Rogue stomped down the snowy highway, she was stepping harder than was strictly necessary but the sharp spikes of pain in her feet with each stamp gave her hope that she hadn't started to lose extremities to frostbite... yet.

She was still supposed to be warm in the cab of the last truck she had hitched a ride with but the driver had made an unscheduled stop and, in spite of her warning to not touch her, the driver was now a twitching pile of muscle on the floor of the cab. She had been half tempted to leave the heater off, and the doors open, and hope the asshole had frozen to death before he regained consciousness but at the time that seemed too cruel even for her. Now however, after having walked for around five miles with nothing but snow for company, she was rethinking her compassionate stance.

"Fucking asshole ... goddamn snow ... fucking Canada..." she grumbled. At least her anger helped keep her somewhat warm, though even that advantage was going to be lost soon. She estimated she had about half an hours daylight left, and with having to trudge through this snow she would be lucky to get another mile before the temperature dropped even further.

An hour later, as the last inkling of daylight bled out of the sky, she felt her confidence drain away entirely. Right then she caught sight of headlights coming toward her. Her excitement at the possibility of a ride, even if in the wrong direction, quickly died when the headlights turned off the road ahead of her. As she trudged further more and more vehicles pulled off the highway, at the same spot, leading her to believe there was a business, likely a bar or motel, up ahead. At this point though she really didn't care what it was, it would be warmer than out here by any stretch.

When she finally got to the driveway she had to pause, to wait for a camper to pull into the now crowded lot, before she could make her way toward the door. Partway across the lot she noted the driver of the camper, eyeing her up from where he was getting out of his vehicle.

"You sure you want to be going in there, kid?" he called out to her.

"It beats freezing to death out here," she shrugged, and continued on her way, hoping he would get the hint that she wasn't up for a conversation.

"Don't know about that, these places aren't usually very ... hospitable, to young, female, hitchhikers, if you catch my drift," he continued, moving towards the point where their paths would cross when she passed his vehicle to reach the door.

"I can look after myself," she snapped, adjusting her bag, where it was slipping down her shoulder for the thousandth time that afternoon, tugging her coat around her tighter, though it did nothing to help her keep warm.

"No need to bite my head off kid, just a friendly warning," the guy replied, sounding equally as amused as annoyed.

"Sorry, I'm cold and tired and I just had to walk eight miles because the last guy who gave me a ride was a waste of oxygen, I'm feeling pretty shitty right now, thanks for the warning but I really don't have any other option right now," she answered, trying to soften the edge to her tone. He was probably right, hell she knew he was right, not that it made any difference.

She watched the guy do a double take at her. "Eight miles!" he asked incredulously, "In that get up? Have you ever heard of frostbite?" he sounded concerned now.

"Yes, I have, I'm going to check everything inside, not sure what I'm going to do if anything's frozen though, I might have heard of frostbite but I have no idea how to treat it," she shrugged again, trying to hold in her laugh. She really was fucked she realised, because the weather was only going to get worse the further north she travelled.

"Come on in here, I can help you out," the guy gestured for her to follow him, as he popped open the door into his camper.

She let out a huff that might have been a laugh. "No, I'm good," she replied, and started walking again. She had to give the guy props, that was the most direct 'here let me kidnap you' she had encountered so far. Though she still wasn’t sure if it counted as kidnapping when you had no home, and no one gave a shit if you were taken.

"I'm not going to hurt you kid," the guy sounded annoyed again. "It's warm in here, and I do know how to treat frostbite, so hurry up and get in here before all the heat gets out."

She stopped and regarded him closely, he did look nothing but concerned, though she had seen enough of human nature in the last eight months to know that often the worst people were the best at hiding their true nature. This guy just wasn't giving her that vibe though.

“Fine, but if you try anything mister, you'll be on your ass faster than you can blink."

It was his turn to chuckle this time. "I'll believe that when I see it kid, but don't worry, I’m not going to try anything. Take your boots, socks and gloves off," he told her as he shut the door behind her.

--

He watched, as she sat down on the sofa-slash-bed and toed her boots off, while simultaneously peeling off the gloves. They looked like stretch satin, not anywhere near enough to protect from the cold. "Don't you have proper gloves, something wool, hell even leather would do?"

"I did, someone stole them," the girl replied with a scowl.

With a shake of his head he took hold of her hands, noting but ignoring the brief twitch of surprise from the girl when he did. Turning her hands over to check for any discolouration to her skin he noted they looked surprisingly okay. "Did you have your hands in your pockets?" he asked.

"Yeah," the girl replied softly, she seemed to be loosening up a little.

"Well, the hands will survive if we get them warmed up," he commented, turning to a cupboard he pulled out a box full of instant heat packs, activating a couple, he handed them to the girl. "Tuck these up inside your sleeves, they'll start warming your blood up slowly as it heads for your hands."

While she was doing that, he took hold of one of her legs and slipped off her sock. The girl noticed his concerned look. "What is it?" she asked.

"You had any pain in your feet?" he asked gently.

"Stabbing when I stamped," she admitted.

"Looks like you're lucky, there won’t be any permanent damage if we can start you warming up but it's going to hurt as the feeling starts coming back." He pulled out a couple of pairs of his own socks, slipping two socks on each of her feet, he activated two more heat packs and tucked one between the two socks, against her ankle.

"You should start to feel pins and needles, if it gets too bad let me know and I'll see what I can do for pain killers. Now, how about the face, did you have your face covered the whole time?" he moved on swiftly.

"More or less," the girl confirmed, "but the scarf’s about as useless as the gloves."

Nodding understandably, he gently shifted the icy scarf and her hair to get a look at her ears, her nose was red and cold but it would be fine, he determined the ears were fine too before moving on again. "You had a headache?" he checked.

"Not that I'd noticed," the girl replied, "I didn't know that was a sign of frostbite," she added.

"Not frostbite exactly but can happen if the blood going to your head is too cold," he clarified, as he activated another heat pack, and gently tucked it in her scarf at the back of her neck, tightening the scarf enough to keep it in place. "Last thing I need to check is your core temperature, before you freak out on me that's going to involve me putting a hand inside your shirt because I don't have a thermometer, I'm not trying to cop a feel so don't drop me on my ass, alright?" he said, trying to keep his tone light.

His comments earned him a smile from the girl, who sat up a little straighter and unbuttoned her coat. He was pleased to note the girl was sensibly wearing several layers, sliding his hand inside her shirts he gently placed the back of his hand against her stomach, before moving up to her chest. "And the back," he said softly, as he moved his hand around and checked the temperature against her kidneys, and behind her lungs.

"Not bad kid," he commented, adjusting her shirts down, "I'm going to take the coat though, it's too damp, you can borrow this for a while," he said, slipping his own body warmed leather jacket over her shoulders after he had tugged off her thin green wool coat, before pulling out a blanket and wrapping that around her too.

Noticing the girl starting to shiver he paused. "How you going, your hands and feet okay?"

Through chattering teeth, the girl smiled at him again. "Hands are stinging a little, feet are getting a pretty impressive case of pins and needles but all things considered not too bad,” she answered him.

"Alright, we'll move on to warming you up from the inside shall we," he commented with a grin. "First things first," he handed her a shot of bourbon, "This will start you warming quick and we can follow it up with something with a slower burn, I know it's late but you okay with coffee?"

"Uh, I don't drink," the girl replied, eyeing the alcohol, "But I can do a coffee."

"One mouthful won't hurt kid," he said, placing the glass in her hand before turning back to the small counter top to start some water heating. He knew she had taken a sip a moment later when he heard her gasp and cough.

"That is disgusting," the girl said, when she had caught her breath.

"To each there own but it sure works to warm you up, and out here that trumps taste," he commented.

A short time later he turned back to her with two cups of black coffee. "One for you, sip slow." He noted, pleased, that she'd stopped shaking, and her cheeks had pinked up some, indicating she was finally starting to warm.

"Now that we've ascertained you're going to survive we should probably introduce ourselves, my name's Logan," he said, as he sat down on the mattress beside her.

"Marie," the girl replied, after swallowing her first sip of coffee.

"Pretty name, and which southern US state are you from?" he asked.

"Guess the accent gives that one away," Marie replied with another smile, "Mississippi."

"Wow, that is a long way, you hitchhike the whole way?" Logan asked, impressed with her determination to get this far.

"I bussed as far as I could, managed to get to Kansas City that way, been hitchhiking the rest of the way. I was hoping to get to Alaska before winter set in but I'm kind of running behind schedule," Marie replied, between sips of her hot drink.

"And what's in Alaska?" Logan asked curiously. He noted Marie pause and picked up anxiety creeping into her scent. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, kid."

"No, it's okay, I had initially planned to go to Alaska after I finished high school but... when my parents kicked me out, I figured why the heck not go for it now, you know." He caught the overly cheery grin she threw in with her statement.

"Why did your parents kick you out Marie?" he asked gently, brow furrowed in concern.

Marie sighed and stood up, shrugging off the blanket as she did. "Apparently I'm uh, 'demon spawn', I believe the phrase was," she answered angrily, "I wasn't kidding before when I said I could drop you, I don't know what it is but my skin can - I don't know what exactly but it knocks people out, and I can see their memories, and, I get another little voice in my head that screams obscenities at me... I'll understand if you want me to go," she finished softly.

Picking the blanket back up, he wrapped it around her shoulders again before moving her back to sit on the bed. "I don't want you going anywhere kid. What your parents did was a shitty thing, it's not your fault you're different, we all have our quirks, some weirder than others, hell I'm hardly one to complain about people’s differences," he assured her.

After a moments silence, in which she studied him intently, she finally spoke, "You're one too, aren't you?"

With a grin Logan nodded. "Unlike you though I'm an extra fucked up version."

"I haven't met anyone else who's - different, before, what can you do?" she asked, almost looking excited.

"I heal, and have better than average senses--" he started.

"Like, seeing in the dark?" Marie interrupted to ask.

"Yeah, yeah I can see in the dark, I can smell good enough to tell people apart by their scent, and I hear things most people can't, that sort of thing," Logan clarified.

"That doesn't sound very fucked up, what else?" Marie asked.

"Promise you won't scream?" Logan asked, looking at her seriously, trying not to cringe when, with barely a pause, Marie nodded. Moving his right hand away from her, he let his claws slide out into view - true to her word she didn't scream.

"They're... they're metal?" Marie looked surprised as she reached out to touch the back of one of the claws, running her finger over where it emerged from his hand. "How, how did you get metal... claws?"

"That's the fucked-up part kid, I always had claws but someone, government, military, something, decided to improve me, covered all my bones, not just the claws, in metal... I don't remember much about what happened but on the plus side, it makes me really hard to kill," he shrugged, as he snapped the claws away and moved to stand up.

Marie caught hold of his hand as he stood, inspecting his knuckles, she lightly ran her finger over the now flawless skin that was in their place. "Does it hurt... all the time, or just when they come out?" she asked softly.

"Usually only hurts when they're out, once it's healed it stops hurting," Logan answered honestly. "What about you, does your power hurt you?"

"It used to," Marie answered, "I thought I was going insane after the first few times, I had all these voices in my head that just wouldn't shut up, I had a constant headache. The actual power activating part just feels like a weird sort of suction. When I realised the voices were the people I'd touched, and then figured out how to push them out of the way, I figured out how to turn my skin 'off'. It doesn't hurt so much anymore, now that I know when it's going to turn on I can prepare I guess, the last guy I touched I didn't even see any of his thoughts, I just sucked him straight into the void... that's what I call the part of my mind where the voices live," she grinned and shrugged, knowing she sounded like a nutcase but that couldn't really be helped.

"Well that's good, good that you can control it now," Logan answered. "Is that why you were heading for Alaska when you left?"

Marie blushed. "I had to keep all my skin covered and with it being so hot down south people look at you funny when you walk around wearing gloves all day, I figured no one would look at me funny in Alaska, for most of the year at least."

"Smart thinking, why did you continue on once you got control?" he asked curiously.

Marie shrugged. “Seemed kind of defeatist to give up before I reached my initial destination."

Logan chuckled at her answer. "Fair enough, so were you going to Alaska for any reason other than the temperature?"

"It was supposed to be an adventure when I first planned out the trip, see the country and go to the most 'exotic' place I could think of, and by ‘exotic’ I meant ‘the literal opposite of where I grew up’," Marie replied honestly. "What about you?" she asked suddenly, "What are you doing out here?"

"I spend most of the year travelling around, for money, then come winter I hole up in my cabin until the roads are passable again."

"Sounds like fun," Marie replied, "What do you do for 'money'?"

"Uh, that's actually why I'm here tonight," Logan answered, "I uh, fight."

Marie looked confused. "Like, boxing?" she asked.

"A little bloodier," Logan confessed, "There's a fight here tonight, which I'd better head in for soon, get my name on the list," he watched as Marie nodded, and started to unwrap herself from the blanket again, looking like she was going to get ready to leave. "Why don't you stay here, I'll be moving on when I'm done, sometime in the early morning - depends how many people are drunk enough to want to get their asses kicked. I can give you a ride to the next town, or however far you want to tag along with me for?"

"Uh, I- I don't know," Marie stammered, not quite sure what to take from his offer. He had been nothing but honest with her since he had first spoken to her, and her gut was still telling her to trust him. She was also really, really tired, and as lumpy as the mattress she was sitting on was, it would be a welcome change to sleeping upright with one eye open.

"You're not going to get another ride tonight, not the one you’re after at least, and you look tired, better for you to sleep than sit around in a shitty bar, don't you think?" Logan added, he sounded like he really did want her to stay.

"Okay," Marie replied, "That sounds like a plan."

Logan nodded, looking satisfied, happy even. "Alright then, if it gets cold, there's more blankets in that cupboard there, and there's another heater in here, plugs in there. Make yourself at home but keep the door locked and try to keep quiet, don't want to draw attention to yourself alone out here. I'll probably be done by about three, I'll wake you before we hit the road. That okay?"

Marie nodded, then suddenly remembered she was currently wearing Logan's jacket, quickly shrugging it off she held it out to him. "You'll need this."

"I'll see you later then, lock the door behind me." And with that, Marie found herself alone in the small camper, suddenly not feeling the least bit tired even in the cosy warmth. Looking around her for the first time she suddenly noted the untidy interior, obviously Logan didn't entertain often, she thought in amusement. Well, he did say make herself at home, she reasoned, as she set about tidying up the space as best as she could. She put away the little heat packs, and other first aid supplies Logan had pulled out of the cupboard, she briefly wondered why he even had most of this stuff - he said he healed after all.

She tidied up the 'kitchen', and rinsed the two coffee mugs, leaving them to dry in the small sink, then she sorted through the clothes scattered around the floor into a 'looks clean' and a 'not really clean' pile. Searching through the cupboards she found a pile of clean clothes in a duffel bag, similar to her own, and a second bag that appeared to be full of dirty laundry. Topping up the dirty laundry bag, she made a third pile of clothes in the cupboard for the things she wasn't sure about.

Once all that was done, she decided the camper was tidy enough for her liking. Pulling out a couple more blankets, she piled everything onto the narrow bed, then curled up, still dressed, in the pile of blankets, and finally slept.

Logan walked into the dim, smoky bar. It looked like tonight’s fights were about ready to start. Making his way to the bar he found himself a seat, and waited for the bartender to make his way over. A bottle was set down in front of him in short order before Logan nodded toward the cage, receiving a nod in return, then the bartender moved away again. A short while later a short, fat, balding guy, with a limp, and carrying a notebook, wandered over.

"You here for the cage?" he asked.

Logan nodded. "Name's Wolverine."

"Well, well, well, we got ourselves the legend himself or are you just taking advantage of the reputation?" The little guy asked, clearly sizing him up to see how he compared with whatever he'd heard about him.

"There's only one Wolverine, bub," Logan replied, downing the rest of his bottle before asking, "When am I up?"

"You'll be up third, about an hour," was the response, before the guy turned and walked away.

Before long Logan noticed a gradual shift in the temperament of the bar patrons, word was getting around that he was here. He ignored the stares, some sizing him up as a potential challenger, some admiring him as a potential conquest.

He was onto his fifth beer by the time his name was called, almost an hour and a half later. He took his time getting ready, feeling the anticipation in the room grow as he stalked towards the cage after shucking his jacket and shirts. He heard a group of men further back in the crowd discussing bets, one guy was hung up on the amount of alcohol Wolverine had consumed, insisting he was going to go down quick, if he even managed to make it to the cage.

He dispatched four opponents over the next hour before the MC called for a change of challenger to give him a rest. This pattern continued for the remainder of the night and into the early hours of the morning, he would spend an hour in the cage, knocking down two to four opponents - he had to make it at least look like he was challenged by some of the contenders - then he would sit out for an hour nursing a beer or two.

At around 3am he stalked out of the cage and re-dressed for the last time, calling for a final beer while he waited for his winnings to be handed over. A needy looking blonde eyed him up from the other end of the bar, trying desperately to catch his eye. Just as she was about to make her move toward him, despite the fact he had ignored her all night, the MC walked over and dumped a roll of bills in front of him.

"Nice doing business with you, you hanging around for a while?" he asked, clearly looking to cash in on the income boost that came with a decent champion.

Flicking quickly through the bills Logan noted there must be at least five thousand in his cut alone, not bad for a crowd the size they'd had that night.

"Nope,” he answered, stuffing the roll of bills into a pocket as he rose to his feet, and walked out into the pre-dawn night, ignoring the indignant huff from the blonde as he passed her without a second look.

He was halfway across the now nearly deserted parking lot before he noticed, he was being followed. Coming to a stop abruptly he scented out the intruders - two challengers from earlier in the night, and at least three other men standing further back just in the shadows.

"You get one chance and one chance only boys, walk away," he spoke, in a dangerously calm tone.

The only response was the quick movement of footsteps towards him, he felt the shifting air current as a bat was swung towards him. In a flash, he caught the bat in mid-air as he spun around and slammed a fist into the face of the man behind him. A twist of his wrist and the bat was flying through the air to connect with the head of the second guy, dropping him too.

He could scent the immediate spike of fear from the three men standing back in the shadows, though not one of them backed down any further, maybe they thought he hadn't seen them. He ignored them and turned back towards his vehicle, when he picked up a muffled scream from inside. The next second the door of the camper was kicked open and another man emerged, dragging a sleep tousled Marie out with him, a wicked looking hunting knife in his other hand.

"Not so tough now are you 'Wolverine'," the bald fighter, he recognised as his last challenger of the night, taunted.

Logan began to advance as he glanced at Marie to check on her. Noting her increased state of awareness after her initial rude awakening, he spied the flash of fury in her eyes. He stopped, a predatory grin crossing his face. "Bub, I'm plenty tough, but so is she."

It took only a split second before the bastard gasped and dropped to the ground, where he started flopping around like a fish out of water. Marie turned towards her now incapacitated would-be captor. "Nice knife," she stated, picking it up from where he had dropped it, before delivering a swift kick to the fuckers’ ribs, at least one of which snapped on impact.

"Nice touch darlin," Logan commented, reaching around her to slam and lock the camper door. "Not the wakeup call I had planned but we should get out of here quickly, no time for a do over," he added, moving around to the cab of the truck, pulling Marie along with him.

He opened the driver’s door and picked her up, sliding her across the seat and following her in. He started the truck and peeled out of the lot, as quickly as the still cold engine would allow. He noted the cowards in the shadows had still not moved, hopefully none of them would try and follow them.

After a few minutes he chanced a look at Marie, he noted her shoulders shaking slightly as she appeared to be staring out the window.

"You okay kid?" he asked worriedly.

She turned to him with a big grin on her face, trying to hold in her laughter. "Does it always end like that?" she asked, clearly still buzzing from her adrenaline burst.

"Occasionally," he admitted, shooting her a relieved grin, "Sore losers are few and far between usually, we hit the jackpot tonight, he didn't hurt you?"

"Just pulled my hair a bit," Marie stated with a dismissive shrug, "It was more just the fright of being woken up by flying out of bed. Any idea how he got in?"

"He busted the lock, probably with the knife, it'll hold enough to keep the door shut but it won't stop anyone else from getting in, if you're going to stick with me you'll either be coming in with me next time or I'll leave you in a motel while I'm gone, not safe to leave you in here alone again. Sorry."

"Not your fault," she shrugged, stretching sleepily in her seat before she yawned widely. "How long until we stop next?"

"We'll stop at about seven for breakfast, want to get a bit further from those guys before we stop for longer than a meal, just in case they get 'brave' and come looking for us."

"Cool," she leaned into the door, resting her head against the window and pulling her feet, still clad in his socks, up onto the seat beside her. "Wake me when we get there."

She was asleep in minutes. Logan smiled to himself, listening to the soft, steady rhythm of her heart, and turned his attention back to the dark icy road.

"Wake up kid."

Marie flinched as her eyes flew open. Looking around she noted they were no longer moving, instead they were parked between two buildings, facing the highway. The sun was just peeking over the horizon.

"Where are we?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to get them to stay open as she yawned.

"Somewhere that serves breakfast, didn't catch the name of the town," Logan replied, as he stepped out of the truck, stretching out his back and rolling his shoulders as he went. "You might want to jump in the back and get a jacket and shoes," he commented, "And hurry up, I'm starving."

With a nod Marie opened her own door and jumped out of the cab, almost landing in a heap on the ground.

"You alright?" Logan called in amusement, from where he was unlocking the camper at the back of the vehicle.

Marie staggered and limped a bit as she made her way back to the door. "My leg has gone to sleep," she replied, not looking near as amused as Logan was, as she rubbed at her tingling leg trying to encourage the muscles to wake up.

Logan handed her her boots as she sat in the doorway and she hurriedly tugged them on, noting she was still wearing Logan's socks. No way she was taking them off now, they were nice and toasty, much better than her own, if he wanted them back he'd have to ask for them. Once she had both boots on, he handed her her now dry coat.

"Don't worry about gloves for now, it'll be warm inside," he said, as he locked up the truck, and led her the short distance to the diner he had spotted as he drove through town.

They seated themselves at a table in the back corner, as a plump, middle-aged waitress called a cheery 'morning' from the kitchen. She hurried over to their table with a coffee pot and a couple of mugs in short order, two menus tucked under her arm. Depositing the mugs, she then handed the menus over, as she filled both cups with steaming black coffee.

"I'll give you a minute to decide," she commented, before she moved away, returning briefly to leave a creamer and sugar pot on the table.

"What'll you have kid?" Logan asked, briefly perusing the menu. "Marie, what's wrong?" he asked, noting her sudden silence. He glanced over to see she hadn't even picked up the menu.

"I don't have any money," she whispered, flushing slightly.

"So?" Logan replied.

"So, I can't pay for food," Marie answered exasperatedly.

"Didn't ask you to, my shout, pick whatever you want," Logan stated, "And don't just go for whatever's cheapest, you'll eat a decent meal or I'll pick for you next time," he added. He looked pointedly at her a moment later when she had still made no move to pick up the menu. She realised he was serious at that point and finally picked the menu up.

The waitress appeared again a moment later, notepad in hand. "Ready to order?" she asked chirpily.

Logan nodded for Marie to order first. "I'll have the Breakfast Special," she answered.

"Make it two, with an extra side of bacon," Logan added, handing the two menus back over.

"Sure thing, that'll be out in a few minutes," the waitress replied, gathering up what she needed and retreating again.

After a few minutes and a few sips of her bitter black coffee Marie spoke. "So, where are you heading?"

"I'm heading for my cabin, up near Whitehorse, in Yukon," Logan replied.

"How far away is that?" Marie asked, "How long would it take to get there?"

"If you drove hard out it's almost a full 24-hour drive, weather dependant at this time of year, but I've got a few more stops to make on the way so I probably won't be getting there for about another two weeks," he answered.

"Do you know how far to Alaska from there?" came the next inquiry.

"It's about five hundred kilometres to the border from Whitehorse, or twelve hundred to Anchorage," Logan replied.

"How long is that in driving time?" Marie pressed; she wasn't familiar enough with metric measurements to be able to guess.

"In good weather, that's about thirteen hours to Anchorage, if the weather packs up though you can get stranded somewhere for a week easily."

The waitress interrupted their conversation then with their food, returning a moment later to refill Logan's coffee. She offered Marie more too but she shook her head, asking instead, "Do you have orange juice?"

"Sure do sweetie, I'll grab you a glass," the woman smiled and bustled away.

Logan smiled at her as he tucked into his breakfast before Marie shyly said, "Sorry, should have asked you first with you paying and all," she trailed off.

"No need darlin, I told you, order whatever you want, if you want to get something to-go to snack on later you do that too," Logan assured her.

Her glass of orange juice appeared beside her then, she didn't get a chance to thank the waitress as she was gone as quickly as she'd appeared, off to serve new customers who had just entered.

"So, where's our next stop?" Marie asked, sometime later, once she had wolfed down most of her breakfast.

"We're going to stop off in Rocky Mountain House, need some supplies that they're more likely to have than a smaller town. We'll stay over there for the night, then there's a fight at Drayton Valley on Thursday, then Whitecourt on Monday, Grand Prairie on Wednesday, Fort Nelson the next Saturday. And that's when I drop off the fight circuit, I don't do the fights further north, too close to home, so we'll head direct to Whitehorse from there, won't do the whole thing in one go though, it's a twelve hour drive straight, so we'll stop over midway, assuming you don't mind six hours in the truck, we can make more stops if you'd prefer?" Logan laid out his rough plan for her, he was surprised how easy it had been for him to just assume she would stick with him for the duration of the trip.

"I- I don't want to be a pain, or slow you down, or get in your way," Marie replied, looking uncertain.

"It's no trouble," Logan replied, "It's not like any of my plans are set in stone, I just drift really, so if there's any sights you want to see along the way let me know." Marie smiled, seeming reassured, as she picked at her breakfast some more. "You full kid?" Logan asked concerned, the meal hadn't been that big.

She nodded. "Yeah, I haven't had much to eat since my money ran out so, this was kind of a lot in one go." She finally gave up the pretence and set down her fork, moving on to sip at her orange juice. Logan just nodded in understanding, and made a mental note to grab some snacks for her to top up on between meals, until she could adjust to eating more.

They sat in companionable silence for the rest of the meal before Logan signalled for the cheque. Marie excused herself to the bathroom before they got back on the road, when she came back Logan was gone. She momentarily panicked until a noise behind her drew her attention, and she spotted Logan coming out of the men’s room. He just grinned at her as he walked past and told her to hurry up.

--

About an hour later they pulled into a carpark at a sizable outdoors store.

"Come on kid," Logan commented, as he disembarked the vehicle.

"Oh, it's okay, I'll just wait here," Marie replied, kicking her feet up onto the dash as she snacked on a bag of potato chips.

"That would be pretty pointless given most of the stuff I'm here for is for you," Logan stated.

"Logan, I don't need anything, you don't need to buy stuff for me," Marie said, sounding annoyed.

"You're wrong kid, there's plenty of stuff you need, decent shoes for one, and gloves, I don't need to buy you stuff but I've got plenty of spare cash that you need more than I do so I'm going to anyway, now haul ass." He slammed the door shut behind him, so she couldn't argue with him anymore, and waited for her to follow him.

The store was just opening as a sullen Marie followed Logan inside, she groaned as he grabbed a cart on his way in. True to his word the first thing he went for was a decent pair of boots, he handed her several pairs around her size for her to try on.

"Pick two pairs," Logan said, once she had found the size she was comfortable with.

"But Logan--" she started.

"Don't argue kid, pick two pairs you like or I'll pick for you," he said again, as he walked away.

She hurriedly grabbed two pairs of sturdy hiking boots and followed after him, dropping them in the cart as he was throwing a dozen pairs of thermal socks into it. Next he moved onto the gloves, picking out materials by feel he handed her a pair of alpaca wool gloves and made her try them on. Once he was satisfied they fit he added three pairs to the growing pile in the cart, and added a pair of waterproofed leather gloves as well. After that he moved to the womens wear section of the store, adding some thermals that he figured were close enough to her size, then he moved on to the jackets, finding a down jacket that looked her size he handed it over to her.

"Try it on," he directed. She scowled but this time pulled it on without complaint. It was just a bit too big so he reached for the next size smaller when he heard an exclamation from behind him.

"Shit, no, no way Logan, three hundred bucks, I can't take this," Marie started up her complaints again.

"You're not taking it Marie, I'm giving it to you, I mean really, what am I going to do with a women’s jacket anyway," he joked.

"Gee I don't know, how about don't buy it in the first place," she replied sarcastically.

"Will you stop, please. Money means nothing to me, I've got more than enough, and if buying you this stuff means I can sleep better at night knowing you aren't going to freeze to death the minute you’re out of my sight, I'll gladly spend as much as I need to, okay?" Logan assured her.

"I just... I don't want to be a charity case," Marie muttered.

"Darlin, that's your pride talking, don't let your pride get you killed, trust me, I've been down that road myself, it's okay to take a hand up from someone every now and then, one day it'll be your turn to be doing the giving, for now you're getting. Now try this one on," he handed her the second jacket.

They left the store about two hours later, Marie now had so much stuff Logan had even bought her a new pack. He'd also gotten her a variety of basic survival items, and a sub-zero sleeping bag and a snow-rated single person pop up tent. Dumping everything haphazard in the back of the camper, Logan suggested lunch before they went to find somewhere to stay for the night.

Once they had ordered lunch, and were sipping drinks while they waited for their food, Marie turned to Logan again. "Thanks Logan," she stated simply, she had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate a big show of gratitude.

"You're welcome... don't mention it again," he said with a grin. She smiled back and they settled back into a companionable silence while they waited for their meal.

They pulled up at a slightly rundown building on the outskirts of Whitecourt at eight thirty. The stop off Marie had asked to make along the way had delayed them by four hours, after she discovered a hiking trail that led to a waterfall, and begged to go see it. It meant there was no time for Logan to find a motel to leave her in for the night, like he had done in Drayton, but it was worth it for the fresh air and to watch her enjoying herself. She had honest to god laughed, and spent the entire hike looking the most relaxed and happy he had ever seen her.

Thankfully, for tonight, he knew the owner of this stop and counted on that to get her into the bar, and to have an additional set of eyes on her for the night.

"Alright darlin, you stick close to me, you sit where I tell you, you stay where I tell you, and you don't go anywhere alone, got it?" he asked, pinning her with a serious look.

Marie grinned. "Sure Logan, you know I have been in places like this before, and I've got a pretty damn impressive party trick at my disposal too."

"I don't want you in a position to have to use your mutation, mine's easy enough to hide or disguise, it's a little hard to explain away people randomly passing out around you, also, I like the guy who runs this place and would like to keep being allowed in, which means my tag-along can't go around dropping his clientele," Logan replied.

"Fair enough," Marie answered with a laugh.

She pulled her new coat on as Logan exited the truck, and he was standing a few feet off waiting for her by the time she got her door locked. He immediately reached for her hand and pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her and resting his hand on her opposite hip as he walked them in. After a few unsure steps, Marie wrapped her own arm around his waist to steady herself as they walked.

"Relax darlin," Logan commented, as he pushed the door open and began to lead her through the dim, crowded interior.

They reached the bar, at which point Logan lifted her up and deposited her on a stool before claiming the one next her. Marie watched as the man behind the counter eyed the pair from where he was handing out drinks at the other end of the bar, once he was done, he made his way toward them.

"Wolverine," he greeted, as he set down a beer in front of him, "And what'll it be for the little lady?"

"She can have one beer, then no alcohol for the rest of the night," Logan replied.

"I don't know Logan, serving minors might just get me in a bit of trouble," the bar keep responded.

"So might hosting illegal cage fights, Jack, but that never stopped you before," Logan smirked as he cut back. "Do me a favour will you," he continued, "I'll be putting her up front near the cage where I can keep an eye on her but if any trouble starts can you get her out of the way until I can get to her?"

"Course we can," Jack nodded, as he set down a beer in front of Marie, along with a glass of water, his attention then shifted to something behind them.

Marie noted Logan's attention shift too, as he appeared to be listening to something. A moment later a heavily made up but barely dressed redhead sidled up, pushing her way in between Logan and Marie.

"Hey handsome, you want some company?" she asked, obviously trying to sound sexy.

Logan noted Marie lift one eyebrow while trying to smother her grin as she took a sip of her drink. "I've got company sweetheart, try your luck elsewhere."

"Seriously," the redhead commented scornfully, giving Marie a once over. "Your little piece of ass even old enough to fuck?"

"In most of the world," he answered, without missing a beat, "We just avoid the few ass backward places she's not." The redhead gave a disgusted snort and stomped away like a petulant child.

"Sorry about that kid," Logan directed to Marie, noting her blush even though she was also trying not to laugh.

"That woman gets more desperate every day," Jack commented, clearly amused himself.

Before anyone could speak further a tall brunette, fully clothed Marie noted, carrying a clip board approached them. "We putting you in the cage tonight Wolverine or are you just spectating?" she asked, pen already making its way to her notes.

"Have I ever just watched, Alice?" Logan asked, shooting her an incredulous look.

"Well no," she replied, "But you've never come in with a friend before either. Hi hun, my name's Alice, I'm Jack's daughter, I'll be looking out for you tonight while this guy's occupied, you need anything you let me know alright?" Alice addressed Marie directly, with a friendly smile.

"Will do," Marie smiled back; Alice was nice.

Turning back to Logan, Alice told him he'd be going in at ten and again at two, they had too many signed up for him to go in more than that tonight but he would be in for the final fight – unless by some miracle someone actually managed to put him down. Marie giggled into her drink at the almost disappointed look Logan shot Alice, who just ignored him and walked off back into the growing crowd.

Logan ordered two more beers and 'something non-alcoholic' for Marie, which turned out be ginger beer, and led the way to a table along the back wall, only a couple of meters from the crude chain-link cage that occupied most of the back corner of the room.

"So, do you fight for the money, or just for fun?" Marie asked, watching Logan as he watched as the first fighters started beating on each other. He appeared to be watching their technique, and by the look he was giving he was finding them seriously lacking in challenge.

"Money is a necessary evil but fighting is definitely fun," Logan replied, "So a bit of both I guess but mostly the fun." He indicated back to the cage as he swallowed a swig of his beer, "The blond will go down in about twenty seconds."

Marie turned to the cage as Logan began counting, just loud enough for her to hear, he got to eighteen when the bald opponent swung a wide left hook catching the blond by surprise and sending him to the floor. "How did you..." she started to asked.

Logan winked at her. "You’ve got to read your opponent, that hit could have been blocked if the kid had seen him setting it up, never underestimate the advantage that you can get from taking a step back in a fight, of course, me, I just tend to go for brute strength, save strategy for a worthy opponent not one of these wannabe's," he muttered.

Marie laughed; she hadn't seen Logan fight yet but he sure was talking himself up enough to make it sound like a very enjoyable spectacle. 'And here I am thinking people beating each other up is fun,' she suddenly thought to herself, maybe the cold was finally getting to her because she never would have thought that before. Not back when she was a good little southern girl who went to church on Sundays and had never been a night without a home cooked meal. Though really, look what that life had gotten her, maybe she was just toughening up.

Logan spent the next hour talking her through the other fighters’ techniques, signature moves, and holes in both their defensive and offensive manoeuvres, before his name was called. Standing up he shed the two flannel shirts and the white t-shirt he was wearing, leaving them in a pile on his chair, along with his previously shed jackets, before he walked into the cage. Unlike the other fighters, Marie noted, Logan didn't bother with any of the pointless posturing or flexing, he just moved over to his corner and leaned against the wall until the challenger arrived.

As it turned out Logan hadn't been exaggerating about his skill, he looked almost bored as he went through the motions of letting his first opponent dance around a bit, getting in a few good swings, while Logan literally stalked him, waiting for a clean opening, then striking out hard and fast. The poor guy dropped with a resounding thump. Despite the crowds cheering Logan just rolled his shoulders and returned to his corner, glaring at everyone until the next challenger entered.

When he returned to their table shortly after eleven, having wiped the floor with three challengers there were two beers and a whiskey waiting for him. Nodding his thanks to Alice, he slipped his t-shirt back on and downed the whiskey, before taking his seat again.

"So, what did you think of my technique kid?" he asked with a grin.

"First two rounds were pretty flawless," Marie commented, "But with that third guy you kept leaving big openings for him to take hits, you already knew that though because you were doing it on purpose," she finished, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him.

His grin got bigger as he downed half a beer. "You're a natural kid! You're right, I did it on purpose, partly because I wanted to see if you were paying attention but mainly to lull the crowd and future challengers into feeling like I was tiring, makes the bets run against you, which means more money at the end of the night."

"I'm curious," Marie queried after a while, as she absently watched the next fight. "Why did you pick the name 'Wolverine'?" Logan went quiet for a minute, and Marie began to wonder if she'd asked the wrong question.

"It's from when I got the metal," he eventually answered, "I don't know what it means, or meant, or how I got it but it's stamped on the tag I woke up wearing, so I used it. Figured worst case scenario the people who did it to me might hear about me and come looking, at least then I might have been able to get some answers about what happened but so far I haven't had any issues. Besides, as fighting names go it's not bad, wolverines are tough critters, good fighters, with a bad attitude, it fit."

"I don't know," Marie commented with a cheeky grin, "I've seen pictures of little skunk bears, they're too cute for you to do them justice."

"Just don't go trying to pet them if you ever come across one," he replied with a chuckle, "They'll eat you as soon as look at you if they're in a bad enough mood," he added with a growl. They teased each other for a while longer before turning their attention back to the current crop of fighters.

By the end of the night Marie was exhausted, barely awake as Logan returned to their table and re-dressed. She smiled at Alice, around a yawn, as the young woman approached with Logan's winnings. Marie wasn't at all surprised that he just shoved the money straight in his pocket, without even looking at it, before he pulled her to her feet and led her out of the bar.

"Come on, let’s find a place to sleep," Logan commented, picking her up to put her in the truck not trusting her legs to get her in there after she had already stumbled, twice, just walking across the carpark. "You tired or something darlin?" he asked sarcastically, as he started the truck, noting her trying not to nod off.

"Yep," she mumbled, stretching in an effort to wake herself up a bit more, "Must have been that long walk today." She yawned again.

Pulling into the first motel he spotted Logan parked in front of the office. "Wait here, I'll get you a bed." By the time he got back with a key in hand, she was asleep.

Marie was sprawled on her belly on the bed when he returned to the motel room they had gotten for the night, her nose buried in a book she had picked up at a second-hand bookstore while exploring Grand Prairie two days earlier. He had dinner for the two of them.

Marie had spent the nine-hour drive to Fort Nelson sleeping, claiming reading while they were driving was making her feel sick. As soon as they had unloaded into the motel she started reading, barely paying him any attention. Even when he had asked what she wanted to eat, she had just mumbled 'food', without even looking up.

"Dinner's here kid," he said, louder than necessary, dropping the greasy take out bags on the dresser as he shrugged out of his jacket. "What are you reading?" he asked, as he pulled the food out and settled himself down on the couch with a burger and a beer.

"Words," Marie mumbled, again without looking up. Logan just chuckled and shook his head.

"If you're not eating by the time I'm done I'll eat yours too," he teasingly threatened.

"Shh, I'm trying to finish the chapter," Marie finally looked up, just to glare at him, before turning back to her page. A few minutes later she dog eared a page and snapped the book shut. "Sorry, I get grumpy when I'm interrupted while reading," she apologised, as she reached for her food.

"So, what are you reading?" he asked yet again, curious about just what held a sixteen-year-old girls interest so deeply that she'd ignore all else.

"Um, it's Nietzsche's 'Beyond Good and Evil'," she answered with a blush, and stuffed a handful of fries in her mouth.

"Philosophy!?" Logan replied surprised, "Wow, I didn't expect that."

"What, you think all teenage girls are into that pointless vampire romance crap," Marie replied, "Some of us require more substance to our literature."

"I'll admit, I'm impressed, learned anything yet?" Logan asked.

"Well, I'm only up to the first chapter, and I'm not sure I understood all of it, but I get the impression he's spent most of it trying to say people lie even when they don't necessarily mean to, and that truth and lies, and good and evil, are, in a way, subjective, because people care more about power than about being right, but also that just because something looks evil doesn't mean good doesn't come of it. I'll have to finish it though, and maybe read it through a couple more times and see if anything changes," she finished with a shrug.

"All good points whether that's what he's trying to say or not," Logan commented.

"You're fighting again, tonight, aren't you?" Marie asked suddenly, changing the subject entirely.

"Yep, I'll leave in about half an hour, let you get back to your book," he added.

"I was actually going to ask if I could come with you again. Don't look at me like that, I had fun last time," she replied, with a laugh at the incredulous look he shot at her.

"Well, I suppose so," Logan agreed, after a moment’s consideration, "Same rules as last time though, and there's no Alice to watch out for you this time so you'll have to stay aware of everyone around you."

"Yes Logan, same answer given as last time," Marie replied with a grin.

Once she finished her food, she pulled out her pack and dug through it for a change of clothes, while Logan sprawled on the couch dozing. Marie felt a little apprehensive about him fighting tonight, after all, he had been driving since early that morning. He didn't seem to share her concern though, and he had been doing this for longer than she had been hanging around, if anyone should know his stamina levels it was him, she supposed.

She took her change of clothes into the bathroom and set about getting herself ready. She pulled on a pair of thermal pants, because fuck it, it was cold, a pair of black skinny jeans went on next. She then pulled a pair of thermal socks on quickly over her bare feet, scrunching the sock tops around her ankles over the bottoms of her jeans. On the top she pulled on a white tank top and layered it with two long sleeve V-neck shirts, one black and, the top one, a dark forest green.

When they had been in Grand Prairie two days earlier, Logan had given her some cash and told her go nuts and get herself whatever she wanted, he had stressed 'wanted' not 'needed'. So, in addition to a couple of books, she had gotten herself some makeup. She hadn't bothered bringing any with her when she left home, she didn't wear much, or wear it often, so it had seemed unnecessary but now, she felt like being pretty again, and her new bag was big enough to carry extras.

She pulled out the small make up bag she had put together, she didn't need much, definitely didn't want to end up looking like those skanks she had seen trying to catch Logan's attention at the last bar he had taken her into. She settled on a touch of eyeliner and lip gloss. Then she had to decide what to do with her hair, eventually deciding to put it all up in a messy bun. She wasn't going to win any style awards but she looked okay, and she was comfortable which was all she really cared about.

Logan called through the door to hurry her up so she raced out to bundle up. She pulled on and laced up her boots, before pulling on her black wool gloves, tucking her shirt sleeves into them, before she pulled on her jacket and a grey woollen scarf. Logan looked at her oddly as she ran past him out the door he was holding for her, before she dove into the truck out of the biting wind.

When they got to the bar Logan did the same thing he had done the time before, wrapping his arm around her, and she, hers around him, as he led her inside. This time though he led her straight to a table at the back of the room near the cage. Drinks arrived in short order, and Logan left the table long enough to talk to a fat balding guy at the bar, obviously the MC. When Logan came back, he looked annoyed.

"What's wrong?" Marie asked, sipping at her soda.

"They're short fighters tonight, they wanted me to go in back to back from eleven until three," he grumbled.

"No breaks?" Marie asked surprised.

"Mmhmm, I managed to talk him around to ten to twelve and then one to three, with a half hour break before the second hour but you're going to be on your own most of the night kid, and this is a rougher crowd than I was expecting... If anything happens come straight to me, even if I'm in the middle of a fight, if you’re feeling unsafe out here hell get in the damn cage with me, got it?" he stated plainly.

"Got it," she replied seriously. Logan's attitude clearly said now was not a time for joking around and being a smartass. He seemed to relax though as the night wore on.

After a while he asked curiously, "Where did you get the make-up darlin?"

She blushed, she wasn’t sure he had noticed. "You told me to get whatever I wanted,” was her reply.

"I did," Logan agreed. "You look nice, not that you didn't before but you did a good job keeping it classy, not like these painted hussies," he murmured to her, discreetly nodding toward a group of scantily clad women standing at the bar, eyeing him up like a side of beef.

Marie sniggered. "You sure seem to attract a lot of them,” she pointed out with a grin.

"My curse," Logan replied, only half joking, "I prefer my women less desperate."

It wasn't long before Logan was called to the cage the first time, and Marie watched as he worked his way through several challengers. These men fought a lot dirtier than the ones Logan had been fighting last time she had gone with him. It wasn't until after his first break that trouble started; an opponent was caught with brass knuckles. Thankfully Logan had seen them before the guy's punch had connected and had managed to knock the hit away, throwing the guy off balance before coldcocking him.

When Logan went back in the cage again for his second two hour stint the trouble kept coming, this time it was for Marie. Two, seemingly drunk, men approached, and tried to sit at her table, despite her attempts to get them to leave.

"Aww come on sweetheart, we're just being friendly, bet we can be way more friendly than that hairy fucker you came in with," guy one leered at her.

"Turn around and take a look," Marie snapped exasperated, thinking quickly, "You really want to be here when my boyfriend gets here?" Guy one turned, just in time to watch Logan punch out his opponent, the guy now on the ground had almost a foot on height and a good hundred pounds in weight over Logan, who was quickly out of the cage and heading for their table before the body had even stilled; he had been watching what was going on the table and obviously recognized her subtle cry for help.

Both guys tried to make a run for it, but Logan caught one, picking him clear up off the floor and throwing him bodily at the second, knocking both of them into the bar. Before either of them could get to their feet Logan had slugged one in the face, knocking him out, and the second in the gut. "Throw them out," he growled at the bouncer, "And if you've got any sense you won't let them back in, ever."

He strode over to the table then and took Marie's drink. "I told you to be careful darlin," he reminded her gruffly, as he poured what was left of her drink out into a mop bucket before turning the cup back to her, showing her the grainy residue at the bottom of the cup. "Divide and conquer, one distracts you while the other drugs you."

Marie paled. "Did I drink any of it?"

"No, don't worry, you didn't," Logan replied, a mite gentler, as he pulled her forward and kissed her forehead, before waving the waitress over with a fresh drink. "Got to go," he told her as the next round was called. "Watch your back, and watch your drink,” he reminded her with a grin, as he headed back to the cage.

Unfortunately for the both of them, this night wasn't over yet.

No one other than the waitress dared to approach Marie after that, which she was thankful for, she was almost too afraid to risk drinking her new drink despite that. When Logan's last break rolled around, he made a show of favouring one side, where he had been taking most of his hits that night, and gingerly stretching. If Marie didn't know better, she'd have thought he was really sore.

When he got back in the cage there were only three challengers left, Marie watched as he toyed with the first one for a good twenty minutes before finally laying him out. As the second entered the cage she couldn't help the sudden flicker of fear as she watched him move, something was wrong, Logan seemed to sense it too and began to move more cautiously. A shout of surprise went through the room when the challenger swung a sudden punch low towards Logan’s gut, when he withdrew, a short knife handle was visible in Logan's side and blood was running down into the waistband of his jeans.

Immediately the challenger was removed from the cage, receiving several punches and kicks from the audience as he was turfed outside. Several patrons followed him out, no doubt to give him a harder beating. Marie moved to the cage as Logan stood there, swearing profusely, blood trickling from the wound.

"Can you fight the next round?" the MC asked, eyeing the knife. "You got to forfeit if you can't fight it," he added.

"Fuck," Logan swore again, "I know, can you give me ten minutes, and a first aid kit?"

"Sure, use the backroom," the MC said, as the waitress appeared with a first aid kit.

"Give me a hand Marie," Logan mumbled, as he walked past where Marie was standing, grabbing her by her elbow and pulling her into a dark back room, shutting the door after them.

"God damn cheating fuckers!” Logan swore once they were alone. “Grab the gauze Marie, and a wound pad," he gestured toward the first aid supplies.

"But Logan don't you..." she started to ask.

"Yeah darlin, I do, but I got to make it look convincing that I just got knifed," he answered her unfinished question with a grin. "Wrap the gauze around, a couple of rotations below the knife and a couple above... perfect kid, now give me the pad... actually, unspool some of that suture thread too, and pass me a needle."

She watched as Logan bloodied the needle at the edge of the wound, and cut off a short length of thread, bloodying that too, he discarded them in a medical waste bag, before moving on to removing the knife. He held the wound pad against the knife and quickly pulled the knife out, letting blood run and soak into the wound pad as the wound knit itself back together.

Marie's stood there, mouth open in shock as she watched the wound close, Logan winked at her.

"Shh, don't tell," he commented, as he placed the bloodied wound pad where the now non-existent wound had been. He slid the gauze wrap securely over it, before taking a second length of gauze and adding that too. He then indicated for her to pass the antiseptic and a sterile cloth and he wiped off all the blood outside of the bandages.

Just then a knock sounded at the door behind them. "Five minutes," the MC called through the flimsy wood.

"We're coming, we're coming," Marie called back.

"I told you darlin, you're a natural," Logan chuckled, "Chuck everything back in, don't worry about making it neat, they can fix it themselves later, should have actually checked these fuckers for weapons like they're supposed to."

Marie quickly shut the first aid case and moved across the room, opening the door for Logan, who played up the supposed injury well. Favouring his side even more, he quickly moved over to the cage where the last opponent of the night was waiting, a dangerous sneer on his face.

"Has this one been checked for weapons?" Logan growled at the MC, making his anger at their first two fuck ups clear.

"Yeah, yeah, we double checked as he was going in," he assured them.

The waitress came over and collected the medical supplies as Marie took her seat again, handing over her drink too, there was no way she was going to drink it after it had been sitting out here unattended. She watched as the final fight of the night started, noting the challenger was speaking but so quietly she couldn't hear what he said, Logan on the other hand could obviously hear clearly, if the thunderous look on his face was anything to go by.

--

Logan sized up the final challenger, he would put money on the fact that he was friends with the fucker with the knife, he was going to enjoy smacking the shit out of this one. It wasn't until he opened his mouth though that he went up in the pain stakes from 'knock him around enough to hurt tomorrow', to 'one step before deaths door'.

"That's a sweet little piece of ass you got there," the bigger man taunted, "Gonna enjoy taking her for a ride after, don't worry, I'll let you watch. Tell me, she a screamer, she looks like a screamer, the pretty young ones tend to be, we can always give that knife another work out though, if she needs some motivation."

"You talk too much," Logan growled, a snarl on his lips as the MC started the round. He didn't give the asshole time to think before he buried his fist in his face, hard enough to snap his head back into the wall of the cage. As the body rebounded Logan drove two more blows in his direction, one to the ribs, the second to the gut, before the unconscious man’s body began to drop. As soon as he hit the floor Logan added a boot to the ribs before the MC could call an end to the round, listening for the satisfying sound of bones crunching.

Marie was watching, concerned, as Logan moved out of the cage toward her. "What did he say?" she asked, as soon as he was within earshot.

"Nothing darlin," he dismissed the question, and indicated for her to make a show of helping him put his shirts back on.

"Don't lie Logan, I saw him talking, and I know you heard what he said... it was about me, wasn't it," she said after a moment.

"He was just shooting his mouth off darlin, yes, he said stuff about you, I dealt with it," Logan stated.

"Is he going to live?" Marie asked after a moment.

Hearing a slight hitch in her voice Logan turned to Marie and was surprised to see amusement in her eyes, rather than the fear he'd expected. Logan's lip twitched as he tried not to smile. “Unfortunately, he'll be fine, in six to eight weeks," he replied with a shrug.

Logan collected his winnings, plus a small bonus for the inconvenience of getting stabbed, and they headed back to the motel for the night. It wasn't until they got back inside that Logan remembered, the only room they had been able to get only had one bed.

"You take the bed kid, I'll take the couch," Logan said, as he began removing clothes so he could get the bloody bandages off.

"Like hell," Marie replied, "No way am I going to make the man who just got stabbed sleep on the couch, you take the bed I'll take the couch."

"Don't argue Marie, I'm not sleeping in the bed and leaving you on the couch."

"Well I guess we're both sleeping on the couch then," Marie sassed, "Though I think us both sleeping in the bed would be more comfortable, don't you?"

Logan was walking across the room intent on a hot shower when her comment hit him, it took a moment for him to realise, he had just been played by a sixteen-year-old. "You sneaky little bitch," he commented, trying not to laugh. Marie just grinned, as she waved him off to the bathroom while she pulled out her pyjamas.

By the time Logan emerged from the shower, Marie was in bed, and the lights were turned off. He considered doing the honourable thing, and just laying down on the couch, when Marie called out from the bed, "Don't even think about it Logan, get over here." Dragging himself into the bed, dressed only in a pair of sweatpants he was pleased to note Marie stayed on her side of the bed. He planned to only stay long enough for her to fall asleep but she was still awake when his eyes closed and his breathing evened out.

