Logan growled dangerously, not that there was any need, it was only him and his frustration in the chilly truck. 'And that scent,' his brain helpfully added. He couldn't get his mind off the girl he'd seen at the bar. Sweet, innocent little thing, barely more than a child, by the world’s standards at least, but a child that his brain kept reminding him had already blossomed into a woman. He growled again as a crystal clear image of sizable, perky tits, pressing against the fabric of her tight sweater filled his mind. Not to mention the legs, encased in denim and partially hidden under the dark green coat she'd been wrapped in, but plenty of leg to wrap around his waist while he...

He shook his head violently, clamping the cigar tighter between his teeth, chewing lightly on the end in an effort to distract himself. It wasn't his fault really, the Wolverine loved nothing more than winding down after a fight with a good fuck but the female pickings at the last bar, and the several before that, had been slim. If he could just get that intoxicating scent out of his head he would be able to think clearer.

He cracked the window open a little to let the crisp, fresh, pre-dawn air into the cabin, simultaneously cranking the heater as high as it would go to at least take the edge off the winter air. As he settled back in his seat, adjusting his too tight jeans in the process, he felt the vehicle shift slightly, unnaturally. He didn’t think much of it, it could have been any number of things, maybe he'd driven over a frozen pinecone buried under the snow slurry... No, there it was again, and his sensitive ears picked up a quiet crackle from the frosted tarpaulin in the trailer hitched to the back of his camper.

He eyed the offending material in the wing mirror as he slowly rolled to a stop.

Dropping his cigar into the open ashtray on the dashboard he climbed out, warily approaching the rear of the vehicle, last thing he wanted to do was disturb some feisty wild animal. He'd just stepped past the back of the camper when a gentle breeze wafted toward him, surrounding him with a surprisingly familiar scent. Sure enough, he watched the tarp rise and fall gently, along with gentle shudders consistent with a person shivering.

Hauling back the tarp he exposed a head of curly, chestnut hair, a face tentatively raised until the girl met his eyes. Seeming unsure of what to do she stayed otherwise still, until Logan moved forward and hauled her bag out of the trailer, dumping it unceremoniously on the ground before demanding her out.

"Where am I supposed to go?" the girl asked, boldly, as he started to walk away from her towards the cab.

"Don't know," he stated, without faltering.

"You don't know or you don't care?" the girl asked.

Grinning at her sass Logan called back, "Pick one," as he swung himself into his seat, slamming the door shut behind him.

Before he had even got the truck back in gear the girl had already hefted her bag and was following after him. He watched her in the rear-view mirror as he rolled away, chuckling to himself when not only did she not stop walking but she even flipped him off as he got further away from her. Then another idea popped into his head, he stopped the truck again - even as an unusually meek voice suggested this was not a good idea - waiting for the girl to wander up to where he had paused.

"Where you going kid?" he asked.

"What do you care," she muttered.

"I don't," he started, "But the next town's not for twenty miles and with that storm rolling in-" he motioned to the thick grey clouds building on the horizon- "There's not likely to be anyone else coming by before you freeze to death."

The girl stopped, regarding him cautiously before asking, "What'll it cost me?"

"What are you willing to offer," Logan countered.

"I don't have any money..." the girl started.

"There are other forms of payment," Logan responded, watching as the girl blushed scarlet at his words.

"I'm not a whore," the girl bit out, fire in her eyes as she glared at him.

"It's your funeral," Logan replied, slipping the truck back into gear and allowing it to begin rolling forward again. He was just about to admit defeat, as the camper rolled fully past the girl, when he heard her shout.

"Wait!"

Stopping, he looked back to her, where she still stood rooted to the spot he'd left her at.

"Well?" he asked.

"I'll... I'll do a blow job," she mumbled, blushing again.

Logan considered her offer before shrugging. "That'll get you to the next town," he stated. He didn't mention that the next ‘town’ was literally just a gas station and a diner beside the highway. "You coming?"

He watched the girl hurry behind the camper, reaching over he pushed the passenger door open as she approached. Grabbing her bag, he chucked it behind the seat as the girl pulled herself into the vehicle, slamming the door behind her.

Logan put the truck back in gear and continued down the road, watching the girl from the corner of his eye as she tried to warm her hands while simultaneously avoiding looking at him. Her thick dark hair, though tangled slightly from the breeze, fell about her face. She had a beautiful face, still faint traces of baby fat, a cute little button nose, plump pouty lips, and dark, wide open, eyes.

He turned back to the road and, spotting a layby up ahead, he roughly shoved his conscience back into the dark recesses of his mind allowing his lust to surge forward as he pulled off the road. He put the vehicle in park, leaving the engine running for heat. Sliding his seat back so she'd have more room he turned back to the girl. "Last chance kid."

She swallowed nervously, looking out towards the snowy road. "You got a condom?" she eventually asked.

"Nope," he replied. He did but the Wolverine inside his head was demanding he mark her in some way, any way, and his scent on her from swallowing his cum would do for now.

"I... I've never done this before," she whispered, fiddling with her gloves.

"It's easy darlin, just bring those gorgeous lips over here, wrap them round my cock and do what I tell you.” Logan tried not to growl as he pulled off his belt and opened his jeans. Lifting his hips to slide them down enough, he grunted in relief as his cock sprung out, already at attention. He motioned the girl closer when he noticed she still hadn't moved. "Sit up on your knees ... that's it darlin, now lean over, yeah you can put your hand there ... use your other hand to hold it in place ... take your time and explore for a while first, figure out what you like," Logan tried to encourage her, without rushing her, he'd let her get comfortable before he started showing her what he liked.

Her tongue snaked out and gently licked the head of his cock, before swirling around it, after a few maddeningly tentative touches he felt her hot wet mouth close around the head. "Fuck yeah, keep using that tongue too darlin, and suck it ... yeah, just like that ... and when you're ready take more, as much as you can..."

He let her play, he could feel she could take more of him though, she was barely getting more than the head. After a few minutes he moved his hands to her head, gathering her hair up in one hand so he could watch his engorged flesh moving in and out of her hot, wet mouth. He started guiding her into a steady rhythm, bobbing her head, going a little deeper with each downward stroke.

He was almost there, the girl was scenting aroused now, her fear down to just the barest hint, it was time to take this up a notch Logan decided, heart hammering in his chest, rock hard erection demanding more. As he guided her head down again, he thrust his hips up, his cock sliding down her throat, past her gag reflex. He held her head down as he thrust into her throat a few times before releasing her enough so his cock slipped back into her mouth and she could draw in a few deep breaths, the fear in her scent had spiked momentarily but was now returning to normal.

"Keep sucking darlin... just like that..."

He thrust deep into her throat again, withdrawing as he drew her head up, before thrusting deep again as he brought her head down, he was close, almost there. A few more thrusts, and with a deep rumbling growl, he felt his release spill down her throat as he held her tight. As he started to come down his brain quickly reminded him, she couldn't breathe in that position and he released his grip on her somewhat, before instructing her to suck him clean. Finally, he allowed her to sit up, her mouth coming away from his still stiff but somewhat sated flesh with a soft pop.

"Well damn darlin, not bad for a first time," he grinned, taking in the flush of her cheeks and her red swollen lips as she caught her breath.

"Um... thanks, I guess," she mumbled, sitting back in her seat and returning to stare back out her window. "How long until we get to the next town?" she asked a little hoarsely.

"About an hour, assuming the weather doesn't pack up too much," Logan stated. Putting himself back in his jeans, trying to keep the lid firmly jammed shut on the shitload of regret that was trying to burst out from where he had shoved his conscience, he slammed the truck back in gear and pulled back out onto the highway.

They drove in silence for the next hour, soft flakes of snow beginning to fall as a run-down diner came into view. "I need to stop for gas, and then I'll shout you breakfast, that okay with you?" Logan asked, not looking at the girl.

"Sure," she answered, sounding a little more confident, more like the sassy little thing he'd pulled out of his trailer earlier that morning.

He pulled up to the lone pump, pumped his gas, and went inside to pay before returning to the truck. The girl was still there, he grinned and gave his initial regret a mental finger. He pulled the truck 20 metres down the road, to stop outside the diner, before shutting the truck off again.

"Is this it?" the girl asked, looking around the ‘town'.

"Yep, this is it," Logan confirmed, quickly hopping out of the truck before she could see his grin. He heard the other door open and close, listening as her soft footfalls moved around the vehicle. She followed him inside and towards a booth, sitting down stiffly across from him and glaring out the window. A chunky waitress, too happy to be living and working in such a piss poor excuse of a town, stopped by their table with a pot of steaming coffee and asked what she could get for them.

Logan looked over at the kid, trying to decide if he should ask her what she wanted or just order for her. Her dark look made him think better of asking so he ordered for the both of them, anything she didn't eat he could finish. As he sipped at the strong black coffee, he watched the girl’s expression soften to a resigned look. The waitress returned and put down a steaming cup of hot cocoa in front of the girl, and a small dish of marshmallows, which the girl accepted with a grateful smile.

When the waitress was far enough away to be out of earshot the girl looked up at him. "How much to the next town? Preferably one with a supermarket," she regarded him, looking little more than mildly annoyed.

"Well now darlin, that's almost a day’s drive, though I suppose I am heading that way anyway...” He paused, regarding her closely before he made his suggestion, one he'd been waiting for ever since the idea first occurred to him to take her with him. "How about, I take you there, and even put you up for the night in a motel but ... I get that night, whatever I want goes, I'll even be nice and let you get a decent night’s sleep, what do you say?"

He tried not to let the feral grin show on his face, as the girl across from him considered his offer. She still hadn't given him an answer when their food arrived, and he briefly wondered if she'd forgotten his proposal as he watched her begin to shovel food into her mouth. They ate in silence until the girl started to get full, at which point the pensive, calculating look came back and Logan realised she was back to considering his offer as she picked over the rest of the food on her plate. Finally, she stopped, looked him dead in the eye and spoke.

"How long are you planning on being in the next town?" she asked.

"I will be leaving the next town day after tomorrow," Logan answered truthfully, "Should get there tonight about seven, unless the weather improves, there's a few places I'm hitting up for fights tomorrow and the day after, I'll be leaving straight from the fights the second night," he clarified in detail.

"Alright, you take me to the next town but I want a motel room for two nights, you get your night, then you leave me alone the second night," she set out determinedly.

Logan smirked, pleasantly surprised by her sass. "Fair enough, two nights it is.” He could live with that, it would mean he'd be able to indulge himself more the first night if he didn't have to worry about where she'd end up the second night, but why was that something he was worried about..?

