towards their escape route, the sound of running booted feet could be heard in the other direction. They met up with Jean at the control room, who breathlessly advised that Storm was already out, readying the jet to leave. They ran full tilt out the door, Jean telekinetically closing and locking the heavy hanger door behind them, that didn't help much though, as several guards came running around the building from the front entrance as they were halfway across the clearing. Scott returned fire while Jean and Rogue ran for the treeline, then Jean stopped to cover Scott as he followed them. Rogue didn't stop running, carrying her tiny charge back to the jet as fast as possible.

"ETA?" Storm asked, of Cyclops and Jean, as Rogue stumbled aboard.

"Thirty seconds," Rogue gasped, trying to catch her breath as she stood at the hatch controls, ready to close the door as soon as all team members were on board.

Twenty seconds later Jean and Cyclops hit the ramp at the same time, Rogue hit the close button as their momentum carried them into the jet, while Scott yelled for Storm to lift off. Everyone grabbed hold of the nearest fixed object, as the jet lifted off the ground, banking steeply into the air.

Breathing a sigh of relief once the floor was level again, Rogue dropped into the nearest seat, her arms wrapping around the shy boy still clinging to her, he was anxiously peering around him taking in the new environment. Jean and Cyclops picked themselves up off the floor and quickly checked each other over for any sign of injury, once satisfied that each was unharmed, they shared a quick kiss before Cyclops walked to the front of the jet to help Storm. Jean moved over to Rogue and sat down next to her.

"Hi little guy, my name's Jean, what's your name?" she asked the little boy, in an overly cherry voice. The little boy just glared at her, growled, and buried his face in Rogue's shoulder again. Jean looked amused, "Well I guess we'll just call him Logan the second."

Rogue giggled, Logan growled, and the little boys face popped off of her shoulder looking up at her face. Rogue smiled down at him, before lifting a gloved hand to his face. He stiffened and bared his teeth as the hand got closer and she paused, letting him sniff at her hand, then he licked her hand, then he nipped her hand.

"Ow," Rogue squeaked, not moving her hand. Dark eyes dipped and the child looked a little ashamed before he tentatively moved his face closer to her hand, licked her again, then nuzzled into it. Taking that as her cue to resume what she had been planning to do, Rogue moved her hand to his head and began to gently and softly run her fingers through his hair, smoothing it away from his face, and gently detangling what she could reach as gently as she could. Before long the little boy was purring contentedly as he snuggled into her lap, his face resting on her chest, his little arms and legs losing their rigidity and sagging limply as he drifted off to sleep.

Jean watched, with a soft smile, as the little boy fell asleep. "We should call you 'Rogue the Feral Whisperer'," she said softly. "You remember when you spent the day with Logan after he touched you on the statue?" Rogue nodded, trying to get the unpleasant image of comatose Wolverine out of her head. "I reviewed his vital signs when I was sorting his file out after the event, and that time you were with him was the calmest and steadiest his vital signs were the whole 3 days he was out," Jean revealed, "Just thought you should know."

Jean stood up, the movement rousing the sleeping child, when he realised she was walking away though he quickly fell back asleep. Jean moved up to the front of the plane and buckled herself into a seat, they'd be landing again shortly. Rogue gently tugged the emergency seat-belt around herself, trying not to jostle her cargo as she secured herself. Then she wrapped her arms back around the little boy and listened to his soft breathing as he slept; she was still running on adrenaline but that would wear off soon.

Back on solid ground, the team exited the jet, everyone carrying something, Jean, Scott and Ororo carrying boxes of files and hard drives, Rogue carrying the still sleeping toddler. The Professor met them at the hanger door.

"I would suggest taking the records directly to the computer lab, Katherine is on standby to assist you with accessing and decoding records in the morning Scott. As for this development," he eyed the sleeping child, "I am open to suggestions on what we should do with him tonight?"

Before anyone else could speak Jean proposed, "I think it would be best he stays with Rogue, if that's alright with you of course Rogue, he seems to have become quite attached to you and he's been through a lot just recently, something somewhat familiar should help him settle in."

"I was actually going to suggest the same thing," Rogue said, as the sleepy head lifted, suspicious eyes roving the room before coming to rest on Rogue's face, and closing again with a contented sigh.

"Very well," Charles responded, "If there is anything you need tonight let us know."

"I should be fine for tonight," Rogue replied, "Though I will grab some snacks on my way up in case he gets hungry." With that she excused herself. She exited the elevator at the ground level, making her way to the kitchen it suddenly occurred to her, she didn't have enough hands to carry an armful of snacks and a sleeping child to her room. Catching sight of a shopping bag sticking out of a cupboard she snagged it. Pulling the bag out one handed, she slowly moved around the kitchen picking up snack foods and loading the bag up.

She had a few pieces of fruit, crackers, some beef jerky, a couple of bottles of water, and a small jar of peanut butter. Readjusting the slipping child so she could get her arm around him better, she smiled softly as she felt his cheek come to rest on her shoulder, picking up the bag she made her way back to her room. Boxes were still being ferried up from the jet so she turned to the stairs to get to her room; she almost regretted that decision by the time she got to her room on the third level.

She opened her door, a soft click heralding the opening of the door, that sound enough to bring awareness to the child in her arms. Pausing to steady him as he jerked awake, she spoke softly as she entered the room. "It's alright little man, this is my bedroom, it's time for sleeping now."

She put the bag of snacks on her desk before she clicked on the desk lamp, bathing the room in a soft glow, enough to see by but hopefully not enough to wake the child up too much. He had other ideas though and wriggled, indicating he wanted down, so she leaned down and gently set his bare feet on the floor. She watched as he first looked, then scurried around the room to explore. He peered under the bed before crawling underneath it, popping shortly out from under the other side. He pulled himself up to the window, mushing his face against the glass trying to see outside.

He tugged a throw off the couch, before climbing onto it. Rogue turned, and nearly had a heart attack, as he jumped off the couch in the direction of the bed, she was momentarily impressed that he almost made the substantial distance before he hit the floor with a thump. Before she could move to check on him, he was up again, sticking his head into the bathroom but refusing to go in, before moving to the wardrobe and crawling in through the open door, a shoe flew out a second later.

Laughing to herself, she finished setting out the snacks for quick reach, then moved over to the door, pushing it closed. At the click of the door latch catching, her little charge rolled out of the wardrobe, eyes locked on the now closed door, he growled softly. Rogue regarded him curiously for a moment before she reached over and opened the door again. Dark eyes snapped to her hand where it sat on the door handle. He walked over to her and pushed the door closed, regarded the door for a moment before he quickly hit the door, he seemed surprised, then reached out and touched the door again, this time for a bit longer, then a third time placed his hand on the door holding it there for a beat.

Looking back at Rogue, he reached up, standing up on his toes, and twisted the door handle, the door opened. He stuck his head out, looking this way and that, then closed the door, then opened the door, then closed it, opened it again, before closing it one last time and turning back to continue exploring the room. He quickly spotted the snacks on the desk, and pulled himself onto the desk chair, pointing to the bottles on the desk he spoke, for only the second time since Rogue had laid eyes on him.

"Water," he stated.

With a smile Rogue twisted the cap off a bottle and helped him hold it to his lips to take small sips. After several sips he pushed the bottle away. He looked around the room again before scrunching up his adorable little nose, turning back to Rogue he said adorably, "Pee-pee?"

Rogue laughed, and held out her arms to him, he reached up and grabbed onto her and she carried him into the bathroom. He momentarily panicked as they entered the room and Rogue paused for a moment, to soothe him, before pointing to the toilet and repeating, "Pee-pee."

He seemed to understand and Rogue sat him down on the toilet, she was just wondering how much assistance he'd need when she watched him scrunch up his nose again, and heard the wet splashing sound of urine flowing into the toilet bowl. After a moment the sound stopped, and in a heartbeat, he’d leaped off the toilet and tried to dart out of the room.

"Oh no you don't," Rogue giggled, "Wash your hands now."

He looked at her confused, so Rogue sat him down on the bench, and slowly turned the tap until a gentle stream of water came out, then she took his hands, put a drop of soap on one and lathered them up. He looked at first surprised, and then excited by the bubbles clinging to his skin, and then he tried to put them in his mouth. Rogue giggled again at the sour face he pulled, before moving his hands back to the water to rinse the soap away, watching as his eyes followed the bubbles down the drain. Then she pulled out a hand towel and gently dried his hands. She noted that his hands were now substantially cleaner than the rest of him, and briefly considered trying to introduce him to the bath, but the sight of his mouth opening wide in a sleepy yawn changed her mind - he could have a bath in the morning.

Scooping him up, she walked back to the bedroom, and deposited him on the bed, tugging back the covers, she left them open for him, before gathering up her nightgown. She petted his hair and told him to sleep now, before she moved to the bathroom to get out of her uniform. She left the door slightly ajar, as he seemed to have an aversion to closed doors, and she didn’t want to risk upsetting him by closing him in a different room to her. Quickly she peeled off the sticky leather and slipped on her long nightgown, just to be on the safe side she also slipped on a pair of tights, and gloves. She didn't think there was much risk of him touching her face so she tried not to worry about that, though she did let her hair out of the high ponytail she'd put it into for the mission, so it could fall down around her face and neck.

As she turned back to the bedroom, she noted the little grubby face with its big dark eyes, pressed up to the gap in the bathroom door, watching her. She smiled to herself and decided it was a good thing she hadn't shut the door.

Gathering the toddler back up again, she carried him back to bed before she climbed under the covers, and pulled him under with her. He shuffled around for a while, burrowing under the covers, this way and that, before his head popped back out top side, he watched her lay her head down on a pillow and pull the sheets up, then arranged himself mirroring her. She thought that was it, and he was done for the night and ready to sleep, right before he burst into another quick movement, moving right up close to her and snuggling up against her, with his arms wrapped around her as best as he could. At that he let out another contented sigh and promptly fell asleep.

Rogue stayed awake for a short time, just watching him sleep and gently stroking his hair, before sleep claimed her too. Her last thought was, 'if only all missions ended like this'.

--

Rogue woke with a start, the room was just lightening indicating early dawn, she quickly remembered her bed mate from the night before but discovered him missing. A sound from the desk behind her caught her attention and she rolled over to spot the toddler sitting on her desk munching on crackers, his dark eyes watching her closely. With a smile she rolled the rest of the way over and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, standing up and walking over towards the desk she noted how the little boy shifted, keeping the food in his grip and shifting it away from her almost as if he was guarding it.

She smiled brightly, and reached for the water bottle. "Do want a drink too?" she asked him, holding the now open bottle towards him. He quickly reached out and grabbed hold of the bottle, guiding the mouth of the bottle to his own lips and hurriedly gulping down mouthfuls of water.

"Slow down sweetie, you don't want to drown yourself, take a break and take a breath," she prompted.

He released the bottle, swallowing the last of his mouthful of water before sucking in a big breath of fresh air. Smiling again, Rogue moved to collect up more of the food, she opened the jerky packet that looked like someone had tried to eat the jerky through the plastic - obviously he hadn't been able to get the packet open - as soon as it was open he abandoned the crackers and tried to grab the dried meat. Pulling it back with a stern look Rogue waited for him to pull back, he did but with a dark look and a low growl.

"None of that thank you," she said, trying to sound authoritative, she could understand his eagerness to get the best food but he wasn't in a cell anymore and he would need to learn quickly that out here food was given, not taken. "I know you can speak so you can use your words, would you like some jerky?"

The little boy looked surprised for a minute, then a little wary, before he said quietly, "Yes."

"Yes please," Rogue prompted, smiling at him.

"Yes p'ease," he replied. Rogue quickly handed him a large piece of jerky and watched as he tore into it, quickly devouring it.

"More?" he asked.

"Another drink of water first," Rogue replied, picking up the bottle again and supporting it as he gulped down some more water.

"More!" he announced again, pointing at the meat once he'd swallowed the water.

They continued this way for about half an hour, various foods being portioned and offered between sips of water, as Rogue gently reminded him to ask nicely and working in please’s and thank you's. By the time they were done she'd decided his manners were probably good enough to eat with the rest of the children in the cafeteria without trying to steal anyone else's food, the only question in that plan would be how he handled a large group of people.

Once they finished the early morning snack-fest, the tot let out a big yawn and reached for Rogue. Picking him up gently she moved back to the bed and they both snuggled back down to sleep some more, the little filled tummy gurgling contently.

About an hour later they both woke again with a start when Rogue's alarm clock began to sound, the tiny tot jumped, covering his ears and burrowing under the blankets pressing himself against Rogue. Quickly she reached over and turned the alarm off.

"It's okay," she said softly, "It's time to get up now, do you need to go to the bathroom?" she asked, softly, trying to make her voice sound soft and happy to allay his fears over the alarm – he’d had the same reaction when the alarms had gone off in the cell she'd rescued him from. He just looked confused when she asked about the "bathroom" so she rephrased her question, "Do you need to pee-pee?"

He grinned then, nodded, and quickly wriggled out of bed and ran over to the bathroom, he stopped at the door again she noticed, and seemed to reconsider entering. Picking him up she carried him into the room and set him down on the toilet. He did his business and then quickly lifted up his arms for her to wash his hands. It suddenly occurred to Rogue; he was balking at touching the floor. To test her theory she lifted him off the bench, once she had washed his hands, and leaned over to place him on the tile floor, almost instantly he pulled his legs up, tucked tight against his body, and began growling softly, she stopped and pulled him back up, he relaxed as he got further away from the floor.

Turning back to the bedroom, considering this revelation she paused, and again lowered him to the floor, this time onto the fluffy yellow bathmat Jubilee had given her as a 'room warming' present when she'd moved into her own room. He tensed momentarily but then let his feet land on the bathmat, standing under his own power he stood still and watched Rogue move back around the bathroom.

She did her own business - feeling kind of uncomfortable with the big dark eyes watching her every move - when she was done, she washed her hands and tidied up a little while she considered what to do next. Catching sight of the still grubby, naked, little boy she decided now was as good a time as any to try and get him washed.

Leaving him standing on the fluffy bathmat she went to her closet to grab a couple of new towels, either he'd get over whatever fear he had of the tiled floor and follow her out, or he would wait there for her to come back. It only took a few seconds of her being out of sight before she heard light, quick footsteps run across the bathroom and back into the bedroom. Rogue smiled to herself, he was afraid but it looked like he trusted her enough to push back the fear to move forward; hopefully he didn't have too strong fears of bathtubs.

Moving back into the bathroom Rogue set aside the towels and moved to the tub, plugging the tub and turning the water on she hunted through her collection of bubble baths trying to find one that wouldn't be too strong for a little boy with what appeared to be heightened senses.

'That one darlin',' Logan spoke, in her mind, as she sniffed at a lightly scented vanilla and lime.

'You've been awfully alert lately, what’s up Logan?' she replied, moving over to the bath and adding some bubble mix to the warm flow of water.

'You're not gonna like this Marie, he might look like a kid but you have no idea what ... conditioning they did to him, you don't know what he can do, what he might do...' Logan opined.

'He's a baby, Logan, he's scared and alone but you keep keeping an eye on him if you want, I will not keep treating him like a prisoner or a weapon like they did,' Rogue interrupted him, trying not to be too mad; he did have a point, though the way the little boy clung to her was triggering major maternal instincts Rogue didn't even know she had.

Turning her attention back outwards she saw the dark eyes watching from the doorway, craning his neck trying to see what was happening in the tub she was kneeled in front of. Smiling at him she indicated for him to come over to her. He paused, looking at the floor obviously considering his options, then he looked back to the bathmat and Rogue before he ran the few steps across the tile floor until he was standing right next to her, arms wrapped around her arm. He calmed quickly when he spied the growing foam of bubbles on top of the water.

Leaving the little boy to splash around with the bubbles over the side of the tub while it continued to fill, Rogue went back to the bedroom and quickly pulled out, and on, one of her brand new full bodysuits - she'd found them online and bought several only a few weeks before - and pulled her gloves back on. As she walked back into the bathroom, now clad in only the semi sheer bodysuit she noted that, though he turned to her quickly, the toddler had this time simply been listening to her move around the other room while playing with the bubbles.

Smiling at him again and ruffling his hair affectionately Rogue turned off the water. "Bath time now," she said, and stepped into the tub. It felt strange climbing in fully 'dressed' but it was necessary to protect him from her skin, and she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to get him into the tub alone.

"Come on, hop in," Rogue turned, holding her arms out to the boy, she picked him up when he returned the gesture, holding his own arms out to her, lifting him into the tub, his arms closed instinctively around her neck and he whimpered when she sunk down into the water with him. After a few minutes petting him gently, murmuring soothingly, splashing around with a variety of things that would float in the tub, and building a little bubble castle one handed, she eventually felt the tot relax, after a while even the hand on her shoulder let go as well, though he stayed sitting in her lap as he played and splashed around in the water. After a few more minutes of letting him play Rogue picked up a nearby sponge and began to gently and playfully wash him all over, trying not to scrub too harshly, thankfully the ten minutes soak in the warm water had loosened most of the grime he was caked in.

Once his skin was pink and clean, she moved onto his hair, she figured the shower was probably going a bit far for now so she settled for damping his hair with the sponge, before massaging a little bit of shampoo though his hair. He seemed to like that, he stopped playing while she was massaging his head and began to again make the quiet purring noise she'd heard the night before on the flight home. Once his hair was shampooed, she instructed him to put his head back, nudging the bottom of his chin to move him gently to the position she wanted him in, and with the soaked sponge she rinsed his hair, wiping out the excess water so it didn't run in his eyes.

He played for a while longer until the water began to cool at which point Rogue stood him up, started the bath draining and wiped him down with the rinsed sponge. He was clean. Once the water was gone Rogue lifted him out of the tub, setting him back down on the mat and, from her position still in the tub, she rubbed him down all over with one of the thick fluffy towels until he was dry. Wrapping him up in the warm cotton she sat him on the lid of the toilet while she quickly stripped off the wet bodysuit, and quickly dried herself off, before picking him back up in his little towel cocoon and carrying him back into the bedroom, setting him down on the bed.

The next order of business was clothes, Rogue quickly hunted through her drawers, she pulled out another bodysuit, shorts, a t-shirt, and gloves for herself. Though she was still a little damp from her bath she thought it best to get covered quickly, the three year old on her bed was already unwrapping himself from the towel she'd left him in, and the last thing she needed was him trying to grab hold of her again when skin was showing. Clothes for said three-year-old were a little harder, she didn't have anything in his size. Eventually she pulled out one for her oversize shirts and, coaxing him closer she quickly dressed him in the shirt and tied the bottom shut between his legs, it wasn't fashionable but it afforded him a little modesty, though that was probably something he didn't care about.

As soon as he was finished scenting and tugging at the shirt, curiosity sated, he jumped off the bed and ran back over to the desk, pulling himself up onto the desk chair he pointed at the bottle of water on the desk while looking back to Rogue. "Please?" he said.

Smiling at the fact that some of the earlier lessons she'd been giving him had obviously stuck she moved over to the desk and opened the bottle for him, helping him take a few sips, then portioned out the last of the snacks she had on hand for him. Watching as he ate Rogue felt an odd contentment settle over her, even the voices in her head were calm, including Logan's.

"Well sweetie," she eventually spoke, "It's probably time to introduce ourselves. My name is Rogue, do you have a name?"

The little boy looked at her, tilting his head in the universal sign of confusion. "Name?"

"Yeah, name, my name is Rogue," pointing to herself she repeated, "Rogue." Pointing to him she just looked at him questioningly.

He sat silently for a while longer, seeming to be looking internally, like he was trying to remember something, rather than at Rogue. After a while he said, "No name."

Rogue considered that for a while, it was probably quite true, if he'd been born in the lab he probably hadn't been given an actual name, at best he'd have an identification number on a file somewhere, he'd probably never really even been addressed directly by anyone before, she was about to suggest picking him a name when he spoke again.

"James."

"James?" she asked, at the sudden admission.

He nodded. "Lady with food, long time ago, said James. Is that my name?"

With a soft sad smile, trying not to tear up, Rogue replied, "If you would like that to be your name, we can call you James, okay?"

The dark-haired toddler smiled and nodded, then pointed to himself and said, "My name James," then pointed to Rogue, "You name mama." He promptly threw himself into her lap and hugged her, exactly as he had on the jet on the flight home. Rogue just sat there, stunned, until a knock sounded at the door.

"You up Rogue?" Scott called through the door.

Before Rogue could reply James jumped off her lap and ran to the door, pulling the door open he growled at Scott, surprisingly loudly. Scott just stood in silence looking shocked. Rogue tried to suppress the laugh that tried to break out, 'Shut up, Logan,' she warned the presence still hovering around the edges of her conscious mind. Aloud she gently reprimanded the little boy, wouldn't do to have him going around growling at people, especially if Logan was going to be back in a couple of days, one growly feral was enough for the mansions population to handle.

"James, no growling," stepping up behind the little boy she crouched down to his level. "This is Scott, Scott is a friend, you don't growl at friends, you say 'hello Scott'," to demonstrate Rogue stood up and turned to their visitor. "Hi Scott," she reached out a hand to him, hoping he got the hint.

Scott grinned. "Hi Rogue," he replied, and reached out and shook her hand.

"Get down on his level," Rogue mouthed at Scott.

With a barely perceptible nod Scott slowly dropped down and held out his hand to the little boy. "Hi James."

James paused and looked up at Rogue, at her nod of encouragement he stepped cautiously forward and grabbed hold of the offered hand. "Hi Scott."

With a smile Scott stood back up, noting how the little boy quickly scooted backwards so he was now standing half hidden behind Rogue. "Just came to see if you were coming down for breakfast and if need you anything? I've got to go into town and I can grab a few things for the little guy if you like?"

"That would be great," Rogue answered, "Some changes of clothing would be good, I think that's all he's going to need urgently. We're going to head to the kitchen in a minute, he finished all the snacks I brought up already, and I guess Jean will want to see him in the med lab soon."

Scott nodded. "Yeah she was actually talking about that earlier, she's in the kitchen at the moment so she can talk to you about that down there, I'll grab some clothes for him while I'm out, I should be back in an hour or so, he'll have to put up with a girls shirt for a while."

Rogue laughed. "He spent the night running around naked, not to mention for however long before then, so I don't think he'll mind too much. See you when you get back."

"Bye Rogue, bye James," Scott waved to the little boy as he started to move away down the hall.

"Bye Scott," Rogue replied, and nudged James to do the same. "Bye Scott," the little boy parroted.

Rogue left the door open and turned back into the room, first contact for the little boy had gone well, she just hoped it would go so well once they got around more people. She wasn't going to risk taking him into the cafeteria yet, even she wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with that number of people, but she could take him down to the staff kitchen, after late night missions that's usually where the rest of the X-men ended up for breakfast.

When Rogue began to leave the bedroom, she noted James stop at the doorway, watching after her nervously.

"Come on," she encouraged him, holding out her hand for him to take. She was only a few yards down the hallway but he still looked worriedly back and forth, before finally darting to her and wrapping his arms around her leg as he looked up at her pleadingly. Picking up on his discomfort Rogue leaned down and opened her arms, he immediately reached up, wrapping his arms around her neck so she could easily pick him up.

He wrapped his legs around her waist as she settled him on her hip, even though he was a little on the heavy side for that. One of his arms wrapped around hers, while his other hand gripped her shirt as he watched wide eyed as they made their way down the hallway and down the stairs. As they went Rogue watched him visibly scenting the area, the poor boy was probably incredibly overwhelmed with all the different scents wafting around.

When they got to the kitchen James' attention immediately went to the rooms only two other occupants. Jean and Ororo were sitting at the table by the window discussing the previous night’s mission over coffee and pancakes, their conversation paused as Rogue entered and greeted the two women. James shyly mimicked her greeting before she introduced him.

His stomach grumbled then, despite the amount of snack food he had eaten overnight and early that morning, he was still starving. He pointed to Jean's pancakes before turning to Rogue and asking, 'please?'.

Rogue smiled at him. "Pancakes it is then, you want to help me cook some?" she said, as she moved with him over to the stove. She sat him down on the countertop while she found a pan and a bottle of premade pancake batter.

Leaving the pan to heat Rogue mixed the batter up ready to pour, setting it down beside the stove as she gathered a spatula and a couple of plates. James watched her curiously as she poured the batter into the hot pan, his eyes widening as he watched the batter bubble as it cooked before she flipped the pancake. As Rogue turned slightly to reach for one if the plates, Jean called out a warning and Rogue turned around just in time to see James reach into the hot pan to grab the pancake.

Rogue scooped him up, away from the stove he had crawled along the counter to get to but not before he hissed in pain as his hand brushed against the hot surface. She immediately moved him to the sink and placed his hand under the cold-water faucet as Jean rushed over. James was looking at her oddly, as Rogue peeled open his hand under the cold water. Her intention had been to see what damage he had done to himself but she and Jean watched, surprised, as the angry red burn quickly faded away to leave behind only pale pink, perfectly healed skin.

"So… he's feral, and he heals," Jean said, "Deja vu, it is like Logan all over again, I need you to bring him to the lab as soon as he's had his breakfast," she told Rogue, her mind mulling over a range of possibilities.

"Sure," Rogue replied, as she shut off the water before moving back to the stove to rescue the crispy pancake. "No James, it's too hot, let it cool down," she warned the eager toddler, who was again trying to make a grab for the pancake.

Moving him to the table to sit next to Ororo, Rogue set a glass of milk down in front of him, hoping that would occupy him long enough for his breakfast to cool. She set down a plate with several pancakes on it a few minutes later, liberally smothered in syrup. James immediately grabbed the first pancake and stuffed most of it in his mouth, dripping syrup everywhere in the process. Ororo laughed as Rogue sighed as she collected silverware, she didn't bother admonishing the boy, instead she cut the pancakes into smaller pieces and let him continue to eat with his hands. He'd barely mastered please and thank you; she thought a fork might be a little beyond him at this point.

An hour later his tummy was full again, and she had cleaned as much syrup off him as she could, before they made their way down to the med lab. Again, James insisted on being carried, still needing that connection to be comfortable. It almost wasn’t enough when the elevator doors opened to the lower levels and she sensed James anxiety kick up a notch. His grip on her increased and he whimpered when she stepped into the lab, he obviously had bad memories of places like this.

She soothed him as best she could as he clung to her, her soft voice catching Jean's attention from the other room. The sight of Jean walking in in a white coat was too much for the toddler though, and he burst into tears as soon as he saw her. It took ten minutes, and Jean removing her coat to calm him down enough to sit on Rogue's lap while Jean checked him over. He balked at the needle when she approached to draw blood, until Rogue wrapped her hand around his and moved his arm into the correct position while murmuring platitudes to him.

"See! That wasn’t so bad now was it?" she said brightly, as the needle hole instantly closed when the needle was withdrawn. James just grunted and buried his face back in her chest, try to hide from the scary room.

"I've got one last test that I need a sample for... you think you can get him to open his mouth for me?" Jean said, pulling out several swabs.

"You need saliva? What test is that for?" Rogue asked curiously, as she racked her brain for the easiest way to get the boy on her lap out of hiding.

"I want to do a DNA test, this little guy is just too much like Logan for it to be a coincidence, I'm thinking they're related," Jean admitted sadly.

Rogue was silent as she nodded, the thought had occurred to her too, though the Logan in her head had remained resolutely silent on the issue. Gently she encouraged James to turn around and explained he needed to open his mouth. He clamped his mouth shut firmly and shook his head.

"It's okay little man it's not going to hurt, see," Rogue said, as she opened her mouth and let Jean swab her so he could see what they wanted to do.

Tentatively, keeping a close eye on Rogue, James opened his mouth, mimicking Rogue's earlier action. Jean quickly took two swabs, that should be enough for her tests, before beaming at him.

"All done!" Jean said cheerily, "And you have been such a good, brave little boy, that you can have a candy," Jean told him, holding out a bowl of assorted goodies she kept on hand for treating the mansions younger residents.

James wouldn't take one so Rogue did, selecting a piece of fudge, she unwrapped it, and took a small bite before offering the rest to James. He waited until Rogue had swallowed her bite, before stuffing the rest of the fudge into his own mouth.

"So, any recommendations doctor?" Rogue asked, as James noisily chewed on the large piece of fudge.

"Healthy food, exercise, and plenty of sleep. He seems in good health, which isn't surprising given what we know of his mutation, I would imagine like Logan that means he has a pretty fast metabolism so make sure he is eating enough. He's a little on the light side weight wise so I'd start him on five meals a day rather than three, with a snack before bed. Keep on with what you're doing with slowly introducing him to new things, try not to push him too fast, and I guess you noticed he needs a lot of physical reassurance, make sure you're always covered so he doesn’t accidentally touch your skin. For now, that's everything. You can go now little guy, see you at lunch time," Jean bid them both farewell.

James couldn't wait to be gone, and for the first time in an hour Rogue felt him finally relax as they stepped out of the elevator back onto the mansions ground floor. Rogue stopped by the kitchen and grabbed a bag of food for more snacks before carrying James outside, if he was anything like Logan that would be his preferred spot, and after what they'd just put him through in the med lab, he deserved some time out.

When James saw the outside, he grinned happily and squirmed, trying to get down to the ground. With a laugh Rogue put his bare feet on the path and as soon as he was down, he was off, running here, there, and everywhere, though he stopped regularly to check he was still nearby to Rogue. She sat down at one of the picnic tables on the lawn as she set out the food she had brought, sure enough it wasn’t long before James was back and politely asking for more food.

They spent the rest of the morning playing outside. James knew some things, like what balls were for and how to use swings and slides. It made Rogue think that the little boy had not been in a lab his whole life, like maybe he had been a normal child once, with parents and toys, and someone to cuddle him and read him bedtime stories.

Scott found them outside when he eventually returned, and handed over several bags to Rogue. There was a substantial supply of clothes, several pairs of shoes, a bag of toys, another with books, and a fluffy teddy bear. Scott also told her a toddler bed would be delivered later that afternoon and he would set it up in her room, if she was still happy to have the little boy share her room for a while, while he settled in.

Rogue was more than happy with that plan, though she had a feeling the bed was kind of pointless, she doubted James would sleep on his own, though maybe he would once he was settled. Scott left her to it as she pulled out a change of clothes for the little boy. She got him changed, out of her now grass and syrup stained shirt, and into a pair of overalls and a kid size shirt right in the middle of the field, no one was around so it didn't really matter that he was naked again for a minute. He sat quietly while she put shoes on him but after a few minutes he sat down on the ground and pulled them off again, handing them back to her and running off to play again. It seemed shoes were off the approved apparel list.

The lunch bell rang, signalling a break in classes, and Rogue watched as students slowly began to trickle out of the cafeteria with their lunch as often happened on nice sunny days. She was considering taking James inside to get him some food when she saw her two best friends wandering across the lawn toward her, each carrying an extra tray of food.

James watched the two 'strangers' approach her table, when they got too close for his liking he ran back to Rogue and stood in front of her. The Logan in her head chuckled as he watched the little boy, he'd become more and more comfortable with the child all morning, ever since he had called Rogue 'mama' that morning.

'What's so funny?' Rogue asked him.

'He's guarding you,' Logan replied amused. Sure enough, the little boy growled as Kitty and Jubilee got closer.

"It’s alright James, their friends, they can come sit with us for lunch, you want to say hi?" Rogue soothed and prompted him. He stopped growling, looking back and forward between Rogue and the two girls, before waving a quick hello and climbing up on the bench seat beside Rogue.

"He's so cute!" Jubilee said, as she took a seat opposite James, and pushed the extra tray of food she had brought across the table towards him.

Kitty was more subdued, handing Rogue the extra tray she had brought as she sat down. Rogue, noting her silence, asked if she was okay. "I've been working on un-encrypting the files you guys got from the lab last night, it's not nice stuff, I haven't found anything on James yet but just the idea of a baby living in some place like that... it's not right, it's not fair," Kitty replied softly.

Rogue smiled reassuringly. "That's why we got him out, and we'll make it up to him, look he's already figuring out how silverware works," she joked, pointing to the little boy who was mimicking her actions with his fork, brow furrowed in concentration as he picked up food and shovelled it into his mouth. The girls laughed, the mood lightening some as they talked, including James in their conversation from time to time as the little boy got more comfortable with them. He even waved, and used their names, when he said goodbye to them as they headed back inside at the end of the lunch hour.

Packing up all the bags of James' things Rogue told him it was time to go back inside. She couldn't carry him this time with her arms full so he walked along beside her, holding onto the hem of her shorts in lieu of her hand. They took the elevator, James balking only momentarily, before Rogue showed him which button to press. When the door opened on their floor James immediately perked up, she could tell he recognized the hall, and sure enough he ran down the hall, straight to her room, and opened the door.

As he refamiliarized himself with the room, even voluntarily entering the bathroom to use the toilet, Rogue began to mentally rearrange her room, to figure out where she was putting James' things. A clatter from the bathroom interrupted her musings, and she walked in to find James sitting on the counter washing his hands, with plenty of bubbles of course.

"Oopsie," he said, when he saw her, pointing to the plastic cup and soap dispenser he had knocked off the bench.

Once the bathroom was put back together Rogue plopped James back on the bed, she had seen his yawn as she carried him into the bedroom, and figured it was probably nap time. She wasn’t sure how you got a three-year-old to have a nap, so she decided to demonstrate. Grabbing one of the books Scott had bought, Rogue climbed into bed, tucking James in next to her and began to read softly to him. He cuddled up to her, tucking himself under her arm so she was half hugging him as she read, and was fast asleep not even five minutes later.

Rogue was woken from her nap several hours later by a knock at her door. It was Scott and a delivery man with several large boxes. James sat up in bed rubbing his eyes and yawning sleepily, as he watched the men warily as they moved the boxes into the room. The delivery man left with his tip, and a wave to James, who waved back, before Scott announced he would have the bed built in an hour. Rogue figured that was the end of their nap and James was probably hungry again.

"James, do you want to stay here and help Scott or do you want to come with me?" she asked the little boy, who promptly jumped off the bed and ran to her side. "I guess he's coming with me, I won't be long, do you want anything while I'm in the kitchen?" Rogue asked Scott, as she gently ran her fingers through the little boy’s thick, unruly hair.

"Coffee!" Scott begged, as she left the room.

Holding James' hand Rogue led him down the stairs, the stairs took twice as long with a three-year-old in tow but she figured that was just how it was when your legs were that short. It was important though to get him to walk the routes around the school, so he could find his way back to his den, Logan told her.

James obviously remembered, from breakfast, the way to the kitchen and ran off in that direction when they reached the ground floor, pausing to wait for Rogue before he entered.

She made Scott's coffee, and a hot chocolate, which was mostly fluffy milk, for James as consolation for the coffee machine giving him a fright with its loud noises. Leaving him to drink his drink at the table she began to fix a couple of sandwiches to take back to their room, along with a bag of potato chips which James seemed to like.

Back in their room, the bed had barely progressed, the parts were all out of the boxes now, and there was a pile of bolts to one side, Scott was staring at the diagram on the piece of paper in front of him looking confused. Rogue set James up at the desk with a sandwich and his bag of chips, before moving to Scott and handing him his coffee.

Scott had obviously had a very busy day, Rogue decided as she moved over to the parts and quickly moved them all into the right positions, as shown on the diagram. Scott looked momentarily sheepish, before he thanked her with a chuckle, and they began to fit the bolts to tie the whole thing together. When they were done putting the bed together, they had to shuffle Rogue's bed over a bit and move her couch to fit the bed into its own space. The room was a little cramped now but it would do. Jean came up them with a basket of freshly laundered bedding so Rogue could make up the bed.

"What do you think James?" she asked once she was done. "Do you like your bed?"

James climbed onto the bed and jumped on it a few times before crawling under the covers. "Yup," he announced, from under the blankets a short time later.

Scott and Jean left her to finish putting her room back into some sort of order. She folded the extra toddler bedding and added it to her linen shelf in her closet, then folded all of James’ new clothes and put them away in the drawers under his bed. She opened the boxes of toys, which attracted James' attention, and put all the toys away in a basket that had been sitting on her shelf for months doing nothing. James was very careful to be tidy as he played, as soon as he finished with one toy, he put it in the basket before he got a second out. It seemed like an odd way for a toddler to play with toys, as far as Rogue could remember, but it was definitely convenient in the now cramped room.

Later that night, once James was tucked into his own bed fast asleep, Rogue finally felt herself relax. Today had been a steep learning curve, and a really busy day but she felt fantastic, and content. Best of all Logan would be home soon, she smiled happily as she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning dawned bright and sunny. Rogue wasn't surprised on waking to find James in her bed and cuddled up to her, she hadn't thought he would last the whole night in his own bed. He had woken her up at about three, as he crawled under her covers with her, and wrapped his little arms around her as he went back to sleep.

Rogue slipped out of bed as slowly and gently as she could, hoping not to wake James. She needed to shower this morning, and that would mean closing, and locking, the door to the bathroom, so he wouldn't accidentally wander in and possibly touch her. She'd just finished rinsing her hair when someone started pounding on the door.

"James? Is that you?" she called out softly, as she shut the water off and hurried out of the shower. The thumping stopped but she could hear sniffles coming through the door. She quickly towelled off and pulled back on her long-sleeved pyjamas and gloves before unlocking and opening the door. James was sitting on the floor outside the door, tears welled in his eyes. "James, are you okay?" she asked, before the little boy pulled her out of the bathroom and hugged her tightly.

"Bad room?" he said, sounding confused.

"No sweetie, it's just a bathroom, it's where you get clean... I wish I could explain so you would understand... see my skin, it hurts people, and I didn't want you to get hurt while I was in the shower so I locked the door..."

"You locked the door?" James asked surprised.

"Yeah, see," Rogue picked him up and carried him into the bathroom, showing him how the door locked. He tested out locking and unlocking it himself several times before he wriggled out of Rogue's arms to thoroughly inspect the bathroom.

"Mama safe," he finally said, with a satisfied nod. He promptly unlocked the bathroom door, walked out, and closed the door after him, leaving Rogue standing alone in the bathroom in shock.

She opened the door a moment later to find James back in her bed. "So, I can lock the door and finish my shower now?" she asked. James nodded. "You going to be okay out here on your own?" James nodded again. "Okay, I'll be out soon," she told him, shutting the door and locking it after her, she waited a few moments to be sure he wouldn't change his mind before she undressed again and resumed her shower.

She dried herself thoroughly this time, enjoying being naked for a while, before pulling on a clean bodysuit, shorts, and t-shirt - she left her gloves off for now as she still had to dry her hair. She unlocked and opened the door to check on James before she did that, he was playing happily on the floor with some of his toys, though as soon as she switched on her hair dryer he suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"What that?" he asked, eyeing up the offending noisemaker.

"It's a hair dryer," Rogue explained, "It blows warm air so the water goes out of my hair, you want to see?" The little boy toddled over curiously, and held his hand out to feel the warm air blowing. He sat on the lid of the toilet, and watched as Rogue dried her hair completely before announcing, "Mine now!"

"But your hair's not wet," Rogue said, with a laugh, James insisted, so she turned the dryer onto him while he sat there grinning and giggling as the warm air mussed his already messy hair, until Rogue announced he was done and switched it off.

She pulled her gloves on as she followed James back to the bedroom where he rushed to the door, intent on leaving. "Not yet," she called him back, "You have to get dressed first."

James looked confused as he looked down at his pyjamas. "Clothes?" he said, pointing to what he was wearing.

"Pyjamas," Rogue told him, "You wear pyjamas to go to bed, you wear clothes at day time," she continued, pulling open his drawers to reveal his clothes. "What would you like to wear today?"

James closed the bedroom door again before coming to peruse his options, he pulled out a pair if brown corduroy overalls and a green t-shirt and handed them to Rogue. He took his pyjamas off and stuffed them under the covers of his bed before he let Rogue help him dress. Again, he refused shoes which worried Rogue a little, she'd have to get him used to wearing them before winter, summer was fine to run around barefoot but not winter, not if you wanted to keep your toes at least.

Once they were ready they headed for the stairs, James was getting better at navigating them with some practice but it still took them a while to get down, several other people passed them as they made the trip, which slowed them down even more as James stopped to wave to everyone who said hello. Just as James was stepping off the last step the mansion's front door opened, both Rogue and James looked up to see who it was.

"Logan!" Rogue exclaimed, letting go of James' hand to rush to him, wrapping him in a hug as he smiled at her.

"Miss me huh?" he asked cockily.

"Yeah, though not as much as I could have, still have a decent dose of you up here," she replied, as she stepped back, her attention being drawn back to James when she felt him wrap his arms around her leg as he curiously regarded the newcomer.

"Hey little guy," Logan said, crouching down closer to the boy’s level when he noticed him. "I'm Logan, what's your name?" he asked gently.

James looked up at Rogue, before he turned his attention back to Logan and responding, "James." He stepped out from behind Rogue, tipping his head to one side as Logan watched his nose twitch as he scented him out. Obviously, the kid was a feral. He watched the little boy’s brow furrow as he stepped closer, sniffing harder.

"Alright I know I've been on the road for a while but I don't smell that bad kid," Logan said with a chuckle. He was about to stand back up when James jumped at him, throwing his arms around Logan's neck, and burying his face in the crook of his neck. Logan started at the sudden movement but calmed when he realised the kid was just scenting him, still, the same confused look on his face, like he was trying to figure something out.

"D-dada?" James asked, in confusion, a moment later.

Logan froze as he moved the kid back a step, his nose was still twitching and his brow still furrowed. Taking a sniff of his own Logan matched his confused look, there was definitely something in the kids’ scent, something familiar.

"Where did you find him?" Logan asked Rogue.

"He was at the lab, only prisoner. Kitty and Scott are still trying to decode the lab records, Jean's running her own tests on him though, he - he's feral and he heals, Jean thought there might be some sort of relationship between the two of you so she's running DNA tests. I'd say this confirms there's some connection but then again he calls me mama, even though I told him to call me Rogue, so, who knows," Rogue replied, looking uncertain, this was just what Logan needed to run again surely.

"Hm, a little young to be a mama, yet," was all Logan replied with a wink, before he set James back on his feet and stood. "I take it you two were heading for breakfast," he continued, ignoring the surprised and amused look Rogue was throwing him in response to his comment. Noting Rogue's look shift toward confused as she looked between him and James, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tugging her along to walk with him before saying, "No point worrying about it all just yet, let Jean finish her tests, or see if Scott and Kitty can find anything. Might just be a coincidence," he said, with a shrug.

James grabbed hold of Rogue's hand again and the three made their way to the cafeteria.

Jean wasn't at breakfast, everyone else though spotted the trio as they entered. Several people waved and said hello to James, who tried his best to hide between Rogue and Logan. Logan was welcomed back warmly, even Scott shook his hand and welcomed him back, despite Logan's clearly expressed annoyance with the other man for putting Rogue in danger by taking her on a mission. Scott just shook his head and laughed, and told him they could talk about it later.

"Isn’t anything to talk about One Eye," Logan muttered, as he set down his breakfast and took a seat next to James who was sitting between him and Rogue.

Jean came in a few minutes later, looking distracted, so distracted she missed the extra occupant at the adults table. Logan just watched in amusement as he ate, helping Rogue encourage James to eat his breakfast too, as Jean began to rattle on about the records that Kitty had decrypted, and she had been reviewing.

"How are James' test results coming?" Logan inserted into the conversation at an appropriate point.

"The profiles just about done, I should be able to scan the database shortly, the results should be done by the time Logan gets here," she replied, completely oblivious to who she was answering. It wasn’t until someone sniggered that Jean realised the whole table had gone quiet and several people were trying not to laugh. "Oh! Logan, sorry, I completely missed you, I apologize, I wasn't expecting you so soon," she said, trying not to laugh herself when she realised her oversight.

"Yeah, how did you get here so quickly?" Rogue asked suddenly, she hadn't even been expecting Logan until after dinner that night, at the earliest.

"I didn't end up stopping last night," Logan shrugged, before adding, "Not enough decent fights this close to civilization." Rogue laughed, she just so happened to know where the best fights around here were but she wouldn't mention that in current company. "So, the results should be in midday?" Logan pressed Jean on his initial query.

"Do I even need to bother finishing the test?" Jean asked, raising an eyebrow, Logan's pressing of the issue made her think he knew something that no one else did. He nodded, looking slightly uncertain. "Should be done in a couple of hours, I'll let you know as soon as results are in," she assured him. She watched the rest of the meal as James and Logan interacted, it was surprising to see the little boy so comfortable with another person where the only one he had relaxed around since arriving was Rogue. She was confident the results were going to confirm what she was already suspecting.

After breakfast, Rogue, Logan, and James made their way upstairs, James again insisting on climbing the stairs unassisted. Which gave the pair plenty of time to catch up as they waited for him.

"Sorry your room isn't ready," Rogue apologised, as she opened the curtains and windows to air the room out, "I wasn’t expecting you so soon so, with James to sort out yesterday I hadn't got to this yet." She began pulling out fresh sheets as she set about getting the room ready.

"Don’t worry about it, I know how to make a bed, are you looking after him are you?" Logan asked her.

"He was a little standoffish when he arrived and growled at everyone else so yeah, he's kind of become mine," she replied, with a nod and a happy smile.

James wandered in then, with a book in hand. "Mama read?" he asked politely holding out the book to her.

"In a minute sweetie, just let me finish in here and then we can go read," Rogue replied.

"I told you already, I can make a bed, go, read him the book, that's more important," Logan interrupted, taking the sheets out of her hand with a grin.

James was already sitting on Logan's couch waiting for her, when she sighed in defeat and sat down beside him, accepting the book he handed her. He cuddled up to her as she read, he was unusually subdued and clingy, though really, she only had one day of association to base that off, maybe he was just acclimating, he had had a big morning after all.

Logan finished making the bed before lying down on it, watching as the little boy on the couch eyed him warily as he cuddled up to Rogue, the kid had obviously bonded with her, which he couldn't blame him for, that was why he was back after all. He switched his attention to Rogue before too long, she looked genuinely happy as she quietly read the bizarre story about a talking pig to the toddler. After a few minutes he felt his eyes closing. In truth, he had driven flat out to get back since Rogue had told him she was going on the mission, he had been almost fifty hours without sleep.

By the time Rogue finished reading the book Logan was asleep. She smiled to herself, as she signalled for James to be quiet and picked him up, silently slipping out of the room leaving Logan to sleep. She'd been able to tell he was tired when she first saw him, and she didn't doubt last night wasn’t the only night he had driven right through to get back. As much as she wanted to be annoyed with his overprotective streak when it came to her, she couldn't bring herself to be when he made it so obvious he was willing to make such grandiose sacrifices for her.

She took James back to their room, asking if he wanted to go play outside but he shook his head, instead entertaining himself with his toys inside. A couple of hours later James stopped playing suddenly and came to stand in front of her, where she was quietly reading a history book for the lesson she had to give on Friday.

"Everything okay?" she asked the boy, as he stood uncertainly in front of her.

"Are you goin’ be my mama forever?" James asked suddenly, his brow furrowed in concern.

Rogue thought for a moment. "James, I'll be here to take care of you for as long as you need me, but we might find your real mama, don't you want to go home to be with your real mama?" Rogue asked.

Immediately the little boy began to shake his head. "She di’n't like me," he said sadly, "She di’n't read me stories, or give me toys, I - I did sompfing bad, and she send me to the bad place," he revealed. "You won't send me to the bad place," he said with certainty, as he climbed onto the couch next to her, and hugged her. "Will dada send me to the bad place?" he asked suddenly, looking scared.

"No sweetie, Logan would never, ever send you to the bad place, ever, Logan's been in the bad place too, he would never want you to be there, he'll keep you safe, just like I will," Rogue assured him, tearing up at the look of sheer relief on the boy’s face. Could it possibly be true that the boy’s own mother had given him to a lab. She pulled James into her lap and wrapped him up in her arms as she tried to hide her tears from him, she couldn't hide them from Logan who entered the room then, she could tell from the look on his face that he had heard James' comments.

Before Logan could add his own two cents, they both received a telepathic prompt to come to the briefing room. Verbalizing the directive so James would know what was going on, Logan helped Rogue to her feet so she didn't have to release her hold on the boy. They jumped straight on the elevator to head to the lower levels, the car stopping on the ground floor to pick up Scott and Ororo before continuing on.

When they arrived in the briefing room both Jean and the Professor were already there. Everyone quickly took seats, James still sitting in Rogue's lap, as Logan took a seat beside her. Despite the fact he was confident what the results would reveal Logan was still nervous to hear the confirmation. He didn't know anything about being a father, the fact he didn't even know he had a kid was testament to that.

"I'll get this out of the way quickly I suppose," Jean said, placing a file on the desk, "DNA confirms he is your son Logan."

Logan let out the breath he had been holding as he let the thought cement itself in his mind.

Rogue was holding his hand under the table and offered him a reassuring squeeze, she knew from his memories that one of his concerns had always been of having family out there he had left behind when he lost his memories but this situation seemed so much worse.

He offered Rogue's hand a return squeeze as he turned to James. "Guess you were right little guy, I am your dad, you okay with that?" he asked James directly. James regarded him contemplatively, before turning to Rogue, then back to Logan, his gaze settled on the pair's joined hands before he smiled brightly and nodded decisively, he then promptly climbed across their knees into Logan's lap and hugged him. Logan hugged him back, feeling a contentment settling in under the stress of suddenly being thrown in the deep end with a toddler being thrust into his life.

"You listen to me and you listen real good," Logan said, as James began to relinquish his grip a few minutes later and Logan sat him on the table in front of him. "I don’t know anything about being a dad, so I'm probably going to be a pretty shitty dad but I'm going to do my best and I can promise you that you will never, ever, end up in one of those places again, not while I'm breathing, you hear. You’re mine, and I'm going to look after you, and protect you, and if I ever screw up at being your dad you tell Rogue so she can kick my ass alright," Logan told the little boy, earning a teary chuckle from Rogue. James just grinned brightly and hugged Logan again before settling down in his lap, content to sit with him quietly.

After a minute, the little boy pulled Rogue's hand back toward him, and one of Logan's too, and held them both, so all three of them were holding hands. He had picked up on the bond between Logan and Rogue and knew, this was his new family.

Logan prompted Jean to continue with whatever news she had left to share, she detailed James mutation, and the limits the lab had tested him to before he had been rescued. Thankfully, though some fairly horrific tests had been performed on the boy, he had so far been largely spared from torment due to the labs determination that he was too young for physical enhancement. Rogue shuddered at that phrase as Logan hugged the toddler, his son, closer to him, trying not to remember, in vivid detail, what that phrase truly meant.

Kitty entered the room then, a thick file of freshly printed paper in her arms. She had been working almost nonstop on decrypting files since the mission, even having been given permission to skip classes this week to get a head start. Logan just recognized her as the girl who had run through the door when he had first arrived at Xavier's, it didn't surprise him she was good at breaking into things. Rogue however knew Kitty well enough to know when something was wrong, and right now her friend was just the right shade of pale for her to know that the slightest lapse of the girl’s concentration would see her sinking into the floor.

"Kitty managed to locate James’ file and has been working on decrypting it to figure out how the lab found him," Scott announced to the team.

"What have you found, kid?" Logan asked, picking up on the girls’ distress.

"It was planned, everything about James, right from his conception," Kitty said quietly, "They knew they couldn't hold you, when they found you, they paid a woman to... to have sex with you, to get... to get... um... your uh..."

"Sperm?" Logan offered, some distant part of him mildly amused, as the girl blushed and nodded.

"Then they used it impregnate her. The baby was left to grow up normally but something happened, and the woman abandoned James to child protective services in Canada. When he was two. The lab picked him up within days when they discovered his mutation was active. He's been in that lab for almost a year and..." Here Kitty stopped, her nerves, which had been dying down, began to creep back up again.

"And?" Logan prompted, feeling his own apprehension increase.

"He may not be the only one," Kitty replied.

"The only one what?" Logan asked, hoping she wasn’t meaning what he thought she was.