He woke up slowly, a feeling of warmth and contentment settling over him as he slowly came back to consciousness. There was something warm and soft in his arms, and the gentle tickle of silky soft hair under his nose. Burrowing into the warmth more he felt it shift against him, his hips bucking unconsciously into the soft flesh pressed against his erection.

Suddenly his eyes snapped open, jerking back he rolled off the bed as Marie shifted again, stretching as she woke.

"Morning Logan," she mumbled sleepily.

"Uh, morning kid," Logan muttered, stalking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him, locking it for good measure.

As she heard the shower start Marie couldn't help the laugh that tried to burst out, obviously neither of them had expected that kind of wake up, though she wasn't going to complain. She pulled the blankets back up around her and snuggled back into the warmth Logan had left behind, trying to ignore the fact she needed to pee. When he finally opened the door again, he was almost bowled over by the slight girl as she shoved him out of the bathroom, with a comment about him 'taking long enough', as she slammed the door behind him.

Logan dressed as he listened to the sounds from the bathroom, he shouldn't but for some reason he just couldn't help himself this morning. It had nothing to do with waking up wrapped around the girl, currently showering behind that pathetically thin door, just this morning, with his dick pressed up against her ass cheeks, nope, nothing at all. It also had nothing to do with the image of her, naked and wanting, that had flashed through his mind when he had jerked off not even two minutes later. Nope. Shit.

Not that it mattered anyway, they were pulling out for Whitehorse today, a couple of days and they would be splitting up and going their separate ways. Her to continue her 'adventure' to Alaska, and him to hole up for the rest of winter, alone. For the first time in a long time a pang of regret passed through him, somehow the kid had done something unexpected. She had gotten to him, wormed her way passed his defences and he was missing her already, just from the thought of her not being there.

He was about to slip out, to go and pick up some breakfast for them, when he heard the shower shut off. He may as well wait for her now, she could pick her own breakfast for a change. He had just sat down on the ratty couch under the window when the bathroom door opened and a still wet, towel clad Marie stepped out.

"Oh, I thought you would have gone to get breakfast already, thank goodness I put the towel on," she commented, an interesting contradiction between her flirty tone and the blush that spread down her neck and across her chest. And he was not thinking about just how far down it went...

"I figured we may as well go together seeing as how we're both up," Logan replied non-committally. "I can go though, if you need some time to yourself," he added.

"No, that's fine, sounds like a plan, give me ten minutes," Marie replied with a smile, as she pulled clothes out of her bag and turned back to the bathroom. And he was not staring at the bottom curve of her ass, where it peeked out under the too short towel.

Marie hurriedly dressed, much the same as she had the night before, though this time she triple-layered the long sleeve tops and left off the tank top. It might be a bit colder but she would totally not be flashing cleavage when she took her coat off, she thought sarcastically. She reapplied her make up too, the same as the night before, it had nothing to do with the fact Logan had said she looked nice the night before, or the looked he had flashed at her when he said it.

Leaving the bathroom as she pulled her still damp hair into another messy bun, she headed for her outer wear, layering up while Logan just sat on the couch and seemed to ignore her.

"Done, we going?" she asked, as she pulled on her coat.

"Darlin, I think that's the first time I've ever heard a woman say ten minutes and actually mean it," Logan said with a grin, following her out of the motel, pausing to lock the door, leaving her standing in the cold while he fished for keys to unlock the truck.

--

An hour and a half later they had packed the last of their belongings and loaded the camper, Marie waited in the cosy warmth of the cab while Logan went to check them out. She was full of delicious hot food, and looking forward to napping through the amazing Canadian countryside on the way to their next stop, a place called Watson Lake.

Logan had told her about the Sign Post Forest there, where people from all over the world had hung signs from their own home towns. She asked to stop and see it which he had agreed they could do - she didn't have a sign to add but she could stop and see of anyone from Mississippi had beat her to Yukon.

She was just starting to get impatient and wondering what the heck was taking Logan so long, when he appeared out of the office looking annoyed. He started the engine without a word and pulled out onto the highway before he reached for the radio, which hadn't been touched since she'd gotten in the vehicle thirteen days ago. She had assumed it didn't work, turned out she was wrong. Logan scanned through channels until he hit one with a weather report playing.

"Change of plans, kid," he commented, as the weather broadcast, predicting a huge week long snow storm, finished. "Storms due to hit, late-morning tomorrow, I need to get to the cabin before then because I would rather be holed up at my place than some dive on the highway, so we're going to drive right through to Whitehorse today, won't get to see your sign posts yet, sorry."

"That's okay," Marie replied with a smile, it wasn't his fault it was going to snow. She was a little upset it would mean a day closer to having to come to terms with the fact that they were scheduled to part company. "How long will it take to get there?"

"Normally it's a twelve-hour drive, though it's going to take a little longer in this snow, we'll probably get there sometime around two, three am. It's going to be snack food only for the rest of the day, you can grab some when we stop for gas next," he added.

For a while they continued listening to the weather updates before Logan flicked the radio off, and grimly set out to make it as far as they could before the snow started in earnest.

A few hours later they pulled up at a gas station, Logan handed Marie cash and told her to 'load up on junk food' and she ran for the warmth of the nearby building. She went to the bathroom first, before grabbing a basket and loading it with a variety of snack foods, she grabbed water too, and a bottle of orange juice. By the time she got to the counter with her selections Logan was already there waiting to pay for the gas.

"Took your time," he said, amused, perusing the selection of products she had acquired. "Better take a bathroom break while we're here too, won't be making another stop for at least three hours," he commented, as they were heading back to the vehicle.

"One step ahead of you," Marie replied, climbing back into the truck, "What did you think took me so long?" she added, as he climbed in too.

"How would I know, I thought women were supposed to take forever shopping," Logan teased.

"Yep," Marie replied, "They take forever shopping, are never ready in ten minutes, and like romance novels... I'm starting to think I might not be a woman," she added jokingly.

Logan chuckled. "You're definitely one of a kind darlin."

They fell into companionable silence again as they rolled down the highway, Marie snacked for a while on some beef jerky and a bag of trail mix, before falling asleep around four in the afternoon. The light was fading fast so there wasn't much to look at anymore to keep her awake.

She was roused sometime later, at first, she thought Logan was waking her to say they were there but as she stretched and yawned, she could feel the truck still rolling steadily down the highway. "What's up?" she asked curiously, when Logan called her name again.

"Look," he replied, pointing out the windscreen. It took her a moment to realise what she was looking at as the greens and blues and purples of the aurora borealis shimmered and rolled across the sky.

"Oh my gosh... it's beautiful!" she exclaimed, leaning forward and resting her folded arms on the dash of the truck, propping her chin up to get a view of more of the sky. She sat there for over an hour, eventually shifting to a more comfortable position, leaning against the cold glass of her window, mesmerised by the lights, before sleep eventually claimed her again.

The next time she woke the truck was silent, and Logan was gently lifting her out of her seat. "Go back to sleep," he murmured, as he carried her towards the dark void of a building. She could only make out the doorway, illuminated by a dim light, there weren't any stars left in the dark night sky.

She vaguely felt herself being laid down on a soft surface, her jacket was gently stripped off, and her boots disappeared from her feet, before a pile of soft warm blankets were laid over top of her.

"'Night kid," Logan spoke softly out of the gloom.

"Mm, 'night L'gan," she whispered sleepily in returned, as she drifted fully back to sleep.

Marie stretched sleepily under a heavy pile of the softest, warmest blankets she had ever had the honour of sleeping under. Suddenly wide awake she bolted upright; she hadn’t fallen asleep in a bed. A thick pile of furs fell away from her body and she discovered she was still dressed in yesterday’s clothes, and now sitting in a massive bed in a rustic looking bedroom. Where the heck *was* she!?

Pulling herself out of bed she moved toward the window, wherever they were it had a gorgeous view, though for now the hillside and all the trees were dusted with a decent layer of snow, heavy clouds hung low promising more snow before too long.

Heading in the other direction, towards the only door in the room, she wandered out into a short hallway, there was a second bedroom and a bathroom opening off the hall, and in the other direction she could see a living room, which she made her way towards. Stepping into the room she was met with a view of a comfortable living room, a fire crackling in the large open fireplace to her left, a dining area on the right, and through to a kitchen where Logan was cooking breakfast.

"Morning sleepyhead," he called blindly, turning around with a grin. "Coffee?"

She didn't reply until she had downed half the cup. "Where are we?" she finally asked, sounding confused.

"My cabin," Logan replied, "We got in just before three this morning, couldn't see the point going on to town and paying for a room for the rest of the morning so I stopped here. We do have to go in shortly though, so eat up," he continued, placing a piled high plate of sausages, bacon, eggs, and some sort of potato laden hash in front of her.

She tucked in eagerly. Both were quiet for a while, Logan was deep in thought but Marie was looking around curiously, taking in all the details of the room around her. It was bigger than she was expecting but had a definite rustic edge that suited Logan. The ceiling was vaulted, which made the space look even bigger, she could spy a large open loft room bedroom upstairs. In the other direction, almost the whole end wall of the cabin was floor to ceiling windows, with an amazing view across an open field and further, to the forest and out across the valley before them.

"So," Logan spoke all of a sudden recapturing her attention, "This storm is going to close the roads for a while, at least one week, if not two, which means, if I drop you in Whitehorse, you're not going anywhere, for quite a while, I have to go into town to stock up on supplies, so I am happy to take you down if you want me to, or, you could stay here... until spring... and then I can take you on to Alaska, probably sometime around March, maybe April." Logan hesitated, watching her closely to gauge her reaction to his suggestion.

"I don't want to get in the way, or inconvenience you..." Marie started.

"You wouldn't be, I wouldn't have offered otherwise," Logan stated firmly.

"Well, then, so long as you're sure... I'd really like to stay," she said with a smile. "To be honest, the idea of going anywhere without you is not tempting in the least,” she admitted bluntly, "Guess I've kind of got attached to you."

"Same here kid," Logan replied, with a genuine smile, "Same here." He had a feeling they had just agreed to a little bit more than sharing a living space for the winter, he couldn't say he minded the idea in the least. "Well, better rug up darlin, we’ve got to get to town soon so we can get back before the snow hits, we've probably got a two hour window before that happens," Logan said a moment later, clearing away the breakfast dishes hurriedly.

--

Forty-five minutes later they were in town pulling up in front of a grocery store. Making their way around the store Logan methodically picked out his necessities, telling Marie to grab whatever she wanted or needed, at least four months’ worth of it. He chuckled when they got to the candy aisle, and she pointed up to the top shelf, at an outer box of M&M's, and asked him to get it down for her.

"I don't know kid - you think four kilos of M&M's is going to be enough?" he teased.

"No," she replied, deadly serious, "But more than that is probably going to get me looked at funny."

She also added marshmallows, cocoa, sugar, and several other spices to the cart. "What sort of dry goods do you have already at the cabin?" she asked suddenly.

"I don't do a lot of baking darlin," he replied, "There'll be a bit of flour, maybe some sugar," he said, as he loaded several large tins of coffee into the cart.

Marie proceeded to commandeer the cart and began loading dry goods. A few aisles over she added a variety of canned fruit. She also searched out powdered eggs, and powdered milk, lamenting that the fresh variety wouldn't last the winter but she would just make do.

They were heading for the checkouts when Logan suddenly stopped. Turning to him curiously when she realised, Marie regarded him questioningly.

"You forgetting anything darlin?" he asked in amusement.

She frowned as she racked her brain trying again to think of everything she would need for the next few months, after a moment Logan took pity on her and nodded toward the aisle he had stopped at. Glancing down the aisle Marie spotted the feminine hygiene products she would definitely need, and shampoo and conditioner too, she would grab some shower gel as well...

She walked into the aisle, noting Logan didn't follow her, opting instead to stay where he was and wait. "What's wrong Logan, not manly enough in there for you?" she teased, as she threw her necessities into the cart.

"You'd like to think that wouldn't you," Logan joshed, "No, there's too many different scents down there, just walking past is an instant headache, no way in hell am I going any closer. I avoid the laundry aisle for the same reason," he added.

"Huh, I never thought of that," Marie replied considerately, "If that's the case, how do I say this without sounding weird, you want to check my shampoo and stuff to make sure it smells okay? Wouldn't want to stink you out of your own house if you couldn't stand it."

"It should be fine, what scent is it?" he asked.

“Almond, apparently," Marie replied, holding the bottle out to him, "And the body wash is orange & almond."

"That's not bad," Logan replied, handing the bottle back to her.

As they continued toward the checkouts a thought occurred to Marie. "How do you stand those disgusting smelly bars?" she asked curiously, "And those cigars you love so much."

"Natural scents are easier to process and ignore, and it just so happens I like the cigars," he replied honestly, chuckling at her exaggerated look of disgust.

By the time they had loaded their groceries into the truck it had started to snow. The snow was falling so thickly by the time they got back to the cabin that Logan almost missed his own driveway. They quickly ferried all the supplies into the house, and he left Marie to pack everything away while he got the fire roaring again, moved the truck, and brought in enough wood to feed the fire for the next couple of weeks. After that, he relaxed on the couch, watching Marie with a grin as she switched tasks from attacking away groceries, to baking cookies, chattering happily the whole time.

Logan couldn't help the feeling of contentment that settled over him, he usually felt comfortable up here but this new feeling was making him feel like the previous years spent here had been incomplete.

They had been in the cabin for two days. Two days of heavy snow, which now came to half way up the ground floor windows. After the first day of settling in, the second day had been spent in a lazy fashion, Marie curled up on the couch in front of the fire reading, Logan, not doing much more.

The third morning Logan came down from the loft confused, he had heard Marie moving around downstairs and assumed she was starting breakfast. Since settling in she had taken to doing most of the cooking, and a bit of baking. He had insisted she didn't need to only to be told that she felt like she had to pull her weight in some way and that she liked cooking, so unless he was saying her cooking was bad he should just stay out of her way and let her get on with it. So, he had, mostly, because she really was a great cook.

After a half hour, and still no cooking smells were wafting upstairs, he went to see what exactly she was up to. He reached the bottom of the stairs, only to be greeted by an empty kitchen and living room. Right then he heard a clattering and heavy thump from the direction of the bathroom. Sprinting down the short hall he knocked on the half open door as he slowly pushed it wider, only to find Marie passed out on the floor. Gently shifting her, checking for injuries, he noted her flushed skin and elevated temperature. She wasn’t obviously injured so he picked her up and carried her to her bedroom, gingerly setting her down on the bed. She was sweating and running a high fever but appeared to be otherwise fine.

"Marie... Marie can you hear me?" he spoke softly, as she groaned and her eyes moved behind her closed lids. "Come on darlin, open your eyes."

Her eyes gently fluttered open. "What happened?" she croaked, before coughing gently. "Ow," she added, once she finished coughing, bringing a hand to her head. Logan noticed then that she was starting to shiver, despite her fever, so he hurriedly pulled her blankets back over her.

"I was hoping you could tell me kid, I found you taking a nap on the bathroom floor," he said with a gentle smile. "You're not feeling so good I take it?"

"I went to get a glass of water... bathroom was closer than the kitchen, then everything started spinning," she said, snuggling deeper into the blankets, still shivering.

"I'll get you the glass of water," Logan offered softly, smoothing her hair back from her face before jogging back to the kitchen. He got her a glass of warm water, added some honey, and some of the lemon juice that Marie had bought for her baking. By the time he returned to the bedroom she was asleep again. Nudging her gently awake again he helped her sit up a little and held the glass for her to take slow sips. He quickly decided the bedroom was too cold for her and wrapped her snugly in the fur blanket off her bed, before he carried her to the couch in front of the fire. Stoking the fire up, he added more wood until it was blazing strongly again, before he headed back to the kitchen to make her some food; she'd need something to keep her strength up that wasn't too hard on her stomach.

She was just starting to stir an hour later, when he sat down on the coffee table in front of her with a bowl of chicken soup and another drink.

"Something smells good," she murmured, as she rubbed sleepily at her eyes.

"Got you some chicken soup, that's what you're supposed to have when you're sick right?" he said, as he helped her sit up, he propped her up with cushions so she was in a more comfortable position for eating.

"You made chicken soup?" she asked seeming amused by the thought, "Where did you get the chicken from?"

"I had to improvise with the chicken, it's dry stock but I figured that was better than nothing. Here, open up." He held the spoon out to her mouth. After a few mouthfuls Marie announced it was 'not bad'. "Glad you approve, but you got to finish the bowl so come on." She finished most of the bowl before shaking her head weakly and refusing to open her mouth again.

After a brief rest she asked quietly, "So doc, what's the diagnosis, when do I die?"

Logan chuckled. "You've just got the flu kid, you'll live, I would hazard a guess your body’s been fighting it off for a while, with you being too stressed to be sick, now that you've stopped and relaxed it's finally decided it can afford to take a break and let you get over this fully, you should be fine in a few days."

The rest of the day passed slowly, Marie alternated mostly between sleeping, and eating and drinking whatever Logan fed her. She was mortified when Logan had to carry her to the bathroom, even though she knew there was no way she would have been able to get there herself. Even the process of taking care of her business, while Logan waited right outside the door, was enough to leave her a weak trembling mess by the time she was done. Logan kept her on the couch, wrapped in the furs, in front of the loaded fire the whole time.

By the next day she was thoroughly sick of soup but, though Logan allowed her to have something a little more solid with it, she discovered her sore throat wouldn't let her swallow anything else. Her cough started to get worse around midday, which made her headache worse, which made her eyes overly sensitive, so she spent most of her time trying to sleep and hide from daylight.

It wasn't until eleven that night that Logan noticed her fever starting to climb again. He gently unwrapped her a little while she slept to allow some of the excess heat her body was producing to release, he reached for her face once he had done that to wipe a clump of sweaty hair out of the way. As soon as he touched her skin a sharp pain shot from his fingers up his arm, he dropped to his knees beside her trying to catch his breath, his hand falling away from her face as he did so. It only took a minute for him to realise that must have been her mutation, her control must be slipping in her fevered state. Remembering what she had told him the day they had met, about how her mutation had hurt and scared her when she had been unable to control it, he moved over to the coat rack by the door where his gloves were stuffed in the pocket of his jacket.

When he returned, all gloved up, to check on her only minutes later her fever had come down significantly. When it had stayed down for an hour, he finally let himself sleep, propped up against the couch beside her, head resting back against her shoulder where she slept on the couch behind him.

--

Stretching his crick neck out the next morning he turned to check on Marie, her fever was completely gone. The fevered flush of her skin replaced with a healthy glow, her pale lips back to their normal rosy colour, and the hitch in her breathing from coughing was gone. He left her to sleep as he went to make himself a coffee. She didn't stay asleep for long, stretching on the couch before she unwrapped herself with a yawn and sat up.

"How you feeling?" he asked from the kitchen.

"Surprisingly good," she replied. "I think I'll even make it to the bathroom by myself today," she giggled.

"I'll come with you the first time just to make sure," Logan told her, moving around in front of her to help her stand. She took a few staggering steps before her legs decided they did still know how to walk, and she was able to release Logan's supporting hand. When she was back on the couch with the thick blanket tucked back around her, Logan asked, "How's your throat feeling?"

"Great, I can swallow now, looks like I won't drown in my own saliva after all," she replied, "Wait, does that mean I can have real food today!?" she asked, sounding overly excited.

"I was going to suggest something a little more solid," Logan replied, "How about hash?"

"Yes please!" she moaned, "Not that there was anything wrong with your soup," she added hurriedly.

Twenty minutes later Logan walked back to the couch with two full plates. "Scoot over kid," he said, waiting for Marie to move over enough for him to sit down beside her, "You able to handle feeding yourself today?"

"Yep, honestly, I feel good as new, sore throats gone, headache's gone, haven't even had the slightest tickle of a cough, you make a good nurse," she teased, before suddenly becoming serious, "Why are you wearing gloves?"

Logan just smiled at her. "You took a turn in the night and your mutation was on the fritz, gave me a bit of a zap so I put the gloves on as a precaution, don't know if what I got was full force but either way you pack one hell of a punch darlin."

"Hmm, that's weird, I can't hear you up there," Marie said after a while, "How long did we touch for?"

"A few seconds at most," Logan shrugged, "I wonder if that's got anything to do with why you suddenly improved..."

"What do you mean?" Marie asked curiously.

"Well your fever was climbing, right before we touched, and then within a few minutes of you zapping me your fever was back down to what it had been, and then an hour later it had fallen more, and this morning you're fine. Wonder if you did get something from me," he said.

"Like what?" Marie voiced.

"Have you ever touched a mutant before? Maybe you got some of my healing, it would explain why you're better now," Logan proposed.

"... I never have touched another mutant before," Marie finally admitted, "It would make sense..."

They finished the rest of their meal in comfortable silence before Marie stretched again and announced she was going to have a shower.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea just yet darlin," Logan cautioned.

"Logan, I haven't had a shower in three days I'm having one now," he didn't look convinced. "I'll leave the door unlocked and call if I need help, how's that?" she conceded.

"Alright, alright, but if you pass out again, I'm going to say I told you so," Logan muttered, taking their dishes back to the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later he was sitting restlessly on the couch listening to the sounds down the hall. He had heard Marie finish in the shower, scented her shampoo on the gentle air current that was stirred when she opened the bathroom door, and heard her move into her bedroom. That was five minutes ago. A moment later there was a solid thud from the direction of her bedroom. He shot down the hall again, pushing her bedroom door open to find her sprawled on the floor. Unexpectedly though, she wasn't passed out, in fact, she was lying on the floor laughing hysterically.

"What the hell?" Logan asked, trying not to join in her laughter.

"Sorry," she gasped out between giggles. "I was trying to put my pants on and got the legs tangled, and then I tried to sit down on the bed and... well, I kind of missed," she burst into giggles again.

"Are you okay," Logan asked, reaching out to help her up, trying to ignore that fact she was clad only in a silky black bra and panties.

"I bumped my elbow, if you didn't already guess... where did my pants go?" she asked suddenly, trying to locate the offending material from where she was now perched on the side of the bed.

Logan snagged the jeans in question from where they had been thrown, partway under the bed. "Think you can finish dressing on your own or do you need help with that too," he joked.

"I'm sure you'd much rather help undress me," Marie commented, then she blushed and clapped a hand over mouth. "I– I have no idea where that came from!" she stuttered, trying to stifle another laugh.

Logan tamped down on the rumbling growl that tried to break out. "Maybe you did get a little of my voice in your head," he commented huskily, grinning as Marie blushed even pinker. "Get dressed kid," he threw over his shoulder, as he walked out of her room, closing the door behind him.

"Has it stopped snowing yet!" Marie groaned from the couch.

"Nope," Logan replied, not even bothering to look up, “Even if it had I wouldn't be letting you outside yet, you just got over the flu three days ago."

"I can't believe it's been snowing for eight days - I am so bored!" Marie complained again dramatically.

"Read one of those books you bought," Logan suggested.

"I've read all four of them," Marie stated sullenly.

"Do some baking then," Logan tried again.

"We've already got peanut butter brownies, chocolate cake, lemon tarts, and a pumpkin pie," Marie listed off the tasty treats she'd already made.

"Then eat some of them," Logan chuckled.

"I can't do that!" Marie cried, "I'll get fat."

"So why did you make them?" Logan asked, shaking his head in amusement.

"Because I had nothing better to do," Marie replied laughing.

Logan gave the tv another whack, just for the hell of it. "Well, we aren't watching tv any time soon," he stated, finally admitting defeat.

"I just want the snow to stop so I can go outside," Marie whined, jumping to try and peek over the top of the snow drift piled up against the window, the snow was now deeper than she was tall.

"Be careful what you wish for darlin, once the snow's stopped we've got to dig out before we can do anything else," Logan reminded her as he sat down on the couch in front of the fire with a beer in hand.

"So? What else is there to do?" Marie pointed out, swinging herself over the back of the couch to sit beside him, resting her head on his shoulder with a sigh.

Logan threw his arm across the back of the couch causing her to cuddle closer to him. "Well, you could just sit here and enjoy the fact we're warm and not stuck out there in this," he commented.

"That just makes me sleepy," she admitted, "Though I guess there are worse places to sleep."

They chatted for a while longer until Logan felt Marie relax against him. Sure enough, she was asleep. Shifting position slightly so they were both lying on the couch Logan couldn't help but agree with her earlier statement, there were definitely worse places to sleep.

When he woke up some hours later Marie was sprawled on top of him, one leg thrown over one of his, head resting on his chest. The fire was dying down and his stomach was empty but he couldn't bring himself to move, it didn't help she was moving gently against him in her sleep.

After her random comment three days earlier, he had been having an even harder time than usual keeping images of a naked Marie out of his head. He might have had an easier time of it if she didn't keep making innuendoed comments, seemingly without thinking about it, some of them she caught herself saying and alternated between grinning cheekily or blushing at. Of course, she might have been more inclined to stop if he didn't join in and respond with his own risqué comments.

Marie sighed in her sleep, unconsciously rocking against him and moaning slightly, if he hadn't already been hard that would have done it for him. He really should wake her up, he shouldn't just lie here and let her rub herself all over him, while the scent of her arousal grew. She rolled her hips against him again, this time when she moaned it was his name. Fuck.

He rolled out from underneath her, leaving her lying on the couch and went to top up the fire. The snow had better stop soon, he needed to dig out more firewood. Moving to the kitchen he set about making something for the two of them to eat. When Marie didn't show any signs of waking up from her clearly enjoyable dream, he took matters into his own hands, banging things around harder than was strictly necessary hoping the noise would rouse her. It wasn't until she was awake, and walking into the kitchen, that he suddenly realised he hadn't thought that plan through very well. Sure, she wasn't moaning anymore but she still smelled aroused, and he was still hard. If she noticed though she didn't mention it.

After dinner they moved back to bask in front of the fire, on different couches this time, when a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Hey Marie," he started.

"Mmhmm," she replied, sounding sleepy again.

"... It's almost Christmas," he said.

"Thanksgiving first," she added.

"Oh, sorry, you missed thanksgiving, in Canada that's in October," he commented.

"Damn," she answered with a giggle, "So, what do you usually do for Christmas?"

"Me, nothing. What about you, what did your family do for Christmas?" he asked.

Marie shrugged. "Just the usual, too much food, lots of people, ugly sweaters, and I was an only child and grandchild so I got pretty spoiled in the present department most years," she smiled, like she was remembering something sweet.

"Is this your first Christmas away from home?" he queried, they hadn't talked much about her time on the road but suddenly it felt like it was important.

"Yeah," she replied softly, "I left Mississippi in February."

"How old were you?" Logan queried.

"Fifteen," she said, "Had my first birthday away a couple of months later, April, April tenth. Mama and me had already planned out my 'sweet sixteen' party and everything... I ended up spending that day somewhere in, Colorado, I think." They sat in silence for a while before Marie took a deep shuddering breath, and wiped away the few tears that had snuck past her lashes. "What about you?" she asked, "How old are you?"

"You want my actual age or the one on my ID?" Logan asked, at Marie's query of 'they're different?' he shifted uncomfortably and replied, "I'm not completely certain how old I am, but I remember the US Civil War, actually fighting in it, I think I was at least forty then, so, I'm somewhere not far off two hundred."

"... Wow," Marie commented in stunned awe after a while, "I was not expecting that... How come you don't remember how old you are?"

Logan sighed warily. "It's something to do with the metal, whenever that happened, either as a side effect, or maybe it was a separate incident, but my memories were all screwy when I 'woke up' after that, initially I didn't remember anything, not even my name, over time some stuff has come back."

"How long ago was the metal incident?" Marie asked quietly but curiously.

"About twenty, twenty-one years ago, I'm not sure exactly when I got out, for a while after I escaped, I lived in the forest like an animal not knowing who I was, what I was. After a while I came across civilisation, started watching people, realised I was one of them and started imitating them until I got the hang of being human and could function in society," he told her.

"Have you ever managed to find out anything about what happened, who did it?" Marie asked.

"I found the place I escaped from but by the time I got there nothing was left but my claw marks in the concrete walls. Don't really care all that much to be honest, so long as they leave me alone now, if they don't on the other hand... going to introduce them to their creation," Logan growled menacingly, and popped the claws for effect.

Marie just giggled. "I'd almost feel sorry for them walking into that confrontation, almost, not quite though, it's a bit hard to feel sorry for people who would put someone else through that kind of torture."

Logan just grunted his agreement as he studied the claws, not for first time, in the flickering firelight.

--

Marie woke up slowly, she was floating in heavenly warmth, surrounded by softness. She opened her eyes and laughed to herself, this bed was like magic, she would fall asleep somewhere else and wake up here. Logan must have carried her in after she fell asleep on the couch.

Climbing slowly out of bed and pulling on an extra jersey, over the same clothes she had worn the day before, she wandered to the bathroom, and then out to the kitchen. She couldn't decide if she was going to start her day with a hot chocolate, or a coffee.

She stepped into the living room just in time to see Logan flick a lighter in the kitchen. Walking closer, looking confused, she tried to make sense of the sight in front of her. Her breakfast was made, a huge mug of hot chocolate topped with a generous pile of marshmallows, and a chocolate cake covered in candles were sitting on the counter waiting for her.

"Happy belated birthday, darlin," Logan said with a grin. When she just stood there with her mouth hanging open, he prompted her further, "Quick blow the candles out, before we wax the cake, and don't forget to make a wish."

With tears in her eyes Marie threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear, before she released him and turned to the cake to blow out the rapidly disappearing candles, she had to pause for a moment while she thought of a wish.

By the time they were finished eating Marie was stuffed, she collapsed onto the couch with a groan. "That is the best birthday ever, even if it was seven months late, it was worth the wait," she smiled up at Logan where he stood behind her, leaning over the back of the couch.

"I've got a present for you too," he said suddenly.

"Really?" she asked curiously, raising her eyebrows excitedly, that was most movement he would be getting from her for at least two hours.

"Yep, it's stopped snowing," Logan grinned.

"Oh of course," Marie groused, "It waits until I'm too full to move."

"That's alright, it shouldn't snow again for a while so don't rush, I'll go get the shovels from downstairs so we can actually get out the door," Logan said, moving across the room.

Marie sat upright. "This place has a downstairs?!"

"Yeah," Logan replied, "You didn't wonder what was behind this door?" he asked sounding amused.

"Uh, I figured it was a cupboard," she admitted.

"Nope, basement, you should check it out sometime," he called back to her, as he made his way down the stairs. He returned a few minutes later with a pair of shovels and opened the front door.

"Oh my gosh!" Marie exclaimed, when the door opened to reveal a solid wall of snow.

"This is going to be fun," Logan said sarcastically, "You sure you want to go outside?"

"Yes!" she replied, making no further effort to get off the couch. "How long until you have that dug out for me?" she asked cheekily.

"You're lucky it's your birthday or you'd be helping kid," Logan told her, "I'll let you know when I know, depends how much further the snow keeps going up."

An hour later Logan was still working on clearing snow from around the door and the woodpile right outside it, he was working on forming stairs in the snow so they could climb up to the surface. "You know, it would be easier to jump out the upstairs window," he said to Marie, as she wandered up behind him.

"Are you sure I can't help?" she asked, watching as he pitched a shovel full of snow up over the edge of the hole he had made above him, where clear blue sky could now be seen.

"Nah kid, we'd just get in each other’s way," he said as he continued working, "Besides, it'll be done in another half hour or so."

Marie was mixing up a mug of coffee, strong, just how Logan liked it, when he finally came inside and announced he was done. They wouldn't have much daylight left today but they could go up top for a while if she wanted. Marie ran for her room and grabbed all her cold weather gear, she pulled on a pair of her woollen gloves, then pulled the leather pair on top. She added a second pair of socks, and rushed to the front door to pull her coat and boots on. Logan threw a scarf at her as well before he opened the door.

Directly in front of them were stairs, carved out of the snow, once she got to the top, the world around her was a lot different to the last time she had seen it. The snow-covered cabin roof was protruding from the new 'ground level' looking like a giant triangular igloo, the trees were half buried, and the shack he called a garage, that Logan had stowed the camper away in, was completely gone, buried under a mound of glittering white.

"So, now what?" Logan asked, grinning at her, "Not really much to do out here."

Marie checked over her shoulder before she made her next move. Logan was looking away from her as she quickly scooped up a handful of snow, packing it into a ball before she threw it at him, just as he turned back to her. It hit him square in the face.

"That was a bad idea darlin," Logan commented, as he shook the snow off himself. She didn't think she would get much more of a chance to get one over on him, so Marie quickly scooped up more snow, throwing several crudely formed snowballs at him in quick succession before he started to move towards her, scooping up a handful of snow as he advanced. That was all the warning she needed, and she turned and bolted. It was a nice change to be out in the snow without having to worry about where she would go when she got cold, she thought, as they ducked and dived through the trees, alternating throwing snowballs and wearing them.

It wasn't long before Logan caught her. Tackling her from behind he rolled as they went down, so he impacted the snow first with her on top of him, and kept rolling until he had her pinned underneath him, a snowball held threateningly above her head. Marie was the happiest she had been in longer than she could remember, even before her mutation had reared its ugly head, she couldn't help herself as she laughed into the frigid air.

It took a moment for her to realise that Logan had dropped the snowball, in fact, he had stopped everything and was just lying still watching her with a soft smile on his face. Marie watched as thoughts and emotions flickered across his face, before he seemed to come to a decision. His head dipped towards hers until their lips met.

She couldn't believe it, she was tucked away in a secluded cabin, with a man she was sure she had at some point fallen in love with, and now he was kissing her! She didn't even care she was lying in the cold wet snow, as his tongue licked along the crease of her lips before she opened herself to him.

After what seemed like forever Logan pulled away from her, both of them breathless. "Come on," he said pulling her up out of the snow, "I don't want you getting sick again." He pulled her back through the snow towards the cabin, how he knew exactly which way to go, given their earlier footprints went in every direction, she would never know.

As soon as they were inside with the door closed against the cold world outside, they were all over each other, lips locked and hands roaming as they shed outerwear. Leaving jackets and scarves and gloves in a trail across the room, boots kicked off to land wherever. Suddenly they were on the couch, Marie noted, the scene of a rather steamy dream she'd had only the day before. She moaned as Logan's lips moved down her neck, nipping lightly at her skin.

He pulled away again, picking her up bodily, pressing his lips back to hers as her legs wrapped instinctively around his waist, her arms going around his neck to bury her fingers in his hair. She could feel his hands on her ass as he walked across the room towards the stairs. How he knew where he was going she didn't know, and she didn't much care, just so long as he didn't stop touching her.

They got to the stairs before Logan pulled away again, he lifted her higher, knocking her legs from around him as he threw her over his shoulder and sprinted up the stairs. He dropped her onto her feet once they reached the bedroom, as his hands began roaming across her again, slipping under her shirt to slide the offending material up and over her head.

Once her arms were free of her own shirt, Marie immediately set about tugging his off too, his thick flannel had disappeared downstairs somewhere along with his jackets, so it was just the thin t-shirt she needed to get rid of but Logan was not cooperating as his hands moved down to open her jeans. Once he had her jeans open, he allowed her to pull his shirt off. As his lips claimed hers again her hands found purchase on his body, fingers lightly tracing surprisingly well-defined abs before moving across his pecs. He trembled slightly when her fingers ran over his nipple, before his own hands began mimicking a similar path over her body. She moaned into his mouth as his fingers tweaked her nipple, sending a bolt of pleasure through her.

Without warning his hands moved down to her thighs, pulling her up his body as he carried her across the room and gently set her down on the bed, settling his own larger frame over her as his lips moved from her lips, down her jaw, to begin exploring her neck.

He felt her tense as he began to move down her body, pulling away he watched her face, her eyes were closed but there was a slight frown on her face. He waited until she slowly opened her eyes, a silent question in them.

"What's wrong darlin, we going too fast? We don't have to do this if you're not ready," he stated simply, he was in no rush.

"No," she replied breathlessly, "I'm ready, I just... I've never done this before, and I don't know what I'm doing, and you've probably had heaps of women, and I have no possible way to compare..." She was babbling, she knew it, and was relieved when he placed a finger gently against her lips to silence her before he spoke.

"I thought we already covered this, you're nothing like any other woman I've ever met, and I don't have a problem with that, you don't need to compare," he said gently, before adding, "Also, I know I have women throwing themselves at me, a lot, but I really haven't had that many, I was serious when I said I prefer my women less desperate. So just relax, let's see where this goes, if you want to stop, we'll stop, if you want to try something new, tell me, otherwise I'll just keep making this up as I go along, you okay with that?"

With a soft but still nervous smile, Marie nodded, before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his lips back to hers again as he resumed his exploration. Marie moaned again as he nipped, licked, and gently sucked at her sensitive skin. In response her hands continued to wander, one hand moving to the back of his head, fingers sinking into his thick hair to hold him to her, her other hand moved back to his chest.

He growled and shivered when she lightly traced his nipple with her fingernail, as he switched his own attention to her breasts, kneading one gently while his mouth roamed the other. His thumb teased one nipple while his mouth ignored the other, he smirked at her reaction, on one hand she was moaning in pleasure, and the other she was annoyed at the lack of stimulation where she wanted it.

"... More!..." she panted after a few moments of teasing, she arched her back, pushing her breast against his face.

He growled again, turned on by her boldness, and nipped suddenly at the nipple that he had been ignoring. In response she bucked her hips against him and mumbled something unintelligible, as her fingers curled tightly in his hair. He continued to lave attention on her breasts, they were so overly sensitive he was sure he could get her to cum just from touching them alone and set out to prove it, switching his attention from one breast to the other. After a few minutes he had her trembling and bucking as she came hard, shouting his name.

She closed her eyes, riding out the pleasure coursing through her body as stars flashed behind her eyelids. She had made herself cum before but it had never been like that, no wonder her friends had all been so willing to flout their parents rules and engage in the 'adult activities' they bragged about in secret.

As she became aware of herself again, she noted that Logan hadn't stopped his attentions. She felt her thighs fall open, without her prompting, as his hand slid up her thigh, tracing a designless pattern against her skin as he moved closer to her core. She almost came again as he gently slipped two fingers between her folds and massaged her clit, she had no idea what she was saying as he continued to stimulate her, and then she was saying nothing as he finally slid a finger inside of her. It wasn't until he kissed his way back up her neck and whispered into her hair, reminding her to breath, that she remembered that was generally a good idea.

Once he was sure she was breathing again, through the onslaught of new sensations he was stimulating in her, he began to work his way back down her body. She was moaning again and bucking against his hand before he was even halfway there - he may have gotten distracted by her perfect tits again. He slowly added a second finger to her wet heat and continued the gentle thrusting motion his fingers had established. She moved her legs of her own volition, and pushed her hips up against his hand, silently begging for something she didn't know how to put into words.

Not wanting to keep the gorgeous woman in his arms waiting any longer, his thumb moved to her clit, pressing firmly against the tight bud, as his fingers plunged deep into her, and she came pulsating and dripping against his hand. He had to pull his mouth away from her breast, as he grit his teeth to keep from cumming all over the bed as her inner muscles clenched around his fingers. As she relaxed he moved back up her body, fingers still buried inside her and thumb continuing to gently circle her clit. He rested his forehead against hers as they both tried to catch their breath.

"I want to be inside you now," he finally said.

"Yes, yes, please yes," she moaned, shifting against him slightly, muscles involuntarily fluttering again as she opened wider to accommodate him between her thighs.

He moved himself into position. "This might hurt a little, if you need me to stop, tell me," he waited for her nod in agreement, before he began to push slowly into her slick channel. "Oh fuck..." he moaned, as he began to rock slowly into her, sinking deeper with each forward motion, after that if he had been asked to repeat what he had said he wouldn't have had a clue, she was so hot and wet. He felt the thin barrier of her virginity but before he could decide how to proceed Marie bucked her hips up against him, forcing him through it and deep into her.

"Logan..." she whispered emotionally, as her eyes squeezed tight shut against the brief sting. His lips and hands moving over her body soon made her forget the temporary pain, even as his hips remained still, letting her adjust to the foreign feeling of being filled so intimately. When her body began to demand more sensation, she rocked her hips against his to encourage him to continue.

He rocked against her a few times before slowly withdrawing from her heat and pushing back into her. With each thrust her sounds of pleasure grew louder, until he was thrusting into her harder than he probably should be for her first time. Her fingers clenching his shoulder, digging her nails into his flesh, grounding him as he felt her climax building again.

"Come on darlin, one more, third time's a charm," he growled against her neck, as he slid his arm under one of her thighs, lifting it to open her wider so he could sink deeper into her. As he did that he ground against her clit and she came around him screaming his name, her inner muscles squeezing him rhythmically as he buried himself in her one final time and came with a shout of his own.

He collapsed against her, holding himself up on his forearms so he didn't crush her, as he buried his face in her chest while he slowly caught his breath. When he eventually raised his head to look at her, she was still lying motionless, breathing heavily, with a soft satisfied smile on her face. "Enjoy yourself?" he asked teasingly.

"Mmhmm." Was all she could summon the energy to reply, as he slowly shifted them to both lie side-by-side. After a few minutes he felt Marie's breathing even out as she drifted off to sleep.

Logan woke with a contented sigh, his arms full of warm, satisfied woman. He wound a strand of silky dark hair around his fingers, as he relaxed to the sound of her gentle heartbeat. He supposed he should feel guilty about last night, she was legal but she was still very young, little more than a child, if you could consider a girl who had been living on the road alone for nine months to be a child.

But the more he thought about the situation the more he found it just felt right, like she was his, and he was hers. He hadn't felt like that in a long time, too long. That thought sent a brief flicker of pain through what had been his heart. He had tried to bury that a long time ago, and for a while had thought he really had lost it. Somehow this little woman had unburied it and given it a jumpstart.

Marie shifted in her sleep then, nuzzling sleepily into the crook of his neck, she smiled into his skin a moment later and softly kissed the side of his neck before pulling back to look up at him with a soft smile. "Morning," she whispered.

"Morning darlin," Logan replied softly, running a finger down her cheek. "How you feeling?"

"Fantastic," she replied, "Still tired but not sleepy, just want to stay like this."

"You're not sore?" Logan asked seriously.

"...Not really," Marie replied, after briefly scrunching up her nose as she considered how she was feeling. "Definitely not enough not to want to do it all again," she added cheekily.

Logan chuckled as he pulled her closer and buried his face in her soft hair. "As tempting as that sounds darlin we should really take it slow, no need to rush." He held her close as a nearly forgotten memory surfaced, of the last time he had held a woman like this.

A moment later Marie spoke softly, as her arms moved around him to hold him tighter, "What's wrong Logan? You got all tense..."

"... Just memories Marie. You feel this too don't you, you feel this is right?" Logan asked quietly into her hair, refusing to move to meet her eyes, he relaxed a little as he felt her smile against him again.

"It sure does, and I sure do, I- I love you Logan, I don't know when it happened, or how it happened, all I know is I do, and I don't ever want to lose you," she finished her statement in a barely audible whisper, and Logan felt her tense as she shared her thoughts.

"Feeling's mutual darlin," Logan replied, and placed another kiss on the top of her head.

"So, I have a question," Marie suddenly stated, moving back to look at him again. "And seeing as how you know the extent of my uh, experience, I think it's only fair you answer."

Logan raised an eyebrow at her, just a little caught off guard by her determined attitude. "Ask away, I'll answer if I can," he replied honestly.

"You said last night that you hadn't been with 'that many' women. How many is 'that many'?" Marie asked, a genuinely curious smile on her face.

Logan shifted uncomfortably. "You really sure you want to know about that?"

"Yes," Marie replied with a cheeky grin.

"Well, I can really only comment with any degree of certainty on the last twenty-ish years, which would be... four, in total," he answered.

"Four?" Marie repeated, in surprise.

"Yep, four," Logan confirmed, seeing the further questions in Marie's eyes he volunteered further information. "The first one was one of those desperate barfly types, the animal side of me was still pretty strong and it just wanted a release that wasn't fighting. The second was a one-nighter too but a, well, she was a teacher, she was... it's hard to explain, she was nice, caring, it was different, something that both the animal and I could agree felt good, better than the first time, more of a connection I guess but she didn't want anything more. The third, shit, the third was my first and hopefully last bad experience," Logan chuckled darkly, "I sort of settled down one winter, found some odd jobs in this small town to keep a roof over my head. I was staying with an older couple in exchange for doing some maintenance and improvements on their house, fixing stuff the husband hadn't got to before he'd had a stroke and installing a wheelchair ramp for him, stuff like that, in exchange they basically gave me the entire upstairs of their home to live in, and three hot meals a day.

“I met this woman at a bar one night went back to her place, it became a regular thing over the next week, we'd meet up at the bar, have a few drinks, go back to her place. Then one night she said she had her son staying at her place so we should go to my place instead, I stupidly did that. After a week I realised it was almost like she'd moved herself in, without even asking, then she started causing trouble with the old couple, and she kept dropping hints about 'they should be in a home'. Turned out she thought they were my parents was trying to convince me to put them in a rest home so she could move into their house. I bumped into another guy at the bar one night who approached me and said she'd tried the same thing on him, and he knew of at least two other guys she'd done a similar thing to too. She'd stay in a relationship long enough to get access to their assets and then screw them over for everything she could get through the Courts. I told her to get out that night, ended up having to get the cops around to get her out when she went psycho, I fixed up the damage she'd done to the house before the cops turfed her out, then skipped town myself." Logan went quiet, though he obviously found the memory amusing in hindsight.

When he didn't say anything else after a while Marie softly asked, "What about the fourth?"

A cloud passed over Logan's face then, a sadness but it was accompanied by acceptance. He didn't speak for a moment.

"Her name was Sarah," he eventually started, "After that last disaster I decided to be a little more careful, I wanted something with a connection but with the right woman. I met Sarah almost the same way I met you actually, she was nineteen and was 'going on an adventure' before she went off to college. Her car had broken down, and as I drove passed all I could see was this cute little jean-short clad butt poking out as she was leaned into the engine bay. I pulled up to give her a hand but nothing could be done on the side of the road, the fix was going to need parts, so I towed her into the next town. She thanked me, offered me money, when I wouldn't take that she asked if I would let her at least buy me lunch while the mechanic looked over the car. I caved in the end and we had lunch together, and then I went on my way.

"About a week later we bumped into each other again in a bar, hung out together and then went on our own way again. Same thing the next day, then a couple of days later same thing happened again, turned out we were headed in roughly the same direction. Then one night she didn't turn up at the next town, so I stayed to see what was taking her so long, she didn't show the next night either and I started to get worried, so I doubled back to see if I could figure out where she'd gone. Her car had broken down again. That time it was something that couldn't be fixed at all so, I offered her a ride, seeing as how we were heading in the same direction anyway. She accepted, we set out and just kind of stuck together, didn't realise how long it had been until we ended up back in her home town a couple of months later, and she went back home to get ready to start college. I moved on again once I'd dropped her home, lasted four months before I turned around and hightailed it back to her, I'd missed her a lot.

"When I arrived, I could tell straight away something was wrong, she'd been diagnosed with cancer. She'd dropped out of college because the treatment was making her so weak and sick. She told me how much she'd missed me just being there to talk to, she asked if I would stick around for a while, until she'd finished the round of treatment. I didn't even think about it, just said yes straight away - the smile she gave me right then, made it all worth it. After a week, her mom turned up at her house, she walked straight up to me and gave me a hug and thanked me for being there for Sarah and telling me how happy she'd been since I arrived. She went through about six months of chemo, and a couple of surgeries, but her mom was right, she was definitely happier than that first time I saw her again. Despite the drugs she got some colour back, she smiled all the time, even when she was too sick to move she'd just watch me with a smile on her face. She was in remission by the end of the treatment and she started to put weight back on, her hair grew back in, she came back to life again. She decided not to go back to college, said life was too short to waste time on such stressful pursuits. We were together for fourteen years... fourteen amazing years," Logan finally fell silent again, his eyes closed and a soft happy but sad smile on his face.

"What happened?" Marie asked softly.

"...The cancer came back," Logan said gently after a while, "She fought it for almost two years before she decided she couldn't fight it anymore, she couldn't stand the pain anymore, she asked me to let her go so she would know I would be okay without her... I told her I would be with her until the end but that end was hers to decide, I would support whatever decision she made... She stopped the treatment the next day, asked me to take her on an adventure just like we'd done that first time... She died a few months later... Three years ago... I tried to stay, after she died, until her mom came to me one night and told me I was miserable and everyone could tell. Said Sarah wouldn't expect me to hang around and feel sorry for myself, she'd released me, and I needed to respect her memory and let her go, let her rest now, and I couldn't do that while moping around the house, and around town, feeling sorry for myself. It was a relief when she said that, I felt like I could finally let go, no one would judge me for that, and I could move on. I left that night."

As he finished his tale he realised Marie was hugging him tightly, he could scent the salty tang of tears as she cried softly onto his chest. Gently he hugged her back, he had no tears left to cry on that topic, he had grieved Sarah years ago, but he appreciated the sentiment from Marie, that she felt enough for him to share what had been his pain. They lay in silence for a time just holding each other.

After a time Marie softly said, "So, you've been alone for three years?"

"Mmhmm," Logan replied, "When you've had something good like that, everything else is... too cheap," he told her, "I wanted more from a relationship than just sex but I wasn't ready to love anyone else like that again."

"... What about now?" Marie asked gently, after a pause, sounding concerned.

"Mmm, seems a sassy little brunette managed to find my cold dead heart and kick it back to life," he admitted, with a smile. "And I am never going to let her go," he added with a growl, pulling her back tight against him and pressing soft kisses against her throat and jawline before claiming her lips hungrily.

They broke away panting heavily and went back to just holding each other before Marie's stomach grumbled loudly, Logan's responding in kind. Marie burst into a fit of giggles, Logan chuckling in shared mirth.

"Well, the stomachs have spoken," he announced, throwing back the covers and rolling out of bed. It took him a minute to find his jeans, which he pulled on smoothly, throwing his discarded t-shirt to Marie who pulled it on before jumping out of bed.

"Cold floor!" Marie squeaked, and jumped back onto the bed. A pair of socks landed on the bed beside her a moment later as Logan began to make his way down the stairs. Quickly pulling the socks on she hurried down the stairs after him.

Logan had gone to the fire to top it up, so Marie went to the kitchen to make coffee and start preparing some food for breakfast. Logan joined her a short time later once the fire was blazing away merrily, popping and crackling softly. He slid up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pressing a gentle kiss against her shoulder.

"I love you Marie," he suddenly said, turning her to face him. "I need you to know that, really know it, I love you, and it's the forever kind of love, I don't- I don't do anything less, the animal side of me won't let me, you're mine, from now on, do you- do you understand?" he asked looking uncertain.

Marie brought a hand up to rest on his cheek. "I understand Logan, forever," she pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Now stop interrupting me before breakfast burns," she said with a grin, turning back around in the cage of his arms to continue with her cooking.

"Yes ma'am," he replied with a chuckle, placing another kiss on her bare shoulder that was now peeking out from where the neckline of his t-shirt had slipped off her shoulder. He left her to her cooking and went back to the living room to collect the trail of clothing they had left the day before, hanging what needed it and folding the rest. After a moment he went to Marie's room and returned with all her clothes, stuffed inside her bag, and carried everything upstairs to his room, now, their room.

As they enjoyed their breakfast a short time later Marie asked another question, "Is this- is this place where you and Sarah lived?" She wasn’t really sure how she felt about the idea of living in a house once kept a home by her significant others former partner.

"No, this place is ours darlin, just ours," Logan replied, seeming to sense what she was actually asking. "Sarah and I lived in Nova Scotia, I bought this place a couple of years ago, partly because it was literally the opposite end of the country, and I like the winters up here."

"I like the winters too," Marie replied with a smile. "Even the parts where we get snowed in for weeks."

"I especially like those," Logan replied with a purr, "Lots of close quarters time with nothing else to do," he winked at her suggestively, causing Marie to blush prettily even as she laughed.

--

It had been two weeks since their relationship had taken a sudden shift to the physical, and they had jumped in head first. Neither of them had been able to keep their hands off the other, which had led to them christening every room in the house for their carnal activities.

So it came as a shock to Marie when one evening, as they were relaxing on the couch in front of the fire. She reading a book she had found while exploring the 'basement' - which was apparently Logan-speak for 'a whole other house slightly below ground level' - and he just staring into the flames with a slight frown, when he suddenly raised a query.

"Marie, are you sure we're not going too fast?" he asked out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" she asked, eyebrows knit in confusion. They had literally been doing it multiple times a day and he had been very careful about making sure she was completely comfortable with everything they had done.