Finishing up his coffee he suggested the girl go freshen up. Ten minutes later they were both back in the truck and rolling back onto the lightly snow dusted highway. For now, it looked like the real snow was going to hold off, it would make for a quicker trip, which Logan couldn't help being pleased about; it would mean his night lasted longer.

They rolled into town a little after half past five, Logan immediately headed for the seedier side - near where he knew the fight bars were located. Spotting a decent looking motel, a little nicer than he normally went for, he pulled in. Hauling the girl out of the truck with him he headed into the office and secured them a room for the two nights; one room, two beds. He ignored the leery looks the proprietor kept casting at the girl, dragging her back out into the chilly evening the minute he had the key in his hand.

The room he'd secured was right down the end of the building so he moved the truck down, before reaching over the back to grab his own bag, and the girls. He kept hold of her bag as he unlocked the door to let them in, it wouldn't do to have her trying to slip away now.

"You take the shower first, I'll order food," Logan said, as soon as the door was shut and securely locked behind them. "Don't use all the hot water," he added, as she pushed the bathroom door shut. He was relieved to note the bathroom door didn't have a lock, she wouldn't be trying to hide from him in there. He was ordering food to be delivered as he heard the shower start up.

After a few minutes, once he was certain she would be distracted, he slipped soundlessly into the bathroom and swiped the pile of clothes she had dumped on the bathroom counter, she wouldn't need those tonight. He left his own shirt in their place, the idea of her walking out fresh and clean and wrapped in his scent enough to have him salivating, and if she chose to forgo the shirt, well, having her walk out stark naked would be just as good. He tucked her bag out of sight into the wardrobe, with his own, and sat back to wait.

Ten minutes later he heard the shower shut off, the squeak of the shower door opening, the rustle of fabric as she picked up the towel, and then... a loud knock on the door. Swearing under his breath he got up to collect the delivered food. A few minutes later the bathroom door opened and the girl came out, dressed in his shirt. She immediately caught him staring at her and blushed, shifting uncomfortably under his scrutiny. She didn't say anything about her missing clothes.

"Food?" he offered, holding out a warm takeaway box to her. Tentatively she stepped forward and took the box from his hand before perching on the end of the bed, tugging the hem of his shirt down her thighs as she sat, to try and cover herself more.

"I'll be a couple of minutes, make yourself comfortable," Logan said, as he moved toward the bathroom. He rushed through his own shower, stepping out only three minutes later only to realise there was only one towel... and it smelled like her. Clamping down on a satisfied purr, he used the same towel, marking his own body with her scent. He dragged his jeans on once he was dry enough, and walked back out into the room. Chucking his t-shirt into the wardrobe, he continued to rub the water out of his hair with the towel before he sat down across from the girl, and grabbed his own food. She was halfway through her burger but at the rate she was eating he would finish before her.

"I suppose we should introduce ourselves," Logan said suddenly, without looking at her as he began to eat. He wanted a name to go with the memory of her, something he usually didn't care about. "My name's Logan," he said, smiling at her in a way he hoped was friendly and encouraging.

"When does this night start?" the girl asked shortly, her sassy streak coming back to the fore as she began to get comfortable.

"When we arrived," Logan replied, continuing to eat, watching her closely as her eyes widened in surprise.

"And... when does it end?" she asked next.

"Mm ... breakfast?" Logan asked. He was oddly proud of the fact the girl was not going to wilt away and let him just walk all over her, she wanted boundaries in place, he could work with that.

"I'd rather have a specified time, are you a person that has breakfast at six am or one in the afternoon?" she asked pointedly.

"Fair enough, breakfast or ten am, whichever comes first, that okay with you?" he asked, glancing over with a grin. The girl considered for a moment, before nodding in agreement and going back to her food.

"You still haven't told me your name?" he reminded her, a few minutes later, as he set aside his empty burger box.

"... Rogue," she replied, looking him straight in the eye as if she dared him to call her on it.

He chuckled. Her sass was cute but some aspects would need to be nipped in the bud really quick, and he was not about to back down from a challenge like that. "That's not fair darlin, I gave you a real name, I expect the same in return," he replied, throwing in a mildly amused but not impressed raised eyebrow.

The girl tried to suppress a grin of her own before she murmured softly, "M-Marie."

"That's a very pretty name for a very pretty girl," Logan replied, grinning when a blush suffused her cheeks. "Might want to do something with your hair before it dries, you got a brush in your bag?" he offered, pointing to the wardrobe where he had stashed her bag.

With an almost shy smile Marie dove for the wardrobe and pulled out her bag, digging through it for a few minutes she finally pulled out a hairbrush, and a toothbrush, and an almost empty tube of toothpaste. She made a move toward the bathroom before Logan stopped her.

"Leave the brush here, go do your teeth and then come back," he said gently. She opened her mouth to object but he just cocked a brow as he held out his hand. "Whatever I want goes," he reminded her.

With a scowl she handed the hair brush over before darting into the bathroom. A few minutes later she was back, tucking the toiletries away in her bag she turned back to him and eyed the hair brush still in his hand.

"Can I brush my hair now?" she asked.

"Mm, no, sit here," he gestured for her to sit on the edge of the couch in front of him. She hesitated momentarily but before he could prompt her again, she moved over and sat in front of him, her back toward him. Gently as he could he carefully brushed her hair out, he had no idea how he knew what to do, he'd never had waist length hair, as far as he could remember, but this was a familiar process accompanied by a very welcome comfortable feeling. For half an hour he worked his way through her hair until it was all glossy, smooth, and knot free. He was going to enjoy brushing it out again in the morning, after he had tangled it all up, he decided with a grin.

He set the brush aside before he moved on to gently stroking and massaging Marie's scalp, down her neck, across her shoulders. She let out a soft sigh, a moment before his lips touched the side of her neck. He could feel her melting in his hands. He had thought her scent was intoxicating before but that was nothing compared to the sweet arousal that was flooding the room as his hands moved over her body, and he hadn't even gotten past her shoulders yet.

In short order he slowly and gently moved her back toward him until she was leaning back against his chest, while his hands began to work their way along the line of buttons down her front. Slowly he popped one button at a time, peeling the shirt back as his hands moved underneath the fabric. She was so responsive as she let him explore her body, hesitating only momentarily as he moved her into the position he wanted her. Pulling her legs open until her knees were hooked over his, one hand moving to her folds as the other moved back to her breasts, while his lips teased her neck. She was mumbling incoherently, bucking against his hand, within minutes as he brought her over for the first time.

As she lay limp against him, he gently scooped her up and carried her to the bed. Laying her down he moved over her, kissing her gently as he waited for her to turn her attention back to him.

"Um... wow," she finally whispered, blushing when he chuckled in response.

"It's gonna get better yet darlin'," he replied, as he worked his lips across her collarbone.

"Um, Logan..." she said softly a moment later, the sass was again gone and she sounded shy and uncertain.

"Yeah Marie?" he asked, pausing his movements and turning his full attention to her so she could speak.

"I- I've, um, I've never done this before," she whispered, nervousness, with just a hint of fear, permeating her scent as she watched him closely, chewing nervously on her plump lower lip.

"Okay, if you need me to go slower, or give you time to get used to something you let me know," he replied, with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. It seemed to put her somewhat at ease as she smiled back at him before he reached up and kissed her, gently at first but with growing intensity until they were both short of breath. He left her gasping for air as he moved over her body again.

Oh yeah, he was going to make this so good, and not just for her, he had all night - sixteen hours if he could hold breakfast off - to lose himself in her. The sudden thought of what would happen after that time was up sent an unwelcome chill through him. He didn't know why, he'd never even kept a woman around until the next morning before, so why was the idea of letting Marie go bothering him so much... Shrugging it off as tomorrow's problem, he refocused on the girl in his arms now.

--

Two days later, they were both lounging in the motel, both trying to ignore the growing tension in the atmosphere between them. They had not discussed past the 'second night', Logan was heading out shortly to fight, from there, he was leaving town but what about Marie. He didn't want to leave her behind, he didn't want to send her off with someone else, he didn't even know where she was heading yet. Could he dump his plans and take her where she was going? Did she even want him to?

Eventually it was bothering him so badly he flicked the TV off, they needed to talk about this, now. Marie looked over at him, a curious frown on her face.

"So, where are you headed kid?" he asked. "Where are you trying to get to?" he clarified, when she began to get up as if to leave.

"Alaska," she answered after a pause, slowly and uncertainly retaking her seat when she realized he wasn’t trying to kick her out. "Always wanted to go, it seemed like a good time," she shrugged.

"What are you gonna do when you get there?" he asked curiously. There wasn't much up there, he usually ended up there at some point during the year, following the fights.

"Get a job and an apartment, I guess, see if a southern girl can hack the cold I suppose," she replied. "Assuming I ever get there," she added resignedly.

"I can get you there," he heard himself offering before he had even considered the logistics.

Marie giggled. "It's okay, you don't have to, it's ages out of the way, I don't want to inconvenience you, that's why I'm trying to grab rides with people headed in that direction, when I can."

Logan felt an irrational anger flood over him when she declined, implying she was too much trouble for someone to do something for her, it made him mad. She was the kind of sweetness that deserved to have the sky laid at her feet just to know what it was like to walk through the clouds. He would get her to Alaska, come hell or highwater.

"It's no trouble, there's fights up there too, I usually pass through once a year as it is, won't be any inconvenience if you don't mind taking the slow route, it'll probably take me about three weeks to get up there but you're welcome to the ride," he offered, hoping she would just accept so he wouldn't have to beg. He was at the point where he was almost ready to do just that, anything to get her to stay with him a bit longer.

"Well..." Marie blushed, "I would like that... what'll it cost me?" she asked coyly.

Logan grinned. "Donations are acceptable," he replied cheekily. In other words, the ball was in her court, if she chose to warm his bed he wasn't going to complain but it was important to him, now, that she chose to, really truly chose to be with him, not just because she wanted to get to the next town. Her brilliant smile, and the pretty flush of colour in her cheeks, told him she understood.

He flicked the TV back on. "If you want to come with me to the fights tonight, be packed and ready to go by seven," he added, catching a movement out of the corner of his eye as Marie checked the time, before she got up and gathered up all their belongings.

In the wee hours of the next morning as the camper rolled out of town heading North, Logan glanced at his sleeping passenger. The feelings she stoked in him still confused him, he would have to give them some more thought. Thankfully they had a lot of open road between them and Anchorage, plenty of time to get his head straight.