"The lab believed you might have other children, and they've been looking for them, there is reference to another serial number... and another base code... I'm still trying to decrypt more files on both of those. They've been trawling government databases, mostly medical related, trying to find DNA matches to James, in the hope it would lead them to some of his siblings. From what I've been able to glean, they're going to be slowed down a lot by the loss of this information and the hit on that base, but also, we can search the databases faster if we use Logan's DNA profile to search, paternal matches are easier to make than sibling but I'll need Jean's help with that, also... it is highly illegal," Kitty pointed out.

"Go for it, blame it on me if you get caught," Logan said, "If there's more of my kids out there, they're in danger, anything you can you do to find them..." Logan cut off, the thought that there might be more little boys or girls out there, suffering like James had, was too much to think about, what if they were older, what if it was worse.

"How many kids could we be talking here?" Scott asked curiously.

Rogue stifled a chuckle, Logan smirked at her ruefully before replying, only partly serious. "Well, if condoms are only ninety-eight percent effective, over sixteen years, a hundred, hundred twenty..." Logan shrugged. Hell, he was no saint, and he never claimed to be, though now that the ramifications of his earlier lifestyle were coming home to bite him in the ass he couldn't help the stab of regret. "Truthfully though, I always tried to avoid chicks that were... too ripe, per se, so the actual number should be a hell of a lot less."

Kitty was blushing furiously at his admission, Rogue too, though she also seemed amused by it. Scott and Jean's response was open mouthed shock, while the Professor simply gave Kitty the go ahead to begin the process, as discreetly as possible.

Another thought occurred to Logan then. "What about the mother, where you able to get any information on her? I'd like to pay her a visit, see if I can get the full story out of her," Logan stated honestly. There were details of what happened that were missing, and James wouldn't know them, she was his best bet for getting information.

Kitty looked to the Professor, who nodded in agreement, before she handed over a stapled dossier on a woman named Tansy Jane Martin, identified as the mother of James, the file was surprisingly complete, including a current address, and a substantial criminal record.

"Was the address on the lab file?" Logan asked.

"No, the lab stopped keeping track of her entirely when she abandoned James, but it's the address she's currently bailed to, so if they wanted to find her again it wouldn't be hard," Kitty replied.

"Great, my kid was birthed and raised by a druggy... a violent druggy..." Logan sighed, as he scanned over the list of criminal convictions the woman had. "How the fuck did this chick not get him taken off her the day he was goddamn born!" He closed the file as he began to consider how best to get to British Columbia, as fast as possible, to speak to her.

"It would be best to interview the woman as soon as possible, if the lab were to attempt to track her down in light of James' release, time is of the essence. Logan, I would request Scott accompany you to meet her, you can fly out on the jet this afternoon if you wish," the Professor offered, whether he had been picking up Logan’s thoughts, or simply offering from the goodness of his heart, Logan decided it didn’t matter and accepted the offer and agreed for Scott to come with him. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like whatever this chick had to say, so someone else as a witness would be a good idea.

The meeting was finally adjourned to a late lunch. Rogue suggested not exposing James to the crowds in the cafeteria for the second time in the same day, so she made them lunch to eat outside. When she caught up to Logan, he was sitting solemnly beside the playground watching James play.

"Penny for your thoughts," she said, as she sat down next to him and handed him a beer. "Sorry it's not stronger, Scott keeps the good stuff under lock and key," she added, nodding to the bottle.

Logan chuckled as he popped the cap and swallowed half the bottle, as Rogue lay out food for the trio. "I honestly don't know what I'm thinking, I don't know what to do. I need your help here kid, you seem to know what you’re doing, I don’t know the first thing about kids," Logan told her, the intimate honesty was a vulnerability she knew he wouldn't dare show anyone else.

"I'll let you in on a little secret, I'm just making this up as I go along," Rogue replied with a grin. "How long are you and Scott going to be?" she asked a moment later.

"As long as it takes to get answers, hopefully she's forthcoming, I just need to know what happened to James for her to dump him like that. Can you watch him again tonight?" Logan asked her.

Rogue paused, of course she would look after him but suddenly the idea of James going away, even if it was just down the hall to Logan's room, hit her. James wasn't her child, even if he did insist on calling her mama. "... Yeah, yeah of course, anytime," she replied, with a smile that couldn't quite hide the pain in her eyes.

"You don't have to, I'm not going to make you, I can find someone else if you have other stuff you want to do," Logan replied immediately, obviously interpreting her hesitation as her wanting to decline.

Before she could reply James rushed over, having got a whiff of food. He climbed into Rogue's lap as he helped himself to a sandwich. His earlier unease was gone, she noted, as he chattered happily, pointing out various things that he knew what they were and naming them, while asking about the things he wasn't sure about. When he finished eating, he wanted to go explore the woods, Rogue figured she should probably give Logan some time alone to get to know his son, so she excused herself and left Logan with James.

Logan watched her walk away, something was bothering her but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, he didn't have time to stop and think about it though or he would risk losing the three year old who was quickly disappearing off down a forest path into the woods, calling for him to hurry. An hour later they were walking back to the mansion, well, Logan was, James' little legs had gotten tired, as had the rest of him, and he was riding on Logan's shoulders as he yawned widely, his pockets full of sticks, stones, nuts, and leaves that they had found on their trek.

Logan made his way inside, having to shift the toddler from his shoulders before they got to the first doorway. When he got upstairs, he encountered a problem, James' bed was in Rogue's room but he wasn’t sure if she would want James interrupting her right now, and he didn't have time to move the bed for James to have a nap.

"Go dada," James said, nudging him and pointing toward Rogue's room.

"Alright, alright, I'm moving boss," Logan replied with a chuckle, as he continued to Rogue's room. The kid turned out to be a surprising amount of fun, and not as much work as he had been led to believe; though he had yet to encounter a temper tantrum that toddlers were supposed to be well known for.

He knocked on Rogue's door, it was open but pushed almost closed. She called out for them to come in which Logan did, spying her immediately at the desk where she was sitting, reading. He immediately noted her eyes were red rimmed like she had been crying.

"Hey, sorry, didn't want to bother you, James needs a nap, do you want him down in here or should I put him in my bed?" Logan asked, almost dropping James when he suddenly wriggled out of his grip.

"My bed!" the little boy announced proudly, pointing to his bed in the corner, he ran over to it and pulled out the ball of crumpled fabric that was his pyjamas. He turned to Rogue questioningly as he looked to the sunlight streaming in the window. She helped him change into his pyjamas as Logan closed the curtain, cutting down the light level in the room. James then had to go and explore the curtain to figure out how 'daddy turned the sun down'. When he finally crawled into bed, and asked Rogue to read him a story, his eyes were already half closed, so she wasn’t surprised when he was asleep before she was even finished the second page of the book.

She dropped a soft kiss on his head before she put his book away. Collecting the book she had been reading when they entered, she and Logan left the room, leaving James to sleep undisturbed. Logan led the way to his room, closing the door softly behind them.

"What's wrong Marie?" he asked, before she had even been able to sit down, "And don’t say nothing, something's bothering you and I want to fix it so tell me."

She snapped her mouth shut, her answer had been going to be 'nothing', even the Logan in her head was pushing her to tell him the truth though.

"I don't want to get in the way of you and James but... I guess I kind of got attached, I don't want to lose him, I know I'm not his mama and I've been trying to discourage him from calling me that but..." she admitted, swiping at a wayward tear.

"Marie, you're not going to lose James, I would never do that to you, and I'd never do that to him, god knows you'd make a better parent than I would, he's the luckiest kid ever to have you in his life, and I'm lucky too because I can't do this without you so you have no idea how glad I am to hear you want to be a part of this," Logan told her with a relieved grin, "I'm sorry too, I..." he cut off looking uncomfortable, he didn't intend to tell her the rest but at the same time, it felt like the right time.

"I never wanted to do anything to make your life harder, and now I feel like shit for saying... I came back for you Marie, I don't intend on leaving again, not without you. Admittedly, James kind of throws a spanner in the works a bit but if we're going to do this together, I want to do this *together*, I... I was never coming back for this kid-" he said, as he tugged on the dog tag chain he could see disappearing into her shirt collar, pulling the tag into view- "I was always coming back for you. I didn't plan on saying anything, not yet, you're so young, I wanted you to have a chance to be a kid, grow up, have some fun, and if you want time to do that I'm happy to wait for you but I thought you should know, seeing as the spanner is in play."

Logan nervously smiled at her, a little disconcerted by Rogue's dead silence while he said his piece. The tears gathering in her eyes were not helping him tell which way this was going either. "And I don't mind him calling you mama, if you don't mind," he added, in case his previous statement hadn't been clear enough. A moment later he held an armful of sobbing Rogue as she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she hugged him for all she was worth. He heard her barely breathe, ‘Please don't let this be a dream’, and cheekily pinched her.

"Ow, what was that for?" Rogue demanded, pulling away from him and rubbing her butt where he had pinched her.

"I guess it's not a dream," Logan replied with a chuckle. Rogue hugged him again joining in his laughter as she wiped away her happy tears.

"So, let's just get this straight, you're asking me to - be your girlfriend?" Rogue asked with a grin.

Logan shook his head. "No Marie, I'm asking you be my mate, one day be my wife, be the mother of my child, maybe even make more kids with me some day. What do you say, does that sound like a position you'd be interested in? I can't promise you it'll be easy, nothing in my life has been so far so I'm not holding out much hope for the future, but if you want to, I'm more than happy to have you walk this path with me."

Rogue nodded madly from the minute he asked if she was interested, hugging the living daylights out of him as she laughed and cried, and literally felt like she was going to burst with happiness.

They were interrupted by the door opening, James poked his head through the door. "Mama, can't sleep," he said, with a yawn, "Sleep with you?" he asked.

Breaking into a huge contented smile Rogue gestured for him to come over to them, pulling James into her lap, where she sat in Logan's and cuddled him close. "You sure can sweetie," she told him, kissing his head again as the little boy purred and rubbed his head against her face.

Logan picked the pair of them up and made his way back to Rogue's room, depositing them both on the bed before turning back to shut the door. He pulled off his belt, and kicked off his boots, before joining them on the bed. James beamed from one to the other of the adults flanking him, before snuggling down hugging both of them, and promptly falling asleep again.

An hour later, a gentle knock on the door preceded the door opening, and Scott sticking his head in. "Rogue, have you seen Logan?" He asked quietly.

"He's here," she replied quietly, watching as Logan began to stir from where he had fallen asleep. She wasn't surprised the nap he'd had this morning wasn't enough to catch up however many days sleep he had missed.

"I'm here, I'm up," Logan replied groggily. "We ready to go?" he asked Scott, who confirmed they were.

"Where you going dada?" James asked, jerking wake and grabbing hold of Logan as he moved to sit up.

"Just going on a mission kid, you're going to stay here with Rogue while I'm gone, I'll be back by morning, you behave yourself while I'm away okay," he said, matter of factly, his tone and body language telling James everything was normal, dad would just be out some times and that's how it was. It worked, and James let him go, snuggling back up to Rogue before waving to him and saying goodbye.

As the jet took off five minutes later Logan spied Rogue and James, waving from her window, as the jet lifted off. He waved too, from his place in the co-pilot’s seat, he didn't know if they could see him but it was the thought that counted.

The flight was going to take about two hours, a fact Logan was trying not to think about. He didn't like flying on the best of times, and this was not the best of times.

"So, you and Rogue?" Scott started, as he kicked back from the pilot's position now that the autopilot was engaged.

"I wouldn't mention Rogue if I were you, I haven't kicked your ass yet for letting her go on that mission," Logan pointed out warningly.

"Rogue is perfectly capable of handling her own on missions, I wouldn't have let her be involved if I wasn’t convinced of that fact," Scott justified his position.

"Well I guess if Rogue is perfectly capable of handling possible death or internment on missions, she must be well capable of handling her own personal relationships then," Logan replied pointedly.

"You know Rogue's mutation keeps her at arm’s length from people, it makes her vulnerable when faced with 'personal relationship' situations, if you do anything to take advantage of that..." Scott responded, beginning to get himself worked up.

"I know all about Rogue's mutation," Logan interrupted, "It almost killed me, twice, saving her life, admittedly one of those times was my own fault she needed saving but I saved her none the less. I left her here for her own safety and wellbeing, I would still be away, leaving her to grow up, if someone else hadn't decided she was already grown up. If she is grown up enough to risk dying, she's grown up enough to live. I have no intention of taking advantage of her but I also have no intention of pushing her away, not when we both want the same thing. If you have a problem with that you can shove it up your ass for all the fucks I give."

Scott paused, shocked, it was the closest he'd ever heard Logan come to talking about his feelings. As he considered his statement, he really couldn't fault his logic, and he knew Rogue had had a crush on the guy, since probably before she arrived at the school.

"Look, I won't stick my nose in your business but if you hurt her, just so you're aware, you've got a mansion full of people who will kick your ass in some very imaginative ways. We all care about Rogue, she's hard not to get attached to, just promise not to rush her, she's young and inexperienced, whatever happens let it happen naturally, you risk pushing her away otherwise," Scott cautioned him.

"I know," Logan replied, "I've got plenty of time to wait for her."

They sat in silence for a while before Logan asked with a grin. "So, when you say Rogue's 'perfectly capable', just how good are we talking?"

Scott chuckled, pulling up a monitor as he tapped commands into the computer that was linked to the X-mansions database. He pulled up video logs of some of Rogue's best training simulations, her all-time best was when she took on the entire junior team, single-handedly, and beat the lot of them. He hit play on the log and sat back to watch.

The video finished not long before they were ready to touch down, despite making several comments on flaws in Rogue's execution and openings she had missed, Logan had a very impressed grin on his face by the time she was standing victorious at the simulated base she had 'captured the flag' from. He wouldn't say it out loud, at least not anywhere Scott could hear it, but Rogue really could handle her own, though he did note her shameless appropriation of his own style, she must have a lot of him still in her head. He did comment that he would take over Rogue's training personally if she was happy with that, which Scott did complain about, Logan just ignored him.

They arrived at a dirty, run down house on the seedy side of town about five minutes later. The convertible that had been stashed in the back of the jet was fitted with fake plates so they didn't have to be careful with hiding the car. As they made their way up the front path, stepping over trash and empty beer bottles, Logan was thankful that James was out of this environment now.

Scott knocked politely at the door, though Logan could hear someone moving around inside no one came to get the door. He gave it a minute before he pounded loudly on the door with one metal reinforced fist. Still the door didn't open so he called out, "Open the goddamn door or I will." The shuffling inside became louder, and he distinctly heard someone run out the back of the building, and jump the back fence which creaked ominously, before the door opened.

"Who the fuck are you and what do you want?" A woman’s voiced asked, she could only see Scott from where she was positioned at the narrow crack between the door and the frame that the security chain allowed.

"We're here about your son," Scott stated.

The woman laughed scornfully. "Should have thought about that sooner before you fuckers screwed me over, little shit’s gone, you should get the same way," she snapped.

"Open the damn door now," Logan growled, stepping into her line of sight.

It took her a moment to recognize him but as soon as she did, he scented her fear jack up, and he caught the door as she tried to slam it shut, shoving the door open hard enough that the chain snapped, broken links pinging off the nearby walls. The woman turned to run but Logan grabbed her before she could get into the next room, shoving her to sit on the couch as Scott entered and calmly shut the door behind him.

"You are Tansy Martin, is that correct?" Scott asked, as he took up the roll of 'good cop'.

"Who's asking," she snapped snarkily.

"Your parole officer," Logan replied sarcastically.

"Fuck you, you freak, you caused all this, you and those goddamn government fuckers, I knew the money was too good to be true. And then that little fucking freak they stuck me with. Wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for him," she replied, refusing to acknowledge Logan.

"How much did they pay you for my kid?" Logan asked, curiosity taking the edge off his harsh tone.

"It was supposed to be a half mil, got fifty grand in advance, the rest on delivery, except the goddamn assholes never showed and left me lumped with it," Tansy replied, obviously furious. "The little shit was nothing but trouble from the start, then at two the little freak grows claws and stabs the shit out of my boyfriend, and I go to jail for it because no one believed me. If it's the kid you're wanting though I already got rid of it, dumped it in the foster care system, good luck finding it."

Logan stormed out, he had all the information he needed, he trusted Scott to be able to handle one woman on his own, he on the other hand needed to calm down. No wonder the kid didn't ever want to see his mother again, she really did hate him, had his life before the lab got him been any better than his life in it. Then and there, as Logan leaned against the car waiting, he promised James would have the best damn life he could give him.

When Scott exited the house an hour later Logan had retreated into the car as it had begun to drizzle drearily. The drive back to the plane was quiet and tense, neither man spoke as they boarded the jet and took off again, returning the way they had come.

"She gave names of her recruiters, no guarantee they're real but we'll see... did you get everything you needed?" Scot asked, a way into their trip.

"Yep," Logan replied, making it clear that was all he would say on the matter.

"Probably no consolation but she said you were a fantastic fuck, even for a 'freak'," Scott added, trying to lighten the mood.

Logan chuckled. "Never have had any complaints," he added with a grin, accepting the distraction.

By the time they got back to New York it was after nine pm, most of the mansion was quiet, it being a school night, the kids who weren't studying or already in bed, were being as quiet and inconspicuous as they could, so they didn't get reminded of homework and curfews.

Logan made his way up to Rogue's room, he slipped in quietly, needing to see James and reassure himself that the boy was safe and comfortable now. He wasn't surprised to find James fast asleep in Rogue's bed rather than his own. Rogue wasn't asleep though and she watched him closely as he silently crept into the room. He stripped off his jacket, boots and belt and joined the pair on the bed as they had been before he left.

"How'd it go?" she asked quietly.

Logan looked sadly down at his sleeping son. "I'm so glad he's out of there," he replied. That was enough for Rogue to know it must have been really bad, she wasn't going to push for more information but Logan needed to talk. "She was paid, to carry the baby, but they never collected. She hated him, just the way she talked about him, he must have been healing from a really young age because I can guarantee there was abuse going on, it's the only way she could have kept him without him being taken off her earlier. Makes you wonder what would have been worse, staying with her or foster care, hell part of me is wondering if the lab might even have been better... I feel like I've let him down..."

"It's not your fault Logan, you couldn't have known, all we can do now is pick up the pieces, there's no point beating yourself up over it," Rogue replied, taking hold of his hand where it was sitting on the bed beside James. She could see he was still struggling so carefully extracted herself from where she was cradling the sleeping boy. Moving to the other side of Logan and wrapping her arms around him, watching James where he was still sleeping. "You love him, he loves you. If you had known, it never would have happened, I know that, you know that, he knows that. You can't change the past Logan, only the future, and you're going to make his future awesome."

Logan rolled back, wrapping his arm around her, his other cradling James. "I'm going to do my best, for both of you," he said, a small smile settling on his face as he pressed a kiss to her hair.

The soft warm bed, the gentle sound of his sleeping sons breathing, and the soothing beat of Marie's heart began to pull him to sleep. "I should go," Logan said a minute later, he should get back to his own room before he set a precedent for falling asleep in Rogue's bed.

"You should stay, " Marie murmured, holding onto him tighter, "Stay." James shifted at the same time, unconsciously hugging him too. So, he stayed, sleeping soundly for the first time in a long time.

--

The next afternoon the Professor called Logan down to his office unexpectedly, Kitty was just leaving as Logan arrived, she smiled at him sadly but rushed away before he could ask what was going on. Worriedly, he entered the office without bothering to knock. The Professor was alone, perusing a file.

"Take a seat Logan," he suggested.

"That bad huh," Logan commented ruefully, as he sat down across the desk from the older man.

"Kitty has found a match," he commented, as he closed the file and slid it across the desk, he didn't remove his hand from it so Logan refrained from attempting to pick it up and let him continue speaking. "She believes this is the child mentioned in James' lab records. This child, and her whole immediate family are currently listed as missing persons." His piece said he removed his hand from the file, allowing Logan to take it.

He sat frozen, holding the file for a moment before flipping it open, the smiling face of a curly haired little girl was front and centre of the file. He could immediately see similarities between the girl and James, namely the eyes, though the girls were green rather than James' hazel, the shape was the same. Her hair too, though somewhat tamed, was still wild, thick and dark, almost black.

He flipped through the documents contained in the file, birth certificate, school records, medical records, a few family photos, and a sheaf of missing persons reports for mother, father, and two children, the girl, and a baby boy.

"Has there been any progress in finding the location of the lab the girl's in?" he asked quietly, after he had closed the file again.

"I'm afraid not," Xavier replied, "But we are continuing to decrypt the files, as soon as something is found we will let you know.”

With a tired sigh Logan nodded before standing to leave. "Can I hold onto this?" he asked, continuing out of the room when Xavier confirmed it was his.

When he got back upstairs, he considered tracking down Rogue before deciding he had burdened her with enough of this fucked up situation, the fact she was looking after his son made that obvious. He sat down on his couch glumly as he reopened the file, not at all surprised when the door opened a moment later; trust Rogue to just know anyway and come looking for him.

"Not good news I take it?" she said, taking a seat beside him. He pulled the photo out of the file and handed it to her. "She's cute, at least you know you make good looking kids," she said, as she tucked the photo back into the file a couple of minutes later.

Logan huffed a laugh as he wrapped his arm around her. "She's in a lab, god only knows where, her entire family is missing, I can only assume they're dead. I remember her mom, let's just say she was hard to forget, her husband was cheating on her so she decided two could play at that game, I didn't care, I'd be out of there before dawn and she was up for anything. You probably don't want to hear about that though," Logan added.

Rogue giggled. "The you in my head has already scrambled to try and hide that memory," she told him.

"I guess I really don't have any secrets from you," he replied, looking only mildly uncomfortable at the thought.

"Damn straight, and you better not start keeping any," Rogue replied, "Not from me at least. You don't need to hide from me Logan, I'm here for you, whatever you need, and to remind you that none of this is your fault. We'll find her." She placed a kiss on his bearded cheek before resting her head against his chest.

They sat for some time just comforting each other until James wandered in, freshly woken from his nap, looking for them.

Two days later there was a further breakthrough. Kitty came rushing into the cafeteria at lunch waving a sheaf of paper.

"I found one, he's in Manitoba," she said breathlessly, shoving the pages into Logan's hand.

He quickly flipped through the pages that identified a sixteen-year-old boy as his son. There was a school report, and digital copies of newspaper articles about the kid, showing him to be a local star high school hockey player. "Do you have a home address?" Logan asked, without looking up as he continued to scan the documents.

"No, only the school but I'll keep looking, I can update you en route if I find anything more," Kitty told him.

"Thanks," Logan called over his shoulder, as he rushed out of the cafeteria. He ran into Rogue, almost literally, and she fell into step beside him, James in tow, as he filled her in on what Kitty had found. He burst into the Professor's office, folder in hand. They went over the information quickly as they formed a plan to collect the teen.

"I'm afraid I can't spare the jet, or more specifically a pilot," Charles stated, "But you are welcome to your choice of vehicle from the garage. I would recommend you take an additional person with you, to act as a more 'official' representative of the school, I would suggest Rogue would be best for the job, she knows the school's admissions speech, she is also good at keeping you ferals calm and focused," he added with a grin.

"Thanks Chuck," Logan replied sarcastically, "I can't take Rogue though unless we take James as well and I'm not sure he's ready for that..."

"We could watch him," Jean offered from where she was standing at the door, having bumped into Kitty and heard the news. She nudged Scott to encourage him to agree, he had been trying to start conversations about having kids lately but Jean wasn't sure herself if she was ready, or even wanted children of her own. What better way to see if they were ready than to test out their parenting skills on one of the most challenging types of child.

"Yeah we could do that," Scott replied, "I really can't be away for the school for long but we can tag team around our classes, we'd be happy to watch him for a couple of days."

Logan didn't look entirely convinced, Rogue even less so, but the Professor simply continued on as if the decision had already been made.

"I would imagine the boys’ mother will not be keen on letting him go off alone, though perhaps you can convince her Logan, if need be, she appears to have a background in education, I will prepare an offer of employment that you can extend to her, it may be enough of an incentive if all else fails, simply let me know her preferred subjects and I will see where we can fit her in," Charles advised Rogue.

"What do you think?" Logan asked, turning to Rogue.

"How long will it take?" she queried, after a thoughtful pause.

"If we tag team on the driving, we could be there around two or three tomorrow afternoon, depending on how soon we get on the road," Logan replied, trying to figure out where he could make up time. "We should be able to catch the kid at school and follow him home, Kitty hasn't been able to get a home address yet."

"James would be alone for three days, wouldn't it be better to take him with us, even if takes a little longer to get there..." Rogue commented worriedly.

"If we're even an hour too late... and if the spooks turn up while we're there, the last thing I want is for them to get all four of us!" Logan said, a conflicted look crowding his face, he was obviously worried about the same thing but trying to balance his fears for both children. "He'd be in a house full of superheroes, with telepaths who could keep him calm, and an onsite doctor, what's the worst that could happen...?" he eventually suggested with a shrug.

"Never say that Logan, ever," Rogue commented with a chuckle. "Alright, the sooner we leave the sooner we'll get back, either way there's going to be something come up so I guess going for speed makes most sense," she agreed.

Jean and Scott followed them upstairs while the two hurriedly packed, and Rogue gathered up some things for James, as Logan bobbed down to the little boy’s height as he explained to him what was happening.

"Me and Rogue have to go away for a few days, you're going to stay here with Scott and Jean, you on board, kiddo?" Logan asked, James nodded in response. "And you're going to behave yourself?" Logan added, "Do what you're told, eat your veges, and go to bed when you're told to?" James laughed, and nodded, before reaching out to Logan to give him a hug.

"Bye dada, bye mama," he said, once he had hugged them both, before climbing onto the couch next to Scott.

"See, no problem," Scott laughed, "Bye dad."

--

Twenty-eight hours later they pulled into Dauphin, Manitoba. Logan had done most of the driving, including all night while Rogue slept. As he got closer to the little red dot on the GPS Rogue noticed him getting progressively quieter. The GPS took them straight to the local high school but they got there as the school was letting out. Logan immediately leapt out of the car, scanning the crowd of disbursing teenagers. Rogue got out of the car too, standing up on the seat to see over heads.

"Logan, the bus, third one in the queue," she called to him. Sure enough, one look at the kid currently boarding the bus was enough to get Logan back in the car.

He had managed to work his way through the crowd of departing vehicles to only be two behind the bus as it pulled away from the curb. Unsurprisingly they followed the bus past a small ice rink, where the tall, dark haired teen they were following disembarked. Logan pulled into the carpark and the two of them followed the group of high school boys into the rink. For an hour they watched the kids practice before Logan made his move as they were packing up.

"Hey, you Caleb?" he asked, as the crowd thinned and kids began to leave the practice rink. The kid in question nodded, observing him warily as he stepped away from his friend group.

"You don't know me, and I'm sorry for that, my name's Logan, I'm your dad," Logan told him.

The kid looked wary, though not surprised. "So, what do you want?" Caleb asked.

Logan paused; he had spent the whole trip trying to figure out what to say but he still hadn't been able to think of something. 'Well, here goes nothing...'

--

"Mom, I'm home," the teenager shouted, as he walked in the front door. Hockey gear dumped unceremoniously in a pile in the bottom of the hall cupboard, he slammed the door shut before anything could slide back out, before tossing his backpack at the stairs.

"Come on in," he gestured to the pair still standing in the doorway. "Shut the door behind you," he added, as he turned towards the kitchen.

Rogue followed him into the kitchen, Logan following along behind her as he took in their surroundings, noting only one other resident by scent, though the place appeared empty at the moment.

Rogue watched, amused, as Caleb fixed himself a snack. In typical teenage boy fashion it was enough for a full meal, for more than one person, and much like Logan it seemed to consist mainly of red meat. He paused halfway through making his roast beef sandwich, seeming to remember his manners.

"Uh, you guys want anything, food, drink?" he asked.

"Beer?" Logan asked, unsurprisingly. Rogue smothered her chuckle and shook her head.

Just then the front door opened. "Caleb, you home?" a woman's voice called from the foyer.

"Kitchen," the boy in question replied.

"Honey, whose car is that in the..." with a shocked gasp, the woman now standing in the kitchen doorway froze in place. "Well, this is unexpected," she breathed, after taking a moment to collect herself.

"He said he's my dad, is that true?" Caleb immediately blurted.

"... uh, yes," she confirmed, after a brief pause before turning to Logan. "How long have you known?"

"I found out yesterday morning, came straight here," Logan replied, his brow furrowed as he tried to place how he knew this woman.

She nodded her head in understanding. "I had no way to contact you after you... moved on, sorry, it must have been a shock." She noticed Rogue then, and smiled politely, "Hi, I'm Sarah."

"Rogue," was the reply, as she shook hands with the woman in greeting.

"So, did you just come to meet him?" Sarah asked, finally moving into the room to deposit her groceries on the counter.

"No," Logan answered seriously, "You're both in danger, I was hoping to at the very least convince Caleb to come to New York with me, there's a school, for mutants, down there. Somewhere he'll be safe, where I can keep an eye on him. You'd be welcome too but it's him who's most at risk."

"Why is he at risk?" Sarah queried.

"Because he's my son," Logan replied, "He may have my mutation, that makes him a target."

"Have you told him?" Sarah directed the question to her son, who shook his head in response.

"He began to manifest two months ago," Sarah started, "He got very sick, almost ended up in hospital even though they didn't know what was wrong with him, then all of a sudden one day he was up and about like normal. He got in a fight a few days later, he and the other three kids who attacked him were wailing on each other pretty good... Caleb walked away without so much as a bruise, the other kids, well, two broken arms, a broken nose, and a concussion between the three of them. Almost got himself expelled, would have if not for the CCTV camera that caught the other boys jumping him. He popped the claws for the first-time last week, thankfully it was at home so there hasn't been any public fallout. I think it's safe to say he took after you." She paused, watching Logan's expression, he seemed angry, or concerned, by what she was saying. He opened his mouth to speak but quickly snapped it shut again as a surprised look crossed his face.

"I remember you," Logan murmured, "I didn't remember your name but I remember your face. I remember... you found me out in the forest, you brought me home with you, like a lost fucking puppy," Logan paused to huff what might have been a laugh. "You taught me to be human again."

"I did my best," Sarah smiled, "I must have done something right because you're still alive, and you seem to be okay with the whole talking thing now," she said with a grin.

"So, when you were feral?" Rogue asked, skimming through her cache of stolen Logan memories.

"Not exactly," Logan replied, "Just confused, I'd figured out I was a human but had no idea what that meant or how I was supposed to function as one, I was still running off instinct but not out of control like when I'm feral."

Sarah was nodding and smiling. "Some things he remembered but not until he had the tools, like, he remembered how to eat with a knife and fork, though he preferred his fingers and teeth. He picked up a pen one day and started writing, at first, he didn't know what he'd written but by that night he was nose deep in a book reading. He loved his hockey, guess he was a fan and something had stuck, he remembered the rules and everything. The talking took time though, and when he couldn't remember the words he wanted he'd revert to growling, I never did get out of him what happened, how he ended up out there naked in the woods."

"That's sort of why we're here," Rogue answered, noting Logan's glazed look; he was obviously remembering something, Rogue was content to leave him to reminisce given it looked like a fairly happy memory, Logan didn't have many of those. "Logan had escaped from a lab that experimented on mutants, unfortunately those places, while still illegal, still exist in secret, we found one recently, the sole occupant was a three-year-old boy, when our doctor did a DNA test, she discovered this child was Logan's. From the records we uncovered it was clear they'd been trying to get their hands on a child of Logan's for some time, they'd gone to pretty nefarious lengths to get James. They'd determined that they wouldn't be able to hold Logan if they managed to recapture him, a child would be easier to control and manipulate. We immediately started scouring every source we could find, trying to find traces of children that might be Logan's, the plan was to beat the labs to any that might be out there," Rogue revealed.

"And you found Caleb," Sarah stated simply.

"Yeah," Logan confirmed. "They took a blood sample, must have been when he started manifesting, thanks to Canada's government run medical system our computer whiz managed to hack the records dump and matched the DNA. If we can do it that means they can too, we've pissed them off by stealing their most recent 'toy', the last thing I want is them coming here looking for a replacement," Logan finished.

"So, I have a brother?" Caleb asked, from where he'd been silently standing at the counter listening, snack forgotten.

"Yep, he's safe at the school now. We've matched a girl too but we haven't been able to get a location on her yet... her and her entire immediate family are currently listed as missing," Logan spoke directly to him.

"Do you think she's in a lab?" Caleb asked, sounding suitably concerned.

"Given the location she disappeared from, it's probable," Logan admitted.

"How old is she?" was the next query from the concerned teenager.

"... seven," Logan stated softly. The room went quiet as its occupants absorbed that information.

"What do they to mutants in labs?" Caleb asked again.

"A lot of really evil shit," Logan responded flatly.

"Like?" Caleb pressed, "Specifically what would they do to someone like her, you, me?"

Logan considered briefly how in depth an answer to give before deciding the kid was probably old enough to handle full disclosure. "I don't remember everything, most of what I remember is just random flashes they didn't manage to wipe from my memories, because they did that, I don't remember anything from before they got me, no idea if I had family beforehand, a home, I don't even remember my real name or my date of birth. I do remember them 'testing' my healing; being set on fire, shot, stabbed, having organs removed to see how long it took for them to grow back, that sort of thing. Once they knew my limits, they tried to rebuild me, including coating every bone in my body in metal, that procedure I remember in vivid detail, at least until the point I passed out from the pain, or possibly drowned, that one detail is a little fuzzy.

"When I came to I was fully feral, memories from that are patchy too, I don't always remember everything that happens when I'm feral, that part of my psyche sort of, tries to protect my mind from whatever's happening, but I know I obliterated that place, nothing but me left there alive. In addition, general lab conditions are dark, cold, dirty, bad food, even worse sanitation, rape, torture, experimentation, and, if you're lucky or they deem you expendable, death." Both Caleb and Sarah looked a little pale by the time he finished but it was Rogue whose reaction concerned him the most.

"Don't look at it, Marie," he said softly, watching as her eyes cleared and the very gentle tremble she'd had going stopped.

"I didn't mean to, you said organ removal and pictures just started flashing through..." She shuddered one more time, as she forcibly shoved the images from her mind.

After a moment Caleb asked another question. "And what happens to human family members?"

Logan immediately caught on to his concern, the unasked question, what would happen to his mother if a lab caught up with him. "If the family doesn't willingly hand over the subject, hell sometimes even if they do, instant termination. The last thing they want is someone coming looking for missing mutants."

After a few minutes of contemplative silence Sarah finally spoke. "So, what about this school?"

"I'm not going without you mom," Caleb responded, immediately and forcefully.

"I can't just leave Caleb, I've got ..." Sarah started.

"Your job means nothing if these freaks turn up and kill you," Caleb cut her off, "I'm not going without you so before you even think about trying to pack me off make sure you're coming too."

"It won't be a problem for you to come too Sarah," Logan answered, "And if it's a job, money, your worried about you don't have to, there's places on the school staff open, the Prof financially supports most of the kids anyway, and I can help out that way too. Living expenses won't be an issue, Chuck's already given me the go ahead to offer you either a suite or a bedroom on the teachers wing if Caleb wants to bunk in the dorms, I wouldn't recommend that though kid, especially not if your senses are coming in."

"Yeah, gym class is bad enough," Caleb replied with a grin.

"The school offers all normal high school level classes and subjects, it also hosts quite a few college students who aren't able to go away to college due to their mutations, there's also extra curricula classes; martial arts, various sports, and a mandatory wilderness survival and self-defence classes. The school also hosts a vigilante team of lab-raiding mutant superheroes but I didn't tell you that part," Logan finished with a sly wink.

"So, are you a teacher or a superhero?" Caleb asked Logan.

"Neither but both," Logan replied, "I've only been affiliated with the school, via the superheroes, for about 7 months, I've been... working long distance since then but I've just picked up a contract to take over most of the extra curricula classes at the beginning of next term."

"Cool, what about you?" Caleb asked Rogue.

"I'm an assistant teacher and in training superhero, I'm also one of those 'hosted college students'," she answered.

"Why can't you go to college?" Caleb asked, looking confused.

"I know I don't look too out of place up here all covered up but my mutation is my skin, I basically suck the life out of anyone who touches me skin to skin, so dorm living and crowded college campuses are not my idea of a good time," Rogue admitted.

"You probably get this all the time but that's a really sucky mutation," Caleb replied cheekily.

"You sure he's your kid, he's actually got a sense of humour," Rogue commented to Logan, trying to smother her grin. Logan just snorted in amusement. "You've been quiet Sarah, anything you want to know?" Rogue asked, turning back to the older woman.

Sarah glanced concernedly between Caleb and Logan before asking, "What staff positions are available?" She didn't miss Caleb's relieved grin.

"What do you do at the moment?" Rogue asked, trying to remember what positions had been mentioned at the last staff meeting.

"I'm actually an art teacher - appreciation, history, and practical development," Sarah replied, "But I've done a bit of everything over the years."

"That would be perfect, our current art class is more just appreciation and a bit of history," Rogue replied, "It's on our list of positions to reallocate to a better qualified tutor we just didn't have one, I'm sure the Professor would be happy to offer you the position, and Ororo would appreciate having it off her timetable!"

"Well, in that case, how do we get this ball rolling, I guess you'll be wanting to get Caleb to New York as soon as possible?" Sarah queried.

"I don't go until she goes," Caleb stated again before anyone could respond.

Logan couldn't help the feeling of pride at the strong protective instinct his son was exhibiting towards his mother. "Don't worry kid, your mother comes down when you do, we won't leave her behind, but I do want to get you both out of here as soon as possible, Rogue can get everything sorted out with the Professor tonight employment and education-wise, and we can leave as soon as you're both packed."

"I'll make the call now," Rogue confirmed, pulling out the untraceable cell phone Kitty had given them before they left.

"There's one more thing," Caleb spoke up suddenly, he looked and smelled a little nervous. "This school is for any mutant, right?" Receiving an affirmative nod, he continued, "There's another mutant at school, she's being bullied pretty badly, can she come too, without someone here to watch her back..."

"She got anything to do with this fight you got in recently?" Logan asked, picking up on the boys’ protectiveness again. Caleb nodded hesitantly in response. "There's a place for her if her parents will let her go."

"Caleb, I know you want to watch out for her but Flora's parents can't afford a private school," Sarah added.

"That's not a problem," Logan replied, "School fees are more a suggestion than a requirement, even for the kids that have been placed there by their parents, whatever they can afford, and if that's nothing it's not the end of the world."

"I suppose it won't hurt to offer at least," Sarah conceded. "Why don't you invite Flora and her parents over for dinner and we can discuss with them?" she suggested to Caleb.

"Sure, I'll do it now," he jumped at the suggestion and took off out of the room, snagging the cordless phone off the side table in the hallway and legging it up the stairs.

"Girlfriend?" Logan asked Sarah.

"Definitely more than a crush," Sarah confirmed with a laugh, "She's fourteen though and her parents are trying to keep her focused on her studying rather than boys, so he takes his opportunities when he can get them. How'd you know that was what the fight was about, I still haven't been able to get that story out of him?"

"Lucky guess," Logan replied with a shrug.

"Well, I better go make a phone call too," Rogue spoke up. "I'll be in the living room," she said as she walked out, dialling the Professors direct dial as she went.

Sarah moved too, to begin putting away her groceries. "There's holes in those early months isn't there?" she asked, as Logan seated himself on a stool at the counter.

"Yeah," he replied, "The one that's bugging me the most is why I left, something happened but I don't remember. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, no Logan you didn't hurt me, you protected me," Sarah answered with a smile. "All in all you lived with me for about two and a half months, we only got physical the last couple of weeks, I don't regret it but I don't think you were ready for it, well, you were definitely ready for the sex part but ... you couldn't trust, and that was definitely an issue for you. The reason you left was a guy named Raymond Hayward, my ex-boyfriend. He wanted me back after the woman he'd cheated on me with broke up with him, he was an asshole, and you'd shown me that even a growly forest man could treat me better than he had. He started stalking me and discovered you living at my house, according to his suicide note if he couldn't have me no one could. He broke in in the middle of the night, I woke up to find him stalking into my bedroom with a knife in hand, and you half a step behind him. Before I realised what was happening, he was dead and you were standing there covered in blood with shiny metal claws out. You were a little out of it, like the lights were on but no one was home but not... after a few minutes you came back to yourself, saw what you'd done and freaked out. You packed up and left then and there."

"I don't really remember any of that," Logan commented after a moment’s contemplation. "I'm sorry, sorry for leaving you to deal with a kid all alone at least, not sorry about killing that prick."

"It's alright, kind of hard to blame you when out of the two of us I had more awareness of the consequences. Besides, he's a good kid, wouldn't trade him for the world, I'm just sorry you both missed out on so much while he was growing up," she responded honestly.

A split-second later Caleb burst back into the room. "I talked to Flora's mom, the twins are at a friend’s house tonight so they can come around, just them and Flora, she said they'd come around at six when her dad gets home from work. Do you need help with dinner?"

"You know, seven's a bit of a crowd to cook for, why don't we just order something?" Sarah suggested, glancing at the clock that read four forty-five.

"Okay," Caleb answered, "Can we get Thai, from that new place?"

"You mean the one Flora likes?" Sarah asked with a grin.

"Uh, yeah," Caleb replied, looking embarrassed again, flushing when he caught Logan chuckling.

"Sure we can, go grab the menu and work out what you want," Sarah replied.

Rogue walked into the room a moment later, still on the phone, though Logan could hear a feminine voice on the other end so he knew she wasn't talking to Xavier. "Keys?" she asked Logan, holding out her hand. Logan fished the keys out of his pocket as Rogue continued her conversation.

"I said he should have come with us," Rogue was saying exasperatedly.

"Yeah he totally should have," Jubilee replied, "I don't know how you've done it the last week Rogue but the kid is turning me grey and I've only had him for six hours!"

"What's he doing with you!? Jean was supposed to be watching him today."

Logan heard Jubilee's laughter filter down the line. "Chica, seriously, Miss Perfection didn't even last two hours on her own before she'd pawned him off, on literally the entire occupancy of the Rec Room, she didn't assign him directly to anyone so everyone bolted when he started throwing shit and the last person left in the room, yours truly, got stuck with him..."

The conversation faded out as Rogue walked out the front door, closing it softly behind her. She returned a few minutes later, laptop in hand, phone call now concluded.

"What's the rug rat up to?" Logan asked, concerned.

"Making Jubilee's life hell, apparently Jean got sick of him getting in her way, after he drank her coffee, which was after he threw up his breakfast, which was after he had been up since three this morning. She dumped him on whoever wasn't fast enough to get away from him. Jubes hasn't been able to get him to sleep this afternoon and he is literally climbing the curtains, I gave her a few hints to counteract the caffeine and burn off some of his energy, then she's going to give him his dinner early and try to get him to fall asleep in front of a movie," Rogue replied, booting up the laptop while she was talking.

"Who's the trouble maker?" Sarah asked, sounding amused.

"James," Rogue replied with a grin, "We were going to bring him with us but someone-” she nodded at Logan- “Insisted that it was too dangerous so Jean and Scott offered to look after him for a couple of days, Scott got called out on a pick-up in Texas this morning. Now, the Professor has sent me through an employment agreement for you, and enrolment documents for Caleb, and a second set for Flora if her parents agree. They can all be filled out electronically and emailed back, do you want to read over it now?" Rogue asked, clicking the last few buttons to get the relevant documents opened.

Sarah took the computer and quickly skimmed through the documents. "Woah!" she commented a moment later, "Is this the salary?" she asked incredulously.

"Yep," Rogue replied, "I told you, we really need an art teacher."

"And accommodation is included?!" Sarah added, sounding even more shocked.

"It is, and meals, and Caleb gets a $50 a week student allowance for any extra's over and above those provided by the school," Rogue added.

"... Sold," Sarah said a moment later, she hurriedly signed the document with the stylus. "I'm just going to quit my old job," she added, grabbing the phone Caleb had left on the counter and excusing herself to call her now former boss.

Caleb wandered in then, a slip of paper in one hand. "Where's mom?" he asked, glancing around curiously.

"Quitting her job, what do you need?" Logan asked.

"Someone needs to go get dinner, I put the order in already, it needs to be picked up in thirty minutes, I wanted to stop and get something on the way," Caleb replied.

"If you can give me directions, we can go do that," Logan said, "Come on, you can tell me more about your girlfriend on the way."

"Don't tease, Logan," Rogue admonished, trying not to laugh, watching as the two of them gathered jackets and made their way out of the house.

When Logan and Caleb returned with dinner and drinks, the other guests had just arrived. A crowd of people occupied the homes small foyer as they removed coats and introduced themselves or were introduced. Caleb introduced Flora, she was a pretty, shy girl, maybe five-foot-tall at a push, with big green eyes and curly ginger hair, too light to be red, too dark to be strawberry blonde, she had pale skin with a generous sprinkling of freckles. She reminded Logan of a fairy.

Once they were finished dinner the subject shifted from getting to know each other to the reason why the other family had been invited over.

"Long story short," Logan answered when Flora's father, Kyle, asked, "The school we work at in New York is specifically for mutants, a uh, security threat, has come to light for Caleb so Sarah and I are moving him to the school for safety. He mentioned Flora being a mutant as well, and that he was worried about leaving her alone at school with no one else to watch out for her, we've been directed to extend an offer of a place at the school for Flora, to you. It's a year-round boarding school, with onsite dormitories, all students and most of the teachers are mutants, it removes the stigma mutant kids get in a public school and allows them to focus more on studying, we also teach them how to use or control their powers, where possible..."

"New York is a long way to consider sending our daughter away too," Flora's mother, Marlene, interrupted.

"It is," Logan conceded, "Parents are welcome to visit as regularly as they can, long distance phone calls are allowed, and she can come home for holidays. We have no interest in pressuring you to make a decision either way, just letting you know the option is there," Logan stated. After a minute Logan noticed Flora's hand moving under the table in Caleb's direction, Caleb turned to her, worry evident before he addressed her parents.

"They're not going to stop harassing Flora, they're getting worse. They tried to trap her in the locker room three days ago, none of the girls would do anything to help her, I'm not gonna speculate what they were planning to do. They slashed your car tires last week, and we caught them trying to break into your house when we got home from school the week before. The fire hose incident last month wasn't accidental, they could have drowned her. It's only a matter of time before Flora gets hurt, or worse, all because she makes plants grow, that's not right, and it won't happen at this school," he was saying when he was interrupted by a cell phone.

It took a moment of everyone looking around dumbly before Marlene realised it was her phone. She answered with a polite hello, first looking confused, before turning pale. "No, no officer, no one was home … the boys went to their friends directly from school, we're having dinner with another friend … we left about six o'clock. What's happened?" she asked panicked. A moment later she gave Sarah's address and arranged to meet with someone in a few minutes.

Curious glances and a concerned query from her husband when she hung up, led her to catch everyone up on the conversation. "That was the police, something's happened at the house, they were making sure no one was home, they're coming here to talk to us, they said not to come home tonight because they're doing a scene examination..."

Dinner was hurriedly cleared away, a knock on the door only a few minutes later heralded the arrival of two uniformed RCMP officers. They were armed with photos of damage to the house, smashed windows, threatening messages scrawled on walls in red paint, and the head of every flower in the front garden cut off. It was all a very clear, and explicit, threat to Flora.

Once the officers were convinced the family was indeed safe, and had offered them assistance with finding accommodation until they had finished their scene examination, they left to continue with their work. It took mere minutes for Marlene and Kyle to turn to Logan. "What do we need to do to get Flora enrolled?" Kyle asked, noting the sigh of relief from Flora as she ran to her mother and hugged her, tears in her eyes.

Sarah had already offered her guest bedroom to Logan and Rogue for them to stay the night but Marlene and Kyle accepted her offer of her sofa bed, and reluctantly agreed to Flora using the spare bed in Caleb's room on the strict proviso that the door stayed open. Several hours later, once all the enrolment documents had been completed, and more questions had been asked and answered about the school, the parties finally retired for the night.

Rogue had slept the night before while Logan had driven straight through but she was still exhausted, she could only imagine how tired Logan was feeling. As the house fell quiet around them Rogue rolled over to wrap her arms around Logan. "Sleep Logan, everything will be fine, we'll be back on our way tomorrow, and I know you'll want to drive straight through so you need to sleep now."

"I'm trying," Logan replied with a grin, rolling himself to hug her too, burying his face in her hair, as he sighed tiredly. He was asleep a few minutes later, Rogue was debating with herself whether to stay awake as a 'lookout', when her eyes eventually closed of their own volition.

--

"Rise and shine, and get out of that bed before her parents catch you," Logan spoke, as he stuck his head in the teens open door. Caleb leaped out of the bed he had been laying on, spooned around Flora, so quickly he ended up on his ass on the floor. Both teens blushed brightly at being caught, though their panic died when Logan just grinned and shook his head in amusement.

"We need to be out of here in an hour, Caleb, you pack what you need to take with you, Flora, you come help me and Rogue make breakfast." Neither teen complained, just thankful they weren't going to get ratted out, both jumping up to get on with their assigned tasks.

Logan left them to it, moving on to the next room. Sarah was already up, busily packing her personal belongings, and making a list of things she needed to organize to get the rest of their belongings packed and shipped. Seeing what she was planning on bringing with her Logan was glad they'd brought the larger SUV with them, she wasn’t a light packer, not that he'd say anything. He quickly confirmed with Sarah which vehicles they were taking, and a seating and packing arrangement for the vehicles.

Recalling Logan's protective streak, and his concern for Caleb, Sarah suggested that the teens ride with Logan - his vehicle would give them more space and make a more comfortable trip for them anyway. They discussed Logan's plan to drive straight through to New York and switching drivers at some points, and it was agreed that Rogue could tag team with Sarah.

They didn't end up getting on the road for two hours, after they had to wait for Flora's brothers to make their way over from their sleepover so they could say goodbye. Logan was happy to wait given the circumstances, even though it meant another hour before they got back to James; word was, from their call home that morning, that he hadn't slept well for the second night in a row and was starting to show the effects. He was unsettled and asking for them repeatedly. Rogue had talked to him on the phone for a while, until they realised it was upsetting him more to be able to hear her but not see her.

They made good time on the trip, lunch was picked up at a drive through and eaten on the go but they stopped for dinner in Minneapolis. When they hit the cars again, Rogue took a turn driving for Sarah, who suggested Flora ride with them too for some girl time.

--

"So," Logan commented, when he and Caleb were alone, rolling down the highway at a steady pace. "You know pretty much everything there is to know about me, what about you?"

They conversed for several hours, talking about Caleb's childhood, his school, and sports achievements. He made a passing comment about how much he had missed having a dad growing up but that his mom had always assured him the he would have been there if he could, though she had never gone into the specifics of why he wasn't there. Logan in turn assured him that if he had known about him, he would most definitely have been there for him, that he was here now and he hoped he could make up for at least some if what was missed.

"I understand better now," Caleb assured him, "You were going through a lot, and you were trying to protect mom, can't really ask for more than that. The fact that you turned up straight away when you found out about me shows you care about me too, and James... And Rogue, what's the deal with her anyway, is she like, your girlfriend?" he added curiously.

"Sort of, it's a bit, deeper than that. Rogue and I... I love her, a lot, but for ferals, like me, and probably you, love goes further than it does for most normal people. Rogue's a part of me, and when I saved her life, I became a part of her too. Her mutation puts limitations on just how close we can be but we work with what we've got," Logan shared, he wasn't exactly sure how to explain his feelings for Marie in all honestly, he just knew without her, even just apart from her, he was only a fraction of the man he could be, she completed him, softened his sharp edges, and shielded him from the world in a very different way than he protected her.

"Isn't she a bit young, I mean she doesn't look like she's much older than me, which is a little creepy, if I'm being honest," Caleb shrugged, glancing at Logan apologetically.

Logan sighed; this he could explain a little easier. "She's eighteen, and yeah, that's young but... every mutation has its downside, ours is no different, my healing means I don't age, that's probably why your mom recognized me right away, I haven't changed, at all, in sixteen years, or for god knows who long before that. Some of my nightmares - which is how my memories come out sometimes - suggest I could be over a hundred years old, possibly closer to two hundred. I won't get older but Marie will, one day the visual age difference is going to go the other way. I don't want to waste any of the brief stretch of time I get with her."