He opened his mouth a few times as if to begin speaking, obviously not happy with however he was trying to word his next comments. Eventually he just blurted it out.

"You're sixteen, I know that's legal, age of consent-wise, and I know you're not a child, but you're still young, I don't want you to be pushed into anything you're not ready for yet, that includes by yourself... I love you, and I'm happy to wait for you, as long as it takes, for you to be ready for anything, whether it's the sex or just the relationship in general, I'm not going to push you, and I don't want you to agree to things because you think you owe it to me, or because you think I'll drop you and move on if you don't... Do you understand?" he haltingly asked.

She had turned away from her book completely during his speech to watch him closely. She could see the uncertainty and conflict in his expression, and the deep affection he had finally stopped suppressing when he looked at her. He met her gaze steadily as he finished, watching her closely, obviously to read into her response.

She shifted to sit on the couch facing him, her book forgotten on the floor. "I understand Logan," she replied, "To be honest, I never even considered the legality thing, so I'm glad that's not going to be an issue, and you're right, I'm not a child, so I would appreciate it if you stopped second guessing me and my decisions and just accept that I love you and I want this, I promise, if you ever suggest something that I'm not comfortable with, or if I want to take things slower, or dial things back a bit, I will tell you, until then, stop overthinking everything."

Logan huffed a laugh and smiled against her lips as she pressed a kiss to his lips, they quickly got carried away before eventually falling asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms in front of the toasty fire.

Logan woke hours later, the fire had died down and the chill of the room had begun to creep over them. Unwrapping himself from around Marie he loaded the fire again, before slipping into the downstairs bedroom and retrieving the fur blanket off the bed. Marie was half awake when he returned, after losing her body heat pillow, and snuggled back against him as he wrapped them both in the soft skins. She didn't go back to sleep though, instead she set her hands to wandering as her lips began to move across his chest.

Before he knew it, her hands were inside his shirt, at first just exploring but then trying to slowly work it off, she got it so far off before it wouldn't move any further because he was lying on it. "Damn it Logan, help me out here," she muttered, tugging it again.

With an amused chuckle he rolled over, taking her with him and pulling the shirt off. "Happy now?"

"Mmm, no," she replied, as she moved on to trying to remove his pants.

"Someone's impatient," he grunted a second later, as she tried to push his pants off his hips none too gently.

"Well you could help out some," she replied, shifting as he finally moved to slide his jeans off. She was back on top of him moments later, running her hands over him and quickly following up with her mouth. Logan just watched, happy to let her take the lead for a while. When he took too long to join in Marie huffed and quickly pulled off her own clothes, throwing them out of their furry little blanket cave. She settled herself back down, straddling his hips, her hair was loose and hanging over her shoulders, hiding her now bare breasts, the fur blanket draped over her shoulders, everything else was bare.

"I feel like you're just not so into this," Marie commented, looking partway between amused and annoyed as she sat atop him.

"Oh, I'm definitely into this," he replied, rocking his hips against hers so she could feel his growing erection. “I'm just enjoying the attention, and the view." He finally reached for her, sliding a hand up to cup a breast, kneading gently.

"Well in that case, I shall continue," Marie responded, continuing her ministrations.

Before long Logan was no longer a passive participant, he moved her over him until he could sink into her, both of them moaning in pleasure. After a moment she moved Logan's hands to her hips.

“Show me," she whispered, obviously unsure of what to do next.

Slowly he moved her hips, rolling them and encouraging her into a gentle rhythm, once she was comfortable, he let her take over again as she experimented with her movements. Before long she gave up trying to keep up her rhythm as she began to tremble and spasm around him, taking hold of her hips again Logan thrust up into her as she came around him before he exploded into her. She collapsed onto his chest with a smile.

"Thanks," she mumbled into his chest.

"Don't thank me darlin, you started it, sleep now." He wrapped his arms around her as they both drifted off to sleep again.

--

The next morning Marie finally wriggled her way out of the warm blanket to bolt for the bathroom, when she returned Logan was already up and dressed. She tugged on her own clothes and rewrapped herself in the still warm blanket, accepting the mug of hot chocolate Logan handed her as he sat down behind her, pulling her soft form back against him.

They had been content to cuddle the morning away when Logan suddenly froze, listening intently to something outside.

"Marie... go hide," he suddenly growled, "Downstairs, panic room, stay until I come for you. Move!" he stripped the blanket off her, as he lifted her to her feet, and shoved her toward the stairs.

Marie had just shut the basement door behind her, when she heard a loud splintering crash from the room she had just left. She fought down the urge to run back into the living room, and forced herself to move down the stairs as Logan told her, his tone had left no room to fight him on that.

Whatever was up there was bad.

He had been tracking the girl for three months. Initially her path had been erratic, she had been hitching rides, tacking back and forth in a general northward direction. The constant change in direction had slowed him down catching up with her.

When he caught up to the truck driver she had left unconscious on the side of a Canadian highway he had realised he was close, probably only a week behind her. After a few days he realised she was now heading in a fairly direct route, there was no more tacking, no more changing vehicles. It took him all of a minute, and one lethal growl, at a gas station for him to get the attendant to tell him the girl had passed through four days before and she was travelling with a male, in a beat-up pickup camper. He even managed to get a photo of the guy in question, and the truck, from the stations security system. He had glared incredulously at the familiar male in the security image; his damn brother, still getting in the way of getting a job done, typical.

The extra photos were a great help in tracking the girl faster, and he was able to close the gap between them. When he hit Fort Nelson at nine am he found the motel they had stayed at, found they had left there only twenty-two hours earlier, and were still heading north. He had considered stopping to rest but with the weather reports predicting a large storm blowing in, he decided rest could wait until the snow stopped him. Hopefully he could catch up to them before the storm hit.

He pulled up at the gas station at Muncho Lake three and a half hours later to gas up and see if they had a place to stay. He asked after his target as well, handing over all three photos he had to jog the attendant’s memory. The attendant gave him a suspicious look but admitted that, yeah, they had passed through mid-afternoon the day before. There was no further information but at least he knew he was definitely on the right track still.

The attendant also advised that the nearest lodgings were about ten kilometres further down the road, despite the now heavy snow he had no choice but to push on. Maybe his target and her ride had pulled off there, either way he needed to take cover from the growing storm. It took him twenty minutes to get to the hotel he had been directed to, and not a moment too late.

He realised in the first few days of the white out that his target wasn't at this hotel. The only fact able to calm his dark mood for the two weeks he was unable move - due to the storm and residual snow - was that his target was also unable to move, at least she wasn't getting away from him again. As soon as the road was cleared enough to be manageable, he set off again, continuing north and west as was the rough trail he had been following.

He faced his first hurdle when he hit the town of Watson Lake, from here there were three routes his target could have taken, he discounted Route 37 based on the fact it headed back south. That left Route 4 which continued further North into Yukon, or continuing along Route 1 toward Alaska. He asked around town, while he considered his options, but it seemed they had not stopped in this town.

Eventually he took the risk, his target was American, it would make sense she was heading for US territory. Route 1 it was. If her ride wasn't taking her all the way to Alaska, he probably would have dropped her in Whitehorse to find another ride but he would need to stop more frequently, to find a witness who could confirm he was still on the right trail.

Four hours later he got the information he needed, confirming he was on the right track, the vehicle and driver had been spotted at Teslin at about nine pm two weeks ago, before the storm. The witness couldn't identify the target, he believed there was a passenger in the vehicle but it had been too dark for him to be sure.

His target had gotten further than he had thought before the storm hit.

He arrived in Whitehorse two hours later. Being a bigger town, he started with gas stations and the photo of the vehicle, it was rather distinctive. He got a hit a few hours later from a pimply teenager at a gas station on the south end of town.

"Yeah," the kid said, "I know that truck, that's Logan's truck."

"Is this 'Logan'?" he asked, pulling out the photo of the male driver.

"Yep, that's him," the kid confirmed.

"What about this girl? Was she with him?" he pulled out the third photo.

"Yeah, she stayed in the truck though, the snow, you know," the kid replied.

"Did you see which way they went?" he pressed, the kid had loose lips and little sense, hopefully he had seen something useful.

"They went south," the kid nodded down the road.

"South?" he asked confused, he had been following them in the other direction this whole time, why would they have doubled back.

"Yeah, Logan's got a place about fifteen, twenty, minutes south of here, he's not here often, but usually when he's here he'll stay for a few months," the kid obliviously shared. "He worked for dad for a summer, guy's magic when it comes to motorcycles, don't know why he drives around in that piece of shit truck..."

"He had the girl with him when he left?" he interrupted the kid.

"Yeah, never seen her before though," the kid shrugged.

He turned and walked away then, he had gotten all he could from the kid so he walked around the gas station to the workshop behind. The workshop was closed up against the cold but there was an open sign on the office door, an irritating bell jingled above his head as he walked through the door. He called out a generic greeting into the workshop a moment later, which was greeted with a metallic clattering. An overweight balding man wandered in a short time later, wiping his greasy hands on an equally greasy rag.

"Can I help you?" was the greeting comment.

"Yeah, I'm uh, looking for my brother, his name's Logan, I've heard he's been something of a regular here when he's in town, wondering if you've got an address for him or can confirm if I've got the right phone number. I've been overseas so been out of contact for a bit," he added when the guy started to look a bit suspicious, sure it was a suspicious sounding statement, even though it was partially true, not that his runt of a brother could verify with his swiss cheese brain.

"Well, I'm not supposed to give out customers personal information but I'll see what I've got," was the reply. After a few minutes of pulling open filing cabinet drawers and leafing through papers the mechanic turned back to him. "I've only got a post office box address sorry, no phone number either. Going from memory he lives somewhere off Moraine, off the main highway, can't give you anything more, sorry."

"Thanks anyway," he replied, feigning disappointment. "If you see him let him know I'm looking for him," he added over his shoulder as he walked hurriedly out the door, eager to get away before the old guy realised he hadn’t left any of his own personal details.

He found himself a place to stay and bought a local map, he found the general location the mechanic mentioned, and marked out a search area. He had reduced his search location to about a five-kilometre area. The area was only sparsely populated and he felt confident that he could scope the entirety out on foot in only a few days. He had the targets scent so it shouldn't be too hard. He would start out first thing in the morning.

--

Dawn the following morning found him stashing his vehicle off the side of the highway, near the beginning of his marked search area. He had decided to search cross country, slipping through properties, hopefully unseen, to locate his target.

He had been hiking through the ankle deep snow for close to three hours, circling each house he came across at a distance before discounting them, when suddenly he caught a familiar scent. It was faint but as he moved closer to the nearest building, he got a clearer hit of the feminine scent he had been tracking for months, along with that of a familiar feral male. Of course, they had to still be together...

He circled the cabin, careful to keep enough distance to not be detected by those inside. He could see them through the windows, sitting together on the floor in front of the fire, looked cosy. He slipped into the garage once he was certain he hadn't been detected to search out anything that might be useful, he found an old axe which he took with him. It would help him gain a faster entry through the solid backdoor, which he determined was the best entry point.

He cursed silently when the flimsy garage door caught on stones on the ground, scraping softly and clattering shut. Way to tip off a feral that someone was around. He moved towards the house, hoping this feral was too distracted by the female in his arms to notice the intrusion. As he closed in on the backdoor he cursed again when he saw the male in question surveying the yard through a window, the female now nowhere in sight.

Figuring the time for stealth was passed, he threw all his weight behind the axe as he smashed it deep into the wooden door, where the handle and lock were. Throwing his weight against the door a split second later, the whole door cracked and flew open as far as the now bent hinges would allow it. He was greeted by the resident feral, who was complete with half a dozen wickedly sharp looking blades gleaming dangerously in the morning sun.

"Save yourself the trouble runt, where's the girl?" the intruder snarled.

"Don't know what you're talking about," his brother replied, obviously still oblivious to who he was. Or he did remember and he still hated his guts.

"You're covered in her stink I know she's here but if you want to play it that way I can take you out first," he took a swing at his opponent, surprised when he didn’t duck out of the way, instead taking the hit and swinging back impaling him through his shoulder with a handful of blades.

‘What do you know, little brother’s learned some new tricks,’ he thought to himself.

Both males circled each other warily as they re-evaluated their opponents’ strengths and possible weaknesses. Both were distracted momentarily by a muted mechanical roar and the kicking up of a stiff breeze now blowing in through the broken door.

The intruder recovered his concentration faster, he knew that sound; those goddamn leather-clad freaks were always getting in the way. He launched himself at his opponent, managing to knock him off balance long enough to pick him up and throw him bodily through the front window. He knew that action wouldn't keep him down long, and sure enough, he had just reclaimed the axe he had earlier discarded, as his opponent leaped back through the broken glass. They engaged in a vicious round of hand-to-hand for a few minutes, each giving and receiving solid hits, until a solid metallic thunk sounded through the cabin and the runt hit the ground, a significant head wound from the axe bleeding onto the rugged floor.

Just then a streak of red light burst through the broken back door slamming the intruder across the room and into the solid log wall of the cabin. With a roar he attempted to launch himself at the newcomers, only to be hit by a second blast, this time blowing him out the front window, smashing out what was left of the glass from the last body to fly through it. A streak of lightening hit him as he was hurtling across the front yard. He didn't even feel the impact of the ground.

The once cosy house was a mess. Broken wood splintered across the floor from the door that was hanging off what was left of its hinges, glass strewn about both inside and outside from the shattered windows. Furniture broken and thrown around the room, cushions split open and spilling stuffing. A shelf had collapsed when the wall was impacted, spilling its contents across the floor, and the coat rack, holding several pieces of outerwear, had been strewn across the room. There was splattered blood everywhere, along with a growing puddle of the same under the unconscious man lying on the floor.

"We need to move," the latest intruder, a leather-clad man, commented to his companion, an also leather-clad woman. "If this guy's alive we'll take him with us, see if you can find the girl."

The woman began a quick search of the house, starting on the ground floor before jogging up the stairs. "Empty, she's not here!" she advised as she returned to the ground floor, "She must have run, Professor can you locate her?"

*'She is still there,'* came the mental response, *'She is very close to you Scott, to your right.'*

Both intruders looked in the direction indicated, seeing only empty room. It took a moment of consideration before Scott hypothesised, "There must be a basement."

It didn't take long to locate the door to the basement, flicking on the light the woman made her way down the stairs. "Scott, where are you?" she called back up the stairs, a thump sounded on the ceiling in the direction her companion stood upstairs. "It's a wall, there must be a hidden room, this might take a while," she called again up the stairs, as she began trying to find something that looked like a door in the wall beside her.

She was just about to admit defeat when a soft female voice echoed from around the room. "Who are you?"

"Hello," she replied, "Where are you?" She looked around the room, spying a partially hidden speaker on one side of the room.

"Who are you?" the speaker repeated.

"My name is Ororo Munroe, we have been tracking a dangerous mutant that has been following yourself and your... friend. He is temporarily disabled but we need to get away from here as soon as possible before he comes back."

"Why should I trust you? You turn up right as someone breaks in and starts smashing this place up, that's a little suspicious don't you agree?" the disembodied voice asked, surprisingly calmly.

"I can see why that would be a legitimate fear for someone in your position but I swear to you we are only concerned for your safety, if we had been able to get here sooner we would have, we are still not entirely certain why he is after one or both of you, only that it is not good and he won't stop until he gets to you--" she explained.

Scott's voice interrupted her. "We need to get out of here, hurry it up, we have to get this guy back to medical!"

"Look, we do not want to leave you here alone but your friend is very badly hurt and we need to get him to a doctor, will you please come out and come with us?" Ororo asked.

"... Go upstairs, I'll meet you up there," the speaker replied, after a brief pause.

Ororo agreed and hurried up the stairs, she had barely shut the door behind her when she heard footsteps begin to rush up the stairs. She hurriedly stepped out of the way as a young woman burst through the door, rushing across the room to the side of the unconscious man who was now wearing a neck brace, and had been maneuverer onto a reinforced stretcher.

"What are his injuries?" Marie demanded, before anyone else could speak.

"Uh, serious head wound, probable concussion, neck damage, a few smaller injuries that we won't be able to triage until we're out of here," the man she had heard called 'Scott' replied.

"What about the other guy?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well, I blasted him out the window and then Ororo hit him with lightning, but that won't keep him down much longer, if you need to pack any necessities to take with you do it quickly," he answered.

Still looking wary the girl paused before jumping to her feet and dashing up the stairs, 'five minutes' she called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the loft.

Marie's mind was racing as she tore up the stairs, what would they need, what would Logan expect her to grab, she went for the two packs first. Logan had left them minimally packed, with things they didn't need day-to-day, under the bed. She added a few changes of clothes to each, and pulled a sizeable wad of cash out of the stash Logan had shown her, for emergencies.

Just as she was about to head back downstairs another thought popped into her head, she had seen the odd looks the two strangely clad individuals had been shooting at each other. Quickly she stuffed her bag inside Logan's before she headed down the stairs, once she hit the ground floor she bolted into one of the downstairs bedrooms, pulling her bag back out so she now had two bags in hand. She killed time in the bedroom, opening and closing drawers in a partway convincing illusion of packing, before she stepped back out into the main room. The stretcher with its passenger was already being dragged out to a sleek black plane now occupying their clearing, the woman was standing at the busted door waiting for her.

Marie wasn't sure what to do about securing the cabin, the windows at one end were just gone, and the door was not even going to close, let alone lock. She checked their food stores were more or less secure, she had no doubt the local wildlife would be popping in at some point. Then she gathered up hers and Logan's jackets from around the room, slipping her own on, along with her boots, and stuffing Logan's into the pack she had loaded for him.

"Done," she said softly, to the woman waiting for her, who led her out towards the waiting plane. They were halfway up the gangplank of the plane when they heard an enraged roar behind them, both turning to see the original intruder pulling himself to his feet.

"Quick, hold onto something," Ororo told her, pushing her toward a seat as the door slid shut behind them with a mechanical hiss. Without looking at her twice Ororo rushed to the front of the plane and began to fire up the engine from muscle memory, while simultaneously raining down lightning outside the jet. Within moments they were airborne.

As the plane reached altitude and levelled off, Scott spoke up from the behind her, where he had been attempting to secure their unconscious passenger. "Thanks for the warning 'Ro," he grumbled good naturedly, "Did you see where he went?"

"He slunk back into the forest like he usually does," Ororo replied, sounding annoyed as she focussed on pushing the plane as fast as it could go back home.

Scott then turned his attention to their conscious passenger. "Hi, my name's Scott," he said, holding out a hand in friendly greeting. She ignored it. "And you would be?" he prompted after a moment.

"Hungry," the girl replied, semi sarcastically.

"Um, okay, I think we've got some snacks in here," he mumbled, rummaging around in a cupboard before pulling out a couple of energy bars. "Now, how about your name?" he asked, smiling at her in an effort to convey he wasn't a threat.

The girl snatched a bar out of his hand, eyeing him as she ripped open the foil and took a bite. "Rogue," she replied, once she'd finished chewing.

"And your... friend?" he asked, eyeing up the unconscious man behind him.

"I don't like your tone," was all the girl, Rogue, replied.

"His dog tags say 'Wolverine', is that his name?" Scott tried again but the girl had turned her attention back to the unconscious man, and studiously ignored his attempts to engage her further.

After about twenty minutes, wherein she appeared to be engrossed in studying the gory wound to her companions’ head, she finally let out a relieved sounding sigh. Scott turned to face her in time to see her wipe away a single tear, before she sunk down deeper into her chair and appeared to close her eyes in an attempt to sleep, still facing their other passenger.

It was then that Scott noticed the grisly wound was not looking so frightfully serious anymore, in fact, it was no longer bleeding and he couldn't see, what he had thought previously was bone, through the mangled flesh.

Two hours after boarding the strange plane Marie woke to the feeling of their momentum change, she was momentarily concerned when the direction of movement shifted and the plane began to drop vertically. Her panic was assuaged some when she realised the drop was intentional, the plane was now lowering into what appeared to be an underground hanger.

When the plane finally came to a stop and began to power down Marie quickly removed her flight harness and moved over to Logan, she needed to assure herself that he was indeed healing. It looked from a distance like he was but she had seen him heal before and it had been a lot quicker than this.

She jumped when the plane hatch opened unexpectedly, a tall red-haired woman bursting onto the jet. Who then hurriedly moved toward Logan and bustled Marie out of the way as she began checking him over.

"Who the hell are you!?" Marie demanded, pushing the woman back out of the way and standing protectively in front of Logan.

"I'm a doctor, please move out of the way so I can see to my patient," the red-haired woman snapped impatiently.

"He doesn't need a doctor," Marie replied, refusing to move.

"Scott, do you mind removing this child," the 'doctor' turned to address the man now approaching.

"Rogue, this is Jean Grey, she's our doctor, she just needs to check on Wolverine's injuries so we can move him, he may need surgery to close some of the lacerations, and if he has a concussion that will need to be treated as well," Scott tried to reassure her, as he attempted to physically move her.

"Don't touch me," Rogue said, stepping away from him, "I already told you, he doesn't need a doctor, he... he heals." She didn't want to tell these people too much about either of them at this point, she still couldn't bring herself to trust them.

"I will decide that," Jean responded bluntly, "Until he's discharged, I'm going to need you to let me do my job."

A moment later another younger man, a teenager by the looks of him, though very tall, entered the plane. "You needed a hand?" he asked curiously.

"Thanks for coming down Pete, I'll need your help to move this guy to the Med Lab as soon as Jean clears him to move," Scott told him, as Jean moved around Marie to continue examining Logan.

Marie was pleased to note, as the doctor cut the remains Logan's shirts off, that though wounds were still open, none were bleeding, a few were visibly slowly knitting together.

"Alright, move him to the lab, gently, I need to get a closer look at the head wound, I'll need to do an MRI too," Jean rattled off her instructions as she turned to disembark the plane, motioning for the muscle to take over.

Marie briefly considered letting the doctor make the epic fuck up of putting Logan in an MRI machine but knowing that it would be Logan that paid the price for such a screw up she would have to say something. She followed after the doctor as she made her way across the hanger and into a metal lined hallway.

"You can't do an MRI--" Marie started, only to be interrupted by the doctor turning on her.

"Look, sweetie, I don't know where you got your medical degree from, and I really don't care, but stop telling me how to do my job," she turned, and continued on her way before Marie could finish her statement.

"If you put L-Wolverine in an MRI you're going to trash your machine, he's full of metal," she blurted angrily, before the doctor could interrupt her again.

"Is that why he's so goddamn heavy," Scott grunted, as he and Pete lowered the stretcher they had carried in, onto an exam bed.

Jean looked momentarily abashed. "I'll do a CT instead," she assured Marie.

For a while Marie was left to her own devices as she quietly tucked herself into a corner and watched the group work on Logan. The doctor started with the various cuts and open wounds, she noted the woman didn't bother to stitch any of them, appearing to have accepted that he was indeed healing as Marie had said he would.

The CT scan turned out to be a complete waste of time, except to show the full extent of the 'improvements' he had mentioned to Marie when he had first explained his mutation to her. He hadn't been exaggerating when he said they had covered all his bones, literally every single one of them glowed on the resulting x-ray’s where the metal obscured the shot. It was a terrifying sight when you stopped to think about how they could have managed to do that.

It was such a shock Jean turned to Marie and horrifiedly asked, "Who did this to him?"

Marie swiped at a dropped tear before replying. "He doesn't know."

"How long ago was this done to him?" Jean continued to question her.

"It's not my place, you'll have to ask him," Marie replied resolutely.

Jean was going to attempt to argue with her before she spied Scott shaking his head at her. *'She won't say anything more, she doesn't trust us, and after her day so far I can't say I blame her, we'll have to wait for him to wake up,'* she gleaned from him telepathically.

A short time later, as Jean and Scott were making Wolverine comfortable on the narrow hospital bed, and hooking him up to a variety of monitoring machines, the medical bay door opened and admitted Ororo and a bald, older man in a wheelchair. Marie was mildly perturbed when the man approached her directly.

"Hello Rogue," the bald man greeted her directly, "My name is Professor Charles Xavier, I apologise for the circumstances preceding this meeting but I would like to welcome you my school."

"Your school has its own military-grade spy plane?" Marie replied suspiciously.

"Well, the plane is more for our staff's extra-curricular activities," he replied, amused, "If you will follow me, I will show you around the school, and we can find you a room for your stay."

"I'd rather stay here until Wolverine's awake," Marie replied.

"Jean believes it is going to be some time before Mr Wolverine is awake, you can have a tour, and some lunch, and perhaps some rest, and return down here when we are expecting him to wake," the Professor assured her, indicating she should follow him.

With a final uncertain look towards Logan's prone form she nodded and followed after him, Ororo accompanied them as well. They continued further down the metal lined hallway until they reached what appeared to be a dead end. She had been faced with so many unexpected events so far today that Marie almost laughed at the fact she barely flinched when the wall slid open, and revealed a fancy looking elevator. When the elevator opened again, she was ushered into a beautifully decorated, panelled hallway. All was quiet through the halls so she was surprised to see, as she was directed down one hallway, glass walled classrooms, and dozens of students within. She was only half listening to the Professor as he spoke at length of the school, she could hear the distinct expectation in his voice that she would remain at the school.

After almost two hours the tour was complete, during the tour she had heard a bell ring, and noticed the increase in volume from the students as they broke for lunch and ran riot until the next class began. Thankfully she was well away from that part of the property so she didn't have to interact with all the students. Once the students were all back in classes the Professor excused himself to teach his own afternoon class, leaving Ororo to see her to the smaller staff kitchen for a late lunch, before showing her upstairs to a guest bedroom where her and Logan's bags had been deposited.

"I wasn't sure which bag was yours, and which was Wolverine's, I can take his to the room we've prepared for him if you tell me which is which," Ororo advised.

"You didn't go through the bags?" Marie asked, trying to keep the surprise out of her voice as she pulled both bags onto the bed.

"Of course not," Ororo smiled reassuringly, as Rogue opened both bags and began digging around in one of them. Ororo was surprised when she pulled out a man’s shirt, and quickly stuffed it into the second bag, before zipping shut the first bag.

"Which room is Wolverine's?" Marie asked, not handing the bag over. Ororo led her down the hall to the next bedroom, glancing around Marie noted it was identical to the room she had been given. She put Logan's pack down on top of the dresser, before she headed back to her own room.

"Can I go back to the med lab now?" Marie asked Ororo.

"Why don't you unpack and rest for a while first," Ororo suggested.

"Can I go down whenever, or do I need an escort?" Marie asked again.

"You can go down anytime," Ororo replied placatingly, clearly the girl wasn’t going to be dissuaded from her plans, "Come, I'll show you how to access the lower levels."

Ororo showed her how to access the concealed panel for calling the elevator to the sublevel before Marie returned to her room. She repacked her bag, not having had time to pack neatly when they left, and retrieved the cash she had removed from Logan's pack earlier, concealed in the shirt Ororo had seen, and tucked it into a hidden internal pocket before pulling the shirt on herself. She then tucked the pack away in one of the dresser drawers.

After a long, hot shower, Marie brushed out and braided her hair before making her way back down to the med lab. She was concerned about what might happen if Logan woke in a medical setting, alone, and she didn't trust the doctor to let her know when he was waking. She managed to sit with him for several hours before Jean forced her out 'for dinner'.

Once she had eaten a late dinner, again in the staff kitchen, she suddenly realised just how tired she was. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before after all, so she decided to turn in for the night. She would go and see Logan again in the morning, if he didn't wake and come find her in the meantime.

The first rays of morning sun were peeking over the horizon, to remind Marie she had forgotten to close the curtain before she went to bed last night. The sun came up a lot earlier down here than it did in Yukon, in the winter at least. She rolled over and buried her head under her pillow with a groan, followed by a yawn, but quickly realised she would not be going back to sleep. Stretching sleepily, she pulled herself out of bed and headed for the shower, a long, hot shower was just what she needed.

Heading down to the med lab for a few minutes to check on Logan was her first stop. It was dark when she stepped out of the elevator, all the lights were turned right down and no one else was down there but Logan. She checked the doctors’ chart briefly and saw she had noted his vital signs had all picked up around three am, a quick glance at the clock told her it was five-thirty now, he should be waking soon surely.

With that in mind she made her way back upstairs to get a coffee, she decided to take it outside in the crisp winter sunshine. Stepping out onto the patio a few minutes later, pulling her coat tighter around her and clutching the steaming mug in her un-gloved hands, she took a seat on the patio steps, right in a sunray. She sat for a few minutes, eyes closed, enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning before taking her first sip of her drink.

Her brain decided to kick in and start thinking right about then. Yesterday she hadn't been pushed much for information, and she had largely been left to her own devices, she had a feeling that would change soon enough. She just hoped Logan woke up soon, she didn't want to feel ungrateful but she still couldn't bring herself to trust these people yet, and she didn’t like having to deal with them alone. It was just too convenient how they had just happened to turn up to save the day ‘just in time', and whisk them away from the hairy guy who had come out of nowhere, also without warning.

She was so deep in thought that she jumped in fright when the patio door latch clicked and the door swung open behind her. Spinning around she jumped to her feet, dropping her coffee mug as she sprinted across the patio to throw her arms around Logan as he walked towards her.

"Are you alright?" she asked hurriedly, running her fingers through his hair over where the large gory wound had been previously, as Logan stood uncertainly looking back toward the kitchen.

"Shh," he cut her off. "We’ve got to go, come on," he said after a brief pause. Grabbing her hand and pulling her off the patio, he began to lead her around the outside of the building, toward the driveway.

"What's going on?" Marie asked concerned.

"Quiet, I'll explain once we're out," Logan replied quietly, not slowing down.

When they got to the front of the building, he pulled her into the open underground garage which was full of vehicles of all shapes and sizes, more than two dozen in total. Logan moved to the first car, it was unlocked, and he hurriedly pushed her around the car and told her to get in. As her butt hit the seat the engine roared to life, the car was in gear and rolling out of the garage before she even had her door shut.

As they peeled out of the driveway Marie pulled on her seatbelt when she noted how fast they were travelling. She tried again to decipher the situation, "What's going on Logan?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, "But we need to get away from that place." He was frowning in concentration, and casting regular glances in the rear-view mirror, like he was afraid they were being followed.

"Where are we going though?" Marie asked, as they made another quick turn onto another street.

"The faster we get to the nearest highway the better," Logan replied, "We need distance, fast."

"Did you get the money?" Marie asked, she was starting to get a niggling feeling something wasn't right.

"What money?" Logan replied, sounding confused.

"I grabbed money at the cabin it was in our bags, we can't get gas without money," she stated, such a rash action wasn't like the Logan she had been living with for the last almost two months. She was used to Logan's back up plans having back up plans.

"We'll worry about that when we have to," Logan shrugged, turning his attention back to the road as he pulled out onto what appeared to be a main road. Again, making the turn without so much as a look in the opposite direction, almost as if he knew exactly where he was going.

"Logan?" Marie asked quietly, her hand moving to her seatbelt, silently releasing the catch but holding the belt in place.

"What?" he grunted.

"Logan?" she said again.

He scowled and repeated, irritably, "What!?"

"Logan?" she said again, noting he hadn't so much as looked in her direction.

"Either spill it or shut up," he snapped, still not paying her any attention.

"... What's my name?" she asked, allowing her suspicion to show clearly.

"Knock it off Anna," he replied, continuing to ignore her as he sped up now that the road had opened up.

'Shit, shit, shit!' Marie thought, she hadn't told Logan her full name, she had gone by her middle name since she was four so it hadn’t occurred to her. Whoever this person was it was not Logan but it seemed they knew exactly who she was. She quickly took stock of her surroundings and what she had to work with to get away, at the speed they were travelling there was no way she could jump. She would have to wait for them to stop before she could bolt, it wouldn't be the first time she'd had to run from a vehicle, though she wasn’t expecting it to be as easy to get away from this person as it was to get away from fat truckers.

Several minutes later they suddenly swerved off the highway and skidded to a stop in a gravel rest stop, there was one other vehicle in the lot. If she had to guess she would say her kidnapper was planning on switching cars. She didn't wait around to see if she was right. The door was open and she was out of the car in a split second, running as fast as she could for the treeline heading back up the highway the way they had just come. She was glad she had thrown her boots on when she got up that morning, instead of just socks.

She was in the trees before she heard something big start to give chase, she didn't stop to look back, just scanned the wood in front of her watching for hazards that would slow her down. She ducked and dodged around trees and over deadfall as she ran, her lungs were burning but she pushed the pain away as she willed her legs to move faster.

Turning almost imperceptibly in her trajectory she began heading back toward the highway. She could hear a truck coming, if she could get to the road, she might be able to flag down another car to get her out of there faster. She could see the road, so close, when something big and heavy slammed into her out of nowhere, throwing her into a nearby tree. She turned toward what hit her and came face to face with the huge, hairy guy who had been fighting Logan at the cabin.

She didn't hesitate, turning her skin on as she kicked out at him catching him in the shoulder when he jerked his head out of the way. Rolling quickly she tried to scramble to her feet to run again but he was too quick. His hand closed around her arm, followed by a brief stab of pain to her bicep, before everything went dark.

--

"You took your time," the blue scaled woman snapped, from the driver seat of the black SUV.

"She was quick," he shrugged, dumping the unconscious girl across the backseat. The tranquiliser he had given her should keep her out for at least two hours, plenty of time for them to get her to where they would be holding her.

"Bullshit Sabretooth, you were playing, knock it off, we don't have time for it," was the snippy response.

The man known as Sabretooth chuckled. "Aww ‘Stique, you sound jealous."

"Fuck you," Mystique replied, throwing the SUV in gear and pulling out of the layby, leaving the BMW she had taken from the school behind. The folks she had stolen it from would find it quickly when they realised the girl was missing, and they needed to get well away before then.

"Maybe later," Sabretooth replied, "I'm sure you can make it worth my while."

Mystique ignored his banter, instead commenting, "Be careful with this one, she's sharp, I don't know how she did it but she figured out I wasn't him before we were halfway here, that will make her hard to hold once the tranquiliser wears off."

"Maybe your bitchiness was showing," Sabretooth grunted.

"Changed my mind," Mystique sneered, "You can go fuck yourself." Sabretooth just chuckled in response as they continued to speed towards their destination.

Logan woke slowly, his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool and his ears were ringing. He tried to open his eyes only to be assaulted by too bright fluorescents, right above his head. He successfully stifled a groan as he clenched his eyes closed against the stabbing pain the light sent shooting through his head... maybe his nose was still working instead.

He scented the area, eyes snapping open as he bolted upright; this wasn't a hospital. A machine to his left started to squeal loudly, increasing the ringing in his ears but not enough to drown out the sound of hurriedly approaching footsteps. He was off the gurney and ready when a white-coat-clad figure rushed into the room. She squeaked in surprise when he spun her around and pinned her up against the wall.

"Where am I?" he growled.

"N-New York," she stuttered, "We brought you here for medical attention after you were injured fighting a mutant named Sabretooth..."

"Where's M- the girl?" he demanded, he could smell her, she had been in the room only an hour or so earlier.

"Rogue's probably still in bed," the woman replied shakily, though she was starting to recover from her initial shock.

He was distracted momentarily as the screaming machine behind him switched off, before he fully processed her statement. "Rogue?" he queried.

"That was the only name she would give us, she wouldn't tell us your name either, we've just been calling you Wolverine from your tag, the girl wasn't very helpful," the woman added ruefully.

Logan grinned, that was Marie alright, she was obviously not comfortable. If she was being anything like she had been when he had first met her, he could understand this woman's feelings, she wasn't going to win Marie over with an attitude like that though.

"Where’s her room?" he asked, he had to check on her first thing, let her know he was okay.

"Second floor, guest wing on the right," the doctor started, he was making for the door before she finished. "Wolverine!" she called sharply, halting his progress as he turned to look at her. "Clothes," she said, indicating toward a folded pile of his clothes.

He picked them up, noting they weren't the clothes he had been wearing, Marie must have grabbed them from the cabin. He quickly dressed; the doctor attempted to keep her eyes averted as she moved around the room righting all the medical equipment he had knocked over. He peeled off the sticky pads that had been holding the heart monitors in place, dropping them onto the gurney as he pulled his shirts on. He was out the door before he was even fully covered.

He moved into the hallway following Marie's most recent scent, a silver panel sliding open at the end of the hall to reveal an elevator now before him. He entered and hit the button for the second floor. The car began moving but stopped suddenly, the door sliding open to reveal an old bald guy in a wheelchair, and an African woman with snow white hair.

"This the second floor?" he asked confused, in hadn't felt like the car had moved far enough.

"Mr Wolverine, no, this is the ground floor, I was hoping I would be able to speak with—" the old guy started.

"Later," Logan replied, cutting him off. He hit the second-floor button again, the door sliding shut before more could be said.

When the door opened again, he assumed he was on the correct floor, he could pick up Marie's scent strongly, like she was the only person who had been on this floor, quickly he tracked her to a room halfway down the hall. Knocking softly, he opened the door and let himself in.

She wasn't there. Her scent was strong, she had definitely slept in here. He moved into the bathroom; she had showered in here but it must have been before she was in the hospital room downstairs.

He made a quick scan of the room, noting her jacket and boots where missing but her gloves were still on her bedside table, the leather ones he noted. He grabbed them and stuffed them in his pocket before he headed back to the elevator, hitting the ground floor button. If she was up, she was probably getting food, most likely place for the kitchen to be was the ground floor.

He stepped out of the elevator and quickly tested the area for Marie's scent, sure enough he picked up a relatively fresh trail heading down the hall. Stepping into a kitchen he spotted the African woman he had seen earlier fixing herself a coffee. He scented the air again and moved across the room to the patio door, a soft voice interrupting him halfway across the room.

"Wolverine, is everything alright?" the woman asked.

"Looking for Rogue, she wasn't in her room," he replied distractedly, reaching for the door.

"You think she's outside?" the woman asked apprehensively.

"That's where her trail goes," he replied, noting the woman following him outside.

"Trail?" she responded curiously.

"Scent," Logan replied, "I have heightened senses, she was here--" He broke off and leaned down to pick up the dropped and broken mug. "Right here..."

He scented the air again. “Someone else was with her, female, but, strange... they went this way," he added, stepping off the patio and heading around the building towards the driveway.

As they stepped around the front towards the garage the woman gasped. "There's a car missing," she informed him, "Can Rogue drive?"

"Apparently, but she wasn't driving, she was passenger, why the hell would she... she wouldn't have left willingly, not with a stranger, not now," Logan said.

"Come," the woman said, indicating for him to follow her, "The Professor can find her."

"How?" it was Logan’s turn to enquire curiously.

"He's a telepath," the woman replied, "He can track her too, by her mental signature. My name is Ororo by the way," she added, as they entered the foyer of the mansion and headed toward a well-appointed office.

"Ah, Mr Wolverine," the bald man, he assumed was the “Professor", greeted as they walked into the room, "Thank you for coming to see me--"

"Rogue's missing, Ororo said you can find her," Logan interrupted him again.

"What makes you believe she is missing?" the older man asked.

"She showered in her room about an hour and a half ago, about an hour ago she was in the hospital downstairs, then she made herself a coffee in the kitchen. I found the mug outside, looked like it had been dropped, and then someone took her to the garage, took her and one of your cars, about half an hour ago," Logan answered, bluntly.

"I see, may I ask how you were able to deduce this?" he was asked.

"Heightened senses," Logan replied, "I can pick out a scent and tell how long it's been since the source was in an area."

"You also heal?" the man asked again.

"Obviously, I took a goddamn axe to the head but I'm standing right here getting more and more pissed off that this isn't finding Rogue, can you find her or not old man?" Logan growled, showing his frustration.

"Certainly, I will begin looking for her now. Is Rogue likely to have left with a stranger?" he asked suddenly, pausing as he began to leave the room.

"No," Logan replied.

"Were you able to determine anything about the person she left with?" he queried.

"Female, that's all could tell, not a scent I'm familiar with," Logan replied.

With a non-committal 'hmm' the wheelchair-bound man left the room, indicating for the two individuals to follow him. As they moved back to the elevator the older man spoke to Ororo, "Track the car, if we are lucky and they haven't abandoned it we may be able to track them faster that way."

"Of course, Professor," Ororo replied, splitting off from the pair once the elevator opened back up on the metal lined hallway.

"Professor?" a male voice addressed the older man as they turned a corner, it appeared to Logan he had been waiting for them. "What's going on?"

"Young Rogue appears to have been taken," the Professor addressed the new man, and the red-haired doctor who had joined them also, "I am going to attempt to locate her, I believe, from what Mr Wolverine has told me, she may have been taken by Mystique--"

"Mystique?" Logan queried.

"Scott, could you please introduce the main team to Wolverine and fill him in on the details of those who have attacked him and Rogue," the Professor directed, rolling to a stop in front of a large circular bulkhead door, a quick retinal scan later and the door slid open to admit him.

There was a moment of silence once the Professor had wheeled away before Logan turned back to Scott. "So, Mystique?"

"Mystique is a shape shifter, she works for a guy named Magneto, he's essentially a mutant Nazi, believes mutants are superior to humans and humans should be wiped out or subjugated," Scott replied. “The guy who attacked your cabin works with them too, his name is Sabretooth, he's just general muscle, troublemaker, Mystique is trickier, she's higher up the organisational food chain and often involved in the planning of terrorist activities."

"A shape shifter?" Logan noted, "Explains why she got in the car willingly, she thought she was going with someone she knew... How long had we been here, how was Rogue?"

"We only brought you in yesterday," the doctor spoke, "She spent most of her time in the med lab or in her room, didn't really talk to anyone that I know."

"So, the shapeshifting bitch probably used me then, fuck!" Logan swore, resisting the urge to claw something in frustration.

Just then Ororo returned. "The car has been abandoned just south of Pound Ridge," she advised, "About twenty minutes from here," she added for Logan's benefit.

"Any idea what this Magneto guy wants with her?" Logan asked. How had the guy even found out about her was the more concerning issue.

"No idea," Scott replied, "We thought he was after you initially, Sabretooth seemed like overkill to send after a little girl," he added.

The crowd went quiet again, all deep in thought over the current situation, before Logan again broke the silence. "So, how long is this likely to take?" he gestured toward the closed door.

"Depends on a variety of things, if Rogue is unconscious, it can affect the Professors ability to locate her, Mystique may have taken precautions to shield the two of them from telepathy, we'll know when we know really," the redhead replied.

"You're the only one I haven't got any info on yet," Logan added, "Scott, Ororo, you are?"

"Doctor Jean Grey," the doctor replied, with a smile, "Scott also goes by the codename Cyclops, and Ororo, Storm."

"Storm?" Logan queried, "Is that something to do with your mutation?"

"Indeed," the whitehaired woman replied, "I can control the weather and associated anomalies – rain, wind, fog, lightening."

"Impressive, though if you could keep the lightening away from me I'd appreciate it," Logan replied, seriously but light-heartedly.

"Of course, the metal must be an impressive conduit," Jean commented curiously.

"Discovered that did you," Logan commented with a scowl, he did not like nosy doctors.

"Rogue was good enough to warn us before we tried to MRI you to check for head trauma, I did a CT scan instead but it was, uh, inconclusive due to the extent of the... coverage. She mentioned you didn't know who had done it...?" she queried indirectly.

Logan nodded, before turning to Ororo and changing the subject. "Can you get me down to this Pound Ridge, see if I can pick up a trail on them, beats sitting around here waiti--" The door opened behind him cutting off the rest of his sentence.

The Professor wheeled out of the room he had been shut inside, looking concerned.

"Rogue has been tranquilised, I was able to ascertain from Mystique that Rogue saw through her deception and attempted to escape, Sabretooth is with them also, I wasn't able to get much information as both shielded themselves quickly when Mystique sensed the telepathic connection but their plan is being carried out tonight, and will be centred around the Statue of Liberty, I will continue to attempt to locate Rogue throughout the day, I would recommend a ground search as well, Wolverine, I take it you will be assisting?" The old man promptly explained.

"Yeah," Logan replied, "But I'll need to get away soon to have any chance of being able to track a vehicle, if they get too close to the city though... even I can't guarantee that."

"Of course," the Professor replied, "Ororo will accompany you, check in regularly and be aware, I was not able to ascertain if Rogue has been taken as a decoy or bait, or if it is indeed her they are after. If it helps, the last location I was able to get on them was near Chappaqua, however they are rapidly on the move."

"They're definitely after her," Logan confirmed, "It was her the hairy fucker was looking for when he hit the cabin, figure out what they want her for, and when this shit is supposed to go down, if anything happens to her..." he growled angrily, as his claws shot out of both fists, causing several people to jump in fright, before he turned and walked away, intent on getting back to the garage, and getting on the road, as fast as possible. Surprisingly, it didn't take Ororo long to follow him, despite the claws that were still exposed.

--

They were called back to the mansion not long after sundown, arriving just before eight pm. They had lost the trail on Rogue before the Hudson River. The Professor had only managed to get brief connections to her as she drifted in and out of consciousness throughout the day, which narrowed her location to few miles stretch along the western bank of the Hudson. Despite a thorough search though, Logan and Ororo hadn't been able to pick up a trail.

Ororo led Logan back to the lower levels once they arrived back at the mansion. They walked into what appeared, to Logan, to be a tactical room, just as the Professor wheeled in and announced that Magneto's group was on the move and heading for the Statue. He hadn't managed to get a read on Magneto but Rogue was present, along with Mystique, Sabretooth, and one or two other minor associates.

The brief for the mission was little more than filling Logan in on the specifics of each mutant, and their powers, that they knew would be present. Everything else was going to be improvised, once they ascertained what exactly it was Magneto was planning. Half an hour later, four black-clad figures boarded the military-grade jet, that the 'mutant school' kept hidden underground. Logan's borrowed uniform was running on the tight side and was definitely too restrictive for fighting, he spent the few minutes of flight time stretching the supple leather, and popped a few seams to give himself more necessary movement in preparation for the coming fight.

When they touched down on Liberty Island the immediate area was thick with fog, to disguise the plane's arrival. It muted the surrounding scents to a degree but he could still detect several new scents, that had come and gone in the last fifteen to twenty minutes. He catalogued each scent and locked onto those that were most important. He was there for one reason and one reason only, to get Marie, anyone who got in his way was history, he didn't care what these freaks opinion was on taking prisoners. Magneto he would need to avoid, the hairy fucker, Sabretooth, was going to be the hardest to take out. The other mutant that was going to be trouble was the shape shifter, he was the most likely to be able to pick her out if she disguised herself, now that he knew her scent.

They walked in the front entrance of the statues tourist area only to be confronted with a bank of metal detectors. 'No point announcing our arrival,' Logan thought as he jumped over the baggage conveyor. He ignored the odd looks he was shot by his current team members; they would figure it out.

He set about trying to track down Marie. "She didn't come inside," he told the others, "She is here though, they must have taken her up outside."

"Up? You're sure?" Scott asked.

"Positive," he replied, as another scent hit him. "The shifters here," he growled.

"Where?" Scott pointlessly queried.

"I don't know, keep your eye open," he snapped, walking through a service door to his left and out of sight of the rest of the team. He should probably feel bad about using them as bait but this was the fastest way to get the result he needed. Sure enough the shifter took her chance, and he heard his own voice coming from the foyer, addressing the others, only a few moments later.

He leapt back into the room and slammed into the shifter, just as she raised fake claws with the intent of stabbing Jean in the back. Jean started at the sudden movement behind her, and jumped out of the way of the two scrapping mutants. They separated as they faced off against each other before Logan spotted Scott, hand ready at his visor, ready to fire.

"Shoot!" Logan yelled.

"No, wait!" The shape shifter, disguised as him, replied.

Scott stupidly faltered which gave the shifter enough time to slam a door shut between the two of them and the rest of the team. Logan growled and threw himself towards her again. They tussled for a few minutes, he almost had her pinned when she managed to distract him, and slither her way out of his reach by shifting into her own slimmer, blue scaled form, before she scaled a utility pipe and disappeared from view.

When he pulled the door open to the foyer again the rest of the team had moved on, he could hear them upstairs; these guys clearly didn't know how to do stealth. He caught a scent approaching him from another door, quickly deducing that it was the shifter again, this time disguised as Storm.

"Come on Logan, she's gone, we have to catch up with the team," Mystique, as Storm, spoke.

He waited until she was close enough before he spun around and impaled her. "Now that I've got you, that sounds like a good plan," he growled, as he watched Ororo’s face shimmer before shifting to reveal the blue scaled face, red hair, and yellow eyes he had seen before. "Where's Marie?" He demanded, keeping the claws in place to slow down the bleeding from the holes he had just made in her gut, while he tried to get an answer.

"You'll never get up there in time," Mystique rasped, grinning evilly.

"We'll see, well, I'll see, you're going to bleed out on the floor here, and you better hope you're dead before I get back to you.” He withdrew his claws, dropping her body to the ground, as blood began to flow from her wounds, he should have punctured her liver at that angle which was kind of a shame; she would bleed out way too quickly but he didn’t have time to spend longer making her suffer for daring to touch Marie.

He turned then and took off for the stairs. He could hear lightening crackling, and saw a flash of red light as he sprinted toward the fight. Stepping off the stairs he came across the rest of the team regrouping, waving Scott off as he raised his hand back to his visor.

"Now you're going to shoot? In future, when it comes to me, shoot first, figure it out after, I'll be the one getting back up," he commented tersely.

"So, it is you?" Scott asked.

"No, it's the Easter bunny," Logan snapped sarcastically. "They've got Rogue up the top, we have to hurry, whatever is happening is apparently going down soon. Who's still unaccounted for?" he asked, as he made for the stairs to head up to the top of the statue.

"If you took care of Mystique then the only ones unaccounted for are Magneto and Sabretooth," Ororo replied, trying to stifle her amusement and remain professional. In spite of his tenseness and worry, she had found herself coming to like Logan over the day they had spent together searching for Rogue.

"They'll no doubt be guarding Rogue for whatever they're planning," Jean added worriedly.

It took Logan eight minutes and thirteen seconds to jog up the three hundred and fifty odd stairs inside the statue, a couple of minutes later the rest of the team entered the viewing platform behind him.

"Where are they?" Scott asked, glancing around the empty room.

"There," Logan replied, nodding towards the torch that was still forty feet above them.

"How are we going to get up th--?" Ororo asked in frustration.

"Get out of here!" Logan suddenly interrupted.

"What- why?" Jean asked in confusion.

"I can't move," Logan replied, "Magneto..." he barely had time to comment, before the man in question suddenly lowered himself through the large, jagged hole in the ceiling, followed closely by the hulking figure of Sabretooth.

"Good help is so hard to find," Magneto lamented, almost sounding bored. "I suppose I will have to take care of this myself," he added, as the room around them began to rattle as metal began to shift and warp. Before anyone could react, they were trapped against the walls, leaving Logan standing, alone but frozen, in the middle of the room.

"As for you," Magneto addressed him, "That is a remarkable metal, if we had met under different circumstances I think we would have gotten along very well, for now though, let's point those claws of yours in a safer direction."

The next moment Logan grunted in pain as he was slammed into the ceiling, arms twisted to point into his chest as more metal twisted around to secure him in place. A moment later he felt the magnetic hold on his bones disappear, leaving his body hung from the twisted restraints.

Magneto then began to monologue, in typical ‘bad guy’ fashion, going on about how noble his actions truly were, how the world was going to be a better place, how this sacrifice, while unfortunate, was necessary. He was interrupted by a scream for help from Marie.

Logan growled menacingly before spitting out a snarled, "You're so full of shit, if you were so righteous it would be you in that thing, not her."

Magneto froze and glared at him, before magnetically snapping Logan's jaw closed to shut him up, narrowly missing catching his tongue between his teeth. He turned to Sabretooth then, instructing him to make sure no one escaped, before Magneto left the room, floating back out through the torn ceiling, and back towards Marie who was still screaming for help.

Logan had been growling nonstop since Magneto had shut him up, even after he was released from the magnetic hold on his bones. He was listening intently to every sound he could pick up from Marie, her voice was muffled, which made him think she was inside whatever it was Magneto had installed on top of the torch. What scared him the most about this situation was that Marie genuinely sounded terrified, though she was still fighting, her strength shining through for him to see. She wasn’t giving up, she would fight them until the bitter end, through her terror. It hit him so hard mostly because he could never remember a time where Marie had been afraid. Even when he first came across her that cold snowy night, she had been wary, sure, but never afraid, even when he got knifed, she had been worried, but still not afraid. Right now, she was so far past afraid he could smell it, she didn’t think they were going to make it in time...