--

He managed to get them to Anchorage without doing too much thinking about 'them'. They rented a long-term motel room, and for the first time in his life, that he could remember, he settled in one place. A few days turned into a week, turned into three, and now, as he sat in the dull moonlit room watching Marie sleep, he couldn't help the realization that they had been together now for nine weeks. Six of those in the same motel apartment.

He had helped Marie find a job, a fulltime position at a small family run grocery store. It was a fairly dead-end job but she was ecstatic, a stepping stone she called it, enough to pay her way until she could find something better or work her way up. As for him, the fights had moved on after only a couple of nights, as they did, they wouldn't be rolling back through for months, so he had largely spent his time drinking, thinking, and buried in Marie. They weren't traveling anymore, she wasn't paying her way to the next town but she had warmed his bed every night since they had set out. Or was he warming her bed, given this was now her home?

All his thinking time since they had arrived had led him to one conclusion, somehow, somewhere, he had fallen in love with Marie. It was that thought that had pushed him out of her bed tonight. He loved her, he wanted to love her, he didn't want to leave her... but... there was always a 'but'. He wanted her to love him, and he couldn't see any way to know if she truly did, or could love him, if he was here, day in, day out, fucking the daylights out of her. He needed to leave, give her some time to get on her feet and go it alone, to decide if she wanted him, for good.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" Marie's soft, sleepy voice floated across the room to interrupt his musing.

"Just thinking," he murmured back, watching as she got up and came over towards him. She sat herself across his lap, and nuzzled her head into his shoulder.

"About what?" she asked softly, though he could hear an underlying sadness in her voice. She knew.

With a sigh he wrapped his arms around her. "It's time for me to move on," he stated haltingly, his throat constricting tightly with emotion before he could say more.

"I thought you might say that," Marie replied, looking up at him, a sad smile on her lips and tears in her eyes.

"Don't cry darlin', you don't need me around here, you got this, I'll come back to visit though, the fights will be back next year, I'll come check on you, make sure this southern girl survived her first northern winter," he chuckled, as he wiped a wayward tear from her cheek. "If you want me to that is," he added, throwing the ball back to her court.

"I want you to," she replied immediately, the brilliant smile he had grown to love lighting up her face.

"Alright then, it's the beginning of July now, I'll be back next year, around the middle of May, I'll hit you up for a place to stay," he told her, tucking her head back against his shoulder as he held her tighter.

"I'll be here," she replied brightly.

"I hope not," Logan replied with a chuckle, "You better have found somewhere nicer than this to live by the time I get back, leave your forwarding address with the office, make sure you remind them not to lose it, or I'll have to kick their asses, either way, I'll track you down," he assured her.

For a time, they sat in comfortable yet sad silence, just enjoying holding each other, neither wanting to part but knowing this was a necessary step. Marie knew Logan was a drifter, and he would leave before too long, he was happy with her but he still needed his freedom, she could live with that, she would wait for him, hopefully he would keep his promise and come back. For his part Logan was hoping she would still be here, still be his when he came back, but he wouldn't push that on her, it had to be her decision. He would be back.

After about half an hour Marie stood up, tugging his hand gently she encouraged him back to bed. She had a feeling he wouldn't be there when she woke in the morning, and she didn't want to waste these last few hours.

--

The next morning, as the sun glinted brightly through the crack in the bedroom curtain, Marie's eyes opened to an empty bed.

He was gone.

Lying on the bedside table was a brief scribbled note; 'See you in May. Love, Logan'.

She smiled as she ran her finger over the word she had come to realise summed up her feelings for the man she had started out disliking, despite her physical attraction to him. When their first interaction had been him propositioning her for sex, she had thought her dislike was justified, but now...

She didn't care how it happened, it happened. She just hoped he loved her the same way she loved him.

May would bring her answer.

Marie paused as she finished wiping down the table, her swollen belly took some effort to heft around now that she was virtually due. She knew that at thirty-six weeks she should be off her feet, not still bussing tables at a roadside diner but she wanted to take as much time off once baby had arrived as she could afford. Which meant working and saving as much as she could beforehand, and Christmas Eve was a good day for tips.

Her job at the grocery store had ended about two months after Logan left, the couple who owned the store didn't support unmarried mothers, or 'harlots', as she had been referred to. Thankfully she had kept her pregnancy hidden from them for as long as she could, and had already begun looking for another job. She walked right into the waitress job at the diner only two days later the hourly pay wasn't as good but once you added tips she was in a better financial position. That, combined with the fact that Logan had paid her rent in advance at the motel for six months before he had left, as well as leaving her a sizable lump of cash, meant she had been able to put all her wages into savings, and been able to buy those baby essentials she needed, without much of a financial hit. She would be able to take several months off once baby was born, in fact, if she managed her money well, she may not have to go back to work at all before Logan got back.

She refused to consider the possibility that he wasn't coming back, especially once she had discovered her pregnancy. She wished, daily, she had some way to contact him, to tell him about the baby but she didn't, and so she just had to wait.

"You okay, Marie?" Cindy, the other waitress working the busy holiday day, stopped beside her and asked.

"Yeah, just trying to put baby back in the standing up position," she joked, straightening back up.

"Why don't you let me do the tables, then you won't have to keep leaning over," Cindy replied, good naturedly. Cindy had three kids of her own so she had been a godsend for Marie with advice, and hand-me-down baby items.

"Ugh, don't you start too," Marie replied with a chuckle, "Tommy's already banned me from the kitchen, I'm not allowed to take out the trash, now you want to stop me wiping down tables, what am I, an invalid?"

"Nope, just a very soon to be, brand new mommy, and if you don't start taking it easy that's going to be sooner than you think," Cindy reminded her.

"Thanks for reminding me," Marie murmured, tucking her wash cloth away, as a sad smile crossed her face.

"Oh sweetie, baby will be here before you know it, and his daddy will be too," she hugged her gently, she had seen that look often enough since she and Marie had discussed Logan over dinner one quiet night, to know what it meant.

The doorbell chimed as another group of customers entered, stamping snow off their boots, and simultaneously kicking half of it across the floor. "You take the orders, I'll get the mop," Cindy sighed wearily, hurrying off before the snow melt and spread too far.

--

Marie's shift ended at closing, nine pm, and by then she was absolutely shattered, she couldn't wait to get back to her room and crawl into her bed. Tomorrow was Christmas Day and the diner would be closed, so she was going to give herself the gift of sleep and planned to spend the entire day in bed, asleep. First, she had to get rid of this last customer.

The guy was huge, about seven-foot-tall, with long blond hair, and full facial hair, scruffy but in an unkempt way. Not like Logan's controlled chaotic hair - and there she was thinking about him at wholly inappropriate times, again... back to the customer in question though. He was scary, Cindy had balked when she had seen him, refusing to even serve him, telling Tommy he gave her the creeps. Unfortunately, the giving of the creeps, wasn't enough for Tommy to be able to throw the guy out, so it had fallen on Marie to wait on him. All. After. Noon.

He had arrived at lunch, sat in the furthest, darkest booth, he'd ordered lunch, he'd had cup after cup of coffee, he'd had dinner, but so far, he hadn't moved. Even to go to the bathroom, which was surprising given all the coffee she'd been pouring for him. Approaching the table with the guys check, she set it down on the table, offering him a smile as she did so, even though truth be told he creeped her out too. She had decided it was his eyes, they were too dark, dark and piercing, like he was looking right into you, and not in a good way.

"Thank you for your custom sir, I hope all the food was to your liking, we're closing up now so I'm gonna have to ask you to head on out, do you want anything to-go?" she asked, in her fast learned, sweet and cheery, customer service tone.

"How about a side order of one pretty little brunette waitress?" the creep leered at her, very obviously and exaggeratedly looking her over. His voice was even creepier than his look she immediately decided.

Suppressing the shudder of revulsion that he triggered in her, she set herself firmly and replied, still sweetly, "I'm sorry to disappoint but waitresses aren't on the menu, and the only place I'm going is home, to my boyfriend, and bed, goodnight," she added, turning to walk back to the counter.

"But your boyfriend isn't at home, is he?" the stranger said with a dark chuckle. Marie froze, turning to look back at him as he stared at her, an unreadable expression on his face.

His eyes flickered over her shoulder a moment later, and his expression changed to one of annoyance as he pulled himself out of the booth. Dropping a wad of cash on the table he walked past her, and past Tommy, and out into the night without another word. The cheery little doorbell was an oddly ominous sound after that encounter.

"Well, at least he left you a good tip Marie," Tommy shrugged. "Merry Christmas," he added, as he handed both women their tips for the night and pay for the week. "Do you want me to walk you home?" Tommy asked Marie, as she bundled herself into a coat that was several sizes too big for her in order fit around her bump.

"No, it's okay, Cindy and I walk most of the way together anyway," Marie replied, shrugging off the little niggle of unease left behind by the customer. "See you next week," they both said, with a wave to Tommy as they left him to lock up.

Cindy ended up walking her all the way to her motel apartment, even stayed for a while, until both women were confident they hadn't been followed, and laughed off the creepy comment.

"Well, I'll see you at work next week, if aqua man decides to mutiny and jump ship early you let me know," Cindy said, hugging Marie goodbye and patting her belly for good measure.

"I will, you'll be the first person I call," Marie replied, offering her a warm smile and a wave, as Cindy set off down the block further to her own home.

Getting ready for bed, feeling a lot more at ease now that she had had the opportunity to calm down. Marie crawled under her covers and snapped off the bedside lamp.

Several hours later she was sleeping deeply, so deeply she missed the soft scratching of the lock being picked, the click of the barrel giving way, and the door to her apartment silently opening, then closing.

"Rise and shine sweetheart," a deep voice rumbled in her ear.

Marie shifted unconsciously as she began to wake, rolling slightly towards the sound that stirred her. Blinking sleepily, her eyes were immediately drawn to the figure standing over her. She started in shock as her brain woke up and recognized the creepy customer from the diner, and she screamed involuntarily as she attempted to get away.

His hand instantly clamped down over her face, it was so large it covered most of her face, not only stopping her from screaming but breathing too. He didn't have to do much to stop her from moving, her baby filled belly did a decent job of that all by itself. She could feel her heart racing as she panicked, she had to get away, she had to protect her baby, what did this guy want...

Before she could do anything, he shifted, moving his hand away from her face and she took the opportunity to scream again, as loud as she could, hoping to attract the attention of one of her neighbours. He slapped her hard, before gagging her tightly. As he tied her hands together, she began to sob, what was he going to do to her.