Caleb went quiet for a time. "Does that mean I won't get older either?"

"It's possible, it depends how strong your healing is. Jean, she's a doctor at the school, explained it as you'll likely age up until the point your body reaches its peak, for guys that's usually thirty-five-ish, and then you'll just stop there, healing will stop you from going over that peak and down the normal decline of age," Logan told him.

"Are there any other mutations that stop people from aging?" Caleb asked curiously.

"I suppose, to varying degrees." It was Logan's turn to shrug, that was probably a question better directed at Jean, he didn't know much about mutations, other than his own and Rogue's.

"So, one day Flora's going to get old and die, and I'll still just be me..." Caleb said, more as a thought than a question.

"Probably," Logan answered anyway.

"And mom," the boy added.

"And Rogue, and any of your kids that don't get your mutation, and your friends, and extended family. It's kind of depressing when you stop and think about it, so, I try not to, until recently I never had a reason to, then I met Rogue," Logan admitted.

Caleb fell quiet again, obviously thinking about it, in depth. When he eventually spoke again it was on much lighter topics, just getting to know small things about each other, favourite foods, sports teams, music, etc.

They stopped for gas and to swap drivers as they came into Indiana, playing musical chairs again with passengers. Rogue ended up shotgun again in the SUV, while Caleb and Flora fell asleep in the back seat after they finished their midnight snacks, Caleb acting as Flora's pillow. Rogue eventually fell asleep too, her gloved hand in Logan's as he drove.

--

Breakfast was another stop for food and to switch drivers, on the outskirts of Du Bois, Pennsylvania. They didn't call home that morning, just texted an update on their progress so Scott and Jean could tell James when they would be back. This time Logan ended up driving with Caleb and Flora both, taking the opportunity to get to know Flora a little better.

She was a great girl, he could see why she'd caught Caleb's attention, she wasn't just pretty on the outside but she had the same gentle, caring soul that both Sarah and Marie had, it seemed to attract ferals. She was lacking a little in confidence but Logan knew that would come with age and experience. Her hair wasn't the only thing about her that was fiery though, he noted as she berated Caleb for teasing her about something.

Her mutation was nature based, she could make plants grow, literally, she demonstrated with a dried cranberry from a bag of trail mix. A seed inside the fruit had survived the drying process, and when she added water and applied her mutation tiny roots began to appear, half an hour later they had a little cranberry plant joining them on their travels. Flora kept pushing the plant to grow until it was flowering, she admitted she couldn't make it fruit without some manual pollination of the flowers but she didn't have the right tools to do that without damaging the flowers. The girl was, unsurprisingly, very knowledgeable on plants, Logan had no doubt she would get on well at the school, not least of all with Storm.

--

Their caravan pulled into the mansion’s driveway bang on midday. Rogue wasn't surprised to see James at the doorstep waiting for them, Scott having to hold onto him to stop him from running up to the cars before they'd stopped moving. As soon as cars shut off, he was released and was waiting at the door of Sarah's car for Rogue as soon as her door opened.

"Mama, you gone too long," James announced, as he jumped into her arms, hugging her tightly when she picked him up.

"I know little man but we're home now," Rogue replied, hugging him back with equal ferocity. She felt when he released his grip on her, to reach for Logan, who was approaching from the second vehicle. She handed James over when Logan reached them, the little boy immediately wrapped his arms around Logan's neck.

"You miss us eh little guy," Logan asked with a grin, he felt bad the boy had been upset but he had to admit, since his run in with Marie he had been enjoying the fact someone cared about him enough to miss him when he wasn't there. James nodded frantically where his face was buried in his shoulder, not releasing his grip around his neck.

"Well, I got a surprise for you," Logan said after a moment, turning back to the SUV, James sat up to look around and see what his surprise was, as Logan came to a stop in front of Caleb. "This is Caleb, I'm Caleb's dad, just like I'm your dad, that means Caleb is your big brother."

"What's a brother?" James asked, looking confused.

"A brother is family, like a dad but more fun cause they won't tell you off when you're naughty," Logan said, with a smile, "That means if you ever need me but I'm not around, like if I'm away, you can go to Caleb and he'll help you out, isn't that right?"

"That's right," Caleb replied with a grin. "Hi James, it's nice to meet you," he added, holding out his hand to shake James' when the little boy made it obvious he was still wary of him. He was amused and a little surprised when James leaned forward and sniffed at his hand, before licking him and then grabbing his hand to pull him closer.

James continued to sniff him for a minute before he reached his chubby little arms out and threw himself out of Logan's arms at Caleb, who caught him awkwardly. "Hi Caleb," James replied, as he hugged onto his big brother, continuing to sniff at him to imprint his scent.

A sound from the car a moment later drew his attention to the other new arrivals. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing at Flora.

"This is Flora," Logan said, moving to introduce the girl to everyone. "And this is Sarah, she's Caleb's mama, and she's going to be a teacher here," he added, pointing out the final new arrival.

James looked warily at Sarah, before reaching for Rogue again. He spent the next several hours in her arms or on her lap, tired from lack of sleep and wary of letting her go in case she left again. He even cried when she handed him over to Logan long enough to go to the bathroom.

The group turned in for the night after an early dinner. Sarah and Caleb were settled into a two-bedroom suite on the staff wing, while Rogue introduced Flora to the girls on the dorm wing, they were all very helpful with finding clothing for Flora to borrow until her parents could send down some of her own belongings. She had come down with only the clothes on her back, that she had been wearing already for two days, because the Police still weren't finished at her home.

When Rogue made her way back to her room on the staff wing, Logan suggested he take James for the night so Rogue could get a decent night’s sleep. James immediately objected, refusing to let go of her.

Rogue shrugged. "You need sleep more than I do anyway Logan, you've barely slept in four days."

Logan smiled and hugged her, dropping a kiss on her forehead, "Alright then, you two win, I'll see you in the morning." As he pulled away James grabbed onto his hand.

"No, dada stay," he begged. Logan opened his mouth to object when James repeated, "Stay dada, p'ease," accompanied with puppy dog eyes that rivalled Marie's.

"You been teaching him bad habits?" Logan asked Rogue with a chuckle, "Alright kid, I'll stay." He followed Rogue into her room, closing the door softly behind them. He would stay until James was asleep before slipping back to his room. That had been the plan at least but James had fallen asleep clinging to him, and he had fallen asleep not long after.

The next day the trio was woken by a commotion in the hallway about mid-morning. At some point in the night they had all shifted around and Logan woke wrapped around Rogue, both of them holding James who was in her arms. And that's how Scott found them when he burst into Rogue's room.

"We've found the lab, we're leaving in fifteen minutes, suit up," he called, throwing a uniform onto the bed as he turned and jogged back out of the room.

Logan was on his feet before Scott was out the door. By the time he had finished pulling on the reinforced leather uniform, James was awake, and the other occupants of the hallway were up and coming to see what all the noise had been about.

"No Rogue, you're not coming," Logan was saying, as he walked out of the room pulling on his gloves. This uniform fit better than the one of Scott's he had borrowed the time he helped rescue Rogue, it must be a new one made specifically for him. Unfortunately because it was new it was quite stiff.

"But Logan..." Rogue tried to argue, when James jumped off the bed and followed them out of the room.

"No, no, don't go," James yelled, grabbing hold of Rogue and trying to reach for Logan too.

"James," Logan said, dropping onto his knees so he was closer to the boys level. "You remember the place Rogue found you, the bad place?" he asked patiently, James nodded, eyes wide and worried. "Well, there's a little girl, a bit older than you, your sister, family, she's in a place like that right now, I have to go get her and bring her home, so she can live here too, with you, and Caleb, and Rogue. I need you to stay here while I'm gone, look after Rogue for me, okay?" he asked, hoping to distract the boy by giving him a task.

James stopped, considering what Logan was saying. "Mama stay?" he asked hopefully, turning to Rogue, who shot Logan an irritated look before giving in with a smile and confirming she would stay. James hugged her legs and hesitantly waved goodbye to Logan. "Be back soon?" he asked, still obviously apprehensive about being left behind.

"I'll be back soon buddy, by tomorrow at the latest," Logan replied, offering the boy a goodbye hug as he stood. Caleb was watching what was going on curiously, having caught part of the conversation. "We found her," Logan told him, knowing he would know who he was talking about. He handed James back to Rogue as Scott's voice broke over the comm attached to his uniform, telling him to hurry up.

Hitting the elevator moments later, he waited impatiently for the doors to close and the car to reach the sub level. The jets hatch was closing as he dove through the opening, the hanger door above was already open, and the engines were fired up and ready. He had a split second to sit in the nearest seat before the plane lifted off the ground, not even waiting for him to strap in.

He observed the other occupants of the jet, along with Scott, Jean, and Ororo, there were three junior members. A hulk of a teen who was mumbling a prayer in Russian, a dark-haired teen who was obsessively flicking a lighter, and super hacker Kitty, who looked surprisingly determined and focused for a kid he'd once seen fall through a chair when someone spooked her.

When the jet levelled out Scott turned to the team, in the hush that fell over the crowd he explained the mission, and ran everyone over the blueprints of the base, and their entry strategy. The mission had been planned on the fly, literally, the location and the intel had only been gathered that morning. Scott, remembering how unbearable Logan had been during the waiting and planning phase of Rogue's rescue, had intentionally waited until the last minute to tell him anything this time, and it looked like the right course of action.

As they made their final approach to the base, Logan felt the pure rage and hatred coursing through him. With the pick-up of Caleb, he had been more worried about getting to him before a lab. James had been rescued without an opportunity for him to exact vengeance. Now though, these fuckers were going down, every last one of them would pay for what had been done to him, and his family.

He noticed Scott watching him oddly, as his claws ripped through his gloves. "Make sure everyone stays out of my way," Wolverine warned, he was on the verge of going fully berserker, he couldn't guarantee the rest of the team’s safety if that happened.

"You want us to get the girl out?" Scott asked, unsure how to proceed; suddenly it didn't seem like such a great idea to have left Rogue behind after all.

"No, don't touch her, if she's there, leave her for me," Logan replied, she was his objective, it would be suicide for anyone else to try and get her.

--

An hour later the base was in shambles, blood and body parts littered most of the halls, the team had barely even seen a solider, a whole or live one at least, let alone engaged one. Wolverine had torn into the base the moment the alarms had sounded, tearing down everything in his path single-handedly.

In all, seven mutants had been rescued. As agreed, Scott left the youngest, a small girl, for Logan to retrieve, though he kept close to make sure there was no issues, he was expecting the poor kid to freak out when she saw the blood saturated clawed mutant approach her. He was shocked by Logan's appearance himself, they'd been able to hear the gunshots and screams of the soldiers and doctors as they echoed through the halls but the sight of Logan, coated in blood with gaping holes in his uniform as he stalked toward him, claws still drawn, was almost enough to make him piss his pants, and they were on the same side!

He didn't say anything to Logan, just pointed to the one remaining closed door at the end of the hall. The screech of metal on metal, accompanied by the popping and crackling of electricity, were the only sounds as Logan mercilessly hacked his way into the cell, ignoring the sting of the electrical currents he cut through to sever the locking mechanisms. He stood in the doorway for a few seconds, visibly scenting the area to make sure he hadn't missed anyone else. Once he was sure only the girl was present the claws, almost silently, slid away. Walking slowly across the room to the huddled form watching him warily from the furthest corner, he knelt down beside the blanket covered child.

"It's okay, Ava, I'm here now, I've got you," Logan said gently.

The girl’s eyes widened, as hope flared in her eyes. "Can I go home now?" she asked softly.

"I'm taking you home sweetheart but to my home, your home..." Logan paused, not sure if now was the best time to tell her, her family was dead, he had found what he believed to be their bodies.

"It’s gone huh, they're all gone, aren't they?" she asked, tears filling her eyes.

"Yeah sweetheart, they're gone," he confirmed.

The girl began to sob before pulling herself together with a deep breath. "Why would I go with you?" she challenged, annoying him as much it impressed him.

"I'm your dad kiddo, I'm sorry it took me so long to find you..." He was surprised when the girl suddenly jumped up and wrapped her arms around him.

"I knew it, I knew you would come, mommy said you wouldn't but I knew you would," the girl whispered.

"Always baby girl," he replied, hugging the girl back as he picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he began the trek to the jet, refusing to let go of him. As he was about to step out into the main base hallway he paused. "Keep your eyes closed okay sweetheart, you don't need to see this, promise me?" he said to the girl.

She pulled back, looking pointedly at his hand before she nodded. "Promise," she said, as she squeezed her eyes shut before resuming her position wrapped around him.

He quickly made his way out of the base, following Scott made his trek out faster, he didn't remember which way he'd come to get to the cells. The other captive mutants were being secured in the back of the jet so Logan moved, with his own cargo, to his seat, only loosening Ava's grip enough to strap himself in before pulling her back to him. Jean was too busy with her other patients to bother him during the trip but she refused to let him leave the basement level until she had checked the girl over.

He convinced Jean to let them both shower first, both were covered in a substantial amount of gore that didn't belong to either of them. Ava still wouldn't release her grip on him, until she was in the shower. He peeled the blood-soaked hospital gown off her, checking her for any signs of injury himself as he hosed the blood off her with warm water. Handing her a thick fluffy towel he left her to dry herself as he moved to a separate shower stall and cut off what was left of his ‘brand new’ leather uniform. As he washed himself off, he cut a few remaining bullets out of his flesh that had healed up before the foreign objects had been expelled.

When he was clear of gore, he grabbed his own towel before going in search of clothes. He found a tracksuit for himself, unsurprisingly they didn't have anything in seven-year-old girl size, so he pulled out an extra hoodie, wrapping it around the petite girl, he watched her giggle as he rolled the sleeves up until her hands appeared. "Sorry kiddo, that's going to have to do for now, we'll find you some new clothes later okay?" She smiled and nodded before reaching out for him again, she was almost as clingy as James.

Jean gave her a thorough check over, she was just finishing up when the doors slid open, causing Ava to jump, as they admitted Rogue with James in tow.

"I bring a peace offering of clothes," Rogue cheekily said to Logan, holding out a bag.

"Thanks darlin," he replied, hugging her and James, before dropping a kiss on her forehead. He dug through the bag, pulling out the change of his clothes. "Ava, you stay here with Jean and Rogue, okay, I'll be back in a minute. You want to come with me little guy?" he asked James, catching the little boy as he threw himself into his arms, taking him with him to the changing room.

As Jean packed up the last of her medical supplies she sat with a sigh. "Well, they're not in as bad shape as they could have been, and you little lady are one hundred percent healthy, though that's not surprising," she added.

"Healing active?" Rogue confirmed, as she pulled out the outfit she had brought for the little girl. Jubilee had grabbed a few outfits for her while she'd been at the mall earlier that day, taking advantage of the day of cancelled classes.

Ava warily but obediently helped dress herself, Rogue was putting socks and shoes on her as Logan came back in along with James. "How come he doesn’t have to wear shoes?" Ava groused, pointing at James, who Rogue had finally managed to get a pair of socks onto for the first time.

"James has never had shoes before, maybe you can help us teach him to wear shoes so he doesn't get cold toes?" Rogue suggested to the little girl, who looked suitably surprised and immediately ceased complaining about her shoes.

Logan chuckled, before pulling up a chair in front of Ava and taking a seat. He introduced Ava and James, not surprised when both sniffed at each other as part of their introduction process. Caleb was led in a short time later by Scott, who Logan had run into in the locker room and asked to show him down, feeling these introductions would be better to do without an audience.

It was early evening by the time the medical check and familial introductions were complete. Logan led everyone up to the kitchen directly for dinner, rather than the cafeteria; Ava had had a big enough day already without trying to deal with more introductions and noise. Caleb entertained James and Ava, while Logan and Rogue cooked up a sizable meal for the group.

"How about Mac and Cheese, everyone likes that right?" Rogue asked, as she began to hunt through the cupboards for something to fill the kids hungry little tummies.

"Wha's maccysheese?" James asked, staring at her blankly. Caleb couldn't help his laugh at the open-mouthed shocked look Ava shot at her little brother.

"You'll like it, buddy," Logan replied, grimacing at the idea a four-year-old didn't know what macaroni cheese was, what kind of kid didn't even know what it was.

Rogue was almost tripped over by James a short while later, when he suddenly ran to her and hugged onto her legs without warning, as Sarah walked into the room looking for Caleb. Keeping an eye on James, Rogue noted that he kept a close and wary eye on the other woman until she left, before he finally released her and wandered back to where Caleb was sitting. She made a note to mention it to Logan later as she finished plating their food.

Partway through their meal the Professor entered into the room, James was still fascinated by the wheeled chair he rode in, though that fascination was currently warring with his hungry belly to keep his attention.

"Logan, I'm glad to see the mission went well," he smiled at Ava as she hungrily shovelled food into her mouth. "In light of your new situation I felt it would be best to upgrade your accommodations, we can't really have the three of you sharing one room, and I'm certain suggesting any one of your children move to a dormitory is out of the question." He grinned at Logan's sarcastically raised brow before continuing, "There is a three-bedroom suite in the attic level above the staff quarters, quite large but for your family that I imagine would be preferable, especially given it doesn't have direct access to the outdoors. If you would like it, it will be available for you to move into tomorrow," Xavier offered.

"Thanks, that would be great," Logan confirmed relieved, though he wasn't sure how he was going to get the kids into their own rooms, so far James hadn't even managed to go a whole night in his own bed.

The more immediate problem presented itself not long after. Poor Ava was starving, he knew from experience that lab food was garbage, when they remembered to feed you, but the poor girl was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open once the edge had been taken off her empty stomach. James wasn't much better, still recovering from his sleepless nights while he and Rogue had been away and his impromptu waking that morning. He gathered up a bag full of snacks and announced it was time for the kids to go to bed, he was moderately surprised when neither of them complained.

There was no way Ava was going to be able to walk up the stairs so Logan carried her, while Rogue and James followed along behind him. Caleb bid them all goodnight and went to find the rest of the teens, specifically Flora; he hadn't seen her much all day except in passing.

"Alright, ideas on what we're doing here?" Logan asked Rogue, as he stopped in the hallway outside of her room.

She let herself in, James following hot on her heels. "Why don't you take James for tonight and Ava can use James' bed?" she suggested.

"That sounds like a plan. What do you say little man, want to bunk with dad tonight," he asked James, as he set Ava down and reached for the boy.

"M'kay," James replied, letting Logan pick him up, his tune changed however as soon as Logan made to leave the room. "No, stay," he said, grabbing hold of the doorframe as they were passing through. It took some coaxing but Logan finally managed to convince him to let go and that they would see Rogue and Ava in the morning.

"Okay sweetie, looks like it's just me and you now, shall we see what Jubilee managed to find for you for bedtime?" Rogue said encouragingly, digging through the bag of clothes Jubilee had dropped off earlier that day.

"Who's Jubilee?" Ava asked curiously, as she climbed onto Rogue's bed to see what was in the bag.

"She's a friend of mine, she went shopping today, when I heard Logan was bringing you home, I asked her to buy some clothes for you," Rogue answered, as she pulled out a princess decorated nightie for the little girl.

Rogue got her hairbrush from the bathroom while Ava was getting changed, Ava sighed dramatically when she saw it. "Don't pull!" she said, very seriously, as she sat in front of Rogue so she could brush out her tangled hair.

"I'll do my best," Rogue replied, spritzing her hair with a bit of leave in detangler first. She quickly changed her mind and went back to the bathroom for her comb, instead of the brush, and spent the next fifteen minutes, as gently as she could, combing out the girls thick, curly, dark hair. It would need to be washed tomorrow but for now she quickly braided it so it wouldn't get too badly tangled again overnight.

"Thank you!" Ava declared, throwing her arms around Rogue's neck as she hugged her, before wriggling off the big bed and climbing into James' smaller bed. Rogue tucked her in and offered to read her a bedtime story but Ava yawned widely and shook her head as she snuggled down to sleep. "Night-night mommy," she murmured, and was asleep before Rogue had a chance to reply.

She shrugged off the girls comment and readied herself for bed, leaving the bathroom light on but pushing the door almost closed so the light didn't disturb them, before crawling into bed. After so many nights sharing her bed with one or more people, Rogue felt sadly alone tonight, even as she listened to Ava's gentle breathing from across the room.

--

Logan sat bolt upright in bed as a piercing scream split the dark night air. Even before he was fully awake, he knew it must have come from Ava. The sight that greeted him, as he threw open Rogue's bedroom door was akin to his own nightmares.

Ava was huddled in the corner of James' bed, tears streaming down her face from wide open terrified eyes. Rogue was standing beside her, one hand at her own neck as the other tried to placate the child. He didn't need to smell it to know Rogue was bleeding, badly. As he got closer, he watched the blood dribble through her fingers.

He grabbed Rogue, turning her around, shushing her when she tried to speak as he tried to tear his glove off. It wouldn't come off, not quickly enough at least, so he gave up, pulling Rogue towards him he pressed his lips to hers firmly. "Take it darlin," he murmured against her lips, as he felt her mutation sluggishly trying to siphon off his. When he felt her draw breath, finally, the first since he entered the room, he was satisfied she was healed enough. As the black at the edges of his vision began to close over him, he used the last of his energy to direct his collapse toward the bed. He didn't even feel himself hit it.

Scott and Jean rushed into the room, followed closely by Ororo, Sarah, and Caleb. They were all just in time to see Logan press his skin against Rogue's, Scott earning himself a jab to the ribs when he groaned, ‘Oh no, not again.’ Seconds later they moved into the room, helping Rogue roll Logan's limp body further onto the bed, as Jean checked him over, she was surprised that he wasn't seizing this time, just simply passed out.

Rogue moved back to Ava, who was still sobbing uncontrollably. "It's okay sweetie, everything's okay now, are you hurt?"

"I hurt you," Ava whimpered, "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the little girl said with increasing panic.

"It's okay, I'm all better now, it was an accident but Logan fixed me," she reassured the little girl, showing her her neck which, though still bloody, was free of the pair of deep gouges that had cut into her jugular and windpipe moments early. "It was an accident, I understand that, and Logan will too, your daddy and me had the same kind of accident when we first met you know," she said, soothingly petting the little girls hair as she began to sob; in relief that she wasn't in trouble, or that Rogue was okay, she couldn't tell.

"Really?" Ava replied with a sniffle, "What happened?"

"Well, your daddy was having a nightmare and I tried to wake him up, but he didn't realise it was me and his claws came out and he stabbed me by accident, right through the chest, but then he fixed me, like he did just now," Rogue told her, it was a graphic story but she felt like the little girl needed to hear it right now.

Ava nodded. "I didn't know it was you either," she said to Rogue solemnly, it was obviously very important to her that Rogue know that.

"I know sweetie," Rogue replied, hugging her carefully so she didn't get any blood on her.

"How did daddy fix you?" the little girl asked suddenly, looking back to the unmarred flesh of her neck.

"Well, my mutation is my skin, that's why I wear gloves, it takes energy, and powers from other mutants, when Logan touched me, he gave me his healing power so I could heal right up," Rogue replied with a smile.

"So... daddy has no healing powers now?" the little girl replied with a frown.

"He still has healing powers but my skin took his energy too, so he has to sleep for a while to get his energy back," Rogue replied haltingly, it was hard to explain in a way a child would understand. She must have done an alright job though because Ava nodded understandingly a moment later before hugging her tightly again.

"I'm glad daddy could fix you," she whispered to Rogue, as she hugged her. Rogue didn't reply, just hugged her back, as much as she appreciated Logan healing her, she didn't like the fact that it hurt him so much every time he did it.

*"It's worth it darlin,"* Logan murmured from inside her head. She vaguely wondered just how much he'd changed in the six months since he'd touched her last, even from the outside she had been able to tell he was a lot calmer, more at peace somehow. She was also curious to find out if she had a new, separate version of him in her head, or if the old version had just been updated, either way she'd have to find out later as her musing was interrupted.

"Mama, mama!?" James called, as he tried to push his way through the crowd in the doorway. Scott tried to stop him but the little boy punched him hard, in a trigger point on the inside of his thigh, before scooting past him.

Rogue laughed, as Scott doubled over and massaged the point with a scowl, while James ran to her and threw his arms around her waist.

"Mama hurt," he said, trying to reach up a touch the blood on her neck.

"I'm fine, I just need a shower," Rogue replied, as a groan sounded from the bed.

In the time it took for everyone to look over to Logan, his eyes flew open before he sat bolt upright. "Marie?" he called, looking around the room until he spotted her, shoulders sagging in relief when he saw she was okay.

"I'm fine, need a shower but otherwise okay," she reassured him.

Now that it was clear everything was once again as it should be, people began filing out of the room, leaving just Logan and Rogue, and the two small children, along with Jean who wanted to finish checking Logan over now that he was awake again.

"What happened?" Logan asked, he had an idea but would appreciate an explanation.

"I'll tell you later," Rogue replied, "But I really do need that shower, now, will you sit with these guys while I go?"

"Sure, but you'll all have to come over here, because I am not moving," Logan replied with a chuckle, as he flopped back down on the bed. Ava and James quickly scurried across the room and onto the bed.

"Standard how do you feel?" Jean asked, amused, obviously he was still alive, and awake surprisingly quickly in comparison to previous run ins with Rogue's mutation.

"Fantastic, feel like I only got hit by a tow truck this time rather than a semi," Logan joked, as James bounced on the bed beside him. "Sit down buddy, it's still supposed to be sleep time," Logan reminded him, before the little boy scurried under the covers beside Logan. Ava was much more subdued as she sat beside him, seemingly unsure how to proceed.

He held out a hand to her, indicating for her to cuddle right him beside him but she sniffled in response as she teared up again. "You're not mad I hurt Rogue?" she asked softly.

"No way, kiddo, hell I've hurt Rogue worse than that, by accident, I understand, so does she, it wasn't your fault," it was Logan's turn to reassure her. With a sigh Ava threw herself into her arms and hugged him tightly.

Jean couldn't help the grin that snuck out at the sight, it seemed Logan was a natural in the parent department, despite his own misgivings. She switched the overhead light off, leaving just the duller bedside lamp lighting the room, and wished them all goodnight as she pulled the door shut behind her.

--

Rogue wrapped a towel around herself once she was finished drying off, she couldn't put her old nightie back on so she'd have to go rustle up another one from the bedroom. Logan turned his head to the bathroom as soon as she opened the door but it looked like both Ava and James were already asleep again. Quickly she tugged a clean nightie on, dropping her towel as the nightie dropped over her curves.

Logan wouldn't mention but he enjoyed the view when the towel dropped faster than the nightie. Rogue tugged on a clean pair of gloves before she moved over to the bed. She ran a hand over Ava's hair as she slept, cheek resting on Logan's chest, before she climbed on to the bed on the other side of him, settling down between Logan, and the lump under her blanket that was James.

"So, what happened?" Logan asked again, as he hugged her to him.

"Stock standard feral nightmare I guess, she started whining in her sleep, I figured she was having bad dream, went over to wake her up, was not expecting claws to come flying out to greet me," Rogue replied. "She is your daughter though so I probably should have," she added with a chuckle.

"Metal?" Logan asked worriedly. Jean hadn't been able to take x-rays of the girl because she was too scared of the x-ray machine, and Logan couldn't be in the room with her to reassure her so they'd had to give up.

"No, like bone but really dense and hard," Marie replied, "They definitely didn't cut as cleanly as yours do." She felt Logan shudder at her comment.

"Do you know what the nightmare was about?" he asked.

"We didn't quite get that far, I'll throw a wild guess out that it was the lab though, we should talk to her in the morning, whatever it was it absolutely terrified her," Rogue admitted.

Logan agreed before suggesting she sleep, it was obvious he wasn't intending on moving from her bed, which she had no problem at all with, so she grabbed a spare blanket and tugged it up over the three of them.

"And thanks hero," she whispered, as she mimicked Ava's position.

"You sure do need a lot of rescuing you know," Logan teased with a chuckle, as he felt her settle in for sleep.

"Should probably keep you around permanent then, huh?" Rogue replied.

"I'd like that," Logan answered, kissing the top of her head as she smiled against his chest.

The next morning, they got the two kids dressed and ready for breakfast. Ava had not slept well the rest of night, though she didn't have another full-blown nightmare, she did wake both Logan and Rogue up, sobbing in her sleep. As they got her dressed the next morning both noted how subdued and clingy she was but it wasn't until she startled violently, when Scott opened the door unexpectedly, that Logan decided they needed to get to the bottom of what was worrying her, sooner rather than later.

Scott was just checking in that all was well after the events of the previous night, he wasn't trying to catch Rogue and Logan in a compromising position or anything, though he was concerned about how much time the latter was spending in the formers room. The group had missed breakfast in the cafeteria, and Caleb had already taken off for class. Logan's attempt to get James to go with Scott to get some breakfast didn't quite pan out but when Ava's tummy rumbled hungrily, he figured the kitchen would be deserted this time of morning, and private enough for them to talk freely with her.

Jean stopped by the kitchen when she heard them getting ready to eat, to make sure all was well with Logan, and to offer sleeping pills for Ava if the nightmares continued. Logan thanked her, he hoped it wouldn't come to sleeping pills, he didn't like the idea of drugging his seven-year-old child.

As they were eating breakfast, the door opened again. Again, Ava startled, this time sending a spoonful of scrambled eggs across the table when she jumped. As Ororo obliviously made her way to the coffee pot, Logan turned to Ava while Rogue cleaned up the mess of splattered egg.

"Ava sweetie, why does the door scare you?" he asked, gently but directly.

Ava teared up, dropping her head as she dropped her spoon. "Bad things happen when the door opens," she whispered.

"What kind of bad things?” Logan pressed, when she didn't reply straightaway, he added, "The doctors?"

"No," Ava replied softly, "The soldiers- the soldiers are worse," she said as big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

Logan felt his stomach sink as her pulled the little girl into his lap, she curled herself into a ball as he wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his shirt. "Is that what your nightmare was about last night? About the soldiers?" Ava nodded. "What did the soldiers do, Ava?" Logan asked, even though he had a suspicion didn't want to know.

Ava shook her head, as she burst into full blown sobs. "I don't wanna," she said, as she tried to hide in his shirt.

Ororo was now watching the scene closely, as was Rogue. James seemed to be aware that his sister was upset but appeared to be content to leave Logan to deal with her, as he finished her breakfast.

"I know you don't want to talk about it sweetheart but you need to, it will make you feel better and it will mean we can help you better," Logan told her gently, as he soothingly stroked her back trying to calm her tears.

"How will it make me feel better, I don't want to think it," Ava replied, stubbornly.

"I used to think the same thing," Logan told her, "But now Rogue knows and it makes me feel better, knowing someone else... understands."

Ava stared up at him with tear filled green eyes. "What did they do to you, in your lab?" she asked in return.

Logan knew he needed her to trust this part of him, so, ignoring Ororo's presence, he gave a brief sanitized overview of his time in the lab to the little girl who split her attention between closely watching Logan and Rogue. Whatever she saw from the two of them seemed to set her at ease, and when Logan finished his story, she started on hers.

"The doctors weren't so bad, they just had lots of needles and took my blood, sometimes they cut me, I don't think they took my organs, and they didn't put metal in me, they did drill in my bones sometimes, which hurt, lots, and if I screamed they put stuff in my mouth so I couldn't breathe...

"The soldiers came when the lights turned off, three, sometimes four of them. They took my clothes, and then they took they clothes... one of the soldiers put his smoke things on my skin, it burned, but it went away so he kept doing it, the other two soldiers they - they..." she choked up, as Logan hugged her tighter. The rage was starting to simmer through him, he had a fair idea what she was trying to tell them, and he had determined he killed those fuckers far too quickly.

"What did they do?" Rogue prompted, as she reached out and gently stroked the girl hair, though Logan could tell by the tears in her eyes she knew too. Even Ororo stood frozen, tears in her eyes as she listened.

"They put their pee-pees in me, in my bottoms, sometimes at the same time, sometimes... it hurt, they always made it hurt, if I didn't scream enough, they hurt me more. They said they liked listening to me scream... The fourth one was the worst... He would tie me up, and put stuff in my mouth so I couldn't scream, sometimes he put his pee-pee in my mouth and I couldn't breathe... he had a stick too that he stuck in my bum, and he cut me, all over, he made blood come out, lots and lots of blood, and blood came out in my wees too.

"One time I couldn't sit up the next day, the doctor came and told him off, that night... he came alone. But I didn't see him again after that, he hit me lots, as well as the other stuff. That's what my nightmare was about. I don't remember much, but my eyes wouldn't open the next day, and I couldn't move, the doctors had to move me to the needle room for days and days... None of the soldiers came for a while after that but… then the door started opening again..." she finished in a whisper, as she buried her tear streaked face in Logan's shirt.

He was humming with rage as she finished her tale, literally vibrating with the repressed desire to find those fuckers and make them pay. At this rate if someone offered him the option of going to hell to find them and torment them for the rest of eternity, he'd seriously consider it. Rogue had moved to kneel down beside him, wrapping her arms around both him and Ava as the little girl cried. Even Logan's rage couldn't drown out the feeling of failure at protecting his daughter.

Jean and Sarah walked into the room then, taking in the scene in front of them in shocked silence before they moved to comfort Ororo who was still standing by the coffee machine, tears running down her face. Before they could start asking questions Logan stood, not releasing his hold on Ava. "We need some air," Logan told Rogue, which she knew was Logan speak for needing some alone time, he nodded toward the growing crowd, silently asking her to run damage control.

With a nod of understanding Rogue watched him walk across the lawn, and disappear into the woods with Ava. As soon as he was out of sight Rogue broke down in tears, collapsing into her chair as she sobbed. Ororo moved over to her and hugged her, doing much the same, neither yet able to articulate clearly to fill the others in on what was going on. The Professor, and Scott joined the room in short order, the former having picked up on the mental anguish of so many, the latter just after a midmorning coffee.

Jean was handing out tissues as Rogue finally managed to pull herself together. James, worriedly climbed into her lap, whining softly, confused by her tears. She hugged him tightly before she turned to the questioning faces gathered around the room.

"James, why don't you got find Caleb and see if he's finished his class, you didn't get to say good morning to him earlier," she suggested, not wanting to worry him more.

"Mama okay now?" he asked, as if he wasn't sure if it was okay to leave her yet.

"I'm okay now, sorry for scaring you," she told him, offering him the best smile she could work up. He didn't seem entirely convinced but allowed himself to be ushered out of the room and went in search of his big brother.

"Okay, what happened!?" Jean demanded, as soon as he was out of the room.

"Ava told us about her nightmare last night. Were you guys able to recover any records from the lab she was in?" Rogue asked.

"Some, yes, do we need to go over them?" Jean asked worried.

"Yeah, and Logan's going to want to see them later too, he's also going to need the danger room for the rest of the day, Scott would you be able to put together a DR mock-up of Ava's lab?" Rogue asked, her inner Logan making suggestions on things he'd find useful in calming down. At this rate she may just take a turn herself.

Scott confirmed he had already begun a render from the mission logs, while Jean called down to the computer lab and asked Kitty to bring Ava's file to the kitchen. Ten minutes later Rogue pulled out the notes relating the Ava's extended stay in the 'needle room', handing them to Jean for her to review so she could be certain she hadn't missed anything in her medical exam.

Jean was pale and visibly shaking by the time she finished reviewing the notes, as she was about to detail the extent of Ava's injuries Logan returned, carrying a now soundly sleeping Ava. He sat down next to Rogue without a word and nodded for Jean to continue. The report included the name and rank of the soldier who had abused her but not what was done to him, Scott assured Logan he would scour the records and find out.

"If he's still alive all I need is a location," Logan growled. Once he had talked with Ava, calming and reassuring her that none of what happened was her fault, and that none of the men who had hurt her ever would again, she had finally managed to fall asleep while his own fury had continued to boil. He could feel the claws pressing again the skin of his knuckles, so eager and ready to burst out and shed the blood of those who wronged his child that his wrists were locked and largely useless. The pain in his hands was enough to ground him sufficiently that he could keep them in check, though not for much longer.

"This information should be passed on to law enforcement Logan," Sarah tried to argue.

"So what? We can get in trouble for having classified information, and custody of a Government experiment, while he gets away scot free? No, if he's still alive that's gonna change quick," Logan replied dangerously, no one would hurt his child and get away with it, not while he was breathing. "These people don't play by the rules Sarah, sometimes we can't either."

"There is no punishment the law could hand down that would compensate for what this child suffered," Jean added, casting her eye over the notes again with a shudder. "She should be dead, multiple times over going off these notes, the fact she survived... it's a miracle but I don't know what it's going to do for her mental health," Jean admitted.

"She's going to be alright," Logan replied, hugging the child sleeping peacefully on his knee, "Me on the other hand..." he huffed a dark laugh - "I need to go blow off some steam, would you -" he turned to Rogue but before he could finish his sentence, she nodded.

"I'll stay with her," Rogue said with a soft smile, "Scott's finishing up a program you'll like," she added, pointedly glancing at Scott, who grimaced and rose to leave the room. He may just end up helping Logan test the new program.

Logan carried Ava up to Rogue's room, the suite the Professor had promised him was being cleaned but even so Logan wasn't on the right frame of mind for anything new right now. Storm promised to keep an eye on James, so Ava could sleep while Rogue watched over her, Logan making her promise not to approach Ava until she knew she was awake, if the girl had any more nightmares.

As soon as Logan left, Rogue climbed into bed beside the little girl, who scented her in her sleep before cuddling up to her, without waking. After a brief nap of her own, Rogue pulled out a book, and sat on the bed, reading, while Ava slept, her head resting on Rogue's thigh as she gently, smoothed a hand over her head. She hadn't had a chance yet to get the girl in the shower and wash her hair, it would have to wait a while, especially in light of this newest information.

It was after lunch before they were disturbed, Ororo softly tapping on the door before she slowly opened it. She had to remind James to be quiet and walk slowly because his sister was sleeping but the little boy still jumped onto the bed with force, jostling Ava awake.

"Sorry," Ororo apologized, "He wouldn't stay away any longer, he wouldn't believe me you were still here without seeing you but we brought you both lunch." She set down the varied spread on the bed next to Rogue, reminding James he had already had his lunch when he tried to snatch away a slice of salami. It seemed he was developing unsurprising food preferences.

Rogue assured her it was okay, and that James should stay as it was almost time for his nap anyway, so Ororo left them to it. Ava and Rogue eating, James covertly slipping extras when he thought no one was watching him, before he yawned widely and asked for a story. By the time Rogue had finished reading the book he chose, he was asleep, Ava wasn't however, so Rogue suggested taking the opportunity for her to get clean.

Ava readily agreed and followed Rogue into the bathroom, her eyes got wide as she saw the bathtub and she excitedly asked if she could have a bath instead of a shower.

"You can have a bath but you'll have to shower too to clean your hair, why don't we do the hair shower first, that way the conditioner can sit while you have a bath?" Rogue suggested.

Ava nodded happily, and quickly stripped off and jumped into the bath to start the shower. Rogue pulled out her range of fragrance options for shampoo and conditioner, all were light enough that they shouldn't overpower Ava's senses, that was why Rogue had picked them. Ava selected the vanilla and lime option and Rogue set about gently, un-braiding, damping, and sudsing her thick hair. It took two washes before Rogue was satisfied it was clean, and she started the bath filling while Ava stood under the warm shower spray while Rogue combed conditioner through her hair before clipping it all up on top of her head.

Once the bath was filled, and the hair sorted, Ava soaked in the bubble filled tub, alternating between scrubbing at herself and playing. Rogue helped when and where asked, letting Ava guide how much physical contact there was between them, before Ava suddenly asked if she was going to get in.

"No sweetie, I won't, I'd have to be dressed so my skin doesn't touch you but all my body suits are in the laundry, how about next time?" she added, when the little girls face fell.

"Sure," Ava replied, "Will you play with me though?" she asked.

Rogue laughed. "If course, what are we playing?" They played for a while, before Ava announced she was finished now. Rogue gave her an extra scrub to make sure she hadn't missed any dirt, before she drained the tub, and Ava jumped up to rinse her hair. Once her hair was conditioner free, Rogue pulled out her hair dryer. The bathroom door flew open a moment later, startling Ava as James burst onto the room.

"What dat?" he asked, pointing in the direction of the whirring hair dryer, the noise must have woken him up.

Ava started to cry, in response to her fright, and Rogue turned off the dryer while she consoled her. She pulled herself together a moment later, and hugged Rogue as she assured her she was okay now. Then Rogue turned to James.

"James, sweetie, I know you wanted to know what the noise was but you gave Ava a fright, you need to move slower, okay, and when the door is closed you have to knock, like this," Rogue took James outside the bathroom and shut the door, before knocking and waiting for Ava to open the door.

"Like this?" James repeated, pulling the door shut on Ava before he knocked and she reopened the door.

"Just like that!" Rogue congratulated him, Ava herself looking calmer, and happy with how Rogue explained away her fear to her little brother. For a few minutes they practised knocking on the closed door with James, who thought it was a fun new game, until Rogue picked up the hair dryer again. James suddenly remembered he knew it was, and asked Rogue to blow the warm air on him. "Once Ava's hair is dry, then we can do you, okay?" she placated him as Ava came to stand back in front of her to have her hair dried.

Logan found them that way about ten minutes later, the hair dryer alternating between blowing on Ava's almost dry locks, and blowing in James' face because he liked it. He watched the scene from the open bathroom doorway, unseen by anyone inside for several minutes until James sniffed and looked right up at him, grinning broadly before pointing and announcing, "Dada needs hair dry."

Ava and James both ran to him, hugging him and pulling him into the room, Ava pushed him to sit on the closed lid of the toilet before she climbed onto his knee and asked Rogue for the hair dryer. He usually didn't dry his hair but he indulged the kids, not least of all because it made Rogue smile too. She deserved a little fun at his expense after everything that had been thrown at her lately, all thanks to him. He played along until James got his hands on a hairbrush and managed to tangle it into his hair, before he called enough.

"Okay, dry enough, time for dinner now, who's hungry?" he asked, causing both kids to whoop and run out into the bedroom to get ready. Rogue helped him untangle the hairbrush, giggling as she did, before they followed the noisy duo.

After dinner in the cafeteria, Ava's first time surrounded by the general buzz of the mansion’s resident population, they headed upstairs to the suite. The whole thing was comfortably furnished, with two single beds in each of the smaller bedrooms, and a large king size in the suite's master. The master had its own ensuite, and the two other bedrooms shared a bathroom. The living area had a lounge suite, small dining table, kitchenette, and a huge flat screen TV.

While Rogue sat with the kids as they ate popcorn and watched a movie, Logan packed and moved up all their belongings. None of them had much, he hadn't even had a chance to go shopping for James, and now Ava needed stuff too, sometime in the next couple of days he'd have to go shopping. Once he was done, he joined the small group on the living room floor until the movie was finished, before announcing it was bed time.

The pair did complain this time but neither he or Rogue gave in as they got them ready for bed. Logan figured it was time for him to start picking up some of the things Rogue had been doing, so he read the kids their bedtime story. Neither child was asleep by the time he finished the story about three little pigs and a scary growly wolf, both had spent far too much of the story telling the 'wolf' to growl louder. They were surprisingly sadistic too, by the end of the story both were calling for the wolf to eat the little pigs, obligingly he slightly modified the end of the story so the wolf got his bacon.

After tucking James into bed, and moving Ava to her room and tucking her in too, Logan and Rogue were finally free.

"You realise the wolf is supposed to be the bad guy, right?" Rogue teased, as he handed her a drink while she reclined on the couch.

"Specie-al profiling, poor guy's just trying to get himself dinner, can't fault that," Logan replied, with a chuckle, as he took a seat next to her.

They chatted for a while, and Logan considered asking her to stay; he'd actually considered asking her to move in with him. If James hadn't been here when he'd gotten back, he would have asked in a heartbeat but now, after everything that had happened, he didn't only have himself to think about here, anything he did would affect the kids too. While he knew they both liked Rogue, James still called her mama, two kids would be a lot for Rogue to take on if she was with him, she was only seventeen after all.

When Rogue yawned widely Logan decided, she needed a night of undisturbed sleep at the very least. "Come on you, time for you to go to bed too, I'd offer to walk you back to your room but I don't want to leave the kids alone," he added, as he helped her to her feet.

Rogue looked momentarily upset, maybe she had been expecting him to ask her to stay, but she covered by asking, "Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"I'll do my best; besides, you need a full night’s sleep for a change," he said, hoping she understood, he wasn't sending her away because he didn't want her there, he just wanted what was best for her. He placed a quick kiss, too quick for her skin to react, on her forehead before he led her to the door, her hand in his.

"Alright, I can take a hint, the Wolverine wants to prove he's tough enough not to be beat by a couple of kids," she teased, earning another good natured growl from him, "But seriously, if you need anything come and get me, I can always catch up on sleep later." She hugged him, apparently oblivious to the effect her, admittedly innocent, offhand comment had on him. He wanted nothing more than to 'come and get her', but not for anything to do with the kids. Bidding her goodnight instead he watched her walk away until she was out of sight.

--

James woke him first, crawling into his bed at a little after two in the morning.

"James, this isn't your bed," he murmured softly, trying not to let his amusement show.

"I know," the little boy replied, as he crawled under the covers, "My bed is alone-ly, this one smells safer... but not like mama," he added sadly, as he drifted off back to sleep.

His comment gave Logan an idea and, once he was sure the little boy was deep asleep, he got up and fished out the shirt he had been wearing that day. It had both his and Marie's scents on it. Gently he eased James up, wrapping him in the shirt before carrying him back to his own bed. As the little boy snuggled back into the thick warm flannel, inhaling the mix of scents in his sleep, a little contented smile settled on his face. Hopefully that would do the trick to keep him in his own bed.

As he softly shut the bedroom door behind him, he heard a whimper from Ava's room. If he could he should head that nightmare off before it had a chance to go bad, or, worse. He tapped lightly on the door as he pushed it further open, Ava had asked for it not to be closed the whole way, which Logan respected.

"Ava, wake up sweetheart, it's just a bad dream," he said softly, as he kneeled down beside her bed. It wasn't enough to rouse her fully but she did that herself moments later when, with a sob, she jumped up in bed before scooting herself into the corner. "It's alright, sweetie, you're safe, it was just a bad dream," Logan tried again.

"Daddy?" Ava whispered, remaining in the corner, "No, not daddy, I need Rogue," she said determinedly.

"Sorry sweetheart, Rogue's sleeping in her room, it's just me up here," Logan said, he offered her a hug but her eyes welled with tears and she shook her head with a scowl before demanding Rogue again. They argued back and forward for a few minutes before Logan gave up, Ava was starting to get worked up because he wouldn't let her see Rogue. He promised to call Rogue if Ava would come out of the corner, which she immediately did, wrapping her arms around his neck, and her legs around his waist as he stood.

He picked up the cordless phone off the kitchen counter and dialled Rogue's extension. It was answered before it had a chance to ring twice, Rogue's sleepy concerned voice filtered down the line. "Logan? Is everything okay?"

Ava had immediately brightened when she heard Rogue's voice. "Ava had a nightmare and apparently I'm not good enough to make everything better, she's asking for you..."

"I'll be there in two shakes of a kitten's tail," Rogue answered before he could even finish his sentence, the phone clicked as the line went dead. Moments later the suite door opened with a soft rap, as Rogue let herself in. Ava reached for her as soon as she saw her as she began to sob again as she wrapped her arms around Rogue.

"I dreamed I hurt you 'gain, and daddy wasn't there to save you," Ava whispered, into her hair as she clung to her. "You were gone away and I could never hug you again," Ava said, explaining why she needed to see Rogue so badly.

"It's okay sweetie, I'm here," Rogue reassured her as she returned her hug warmly, "It was just a bad dream." After a few minutes of hugs Ava yawned and snuggled down into her arms as Rogue carried her back to bed.

Logan watched from the doorway as Rogue tucked the girl back into bed and sat with her until she fell back asleep. He hugged her himself when she came back out, he remembered nightmares like those, he'd had them himself for weeks after he had stabbed her the first time. "Stay?" he asked softly, as Rogue made a move to disentangle herself to head back to her own room.

"I wondered how long it would take for you to ask," she replied with a smile. He opened his mouth to respond, a worried frown on his face, whatever he wanted to say was too serious for this hour of the morning though so Rogue shushed him. "I'll take the couch," she said, releasing his hand to reach for one of the discarded blankets from the kids’ movie time.

"Nuh uh, nope, you take the bed, or we both take the bed, no woman is sleeping on my couch," Logan informed her, directing her toward the bedroom, "Besides, we've pretty much been sharing a bed since I got back, anyway, gotta admit, I kinda missed it tonight."

"Me too," Rogue replied, letting out a startled squeak when Logan picked her up and dropped her into the middle of the bed with a chuckle.

Several days later, at lunch, things were finally beginning to settle in something close to normalcy. The kids were comfortable in their new surroundings, so long as they had an eye on either Logan or Rogue. This particular day they opted to have lunch in the cafeteria with everyone else.

Rogue was called over to sit with her friends, which Logan encouraged her to do. She'd spent almost every waking minute with either him or one, or both of the kids, for weeks now, she deserved a break. He, James, and Ava sat at one end of the teachers table, there were no kids their age at the school - it wasn't normal for kids their age to be active mutants after all - so they were out of luck for peers for now.

James sat and ate politely but quickly got bored once he had finished his food, he kept looking around to make sure Rogue was still at the other table, seeming anxious, before he climbed out of his seat and ran over to her. Logan watched in amusement as the little boy wriggled under her arm and began trying to climb into Rogue's lap, she didn't even bat an eye as she slid her seat back a bit and lifted him up. A moment later she shifted her plate closer to him when he began sneaking food off it. So that's what he wanted! Logan had never been one for rules but it looked like they would have to teach James some more basic manners, like asking to be excused before leaving the table, and that it was alright to ask for seconds if he was still hungry.

"Daddy?" Ava asked suddenly from beside him, sounding thoughtful.

"Yeah sweetheart?" he replied, noting Scott turn his attention toward them. Please don't let this be an awkward question little kids were so infamous for.

"Did James come out of Rogue's tummy?" Ava asked, regarding him seriously.

"... No," Logan replied, clamping down on a grin as Scott choked on his drink. The question was unexpected but not a wholly unpleasant thought when he had let it set for a moment. He was also thankful she apparently already knew where babies came from, that was one talk he wouldn't have to have.

"So, why does James call her mama?" Ava asked, now sounding confused.

"Well, when James arrived, I guess Rogue sort of adopted him, she took care of him, because I wasn’t here when they found him, and so he decided to call her mama," Logan answered honestly.

"Does James not have a mommy?" Ava asked sadly.

Logan thought about the woman they'd found, the one who birthed the boy. "No, James doesn't have a mommy," he answered, not one he would ever see or have contact with ever again if Logan had any say in the matter.

"Oh," was all Ava responded as she went back to eating, and thinking. Logan had a feeling this conversation wasn't over yet. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Ava piped up again. "Daddy?"

"Yeah kiddo," he replied with a grin.

"Would Rogue adopt me too?" she asked.

That had not been what Logan had been expecting to hear next, he turned to regard her curiously. "Would you like her too?"

"Mmhmm," Ava replied firmly, nodding her head so there could be no mistaking her feelings on the matter.

"Well then, I guess we can ask her," Logan replied. He had a feeling he already knew what Rogue's answer would be, he knew what he hoped it would be, at the same time he had his reservations about his preference in that regard.

"Now?" Ava asked excitedly, ready to jump out of her seat.

"Later, after lunch, she's not going anywhere," Logan assured the girl, "Now finish your lunch before James comes back and eats it," he teased. Ava giggled; the two children had argued at dinner the night before after James had stolen food off Ava's plate when she was distracted. When she'd demanded it back, he had licked it, right in front of her, before offering it back to her. Then Rogue had told Logan off for laughing.

Before they got a chance to talk to Rogue, the attention of the entire room was drawn to a far corner when a series of shouts went up. It was unusual for fights to break out in such clear view of the teachers but at least four boys were currently wailing on a fifth, while several more egged them on and several girls were yelling for them to stop.