While he was listening to Marie, he was watching Sabretooth, he could get out of this, he was the only one that could, he just had to wait for the furball to be in the right position.

Unfortunately, Sabretooth decided to take an interest in Storm, and headed toward her across the room. Deciding on the fly to improvise as he heard Marie fall quiet, Logan released his claws, through his chest. Roaring in pain he twisted the blades, to cut away the metal bands that were holding him to the ceiling. He retracted the claws as he felt the metal give way and he began to fall to the floor. He slammed into the floor with a heavy thud, playing possum as he heard Sabretooth cautiously approach him.

When he was close enough Logan launched into action, rolling and tucking his legs to kick Sabretooth up through the hole in the ceiling, before he jumped to his feet and followed him out into the night. Sabretooth caught him off guard before he hit the roof, and punched him across the smooth surface. He caught himself by burying his claws into the statue, using that hold for leverage to launch himself back towards Sabretooth.

They were closely matched, so closely matched that under normal circumstances Logan wouldn't have been able to call the fight. In this case though, he was going to win, he had to, Marie's survival depended on it. He was momentarily distracted when an ear-piercing scream split the night. Sabretooth took advantage of his distraction to launch at him, knocking him off his feet. Thinking quickly, he flipped the pair of them over twice before kicking Sabretooth off the side of the statue. He buried his claws back into the statue, to stop himself from going over as well, when Sabretooth tried to claw at him as he disappeared into the darkness.

Pulling himself back to his feet, ignoring the burn of the multiple cuts and gouges healing across his body, he dropped back onto the viewing platform just as the machine on the torch above him began to whirl to life, knocking more debris from the torch in the process. He could see Marie now, and hear her, crying now, still trying to call for help.

He cut the rest of the team free quickly, noting the puncture marks through the ceiling beside Storm's head as he released her from the metal bindings. "Sorry about that," he commented, indicating to the holes.

Ororo just smiled at him and replied serenely, “No harm done.”

"How do we stop it?" Jean asked, watching as the machine began to rise and spin faster.

"Can you shoot it?" Logan asked Scott.

He replied with a shake of his head, "I can't get a clean shot, I could blow it up and kill her, Storm, can you lift someone up there?"

"I don't know, I can try, if Jean can stabilise them so they don't fly right over," Ororo replied honestly.

"Right, get me up there," Scott stated.

"No, I'll go," Logan interrupted. At a dark look from Scott he justified his statement, "If I miss you can still blast the damn thing." Scott's attitude deflated as he accepted the sense of his argument.

Moments later the wind picked up as Storm directed everyone else to hold on to something, as a small focused tornado began to lift him into the air. He tried to keep his eye on the torch platform he was aiming for, shooting his claws out to catch the edge of the platform to pull himself closer, as he felt a gentle shove pushing him in the right direction, and the tornado slowly dissipated. He dropped into a roll onto the platform, in front of the wildly spinning machine, right as it began to spew a bright white light. He could see Marie, trapped inside the spinning rings, handcuffed to what appeared to be a control panel. Bringing his claws up to cut through the spinning rings he was surprised to feel resistance against his claws, until he noticed a weak, barely conscious Magneto, hand outstretched toward him. With a quick twist Logan spun around, using the other set of claws to cut through the machine before Magneto could refocus his attention.

The machine exploded, a large chunk of metal flying towards Magneto, too fast for him to stop it in his weakened state, knocking him out where he lay, leaving Logan free to focus on Marie. He panicked as he moved toward her, trying desperately to detect her heartbeat, which remained concerningly silent. Pulling her into his arms he cut the handcuffs away, catching her as she collapsed against him.

"Marie, come on kid, don't do this to me... wake up darlin.” He lifted her head up to look into her face which remained still, she looked so small and fragile in his arms. He still couldn't hear her heartbeat, and he could feel she wasn't breathing. Quickly he tugged off one of the leather gloves he was wearing; if he could touch her, and they were right about how her mutation worked, he could heal her.

He placed his hand against her cold bare skin. "Damn it Marie, take it darlin, come on." With every second that slipped by that her skin didn't react he became more frantic. "I can't lose you Marie," he muttered, pressing every bare patch of his skin against hers. He could feel tears burning behind his eyes, along with a familiar deep pain in his chest. He had felt this before, when Sarah died, and he never wanted to feel this again, especially not now, not when they had only just begun. Marie didn't deserve to die like this.

He had never felt such joy as he did when he felt the stabbing burn of her mutation, it was so gentle when it started, slow, like it was struggling. He willed her to take his mutation and heal, forcing forward his thoughts of how much he loved her, how much he needed her to the forefront of his mind, feeling the burn build as her mutation strengthened. He held on for as long as he could, finally succumbing to darkness when he heard her take a gasping breath, as her heart began to thud strongly again.

--

Marie watched in numb shock as Logan's body collapsed onto the platform in front of her. He was covered in blood, wounds open all over his body, blood flowing freely. It took her a moment to realise that he wasn't healing.

Her brain was scrambling to try and piece together what had happened. She could hear voices in her head, one she recognised as the guy who called himself Magneto, a quieter voice that was little more than an unintelligible growl, then there was Logan. Strength, and light, and love, calling to her, begging her to live. It was then she realised how he had saved her. He had been right, she could take mutations, he had literally traded his life for hers.

That thought shocked her into action and she dropped to her knees in front of him, quickly casting an eye over his wounds. She needed to stop the bleeding. She tore her shirt off and began tearing it into strips, as she began packing the worst of the torn flesh. She was working so intently she didn't hear the big black jet approaching the torch, even as the gentle breeze blowing over her became a swirling maelstrom around her, until she heard a voice call to her.

"Rogue, is he alright?" Jean asked, jumping from the jet gangplank and rushing to her side.

"He touched me and now he's not healing," Rogue sobbed frantically, her hands not leaving the wounds she was applying pressure to.

"Scott, help me get him on board," Jean yelled back toward the jet. It took some careful manoeuvring, and even more careful flying, to get Logan back onto the jet.

Marie immediately tried to move to his side, only to be bustled out of the way by Jean, as she set to work on stemming the extensive bleeding. "Can I help?" Marie asked.

"Not at this stage," Jean answered, "Stay out of the way so I can work, okay?"

Marie sat down numbly on a nearby seat as the plane began to fly off into the night, watching and praying that Logan would be okay. His soft voice was speaking to her reassuringly, telling her he would be okay. It took a while for her to realise his was the only voice she could still hear now, she was too upset to give that fact more thought at the moment though. She let her tears flow freely as she settled in to wait for news.

Marie sat in the hallway outside the med lab. She had followed the team in when Logan had been unloaded from the jet, initially sitting quietly in the corner just watching and waiting before she had been forced out of the room when Jean had gloved up to start surgery to close the worst of the heavily bleeding wounds marring Logan’s once flawless skin.

She had been sitting out here for the last four hours. At one point she had fallen asleep, waking in a panic when she had a nightmare that Logan was bleeding to death; only to find waking reality not much better. Her butt was going to sleep on the cold metal floor, her stomach was growling hungrily. She didn't know when she had eaten last, she wasn’t even sure what day it was, and she felt all sticky and dirty like she desperately needed a shower. It didn't help that she could smell Logan's blood all over her.

The elevator at the end of the hall opened with a muted ping, and the older bald man who she had met last time she was here - Professor Charles Xavier, her brain reminded her - wheeled down the hallway to stop beside her.

"Wolverine will be out of surgery shortly," he said softly, "Jean is dressing the last of his wounds now, why don’t you come upstairs, we can get you some food and some sleep?" he asked gently.

"No," Marie answered, "I have to see him first."

"He is sedated at the moment and will likely be for at least the next day or two--" the Professor continued.

"I have to see him before I can go," Marie stated again forcefully. She was not leaving until she had at the very least seen him.

Xavier nodded, the girl was radiating determination, and he accepted he wouldn't change her mind. "Well then, while we wait perhaps we can discuss yesterday's events," he suggested gently.

"I don't want to," Marie muttered.

"I understand it may be an uncomfortable subject but we need some information on how you were taken from the school, and where you were kept, to improve on our security to prevent this from happening again," he added.

"When I was taken I was sitting on the patio outside the kitchen having a coffee, I was waiting for L-Wolverine to wake up last time," she let out an ironic laugh, "Then he walked out of the kitchen... at least, I thought it was him, he was acting spooked and said we needed to get out of here, that something was wrong, took me around to the garage and jumped in a car, I tried to ask him questions but he kept fobbing me off, which he's never done before, so I asked him questions that I knew he knew the answer to but the guy in the car didn't know... The car pulled into a lay by and I jumped out and ran for it, the big hairy guy, Sabretooth, he came after me and knocked me out... I guess I was unconscious most of the day because I don't remember much, until I woke up on the boat under the statue. Sorry, not really much help," she shrugged, and wiped tears out of her eyes.

"I see, and if I may ask, Magneto mentioned to my team that he was using your mutation to run his machine, how was he planning on doing that, and what happened to Wolverine?" he continued, attempting to keep her talking.

"Magneto used my mutation to absorb his mutation, to use me to power his machine, because the machine was going to kill whoever powered it, and he was a fucking coward who wasn't willing to die for his own fucking beliefs," the last half of her statement came out in a deeper growl than Rogue's normal tone, and she started to giggle softly. "Sorry, that was Wolverine, he's pissed with Magneto."

"You are speaking with Wolverine?" Xavier queried, surprised.

"Uh, when I touch someone I get, like, a piece of them, inside my head, usually they get shoved right into the void in my head that I set up for them but... today's been a little stressful, initially Magneto and Wolverine were both in my head but Wolverine's pushed Magneto into the void now, he's still here but that's cause I asked him to stay... I need him, until I know the real one's okay, he's mostly quiet,” Marie murmured her explanation with a soft smile.

"Hmm, that's very interesting," the Professor responded thoughtfully, "So Wolverine touched your skin then?"

"Yeah," Marie smiled wider, almost grinning. "She was dead, I figured if I could give her some of my healing, she'd be okay, it worked," was the full reply.

"That was Wolverine?" Xavier asked, concern evident.

Marie nodded. "Sorry, I'm tired."

"How long have you known Wolverine?" Xavier queried, hoping he may be able to work her weariness to his advantage.

Rogue turned to look him dead in the eye, one eyebrow cocked in an expression that clearly read, 'nice try', before she yawned widely and tipped her head back to rest against the wall to feign sleep while she continued to wait. A moment later her head sprung up, her attention turned to focus on the door of the med lab a split second before it slid open.

Rogue was on her feet before Jean had stepped through the door, addressing her before she had a chance to speak. "Can I see him now?"

"He's not conscious, and not likely to be for some time, I've managed to stop all the bleeding but I had to give him a blood transfusion which may mean it takes longer for him to heal, but yes, so long as you don't try to wake him up you can go in and sit with him for a short time," Jean acquiesced.

Rogue was off before she had even finished speaking, approaching the bed quietly. She snagged a nearby chair and rolled it closer for her to sit on as she gently took Logan's hand. He was cold to the touch but not as pale as he had looked on the jet.

The Professor and Jean watched her from the door.

*'Could you get any information on them from her?'* Jean asked, telepathically.

*'Not much, she largely refused to speak, she has Wolverine in her head but she said it was a result of him touching her on the statue,'* Charles replied, considering his next action. *'I'm going to scan her and see if I can pick up any surface thoughts.'*

A moment later, both Xavier and Jean were surprised when a deep rumbling growl echoed, telepathically, through their minds. Rogue turned and glared at them from her position beside the unconscious man.

"Don't do that again," she stated firmly.

Jean regained her composure first. "Apologies Rogue, it's often easier to ascertain a patients mental state when they are relaxed and not worrying about being scanned. I will also need to do a physical exam of you, with Wolverine being in the state he was in it slipped my mind earlier, we can do the exam here if you like, so you don't need to leave Wolverine just yet?"

"I'm fine, he healed me, I'm all good," Rogue tried to brush her off.

"No offence but I'm the doctor, I'll decide that, if you'd prefer, we can take you to the emergency room," Jean stated, leaving no room for argument.

Rogue glared at her before asking, "What do you need?"

The exam was quick, Rogue was correct, she was in perfect health. Jean took a blood sample for testing to check all Rogue's nutrient levels were at optimal levels, she had a feeling the girl had been on the road for a while, which often meant not eating well.

"All right, everything's good, you are clear to go, I would recommend you go straight upstairs, get something to eat, and then get a good night's rest," Jean said, adding to encourage her to take a break, "Wolverine won't be awake until tomorrow night at the earliest."

"Yeah, I'll head up shortly," Rogue answered, going back to her place at his bedside.

Jean left then, to get her own snack, a shower, and bed, seeing as it was now two o'clock in the morning.

Marie waited until she heard the elevator car head up to the ground floor before she let out a sigh of relief. "God Logan, I'm not sure if I want to stay here if you're going to spend all your time unconscious!" She got no reply, other than an amused chuckle from inside her head, and the repetitive beeping of various machines around the room. "I'll be back to check up on you in the morning, well, whenever I wake up, I love you," she whispered, kissing his hand softly before gently setting it back down on the bed. She pulled out a couple of extra blankets and laid them over him, concerned at how cold he still was. She brushed a lock of hair off his forehead before dropping another kiss on his still lips before she left the room, turning the lights down as she exited.

Slipping into the kitchen she noted the dirty dishes left behind by another midnight snacker, she assumed it had been the doctor. She hurriedly ran through the contents of the fridge, pulling out cold meats, cheese, and a few vegetables, to make herself a loaded sandwich. Logan was encouraging her to eat as much as she could stomach, with the excuse that healing consumed a lot of energy, and if she didn’t, she would feel worse in the morning. She added a large glass of milk to her meal before she sat down at the table by the window and began to eat.

When she was so stuffed she couldn't eat another mouthful if she tried, Marie deposited her dishes in the sink and made her way back upstairs to the room she had been assigned when she first arrived. All her stuff was still there but she opted to slip into Logan's room first, where she swiped one of his t-shirts, before making her way back to her room. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table that read seven minutes past three and figured, what the heck, it was already insanely late-slash-early, she may as well have a shower first, to wash the stink of death and blood off her.

Half an hour later she was washed, dried, and dressed in Logan's shirt, that smelled comfortably of him, and ready for bed. She left her own clothes to soak in the tub, hoping the blood would come out when she washed them tomorrow. Slipping under the covers she sank into the soft warmth, praying for no more nightmares.

The next day was nice and quiet, no one woke her, which allowed her to sleep in until almost noon before her stomach began to protest. She dragged herself out of bed, rubbing at her tired eyes in an attempt to wake them up, as she stumbled to the bathroom to relieve her straining bladder. Her hair was a mess, after having gotten damp in her early morning shower, and dried in bed, she couldn't be bothered combing it out, so she just piled it on top of her head in a very messy bun, before going to her bag to find clothes.

She pulled on jeans, and manoeuvred around inside Logan's t-shirt to put a bra on, before tucking the t-shirt haphazard into her waist band and deciding that was good enough to go get breakfast - well, lunch. She tugged on gloves as she made her way downstairs. As she was raiding the fridge again, for another meal that would have made Logan proud, Scott walked in.

He eyed her attire critically before commenting disdainfully, "Don't worry Rogue, we'll get you your own clothes, you don't have to wear those anymore."

"Gee sorry," Marie commented angrily, looking down at her clothes, "I know I don't look that crash hot but I did just drag my ass out of bed after being kidnapped for a day and almost killed, I'll make more of an effort to not show it next time."

"That's not what I meant Rogue," Scott hurried to assure her, "I just meant you don't have to wear *his* clothes any more, you've got choices here, no one is going to make you do anything you don't want to anymore."

Marie looked shocked for a second, before a feeling like she had been kicked in the gut made her want to vomit. "That... how... you think! Oh my god, that is sick, you think Logan...! For your information mister, I chose to wear this, had to go to Logan's room to get it. And for the record, Logan would never make me do anything I didn't want to, he's done nothing but take care of me since we met, which is more than anyone else has done for me in a damn long time!" she raged, before storming out of the room.

When she stepped off the elevator on the sublevel that held the med lab, she was thankful to notice she'd had the good sense to grab her lunch before she made her dramatic exit from the kitchen, she wouldn't have to head back up there for a while. She silently stalked down the hallway to the room that held Logan's prone form, and slouched into the seat that was still next to the bed. Wheeling over an empty instrument table to set her lunch on, she began to eat, talking to Logan periodically around mouthfuls.

She was still fuming over what Scott had implied in the kitchen, Mind-Logan wasn't in a much better mood, when Jean walked in. Eyeing the now empty plate she scowled. "Please don't eat in here in future," was all she said, before turning her attention to Logan, reading monitors and checking his vital signs as she scribbled notes on her chart.

Scott entered a moment later, immediately putting Marie on edge. She allowed Logan free range in her mind, resulting in a menacing growl flooding the room. Scott looked abashed and took a few steps away from her, keeping his head low and refusing to make eye contact with her, as he headed across the room to Jean's office. Jean followed him a few minutes later, once she had completed her examination.

Rogue still had Logan's heightened senses, and she exploited them shamelessly to eavesdrop on the two in the office.

"What's wrong Scott?" Jean asked.

"Have you managed to get anything out of the girl?" he asked, concerned.

"Nope, she still won't say anything, I haven't been able to determine whether she's trying to simply protect his privacy or if she's trying to hide something," was the reply, "I take it you tried to say something to her and that's what all the growling was about before."

"Yeah, she was in the kitchen getting food, I made a comment about getting her her own clothes because she was wearing what appeared to be his shirt, she took offense at something I said and stormed out, I'm worried Jean, we know what happens to girls on the street, we've seen it often enough, she seems to think whatever's going on between them isn't like that, like Wolverine's not like that, but in all seriousness, just one look at the guy will tell you he would easily be able to talk a vulnerable little girl into agreeing to anything," Scott sighed exasperated.

"Well, perhaps we should just stop pushing her, we don't want to push her away, let's just work on convincing her how great this place is and encouraging her to stay. If we can get her out of here, away from him, and introduce her to some of the other kids, maybe some friends will be what she needs to give her encouragement," Jean suggested.

"That sounds like a good plan," Scott agreed, "Though perhaps we'd better get Ororo to make the suggestion, she's usually better at that sort of thing, and I think I've already blown it with her for now."

"Sure, why don't you go find Ororo now, Wolverine is stable but he hasn't started healing yet, so I'm not expecting him to wake up tonight," Jean stated.

Whatever they were talking about next was drowned out to Rogue's ears when a noisy machine started in the office; she assumed, from the scent that began wafting through the room a short while later, that it was a coffee machine. Scott left a few minutes after that, she ignored him, and the smile he threw in her direction, but didn't growl at him this time.

Knowing, from Jean's comments, that Logan wouldn't be waking up any time soon, she moved over to the bed and bid him a quiet goodbye, leaving a quick peck on his forehead this time, before silently slipping out of the room. She wanted to get some exploring of the grounds in before classes let out for the day, Ororo had showed her around some when she first arrived but she wanted to take a better look.

--

Several hours later she was curled up on a couch in the library, in front of a roaring fire reading a book, when she heard voices behind her. Two teenage girls, around about her age, walked in chatting about useless teenage gossip.

"I swear, I saw him, the guy is sex on legs, if scary and hairy is your shtick, personally I've never gone for that type but hell for this guy even I would be tempted!" The loud Asian girl spoke, while she popped gum and loudly thumped her books down on the table.

"For goodness sake Jubi you must have gotten, what... a five second look at the guy, and he hasn’t been seen since, don't you think that's rushing it even for you?" The mousey looking brunette replied, sounding amused.

"Kit-Kat, that is sometimes all it takes," the first girl, 'Jubi', replied.

"What about the new girl that Bobby and a John said they saw, no one new has been introduced to the dorm, and there's no one new in classes. Do you think there really is a new girl, or is that just wishful teenage boy thinking?" 'Kit-Kat' asked.

"There's a new girl," Rogue finally spoke from the couch. "But it's been a busy couple of days, almost dying and all, and I haven't decided if I'm staying yet," she added.

Both girls jumped in surprise when she first spoke but calmed quickly when they spotted her. "Oh, hi, sorry, we weren't meaning to talk about you behind your back or anything, my name's Kitty, and this is Jubilee," the mousey girl replied, holding out a hand in greeting. Marie hesitated, to make sure she was still wearing her gloves, before she shook the girls hand.

"I'm Rogue," she replied, "And I have a feeling the 'sex-on-legs' guy you were talking about before is Wolverine. Tall, dark hair, little scruffy looking, probably had a really bad attitude?"

"That sure sounds like him," Jubilee confirmed, "You know him?"

"Yep.” And that was as much detail as Rogue would go into regarding their relationship for now. "He's not always so grouchy but I got kidnapped yesterday so he was a little tetchy."

"Where is he now?" Kitty asked curiously.

"In the med lab, he had to touch my skin, to give me his healing power, because I was kind of dead when they finally found me, he's recovering, Jean thinks he should be okay in a day or two," Rogue replied casually, as if it was perfectly normal to tell stories of kidnappings, daring rescues, and death by touching skin.

"Wow, sounds like you have had a busy few days!" Jubilee exclaimed, somewhat in disbelief. "So are you thinking about staying?"

"I don't know," Rogue replied, "I'm not even a hundred percent certain what exactly this place is to be honest, I think I must have missed an orientation or something, someone said something about a school though, which sounds good, I was almost done with high school before I left home, it would be nice to finish up."

"Well let me introduce you to 'Mutant High', as we like to call it, where not only do you get to study all the normal boring school subjects but you get to practice superpowers with the best of us!" Jubilee announced.

"If you do stay, I'm sure you'll enjoy it, and no one's going to look at you funny if you've got a weird power, or extra body parts," Kitty added. "What is your power anyway?" she asked curiously.

"My power sucks," Rogue answered, "Literally, I suck energy and memories and even some mutant powers out of other people when I touch them skin on skin."

"Oh, so that's what the gloves are for," Jubilee blurted, before smacking a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, I speak before running my comments passed my brain sometimes, I didn't mean to be, uh, what does Ms Munro call it?" she directed to Kitty.

"Insensitive," Kitty replied, rolling her eyes at her friend.

Rogue laughed. "It's okay, I've gotten used to it, after my parents kicked me out I went up to Canada, I was aiming for Alaska, so that people wouldn't look at me weird for wearing gloves, so, I get it. What about you guys, what do you do?" she asked curiously. She could see herself being friends with these two girls quite easily.

"I make fireworks!" Jubilee announced excitedly, as tiny coloured explosions began sparking from her fingertips.

"My power has a whole bunch of boring technical terms but I basically just walk through stuff, I'm like a living ghost," Kitty answered, suddenly standing up and walking through her chair.

"Oh man, I lucked out in the superpower pool," Rogue commented sarcastically.

All three girls laughed before Jubilee commented, "It could be worse, you could be massive, blue, and furry like Hank."

"Or have a tail, or goat feet, or something else weird looking, at least you still look normal, though really, my power’s not that great, it took me months to stop accidentally falling through the floors at random times, one time I fell into Mr Summers and Dr Grey's room, while they were, uh... busy," the girl admitted, blushing bright pink, and causing all three to burst out laughing again.

"If it's any consolation I think Mr Summers was more embarrassed than you were," Jubilee continued, laughing at the memory.

The library door opened again and Ororo popped her head in. "Hi girls," she alerted the girls to her presence.

"Hi Ms Munroe!" Kitty and Jubilee answered. Marie just smiled and waved.

"I was actually looking for you Rogue, I'm glad to see you're starting to make friends, I was wondering if you'd like to sit in on a few classes tomorrow, just to get a feel for the school?" she asked.

"Uh, I guess, if Wolverine's still out of commission I won't have anything else to do," Marie answered. It would be nice to get a feel for the teaching style of the school, though Marie had never been one to have difficulty in school, she had always been ahead of her peers academically.

"Great," Ororo replied, "I won't be able to do any placement tests for you until the weekend so for now, let's just go with what grade you were in at your last school?"

"That sounds good," Rogue responded, "I was just starting twelfth grade but I'll probably have a bit to catch up on after missing most of this year," she added, with a resigned shrug.

"Oh well, that's alright, that would put you at about the same grade as Jubilee and Kitty, why don't you just tag along with them for classes tomorrow, I'll see you get some stationery after breakfast, can you girls show Rogue to my office at about eight thirty tomorrow?" Ororo asked the other two girls.

"Sure we can Ms Munroe," Kitty replied, flashing a smile.

"Yeah, don't worry, we'll take real good care of her," Jubilee added.

"Alright then, breakfast is tomorrow from six in the cafeteria Rogue, classes start at nine. See you all tomorrow," she called, leaving the girls to get back to their bonding.

The next day dawned grey and dreary. Marie woke late at around seven thirty, dashed through her morning routine and then sped, as fast as the elevator would go, down to the med lab to check on Logan. He was still down for the count, and still not healing much faster than you would expect from a normal person.

Jean had added an IV nutrient formula to the list of treatments currently being utilised for Logan, in an effort to speed up his recovery, and because he now hadn't eaten in just over three days. Marie was annoyed that, though she agreed it was the correct course of action, Jean hadn't even advised her she was doing it, let alone got her permission. Though she hadn't exactly been open about their relationship status, so Jean would have had no reason to consider her as Logan's next of kin. She sat with him for about fifteen minutes, chatting to him about what she was going to be doing that day, before she kissed him goodbye and went to find some breakfast.

The cafeteria was crowded, so Marie quickly sidled her way in and grabbed a coffee and some fruit, before slipping back out of the room to find somewhere quieter to eat. She had just finished the small bowl of strawberries she had feasted on, when Jubilee and Kitty stumbled down the stairs.

"Coffee!" Jubilee exclaimed, as she proceeded to ignore Rogue and zombie-walk into the cafeteria.

Kitty just giggled and ignored her friend, turning instead to Rogue. "Come on, I'll show you to Ms Munroe's office, we can catch up with the coffee monster later," she said, waving for Rogue to follow her.

Half an hour later, with a small stash of necessary stationery and a drawstring bag to carry it in, Rogue and Kitty made their way back towards the classrooms, picking up a more human looking Jubilee on their way.

The day passed in a blur of one class after another. Several of the students passed notes or whispered to her during classes, trying to introduce themselves and ask her questions. She may, or may not, have intentionally drawn attention from teachers a couple of times to get them to stop, and she slipped away each recess; to check on Logan more than to avoid the other students.

By mid-afternoon, on one of her checks, Marie noticed that the bruises and smaller wounds Logan had, were gone.

Unfortunately, by the time classes were done for the day, the other students had caught on to her diversionary tactics and disappearing trick, and she was cornered by a mob of students who dragged her off to the rec room for a game of Foosball; a convenient excuse for a game of twenty questions with the new girl. She managed to get some of the students to back off by telling them about her mutation but a few of the more 'adventurous' teenage boys didn't want to take the hint; she made sure her mutation was on so if anyone touched her, they would get a zap to hit her point home.

After dinner, which she was dragged into the crowded cafeteria and seated on prime position at the noisiest table for, she managed to feign a headache and was finally permitted to retire to her room. As soon as she was out of sight, she snuck back down to the med lab again.

She was exhausted, and she didn't plan on staying for long, but she needed to check on Logan before she went back to bed. She was elated to notice on entering that his colour was starting to come back, and he was no longer as cold as he had been. His remaining wounds were looking a lot better, and his body had begun to expel some of the sutures Jean had installed only a couple of days prior. Because of this Marie stayed a little longer than she had intended, talking to Logan, hoping he would wake up while she was there. It wasn't until her head nodded, for the third time, that she finally gave up.

"I've got to go to bed or I'm going to pass out right here," she told Logan softly, "If you're up before morning come and let me know you're alright." She kissed his hand again, and tugged the blanket up a little higher over his bare chest before she dimmed the lights and left.

Dragging herself into bed a few minutes later, clad in his t-shirt, her panties, and fluffy socks, she sighed wearily. She couldn't help but worry about Logan, he had been unconscious for more than forty eight hours, and though the him in her head assured her he would be fine, she couldn't help the niggling feeling that even he wasn't so certain about that.

--

The first sense to return was hearing, the soft peeping of a heart monitor off to his left, and the hum of refrigerators in the next room, were the only sounds to be heard. He cracked his eyes open slowly, thankful that this time around the overhead lights were turned off, the room illuminated dully by dim night lights near the floor. He assumed it was night time, no one had been in the room with him for hours by the scents he could detect. He looked around for a clock to confirm his theory, spying one on a nearby desk that read one nineteen am.

Slowly he sat up, careful not to dislodge any of the surrounding machinery this time. He turned off the heart monitor before disconnecting the probes, and systematically stripped off all the wires, monitors, and needles that were attached to him, before testing out his legs to make sure they would hold him up.

Logan walked the room for a minute, until his muscles were loosened up enough to function properly, before he looked around to search out the pile of clothes he was sure Marie must have left for him, somewhere. Sure enough, he found them on the chair that had been pushed into a corner near the gurney he had been laid out on. The flannel shirt, that was slung over the back of the chair, smelled like she had been wearing it for a while before leaving it for him.

He dressed quickly, intent on going straight to find her but as he was about to hit the elevator control, to take him to the second floor, his stomach protested loudly, causing him to change tack, to hit the ground floor kitchen first. There was no point going to find Marie, and then having to send her off to hunt him down some food when his body rebelled at the idea of moving again. He was only up and about now because the thought of needing to find her, was motivating him past the dizzy nausea that was trying to stop him.

He pulled open the refrigerator, scanning the contents quickly before grabbing a plate of cold roast beef and hurriedly shovelling food directly from the plate into his mouth, until he had sated his hunger enough to make a grab for the next food of choice.

He ended up taking the plate of meat, some cheese, a loaf of bread, butter, mayo, and a fatty looking, and smelling, pate to the nearby table with him. Piling as much high fat, and high protein filling, between two thick slices of bread, as he could hold. He devoured several such 'sandwiches' before he began to feel full, and the dizziness had begun to dissipate. He quickly put away the leftover food, tidying up after himself as much as he could, before he continued on his way to find Marie.

He could hear her heartbeat from several meters away from her room, releasing a breath he didn't realise he had been holding as he let relief flood him. She was alive, it had worked. He quietly popped her bedroom door open, slipping into the moonlit room, sitting on the edge of the bed to just watch her sleep. He hadn't meant to wake her but she seemed to sense him, her eyelids fluttered open as she croakily called out for him.

"Logan? Is that you?" she whispered into the room, blinking her sleepy eyes open.

"It's me darlin," he replied, not at all prepared for the sudden flurry of movement, as she flung herself out of bed, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She began mumbling and sobbing incoherently against his shoulder, while he held her and rubbed her back soothingly.

"It's okay darlin, I'm fine now, we're both okay now, right? You're okay?" he asked concerned, trying to calm her down.

She nodded briskly as she pulled away and wiped her tears away. "I'm okay, now that I know you're alright, god Logan, I thought you were going to die, there were cuts everywhere, and so much blood, and you weren't healing..." she cut herself off with another hiccupping sob.

"I'm just glad it worked darlin, I was so scared I'd lost you, when I finally got up there and your... you were so quiet, too quiet, no heartbeat... you have no idea how good it feels to be able to hear your heart beating right now." It was Logan's turn to be cut off by the emotion running through him, squeezing his throat closed. "The doc checked you out right, you are all okay?" he asked again, after a few minutes of them just holding each other.

"I'm fine Logan, one hundred percent a-okay, only difference is this new funky hairdo," she commented, gesturing toward the white streaks in her hair. He had seen them but thought they were just a trick of the light.

"What's up with that?" Logan asked, twining a streak around his index finger.

"Jean said it was from the stress or something, she said it might grow out, it might not, I'm not bothered by it, it's kind of cool, might even dye it a weird colour, just for fun," Marie replied with a grin.

Logan chuckled. "Well, so long as you like it, I guess... I'm sorry it took me so long to get to you," he added.

"I could see you Logan, from where I was, I saw you fighting Sabretooth... I saw you almost go over the edge-" she shuddered as she remembered the momentary panic she had felt when she thought he was going to fall - "I saw the stab wounds, Ororo said you stabbed yourself through the chest, to cut yourself off the ceiling when Magneto tied you up there... I couldn't have asked for more Logan, you went above and beyond what anyone else would have even considered, and then on top of it all you were willing... willing to give your life for mine, for me, I... I don't deserve that."

"Marie, baby," Logan pulled her face up to look at him, gently wiping her tears away. "Darlin you deserve all that and more, and I'm here for you any time you need it, I hope I never need to give my life for yours again but only because I never want to see you in a situation like that again, but if it comes down to it, I will do everything, absolutely everything in my power, to protect you," he told her, honesty and emotion so deep she could feel it down deep in her heart, shining from his eyes.

"You promise?" she asked, with a tearful smile.

"I promise," he replied, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. "Now come on, it's late, let's get you back to bed," Logan announced a moment later, pulling back the covers on the bed for her to scoot back under them.

Marie was going to speak up, and request that he stay with her, but quickly realised it wasn't necessary for her to ask, he hadn't released his hold on her hand, and he was climbing into bed with her. Once they were both settled Marie draped herself over his chest, her head resting right next to his heart as she quickly drifted back to a much more contented sleep.

Logan lay awake for an hour longer just listening to her heart beat, and feeling the gentle movement of each breath she drew. She was alive, the nightmares that had been plaguing him while he had been unconscious in the med lab, broken only by snippets of her soft voice drifting through his head, were finally banished. Tomorrow they would need to get everything squared away with their hosts but for now he needed rest. Drifting off to sleep, he thanked whoever had been watching out for the two of them that they were both still alive and well.

The next morning dawned grey and cold again, only this time Marie woke to find herself plastered against Logan, legs entwined, nice and toasty warm. If it wasn't for her bladder, she would have been content to stay that way indefinitely. She was attempting to extricate herself from Logan's grip without waking him when he rumbled from underneath her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I have to pee," she said, giving up the pretence of sneaking out by rolling over and sliding out from under the covers. "Sorry, I didn't want to wake you," she continued when she returned to bed. He rolled over and spooned her before she could return to her previous position.

"You didn't," he told her, "Was too busy thinking."

"About what?" she asked, enjoying the feel of his arms around her after what felt like so long without him, even though it had only been a few days.

"You," he admitted with a soft smile. "This place is a school, Ororo was telling me about what they do here, while we were looking for you, I think they're expecting you to stay here,” he revealed, clearly making an effort to sound neutral.

"It is a school," Marie confirmed, "And they've been trying to convince me to stay but--"

"I want you to stay," Logan interrupted.

"What!?" Marie cried, sitting bolt upright in bed before she spun around to face him. "No, no I won't stay, not without you," she replied shaking her head determinedly.

"Hear me out Marie," Logan placated gently, "I've been thinking about this for a while now, even before we were brought here, I've been thinking about getting you back in school, at least to finish high school, this place would be perfect, it's full of mutants, you wouldn't be at risk of being an outcast like at a normal school, you could just focus on your studying. I can't stay here with you in New York though," he shushed her, before she could voice the objections on the tip of her tongue. "What's been going on, us, in Canada it was legal, if a little frowned on morally by most people, but here it's illegal darlin, age of consent in New York is seventeen, and there is no way in hell I'm going to be able to live in the same building as you and keep to myself, not now that I've had a taste, and you couldn't either and you know it," he added, with a wolfish smirk.

Marie glared at him, but her own blush and barely contained smirk was all the proof they both needed that he was right.

"And I can't take you back to the cabin, not yet, the place was trashed from what I remember of the events leading up to our... vacation. So, I propose, I go to the cabin, rebuild and repair the place, you stay here, safe and warm, and finish your schooling, I'll come back, on April tenth, not a day later, and then we'll stay here, together, until you graduate and we can move back up North. Does that sound like a reasonable compromise?" Logan asked, regarding her seriously, from where he remained reclined on the bed.

Marie considered his plan thoughtfully, before replying, "Just until April?-" Logan nodded- "If you think this is a good way to dump me and move on I swear to god I will hunt you down to whatever shit hole you crawl into and make you suffer," Marie threatened, only half serious.

"Darlin, I'm going to be suffering every second I'm away from you," he assured her, as he gently caressed her baby soft cheek.

Marie smiled brilliantly, though there was a hint of sadness behind her eyes. "I guess it's a plan then, but you'll call, won't you? Don't leave me all alone here," she whispered.

Logan pulled her back down into his arms as silent tears leaked past her lashes. "I'll call whenever I can kid, I'll even go buy us each a phone especially for it, that way you can call me too, whenever you want, any time, day or night."

They cuddled for a while longer before they heard footsteps walking down the hallway. The door into the empty room next door, Logan’s room, opened. The footsteps faltered before moving into the room, presumably checking the bathroom.

"Quick, put your pants on before they get in here," Logan commented with a chuckle, "Don't want to go giving these geeks any more ideas," he added with a sly wink.

Marie stifled a laugh as she slipped out of bed and pulled on her jeans and a sweater, while Logan pulled up the bed to make it look reasonably tidy. He sat down on the couch when he was done, while Marie sprawled back out on the bed a moment before the door opened with a far too brief knock. To any outsider it would look like they were just lounging around chatting.

"There you are Wolverine," Jean spoke, eyeing the rooms occupants with suspicion, "I trust you found your room okay last night?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied simply, "Was just about to head down for breakfast with Rogue, did you need something?"

"Well, I prefer not to release my patients without a full check-up, which I didn't get a chance to do before you discharged yourself at some point in the night, I'd like to see you in the med lab at some point if that's alright, after you've eaten is fine," Jean stated, angling just slightly toward teasing, but firm.

"That won't be necessary, healing's back up to full strength, energy levels will be back to normal once I've eaten," he informed her.

"Still, for the completeness of my records I'd like to be sure," Jean pressed.

Logan shrugged. "Suit yourself, I'll come down at some point." He turned away from her then, indicating the conversation was over. Jean bristled just a little in response.

"Rogue," she said, with false sweetness, "You're late for class, you should run along."

"I haven't been scheduled classes yet," Marie replied, smiling sweetly, "Ms Munroe can't do my placement tests until the end of the week so I'm just going to hang out with Logan for now, now that he's finally awake."

"Of course," Jean replied tightly, "Well, I'll see you both later then." She turned and walked away, pointedly leaving the bedroom door open.

"Come on," Logan said with a grin, once Jean was out of earshot, "Let's go eat." He took Marie's hand and the two of them walked down to the ground floor and to the kitchen, rather than the cafeteria, which was deserted now that classes had started.

They were working together to cook a substantial breakfast, when Scott entered the room. "Morning," he said, as he took a seat at the kitchen counter and pulled open the newspaper that had been discarded there.

Logan and Marie greeted him in return but that conversation went no further, as they returned their attention to their breakfast and friendly banter. They moved to the kitchen table with loaded plates once they were finished cooking, ignoring Scott completely as it became more obvious that he was in the room solely to watch them.

They finished breakfast, and then set about cleaning up after themselves, washing every dish they used and returning it to where they had found it, before Logan finally turned to Scott and addressed him directly. "Do you know if the Professor is going to have any free time today that Rogue and I could speak with him?" he queried.

"Uh, actually yeah, he asked if you'd be able to meet with him at twelve," Scott replied.

Logan checked a nearby clock. "Two hours, yeah, we can do that. You can show me around in the meantime kid," he added, as Marie shot him a brilliant smile and they left the room together, leaving Scott behind.

They spent the next two hours exploring the mansion and grounds, Logan was particularly interested in checking out the security systems, especially the perimeter detection systems. They viewed the classrooms, and explored the common areas, Marie challenged Logan to a game of pool on the table in the back corner of the rec room, and came very close to beating him too.

When the bell rang mutedly, to signal the students lunch hour, the pair made their way to the Professor’s office at the front of the building. They had to wait for the last few straggling students to leave, before they were called in. They had just taken seats, after the Professor had greeted them, when the office door opened again and admitted Scott, Ororo, and Jean.

"Didn't realise this was going to be group therapy," Logan joked, looking annoyed at their audience.

"I feel it would be the quickest way to get everyone up to speed, and I apologise Rogue that it took so long for us to have our usual meet and greet, normally we do so on a new students first day but this was an unusual situation all around," Xavier spoke.

"Well, I'm not a student so no harm done," Marie replied, ignoring the eyebrow Logan shot at her.

"I see," the Professor continued, "Are you not intending to remain at our school?" he asked.

Logan and Marie looked at each other for a moment before Rogue sighed and replied, "Yeah, I'm staying." Not exactly sounding enthused by the idea.

Logan grinned and shook his head at her. "We just need to sort out the details for that," he addressed to the Professor, "I'll cover any tuition and accommodation costs for her until she's graduated, on the proviso she keeps her own room, and I want to be kept updated on her progress, and any trouble she gets into," he added, grinning at her when she childishly stuck her tongue out at him.

"What makes you think you have any entitlement to that information?" Scott asked irritably.

"He's the only family I have, and I'm leaving if you can't respect that," Marie responded bluntly.

"Of course," Xavier replied immediately, "If that is your wish, we would be happy to make your records and progress available, however we would request the standard information that we require from family members of our other students from you, Wolverine. We will also need your personal information, Rogue, to transfer your educational record."

"I take it you've got forms for that," Logan said, to which the Professor reached into a drawer and produced two sets of paper work. The papers floated across the room to both of them, courtesy of Jean's telekinesis.

"That is a cool power," Rogue mumbled.

"Careful who you say stuff like that around kid, might get yourself in trouble in some circles with comments like that and the ability to steal mutations," Logan added with a chuckle, as he began filling in the form he had been given. Rogue laughed before adding, ‘Borrow, Logan, not steal’.

"So, your name is Logan?" Jean addressed him.

"Well will you look at that," Logan commented, looking down at the form he had started filled out, "’Logan Howlett’, I guess so," he grinned at Jean, as he continued to write.

"What is your name?" Scott addressed to Rogue.

"Rogue," she replied, pointedly covering the name she had written on the piece of paper.

"Marie, that's kind of redundant now don't you think?" Logan asked with an amused grin.

"Nope," she replied matter of factly, "They'll know my name but no one uses it unless I give them permission to, and the only person I've said can use it, is you."

Shrugging in acceptance of her statement, Logan turned back to the Professor and went over details of Rogue's enrolment and accommodation, confirming she would indeed get to keep her own room. He also extracted agreement for himself to be returned to his cabin in Yukon, via the fancy jet that had brought them here. The Professor confirmed Logan was welcome back whenever he wanted to visit and could be accommodated on site, much to Scott's obvious annoyance. Logan confirmed he would be passing back through mid-spring 'sometime'.

Once all the details had been squared away, the Professor suggested that, given it was now after one pm and classes were restarting, that Logan and Rogue take the rest of the day to relax, and Scott would fly Logan out first thing in the morning.

"That sounds good," Logan agreed, "Any chance I could borrow a car for the afternoon? Got a few things I need to get for living in the cabin over winter before I can get it back to liveable standard," he justified. "And is there anything Rogue's going to need for school that I could grab for her?"

"Certainly," Xavier confirmed, "Take your pick of the vehicles on the left-hand side of the garage, the keys are all available on the board by the door." He also produced a list of standard stationery, which he handed to Rogue.

On exiting the office the pair were accosted by Jean again. "I need to complete that physical Logan, it won't take more than ten minutes, I'm free now if you want to get it over a done with and me not to bother you about it again," she informed him with a smile.

Logan acquiesced, and the two of them accompanied her down to the med lab. Twenty-five minutes later they were in the garage looking for a car. Rogue walked into the room first, looked down the line of cars, walked to one, and got in the passenger seat.

"Hey," Logan called out amused, "Driver gets to pick the car!"

"You were going to pick something else?" Marie replied, with a curious look.

Logan scanned the line of cars before his gaze came back to rest in the Hunter Green Camaro she had selected, she had called it right. "Yeah," he replied sarcastically, "I'd have picked that Prius but seeing as how the lady has spoken, the Camaro it is."

Marie was laughing so hard she was crying as they pulled out of the driveway, leading Logan to add an, 'it wasn't that funny', to which Marie replied, "The imagery is fantastic!" Logan sniggered at that; it probably would have been a pretty funny sight.

They spent the afternoon shopping, Logan grabbing some supplies he knew he would need urgently at the cabin, as well as two cell phones on phone plans that would allow cheap continental calling. They then scouted out and bought everything Marie would need for school, including a very expensive laptop that far exceeded the specs for general school work.

While they were in town, they stopped at a bank that Logan recognised had branches in both America and Canada, and opened an account in Marie's name, securing her a debit card and setting up a direct credit from one of his accounts to hers to give her weekly spending money. The Professor had offered her the same weekly allowance as the rest of the students got but Logan declined it, on principal and on her behalf. He looked after his, and Marie was his, she didn't need to take a handout from anyone; though he didn't tell the Professor most of that. Then they went clothes shopping, to replace the clothes Marie had to leave behind in the rush out of the cabin. She also purchased a sizable supply of gloves, saying she wouldn't need to keep her mutation turned off all the time with other mutants around, because they would be more careful than regular people.

By seven that night they had everything they needed, and stopped off for dinner on their way back to the school. Everything was as it had been before, and Marie could almost believe the last week hadn't even happened, and it was still just her and Logan and the open road. It wasn't until they finally stepped out of the car in the underground garage at the school that she let her first tears fall.

"I don't want you to go," she murmured, into Logan's chest when he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her comfortingly.

"I know, I don’t particularly want to go either but it's for the best, and with all that studying you're going to be catching up on I'm going to be back before you know it," he replied, burying his nose in her hair to imprint her scent one last time.

"You're going to miss Christmas, and New Year's," she added, largely pointlessly.

"There'll be other holidays," he commented soothingly.

They stood in the dark garage, just holding each other, until the florescent overhead lights buzzed to life and someone cleared their throat from the direction of the door. Logan was getting the distinct impression that the little twat who was team leader, and would be one of Marie's teachers, really didn't like him. The feeling was fast becoming mutual. Pulling away from Marie, he placed a final kiss on her forehead, before releasing her to collect her stuff.

They slept in separate rooms that night, which led to a lot of restless tossing and turning for both of them. Finally, Logan heard Marie's breathing and heartbeat slow into her normal sleep rhythm, and he was finally able to drift off also.

Several hours later, in the wee small hours of pre-dawn Logan sat bolt upright in bed, he had no idea what had woken him. It hadn't been a nightmare like usual - though thankfully they were rare these days - but he couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. He was scanning his surroundings when he picked up Marie's accelerated heartbeat, he shot out of bed, and out of his room, just as the elevator at the end of the hall pinged and the door slid open. Logan ignored Jean, as she stepped out, while he rushed into Marie's room.

"Wake up, Marie, wake up, it's just a dream," Logan spoke to her, as he gently tried to shake her awake.

Without warning Marie sat bolt upright in bed, with a scream that was almost a roar, and socked him hard in the jaw, knocking him on his ass where he was crouched beside the bed.

"Oh my god, Logan are you alrig--" Marie started, before her eyes glazed and she paled. Logan reached for her again but she batted him away, launching herself off the bed and into the bathroom, where she began retching into the toilet. Logan followed and gently held her hair away from her face, while he rubbed soothing circles on her back. Jean followed them into the small bathroom, wetting a washcloth and handing it to him where he lay it across the back of Rogue's neck, she then got a glass of water for Rogue to rinse her mouth out with when she was finished.

Once Marie was done throwing up what was left of last night's dinner, and had cleaned herself up, Logan picked her up and carried her back to her bed. He tried to lay her down but she refused to let go of him, forcing him to sit down with her. Her eyes were welled with tears when she turned to look up at him but he placed a finger gently over her lips to shush her.

"I'm sorry, you were never meant to see that," Logan said gently.

"What they did to you!" Marie shuddered, "It was so real, I could feel everything, they didn't give you anything for the pain when..."

"Wouldn't have been any point, none of that stuff works on me anyway, but those memories aren't yours Marie you need to push them out of your head, shove them in the void where you never have to see them again."

"I can't do that Logan," Marie replied, "I can't pick and choose, I either keep it all or loose it all, and I like having you in here."

Logan sighed in resignation. "If I could have saved you and spared you all that shit I would have,” he murmured softly.

"I know," Marie assured him, "I'm glad I've seen it, I mean, hell, you saw me at my worst so I guess fair is fair right?" she joked.

He slipped her off his knee back into her bed, tucking the covers back around her with a soft smile. "Go back to sleep kid, nice dreams only from now on, got it?"

"If you weren't leaving in the morning that might be do-able," she grumbled but bid him goodnight all the same. As he stood up to leave the room she caught hold of his hand. "Don't leave without saying goodbye in the morning."

"Wouldn't dream of it kid," he replied, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Promise?" she asked with a yawn.

"I promise, see you in the morning," he answered, kissing her hand before turning back to the door. Logan noticed then that Jean was still standing in the doorway, and he ushered her out as he left.

"What was that all about?" she asked curiously, with more than a hint of concern.

"Has Marie told you how her mutation works?" he asked.

"Some," Jean responded, "She said she gets energy and memories from people, and some mutations too?"

"Yeah, that nightmare was one of my memories, I recognized the reaction," Logan revealed, "It’s from the lab, where they implanted the metal, it's not a nice memory..."

"I picked up her distress from the kitchen, it's unusual for non-telepaths to be able to project that far, even when under immense stress, it was one hell of a nightmare," Jean admitted.

Logan nodded with a scowl, looking even more concerned than he had before. "I don't know if I'm doing the right thing, leaving, I thought I was but now with this... she never should have had to see that..."

"You should never have had to experience it Logan," Jean stated, her attention turned towards Rogue's now closed door. "She doesn't blame you, if that makes you feel any better, she's more angry that it ever happened, that you have to live with that pain."

"Stay out of her head," Logan growled in annoyance.

"I'm not looking,” Jean replied with a smile, "She's projecting, she wants you to know. And don't feel bad about going, she's going to be okay, we can help her with the nightmares if they continue but it's probably just because it's new, once her mind calms the other memories should settle."

"I hope so, if it doesn't... keep me updated, if I have to come back I can, any time." Jean could tell, from his tone and obvious concern, that he really did feel a connection to the girl, she was picking up a strong protective instinct from him. His feral instincts had obviously attached a pack station to the girl, she was probably the closest thing he had to family judging by his propensity to keep others at arm’s length.

"I will do," she assured him. She sensed the conversation coming to an end but as he turned back to his room a thought struck her. "So, how long have you and Rogue been together?"

Logan paused, before turning back to her, an eyebrow cocked and an odd expression on his face. After a moment he responded, "Found her wandering a highway after skipping out on a ride that got handsy, she was half frozen and had nowhere near the right gear to survive even the Canadian fall on the road, let alone winter. Turned out we were heading in the same general direction, her to Anchorage, me to Whitehorse, so I offered her to tag along, got her enough gear to survive the trip through winter, then when we hit Whitehorse a storm blew in, she wasn't going to be getting any further for weeks, and I wasn't keen to just drop her off and leave her to fend for herself through winter, hell, kid had never seen snow before hitting the border, so I offered her to winter at my cabin and I'd take her on to Anchorage come spring, that's where that hairy fucker and you lot come in so, you know the rest." He shrugged and turned back to his room with a smile, bidding her goodnight as he disappeared through the door.

It wasn't until a couple of days later that Jean realised, he hadn't actually answered her question.

Morning came far too soon. Rogue had slept fitfully the rest of the night, not managing to get into another deep sleep cycle, and Logan was loathe to wake her when Scott came and knocked on his door at five am, to tell him they would be leaving in an hour. Logan showered and dressed, and double checked his bags before he finally went to Marie, letting her sleep for as long as possible.

"Morning darlin," he whispered, as she stirred to his gentle caress.

"Is it April already?" she asked, with a sleepy smile.

"You wish, I'm leaving in about twenty minutes, going to miss you kid," he told her softly.

"Nah, you're just going to miss my cooking," she said cheekily. Logan chuckled, and they chatted for a while longer, neither wanting to say the one word that would mean he would have to get up and walk out of the room.

After about fifteen minutes, Logan finally pulled away from her. Tugging the chain of the dog tag he wwore from around his neck, and slipping it around hers to hang over her heart. "I'll be back for this," he commented, in lieu of saying 'goodbye'.

"You better be, April tenth and not a day later... be safe," she replied, reaching up to offer him a chaste kiss, "And don't forget to call."

"I won't, now you go back to sleep darlin, love you.” He gave her one final kiss, as he tugged her blankets back up to her nose, and left her room for the final time.