"Quit your snivelling, your nose gets blocked you'll suffocate, the boss won't be very happy about that," the stranger said, hauling her out of bed. Thank god he left her feet untied; she had a shot at running at least.

He sat her back down on the edge of the bed as he pushed her boots onto her socked feet, and he wrapped her coat around her, buttoning it up as best he could with her arms in the body portion rather than the sleeves.

"Come.” He ordered, and tugged her up toward the door, pausing at the threshold he added, "Try to run and I'll make sure that brat in your belly doesn't live, the boss only needs you, not your spawn, behave yourself and I'll let you keep it, for a while longer at least."

Involuntarily Marie froze, as he tugged her back out the door she stumbled, unable to coordinate her legs to move her forward. She began to sob again as she realised what danger she was really in, she tried to follow, she tried to behave, but she just couldn't get her body to play along.

With an animalistic growl, her captor gave up trying to get her to walk, and scooped her up off her feet, carrying her out the door and across the parking lot. He set her on her feet, keeping a firm grip on her arm, as he opened the back door of the sedan he had stopped beside, before shoving her in. She had the presence of mind to twist as she fell forward so she didn't land on her belly. He shoved her feet in the car too and slammed the door, thankfully he was distracted by a noise behind him, and didn’t notice that the door didn't catch when she kicked back out at it as it closed.

"Sabretooth, kidnapping girls is not socially acceptable behaviour, what do you want with her?" Marie heard a feminine voice break the midnight silence. Was that her captors name, Sabretooth? That was a weird name. Was this new person her saviour, or was this her captors’ partner in crime? Either way it provided a distraction.

Tearing the buttons off her coat as she forced her arms out to give herself some leverage, she pushed the car door fully open, sliding towards it she carefully but quickly pulled herself upright. As soon as her feet hit the ground she ran, it was one block to Cindy's apartment, could she get there before her captor caught up? Probably not but she was damn well going to try!

She hadn't even made it across the parking lot when she heard an enraged roar from behind her. She didn't pause to look back, just kept running as fast as her legs could carry her swollen belly.

A loud crack of lightning, out of nowhere, caused her to stumble and she fell to her knees. Catching herself with her bound hands, to halt her forward momentum before her belly hit the ground, she attempted to push herself back to her feet immediately. When a hand touched her a moment later, she tried to scream, through the gag, as she launched herself away from whoever had her now.

"It's okay sweetie, we've got you, you're safe now," a woman’s voice said softly, as she steadied her before she could fall again.

Turning to this new stranger cautiously, Marie spied a lump of steaming human flesh on the ground behind her, it looked oddly like her original captor. Gently the woman was untying the gag from around her face, and as soon as it was free Marie blurted, "Did you hit him with lightning?"

"Yes," the white-haired woman replied, with an amused smile.

"H- how?" Marie asked, confused.

"I am a mutant, like you are, my power is control of the weather and it's anomalies, it was the fastest most effective way to put him down for a while," the woman replied.

"A while? Shouldn't that kill him?" Marie asked.

"If not for the fact he too is a mutant, yes, unfortunately, he is a mutant who heals, so he will be back on his feet shortly, we need to get you away from here before then, until we can figure out why they want you at the least..."

"No! I can't leave, can't you just take him away with you? Or hand him over to the cops, or something?" Marie asked, worry evident in her voice.

The woman had moved on to untying her hands as she replied, "We can but that won't stop the man who sent him to get you from sending someone else, it would be safer for you, and for your baby, if we took you with us, so we can protect you."

"No offense, but I don't know you, and I can't just up and leave my life on a whim, I have a job, my baby's due in four weeks, my..." she began to argue.

"None of that is going to mean anything if Magneto gets his hands on you," the white haired stranger interrupted. "Let's go inside, and we can explain everything, you can make your decision from there, okay?"

It was then Marie noticed two other people in the distance, carrying the charred body into the woods. "Where are they taking him?" she asked.

"To our transportation, we'll take him back with us, average law enforcement won't be able to hold him, hopefully we can," the woman replied, "Now, let's get you inside to warm up shall we, you're freezing." With a friendly smile, the woman led her back to her apartment.

Kicking the heat up as soon as she entered, Marie dug around for her warmest clothes, she really was freezing. Once she was dressed, she headed back into the main room where the white-haired woman handed her a cup of coffee - she had made three other cups so it appeared she was expecting more people to join them, either that or she really loved coffee. Sure enough, two more people joined them moments later, knocking softly at the door. The white-haired woman let in another woman, a redhead, and a man wearing odd glasses... in the middle of the night...?

Once everyone was seated with a drink, the white-haired woman began with introductions, who they were, where they were from, revealing they were mutants and what their powers were.

"Wow," Marie commented, "I had no idea there were so many mutants, but what do you all want with me, my power I wouldn't have thought was anything special, or even useful..." She explained briefly what her power did when prompted, catching the confused glances of those around her, it seemed they couldn't understand the fuss either.

They explained more about who the creepy attempted kidnapper was, who he worked for, and the type of nefarious business those 'bad guys' got up to. Before moving on to explain where they lived, and how they could protect her.

"We also have onsite medical, which it looks like you are going to need sooner than you think," the redhead, Jean, commented with a reassuring smile, as Marie rubbed at her belly as her muscles tensed again tightly. It seemed her attempted midnight abduction was enough stress to tip her over the edge and provoke a reaction from her body.

After another hour Marie made up her mind, she would go, it was too dangerous to stay if these people were right but she wouldn't be leaving until morning, she had to quit her job, and leave forwarding details with the motel manager which she would do in the morning. For now, she was staying put and trying to calm her body down, she didn't want her baby born yet.

The group agreed the two women, Jean, and Ororo, would stay with her, just in case Sabretooth wasn't alone and someone else came looking for her. Scott, the guy with the weird glasses, that were for controlling the laser beams he shot out of his eyes, would go back to the groups jet plane and keep an eye on their prisoner.

Marie managed to sleep for the rest of the morning, waking at nine to the smell of breakfast cooking. The two women waited on her, keeping her calm and comfortable while they packed her apartment for her. When everything was cleared out Marie gave one last forlorn look back at the place that had been her home for so many months, before she headed for the office.

"Merry Christmas Joe," she called into the backroom, where Joe had his armchair and TV that he sat in front of between check ins.

"Merry Christmas Marie, what are you doing up and about, you should be resting sweetie, or is that little boy keeping you on your toes already," he chuckled. He was a nice old guy, and he liked Marie, spoiling her almost as if she was the daughter he never had.

"Just a bit but he's not the only one, something happened last night, someone broke into my apartment and tried to kidnap me, so I'm going to be moving away for a while, until it's safe for me and baby, just need to leave a forwarding address for Logan when he gets back," she filled him in sadly.

"Of course, where are you going to be heading to, I'll make sure it only gets to Logan too, don't you worry," Joe told her with a grin. He didn't know why exactly Logan had left her here alone, he was obviously in love with her, and she was in love with him too, but he knew about their agreement that he would return, so, maybe he was just working or something. Once the details were all settled, Marie handed Joe a little brightly wrapped box, along with another parting 'Merry Christmas', and made her way back outside.

She opted to quit her job in person so they made their way down to the diner, it was closed but Tommy was there, as always. He was disturbed to hear about what had happened, apologising for not working more proactively to get rid of the creep the day before.

"It wouldn't have made any difference Tommy, he already knew everything about me, it's not like he followed me home or anything, it's not your fault. I'll see you around sometime, and Merry Christmas, will you tell Cindy I said goodbye?" With Tommy's parting promise to do just that, Marie headed back outside to her waiting entourage.

When they led the way back to their mode of transport, Marie eyed the plane warily. "I thought women weren't supposed to fly when pregnant?" she asked worriedly.

"Generally up to thirty-six weeks is okay, you should be thirty-six weeks today from the dates you gave me, and you'll have your own personal doctor on board so everything should be fine, we'll be making special allowances to make sure you're comfortable, don't you worry," Jean responded, with a reassuring smile.

The flight went well, and quickly. However, the minor contractions that had started on the night of the attempted abduction didn't stop, and two days later Marie got to meet her chunky little boy. He was gorgeous, with a mess of dark hair, big blue eyes, and weighing in at a surprisingly hefty seven pounds, which Jean declared was far more than enough for a thirty-six week-er. The only downer on the whole occasion was that Logan wasn't there to meet him too, but she took lots of photos, so when he caught up to her he could see baby from his very first minute.

She had a new worry now where Logan was concerned - she still refused to consider the possibility that he might not come back, he had promised, so she would take him at his word - but would he want her, and baby, when he found out she was a mutant? Part of her felt bad for not mentioning that to him before, she could control her mutation so it didn't really seem like an issue at the time. The other part of her declared that it shouldn't matter, it didn't change who she was, but still... when he did catch up to her, it wasn't going to be something she could hide anymore.

Logan was driving, driving, always fucking driving, and for the first time in almost two decades it was really starting to get to him. All he wanted right now was to crawl into bed with Marie and hold her, he wasn't even that hung up on fucking her any more, he just wanted to be with her, to hold her, to be wrapped in her scent and her arms... God he hoped she was still waiting for him, he had no idea what he was going to do if she wasn’t, not now that he had finally gotten used to the idea of having another in his life.

He was almost there, he had told her mid-May but when he got to the town where he had first laid eyes on her, the longing had started in earnest. So he was fighting his way through what was left of the winter ice and snow to get there the first week of May, he would be there tomorrow, the same day they had arrived the year before. He was buzzing with nerves and excitement as he got closer, a strangely disconcerting feeling.

His thoughts were interrupted by a telepathic knock.

*'Use a phone Chuck,'* he mentally grunted in response. Preparing himself for the telepathic conversation he knew from past experience was coming.

*'I would, except you don't have one,'* Charles replied in amusement.

*'You'd think that would be enough of a hint,'* Logan stated pointedly.

*'I do apologize for disturbing you but as we agreed I am only contacting you for urgent matters,'* Xavier assured him.

*'Such as?'* Logan prompted, already sick of this conversation as he tried to keep enough attention on the road to stay there. He had no intention of stopping, not this close to his goal.