"Shit!" Logan started, when he spied Flora among the girls calling for them to stop, Caleb wasn't at her side which meant he was probably in the middle of the fight. Before Logan could get across the room, two boys had already been thrown clear of the fray, at least one was down for the count, and a roar sounded from the crowd simultaneously as a small explosion sounded. People screamed as the crowd immediately fell back, away from Caleb who stood, now alone, lips curled in a snarl, he was surrounded by a swirl of flames that licked hungrily at his clothes and hair.

Scott, who was right behind Logan as he headed for the fight, immediately seized the two boys, still standing, who had been involved in the fight. Jean was seeing to the other two, leaving Logan to deal with Caleb.

Logan grabbed hold of him, ignoring the burn of the flames that kissed his skin, hauling the boy out the nearest door into the yard. Throwing him to the ground he began to smother the flames which seemed to be dying all on their own. Sarah came rushing out, among the group of students and teachers, to see what was happening, screaming when she saw her son, singed and not moving on the ground.

"He's okay," Logan assured her, as Rogue came rushing out with a first aid kit. It was largely unnecessary but he peeled open several burn pads and wrapped them around the worst burnt areas as an interim measure. Caleb lay still, gritting his teeth against the pain, as his healing burned almost as bad as the flames had.

Two older teens came out with a stretcher, offering to help carry Caleb to the med lab, Logan accepted the lift but directed them to the nearest bathroom with a full-size tub. Rogue ran ahead to run a cool bath; it was half full by the time the group got there. Jean caught up with them as Logan cut what was left of Caleb's singed clothes from his body, her gasp of shock at the extent if the burns doing nothing to help keep the boy’s mother and girlfriend calm.

"He's okay," Rogue assured them, she knew from Logan's own memories what he was doing, and that Caleb had already started healing, and quickly. Jean objected to Logan's plan to put Caleb into the tub of cool water, he just ignored her, leaving Rogue to keep her out of his way. "He needs to drop his core temperature to stop the burning which will speed up the healing, infection is the last of his worries right now; trust him Jean, Logan knows what he's doing, he knows what works, he's not going to do anything to put his own son in danger."

Sarah backed Rogue up, feeding off her calm assertiveness, as she reassured Flora too that everything was going to be okay. The sat around on the bed of the bedroom they were in, it just so happened to be Rogue's, hers being the closest to the elevator and stairs. Jean eventually excused herself, confident that Logan didn't need help, she needed to get back to her own patients.

It was a few minutes before Rogue sensed Logan begin to relax as he watched the slow heal begin; it was then she realised she'd lost track of James and Ava. Stepping out into the hallway to head back downstairs to find them, she stopped when she saw the pair of them sitting on the floor outside the doorway, hugging each other as they watched her approach.

"You guys okay?" she asked, as she kneeled down beside them.

"Is Caleb okay?" They both asked simultaneously.

"He's still healing but he's going to be fine," she reassured them as she picked them both up, one in each arm, and carried them into the bedroom to wait with the rest of the family.

She set them down on the bed as she went to answer Logan's call for the first aid kit, standing by watching, and assisting where she could, as Logan gently peeled and cut away areas of burned skin, to allow the new to heal faster. In all it took an hour before Caleb was able to start moving around comfortably, though he didn't initially make any move to get out of the cool water, content to sit around and prune for a while.

Logan refused to let Sarah and Flora in until Caleb 'looked' healed, though he knew he was still healing under the skin; it would be an itchy buzz by that stage. Caleb was even able to crack jokes when Flora finally came in to sit next to him, she wanted to hug him but was too scared of hurting him so he offered up a hand for her to hold instead.

"Not how I wanted you to see me in the buff for the first time but beggars can't be choosers I guess," he commented dryly, when she looked like she was going to cry again. Everyone laughed at that, though he only had eyes for Flora.

Logan left the room as he heard Scott approaching, telling Ava and James they could go and see their brother now.

"What's the story from the other side?" Logan asked gruffly, as he scowled at nothing. He was trying not to lose his shit; kids did stupid things, sure, but there was a big difference between a schoolyard punch up and attempted murder.

"They're not talking, the fire was obviously started by Johnny but why, we don’t know, how's Caleb?" Scott asked.

"He's healing well, I haven't asked for his side of the story yet, once he can move... probably another hour at least," Logan advised.

"Shit, that bad?" Scott asked, he knew how quickly Logan's healing factor worked, and something that kept him down for hours was bad.

"Burns always take a while to fix up, and that fire was hot so it burned deep," Logan replied, rubbing at his own arm where he too had been burned. It had healed, on the surface, but his arm was still hot, despite him having soaked it in the tub for the last hour, the hair hadn't grown back yet, and the sleeve of his shirt was ruined.

Scott let him get back but not before advising the boys were all grounded, three were currently confined to their dorms until further notice, the fourth to the med lab as he was suffering a serious concussion. Kitty had downloaded the CCTV video and they would review it later. Until the situation was sorted, Caleb was grounded too, and was to be returned to his own room once he could be moved. Logan agreed, fair was fair, he just hoped it didn't turn out Caleb was the aggressor, he didn't think he was but he'd have to reserve judgement until he had heard from everyone.

Half an hour later he got rid of everyone to give Caleb some privacy while he helped him out of the tub, Sarah brought a bathrobe for him so he didn't have to get dressed yet while he was still healing, before Logan walked him back to his room.

"Alright buddy, what happened?" Logan asked, as he took a seat on the bed beside where Caleb had flopped down in typical teenage boy fashion. For a while the only response was a deep, long sigh.

"They were being dicks, trying to provoke me, apparently you have a temper and they wanted to see if I did too," Caleb replied eventually.

"What tipped everything over the edge, and who threw the first punch?" Logan pressed.

"The fire kid. Apparently, he had a crush on Rogue but she didn't give him the time of day, so he's pissed at you because he thinks you 'ruined her' for anyone on her peer group but he can't do anything to you because he's not suicidal, well, that suicidal, so he decided to pick on me instead. Two of the other kids in the fight are in Flora's class, one of them latched onto her when we first arrived and was trying to flirt with her, she shut him down, now she's 'ruined' too and it's all the fault of feral super healers, of which I'm apparently the only one among the students, add to that I'm your kid, pretty much every guy hates me, because all the girls have apparently gone gaga over me."

Logan began to chuckle; he shouldn't find this as funny as he did but he couldn't really help it. "I thought it was the ice kid that had his eye on Rogue," he replied.

"Apparently he got over her after 'banging the ghost girl'," Caleb replied dismissively.

"Hey, you don't talk about women like that," Logan warned his son.

"That was a direct quote from the firelighter ... right before he said, and I quote, 'maybe I should follow his lead and fuck something else, maybe a garden nymph', end quote," Caleb replied, his voice bordering on a growl. He continued to detail the conversation that had immediately preceded the fight.

"Just please tell me you didn't hit him first," Logan replied, suppressing a groan at the thought of the kid getting himself in trouble within weeks of arriving. It didn't take a genius to figure out the 'garden nymph' that was referenced was Flora.

"No, he 'accidentally' threw his drink at me when he stood up in a huff when me and Flora were just ignoring him, I stood up and handed the cup back to him, he took the opportunity of me having something in my hand to take a swing at me, then the other three jumped me. Not sure what's worst, the fucking coward who took the first swing then essentially bowed out, or the other idiots who did his dirty work! What happened to the other guys? I know I hit a couple of them but everything's kind of ... fuzzy," he replied, sounding concerned.

"Two went down before you got melted, one's got a concussion but Jean released the other from the med lab - which reminds me, you're all grounded, and suspended, until this is sorted out, I'll try to get it in front of the Professor tomorrow but no guarantees, the other kids aren't talking so as of now it's your word against whatever the CCTV shows," Logan informed him.

"Oh man! Saved by CCTV twice," Caleb laughed, stopping with an 'ow' as he adjusted his position on the bed.

"You rest, your healing's still developing, so you're going to take a while to be back to a hundred percent, I'll bring you up some food, then you get some sleep," he said to Caleb, as he headed out of the room. He didn't get further than opening the door when he came face to face with Flora, carrying a loaded plate.

"Uh, Rogue said Caleb would be hungry..." Flora almost whispered shyly.

"She's right, he's still not able to move easily, why don't you sit with him and make sure he eats it all," Logan replied, with a smile at the girl. She was sweet, and a perfect match for the boy, though she was still a little too reserved - that was something that would be fixed with age and maturity.

She smiled back at him as he stepped aside to let her into the room, moving over to Caleb's side where she set about playing nurse. With a grin Logan left the room, silently closing the door behind him.

When he hit the ground floor, on his way to the Professor's office, he was joined by Jean as she stepped out of the elevator. She enquired after Caleb and Logan gave her, and Sarah, who joined them from the kitchen when she heard the inquiry, a rundown on his condition; along with instructions for Sarah to make sure she woke him to eat again sometime between six and eight, informing them that he should be good to go by the next morning if he got enough sleep.

They were all called into the office before they'd reached the door. Kitty, and the Professor were reviewing the CCTV footage, though no one else in the room could see what was on the screen. Charles advised that Scott and Ororo would be joining them momentarily. "I'm aware you would like to get this dealt with sooner rather than later Logan, and given the severity of the injuries inflicted on Caleb I would tend to agree that would be the best course of action," Charles said, worry evident in his tone. Such a misuse of powers, on school grounds, was not something that he could tolerate.

Scott and Ororo entered the room in short order, both looking perturbed as they took seats around the room.

"Well, who's account shall we start with?" Charles asked, glancing around the room.

Jean spoke first. "Andy's story is he doesn't remember what happened, just that they were arguing over a girl and then he woke up in the med lab, he does have a serious concussion so it is possible it knocked out his short term memory of the event, from the clip Kitty showed me his concussion was likely caused by the angle he hit the wall, I'm confident his injury wasn't intentional, it was Caleb that shoved him away but it honestly looked like all he was trying to do was just get the other kids away from him."

Charles nodded thoughtfully. "Have the other boys said anything?" he asked Scott.

"Yeah," he replied, shooting a look at Ororo. "We put them in separate dorms when we took them upstairs, so they couldn't plan a story but ... we got an almost identical story from each of them, initially, their story was they confronted Caleb because he was being inappropriate with some of the younger girls, that he was seen last night going into the girls dorm and not coming out for several hours. Patrick was apparently incensed because his girlfriend, Cassidy, is in that dorm," Scott started.

"But," Ororo continued, "We spoke to three of the four girls in that room, and they all denied Caleb had been in there, the fourth girl in that room is Flora we didn't get a chance to speak to her, but from what the boys said, Johnny was the only person to 'see' Caleb go in, and come out. We haven't had a chance to look at the hall cameras but when we told them we had spoken to the girls, both Patrick and Marcus eventually admitted that, given the circumstances they would have to side with the girls over Johnny."

Scott cut back in. "Apparently Johnny had been talking shit about Caleb as soon as he found out Logan had brought him here, and he had been talking shit about Logan too for even longer - none of the boys would admit to whatever had upset him about Logan, but they did say that he was convinced Caleb was going to 'steal their girlfriends', they didn't believe him until Marcus asked Flora out and she turned him down flat, and then Johnny told them about the alleged dorm incident, before convincing them they needed to 'scare Caleb off before he took all the good girls'."

Noting Logan's dark, brooding look Charles turned to him. "I take it some of that is backed up by whatever Caleb told you?"

"Caleb said Johnny was talking shit about girls," Logan said, "He apparently hypothesized that Caleb probably thought he could help himself to any of the girls and no one would stand up to him because of me. Caleb said he tried telling him he was being an idiot, and then just ignoring him but he wouldn't stop, eventually admitting he had a crush on Rogue but she turned him down which was somehow my fault.

"He tried to goad Caleb by telling him that one of the other boys who had a crush on Rogue got over it by sleeping with another girl and said he might try that and hinted he would sleep with Flora; apparently Johnny had caught on to the fact the two of them are sweet on each other. When Caleb still wouldn't let himself be pulled into a fight Johnny threw his drink at him, and when Caleb tried to be the bigger man and just hand the cup back, Johnny took a swing at him, then the other three jumped him. He seemed confident the CCTV would back him up," Logan finished.

Kitty and the Professor shared a look before Kitty turned the monitor she was sitting behind and hit play. The occupants of the room saw a times two replay of the cafeteria incident which began with kids obviously talking, the table occupants slowly one by one turning away from the fire kid as he seemed to be the only one talking. Eventually he stood up, throwing a drink at Caleb in the process, Caleb held the cup back out to him as he shook liquid off himself, before Johnny swung and hit him, three more figures joining the fight as the table was shoved out of the way.

Logan watched the fight closely, Caleb had good natural technique but it was obvious he was holding himself back, no doubt because he had been worried about hurting someone. He was trying to push, rather than punch, and both boys who were ejected from the fight were pushed, or rather thrown. One, obviously the one who ended up with the concussion, hit the wall, the other crashing bodily into a crowd of, now empty, chairs.

"Slow it down," he told Kitty, he wanted to see whether the fire had been intentionally started, or just a fight-or-flight response on behalf of the fire kid. The playback slowed to half speed as the kid pulled a lighter out of his pocket. Logan growled as he watched the kid direct a column of swirling flame directly at Caleb, a swirl which grew so hot and bright it corrupted the view of the camera, the area lit up in flame ending up a black spot on the digital recording, only reducing in intensity as Logan moved into the frame and hauled the black blob out the door.

"Shit," Scott murmured, "That was scarily intentional. Aside from one chair being melted there was no fire damage to anything else, even the floor wasn't charred. I think it's clear to say Johnny was the aggressor, I agree with Jean's assessment that Caleb was acting in self-defence." Everyone else in the room nodded in agreement.

Sarah finally spoke up, she was angry, though probably still more scared - what if Caleb's healing hadn't been able to cope with his injuries? "What's going to happen to this Johnny kid? I mean that - that could have killed someone," she said.

"We need to talk with him, one-on-one," Logan suggested, "If he's remorseful I'm happy with a warning and whatever punishment you hand down-" he nodded to the Professor- "If he's not... it's too dangerous for him to stay if he's going to do shit like that, if Caleb didn't heal he'd be dead right now," he stated plainly. Jean nodded in agreement, she'd seen the burns second and third degree to easily more than ninety percent of his body, that was not survivable for normal people.

"That is a remarkably restrained response from you Logan," Charles replied, surprised, "I do agree though, children do stupid things at times and if the appropriate reaction is held I would be prepared to give Mr Alerdyce a second chance, if that is alright with you Sarah?" the Professor asked, noting the woman’s apprehension.

After a worried glance at Logan she replied, "I suppose, there probably isn't anywhere else he could go anyway, is there?" Her only concern was that if he had done it once he could do it again. What if he had been emboldened to try again to take down Caleb, or someone else; if Caleb was right, the real focus of the kid’s ire was Logan.

"There is another school that we work with in Europe, if need be, I could see if they are happy to take him, otherwise... I would prefer to get the law involved and see him in prison rather than on the streets here, if he were to end up with the Brotherhood..." Charles looked concerned.

"Brotherhood?" Sarah asked concerned.

"A mutant terrorist group essentially," Logan replied, "Though they've been pretty well out of commission since the 'Rogue incident', their leader is in jail, the rest are largely split up and hiding... I can't agree with getting the law involved though," Logan continued, "That would involve Police reports which would have to detail Caleb's mutation, not to mention testifying, I don't want Caleb being exposed like that, it's too dangerous."

"There is a lot to consider," Charles conceded, "I say we sleep on it, we will talk to Mr Alerdyce first thing tomorrow once he's had a chance to cool down and consider the ramifications of his actions, the others I am confident were manipulated or simply just defending themselves, I say we sit them all down together tomorrow and get them to talk their problems out, that should be sufficient to settle that issue."

Everyone nodded in agreement before he continued, "I would ask only Scott and Logan are present for the meeting with Mr Alerdyce in the morning. For the meeting with the other boys I would say only parents need be present, I will try and get the other boys’ parents by phone, Sarah you are welcome to attend in person as I am sure Logan will also."

With that the group broke up for the evening, Scott went upstairs to tell the boys they would be seeing the Professor in the morning and taking them an early dinner, while everyone else disbursed to try and de-stress.

"Hey Logan?" Sarah asked, as she followed him down the hall, he waited for her catch up before she continued. "What's the 'Rogue incident'?" she asked.

"Magneto, the leader of the Brotherhood, had a machine, that was supposed to mutate humans, but he needed someone to power it because he was too much of a chicken-shit to do it himself - it was going to kill the 'battery' - he decided Rogue, more specifically her mutation, would be perfect for that job. That's how me and her ended up here, he tried to grab her, eventually succeeded in kidnapping her, he had her in the machine when I finally got to her ... she survived and Magneto was incapacitated enough to be arrested," Logan filled her in in brief.

"Wow, was Rogue okay, I mean she 'survived' but...?" Sarah asked, noting how Logan had paused before avoiding talking about that.

Logan sighed. "That was the second time I had to touch Rogue, she was dead when I got to her, no heartbeat, not breathing..." he paused at the door they were now standing at, as he watched Rogue through the window, playing on the lawn with Ava and James. "It took so long for her skin to come on I thought I was already too late, I thought I'd lost her, I failed her, after I promised to protect her... I have never been so grateful for having the life sucked out of me," her finished with a grin.

"What was the first time you touched her?" Sarah asked.

"You remember Ava's nightmare that first night?" he continued at Sarah's nod, "It was pretty much the same thing, I had a nightmare, Rogue tried to wake me up, I accidentally stabbed her before I was fully awake, thank god she was thinking clearly because it wouldn't have occurred to me right then to touch her and heal her."

"So, how many times have you given Rogue your healing?" Sarah replied.

"Only the three," Logan answered, as he opened the door and stepped through, "I'm hoping I'm not gonna have to do it too many times more but the girls got it in her head to be an X-Man so I'm not holding my breath for that."

She let him go, watching as the kids caught sight of him and came running, the smile on Rogue's face when she spotted him told her that Rogue felt exactly the same for him as he felt for her. Those two were head over heels in love with each other but neither seemed to be willing to admit it, they were running out of excuses though, essentially co-parenting two kids.

It was the next morning, as they were eating breakfast in the suite, before Ava reminded Logan about their conversation at lunch the day before.

Rogue was cleaning chocolate spread off James’ head after he finished his pancakes, how he had got chocolate on his right ear Logan would never know. The pair were laughing together as James begged 'mama' not to wash his fingers, he apparently hadn't finished licking them.

"Daddy, can I ask Rogue now?" Ava asked, shooting him puppy-dog eyes.

Before he could answer Rogue looked over, glancing between them confused. "Sure sweetie, you can ask me anything," she said, as she left James to finished licking his chocolate covered hands.

Ava looked to Logan for confirmation, he nodded to her to continue and she turned back to Rogue. "I - I want you to be my mama too," she said nervously.

Rogue froze, mouth open as she regarded the girl, she obviously hadn't expected that statement. She turned to Logan momentarily to gauge his opinion on the matter, he'd let her ask the question, and appeared to be as keen to hear her answer. "Oh my god," Marie whispered, as her face broke into one of her brilliant smiles, she shifted to open her arms to Ava as she replied, "I would love to be your mama."

Ava threw herself into Rogue's arms as she began giggling happily. James didn't seem to understand what was going on but people were hugging and he wanted in too, heedless of his chocolatey hands he was pulled into a group hug with his sister and mama.

Logan watched the scene unfold, things had come to a head now and he needed to decide if he was taking this to the next level or going to try to keep delaying. As he sat brooding, the kids kept celebrating, before Rogue sent them off to brush their teeth and get dressed.

"You okay?" Rogue asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, just - " he broke off, still not sure how to explain his thoughts to her.

"Let me guess, you're worried it's going to be too much for me, playing mom to two kids, and that I'll get burned out and run away?" Rogue said, continuing before he could answer, "You're worried you're taking advantage of my age, and my 'crush' on you, and that in the long run you're gonna hurt me? That I'm just agreeing because I was put on the spot? That I haven't considered that being mama means being 'stuck' with kids that aren't mine for the next eighteen years at least? ... Does that about cover it?" she asked, trying not to crack a grin as she listed his main concerns.

"How much did you get from me this last time?" Logan asked with a chuckle, he should have known she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Enough," she replied with a smile, as she moved around the table to sit directly on his lap. "Logan, I love you to bits, have for a long time, it's kind of hard to have a crush on someone when you have all their bad habits inside your head and you know all their dirty secrets. Knowing someone as well as I know you, it goes one of two way, either you despise them, like I do Magneto, or you love them, like I do you. So, you aren't taking advantage of me or my feelings by returning them, but I'm happy to wait for you to figure that out, however long it takes.

"I know it's going to be hard, I don't know the first thing about being a mom, just like you don't know the first thing about being a dad, but we're doing a pretty good job so far, and if we keep backing each other up we can do this, both of us, I don't have to do this alone, and neither do you. I'm in this for as long as you want me around, to be honest I'd like that to be a long time. And it doesn't bother me that they aren't my kids like, biologically, doesn't make a difference at all, not saying I don't want to have my own kids one day but not yet, should get these ones settled first," she told him matter of factly.

"So, what you're saying is, you and me are already you and me, you're just waiting for me to catch up?" Logan replied, as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Pretty much," she confirmed.

"Well, in that case, consider me caught up," he said, placing a quick kiss on the end of her nose. "And that being the case, it's probably about time you finally officially moved in, I mean, you've slept more nights here than in your own room, so..."

"Oh no, no no no, you're not getting out of it that easy," Rogue replied, standing up again and moving to clear the table.

"Getting out of what so easy?" Logan asked confused.

"Just because I know it doesn't mean you don’t have to say it," Rogue informed him playfully.

Logan laughed, an uncommon sound that attracted the attention of both kids who came to see what was going on, he followed Rogue to the kitchen counter, waiting for her to set down the dishes she was carrying before he took her hands in his own. "Marie, I love you, more than I've ever loved anyone for as long as I can remember, I want you to share my life, share my home, share my children, I want you to be my friend, my partner ... my wife. Marie, will you marry me?" he asked, watching as her initial amusement morphed into shock and joy as he spoke.

It took a few moments before she nodded before croaking out a 'yes, oh yes' as she threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around him as she cried tears of joy.

"Wha's happen?" James whispered to Ava.

Who replied at the top of her lungs, grinning widely, "Rogue's gonna be our mommy forever!" Jumping up and down excitedly before she ran to the two of them and joined in their embrace, James following hot on her heels.

"I was not expecting you to take it that far, really, I'd have just been happy with the 'I love you' and a 'do you wanna move in'," Rogue told him as she pulled away, not making any effort to move out of his arms but far enough back to be able to look him in the eye.

"But you still said yes so you can't back out now," he replied with a wink, he kissed the back of her hand before pressing it to her lips. "All right, we still have stuff to do today so who's ready to go?" he asked, sending the kids running for their rooms again before he turned back to Rogue. "I know you probably want to tell everyone right now but can we hold off on that for a while, would like to get this first can or worms dealt with before opening a second."

"You think it's going to be a problem?" Rogue asked, sounding surprised.

"I imagine everyone's going to want to put in their two cents, and there are going to be a few people who object but it won't be anything we can't deal with, just, tomorrow," Logan replied. He had a point, Rogue accepted, and she agreed they keep their news on the downlow, as best they could, she said she would talk to the kids about not saying anything too.

From there they set out their day, Logan had meetings with Xavier all morning dealing with the fallout of yesterday's fight, and then an errand to run after lunch. Rogue was going to take the kids on a forest walk this morning, but she hadn't made any plans for after James's afternoon nap. They all left for their respective activities together, splitting up halfway down the stairs when Logan stopped at the teacher’s floor.

--

Logan stopped by to check on Caleb on his way down to the Professor's office for the meeting, he appeared to be back to a hundred percent, even though he had slept in that morning, enjoying the extra time off classes. He was fixing himself a supersize breakfast, polishing off most of the food left in the suite’s fridge. He told Logan he wasn't aware of what had happened at the meeting the day before, he hadn't had a chance to talk with his mom before she left to teach her classes.

"Well, you're not in trouble, you'll probably get a warning but the CCTV showed they jumped you, it looks like, from all the kids testimonies that the whole thing was a set up by the fire kid, so we're meeting with him one on one this morning to work out a punishment -" Caleb interrupted him.

"He's not getting kicked out, is he? I mean I know it's serious stuff and he wasn't being nice but, well, I heard he came in off the street so, he wouldn't have anywhere else to go..." was his concerned comment.

"That all depends on him," Logan replied, "No one wants to turf him out, me included despite what happened, all I'm pushing for is genuine remorse and a legitimate apology. You okay with that?"

"Yeah, that sounds fair," Caleb replied, "It's not like he can undo what he did, just, it has to be genuine though, he can't do it again, what if he'd got someone else... Flora was so close, what if he'd got her..."

"He didn't. Don't dwell on the what if's, you probably don't want to hear this but you're going to deal with enough hardship and tragedy in what's likely to be a very long life, don't worry about things that don't need to be worried about, just deal with what's in front of you at any given time, that's all you have control over," Logan said, offering what may well have been his first personalized piece of advice to his son. Caleb offered a grim grin on response, nodding agreeably, before Logan continued. "I watched you fight, you have good technique and you go into a fight with the right attitude, you don't start them, you're not wanting to hurt anyone, just wanting to finish the fight on top, because of that, I want to teach you how to achieve that end. Me and you, one on one, pick a day and time that works for you around your classes, and I'll teach you how to end fights quickly without hurting your opponent, if you promise me, you will never start a fight," he offered.

Caleb grinned, "I'd like that, and I promise, I won't start any fights, would Tuesday's after dinner work?" he suggested.

"That sounds great, I'll find you at seven on Tuesday," Logan replied, offering the kid an only mildly awkward hug. It was definitely easier to be affectionate with the younger kids, with them being more likely to initiate contact, but he had to make an effort with Caleb too.

--

When Logan got down to the Professor's office, Scott and Johnny were already there.

"Thank you for joining us Logan," the Professor spoke as he entered.

Logan picking up the immediate spike in fear from the kid sat in front of the Professor's desk. Taking a seat next to the fire lighter Logan nodded for the Professor to begin, however as Charles opened his mouth to speak the kid interrupted.

"Wait, he can't be here to decide any punishment, he's gonna be biased..."

"Mr Logan is not here to determine a punishment, that will be entirely my prerogative, he is here in his capacity as a teacher who will be involved on overseeing any punishment I hand down, and as the father of the child you set on fire." Charles stated plainly and bluntly.

It immediately hit Logan how the boy didn't even look sorry when the Professor mentioned setting people on fire, he just looked annoyed that Logan was staying.

"We have collected testimony from all of those involved in, and who witnessed the fight and it's immediate lead up, we've also made inquiries into, and recovered video surveillance from the girls dormitory hallway, investigating an alleged incident from the night before, we have also reviewed the video footage of the fight itself," Charles stated, making it clear to the kid they knew exactly what had happened. "Why did you lie about seeing Caleb in the girl’s dormitory?"

"Because I knew it would get Rick and Andy on my side," the kid replied honestly.

"Why did you want to start a fight with Caleb?" the Professor asked next.

"... To send a message," the boy replied cryptically.

"What message were you wanting to send and to whom?" was the next question.

"People who think they're better than others and think that gives them the right to take what they want," he replied, still worryingly vague and cryptic.

"Could you elaborate please as I do not understand what, or who, you are alluding to," Charles tried again to get an answer out of the boy.

"They know who they are," was all the response he received.

Logan growled exasperatedly. "Apparently you made reference to Rogue, before threatening to rape a girl, why did you bring Rogue up?" he asked.

Johnny grinned him darkly. "What's it to you, old man?" he asked.

"Please answer the question," the Professor pressed, Logan's bluntness may just get some answers out of the boy.

"He thought he was so special having that little slut hanging off him, he thought he was untouchable, I just mentioned how me and Rogue had been close before someone stole her away, it was just a friendly warning that I guess he took the wrong way," Johnny replied mockingly.

"Maybe that had something to do with you threatening to rape his girlfriend to 'get over' a girl you never had a chance with," Logan stated, ignoring Scott's incredulous look.

"Rogue was more than happy to give any of a us a shot before you came along and fucked her up," the boy snapped angrily.

"How exactly did I 'fuck up' the girl I met before either of us even knew you existed?" Logan queried, trying not to sound amused.

"Whatever the fuck you did to her when you touched her, it changed her, she went from being normal, shy, and flirty, to being a bitch with a superiority complex," Johnny replied, while now openly glaring at him. Scott spoke up then, trying to draw John's attention away from Logan, he was thankful he had confiscated the boy’s lighters before this meeting had started.

"Rogue has never been a bitch, the worst her attitude got was when she was in the med lab for the first day after being rescued from near death, and even then she was still hugely apologetic every single time a rude comment slipped out, most of which were from Magneto's influence, not Logan's. She has never had a superiority complex either, even when she graduated well ahead if her peers, she displayed a high level of humility and maturity," Scott added. Logan couldn't help but hope the guy remembered that when he heard their news later.

"Is your defence of your actions that you were angry with Logan, because Rogue refused your romantic advances, and so you decided to set Caleb on fire, because he is Logan's son?" Charles asked, setting out the boys argument in its most simplistic manner. "Think very carefully before you answer that question," he cautioned.

Instead of taking a step back and realizing what an absurd argument it was, Johnny glared at Logan as he grit his teeth and replied, "Yes."

"So, you intentionally started the fire and directed it at Caleb?" The Professor continued.

"Yes," Johnny replied, "And before you ask, I heard he's fine already, I wish I'd made it hotter," he sneered at Logan.

Logan's growl could be heard ominously echoing around the room before he tore his furious gaze away from the boy. "He can't stay," Logan set out, if he did, it would not only put Caleb in danger but Ava, James, and Rogue, probably Flora and Sarah as well.

The Professor nodded worriedly. "I will contact Moira immediately and see if she has a place for Mr Alerdyce. Scott please could you escort him to his room and oversee him packing his belongings immediately."

"You can't just pack me off!" John objected.

"Mr Alerdyce, you have just confessed to intentionally setting a fellow student on fire, and made what amounts to a threat of further physical harm, for the safety of the students and faculty involved I cannot allow you to remain in residence. I do not wish to see you end up back on the streets, or incarcerated, I am willing to make all efforts to secure you a place in a similar establishment where you can complete your education without the distraction of this event. Do you wish for me to do so or do you have alternative accommodations?" The Professor set out bluntly.

For a moment the boy just stood in place staring at the Professor, as reality began to sink in. Eventually he nodded, mutely, before turning and following Scott out of the room. Logan stood to leave but Charles telepathically instructed him to stay. Once the door was closed and Logan had retaken his seat Charles explained, "I'm going to need your help encouraging Moira to give him a second chance."

It took over an hour but they eventually managed to convince the sister school to take the boy in. He would be subject to strict rules however at the new school, both in regard to his use of his mutation and his conduct with female students. Moira agreed with Logan's suggestion that the boy could benefit from having a male teacher assigned as a “role model”, to hopefully pull him back onto the right path before he became more angry and bitter. It was arranged that Johnny would leave for Europe within the hour on the US schools’ private jet.

With that out of the way, Charles texted the parents of Marcus and Andy to let them know the meeting he had called them about earlier would begin in fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, Patrick was a runaway whose parents had refused to have contact once he had arrived at the school, so he didn't have parents to back up the school's disciplinary actions. While those who were attending the meeting in person were being corralled, Charles filled Ororo in on the plan for Johnny, she would be flying with Scott to deliver him to Moira.

The meeting with the four boys went well, the three apologised profusely for their actions. While Caleb didn't apologize, he did make sure the boys were okay and not permanently injured. They left the meeting as friends, even though the three troublemakers were grounded for two weeks and had been given a list of extracurricular chores to fill up an hour each evening after school through that period. The fact that one of the students set a fellow classmate on fire was conveniently omitted from mention to the other boys’ parents but once the phone calls were ended the boys did ask what was happening to Johnny.

"Mr Alerdyce has been transferred to our sister school in Europe, provided his behaviour improves he should be able to continue his education through graduation," the Professor assured them.

"If his behaviour doesn't improve?" Caleb asked.

"Then I'm afraid he will have to be expelled from our rolls but I assure you, none of us want that, I just hope Johnny realizes that," Charles told them.

"I feel bad he might get kicked out, Johnny's got nowhere else to go, maybe it would be easier if I..." Logan cut Caleb off.

"His issue wasn't with you Caleb, you going would still leave a half dozen people in danger, if Johnny can't fix his attitude he can't come back, you don't need to feel bad about that, it's him causing his own issue, you were just a convenient target," he said. Caleb grudgingly accepted the sense of his statement. Logan couldn't help but feel pride at his son's compassionate attitude, Sarah had done a good job raising him.

"Now that that is over, enjoy your lunch, you may all return to classes this afternoon," the Professor informed the boys, being met with a chorus of disgusted groans.

"Can't we be on dorm arrest for the rest of the day at least? I haven't finished my book," Andy complained.

"It's a comic book man, it's not that hard to read," Rick replied.

"It's anime dude we all know it's hard," Marcus jibbed, before remembering there were still adults in the room.

Logan sent them on their way, shaking his head in amusement, teenage boys, absolute idiots at times. He followed Sarah and Caleb to the cafeteria that was just starting to fill up as classes began to slowly empty out. They took a table tucked away in the corner, Rogue and the kids didn't appear to be back yet but there were enough seats at the table they had picked for them to join when they returned. They settled into polite conversation, catching up on non-fire related happenings in each other’s lives, before Logan got to the topic he had been aiming at.

"I thought you guys should hear it first, straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, it seems only fair given Rogue's gonna be your stepmom," he told Caleb, the kids eyes got comically wide for a second before he swallowed his mouthful and replied.

"You finally had the balls to ask her eh old man?" he replied.

"Watch it boy," Logan threatened good naturedly, "But yeah... I know she’s young, worried she's too young, but she's handled everything else life's thrown at her so far, and I'm not as bad as some of that shit so, I think we can make it work, plus we've pretty much been living together since I got back anyway, makes sense... but you like her, right?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, yeah I do, and she's good with the little ones too," Caleb replied, a happy grin on his face, he didn't seem the least bit concerned that his 'stepmom' was little more than a year older than him.

"What about you?" Logan asked Sarah, he wasn't sure where her thoughts lay on 'them', technically their relationship had never really been more than convenience but she was still the mother of his son.

"I'm happy for you, for both of you, glad you finally figured out how in love with her you've been," Sarah replied, with a genuine smile.

"Hell, I'm pretty sure I've been in love with that girl since before I laid eyes on her the first time, " Logan replied, uncharacteristically open, he wasn't usually one for sharing feelings.

"Where did you meet her?" Caleb asked curiously.

"Little bar in the middle of nowhere up in Canada, picked up her scent when she came in, took me a while to track down who it belonged to. She was hitchhiking clear across North America, started in Mississippi, was aiming for Alaska. I hit a spot of trouble with the locals - don't ask - had to light out, get about ten k’s down the road and realise I've picked up a stowaway, and there she is, tucked in my trailer, freezing her ass off; the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Logan said, finishing with a grin at something over Caleb's shoulder.

"Well that wasn't quite what he was thinking," Rogue commented, as she walked around the table to sit next to Logan, James in her arms as Ava climbed into the opposite seat and began to lay out her findings to show to her daddy.

"Ava, sweetie, that one's poop," Logan said, pointing to what looked like a rock, he heard Rogue sigh and offer up an amused 'I told you to leave that one behind', before Ava replied.

"I know daddy, but what's it from, it smells funny," the little girl informed him.

"It's from a lynx I'd say, that had been eating chipmunks, and it smells like it's been peed on by a raccoon," Logan replied amused, "Could you go and put it in the garden now, and wash your hands," he added, as the little girl reluctantly took her treasure outside, where nature intended it to be. "And what are you hiding?" Logan asked, turning to James.

The little boy grinned before reaching into his pocket and pulled out a tiny sleeping baby chipmunk.

Logan sighed. "I let you take them into the woods and they come back with poop and pets... let me guess, you want to keep it?" he said.

"The rest of the babies in the nest were dead, and this one’s half starved, I guess the lynx ate their mama," Rogue replied, "I said he had to ask you if he wanted to keep it."

"I'm not taking care of it," Logan said, "If you're happy to you can keep it."

James turned to his mama, big begging eyes that pleaded to be allowed to keep it. "Of course I'll help you look after it sweetie," she told him, watching as he smiled happily and tucked the pup back in his pocket.

Ava came running back into the room then from cleaning her hands. "What did he say?!" she demanded, having seen the chipmunk being shown as she was leaving the room.

"You can keep it," Logan replied, chuckling when she yelled out an excited 'yay', before hugging him and then climbing back into her seat to start eating her lunch, the rest of her treasures abandoned across the table.

--

He left Rogue and the kids after lunch, they were going to pay Jean a visit to see if she could give them something to feed the baby chipmunk with, he was off to run 'errands'. He had to pick up gym equipment for the Professor, and some gardening supplies for Ororo, so took the big old pick up. His own errands were the main reason he was going however, this was good cover for him though.

He had asked Ororo earlier that morning if she could babysit Ava and James this evening, he had told her, and Charles, that Rogue had been so busy with the kids lately she hadn't any time to herself so he was going to take her out for dinner, to say thanks. He carefully avoided making it sound like what he intended it to be, he was taking Rogue on a date, only he'd never really been on a date before, but neither had she, so he didn't think he would have too much trouble making this special for her without screwing up too badly.

He knew where he was taking her, and booked a table for the evening, then went on to the garden centre to collect Ororo's order. He grabbed flowers for Rogue from the conveniently located florist next door, he didn't know what she liked but a small bouquet of white and purple roses caught his eye. He felt like it held some meaning that he couldn't quite remember, though Rogue liked purple, so either way it would work.

The gym supplies were from a shop at the mall but he didn't want to leave a full pick up bed parked at the mall while he did his own shopping, so he ran his own errands first. When he got to the mall, he found the jewellery stores on the directory board and headed for the nearest one.

The first jewellery store he passed by, was all bright white and overly harsh lights which forced him away, in favour of a smaller shop with darker decor and lighting that was focused on the pieces, rather than burning your retinas out of your face. Behind the counter and through a window was a workshop where pieces were actually being made, it was an appealing thought that he was picking out something one of a kind, for a girl who was so herself.

A young woman, sitting quietly in a corner behind the counter reading, looked up as he stepped into the store, it had its own door separating it from the main thoroughfare, muting the general mall noise as he shut the door behind him. "Hello sir, are you after something specific today or just browsing?" the girl asked, looking hopeful.

"I'm after an engagement ring, what do you have?" he asked.

The girl brightened up immediately and went into saleswoman mode as she directed him toward a display holding a variety of rings, as she asked about births stones, and cuts, and settings; he didn't have a clue what most if it meant. As his eye passed over the options, some small and plain, others overly large and flashy, a setting caught his eye. "That one," he said, pointing out the ring in question. As the girl pulled the ring out of the display case so he could get a closer look at it, he picked up another person approaching from the workshop as she did.

"That's a very special ring, for a very special little lady," the wizened old man said as he approached, he was obviously the jeweller. Logan couldn't help the feeling that something was just a little off about the old man, the girls growing sense of unease as Logan regarded him, telling him he was onto something.

"You're blind!" Logan said suddenly, as it hit him.

The girl immediately tensed but the old man just smiled, tilting his head as he replied sagely, "To some things, yes, but not to the gems, and those ones have a very special person to go to, and a very, very, very, long time to be there."

"You're a mutant?" Logan asked curiously.

"Aye, I am, as is she," he said, indicating the girl behind the counter with him, before he replied with a grin, "As are you, and your little fhíorghrá."

"You can see all that in rocks?" Logan asked with a chuckle. "No wonder you can't see anything else," he added, leading the old man to burst into laughter.

"Yes, yes, he will do nicely, take care of the girl, and she will take care of you," he informed Logan, before he turned around and headed back to his workshop.

"She already does, she's definitely better at it than I am," Logan replied with a soft smile, suddenly this whole asking Marie to marry him thing didn't seem like such big a deal, or maybe the old guy was just crazy.

The saleswoman was back, beaming happily, her earlier apprehension gone. "I'm going to hazard a guess that this is the perfect size but I still have to ask what size ring does your girlfriend wear?"

Logan pulled a ring out of his pocket; he had swiped it from Marie's jewellery box earlier that morning. As the girl checked the sizes she smiled brightly as she confirmed the ring he was buying was indeed the correct size. "Does he do that often?" Logan asked, gesturing to the old man who was back at his workbench.

"Sometimes, it doesn't happen as often now as it used to, too many people giving up on fhíorghrá ... uh, love, true love, soulmates, that sort of thing. That's what he says at least and who am I to argue with what makes him happy," the girl replied.

"Is he your... grandfather?" Logan asked, as the girl rang up his purchase, he handed over plastic, ignoring the numbers on the till; it was for Marie, it was worth it.

"Great-grandfather, I've been working with him since I was young, it turns out I got the gift too, though with nowhere near as much practise as Athair Críonna; he says it will come with time. What about you, what do you do?" she asked.

"I'm a healer," Logan replied dismissively.

"Ah, a descendant of Dian Cécht!" the girl replied with a laugh.

"Who?" Logan asked confused, he had no idea what language it was these people were throwing around mixed in with their english.

"Dian Cécht was a god, from Irish mythology, the god of healing, he and some of his children could heal any wounds on themselves and on others, some even believed them to be immortal, Dian's own son, Miach, was said to have come back from the dead after his father killed him," the girl replied, trying to sound serious even as her eyes laughed.

"Why did his father kill him?" Logan asked, amused but confused.

"Because God's are jealous and he didn't like being one upped by his own son," the girl replied with a shrug, as she handed Logan a small paper bag containing the ring box.

"I thought the whole point of being a parent was to raise our children to be better than we are," he said, as he turned to leave.

"Maybe gods don't make the best parents, that would explain why there are more mortals than gods," the girl suggested, bidding him farewell as she returned to her book.

Logan chuckled to himself as he thought back over the conversation, as he made his way on to his next task. It wasn't the first time he'd been compared to a god, though a first for that particular reason. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe all these ancient 'gods' might just have been mutants; maybe the girl was right and he really was a descendant of some ancient 'god'. Just his luck to be born into a time where instead of being revered, and respected - hell, even feared would do - he was hated and tortured. Maybe he'd better stop thinking about that...

He was just heading into the gym store when his phone rang. After making sure he wasn't already on his way home, Rogue asked if he could stop by a vet clinic on his way back and pick up some milk powder they were holding for her, for the chipmunk of course. "That thing hasn't escaped yet?" he asked hopefully.

"His eyes aren't open daddy," Ava informed him from down the line, "He can't run away because he can't see where he's going, we need to build him a cage for when his eyes are open so he can't escape." The little girl seemed to be taking great delight in the idea of the keeping the poor creature a prisoner.

"Alright, alright, I'll get the milk, and we can build a cage later but if it chooses to leave once it's bigger you have to let it go okay? It's still a wild animal and some of them aren't happy being pets," he tried to reason with the child.

"I know, so we just have to try to make it really happy, give it a nice house and lots of food, and toys, and then it won't ever want to leave!" Ava replied, before she ran off to whatever else she had been doing, leaving him and Rogue to end the conversation.

With a fully loaded truck he pulled up outside the vet clinic Rogue had given him the address for. It was the most bizarre action he'd ever undertaken, to walk into a vet clinic and ask for milk powder for a chipmunk, though the receptionist seemed to think it was cute.

Later that evening, as Rogue was getting the kids ready to head downstairs for dinner, Logan was covertly helping them stall. He still hadn't told Rogue they were going out and Ororo was due any minute now, a knock on the suite door announced her arrival moments later.

"Hey, you guys ready for dinner?" Ororo asked the two little ones, who giggled and nodded like they knew a big secret.

"We are actually trying to get down," Rogue replied, "But..."

"Oh, it was no trouble for me to come get them," Ororo replied with a secretive smile. "You two have fun," she added, as Ava and James raced out the door laughing, while Rogue stared after them mouth opened in surprise.

"By the way," Logan said, coming to stand behind her., "Ororo's watching the kids tonight so we can go out, if you're getting changed you've got ten minutes." He shut the door before taking a seat on the couch and flipping the tv on, she hadn't moved a moment later so he turned back to her, "Hurry up, we don't have all night, reservation's for six thirty and it's gonna take at least fifteen minutes to get there."

Rogue jumped into action, racing to the bedroom and digging through the small pile of her clothes that had so far migrated to Logan's room. She popped her head out of the bedroom as she looked Logan over to see what he was wearing, clearly trying to gauge what dress code they were aiming for. She was back ten minutes later, dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, and a forest green, tight, low cut, sweater. She'd pulled her hair into a sleek high pony tail, leaving her white streaks down but curled, and applied some eyeliner, she had two tubes of lipstick in hand.

"Which one?" she asked Logan, one was a dark red, the other was purple.

"Go wild, go the purple," Logan replied with a grin, as Rogue disappeared back into the bathroom.

She was back a moment later, handbag and heeled boots in hand. "Come on, let's go!" she called, as she bounced on one foot trying to get a boot on. She was getting excited now. Logan held her balanced as she pulled her shoes on, then offered her his arm as they left the suite.

They didn't draw much attention on their exit, due in part to the fact that almost everyone was at dinner. When they got to the garage Logan opened the door of one of the shiny sports cars he was borrowing for the night, whether its owner liked it or not, helping her in before moving around the car. He pulled out the flowers from where he had stashed them earlier. "Here hold these," he said, as he handed them to her and got in the driver's seat.

"Oh my gosh, for me?" she asked, as she took the flowers.

"No darlin, they're for the car," Logan replied sarcastically, as Rogue gushed over the flowers.

"Smartass," she replied with a chuckle, as she leaned over the centre console as placed a kiss on his covered cheek.

"Seatbelt," Logan replied with a grin, a split second before the engine roared to life. As soon as her belt clicked, the car peeled out of the garage leaving behind a cloud of smoke.

"That's why you picked this car isn't it," Rogue giggled. Logan just nodded in response.

The restaurant was a dark, earthy, country-styled steakhouse, tucked away from the highway. "You've been here before..." Rogue said, looking around her confused.

"I think I have, I'm sure I have, but I can't for the life of me remember when, or why, or with who, but I know the steaks good, the ribs too. The company's not half bad this time either," he added as he seated her.

"Is the Wolverine flirting?" Rogue asked, in faux shock.

"I do know how to you know, not my fault most chicks are so easy I don't even have to bother to get my bed warmed, for you though, you're special darlin, you get the full package," he replied with a wink, as he took a seat opposite her.

"Flowers and dinner for two, you're going all out, I like it, it was sweet, and you snuck it up on me with no warning, I didn't even get a chance to put my pretty panties on," Rogue whispered cheekily.

Logan groaned. "Let's not talk about your panties until after dinner," he whispered back, as the waiter approached missing the comment but he could obviously tell it had been something risqué from Rogue's reaction.

Dinner was quiet, drawn out, and more fun than Logan had thought it would be but he still hadn't been able to find the right time to bring out the ring. They'd just ordered dessert when Rogue excused herself to the little girls’ room, when dessert arrived, he saw her just coming out of the bathroom. Moving quickly, he pulled the ring out and dropped it over the handle of her dessert fork, another glance in her direction showed she hadn't noticed his quick movement.

"So, what was your plan for the rest of the night Romeo?" Rogue asked, as she took her seat again, it took her a moment to pick up the fork to tuck into her dessert. The soft chime of metal shifting against metal drew her attention to her hand. "Is that - is that a ring?" she asked, completely unnecessarily.

"It sure looks like it, I wonder where that could have come from, did someone propose to you recently maybe, maybe they thought you deserved some bling to go along with it," Logan teased.

He momentarily panicked when she started to cry, until he saw the smile trying to break through. Making his move he shifted around the table, and kneeled down beside her as he slipped the ring off the fork before sliding it gently onto her finger. She looked like she wanted to do an Ava, and squeal and jump up and down, as she threw her arms around his neck. Some of their fellow diners, mostly older couples, had noticed the proposal and where watching teary eyed, or smiling all lovey-dovey in their direction. He dropped a kiss in her hair, as he put her back fully in her seat.

"Come on, eat up, we might have time to catch a movie if you want? Honestly, I didn't really plan anything else, I figured you might have some suggestions, this is your first date, right?"

"Well yeah, but it may just have to be my last because there is no way you can top tonight," Rogue replied with a laugh as she took a moment to admire the ring that now resided on her finger.

It turned out they were too late for the last movie showing of the night by the time they finally got moving from the restaurant, so they took a walk around a local lake instead, amusing themselves trying to call which of the other people there were normal, drug dealers, or serial killers. Rogue was surprisingly adept at picking out the dealers and creeps.

"I did spend seven months on the road remember, you learn to pick them when you have to," she replied. "God, the number of dealers who offered me drugs for sex... there was a point I'd have considered money, but not drugs."

"When was that?" Logan asked, concerned even though she was no longer in that danger.

"That was about when a fat, dirty trucker dropped me off in the infamous Laughlin City, the furthest north I'd been able to get, and helpfully told me I'd be unlikely to find anyone going further north due to a storm blowing in," she replied with a soft smile.

"Laughlin City, isn't that were we met?" Logan asked with a grin.

"Yes indeed, my knight in shining adamantium, saving me from freezing on the highway," she said, as she cuddled closer to him.

"I think you're giving me a little too much credit there darlin, you're the one who stole a ride, then you sassed me when I dumped you out, before eating all my food when I finally caved and let you in, not to mention you got my truck totalled," Logan reminded her.

"Unfortunately for you tough guy I know what you were thinking through all that," she replied with a coy smile, "You were worried about me, even before you had to light out of the bar, and I just knew you wouldn't leave me behind once I was standing on the side of the road looking sorry for myself... I've sometimes wondered, what would have happened if Sabretooth hadn't turned up?"

“Well, we wouldn't be here, I think that's a given. I'd have taken you to Alaska, might have taken you other places too," he added suggestively. "... Ava and James would still be in labs, I'd have never known about Caleb, maybe I'd have fallen in love with you, I probably would have thought I was too much of an asshole to ever be any good for you and moved on and left you somewhere. You know, as much as I hate to admit, we kinda owe a lot to those evil fuckers."

"Wow... that was deep, I'll admit I was heading more in the direction of that quiet little rest stop twenty k's up the highway, with the little alcove under the trees... but you're right, this is definitely better," Marie replied with a dreamy smile.

Logan chuckled as remembered that particular fantasy. “Maybe if you play your cards right, we can take a road trip and do a little role play, you still got that coat?" he growled in her ear, as he pulled her into his arms.

"Speaking of role play, we're engaged, we've got two - three kids, we've been sharing a bed for weeks, when are we gonna start doing what mommy's and daddy's do when the kids aren't looking?" she asked cheekily.

"Hm, one day, when the time's right. I'm not gonna rush you, I want you to be comfortable, you're getting there but you still worry too much and tense sometimes when we're close. I want it to be perfect for you baby, I'll wait however long it takes for you to really truly be ready. Good things take time, and you are the best thing that's ever happened to me," Logan told her as he held her in his arms, chin resting on her shoulder, as they stared out across the moonlit lake.

"You really are a closet romantic," Rogue replied, voice thick with emotion, as she placed a kiss on his cheek while hugging his arms around her.

"Only for you darlin, now let's get you home, to bed, and tomorrow mommy officially moves in, how does that sound?" Logan queried, pulling away to lead her back down the dimly lit path toward the carpark.

"Oh, only perfect," Rogue replied lightly, almost skipping in her joy.

--

When they got back to the mansion that night, the kids were already asleep. Ororo was curled up on the couch with a book and a glass of wine, glancing up at the sound of the door opening.

"Hey, sorry 'Roro, we didn't mean to keep you so late," Logan said as they entered, not bothering to shut the door behind them.

"That's no problem," she replied, spying the glowing red led numbers on a nearby clock that read after one am. "I'm not finished my book yet anyways, and it's not going to be often you get a break from the kids so I hope you enjoyed the time you had," her comment could be read as being meant for Logan only but she had a distinct impression that it would apply as equally to Rogue.