He got to the plane hangar just as the bunker doors above the sleek machine were opening and quickly boarded, stashing his bags behind a cargo net and buckling himself into the seat he had sat in on the mission to rescue Marie. He couldn't help the prickle of doubt at leaving her any more than he could help the roll his stomach did as the jet lifted off the ground. He hated flying, he hadn't been able to pin point exactly why, though he did have distinct memories - which he believed were from the second World War - of parachuting under the cover of darkness into war zones. Those memories always left him dizzy and nauseous, in a completely different way to memories of the lab, and often with phantom aches in long healed limbs from hitting the ground too hard. He tried to sleep on the flight but failed miserably, eventually settling on snacking on some jerky Scott tossed at him when asked if breakfast was served on this airline. Other than that, they really didn't speak much on the trip, once they landed was a different story however.

Scott helped him unload the extra bags of supplies he had acquired to begin repairs, and in return Logan offered him breakfast and coffee. Scott declined breakfast but accepted a coffee, it would be his second that morning but he had a feeling it was going to be a long day. He idly chatted with Logan about what repairs needed doing, the windows, and their framing, were the biggest issue. The rest of the damage appeared to be largely superficial thankfully, though some walls were likely to bear the deep gouges, from both mutant’s claws, forever.

It wasn't until he was ready to leave that Scott finally broached the subject he'd been wanting to mention for days. "Look, Rogue's going to be happy at the school, she's already started making friends," he said, as he stood at the bottom of the jets gang plank, "If you care about her at all and want what's best for her, you'll leave her alone and stay away from the school, she doesn't need an old man hanging around reminding her of mistakes she's made in the past."

Logan said nothing, initially, but the steaming fury in his eyes was enough to encourage Scott to make a hasty retreat.

"If you knew Marie half as well as you think you do, you'd know that is the biggest pile of steaming horseshit that could have come out of your mouth. If you think Marie thinks anything she's done is a 'mistake' I can tell you she doesn't, because Marie's learned lessons you never have and knows that every experience in your life, no matter how shitty, makes you the person you are, and Marie is a damn fine little woman, more than happy with who she is, and comfortable in her skin, and if I hear you've been trying to tell her otherwise, you won't be able to fly far or fast enough on this fancy ass plane of yours to get away from the ass kicking I will rain down on you. Think about that on your way back, flyboy."

Logan stalked back into the cabin once he had said his piece, his first order of business would be making sure he could get a signal on that phone and calling Marie. She would want to know he had arrived safe and sound.

--

Over the next few months they spoke on the phone regularly, most nights in fact. Logan kept Marie updated on his repairs to the cabin, and the antics of the wildlife that initially managed to sneak inside. Marie in turn happily filled him in on her days, schoolwork, activities with friends, reassuring him Scott and Jean weren’t harassing her about him.

Sometimes they would just talk about nothing, what the weather was doing in each location. Logan claimed to be bored and missing her one day and sent her a picture of his ‘replacement Marie' he had made in the snow, a horizontal snowwoman in a naughty pose. Marie had laughed so hard she gave herself the hiccups, and the next day she sent him a risqué picture of a certain male appendage, also fashioned from snow, claiming it as her replacement Logan.

Each phone call was harder than the last to end, some calls lasting until the batteries on their respective phones died, the call bill was horrendous but worth every minute.

They sent each other Christmas presents, though Logan’s arrived late due to another snow storm. Marie receiving a beautiful bearskin throw, like one of the ones at the cabin, and Logan getting a framed photograph of Marie, and a flannel shirt saturated in her scent; he also found a pair of panties tucked in the pocket which he enjoyed very much.

New Year’s passed without much fanfare for the both of them, though Marie started a count down of how many days until he would arrive back. On Valentine’s Day Marie was surprised to receive a bunch of rose’s from a local florist, with a simple ‘Thinking of you’ scribbled on the accompanying note card. She lamented her lack of forethought in sending something for Logan but he just shrugged it off and said it wasn’t necessary, or the point of a gift; she promised to make it up to him though.

The phone calls stopped on April first, and Logan took over the countdown, sending her daily messages, accompanied by a picture of wherever he was that day, as he began to make his way back East.

"Hey kid, you miss me?" Logan asked cockily, as Marie continued her headlong dash down the stairs and threw her arms around him.

"Mm, nah!" she replied sarcastically, her face buried against his chest as her arms tried to squeeze the life out of him.

He wrapped his own arms around her, he had missed the feel of her there, and he hugged her back tightly. She had put on some weight since he had seen her last he was pleased to note, she had been a picky eater since he picked her up and he had always been just a little worried about her light weight, especially so when he held her tiny, limp body on top of the statue. He had had nightmares about that moment for weeks afterwards, and had to stop himself several times from packing up and legging it back to New York to make sure she was alive and well. The phone, and being able to talk to her, had helped him beat that urge to a degree.

He felt her shift then, pressing closer to him, and then suddenly jerk back, a guarded expression on her face. Before he could say anything, several people joined them in the foyer. Ignoring them, Logan made a suggestion to Marie.

"What's say me and you go get some lunch and catch up," he asked with a grin.

"That would be great, I'll just go change," Marie replied, giving him another quick squeeze before shooting up the stairs she had only just a minute before come down, and before he could voice his opinion that she was fine and didn’t need to change.

As soon as she was out of earshot his welcoming committee approached.

"Logan, it's so good to see you," Jean spoke first, as she stepped forward to hug him. She had always been hands-on with him but that didn't mean he had to like it, he gave the briefest hug in return and avoided her attempt to peck him on the cheek.

"Good to be back," he replied, no point being rude with any attempt to make clear he hadn't returned for any of them.

"Will you be staying long?" Ororo asked serenely, as she greeted him.

"Don't know yet," he replied honestly, he would have to talk to Marie first before making any decisions.

"I do hope you will," Ororo continued, "Rogue has been quite distant and unhappy the last few months, she perked up considerably when she saw you coming up the drive, I'm sure she would love to have you around also."

Logan genuinely smiled at her comment, it turned into an amused chuckle when he caught the dark look Scott directed toward Ororo. "I'll make sure to ask her while we're out," Logan commented. “What's curfew at this place? I don't know how long we'll be," he asked, just to see if he could rile Scott a little more.

"Eight," Scott replied immediately. Logan instantly picked up the lie but before he could call him on it, Charles entered the foyer and spoke.

"Curfew is ten on school nights for the seniors, as today is a Friday ordinarily Rogue may stay out a bit later, though as it is her birthday, Logan, I would ask that you have her back by seven, some of her friends have organised a surprise party for her this evening," he stated with a welcoming smile.

"Will do Chuck," Logan replied, he hadn't planned to have Marie out that late anyway, he only needed long enough to get answers out of her as to why she had been keeping secrets from him while he had been away.

Marie clattered back down the stairs then at breakneck speed. "Come on, let's go," she said mock impatiently, she was beaming and seemed about to burst with joy.

"See you later," Logan threw over his shoulder, as he guided Marie out the door he had not long entered. He had brought his pack in with him but it could go back into the truck for now, he wasn't going to waste time taking it up to his room now.

"So darlin, where we heading?" he asked, as he started the shiny new pick-up truck that Marie didn't know yet was hers.

"Yukon," she replied cheekily.

"I know it's your birthday and all but I think that's a bit far to go for lunch," Logan chuckled back.

Marie mock pouted before giving him a name, and directions to a place in town, and they set off. It wasn't long before he noticed nervousness begin to creep into her scent. Watching her out of the corner of his eye he noted the furrow in her brow, and the teeth worrying her lip. He pulled the truck swiftly into a parking lot at the edge of a manicured park and stopped.

"Come on Marie, out with it," he stated gently.

She turned to him, opening her mouth to speak before snapping it shut again. She popped open her door and motioned for him to follow her, before making her way over to a picnic table tucked out of the way under a tree. He followed along and as she pulled herself up to sit on the table top, he moved to stand in front of her, his hands resting on her thighs.

After a moment she looked him dead in the eye and softly, and uncertainly, stated, "I'm pregnant."

"I figured as much from the bump," Logan replied, confirming he had indeed felt the swell hidden under her oversize jumper when she had hugged him in the foyer. "It's mine?"

"Of course!" Marie answered immediately, sounding only a few degrees below angry scorn, "Could only be yours."

Logan was conflicted, on the one hand he was ecstatic, she was having his baby, on the other, she was still so young. This definitely hadn't been intentional, though thinking back on their interactions they hadn't really done anything to prevent it. There was also the nagging fear that maybe she didn't want the baby, why else would she not tell him, she must have known she was pregnant for at least a few months.

Trying to assuage his fears he asked next, "So, why didn't you tell me?"

When she looked up at him again, she had tears in her eyes. "I just... I didn't... you sounded so lonely every time you called, I knew you didn't want to come back until the legal stuff was, right, and I was worried that if I told you you'd either want to come here immediately, or it would make you feel even worse about having to stay away, and-" she dipped her head- "a tiny part of me was scared that if I told you, you might change your mind and not come back,” she finished in a rushed whisper.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Darlin I would never leave you, especially not over a baby, shit kid, babies are amazing, fantastic, you're having my kid darlin, our kid! I'll admit I'm a little worried about this being pretty quick off the mark but we can handle it. And you're right, it would have been hell staying away and knowing, I'll make it up to you now though." He planted a kiss on her forehead as she smiled happily, a few tears still managing to leak past her lashes.

"So, does anyone else know? Do you know what it is? How have you been, any morning sickness? Come on, give me some details," he added, after a few moments just holding her.

Marie laughed at his eagerness. "No one else knows, I wanted you to be the first to know, I think Scott might be suspecting though. So that means I don't know what it is, I considered finding a doctor away from the school but that would have drawn suspicion sneaking out alone for appointments and I wanted you to be there for that. Morning sickness wasn't bad, I managed to pass it off as a mild stomach bug, I thought someone was going to catch on when I started chowing down on crackers and ginger tea but no one seemed to notice."

"You must be about five, and a bit, months along now," he said, resting his hand against the swell of her abdomen, hidden from view under her baggy clothes.

"Twenty to twenty-two weeks, or thereabouts," Marie confirmed. Just then she felt a gentle roll of movement inside her. "Did you feel that!?" she asked, excitedly, as the baby kicked again.

"I did," Logan replied in awe, pressing his hand tighter against her stomach. "Hey, little one, go easy on your mama," he said with a chuckle a moment later, after a particularly large movement.

After a few minutes the baby seemed to get comfortable and the movement stopped, Logan slid his hand from her stomach around her waist and pulled her close. With a soft kiss, he lifted her off the table, and gently set her down on her feet. "Come on mama, let's go get you fed," he said, taking her hand and leading her back to the truck, a satisfied grin plastered on his face.

"Why are you wearing gloves?" Logan asked suddenly, as he held her door for her as she climbed into the truck.

"Uh, well, I kind of haven't told anyone at the school that I can control it," Marie shrugged, "Bad I know but it helped me hide baby so long, so it's not all bad."

"You know they're going to figure that out as soon as they find out about junior, right," Logan commented, amused and impressed by her forethought, even if it was sneaky, as he climbed into the truck.

"Yeah, I guess that can't be helped, I hope the Professor’s not too mad," Marie responded.

"He won't be," Logan assured her; he would make sure of it.

Once they were seated at the diner Marie had picked out, and were tucking into a late lunch, the conversation started up again, with Marie filling Logan in on what had happened at the school since their last phone call - which had ended prematurely when Marie's friend, Jubilee, had burst into the room demanding Rogue's presence in the rec room for some urgent matter that she refused to take no for an answer on. It turned out it was a poker game, being run by the New Orleans card shark who had arrived at the mansion about a month after Logan had left. Apparently, he laughed at Jubilee when she said Rogue could kick his ass at the game, so she had dragged Marie downstairs to do just that.

Logan couldn't help but laugh as she explained how she had shamelessly utilised the 'him’ in her head to thrash the guy, even though he was obviously cheating. She exposed the cheating after she beat him four times, and beat a hasty retreat when the room had erupted in fury. Everyone had refused to play any card games with him for days afterward.

"So, what else do you use me to cheat at?" Logan asked amused.

"Oh, history tests, Scott's shop class, trivia quizzes, that sort of thing," she replied nonchalantly, as she popped a french fry in her mouth.

"It takes the saying 'what's mine is yours' to a whole new level," Logan commented good naturedly, "So how are you doing with school? You passing everything?"

"Yep," Marie replied, "I'm on track to graduate in the winter class at the end of this year."

"That's early isn't it?" Logan queried, even though he knew from Ororo’s updates, the only one of the teachers who would give him full updates, that she was indeed ahead of her peers.

"I've been trying to cram as many classes to get as far ahead as I can before the baby comes, I should be due sometime around the middle of August which is going to be a bit of a pain, I'm hoping he comes a little early so I can get a month of baby-time in before classes start again in September," Marie said brightly, she had obviously been thinking this over herself.

“He?” Logan queried, surprised.

Marie shrugged. “Or she, either-or, don’t mind... you?”

“I don’t know, a little girl would be cute, boys can be all kinds of trouble, girls are a lot less trouble,” Logan replied, smiling at the thought of a little girl, with her mothers big brown eyes, and an impish grin.

“Until they get to teenagers and get boyfriends,” Marie replied, laughing when Logan narrowed his eyes and growled at her; not on his watch…

"You want to stay here then?" Logan lead into the next topic they needed to discuss.

Marie nodded, looking uncertain. "I would like to stay until graduation, I'm not opposed to moving on and finishing high school somewhere else if we have to but I would prefer to stay, just because I'm settled here for now... you made a joke about me ‘nesting’," she sniggered, tapping the side of her head, before continuing, "I like the teachers well enough and I've got friends here, it would save having to try and fit in again at a new school. But I will only be staying if you are staying, with me, together, that's not negotiable and if the Professor has a problem with that then we're going."

Logan reached over and squeezed her hand. "I'm not going anywhere without you kid, don't you worry about anything, I'll convince them," he replied, with a growl and a quick, discreet, flash of claws. It had the desired effect and Marie brightened up, laughing at his implied threat.

"So, how are we going to break the news to the geeks?" he asked, a little while later as they continued their meal.

"I was thinking," Marie started, as she pulled off her jumper to reveal a white maternity top, V-neck, with a gathered bust, short sleeves, and a loose floaty waist that alternately hid and revealed her peeking bump, "Just walk right in, not say anything, see how long it takes for anyone to notice."

"I like that idea," Logan laughed, "We can do it tonight, I can guarantee it won't take them long to notice but I doubt they'll say anything about it tonight, tomorrow will be fun. You sure you're ready to handle this now?"

Marie nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready, it will be nice to have it out in the open so I can stop worrying about people noticing," she admitted. Hiding her growing bump had been the one point of stress in her life the last two months, since she had started watching the little bump grow in her bathroom mirror.

"You don't have to hide any more darlin," Logan assured her, "And you don't have to deal with this alone either."

They chatted about lighter topics for the next couple of hours, with Logan periodically ordering Marie more food. At one point she went to the bathroom, and returned to find another piece of peach cobbler on the table in front of her seat. "Damn it Logan, you're going to make me fatter than the baby will, you better be helping me eat this," she told him with a laugh, as she sat back down.

"You saying there would be something wrong with that?" Logan asked, casting an eye down what he could see of her body, her breasts were already plumping nicely. Marie just blushed, and shook her head in amusement.

"We've got two hours before we have to get back to the mansion, anything else you want to do before we head back?" Logan asked Marie, when he finally called for their cheque.

She didn't reply until they were outside the diner. "It's a shame you didn't bring the camper, so we could have a little... privacy," she hinted.

"Privacy huh? Think I can manage that," he replied with a naughty grin, once they were both settled in the truck, and they rolled away to find the most private space they could.

"Before we go in, they're throwing you a surprise party, so be prepared for someone to jump out and scream but still act surprised, I didn't tell you about it," Logan whispered to her with a grin, as they walked side-by-side up the stairs to the front door of the mansion.

They opened the door to a surprisingly quiet building, not a person to be seen, and deathly silent. "Where is everyone?" Marie said out loud, she had been living in the mansion for five months and had never heard it this quiet before.

All of a sudden, a young girl popped her head out of the rec room and stage whispered, 'in here', before disappearing back through the door. Marie walked down the hall tentatively, Logan following her. As soon as she entered the room it erupted in shouts and whoops and hollers, with the overwhelming theme of 'happy birthday'. Logan had stayed outside the room for the initial reaction but even he wasn't prepared for the sudden explosion of sound, he was glad he had warned her it was coming.

On entering the room, he noted the crowd had now swarmed Rogue wrapping her in a stream of quick, careful hugs. He stood back and let her enjoy the attention, listening as she gushed over the decorations, there were dark green and silver streamers and balloons. As Rogue reached the centre of the room, someone set off a small confetti cannon showering her with tiny shimmering silver particles.

Logan stood leaning against the doorway watching the goings on, ordinarily he didn't like large gatherings of people but there was no way he was leaving Marie alone. He was concerned someone was going to hit the fan and ruin her birthday party as soon as they noticed the baby bump that, in her new shirt, was not as well hidden as it had been under the sweater she had been wearing when they had left. So far it appeared no one had yet noticed.

Just as he thought that he spied Scott's brow furrow in confusion, he watched as the younger man leaned closer to his fiancée and whispered something in her ear. Jean, who had been smiling and laughing along with everyone else, suddenly looked surprised, her eyes turned to, and quickly scanned over, Rogue, before her eyes widened in shock. As they engaged in a hushed conversation, Logan began to make his way over to them.

"Do anything to spoil her birthday and I'll make you wish you hadn't," he growled, as he stepped up behind the pair of them.

"You knew?!" Jean hissed as she turned on him. She had gone from shocked to furious, in the time it had taken him to cross the room.

"She told me this afternoon," Logan informed her, "Don't bring it up now, just let her enjoy her birthday, you can lose your shit tomorrow- if you think it will help the situation."

Scott released a strained sigh. "That's a fair enough point, we'll speak to her tomorrow. Why did she keep it a secret though?" he demanded of Logan.

"Tomorrow," Logan responded, bluntly, as he spied Marie moving towards them.

"Oh my gosh, this is amazing, thank you all so much," Marie gushed, hugging Scott, and Jean, though Logan noted she tried to avoid too much contact with each of them, before she moved on to Ororo and Chuck.

*'Tomorrow,'* the Professor mentally advised, a brief flicker of concern crossing his face as he glanced toward Logan, over Rogue's shoulder, when she stooped to hug him.

"Alright, I think I've hugged everyone, now I'm going to grab some of that food," Marie announced, turning to the table piled high with tasty Southern-style appetizers and finger foods.

Logan took the distraction of Marie's rapidly disappearing form to slip away from the group of adults. He was not hanging around there longer than he had to, tomorrow would come too soon on that front. Moving over to the table a short while later to get himself some food, now that the crowd was starting to disburse. He was just in time to hear one of Marie's friends, a loud yellow-clad Asian girl, squeal as she rushed up to Marie and carefully wrapped her arms around her as she bounced up and down excitedly.

"Watch it Jubes, I'd like to keep my dinner off the floor," Marie replied, trying to sound mad with her but failing.

"Chica, I totally knew you were hiding something under those frumpy tops," the yellow kid announced.

A second girl approached, quieter than the first. “Shush Jubes, you don't need to announce it to the room," she addressed her loud friend.

"Yeah," Marie replied quietly, "I'd like it to just, be a fact, you know, don't make a fuss, Jubes, you're great at minimising drama, just pretend like 'everyone knew that' or something, please," Marie begged her friend, "I really don't want to be bombarded with people asking questions and stuff, it's going to be bad enough when the Professor calls me in to explain, I'm expecting that bright and early tomorrow," she cringed slightly at the thought.

"You mean they didn't even know?" Kitty asked surprised.

Marie just shook her head as she stuffed food in her mouth, hoping they would get the hint and stop talking about it.

"Alright fine, I can take a hint chica, diversionary tactics will be deployed, cause like how did you not know that, everyone knew that you numbskull, jeez. But you are totally going to owe me a full explanation at some point girl, we'll have our own private party tomorrow or something," the mouthy Asian winked and nudged Marie, "I'd say ‘I’ll bring the booze’ but I guess that's doubly out of the question now!"

"Damn straight," Logan muttered, loud enough for the girls to hear, as he sat down on the back of the couch behind them. If they were going to be staying at the school, he had better get to know Marie's friends, these two appeared to be the closest to her.

"Yes Logan," Marie rolled her eyes at him, with a grin. "Logan this is Jubilee, and this is Kitty, and we are the 'Terrible Trio', according to Scott, I will just add, I am the sweet innocent Southern Belle who gets in trouble purely by association because I am far too sweet and innocent to be the main instigator and tactician," Marie added, with a conspiratorial wink.

"So that's how you get out of all the punishments!" Jubilee muttered, trying to sound annoyed, before she joined in with Kitty's giggles.

Before their conversation could move on a voice called for attention from across the room. "Alright everyone, now that you're all fed, let’s let Rogue open her presents, and then we'll bring out whatever is left of the cake that the boys haven't found yet."

"Ha ha, very funny," a dark-haired boy called out from the other side of the room.

"Sounds like there's a story behind that comment," Logan hinted to the girls.

Jubilee sniggered, as Kitty replied, "On Dr Grey's birthday, Mr Summer's bought her a fancy cake, the boys found it and ate it, they were finishing it off when Mr Summers brought Dr Grey into the kitchen for 'a surprise', let's just say, they were both surprised."

Before long Rogue had been ushered across the room, along with her personal bodyguards, Jubilee and Kitty, to the pool table that was sporting a decent pile of gifts. It took half an hour for her to work her way through the pile. While she was gushing over gifts Logan collected his pack, that he had dropped in the hall, and pulled out the gift he brought with him. It wasn't wrapped in flashy paper like the others but he knew Marie wouldn't care.

As Marie picked up the last present off the table, he placed his next to her for her to open last, she flashed him a brilliant smile as he moved to the back of the room and resumed watching. If her growing belly had caused a stir what was about to happen was going to be impressive, he smothered his grin and waited.

"Oh, Professor, it's lovely," Marie said, holding up the necklace box for everyone to see the delicate chain, with a pendant shaped like the school and X-men's logo of an X inside a circle. She snapped the box shut once she had gushed over it adequately, and added it to the pile of gifts.

Picking up the paper bag that contained the last gift, Marie unrolled the top of the bag and gently pulled out the black leather she could see inside. She dropped the bag as she held up the black leather motorcycle jacket inside.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed over the jacket, running her fingers over the forest green, mandala-inspired embroidery that covered the back and sleeves of the jacket. "It's amazing," she said in awe, as she pulled the jacket on in front of the dropped jaws, and bugging eyes of her jealous classmates, and shocked teachers.

"Might take a while to zip it up," Jubilee joked. Marie just laughed at that, pleased how Jubes had already begun normalising her current condition.

As she regarded the jacket as best she could without a mirror, she felt an odd shape in one pocket as she ran her hand over the butter-soft leather. Reaching into the pocket she pulled out a set of keys, on a keychain that featured a little snarling Wolverine. She was about to comment on how cute the mini mustelid was when she suddenly realised she was holding a set of car keys, a set of GMC keys.

"Wait... the truck!?" she looked at Logan astonished, "It... it's mine!?"

"Yep," Logan nodded, "I'll even throw in some driving lessons."

"Oh my god!" Marie said again, running to him and throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

After a moment he dropped her back onto her feet. "There's more," he whispered as he released her, stifling his laugh at how comically wide her eyes got before she started patting the jacket looking for what else had been hidden in the pockets. It didn't take her long to find the narrow black box in the opposite internal pocket.

She froze when she opened the box, inside was a little ceramic white rose on a white gold stem, wrapped in a piece of white embossed paper and secured with a silver metal band. She tentatively picked up the rose, and gently slid the band off the paper. As it fell away, she realised it was a ring, and not just any ring, a seriously flashy engagement ring. She could hardly breathe, and couldn't move, as her brain began slowly connecting the dots. She could barely see Logan through the tears in her eyes when she looked to him for assurance, all he did was nod toward what she was holding, encouraging her to continue to unwrap the present. Gently unfurling the piece of paper, she laughed as she saw Logan's scrawl asking 'Marry me?'. She couldn't have spoken if she had tried but she nodded her head furiously, as a tear ran down her cheek.

Logan gently picked up the ring, stripped off her glove, and slid the ring onto her fourth finger, he brushed a quick kiss on the back of her bare hand before sliding the glove back onto her hand hiding the ring from view. For a moment Marie hugged him, before tucking the rose and scroll back into the box, and returning it to her pocket.

"I'm going to go take a closer look at my truck," she announced after a moment, not letting go of Logan's hand as she moved out of the room, tugging him after her.

Noting the confused faces of those around the room, who had apparently missed the revelation of the ring, Logan took the opportunity to get as far away from Charles, but probably more importantly Scott, before they realised what had just happened. A shout for music went up behind them as they made their way out the front door, the party continuing unabated, despite the absence of the guest of honour.

After about ten minutes of Marie hiding outside, under the guise of checking out her present, Jubilee and Kitty wandered out to find them.

"Kids are screaming for cake, you have to come back in, you can drool over your truck later, you lucky bitch," Jubilee ribbed, as she grabbed Marie's gloved hand and tugged her towards the door. She froze a split second later, running her finger over the solid mass under the glove. "What is that?" she asked, staring at Marie in disbelief.

Marie slid her glove off, and flashed the diamond encrusted band for both girls to see. "Do not tell anyone, yet," she stated, pulling the glove back on once both girls had had a decent look.

"So..." Kitty looked a little uncomfortable, "Is that from the baby's dad?" she queried nervously, flashing a look at Logan, it could have only come from him.

"Yes," Marie and Logan replied simultaneously, answering both the asked, and unasked questions. Logan continued, wrapping a reassuring arm around Marie, "For now that stays between the four of us, tomorrow Marie and I will sort everything with Chuck, one way or the other."

"You're not going to get in, like, legal trouble, are you?" Kitty asked, sounding concerned. She felt like she knew Logan well enough, from all the chatting the pair had done with Rogue, to know he was an alright guy, even ignoring the fact he had been willing to die to save Rogue when she was kidnapped. Kitty and Jubes were the only ones who knew that Rogue and Logan had been together for a reasonable length of time, before the X-Men found them.

"Nah," Logan shrugged her concerns off, "All perfectly legal in Canada, and now in New York too." He picked up the sound of approaching footsteps, and nudged the girls toward the house. "Come on, someone else is coming looking now, that must be a good cake."

Scott stepped out the front door just as all three girls burst out laughing, as they began the trek back to the party. He flashed a strained smile at the girls as they passed before glaring at Logan, reaching out towards him to try and stop him from following them inside.

"What the hell are you thinking giving her a car?" Scott demanded.

"I was thinking she needed a car, so I gave her one, curious what your problem is with that," Logan replied, brushing the other man off.

"You can't favour her Logan, she needs to learn that to get ahead in life she needs to make an effort, that everything isn't just going to get handed to her, you're not doing her any favours with stunts like this," Scott snapped at him, after noting the girls were well out of earshot by now.

"Scooter, she lived hand-to-mouth on the road for eight months, she knows life hands you a shitty deal sometimes, no matter how much of an effort you make. If I can do anything to make her life a little easier, I will, and there isn't anything you can do to stop me," Logan replied forcefully, before turning his back on the younger man and walking away.

He walked into the rec room just as the gathered crowd started an overly loud, off key rendition of the generic standard 'Happy Birthday' song, as a huge cake was carried into the room. The cake itself looked like the result of an explosion in a candy factory, or like a group of sugar-high toddlers had had a food fight with the brightly coloured goodies they couldn't eat. Faced with the garish display Marie laughed brightly and commented that, when she had told her friends she didn't have a favourite candy she had not expected them to try and feed them all to her.

An hour later, the younger children had all been shooed off to bed, and the older teens and adults were enjoying themselves a little more maturely. There were kids dancing to the obscenely loud music at one end of the hall, while various other games were being played. A poker game, utilising M&M's as chips was underway, with no small amount of cheating going on. A foosball tournament was temporarily paused while the challengers argued about whether or not it was cheating to ice the ball. While Logan and Scott gave impromptu pool lessons, though Logan had so far only been 'tutoring' Rogue; she had beat everyone who went up against her.

Eventually Marie handed over the cue for someone else to have a turn and went to get herself a drink, she was exhausted, and trying to figure out a way to sneak out without anyone noticing.

"Come on," Logan murmured, coming up behind her and directing her out of the room while everyone was distracted, he could see the tiredness in her eyes. They walked up the stairs hand-in-hand. Logan hadn't bothered to catch up with the Professor about whether his room was still available, instead just heading straight to Marie's room.

Marie didn't even question when Logan pulled her into the room after him, locking the door behind them. With a yawn she moved over to the bed, collapsing onto it still dressed, and mumbling goodnight.

Logan chuckled. "Get ready for bed darlin," he said, pulling her up again.

She fumbled through a drawer, grumbling for no reason, before turning to look at him over her shoulder. "Black or green?" she asked seductively.

"Mm, hard choice..." Logan replied with a chuckle. "Green," he added, after a moment of exaggerated consideration, as he stripped off his shirts. He sat on the bed to pull off his boots, and watched as Marie stripped off before pulling on a slinky silk nightie, that barely covered her ass.

She gave him a quick peck on the lips, before she moved into the bathroom and continued her pre-bed routine. He followed her into the bathroom, leaning casually against the doorframe just watching her, she was a sight for sore eyes after five months in near solitude.

"What?" she queried, blushing shyly as she watched him watch her in the mirror.

"Nothing," he replied, as he moved up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, both hands splayed across her occupied abdomen. He gently kissed her neck before he released her to finish her routine.

Once she had brushed her teeth and relieved her cramped bladder, Marie crawled into bed next to Logan. Thankfully her belly wasn't so big as to inconvenience her sleeping position too much yet, and she tucked herself against him, resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.

"So," she said after a while, "That went well on the face of it, if I didn't know better, I'd think they hadn't noticed."

"They noticed," Logan rumbled back soothingly, "I told them not to say anything until tomorrow, let you enjoy your party, Chuck wants to see you bright and early in the morning though, hopefully overnight will be enough time for the hot heads to cool down a bit, I'm not holding my breath though."

"Well, that's tomorrows problem," Marie replied, shifting to place a trail of kisses up the side of his neck.

"Sleep Marie," Logan interrupted her, with a content smile, "There'll be plenty of time for that later."

"But I've missed you," she replied, not ceasing her attention.

"I've missed you too but you need sleep, I'll wake you up early tomorrow, promise," Logan responded, returning her kiss before they both settled down to sleep.

Logan and Marie slept soundly through the night, content to finally be back together. Marie's extra pillows had not been warm or solid enough to make a decent substitute for Logan, and the shirt of hers he had taken with him to Yukon had lost her scent after only a few weeks of near constant handling.

Waking up with an armful of Marie, his face buried in the crook of her neck, and one of her legs thrown over his hip, was as close as Logan could ever remember being to heaven. As he slowly drifted awake, he remembered his promise to wake Marie up early. The digital clock on her nightstand read five twenty-seven am, the sun wouldn't be up for about another hour, but she looked too beautifully peaceful to wake, so he contented himself with watching her sleep. That didn't last as long as he had hoped though, as she began to stir a short time later.

"Good morning handsome," she murmured sleepily. "I thought you were waking me up bright and early," she teased.

"It still early, not too bright yet but you were far to pretty to wake," he replied, smiling down at her as she stretched leisurely beside and around him.

"Are you saying I'm not pretty when I'm awake?" Marie asked, in mock indignation.

"Well, you do have a tendency of opening your mouth and ruining the illusion," Logan replied, the cheeky grin on his face letting her know he was just joking.

Marie slapped at his shoulder half-heartedly, with her own responding giggle, before replying, "You are lucky I'm a horny pregnant woman or you wouldn't be getting any until sometime next year after a comment like that!"

"Horny!?" Logan asked, surprised.

"Oh yeah, women don't only crave weird food when they're pregnant you know," she replied, "I've been horny as anything for about the last month, according to the pregnancy guides I've read it's perfectly normal, apparently one of the most common cravings, now that you're back--"

Logan didn't let her finish, kissing her thoroughly as his hands began to roam her body. "You know, I didn't know that, why do guys so often complain about their wives getting pregnant?" he added, as he broke the kiss but continued to feel his way across her body.

"Oh, you're just lucky, women usually go one way or the other where sex is concerned, either all the time everywhere, or hell no don't come near me with that thing, then there's the weird food cravings, and we tend to get bitchy once we get the size of a house and none of our clothes fit, and... oh yeah, right there!"

As much as he wanted to be all over her, he was mildly concerned about hurting the baby. He honestly knew very little about pregnancy, and babies in general, but Marie wanted this so he was going to make sure she left this bed, eventually, fully satisfied. He used his hands and mouth on her, bringing her over the edge repeatedly before she begged him to enter him. It took some coaxing from her to convince him she was comfortable, and she giggled at him when he verbalised his fear of squishing the baby, before he finally sank into her tight heat.

"Fuck it's good to be home!" he groaned, as he allowed the missed sensation to wash over him. Marie moaned in agreement, encouraging him to continue, it wasn't long before they were both stifling cries of completion, before Logan pulled her back down to him, and they drifted off to sleep again, this time sated.

Half an hour later, Logan woke to the sound of approaching footsteps, followed by a knock, on Marie's bedroom door. She stirred but snuggled back down into the sheets and settled again, so Logan got up, pulled on his jeans, and opened the door. They had been careful to avoid too much talk about the exact nature of their relationship while Marie had been underage, in New York, but now, in her current condition, and with the 'chat' that would imminently take place, there really was no point beating around that particular bush. She was pregnant with his kid after all.

He opened the door to see the boy scout standing at the threshold, a dark look immediately taking over the younger man’s features, those that could be seen around his ever-present glasses at least.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Scott demanded.

"Keeping my girl company, want to explain what you're doing bashing her door down at... eight thirty on a Saturday?" Logan replied coolly. He wasn't a student, he wasn't a teacher, and Marie was legal now, so he really didn't think he had any need to explain himself, least of all to this little punk.

"The Professor is ready to see Rogue now," Scott replied tightly, trying to shove the door open past Logan, so he could see into the room.

Logan let the door open a bit further, so the intruder could see Marie asleep in bed, before replying, "Marie's not quite ready yet, give us an hour for her to get up and get some breakfast, we'll be there at nine thirty." With that, he shut the door in Scott's face, turning back to the sleeping beauty on the bed.

"Mm, again Logan, gee your more insatiable than I am," Marie mumbled with a grin, as she slowly woke to the feel of Logan's lips on her flesh.

"One, you had better believe it, healing factor darlin, haven't ever been worn-out by a woman yet," he replied cockily. "Two, not now babe, we just got our summons to the Court of public opinion by none other than stick-up-his-ass Summers, I bought us an hour, so, rise and shine darlin, hit the shower and then we're going down for breakfast." He kissed her again, picking her up out of bed as he did so, and guiding her into the bathroom. He would not be joining her in the shower because he was determined she get breakfast before their meeting; a joint shower would just take too long.

As Marie dressed, he jumped through the shower himself, stepping out after a five-minute wash, he towelled off as he stepped into the bedroom. Marie was dressed in tight black jeans with a tight, dark green, stretchy long sleeve top on that showed off her burgeoning baby bump proudly. She obviously had maternity clothes all bought and ready for when she could start showing off. This shirt had little silver baby foot and hand prints on the belly section.

Logan smiled at her choice, and leaned down to kiss her belly, kissing her too on the way back up before he reached for the clothes Marie had thrown on the bed for him - jeans, a black t-shirt, and a dark green flannel that looked almost perfectly colour matched to the green of her own shirt. She had pulled on a pair of black hiking boots while he was dressing, and was struggling with the laces until Logan knelt down beside her, and batted her hands out of the way. He laced her boots for her, before pulling his own boots on too.

It wasn't until they were walking down the hallway, hand in hand, that Logan realised she had foregone gloves. It looked like she was going to blow all her secrets in one go he realised, as he felt the cool metal of her engagement ring where their fingers were entwined. That didn't sound like a half bad idea.

As they entered the cafeteria a hushed silence fell over those who had dragged themselves out of bed already, and gathered around the hot food. He spied Jubilee and Kitty at a table at the back with a few other teenagers. Jubilee gesticulated wildly what looked like a message for them to get food and join their table, however, once Marie had her food, she tried to move away from them to a quieter table alone at the back of the room.

Stopping her with a covertly placed hand on her arm Logan whispered, so only she could hear, "You can't separate yourself off from your friends Marie, that'll give them a reason to object to this if they think it's going to make you withdraw, let's go sit with them."

She considered what he said before realising he had a good point, she also noticed the occupied teachers table watching them closely, with expressions ranging from mild concern to downright murderous. She shrugged and nodded, before moving to the table to sit opposite Jubilee, leaving a seat to her left for Logan to join her, opposite Kitty. The rest of the table’s occupants were curiously silent as Jubilee began to chatter, her easy-going nature didn't take long to lull them all back into a sense of security, and most of the babble started up again.

"So chica," Jubilee said after a while, "When do we find out if junior's a mini you or a mini dude?"

"Whenever I go for an ultrasound I guess, though I still haven't decided if I want to know in advance you know, I'd kind of like it to be a surprise," she admitted, sounding uncertain.

"You have to find out!" Kitty announced dramatically, "I need to know what colours I'm shopping for baby stuff in, ooh! Or we could do a surprise gender reveal, you could get your doctor to tell me and Jubes and then we can think of a really cool way to show everyone, and then we need to set a date for the baby shower, and--"

"Whoa Kitty-cat hold your horses," one of the boys chuckled, Logan was pretty sure from listening to previous conversation that his name was Johnny. "I get you're excited, though why is beyond me, babies are screaming, smelling, sleep stealers after all, but this isn't your kid, you should probably make sure Rogue's okay with all this before you run off and start planning her life for her." Several of the other kids laughed when Kitty replied by sticking her tongue out at him.

Marie laughed along with everyone else before adding, "Some of that stuff sounds okay maybe we can talk more about it later, still undecided on the gender thing though, what do you think?" she turned to ask Logan

He shrugged. "Doesn't bother me either way, though I'll admit, I am hoping for a little girl as sweet as her mama." Marie blushed as she nudged him playfully. It might have been a cheesy thing to say but it was true, and Logan knew he had won over most of Marie's friends right then and there when all the girls at the table 'aww'd and giggled. The guys mostly chuckled, a few rolled their eyes, though Logan noted one kid in particular who had yet to crack a smile, or join any of the kids banter. In fact, he looked decidedly pissed as he glared down at his plate.

The conversation quickly turned to other subjects, like what the teens were going to do that weekend. As they chattered among themselves, Logan focused on making sure Marie ate, even taking it on himself a few times to hold food right in front of her mouth until she took it. She just smiled to herself and let him fuss over her, the little voice of his, tucked away in the corner of her mind as he had been since the statue incident, laughingly told her there was no point resisting, he had to take care of his mate, especially with progeny on the way.

The breakfast diners began to filter out of the room in short order, Xavier catching Logan's eye as he left and indicating toward his watch to remind Logan of their appointment. Logan ignored a furious looking Scott, who was dragged out of the room when it looked like he was going to head toward Marie by a very worried looking Jean, whether she was worried about the situation, or what might happen to Scott if he tried to start a confrontation, Logan couldn't tell. Ororo left the room as she did most things, exuding calm, though her eyes as usual gave her away as she briefly looked over towards him with a concerned air.

Just before half nine the teens finally settled on their plans for the day, and all began to rise and move out of the room. The silent moody kid noticed that Marie wasn't following them and finally spoke. Ignoring Logan completely he said, "Come on Rogue, there's room for you too," in a friendly, though slightly pleading, tone.

"Sorry Bobby, I've already got plans today," she replied, as she finished off the last of her breakfast, a plump juicy strawberry. "I'll see you guys later," she added, directly to Jubilee and Kitty.

"Sure thing girl," Jubilee answered, waving at her as she followed the rest of the group.

Kitty, obviously the touchy feely one of the pair, stooped to give Marie a hug. "See you later too Logan," she added with a shy wave, before jogging to catch up with her friends.

"See, that wasn't so bad now was it," Logan teased, clearing away their dishes as he rose from the table, "We are going to be late though for test number two if we don't get going now though." He could have sworn Marie whined in response, as she stood up to follow him out of the room.

Approaching the Professor’s office they could hear the muted hum of raised voices, to normal ears none of the words would be discernible but to both Logan and Marie, who had retained a surprising amount of Logan's mutation after the statue incident, they both clearly heard Scott ranting about how ‘she was naked!’

"Cool your head boy scout," Logan said, as they opened the door and entered the office bang on nine thirty. "She wasn't naked, you could just only see her face and her bare arm outside of the sheet, she was actually wearing this sexy green number, you've probably seen the like, silky soft, spaghetti straps, and barely enough material to cover a perfectly curved ass!" he described, almost drooling at the memory, as Marie tried, and failed, to stifle her giggles; Scott's face turned almost purple with rage.

"Stop antagonizing him Logan," Jean snapped, "It was inappropriate for you to be in Rogue's room," she commented self-righteously.

"You think that was inappropriate, you should have seen what he was doing an hour earlier," Marie quipped. This time earning a snigger and a stifled giggle, respectively, from Logan and Ororo.

"Enough! Everyone," Xavier stated pointedly, glaring at both Scott and Logan. "Everyone please, take a seat, and let us discuss this situation like rational adults."

Several chairs had been arranged in a semicircle opposite the Professor’s desk. Jean pushed Scott into the first chair to the left, and seated herself to his right. Ororo sat on the chair furthest to the right, so Logan directed Marie to sit next to her, seating himself between Marie and Jean. Not only did the position put him between Marie and Scott, for the time being keeping her more or less out of the firing range, it also put him, rather than her, in the most vulnerable position; directly opposite Charles.

"The first thing we need to ascertain is how far pregnant you are Rogue," Xavier asked gently.

"Somewhere around twenty weeks," Marie replied confidently.

"And have you had any maternity care to date?" Jean followed up.

"No," Marie answered, "Is that something you can do or would we need to find a specialist off site?" Marie queried. Jean and Marie briefly and courteously discussed Marie's basic care needs, and Jean offered her a consultation at a later date to go over birthing options, which Marie assured her they would take her up on soon.

"Who is the father?" Scott demanded tightly, once the previous line of conversation had ended.

"I am," Logan answered, short, sweet, and to the point. Marie nodded her head to confirm.

The Professor spoke quickly next, to waylay any attempt at reaction from Scott, who had made his thoughts regarding Logan, in relation to the apparent relationship between he and Rogue, very clear before the couple had arrived for the meeting.

"Would you, if you don't mind, explain your relationship please Rogue?" he addressed her directly, in the hopes that if she could verbalize a concise reasoning, some if his own unease would be allayed.

"Well, I suppose I should start at the point we met. Logan and I met in a parking lot outside some little dive bar on the side of the highway, god only knows where--"

"Brooks," Logan interrupted, "On Highway 542, we stopped for breakfast the next morning at a place called Elnora."

"Did you go back?" Marie asked amused.

Logan nodded. "Paid that sore loser a visit, returned his knife," Logan added with a telling grin.

"Okay," Marie continued with a chuckle, "We met in a parking lot, outside a dive bar, off Highway 542 just out of Brooks, Alberta. I'd bailed out of my ride after the driver… lost consciousness and couldn't drive his truck anymore, and I'd had to hike for a while. I was cold, alone, on the verge of frostbite when Logan stopped me from going inside the bar saying it was really not a nice place, honestly, didn't really believe him initially but after... well, Logan definitely called it right. Anyway, he invited me into his camper so I could warm up and make sure I wasn't frostbitten, I was going to congratulate you on the most obvious way to say 'here let me kidnap you' but then I figured what the heck, I could just drop you like the last guy if you turned out to be an asshole, plus, if you had, I could have stolen your truck because I at least knew how to drive that-" Logan laughed at her comment, he knew that was the god honest truth- "But Logan was nice, warmed me up, checked me for frostbite, fed me, let me sleep in his camper, and offered to give me a ride when he was done at the bar, we were both heading in the same direction."

"What was he doing at the bar?" Ororo asked curiously.

Marie glanced at Logan before he replied matter of factly, "Cage fighting." Scott scoffed something that sounded like 'figures' but both ignored him, and Marie continued her story.

She didn't gloss over any details, even including an account of how Logan had intercepted the rufying pair of drunks, and the cheating cage fighters at the bar in Fort Nelson. Not forgetting the touristy stops they made on the trip, and their mad dash under the northern lights, to beat the snowstorm to the Whitehorse cabin so they wouldn't have to shelter in a motel. She told how Logan had nursed her when she had gotten sick, and had possibly inadvertently healed her, before she finished by telling her side of the snowball fight, that had signalled the end of their resistance against the feelings they both held for each other.

"And it was about a week after that that Sabretooth turned up, and then you guys followed... I guess you know the rest from there," Marie finished with a smile, when she thought back over it all, it had been a very eventful several weeks.

"I don't mean to sound like the fun police but you two were having sex for a whole week without protection... Neither of you considered the possibility of pregnancy?" Jean asked, glaring at Logan.

He hung his head but grinned and chuckled. "The thought did briefly cross my mind but we were kind of snowed in and I hadn't prepared for... that. I don't think it would have made any difference though, you?" he asked Marie.

"Nope," she replied, "I knew the risks just as much as he did, I made my choice and I'm happy with it," she commented, placing her hand on her belly and feeling the baby shift under her hand.

"I can't believe you are all sitting here listening to this without a problem, seriously! Basic birth control aside, last I checked sixteen-year olds can't consent to sex!" Scott stated loudly.

"Not in New York," Logan stated calmly, "But none of this happened in New York, in fact, that is specifically why I left when Marie and I decided she would stay here at the school, age of consent is seventeen in New York, Marie turned seventeen yesterday, age of consent in Canada however, is sixteen, you want to accuse me of something get your facts straight first, you'll save yourself the embarrassment of being wrong, and before you go getting your panties even more in a wad," Logan continued, as the facts began to sink in for their crowd, "Marie's age was my biggest issue with all this too but life's too short to waste it trying to satisfy the rest of the world, at least hers is, I'm in this for the long haul, as far as I know she is too, I'll be here for her and the baby anytime, Marie will get older, I won't... I'm not going to waste a minute of the time we have together worrying about you, or anyone else. Does anyone in this room really think I have anything other than Marie's best interests at heart?" he addressed the room.

No one spoke for several minutes before Scott replied again bitterly, "I personally feel you're just a sick old man buying the affection of a naive child by spoiling her with 'things' in exchange for her body--"

Logan cut Scott off by jumping to his feet to stand toe to toe with him, Marie followed as quickly as she could, catching hold of Logan's hands so he wouldn't hit or impale Scott. "You can think and say whatever the hell you want about me asshole but you speak about Marie like that again and--"

"He's not worth it Logan," Marie warned him gently, her fingers laced through his as she stood at his back, her scent was nervous, but not for her, for him.

Logan growled deeply, his threat clear, before he turned his back on Scott and hugged Marie to him and guided her back to her seat. He ignored Scott before addressing the Professor directly.

"If this is going to be a problem for your 'staff' let me know now, Marie and I can move out and I can commute her in daily for classes but we need to know quickly, now more than ever, I want her settled well in advance of the baby arriving. My first preference is for us to remain here to avoid the stress of extra car travel, and where her friends are close by, if you've got a problem with that, or a problem with us living off site and her continuing to take classes here, say it now so I can get her back to Yukon and enrolled in classes in Canada, but one way or another this relationship, and this child, are both non-negotiable."

The Professor paused for several moments, looking at Logan but also seemingly through him, odd glances, nods, and head shakes, indicated the process of a conversation unheard by Logan and Marie.

"What are your thoughts on Logan's statement, Rogue?" Storm asked after a moment. She had seemed to be the most open-minded about this situation, and both hoped this wasn't an indication she may be changing her mind.

"I agree with Logan," Marie started, "I need to be settled somewhere where I can prepare for the baby, I would like that to be here so I can finish school, I'm so close it would be annoying and unnecessarily stressful to try and change schools now, and there is a mutant-friendly doctor on site and on call for any pregnancy issues or complications. As far as I can tell it's a win-win all around, the only objection appears to be that someone can't get over their own personal issues with my fiancé, who they don't even know, and believes me to be a brainless slut," she finished coolly, glaring at Scott.

He had the good decency to redden in shame before trying to justify himself by saying, “I just think you can do better than a backwoods bar brawler who's twice your age and then some, there's plenty of nice boys around here who would be much better for you than 'him'."

"You're assuming I want a 'boy'," Marie scoffed, "Why the hell would I want a sweaty palmed school boy who still hasn't even figured out what college major to go for, when I have a man who cares for me enough to sacrifice his own life for me, put his own wants on hold for me, and worships the goddamn ground I walk on? ... Well? ... Which of these wimpy little twits, who obviously don't care about me enough to even man up and tell me to my face, have you picked out for me? And do I get a say in that choice?"

"Well... Bobby really likes you, he seemed to think you two were getting close," Scott replied.

"Bobby? That the blonde kid from this morning?" Logan asked Marie, who had started laughing at Scott's comment. She nodded in reply, recalling his chilly reaction to Logan at breakfast – funnily enough it was completely unrelated to his mutation.

"Scott," Marie stated, having decided that this was not a student to teacher meeting so she was going to address him as the fellow adult that he was. "I don't know what gave Bobby the idea we were 'getting close', apparently me repeatedly turning down his offers of dates, and refusing his gifts, hadn't been sinking in. I have no interest in Bobby, not least of all because I know there is at least one other girl who is crushing on him and I think they would be great together, but Bobby and I have absolutely nothing in common with each other, sometimes I can't even stand being in the same room as him, admittedly that's probably mostly due to the creepy, desperately trying to get me to go on a date with him vibe, but that's beside the point, also, in what universe does Bobby rival Logan?" she finished off incredulously, earning a giggle from both Jean and Ororo, and a smug grin from Logan.

"Possible other suitors aside my dear, did you say 'fiancé' previously?" Xavier suddenly queried.

"Yes, I did," Marie answered, noting all eyes moving to her left hand which was tucked away out of sight wrapped in Logan's much larger hand. He smugly turned their hands over so the flashy ring was on display, earning at least one surprised gasp, and just a vague hint of jealousy from the only other woman in the room he knew to be engaged.

There were brief compliments from the women on the ring, and even congratulations from Ororo - it seemed she was still on their side after all - before the conversation again returned to the school, or more specifically Logan and Marie's living arrangements in it.

"Ordinarily I would not condone cohabitation on the school grounds, however, I believe you both have valid points around the logistics of Rogue's continuing education and upcoming medical needs, in light of the fact your, union, is as official and legal as it can be at this point in time I will allow you to live together... as our only other engaged couple do," he added, specifically avoiding Scott's glare as Jean smiled sweetly, and placed a placating hand on her fiancé’s arm.

"In the interests of having Rogue settled and prepared for her birth and motherhood as soon as possible, there is a two bedroom suite at the end of the teachers wing that is available, you can move into it as soon as the cleaners have been through it thoroughly, it has been some time since it was occupied last. I trust that for Rogue and the child's sake, at the very least, any other personal thoughts on this situation can remain just that, thoughts only, and that my teachers will remain intact," Xavier finished, with a glance each at Scott and Logan.

Logan agreed immediately, Scott grudgingly assented, when his fiancée jabbed him in the ribs. The Professor didn't think he should push his luck trying to get the men to shake on it, so instead declared the meeting over. He would re-call Scott shortly to speak to him in private, the younger man's concerns were, as far as Xavier could tell, entirely without merit. Both Logan and Marie really did appear to love each other, in their own reserved way. Neither were into large public displays of affection, or opening up about their personal lives but still, with them now together openly he couldn't believe he had missed the signs earlier.

As the meeting broke up Logan stood and thanked the Professor, shaking his hand solemnly. "I'll also add I don't intend to freeload while I'm here, I'm not a teacher but pretty much anything else I can do," he offered.

"I would have considered your offer unnecessary Logan, I am aware of the sizeable sum you donated to the school after Rogue's arrival, despite your efforts to conceal its origin, and I thank you for that, however, our regular maintenance man has been forced into early retirement, I would offer the position to you while you remain here, in addition to your lodging there would be a small salary," Xavier offered. He would like to keep Logan busy while he was here, if only to reduce the likelihood of he and Scott coming to blows. "I would also ask, despite your claims to not be a teacher, if you could perhaps take a small class of students over the summer for some survival training," he added.

Logan accepted the maintenance position but declined the salary, before querying the survival class. He liked the idea but it would depend on when, where, and how long it was intended to take place, with that being so close to Marie's due date.