*'We have a situation with the Brotherhood threatening a student, we rescued her when Magneto sent Sabretooth to collect her, we thought he had lost interest in her but recently attempts have been made to abduct her both from public spaces, and from infiltration onto school grounds, we need your help protecting—‘*

*'I’m not a babysitter Chuck and right now I've got my own shit to deal with, so no, send her to her room and up the perimeter defences,'* Logan replied dismissively. Chuck's brats were not his problem, he'd told the old man the kids needed better training to be able to protect themselves but he didn't want to 'turn them into soldiers'. While that's all well and good, he couldn't in turn expect the soldier to turn up every time they needed protecting.

*'We have already taken those precautions, however the poor girl is getting rather sick of being cooped up while we try and figure out what is going on, I understand if you have things you need to do right now but if you are able to spare some time for this you will be well compensated,'* Charles made clear. Admittedly he always did pay well, which is why Logan usually did the things he asked, but this one would take him away from Marie, for god only knows how long, when he was so close. No amount of financial compensation would make up for that.

*'I'll see what happens with this thing first,'* he conceded, if Marie turned him out he'd need something to distract him, though it may end up being the last time he ever got asked to do something for the geeks; he wasn't likely to be in a good mood if that happened.

*'Very well, thank you Logan, I look forward to hearing from you,'* Charles replied, not bothering to wait for Logan to sign off from the conversation before he left his mind.

--

The next morning Logan rolled to a stop at the halfway decent motel he had left Marie living in. The first thing he would do was check the room, if she was still there that would be a quick search. The 'for rent' sign on the apartment door told him she was no longer there, with a grin he headed for the office.

"Morning," a disembodied voice called from a back room, "Be right with you." The old guy who appeared moments later, stopped, looking surprised, then he grinned broadly. "I didn't think you'd be able to stay away for so long," he chuckled, "Marie's not here anymore, moved on about four months ago but she left an address... it's around here... somewhere..." The old man dug through piles and drawers until he found what he was looking for. "Here you go."

The slip of paper he handed over was covered in what must be Marie's handwriting, neat, tidy script which read; 'Dear Logan, I'm sorry I'm not here to greet you in person, something's come up and I've had to leave, I know it's a long way but please come find me. Love, Marie'. Scrawled underneath was an address, a very familiar address, in New York.

With a chuckle Logan tucked the note into his pocket. Glancing back toward his truck he quickly did the math to figure out how long it would take him to get to New York. Straight driving, he could probably do it in just over three days... or he could call Chuck back.

"Any chance I could borrow your phone, long distance call?" he asked the old guy, who chuckled before wordlessly handing him the cordless device.

Punching in the number for Xavier's direct dial he waited through the irritating trill of the ringtone. He didn't have to wait long before the Professor's clipped accent filtered through. "Logan, have you reconsidered my offer?" he asked, in lieu of a greeting.

"Not exactly," Logan replied, "But how fast can you get me to New York?"

--

Eight hours later Logan was walking down the gangplank of the jet. He quickly smothered his grin when he saw Chuck waiting at the hangar door for him. He had been grinning like an idiot since he read Marie's note, he had been hanging out to see her, and it looked like she had too, maybe for the same reason he had. Surely her asking him to come to her, across a continent, meant she really did feel something for him, maybe even love, real love, not just the generic version. Either way he was about to find out, in the last place he expected.

He didn't feel like such an asshole for not telling her earlier that he was a mutant, if she was here that must mean she was as well, and if she hadn't told him she was, well, she couldn't really be mad at him for not telling either, could she? Before he went in search of her though he figured the polite thing to do would be to hear Chuck out, he had saved him three days after all by sending out the jet.

"Logan, it's been far too long, it is good to see you again," Charles greeted warmly.

"Given you only see me when shit’s going wrong, and shit’s apparently going wrong, that's probably a good thing I've been gone so long," Logan replied with a smirk.

"Indeed, you should stay one of these days so we can enjoy your company in quieter, less life threatening occasions," Charles suggested.

"Careful what you wish for Chuck, I might just take you up on that one of these days,” Logan responded cryptically. "The hell you gonna do then?" he added with a grin.

"Get a more substantial lock for the liquor cabinet," Charles responded with his own grin.

"You're gonna hold that one over me for the rest of my life, aren't you?” Logan replied with a chuckle.

"It was close to ten thousand dollars’ worth of alcohol, I'd say that at least deserves the rest of my life to be remembered," Charles answered. Their friendly banter lasted the length of the hallways and the elevator ride to Xavier's office, but as both men took their respective seats, after the door closed behind them, he became more solemn.

"Now, for more serious matters," Charles began. "About four months ago we rescued a young woman Sabretooth was attempting to abduct, they were both brought here, the girl for her safety, Sabretooth... well, we had been hoping to hold him but he managed to escape. We thought Magneto would lose interest as she was safe here now, however, last week the girl and her friends were at the mall when Sabretooth attempted to take her again. She agreed to remain confined to school grounds for her safety, until we could determine what Magneto wants with her. Two days ago, the Brotherhood launched a direct assault on the school and attempted to take her by force."

"Sounds like you're doing okay, they haven't managed to get her, what exactly do you think I can do differently?" Logan shrugged.

"We are doing 'okay' so long as the poor girl stays confined to her room, even then she is not safe, if Mystique were to infiltrate the school again, it would likely not end well. I would ask you assume the role of bodyguard, until further notice. The girl lives on the teachers floor so your room will be close enough for monitoring overnight, if she is out of her room you would need to be within twenty feet of her, on the grounds ten feet, if she leaves the school grounds, she must be accompanied by at least two X-Men who are within five feet of her at all times. I understand I am asking a lot, but this girl has been through a lot, she and her son deserve some looking after, not to mention her mutation is incredibly powerful."

"Two things," Logan interrupted, "There's a kid involved too? And what's her mutation?"

"Yes, her son is four months old, he is a charming child, he was born a few weeks premature due to the stress Sabretooth's attempted abduction had on her while she was heavily pregnant. Her mutation is a form of touch telepathy and energy transference, if she touches someone, skin on skin, she can absorb their energy, and their thoughts and memories, she assumes their life force if you will, it is possible that if she were to absorb a mutant she may even be able to assume that mutants powers also, her mutation could be used to wreak absolute havoc if she were to fall into Magneto's hands, not only on others but herself also. When she uses her mutation, she assimilates a fragment of the other person's psyche into her own conscious mind, we have had limited success in purging these snippets, if she were forced to absorb too many psyche's though, she could lose her own, be drowned out inside her own mind."

"Wow, that sounds like a shitty mutation," Logan commented, "Is there a father involved, or likely to be?"

"We're not sure, she knows who the father is, and appears to be expecting him to show up at some point but our inquiries have been ignored thus far, she appears to want to keep that information to herself," Charles told him.

"Great, that's one room I don't have to listen to shagging from," Logan deadpanned, as Charles chuckled in response.

"Shall I take that to mean you intend to take the job?" he asked.

Logan sighed. "I suppose, but we gotta have a cap on this, you aren't getting me to move in permanently with this," Logan made it clear that he wouldn't put such a ploy above his old friend.

"Indeed, for now we shall say three months, with an option to extend should we have failed to ascertain Magneto's purpose, and you still be willing to continue on of course. Now, if you are certain, the young lady is on her way, I will introduce you," Charles informed him, as the office door opened.

--

"Thanks 'Ro," Marie said, to the woman who had escorted her to the Professor's office. Since the attack on the mansion the Professor had been trying to find her a bodyguard but apparently very few people wanted to put themselves between anyone and Magneto, or probably more likely it was Sabretooth. Even the guy the Professor had told her would definitely take the opportunity had said no, which left her stuck, in her room, with orders not to open the door for any one person. They were only coming in pairs to collect her; the shape shifter who had tried to sneak into her room days before couldn't shift into two people after all.

But now, finally, the Professor had found someone and she would be permitted to leave her room. Turning back into the room she had been walked to, after closing the door behind her, she froze when she spotted a familiar mop of scruffy black hair. The look on her face must have been something as the Professor glanced at her oddly, before turning to the man seated in front of him, who had yet to move.

--

Logan picked up the scent as the door opened, his heart lurched when he realised Marie really was here, and she must have just walked past. Then the door closed, and the scent stayed. Before he realised what was happening Charles was regarding him curiously.

"Logan, this is..."

"Marie," Logan finished, slowly standing and turning around to regard the girl standing behind him. She had a nervous smile on her face, as she clutched a little baby boy in her arms.

"Hey Logan," she said softly.

In a split second he was across the room, with the girl he had been hanging out to see for far too long, wrapped in his arms. When her own arm came up to wrap around him in return, he breathed a sigh of relief. All that shit that Chuck had just told him, that had happened to Marie, his Marie? He was going to kill Sabretooth next time he saw him.

"Sabretooth attacked you?" he asked worriedly, as he pulled away to regard her. What the hell had he ever been thinking leaving her alone.

"Not attacked exactly, just broke into my apartment, gagged me, tied me up, then tried to make off with me in his car," Marie shrugged with a grin. Who cares what Sabretooth did, that was ancient history now, she had Logan back!

"And this?" Logan asked, staring down at the little boy who was trying to gum the zipper off his leather jacket as they stood close.

"This is Jesse," Marie replied, watching him intently. "I found out I was pregnant about three weeks after you left, I was hoping you'd change your mind and come back early, I didn't have any other way to contact you..." she broke off as she teared up, hugging him tightly.

"I'm sorry darlin, if I'd have known I'd have been there in a heartbeat, I'm sorry for leaving you to deal with that on your own," Logan murmured as he held her, running his hand over the baby's hair, his tiny ear, across his cheek, his nose. A tiny hand grabbed hold of his finger after abandoning its hold on his jacket and pulled the digit into his mouth.

After a few minutes, and once Marie's waterworks had died off, she smiled up at him and offered him his son.

"Uh- I uh- he's- kinda small, isn’t he?" Logan stalled, ignoring Marie's giggle as she nudged him to sit down, before placing the infant into his arms. Logan just stared at the boy in awe and wonder, truth be told, he'd never held a baby before. It was as terrifying as it was incredible, especially when he considered, this was his son.

Marie knelt down next to him when it looked for a moment like the boy was going to cry. "Hey Jesse, this is your daddy," she whispered softly, pointing up at Logan, to turn the little boys attention to him. "I told you he would come see you didn't I, what do you think, hmm, he's real nice and cuddly, I promise." She fell quiet as the little boy decided dad wasn't as scary as he first thought, and instead of crying he grinned a big gummy smile up at him, before reaching for Logan's face.

Picking the little boy up, he held him close against his chest so the little hands could touch his face, before the little boy cuddled up with his head in the crook of his neck, sucking happily on his thumb. As Marie moved to stand up, Logan caught her, and pulled her closer, kissing her thoroughly.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that," he said with a grin, when he finally released her.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to do that," Marie replied with a smile.