She'd always known the pair were close, Logan's caring for the girl had been obvious, from the minute he had woken up in the med lab that very first time and she had been the first thing he had asked about, to almost dying to save her life. Likewise, Rogue often spoke about Logan during his absence, and always with a softness and longing that made Ororo feel like the girl was deeply in love with him. Since James had been found, even before it had been confirmed he was indeed Logan's child, Rogue had taken to him in much the same way. After adding Ava and Logan back to the mix, she couldn't help the feeling that they were molding themselves into a family unit. The fact that they had both returned to the suite, instead of Logan dropping Rogue at her room, indicated to her that perhaps their night wasn't over. She decided it was probably best she beat a hasty retreat. As she gathered up her book, and folded the blanket she had been using, Logan spoke again.

"The kids weren't too much trouble?" he asked.

"No, not at all, James took some time to get into bed because he kept asking for you both to give him a hug before he would go to sleep but he eventually slept, Ava's been up a couple of times, she's not sleeping very deeply but she puts herself back to sleep with no trouble. They're good kids, you should be proud," she assured him, in fact, for feral mutant children they were some of the best-behaved kids she'd ever minded.

"I don’t know if I can claim any of that good behaviour," Logan chuckled, as he considered the length of time he had really had to be any influence over the two youngsters.

"I don’t know, I'm leaning towards it being something in the gene's, I mean, three from three for polite, intelligent, well-adjusted kids, from a variety of backgrounds, that's some pretty good odds," Ororo replied with a grin.

Logan chuckled in response before Rogue suddenly asked, "Is Kitty still scanning databases to see if there are any more of Logan's kids around?"

"I believe she has a notification set to all the databases she's able to access, so if any new information comes up it will come straight to us, but the scans she completed, and a review of the records we recovered, didn't reveal any other known connections," Ororo replied. She wasn't surprised neither of them had thought to ask sooner but was equally as sorry it was something that Logan would always be worrying about.

"That's great," Logan replied, looking relieved, "Hey, and thanks, for everything you guys have done on that front too, I appreciate it," he added.

"It's not a problem Logan, I'm glad we could get them back safe and sound, and I'm glad we could get a bit of your past, and a bit of your future, for you," she replied with a smile, and bid the pair goodnight before seeing herself out, gently closing the suite door behind her.

The next morning Logan was woken by a knocking from the main suite door. Gently he extricated himself from the tangle of limbs belonging to Rogue, and both kids, who had climbed into bed with them not long after they returned. Apparently missing out on goodnight kisses and daddy's bedtime stories - he was mildly smug that he was now preferred bedtime storyteller - meant extended hugs were required. He hadn't had the heart to carry both kids back to bed when they fell back to sleep.

He pulled the door open just as Scott was raising his hand to knock again. "Give me a minute Scooter, it's not easy extracting yourself from the pit of grabby hands without waking the cereal goblins," he commented. "What can I do for you at... five am!?" he commented after glaring at the clock for a moment.

Scott rolled his eyes, a movement that had to be greatly exaggerated, so one could tell from the movement of his brow that that was what he was doing. "We have another lab to hit, apparently they're prepping to move so we need to hit it in the next couple of hours, how long do you need before you can be downstairs for a briefing?"

"I'll let Rogue know I'm heading out and I'll be right down," he answered, closing the door again without waiting for a response.

Scott scowled apprehensively at the solid wood in front of him. It was convenient to have Rogue comfortable to watch the young ferals so Logan could help them on missions, he knew it wasn't likely anyone else would want to, especially after Rogue herself got cut up pretty badly by one of them. But he couldn't help his concern that Logan was putting too much pressure on her. She seemed to always have one or both of the kids with her, she had stopped assisting with teaching, and hadn't turned up to a single training session since James was rescued.

She was only seventeen, not old enough to have a three-year-old child, let alone a seven-year-old, yet she was almost co-parenting the kids with Logan, who, though he seemed to deal with them okay, really didn't seem to have a clue what he was doing himself.

As he wandered down the hall deep in thought he resolved to talk to Rogue about his concerns. Now wasn't the time for a full conversation but, he would just wait here, at the top of the stairs, and when she came up, he would have a quick chat with her. He'd just make sure she knew others were on hand to give her a break, and that she didn't have to be the only one to cover Logan's childcare issues. She didn't have to feel obligated to help him out.

--

Logan stalked back into the bedroom, and discovered James was now standing on the bed staring out the door, almost like he was standing guard. Rogue and Ava were still snuggled under the covers, both awake but just watching quietly.

"Who's dere dada?" James asked, relaxing as Logan entered the room.

"It's just Scott little man, listen, dad's got to go help the team fight more bad guys, so you have to stay with Rogue while I'm gone okay?" he said, as he lay the little boy back down in bed and pulled the covers up over him. The boy grinned and nodded as Logan ruffled his hair.

"Any idea how long?" Rogue asked, as he leaned over the bed, dropping a kiss on Ava's forehead before he planted another quickly on Rogue's lips.

"No idea, apparently it's being moved soon so it needs to be hit this morning, hopefully that means it'll be quick. I'll be back before you know it," he assured her. "You two behave yourselves, and all of you go back to sleep for a while it's way too early to be getting up."

He threw one last look back toward his little family as they rearranged themselves under the covers until they were all comfortable again. James waved goodbye, while Ava blew him a kiss, Marie just smiled sweetly and mouthed 'be safe', before he turned and strode from the room.

--

As he was plotting his thoughts, planning how to say what he wanted, he was surprised when Logan walked up behind him. "Everything alright Summer's?" he asked, regarding him oddly as he hit the elevator call button, the fastest way to the lower levels.

Scott looked confused. "Uh, we're not in that much of a hurry, you don't have to leave the kids unattended, we can wait for Rogue to get here." There was no telling what trouble unsupervised feral toddlers could get up to.

"Rogue's already with them," Logan answered with a confused cock of his brow, stepping into the elevator car as the doors opened. "You coming?" he asked, a split second later, holding the door as he waited for Scott to follow him in.

"Sorry, thinking," Scott replied, shaking his head and stepping into the car as Logan punched the button for the sub level.

"Yeah, too early in the morning for that shit," Logan grunted, "Tell me someone's already started the coffee!"

Scott chuckled. "If we're lucky there might even be some left by the time we get down there," he replied.

As it turned out there was coffee, and plenty of it, as the team of five went over the briefing. The Professor wasn't present, currently in Washington D.C. for some pompous fundraiser, so it was just Cyclops, Phoenix, Storm, Wolverine, and Kitty, who had taken on the pseudonym Shadowcat, at the briefing. This wasn't Shadowcat's first official mission but she wasn't going to be 'in the field' this time. She would be remaining on the jet to manage communications, monitor the surrounding area, evade detection, and emergency evac the team if needed.

Logan still wasn't sure how he felt about the girl being included on the mission, it felt wrong putting an only just turned eighteen-year-old in that position, though he had to admit she was good at what she did. It also reminded him that Rogue was technically an X-Man and, if not for the fact that someone needed to stay behind and look after the kids - so far she was the only volunteer to do that - she probably would have been included on this mission. He would have to talk with her at some point about that. He knew, she knew, that he didn't want her on the team but he thought he might have a fight on his hands getting her to agree to officially step down; she could easily be as stubborn as he was when she wanted to be.

As he suited up, in yet another new reinforced leather suit, he pushed all other thoughts aside, focusing solely on the mission. It had to be a success, and it had to be a quick success, because he wanted to get home asap. What he wouldn't give right now to still be in bed, wrapped up in Marie, and Ava, and James, he briefly thought as he strapped himself into his seat on the jet, that would sure beat flying; of course, in his book, almost everything beat flying...

--

Three hours later the jet touched back down on the hanger. The mission was a success, only two mutants had been on site, both were rescued though they were not in good shape. Jean hypothesized that the reason it was taking so long to move what was left of the base was because the two mutants had not been in any condition to be moved before now. Logan just hoped that didn't mean there had been more mutants that had already been moved to a new location.

They had been in luck when Wolverine had intercepted a heavily armed party, trying to sneak out a back exit to a helicopter pad. The squad had been attempting to evacuate a higher-ranking military official, who Shadowcat advised was one of the overseers of the program. After eliminating the guard squad, Wolverine had pulled the Colonel aside for a little one-on-one chat. The man had been immensely helpful, once Wolverine had promised he wouldn't kill him, if he just gave them the information they wanted.

Unfortunately for the Colonel, Wolverine hadn't been entirely truthful. He didn't kill him, as he promised, but there was no way he had survived the explosion that reduced the base to pile of dust in a crater after they left.

As he stood under the hot spray of the shower, in the sub level locker room, Logan shoved all thoughts of the mission from his mind, instead turning his attention back to what was waiting for him upstairs. He was trying to decide if the kids would still be cuddled up in bed with Rogue, or if she would have given up trying to keep them down and be fixing them breakfast, when Scott walked in. He was still in his uniform, having gone straight to the med lab with the rescued mutants before he began to wind down out of mission mode. Logan wasn't really paying all that much attention to the younger man so he didn't notice, until he stepped out of the shower, that Scott was still standing rooted to the spot, deep in thought.

"Earth to Summer's," he said jokingly, as he towelled off. "It's not that early and you've already had coffee, do I want to know what's really eating at you?" Logan asked.

He was surprised after a moment when Scott suddenly blurted out, "I'm worried about Rogue." That instantly got Logan's attention.

He whirled on the guy, jeans in hand but forgotten as he asked, "What? Why? She seems okay to me, what are you talking about?"

Scott was scowling as he took his chance to voice his concerns directly to Logan, it didn't mean he couldn't also talk to Rogue later. Maybe Logan might just surprise him and be understanding, maybe even back him up.

"I think she's too involved with your kids. I get that she wants to help you out but she's neglecting herself and her own responsibilities in the process, she hasn't been taking part in her training sessions, and has stopped her teaching, I have no idea where she's at with her college courses, she barely spends any time with her friends, and always has at least one kid with her. She's only seventeen, it's too much responsibility to be dumping on her shoulders expecting her to play mom to kids that are old enough to be her siblings," he said, trying not to let his apprehension at Logan's possible reaction show.

To his surprise Logan sighed, visibly relaxing, before, with a tolerant if somewhat strained grin, he turned to continue dressing as he responded. "I do talk to her you know, she's been talking with 'Ro about getting back on the roster for teaching the history classes, and I've been making sure she's keeping up with her college work, she assured me her schedule is light at the moment. I don't know if she's planning on getting back into the training, personally I don't have a problem with her taking part in that but I didn't, and I won't, encourage her to be on the team, if you want to try and talk her into that go for it but you can expect me to be trying to talk her out of it.

"As for the rest, she sees her friends most days, and spends time with them, admittedly she's not going to parties and all that shit but apparently she was never onto that anyway. She's a lot more mature than you give her credit for, even if she is only seventeen, and I know you know that, you wouldn't have even considered her for the team otherwise. Also, I don't appreciate the insinuation I'm forcing responsibilities onto her, first off, I would never do that to her, to anyone, second, at least her 'playing mom' to my kids won't possibly get her killed like raiding labs could," he finished. Though he sounded irritated it wasn't the full-on anger Scott had expected.

"Well sure, playing mom won't get her shot but one of your kids has already taken a good hack at her, if you hadn't been there to heal her that would have killed her," Scott replied, feeling just a little bad for reminding him of Ava's first night at the mansion.

"That was low Summer's," Logan growled, now he sounded mad. "That was an accident and you know it, Ava knows Rogue's scent now it won't happen again, and I was there to fix it. If Rogue had been shot, or worse, on the raid that got James there wouldn't have been a damn thing you could have done to fix her," he reminded the younger man, as he slammed his locker shut. He dumped his towel in the laundry hamper as he stormed out of the room, throwing a cryptic parting comment over his shoulder.

"Some battles can't be won Summer's."

--

He was still annoyed by Scott's comments by the time he got upstairs, not least of all because in all actuality he had had many of the same thoughts himself over the last few weeks. It made him doubt again his proposal to Rogue the day before, though he couldn't take it back now. As he walked stealthily into the silent suite a soft smile and a feeling of contentment settled over him at the sight of the three bodies cuddled up in the bed. James saw him as soon as he stepped into the room, obviously having heard the door open and wanting to be assured who the intruder was, but he quickly lay back down and cuddled back up with Rogue when he saw it was just daddy.

Yeah, fuck what Scott thought, fuck what all of them thought, there was no way he was giving this up, not for anything.

He slid back into bed, moving a pouting James out of the way so he could cuddle up directly with Rogue. She stirred before smiling up at him. "That was quick," she said sleepily, "Everything okay?"

"It is now darlin, it is now," he replied, as he rolled onto his back more so James could throw himself over his chest, Ava climbed over everyone so she could move from Rogue's side to his.

They dozed in bed for another half hour before James announced he needed to pee-pee, Ava giggling before acting all offended that he announced that to the room, and warning him he better not wet the bed. He seemed confused about which bathroom he was supposed to use so Logan declared it was time for everyone to get up and get breakfast, before taking James back to his own shared bathroom, then helping him dress for the day.

By the time he, and a clothed James, were back in the suites little dining area, Rogue was in the kitchen cooking waffles. Ava wandered out of her bedroom a while later with a shirt stuck on her head and calling for help, tripping over the coffee table in the process, which made James laugh so hard he fell off his chair. All was chaos for a few minutes while Logan helped Ava up, before rubbing her knees better and fetching her a new shirt - her claws had shot out instinctively when she fell, and ripped through the fabric. While Rogue consoled James, who was berating gravity and hard floors, even though the bump he'd given himself was already healed, before she rescued what she could of the current batch of slightly overdone waffles.

As they finally, eventually, ate breakfast Logan couldn’t help his attention getting continually drawn back to the sparkling stones on Rogue's left hand. She had taken her gloves off to eat, the kids knew not to try to touch her skin now, especially after having seen what it had done to Logan, and were very careful not to touch her skin after Logan had sat them down privately and explained, that it made Rogue sad when people got hurt by touching her skin, and they didn't want to make Rogue sad did they?

The trio of shimmering diamonds glittered away brightly, as she moved under the overhead LED lights. It was a nice ring, and a shame it would spend most of its time hidden from view, but he would always know it was there. A reminder that Rogue had agreed to be his, she chose him, and by choosing him had chosen the kids too, and Scott could go fuck himself if he had a problem with that.

He cleared the table when the kids ran off to play but he noticed Rogue stayed seated, a thoughtful look on her face as she observed the two children. "Penny for your thoughts?" Logan asked softly, as he sat back down next to her a minute later.

She beamed up at him brilliantly before replying, "Nah, for you they're free," before she shifted to lean against him as he wrapped his arms around her. "I was just thinking, Ava's seven, she really should be in school, the Institute doesn't offer classes for her age level though, and we can't exactly send her off to a normal elementary school... I think we're going to have to home school her, James too I guess," she posed.

"Hm, I think we should talk to the Professor; he should know what we need to do to get that going at least," Logan suggested, "I honestly wouldn't have a clue where to start on something like that." He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on her covered shoulder, as they watched the kids play for a while.

It was just before lunch. Logan had taken the kids outside to play, while Rogue was in the library, she had an assignment due at the end of the week for her college history class but she had gotten totally side-tracked looking into home-schooling, and all its associated how-to’s. It wasn't looking as complicated as what she thought it would be.

"Rogue, do you have a minute?" Scott asked suddenly, a moment after tapping on the open library door.

"Yeah, is everything okay?" she asked with a smile, as she closed her laptop. She liked Scott, as much as it annoyed her inner-Logan, but he had always been nice to her, and encouraged her to push herself to achieve, not in the same way Logan did though. Scott was all about being strait-laced and overachieving, while Logan was an only fight when necessary but win at all costs kinda guy; she liked to think she cut a nice middle ground between the two.

"How are you doing, haven't seen much of you lately?" Scott asked, with obvious forced joviality.

With a sceptical look reminiscent of something Logan would pull, complete with raised brow and mildly amused smirk, she replied, "Scott, I've seen you at least once every day for most of the last couple of weeks but I'm good, how about you?"

"Alright, alright, I'm just worried about you, you've been... distant, it feels like you've completely fallen away from your path, you haven't been teaching, training, studying..."

Rogue picked up the textbook next to her. "Studying..." she pointed out with a grin, "I know everything kind of got thrown up in the air but the kids are settling in now, I'll be picking back up the history roster from next week. I'm not going to be restarting with training though, I'm sorry I know you don't want to hear this but, I'm withdrawing from the team, and it would be pointless and a waste of time for me to take up your time, and a space on the training squad, so -" Scott cut her off.

"Rogue, you don't have to give up your life to take care of Logan and his kids, just because he asks you to doesn't mean-" he started.

"Woah!" Rogue exclaimed, "Excuse me? First off, Logan hasn't asked me to do anything, second, I'm sorry you feel that way but I don’t feel like I'm 'giving up my life', I'm more than happy where I am and where my life is going... Is there something else you have a problem with because you've never questioned me on anything I've done before and I can't help the feeling that there's more at play here than just me not doing what you think I should." Rogue's attitude was annoyed but not quite angry, much like Logan's had been when he had questioned him.

Scott sighed, he didn't know how upset Logan still was with him, and wasn't sure if he should risk pissing Rogue off too. "I just don’t want to see you waste your life on someone who doesn't deserve it," he said, standing up to leave.

Rogue bristled at his comment, jumping to her feet. "How dare you! What the hell would you know about who or what Logan deserves, or are you implying Ava and James don't deserve a mother figure? After everything that's happened just in the last few weeks how can you even think Logan doesn't, finally, for once in his life deserve something good, or is it that I am not good enough for him? You know, you really should be more careful with what you say Scott, so many ways for it to be interpreted, and not a single one of them anywhere near true," she growled in his shocked face, her own inner Logan slipping out.

"And just for the record-" she ripped her glove off her left hand- "I will 'waste my life' on who and what I feel like and there is nothing you can do about it!" she declared, holding her hand in clear view so he could see the ring. "Now get the hell out, I have more important things to do than to sit here and discuss my personal life with a goddamn chauvinist," she sat back down at the table, deliberately refusing to look at him, and threw her laptop open again.

Scott opened his mouth and tried to speak but the glare and sudden, unexpected growl, from the girl in front of him, led him to snap his mouth shut quickly before he hurried away. He went straight to his own office, pushing the door shut he began pacing back and forth across the small room. The door opened a moment later as Jean walked in, looking shocked and surprised, she watched him warily as she shut the door quietly, and walked across the room to perch on the edge of the desk.

"So, I did call out to you in the hall but you didn't seem to notice, is everything okay?" she asked tentatively.

Scott stared at her blankly for a minute before he sat down heavily in his chair dropping his head into his hands, a moment later he looked back up and said, dumbfounded, "Logan asked Rogue to marry him!"

"WHAT!?" Jean shouted, jumping to her feet. "No! No, you must have misheard, misunderstood, what, why...?"

"Nope, she's got a ring and everything, she's quitting the team, and..." Scott replied, as the facts began to sink in.

"What the hell! She's seventeen, what the hell is he thinking! Why would she say yes!? ... I'm going to talk to her," Jean announced, heading for the door, wrenching it open and storming out before Scott could stop her.

The situation deteriorated almost immediately as Jean rushed into the hall, looking around as she tried to decide which direction Rogue would most likely be in, when she spotted Logan just disappearing into the kitchen.

"What the actual fuck Logan!" she yelled, as she stormed into the kitchen after him, not even noticing the various faces that turned to stare at her, among them both James and Ava. "What the hell were you thinking, how could you do that to her!"

It took her a moment to realise Logan was just staring at her, mouth open in confusion, before he replied, "I'm sorry, what? And who?"

"Rogue!" Jean shouted, as Scott came stumbling into the room, after jogging down the hall after her. "What the hell were you thinking telling her you'd marry her, for god sake Logan I get having an on call baby sitter is convenient but you don't tell a fucking teenager you'll marry her, god, give her some goddamn mall money or something but... fuck!"

"This is going to sound just a little hypocritical coming from me but if you don't mind Jean, could you watch the language, my kids are in the room, and I didn't tell Rogue I would marry her," he replied, as the girl in question walked into the room, having heard her name being shrieked from down the hall.

Jean stared between him, Scott, and Rogue in confusion. "Well then you'd better explain that to Rogue because she seems to think you're engaged!"

"We are," Logan replied with a grin, ignoring the excited squeals from multiple females across the room, while Rogue stood in the doorway trying not to laugh, as Jean and Scott stood staring at him open mouthed.

"But, what... then why did you say...?" Scott tried to say.

"I didn't tell Rogue I would marry her, I asked Rogue if she wanted to marry me, she said yes, so, we're engaged, like I said Scotty-boy, some battles can't be won," Logan replied, as he continued pulling out the ingredients for the sandwiches he had been about to make.

"But, you can't, she's too young, you can't seriously expect her to take on two half grown kids, she's not experienced enough to be a mother, she has to have a life Logan!" Jean began to argue.

"Not that it's any of your business but she does have a life, and I'm going to do my damnedest to make sure she has the best life possible, it's not going to be perfect but since when did any of us have perfect lives, holy hell Jean, you're talking to a room full of mutants, three of whom have survived labs! I know she's young, she'll get older, she'll mature, and I can live with that, I don't expect anything from her, except for her to be happy and to let me know if she's not. As for her experience, from where I'm standing, she's the second most experienced woman in this room when it comes to motherhood, only Sarah could claim more experience, and I have to say Rogue's doing a damn fine job. If you want to object to our relationship go right ahead, I personally don't give a fuck, I didn't ask you to marry me," Logan replied heatedly.

"I can't believe this; you can't be serious! Rogue, think about what you're doing here, you have your whole life ahead of you, you've got college, and you've never dated, you'll be tied to kids that aren't yours for years, and what happens when Logan gets sick of being tied down and takes off again, do you really want to be left here, looking after his kids, while he's off fucking who knows who a continent away?" Jean ranted, Scott nodding along in agreement.

"Yes, I have my whole life ahead of me, a life I intend to live with Logan. I've got college, I'm half a year into a four-year degree, there's probably times it's going to be difficult to keep up but Logan's got my back and he won't let me quit, or fail. I have dated as a matter of fact, went on an absolutely amazingly perfect date just last night, dinner, we missed the movies, midnight walk around the lake, it was wonderful. I don't recall ever seeing written anywhere only being able to love children that are biologically yours, shall I just go tell Jubilee that her parents, the ones who adopted her, and died trying to save her, didn't love her? As for what will happen if or when Logan or I get sick of the hypocrisy and double standards of certain people here and decide to leave, I can guarantee it will be together," Rogue responded, her eyes flashing angrily as she dared anyone else to object.

"Rogue ... Logan didn't take you with him last time he left, and do you really think he's going to be satisfied stuck with a girl he can't touch? The evidence of Logan's level of physicality is in the room right now, three kids, with three different women, do you really think he's going to be content with having to find ways around your mutation for the rest of forever? He's using you Rogue, free childcare and a young body to take advantage of, " Scott threw his own two cents in, emboldened to speak by having his thoughts backed up by Jean.

"Enough," Logan barked lethally. "Even if it was any of your business, which it's not, this is neither the time nor the location for this conversation. For the record One-Eye, I left here because it was the right thing to do, she needed to finish school, I promised to come back, and I did, I have never made a promise like that before, because honestly, there was never a person I wanted that desperately to go back to. I love Rogue whether you approve or not and would never take advantage of her."

Jean's mouth dropped open as she looked between a furious Logan, and Rogue, who though she also looked angry, held a touch of insecurity in her countenance, not to mention the blush that infused her cheeks when Scott mentioned being 'physical'. "You - you're not having sex?" she asked suddenly, as the realization hit her.

"What did I just say?" Logan asked, glaring at her before glancing pointedly across the room at the two small children watching the exchange with worried faces.

"But -" Logan cut her off with a growl.

Scott tried again. "That aside it doesn't change the fact that Rogue is not old enough to be mother to a three-year-old, let alone a seven-year-old, and I don't even want to try and describe the relationship between her and your sixteen-year-old son. She shouldn't be expected to play mom."

Everyone's attention was distracted as James yelled 'No!' loudly, as he rushed to Rogue and wrapped his arms around her legs as he clung to her. "Mama, my mama," James insisted loudly, as he stared, distressed, up at Rogue.

"Yes sweetie, don't you worry about them, I'm your mama and that's just the way it is," Rogue replied softly, as she gently pet the little boys hair.

"Rogue that's not how this works, you can't just be his mom-" Jean's words, and advance toward Rogue were cut off by a vicious snarl.

What happened next was a blur as Logan yelled for Jean to 'get back' as he launched himself over the counter, as Caleb jumped out of his seat, and Ava screamed.

Caleb got to James first, grabbing the little boy in a tackle around his middle as he agilely launched himself at Jean, Caleb was mindful to roll in mid-air so he hit the ground first with James landing on top of him. He held fast to James as the little boy raged, claws flailing, as he tried to get out of his grasp. Caleb didn't release his hold until Logan had the boys’ hands and was talking to him gently.

"It's alright James, calm down, everything's okay, you're not in danger," Logan assured him. It took a few moments before the little boy's growling and ragged panting subsided, leaving him with tears running down his cheeks as he whimpered in pain. "Should we put the claws away now?" Logan asked gently.

"I don' know how," James whispered, with a sniffle. With a gentle smile Logan released one of his arms, taking the other in both hands he manoeuvred the little boys’ hand into the correct position to allow the claws to slide back into his arm, before doing the same with the second.

"Are you okay now?" Logan asked gently, as Caleb pulled himself up to sit on the floor nearby, and Rogue knelt down beside them.

"They gonna take mama away?" James asked scared, before his eyes got even wider, "They gonna take me away!"

"No little man, no one's taking you or your mama away, you hear me? I won't let them," Logan replied, as he pulled Rogue to his side, wrapping one arm around her as the other cradled James.

"But the doctor lady doesn't like us," James said, sounding not entirely convinced.

"Jean's just jealous kiddo, she'll get over it," Logan told him. "People do dumb things when they get jealous, like threaten little feral boys and their mothers, but it won't happen again, if it does she'll have the big mean feral daddy to deal with and she won't want that," Logan glared at Jean, it was enough for her to back away even further.

When James’ tears had dried up Logan shifted him off his lap. "Come on, let's finish lunch," he suggested, not the least bit surprised that James immediately moved into Rogue's arms and clung to her, he doubted the boy would be leaving her side for days if given the option, he had done much the same after Sarah had arrived, eventually making an offhand comment that led Logan to realise the little boy was afraid Sarah was meant to be his mommy, because she was Caleb’s mommy.

As Logan went back to the kitchen to finish making sandwiches, Rogue sat down at the table with James on her lap, Ava wriggled under her arm from the seat beside her, as Caleb retook his seat opposite her, shooting a dark glare at Scott and Jean as he did. For their parts the objectors remained silent, appearing almost dumbstruck, like it was occurring to them for the first time that maybe there was more to this situation than they had initially assumed.

"Well, as far as I am concerned, congratulations are in order," Ororo announced. Normally she was a fence sitter extraordinaire, never giving away her thoughts on matters that didn't directly affect her, this was not an occasion she felt comfortable doing that. "Congratulations to the both of you, and to your family, I don't doubt for a minute you will all be wonderfully happy but I still wish you the best," she said, raising her glass of lemonade to toast the couple.

"Here, here," Sarah replied, following suit.

It turned out the argument had attracted a fair amount of attention from passing students, several of whom were brave enough to stick their heads into the same room as a pissed off Wolverine. Unsurprisingly, that crowd included several of Rogue's friends who took the opportunity to rush into the room, thankfully she saw them and slowed them down before Jubilee could hug the daylights out of her. She wasn't sure how James would have handled that right then and there, he was still quite tense, and from time to time would clench and unclench his fists almost restlessly.

"Roguey you had better have a ring and I demand to see it!" Jubilee announced, pulling out another chair and plunking herself down in it.

Rogue laughed. "You can see it if you promise no touching Jubes," she answered, without making a move to slide her glove off until Jubilee swore, on her school issue debit card, that she would not try and touch either Rogue or the ring.

What followed was several minutes of oohing, aahing, and excited, high pitched squealing as people crowded around to see the ring. At some point in the crush Scott and Jean disappeared, which Logan was thankful for, before he finally shooed the students away to the cafeteria for their own lunch so they could eat in peace.

"Well, that's one way to break the news," Logan said, with a sigh and a chuckle.

"I have to admit, when you said you were taking Rogue out for some downtime and dinner last night I thought that sounded an awful lot like a date but I never in a million years would have expected you to propose," Ororo said, her eyes sparkling happily showing just how truly okay she was with them being together.

"Well, I technically asked her to marry me yesterday morning, I got the ring yesterday afternoon, and just kind of presented it to her last night... I did do the whole cheesy, down on one knee, thing though, figured I better get that part right at least," Logan grinned, as planted a kiss in Rogue's hair when he leaned past her to hand Ava a plateful of roast beef sandwiches and potato chips. Rogue smiled back at him happily but at the same time he picked up a hint of unease in her eyes, he wouldn't mention it now, no need to reopen the just disposed can of worms, and definitely not in public.

Once they had finished eating, Caleb and Ava managed to coax James off Rogue's knee, with the promise of playing on the big obstacle course that was at the far end of the field. Caleb was a sensible kid, and both the little ones healed, so Logan figured there was no need to warn him to supervise them closely, as he watched all three race outside.

As soon as they were out of earshot Rogue turned to him, her worry increasing exponentially. "Are James' hands alright, he keeps clenching his fists like he's still hurting," she said, if anyone would know Logan would.

"It's possible they're still aching but at the same time, his hands are so small and his bones so soft still... there's no telling if the claws might have actually done some damage, I'd like to get him x-rays but there’s no way in hell he would let Jean do that now, I don't think he would at least," Logan admitted, thankful that that appeared to be all Rogue was worrying about.

"What if I stayed with him, do you think he would be okay then?" she asked, obviously as concerned as Logan was.

"I think we should leave it for now," Logan suggested, "He's not complaining about it so it can't be hurting bad, it might even be that he just got a fright, or maybe he's trying to figure out how to do it again I mean, we both know I have self-destructive tendencies maybe he does too," Logan replied, with a dark chuckle.

"And did you notice, he has six claws, Ava only has four, I thought maybe Ava only had four because she was younger, and the others hadn't grown in yet, like teeth, but James is younger still, so that sort of blows that theory out if the water," Rogue added thoughtfully.

"... huh, you're right," Logan replied, after pausing to think back over the respective claw incidents. "How many claws does Caleb have?" he asked Sarah, she was the only one that had seen his so far.

"Wait, Caleb has claws?" Ororo asked in surprise, from where she was finishing her salad. If he had claws how come they had come out during the fight days earlier? Seems the boy really was self-controlled.

"Yeah," Sarah confirmed, "He has six, same as you, same as James."

"I wonder... if that's a male-female thing, some kind of sexual dimorphism," Rogue hypothesized.

"You know there's only one way to find out right," Logan replied, a cheeky grin sliding onto his face.

"How's that?" Rogue asked, obliviously.

"Make more baby girls," Logan replied, chuckling when Rogue blushed furiously, before slapping his shoulder playfully.

"Yeah well, I'll leave you to work out the logistics on that one," Rogue replied, as she stood and began clearing the dishes. She missed the conspiratorial look Sarah and Ororo shared, so she was completely blindsided by the next question, to the point she dropped one of the glasses she was carrying, smashing glass across half the kitchen.

"So, have you two really not 'done it'?" Ororo asked innocently. She could have sworn Logan blushed, just a little, at the question before he busied himself taking a sip of his drink, a really long one.

"Gee thanks Logan," Rogue said, amused as she caught him avoiding answering the question, as she began to carefully collect the broken glass. "No, we haven't 'done it', also, how old are you Ro? You can say ‘sex’ you know."

"Why not?" Sarah asked, skipping over the attempt at obfuscation.

Rogue turned fully to Logan then. "Well?" she asked, making it clear it wasn’t her that was the reason for that state of affairs, followed quickly by a sharp, "Ow!"

"You okay?" Logan asked, rushing immediately to her side, thankful for the distraction from the gossip mob. There was a thick stream of blood running down Rogue's hand, and he at first thought she'd sliced it clean open, until he turned the bloody area towards himself to make sure there was no glass still in the wound. "What the hell!?" he exclaimed, running her hand under the cold water tap to wash the blood away before inspecting her hand again. There wasn't a scratch on her, if not for the spots of dripped blood on the floor, one could have been forgiven for thinking she hadn't even hurt herself.

Rogue looked, dumbfounded, from her hand, to the spots of blood on the floor, and the blood smeared shard of glass. "But ... how?" she asked.

"It’s been ages since I touched you, you shouldn't still be healing," Logan said, searching her hand again for even the slightest knick.

That comment drew even more attention from the pair at the table, and they engaged in a brief conversation, before Ororo announced, "There's only one thing for it Logan, test it."

"I'm not testing it," Logan snapped, "I'm not cutting her up just to see if she heals." That idea scared the shit out of him for obvious reasons, the most obvious one being what if she didn't heal.

"Fine, I'll do it," Rogue said, pulling a knife out of the nearby block, she held it poised over her arm before she balked and froze. "Shit, I can't do it, Logan please, I need to know!" she looked to him pleadingly.

"I don't want to do it," Logan replied, almost whining as he looked uncomfortably at her hand. "God damn it," he muttered a moment later as she turned up the puppy-dog eyes, before carefully sliding out a single claw. Very gently he pressed the point into her skin along the top of her arm, it split the skin easily as blood welled to the surface. Immediately he withdrew, the flesh sealing as the blade vacated the space, leaving just a smudge of blood behind.

"Oh my god! Why am I still healing!?" it was Rogue’s turn to exclaim, in excitement bordering on panic. She took hold of Logan's wrist, of the hand that still had the exposed claw, and swiped her arm across the blade before he could pull away, the second cut was deeper and longer but again closed up immediately.

Logan yanked his hand away with a glare and sheathed the blade, before Rogue could think to try it again. "As much as this is bad timing, we probably need to take this to Jean," he suggested, double checking that she had indeed healed.

"What about the Professor?" Rogue suggested instead, "He could at least act as intermediary."

"Assuming he doesn't take issue as well," Logan pointed out sourly.

"Relax Logan, even if the Professor has his reservations, he'll at least give you the benefit of the doubt to see where this goes," Ororo assured him.

Logan grunted, whether it was in agreement or not wasn't clear but he agreed they approach the Professor first. "Do you know if he's back from D.C. yet?" he asked Ororo.

"His plane should have landed an hour ago so I assume he's back, do you want me to go check?" she asked.

"Nah, we can, when Caleb has to head back to class tell him to drop the kids back to either Chuck's office or the med -"

"Caleb doesn't have to go just yet but James is done playing so I can drop him off now, you want Ava too?" Caleb interrupted with a grin, as he carried James back inside. The little boy looked miserable, until he saw Rogue, brightening up a little as he reached for her before telling her how he fell over and bumped his knee.

She smiled good naturedly through his explanation, while Logan and Caleb tried not to laugh, before she gently reminded him, he healed, there was no boo-boo left to kiss better. "If you just want a hug James it's okay to ask for one, you don't need to make an excuse, I will cuddle you anytime, so will daddy," she told him, watching as he grinned sheepishly at her. "Do you want a hug?" she asked, getting a vigorous affirmative nod as James cuddled closer to her.

Caleb went back outside to supervise Ava, he seemed to be enjoying his new role as big brother, plus having a little sister got him into the girls’ comfort zone when she was doing things with them. Like right now, Flora was trying to teach Ava how to hula hoop, he didn't want to miss that. He promised to find them and drop Ava off before classes started again as he took off back outside.

The whole group made their way to the Professor's office, the most likely place for him to be at this time of the day. Ororo and Sarah tagging along both for moral support and because they were curious, both about what was happening with Rogue and about what the Professor would say about the change in relationship status between the two; for once the teachers were ahead of the students in the gossip mill.

As they approached the Professor's office Logan groaned. "Great, the Boy Wonder and his sidekick beat us to the punch." It wasn't long before the others began to pick up on the sound of muffled voices from within the office. When they got to the door Logan simply rapped twice and let himself in, why not, they were already talking about him after all.

"What convenient timing Logan, Rogue, please do come in, hopefully we can make this brief, I do have a class to teach this afternoon. Am I to assume you are here for the same reason as Scott and Jean?" Charles asked, the amused glint in his eye immediately putting Logan, at least, at ease.

"I doubt it," Logan replied, "They were already gone before Rogue dropped the glass so they wouldn't have a clue." Scott and Jean looked at each other confused, before Logan continued, "Rogue is still healing, she dropped a glass and cut herself but it was healed before she even washed the blood away, she talked me into 'testing' it and cut herself a couple of times and healed up in a split second both times. We're kinda confused, the healing has never hung around so long before, got any theories?"

"That is a very interesting development," Charles replied, brow furrowing in thought as he turned his mind from the initial 'problem' to this, infinitely more interesting, development. "As a matter of fact, I did consider the possibility, and I believe I mentioned this to Rogue on one occasion during our sessions, that it may be possible for her to develop a permanent copy of another mutants’ powers. Repeated exposure to a mutation, especially one as evolutionarily beneficial as yours Logan may have been enough to trigger a permanent change in her DNA. Have you noticed any other changes my dear?"

"Well... now that I'm thinking about it, the senses haven't really dulled either, I didn't realise until just now when Logan mentioned hearing something, that no one else could but I could hear it too," Rogue answered. She ignored the other occupants of the room as she took a seat, placing James securely on her lap but holding onto him so he couldn't lash out if he felt threatened again.

"I would recommend a DNA panel and physical examination, perhaps x-rays or an MRI to check for physiological changes too," the Professor suggested. "But before I release you into Jean's capable hands for that, perhaps we had best sort out this other issue first. It seems I have been left out of the most recent news to do the rounds of 'Mutant High'," Charles said, his earlier amusement returning.

"That's probably because we, technically, haven't announced it yet," Logan replied, cocking a brow in Jean's direction. “Just to fill you in, Rogue and I are engaged, and she's moved into the suite with me and the kids, so her room can be reassigned - I'd recommend to Kitty, if she's going to be going on missions regularly from now on."

"And I am removing my name from the X-Men pool, and myself from the training roster," Rogue added, picking up Logan's surprised but relieved sigh from behind her as she said it. "I'll still be assistant teacher for history, Ro and I have discussed a roster going forward, I'll be on track to take the class over entirely once I get my degree, assuming that offer is still on the table?" she added.

"Of course my dear, you would be a welcome addition to the teaching staff even if you decide to refrain from the team, a most welcome addition as I won't need to find a relieving teacher for your class every time there is a mission," Charles replied, with a chuckle, before turning to Scott and Jean.

"It seems everything is in order, well thought out, in a mature and considered manner. I understand your objections with regard to Rogue's age, and will admit to having my own reservations where that is concerned, but, as I am sure both Logan and Rogue are aware, everything about this situation is legal, Rogue is free to make her own relationship choices, whether we agree with them or not. Going forward, there is to be no unwanted discussion on the matter... and certainly no discussion of others sex lives in public." Charles added the last as he picked up a stray thought shoved in his direction by Logan.

Logan chuckled, while Scott and Jean both opened their mouths to object, Ororo promptly spoke before anyone else could. "That sounds like an excellent solution Professor, I feel perhaps all this situation really needs is a little time, everyone to take a step back and let everything play out for a while before making judgements."

"Indeed, now, if that is settled, I would suggest more attention is given to the issue of Rogue's mutational changes," Charles said, pointedly, as a knock sounded on the office door.

Logan got the door, ushering Ava in as she waved goodbye to her brother, who rushed off to his next class. Jean reluctantly agreed to drop the issue, and offered to run tests that afternoon.

"That would be great, someone is also going to need some x-rays, on his arms if we could work that in somehow," Rogue requested, cryptically enough that James wouldn't know she was talking about him; he was still frequently flexing his hands uncomfortably but not doing much else with them.

"Of course," Jean replied, observing his behaviour as discretely as she could, "I'll need to take x-rays from you anyway so that won't be a problem. Shall we go now?"

As Rogue stood, affirming that plan, Logan hoisted Ava up and swung her around until she was piggy backing on him. "Where are we going daddy?" she asked curiously, as he, Rogue, and Jean, stepped into the elevator; everyone else disbursing to their respective classrooms.

"To the med lab sweetie, mommy needs some tests done so we're going to go with her, is that okay with you?" he asked, he knew the little girl didn't particularly like the lab but he didn't want to leave Rogue to deal with this alone.

Predictably Ava scrunched up her nose in disgust before she agreed to going too, she wanted to be with mommy more than she didn’t want to be in the med lab. Jean started with a blood draw, Logan having to hold James, and comfort him when he saw Jean coming toward Rogue with a needle, it seemed he still wasn't quite back to trusting her yet. It didn't help when Ava warily eyed up the vials Jean was drawing off, and worriedly asked if she was taking too much blood. Jean just laughed and reassured the girl that adults had a lot more blood in their bodies than children but that she would make sure she left plenty for Rogue.

During the physical Jean made lots of important sounding hmm's and haa's as she checked this that and the other thing. She was checking Rogues eyes when she suddenly said, "I just want to try something," as she rushed across the room hitting the master switch to turn off all the lights. "How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked, from where she was standing beside the door.

"... Three ..." Rogue replied in shock. It was pitch black, and Jean was standing a good fifteen feet away from her, there was no way she should have been able to see that.

Jean flicked the lights back on before moving back over to her. "Okay, I'm going to do the hearing test now," she pulled the machine out and handed Rogue a set of headphones and a button, instructing her to push the button every time she heard a tone. For several minutes everyone sat in silence as Rogue periodically pressed the button, before Jean announced the test was complete, she didn't bother looking at the results yet, instead moving on to the next test.

Over the next hour every sense was tested, and Jean even pulled out a scalpel to test Rogue's newly discovered healing. That action sent James into an absolute panic, that even Rogue couldn't get him out of, and Logan ended up having to take him out of the room. Ava stayed, mostly because she just sat aside silently and no one noticed her, until she jumped up wide eyed and yelled, "James, James, come see, mommy heals too!"

Logan bought James back onto the room when the little boy calmed enough to see for himself that mommy really did heal. Then it was Ava's turn to start crying as she threw herself in Rogue's arms and said between hiccupping sobs, "I can't hurt you now if I have bad dreams," sounding immensely relieved at this revelation.

"Alright, the last thing I need to do is take some x-rays," Jean advised, "Logan, you can't be in here for that sorry, so why don't you take Ava to wait outside and James can stay with Rogue?"

"Wha's a es-ray?" James asked confused, glancing up at Rogue from his seat in her lap.

"It's a picture of your skellington!" Ava announced, "Why can't daddy have a picture of his skellington?" she suddenly queried.

"Because Logan has metal on his bones," Jean explained, "The metal doesn't react well with the x-ray so he can't be in the same room when the picture is taken."

"Does it hurt to have pictures wiv you skelli- skiling- skillit- that thing?" James said, giving up trying to say the big word his sister told him.

"Skeleton," Rogue repeated for him until he managed to say the word himself. "No, it doesn't hurt, do you want to stay? We could take a picture of your skeleton too!" she said excitedly, trying to sike the little boy up to give it a shot.

He regarded her apprehensively for a moment before agreeing. "How come he gets to but I don't?" Ava pouted.

"Because I already have a picture of your skeleton," Logan told her, picking her up with a chuckle, as he carried her out of the room so Jean could get started. "I'll show it to you while we wait," Rogue heard him say as the doors shut behind them.

Rogue went first for a full body x-ray, James watching wide eyed from behind the screen until Jean told her she could move, he seemed confused, as far as he could tell nothing had happened. Rogue assured him it was 'magic' and got him into position for his own x-ray. He was surprisingly well behaved, lying perfectly still, as Rogue had done, until he was told he could move. "Can I see the picture now?" he asked excitedly, as he jumped up.

"Soon, it has to develop first, and we need to take some more pictures before that," Rogue told him. Next, they took x-rays of both of their arm's, elbows to fingertips.

There was a five minute wait for the x-ray’s to be ready, and Jean wanted to take advantage of having the two older mutants essentially at her mercy while they waited for the results of the testing, so she called them aside, leaving the two children distracted in the next room as they looked as Ava's x-ray’s on the light box.

"So, as you are starting a relationship, now is probably the time to bring up birth control," Jean said.

"You’re not already on the pill?" Logan asked Rogue surprised.

She rolled her eyes as she replied sarcastically, "Hi, I'm Rogue, suck-your-life-out-through-your-skin-girl, want to have sex with me?"

Logan chuckled. "Well, yeah, but I see your point, I thought most chicks took the pill to control their hormones though?"

"I've never had a problem with that," Rogue replied, blushing at his first comment even as she ignored it, "And to be honest, I don't want to screw that up so I'd prefer not to go the hormone disrupting birth control way, I'm pretty sure that's how pretty much everything except condoms works though?" she asked Jean.

"There are a few non-hormone-based methods," Jean advised, detailing these for the two of them.

"This all sounds unnecessarily complicated," Logan said after a while, "It's up to you darlin, though I don't like the sound of that IUD... if it makes any difference, I do know when your 'catching' and happy to take precautions or avoid sex at the right time, that's honestly probably just as, if not more effective than any of these options. Like I said though, your choice."

"I'll think on it and let you know when I've made a decision, I mean, at the very least we're going to have to use a condom anyway, so that's ninety eight percent efficacy right there," Rogue replied after a while, personally she didn't care if she got pregnant, and judging by what Logan had said in the kitchen earlier, he wasn't too worried about it either.

Logan chuckled, after her comment about the logistics of making baby girls earlier that afternoon, he'd given it some thought and didn't think she was entirely correct with her condom statement, but no need to mention that just yet.

Jean agreed that was a good idea, they apparently weren't having sex yet anyway, as much as that surprised her, it meant the need wasn't great right now. She left an open invitation for Rogue to come back any time of she wanted more information, before she left the pair to check on the x-ray’s and collect the rest of the test results.

"Alright," Jean announced, as she walked back into the exam room, noting the children were starting to get bored now and were currently amusing themselves by slapping each other with glove balloons. "So, all of your senses are heightened, your eyes do that same weird focusing thing Logan's do, I'll admit, it's a little creepy, almost like a camera auto focusing, and your night vision... well there's technically no test for that because people aren't supposed to be able to do that but you do, so, I think my test was successful. Your hearing is amazing, well above average, and your healing speed is on par with Logan's.

"Now to the x-ray’s, your overall bone density appears to have increased," she advised, as she put up two side by side x-ray’s, one from when Rogue had first arrived at the school, alongside the one from today. "You may notice, or have noticed, subtle changes in your centre of gravity, also be careful if you go swimming there might be changes in your buoyancy, there's also these!" Jean announced, sliding a second x-ray onto the light board. "These are claws, like Logan's, just bone only, and they are in your forearms Rogue, I take it you haven't triggered them yet?"

"Shit!" Logan breathed, "She manifested a physical mutation, is that... safe?" he asked worriedly.

"Technically your entire mutation is physical, in that it creates a physical and mechanical change in body processes, so it's not entirely unexpected that the claws have manifested along with the rest. The only problem is going to be long term effects, I won't know for a couple of days, when I've had a chance to get the blood work results, how permanent the change is likely to be. The claws will likely be there permanently, but if the healing were to eventually fade away - the mechanical process of the cell function to decrease - then it could be dangerous for Rogue to use the claws. So, I can't advise on the yet.

"Now, for James, check out your skeleton pictures, little guy," Jean said with a grin, replacing Rogue's x-ray’s with James'. "I think this is what is causing the issue with his hands," Jean commented, pointing to a spot on the close up arm x-ray’s. "This bone has been pushed out of place, dislocated essentially, probably simply because there wasn't enough wiggle room in his little hands to accommodate the claws as they passed through, so stuff had to move but it hasn't moved back. It shouldn't be hard to get it pushed back into the right place but, for obvious reasons, I'm not going to do it," Jean added bluntly.

Logan looked over the x-ray’s as Jean added the same shot of Ava's, Logan's, and Rogue's hands, so they could see what she was talking about with the bone being in the wrong position. Gently he lifted James onto the exam table. "Your hands are still sore, aren't they?" he asked the little boy softly.

James's nodded as Logan took hold of one of his hands.

Gently Logan felt over the hand, referring back to the x-ray as he tried to locate the point that was causing the issue. "Ah, there it is," Logan commented, as James imperceptibly flinched as his thumb moved over a slightly swollen spot. "I can fix this so it doesn't hurt any more but it's going to hurt when I fix it, you understand?" The little boy nodded before Logan began to manipulate his hand. "Look at mama," Logan told him, when he felt James tense as he watched what Logan was doing. The boy relaxed as he turned to Rogue before he yelped loudly when Logan suddenly, and firmly, pressed the dislocated joint back into place. He didn't cry, though tears welled in eyes as Logan gently massaged his hand until he slowly relaxed again. After a few moments Logan softly asked, "How does it feel now buddy?"

"Better," James sniffled, still trying not to cry. Logan made him flex his hand and grip his finger before he moved on to the other hand. He couldn't distract James the same way the second time but the boy managed to stay relaxed through the process, barely even flinching the second time, though tears did drop as he grit his teeth against the brief stab of pain. Logan pulled him close for a hug as he massaged the hand while the muscles resettled, letting the boy hide his tear streaked face against his shirt. After a few minutes he made him repeat the exercises to test the hand, before James smiled up at him and announced he felt good now.

"Do we need to do another x-ray to make sure everything's gone back in the right place?" Logan queried to Jean, who had observed the whole procedure in silence.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary, if he's able to move the hand fully and without pain it should be fine, just keep an eye out to make sure he doesn't unseat it again," she advised.

"What about the claws, is it likely to be something that affects him long term or do you think he'll grow out of it?" Rogue asked, as James scooted down to where she was standing beside the exam table, and settled in for a hug while she gently combed her fingers through his thick dark hair.

"He shouldn't have the claws yet, and definitely shouldn't be able to release them, so I'm confident that, once he's grown and developed a bit more, he will be able to use the claws without issue, Ava didn't have the same problem, though admittedly she doesn't have as many claws, Logan doesn't have a problem either, though how much of that is because of the adamantium, I couldn't say," Jean advised, basically it was a wait and see scenario, at worst James just might have to relocate his carpals every time he used his claws.

"I'll have to ask Sarah what happened with Caleb," Logan muttered thoughtfully.

"Caleb has claws?" Jean asked surprised.

"Why does that fact seem to shock everyone?" Logan replied, with a chuckle.

"Well, he got into a fight the other day but I didn't have to sew anyone up, so, I just assumed he didn't have them," Jean admitted with a shrug.

"Fair enough," Logan conceded. "Let us know when the results are in, and speaking of letting us know... James, in future, if you're hurting from something, you have to tell us so we can fix it, okay?"

James nodded, as he let Logan pick him up, before the whole group bid farewell to Jean and left her standing, now alone, in the med lab.

--

Later that night, after the kids were in bed, Logan wandered into 'their' bedroom. Marie was sitting on the bed, her laptop on her knee and books spread around her. She had decided against giving studying in the library a second chance after the fiasco earlier in the day, but judging by the fact she was paying no attention to her work it didn't look like studying in the bedroom was any more productive.

"Your computer's on fire," Logan said, not bothering to hide his grin when she turned to him and just replied blankly 'huh?'. "Nothing, is everything okay? You've been really quiet," Logan replied, as he walked over to the bed and removed all the books as Rogue snapped her computer shut.

"Just thinking ... you know, everyone thought we were having sex, and we weren't, now everyone thinks we're not, we should totally do it," Rogue said, with a cheeky grin.

Logan lay down on the bed with a laugh, wrapping his arm around her when she cuddled up against him. "I'm not having sex with you just because everyone else thinks we should or shouldn't, or are or are not, I told you, I'm waiting until you're ready."

"Until I'm ready, or until you're ready, or until you think no one else will object?" Rogue asked softly. When Logan didn't answer straight away she continued, "You don't have to worry about what other people think Logan, I already know how you feel, you love me for me, not for what you can get out of me, it was horrible for them to say those things but you have nothing to prove to me... If you want to wait I can live with that but only if it's for the right reasons, I'm ready, honestly I am, I won't claim I won't be nervous when the time comes, that's kind of a given in my situation, but if it's with you, I'm ready when you are, I trust you."