"We can sort out the logistics later, I was thinking a few day classes at the beginning of summer, perhaps a couple of overnight excursions, or longer for the old students, you wouldn't need to stay with them full time, just check on them periodically if you think they can handle themselves for that long. The woods around us are school property and would no doubt make a suitable location," Xavier laid out his thoughts.

"That sounds doable," Logan confirmed, "I can scout the wood and let you know." And with that he and Marie excused themselves, followed closely by Jean and Ororo.

"Alright, where did you get that ring?" Jean asked, as soon as the office door was closed behind them.

Logan shrugged and replied non-committally, "I know a guy who knows a guy."

"I need a name Logan," Jean begged, "I love Scott immensely but he's kept me waiting five years so far for the wedding, the least he could do is upgrade the department store ring he gave me back then, oh god, do I sound bitchy and ungrateful?" she asked Ororo, looking mildly concerned.

"Just a little, though it is one hell of a ring to be comparing to," Ororo answered, as she got a closer look at the jewellery in question, it was absolutely stunning and must have cost a small fortune.

"How about instead of waiting for Scott to agree to a date you just set one and tell him when to turn up?" Marie suggested with a grin, as her hand was passed from one woman to the other.

"You know, I'm starting to think that's the way to go," Jean replied with a laugh. Suddenly she froze, Marie's hand still in hers, "Uh, Rogue, how are we touching your skin?"

Logan burst out laughing. "That fact took a lot longer than I expected to sink in," he admitted after a moment.

"I can control my skin," Marie replied, "That's why I didn't let the Professor waste any time trying to help me with that aspect of my mutation, the sorting personalities in my head was all that I was struggling with."

"Oh, I guess that explains how you got pregnant then," Ororo said, "I was wondering how that had worked..."

"Please, stop thinking about my sex life," Marie replied with an embarrassed chuckle, Logan agreed, before all four wandered down the hall towards the kitchen, it was just after lunch so they set about fixing food.

Jean still had her reservations about the relationship but as she watched Logan fuss over Rogue, insisting she sit while he wait on her, she thought perhaps Ororo was right and there was more to the man than the rough, gruff exterior he projected. Rogue sure seemed to think so, she was a lot happier now that Logan was back too. Jean honestly couldn't say she had seen Rogue smile all that often in the months she had been at the school, and usually when she did it was just a polite smile, rather than the full on sunshine and rainbows smile she was displaying as she watched Logan pull out enough food for several people, and begin to construct a surprisingly healthy looking meal.

"Jean," Rogue said, jarring her out if her thoughts, "We'll need to come see you soon for a check-up and scan for the baby, can you also prepare something to get through to Logan that I don't have to eat the entire contents of the refrigerator at every meal," she commented, eyeing up the loaded plate Logan was about to set in front of her.

Jean and Ororo both laughed, while Logan just grumbled that she was ‘too skinny’ before going back to the kitchen to fix his own meal, a decidedly meatier affair.

"Actually, Rogue does have a point on portion sizes," Jean said, "Especially as the baby gets bigger it's going to leave less room for stomach, which means increased indigestion with larger portions, so smaller meals more frequently, and lots of snacks is the way to go, but that is a good range of foods Logan, you got all the major food groups in all the right quantities... how did you know that?" she asked, mildly surprised. The sudden silence from Logan and Rogue was enough to clue her in that she had inadvertently wandered into delicate territory. She glanced at both to see how badly she had messed up, though neither looked angry, just sad.

Logan cleared his throat as he set his lunch down on the table beside Marie before taking a seat. "My last, uh, partner, had cancer, I learned a lot about diet and nutrition so that when she could eat, around the chemo, she was getting everything she needed."

"Oh Logan, I'm so sorry," Jean said, she didn't need to ask to know the woman had passed away. "How long ago?" she asked softly.

"She passed away about four years ago," Logan supplied, "She had cancer twice, first time not long after we met, ovarian. Doctors thought they got it all between the surgery and the chemo but it came back about twelve years later, really aggressive, once it hit her liver..."

"You were together a long time," Ororo said softly, not sounding surprised but more to express her condolences.

"Yep, sometimes I think not long enough but, that's just life, things change, and I've got Marie now so, it could be worse," he shrugged off her comment, and went back to eating. He didn't like people knowing his business but at least maybe they would start to lighten up about his relationship if they knew how seriously he took them.

The group ate in silence for a while, Scott didn't join them so they assumed he was still talking to the Professor, or maybe he had taken his opinions and crawled under a rock with them. Eventually conversation restarted, this time on lighter topics, before Jean suggested Logan and Marie come down to the med lab the next day to give baby his or her first check-up. They wandered off to other activities after their meal, to spend some time relaxing on their weekend off.

An hour later Marie was asleep, in what was now their bed, as Logan lounged on the couch reading. When he heard excited chatter and footsteps hurrying down the hallway he didn’t think much of it until it stopped at their door. Loud knocking interrupted the silence before Logan was able to react.

"What?!" he growled irritably, as he yanked open the door. Marie's yellow friend was front and centre and jumped, with a surprised squeak, when he appeared in front if her.

"Don’t scare them Logan," Marie giggled from the bed, yawning widely and stretching as she woke.

"Oh, we're so sorry, we didn't mean to wake you up," Kitty said, jabbing Jubilee in the ribs. "We can come back later if you want?" she added.

"You've woken her up already, better make it worth it," Logan grunted in reply, walking back over to the couch.

"We'll make it worth it Wolvie," Jubilee announced, knocking the door shut before she slipped a bottle of Jack Daniel's out from under her shirt. "Congrats papa bear," she grinned as she handed it him.

Logan shook his head with a chuckle, setting the bottle down on the side table; how she had managed to get her hands on it he did not want to know. "So, what did you girls really come here for?" he asked, as he picked his book back up.

"Just the juiciest gossip," Jubilee replied. "So start talking girl!" she informed Rogue, as she flopped down on the bed beside her.

"What do you want to know?" Marie asked, sighing dramatically as she fluffed up her pillows to sit back against them.

"First off, why the hell didn't you tell us about the parasite?" Jubilee demanded.

"Hey!" Logan exclaimed in annoyance, "That's my kid your talking about.”

Marie interrupted before the conversation could devolve further. "I didn't tell anyone because I wanted Logan to know first but I didn't want to tell him over the phone, I knew he was coming back yesterday so I waited, and hoped the baby didn't grow too fast."

"I guess it would have been hard for Logan to know and be so far away," Kitty conceded, "So how did your talk with the Professor go, are you allowed to stay?"

"Yeah, the Professor was surprisingly understanding, he's given us a suite further down the hall that we're going to move into next week, so we can start getting ready for the baby. We're going to be staying until I graduate at the end of the year, after that we haven't really discussed our plans going forward," Marie told them.

Kitty thought that was just fantastic, while Jubilee wanted to help them decorate their new suite, which Logan adamantly declined, before Kitty asked what Logan would be doing while they would be hanging around at the school.

"Chuck's asked me to take over maintenance and run a survival camp for the older kids over summer," Logan replied, before Jubilee groaned.

"Kitty, please can I go with you to stay with your folks for the summer?" she begged. At Logan’s raised brow Jubilee added, "I hate camping."

"That's not the attitude Jubes," Kitty replied with a giggle, "Besides, my parents are going to Europe this summer so I'm going to be staying here anyway."

"Oh well, at least I won't die alone wallowing in my self-pity," Jubes shrugged, as the other girls laughed at her comment.

"No one is going to be dying," Logan chuckled, "It's going to be nice and easy, I might even let Marie come along, depending on how late in the season it ends up being."

The conversation continued on comfortably with most of the girls’ question about baby specifics unable to be answered as the baby hadn't had its check up with Jean yet.

"Oh! Can we come for the ultrasound?" Kitty asked excitedly.

Logan and Marie glanced at each other, if Jubilee didn't know better, she would have sworn they were communicating telepathically, before Marie replied, "Sorry Kit-Kat, I'd really like this to be just me and Logan when we meet bubs for the first time."

Kitty sighed but replied good naturedly, "Fair enough, but don’t forget pictures, and I expect to be referred to as Aunty, FYI."

"Only if I am too!" Jubilee added.

Logan groaned and rolled his eyes, while Marie shot him an amused grin and agreed with the girls. "We’re both kind of running low on the family side of things so I guess it would probably be a good thing to adopt a few Aunts and Uncles for the kid," she admitted. Jubes and Kitty knew she had been essentially disowned by her parents, she had tried writing to them after arriving at the school but received no reply, and that Logan was a lot older than he looked, which they assumed meant he had outlived his family.

They chatted on for some time until Marie's stomach growled hungrily. "Where the heck is all this food going?!" she commented, sounding genuinely confused.

"I'd say I told you so and you're too skinny but it *is* dinner time," Logan said, after a quick glance at the clock, and the group made their way down to the cafeteria.

Logan was curious to note that Scott was still not among those present, the Professor was in attendance which made it even more odd. He shrugged it off as not his problem however, and settled for getting himself some food, adding a few things to Marie's plate when he thought she wasn’t looking.

"Logan!!" she expressed exasperatedly, when she noticed but it did nothing but make him grin.

"You'll thank me later," he replied, as they made their way to a table. Logan felt a little out of place tacked on the end of a table of teenagers but whatever Marie felt most comfortable with was what he was there for. He also knew he wouldn't feel comfortable just yet sitting with the rest of the teachers, and if he sat alone, Marie would follow him.

Jubilee's loose lips soon let slip the fact of the upcoming survival camp, much to her dismay the rest of the kids seemed to love idea and Logan spent most of the meal going over things the kids wanted to learn how to do. Some ideas he added immediately, and firmly, to the 'don’t go there’ list, he was also able to pick out a few kids who had some experience already and could help teach basics to their peers.

After dinner Marie was invited to a rematch with Remy at poker, which she accepted on the condition he didn't cheat again. She ran her hand along Logan's shoulder, her way of saying goodbye, as she followed a group of her friends out of the room, laughing animatedly as they went. Logan noted the blonde kid from this morning, Bobby, was among the few who had stayed in the cafeteria, though he had well finished his meal, and appeared to have no interest in conversing with the others at the table.

Logan left a short time later, stopping at the teachers table to confirm Marie's appointment time the following day with Jean, before he headed outside for some air. As he suspected the blonde kid appeared a short time later, as if he had been trying to follow him. Logan sat silently in the shadows, watching the kid look around but completely miss him, just as the kid looked like he had given up and turned back toward the mansion, Logan spoke.

"What do you want kid?" He snorted in amusement when the kid jumped in fright and looked around him again, trying to spot where the voice had come from. Logan took pity on him and struck a match to light the cigar stub he found in the pocket of his jacket. He briefly wondered if that action might be more ominous to the kid but figured he really didn't care, if the kid was going to try and ‘be a man’, he would treat him like one.

"You should stay away from Rogue," the kid said a moment later, his voice high, and on the verge of breaking, as an edge of fear emanated from him.

"Is that what *Rogue* said?" Logan asked. He had to give the kid props, he was an idiot, but he was an idiot with balls, he reassessed that a minute later to assume the kid was really just stupid when he answered.

"It doesn't matter, you're too old for her, she needs someone who can take care of her, not knock her up then dump her until its convenient, or he wants another go around, she's made friends here, she doesn't need you anymore," Bobby said, as a sheen of perspiration froze on his brow.

"Just so were clear, kid, I never 'dumped' her, she's here to finish school, it just so happens I've been away taking care of her, repairing our home so when she's done here she has a house to come home to, she's made quite a few friends, they all look real happy in there having fun," he gestured toward the window of the packed rec room before continuing, "I hope they keep in touch once they're all done with school and go off into the world to live their lives. As for the rest, I'll believe Marie doesn't need me the day she tells me that to my face, I'll let you in on a little secret, that's probably never going to happen, so suck it up cupcake and move on, you don’t stand a chance with her, never have, because she's known who and what has been waiting for her, and she chose to wait for me." With his piece said Logan glared pointedly at the kid until he got the message he was beat.

It took him several minutes, and a few glances at Marie, laughing and joking with the rest of the teens as she gathered up another round of winnings from her game, before the boys shoulders sagged in defeat. Bobby threw a parting shot before he stormed off, chucking out a forgettable threat of what he would do to Logan when he hurt Rogue, and a hope that she would wise up and leave him before that happened.

Logan sat back, watching as the kid walked away, trying to plot a believable 'accident' that could befall the little shit on a camping trip, before he realised that really was just a little too petty for him. He would be the bigger man, he got the girl after all, he thought with a grin, and went back to his smoke.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, before Marie herself wandered out onto the patio. Quickly, Logan stubbed out his cigar and tried to clear the air before she got too near him.

"Stop it Logan, were outside, its fine," she told him, as she sat down on the bench seat next to him, and rested her head on his shoulder. "Was Bobby out here before?" she asked, sounding worried.

"Yep, we had words but I think he's got the hint now, mostly, if he bothers you let me know and I'll sort him out for you," Logan told her, with a conspiratorial wink.

"My hero," Marie deadpanned. "I don’t need you to fight my battles for me Logan, I can deal with him myself," she added.

"I know you *can* darlin but you don’t *have* to, we're in this together, that means we back each other up when it’s needed, and the last thing I want right now is you getting worked up or stressed, need to keep you happy, for juniors sake at the very least," Logan reminded her, wrapping his arm around her to ward off the chill of the spring night.

Marie smiled contentedly as she sat, warm and happy, in Logan's embrace. She had missed him more than she had ever thought it was possible to miss someone in the almost five months they had been apart. Now that he was back it was like a piece of her had been returned, she wondered if he felt the same; the him inside her head claimed he definitely did.

After a time, Logan nudged her back gently, he pressed a kiss to her temple as he stood up and helped her to her feet. They stopped in the kitchen on their way inside, where Logan insisted, she get some snacks to take to bed with her 'just in case', before continuing up to bed.

As they entered the teachers wing, where Marie's room was located, Logan could hear Scott and Jean conversing in their room a few doors down. He couldn't make out what they were saying but it didn't involve shouting, and didn't sound tense or angry, so chances are it wasn't about them, which made him feel a bit better. The last thing he wanted was the guy becoming so fixated on him that it adversely affected Marie, or her schooling.

Marie yawned tiredly as Logan hugged her tightly from behind, before slowly undressing her. He couldn't be bothered digging out one of her nighties so he pulled off his own shirt and slid it on her, buttoning it slowly and copping a feel of her full breasts and pert ass as he did so, before gently carrying her to the bed and laying her down. He flicked the lights off and then stripped himself before joining her in bed, she was barely awake but still turned to cuddle up to him before they both succumbed to sleep.

When Jean finally got back to her room that night, she was surprised to find Scott waiting for her. When he hadn't shown for hours after the initial meeting with the Professor ended, she had gone back looking for him, expecting to find the two arguing over some detail. What she found however was the Professor, alone, who advised her Scott had gone ‘to run some errands and think', which she took as code for 'I banished him until he calmed down'. Charles caught her mental rephrasing and chuckled but didn’t correct her.

When Scott still hadn't shown by the time dinner was over, she started to worry. She had checked the tracer on the car he had taken and located him at a bar he sometimes went to, when he had been having a hard day and needed to wind down. She debated with herself whether she should disturb him before finally deciding to send him a text, just to tell him to call if he needed anything, she hadn't realised how anxious she was until he replied a few minutes later to say he was fine and he would be back soon.

She busied herself in the medical bay with filing that she had been letting pile up, and making sure she had everything she would need for Rogue's appointment the next day. She expected Scott to come and find her when he got back but when her eyes started to grow fuzzy at about ten, and she caught herself yawning for the dozenth time, she figured she could wait for him just as easily in bed.

Scott was sitting on the end of the bed when she opened the door, his jacket and shoes still on, just staring thoughtfully at the floor.

"Hey stranger," Jean greeted, as she shut the door behind her and moved toward him, "How's all the deep thinking going?"

Scott chuckled. "I don’t know why this is bothering me so much," he admitted after a while, "I'm not blind, I can see he cares about her, and she cares about him to, but at the same time... I mean, how well can you really know someone after a month?" he finally asked.

"They've been in daily contact the whole time Logan's been in Canada you know," Jean told him, she herself had interrupted Rogue during several late night phone calls to remind her it was lights out and she needed to sleep. "So, by now it's more like six months, I like to think we knew each other pretty well by the time we'd known each other six months, we were sleeping together by then after all," Jean reminded him with a grin.

"I guess, I just worry that... he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that would stick around long term," Scott shrugged, "What's going to happen when he gets sick of being tied down and wants to go back to drifting and 'cage fighting'?"

Jean sighed. "I think there's a lot more to Logan than he lets people see... he hasn't always been a drifter. After the meeting with Charles we all had lunch together, talked a bit more... four years ago Logan lost his last partner, to cancer, they had been together for fourteen years Scott, I got the distinct impression that Logan's 'drifting' was him trying to find something new to attach himself to, and he's picked Rogue, just as much because she's picked him, they fit together in a way I honestly don’t understand, they do seem so different, but at the same time so similar, I think all we really can do is support them. Logan's dedicated to taking care of her, after all, he put her wellbeing and need for education above his own wants and needs when he left her here, that can't have been easy, for either of them, so I don't think we can really say otherwise."

"I ran into Bobby when I got home, he was out the front, apparently he confronted Logan." At Jean's shocked look Scott chuckled and assured her, "It's okay, he's fine, said they just talked, apparently, Logan told him he didn't stand a chance with Rogue, that she'd been waiting for him and would never give Bobby a shot, Bobby was pretty mad, said he considered smashing up the truck Logan had given Rogue but that that would just make Rogue upset, and then Logan would probably just buy her another one and 'make himself the good guy again'... You don't think Rogue's just interested in him for the things he buys her... do you?" Scott asked her, looking worried again.

"No, I definitely don't think so, Rogue's not shallow, she's actually surprisingly deep and philosophical, she wouldn't be happy with just empty things, and I don’t think Logan buys her things to win her favour, he just makes sure she has what she needs, it's just his way of taking care of her," Jean reassured him, "I really do think, you are overthinking this whole situation, they're happy, as odd as the pairing may seem I think it's going to work out, and on the off chance it doesn't, we really don’t want to push her away by being judgmental."

Scott sighed deeply. "Point taken Doctor Grey, I suppose I should try and make amends at some point," he added, as he finally shrugged off his jacket, it seemed he was done thinking for the night.

Jean kissed him lightly before agreeing that would be a good idea for tomorrow, before they both got ready for bed. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.

--

Marie woke at around three am, her stomach was growling, seemed Logan had been on the right track with the snacks. She rolled out of bed, unaware Logan was watching her with an amused grin, before rummaging through the bag of snacks until she found something that looked appetizing right at that moment. She turned back to the bed as Logan flicked on the bedside lamp.

"How did you know?" she asked curiously, as she climbed back into bed with her tasty prize.

Logan picked up the book he had been reading earlier in the day, she hadn't had a chance to ask what he had been reading, she hadn't even realised he had been until Jubilee and Kitty had jumped her, he had given up trying to read shortly after. He turned the book over so she could see the cover that boldly declared 'What to Expect When You Are Expecting'.

"Swiped it from the library yesterday after you fell asleep, figured if I was going to be taking care of you, I should know what I was up against, know your opponent and all," he replied with a smirk.

Marie laughed; it shouldn't surprise her that he would do something like that but it was unbearably sweet all the same. "Was there anything else on the subject? I've already joined some online groups to get first hand advice but some books would be good."

"There were a couple, tucked away in the back, I guess the Prof didn't want to give any of the kids any ideas. This one looked the most complete, though I've skipped several chapters, I figured we’re a little beyond the 'Before You Conceive' and 'Are You Pregnant?' stages, though we should probably go back and read those later for future reference," he added with a chuckle.

"Don't know, doesn't seem like we need any advice on that part, you managed to knock me up in a week after all," Marie replied amused. She idly flicked through the book looking for something to catch her attention, she giggled as she flipped through the pages before handing the book back to Logan with a cheeky, "You should read this part."

He figured he was in trouble from her attitude, and laughed when the title that greeted him was 'All About Sex and the Pregnant Woman'. "Cute darlin," was all he said as he snapped the book shut and put it back on the nightstand, he picked up a second book and handed it to her. "I figured you'd appreciate this one," he commented, handing her a black and yellow copy of 'Pregnancy for Dummies'.

They laughed together for a while as Marie continued to snack. She was flipping through the book when the section on 'Calculating your due date' caught her eye, and she began to read it. "Hmm, I don’t remember when my last period was," she commented absently, pausing to think back to their time on the road all those months ago.

"It was after Grand Prairie, remember, you got all flustered when I bought you tampons," he commented with a chuckle.

"It was more the fact that you threw them at me from across the store that got me," she sulked with a chuckle and a blush at the memory.

"Nah, you didn't start turning pink until you realised what they were," he replied.

"Yeah well, you didn't see the look on the little old ladies face behind me in line," Marie added, which caused Logan to laugh harder. "That still doesn't help me with a date though," she said, still deep in thought.

"Why do you need to know your last cycle? You definitely didn't get pregnant then," Logan stated.

"Cause that's how you're supposed to work out the due date, so you end up being 'pregnant' from about two weeks before you actually get pregnant. I could just pick a date that's most likely when I conceived and add ... two hundred and sixty-six," she said, after consulting the book, "But I honestly don't know the most likely time."

"If it's two weeks after your last cycle it was probably one of the last few days at the cabin, probably that last night, on the floor, in front of the fire... either way that's a good story to tell the kid one day," Logan added with a chuckle.

"You better not traumatize our kids Logan," Marie warned him.

"I was thinking just drop age-appropriate hints until one day the kid realises 'oh that's what he was meaning', and then the kid can never sit in that room again without thinking about their parents screwing on the floor..." he sniggered.

"That is so wrong," Marie laughed, glad that the topic of sex had been taboo in her strict religious family, while that was probably partly why she was a little embarrassed by the subject now at least she had never had to contemplate her parents sex life. She shuddered at the non-thought and quickly moved on to focus on something else. "So, what was the date that last full day at the cabin?"

Logan thought for a moment. "It was the twenty third the day you got taken, we came here the day before, so the twenty first, of November, would have been the last day at the cabin."

"Okay, plus two sixty-six, would takes us tooooo..." She pulled out her phone and ran through the calendar. "August fourteenth, that's a pretty good date, a bit close to the beginning of term, I hope the baby doesn't go overdue."

"We'll be fine either way," Logan assured her, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Now, are you done crumbing the bed or do want a hand with that?"

"Funny," Marie quipped in return, cuddling up to him again after setting aside what was left of her snack, as he put the book back on the bedside table, and flicked the light back off. After twenty minutes she still wasn't asleep, she had a feeling Logan wasn't either, so she began to let her fingers wander over his chest.

"Go to sleep," Logan rumbled from the darkness, sounding amused.

"I can't sleep," Marie replied innocently.

Logan grabbed hold of her hand. "Try closing your eyes," he answered, making it clear he was not going to be indulging her at three in the morning. Marie huffed but tried to go to sleep, minutes later she was out, Logan kissed her head again gently and followed her off to sleep.

Logan woke several hours later, just as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon. He could feel the gentle rolls and pops from the baby where Marie's belly was pressed against his side, and gently moved himself away from her and down the bed. He unbuttoned the flannel shirt she was wearing to just above her belly and watched the tiny movements as their baby shifted and kicked. He started to place soft kisses at every spot where the baby moved, when the movements slowed down he placed his head against her belly and listened to the soft heart beats he could hear inside Marie. Her own breathing was in the background and it took him a moment to realise she was no longer asleep.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," he commented, as he moved to look up at her, her brilliant smile met his eyes as he did.

"I don’t mind in the slightest," Marie replied, as she ran her fingers through his hair, her other hand joined his resting against her rounding belly.

Logan placed one last kiss against her stomach before he moved back up the bed to lay beside her, resting his forehead against hers as he smiled down at her. "You're amazing," he told her suddenly, for no particular reason.

"You're pretty fantastic yourself," Marie replied with a grin. "Oh, I forgot to give this back," she remembered suddenly, reaching up to the chain around her neck, she slipped it off over her head and on over Logan's.

"I hadn't asked for it back," Logan commented teasingly.

"I know, but it's yours, it's you, I have this now anyway," she wiggled her left hand in front of his face.

Logan reached down for the tag and was surprised when his fingers brushed against something smooth and warm, but not metal. He picked it up and lifted it to where he could see the smooth black stone, flecked with blues and greens that had been added to the chain. "What's this?" he asked curiously.

Marie blushed. "It's called black opal, it symbolizes strength of character, and a good future, it's also supposed to have healing power which I thought was fitting... mostly it just reminded me of the night we drove to Whitehorse under the Northern Lights... of you," she told him.

"It's nice, I like it, it's also expensive though, where did you get it?" Logan asked with a smile, laying the stone back down against his chest next to the dull metal tag.

"I bought it online, from Australia, then had a jeweller here add the findings so I could hang it from the chain," Marie said. "I didn't think you'd mind, you sent me so much money I couldn't have spent it all even if I tried, even after buying a whole maternity wardrobe there should be more than enough money left to get all the baby stuff we'll need, and--"

Logan cut her off. "No, that money's yours, for you to spend on you and what you want, don’t worry about stuff for the baby, I've got that covered."

Marie paused for a moment, her brow creasing. "Logan... you remember back at, was it Rocky Mountain, or somewhere, when you told me not to let my pride get in the way of accepting help, that one day I'd be in a position to help someone else out?-" Logan nodded, remembering that particular discussion with fondness- "Well, how am I going to do that if you're just paying for everything for me?" she asked.

It was Logan's turn to pause in thought, as he tried to formulate his thoughts in a way she would hopefully understand. "What's mine is yours Marie, simple as that, I'm not going to stop you from doing your own thing but I'm going to make sure you have everything you need to do whatever that is."

"So why can't I spend the money in my account on my baby?" she challenged.

"Because it's *our* baby darlin, kid's getting paid for from *our* joint account," Logan stated firmly.

"We have a joint account?" Marie asked surprised.

"We do," Logan answered, "Fixed that up while I was up north, added you to the deed of the cabin, your trucks in your name, mines in my name, motorcycle's mine too by the way. I never want you to feel like you need to ask me for anything you want, that's why I want you to have your own money, what you do with that is up to you but it doesn't need to be spent on... on family stuff," Logan grinned at that comment, "Never thought I'd ever say that, family, I've got a family." He placed a hand on Marie's belly as he said it, momentarily distracted from their conversation.

Marie wrapped her arms around him and cuddled close to him, placing a kiss on his chest before resting her ear against his heart. "Alright, I'll agree to that," she said, "But I get to pick the decorating."

Logan chuckled. "Within reason," he acquiesced, "But Jubilee doesn't help, no goddamn yellow."

"She does love that colour," Marie agreed with a giggle, "... I guess we are going to need to know what we're having then, would be just my luck to go pink then a boy pops out!" Logan laughed at the thought, before Marie went back to discussing serious topics. "So, if I decided to go to college, you'd be okay with that?" she asked. Logan nodded solemnly. "And if I got a job, you'd be okay with that too," she continued.

"If that's what you want, we can make that work," Logan replied.

"What if- what if I wanted to be a stay at home mom, and home-school, and stuff?" she added.

"Then we would make that work too," Logan told her.

"So, what do you want me to do?" she asked then.

"Whatever makes you happy darlin," he answered.

Marie scowled. "No one can be happy twenty-four seven Logan, and you can have an opinion too you know, if I ask what you want, I really do want to know what - in a perfect world - you would prefer, doesn't mean I'll agree with you but we should at least be able to be honest with each other about what we want!" she snapped, mildly exasperated.

"That is a fair point," Logan agreed after a moments consideration, "It goes both ways though... if it was up to me, I'd want you to be a fulltime mama, kids grow up quick from what I've noticed, and I wouldn't want either of us to miss a minute of that, I like the idea of home-schooling too, teach my kid some useful shit," he reasoned.

Marie giggled at the 'useful shit' phrase, making a comment about fertilizer, before admitting, "I never liked my mom being at work so much, I'd need to talk to her after school and have to wait hours for her to get home, and then I'd forget what I wanted to talk to her about, or she'd have had a bad day and my problems suddenly seemed petty and pathetic so I didn't bother mentioning them... I don’t want my kids to have the same memories, I would like to stay home, I just feel like, I wouldn't be contributing enough."

"Not even darlin, being a parent's the hardest job there is, and the most worthwhile, you get to a grow a little person into a grown-up person, you teach them most of what they end up knowing, you love them non-stop, you feed them, and clothe them, and clean them, and hug them, you're up at all hours of the day and night with them, whenever they need you, absolutely nothing can top that in the contribution stakes, money means nothing next to a child's growth, besides, I'll be right there beside you contributing the exact same don’t you worry."

"But, won't one of us need a job? How else are we going to raise a family without a job?" Marie asked, as she tried to get an idea of how their future was going to look.

"I told you before, I've got plenty of money, I probably won't fight, often, but we can always start a business from home or something, if we need to, which I won't, not for money at least," Logan commented.

"You really think you're going to be bored with a child around?" Marie asked incredulously.

"Hell no, and even less so when number two, and number three, and number six, and number ten, and--"

"Is that your grand plan is it," Marie interrupted him with a giggle, "Keep me barefoot and pregnant for the rest of forever, huh."

"When you find something you're good at and enjoy why mess with a perfect system, right?" Logan joked, "Turns out we're both good at, and really enjoy, making babies," he chuckled as he arched an eyebrow suggestively.

"That is very true," Marie admitted before placing a kiss on his lips. "It's been a while, we should probably get in some practice for the second one," she added coyly.

"Darlin, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours but I like how you think," he replied, as they set to work 'practicing'.

Jean was waiting for them when they finally got down to the med lab, a few minutes late for their ten am appointment. She was perusing a medical file, looking confused, when they entered.

"Morning Jeannie," Logan called across the room, startling her.

"You two are as bad as each other with the sneaking up on people you know," she answered, after jumping at the sudden noise.

"Is everything alright?" Logan asked, nodding to the folder in her hands that had Marie's name on it.

"I was just wondering how I managed to miss a pregnancy, when we have girls come in who have been on the road for a while hCG is one of the standard tests I run, that's a pregnancy hormone blood test, all I can assume is that Rogue was so newly pregnant that the hormones hadn't had time to build up when the test was done, that should make estimating the due date easier at least," Jean told them.

"We were actually talking about that last night, well, this morning," Marie said, "Near as we can figure I must have got pregnant about the twenty first of November so I should be due around the fourteenth of August."

"Based on my initial overview I would have to concur; shall we take a look at baby and see if he or she agrees?" Jean smiled, as she indicated for Marie to lie down on the bed she had set up next to an ultrasound machine.

Marie was suddenly nervous, as she arranged herself in a relatively comfortable position. Jean adjusted the bed a couple of times so she wasn't lying so flat on her back, before instructing her what articles of clothing needed to be moved or removed for her to get enough access. As Jean dropped some cold gel on her bare stomach she felt her nerves jump up again, Logan must have sensed it because he suddenly had her hand in his, before his other hand reached out and brushed a lock of hair out of her face.

"You okay?" he asked, clearly nervous himself. Marie just smiled brightly and nodded.

Jean turned the ultrasound screen on before bringing the little handheld probe to her stomach, after a few moments a grainy image appeared on the screen. Jean followed an odd shaped bump until a tiny little humanoid shape appeared on the screen, all head and arms and legs. "Congratulations mom and dad, meet your baby," Jean said, as she began the process of getting the computer to measure the baby as she did a visual check for the necessary parts.

"Are we finding out the sex?" she asked the happy couple, as they both gazed adoringly at the screen. Marie nodded mutely in response.

As she shifted the probe, to get a better angle to see the parts she needed to, Jean caught an odd shape off to one side, she frowned as she moved the probe further, before her eyes widened in surprise.

"Well, it seems like you are just full of surprises young lady," Jean commented to Marie. "Congratulations mom and dad... on baby number two," she said, as a second baby shape was revealed.

Logan and Marie sat in open mouthed shock as they stared at the image on the screen, while Jean repeated the process of measuring the second baby.

After a few minutes she spoke again, "And there you have two happy, healthy, baby boys. So, because it's twins while your due date we'll set at August fourteenth, you'll more than likely deliver early, thirty-five to thirty-eight weeks is normal for twins, so that would put your expected delivery date somewhere between the tenth to the thirty-first of July."

"You did say you wanted baby born a little earlier before term started," Logan grinned at her, pride and love, and a lot of amusement, shining bright in his eyes.

Marie was still in shock. "Twins?" she repeated. "Two babies?" she clarified, earning a laugh from both Logan and Jean.

"Yes Rogue, two babies, two little boys, two bundles of joy," Jean confirmed, as she continued the scan to check on placentas, and make sure there wasn't a third lurking somewhere.

"Are they identical?" Marie asked, as her shock began to wear off and excitement began to grow.

"No, they are fraternal," Jean confirmed, as she located the second placenta, "That means you released two separate ovum, eggs, and both were fertilized, both babies look to be at the same developmental age so it probably happened just a couple of days apart," she advised.

"So it's your fault," Logan chuckled, with a wink.

"Oh well, I guess we don’t have to worry about 'practicing' for number two now," Marie replied, trying to sound unamused. Logan laughed at her implied threat, and reminded her it was she who would be more upset about that, causing Marie to blush as Jean joined in his laughter.

As Jean finished up the ultrasound, printed off baby pictures for the parents, and other images she needed for the file, she ran over the basics of pregnancy need-to-knows. She covered diet and portion sizes, congratulated Rogue on apparently gliding right through what was usually the worst of the morning sickness stage, cravings and how to avoid the more generally unhealthy ones by substituting the craved for food for something a little healthier, and assured Logan that sex during pregnancy was totally fine so long as Marie was comfortable.

They were setting a date for a later check-up as they exited the elevator at the ground floor, only to walk straight into a group of people apparently waiting for them.

"Well, what is it!?" Jubilee demanded before anyone else could speak.

Marie and Logan smiled at each other before Marie replied, "It's a boy--" Kitty squealed and hugged Rogue before she realised she hadn't finished- "... and another boy," Marie added with a broad grin.

Jubilee and Kitty were squealing and hugging Marie in typical teenage girl fashion while the other adults looked surprised. Logan just shrugged and looked smug, as he waited for the excitement to die down.

"Twins! Oh my God that's so cool!" Jubilee was saying, as a larger crowd of students began to gather, attracted by the commotion in the hall.

Several of the other students offered congratulations, and the grainy black and white photos of the tiny boys were handed around for people to gawk at. Eventually the photos made their way back to Logan, when Jubilee and Kitty finally dragged Marie off towards the kitchen to celebrate with food. Kitty was going on about baby showers, and nursery themes, and something called a 'poo bear'. Logan just watched them go in amusement, he would catch up with them later once the excitement died down a bit, and make sure Marie had some decent food.

"Well, I take it that was a surprise," Scott commented, once the crowd had disbursed and it was just the two of them.

"That's one way of putting it," Logan agreed, "Marie's been full of those lately, literally."

Both men chuckled before Scott continued, "Look I- I want to apologize for my behaviour yesterday, I was out of line and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have accused you of... those things, I guess we've gotten a little attached to Rogue in the time she's been here, we just want what's best for her, and it took me a while to accept that that might not be us so much as it is you, what do you say we call a truce?" he asked, offering a hand to Logan.

Logan took his hand before replying, "I don't have a problem with you, and I don't want you to have a problem with me but more importantly, I don’t want any sort of disagreement between us to affect Marie, so if you do have a problem with me, take it up with me, in private, you leave her out of it, if we can do that then we're all good," he answered honestly.

Scott nodded. "Agreed. Congratulations, and good luck, you're going to need it," he added, indicating the photos Logan still held.

"It's going to be one hell of a learning curve," Logan admitted, taking another look at his son's in the grainy pictures, "But we're in this together so it'll work out." And he couldn’t wait for the new challenge.

The men eventually wandered off companionably, following the path the women had taken earlier to the kitchen. Coffee, chocolate, and ice cream were at various stages of consumption leading Logan to grouse to Jean, "I thought you said she should be eating healthy and now you’re letting her eat this junk!"

"Oh lighten up Logan a little bit of ice cream isn't going to hurt anyone," Ororo commented with a laugh.

"In my medical opinion, I must concur," Jean added, "It's got fat and protein, the main building blocks of life, if it wasn't for the sugar it would be perfect."

"But sugar is energy," Kitty added, "And growing one baby takes a lot of energy, imagine how much energy it takes growing two."

"Clearly I'm outnumbered," Logan replied with a chuckle, as he set about fixing some real food.

The conversation in the kitchen continued, apparently the girls had already set a date for the baby shower and they were animatedly discussing all the things a baby would need, from cribs to booties. Kitty had her phone out and was oohing and aahing and squealing over what Jubilee termed 'epic cuteness', that she would then show to the other females, who would have much the same reaction. When Jubilee again mentioned using 'poo bears’ to decorate the nursery Logan just had to ask.

"What on earth is a 'poo bear'?"

Marie laughed and informed him that 'Winnie the Pooh' was a character in children’s books and movies, and commonly printed on children's clothes and nursery items. "Jubilee just likes him because he's yellow," she added, as she showed him a picture of a fat yellow bear, in a red shirt, lugging around a pot of 'HUNNY'.

"No," Logan replied, after observing the image, "No pooh bear's, real bears I'll agree to, in shades of black and brown, maybe white, but not yellow, and not wearing clothes."

Marie laughed again and said she had to agree. "We're going to be living in Canada so I'd rather instil a healthy fear and respect of bears than encourage my boys to think they are friendly and to try and pet them," she pointed out. Grudgingly the girls had to agree with her logic.

Logan on the other hand turned his mind to home, he would need to redecorate the cabin when they got back, some bedrooms at least. Which rooms would it be best to put the boys in? Would they want their own rooms or would they prefer to share? Was it too soon to be thinking about stuff like that? He was so lost in thought that Marie had to throw a balled-up paper towel at him before he realised she was talking to him again. She just smiled before repeating her question about how long they would be staying at the school.

"Don’t know, depends on you darlin and how long it takes you to finish with the book learning," he replied with a shrug.

"Well, I should graduate around Christmas, would we be able to get to the cabin, at that time of year? All going to plan of course," she added.

"No," Logan replied resolutely. They probably would be able to get through, eventually, around snowploughs and the like but he didn't want to travel the icy roads with babies if he didn't have to. "We'd be better to wait for spring before trying to get that far North. All going to plan we would probably head up that way around April, we could leave sooner than that though, depending on what sights you want to see along the way, roads will be clearer further south earlier."

"I can't believe you are going to graduate almost a full year ahead of us," Jubilee interrupted to complain, "It's not fair!"

"It's perfectly fair Jubilee," Scott replied indignantly, "If you dedicated yourself to your studies like Rogue does you could graduate early too."

"I think that's just teacher speak for 'I suck at being a teacher so I'm going to blame you'," Jubilee replied, sticking her tongue out at Scott.

"Jubes, you remember that English assignment that's due tomorrow?" Kitty replied pointedly, "Have you even started yet?" she asked.

Jubilee was quiet for a minute. "Has Rogue?" she countered.

"Rogue handed hers in last week, she's been working on an extra credit project this week," Ororo replied, helping Kitty make her point.

"Damn," was all Jubilee replied.

Marie had finished her ice cream and was halfway through the roast beef sandwich Logan had made her when she had the sudden urge to urgently pee, she excused herself quickly and hurried out of the room. Logan looking after her curiously and a little concerned, he turned to Jean questioningly as the nearest bathroom door slammed shut a moment later. Jean laughed and informed him that as the babies got bigger, they would put more pressure on internal organs, like the bladder, especially when they moved or kicked suddenly, so he should get used to that.

"As cute as babies are," Kitty interjected innocently, "I'm glad I'm not having one, it’s going to be good to not have to go through that, and be able to give the baby back to its parents when it screams or messes itself."

"Oh yeah" Jubilee piped up with a grin, "No stretch marks, no labour, no crying and screaming until all hours of the night, no poop explosions, or pee fountains, no puke all over everything, no--"

"If you two are trying to 'scare me' or something you can quit now, it won't work," Logan interrupted them and their cheeky grins, "I've been there done all that, it doesn't bother me."

"You've had a baby before?" Kitty asked surprised, "Does Rogue know?"

Logan shook his head. "No, no other kids, that I know of, but I've looked after a very sick person before, a lot bigger than a baby, so I know what to expect. At least with babies they grow up and grow out of it," he added.

"That must have been a really sick person?" Jubilee said, the question in her statement clear.

"Very, terminal," Logan said, "But it was worth it then and it'll be worth it now. Just don't try that shit on Marie okay, this is all new for her and she doesn't need you making her doubt herself, even if you are just joking around." The two girls nodded, obviously Logan wasn't going to give them any more information, they would have to try and get some more details from Rogue later on.

Marie came back a couple of minutes later, and made a joke about babies using her bladder as a trampoline, before she polished off the rest of her lunch amid the comfortable conversation. Finally everyone finished and wandered off to finish their day. Jubilee tried to convince Kitty and Rogue to watch a movie with her but Ororo helpfully reminded her of her unstarted essay, informing her there would be no extensions this week.

Marie wanted to take a walk after lunch, so she and Logan headed outside. She had gotten to know the forest trails surrounding the school pretty well over the last several months, so Logan got her to show him around to the least used areas of the wood, to see if he could find a camping spot for the survival class Xavier wanted him to do. They stayed out in the wood until the sun began to dip below the horizon, when Logan led them back to the school. They had missed the communal dinner so took over the kitchen to cook themselves dinner, and dessert, and midnight snacks. Marie was glad their suite was going to have its own small kitchen, so she would be able to keep cooking her own meals. Logan caught Marie adding mayo to her mashed potato and looked at her funny, she swore it was a legitimate recipe, then when he wasn't looking, she added pickles and sweet chilli sauce too. If he noticed, he didn't say anything.

Later that night, as they were getting ready for bed Logan snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her shoulder before he rested his chin there. "Spring break starts next week, right?" he asked.

"Technically the week after, though I suppose one could argue it starts after class on Friday, why do you ask?" she replied, pausing in her dressing for bed to hug the arms that wrapped around her waist.

"You doing anything that week?" he queried, as his hands began to wander over her belly.

"No, you?" she returned.

"I was thinking of taking my girl away for the week, there's this place called Parrsboro, about twelve hours northeast of here, near the beach, though it's not really a swimming beach. You think she might like it?" Logan commented with a grin.

"I'm sure she'll love it if you're there with her," Marie replied with a returned smile, "When do we leave?"

"I'll have to make a call, sort the details. Can you get the Friday off classes? If we leave on Thursday night we can beat the traffic, you can sleep in the car overnight, that'll make the trip shorter for you, then we can come back the following Friday so you can have the weekend to rest before classes start again," he suggested.

"That sounds like a plan, I can talk to the Professor about getting the Friday off, it shouldn't be a problem, I'm ahead on classes anyway and can turn in any extra projects early," she agreed. "Even if he says no I'm happy to miss a day," she added, grinning at him over her shoulder. He placed a kiss on her lips when she did, before gently nudging her towards the bed.

It was Wednesday before Logan had a chance to meet with the Professor himself, though Marie had already talked to him on the Monday after her physics class. Logan had been kept busy repairing blown pipes, after the ice boy had thought it would be funny to freeze the water going to his friends hot shower - seems he forgot that water expands when it freezes. Logan knocked on the Professor's office door at lunchtime Wednesday, after noting he wasn't at lunch, and was greeted and directed in by Charles, who was grading papers at his desk.

"I can come back later if now is not convenient," Logan said, noting the uneaten plate of food on the desk beside the stacks of graded, and ungraded, papers.

"No, no, now is quite alright, just please don’t be offended if I eat during our conversation," was the reply, as a freshly graded paper was moved to a new pile. "I understand you and Rogue are going to be away for Spring Break," Xavier commented. Continuing at Logan's affirmative nod, he asked in a round about manner, "We generally like to know where our students will be on breaks, so we can monitor their general area in case a situation arises but I forgot to ask Rogue where you were planning to holiday."

"Town called Parrsboro, up in Nova Scotia, we're going to be staying with... I guess they're the closest thing I have to family, besides Marie, thought she'd like to finally meet them," Logan told him.

"That sounds like a lovely idea, perhaps you should speak to Jean, if Rogue hasn't already, about precautions Rogue can take to make the car trip more comfortable for her," the Professor suggested, "Is the cell phone number we have on file for you still correct? Just in case of emergency of course."

Logan confirmed it was, before steering the discussion back to the topic he had actually come to discuss. He had found a spot suitable for the survival class in the woods, and drafted a brief list of all the things he would teach, which students he would get to help him, and a timetable for a two week program concluding with a week-long camp where the kids would have to survive alone in the woods with only the things they could scrounge up around them for shelter and food.

"It should be fine weather-wise that whole month but it's not much of a survival situation if something doesn't go wrong at some point, do you think Storm could make it rain on them the third or fourth night? Not too much, just enough to test their shelter weatherproofing skills," Logan asked with a grin.

Xavier chuckled. "I'm sure that can be arranged, it is for a good cause after all. How much damage do you expect will be done to the wood?" he queried.

"Aside from crushed undergrowth and a few latrine holes to be filled, any environmental damage should be minimal, one of the things I'll be teaching them is how to hide their presence, everything from covering tracks to bush camouflage, so it shouldn't be too noticeable, providing they can follow instructions."

"That would indeed be preferable. What dates have you planned, so we can schedule the student’s other activities?" Xavier queried, as he pulled out a handwritten date planner.

"As early as possible after terms end, I understand that’s the twenty-sixth of June, maybe give the kids a day off and start on the Friday, if you're expecting them to have classes over the weekends, otherwise the Monday. Jean says Marie could go into labour as early as the tenth of July, so ideally I’d like to get this as much out of the way before then as possible," Logan stated. His concern, at being too far away from Rogue as her due date approached, was evident.

"Of course, I would suggest five day-classes, from the first to fifth, then beginning the week-long camp on the morning of the sixth, ending on the evening of the twelfth. There will be some overlap of dates but it will hopefully not be an issue, I would not expect you to miss the birth of your children to run the class, if Rogue does deliver that early we may either postpone the camp or another teacher can take over for a couple of days," Charles assured him. "I will also put in the request for Ororo to make it rain between ten pm and two am on both the eighth and the ninth, that should give the students plenty of practice to plug any leaks and enjoy their hopeful success in their weatherproofing endeavours."

Logan chuckled. "Gee, I thought I was pushing it wanting them to get wet once, you're positively sadistic Chuck," he joked.

The two men conversed for a while longer, minor details about the class, and how the students were to be 'graded'. Marie was given a pass from the class unless Logan felt she was able to join, the Professor pointing out he had no doubt that Logan would teach her anything he deemed she needed to know, that he hadn't already gotten around to showing her, at some point anyway. As for the rest of the students who would be attending, the Professor was going to confirm the attendance list closer to the date, as a few students’ families had not yet finalized their summer holiday plans.

Eventually, as classes began to resume in the rooms around them they bid farewell. "Enjoy your holiday, the both of you, I too will be away over Spring Break, though I imagine not to nearly as enjoyable pastimes, so I must finish this grading before I leave," Charles concluded.

Logan returned his farewell and left him to it. He ran into Marie in the hallway, nose buried in a book as usual, as she wandered toward her next class, though this one surprisingly enough was fiction. Snapping the book shut, with his finger marking her page, Logan took her arm, tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow. "Come on darlin, you're late enough as it is," he said, as he walked her to her class. He placed a kiss on the end of her nose before opening the classroom door and ushering her in. He took the book with him, much to her annoyance, to deliver it to her room for her to read later.

Five minutes after the final bell rang Marie marched into the garage, where Logan was working on a car one of kids had ‘accidentally’ banged up.

"Where is my book?" she demanded immediately.

"Hi darlin, how was your day, mine was great thanks for asking," Logan joked, as he wiped off his greasy hands on a stained rag. He would never tell her this but she was particularly cute when she was annoyed, and he may or may not intentionally annoy her sometimes just to get to see it.

Marie tried to look annoyed before giving up with a laugh and moving over to hug him, standing up on her tip toes to peck him on the lips. "My day was going fantastic until someone stole this book I was reading and now won't tell me where they put it," she replied.

"Book's on your bedside table but..." he added, catching her around the waist, above her belly, when she tried to dart out of the room. "We're on for leaving tomorrow night, we'll be heading out at seven, so you should go pack, don’t forget your passport because we're crossing the border, and the suite the Professor's moving us into is ready, if you can start boxing up all your stuff I can move it when I'm done here. We'll stay in your room tonight and officially move in when we get back, does that sound okay to you?" he queried.

"Except for the me not getting to read my book part it sounds great," Marie responded cheekily.

"Take the book with you, you'll get plenty of time to read, I promise," he compromised.

"Alright, alright, do you know where I'd find some boxes?" she asked, as she made to leave the room again.

"I already left a whole lot up there, should be enough," Logan kissed her one last time, promising to be finished soon, and she wandered out of the room, leaving him to get back to work.

Two hours later, he had done his best with the car, and after cleaning himself up he swung by the kitchen to get Marie a pre-dinner snack on his way upstairs. She was lying across the bed on her left side, head on a pile of pillows, as she munched on baby carrots and some purple dip, while reading her book.

Logan dumped the snacks he brought on the dresser, and watched her in amusement until she noticed him standing there. Before he could say anything, she pointed across the room at a stack of boxes.

"Everything's ready to move," she said with a grin.

"And you're packed?" Logan asked, glancing from the pile of boxes to a pile of clothes dumped on the couch.

"Well, it's ready to pack," Marie replied sheepishly, following his eyes to pile of clothes on the couch.

Logan chuckled and shook his head. "I thought you weren't into fantasy crap," he commented, leaving her to read while he moved over to start shifting boxes.

"No, I said I wasn't into vampire romance rubbish, this, this is amazing, it’s got politics, deception and treachery, wars, spies and double-agents, complex plots, mythical creatures, and lots of epic death scenes!" she replied animatedly.

"Sounds ... dark," Logan said, as he hefted a box. "What the hell is in this?" he added with a grunt.

"Oh, that one's books, sorry, should have marked it," Marie said, before turning back to her book, leaving him to juggle the heavy box and opening the door.

He had the boxes moved in short order, leaving them piled up against the wall between the living room and the two bedrooms, they wouldn't be too hard to move later into whatever room they needed to go into. The suite, he found, was sparsely furnished; it had a small kitchen with standard appliances, a couch, coffee table, TV, and one bedroom had a large bed and bedroom set. The second bedroom was empty, though it appeared to only have been recently emptied, so they could set that up as a nursery over the next few months.

When he was done with the boxes, Logan went back to Marie's room to repack his stuff. He had brought a larger pack with him, for the extra stuff he would need for the year he had expected them to be staying here, but it was easier just to load that to take with him than to repack a smaller bag for the week they would be away. He had just zipped his pack up when he picked up a hitch in Marie's breathing, and a muffled giggle from the bed, a quick check of her scent revealed she was surprisingly aroused, a brief glance over his shoulder showed she was still engrossed in her book. Needlessly stealthily, because she wasn't paying any attention to him anyway, Logan crossed the room and lay down behind her, silently reading over her shoulder.

"Shit Marie, you didn't say it was borderline pornographic," Logan choked on a laugh, as he skim read the words on the page she was finishing.

Marie giggled again. "You think that's bad you should see the TV show, this is tame as anything. This is one of the sweetest couples in the whole series though, I swear they're the only ones that actually really, truly, love each other ... and then she gets killed, it's really sad, in the TV show they made it even worse by showing her actually getting killed in front of him and him holding her while she died, at least in the book he just finds her body after the fight..." she fell silent for a moment before asking, "Maybe I know nothing though, you would know better, what's worse, finding your lover dead, or holding them while they die?"

Logan wrapped his arms around her, resting his face in her hair as he breathed in her scent, and tried to forget that horrible moment on the statue when he thought he had lost her, before he replied, "Either way doesn't really matter, they both end with a dead lover."

"... And now I'm depressed, and I haven't even got to the part where she dies yet," Marie muttered, in a joking tone after a brief pause, marking her page and snapping the book shut.

Logan smiled at her before asking, "If you know what happens already why are you reading it?"

"Because the best books are the ones that have you coming back again, and again, to read and re-read them, because the story is so intricately written you find new details every time you read it, plus, I found the series in the library, and thought it would be fun to refresh my memory," she answered.

"Wait... that was in the library?" Logan asked incredulously, "Doesn't that shit have an age restriction or something? Has One Eye read it?"