A throat clearing behind them drew their attention back to the other occupant of the room, Marie flushing red when she realised this had literally all just played out right in front of the Professor.

"Is there something I need to know?" Charles asked pointedly of the pair.

"Uh, well, hey Chuck, this is my- girlfriend," Logan replied, with a mildly uncomfortable grin.

"Girlfriend?" Marie asked surprised.

"You would prefer I introduce you by some other title?" Logan asked teasingly.

"No, no I like that, just didn't realise we'd got to that point yet," Marie replied, smiling sweetly at him.

"Hell yeah darlin, I'm sorry I was such an asshole when it came to admitting how I felt, I'm sorry I left, I didn't need to I just needed to pull my head out of my ass and admit that I love you," Logan stated, as he placed a kiss on her hand that he still held in his. "Just took me a while to figure that out."

"I love you too," she whispered in return, a single tear dropping down her cheek.

"I know," Logan replied, resting his cheek on top of her head where her head came to rest on his shoulder.

"So," Logan turned back to Charles. "You know how I said be careful what you wish for... if you haven't already guessed, I'm staying, for now at least, don't you worry about Marie, I am never taking my eye off her again. Any questions?" he asked.

"When I called you, and you turned down my offer of employment, where were you?" Charles asked curiously.

"About eight hours out of Anchorage, I was on my way back to where I'd left Marie, you call and say 'hey drive all the way back across the continent to New York'... I'd been waiting almost a year to get back to her. Then I got to Marie's place, I got her note, and here I am."

"Why did you leave Marie alone in Alaska?" Charles asked next.

"... Because I was in love with her and it scared the shit out of me, because she was young and I didn't know if she fully understood what being in love meant, because I was worried that she might just be getting comfortable with me rather than actually loving me. I figured if I gave her a chance to get by without me, fit in, get comfortable, take care of herself, then she could decide if she wanted me around," Logan admitted.

Marie smiled softly, she had a feeling that had been his plan, it was a stupid plan but it was sweet.

"And you Marie, what did you think of Logan's plan?" Charles asked the girl.

"I thought he loved me, but he obviously wasn't comfortable with the idea, plus, I figured, he was a drifter when I met him, loving him would mean having to let him have his space and his time, I couldn't tie him down because he would just end up resenting me for it and it would push us apart, the whole 'if you love someone you have to let them go' thing, if they love you, they'll come back... he came back," she finished with a smile, equally as relieved as loving.

"I suppose me pointing out she is only just now eighteen is rather pointless," Charles added.

"Shit," Logan commented suddenly, glancing guiltily at Marie, "I never actually asked how old you were. Were you sixteen or seventeen when we met?"

"Seventeen, my birthday's in March, I'd just had it a couple of weeks before we met," Marie replied, giggling at Logan being worried.

"Oh, sorry I missed your birthday," he replied.

"It's okay, I knew you would," she responded, "I'm just sorry you missed his birthday." She stroked the head of the now snoozing baby, his thumb had fallen out of his mouth when his arm went limp in sleep and now he was drooling onto Logan's jacket.

"Me too... but I can't do anything about that now, I'll be there for the next one though," he assured her with a grin.

"So, you two intend to remain a couple?" Charles confirmed.

With a glance at Marie, moving on to regard Jesse, Logan turned back to him. "No, we're a family," he clarified.

"Very well, I will leave the living arrangements up to you to sort out, and I entrust Marie to your care. Dare I say it but welcome home Logan," Charles said with a smile, as he watched the little family leave his office.

They headed upstairs hand in hand to the teachers’ wing. Logan's room stood ready and empty as always, right next door was Marie's room. Her room was slightly larger, and the bathroom had a tub, while his own only had a shower. The sizeable walk in closet had been refitted as a small nursery, big enough to fit a crib and a change table in with room to move between them.

"You keep our kid in the closet?" Logan queried, amused.

Marie giggled. "Yeah, I can close the door when he's napping so he doesn't get woken up by me moving around out here, the Professor's already talked about moving us to a small apartment so he can have his own room once he's bigger but for now this works."

Taking in more of the room he noted the little 'Marie' things around the room despite the sparse decoration. "So, am I st--" he began.

"Yes, you’re staying, please?" Marie interrupted before he could finish.

"Good, where can I chuck this?" he asked, nudging his pack off his shoulder, trying not to disturb the baby napping against the other one.

Silently moving it to the dresser Marie gestured to the piece of furniture. "That's your side, there should be space in the closet too if you need it."

"I get the distinct impression you've been planning for this," Logan chuckled, the movement finally stirring the infant in his arms.

"Yeah, kinda," Marie replied, watching as Logan and Jesse interacted. The little boy would want feeding soon but for now he was happy, alternating between yawning and grinning at his dad, as he poked dribble soaked fingers at his face. Soon enough he began to grizzle and suck on his hands in earnest, as he began looking around for Marie.

"You want momma back hey? Are you hungry little man? I have to say you have good taste, mommy's tits are the best," Logan commented, chuckling when Marie blushed with a mock shocked gasp.

Once Jesse was fed, Marie showed Logan how to burp him - and that's how he got puked on the first time. After that Logan announced it was time for them to eat, acquiescing to Marie's request to finally be allowed to eat in the dining room with everyone else.

"Just stay where I can see you, and not too close to the windows," Logan added, as they approached the room in question.

"Doesn't look like that will be a problem," Marie replied, as they entered the room. It was packed unusually full – and all eyes turned to Logan as he entered, his reputation still preceded him it seemed – only a handful of seats were spare around the room. "You've got baby so you go sit down, I'll bring food," Marie said, darting off before Logan could reply.

With an amused smirk Logan made his way to the spare seats at the staff table, it was marginally quieter in that area and would allow him an unimpeded view of the entire room. He took a seat, sitting Jesse on the table in front of him and handed him a napkin ring to gum, it was surprisingly effective at keeping him occupied. It wasn't until Marie came over, grinning broadly with two packed plates of food, setting one down in front of Logan, once he'd moved the small child, that they both noticed the rest of the table was unusually quiet.

Noting Logan's quizzical gaze over the rest of the table's occupants, Ororo decided to 'break the ice' and start conversation. "So, Logan, the Professor managed to convince you to stay?" she asked.

"Not exactly," Logan replied, "I came back for Marie but it seems like it might be beneficial for us to lay low for a while, Chuck was good enough to offer us a place."

"Came back for Marie?" Jean queried in confusion.

"Mmhmm, went back to Alaska but she was already gone, left me a note telling me she was here. Thanks for helping her out with Sabretooth by the way," he added, he wasn't usually one to give thanks but this situation really did deserve it.

"How did you know Marie was in Alaska?" Scott asked, still obviously not having quite caught on. Though Marie had to admit, Logan was taking a rather convoluted way to get to the explanation of their relationship status.

"That's where I left her. Of course, if I'd known Magneto knew about her, I wouldn't have left her alone but the joys of hindsight, eh," Logan chuckled, as he made a defensive manoeuvre with his fork to avoid the reaching hand of the infant on his knee. The little boys’ eyes welled with tears as he watched the fork reappear out of Logan's mouth, now empty of food, and he started to cry. "Stop your whinging kid, you don't have teeth, you can't eat this food, that's why you get the tit juice, literally the only time in your life that's socially acceptable, enjoy it while it lasts," Logan commented to the little boy, who did indeed stop crying, though he still pouted adorably.

"Logan, please, it's 'breast milk', not - not that other term," Jean responded, blushing almost as brightly as Marie who sat beside him, equal parts mortified as amused.

"Prude," Logan muttered playfully, as he continued to eat.

"Crass language aside, what do you mean you left Marie in Alaska? You- you two have already met?" Scott asked for clarification, as Charles sat silently at the end of the table waiting eagerly for Logan to finally clue the rest of the staff in. Sometimes the drama of the school far exceeded anything one could find on television and in movies.

Logan and Marie shared an amused grin before Logan responded, "We met over a year ago, picked her up off the side of the road as she was hitchhiking to Alaska, we stuck together, I took her to Anchorage, set her up with a place to stay and a job, kinda got cold feet about the situation and bailed for a bit but I promised to come back, of course, if I'd realised I'd knocked her up already I would have... well, I'd have probably stayed..." He frowned as he thought over the 'what ifs' of that scenario. "As much as I hate to say it, it's probably a good thing I didn't know, I needed that time to get my head on straight, don't get me wrong I regret missing things but I would have felt trapped if I'd ended up stuck without time to sort everything out in my head, I'm sorry Marie," Logan offered her a regretful apology.

Marie smiled at him acceptingly. "It's okay, not a problem, I knew the score, I'm glad things have turned out the way they have, you're happy, I'm happy, he's happy, it's better than the alternative, so you missed me being fat and his initial learning to sleep phase, no big deal."

Through this exchange those at the rest of the table had sat, mouths agape in shock at Logan's casual admission he was the mystery father of the child perched on his knee.

"You- you're Jesse's father?" Scott eventually asked, seeking clarification of the fact his brain was trying to accept.

"That is correct," Logan replied.

"He's Jesse's father?" Jean asked Marie directly, still somewhat in disbelief.

"Logan is Jesse's father," Marie also confirmed.

"You're sure?" Jean asked again, still sceptical.

"One hundred percent positive," Marie answered, with an amused smile.

"Well, why didn't you tell us!?" Jean asked next.

"I didn't know you guys knew him, I didn't even know Logan was a mutant, speaking of which, you haven’t even told me what your mutation is yet, and he told me he'd come back so I didn't want to rush him, he had to decide to come back, and to stay, for himself," Marie replied.

Ororo just smiled to herself, a decidedly mature response from the girl sitting across from her. She was a good match for Logan now that she considered the possibility, and Logan definitely looked a natural parent interacting with the pair's child. Little Jesse was fussing on his knee again, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he yawned, food now forgotten. She watched in awe as, without a word, Logan reclined a bit in his seat, turned the little boy around so he was resting against his chest, and gently patted his back as the child quickly sank into sleep.

"I'm glad you're home Logan," was Ororo's response as she smiled at the pair. "And not just for your sake, I guess Charles was right, you're the perfect man for the job of keeping an eye on Marie until we can sort out Magneto." Her comments redirected the attention of all at the table, reminding them all there were far more important matters at hand than just relationship status.