They lay in bed just holding each other for a time before Logan rolled over and snapped off the nightstand lamp, placing a kiss on her crown as he returned to his place. "I love you Marie, I hear you, I understand, it'll happen when it happens, for the right reasons." He felt her smile where her face was pressed up against his chest, as they both slowly drifted off to sleep contentedly.

"Alright, what are we doing today?" Logan asked, at breakfast a few days later.

"I have to study this morning, and then I'm teaching this afternoon, so you're going to have to entertain these two all day, sorry," Rogue replied, thankful for the respite, of sorts, the different activity gave her.

"Okay, what are we doing then trouble and mini trouble?" he asked the kids.

"Monkey needs a cage!" Ava announced. "You promised you'd build one for us," she reminded him.

"Honestly, I'm surprised the chipmunk is still alive," he admitted, the thing had turned out to be a lot more malnourished than they had originally realised, but had been eating well. Its eyes were just starting to open as of that morning, and Ava was convinced it was going to run away. James had lost interest in it after the first day, and it had migrated to living in Ava's pocket since then.

"We will build a house for the chipmunk then, that means a trip to the hardware store, are you up for that little guy?" he asked James. The last time they had gone out he hadn't handled it well, admittedly the mall probably wasn't the best place for his first exposure to the wider world. This time however James was eager to go, so after seeing Rogue off for the day they sat down to design a chipmunk heaven before heading out for supplies.

As they were unloading everything from the pickup they borrowed from the school's garage, Logan wasn't surprised to spot Scott watching them from a distance. It wasn't the first time he'd caught him doing that but so long as the guy was going to keep his mouth shut about shit that didn't concern him, he could do whatever the fuck he wanted as far as Logan was concerned. This time though it looked like he was going to approach, Logan groaned inwardly as he spotted him advance, and continued to ignore him as he measured lumber.

He'd sent the kids off to find ear muffs, for when he used the saw, but he noted how they too paused and warily watched Scott make a beeline for Logan.

"Morning," Scott greeted tensely.

"Yep, it still is," Logan returned.

Scott flinched at his biting tone. "Look, I wanted to apologize, I was out of line, I shouldn't have..."

"Why not? Why shouldn't you have said it? It's what you think isn't it? Hell, at least you were being honest," Logan replied tersely.

"Yes, I'll admit, those were the first thoughts that went through my head, but I should have finished thinking before I opened my mouth," Scott answered, "I know you would never do anything to hurt Rogue, and the two of you... well, you just fit together, honestly I'm surprised you managed to find anyone who could tolerate your stubborn ass but Rogue can, I think she's good for you, and I think you are good for her too, she's a lot more comfortable and relaxed when you're around, I'm not too proud to admit that. Though I do think she's too young to be playing mom, she is good with the kids, and they love her to bits, so, whatever you're doing, it's working, and I wish you both the best."

Logan stopped his work as Scott spoke, turning his full attention to the man as he apologised. "Thanks Scott, you should probably go tell Rogue the same but approach carefully, she's still pretty pissed with you," he replied.

"I've actually already talked to Rogue, it was you I was more worried about but really, in hindsight, Rogue was definitely the more confrontational of the two of you," Scott admitted, sounding thoughtfully confused at that fact.

"Don't try and blame that one on me, she was a sassy brat with balls of steel before I ever laid eyes on her, she walked into a goddamn fight bar, alone, in the middle of nowhere, for God's sake, then stole a ride from me, from *me*, *after* I popped the claws, then when I caught her and tried to turf her out, she sassed me on the side of the goddamn road, while trying to beg a ride. She's something else that girl, real southern spitfire, and she's amazing," Logan informed him, love and pride evident in both his tone and the look on his face.

If he hadn't already realised it over the proceeding days it would have been impossible to deny now, Logan really, truly was head over heels in love with the girl. "I need to know though," Scott said, "When did you realise you loved her? And why did you leave?"

Logan paused thoughtfully. "When did I realise I loved her... that's a good question, I realised I had potential to fall for her in my truck, she asked... a question that nobody had ever asked before, it got my attention. I started to think I might already have fallen for her on the train, when she ran away after she drained me the first time, right before Magneto turned up. I knew for sure I loved her when I held her on top of the statue, when I thought she was dead, the thought of having to live without her... hurt more than anything Sabretooth or Magneto could have done to me.

"I left because she wasn't old enough, even though she was legal, just, I wanted her to finish school, grow up a bit, without me as a distraction. I was planning on coming back for her eighteenth birthday, then when I called, and she told me she was already graduated, and she was on the team... well, there was no way I was letting her on the team without me right there beside her, not gonna risk losing her again, and like I said before, if she's old enough to risk dying, she's old enough to live," Logan smirked, "Does that answer all your questions?"

Scott nodded with a grin, he'd never say it to his face but the Wolverine sure had a serious soft spot, one just the perfect size for Rogue to crawl into. As he turned to leave another thought occurred to him. "What was the question she asked?"

Logan grinned and shook his head. "That's between me and her," he replied. "Oh, by the way, we've set a date, we're getting hitched on the fourteenth of May," he called back to Scott as the guy was leaving the room.

"What!? You realise that's less than four months away right?" Scott replied, "Why so soon?"

Logan shrugged. "Rogue can't legally get married until she's eighteen, so we're doing it the week after her birthday. You got a problem with that?"

"Yeah, actually," Scott replied, before he grinned as he added, "Now Jean's gonna start harassing me to set a date for ours."

With a chuckle Logan got back to work on his project, as Scott left to head back to his next class.

--

It turned out building projects were incredibly time consuming when your helpers were less than four-foot-tall and had to continually have tools moved out of their reach. Though James was kept well entertained with a hammer, some nails, and a few off cuts of lumber - miraculously he only smacked his thumb with the hammer once - Ava wanted to be right in the thick of it 'helping', at least she caught on quickly to which tools were which. By dinnertime the cage was finished, and even painted in Ava's chosen colours; pastel green and lilac - it was a fucking eyesore!

Leaving the paint to dry they began packing up to head for dinner. Rogue met them at the wood shop door and James explained the... thing, he had made to her - it looked like a wood and steel porcupine, but apparently it was a boat - while Logan cleaned as much of the paint as he could out of Ava's hair.

They entered the dining hall late, probably the last to arrive, which had been Logan's plan. Most eyes looked up to see who it was coming in before turning back to their meals, until Logan called out and drew everyone's attention.

"Everyone listen up," Logan said, in what Rogue had once jokingly called his grumpy drill sergeant tone, "There's some rumours going around and I'm going to put some of those to bed now. Rumour one, Rogue and I are engaged, that is true, rumour two, Rogue and I have set a wedding date, that's also true, May fourteenth. Any questions?"

"Did you knock her up?" some cheeky little shit from down the back of the room yelled, causing Rogue, and several others to snigger.

"Nope, but I'll work on that after the wedding," Logan replied with a grin. Rogue rolled her eyes with a smile and moved off with the kids to get them some food, Logan joined them a minute later when there were no further questions.

As they sat down at the table with the rest of the teaching staff, the only spare seats in the room, Ororo said with a grin, "I hadn't heard any rumours about a wedding date?"

"Your gossip sources must be out of date Ro," Logan replied amused, even though he knew, if anyone had started a rumour it was either Scott, or whoever Rogue had told, assuming she had told anyone at all; they'd only set the date last night.

"Mommy, can I be the flowers girl?" Ava asked Rogue between mouthfuls.

Rogue was momentarily distracted by James who was trying eat a piece of steak whole. "Logan can you help the carnivore with his meat; of course you can be my flower girl sweetie."

"Do I have to wear a dress?" Ava asked.

"If you want to be a flower girl, yes," Rogue replied, ignoring Ava's rolled eyes as she sighed an okay. Now that she was getting more comfortable at the mansion she was showing off her attitude a little more, it was cute, for now.

"Have you settled any details other than date?" Jean asked, from the look on Scott's face Rogue knew he was ready to hear a whole spiel from Jean later. From what she'd heard among the gossip groups since she had arrived at the school, the couple had been engaged for almost four years with no wedding date ever having been set.

"No, no other details, we are in disagreement over the style of the ceremony," Rogue replied, ignoring Logan rolling his eyes; and he wondered where Ava's attitude came from, it was genetic she was sure.

"Really?! I'd have sworn Logan would have rolled over and given you anything you wanted," Ororo replied with a chuckle, snorting into her drink in amusement when Logan glared and growled in her direction.

Rogue laughed. "Apparently just stopping by the courthouse and signing paperwork isn't acceptable according to Logan," she replied with a shrug.

"Damn right girl!" Sarah chuckled, "Also, you don't argue with a man when he says something like that."

"I can if I want to, it just seems like a waste of money to me, and time, and stress, just sign the papers and be done with it!” Rogue really wasn't interested in anything big or flashy, never had been even when her mother had gushed about big flashy southern weddings; they were so boring!

"I'm not caving darlin, we're going the whole way - dress, flowers everything, you pick the details or I will," Logan replied, he was not going to argue on this point, he wanted her to look back on the day long into the future and remember it fondly.

"You have good taste, I can live with that," Rogue retorted with a giggle, heck the ring, the restaurant, the flowers on their date... yeah, she could definitely live with whatever Logan picked.

"It's alright Logan, we'll get her on the same page in no time, just give me a budget and consider it done," Jubilee announced from the next table with a grin.

Excited wedding chatter continued for most of the meal, Rogue quickly realizing she was definitely in the minority with her opinion, literally the only person opposed to a normal ceremony. Even the Professor made his opinion clear, by offering to host the ceremony and reception at the school. The subject didn't change until Rogue begged that if she agreed to have a full ceremony would everyone just stop talking about it, they agreed but Logan spent the rest of the meal looking smug at having won that argument.

Logan was in the garage, working on the truck he and Rogue had bought on the weekend. It needed a lot of work before he would be happy driving the kids in it but they got it extra cheap after Logan managed to talk up the problems, that the seller clearly knew about but wasn't advertising. It was nothing he couldn't fix, and cheaply if he got all the parts through the Professor's contact.

Tomorrow was valentine's day, the first year he had to actually do something on the day. He was stumped for ideas though, he didn't want to disrupt anyone else's plans by asking them to babysit, not to mention everywhere would be crowded, so dinner was going to be in but he was still drawing a blank on what to do that could be considered special.

He picked up the sound of footsteps approaching the garage tentatively, it was a toss-up whether it was someone who knew he was in there and didn't want to disturb him, or someone who knew he was in there and was going to try and prank him. A gentle breeze carried through the scent of the potential intruder. "I'm in here Caleb, come on in."

"Hey dad," the boy mumbled, when he eventually walked in, before jumping up to sit on a nearby work bench.

"You okay?" Logan asked, noting the distracted air around him.

"I don't know," Caleb murmured, as he shifted uncomfortably.

Logan grabbed a nearby rag to wipe the loose grease off his hands as he walked over and sat next to him. "Want to talk?"

"Not really," Caleb replied, grinning when Logan laughed in response. "I don't know what's going on, tomorrow's valentine's day, a week ago I asked Flora if she was free for dinner tomorrow, she said yes, so I've been working on that assumption until I mentioned it at lunch and she suddenly said she couldn't do dinner, she had to do something she'd forgotten about, when I asked what, she made an excuse without really answering and then took off. She's been really distant the last few days, I get she's busy, and she's got her own friends and all that but I feel like she's avoiding me, like she's afraid to be seen with me, and I don't know why or what to do."

"That's weird, you haven't made any comments that might have made her feel uncomfortable?" Logan asked, he'd overheard the teenage boy talk that went on around the mansion, when they thought the girls weren't around to hear them.

"Not that I can think of, and I've been thinking hard," Caleb replied, looking dejected, "I've literally gone over every conversation I can remember us having for the last week, it's not that many, and on Tuesday she even called home from my room and we both talked to her parents, so... do I just forget it, I mean, maybe she does have something else scheduled... I can still give her the flowers I guess."

"I wish I had an answer for you kid, I'd suggest tracking her down and talking to her but if she's avoiding talking to you maybe not the best idea, women can be confusing, sometimes all they need is time to think over what's going through their heads, or maybe she's just got a lot going on right now and is a little stressed," Logan replied with a shrug, as he jumped off the bench to get back to work. "Leave her the flowers, maybe add a note to let her know dinner's still available if she changes her mind, see what happens. In the meantime, you have any experience with engines?"

Caleb grinned as he climbed down too and followed Logan to the truck. "Nope, can you teach me?"

"Sure can kid, just get that shirt off, your mom will kick my ass if I send you back with your clothes covered in grease," Logan replied with a grin.

Over the next few hours they worked on the car, Rogue and the little kids stopped by on their way back inside from their latest forest walk. Sarah stuck her head in at dinner time and asked if they were coming, they declined, neither were hungry right then, they could grab something from the kitchen later. When they finally called it quits, cleaned up, and headed in, the ground floor was almost completely deserted. They were engrossed in a discussion about hockey, and poking fun at each other’s favourite teams, as they raided the fridge, when the kitchen door opened and Flora walked in.

She smiled happily at the father-son bonding being displayed by the pair and apologised for interrupting when they finally noticed her and dropped their conversation.

"It's no problem," Caleb hurried to assure her, "Is everything okay? Have I done something to upset you?" he rushed to ask, taking the chance to try and talk seeing as how it appeared she had intentionally sought him out.

"That's what I was looking for you to talk about, I'm sorry about this afternoon, I don't want to cancel our plans, if you're still wanting to do dinner tomorrow?" Flora asked nervously.

"Yeah, definitely," Caleb replied with a relieved smile, "But, why did you say that then?" he added worriedly.

"Because Marcus was sitting right behind us, he's been pestering me the last couple of days to go out with him on valentine's day, I tried to brush him off but he kept bugging me, I didn't want to tell him I already had a date with you, after the fight... I didn't want to risk you getting hurt again... I told him I was doing something with my girlfriends, and then when you mentioned dinner, I had to cover and... I'm sorry," Flora responded, looking genuinely remorseful, "I came to find you as soon as I could slip away from everyone else, so I could apologize."

Caleb looked simultaneously relieved and even more worried. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you and I are okay but you shouldn't have to lie like that to feel safe, honestly, just tell Marcus to stop bothering you, and don't worry about telling him the truth, if he wants to pick a fight I'll deal with him, I don't think he will anyway and even if he does Johnny's not here anymore so it won't be like last time," Caleb said to her, as he hugged her tightly.

"I know, I just, I worry, I know you don't go looking for fights but they sure seem to find you, and I don't like being the cause of them," Flora replied, not making any move to completely untangle herself from him when they released each other. They sat down side by side, opposite Logan.

"So, all is well in paradise again?" he asked jokingly, as he watched the pair. Anyone who couldn't tell those two were a definite item was thick as two short planks.

"Yeah, we're good now, but do you think you could talk to him..."

"No!" Flora interrupted, "That would make it worse."

"I'll see if Scott can talk to him, how’s that for a compromise, it's not right that you're being made to feel insecure, he needs to learn to take a hint without a girl having to resort to lying to him, and he needs to learn it now before he gets out into the real world where it won't be a teacher giving him a warning it'll be a judge," Logan responded. "Speaking of plans for tomorrow," he added, "You two seem to know what you're doing here, can you help an old man out with some ideas, I have no idea what to do for Rogue tomorrow, it's gotta be kid friendly because we don't have a babysitter."

"Flowers?" Caleb offered.

"Sorted, I was going to cook her breakfast, she's got classes all day, I was thinking cooking her dinner but that's kinda ordinary..." Logan trailed off.

"Does she take a book or bag with her for classes, you could pop notes in it for her to find during the day, and I know it's still a little chilly but you all seem to enjoy the outdoors, you could take a picnic dinner in the woods, there's a nice spot down by the lake, you could take blankets and pillows and watch the stars, I'm sure Ava and James would enjoy that too," Flora suggested.

"Those are absolutely fantastic ideas, Flora you are a genius!" Logan replied, he could definitely work with all of that, and the weather should be fine tomorrow, if a little chilly, but they'd met in the snowy wilds of Canada so a bit of New York chill would be nothing.

--

The next morning Logan was up early, the kids had woken up soon after he had gotten up, probably hearing him moving around. They were all fixing a big breakfast when Rogue wandered out to see what the hushed giggles were all about. She slid her arms around Logan's waist as she smiled up at him.

"I was planning on fixing you breakfast but it seems you beat me to it," she told him, before standing up on her toes to press a kiss into his bearded cheek.

"You gotta be quick around here," Logan replied with a chuckle, "Now go back to bed so we may serve you properly ma'am."

"Eek, no ma'am, you make me sound old," Marie giggled.

"Oh well, we can't have that now can we sweet cheeks," he replied, cheekily pinching her butt. "And take this one with you," he added, plucking James off the chair he was standing on and tossing him to Marie. The boy giggled some more as he flew through the air before Marie caught him, he then triumphantly brandished the sausage he had successfully stolen while Logan wasn't looking, much to his parent’s amusement.

As the lounged in bed eating together Marie questioned him about what else he had planned for the day. "Don't make dinner plans," Logan replied cryptically.

"Ooh, are we going out?" Marie asked, trying to dig for hints.

"Technically yes, dress warm and comfy, I'll pick you up at six. And seriously, dress really warm," Logan told her.

"Who's watching the kids?" Marie asked, as James cuddled up to her.

Ava giggled as Logan shushed her, the kids knew his plan but he wasn't too worried about them giving anything away, they were going to be with him all day so it wouldn't matter. "They're coming too," he replied. Marie sounded mildly disappointed as she replied with a generic 'oh' before she glanced over at Ava.

"So, what are we doing tonight Ava?" she asked the little girl with the mischievously sparkling eyes. Ava's only reply was to motion zipping her lips closed. "This isn't fair! Am I the only one who doesn't know?" Marie asked, in mock exasperation.

"Yep," James answered, "'Cause it's a su’pwise, so dada said we can't tell."

"And do you always do what dada tells you?" Marie challenged.

"Yes, 'cause I'm a good boy," James replied, nodding his head decisively.

"Fair enough," Marie laughed, as she hugged the little boy tightly to her and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. She had gotten a lot more relaxed with touching and being touched since the kids had come along Logan again noted, it helped that they were very careful about not touching her skin but also very eager for contact and physical reassurance. Her maternal instinct wouldn't let her ignore their, often unspoken, requests for touch.

Once Marie was off to class midmorning, Logan and the kids began their preparations for that night. Their first stop was the clearing by the lake, they had a tarp, a small electric power pack, and several foam bed rolls pilfered from the survival class camping stash. Once a spot was cleared and the tarp laid out, Logan made a decent size 'bed' with the piled-up bed rolls until it was thick enough that the ground wouldn't be too hard underneath them. He had a fitted sheet to hold it all together in a rough bed shape, before they headed back indoors to get the next load of stuff they would need.

--

Marie's class was quietly working through a test as she glanced down at the paper in her hand, when the piece of paper had fallen out of her book as she opened it for her lesson, she had thought it was her bookmark. It wasn't until she had picked it up later, to mark her place and continue her lesson, that she realised it was actually a note reading: 'You are my metanoia.' And accompanied with a definition, 'Metanoia, noun. The journey of changing one's mind, heart, self, or way of life.'

The Logan inside her head chuckled at the sappy comment. 'You see what you reduce me to darlin, I used to be a badass,' he good naturedly tsked.

'You're still a badass, my badass, you're just a sweet badass now... any idea what he's planning?' she thought back.

'Not a clue, even if I did have an idea, I wouldn't tell you,' he replied.

'Ooh badass, keeping secrets from your fiancée?' she ribbed.

'Not secrets gorgeous, surprise, big difference. Now get back to teaching your class,' he chuckled, before slinking back into the shadows of her mind.

She found another note during her next class, this one reading: 'I will always be your caim.' with the definition, 'Caim, noun. "Sanctuary"; an invisible circle of protection that reminds you, you are safe and loved, even in the darkest times.' Through the day she uncovered more notes, each one including some obscure word and its definition, each one meant to describe how much he loved her or how much she meant to him. She folded and tucked each note into the bouquet of flowers that had been delivered for her at lunch time.

The delivery guy from the florist had literally bought a cart into the cafeteria during lunch break and read out a list of names, handing flowers to each person in turn as they came to collect. Scott had gotten a dozen red roses for Jean, Ororo had received a large bouquet if bluebells and forget-me-not. Sarah had received two arrangements, one little bundle of sweet pea, and the second a mixture of orange and yellow tulips, Rogue had also received tulips so she assumed those were both from Caleb, her second bouquet, of white and purple roses, the same as Logan had gotten her for their date, must have been from him.

Ava received two little bouquets, baby’s breath and white lilacs in the first, and the second of cherry blossom, she was so excited and distracted by the fact that she got flowers that she missed the grins on her dad and brothers faces, as Rogue teased her about having a secret admirer.

Flora however, outdid everyone in the school, to the point she needed someone to help her just to get all her flowers to her table. She had small bouquets of pink coreopsis, another of miniature sunflowers, and another of dahlias. All of that was followed up by the biggest bouquet of brightly coloured gerberas Rogue had ever seen. Flora didn't say anything, just blushed brightly at all the attention she got for being the most popular girl in school; it seemed Marcus wasn't the only other kid with a crush on her.

By the end of the school day she had found six notes in total, however, she couldn't find Logan. Their suite was empty, though another note had been left for her on the dining table, this one didn't have any flowery words, instead, it instructed her to wait in the suite until he came to collect her. She'd returned to the suite at four pm, from the note she assumed he wouldn't be long but as it was approaching six, and he still hadn't arrived, she started to worry.

That morning Logan had told her to dress warmly, warm and comfy, she assumed that meant whatever they were doing was outdoors. So, she'd dressed in thermals, comfy jeans, a thick sweater, and equally thick fluffy socks. Her boots and jacket were ready and waiting by the door but as she stood at the window staring out into darkness, she couldn't help but wonder just what Logan was planning outdoors, in the dark, with the kids.

A knock at the door startled her out of her thoughts, with a confused frown she went to open the door. At the threshold stood Logan. "Come on, grab your jacket let's go," he said with a grin, when she just stared dumbly at him. She had her boots on and walked out a minute later, pulling on her jacket as she went.

"Where are the kids?" she asked, as Logan shut the door behind her before taking her hand and leading her toward the stairs.

"They're waiting for us," Logan replied, "But they're busting to give you your surprise so we can't keep them waiting too long."

"Wait, have you left them alone somewhere?!" Rogue asked incredulously.

"They're not alone, even if they were they'd be fine, they're smart enough not to wander off, and they heal so they're not likely to hurt themselves, not permanently at least," Logan answered with a shrug, he wouldn't tell her but he had planned to leave them waiting alone, it been pure coincidence that Caleb and Flora had come along when they had and offered to watch them while he went to get Rogue.

Stopping on the back-patio Logan lit a kerosene camping lantern. "Where on earth did you find that?" Rogue asked with a laugh.

"Buried in among all the survival class camping gear, I figured it was slightly more romantic than an LED torch," Logan replied, as he picked up the lantern before taking her hand again and leading her into the woods.

It didn't take Rogue long to figure out where they were heading, when she did, she picked up the pace a little, amusing Logan who teasingly commented on how impatient she was. She just stuck her tongue out at him as she pulled him down the path that lead to the lake. When they stepped into the clearing Rogue gasped in surprise, the clearing was surrounded by hundreds of fairy lights hanging from the trees, a small fire was crackling away off to one side, and what looked like a bed, a deep pit of pillows and blankets was sitting in the middle of the clearing.

Ava and James excitedly jumped up from their places around the campfire, running to her as they yelled happily, "Mommy, mommy, do you like it?"

"I love it!" Rogue replied, "It's so pretty, did you guys do this all by yourselves?" she asked teasingly.

Ava giggled. "Daddy did it but we helped," she said proudly.

All James said was, "I got mushmallows," as he held out a sticky melted marshmallow towards her.

"Hey, I said no marshmallows until after dinner," Logan growled playfully, James just laughed as he quickly shoved the treat into his mouth.

Caleb and Flora wandered over, ready to make themselves scarce now that Logan and Rogue were back. "Thanks for watching them," Logan replied, nodding to the two kids who were dragging Rogue around the clearing to show her things close up.

"It's okay, I like spending time with them,” Caleb shrugged, he really liked being a big brother it was a nice change from only having his mom, not that there was anything wrong with her, it was just nice having siblings. He was definitely going to have to teach them how to wreak all kinds of mayhem as they got older.

"And thanks for the flowers Logan," Flora smiled at him prettily.

"You are very welcome, I figured I got my other daughter some so fair was fair," he chuckled when the girl beamed at him as she threw her arms around him. She had been homesick a lot over the last few weeks, anything he could do to make her feel more at home was a good thing, and he had no doubt that before too long she would be his daughter, by law at least.

"Which one's did you give her?" Caleb asked curiously, a hint of something else on his eyes.

"The coreopsis," Flora replied, "He even remembered the right variety too, the twinklebells are my second favourite flower in the whole world."

"I figured this guy would be getting you your first favourites; way to one up the entire school population by the way, how much did those cost?" Logan chuckled, as he glanced to Caleb.

"They were worth it," was all he would say before he turned to Flora and asked, "So who were the other two from?"

"Oh my, jealous, are we?" Flora teased, "I don't know who the sunflowers were from, but the dahlias were from Marcus, so... I gave them to Kristy because she has a crush on him, maybe he'll take the hint and move on." That answer seemed to appease Caleb's mild bought of territorial jealousy, before they both bid a final farewell and disappeared back down the trail. Logan could hear them talking for a while as they went, mentally congratulating the boy on his genius when he heard Flora comment that she couldn't see where she was going and was worried about tripping over, Caleb's solution, he'd carry her, literally sweep her off her feet.

Logan pulled dinner out from where it was keeping warm by the edge of the fire, it was all finger food so they wouldn't have to worry about losing cutlery but it would need to cool a bit before it could be handled. He pulled out a comforter from the pile of warm blankets, there was an electric blanket buried in there keeping everything toasty for now. As Rogue took a seat, he wrapped the comforter around her before crawling in with her, the kids each wrapped up in their own blankets as they ate.

After dinner was consumed, at a leisurely pace, Logan bought out more marshmallows. James loved the sweet treat and was surprisingly good at roasting them perfectly, Ava on the other hand preferred to set hers on fire and use them as a torch, which led to Logan warning her if she did it again, he wasn't giving her anymore marshmallows. She pouted through roasting several more marshmallows perfectly before she shrieked and hurriedly blew the next one out. "That was by accident daddy, I promise," she said, almost in tears when Logan growled at her… he let her have another...

Once they were full, and had run out of marshmallows Logan said it was time for bed, picking Marie up he carried her over to the blanket pile, depositing her among the pillows. James and Ava dived in after her, and the three got comfortable while Logan threw a few more pieces of wood onto the fire before turning off the fairy lights.

"Oh my gosh," Marie exclaimed, as the twinkling stars in the clear sky above them were revealed.

"This is nothing," Logan commented, as he crawled under the blankets with them, "One day, I'll take you all on a road trip and we can go right out, far away from the city, where you can see all the stars, and if we go right up north we can see the northern lights too."

"But where all the stars now?" James asked confused.

"Most of them are hidden, the light from the city washes them out so you can't see them from the ground, you can only see the biggest and brightest ones here," Logan explained.

He spent several hours pointing out various constellations and telling them all the stories and legends that went with them. Rogue was amazed, how did he know all this, it was like the obscure words on the notes, maybe Logan should be teaching an English class rather than Defence. Eventually, one by one, everyone began to fall asleep in the cosy warmth of their pillow pit.

The moon rising, just after eleven, woke Marie. Logan was still awake, lying watching her sleep in the silvery glow, he kissed her nose before he suggested they take the kids inside to bed. The pit was still warm enough but the fire had died out and the temperature was dropping quickly. Gently they each picked up a sleepy charge and began the trek inside. Logan kicked dirt over the remaining embers of the fire, and turned off the power pack that had been running the electric blanket and lights, before they left.

As Marie fell asleep again later, in their own bed, she smiled over at Logan. "That was nice, you give good surprises," she said as drifted off.

Logan carried James into the next store, Caleb followed along behind them. "I'm bored!" James announced dramatically, as he flopped over Logan's shoulder.

"Me too," Caleb whispered loudly to him.

Logan chuckled. "Don't let Rogue hear you say that," he warned. They were all at the mall, the wedding was only a few weeks away and they were getting the last of the details sorted, clothing. Final fittings for the dresses for the girls, who were all at the bridal shop now, and suits for the guys, which is where they were now.

"Why? It's true," James replied.

"Because you'll upset Rogue, she wants you to be happy and have fun, so be happy, and when we're done, I'll take you to the playground and you can have some fun," Logan answered, getting an excited 'yay!' in return.

"What about me?" Caleb asked cheekily.

"You're old enough to suck it up and deal," Logan replied with a grin, earning a chuckle from the boy as a sales assistant approached.

"How can I help you today?" she asked, the forced cheer in her voice something Logan had gotten used to hearing at the mall.

"I'm getting married in three weeks, need suits for me and these two, I'm useless with colours so my girl said 'not quite black' and gave me this to colour match," Logan answered, pulling the swatch of the dark green satin that was being used for the bridal party from his pocket.

"Alright," the sales woman replied enthusiastically, brightening up at the prospect for an actual sale. "Are you buying or renting?" she queried.

"May as well buy mine, I have a feeling I'm gonna get roped into wearing it fairly regularly, probably only rent the other two, this one will grow out of it far too quickly, won't you bean sprout?" James chuckled at the nickname. Regular good food had already seen him grow through two sizes of clothes since he had arrived only a few months earlier.

An hour later they had suits ordered. Logan's would be tailored for him, which had involved a rather awkward measuring session with a clearly gay tailor taking Logan's measurements while the sales woman hovered, just in view. Both apparently liked what they saw, which led to some good natured, cryptic, ribbing from Caleb as they went back to the bridal shop looking for the girls.

"Rogue you done?" Logan called into the back of the shop, where he could hear a lot of girly giggling coming from.

"You step foot back here Logan and I will flay you from neck to toes, starting at your balls!" Rogue snapped, sounding stressed, obviously she was enjoying this session a little less than everyone else.

"I'll take that as a 'no', don't worry darlin I won't peek, me and Caleb are taking James to the playground next door, you come meet us there when you're done," Logan replied, refraining from laughing lest Rogue be tempted to carry out her threat anyway.

"Okay, thanks Logan," she replied, relaxing just a touch. She wanted her dress to be a surprise so the first time he saw it was at the wedding, that tradition seemed stupid to him but she insisted that if he was going to make her get a dress that was just how it would be, so he would go along with it, regardless, she was going to be gorgeous.

A few minutes later James was finally released to run wild across the playground. At this time of the day, at this time of the week, it was pretty much abandoned so he had the whole thing to himself, which had its advantages. The little boy had proved to be lacking socialisation skills to deal with kids his own age, which had resulted in several kids running to their mommy's crying at the last playground they visited.

Caleb and Logan sat on a nearby bench, keeping an eye on the little boy as he explored the play equipment.

"Hey dad..." Caleb said, pausing where Logan thought the question he wanted to ask should have been.

"Yeah?" Logan prompted.

"I need to ask your advice, it's about sex, you up for that?" Caleb asked with a grin.

Logan groaned. "Please tell me you at least know what it is," he replied.

"Well yeah, duh, I'm apparently pretty good at it," Caleb replied with a smug grin and a shrug.

"What the fuck, you're sixteen, who the hell were you doing it with and how long have you been doing it?... does your mother know?" Logan asked incredulously.

"Since I was fourteen, and yeah, mom knows," the boy shifted uncomfortably as he blushed.

Logan chuckled. "That looks like a good story, go on," he encouraged.

Caleb rolled his eyes. "It was my best friends’ little sister, that's why we're not friends any more, I was fourteen she was thirteen, he found out, told his parents, who told mom, and the rest, as they say, is history. I don't know what they were so upset about though, she wasn't a virgin which means I wasn't the first one she'd done it with but I kept that secret for her."

"Thirteen!? Holy shit!" Logan replied with a chuckle, "She the only one?"

"No," Caleb replied, continuing at Logan's prompting look, "Probably six or seven, mostly cheerleaders."

"And when did you meet Flora around this high school orgy?" Logan queried.

"Flora only started at my school about a year ago, her parents moved because she was getting bullied at her last school, then kids found out about what she could do and started picking on her again... I was kind of one of the popular kids but didn't like being one, the 'popular' kids were real stuck up and rude so I would hang out with the less popular kids and make friends with them, I was one of the first people to make friends with Flora, then the rest of her 'friends' abandoned her when they found out she was a mutant..." Caleb answered.

"So, you and Flora haven't...?" Logan said, it wasn't exactly a question, he knew she hadn't, it was the why he was more curious about.

"No, don't get me wrong I'd like to but... at first it was because her parents were really strict, protective because of the other kids bullying her I guess, but now... I want to but I don't want to and it's confusing me. I figured you might be able to help me out here cause I know you and Rogue haven't done it but you look at her sometimes like you really, really want to," Caleb admitted, blushing a little at the fact he was talking about his dad and his stepmoms sex life.

"It took me a while to figure that out too," Logan admitted after pausing a moment in thought. "I would love to do it but at the same time I want- I want it to be something special. I've had a lot of women, a lot, not even going to try to put a number on it, it's always been a case of someone catches my eye and it's like a race to see how fast I can get in their pants but then that's it, once it's done I move on. Rogue is special, I don't want to move on from her, so when we do eventually do it, I want it to be something meaningful, something we can build off of."

"Does Rogue ever ask you to do it?" Caleb queried.

"She did, a few times, I just told her I was waiting for us to be ready, there's more to being ready than just being horny, she's stopped asking lately, though she still flirts like crazy so I know she'd be up for it if I engaged but we're getting comfortable, that lends its own intimacy to the relationship, " Logan told him.

"You're waiting for the wedding, aren't you?" Caleb said with a grin.

Logan nodded. "I want her to be mine in every way."

After a few minutes of thinking Caleb said, "So, you think I want to wait because I want to marry Flora?"

"I think you've bonded with Flora, love is, different, for ferals, we bond with our mates like... like geese, you pick one and you stick with it, sometimes even death isn't enough to break that, I've bonded with Rogue, you, I think, have bonded with Flora. From here you just have to be sure she feels the same way, she's not a feral, so she won't feel the bond the same way you do, and she's kind of more, mortal, than we are, so one day you're going to lose her. Can you live with all of that, or is it better for you break the bond now before it gets... confirmed, physically?" Logan explained, as best as he could articulate.

Caleb sat in silence for some time thinking, rethinking, he really did love Flora, the idea of being separated hurt so deep he couldn't tell where exactly the hurt came from. One day, when she died, he knew he was going to be destroyed but would it be worth it, to have her in the meantime.

Before Caleb could formulate his thoughts enough to speak Logan jumped to his feet, looking around calculatingly, as his nostrils twitched as he scented the air. 'Shit' was all he got out before a large black pick up swerved off the road and gunned its engine as it raced toward them. Logan made it several feet away from the bench, removing Caleb from the truck's line of fire, before it hit him, the impact leaving a larger than normal, roughly human shaped, crater in the front of the car.

Logan was thrown several feet, rolling as he hit the ground until he was on his feet, he was able to jump as the truck continued toward him, probably intending to run him over while he was on the ground. With claws out he slid through the windshield, embedding the blades in Sabretooth’s bulk, he went back out the windshield again when the other man hit the brakes. Not able to get to his feet again fast enough, Logan felt the truck go over him, thankfully it wasn't quite in the right place to mush his internal organs but he felt his spine crack as the vertebrae separated. Cursing colourfully as he lay motionless, he hoped the boys had the sense to run.

Those hopes were dashed when Sabretooth walked up to him, truck abandoned in the middle of the grassy play area. Obviously, it wasn't the guys planned getaway vehicle, the radiator was cracked and leaking, the windscreen gone, and two tires blown. Sabretooth kicked him over, dislodging one vertebra further while the other slid back into place, Caleb was engaged with another mutant across the field, Logan didn't recognize him but he could tell Caleb was struggling.

As Sabretooth stood over him gloating Logan saw James running across the field towards them, double shit.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Sabretooth paused, as he caught sight of the child approaching. As he moved to intercept the boy Logan shifted, pinning the bigger man's foot to the ground with a set of claws through his ankle. Logan couldn't move his legs yet but the feeling was beginning to come back.

"James, go find mama," he yelled to the little boy, the mall was only about two hundred feet away, and James would be able to sniff Marie out, it was safer for him than being here by a long shot. The boy stopped, frozen on the spot. "Go, now, run and don't look back," Logan repeated, "Find mama, she'll know what to do."

James finally ran in the direction of the mall just as Sabretooth managed to twist around far enough to wrap one clawed hand around Logan's wrist and rip the metal claws out of his ankle.

"Hmm, interesting development," Sabretooth commented, as he sat, waiting for his ankle to heal. His behaviour was confusing, if the guy wanted to take Logan out, what exactly was he waiting for, every second he waited Logan got more feeling back in his legs, he could even move one foot now, in fact, he thought he could move the whole leg but he wasn't ready to risk giving that away just yet.

In the distance Caleb went down again, thrown several feet before catching himself in a roll. "Kid's not bad, you been training him?" Sabretooth asked, as if they were having a friendly chat.

"Fuck you," Logan growled, as he felt his other leg twitch as the feeling flooded back fully.

"Nah, I don't swing that way," the bigger man chuckled. "So, where's the girl?" he asked.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Logan replied, keeping a close eye on Caleb, the guy he was fighting could obviously beat him but instead was just playing with him, like he was just trying to keep him busy so he didn't come to Logan's aid.

"Sure you do, pretty little thing, long dark hair, ended up with a pair of kinky looking stripes, big tits, tiny waist, firm ass," he stopped with a chuckle when Logan growled, "Yeah, you know who I'm talking about."

"What do you want with her?" Logan asked, mimicking Sabretooth’s tone, he needed information right now more than he needed to fight, especially if the Brotherhood had new plans involving Marie.

"No, I ask the questions around here," Sabretooth replied, as he pulled himself to his feet.

Quick as a flash Logan rolled the opposite way, launching himself to his feet he made it halfway to Caleb before he heard Sabretooth’s enraged roar as he launched himself at him. Logan spun mid-air, burying his claws in the other mutants’ neck as he felt them collide, they were both thrown to the ground hard. Rolling the body off of him Logan continued in Caleb's direction, the mutant fighting Caleb saw him approaching and ran before he got close enough to catch him.

Picking Caleb up off the ground Logan checked him over. "You okay?" he asked.

"Nothing some time and a healing factor won't fix," Caleb replied with a shrug, wincing as he did so. "How is it you got hit by a car and you're already up and about seeming no worse for wear?" the boy asked with a chuckle, as he dusted himself off.

"Got hit by a car, thrown through the windshield, then run over," Logan clarified, "The healing gets faster as it gets more practice, mine has had a lot of practice," he added.

Turning back to where he had left Sabretooth, Logan swore again, he was gone. "He's after Rogue, we have to find them quickly," Logan instructed.

"Where's James?" Caleb asked worriedly, looking around.

"I told him to run and find Rogue, the lesser of two evils in this situation, I just hope he managed to find her," Logan filled him in, as they started at a dead run for the mall.

Logan skidded to halt when he heard Rogue's voice calling out worriedly, "James, where are you?" It took him a moment to spot her through the crowd around the information desk. She looked relieved when she saw him pushing his way through the crowd. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Sabretooth attacked us outside, I told James to run and find you, what happened in here?" he asked, suddenly noticing the lack of James, though his scent was in the general area.

"The information desk paged me over the PA saying my son was looking for me and to come pick him up, when I got here they said he had disappeared when the guy turned his back, they're pulling up the surveillance tape to see where he went..." Rogue faded off as she saw the video playing on the monitor as a security guard replayed the scene from minutes earlier.

Both Logan and Rogue watched mutely as the desk clerk sat James down on a chair, behind the information counter, before turning to the PA system. Moments later Sabretooth appeared out of the milling crowd, reached over the counter and plucked James out of the chair, one hand firmly over his face to stop him from screaming, before he disappeared back into the crowd.

"Oh God! He has James! Why does he want James!?" Rogue panicked, clutching at his arm as she began to sob.

Logan pushed Rogue into Jubilee's arms so she could console her, while he pulled out his phone and dialled the Professor's direct line, the info desk clerk grabbed a phone to call the police, while the security guard began to skim through the other cameras trying to track the kidnapper’s path.

"Chuck, Sabretooth’s here and he just took James, are you able to track him down?" Logan asked, the second the phone was answered, the statement shocked Charles so much he had to get Logan to repeat himself.

"I will begin looking for him immediately, are you on your way back?" he queried, as he began to wheel toward the elevator, phone in hand.

"Not yet, security is trying to track him out of the mall, I'll try and track him from there if I can, and the police are on their way, call as soon as you have an update or location," he responded, hanging up the phone as soon as he had confirmation.

There was no point trying to track the other feral mutant, he had jumped straight into a car at the side entrance according to the video surveillance. By the time the police arrived security had a plate number and the gate the car had left out of.

Logan was sitting down with Marie in his lap sobbing, when a police officer approached them. Logan explained the situation in brief to the officer, leaving out as much information as possible about who he and Rogue and Sabretooth were. If the cops somehow managed to track James down before he did, they'd have enough information to return the boy and hopefully not ask more questions.

Rogue's story was even briefer, all she knew was that she was paged to the info kiosk and by the time she got here, mere minutes later, James had been taken. Caleb was interviewed too; he'd overheard enough of Logan's statement to know to keep it short and avoid giving certain details.

Logan's phone rang a moment later, he answered it on the first ring. "I've found him, he's in an industrial area about ten minutes’ drive from your current location. The team are on their way, do you want them to collect you or will you meet them there?" The Professor replied, Logan could hear the rest of the team chatting in the background as Charles must have entered the briefing room.

"We'll meet them there as soon as we can get away, the cops should be finished with statements now and I need to get Rogue out of here ... yeah, she'll be okay, she's understandably freaking out, I'm not much better to be honest ... yeah, sure, thanks for your help." Logan finished the call, turning to Rogue he advised, "Chuck's got a lead, we need to meet him to get the info."

"Chuck is?" the cop asked, scribbling notes.

"Friend, private investigator of sorts, if he has any info that can help find James, we'll let you know, is that all you need from us?" Logan asked, not giving the cop time to dwell on that piece of information. The officer confirmed they had enough for now, they had put an alert out for the car, which had been stolen earlier that morning, and they would contact Logan by cell when they had any updates, for now they were free to go.

Collecting Ava from Caleb's arms, Logan hugged her tightly when she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Is James going to be okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah sweetheart, he's gonna be fine, we'll find him before you know it," he assured her. Slowly they made their way through the crowd that had been hanging around, several people wishing them the best and a quick recovery of the missing child.

When they got back to the car, Jubilee took charge of getting Ava into her car seat, everyone trying to ignore the empty car seat that should have held James.

"Hurry up, we need to get to the location before they try and move," Logan rushed, boosting Jubilee into the backseat while Caleb jumped in the front next to Rogue. Logan pulled out of the lot before people had even finished securing their seatbelts. He raced down the road in the direction he had been given, keeping to the upper edges of the speed limit, and sliding through several orange lights in his haste.

As they closed in on their target Logan spoke again. "I don't like taking you kids into this fight, Ava, I need you to stay in the car with Jubilee, Jubes, as soon as the team gets here get you an Ava onto the jet, it'll be safer for you in there. Caleb, I don't think you're ready for this fight, these guys, they were messing around back at the park, holding back, here, in a private location with their target in sight, they're going to go all out..."

"Then I will too," Caleb replied, popping his claws. "Fuck, that still hurts," he muttered, as he put the claws away.

Logan grimaced. "Alright then, but stay out of the main fray, focus more on preventing anyone leaving, as many of them as we can round up the better, just promise me you'll stay away from Sabretooth, he will fuck you up just for fun. And Rogue, it's you they want but I don't know why, I know you're worried about James, and I know there's no way in hell I can get you to stay behind, but Sabretooth is going to try and mess with you, and he will probably try threatening James to do that, you can't react, you can't engage him, you leave him for me, just get James and get out, got it?"

Rogue nodded, already pulling herself together to focus on the mission, she had to think about it like a mission, she had an objective, and she had to stop the bad guys, end of story. "Yes sir," she replied, fully serious.

Logan pulled up in front of the warehouse Kitty had sent him the coordinates to. They all unloaded out of the car, except Ava and Jubilee. "Stay out of sight," Logan warned Jubilee, watching as she nodded before they both crouched down in the footwell between the two rows of seats.

"Are we going in or waiting for the others?" Rogue asked, as she shed her jacket to give her more movement and stripped off her gloves, she was wearing a bodysuit under her clothes so it was the only skin, aside from her face, that she could expose easily.

"They're two minutes out so were going in, I want eyes on the target asap," Logan replied, throwing his phone into the truck before slamming the door. He stalked to the large cargo door in front of them and ran his claws through the steel, like a hot knife through butter it split open, before crashing to the ground.

Sabretooth stood, from where he had been lounging on a stack of packing crates, he slow clapped as Logan stepped through the destroyed door. "Impressive entrance, very nice, ultimate destruction, congratulations," he mocked. He grinned ferally, as Rogue followed Logan into the room. "Thank you very much, I think it's a fair trade really, your brat is easily as much trouble as that one was, now just shove her over and I'll give the kid back."

"Sorry to disappoint you but I'm leaving here with both of them," Logan replied, with a growl. A movement behind the oversize feral drew his attention to James, his arms were tied behind his back and, by the look of it, to the wall as he stood perched on another stack of pellets, a canvas bag pulled over his head. "You hanging in there James?" he asked the boy, as several other mutants stepped into the room. He could see Rogue counting them up and signalling to Caleb, who was standing behind her, where everyone was.

"Yeah dada," James replied, thankfully not sounding the least bit upset.

"Well, he will be," Sabretooth added, kicking the pallets away. Surprisingly, the little boy didn't end up hanging from the wall, instead, he jumped, as the stack began to move, and dropped lightly to the floor, the rope he had been tied up with falling away in pieces before he ripped the bag off his head and ran for the nearest obstacle that he could hide behind.

Sabretooth jumped for him, grabbing him by the back of his overalls and yanking him backwards. He wasn't prepared for the claws, that ripped out of the little boy’s fist to slash at his eyes as he got close. His furious roar was interrupted as Logan's metal enhanced claws cut through his shoulder, as he bodily threw himself between Sabretooth and James, knocking the boy from his grip.

James scrambled to his feet and ran towards Rogue, who darted toward him, at the same time as a couple of Sabretooth’s team members also made a move toward the boy. Caleb intercepted one of the henchmen, punching one set of sharp bone claws through the thigh of the much larger mutant, leaving him screaming in a bloody puddle on the ground. Rogue faced off against the other who had managed to get to James before she could, holding him up, blocking body shots as an arm wrapped around the boy’s neck.

Before James could pop his claws again Rogue swung left, as soon as her opponent twisted, moving James into the line of her punch Rogue let a right come up behind the tall weedy looking man, her own claws ripped out of her clenched fist for the first time as she slammed them through the kidneys of her opponent, making sure to angle sideways so the claws didn't come anywhere near James. The mutant in front of her screamed, his skin rippled and wavered before a wave of blue took over, and Mystique collapsed to her knees. Rogue immediately grabbed James from her arms and turned to run for the door.

Rogue was monetarily distracted by the muted roar of jet engines, the X-Men were here, and not a moment too soon. Logan and Sabretooth were so engrossed in their own battle that they didn't seem to notice the carnage around them, Caleb was facing off against two more henchmen, thankfully they appeared to be two of the least experienced fighters and Caleb wasn't having too much trouble playing them off against each other. Unfortunately, Mystique wasn't as disabled as she had thought, and she grabbed her ankle as Rogue tried to get away, knocking her, and also James, to the floor.

Rogue hit the floor hard, cushioning James as much as she could. "Hide behind the crates, and get to the hole daddy made, Ava will be waiting for you on the jet plane, don't let anyone see you," she whispered in his ear, before she pushed him toward the nearest stack of empty packing crates. She had to deal with Mystique before she could follow him.

The room flooded with X-Men a moment later, they had brought everyone, even the training squad, and they quickly engaged the last few bad guys, some of whom tried to escape. Everyone gave the pair of warring ferals plenty of space as they traded killing blows.

Mystique tried to pull herself past Rogue, towards where she had seen James disappear, Rogue grabbed her by her hair and dragged her back, pinning her to the floor with a knee to her back, where Rogue had cut through her, a wound that was healing rapidly though was still obviously raw and tender. Mystique was trying to claw at her face, reaching behind her trying to catch hold of anything that might give her an advantage before she gave up and instead tried to push herself off the ground enough to flip over. She screamed again as another set of claws slammed through her shoulder, pinning her to the ground.

"Stay down," Rogue growled, as Kitty threw a pair of cuffs to her. Unfortunately they landed short and Rogue couldn't quite snag them. Wrapping an arm around Mystique's neck she squeezed tight enough to cut off her oxygen, not releasing her hold even as Mystique tried to shapeshift to slither out of her grip. When she passed out from lack of oxygen, Rogue grabbed for the cuffs, snapping them on quickly, before she left the shapeshifting mutant in Colossus' capable hands and made a dash after James.

She caught James up as he darted for the cut-up door that was his way out, talking to him soothingly as she did, so he didn't react negatively to her hold. They ran for the jet, Rogue punching in the emergency code to open the access hatch. A paff of sparkles greeted her as she rushed up the gang plank. "Shit Jubes, check who it is before you zap them!" Rogue yelled, as she hit the close hatch button.

"Mommy!" Ava squealed, as she dashed toward Rogue and grabbed hold of her, greeting her brother in the same manner.

Rogue set the kids up in the back of the jet, leaving them in the capable hands of Jubilee as she ran back to the front of the jet and patched into the comm system. "Target has been secured, wrap it up guys, and if someone can get the message to Logan... somehow..." Rogue added.

"That's cute Rogue, how exactly are we supposed to get through to him?" Scott radioed back.

"Is everyone else taken care of?" Rogue radioed back, after a pause for thought.

"Yes, everyone we've been able to find," Scott replied.

"Alright, you guys pull out, I'll get Logan," Rogue responded. She moved to the back of the jet and pulled out the medical supplies, taking out the strongest tranquilizers they had, she loaded up several darts and took out the tranquiliser gun. "You guys stay with Aunty Jubes, I have to go help daddy, I'll be back as soon as I can," she said, kissing both kids’ goodbye. "The team's pulling back, don't paff them okay Jubes?" she teased.

As she ran inside, she passed the rest of the team pulling out, Brotherhood prisoners in tow. Caleb broke away from the group and followed her back inside.

"This is the tricky part," she muttered, as they watched the two men still fighting, the floor was now slick with blood but the pair barely seemed to noticed. "Somehow we have to get them to stay still long enough for me to hit Sabretooth." She was watching closely for an opening into the fight when she caught a signal from Logan. A moment later he feigned a punch, broadcasting his intended manoeuvre clear enough for Sabretooth to intercept, and pin him. Rogue fired immediately, from only a few steps behind him, two darts lodging deep in his shoulder.

"Fuck," Sabretooth muttered, as his grip slipped, Logan effortlessly flipped their positions as the drugs began to kick in. "How'd you do it brother, how did you get a whole goddamn family, and the fucking girl," he commented, eyeing the ring on Rogue's uncovered hand. "You always were a lucky son va bish..." His voice faded out at the tranq's fully kicked in and he slipped into unconsciousness.

"I would have to agree with that statement," Rogue replied, grinning down at Logan as she placed a quick peck on his lips, "You are one lucky son of a bitch."

"That I am," Logan agreed, "Pure dumb luck, because I know I never did anything to deserve an angel like you."

"I can't help but feel this is just a little sappy and sentimental given we are standing in what looks like a scene from The Shining," Caleb commented, mildly amused, from behind the pair.