Marie laughed so hard she almost made herself sick when her bouncing belly bumped into her snack stuffed stomach, before she replied, "I don’t know if it has an age restriction, and I don’t know if Scott's read it but the contents of the books are well known, and most of the students have seen the TV show so, I guess there wasn't much point in trying to censor it, besides, don't you think it's a little hypocritical of you to be bringing up age limits for reading when..." she broke off, gesturing to her belly pointedly.

Logan went quiet. "... Fair point, guess I was kind of asking for that one," he said eventually with a grin, "In my defence though, you were legal, how are they really going to stop the younger kids, and there are some pretty young kids here, from picking this stuff up, hell, even most of the kids your age aren't as mature as you and probably shouldn't be reading that stuff, or doing the things we do."

"Definitely should not be doing the things we do," Marie agreed with a chuckle. "I don’t think the Professor would be very happy with a couple dozen baby mutants running around... and you think I'm mature?" she asked, regarding him curiously.

"Of course I do, how could anyone not? You can hold an intelligent and articulate conversation, you know to make short term sacrifices for long term gains, and you're determined when you set yourself a goal, you know yourself, and how to make compromises to work with others but you never sacrifice your core principles. You think before you react, and you hear people out before you make decisions... and that's all part of what makes you so fantastic - the fact you can cook is an added bonus, and I'm glad I get to call you mine," he said, planting another kiss on her shoulder.

"'Yours' huh?" she asked teasingly. At his determined nod, she wrapped her arms around him and replied, "On one condition, you're mine in return."

"Always darlin," he answered, with a satisfied smile.

"Good then, now that that's settled, if I am yours you should probably feed me, because, despite the fact that I have been snacking for most of the afternoon, I am starving, I don't think vege sticks and hummus are quite doing it for me," she said, regarding the empty container of purple goop with disdain.

"That was hummus? Why is it purple, I thought hummus was supposed to be a creamy colour?" Logan eyed the container warily.

"It was beetroot hummus, Ororo bought a whole lot of different flavoured ones, I didn't actually mean to eat the whole container when I swiped it though," Marie laughed.

"Maybe the tiny kids are carnivores, trying to tell you they want something meatier; I hear venison stew is on the menu tonight, shall we?" Logan asked, offering her a hand up off the bed before taking her hand and leading her down to the communal dining room. He knew it was venison because he hunted the deer himself, the cook had been supremely impressed.

They opted to sit at the teachers table that night, mainly because there was, oddly, nowhere else in the room where two adjoining seats were spare. Unfortunately, that meant the third degree about where they were going over Spring Break. Logan didn't want to give too much away, he hadn't yet revealed to Marie exactly where, and why, they were going up North, so he kept his answers brief and vague when Marie directed enquiries to him as the mastermind. He was relieved when Marie changed the subject a short time later.

"Hey Jean, about the eating, you said eat small meals more frequently, and it is helping with the indigestion but I seem to be constantly eating, and constantly hungry. I mean, this is my second bowl of stew - which is amazing, and filling me up - even though over the last few hours I ate a damn sixteen ounce tub of hummus and a whole bag of baby carrots which I don't know where it all went but apparently it wasn't my stomach!" Marie claimed.

"That's where the hummus went," Ororo commented with a laugh.

"Yeah, sorry about that, it was good by the way," Marie added, "I'll get you another one as soon as I can."

"Oh don’t worry about it, I'm glad it went to a good cause," Ororo replied, glancing down at Marie's peeking belly.

Jean chewed thoughtfully before hypothesizing, "It's possible your body simply needs more protein, the babies have more or less finished developing and from here on in are really just getting bigger, growing muscle, growing bone, that takes a lot of minerals and a lot of protein, instead of eating hummus with vegetables try eating it with hard cheese, also try high protein and fat nut butters, yogurt- and red meat seems to agree with you, if you add vegetables, try higher protein vegetables like broccoli, spinach, peas, avocado, and have them drizzled with a bit of olive oil, or butter. Just try different things really and see what works for you."

"So, it's not bad if I eat more meat and dairy and less veges?" Marie confirmed.

"No, not bad, if you're worried about vitamins though I do have a prenatal supplement if you would like to take one just in case?" Jean offered. Marie readily agreed, and thanked her, promising to come down to the lab in the morning to get a supply.

The next morning Marie woke late, and was rushing through the room in a panic getting ready for class. She was in the bathroom, brushing her hair, when she heard the bedroom door open. "Damn it Logan, why didn't you wake me up!" she called into the bedroom.

"Because you were just too darn pretty to disturb," Logan replied, leaning against the doorjamb watching as she quickly pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

"Yeah, well now I don’t have time to make myself breakfa--" she started, as she pushed past him to get to the bedroom, only to see a tray of food set on the bed waiting for her.

"You were just too darn pretty to disturb, so I left you to sleep and made breakfast for you instead," Logan added, "Eat up, classes start in half an hour."

As Marie ate, Logan found her shoes and socks and put them on for her so she didn't have to try and reach past her bump, before he sat down on the couch across from her and set out his plan for the day. He had errands to run all day, and would be picking up some things to make the trip more comfortable for her.

"I don't know exactly when I'll be back but it will be before seven, so if you finish class before I'm back don't forget you still haven't packed yet," Logan said, glancing to the pile of clothes on the couch beside him.

Marie smiled. “I'll do that first thing when I'm finished for the day," she assured him. "Anything else I need to know?" she queried.

"Yeah," Logan replied, reaching into his pocket and handing her a small bottle. "Picked these up for you, Jean said to take one every morning with food, and, if you hurry up I'll walk you to class," he added, kissing her quickly before he pulled on his boots and jacket, fishing around in a pocket to be sure he had the keys for the truck.

Marie had teased him about him borrowing ‘her truck’, he got his own back by pointing out the wolverine on the keychain with a sly wink. He knew she wouldn't take it off, even if it did look like a humorous attempt at a territorial claim, simply because he had given it to her.

They left their dishes in the bedroom, to take back to the kitchen later, before making their way downstairs in a familiar manner. Marie comfortably fit herself against Logan's side, as he wrapped his arm around her waist, laying his hand on her hip as she wrapped her own arm around his waist. She remembered the first time they had gone anywhere like that, if she'd had any idea then how things would end up, she knew she wouldn't have changed a thing.

Outside her first class Logan pulled her to one side of the hallway before turning her around in front of him and locking lips, they stayed that way until another student walked passed and not so subtly coughed 'get a room'. Logan reluctantly let her go and she slipped into class, waving goodbye when he was still standing at the door a minute later. He took the hint and left then, after all, the sooner he was gone the sooner he would get back.

He had spoken to Jean that morning when he had stopped by to collect Marie's vitamins, mostly because he wanted her professional opinion on Marie's condition versus a long car trip. Jean had assured him that Marie should be fine, but suggested she would be more comfortable in a reclined position, and keeping her legs elevated a little to avoid swelling, she also suggested pillows, and snacks. Logan had added all that to the list of things the Professor had asked him to collect in advance of the school break, and that wasn't a short list.

Eight hours later, Logan was done and back at the mansion. It was dinner time so he headed directly to the dining room. Marie was sitting at a table off to the side, surrounded by her friends, and engrossed in animated conversation. Be stopped by her table to drop a kiss on her head and let her know he was back, then continued on to get himself food. He ended up taking his plate outside, to finally enjoy some peace and quiet for the first time that day. He was sitting on the dirt under a sprawling oak enjoying a cigar a half hour later, when Marie wandered out, he hurriedly stubbed it out as she approached without making the action too obvious.

"Hey, missed you," she said, taking a seat next to him, ignoring his hurried dispatch of his smoke. "I'm all packed and ready when you are," she added, as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"We should probably get going then," he added, glancing at his watch. Neither of them made any effort to move initially, enjoying the cooling day and the changing light of the sinking sun. It took Logan pulling her into his arms, before he stood to his feet and carried her inside, to get them going.

Marie laughed and demanded her put her down as he stepped into the mansion. "Come on Logan I'm going to be sitting down for twelve hours, the least you could do is let me walk a bit beforehand," she argued when he refused.

"Why do you always have to be so stubborn," Logan jokingly asked, as he set her down on her feet.

"Because you love it," she replied, starting up the stairs to their room to grab their bags. Logan followed but quickly snatched up both packs, refusing to let her carry anything. "I swear to God Logan, I am pregnant not paralyzed, can you lay off just a little," she replied, only mildly exasperated at his behaviour.

"Nope," he replied with a grin, "You're doing enough heavy lifting babe, come on, let's get out of here!" He left the room without a backward glance, Marie following with her own grin and a shake of her head.

Marie was interrupted a couple of times on her way to the garage, by friends who wanted to hug her and wish her goodbye, Logan continued on to get the bags stowed; with everyone else’s reactions you would be forgiven for thinking they were leaving permanently rather than just for the week. He was digging through his own pack to grab his passport when Marie came in, trailed by Jubilee and Kitty.

"Darlin where's your passport?" he asked, without looking up.

"Outside pocket on the left," Marie replied, as she moved to the front passenger seat, Logan wouldn't even let her carry her own bag she knew there was no way he would let her drive for a while. She pulled open the door, and stopped open mouthed before she started laughing. "Is there any room left for me up here?" Marie asked in amusement, as she stared at the pile of pillows, and a blanket, stuffed in the front of the vehicle.

"Plenty," Logan answered, as he moved past her to tuck the passports in the glove compartment. He tossed a few pillows into the back seat, now that he had stowed the bags. Jubilee and Kitty hugged her again before Logan boosted her into the truck. "That bag down there's full of snacks, and there's a bottle of water in there," he said, pointing out everything she would need, well within her reach, "And the seat behind you is clear of you want to recline yours."

"You are such a pushover," Marie murmured, so no one else would hear, before she pulled him closer for a kiss.

"Only for you kid," he replied with a wink, before he shut the door and made his way around to the driver's seat.

They both waved to the girls, who were still waiting to see them off, as they rolled down the wide tree lined driveway. When they hit the highway, Marie fished out a bag of strawberry chips, and another of peanut butter M&M's, setting them down on the seat beside her as she kicked off her shoes and rearranged a couple of pillows so she could recline against the door and prop her feet up on the seat as Logan drove.

"Comfortable?" Logan asked a while later, when her feet migrated from the seat beside him into his lap.

"Mmhmm, very," Marie replied cheekily, as she pointedly rubbed one foot up his thigh. One of Logan's hands moved from the steering wheel to her ankle, repositioning her foot before he began to gently massage her instep with his thumb. "Oh yeah, I am perfect," Marie moaned, sighing contentedly as she lounged and snacked. Before long, the monotonous drone of the engine, and the gentle movement of the truck, lulled her to sleep.

--

Logan didn't want to wake her but she had been asleep now for almost three hours, in a position that really didn't look comfortable, so when he stopped for gas he gently reached over and woke Marie. "Darlin, you have to move around a bit, you want to get out and stretch your legs?"

Marie yawned and adjusted her position. "No, I'm good," she murmured, looking like she was going to go straight back to sleep before her eyes popped open. “On second thought, I need to pee."

Logan chuckled and pointed her toward the gas station. "I'll be in in a minute, don’t rush," he told her, as she made her way across the forecourt.

Ten minutes later they were back on the road. Marie reclined her seat as far as it would go, propping a pillow between her knees, behind her back, and under her head, before pulling the fluffy purple blanket Logan had brought with them over herself, and settling back down to sleep.

There were no further interruptions until they hit the border just after two am. There wasn't a queue at that time of the morning, and Logan had hoped to get through border security without having to wake Marie but the border guard insisted, it was policy apparently, that Marie herself had to answer their questions before he could clear them.

"Marie, wake up," he said softly, gently nudging her awake. She stretched and sleepily asked 'are we there yet' which amused both Logan and the guard. "Nah darlin, were at the border, this guy’s got to make sure I'm not kidnapping you before he'll let me take you across," he commented, cocking a brow at the guard, who refused to back down.

"Logan you shouldn't say stuff like that, one day someone's going to take something you say seriously and you're going to get yourself arrested," she said, with a laugh as she sat up, adjusting her seat back for support and rubbing her eyes awake. Logan just shrugged and muttered that it was the truth even if the guy wouldn't admit it. "So what if it's the truth, where exactly do you think I'll end up while they figure out you're just shooting your mouth off?" she asked pointedly.

Logan didn't reply, he just wound down Marie's window for the border guard, who was sniggering to himself and refusing to look at him. He asked his questions, before handing Marie back their passports, bidding them a good night and a safe journey, before signalling ahead for them to pass through.

"You little smartass," Logan directed at Marie, as he wound the windows up and continued on. She just smiled sweetly as if to ask 'who me?', before settling back down again and going back to sleep, this time with her hand in his on the seat between them.

Marie didn't wake again until the sun was up, streaming in the windscreen as it flooded over the horizon, and directly into her face. "Ugh, what a wakeup call," she muttered, as she scrunched her eyes closed while she stretched and adjusted her position. Logan reached over and pulled down the sun visor, while she adjusted her seat, and at her new elevated position it managed to shield her eyes, just.

“So, are we there yet?" she asked again.

"Almost," Logan grunted in reply, he didn't look tired, even though he had been driving all night, but he was obviously tense.

"Good, because I need to pee," Marie said impishly.

"Can you hold it for half an hour or do I have to stop sooner?" Logan asked with a chuckle.

"I can hold it," Marie replied, after a moment’s consideration. "So long as Thing 1 and Thing 2 don’t decide to go base jumping first thing this morning," she added.

"We need to come up with better nicknames for those two or they're going to be permanently tarred," Logan replied, with a soft glance at the baby belly peeking out of the blanket that had fallen down to Marie's lap.

"I think it's cute, one day we can take them to Disneyland and get them little t-shirts with their nicknames on, of course then we would have to actually decide which one is 'one' and which one is 'two', or are you worried that might lead to sibling rivalry?" she asked with a wistful smile.

"Darlin, these kids are likely going to be feral, a bit of rivalry is normal in normal kids, for these two it's likely to be a lot more intense, just you wait until they get to teenagers, they're liable to end up at each other’s throats, literally, particularly if they get my healing, not wanting to scare you but it is something we're going to have to be prepared for and figure out how to manage pretty early on," Logan replied seriously.

"So, you're saying cutesy little nicknames aren't going to make any difference?" Marie concluded with a grin.

Logan turned and glared at her good naturedly. "How do you always do that! Fine, you win, Thing 1 and Thing 2 it is," he relented.

They chatted contentedly for the next twenty minutes until they hit the edge of town, and Logan noticed Marie getting progressively quieter, her brow scrunched in confusion as she observed the passing scenery.

"All right darlin, breakfast is your call, pick what looks good," Logan commented, as they hit the centre of town.

"Turn left," Marie said suddenly. As he pulled around the corner, she pointed to a little diner about a hundred meters down the road.

Logan didn't say anything as he pulled up out front and shut off the engine, he had a feeling Marie was catching on to what this place was. He walked around the truck and popped open the passenger door, as Marie stuffed pillows over into the backseat and tried to catch hold of her shoes. With a grin Logan snagged the shoes out of the foot well and put them on for her, before lifting her out of the truck, and they walked inside hand in hand. On entering the diner, Marie immediately turned to the booth in the furthest back corner, though she didn't make a move toward it.

"Come on, let's sit over here," Logan said, tugging her in the other direction.

They had just taken a seat when an older woman bustled out of the kitchen. "Oh my word! Logan, it's been far too long," she said, as she rushed over to their table.

"Mavis," Logan greeted her warmly, returning the women's hug. "This is Marie," Logan then said, directing the grandmotherly lady’s attention to his companion.

"Oh my dear it's so lovely to meet you, though indeed it seems this young man has been quite the bad influence on you," she said, turning her eyes to Marie's stomach. "Don't feel bad though, if I were fifty years younger," Mavis added with a wink at Marie, leaving the rest of her statement unsaid. Marie laughed out loud at the unexpected icebreaker, she could have sworn Logan blushed for a second as he choked back his own laugh.

"Don't let Frank hear you talking like that, the last thing I need is him and that shotgun he loves so much chasing me out of here," Logan commented, before adding, "How about some coffee, and a menu for Marie."

"Menu won't be necessary, we'll have two all-you-can-eat breakfasts, and can I have a glass of orange juice instead of coffee," Marie ordered for them both.

Mavis nodded, and added it would be right out, then rushed off to fetch their drinks. She returned a moment later with a small pitcher of orange juice and a glass, and a coffee pot and mug, setting down everything but the pot and telling Logan to holler when he needed a refill.

Logan waited for Mavis to move out of earshot before he opened his mouth to speak. Marie beat him to it.

"This is where you and Sarah used to live," she said softly, sipping on her orange juice as she gestured to the town out the window.

"You're not upset I brought you here for your holiday, are you?" Logan asked, it had been a risk bringing her here, especially not telling her that was where he was taking her but he hadn't been able to face the possibility that she might reject the idea before they had even left New York if he had.

"No, no of course not Logan, you thought I would be?" she asked. Taking from Logan's expression his response, she reached across the table and clasped his hand. “I'm not upset Logan, far from it, this was your life for a long time, thank you for sharing it with me."

Logan let out a relieved breath, almost a sigh, that was the first part of the trip reveal out of the way, Marie again stumbled into the second piece of news he had for her. "Do Sarah's parents still live in town? You should stop by and visit them while we're here," she said.

"Well, actually, they're kind of why we're here," Logan admitted, "... They're the closest thing I remember having to family, aside from you now, and I've kept in contact, I thought it would be nice to introduce you all... Helen's offered for us to stay with them but we don't have to if you're not comfortable with that, we can..."

"Logan," Marie interrupted him, squeezing his hand reassuringly, "That sounds like a great idea, I can't wait to meet them, and if they're half as great as you've made them sound, I'm sure I'll love staying with them."

Their breakfast arrived then, and though Mavis was obviously bursting to ask Logan more questions she left them to their meal in relative peace, only stopping by every now and then, to see if they wanted refills on coffee or food. Logan's plate had arrived with extra steak, Mavis, knowing him as she did, knew that would have been the first thing he wouldd have asked for, Marie however asked for a refill of pancakes and extra apple butter.

They ate slowly and savoured the amazing meal, Logan's memories, the few that had leaked out into her mind's eye when his recognition had kicked in as they entered town, had been one hundred percent accurate on that front. Marie would have been loath to leave except that Logan assured her, out of Mavis's hearing, that Helen's cooking was even better. In all, they spent two hours at the diner, eating and talking, they even had a long chat with Mavis answering all her questions about where Logan had been, how they had met, how long they were staying, and all the obligatory baby questions, before Logan eventually called for the cheque and they wandered back out to the truck.

Logan suggested they have a look around town first before heading to their final destination, their walk was cut short for a time when babies decided they didn't appreciate the motion, accompanied by their mothers’ full stomach, and attempted to get rid of one or the other. For a change Marie decided she would like to keep her breakfast where it was, so they stopped at a park for a while to give the boys time to get comfy again. By the time they got back on the road it was almost ten am.

It wasn't far to Helen and Peter's home. Logan barely looked when they had to drive right past the house he and Sarah had lived in for most of their time together, though he noted it had been repainted fairly recently. The blue Sarah had chosen, not long after they moved in, had been replaced with the 'boring and unimaginative' white that decorated the rest of the street.

As Logan cut the engine, when they were parked on the stone chip drive in front of the two story, old style, Victorian home, of the nearest people he had to parents, he felt his nerves ratchet up again. Marie gave him a glowing smile, and a loving kiss, as he helped her out of the truck again, and squeezed his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together, as she pushed him to lead them inside.

He knocked loudly on the backdoor before a woman’s voice called out, "Logan, you know better than that, you come right on in." With a grin Logan pulled the door open and walked into the mudroom, kicking his boots off as he went. Marie followed suit, and they walked through the next door directly into the kitchen, where a woman in her late fifties stood at the kitchen table, elbows deep in a large bowl of dough.

"You're finally here, I was starting to get worried," she told Logan reproachfully.

"Sorry, didn't mean to worry you, we just stopped for breakfast and to stretch our legs. Helen, this is the little lady I was telling you about, Marie, this is Sarah's mom," Logan introduced the two women, as Helen quickly cleaned her hands and dusted flour off her apron, before wrapping Marie in a hug and squeezing her gently but firmly.

"It's lovely to finally meet you dear, Logan has told me so much about you, though he did leave out one detail, and you can either call me Helen or mom, I had this one trained before Sarah passed but it looks like he needs to do some relearning," she replied, before she turned to Logan and hugged him tight too, saying while she still held him close, "You're just as much our family now as you were then Logan, I still expect you to call me mom."

Logan hugged the older woman before admitting, "I've missed you mom."

Logan and Marie were quickly made to feel at home as Helen chatted about this, that, and the other thing, she told them Peter was out running errands but would be back for lunch. Marie offered to help her with her lunch preparation, leaving Logan to his own devices as the two women bustled about the kitchen.

"My, you are lucky dear, when I was pregnant I couldn't stand the sight or smell of food for most of my pregnancy, poor Peter was left to fend for himself for months, once Sarah was born and settled he made me give him cooking lessons, so he didn't fare so badly the second time around," Helen commented, earning a laugh from Marie as she mixed up a pitcher of lemonade.

"While I do enjoy being able to eat a part of me is worried that this pregnancy has gone so well something's going to go badly wrong all of a sudden," Marie confided.

"Oh don't you worry about such nonsense," Helen replied, as she stuck the buns she had made in the oven to bake. "You're at the easy part now, you just sit back and get fat, and let Logan wait on you until you get to the little bundle of joy in your arms part, most importantly don’t worry yourself with maybes and what ifs, worrying is the worst thing you can do, stay positive and listen to your body, it will let you know what's going on," Helen assured her, adding, "And I was a midwife for thirty-five years so you can trust me on that."

As they sat around the dinner table that night enjoying a substantial and tasty meal, all laughing and joking and chatting happily, Logan was finally able to relax. The tenseness he had felt for the last several weeks was finally gone.

When he had begun his trip from Yukon back to New York he had been plagued by doubt over whether Marie would still feel the same way for him, of course they had talked frequently, and she had been open and honest about missing him but that little niggling doubt about her age, the possibility that she may suddenly realise just how much better she might have it with a boy her own age, now that she had had a chance to get to know some, had been there all the same. On his return his worries had been added to as he had briefly considered the possibility that she may only be sticking with him because of the predicament she found herself in now, being pregnant by him, but she had done her best to squarely nip that in the bud.

Now his final worry, how to successfully integrate what little he had of a past, with what was soon to be his future, appeared to be a success. Marie was happy and content, and Helen and Peter were enamoured with her. As the tables other occupants chatted about babies, and birthing options, regular visits, and lots of photos, Logan found an odd feeling settle over him as he watched the scene as if he was an outsider. After a moment he excused himself from the table, and wandered out to the front porch. Taking a seat on the steps, he watched the sky change colour through the sunset, as he tried to sort through what exactly he was feeling.

--

Marie watched Logan leave the table, a quiet murmur that he needed some air was all he said, as he softly placed a kiss on top of her head and left the room. Helen called out for him not to be too long, reminding him she still had dessert to serve and it was his favourite, before the conversation resumed. She couldn't help but worry, she had never seen that look on Logan's face before, and it wasn't like him to just walk out without warning but Helen kept her distracted for a time.

Babies interrupted her next, roughly demanding a change of position, and Peter suggested she might be more comfortable in the living room. He and Helen shooed her into the other room as they quickly cleared the table, and Marie wandered around the room until she felt comfortable enough to sit again. She found her attention drawn to a collection of family photos on one wall, and took in the photos of the couple, when they were younger, photos of their two children, Sarah and her younger brother Andrew, as they grew up. Her attention was particularly drawn to a photo of Sarah and Logan, among a collection of others.

Peter came into the room a few minutes later and joined Marie, smiling at the memories the photo's brought forth.

"They look so happy," Marie said after a while, smiling sadly at the thought of what Logan must be feeling being surrounded by so many memories of the dead woman.

"They were," Peter replied, "Very happy, I will never be able to express my gratitude enough to Logan for how happy he made Sarah, even at the end, everything he did, he did for her. But that was a different life, Sarah has moved on, now, finally, so has Logan, and I know the two of you will make each other just as happy, even more so perhaps," he suggested, as he moved to his old armchair in the corner by the fire and made himself comfortable.

--

Logan had only been gone for about thirty minutes when he heard the door gently open and close behind him, he smiled to himself as he picked up Helen approaching him.

"Give me a hand there young man," she announced herself, as she moved to sit down beside him. "These old joints aren’t as flexible as they once were," she added, as Logan helped her settle herself on the step beside him.

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments before Logan said softly, "It's okay to let her go, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes Logan it is, you were never under any obligation to hold onto her, she would want you to be happy, and from what I've seen today, Marie makes you so very happy, and you make her happy also, wherever Sarah is she is happy for you, as am I," Helen told him, tears shimmering in her eyes as she smiled up into the clear dark sky as the first stars began to twinkle.

Logan sighed as he felt the last ripple of guilt ebb away. When he had thought about Sarah without the usual stab of grief but instead with a remembered fondness he had thought it cruel and heartless of him, like he had replaced her, but try as he might he couldn't make the familiar pain of grief come back, at the same time he didn't want it back. Sarah was gone, she was never coming back. Marie was here, she was now, her and the boys were the future.

He smiled to himself before turning to Helen. "So, you approve of Marie then?" he asked, keen to hear her honest opinion, Helen had never been a woman to hold back the truth, harsh as it may be at times.

"I whole heartedly approve," she confirmed, "She's young but she’s got a good head on her shoulders, she'll make a fine wife, whenever you finally get around to that part, and an amazing mother, and you, will make a wonderful father," she added.

Logan chuckled at the thought of him being any good as a father, hell he was going to do his best but he had a feeling Marie, and her sweetness and light, were going to have to be compensating overtime for his bad attitude and bad habits if the kids were going to have a decent chance.

The front door opened again a little while later, Logan picking up Marie by her scent, Helen knowing who it was by pure feminine intuition. "Well, I'll leave you to it, dessert will be served in fifteen minutes and not a minute later," Helen said, as Logan helped her to her feet. She smiled warmly at him, and hugged Marie on her way inside, before Logan pulled Marie down to sit on the steps between his legs, her back resting against his front.

"You doing okay?" she asked, after a few minutes of quiet, loathe to break the silence.

"I am," Logan replied, as he rested his chin on her head. "A part of me felt guilty, like I was replacing Sarah, but when Helen and Peter... I didn't realise how much I needed that, how much I needed them to accept you, my future, I haven't replaced Sarah, I've just moved on, and there's nothing wrong with that. I love you Marie, you'll always have a place in my heart, and I hope in my arms too, for a long, long time," Logan commented, drawing a smile from both of them.

"I'll be here for as long as I can possibly be," Marie replied. "It's warm here, and you're comfy," she added, as she felt Logan begin to relax around her. He chuckled as he hugged her tight and they sat for a time just holding each other, until they heard Helen summoning her guests for more food.

--

Over the next few days Logan and Marie explored the quiet town, visited local sights, spent a day at the beach, and enjoyed good food and even better company. Andy, Helen and Peter's son, stopped by for dinner one night, and Marie was surprised by the warmth of affection he greeted Logan with. He had later admitted that Logan had been the best 'big brother' a teenage boy could have asked for, though he wouldn’t elaborate on just why that was with his parents in the room. Logan just glared at him with a cocked browed, though his smothered grin belied his own amusement at whatever mischief had been referred to.

On the Friday morning, Helen made a huge breakfast to see them off, and presented them with a picnic basket full of snacks for the trip. She had acquired Marie's cell phone number and they each promised to keep in touch, Helen had been a great help with advice about the impending new arrivals, and the older couple promised to come and visit whenever they were in New York. They had crowned themselves honorary grandparents, and insisted that if they couldn't make the birth they would be down as soon as they could manage to meet, and spoil the boys.

By the time they got back to the mansion late on Friday night Marie was asleep, so Logan carried her upstairs to their new suite, settling her into bed before he went back to retrieve their bags. Marie stirred when he came back to the room, and reached for him as he shrugged off his jacket. He kicked off his boots as he shed his shirt, and kicked off his jeans to join Marie in bed. She had obviously woken while he was gone as she had stripped off completely, and he fell asleep with an armful of contented naked woman.

Marie finished class early one Tuesday and on returning to her and Logan's suite she dumped her books, and the bag of snacks she had taken to carrying around with her, on the table near the door. She knew Logan was in here, he had been for days, he was working on the second bedroom but whatever he was doing he wouldn't tell her, or let her see. Stealthily she crept towards the slightly open door, hoping to get a glimpse of whatever it was he was working on. She had just reached the door when a voice startled her from the other side of the room.

"What do you think you're doing?" Logan asked suddenly, as he stepped out of the bathroom. "Were you really trying to sneak past me?" he added with a grin, when Marie turned sheepishly toward him.

"Well if you wouldn't keep secrets from me I wouldn’t have to sneak," Marie replied defiantly, arms crossed, as she tried to look a little less guilty about getting caught.

"Surprise darlin, not a secret, I don’t keep secrets, but this surprise is ready so you can see it now," he said, as he took her hand and turned her back to the bedroom. Opening the door, he walked backward into the room so he could see her reaction.

"It's amazing!" Marie breathlessly exclaimed, as she took in the freshly redecorated room. The walls had been given a marbled, forest green, paint finish, which contrasted nicely with the mahogany trim found throughout the mansion. The overhead light had black netting draped around it tastefully to mute the harshness of the light, and a daylight roller blind had been installed in the window to dull the light coming in from outside. There were also thick, brick red, curtains pulled back from the window that was open, airing out the last of the new paint smell.

"I was a little worried it would end up too dark but it hasn't turned out half bad," Logan agreed, as he surveyed his work. "Now all it needs is furniture, how long until mama gets a free day and we can go do some shopping?" Logan asked, as he pulled her closer to him and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"I'm done for the day, only had the one class today, why don't I get changed and we can go somewhere for lunch, then go do some shopping," she suggested, as she led Logan out of the room, the smell of paint was starting to bother her and she knew it would be even worse for him.

She got changed quickly as Logan watched her from the bed, she decided to go comfy and pulled on a pair of black leggings, and a knee length skater dress. Her wardrobe was well and truly into 'maternity' territory now but she strangely didn't mind. What she did mind was her shoes, she had given up the heels she occasionally wore right back when she had first found out she was pregnant, and now had given up on shoes with laces, even though Logan offered to help her get them on, so now she was limited to simple flats. She looked at her fluffy slippers longingly but figured that was taking it just a bit too far.

"You ready?" she asked Logan, as she applied a bit of light make up. She didn't wear it as a day to day necessity but she knew, correctly applied, it made her look a little older, which cut down the number of dirty looks they got when they went out together, now that she was *very* obviously pregnant.

Once they had eaten at a hole in the wall Logan picked, they headed for the mall and the first baby store they spotted. An hour later they had a good supply of bedding, cloth nappies, and clothing. Marie took Helen's advice and bought a good supply of preemie baby clothes - though the twins were likely to be born 'at term', they were twins, so that would be earlier than normal and they would be smaller than the average baby.

She tried to refrain from squealing over the tiny little outfits and the even teenier little socks and booties, she knew Logan was waiting for her to do it and so she didn't, just to keep him on his toes. She almost broke when Logan picked out a tiny teddy bear onesie that had a hood with teeny little ears on it, though she insisted they buy one, and a second that was supposed to be a dog, or wolf, so she could squeal over them later with the girls.

They also bought bassinets, a couple of baby mobiles decorated with forest animals, and a portable baby monitor. A double pram, two top end car seats with all the bells and whistles, a boba wrap, and a couple of ring slings. Marie sighed when they eventually left the store without the furniture they had initially gone in looking for, Logan had looked at everything and had a problem with every. single. crib.

"So, where are the Thing's sleeping then?" she asked, as Logan loaded all the bags, that he insisted on carrying, into the backseat of the truck. The bigger purchases were brought out on a trolley by a staff member who helped Logan load everything into the flat bed, he actually growled at Marie when she attempted to help! Then growled again when she laughed at him, the shop assistant couldn't get gone fast enough.

"Do furniture stores do cribs?" Logan asked, before he pulled out his phone to search for local furniture stores. While he was doing that, Marie dug out a bag of mini peanut butter cups, and reclined her seat as she snacked on them. Logan told her buckle up a minute later, starting the truck as soon as her seat belt clicked, before he pulled out of the lot and headed away from the mall.

"Hey Logan," Marie said, as they drove down the road. "I'm hungry," she stated, despite the fact she still had half the bag of peanut butter cups in her hand.

Logan grinned tolerantly. "What's on the menu darlin?" he asked, following her finger into a burger joint drive-through a moment later.

Marie ate as they continued to drive, she didn't bother asking where they were going, Logan knew and that was enough for her. He was good at getting them where they needed to be, she thought fondly, as she remembered their trip across Canada. They pulled into the lot of a specialty furniture store before she finished eating but Logan didn't try to rush her, he just reclined his own seat beside her and swiped some of her fries as he waited.

By the time she was ready to go into the store, he was standing at her door ready to help her out of the truck, he lifted her out of the truck and they wrapped their arms around each other as they walked into the large showroom. Marie caught sight of some of the furniture as they walked inside and noted the wide range of styles of what appeared to be handmade and very solid pieces. They were greeted by a crisply dressed saleswoman as they entered, she smiled sweetly at them but Marie couldn't shake the feeling that as soon as she laid eyes on them she had immediately discounted them as a possible sale, though she continued to deal with them politely.

"Good afternoon, are you looking for anything specific today?" she twittered cheerily.

"Nursery furniture," Logan stated, "Can you point us in the right direction?"

"Certainly, our nursery section is down here," the sales woman replied, leading them towards the far corner of the store past the children's section towards even smaller furniture. "Feel free to browse, we have a few other pieces that aren't on the floor at the moment, they are photographed in our look book over there, if you have any questions let me know," the sales woman said sweetly, before she moved away to see to another customer.

Logan moved through the settings as he scanned each design for weaknesses, and possible dangers, testing sturdiness, and other features. "Well," he said, after he was satisfied with the quality, "See anything you like?"

"Yeah, a lot actually, not sure how I'm going to narrow it down," Marie admitted running a hand over a rustic-looking crib.

"How about we start like this, I like that one, you agree?" Marie nodded, "Alright, that's one. How about that one?" Marie shook her head in response. "Okay, that one?" Marie smiled and nodded again. They went through the same process repeatedly, until they had the fourteen options narrowed down to five, before Logan waved the saleswoman back over to them. He pointed out the cribs they were considering and asked what matching suite pieces each came with and if any of them had specific features. After a half hour they had selected a dark rustic crib, that converted into a toddler bed, and had a matching changing table that doubled as a dresser, a wardrobe, and even a rocking chair with a footstool.

The saleswoman began to look nervous when Logan ordered one of everything and an extra crib, without even asking the price, but she led them back to the front counter to ring the sale up and confirm a delivery date with the factory foreman. The bearded elderly man who came out from the factory floor must have been at least in his eighties and was charming, in a gruff, to-the-point way. He beamed widely at them and offered extra congratulations when he saw the order for two cribs. He was scanning through the factory's order book to work out when they could add the pieces needed into production while the saleswoman rang the sale up.

Marie's eyes just about bugged out of her head when the order came to just over five thousand dollars, she gasped in shock but Logan just pulled out his card to run it through without a word. The foreman, who turned out to be the owner, stopped the saleswoman and keyed in a discount for them before she could process the transaction, assuring her in the process that her commission wouldn't be affected. Once the transaction was processed the foreman confirmed that several of the pieces were already built and ready to deliver. Instead of doing two deliveries, Logan agreed they were happy to wait a week for the last piece to be completed and delivered all together, a date was set for delivery the following Thursday.

They got back to the mansion partway through dinner but Marie asked if they could eat in their suite that night, she was pretty tired after spending so much time on feet. Unsurprisingly, Logan made her sit down as soon as they got to the suite, he probably would have carried her to their room if he hadn't been carrying everything else he had brought up, leaving the larger items for later, and then cooked for the two of them.

All the baby stuff was left in a pile in the corner of the living room, as Logan didn't want to risk it soaking up any leftover paint smell, Marie considered sorting through what needed to be washed in advance but then decided to leave it. She had a week before the storage furniture arrived, so no rush. They cuddled on the couch as they ate dinner together before Marie fell asleep while Logan watched TV.

--

When the furniture arrived the next week Marie was stuck in the most boring history class she had ever sat through, the normal history teacher was off sick so instead of cancelling the class the Professor had called in a temp reliever; a little old man, probably old enough to have lived through the events he was teaching. Unfortunately, she couldn't get herself excused, so she had to sit quietly in class, while Logan and a couple of delivery men moved everything up to their suite.

When classes were finally finished she wished she was still capable of running up the stairs, but she wasn't, so she plodded up, or probably more accurately waddled up the stairs, shadowed by Jubilee and Kitty, who wanted as much to gush over anything to do with the babies as they wanted to make sure she didn't fall down the stairs. They were almost as bad as Logan who had, in all seriousness, asked her to take the elevator rather than the stairs from now on. When she had finally finished laughing she had plainly told him that, no, she would walk the damn stairs if she felt like it!

As they got to the suite they could hear a couple of people inside talking, and the odd grunt of exertion. Following the sounds into the nursery the three girls found Logan, Poitr, John, and Scott, rearranging the heavy furniture around the room. Logan either heard or scented them enter the room and asked, without looking, what she thought. With a hmm, and a quick circuit of the room, Marie asked for one of the cribs to be moved just a little further before declaring the placement perfect.

With that the boys took their leave, as the girl’s ooh'd and aah'd over the furniture, before begging Marie to be allowed to help finish making the room up. At twenty-seven weeks pregnant, with a massive baby bump to get in her way at every turn, Marie was more than happy for the help. Pulling out the pre-washed bedding ready for making up the cribs, Kitty made the beds, while Jubilee put all the clothes away where Marie directed her to, while she relaxed in the rocking chair and tried not to feel like a fifth wheel.

By the time everything was put away the room looked ready, now all she had to do was finish cooking her buns.

Marie woke with a start in the middle if the night, she couldn't help the feeling that something was wrong. It was almost as if she had had a nightmare but she couldn't remember it. It had started the night Logan left; he had gone with the X-Men two days earlier on some long-distance mission they asked for his help on. The mission involved tracking, and hopefully evacuation, of mutants being held captive so, though he was loathe to leave, he had agreed to go, on the provision that Jean stayed at the mansion in case Marie went into labour.

When Marie had mentioned the odd night-time happenings after the first time, Jean had brushed it off as normal pregnancy related sleeping disturbance. Probably coupled with the foreign feeling of sleeping alone, since it was the first time she and Logan had been apart for months. So, Marie tried to shrug off the ominous feeling hanging over her and resolved to simply go back to sleep.

Over the following weeks the disturbance continued, neither Logan or Marie could pinpoint a trigger, it didn't seem to be anything physical and Logan, Jean, and Helen all continued to reassure her that it was likely nothing.

Until, in the early hours one morning, Marie woke half the floor when she sat up bolt upright in bed, screaming in terror.

Logan jumped awake faster than he had ever come alert before, and was out of bed, with claws drawn, before he had even opened his eyes. When he saw Marie huddled on the floor in the corner of the room, rubbing at her arms and gasping for breath he sheathed his claws, leaping over the bed to get to her.

"Marie, what's wrong, are you hurt?" he asked concerned, he tried to reach for her but she visibly flinched and flailed at him, seeming to be trying to push him away.

A knock at the door preceded the arrival of Jean, followed closely by Scott and Ororo. Logan was concerned he might have hurt Marie when his claws came out, and that was why she had flinched from him, but he was relieved, though at the same time troubled, when Jean reached out for her and she flinched again, murmuring a plea to 'don't touch me'.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked Jean, as she checked Marie over carefully, doing her best not to touch her and cause her more distress.

"She's still asleep," Jean commented, sounding worried, "But I can't reach her telepathically, whatever she's dreaming about it's blocked, someone go get the Professor, Logan try talking to her, see if that's enough to get her attention and draw her out," Jean suggested, as Scott hurried out of the room to wake Charles.

Logan switched places with Jean, sitting next to Marie and talking to her softly, she seemed to calm down after a couple of minutes and he gently reached out and touched her. After another minute jerk she relaxed and fell, as if unconscious. Logan caught her as she fell, turning distressed eyes to Jean as he cradled Marie to him but before either of them could make a move Marie jumped awake.

"What- what happened?" she asked, looking around her confused; how had she ended up on the floor and why was everyone in her room.

"What do you remember?" Jean asked, switching back into doctor mode and again attempting to examine Marie.

"Going to bed, but I feel like I did those other times, like I just woke up from that nightmare that I don't remember,” she said softly, brow furrowed in confusion, cuddling closer to Logan for comfort.

"So, you don't remember what you were dreaming about?" Jean asked, it was odd for a person not to remember a nightmare that had caused such an extreme disturbance.

"No, just... just that something wasn't right. Like... something had me and it wasn't right, something was touching me," Marie said, but shook her head when nothing became any clearer. "What happened?" she asked again.

"Shit darlin, you screamed loud enough to wake most of this floor, hid yourself in the corner and wouldn't let anyone near you, scared the hell out of me kid," Logan told her, hugging her gently, careful of her huge belly.

"Well, so much for sleeping in on our first day of summer vacation," Marie said with a grim chuckle, as Scott returned with the Professor. "I'm sorry for waking you all," she apologised.

"It's a little more concerning than that Rogue," Jean added. "When I realised you were still asleep I tried to access your mind, to get you out of the nightmare, but whatever it was that you were seeing was blocking me from getting to you, it would seem that whatever it was is blocked from your conscious mind too, that's probably why you can't remember it when you wake up," she explained.

"So, a repressed dream, or memory maybe?" Marie asked uncertainly.

"That is possible," Charles agreed. "I can see if I can unbury it, so it won't plague you anymore, if you would like?" he offered.

Marie thought for a moment. “What if that makes it worse, what if it's something I don’t want to see?"

"What if it's not one of your memories?" Logan suggested, "Maybe it's a memory from one of your passengers trying to get out?"

Marie considered that idea, it was possible, maybe even it was her subconscious mind entering into the void. She agreed to let the Professor have a look and see what he could find but after twenty minutes, and them both ending up with nothing more than a headache, they gave up; he had not been able to determine what it was she had seen. Even the version of Logan, that lived unrestricted in her mind, didn't understand what had happened.

Marie thanked him anyway, and promised to come and see him if she had anymore issues, before everyone made their way back to bed. Jean offered her sleeping pills, if she wanted to see if they would help, but Marie declined.

Logan fixed her a cup of tea and they sat up together for a while longer, until Marie began to feel sleepy again, and Logan carried her back to bed. He stayed awake the rest of the night to monitor her sleep, and make sure she didn't have any more nightmares.

When she woke the next morning, Marie gazed up at him adoringly as she pressed a soft kiss to his chin. "You're so sweet," she told him, with a loving smile. Logan just grinned and kissed her in return, before asking what she wanted for breakfast.

--

After the middle of the night shock, the mystery nightmares returned to their earlier presentation of barely waking her, and leaving Marie with nothing more than a mild feeling of unease. Both she and Logan were happy that there hadn't been another big one but still worried about what exactly it was that was causing them. Logan was particularly concerned it might be something connected with his nightmares, despite the fact that Marie had stopped having his nightmares within two weeks of him touching her last time.

As night after night passed, and the strange nightmares became less frequent, and less severe, they were almost forgotten.

Logan woke with a frown, not long after one am. At first he wasn't sure what had woken him, until a few minutes later he felt the gentle clenching of Marie's stomach under his hand. She sighed softly as her internal muscles rippled and tensed but didn’t wake. Logan left her to sleep, as he monitored the slowly increasing frequency of her contractions through the early hours of the morning.

By five the gentle contractions had increased to both a frequency and intensity that her body was now visibly reacting to them. Her soft sighs had become gentle moans, and she would shift unconsciously into each contraction in an effort to relieve pressure. He didn't know how they hadn't woken her already but he had promised that he wouldn't wake her up if labour started while she was asleep. She had been chatting with mothers on online forums as part of her research and preparation for the birth, and had determined she would like to sleep through as much of the labour as possible.

A particularly strong contraction a short time later woke Marie, and Logan felt her grip his arm as she tried to breathe through it.

"You're doing great darlin," he assured her, placing a kiss on her shoulder as the tenseness began to drain away as the contraction ended.

"How long?" Marie asked, as the discomfort reduced.

"Woke me up about four hours ago," Logan replied softly, "They're roughly every five minutes now, and about forty seconds long, so you're just about there. Do you need me to do anything for you?"

Marie was quiet for a moment, obviously thinking through her haze of sleep fog. "Could you run me a bath, please?" she asked sleepily.

"Don’t need to say please darlin, one bath coming right up," Logan answered softly, gently extracting himself from the bed so as not to jostle Marie too much. He tucked the body warmed blankets back around her before he made the quick trip to their suite’s bathroom.

He started the bath filling and collected all the towels he could find, setting them at the ready in easy reach. He filled the sink with cold water and placed a few face cloths nearby just in case. He was listening closely to Marie as he gathered what he figured they would need, she appeared to be dozing again, and the next few contractions she effortlessly breathed her way through with barely a sound.

As the bath reached the appropriate level Logan shut the water off, and lay down an extra bath mat, before returning to the bedroom to get Marie.

"You should have called me Marie, I could have helped you up," he said, as he spied Marie now standing, leaning forward with her elbows resting on the top of the dresser, she was gently rocking her hips side to side before another contraction rippled through her abdomen.

She sighed heavily a few seconds later as the muscles released again. "Didn't need help, just needed to move, and you were already busy. Is the bath done?" she asked, as she straightened up some, still rocking her hips at the cramping ache in her core.

"Bath's done," Logan confirmed, "Want me to carry you there?" he asked, moving to hover over her, uncertain about whether or not she wanted him too close to her. He knew some women got pretty pissed with their other half when they were in labour, and while he wouldn't begrudge her taking out some of her coming pain on him, he knew she wouldn't like that.

Marie shook her head, a soft smile on her lips as she straightened up further, one hand moving to rest on the small of her back, while the other reached for him. "No, just walk me there, I need to move a bit after lying down so long."

Taking her hand, Logan moved around her, slowly guiding her out of the room, at a pace Marie's waddling gait and shaky legs could manage. He could smell just the slightest hint of blood, and an increase in the smell he had come to associate with pregnancy, which Jean had suggested may be the amniotic fluid, rather than hormones. It was all a little overwhelming but Marie was, so far, handling events in a focused and calm manner, so he was going to try to do the same.

They had to pause twice on the way to the bathroom for more contractions but they finally reached the pleasantly humid room. Marie sighed in relief as she slowly stepped into the tub, leaning heavily on Logan, before lowering herself onto her knees in the water. She leaned forward against the end of the plunge tub and let her head rest on her folded arms as the warm water lapped over her lower back.

Logan soaked a small towel in the warm water before laying it over her back to concentrate heat, before he quickly and efficiently gathered up Marie's hair and braided it loosely to keep it somewhat out of the way. He caught her smile, as she watched him out of the corner of her eye between contractions. A particularly long contraction caught them both by surprise and Marie gripped his hand tightly. Logan let her squeeze his hand, thankful for the metal that coated his bones that stopped her from crushing his hand to mincemeat. He got as close to her as he could, wrapping his spare arm around her shoulders and quietly murmured encouragement to her.

After almost two minutes, that felt like hours, the contraction finally ebbed away and Marie could breathe again.

"Do you want me to go get Jean?" Logan queried softly. Marie had been adamant she didn't want a doctor present for the birth unless there was an emergency, and had written out a detailed birthing plan to that effect. Jean was convinced Marie would be begging for her, and pain relief, before the first baby was crowning though.

"Is something wrong?" Marie responded, an edge of panic in her tone.

"No, nothing's wrong darlin, just making sure you haven't changed your mind, that was a big one and they're probably all going to be like that one from now on, I don’t want you wearing yourself out or suffering unnecessarily," Logan replied soothingly, cupping fresh warm water over the towel on her lower back to keep the warmth in.

"I'm good," Marie assured him, "I haven't changed my mind and--" she broke off as another strong contraction ripped through her.

Logan had his hand resting across the back of her hips as she gripped his other hand, he felt a soft popping sensation as the scent of amniotic fluid increased, her waters must have finally broken. He remembered Jean's advice to check the colour of the resulting fluid, he couldn't be sure if it was just because the waters had broken into the bath water but there didn't appear to be much in the way of colour discrepancy, which Jean had said was good.

After another few contractions Logan noted Marie stopped rocking her hips, settling into position on her knees, her only request between contractions was for a towel that she could put under her knees to soften the surface. The contractions were coming regularly and intense now, it seemed every other minute now was a contraction. Marie had released his hand in favour of wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder as her vocalizations through each contraction grew in volume.

Eventually Logan sensed a shift as Marie's contractions became less preparatory and more functional, she let out a small huff as her body involuntarily pushed at the end of a couple of contractions. Logan reached down between her legs just as another contraction, this one resulting in a hard push, ripped through Marie, who let out a muffled shout, as a slimy soft lump was pushed into Logan's hand.

"That's my girl, you're doing great darlin, that's the head, you ready for the next part?" he asked.

Marie huffed what might have been a laugh and 'mmhmm'd against his neck before she tensed again. Logan felt the tiny body shifting as another forceful push shoved the rest of the tiny body into the warm water. Marie gasped for breath, trying to get her racing heart under control, as she looked down into the water between her thighs to get her first look at the scrunched-up new born. She held him under the water as Logan gently cradled him, the little boy was still and relaxed as he floated in the larger liquid area as if he didn't even realise yet he had been born.

After a minute of enjoying the perfection of the moment Marie let Logan lift the baby out of the water, and they both watched in awe and relief, as their tiny son took his first breaths before his piercing wail filled the still, warm air. Keeping his body under the warm water Logan held the boy against his mother’s chest as he reached for another small towel to soak and wrap around him. For several minutes they soaked up the emotion of the moment, and cuddled with their child, until Marie was hit by another large contraction.

"You want me to take him?" Logan asked, gesturing to the baby who was now silently snuggled against his mother’s skin.

"No," Marie answered, one arm securing the infant in place as the other braced herself on the tub again. "But catch Thing 2 will you," she murmured with a small giggle, as her body pushed again.

It took another push before the head was free, and a further two pushes, one for each shoulder, before the rest of baby number two slid out to join his brother. Marie was visibly exhausted but managed, with Logan's help, to turn herself around so she was now sitting on the towel that had been under her knees, allowing Logan to lift the second child onto her chest before he covered him also with the towel he had enveloped the first baby in, so both tiny boys were lying skin on skin against their mothers chest.

Marie let out a satisfied sigh, as she gazed tiredly but adoringly down at her two children, as baby number one joined baby number two in another round of lung exercises.

Logan couldn't help the grin he was wearing; he had never imagined the feelings of joy and pride he felt now at seeing his children. His little mate had done such a fantastic job caring for, growing, and birthing two such perfect miniature humans.

After several minutes the tiny infants began to fuss, rubbing their tiny noses exploringly against their mothers flesh, seeking out the milk they could smell. Jean had told them both that it was normal for babies to be able to smell their mother’s milk, it wouldn't necessarily be a sign the boys had gotten Logan's mutation. Though Marie had admitted she hoped they did get his mutation, rather than hers, Logan wasn't convinced.

Given Marie's hands were full supporting the babies Logan reached out, and gently manoeuvred her breasts into the right position for each baby to suckle a nipple hungrily. He noted Marie's slightly pained expression they latched on, her nipples had been tender for the last week, but she endured the discomfort and beamed at her son's as they fed hungrily. While they were feeding, Logan turned the hot water back on into the tub, to warm the cooling water back up, he let some of the old water drain away, noting there wasn't as much blood residue as he had been expecting.

After about twenty minutes Logan watched Marie's hand move down, her fingers closing around the nearest umbilical cord still attaching her child to her body.

“Cord's not pulsing anymore, the placenta should be delivered soon, you want to cut them loose in the meantime, daddy?" she asked him softly.

Logan reached over for the ties Marie had bought for tying off the baby’s umbilical cords, personally he thought it was a little odd but she was the mama, and if he knew one thing it was that mamas know best when it comes to their babies. So, he humoured her, watched the videos she showed him on how to tie the cords off, and backed her up when she declined Jean's offer of the plastic medical clamps. He tied the cords off quickly before reaching for the scissors, he caught Marie's look at him, and then her quick glance down towards his hands before he realised what she wanted him to do. Putting the scissors back, he slid out little more than the tip of one sharp metal claw before moving the tough tissue of the umbilical cord into place for him to cut through it cleanly, he repeated the motion for the second cord before quickly sheathing the blade. Always the irrational fear of an accident followed him through the procedure, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled it off without issue.