The rest of the meal passed comfortably, nothing more was said about Logan and Marie's relationship, though Logan could tell some were still digesting that information. Towards the end of the meal a shout went up from a group of students at another table, rousing Jesse, who began to cry at the shock awakening. Rocking him back to sleep Logan suggested to Marie they should head back up so the boy could sleep in his own bed undisturbed, she agreed, and the pair excused themselves.

--

As Logan stood over the crib watching his son sleep later that night, he couldn't help the feeling of primal, smug, satisfaction that settled over him. He'd done that, made that baby, his son, grown in the belly of his girl, who was wrapping her arms around him now to join him watching their baby sleep.

"You did a damn good job darlin, he's perfect, just needs one thing," Logan added, a suggestive smile settling on his face.

"What?" Marie asked, with wary amusement.

"A little sister," Logan growled in her ear, as he turned to wrap his arms around her in return, pressing her tightly up again him.

"Yeah, you think? Well, maybe in a couple of years then," Marie replied.

"A couple of years!?" Logan groused.

"Making babies isn’t easy mister, not my part at least, there's morning sickness, fatigue, and getting fat, not being comfortable in any position, plus all the nutrients it strips out of my body to put into baby... mostly though, I just want to spoil this little guy for a while before the next one comes along. Also, I'm not ovulating again yet anyway so I can't get pregnant for now," Marie filled him in.

Logan grinned ferally. "So... you're not going to object then if I screw you silly?"

"So long as you don't wake the baby, I don't have a problem with that plan," Marie replied with a smile in response, it had been far too long since they had been together last.

"Oh darlin, it isn’t going to be me waking the baby," Logan commented with a chuckle, as he pulled away after kissing her soundly. Pulling her out of the closet nursery, he shut the door behind them, double checking the bedroom door was locked before he pulled Marie back to him, beginning to undress her as their lips locked hungrily again. When he finally got to the point of sinking into her, they both moaned loudly.

"Fuck, it's good to be home," he murmured, as he moved in her.

Hours later when they both lay exhausted and sated, on the verge of sleep Marie's soft voice filtered through his satisfied haze.

"Hey Logan?" He grunted in response, to let her know he was listening. "You said before, it's good to be home... did you mean this place, or me?" she asked uncertainly.

"Home is where the heart is darlin, and you've got my heart, you're my home," Logan replied softly, kissing the top of her head where it lay, resting on his shoulder.

"I love you Logan," Marie said, he could feel her smiling against his skin.

"I know," Logan replied with a smug, satisfied grin. He looked down quizzically a moment later when he felt Marie sit up.

"And?" she asked pointedly, cocking a brow at him even as she tried to stifle her own grin.

"And I love you too, more than I ever thought possible. Now go to sleep, so I can wake you up to have my way with you again," Logan demanded with a grin, kissing her before tucking her comfortably in against him again.

For three weeks the residents of the mansion held their collective breath in anticipation. For three weeks nothing happened, Magneto didn't return, none of his minions tried to break in, and Marie was gradually allowed to ease back into a state of normalcy, under Logan's ever-present watchful eye.

This particular day, was hot and sunny, an early summer day, a hint of what was hopefully to continue for the next several months. It had resulted in most of the mansions residents abandoning the indoors, in favour of the Olympic size, outdoor swimming pool. Logan had agreed to allow Marie to frolic in the water with her friends, while he stayed with Jesse, who, between naps, was splashing about happily in a little blow up paddling pool or practicing rolling, from his front to back and back to front, on a sun warmed towel.

"Yay! You did it!" Marie was fussing and praising the little boy from the side of the pool, as he showed mommy what he had figured out how to do as he rolled from his back to his front. His excited squeals and giggles drew much attention, he was a real favourite among the student's, and was doted on by anyone who managed to get close enough to him - both his parents were insanely protective.

After a few hours Logan was surprised when a student moved over, and sat down on the sun lounger behind him. "Don't look too quick but Sabretooth is behind that tree to the left of the pool house," the girl said softly, as she scrolled idly through her phone, appearing oblivious to the goings on around them.

Helpfully, right at that moment, a chorus of shrieks broke out from that direction, which Logan turned to observe, his eye casting over the treeline at the same time. Sure enough, just inside the tree line, hidden in the shadows, was Sabretooth. Chuckling and shaking his head, as if he was simply amused by the antics of the kids in the pool, Logan murmured, loud enough for the girl to hear him.

"Go inside and alert the Professor, he'll tell you what to do next, tell him I'm here ready as soon as the kids are all out of the way."

A few seconds later the girl jumped up from her seat and ran off giggling, in the direction of a gaggle of students on the patio, bustling around a fresh cooler loaded with ice creams that had just been brought out of the kitchen. He idly noted that a moment later a different teen raced inside the mansion, while the girl stayed with her friends, making her way back toward the pool as if nothing had happened. It seemed Chuck had made sure at least some of the kids had a decent level of training.

Several minutes later a school bell rang loudly through the grounds and building. Immediately, as if it was a perfectly normal occurrence, the students collectively left the water and surrounding area and all began making their way inside, many complaining loudly about not being allowed to stay in the pool all day.

Marie approached, looking fantastic in the tiny black bikini she was wearing, as she collected her towel. Wrapping it around herself before she reached, with a smile and an exaggerated greeting, for Jesse, who giggled madly as he was handed over to mommy.

"What's going on?" she asked Logan between baby talk, never losing the beaming smile on her face.

"Just the Brotherhood," Logan commented, as he grinned back at her, offering her a quick kiss as he turned and led her back towards the building, his arm 'casually' draped around her shoulders.

"Are they here?" she asked softly, trying not to let her worry show on her face.

"Sabretooth’s in the woods, makes sense there would be more of them around. Don't worry, we got this," Logan assured her with a smile as they stepped inside, close to bringing up the rear of the flood of children heading for their evacuation routes.

The X-Men, including the junior training teams, were all assembling in the halls, as the students made their way, in groups, to the lower levels via the elevator.

"Go," Logan instructed, nudging Marie in the direction of the elevator.

"No, not without you," Marie replied, sudden panic now on clear display.

"We've got to get rid of them Marie, you need to get out of here, can't have these idiots getting you, off you go with the others, your priority is protecting Jesse," he assured her.

"Be careful," Marie insisted, as she pecked his cheek, waiting for Logan to kiss baby before he kissed her goodbye too. He made sure she was bustled into the elevator, and on her way below ground, before he returned to the defensive unit.

"I've got Sabretooth if you can handle the rest," Logan commented to Scott, as he approached.

"The trick will be figuring out who else is here," Scott sighed, "Sabretooth is all well and good but if Magneto is here... Kitty's down below reviewing perimeter footage to see if she can ascertain who came in, when, and where they went, Sabretooth is no doubt a decoy to draw our attention." Scott handed Logan a communicator as he spoke, so he could be updated along with the rest of them, before the fourteen strong group made their way back outside.

Sabretooth was clearly a decoy, now standing out in the open on the pool patio, waiting for them, with a dark, feral grin. "So, the bitch and the brat are yours huh? That was a dumb idea leaving them all exposed and unprotected like that-" Logan nodded in agreement, as those around him fanned out looking for more intruders- "She screams real pretty though, I'm gonna love hearing that again." Sabretooth continued to taunt, until Logan cocked a brow, looking impressively less than impressed.

"You done with the daydreaming yet?" he asked sarcastically, claws sliding out at the ready, to join the dark talons already on display from the other feral.

Without warning Sabretooth launched himself at Logan, despite the latter's relaxed pose he was fully ready for the attack and rolled with it, flipping Sabretooth over his head and pinning him to the ground with claws through his shoulder. Sabretooth didn't stay down long though, wrenching the blades from his shoulder with a sickening squelching, crunching sound as he twisted the arm in his grasp, trying to dislocate Logan's arm. They traded fierce, deadly blows for some time before Logan suddenly froze, it took both surprised ferals a moment to figure out what was happening.

"Magneto is here," Logan growled into his communicator, as Sabretooth's face split into a grin before he proceeded to use Logan's prone body as a scratching post.

Suddenly, Logan was lifted into the air out of Sabretooth’s reach. Out from the shadows, Magneto appeared, surrounded on all sides by mutant bodyguards who engaged anyone who approached. It quickly became obvious that Magneto wasn't focused on those fighting around him, as he stared down one of the external security cameras.

"Come out, Rogue, I don't want to be forced to hurt your feral 'friend' to draw you out but I can, and I will, come out now to spare him further pain," Magneto stated, simply and firmly, as Logan felt white hot, stabbing, shooting pain through his body as his arm was wrenched, magnetically, from its socket.

He grunted in pain, gritting his teeth so he didn't cry out, before her growled out a command too. "If you can hear me, stay put Marie, don't you dare step foot out here."

Magneto tsked before turning to Logan. "For your sake you had better hope she comes out soon."

Logan felt his bones begin to warp, almost stretching, before they began to snap as the metal in and around his bones twisted into all manner of unnatural shapes. He couldn't hold back the pained roar that erupted, he felt like he was being turned inside out.

What happened next was a blur, for everyone not just Logan, but suddenly he was dropped unceremoniously, from where he was being held several feet up in the air, onto the concrete patio. Distracted by the burning pain in his body he didn't notice when the X-Men's efforts changed from fighting to get to Magneto, to fighting to keep Magneto's own henchmen away from him. He didn't see Marie launch herself out of the mansion, directly at Magneto and grab hold of the only skin she could find - his face – as she began to drain him. He did feel the small hands that came to run along his body only minutes later, and he saw the tear streaked face that swam into view through the agony he was feeling.

"Logan, I don't know if you can hear me, I have to put everything back, this is going to hurt," he heard, in Marie's soft, tearful voice. He didn't have time to comprehend her words before the twisting, tearing began again as he felt his bones bending and breaking again. Though this time he vaguely noted, through the pain, everything seemed to be going back to the right places.

As he lay on the ground minutes later, gasping for breath and whimpering in pain - a testament to just how delirious he was, he'd never made a sound like that before, and hoped to god he never would be in a position to again - he felt Marie's weight sag against him. She was almost catatonic but he could hear her whispered plea of 'Please be alright, I'm so sorry, please, please be okay'. "I'm okay darlin, just give me a minute," he assured her, forcing one arm to move, so he could cradle her head where it rested on his chest.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of blue, barely managing to call out a warning before Marie was ripped away from him. He rolled, trying to pull his still healing body to its feet as he watched in horror as Mystique tore into Marie, the knife in her hand gleaming wetly as blood flowed from the body now on the blade. With an enraged roar Logan forced himself up, Mystique didn't see him coming and he was able to slam a fist full of claws through her back, before a quick swipe severed her head. He was at Marie's side, where she had collapsed into a puddle of her own blood, before Mystique's body even hit the floor.