Logan laughed as he pulled himself to his feet, wiping the worst of the gore off himself as best he could, while Rogue radioed back to the jet to let the team know Sabretooth was down. Scott arrived a minute later, with feral level cuffs, and to let them know the Professor had sent a crime scene clean-up crew to their location before they alerted the police that James had been found. The clean-up crew arrived ten minutes later, took one look at the scene before advising they should move their scene to another location and alert the police to there; this area was likely to take days to clean.

Logan was cleaned up by the crew, and dressed in clean, non-shredded clothes, while Scott found a new location to dump those mutants they were leaving for the cops. It took them half an hour to load the stolen car onto the jet and move everything to another abandoned warehouse nearby, while Rogue drove the truck over.

They took two of the lower level mutants, the guy who had attacked Caleb at the park, and the guy they thought was the getaway driver, and laid them out for the cops. The rest were taken to the mansion until they could be handed over to the appropriate law enforcement, to answer for other crimes. Once the jet took off, Logan went over a basic story with the adults to answer as to what happened and how they found the bad guys. Then he turned to James.

"What happened buddy? What do you remember?" he asked the boy.

"I went to the shops place, to find mama, like you said, and a lady stopped me and asked where I was going, I telled her I was looking for mama and she said she would find mama but she took me to the big desk, then the man at the big desk said he would call mama to come get me. He made the noise boxes call mama, then the bad man grabbed me, but he covered my face so I couldn't tell, then he put me in a car and gaved me to someone else who put the bag on my head, and then I kicked and punched lots, and I bit too, so they tied my hands up. I don't know much what happen, cos my head was in the bag, but then dada and mama comed to save me," the boy answered, beaming up at his parents as he finished his tale.

"That'll do for the cops," Logan nodded, pulling his cell phone out to call the detectives who were running the missing persons case.

The police were intrigued at how they had managed to find and deal with the kidnappers so quickly but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, just glad that for once they could wrap a missing child case up quickly and happily. They assured Logan and Rogue they would keep an eye out for the other kidnapper, Sabretooth, who had 'gotten away', when Logan's undisclosed 'friends' found the hide out.

Three hours later, they were finally released as the suspects were officially arrested, and loaded into squad cars to be taken to be booked. They both wisely kept their mouths shut after Logan had reminded them, information that the Professor held on them that could 'accidentally' find its way to a prosecutor’s desk, if they tried to snitch.

It would be past dinner time at the mansion by the time they got back, and no one in their party felt like cooking, so they grabbed take out on their way home. Commandeering the kitchen was easy, getting everyone to stay awake through their meal was harder. The rest of the team, who came to welcome them home, gave up trying to hold any sort of conversation with them, leaving them to eat before they all took the elevator up to their rooms.

"Girl, if this is what your life is going to be like from now on, just one more progressively fucked up situation after another, have fun, but could you leave me out next time, that was more stress than first thing the morning of a Black Friday sale!" Jubilee commented, as she prepared to leave the elevator, "But I'm glad everything turned out okay, more than okay actually, we got the little guy back and shut down the main Brotherhood unit, not bad work for a day at the mall."

They waved Jubilee off to bed as the elevator doors slid closed. When the car stopped at the next floor Flora rushed in, frantically grabbing hold of Caleb, in a death grip around his neck, as she murmured about how worried she had been. He didn't say another word to the group in the elevator, he just picked Flora up and carried her down the hall to the privacy of his own room.

The last stop was their floor. Once they were inside their suite Rogue immediately carried James into their room, before crawling into bed with him, Logan followed a few steps behind with Ava. "I love you all," Logan whispered to his family, receiving varying levels of coherent responses from each as they drifted off to sleep.

He lay awake for some time just listening to them all sleep, thinking how differently this day could have ended, until Marie rolled over and hugged him. "Stop worrying so loud, we're all safe Logan you can sleep now," she whispered, as she drifted off to sleep again.

"Morning," Logan gloated, as he shoved a freeze-dried ration through the purpose-built slot in the door of the quarantine-slash-holding cell. Sabretooth growled at him irritably but made no move to take the food.

"I can't help thinking about yesterday, you got outsmarted by a goddamn three-year-old," Logan didn’t even bother to try and suppress the chuckle that burst out of him.

"Well I didn't realise he had fucking claws did I, what kind of fucked up three-year-old has fucking claws?" Sabretooth replied irritably, finally taking the food.

"A three-year-old we picked up from a lab," Logan replied seriously.

"Shit," Sabretooth muttered, glancing at him apologetically. His current attitude could almost lead one to think he was a normal human being rather than a raving psychopath. "How long was he in there?"

"Almost a year, Ava was only a couple of months, managed to get to Caleb before the lab found him," Logan replied, pulling up a seat opposite him but on the outside of the cell.

"There's another one! Shit, you were busy," Sabretooth chuckled.

"That’s nothing, me and Rogue gonna add a couple more in the next few years, thanks to you being a complete failure of a kidnapper, what do you want with her anyway?" Logan asked, getting to the point of his visit.

"I was just the merc given the job, a very lucrative contract to get anywhere near you... Mystique rebuilt the machine, wanted to test it out again, needed the girl to do it. Where is she anyway?" Sabretooth asked confused.

"Rogue?" Logan asked, not planning on telling him she was right around the corner.

"Nah, 'Stique, you did get her didn't you?" he asked, "She didn't look in a good way once your girl was done with her."

"Yeah, Rogue fucked her up real good, it was touch and go if she would walk again for a while there, she's elsewhere, also detained, you're only here because this is the 'special' cell, don't count on getting out, this thing would hold me," Logan told him. "Where's the machine?"

Sabretooth grinned as he shook his head. "That's gonna cost you," he replied.

"What exactly would that information be worth?" Logan asked directly.

"Hmm, let me think... a million bucks... my pick of a car from this place's garage, and... an hour with the life sucker," he chuckled at Logan's growl.

Logan didn't respond further to the last comment. "How about we withhold your involvement in the Liberty Island incident from the prosecutor? ... I'll even sweeten the pot; we'll also withhold the evidence of your involvement in the murder of Senator Kelly's aide?"

"Wasn't that the poor guy who got mauled by that bear?" Sabretooth mocked.

"Yeah, a bear smart enough to wear gloves to hide his paw prints - but not smart enough to shave beforehand to avoid shedding all over the place," Logan replied pointedly.

"Oops," Sabretooth answered, with a fanged grin. When Logan didn't comment further, he rolled his eyes before adding, "It was on North Brother Island when I saw it last."

"The abandoned hospital island on East River?" Logan asked, how they'd managed to be messing around on the island with no one noticing was something that would need to be looked into.

"Yeah, 'hospital'," Sabretooth replied with a dark chuckle.

"I don't know if I want to know what follows that comment," Logan replied.

"You do, but you don't, it was at one-point part of a network of labs run by the guy who gave you the metal," Sabretooth replied.

"... How do you know that?" Logan asked after a moment.

"Because I was there, the name of the guy you've been looking for is Stryker, I believe he's a General now, he's still running the program, I'm going to have to assume the labs that held your kids were his, not sure who else would know about you..." Sabretooth was interrupted by a voice from down the hall, that frantically yelled for Logan.

Logan immediately stood to leave the room, throwing over his shoulder a sarcastic, "Don't go anywhere."

--

"What is it?" Logan asked, walking to the communications office where Rogue and Kitty had been watching his interaction with Sabretooth on the CCTV cameras.

"Is that what I think it is?" Kitty asked, pointing to two objects on the long-range radar.

"They look like military transports..." Logan said, scowling at the screen, "Can you enhance?" Kitty hit a few keys; the image enhanced a small amount but not enough to be certain. Logan's next question was where did they come from, a quick track back showed them coming from well outside of the long-range radar.

"See if you can pick up any chatter, it may just be a coincidence they're headed in this direction," Logan shrugged, "Keep an eye on them, let me know if they get within twenty clicks."

He wandered back down to the holding cell, shaking his head with a grin when he walked in on Sabretooth trying to cut into the door hinges. "I told you, that'll even hold me, and you don't have indestructible metal claws," he said, as he sat back down. Sabretooth gave one last slam to the transparent wall before he too sat back down.

"So, what else have you come to pick my brains over?" the burly mutant asked, reclining on the bed.

"Was anyone watching the Brotherhood that you know of?" he asked.

Sabretooth turned to him, brow cocked. "Someone like?"

"Military. Could be nothing but they're currently heading direct for us right now," Logan told him.

"Nope, the coastguard was getting curious about what was going on on the island, but one of the mutants 'Stique recruited could make mirages and disguised our presence, you don't think it could be..." Sabretooth started.

"Police reports from James' kidnapping," Logan commented, "If someone's watching they could have put two and two together."

"The fuck did you get the cops involved?" Sabretooth growled, sitting back up as he shook his head angrily.

"I wasn't the fuckwit that kidnapped a kid from the info kiosk, in plain sight of a dozen surveillance cameras, mall security called the cops, we didn't have a choice but to talk to them," Logan growled back, feeling the fury and worry from the day before rush through him again. Sabretooth had the good sense not to dig himself a bigger hole there, and remained silent.

"Proximity alert!" Kitty called from down the hall.

"Still on course?" Logan asked back, receiving an immediate affirmative. "Alert Chuck and call an immediate evac, make it clear this is not a drill. Rogue, get you and the kids out," he ordered, as Kitty and Rogue both rushed out of the communications room as an alarm began to sound throughout the building.

As he was getting ready to leave the room Sabretooth stopped him. "I can help."

"What's it going to cost?" Logan replied snarkily.

"Consider it me repaying a debt, fixing a fuck up," Sabretooth answered.

"I don't trust you," Logan replied, as he continued out of the room.

"You don't have to trust me to accept my help, you can't face off against fifty plus of the best of the best, if that is Stryker, or someone connected to him, they only use the best, that's why we were on his team back in the day, until he screwed us both over, the enemy of an enemy and all that shit... let me help Jimmy, I swear to god I'll never take another contract that puts you or your family in danger, if I'd known he was your kid and she was your mate I wouldn't have taken it this time," the feral tried to reason.

Logan pulled his comm out of his pocket, fitting it to his ear as he glared at him. "Shadowcat, update?"

"Evacuation complete, all students are in the tunnels, the team's in the locker suiting up, are you coming?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah, what about the incoming?" Logan asked, still eyeing Sabretooth warily.

"Choppers are on the ground, they - they're everywhere Logan, there must be at least fifty and they're armed to the teeth," Kitty replied, fear beginning to seep into her tone.

"Get the team to cover the evac, me and an enemy of an enemy will take care of the military, keep an eye on our progress but don't send anyone else out unless it looks like we've been overpowered," he ordered, keying in the code to open the cell door.

"Don't make me regret this," Logan warned him, stopping his progress with a trio of claws pressed up against his chest in warning. With a nod Sabretooth waited for instruction before they both headed to the elevator.

"Happy hunting," Sabretooth growled, as the elevator came to a stop, on the second floor so they could get a jump on those already on the ground floor.

--

Half an hour later Logan surveyed the carnage that was the battlefield. Every soldier was dead, both choppers were disabled, though fixable if the Professor had something to use them for. Sabretooth had disappeared the minute the last soldier fell, that hadn't surprised him, it was the likely result of letting him out. On the off chance he was still close enough to hear Logan called out, "Threaten my family again and I won't be taking you prisoner next time."

A gruff, "Understood," crackled over the radio of a nearby fallen soldier.

With an amused grin at the guys ingenuity, Logan activated his own comm, giving the all clear to the team. They appeared almost immediately, ignoring the carnage as they began to remove bodies and severed limbs to easy to dispose of piles.

"Where is Sabretooth?" Scott asked, looking around warily.

"Gone," Logan replied, "Fair enough I suppose, he helped save our asses after all."

"He kidnapped your son and you're happy to just let it go?" Jean asked shocked, then suddenly realized she was holding a severed arm, she quickly threw it into a pile, shaking her hand as she shuddered.

"We have an understanding," Logan answered, "He doesn't try it again and I won't kill him. Besides, he wasn't kidding when he said he hates this guy, the one who sent these goons, I would imagine he's on his way to track them down to settle a personal score, I imagine we'll see him, and need his help again, soon." At the incredulous looks shot at him he added, "I'm not too proud to let some things slide, James wasn't hurt, neither was Rogue, there are some situations that guy would be an asset, and now that we know what motivates him, we can exploit it."

It took a moment before everyone shook off their shock, shrugged, and got back on with the clean-up. All the bodies were loaded into one of the choppers, the plan was to get the chopper flying again then ditch it somewhere in the ocean, or maybe crash it into the desert, they'd decide in the next day or so. Once the bodies were gone, the students were allowed out of the evacuation tunnels to help with the washing up.

Most of the violent dismembering had been done outside so hosing off the patio and the yard was enough, though it was unlikely anyone would be using them for several weeks at least. Inside was mainly sweeping up broken glass and the odd blood puddle.

Rogue pulled Logan aside as soon as they could get away from the kids, and grilled him on Sabretooth again.

"Marie, I wouldn't have let him go if I thought there would be any danger to you, it's me he has a problem a with, he's agreed to keep you and the kids out of his sights, at worst I'll probably have to kick his ass from time to time, honestly though it's kind of pointless because neither of us appear to be able to kill each other, though I did tell him I'd find a way if he ever came anywhere near the rest of you. Trust me darlin," Logan finished the conversation.

"I know you don't like it when I get hurt and you know what, I don't like it when you get hurt either... but I do trust you, I just hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the ass," Rogue replied, as she followed him back to help finish the clean-up.

A few minutes later she giggled. "Logan, you're just making more for us to clean, go have a shower and wash all that blood off," she pointed out, before shooing him off up the stairs.

--

The next morning the team was holding a meeting trying to decide what to do with the chopper full of bodies parked on the lawn. The second chopper had already been carefully moved into the hanger, alongside the jet, and been stripped down to bare bones to be rebuilt at a later date.

"I've got a location on where they came from, one of our field ops is running surveillance now to gather intel," Scott advised, he and Kitty had had to hack into several air traffic radars to track back the choppers to a facility in Kentucky.

"What is the official purpose of the facility?" Logan asked, glancing at the aerial photos, clearly there was more to the facility underground.

"Standard 'research and development' tag," Scott replied, a split second before the door flew open.

"I'm coming on this one," Rogue said as she took a seat, handing over a sheaf of papers to Scott who began to peruse them with interest.

"Rogue, it's too dangerous-" Logan began.

"It's not up for debate Logan, things have changed," she replied, as Scott handed the papers to Logan.

"It seems Stryker is the beginning and end of the research and development arm of mutant experimentation for military purposes, shutting him down will throw the program into disarray, taking or destroying their research will set the program back a good forty years. This new intel suggests this is Stryker's main hub, this is where all operations are coordinated through, and where the main research servers are stored. Everyone's coming on this one, be ready to leave at twenty-two hundred," Scott ordered.

As everyone disbursed Logan caught Rogue's arm. "Darlin you don’t have to do this, what about the kids?"

"They're already arranged to have a pizza party and sleepover with Caleb and Sarah, we'll be back before they have time to miss us, and we're going to shut this down once and for all-" Rogue choked up, tears welling in her eyes.

"What do you mean... Marie, what else did you find?" Logan asked, watching the devastation peeking through the cracks in her calm, confident exterior.

She shook her head before she took his hand, and led him to the communications room where she had been researching. There was another stack of papers, this set in several folders and tied shut with string

"This is you Logan, this is your life, I - I managed to crack their firewall, this is every scrap of information Stryker had on you... this, is your past Logan ... I don’t think you should look in here until after the mission, I don’t want it to throw you off, I don’t want it to distract you ... I won't make that decision for you though so, take it or leave it," she finished in a hurry as she spun around and ran from the room, the scent of tears following her.

Logan considered the file for a minute before he too turned and walked out of the room, whatever was in there was obviously going to be big, something that would take some time to digest. He had asked Rogue to trust him the day before and that trust went both ways, so he would trust her now and wait.

Rogue hadn't got far; she was in the women's locker room trying to calm her breathing down. As soon as she saw him step into the room she brightened as she launched herself at him and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, I know you've been looking for so long and-"

"What's a few more hours going to matter, after all, I've been waiting seventeen years so far, this will be a drop in the bucket. Is this why you wanted to come, you wanted to keep an eye on me?" Logan asked with a grin.

"Not exactly, there's going to be closure here, that we both need," Rogue answered, at his questioning look she continued. "You remember Sergeant Connors?"

"The limp dick bastard who brutalized my daughter? Yeah, kinda hard to forget," Logan growled.

"He goes by the code name Hellhound, when he was thrown out by the doctors for what he did to Ava he was transferred back... to Stryker's personal guard," Rogue stated.

It took a moment for Logan to register what she was saying. "He's going to be there?"

She nodded in confirmation. "Stryker is on site now, for the rest of the week, his personal guard is four strong, when he's on base they usually work in pairs so he may not be with Stryker when you get to him, this is a picture of him," she added, pulling a folded piece of paper out of her pocket.

Logan studied the face of the man photographed, the face that still haunted his daughter's dreams regularly. Once he had every feature committed to memory, he folded it again and tucked it into his pocket. "I need to make a call," he said, as he made for the communications room again.

He shoved the file across the desk as he pulled out the radio he'd snagged off the soldier’s body the day before, hopefully Sabretooth still had the other one. He clicked the radio, using Morse code to transmit the first word that popped into his head.

"Really? Bat? Is that some sort of secret code?" Marie asked, confused. A moment later a response came through, turned out it was, and the response was 'balls'. Logan then transmitted a nine second silence with a two second release, followed by a four second silence. A single click was received in response and Logan switched to a civilian channel.

"So, you can't even remember your name but old no memories Jim can remember Morse code, the code word, and lane switching, you are full of surprises," Sabretooth’s voice crackled over the line.

"Apparently so, where are you?" Logan asked, receiving a response he continued. "We've found Oz, the twister goes through tonight, Dorothy is there, if you meet us there, I'll let you have him so long as you leave his bodyguards for me, one in particular. We got a deal?"

"Hell yeah, when and where?" Sabretooth replied, almost sounding like an excited kid on Christmas morning. The details were set up in a mix of word code and Morse before they both signed off.

"The Wizard of Oz?" Rogue asked curiously, “Why the Wizard of Oz?"

"I can't remember," Logan replied, with a shrug and a chuckle. Pulling her toward him he wrapped his arms around her, "You're still coming aren't you, nothing I can do to change your mind?"

"Yes, I'm coming, and not a thing," Rogue replied firmly.

"Well then, we'd best get some rest then, I want you bright eyed and bushy tailed all night, and you stay on my six from the second we get off the jet, you understand?" he stated back, just as firmly.

"Yes sir," Rogue replied, only mildly sarcastically, laughing as he spanked her playfully before tossing her over his shoulder and carrying her up to their room.

The jet lowered, through the fog cover, at the rear entrance of the underground facility, near a concealed helipad. Their entry strategy was a distraction, the chopper full of dead bodies would imminently be crash landing at the front of the base, hopefully distracting everyone enough to allow them unhindered access to the control room.

The entire team disembarked and headed for their entry points, as they got into position a rustle in the woods behind them alerted Logan, and Rogue, to an approaching person. Everyone else however, jumped when Sabretooth suddenly stepped out behind them. Logan briefed Sabretooth on their plan handing him a digital map which was preloaded with the base blueprints, then he handed him the photo Rogue had given him earlier. "This is the asshole I'm after, alive and unharmed if you happen to run into him first."

"Why this guy, what's so special about him?" Sabretooth asked, as he did as Logan had done earlier and memorized the guys features before handing the photo back. Logan didn't reply, instead turning to the sound of the approaching helicopter. The helicopter hit the ground hard, about fifty yards from the main entrance, exploding into a fireball as, almost immediately, alarms began to sound through the base.

"That's our cue," Cyclops ordered, gesturing for everyone to advance.

Wolverine and Sabretooth went first, followed closely by Rogue, Colossus, and Cyclops. As soon as they reached the control room, encountering minimal resistance along the way, Phoenix and Shadowcat took position and began to override the internal systems. The base was quickly locked down, all external communications severed, and signals blocked.

"Have at it ladies and gents," Phoenix said, as the rest of the team began to disburse.

They were not taking prisoners on this shut down, the entire facility was being purged. The only reason they were doing it in person, rather than by bombing the place was, one, they wanted the research that was stored here, and two, they would cover their tracks with an internal explosion. It would be interesting to see what cover story the government cooked up, as to what was going on at the base, when it went epically public.

An hour later the base was in shambles, everyone was dead, and the main team was focusing on removing data storage and rigging the entire base to blow sky high. The only area of concern was the ferals, and Rogue. They had descended into Stryker's personal barracks, an area that contained his own room, office, and living space, and that of his private security, despite a lot of noise, including gunshots among the screams and roars, nothing further had been seen or heard from that area, and the three had yet to return.

"What do you reckon, do we go in?" Cyclops asked, looking to Colossus, equally concerned as amused.

"Maybe we could get Shadowcat to phase in?" Colossus suggested.

"Or you could stop being such pussies," Sabretooth answered, sticking his head through the doorway where half the door was left, hanging lopsidedly from broken hinges. "Seriously, man up, it's not pretty in here," he added, as he disappeared again.

"Where's Wolveri..." Scott broke off, as he stepped through the door into the carnage beyond. The rest of base, that had been business, soldiers killed quickly and efficiently by the two men as they swept through the base as quickly as they could. In here though, this was clearly personal, time had been taken to make sure these men died slowly, painfully. Some had limbs almost fully severed but for main veins and arteries so they didn't bleed out quickly. Others had been disembowelled, clearly while they were still alive.

Stryker's office held the most gruesome sight Scott had ever seen. The guy was naked, long parallel cuts running every inch over his body, every finger and toe had been cut off, and every joint dislocated, his eyes had been gouged out of his skull and his tongue ripped out.

"So... what eventually killed him...?" Colossus asked, partly curious but mostly disturbed.

"Old fucker had a heart attack before I could finish," Sabretooth muttered, sounding disappointed as he walked further down the hallway.

Following along behind him they saw Rogue standing in a doorway, Sabretooth just winked at her before walking into the room. "Holy shit Jimmy, I knew you had the sadistic ability somewhere in there but what in the actual fuck did this guy do to bring it out?" Sabretooth announced, letting out an appreciative whistle.

"I get the feeling I don’t want to see what's in that room," Cyclops commented to Rogue.

"You don't," she replied, "But we both know you're going to look anyway."

With a grimace he stepped into the room, staring open mouthed at the sight before him.

A man, or what was left of him, was hanging by his wrists from the ceiling, his arms awkwardly fluid giving the illusion he was being held up purely by muscle and skin. Toes, and bits of fingers, were discarded around the room, his dick was split from tip to root and his testicles were literally hanging from his body. There were strategically placed puncture wounds along his arms and legs, meant to cause pain but minimal blood loss, and Wolverine had begun to flay him alive.

Swallowing the rising bile in his throat Cyclops croaked out, "What the hell is this!?"

"This, or what's left of him," Wolverine replied, carefully peeling away another swath of skin, "Is Sergeant Conners."

"Oh, I see," Scott replied, as the name fired a memory. "Was this really necessary though?" he asked, as the dying man moaned in pain as another length of skin was peeled away.

"Well, to be honest, yeah, though at the same time I'm just killing time because I haven't decided how I'm going to kill him yet," Wolverine replied, a malicious spark in his eyes, "Let's see... so far I've broken every bone I can in his body, dislocated all major joints... What do you think, should I strangle him with his own guts or rip his heart out through his chest?" he casually asked Sabretooth, as if they were discussing what was for dinner.

"Well that all depends, what did he do?" Sabretooth asked again, with a touch of concern over just how sadistic Wolverine had gotten over this guy. He'd known him for a long time and this wasn't normal.

"Tell him," Wolverine commented, pulling the guys head up by his hair, the movement overstretching and tearing muscles in his arms. "Tell him what you did to my little girl, you were so proud of it before, gloating and bragging. Tell him how you cut her, and beat her, and burned her. Tell him how you raped her, every way that you could come up with in that sick little head of yours, most of which weren't even suitable for a grown woman let alone a six-year-old girl. Tell him how you left her lying in a pool of her own blood while you went for a smoke before coming back to do it all again. For every day she lay in that hospital, recovering from injuries so fucking horrific they should have killed her I would love to make you suffer even just an hour... fortunately for you, I don't have eight hours."

The room was silent as Wolverine slowly stalked around his prey, adding additional pain where he noticed spots he'd missed before, being careful to avoid damaging anything that might end the man's suffering too soon. He was starting to get obviously lightheaded from the pain and blood loss though, so however Logan was planning on ending this it needed to be soon.

"Disembowel him, strangle him with his guts, right before he passes out rip his heart out, leave his eyes, so he can watch," Sabretooth drawled, vicious fury in his tone; Stryker might have been one evil fucker but at least his proclivities for violence hadn't tended to children in that way.

"I like the way you think," Wolverine replied, stopping in front of the hanging man, the terror of imminent death had faded from his eyes around the time he had finished dislocating his arms, after he'd cut his fingers off, knuckle by knuckle, for daring to lay them on his daughter. The guy was now starting to look relieved that this would all soon be over, soon, but not quite.

Making a knick in the skin of his abdomen Wolverine shoved in two fingers, slowly tearing the skin open, very slowly, so the pain didn't spike enough for the guy to lose consciousness. Next, he fished through the hole he'd made, puncturing the membrane that stopped his guts from spilling all over the floor. Slowly he began to extract his intestines, dragging them through the small hole like a thick, slimy rope. There was a scuffling sound at the door of the room before Wolverine heard someone losing the contents of their stomach in the other room, this guy had already done that, and pissed himself, and shit himself.

When he had a decent length section of intestine he twisted it into a noose, before wrapping it around the guys neck, slowly twisting, tighter and tighter, until he began to gasp for what air he could get into his one still function lung, the other had collapsed when one of his broken ribs punctured it. Just as his eyes began to roll as he began to lose consciousness, Wolverine released the noose just a bit, slapping him to bring him back around with a condescending, "Not yet asshole," thrown in for good measure.

The guy began to beg then, not for the first time since this little torture session started. He had to assume what the guy was saying, his speech hadn't been all that clear since he'd cut his tongue out, which was after he'd knocked out all his teeth.

"I'll see you in hell one day, to pick back up where we've left off, 'kay?" Wolverine grinned darkly, before punching his hand into the guys chest. A wet sucking sound accompanied the removal of his hand, wrapped tightly around a lump of bloody pulsating tissue. He watched the guys eyes follow his hand as he realised what his body hadn't yet figured out - he was dead. He began to scream, probably much like how Ava had screamed when he'd been raping her, which only served to infuriate Wolverine all over again. He shoved the organ into the guys mouth, choking him as he twisted the guts noose tight again, the race was on to see what would kill him first, lack of oxygen, or lack of blood.

When the body finally stopped shaking and twitching, as the residual energy leached out, Wolverine stepped back. It was done. He hadn't been able to draw it out long enough, though at the same time he knew, even if he'd been able to torture the guy every day for the rest of his life it wouldn't have made up for what he had done. Letting out his frustration he began hacking at the corpse, reducing the body to a pile of minced flesh and splintered bone in mere minutes until he finally knelt, panting from exertion, in front of the remains.

He felt Rogue move up behind him, crouching down she wrapped her arms around him as she rested her forehead on his shoulder. "We have to go now," she said softly, a few moments later.

With a mute nod he stood, suddenly the realisation that Rogue had been there, had seen what he had done, hit him, what the hell would she think of what he had done, of him. He hesitated, not wanting to risk seeing fear or revulsion in her eyes at how low he allowed himself sink into the pit of darkness he tried so desperately to hide. Like always though, she just seemed to know, and she tugged him around to face her. It took her bumping his chin up for him to face her, before he would meet her eyes.

"I understand Logan. I'm not going to say some of that didn't squick me out just a little but at least I didn't lose my lunch-" she commented with a grin, nodding out the door in the direction Cyclops had disappeared- "I understand why you did it, why you needed to do it, I don't think less of you because of that, I love you, all of you, the part of you that tucks our kids into bed at night and reads them bedtime stories, and the part that slays their monsters."

Logan sighed in utter relief when he heard spoken what he could see reflected in her eyes, without a word he pulled her toward him, wrapping her in his arms as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, neither noticing that his exposed skin was pressed against hers as they held each other.

"I hate to interrupt this adorable display but we really do need to get out of here, your team wants to blow this place," Sabretooth interrupted them a short time later, they could hear Scott in the background confirming everyone else was out and they would be there shortly.

Pulling away from Rogue, Logan gave her a quick peck on the lips, before guiding her out of the room away from the carnage.

--

As they approached the jet Logan noted Sabretooth was still following them. "So, what are you doing from here?" Logan stopped to ask him.

"Honestly, I'm a little concerned about getting away from the blast range in time, any chance you guys can give me a lift?" Sabretooth replied.

"Where to?" Logan answered, as Scott muttered a 'no' under his breath as he stalked away.

"Got nowhere in particular to go so, anywhere is good," Sabretooth replied, with a shrug and a fangy grin as he fell into step beside Logan.

"No," Scott repeated firmly, as they tried to board the jet.

"Scooter, you can't blow this joint until he's out of range, and I am not waiting that long, so he's coming with us,” Logan replied, shoving him out of the way.

"Fine, we'll drop him off at the nearest town," Scott snapped.

"No, he's coming back to the mansion with us," Rogue said, from where she had taken a seat wearily.

"And why the hell would we do that?" Scott demanded, "Unless he's going back in that cell until we send him off to jail, I vote no!"

"Well if it's a democratic vote you want," Rogue replied turning to Logan, "You remember that information I asked you to wait to look at until we got back?" she asked, continuing at his nod, "You're going to need to talk to him once you've looked at it."

Logan considered her carefully before saying, "Well it looks like you're so far outvoted two to one, One-Eye."

Scott turned to Jean and Ororo, who glanced warily at Sabretooth before turning to Rogue.

~"Give me a reason here Rogue,"~ Jean asked her telepathically as she considered her answer.

~"He's Logan's family, they're both more than a hundred years old, there are a lot of blanks that I think he's ready to help Logan fill in,"~ she thought back. The surprised looks on both Jean and Ororo's faces, told her Jean had been sharing their conversation.

Both women nodded, and replied to Scott that they voted he returned to the mansion with them. "What!?" Scott exploded, "Surely I can't be the only one who thinks this is a really bad idea!?" he said, turning to the younger team members.

Colossus shrugged. "All I know is that despite me being told he's a bad guy, he did just help us out, twice in the last two days, plus, Logan's okay with it, so if Logan's going to a give him a shot, I will reserve judgement for now. I say he comes." All the other younger team members agreed with that reasoning, leaving Scott the only dissenting voice on the plane.

Scott gave up with his objections when he saw he was so massively out voted. "Don't blame me when this all goes to hell," he mumbled, as he stalked to the front of the jet to take his place in the pilot's seat.

With a chuckle Sabretooth took a seat behind Rogue, who was across the narrow aisle from Logan. "Not much legroom on this airline," he groused, buckling his flight harness as the engines began to fire. The jet lifted into the air minutes later, once it was a decent way up, and a short distance away, the remote detonated explosives were triggered. The resulting explosion still rocked the jet as it sped away.

As they flew Sabretooth quickly got bored, and what better thing to do when he was bored than piss off Logan, right? "Still afraid of flying I see," he commented, leaning forward to hang around the side of Rogue's seat, eyeing their joined hands.

"If we were meant to fly-"

"We'd grow wings, heard it before," Sabretooth interrupted, rolling his eyes, "So how exactly did he win you over sweet cheeks, and are all the pretty girls around here so easy?"

"Oh, he went all out, dinner, flowers, pretty ring, and his kids were just the sweetest, calling me mommy and coming to me for cuddles, I mean really how could I say no to that?" Rogue replied cheekily, she knew what Sabretooth was trying to do but she wasn't going to let him fuck this up, not yet at least.

"Really, flowers and everything? He always was a bit of a pansy, let me guess, cheesy-ass red roses?" Sabretooth chuckled in response.

"Rose's, yes, red, no. It was white and purple, really pretty," she answered.

"Aww, love at first sight and innocence, cute, has he tested out your innocence yet?" he asked, winking suggestively.

As Rogue giggled, Logan glared at him. "Shut your yap asshole before I change my mind and we drop you off right here, without landing."

"I'll take that as a 'no', don't worry, he's not so grouchy once he's gotten laid," Sabretooth assured Rogue, who burst out laughing. She would have fallen out of her seat if she hadn't been strapped in, the look on Logan's face made it all the funnier.

Once Rogue had composed herself, she turned back to Sabretooth. "What did you mean when you said 'love at first sight and innocence'?" she asked.

"Ah, the flowers, back in the day, a long, long time ago, flowers had meanings, you gave certain flowers to certain people to send them a message, for roses, the purple means love at first sight, the white is for innocence and purity, pure love, cheesy as fuck but it made winning chicks over easy as hell," Sabretooth admitted with a grin.

"Huh, I didn't know that... did you?" Rogue asked Logan directly.

Logan shrugged. "I just saw them and thought they suited you, maybe I did and that's why I thought that."

"Hm," Rogue turned in her seat, so she was leaning around the opposite side to that which Logan was sitting. "Psst, if I wanted to tell a handsome man I wanted to screw, what flowers would I use?" she whispered to Sabretooth; she knew Logan could hear but hey, maybe he would take the hint.

With a chuckle Sabretooth leaned close and whispered back, "Orange roses, though given you're not hitched yet lime blossom would work too."

"Stop corrupting my fiancée," murmured Logan, as he tugged Rogue back into her seat.

"Can you really blame me Logan, I've gotta be the last fucking virgin in the school," Rogue smartly replied, pouting at him.

"First off, that's an oxymoron darling, you can't be a virgin if you're fucking, second, you're not," he stated.

"Not what, grammar nazi?" Rogue asked.

"The only virgin," he replied.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you could tell that, you go around sniffing at the other girls, hm?" Rogue teased.

"Not intentionally," Logan answered with a smirk. They teased each other for a while longer until the jet touched down in the hanger.

As the team disembarked Scott stopped Logan, pointing directly at Sabretooth. "You, are personally responsible for him and everything he does while he's here, keep an eye on him."

"Kiss my ass Summers, if he fucks up, I'll throw him out myself but his actions are all on him, he's a big boy he can handle that," Logan replied, before sidestepping him and walking out, Rogue smiled sweetly as she did the same. Sabretooth followed, making a lewd comment to Kitty confirming 'big' as he left, noting the death glare he got from the tall Russian standing behind her, seemed that one was spoken for... maybe.

"Just look at your shit and talk to him so he can leave," Scott shouted after him.

After showering in the locker rooms and changing into school issue sweats, the small group made their way to bed. Logan noted Rogue's scent shift slightly toward nervous as they walked down the hallway, heading to the elevator, spiking as Logan paused at the communications room to grab the file. "Don't worry darlin, I'm not ready to look at it yet, sleep first," he said, handing the file to her.

Sabretooth followed them, more because he didn't know where else to go than any other reason. When they hit the final floor and disembarked the elevator he wondered if that was the wrong move, it seemed Logan, Rogue, and two children where the only occupants of this entire floor. Logan nodded for him to follow, pushing open the door of their suite before informing him he could have the couch, as he threw a couple of blankets and a pillow at him. He and Rogue immediately retreated to their own room, leaving him to himself for the rest of the wee hours of the morning.

The next morning, they awoke to bright sunshine, and the now unfamiliar sound of quiet. No pattering feet, no hushed whispers to be quiet, no tiny bodies bouncing on the bed, or wriggling under covers for morning cuddles. No requests for bizarre breakfast options, or activities to do that day.

"I miss them," Marie said softly, as she cuddled up to Logan, "It's too quiet when they’re not here."

"Let me interrupt your silence then," a voice rumbled through the door, "Why the fuck is there a chipmunk running around your living room, and am I killing it or putting it outside?"

Logan and Marie both burst out laughing, before getting up. Marie informed Sabretooth that neither option was suitable, while Logan made his way out to the living room to catch Monkey and return him to his cage.

"Let's get breakfast downstairs this morning," Logan said, pecking Marie quickly on the lips as she came out of the bedroom fully dressed.

She nodded in agreement turning to Sabretooth, just in time to catch sight of his broad naked back, muscles flexing as he pulled on his shirt. She turned away, suddenly aware that she didn't get to see Logan like that anywhere near often enough, he was always covered up in some way because of her stupid skin. He did it so she would feel comfortable and safe she knew but it still sucked, both that he couldn't be comfortable, and that she didn't get to enjoy the view her incredible man offered.

"You okay?" Logan asked, worriedly, tapping her chin up.

Forcing a smile Marie replied, "Yeah, I'm good, just thinking."

"Well, whatever that thought was, don't think it again, it looked depressing," Logan teased, trying to lighten her mood.

"It was," she cuddled up to him, "But I'll live. Now, let's go get breakfast I'm starving!"

They took the stairs to the ground floor, bypassing the cafeteria and instead heading for the smaller kitchen. The chatter of young voices could be heard from down the hallway, so they knew that's where they would find the kids.

As they walked into the kitchen a chorus of shouts went up. "Mama!" James yelled as he threw himself at Marie, while Ava went for "Daddy!". It took a moment for anyone to notice Sabretooth standing in the doorway, it was James that eventually did, spotting him over Marie's shoulder he growled loudly, baring his teeth in a snarl.

"It's alright buddy, he's a friend for now, he's not going to hurt you," Logan assured the little boy, ruffling his hair.

James shook his head. "He wants mama," he said, not taking his eyes of the man.

"Not any more sweetie, me and daddy kicked his butt real good, he won't mess with us anymore, he's gonna be staying here a while, and while he is, you have to be nice to him, okay?" Marie explained.

James just looked at her with a scowl on his face, a perfect miniature replica of Logan, before he announced, "I don't wanna."

"Then stay away from him," Logan shrugged, before instructing him to finish his breakfast.

Turning to Sabretooth and indicating he should come in, Logan introduced everyone. "You've met James obviously, and Caleb, this is Caleb's mom Sarah, Caleb's girlfriend Flora, and this is Ava."

Sabretooth nodded to everyone in turn until he got to Ava, she was the closest, still in Logan's arms where she had settled in for a hug. He took her hand, turning a handshake into a kiss on the back of her hand and a cheeky wink as he said, "Well hello little lady."

Ava froze, staring between him and Logan for a moment, before she burst out into giggles. Sabretooth couldn't help remembering what Logan had said the night before, about what had been done to the poor girl. It didn't seem to have affected her too badly in the grand scheme of things, thankfully. She was a real little cutie, how anyone could have done that to her was a mystery, hell he was a self-professed grade-A psycho and even he would never dream of doing shit like that.

Both Caleb and James were still regarding him warily, though Ava seemed to like him well enough, so he decided to introduce himself, it didn't appear Logan was going to. "I'm Victor, don’t worry though, I won't be in your hair for long, Rogue seems to think I can help this guy out with some things but then I'll be moving on,” he told them, noting Caleb relax a little. The teen seemed to understand that whatever rift had been between them last time they met was smoothed over now.

Ava lost interest in him then, turning back to Logan and asking him about the mission. "Actually, I need to talk to you about that, alone, can we do that now?" Logan asked.

"Only if James doesn't eat my breakfast while I'm gone," she glared at her brother, who was already trying to sneak food off her plate.

"James, you want seconds, you ask, don’t steal your sister's food," Logan reminded him, as Rogue picked Ava's plate up and moved it away from him. With that sorted Logan carried Ava out of the room, in search of some privacy.

"Why does-" Caleb started to ask before being interrupted by Rogue.

"We found the guy who landed her in hospital," Marie said bluntly, her tone implying that was the end of the conversation. Caleb took the hint, with a dark smirk, and returned to his breakfast.

--

Logan sat Ava down on the couch in the library, the library was always deserted at this time of the morning so they would have adequate privacy. Ava appeared to pick up on his tension and glanced at him worriedly as he sat down on the coffee table in front of her.

"Ava, sweetie, we found something at the lab, someone..." Logan faltered.

"Someone bad?" Ava asked perceptibly.

With a nod he replied, "Yeah, we found the soldier, the one from your nightmares," he explained gently. Ava shuddered, offering little more than a sound to indicate she'd heard him. "He's never going to hurt you again sweetheart, I made sure of it, he's never going to hurt anyone again,” he assured her gently.

"Was he sorry?" Ava asked softly.

"Not to start with, by the time I was done with him he was really sorry though," Logan assured her with a feral grin.

Ava's own feral nature snuck to the surface for a moment when she asked, in almost a growl, "Did you make him hurt?"

"Yeah sweetheart, I made him hurt, I'm not going to tell you what I did but he hurt a lot, I made sure of it," Logan responded. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you better back then sweetheart, but I'll do my best to make things right, now and always," Logan reassured her.

"I know daddy," Ava said, offering him a big brilliant smile, she must have been taking smiling lessons from Marie, before she climbed into his lap and hugged him again, an Ava special full body hug.

For several minutes they sat in silence just comforting each other before Ava pulled away. "My bad dreams can go away now because he's never coming back," she announced with a happy, childlike smile.

"That's right sweetheart, now we better get back to your breakfast before your brother decides we're never coming back and eats it for you!" As Ava laughed, he picked her up and made his way back to the kitchen, sitting her down next to Marie who had been guarding her breakfast for her, while he moved to the kitchen island to sit next to Victor, as he had asked to be called. Now that his mind was a little clearer, he noticed that name was really familiar.

"So, Victor, what exactly is it that Rogue thinks you can tell me?" he asked, as he helped himself to the coffee and breakfast Marie had set aside for him.

"I think you best read whatever's in that file first, then decide if you really want to know," Victor suggested. With a shrug Logan finished his breakfast.

Once the kids were done, they begged Marie to take them outside, everyone else had already left for classes, leaving Logan and Victor alone.

"Alright, time to stop procrastinating, whatever’s in that file I've been looking for for seventeen years, now it's sitting right in front of me and I'm too chicken shit to look at it," Logan muttered, as he stood to stalk out of the room.

"Some things never change," Victor replied with a chuckle, as he followed him back to the suite. Rogue had asked him stay with Logan while he read through all the information she found, and help him fill in blanks. The girl seemed to have a lot more faith in him than he himself had, maybe that's what Logan loved about her. Though she seemed to be an all-around great package, sexy in a cute way, gorgeous tits, nice ass, tiny little waist, her voice wasn't grating, and she seemed to understand that every minute detail didn't need to be questioned like some women did. Add to that she was sweet, kind, caring, and the kids obviously loved her too, and he really didn't think his brother had done that bad a job.

--

It was several hours before they were done going through all the information, it wasn't a complete record of Logan's - James Howlett's - life, mostly his military career and more recent in between periods. Pre-World War one he'd lived on an Indian reservation apparently; no information had been collected from the tribe at the time but Victor assured him he hadn't been born there. Between the first and second world wars, they'd both bounced from conflict to conflict through Europe and Asia.

After the second war he had settled down for a time in Japan, marrying and having children, there was no record of what had happened to his family but Victor told him they had been murdered while he was in Korea. For some time, he had disappeared, completely, even Victor hadn't known where he was and had been surprised when they both ran into each other again, in the middle of the Vietnam War. That was when things started going downhill, mutants were becoming more common, more easily recognizable, and when Victor fucked up one too many times and got them both in serious shit, that was when their mutations were discovered, or rather, acknowledged.

Initially they had been offered amnesty for the charges against them, on the condition that they remain with a secret military company, comprised mainly of mutants, for five years. "By the time that five years was up you'd had enough, the orders were getting progressively more fucked up and you wanted out, you walked out one hour after your contract ended, abandoned the company in the middle of the African jungle, just turned around and walked away," Victor chuckled, "You always had a special way of making a point.

"Stryker kept an eye on you after that. You settled down in Canada, had a job, a home, a woman, too bad she was a lying whore... not in a literal sense, she didn't ever sleep with anyone else, that I know of. She worked for Stryker, she was his eyes on you, she was how he drew you back in," Victor admitted, "I don’t know if she loved you, she said she did, but how can you do something like that to someone you claim to love. Rogue on the other hand, that one really does love you, god knows what she sees in you but she does."

"Why were you so angry with Stryker?" Logan asked, as he flipped through the part of the file dedicated to the experiments that had been done on him, it wasn't just the metal.

"He used us, turned us against each other. When we saw each other last, I'd thought we had an understanding, you'd be pissed with me for a while but then we'd meet up again and everything would be back how it always had been. You never turned up, for a long time I was angry at you, you were the only family I had left, the only family I'd had for a long time, and you walked away like it meant nothing. Then I ran into you, almost by accident, you didn't know who I was, you didn't remember me, that's when I went back, tracked down Stryker's operation found out what they'd done to you, then destroyed your memories. I had lost my family, and you were still there to remind me."

"Family?" Logan asked confused.

"We're brothers Jimmy," Victor replied, a sad smile accompanying the statement.

"Rogue knew?" Logan queried, still confused.

"I assume it's in there-" he indicated to the records Logan held- "Stryker figured it out, it wouldn't have been a difficult conclusion to reach given how similar our mutations are."

"That's why she wanted you here," he realised.

"Like I said, that girl loves you, she'll do anything for you, even if it makes her uncomfortable... don't look at me like that, I've kidnapped her once, and tried to a second time, you really think she's happy to have me here, she wants me here for you, she's willing to make that sacrifice. I'm happy for you, all you wanted for a long time was a quiet life and a family, now you've got it, I won't get in the way of that, you deserve it with all the shit you've been through," Victor told him honestly.

After several minutes of silence Logan finally asked, "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Only that you're shit with relationships so be careful with this one, oh, and you were born in eighteen-thirty-six," Victor replied with a grin.

"... Did you just say- I think I misheard, was that eighteen-thirty-six? As in one, eight, three, six? The early nineteenth century?" Logan stared at him incredulously. Victor just nodded in response.

"Does that raise any more questions for you?" Victor asked, when Logan just sat in stunned silence.

"So, what happened before World War One?" Logan eventually asked.

"Not much, we both ran away after our dad's died, ended up working in the mines for a long while, you weren't any good for heavy lifting but you were quick on your feet and scrawny enough to fit into small spaces. Then we joined the Civil War in America, spent some time as outlaws out West, just for shits and giggles, moved to Africa, because why the fuck not, fought in both the Boer Wars, then came back to North America. You met a pretty girl while you were out hunting and ran off to live with the Indians... Then those records pick up from the first world war," Victor briefly outlined.

"These records don't record a next of kin, wouldn't I have..." Logan stopped, when he saw the look on Victor's face.

With a sigh he told him, "She died, before the war, so did your daughter... pneumonia."

"Is that what you were meaning when you said I was shit with relationships?" Logan commented ruefully.

"Your first girlfriend died, freak accident, you first wife and daughter died, illness, kid was five, your second wife and two boys died, murder, the kids were two, and a new-born, so new you hadn't even got to meet him yet being away in the war, then you last girlfriend was spying on you for the guy who tried to ruin your life. Yeah, you have a pretty shit record with relationships. Good thing this one's different, she'll make it, and so will your kid's, these ones heal," he joked darkly. "So, what about this family?" Victor asked, "Rogue's not worried about the oldest kids’ mom being around?"

Logan chuckled. "Rogue's got nothing to worry about from Sarah, that was a long time ago, right back when I first lost my memory and was trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Besides, Caleb's a little old anyway for needing a lot of mom time, him and Rogue get on okay but more as peers than any kind of parental role, she's only about eighteen months older than he is."

"These guys must have given you a hard time on that, surely, defiling their students, hell, how did you not get kicked out?" Victor replied in amusement.

"After the statue thing, I left for a while, I knew what I wanted and I knew she would give it to me but I didn't want to fuck anything up, she was barely legal as it was and she had to finish school... We talked on the phone rarely, and when I found out she had not only graduated early but Scott had put her on the fucking team I came straight back, literally, drove through the night, halfway across the continent. Everything since then has been a little crazy but it's all working out, mostly everyone is supportive, though there was a pretty impressive shit fight initially," Logan chuckled at the memory.

"What about the other kids, how'd you get them away from their moms?" Victor asked, though with them being mutants it possibly wasn't that difficult.

"Ava's family are dead, both parents and her baby brother were rounded up when she was captured and executed, extended family believes they all died in a car wreck, I'm happy to leave it that way. James, well, poor kids story is fucked up from the very beginning, he was an experiment, the labs paid some chick to 'collect' from me - one nighter in a bar somewhere - then carry the baby, then they bailed, leaving her to raise it, planning to come back and collect when he manifested. He manifested at two, no one seems to know exactly why though, Jean thinks someone might have been experimenting on him long distance - the labs triggered Ava to manifest with some serum they'd developed, would make sense if they'd tested that on James, Jean suggested they could have given it to him at a doctor’s appointment with his vaccinations or something. The mom dumped him into foster care and the lab picked him up days later, then Rogue rescued him from the lab the night I rang and found out she was on the team, by the time I got home James was already settling in and calling her mama. And that was about five months ago, I think."

"Hell, you don't waste any time do you?" Victor chuckled, "How long until you marry the girl?"

"Three weeks," Logan replied, a soft smile settling onto his face, "Speaking of which, we haven't got the rings yet, we were going to stop by the jeweller after Rogue was done with the dress fittings but someone kidnapped our son..."

"No, you're kidding, who would do such a thing," Victor mocked shock, "Come on then, let's go find your brats, I think it's probably time for me to head out, don't want to wear out my welcome."

"You know, if you swear to behave, and not engage in any overt illegal activity, the Prof would probably let you stay," Logan suggested.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm quite at that level of domesticity yet," Victor replied with a chuckle.

--

There was a small crowd in the kitchen fixing a late lunch when they entered, well, Marie was fixing lunch, the two kids were arguing over who got to keep a certain rock they'd found on their walk. Logan shook his head with a grin as Marie rolled her eyes in his direction, he walked over to Ava and leaned down to whisper in her ear, a moment later her eyes open wide before she grinned. "You can have it then," she announced, and shoved it at James before picking up the cookie Marie had set down in front of her while they waited for her to fix their lunch.

"They've been arguing over that rock for forty-five minutes, tell me your secrets," Marie whispered dramatically to Logan, when he made his way over to her, placing a kiss on her covered shoulder.

"I just reminded her how Monkey was James’ until he lost interest," Logan replied with a smirk.

"Genius!" Marie commented with a laugh, as she handed him a couple of loaded plates.

Victor joined them for lunch, taking the hint when Rogue set down an extra plate, obviously intended for him. They chatted comfortably for some time before Victor revealed he would be leaving within the hour.

"You are coming back for the wedding though, right?" Rogue asked, her tone clearly saying the only correct answer was 'yes'.

"I should be able to swing that, when is it?" Victor replied with a grin.

"The fourteenth at four pm, here at the school," Rogue answered.

Victor nodded, and confirmed he would be there. "So, where's the honeymoon?" he asked, conspiratorially.

Rogue paused, looking blank, before she shrugged. “Honestly, I wasn't even interested in a 'wedding' so if we’re going anywhere, he knows I don't."

"Where you going?" James asked suddenly, his head popping up from where he had been shovelling food into his mouth.

"We, are all going on holiday, after mommy and daddy get married," Logan replied.

"Yay! Where we going?" Ava asked again.

"That's a surprise," Logan answered.

"When we going?" James asked.

"The fifteenth, you guys are gonna have another sleepover with Caleb, and then in the morning we’ll go on holiday, how does that sound?" Logan asked.

"Sounds like fun," Rogue replied with a smile.

"Lots and lots of fun," Victor added, joining in with Rogue's laughter. Logan just shook his head with a grin.

"Who's going where?" Scott asked, wandering into the room.

"Daddy's taking us holiday," Ava announced.

"Oh that, yeah, I was hoping someone else was going," Scott murmured.

"I'll be out of your hair within the hour pretty boy," Victor replied, as he took a swig from the beer Logan had given him earlier.

"Speaking of being out of people's hair, we didn't end up getting to the jeweller at the mall yesterday, shall we take a trip?" Logan asked Rogue.

Rogue looked between Logan and Victor. "Sure, if you can find a babysitter, no offense, but we aren't taking the kids out for a while."