"Marie?" he called, trying to get her to open her eyes. Reaching out a bare hand he grabbed her own, whispering a plea, as he gathered her to him, for her to turn her skin on. Obviously Xavier's hypothesis that she could take other mutants powers was right, she had used Magneto's to fix him, now she could use his to fix herself. She didn't respond to his verbal cues but it seemed she had lost all control over her mutation as it began to sluggishly draw him in. Her eyes shot open, just as his were beginning to close.

"I love you Logan, please be alright!" was the last thing he heard before he collapsed into oblivion, a dark, swirling maelstrom of pain, he couldn't help echoing her plea.

"I love you Marie, be alright."

--

Logan woke slowly, he ached all over, his mouth was dry, and his head was pounding. Was this what a hangover felt like? No wonder people bitched about them, but he didn't get hangovers, so why was feeling this, he hadn't even been drinking. What had he been doing...?

"Marie!?!" Logan called, abruptly jerking bolt upright on the narrow hospital gurney. Several sets of hands reached out to grab hold of him, to stop him from toppling right off, before he sagged back to the semi soft surface with a groan. "Marie, where's Marie?" he demanded, eyes squeezed shut against the swimming room around him.

"She's alive," was Jean's first response, "She's in a coma but the Professor is trying to reach her, you healed her body, now we have to try and salvage her mind." Jean explained how she had absorbed several people; Magneto, whose power she used to fix the damage that had been wrought to his own body, he was dead. She had briefly touched Mystique, though the latter's blade had made short work of that attempt, Mystique was dead by his hand though. Then after Logan had touched her to heal her, Marie had gone after Sabretooth when he had appeared out of the mansion with a screaming Jesse - just how he had managed to get his hands on the boy no one was quite sure but Sabretooth was quite possibly dead, permanently, after Marie's attack. Jesse was unharmed. As soon as Marie had been sure Logan and Jesse were both alive and safe, she had promptly passed out. Her objective of protecting her family complete, she withdrew into her own mind to sort out the mental devastation wrought by so many significant absorptions.

"Get me closer," Logan begged, turning his head so he could see Marie, laid out on a gurney a mere four feet away from him. With some effort his own gurney was rolled over until they were side-by-side, he gently took Marie's latex gloved hand. "You can do this Marie, come back to me darlin'," he said gently, lifting her hand to his lips, to kiss the covered skin. That was all the strength he had before he fell back asleep, her hand still clasped in his.

He had no idea how long he slept for, when he woke, Marie was still lying unconscious on the gurney beside him, the Professor still parked at her head, eyes closed as he worked to telepathically connect with Marie. Jesse was in the room, fussing hungrily in the arms of a frustrated Jean.

"What's wrong?" he asked Jean, his voice scratchy from sleep, and raspy from lack of moisture in his mouth. Jean offered him a straw, and he sucked down a hideously disgusting electrolyte, before she spoke.

"He's starving but he won't take a bottle," she explained.

Logan turned his head toward Marie, before turning back to Jean. "Boobs," he commented, pointing to Marie's chest, "Just hold him in place so he can suck," he said.

"I don't know if that's safe, if Marie's mutation is still on, he could be hurt," Jean pointed out.

With a sigh Logan, with more strength than he had had previously, lifted Marie's hand, stripping off the latex glove she was wearing before taking hold of her bare hand. Nothing happened. "It's safe, mutations off, give the little monster his mommy milk," he replied with a tired sigh. He would do it himself but he was still wiped.

Carefully Jean uncovered Marie's chest, and holding baby in place carefully, she watched in awe as he squirmed around seeking out a nipple to hungrily grab hold of, his little hands grabbing hold of the soft flesh he was pressed up against. Logan watched contentedly as the baby fed, and was then burped before he gestured for Jean to hand him over. Gently she lay the little boy on Logan's chest, skin on skin, where he promptly fell asleep.

Logan too dozed, off and on, for what seemed like hours before he finally had the strength to sit up. Jean brought him a substantial supply of food which he hungry consumed, before he supported Jesse while he fed again. Once the baby was fed Logan put him down to sleep in a little hospital crib Jean brought out for him.

And he continued to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Just as he was beginning to feel the first degree of panic, as the thought that Marie might not wake up began to worm it's way into his brain, Charles moved. Straightening up as he opened his eyes, the relaxed, happy look he shot Logan telling him everything was going to be okay even before Logan could form the words to ask. A split-second later Marie opened her eyes, with a gentle sigh and a soft happy smile.

"Marie?" Logan said, squeezing her hand, as he stood from his place seated next to her.

"Logan, thank god you're alright!" she exclaimed, squeezing his hand back. She didn't appear to have more strength than that at the moment, so Logan leaned forward to kiss her softly on her pretty plump lips. "Is Jesse okay?" was her next comment.

"He's been a little confused why mommy won't give him cuddles but he's okay, he's sleeping right now," Logan replied, gesturing toward the crib and its softly snoring contents.

"What happened?" It was Logan's turn to ask, addressed equally to Charles and Marie.

"Quite simply, you saved her life," Charles replied, "In every way. When you touched her, you healed her body, she absorbed enough of you to manifest a ... how do I explain - almost a physical mental projection. The part of you she absorbed was in a highly protective feral state, it searched out Marie's psyche, built a wall around her to protect her, and proceeded to decimate every other psyche it found. You purged Magneto, Mystique, Sabretooth, and the half dozen or so other psyches she had accumulated on her travels from her mind, all that is left now is you, but most importantly, Marie."

"Can you get rid of me, so, it's just Marie?" Logan asked worriedly.

"No!" Marie exclaimed, "I like you there," she added with a tired smile.

"The mental version of you already asked me the same thing, while theoretically it is possible I do not believe it would be in Marie's best interests, your presence is not disruptive or destructive, to Marie at least, but if she is ever forced to use her mutation again, you are there to help her purge the new psyche before it can take hold, in short, you are Marie's guard dog protecting the property of her mind," Charles said, causing Marie to giggle.

"My little guard Wolverine," Marie chuckled, tugging Logan closer as she wrapped her arms leisurely around his neck so she could kiss him softly.

"Anything for you darlin," Logan replied with a chuckle of his own, before he placed a kiss on the end of her nose. "You look exhausted, you should get some sleep," he suggested.

"Not here, I want to sleep in my own bed," she replied tiredly.

Turning to Jean questioningly, he gathered Marie up in his arms a moment later, once she had given permission for her to be moved. "I'll come back for Jesse..."

"It's okay, now that my patients are discharged, I can go to bed too, I'll bring him up," Jean interrupted, gently collecting the sleeping infant as the group made their way upstairs to bed.

Marie wasn't seen around the mansion for another week, Logan was spotted a few times, mostly on the hunt for food. Jean stopped by their room several times to check up on them, and attempted to assuage the raunchy rumours doing the rounds by confirming they were on doctor ordered R&R - they did both almost die, several times, in one day, after all.

Six months later the pair disappeared without warning, returning in secret in the wee hours of the following morning. The next day both were spotted sporting matching wedding bands. Much like all else with their relationship, their 'wedding' passed with no thoroughfare.

With the Brotherhood now well out of the way - Magento and Mystique dead, Sabretooth, while technically alive thanks to his healing factor, was in an unexplainable coma - Logan agreed to them leaving the mansion for a time. A summer trip to Alaska, with an eighteen-month-old Jesse in tow, was their first stop. They were back by the end of July, neither voicing it but both seemingly content to make the mansion their home permanently.

The clincher came one dinnertime in the dining room. Marie was feeding Jesse his dinner as he sat beside her in his highchair, trying to keep as much of his ‘food mush', as Logan referred to it, out of his hair as she could, when Logan suddenly spoke.

"Hey Marie, you remember you said you wanted to wait a couple of years before giving Jesse a little sister?" he asked, completely out of the blue. The entire table paused in their eating, and turned to the pair.

"Yes..." Marie answered hesitantly, trying to figure out where Logan was going with his comment.

"Two's a couple, right?" Logan asked, brow furrowed as if confused.

"Yeah..." Marie confirmed, still confused.

"Good, Jesse should be two by the time she gets here," Logan commented smugly, before going back to eating his meal.

It took Marie a minute to get what he said, her eyes widening comically when she realised. "No! No way?" she asked in disbelief, a grin starting to break through as she considered the possibility, she hadn't had a period but they had been doing it enough to probably have skipped that step, she could admit.

"Positive," Logan replied, "Except for the part about it being a girl, it'll probably be a couple of months before we know that one."

"I'm pregnant?" Marie asked directly, still struggling to accept that statement.

"Yep," Logan confirmed, with a smug grin. A moment later Marie threw her arms around his neck, squealing excitedly. Before the whole table erupted in cheers and congratulations.

--

Seven months later the stillness of the Med Lab was broken once again by the shrill cries of a new-born baby. This time however as the gorgeous mess of black haired, blue eyed baby was brought forth, she was laid directly into the waiting arms of her father. Marie watched the adoring look of absolute awe that settled on Logan's face, as he took in all the details of the not so tiny little girl. He had seen all the photos of Jesse's birth and early life but seeing the brand new, tiny human they had made, in person, was clearly a whole new experience.

"She's perfect darlin'," Logan told her, turning his adoring look onto Marie. "I love you," he reminded her, again, as he kissed her sweaty forehead, "You're perfect, thank you for putting up with me, thank you for being an amazing momma."

"She's an amazing momma alright," Jean commented from across the room where she was filling in charts. "I don't know how you do it Marie but your babies are huge, nine pound one, at forty weeks exactly, that is very impressive."

"Is that big?" Logan asked, "Shit I thought she was tiny," he chuckled, running a finger over the tiny fingers that were gripping his thumb tightly.

"Average weight for a forty-week baby is seven-point six pound, even Jesse, born at thirty-six weeks was almost that big, he should have been closer to five point eight. Your babies are little chunky monkey's, and here comes the rest of the zoo," Jean added, as Logan heard Jesse's baby chatter begin to filter from the hall as he approached.

She left the little family a moment later, as Jesse joined his parents to say hello to his little 'blobby', as he had nicknamed the baby after seeing the ultrasound image of his sister. She was happy for them, especially Logan, he deserved this happiness, and long may it last for all of them. Her own baby gave her a kick, to remind her she would be in Marie's place in only a few short months.