"Sorry," Victor replied with a grin, "If it helps, I'll be following up whatever's left of the Brotherhood, without Mystique it’s gonna be hilarious to watch."

"Hey Scott, what are you doing for the rest of the afternoon?" Logan asked suddenly.

"Grading, why?" Scott replied, turning his attention back to the group from where he had been fixing himself a coffee.

"Can you watch the kids while Rogue and I go get the last of the wedding stuff?" as Scott opened his mouth to say 'no', Logan added, "You didn't have to of course, I'm sure Victor would be happy to stick around and watch them for us..."

"Sure, sure of course I can," Scott hurriedly answered, "You guys finished your lunch, we can go downstairs and you can run riot in the gym, how does that sound?"

"Okay!" Ava answered, jumping up, running out of the room, quickly followed by James.

"Thanks Scott," Logan replied with a grin. The other two waited until the other man had left the room before they burst into chuckles.

"Well played," Victor commented, as he drained his beer, "If you're going now, can you drop me at the train station on the way?" Logan agreed, and they headed for the garage.

There was a gentle tapping on the suite door, whoever it was was clearly being courteous to the sensitive hearing of, literally everyone who lived in the suite, and the fact that it was after a couple of the occupant’s bedtime. In return Logan popped the door open before the knock could sound again, and possibly rouse James or Ava.

"Hey kid, everything alright?" Logan asked, as he opened the door to reveal Caleb, Flora stepped out from behind the boy and waved shyly. "My apologies, 'kids'," Logan added with a grin, as he held the door open and waved them in. Both teens looked uncomfortable as they shared a look before Caleb asked if they were free to talk.

"Of course, anything in particular you want to talk about or should I start grilling you on your school work and the fact you're slacking in defence class?" Logan asked.

"Oh, uh, about that, I just didn't want to hurt anyone, but there is actually something we wanted to talk to you about..." Caleb said, still obviously uncertain.

"Before we get on to whatever you want to talk about, don't go easy on your classmates, okay, don't actively try and hurt anyone but going too easy on them will only hurt them in the long run, if any of you ever end up having to defend yourself your opponent isn't going to go easy on you, you know that first hand. Now sit down and spill before you chicken out of whatever you want to say," Logan handed them both a soda as he sat back down on the couch next to Rogue, who had set down the book she was reading.

"We, um, we wanted to talk to you... about..."

Flora giggled next to Caleb as he gave up his halting speech. "We want your advice on our relationship," Flora stated firmly, even as she blushed and worried her lip nervously. "We love each other, at the same time we're not entirely sure we completely understand what that means, we know we're young, and we don't plan on doing anything stupid like... well, like anything stupid, but we would like advice, and your blessing, basically," she said, with a shy shrug.

For a moment neither Logan or Rogue spoke, sharing a look that said the admission was not entirely unexpected.

"Well, I am glad you're not planning on doing anything stupid, for the love of god do not get pregnant, please, I do not want to have to help you explain that one," Logan started in response, Rogue and Flora giggled, while Caleb went from looking uncomfortable to blushing for the first time. "We are both happy for you, and happy to help you out anyway you need and any way we can, was this just an FYI or did you need some advice already?"

"I actually wanted to talk to you, and Rogue," Flora replied, "We were talking about, how this is going to work, and Caleb mentioned there might be an aspect of his mutation involved, I want to be sure I understand that, which Caleb said you would be able to explain better than he could, and I wanted to get Rogue's advice on... how that works, practically."

"Well, the mutation aspect is rather simple, I actually did some more research into this after Caleb asked me a while back. Ferals mate for life, is the easiest way to explain it, we bond with our partner for as long as we get to have them, to death and sometimes beyond. We expect the same loyalty in return, you can't lie to a feral, you can't cheat on a feral; well, you *can* but it won't end well, we are jealous, and a little… a lot, possessive, but not controlling or oppressive. Ferals can't 'fall out of love' with their mate, ending a relationship is not something a feral deals with well, we'll do our best to keep our mate happy to avoid that, so you need to be aware of that, you can't just change your mind in a year, or two, or five, or ten. That's why we make you wait before we stake our claim," Logan added with a grin.

"Oh, I wondered about that," Flora said, thoughtfully, "I guess it makes sense... How long does that usually take?" she asked cheekily.

Logan smiled at her. "Depends on the couple, you're fifteen, you don't have much in the way of life experience yet, and you're not ready to be a mom yet, don't rush it, be comfortable, be happy where you are, with who you are, relationships are deeper than physical connection, trust me, I've got three kids to three different women, but I've bonded to a completely different woman, a fact I never thought about before and I feel pretty shitty about now, both for the kids, who had to grow up without a dad, and for Rogue who's picking up the pieces now.

"I am sorry about that darlin," Logan admitted turning to Rogue. "Don't get me wrong I love Ava and James, and Caleb too, more than even I thought would ever be possible, and I can't imagine my life without them now but... you didn't deserve to be pushed into that role so soon, and I'm sorry for that."

"You don't have to be sorry for that, I never thought I'd be in this situation either but I wouldn't choose anything different," Rogue assured him.

Flora was watching them with a soft happy smile, before she turned to Caleb and cuddled up to him. "I love you that much," she said to him quietly, "Though I would appreciate it if you didn't bring home several secret children one day," she added teasingly.

"It's okay," Caleb replied with a chuckle, "I think you probably caught me early enough but if you want I can I double check with my previous flings."

"The apple didn't fall far from the tree there I take it?" Rogue joined in the young pair's laughter as she teased Logan, who good naturedly humoured her.

"So, what about for you Rogue, what is being a ferals mate like? What do I need to be aware of so I don't make me harder to deal with than I already am?" Caleb asked.

"Once you've accepted a feral, like Logan says, you've got to stay loyal, it's honestly not hard, I mean, he does get a little frustrating every now and then but communication and an easy going nature are key, if he ever makes you feel stifled, because ferals are... intense, tell him, some things you just have to laugh off, or nod along tolerantly, but you have to do that in relationships in general anyway. On the plus side, you've got every woman’s dream in a man who'll stick by you through anything and is never gonna cheat, he'll even put up with a shitty restrictive mutation," Rogue smiled sadly, as she observed her and Logan's gloved fingers entwined where they rested on his thigh.

He had taken to wearing gloves too in recent months, so he could touch her when and where ever he felt like it. That had led to some pretty heavy make out sessions, when they could distract the kids for long enough, but Rogue couldn't help but feel like Logan was getting a raw deal. At least he seemed to be content with that, having deflected her attempts at progressing their physical relationship.

"There’s nothing to 'put up with' Marie, your mutation is just part of you," Logan answered, kissing her fingers before her kissed her forehead too.

"Yeah, yeah, so you keep saying," Marie smiled, "Anyway, does that answer your questions?"

Flora and Caleb both nodded, that was everything they needed to know for now. "That really helps, we're on the right track, and I think we understand what's going on, and where we're going, what we're doing," Flora said. "My parents are coming to visit next week, um, would you... would you... we want to tell my parents too, get their 'blessing', would you be there too, when we tell them?" she asked nervously.

Logan groaned, hanging his head as he chuckled. "How did I know that was coming, " he commented before acquiescing, "How do you plan on breaking it to them?"

"We're taking them out for dinner on the last night of their trip," Caleb said, with a nervous shrug, "We don't want it to be, or expect it to be such a big shock that way."

"And if you don’t mind me asking... Marcus?" Logan asked the pair.

"Oh, he got the idea at Valentine's, Scott must have talked to him, and then seeing how epically he got outdone in the flower department he admitted defeat," Flora giggled, obviously relieved.

They chatted for another hour before Logan sent them off to bed, they'd already missed Flora's curfew. Caleb was lucky, having both his parents on site, and not living in the dorms, meant he got more latitude with curfew.

"This is going to be interesting," Logan commented once they were gone.

--

"Wow, he's really going all out," Logan commented as he helped Rogue out of the sportscar they'd borrowed from the garage for dinner. Tonight, was the night Caleb and Flora where going to break the news to her parents that they were seriously seeing each other. The pair had been out with her parents sightseeing for the day, Rogue and he were to meet the rest of the group at the restaurant at six, and it was a flash restaurant.

"Yeah, not really my scene but I guess when you're showing off to your girlfriends’ parents..." Rogue grinned at him as he took her arm and led to her inside. She was wearing a fitted sparkly green dress she had borrowed from Jubilee, full length with long sleeves that looped over her thumbs, with short black lace gloves over the top. Logan had 'dressed up' too, and she wasn't going to complain in the slightest about the tight black jeans and, black dress shirt. He looked dark and mysterious, and incredibly hot, so hot she was considering asking him to forgo the suit for their wedding, the very next day, and wear this same outfit instead.

It turned out they'd beat the rest of their party so they were seated alone for the time being. Despite the fact Rogue was only newly eighteen, no one asked for ID, and Logan didn't say anything when she ordered a cocktail to go with his beer.

About twenty minutes later the rest of their party joined them, Logan stood to shake hands with Flora's parents, while Rogue just smiled and waved, it was easier than putting either of the newcomers in the awkward position of not knowing quite how to deal with her mutation. Sarah arrived too before everyone had sat down. When they were finally all seated Caleb was next to Logan, Flora on his other side, Sarah was beside Rogue, and Flora's parents on the opposite side of the table. Flora's mother had a secret smile on her face as if she had caught on to what was happening tonight.

The meal progressed in a light manner, all parties got on well and conversation flowed easily from everyone, except Caleb. He would engage well, whenever anyone asked him a direct question, but other than that he was obviously not concentrating on the conversation.

Between courses Logan nudged Caleb and murmured softly, "Get it over with already," knowing Caleb, and probably Rogue, would be the only ones to hear. Unfortunately, Caleb instantly paled, Logan could have sworn he stopped breathing for a couple of minutes until Flora noticed and leaned over.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Uh ... yeah," Caleb choked out, as he shifted uncomfortably.

"Obviously there is an important reason you two invited us all out for the night?" Sarah added, hintingly.

"Uh ... yeah," Caleb repeated, leading Flora to glare at him, though she was clearly trying not to laugh. When Caleb finally managed to get out his pre rehearsed speech, Flora let out a sigh of relief when her parents didn't immediately freak out as she had been fearing, in fact, they seemed to find the situation as amusing as Caleb's parents did.

"Relax son," Kyle reassured him, "That was a ballsy move, much respect to you, I didn't have the balls to talk to my girls father until I'd already knocked her up... wait you're not...?"

"Oh god, dad!" Flora replied, flushing bright red, burying her face in her hands as she giggled.

"No sir!" Caleb replied forcefully, shaking his head.

"Oh well that's good," Kyle replied with a grin, as his wife stifled her own laugh, smacking his arm and pointedly glaring at him, her code to tell her husband to stop teasing the poor boy. "Well, don't do that any time soon if you please, I'm not ready to be a grandfather yet, as for the rest, I can honestly say your request comes as no surprise and I can assure you we would be very happy to have such an outstanding young man as our future son-in-law. We are also very happy that you've acknowledged your age as a factor in this situation, I'm probably over stepping my boundaries here but this is my only little girl so you'll have to forgive me for being a little over protective, I would like to ask you, both of you, to wait to take your relationship to whatever the next level is - I'm hoping the fact you're so certain she's not pregnant means you haven't started sleeping together yet-" he chuckled again at the mortified look on Flora's face, Caleb just look embarrassed but was starting to relax and find the humour in his situation, now that he seemed to be confident the answer was positive.

"We would like to see you both finish school, at the very least, before running the risk of bringing a baby into this situation, you're both very responsible and mature, and that gives us hope that you'll take all avenues into consideration before getting into that situation, and you both appear to be very open to taking advice and asking for help when you need it, so consider our door open if you ever need our help. We would also ask, that though we have no problem with you being in a relationship, even getting engaged, if that's what you want to do, we would like you to wait to get married until Flora is eighteen, we want you to both be certain of your decision before making that final step. Can you both accept that?" Kyle asked, as Marlene nodded along in agreement.

Flora answered this time, after confirming, non-verbally, Caleb was in agreement. "Yes, we agree, I do just want to make it clear that I don't plan on going to college, we do want kids, and I want to be a mom so, getting a useless expensive degree just doesn't make sense, and... we do plan to move back to Canada..." she added, ducking her head so she didn't have to see the look on Logan's face. The guy had come all the way to Manitoba to bring Caleb to New York in the first place, he likely wouldn't be happy that they planned to move away again, eventually.

"It sounds like you are both planning your future very carefully, keep that up but also be flexible, life likes to throw shit at you from time to time, learn to roll with it," Marlene suggested, with a happy smile at her daughter, who was growing into an amazing young woman.

"Yeah, that's been hit home pretty clearly over the last several months," Flora replied, shuddering as she remembered the various things that had come so close to drastically changing her life. Front and centre was the image of Caleb, badly charred, as Logan had bundled him out of sight after the encounter with Johnny.

Caleb recognized the look on her face and decided it was probably a good idea if she didn't dwell on whatever she was thinking about just then. "Well, now that we have the blessing of the wider family-" he got out of his chair and knelt down next to Flora- "Will you be my future bride, in about three years, maybe longer but eventually..." He popped open the small dark green ring box he produced from his pocket.

Flora stopped, staring open mouthed at him, she hadn't expected him to actually propose, not yet at least, and definitely not with a ring. Which was when it suddenly occurred to her, he was holding a ring, her eyes dropped to the box in his hands. Her eyes opening almost as wide as her mouth as she saw the colourful gem stones in a flower shaped setting; a small round citrine, surrounded by teardrop shaped rubies set out like petals, all flanked by hear shaped peridots that resembled leaves, on a silver band.

"Oh my god... it's beautiful!" Flora commented, "Oh, and yes, sorry, probably should have said that first!" she added with a laugh, as tears welled in her eyes. Caleb gently slid the ring onto her finger before he kissed her gently when she moved in to hug him tightly. When they finally broke apart Flora was still giggling giddily, as she showed off the ring to all in attendance.

"Where's the box?" she asked Caleb, once she was finished showing it off.

Confused he pulled the box out from where he'd stuffed it back in his pocket, finally it wasn't burning a hole in his pocket as it had been doing all day. "What are you doing?" he asked in confusion, as she slid the ring off her finger and popped it back in the box.

"I can't start wearing it now!" Flora replied incredulously, "Logan and Rogue are getting married tomorrow I am not going to steal their thunder by flashing a brand-new engagement ring at their wedding!"

"Oh I don't mind, please, by all means, take as much attention off me as possible," Rogue replied with a laugh.

"It's not just that, I'd rather we told the teachers first too so they don't freak out when they notice, but tomorrow is going to be too busy for that, I'd rather wait until after," Flora reiterated. Caleb nodded in agreement, admitting it was a fair enough point, before he offered to pop the box back in his pocket. "Mm, no, I'm not done looking at it yet," she answered, propping the box open in front of her as the table’s dessert arrived.

"Speaking of 'waiting until after', Rogue and I are taking a month off and going on a honeymoon-slash-family holiday, leaving day after tomorrow, James and Ava are coming with us for obvious reasons, it would mean a lot to both of us if you two would come too. This marriage, it isn't just about us, it's about our family, we've done a decent job getting comfortable around each other but we'd really like to use this holiday as a chance to really get to know each other, I figured now would be a good time to ask so you can get your parents’ permission Flora," Logan added, not telling her he had already asked them and had confirmation it was fine with them. She was well ahead in her classes, having crammed in as much studying as she could, to prove to her parents it was a good idea to let her come to New York.

"Mm, where too?" Caleb asked cheekily, making out he wasn't sure about going.

"I can neither confirm nor deny the location or activities planned, it's a surprise, isn't it Marie?" Logan replied with a grin.

"And if you could stop talking about it that would be great because I'm starting to get really curious and it's doing my head in trying to figure out what you're up to this time... you haven't told the kids anything this time so I can't weasel anything out of them, Scott seems to know but he won't talk..." Logan chuckled in response but didn't say more, other than to turn the option back to the teens.

"Would that be alright?" Flora asked her parents, rushing on before they could answer, "I could do the summer classes to make up any missed time and..."

"Yes," her dad interrupted, before she could launch into a full reassurance. An excited squeal and a hug were her only response.

"And that's okay with you too mom?" Caleb asked Sarah.

"Of course, go, have fun, and offer to babysit your younger siblings as often as you can so these two can get a bit of alone time," Sarah added, directing a grin at Logan, who looked mildly uncomfortable for a moment before he moved on.

"And you're still okay to have the rug rats for another sleepover tomorrow night?" Logan asked, noting Rogue perk up her ears.

"Of course," Sarah assured him, "Speaking of plans, I happen to know both of you have people planning a bachelor and bachelorette party for each of you, respectively, that you have been actively avoiding for a week, and you are using this event to hide from the last ditch attempt tonight, so we should probably send you guys home before too much longer," Sarah said.

"No, no we're good," Rogue answered, joining in with the chuckles all around, though they did eventually give in and head home.

"Mama, mama!" came an excited shriek a moment before the suite door burst open, James ran across the room, jumping over the couch, before he skidded to a stop in the bedroom doorway, he froze for a moment before he grinned widely. "Mama so pretty!" he announced.

"Aww, you're sweet little man," Marie replied, crouching down next to him to place a kiss on his head, ignoring her dress, "You are also only half dressed, run back to daddy and put your shoes and your jacket on, we'll be down soon."

"I don't wanna!" James announced, scowling as he did so, getting more annoyed when it just made Marie laugh.

"James, if you don't go back now, we can't have the yummy cake and you can't have your sleepover with Caleb, don't you want to have another sleepover?" Marie tried to reason with him. For an almost four-year-old he was surprisingly good at critical thinking and reason.

"Yes," he sighed exasperatedly, "But I don't wanna wear the jacket, it's not nice."

"You think your jacket's not nice you should try wearing this dress," Marie groused, "I know it's not comfy but you don't have to wear it for long, so for mommy, will you wear it, just for a while? Just until we've finished taking pictures, okay?"

"Okay!" he agreed dramatically, as Caleb stuck his head into the main suite door looking for the boy.

As the boys made their way back down the hall, Marie was struck again by how utterly pointless this exercise was. What did it matter what she wore, or how they said their vows, or where for that matter, but, this is what Logan, of all people, wanted so she would indulge him. She knew why he was pushing it, he wanted her to have memories, and pictures, and other mementos to look back on, but all she needed was him.

They were finally all ready a few minutes later, Marie in her dress, traditional white, stylishly elegant, and just the classy side of slutty because it was her wedding damnit and why shouldn't she flaunt a little. The guests dress code called for everyone to wear gloves so the open back of her dress - mostly covered by her long, curled hair - shouldn't be a problem, and the only one who should have their hands anywhere near the low neckline of her bodice should be Logan. She had planned to wear a sheer silk bodysuit underneath the whole ensemble but Logan had insisted she not, even going so far as to threaten to cut it off her, in front of everyone, if she did. He eventually conceded to her wearing gloves, though her elbow length gloves still left plenty of deadly skin on display.

Jubilee was her bridesmaid, she'd agreed to have one, only because Jubilee would not stop pestering her about it, and was dressed in a gorgeous dark green fitted dress. Ava was the flower girl, also dressed in dark green, a miniature version of the same dress Jubilee was wearing. The rest of the party were wearing black ballet flats, while Rogue was wearing a pair of white lace up, knee high, heeled boots, not that you could see them under her dress. With her veil in place, flowers were handed out, a nod to her southern heritage in the form of white magnolias, with a similar but smaller arrangement for Jubilee, with a basket of white rose petals for Ava.

Then came the waiting part, while they had to send a runner downstairs to see if everyone else was ready. They didn't have to wait long as a runner had been sent in the other direction to check with them too, both meeting halfway before scurrying back to deliver their messages.

Before it had really begun the ceremony was over, vows said, rings exchanged, and then came the part Marie had been looking forward to, and dreading simultaneously.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife; you may kiss the bride."

The look on Logan's face immediately made her tense as he began to lift her veil, oh god, he was actually going to kiss her, skin on skin. ‘Please, oh please, don’t put him in a coma on our wedding day’, was all she could think.

"Relax darlin," he whispered, as he slid one hand into her hair and moved in to meet her lips. As their lips touched Marie was so distracted by the feelings welling inside her, that she completely missed the fact that nothing was happening, at least not anything caused by her skin.

After a couple of minutes Logan pulled back confused, and a little out of breath. "So, I planned on doing that until your mutation stopped me, am I correct in assuming it wants me to continue?" he asked cheekily.

"I don't know what my skin is doing but I definitely want you to continue," Marie replied, as Logan moved his lips back to hers with a chuckle.

Most of the audience just sat in shocked silence, their guests were only the students and faculty of the school, neither of them having any family to invite, other than Victor, who Marie had noted standing off to one side, out of the general thoroughfare, it seemed he had been serious when he agreed to attend. So everyone present knew, this wasn't supposed to happen. Eventually they were interrupted by the kids, well, Caleb and Ava, making gagging sounds behind them, and giggling between comments of 'eww' and 'gross'.

"I don't know how that happened but holy shit darlin I could do that for the rest of my life," Logan chuckled as he hugged her, before wiping away the shocked tears she had let drop. They were cheered out of the area, Rogue trying to hide from flying rice behind Logan, as they made their way across the lawn to where the photographer the Professor had hired wanted to take photos.

"What do you think this means?" Marie asked softly, as she hugged him while they waited for the photographer to catch up.

"I think, it means, I don't need these-" he peeled his gloves off- "And you don't need these-" he peeled hers off too, before he twined their fingers together, marvelling at the feel of her soft skin.

Eventually Marie tried to pull away. "What if its only temporary? What if it only works for you? I don't want to hurt anyone else," she said, as he finally released her hand and she could pull her gloves back on. Logan wasn't giving up though, tugging her to sit in his lap on a bench seat under a rather photogenic oak. As soon as she was seated, he began to kiss along her bare shoulder, while one hand slid up her bare back, until she flushed in embarrassment when she noticed they were being watched and moved away from him.

"Maybe you're right, maybe it's just me, I wonder... After that last time I healed you, you're still healing aren't you?" Logan asked, as he began to ponder the possibilities.

They were interrupted then by a squeal from James, who was currently hanging upside down by his ankles as Caleb tried to stop him from rolling in the grass. Hurriedly they took care of photos, even roping Victor into a few, before Marie assured James he could get changed now; he was half undressed before Logan could scoop him up to carry him back inside to get changed.

"I got the distinct impression that action at the altar was unexpected?" Victor posed, once Logan, and the rest of the party was out of hearing, though he noted Caleb stayed within sight of them, obviously still not entirely trusting him - the kid was smart, he wouldn't trust himself either.

"That's the first time Logan's touched me without ending up in, or almost in, a coma," Marie replied with a resigned chuckle.

Victor frown at her confused. "No it's not," he replied.

"I think I would know-" Rogue started, before he interrupted her with a shake of his head.

"The mission to take out Stryker, once he was done eviscerating the kiddie fucker, you two touched then, skin-to-skin, for quite a while, nothing happened then either," he stated.

Marie frowned as she racked her memories for what he was talking about, her eyes slowly widening as she realised he was right.

"Just how much have you two been touching anyway?" he continued.

"Not much, my skin kinda sucks the life out of people so... we're usually both wearing gloves..." she slowly fell silent, as she began to consider the ramifications of this new development.

"Come on sis, let's get you inside," Victor chuckled, offering her his arm. Marie eyed him warily before he shrugged and headed inside alone, she quickly fell into step beside him, apologizing for her hesitation. "Don't worry about it, you're probably smart to avoid getting too close, I'll be the first to admit I'm a little unpredictable."

"Sounds to me like you just need something to ground you," Marie replied, "Maybe now that Logan's got some of his past back you two can rebuild your relationship?" she suggested.

"He doesn't need me anymore," Victor dismissed the point, with a shake of his head, as they entered the rooms of the mansion that had been set up for a reception.

"But you still need him, besides, relationships aren't about need, they're about choices, he's not going to choose you over me but that doesn't mean he can't choose to have you still in his life, just don't ever make him regret that choice, or once he's finished kicking your ass it'll be my turn," she added with a grin.

"Ooh I'm so scared, shaking in my boots," Victor quipped.

"Don't forget who put you down last time," Rogue reminded him, "And that wasn't even with my mutation!"

She showed him to the main table, for immediate family, ignoring Scott's glare as she simultaneously stifled her grin as Caleb followed her in, he was obviously taking his role as self-appointed bodyguard seriously. It wasn't long before Ava joined them, smiling brightly at Victor as she took one of the seats right beside him. Ava was probably the only one in the family that didn't have a bad experience with Victor, long may that last; he in turn appeared to have taken a shine to her, acting almost as protectively of her as Logan did, ever since he had heard about what had been done to her in Stryker's clutches.

Logan entered the room a few minutes later, James was back clad in his usual grass stained overalls, and Logan deposited him on the seat on the opposite side of Victor, and next to Caleb, before taking his own seat next to Marie.

"You staying for any length of time?" Logan asked Victor, as Ava's chatter died down when she began to eat the food that was served a short time later.

"Nope, just passing through, I'll probably be gone before you two sneak out," he answered.

"Okay, well, we're going to be away until about the beginning of July... what you doing for the fourth?" Logan queried.

"Crawling into a hole somewhere and getting pissed, maybe blowing myself up with a crate of fireworks later, why you ask?" Victor replied nonchalantly.

Ava paused her eating, paling as a haunted look crossed her face, all eyes suddenly turned to her as the scent of fear began to permeate the air.

"Ava, what's wrong sweetie?" Marie asked worriedly, as the girl began to shake.

As Victor's words suddenly rang in his ears Logan remembered his private conversation with Ava the first day she arrived, quickly he walked around the table spinning her chair around. "It's not like that sweetheart, he didn't mean it literally," he whispered to her, as he pulled her close and wrapped her in his arms.

After a moment she stilled before pulling away, she sniffled, and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, her eyes were puffy and red, and tears had tracked silently down her cheeks while she had been hiding in his arms. "I'm okay now," she whispered softly.

"You sure?" Logan asked, smiling when she nodded before he wiped away her tears and kissed her forehead, turning her back around to face the table he continued his conversation with Victor.

"How about instead of crawling into a hole and getting *drunk*-" he emphasized the alternative choice of wording, noting the dark look that accompanied the realization as it dawned on Victor what the girls issue had been- "Why don't you come here, we'll even let you help set up fireworks if you promise not to blow anyone up, yourself included, can promise you an all you can drink buffet," Logan added.

"You're as bad as your woman here, trying to tame me!" Victor grumbled, the grin tugging at the corners of his lips gave him away though, he wasn't opposed to the idea. "I'll see closer to the date. The Brotherhood crumbled away to nothing rather unceremoniously with Mystique locked up, so I'll be off looking for work ... don't you dare say it, I'm not a fucking superhero, or a fucking teacher, Xavier can take his 'work' and shov..." he paused suddenly, casting a sidelong glance at Ava before changing his tack, "It's not the sort of work I'm after."

Logan shot him a grateful look for censoring himself. "Fair enough, if that's how you feel, the doors always open if you change your mind, and don't be a stranger, I don't remember everything but I remember enough, you're family, you're welcome, as long as you behave."

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of food, drink, noise, and dancing. Marie had no clue what song it was she and Logan danced to first, she'd been too shocked at the fact that Logan actually could dance to notice. It turned out he wasn't the only one full of surprises, Ava had been impatiently waiting for Logan to finish dancing with Marie, or Caleb to finish dancing with Flora, when Victor offered her his hand with a grin and wink and offered to dance with her. He'd later danced with Marie, trying to piss Logan off by pretending to cop a feel while Logan was dancing with Ava; Logan had eventually shoved him out of the way and taken both girls for himself, much to everyone's amusement.

A decidedly tipsy Jean cornered them toward the end of the evening, joining them for another a drink as she grilled Rogue on how long she had been able to control her mutation. The following conversation had been rather humorous, with Jean having to repeatedly restate her thoughts when her words kept coming out on the wrong order but it was surprisingly helpful at the same time.

"I had wondered if that might happen, you're DNA changed, when you started doing the healing thing - I think I told you that - I wondered if it might make your mutation recognize Logan as you, as the DNA, because it's the same... basically your skin thinks you are Logan, because you have some of his DNA!" Jean finished, an air of triumph at having been able to get her words out somewhat coherently.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Logan asked, a little annoyed, not least of all at himself for not considering this possibility.

"Rogue always freaks about when you suggest she test her mutation, fair enough she doesn't want to kill anyone, I get it, but can't do science without dangerous experiments, just ask Karen Wetterhahn, or Marie Curie... well, you can't, they're dead, but you get the idea..." Jean glared down at her empty glass before Victor offered her more wine, she glared again before turning her glass upside down, she was done for the night.

"So, if my mutation recognizes Logan's DNA as similar to mine, similar enough to not react to... would it... work the same with my children?" Marie asked quietly, she loved kids and had wanted her own since she was quite young but had thought her mutation had ended any realistic possibility of that. That was not least of all why she had taken to James and Ava so completely, though she knew she wouldn't love them any less should she one day have children of her own.

"That would be my most logical concalation – conc-lusion," Jean replied, "If you want to risk the minute ... risk, it might even be enough of a match with DNA for you to be able to touch Ava and James, and Caleb too, they all have Logan's mutation so that may be enough familiar genes for your mutation to recognize them too," she added thoughtfully.

"No, no, that's too dangerous!" Marie said, catching the considering look on Logan's face.

"I don't think ..." Logan started, before Marie cut him off.

"I don't know what my mutation would do to a child on the first place, it's too dangerous!" she reiterated.

"What about me?" Caleb suggested, "You could try touching me, if your mutation doesn't work on me either it's a fairly safe bet it won't work on the little kids," he pointed out.

"You don't have any clue what you're risking!" Marie pointed out to him.

Logan shrugged. "Worst case scenario, a feeling like you're being turned inside out, followed by a nice long nap, and waking up hungry."

"Sounds like fun," Victor chuckled, "An average Saturday night."

Rogue wasn't impressed by the glib attitudes of the males in attendance and continued to object. Eventually relenting to an 'I'll think about it', when she realizes they weren't going to drop the subject. "We don't even know if it's going to be permanent with Logan yet, what if my mutation is still drawing off him but he just can't feel it?" she pointed out.

"Only way one to find out!" Jean announced, to which Logan agreed.

"Gee, I feel so reassured, between my drunk doctor and horny husband what could possibly go wrong," Rogue posed sarcastically.

"Hm, Scott might catch us," Jean suggested, with a giggle at her own joke.

"Alright doc, I think you've had enough, and so have I!" Logan added, "Time to dump the kids and run?” he suggested to Marie, waving James and Ava over. They both bid them goodnight before the pair skipped off with Caleb and Flora for their sleepover. Moments later Logan, Marie, and Victor rose to follow their path out of the room.

"What did *he* do to my wife?" Scott asked aggressively, stopping them halfway across the room, jabbing a finger at Victor, who looked about ready to rip it off his hand, with his teeth, if it got any closer.

"Poured her one too many glasses of wine," Logan replied, "When you got a healing factor you forget other people, normal people, just can't hold their alcohol," he shrugged as they continued out of the room, leaving Scott to deal with his heavily intoxicated fiancée. They parted company in the main hall, Victor to leave, the newlyweds to head for the privacy of their empty suite, on their empty floor.

"Wait here," Logan whispered, to Marie as he pulled her up outside the door, slipping through the doorway and leaving her staring after him amused.

After a few minutes she knocked on the suite door. "Are you done yet?" she asked, loud enough for Logan to hear her, even if he was in the bedroom. She heard him call back that he was almost done, and with a tolerant sigh leaned back against the wall to continue waiting.

"Sorry," Logan interrupted her thoughts a moment later, as he pulled the door open, "Took a bit longer than I was expecting, now, close your eyes." He swept her up into his arms, waiting until her eyes were closed before he nudged the door back open, kicking it shut behind him. He growled when Rogue tried to open her eyes, before he set her down, eyes still closed, a moment later. "You can open your eyes now," he whispered, as he softly kissed her shoulder.

"Oh Logan, it's so beautiful!" she breathed as she regarded their room, lit up by the dull flicker of dozens upon dozens of candles, spread all over the room. The bed had been remade at some point since she had been in there getting ready for the ceremony that afternoon - she knew Logan hadn't had a chance to do that so he must have had a helper getting the room ready. The bed was swathed in dark green satin sheets, a sparkly sheer black bed canopy had been hung around the bed, and an electric fireplace had been set up in the corner with a fake fur throw draped over the armchair in the corner - it took a moment for her brain to recognize that before an involuntary thought popped into her head... She was pretty sure that wasn't one of her fantasies, the grin on Logan's face seemed to back that up.

"We can save that one for later," he whispered, as her moved her further into the room, shutting the door behind them. They may have the suite to themselves but anything that would cut down the noise distribution to the rest of the building would no doubt be appreciated by everyone else.

"What's this?" Marie asked, picking up a ribbon tied package off the dressing table.

"Well, that was your wedding present," Logan grinned, watching as she untied the bow and the package fell open, sheer silk sheets, bodysuits, and scarves quickly being rifled through. "But it's kind of obsolete now," he added, running an ungloved hand down her arm, finally peeling her own glove off as he went until he could twine their bare fingers together again for only the second time.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked gently a moment later, turning her around to face him when he scented the salty tang of tears.

"So- my skin's not a problem?" she asked softly, confusion and uncertainty in her voice.

"Your skin was never a problem darlin," he assured her, "Hell, I'd come up with a half dozen ways around your skin before Sabretooth interrupted us that very first time... you didn't already know that?" he added as a confused afterthought.

"The you in my head wasn't exactly forthcoming with your fantasies, something about jailbait, and not leading me on, or some such excuse," Marie admitted with a grin.

"Ah, so I do have some secrets from you?" Logan asked in amusement, and relief.

"There are some things I let you keep to yourself, mainly because you asked nicely for me not to look," Marie told him, "Not secrets exactly, I could look through them if I really wanted, but a- a mutual understanding, self-imposed boundary, we're all entitled to our privacy, and nothing's more private than our thoughts, if you want to share I'd much prefer you tell me with your words... or show me," she added coyly, moving a step closer to him and reaching up to run her free hand up his chest and over his shoulder.

It didn't take long for Logan to release her other hand so he could wrap his arms around her waist, tugging her closer to lock lips with her again. Eventually his hands moved to her ass, pulling her even tighter against him as he ground his groin against her before breaking away, to allow them both to draw much needed oxygen.

"Tell me how to get this dress off darlin or I'm cutting it off," he growled into her ear, as his hand ran up her back looking for a zipper, or buttons, or something!

With a giggle as his impatience, Marie reached for the zipper that ran down the side of the dress. It took about a minute for her to manoeuvre out of the clingy fabric, a process Logan really didn't help with. He growled lustily when she finally stepped out of the pile of fabric as his eyes roamed over her body, clad in white, lace, lingerie and heeled, lace up, boots. His hands were roaming all over her as his lips met hers again, it wasn't long before his kisses began to migrate along her jawline as he nipped at her ear before sliding his tongue down the long silk column of her neck. He discovered a sensitive spot at the juncture of her neck and shoulder which he began nibbling at, as his fingers began to fumble with the clasp of her bra.

Marie wriggled out of his grasp before commenting saucily, "No, I think in the interests of fairness, it's time for you to lose some clothes before I have to give up more!" Her fingers made short work of the buttons of his shirt before she gently slid the fabric off his shoulders. As he pulled off the offending fabric that was now stopping him from reaching his prize, she quickly opened his pants, his stiff cock springing out at attention when she pushed the fabric down.

"Oh fuck... I always knew that would feel fantastic!" Logan moaned, as she ran her one still silk-clad hand firmly over his erection, causing him to buck his hips into her hand. He knocked her hand away quickly though as he shifted the focus back to her. "Tonight's for you darlin," he whispered between kisses, as he carried her to the bed and sensually continued stripping her until she lay completely naked before him.

"Fucking gorgeous," were the last words Marie was able to decipher that night.

--

The following day Marie woke, warm and sated, muscles tired and aching pleasantly from their activity the night before, and the early hours of the morning, and about two hours ago, according to the clock on the bedside table. She needed to pee but even if she wanted to, she couldn't physically move, and that wasn't just because Logan was wrapped around her, his heavy limbs pinning her in place.

Logan shifted in his sleep, unconsciously grinding his renewed erection between her thighs. Her amused giggle woke him up completely, and he purred a good morning into the soft flesh of her neck before asking her what was so funny.

"I was just thinking that for a guy who managed to hold out almost half a year sleeping in the same bed without getting any action, you sure are horny all of a sudden, making up for lost time?" she asked innocently.

"Trust me darlin I was horny as all hell these last several months but, my god, it was worth the wait!" Logan replied. "What about you? You alright, you must be sore?" he asked, smoothing his hands over her body tenderly.

Marie scrunched her nose as she tried to get her body to respond, so she could determine just what exactly she was feeling. "Not sore but my body is definitely not ready to move yet, a little stiff maybe," she replied, as she snuggled back deeper into his arms.

Logan chuckled and held her for a while longer, placing soft kisses on every inch of skin he could reach without moving too far. His ministrations where interrupted a few minutes later when Marie informed him, with an irritate sigh, that she really needed to pee now. He gently scooped her up out of bed and carried her into the bathroom, he set her down on the toilet as he turned away towards the bath. Despite the fact they had been living together for months the bathroom had been the one place they'd never 'shared', so in took Marie a couple of minutes to relax enough relieve her bursting bladder with Logan standing on the other side of the room.

At her pained hiss Logan turned from where he was filling the bath. "You okay?" he asked gently, noting her blush when she saw him looking. It was cute that she still did that, after what they'd spent the night doing, he was surprised she was still embarrassed around him.

"Just a little tender," Marie replied as she finished up, unsure of what she was going to do next, her legs were still not in the mood to cooperate with her brain.

She ended up staying where she was, watching as Logan turned back to the bath. When it was half full, and had a thick foam of lightly jasmine scented bubbles, he turned back to her and plucked her into his arms, before he carefully stepped into the tub and lowered them both slowly into the water. The tub continued to fill until it reached the overflow and Logan shut the tap off with his foot, the bubbles where so high Marie had to push them away so she wouldn't be swallowed up by them.

They lay in the warm water just relaxing for a time, until Logan’s hands began to wander over her body under the water. He massaged her arms and her breasts, and her belly, down her thighs as far as he could reach, before his nimble fingers found their way to her core again. He didn't seem to be in a hurry as her drew reactions, that were starting to become pleasantly familiar, from her body. He refused to let her joined in, or return the favour, instead working her body to its peak a couple of times before she drifted off to sleep in a satisfied haze.

She wasn't sure how long she slept for, propped up against Logan's broad chest in the warm water, she didn't think it was long, the water was still warm when she woke, but her pruned skin seemed to indicate otherwise. When he noticed she was awake Logan picked her up, carrying her to the shower as the bath drained, he quickly washed the bubble bath residue off them both before wrapping her in the biggest, fluffiest spa towel they had and carrying her back to bed. He dried her off tenderly, pausing to kiss her frequently, before he rolled her over onto her stomach and gently brushed out her damp, tangled, hair. He ran his hands over her back and shoulders for several minutes until she drifted off to sleep again.

The next time she woke she was covered by the thick, fluffy, fur throw, she had assumed it was fake when she first saw it but now that it was close she could feel, and scent, that it was real - it was Canadian Lynx the Logan in her head advised. In truth she didn't care what it was, it was soft and warm, and that was all she cared to dwell on right at that moment. She was dozing contentedly when she suddenly realized, Logan wasn't there with her. Gingerly she sat up as she glanced around the room, the smell of bacon and maple syrup preceded Logan's entrance moments later.

"Oh, there you are," Marie said, with a smile as she lay back down, yawning as she slowly and methodically stretched as her body finally began to wake up.

Logan watched her move under the fur blanket, growling appreciatively as she stretched her arms above her head, which caused the blanket to slip down, exposing one breast. Once she was finished stretching, she moved to sit up and lean back against the stack of pillows Logan arranged for her against the headboard. They ate quietly, wrapped up, naked, in the fur blanket, and each other. At one point Logan spilled maple syrup on her, an accident he swore, though the grin on his face before he ducked his head to lick it off her breasts made her think that wasn't entirely truthful.

When they were finished eating, Marie began tentatively exploring the warm body pressed up against her. Logan hadn't let her do much touching so far but she was curious, and wanted to return a few favours, he was also hard, still, likely had been since early that morning. She chanced a look at his face after a while, his eyes were closed, with a soft smile on his lips, as he was obviously focusing on her hands as they moved gently over him. He grit his teeth and groaned, when her hand slid downward and wrapped firmly around his shaft. An image popped into her head, internal Logan guiltily trying to tug it back but she'd seen enough to know what he was wanting right now.

Logan felt Marie shift, not paying much attention as her hands didn't leave his body, she obviously wasn't going far, and he had no problem with her being comfortable. A moment later his eyes popped open, he jerked the blanket back, only to find Marie staring back up at him, wide, innocent, but simultaneously amused, and seductive eyes watching him closely as she released him from her mouth, just a little, before swallowing his hot flesh again.

"Oh fuck," he moaned, not breaking eye contact, "You don't have to do that darlin," he said, trying not to show her how much he was enjoying having her hot little mouth on him.

She released his flesh with a wet pop, as her hands roamed up his body, she adjusted her position again so she was kneeling between his legs. Her hands left his body, drawing a tiny whimper from him, and a grin from her, but they returned as soon as she had rearranged the blanket to drape over her shoulders. "I know," she replied, as she dipped her head to take him in her mouth again.

When she was finally done, she kissed her way slowly back up his heavy, sated body, snuggled back into his side, tugging the blanket over him, as she rested her head against his chest, his steady, thumping heartbeat was almost drowned out by a deep rumbling purr. He was so thoroughly satisfied he couldn't force his arms to move to wrap around her, though he did try, and she couldn't help the self-satisfied grin at reducing him to the same blissfully sated puddle he'd had her in for most of the last ... fourteen hours, according to the clock.

"Huh, it's almost lunchtime," she commented, idly tracing patterns across his chest, tweaking his nipple when he shuddered as she brushed over it, drawing a lusty growl from him. She wondered if his nipples were as sensitive as hers had been when he had touched her last night ... only one way to find out!

"Goddamn Marie," he panted, when she leaned forward and ran her tongue around her nipple before nipping the bud gently.

"That- that was okay?" she asked nervously, he'd bitten her a few times the night before but she wanted to be sure she was doing this right.

"That feels fantastic baby," he replied with a grin, as he pressed his renewed erection into the thigh that was thrown over his hips. "It's lunchtime though, we have to go get the kids, and we have to leave for our trip at some point too, so, let's call it a day shall we?" he asked, trying not to look disappointed at the idea of leaving the bed.

Marie pouted at him before admitting he was right. "Next time is my turn though, I get to have you completely at my mercy," she said, a lascivious grin tugging at her lips and a sparkle of desire in her eyes.

Logan moaned as he pulled her up to kiss the daylights out of her, she had him alright, completely at her mercy, he would do anything she wanted. When they broke apart breathlessly Logan collapsed back against the bed. "Five more minutes," he mumbled sleepily.

An hour later they finally made their way out of their room and downstairs, to find the rest of their family. The kitchen was a hive of muted activity, it was the weekend so there were no classes and several of the rooms occupants were clearly nursing hangovers.

"Gee, where is everyone?" Logan commented loudly, as they walked into the room.

"Shut up Logan, you, you asshole, never get a hangover, so how about a little respect for the rest of us who have to suffer!" Jean muttered into her drink.

"You don't *have* to suffer," he replied cheekily, "Just don't get wasted..."

The rest if his sentence was cut off by excited squeals from James and Ava as they ran into the room and threw themselves at him, the rest of the rooms occupants cringing and covering their overly sensitive ears. Logan chuckled before reminding the two kids to use their 'inside voices', a term he'd overheard Marie telling them when she wanted to encourage them to be quiet. They acquiesced, dropping the volume several decibels as they excitedly chattered about the movie they watched the night before, and what they had for breakfast.

"Are we going on hol-ee-day now dada?" James asked excitedly.

"Yes, please, leave quickly, " Scott muttered, from where he was hiding being a newspaper. Jean grunted - most out of character for her - in agreement, while several others chuckled in response.

"As soon as we've all had lunch, and got your bags," Logan replied, grinning when both kids whooped in delight, much to the chagrin of those around them. Jubilee finally gave up and staggered out of the room away from the noise, Logan didn't feel so bad for her, she was three years off the legal drinking age, so she shouldn't be hungover anyway.

Once the kiddies were fed, Logan and Rogue finished packing the truck. Everyone had a bag, Logan also added a couple of tents, sleeping bags, and other camping gear. Rogue watched him oddly but he just grinned and told her hurry up. James had disappeared from view but before they had a change to go looking for him, he came back, hand in hand with Flora as she and Caleb appeared with pillows and a couple of spare blankets.

They hit the road soon after, hungover friends waving goodbye, including Jubilee, who was wearing her biggest pair of sunglasses as she waved from her bedroom window. Snacks were promptly distributed for the younger kids, whose excited chatter eventually died down when they realised, driving was actually pretty boring.

"Hey James, you mind if mama lays her seat back?" Marie asked the little boy behind her a short while later. Logan could see she was tired; she had yawned several times already.

"You can do that mama," James said with a smile, it took Logan a while to catch on to why he was happy with that until he realised, with the seat tilted back the little boy could reach Marie, he played with her hair for a while before Marie reached up with a smile and took one of his hands, so he didn't make too much of a mess of her hair.

Half an hour later, about an hour and a half into their trip the vehicle grew quiet, Logan cast his eye over his passenger's. Caleb and Flora, in the very back, were cuddled up together whispering so quietly even Logan couldn't hear what they were saying. Marie was fast asleep, as were James, and Ava, the former had pulled Marie's hair as close to his face as he could get it without pulling and was snuggled into it.

They continued to roll down the highway as the hours passed in silence, rolling up to the border at Niagara Falls about seven woke everyone, as Logan handed over a handful of passports for all their passengers. Half of the passports were black market, but the Professor's contact was very talented so Logan wasn't worried, not about that at least. Thankfully the border guards missed James growling at the drug dog they had on site checking vehicles, Marie shushing him quickly. "Leave the doggy alone James, he's doing his job," she said to him, turning around in her now upright seat to reassure him with a smile.

"What's his job?" Ava asked curiously, the idea of a dog having a job like people did was confusing.

"He's smelling for bad stuff hidden in the cars," Marie replied.

"But it's a dog... how does it tell the people if it finds something?" the little girl continued, watching the dog as it ran around the car and back to its handler.

"Usually they sit and point," Marie told her, "Then the people can come in and find whatever it is the dog can smell." Ava fell quiet again as she considered that idea.

When they were finally cleared to continue on their way it didn't take long for the little kids to begin to get restless, and wasn't long before the first, 'Are we there yet?' was voiced, cracking up the adults and older teens.

"We're almost at today's stop little buddy, and tomorrow we can go see the waterfalls, you ever seen a waterfall before?" Logan asked, trying to distract him.

"What's a waterfall?" James asked in response.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Logan replied with a chuckle.

--

Over the next week they travelled steadily West, stopping frequently for activities meant to wear the little kids out so they spent most of their in-car time sleeping. It was obvious a lot of time had been spent planning the route, and all the hotels and motels along the way had been pre-booked.

They hit a snag at one point when James came down suddenly sick, which left them sitting in a rest stop on the side of the road for several hours until he was finished throwing up. He wasn't ‘sick’ sick, rather it seemed he was allergic to something, which was most unexpected with his healing factor. They made detailed notes of everything he'd eaten, drank, and could remember touching, for the previous day, so they could follow up later before they got going again.

Marie ended up climbing into the back seat and holding James on her lap, as he had become insanely clingy and refused to let her go without a massive, never ending, temper tantrum. It was approaching dark and they were virtually alone on the road, so Logan opted to drive carefully rather than subject everyone to having their eardrums burst by trying to wrestle him into his car seat. He kept a close eye on his sleeping passengers as he drove through the night to catch them up. When they got to their next stop it was far too late for the more upmarket hotel check in, so he pulled into the cleanest looking roadside motel that still had its lights on.

He laughed as he caught himself picking out all the flaws and faults with the motel, he knew exactly what the rooms would be like, this was the type of place he'd have stayed in, without issue, before he'd met Marie. Now though, he correctly called it a shit heap, if he had any other option there would be no way his kids would stay here. He booked the last room with two beds, this wasn't the type of locale he wanted the kids in separate rooms, hell, all the rooms probably had the same damn key, who knew who you'd wake up to find sharing your room, aside from the usual roaches and rats.

Returning to the car he noticed Marie was awake, though she hadn't made effort to move yet. Once the car was moved to their room Logan lifted James out of Marie's arms so she could get out, Caleb carried a still sleeping Ava inside, and they all headed inside. Flora didn't comment as she walked in, just wrinkled her nose at the look, and smell, of the place.

"Yeah, it's as bad as it looks," Logan murmured to her with a chuckle. "Sleep in your clothes tonight, change in the morning and put these ones in your laundry bag," he added. Flora just giggled as she headed for the bathroom, a squeaked 'eww', filtering out a moment later.

"Home sweet home?" Marie teased, as Logan surveyed the beds.

"God I used to live like a fucking slob," Logan added with a chuckle, "You don't realise how disgusting these places really are until you gotta put your kids in them."

"It's just for one night, they'll survive," Marie assured him, moving over to the bathroom as Flora came out. "Oh, yeah, that's 'eww'," she commented.

Flora giggled. "I washed my hands but I'm not sure if they ended up any cleaner than they started." The girls continued to make jokes about the accommodations until Logan asked them if they'd prefer to sleep in the car, both laughed before replying no, and everyone quickly got into bed.

Logan, James, and Marie shared one bed, Caleb, Flora, and Ava, shared the other. They slept through until just after dawn, when Ava woke everyone up with a shout when she fell out of bed. Once they were all up, they packed up quickly and checked out, heading for the original hotel so they could check in in time for breakfast.

The next day they were back on track, though Marie still had no idea where they were actually heading... until she spotted a familiar road sign.

Sitting bolt upright in her seat she spun around to face Logan a shocked look on her face. "Are we going to Alaska!?" she almost squealed, she did squeal a moment later when Logan turned to her with a grin.

"I wondered how long it would take for you to catch on," he commented, when she finished squealing. "Careful darlin I'm trying to drive," he added, when she reached over to hug the daylights out of him.

"Oh my God I can't believe it! I'm finally going to get to Alaska!" After a little more squealing on her part she finally asked, "So, where exactly are we heading?" she begged for more details.

"I got us a cabin just outside the Denali National Park, we've got it for three weeks, then we've got to drive back, I figured we could go back via Anchorage, I wasn't sure where else you wanted to see aside from the city and the mountain, so, let me know if you want to stop off anywhere else while we're there," Logan told her, watching with a smile as she absolutely hummed with excitement.

"That is fantastic! ... Thank you," she said, suddenly overwhelmed by emotion that Logan would not only remember but go to such lengths to see her dream come true.

"You don't need to thank me Marie," he replied, reaching over to wipe away her tears before he pulled her over for a quick kiss, keeping hold of her hand as they continued driving.

All was silent until James piped up again. "What's 'laska?"

"Alaska is a place, it's a state, a long time ago, back when I first met your mama she was on this very road, trying to get to Alaska, we didn't end up making it that time, and then mama moved in to the school... I planned to take you when you graduated high school but you went and did that early without me knowing, so I kind of missed the boat then but we are going to make it this time," Logan promised with a chuckle.

"Just watch out for falling trees," Marie replied with a giggle, "You are wearing your seatbelt, right?" she teased.

"Yes dear," Logan replied sarcastically.

Their banter lead to a full explanation of their first meeting, Logan pointing out the bar as they passed, the exact spot he kicked her out of his trailer, and then picked her back up again, and a short time later he pulled over and pointed out the stump of the tree, that Victor had dropped on the road, which brought his old truck to its sudden brutal demise.

"Every mile from here is new ground darlin, you ready?" he asked, as he got ready to pull away again.

"Sure am," Marie replied with a smile, she threaded her fingers through his as they set off again into the future.