Just like that, their two little boys were completely independent.

A few minutes later Marie huffed an uncomfortable sigh as another small contraction rippled through her, she shifted trying to get in a more comfortable position, before spreading her legs and pushing herself off the floor of the tub as she pushed again, gently. A dark mass of tissue appeared a moment later. Logan gathered it up, drying it off and placing it into the dish Jean had given them, she had claimed to need to check the placenta to make sure it came out intact so Marie didn't get an infection. A few minutes later the second placenta was delivered and set aside in a like manner.

Marie was relaxing in the warm water of the tub, her eyes alternating between gazing adoringly into the faces of her sons, and drifting closed to doze in her exhausted euphoria. "Come on darlin, let's get these little guys dry and warm and get all three of you into bed," Logan announced, gently plucking baby number one out of her arms.

He weighed the first baby, then dressed him in a new-born size diaper, that looked about two sizes too big, a cotton body suit, socks, little soft cotton mittens, and an all in one outfit, before wrapping him up securely in the stretchy wrap, then popped the whole bundle inside a tiny sleeping bag, all of which Marie had set aside for this moment. Once baby one was secured, Logan went and lay him down in the bassinet in their bedroom, thankful for the hot water bottles he had thrown into the beds when he had come to collect Marie, that had warmed up the blankets.

He returned to the bathroom and repeated the process for baby number two, laying him down to sleep in the second bassinet, before he returned for Marie. Logan drained the bath around her before he helped her stand so she could shower quickly, he dried her off gently and helped her dress in the maternity nightie she had ready. He was concerned at how much she was still bleeding; he knew some blood was normal but wasn't sure how much, Marie didn't seem concerned though, commenting that it was just like a normal heavy period but she would see Jean later in the day to put his mind at ease.

As he helped Marie into bed she suddenly appeared to lose all interest in sleep. “Where are the baby books, did you write down what time they were born, and did you weigh them, and... you didn't mix them up did you?" she asked, suddenly sounding concerned.

With a chuckle Logan pulled out the little brown, leather bound books Marie had bought to keep track of all the baby milestones for each of the boys. He grabbed a pen and handed the books and the pen to Marie. “Baby one was born at six twenty-seven am and weighs five pound seven ounces, baby two was born at six thirty-three and weighs five pound ten."

He watched as Marie carefully wrote down the information, before closing each book and laying them down on the bedside table. "We need pictures of them and—” she started.

"Later Marie," Logan interrupted, as he gently laid her back down on the bed and pulled the covers up over her. “First you all need to sleep, you especially, so get those beautiful eyes closed, I'll wake you when they need their next feed, okay mama?"

Marie smiled up at him, amused but definitely exhausted, she looked for a moment like she might object but a wide yawn interrupted her. "Okay, you win," she replied, "But don’t let them sleep past nine, that's when they need their next feed."

"Yes ma'am," Logan replied in earnest, placing soft kisses on her forehead, eyes, nose, and finally lips. She was asleep before he had even finished, and he contented himself with watching her sleep for a time, listening to the gentle heartbeats and soft snuffles of the two sleeping babies in the bassinets behind him. Once he was satisfied all was well, he went back to clean up the bathroom.

He had cleaned the bath, emptied the sink, mopped up the spilled bath water, and was just putting away the unused towels when he heard footsteps and excited whispers approaching the door of the suite. With a silent leap he hurdled the couch, and swiftly pulled the door open before Kitty or Jubilee could knock on the door. He had his finger to his lips indicating for silence while his attention tuned back in on the bedroom, to be sure its occupants hadn't been disturbed.

Jubes looked like she was about to explode, and given her mutation that was quite possibly literal, Kitty looked ready to burst with excitement too, as they both waited on Logan to give them the all clear to speak.

"Quiet now, Marie's sleeping, Thing 1 and Thing 2 arrived this morning about six thirty..." Both girls let out muffled squeals of joy and hugged each other, before Jubilee ventured to hug Logan too. He returned her hug before responding to the girl’s query of whether they could see the babies with a shake of his head. "Not yet, they're all exhausted, but I'm under strict orders to wake them up at nine for feeding. Would you girls be able to do me a favour and cook up a decent size breakfast for Marie?"

"We sure can!" Kitty announced, "We'll be back at nine with food but we expect to see babies as payment," she declared. Logan laughed and agreed to her terms.

"You should get some sleep too Logan, you looked wiped," Jubilee added, as the girls headed back down the hall.

Logan considered her suggestion, he had been up most of the night so it was probably an accurate assessment of his look. Retrieving the extra towels from where he had dropped them on the coffee table, he returned them to the cupboard before heading back to the bedroom. He set an alarm on his phone, at the lowest volume setting, before sliding into bed with Marie to catch up on a half hour or so of sleep.

Logan woke the second the alarm started to sound on his phone, the digital tunes on the phone were irritating, even on the lowest volume setting. It seemed even Marie was affected by that too, she woke before he could shift to grab the phone and shut the alarm off.

"Morning mama," Logan commented, kissing her softly and lovingly, "How you feeling?"

"Fantastic," Marie replied, with a brilliant smile before she rolled off the bed, with much less difficulty than she had for a good three months.

She still had a bit of a baby belly but he knew that should go down fast enough, even quicker if she would let him give her a hit of his healing but he wouldn't mention that to her yet. He had suggested it earlier in the pregnancy, when she had been writing out her birthing plan. She had replied with a grin that that was cheating, and then promptly burst into tears and asked him if he thought the stretch marks made her ugly. The hormonal rollercoaster hadn't ended there, five minutes later she hsd been laughing about the exact same thing.

Marie stopped as she made her way across the room to gaze adoringly at the tiny swaddled babies in their tiny bassinets, she reached out a hand to touch one but then pulled it back suddenly.

"Everything okay?" Logan asked, when he noticed. Jean had told them that it wasn't uncommon for fathers to freak out about touching or holding babies, as they came to terms with how tiny and fragile they were, but Marie having that problem would not be good, particularly not when they were about to wake up hungry.

"I need to pee and I don't want to risk waking them yet," Marie replied, yet she made no move to tear her eyes away from them, let alone move out of the room toward the bathroom.

"They will be here when you're finished, hurry up, they'll be screaming for food soon enough," Logan commented, with a chuckle and another kiss, as he slowly walked her across the room.

Marie hurried for the bathroom calling out a moment later and asking him to bring her another disposable diaper, he was again concerned by how much she was still bleeding but she just rolled her eyes and called him a worrywart.

Back in the bedroom, a tiny little baby nose wrinkled in displeasure, followed by a high pitched but short-lived squall, as Logan gently picked up baby number one from his cost cocoon. "How we doing this?" he asked, as he unwrapped the baby, while Marie made herself comfortable on the bed.

"One at a time to start with," she confirmed, as she reached for baby, careful to support his head as she moved him into position.

Logan watched enthralled, as the tiny pink mouth eagerly searched out and latched onto his mother’s puckered nipple, and he began to suckle.

"Lucky fucker," he grunted, as he moved back over to the other bassinet as baby number two began to grizzle. Marie just laughed, and playfully admonished him for his language.

Logan carefully unwrapped the second baby from his multiple layers, before placing him gently against his bare chest. Baby briefly nosed around as if looking for milk but seemed to quickly realise this was not the correct locale. He began to fuss but Logan gently rocked him, and he settled into a light doze as Logan sat on the bed beside Marie, and watched her soak up her mama time bonding with baby. He buried his nose in the head of thick dark hair resting on his chest, imprinting the scent of his son while he did his own bonding.

After about fifteen minutes baby one had fed, and puked up what looked like most of his meal, and fed again, before they swapped babies, Marie beginning to feed baby two while Logan re-burped baby one. Logan was about to settle back down on the bed again when he heard voices in the hallway, instead moving through the suite to get the door for Jubilee and Kitty.

--

The girls had raced for the kitchen when Logan had asked them to make breakfast for Marie, they figured Logan would be starving too so they set about cooking up a feast for two. They had omelette, sausage, bacon, fried tomatoes, toast, pancakes, and fruit, loaded onto trays, and a thermos of coffee in tow as they began the trek back to the suite almost an hour later. They were almost back to Logan and Rogue's rooms, running on an excited buzz, when they bumped into Scott and Jean, who were on their way downstairs for a late breakfast.

"Did you leave any food for the rest of us?" Scott joked, when he spied the laden plates. "Wait, why are you up here?" he asked a moment later, suddenly realizing the girls were walking down the hallway of the teachers wing rather than in, or to, the kitchen or dining room.

"Logan asked us to fix breakfast for Rogue and bring it up at nine, we're a little late but that's because we figured Logan would be hungry too so it took us a bit longer," Kitty giggled animatedly.

"Why isn't Logan getting Rogue's breakfast?" Scott asked, confused, "Don't they normally make their own in their kitchen?"

The girls looked at each other, unsure of whether they should be telling anyone the couples big news, so Jubilee just replied, "They were both sleeping off a big night," cryptically, and continued down the hall. They reached the door they were aiming for, just as Scott and Jean, who had paused to share quizzical looks with each other, turned to follow them. Jubilee was trying to figure out how to open the door with her hands full, when the door swung open revealing Logan cradling a tiny, onesie clad, baby against his broad bare chest.

"Thanks girls," Logan commented, as he stepped back to let them enter, he noted the others in the hall, staring open mouthed, and gestured them in too.

Jubilee and Kitty were already in the bedroom, setting down the food on the dresser as they moved over to gingerly sit next to Marie on the bed and watch the tiny baby feeding in her arms. Jean followed Logan into the room, peppering him with questions about the when's, where's, and how's of the delivery and asking if babies had been weighed. She was shocked when she entered the bedroom to see a smiling, and surprisingly well rested looking Rogue, sitting in bed feeding a hungrily suckling baby.

"Marie wrote everything down, we got weights and times and all the rest, but if you could give Marie a once over when she's finished feeding it would put my mind at ease," Logan told her, handing her the baby books Marie had recorded all the necessary details in. "And the placentas are set aside like you asked, they looked fine though," he added, not that he really knew what a placenta was supposed to look like.

"Is something wrong Marie?" Jean asked, sounding concerned as she moved over toward the girl in question.

"No, it's just Logan worrying, I'm bleeding a bit and he's freaking out a little," she told Jean with a grin, as the older woman shook her head with an understanding smile.

"What would you say the flow rate is?" Jean queried; she would give the young woman a full examination later but if she could put Logan's mind at ease in the meantime that would help them both relax.

"Average period flow," Marie confirmed, as she gently shifted the infant in her arms, securely supporting his head as she gently patted his back. He spit up a little with a hiccup a few seconds later, which Rogue wiped up with the corner of a face cloth, before she shifted the baby back to her nipple when he began to fuss again.

Jean assured Logan that what Rogue was reporting was normal, and informed that the best thing for the three of them right now was rest. She suggested he bring Rogue and the babies to the med lab the following day, around midday or whatever worked in with the baby’s routine, for them all to be checked over at the same time. Rogue agreed, so Logan gave in, confirming they would get plenty of rest in the meantime. Before Jean and Scott left them to their morning, Jean reminded Jubilee and Kitty not to visit for too long.

Logan leaned against the dresser, picking over the breakfast that was still waiting, before the girls congratulated them both and left them in peace. Logan carried a plate of food to Marie's bedside table where she could reach it, before going back for his own. He placed the loaded plate down and finally resumed his position on the bed as Marie burped Thing 2 again, and he settled in to imprint and focus on bonding with Thing 1.

A concerned frown crossed his face briefly, though Marie missed it. He pushed the odd thought that crossed his mind aside, and focused his attention back on the baby falling asleep on his chest.

Once both babies were asleep Logan carefully swaddled each, and put them back to bed. Marie had turned her attention fully toward feeding herself now, and was devouring the food on her plate. Logan poured himself a coffee but found he wasn’t really hungry, so when Marie asked if he was 'going to eat that' he shook his head, and handed what was left of his plate to her. It took her several more minutes to notice Logan was unusually subdued.

"You okay daddy?" Marie asked, grinning at him as she set aside the second empty plate.

"Fantastic," Logan replied, mimicking her response to his similar question earlier.

"You're awful quiet for someone who's so fantastic," she answered, "Baby got your tongue?"

"Just tired I guess," Logan replied, lifting his arm as she cuddled up to him so he could hug her to him.

"Where you awake the whole time I was in labour last night?" she asked incredulously.

"Most of it, it was pretty amazing to watch to be honest, the way your body just got on and did what needed doing, and then like magic out popped a perfect little human, then two. You are amazing darlin," Logan told her, again, that seemed to be a fact he liked reminding her of regularly.

"I couldn't have done it without you," she told him, resting her head on his shoulder content to rest with him. As she began to drift off to sleep again, she felt Logan move them both so they were lying down in bed, he pulled her close to him so they were both lying facing each other, foreheads resting together. It was the first time they had been able to do that in a long time, and Marie was annoyed she couldn't stay awake longer to enjoy it before sleep claimed her fully.

Logan watched Marie sleep, as he thought over what his senses were trying to tell him about the babies. He fell asleep a short time after trying to push his worries aside. Two hours later though, he started awake as a horrifying thought settled in his mind.
Marie was still sleeping peacefully, as were the tiny boys. Logan left Marie sleeping and moved over to watch the babies, he bobbed down between the bassinets, resting his chin on the side of first one and then the other, watching and again scenting each child. It didn't help to reassure him, and he moved out of the bedroom leaving the three to sleep undisturbed, while he sat on the couch to think. Disturbingly he could only come to one possible conclusion, and it scared the shit out of him.

He moved to the kitchen and picked up the phone, dialling the internal line for the med lab. There was no answer, and no answer when he tried Jean's room directly, so he dialled the kitchen, there was always someone in there, hopefully one of the kids would pick up.

"Xavier's School how may I help you?" a girl answered a few seconds later.

"Hey, it's Logan, can you find Je- Dr Grey and ask her to call me?" he asked the girl.

"Sure Mr Logan, she’s in the Rec Room, I'll get her to call you back a-sap," the girl replied, and they both hung up.

Less than a minute later the phone rang, Logan grabbed it partway through the first ring, hoping that was quick enough not to disturbed Marie in the next room.

"Logan, is everything all right?" Jean asked immediately, sounding concerned.

"Everyone's fine, they're all sleeping, it's... something else," he started, not sure how to go about raising his worries.

"Do you need something?" Jean asked, now confused.

"Jeannie... when we rescued Marie, after the statue, you did a physical exam right... Did that include checking for rape?" he asked plainly.

Jean paused, shocked. "N-no... there wouldn't have been any point anyway, when you healed her you fixed everything, there would have been no physical signs of sexual assault ... Why are you asking Logan?"

"I think I might know what Marie's nightmares have been about... are you able to do DNA tests?" Logan queried. Jean still sounded shell shocked but confirmed she had the necessary equipment.

They quickly sorted details for carrying out the tests and Jean told him she would stop by shortly to gather the samples she would need from the babies. She arrived about ten minutes later, and a now awake Marie got the door for her as she finished up in the bathroom.

"Hey Jean, is everything alright, I didn't expect to see you again today?" Marie said, as she walked into the suite.

Jean spied Logan as he came out of the bedroom with one little boy in his arms, he shook his head at her briefly, which she took to mean he hadn't told Marie what was happening. "I have a few tests to run, I figured I could get the samples now, while you're all awake so the results are ready for our appointment tomorrow," she told Marie reassuringly, "I just need to take a couple of swabs but I need to take them before the little guys eat, is now good?"

"Yeah, they haven't started eating yet but if you don’t hurry..." Marie smiled as the baby Logan was holding stretched and yawned sleepily, his tiny little arms reaching out before pulling back to his face so he could suck on his tiny little fist.

Jean took buccal swabs from baby one, which set him off wailing, which in turn woke baby two. Marie settled in to feed the first little one, while Logan settled the second so Jean could take a swab from him too, marking which was which carefully.

Logan shushed the second baby as he showed Jean out. "How long until the results are ready?" he asked quietly, once they were out of Marie's earshot.

"I already have your and Rogue's DNA profiles on record so that will speed the process up, hopefully by tonight I'll have something for you. When are you planning on mentioning this to Rogue?" she returned, worried about how Rogue might react both to them working on this behind her back, and to the possibility of their fears being fact.

Logan shook his head. "Only if the results show... something, there’s no reason to bring it up otherwise, if I'm wrong... I hope I'm wrong," he admitted, pain and worry clear on his face for a split second before he masked the emotions again.

"So do I," Jean replied, "But what are you going to do if you're right?"

Logan looked down at the baby lying on his chest, the pained look crossing his face again briefly. "Support Marie as best I can, I don't know what more I could do above that, I'm not giving up on any of them, it makes no difference to me either way, he's mine, no matter what," Logan stated.

Jean smiled, petting the baby’s head before hugging Logan. "I'll let you know as soon as the results are in," she said, leaving him to get back to Marie.

When Logan got back to the bedroom, Marie was holding baby in her arms smiling down at him as she talked to him softly, he stretched and cooed quietly in return.

"He's trying to smile," Marie insisted, as Logan sat back next to her.

"Sorry darlin, that is definitely gas, why don’t we swap and I'll go change that diaper," he offered. Marie giggled and agreed gladly, as they traded the tiny dark-haired boys.

Logan was back about ten minutes later, with a clean smelling baby. "That's going to take some practice," he commented, as he lay down on the bed with baby lying on his chest as the boy slowly fell asleep.

Once both boys were fed and changed Logan fixed them both lunch before mom and dad passed the next sleep time lying in bed cuddling their sleeping babies.

"We really have to finally decide on names," Logan said suddenly, "Nicknames are cute but they're going to look weird on birth certificates, and we can't just keep calling them 'baby'."

Marie pulled out her notebook and her phone, flicking the notebook open to her pages of baby names. She had been writing names down as she thought of them throughout the pregnancy, some of them were already crossed out when she had either changed her mind about them, or Logan had rejected them outright. They hadn't yet really had a serious discussion about names, when they had tried it had always devolved into them trying to come up with, and then laugh at, the most horrendous names they could think of. She ran through the list of names for Logan to give an initial yes or no, several more names were crossed off, before she opened up a baby names website and started looking up what the names meant. She crossed off several more names when the meanings were just a little too odd.

"I like Aidan," she said, looking over her list again, "It means Fiery, after the Celtic God of the Sun... what do you think?" she asked, running a finger across baby one's cheek, to bop his nose as he slept.

"Aidan, I like it, he's likely to be a little hot head too," Logan replied with a grin.

"Hmm, maybe not then, wouldn't want to foreshadow anything," she joked, "But no seriously, baby one is named Aidan, what about a middle name?" she continued. It was Logan's turn to laugh as he suggested they give them each a first name before worrying about middle names.

After a few more suggestions Marie laughed and suggested that since Logan was named after a mountain, they should call baby two McKinley, after another mountain. "First off, I am not named after a mountain, and second, no way are we naming our kid after a mountain," Logan replied, trying to sound annoyed.

"Aw, oh it's okay, it means 'fair haired', I guess that won't work anyway... what about Kieran?" Logan shook his head. "Oh this one's perfect, Hogan," Logan pulled a face, "But it means 'descendant of the warrior'," she added with a giggle.

"No, come on, be serious, poor kid is going to be talking before he knows what to call himself," Logan replied, trying not to succumb to her mirth.

"Alright then, serious... Liam, it means warrior and protector, I like that, you?" she asked.

"What about William?" Logan returned.

Marie scrunched up her nose in distaste. "No, that always gets shortened to Will, or Willy," she laughed, when Logan reacted negatively to the possible nickname.

"Alright, you convinced me, Liam it is," Logan said, as Marie lay her head down beside the sleeping boys and hugged them both to her.

"We can settle middle names later,” she added with a yawn as she cuddled her babies, "What's the time?" Logan confirmed the time was two forty-five, so Marie decided to get a snack rather than take another nap before the next feed was due at three.

This time around she attempted to tandem breastfeed the twins for the first time, it took some juggling, a few laughs, and Logan helping her get everything in the right place, before both boys were happily suckling away. She settled back cross legged, against a pile of pillows as she cradled both boys, helping to prop them up with a pillow on each knee under each arm. With a calm happy smile on her face, it occurred to her that she had been grinning like an idiot every waking minute the whole day. A moment later a muted shutter alerted her to Logan sitting across from her with his phone out, he snapped another shot of her as she looked up at him.

"What do you think you're doing with that?" she asked.

"We haven't told Helen and Peter yet, so I'm just going to send them a picture, you like this one?" he asked, as he held the phone out to her, showing her the first photo he took. She aww'd and approved the photo, asking him to save it so she could get it printed later for the baby book.

Minutes after Logan had sent the photo they got a return message congratulating them both on the safe arrival, and asking for more photos, and when they would be taking visitors. Logan promised them more photos soon and invited them down whenever they could get there, before joining Marie on the bed as he sat cross legged in front of her, resting his head against her shoulder, so he could watch the two boys from the same angle as Marie as they fed. Marie moved forward to place a kiss on Logan's shoulder, before resting her head against his, it was as close as she could get to an embrace with her arms full of baby, and she wanted nothing more than to hug the daylights out of him right now.

By seven that night as Logan and Marie sat on the couch eating dinner, he had given up getting the results to the DNA tests that night. He was trying not to give away any of his anxiety over the issue to Marie but she kept glancing over at him oddly as they ate, eventually he turned on the TV to distract them both. He was surprised, several hours later, after Marie had fed the boys again and retired to bed until their midnight feeding, when a gentle tap sounded on the suite door.

He silently rose from the couch where he had been killing time with a book, having spent too long in bed that day which had left him feeling even more restless. He opened the door, feeling himself tense as he recognised Jean by scent even before he saw her. His heart plummeted when he took in Jean's red rimmed eyes, mussed hair, and defeated stance. She followed him silently into the room, closing the door behind herself as she entered, and taking a seat opposite Logan when he sat heavily in the couch dropping his head into his hands.

Jean rifled through the papers, pulling out two pages of results. "This is big Logan, this is bigger than just- just what happened to Marie, can you do this now or do you want me to come back?" she asked gently.

"Now," Logan choked out, as he raised his head to look at the papers in her hand. He swiped at a tear that slipped down his cheek, as he tried to focus on what she needed to tell him.

"You were correct, Baby One-"

"Aidan," Logan interrupted her. "And two is Liam," he added, watching as Jean quickly scribbled each name on the relevant pages.

"So, DNA confirmed Aidan is your son with a match of ninety-nine-point-nine percent, which is the highest match possible-" she laid down the page before continuing- "With Liam... you're not the father but the percentage match was close, so I ran a close relationship test... You are genetically related to Liam, according to the results, you are most likely Liam's... uncle..." Jean whispered, setting down the two pages of results.

Logan froze, as that piece of information sank in, helped by the visual of the results. "You- you're sure?" he breathed in shock.

Jean nodded sadly, as she lay down the last pages of results. "We have Sabretooth’s DNA on record, he seemed the most… logical possibility, I ran the relevant test's... he is Liam's biological father, and he would appear to be your half-brother, through the paternal line... I guess you didn't know that?"

Logan shook his head mutely, as he tried to understand the results shown on the pages. He had always assumed he had family, of some description, somewhere in the world. Most of his memories from his earlier life were hazy at best but it was inevitable on the balance of probabilities but this... this was not how he wanted to find out. Logan buried his face in his hands as he tried to push that information aside, trying to focus instead on how to tell Marie about Sabretooth and Liam.

He raised his head as a sound caught his ear, just as the scent of fear, Marie's fear, reached him. He leapt to his feet and hurdled the couch towards the bedroom, getting to the door just as Marie let out a chilling scream. He was on the bed, holding a shaking, sobbing Marie, as Jean rushed into the room behind him. The babies began to wail to add to the confusion, and Jean focused her attention on them, gently rocking their bassinets in an attempt to lull them back to sleep, as Logan picked Marie up and carried her out of the room so her sobs would not disturb them.

He sat on the couch with Marie in his lap, rocking her as he gently rubbed circles on her back, and spoke soothingly to her, as her hiccupping sobs began to die down. The suite door popped open, and Scott stuck his head in to make sure all was under control. Logan waved him away.

"It’s okay Marie, I've got you, what happened darlin?" he asked, as she hugged him tightly. Jean wandered out from the bedroom then, having finally got the twins to settle again, just as Marie spoke, her voice muffled where her face was buried in his shoulder but her words heartbreakingly clear.

"I remembered," she said in a horrified whisper, "Oh god Logan, he ... he..." she broke off with a sob, as she hugged him tighter.

"I know darlin," Logan told her, catching hold of her as she jerked away from him.

"What do you mean you know, how could you know?" she demanded.

Logan placed a hand against her cheek, before he pulled her close to rest his forehead against hers, with his eyes closed. "You remember how I told you that I could tell people apart by their smell?" he asked, referring back to the day they first met, she nodded hesitantly. "When Aidan and Liam were born, part of a feral bonding is learning the scent of pack members, I did that with you, a long time ago now it seems, would recognize your scent anywhere, I did that with the boys, first thing this morning, my nose recognized something was ... more different ... it took my brain a while to catch up, and I had Jean run the tests this afternoon."

"What tests Logan?" Marie whispered, fear lacing her words.

"... Paternity tests darlin," Logan replied gently, "You remember how Jean told us with twins, the two eggs were often released on different days and fertilized separately? Well, only one of those eggs was fertilized by me ... I had a feeling your mystery nightmares might be related to how the other happened, Jean's test pretty much proved that... we were trying to figure out how to break it to you but ... it looks like your mind finally caught up."

Marie stared at Logan in shocked silence as her head dropped and her shoulders sagged as she began to sob again. "I'm so sorry Logan, I’m so sorry," she repeated.

"No! No Marie, you have nothing to be sorry for, you hear me, not a goddamn thing, what that fucker did to you is all on him, I- I'm so sorry I didn't find you, I couldn't get to you sooner, if I could have just found where they were keeping you I could have--" Logan began, only to be interrupted when Marie placed a finger against his lips, as she raised her tear stained face.

"Don't do that Logan, it's not your fault, if you had more time I know you would have found me, it wasn't your fault," she said. "What ... which baby is his?" she asked uncertainly.

"Neither of them," Logan snarled, "Goddamn molesting fucker isn't getting a hand on either of them, or you, ever again, those boys are ours Marie, mine and yours, a- a genetic anomaly won't change that," Logan stated forcefully.

Marie smiled sadly as she rested her forehead back against his. "I need to know Logan," she told him honestly, "I need to know. It helps to hear this doesn't change anything, that you'll still love him, but I need to know."

Logan paused before nodding reluctantly. "I love him, more than you can ever know Marie, and this doesn't change anything, they'll be raised as brothers, they never have to know, it... it's Liam..." he told her gently.

Marie nodded as she sank back into Logan's arms and let him hold her. "There's more," he said, as he held her close, feeling her tense at his words. "When Jean was running the tests, I came back as a biological match to Liam, genetically I'm his uncle. Sabretooth ... he's my brother," Logan revealed.

Marie bolted upright, staring at Logan in shock before she noted the haunted, hurt look in his eyes. "Oh Logan, I'm so sorry," she told him, as she offered comfort to him. She knew that Logan's memories of his life 'before' were patchy, and that he had always held out hope he might find someone who had known him, hopefully family. But to find out it was this man, and to find out in this way... no wonder Logan was feeling so guilty, even if none of that guilt was deserved.

They held each other for a time as Jean moved to sit across from them, silently gathering up the DNA results off the coffee table, she waited until the devastated couple acknowledged her. "I hate to have to do this Marie, especially now, but are you able to tell me what you remember, about the attack?"

Marie nodded, as she shuddered at the flickers of memory she had seen. "I don't remember much, I think the drugs they used to keep me out must have blocked most of it, what I do remember is coming to, suddenly, and he was, he had... when I ran from Mystique, before Sabretooth caught me, I turned my mutation on, when he... he used a condom but I think it must have broken, and when he- he... I sucked off some of his healing, it must have been enough to flush the tranquilizers out of my system. I tried to fight but there wasn't enough skin for me to use my mutation against him, and he was too strong, then he tranq’d me again... other than that brief moment all I remember is sensation, his hands on me, and him- him in me, and ... I remember it hurt, I didn't want him to touch me but I couldn't do anything, I couldn't see him, and I couldn't push him away, and..." she broke off as she began to sob again.

Logan held her tightly as she cried, telling Jean it was enough, they knew enough of what had happened to fill in the blanks. She nodded in response and prepared to take her leave, she offered sleeping pills again, stressing how important enough sleep was to a new mother recovering from birth, and told Logan not to worry about waking her if Marie needed anything during the night. Taking Logan’s word that they would be fine, she slipped silently out of the room.

The pair sat on the couch, wrapped in each other for another hour after she left, just holding each other and thinking, neither quite sure where to begin to process this horrible situation. Eventually Logan picked her up and carried Marie back to bed, helping her get comfortable in what had become her feeding position before he collected each baby for her. She gladly took Aidan as she encouraged him to suckle, for a moment she looked warily at Liam as Logan sat down on the bed next to her holding him.

"You, little man, are so loved, don't you ever forget that," Logan said softly, to the sleepy little boy as he placed a kiss on his tiny nose, smiling softly at him as the bright blue baby eyes regarded him curiously, before he opened his mouth and tried to suck on Logan's nose. Both parents laughed, Marie letting break her first smile since her world shattered into a million shards; the first pieces were beginning to fall back into place.

After both babies were fed, and changed, and put back to bed, Logan climbed into bed with Marie. He spooned her as he held her tightly, and she eventually fell asleep to the sound of his voice incontrovertibly iterating how much her loved her. It was almost enough for her to sleep undisturbed through the night.

Marie woke with a start just as the six am alarm went off. She had been woken in the night by one of the twins grizzling but Logan had whispered to her to go back to sleep, and got up to settle them himself. Now though she was glad for the wake up, she had been stuck in a dream that was just beginning to transition into a broken memory fuelled nightmare. She reached across the bed towards Logan, suddenly aware of how cold the bed was, only to find herself alone.

Sitting bolt upright she looked around in a panic, noting the turned back covers in both bassinets she looked out the bedroom door, expecting to see Logan up with one or both of the boys. Everything was quiet. Silently sliding out of bed she glanced curiously around the room, wondering where Logan had got to. She decided to check the nursery before heading for the next most likely location outside their suite. There she found Logan in the rocking chair, both boys laid out on his chest, a head resting on each of his shoulders, his feet propped up on the footrest. All three, fast asleep.

Sneaking silent back to the bedroom to grab her phone, she returned a moment later to take a photo. She wasn't surprised that Logan heard the exaggerated shutter sound the phone made; she would have to find a way to turn that off. He cracked one eye open in sleepy alertness, before grinning at her.

"Enjoying the view?" he asked, as he slowly stretched as well as he could with his arms full.

"You betcha," she replied, kissing him chastely on the lips before she placed a soft kiss on each little fuzzy head. "Were they up all night?" she asked concerned.

"No, Aidan woke about three, I just about had him back to sleep when he woke Liam up, I figured I'd bring them both in here so they didn't wake you, then they fell asleep and I didn't want to disturb them again. I didn't count on falling asleep though," he admitted, looking just a little perturbed.

Marie told him it was feeding time now anyway, she was going to go to the little girls room and then she would be ready. By the time she got back to the bedroom Logan was waiting for her, two hungry boys laid out on the bed doing their morning stretches, their tiny mouths opening in wide gummy yawns. Once she had fed them Logan changed them again, though she insisted on helping this time - she couldn't believe the babies were more than a day old and she still hadn't changed a diaper - before she put the boys back to bed. When they were asleep she went back to find Logan, he was in the kitchen cooking them both breakfast when she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

Harking back to Logan’s late night declarations, Marie felt the overwhelming urge to respond in kind. "I love you too Logan, so, so much, more than I can ever put into words. I'm sorry you're having to go through this too, I know it's not easy for you either. Thank you for being my rock, I- I couldn't do this without you," she whispered, as a tear slipped down her cheek.

Logan turned around and pulled her tighter against him. "You don't have to thank me darlin, we might not be able to get married yet but we're in this together for better or worse baby, in the sunshine and the rain, I'm here for you, always." He kissed the top of her head as they held each other, before a soft knock was heard at their suite door. Logan moved to get it but Marie insisted she would, and left him to finish breakfast. She was surprised to see the drawn face of Scott waiting at the threshold when she opened the door.

"Hey, is everything okay?" she asked concerned. It wasn't like Scott to worry so openly.

"I was going to ask the same of you guys," he replied, "I know Jean ran some tests for you yesterday, and then she stopped by here with the results, by the time she got back to our room she was in tears but she wouldn't tell me what was wrong, just kept saying it was confidential... is everything alright?" he asked.

"Uh, well ... yes, and no," Marie replied cryptically, it was probably important that everyone be briefed on the new situation, it may put the school in danger to a degree after all, but she didn't want to have to explain it to everyone individually. "It was good of Jean not to say anything, I'm sorry she was so upset, everyone does need to know though, could you get everyone together, at about ten so we can explain the situation, just the Professor, you, Ororo, and Jean, oh, and Jubilee and Kitty too. That way I..." she paused and took a shuddering breath.

"We," Logan corrected, coming up behind her, "Only need to explain once," he finished her sentence for her.

Scott looked perturbed. "That bad?" he commented absently, though he had obviously already figured it wasn't great news. He agreed to have everyone who needed to be there in the Professor's office at ten and bid them good morning, before leaving them to their breakfast.

They cuddled on the couch as they ate from the one plate Logan dished up, Marie was certain he only served breakfast like that so he could disguise the fact he was feeding her about three quarters of the dish' contents. It seemed he was still intent on fattening her up, though she was pleased to note that as of that morning she was only about twenty-five pound heavier than her early pregnancy weight. She was sure most of that weight was in her boobs which felt huge.

Neither of them made any effort to move once they were finished eating, they just enjoyed the closeness of having the other safe and sound in their arms. It was Logan who eventually broke the silence.

"If you need to talk about what happened I'm here to listen, whatever you need to say, whenever you need to say it, don't hold back just because you think I don't want to hear it, because you're going to need to talk about it, at some point, maybe not now but one day, and whenever you're ready I'm here for you," he told her softly, his cheek resting on the crown of her head as he spoke.

More silent tears slid down her cheeks. She wanted to tell him, she wanted to tell him everything she remembered, but she knew he would be angry. He would blame himself and feel guilty, and she didn't want to do that to him.

"I can't promise I won't be mad at him, and I can't promise I won't wish I could have done something to protect you, but darlin, I'm feeling that already because you're mine baby, and I'm supposed to protect and care for what's mine," he added in a gentle comforting tone, almost as if he had heard her fears.

After several moments of silence Marie spoke quietly. “I told you how I figured out Mystique wasn't you, and how I ran as soon as the car stopped ... Sabretooth came after me, he had been waiting with another car, because they knew the school cars all had trackers ... when he tackled me I turned my skin on, and I locked it on, so if anything happened I thought no one would be able to touch me. I remember being in a vehicle but I didn't even get my eyes open before they tranq’d me again... The next thing I remember I was on concrete, I could feel handcuffs on my wrists, I heard Sabretooth, he ... he was talking to someone else, I think it was Mystique, and he said that I smelled 'like the runt' and he didn't like it, she told him he could do what he liked to ‘fix that’ so long as he didn't 'break me', then she said something about making sure I didn't wake up, and then I think I was tranq’d again...

"For a while I just, floated, sometimes things filtered through I could feel hands on me, grabbing, squeezing, pulling, but distant, like they were far away. I don't know if it was the first time but I felt him inside me, pushing in, it hurt but it didn't, it's hard to explain ... the time I woke up completely, he was behind me, I- I felt him come, inside me, his hands on my hips, his claws were digging into me. He realised I was draining him and pulled out, I tried to move away from him but he had the handcuffs, and my arms were twisted behind me, I couldn't move much but I tried, I really did, I almost dislocated my shoulder before I managed to twist around...

"I kicked him hard in the balls, more than once... I saw the tranquilizers, on a table nearby, I thought if I could get to them before he did I could try using them on him, it might give me enough time to get the cuffs off, maybe even get out of the room, assuming I could get the door open. He grabbed the back of my calf and dug his claws in, I guess so I couldn't run, maybe so I couldn't kick him again... He got to the table before I could, I tried to wrestle the needle away, I knew I wouldn't be able to turn it back on him but maybe I could deflect it, away from me. But he... he pinned me to the ground, held me by my throat and squeezed until everything started to go black. I thought he was going to kill me until he said it was a shame he couldn't, said 'the runt' could do with a new lesson...

"He handcuffed me to a pipe, while he got another condom, made me watch as he put it on... then he said 'if I was lucky, I wouldn't remember what was going to happen next'. He tranq’d me again then but I must have had enough of his healing still for it to not be so effective... once he was done, he tranq’d me again. I don't remember anything else until a woke up on the boat and Magneto and Sabretooth were arguing about what he had done, Magneto was telling him I might be too injured to be useful, and if the plan failed because of that it would all be Sabretooth’s fault...

“I think I must have already started to block it out by then, I thought at the time he was talked about the cuts on my leg, and my hip, and around my neck. I should have known; I should have known what happened when I got back... I know you healed me but there was blood, in my panties, I just... I don’t know what I assumed. Maybe I was still just blocking it out, too in denial..." she finally trailed off, talked out for now as she sat, almost in Logan's lap, her face pressed against his t-shirt clad chest, as his strong arms anchored her to him.

"He knew," Logan said after a while. "He knew about me, and he hurt you to get at me," he continued, the guilt that was eating at him was growing the more he thought about the horrible situation.

"No," Marie said firmly, "He would have done it anyway, the fact that it would hurt you too was just an added bonus for him, he's a horrible person Logan, it's hard to believe the two of you are related he's literally that terrible a person, but that's not on you Logan, it's not your fault. Promise me, promise me you won't do that to yourself, to us, because I couldn't handle it if you blamed yourself."

Logan held her as he tried to tamp down the feelings so he could honestly promise her, pushing all the guilt into a tiny ball of burning hot rage and heaping it all on Sabretooth’s still living corpse. "I promise darlin, I promise I will only blame him, and if I ever see him again, I don't care how fast he heals I'll do my damnedest to find a way to kill him, I will never let him get his hands on you again, and I will never let him get near our boys- our boys you hear me, mine and yours, and I want to file the birth certificate to say that, I know its technically illegal but he'd be insane to try and argue it if he ever found out, are you okay with that?"

Marie nodded eagerly, smiling through her tears. They were going to be okay, she knew it, and if they never saw Sabretooth again for as long as they lived it would be too soon.

Sometime later, a soft cry from the bedroom roused them both from the contended doze they had fallen into. After Marie had fed both boys again the happy parents lay on the bed playing with their babies, stretching little arms and legs, tickling tiny feet, and kissing tiny fingers, until little mouths started to yawn. It was almost ten, and neither new parent was happy to leave their babies three flights of stairs away from them, so Logan helped Marie make the boys comfortable in the wrap carrier.

The boys were content being cosily confined to their mother and settled in to sleep quickly, while Marie agonized over whether they were in the right position and if the wrap was too tight or too loose. Logan eventually chuckled and told her to stop fussing, they would both know the minute anything changed. In the meantime, he was looking at the babies current position and trying to figure out how the hell they had ever fit inside her.

They made their way to the Professor's office, not in the least surprised to find they were the last to arrive. The meeting was a sombre affair, Logan and Jean did most of the talking, the Professor offered Marie counselling if she wished to avail herself of it, while her friends offered her support as well. Scott asked if Logan would assist him in overhauling the school's security system, to reduce the risk of another breach and they agreed to meet after lunch to do that. Before Jean reminded the new parents, their babies were late for a check-up.

The meeting was ended, and Jubilee and Kitty begged to be permitted to accompany them to the baby’s check-up, which Logan semi reluctantly agreed to. It was near enough to their next feed time that Marie didn't mind the boys being woken a little early, though the boys themselves didn't appreciate being removed from their mother, or having their warm clothes and diapers taken away so they could be weighed again. Both boys expressed their displeasure by peeing on Jean, which made Jubilee shriek when some got on her too, which in turn made everyone else laugh.

After each baby was weighed, measured, and given a complete physical to make sure neither parent had missed counting off any tiny fingers or toes, Jean allowed them to be re-dressed and Marie to suckle them. Jean also checked Marie's nipples, and offered her a moisturizing balm she could use to prevent cracking and bleeding and checked the boys latching ability, and Marie's milk flow. When she was finally satisfied all was well, she left them to feed in peace.

"Congratulations Rogue, you've done a wonderful job, and the both of you have two very healthy little boys," Jean assured them. Despite that, Logan still queried with her the boys minute loss of weight since the previous day and that it was within normal parameters. Jean reassured him that the weight loss was less than she had been expecting, though that may simply be due to the minor differences in weight from different sets of scales. She instructed them to bring the boys down for a check-up every other day for the first two weeks, and that they could keep an eye on their weight with their own scales too in between.

Once the feeding was done the girls wanted to hold the babies, Logan suggested they go back up to their suite for lunch and they could hold them up there, so the group didn't take up any more of Jean's time. The girls whooped and hurried Marie out of the room and towards the elevator.

"Hurry up old man or you got to wait for the next one!" Jubilee yelled, as they left Logan behind in their haste while he gathered up the last of their things.

The boys had their first visit with 'Aunt Kitty' and 'Aunty Jubes' while Rogue took a shower and Logan fixed them all lunch, and supervised the girls. It's not that he didn't trust them with the babies but after Jubilee had accidentally drowned a squirrel while trying to 'rescue' it on the survival camp, he figured there were worse things he could do with his attention. Kitty was a natural, catching on almost as quickly as Marie had on how to handle Aidan. She even managed to stop his fussing when he realised, he wasn't with his mama. Jubilee on the other hand he had to remind every few minutes she needed to actually hold the babys head; Liam was surprisingly tolerant about the handling, though he did appear to be glaring at the yellow blur before him.

By the time they were finished lunch, Logan having rescued Liam from Jubilee so she could eat without risking dropping him, both boys were asleep. Logan put them to bed before reminding Marie he had to go meet Scott.

He didn't want to leave her alone but he also didn't want her to feel like he was trying to keep surveillance on her, so he suggested, casually, that the girls stay and they could 'watch a movie or do some girly shit', seeing as how they hadn't had much time to spend together lately. All three seemed to miss the overtone of the 'stay and keep an eye on Marie' order, and jumped at the idea. Logan left them raiding the kitchen for what was left of Marie's pregnancy snack stash, while Marie scrolled through the mansions movie database to see if there was anything they hadn't seen yet.

--

Three hours later Scott and Logan had finished the overhaul, they were about to head up to the Professor's office to run over the changes with him when Scott pulled Logan aside. "I'm sorry- for all the shit I've put you through, I admit, I didn't like you from the minute I met you, knowing you and Rogue were living together I put two and two together and didn't like the result, I took that out on you by being an asshole, and I've given you nothing but shit since you came back, even if I was only thinking it most of the time when trying to be civil around Rogue. Honestly, you've shown me up to be the bigger man the whole time, and now with this... Rogue is lucky to have you, you're a good man Logan."

Logan nodded in reply, he didn't know how to respond but after a moment commented, “So, our ceasefire is an unconditional surrender now?"

"Yeah, yeah it is," Scott agreed with a chuckle, as they both continued on their way.

After running through the new security protocols with Xavier, Scott excused himself, leaving Logan alone with the Professor. It didn't happen often that the two of them got to chat alone, which was a shame because Logan actually really liked the guy. Charles spoke first once the door was shut behind them, "The offer for counselling goes for you too Logan, I know you, wrongly, assumed a lot of guilt over Rogue's kidnapping and this recent revelation cannot be easy for you, if you need to talk--"

"Marie and I have talked, it helped both of us, we know where we stand, I promised Marie I wouldn't make what happened my fault, that blame rests at his feet alone, my only concern is protecting my family," Logan replied. Once they left the mansion, he wasn't sure how best to do that, Sabretooth knew where the cabin was, should he sell up and move again, would Marie be okay with that.

"Very well. On a different note, knowing now of your connection with Sabretooth, I have made enquiries to see if it is possible to track down other mutual family members of yours, I shall let you know if I have any success," Charles informed him personably.

Logan thanked him before excusing himself also. He didn't need to voice his concerns for Marie so soon after learning about her assault, he hoped to get back before the girls finished their bonding session. He didn't want her to be alone right now, just in case, survivors’ guilt was nothing to chance, especially not so soon after giving birth, that combined with a bout of postnatal depression could be fatal. He would have to be extra vigilant to make sure she got enough sleep and good food, and lots of healthy bonding time.

He was pleased to find the girls still sitting around chatting. The boys were no longer in bed, Liam was laid out asleep on Marie's lap. Aidan was softly snoring on one of the quilted playmat's Helen had sent down as a baby shower gift, with Kitty lying down on the floor next to him watching him sleep. Jubilee was lying upside down on the couch, with her legs hanging over the back, and her head hanging off the seat, going on about how much better the muted movie was upside down.

Dropping a kiss on top of Marie's head he hugged her as he leaned over shoulder for a while watching Liam sleep, his fat, milk filled belly slowly rising and falling as his little fist gripped Marie's finger even in his sleep. Eventually the movie finished and the girls made their excuses to leave, or at least Kitty did, before she dragged Jubilee bodily out of the room to give the parents some alone time.

--

The next several weeks passed in a blur, as they tend to do after babies are born. Logan bore the majority of the burden of sleepless nights, making sure Marie's sleep was as undisturbed as possible. Helen and Peter came to visit, and were able to stay for a week when the Professor offered them a guest room. Jubilee and Kitty stopped by at least once a day, often with outrageous trinkets for the babies, they even brought several of the younger students up to visit with 'gifts' they had made in the holiday craft program the Professor had the girls running. Ororo was kind enough to do their grocery shopping for them, meaning Logan didn't have to leave Marie alone.

They ate lunch in the cafeteria, with babies in tow, for the first time when the boys were four weeks old. Marie's classes began the following week, so they decided they had best start acclimating the boys to the sounds of the school.

Marie had a class schedule that worked around the boy’s routine as well as it could, there was only one class she would need to pop out of to breastfeed. The rest of the time they planned for Logan to watch the boys. Logan had suggested she express milk that he could feed to the boys, so she didn't have to miss any class, and so that he didn't have to keep waking her up for midnight feeding, but so far the boys had rebelled at that idea, refusing to accept bottles even though it smelled like the food they were used to.

All in all it was not going to be too much of a struggle for Marie to continue her studies, though Logan thought she did make an amusing sight sitting on the floor of their suite, baby suckling on a breast while she did her homework with her free hand. It seemed she was a natural at more than just fight technique judging and field dressing stab wounds.

Marie slowly opened her eyes, a smile breaking out on her face as she remembered what day it was.

"What are you so happy about this morning?" Logan murmured, from where he was spooned behind her, placing a soft kiss on her bare shoulder.

"Do you hear that?" Marie asked softly.

Logan paused and listened. “Hear what?" he asked, confused when he heard nothing.

"Absolutely nothing," Marie replied, "No more alarms to wake the boys up, I can finally sleep in!" She sighed happily, school was finally done, for the year, and for her, forever.

"Now where's the fun in that?" Logan asked, "I can think of much better things to do than sleep, obviously you can too seeing as how you're awake."

"Shh, I'm training my brain to stay asleep," Marie replied, closing her eyes and pretending to be asleep. That lasted all of ten seconds before Logan's hands started moving, tickling down her side where her singlet had ridden up. "You are absolutely impossible Logan," she laughed.

"Shh, you'll wake the boys up and then we'll really have to stop," he replied, nuzzling into her hair as his hands continued wandering.

"You jinxed it," Marie stated with a sigh a minute later, when a baby started calling out from the next room and she rolled over to pull herself out of bed.

Logan watched from the bed as she slipped on her silk robe, before moving out of their bedroom to collect the waking twins. She returned a moment later with a baby in each arm, and crawled back into bed with them. He rolled over and pulled both babies into his arms as Marie got comfortable, she reached over a minute later and plucked one giggling infant from his arms to start feeding, while he entertained the second.

Once baby one had eaten his fill, they swapped babies and Logan took a satisfied looking Aidan with him, to their small kitchenette, to get himself and Marie breakfast.

Two hours later they were done with breakfast, and well on their way to being ready for the day. The boys were entertaining themselves with their baby gyms in the living room, and Marie and Logan were entertaining themselves in the shower.

"Thank god they can't crawl yet," Logan commented, when Marie finally stepped out of the shower and began to towel herself off. He followed her a moment later, and watched her reverse strip show with a leery grin. Just as she was finished dressing, someone started knocking on their suite door.

"Hurry up and get dressed," Marie kissed him quickly, mildly annoyed she didn't get to watch him dress - oh well, she could just undress him later as compensation. She shut the bedroom door on her way to the suite door, watching Liam push himself up on his arms and try to wriggle his way towards the interesting new sound he could hear as she went; it wouldn't be long until they were crawling.

"Gee, I wonder what took her so long," Jubilee commented, with a sly grin at her companion.

"Sorry, hope we didn't interrupt anything," Kitty added with a giggle.

"Luckily for you, you didn't, five minutes earlier though and you'd have had a seriously pissed off Wolverine to deal with," Marie replied, sharing their mirth. She waved the girls in, not at all surprised that they immediately moved across the room, and each picked up a smiling infant.

"To what do we owe this pleasure," Logan asked, only sounding mildly sarcastic, as he walked out of the bedroom, pulling his shirt over his head.

"Well, sorry to say but we came to steal your woman," Jubilee stated matter of factly.

"Yep," Kitty chimed in, "Today, being our first day as former slaves, I mean, students, freed from the shackles of the evil educational establishment, even if only temporarily for some of us, we are going shopping."

"Do I get some say in this?" Marie asked, arms crossed over her chest, trying to look annoyed.

"Nope," Jubilee answered, "We've all been cooped up too long from all that pointless brain work, and you even longer because of 'Thing 1' and 'Thing 2', so today, we shall liberate you! Back us up here Wolvie!"

Logan grinned. "They're right darlin, go, have some fun. You want me to watch the boys or do you plan on commandeering them too?" he asked Jubilee, though it was Marie that answered him.

"We'll have to take them with us because Jubilee, the super shopper that she is, makes every trip to the mall last hours and they'll need feeding in the meantime."

"I thought Dr Grey was trying to make you put them on baby food?" Kitty asked.

"They won't eat it," Logan replied with an amused chuckle, remembering the looks of shock and horror both boys had given when they had tried to spoon food goop into their mouths. "Same as the formula before that, Mama tastes better apparently, can't say I disagree," he added, with a smirk.

"TMI Wolvie," Jubilee laughed, as Marie and Kitty blushed. Logan just grinned as he fished the truck keys out of the drawer they lived in when they weren't in his pocket.

"Take the truck, the stroller's already in the back, the three of you will have to take the front bench with the car seats in there, no way in hell I'm trying to move them. Enjoy yourself," he directed at Marie, planting a kiss on her lips as he slipped the keys into her pocket - any excuse to cop a feel. "I’ve got to finish that new training sim for Chuck, when should I expect you back?" he asked, as he made his way out the door.

"We'll be back by two for the boys nap," Marie answered, looking pointedly at Jubes to say ‘they would not be a minute late’.

As soon as Logan was out the door Kitty jumped into action. "Let's get you two ready for your adventure," she announced, marching into the boys room with Liam in her arms, to dig out the cutest outfits she could find. Marie just laughed as Jubilee hurried after her, no doubt to critique and change whatever outfits Kitty chose.

--

"Ooh, we totally need to take you in here Roguey," Jubilee said, obvious excitement in her voice, as she turned the double stroller in Rogue’s grasp towards the brightly lit lingerie store she had spotted.

"There's no point," Marie laughed, "Logan just tears everything off, literally, I've gone through four maternity bras already in the last few months just because he was too impatient to wait a few seconds. Besides," she added after a pause, all mirth dropping from her tone. "I'm not pretty enough to do it justice."

"What the hell Rogue, don't talk like that," Kitty responded, pulling the group to a stop, "You're gorgeous, so gorgeous in fact you've managed to score yourself the hottest guy on the damn continent, even if he is a little scruffy. Besides, you wouldn't want to make Logan a liar, would you?" Kitty winked at her.

"What do you mean?" Rogue asked, looking confused.

"Oh that!" Jubilee exclaimed, grinning at the memory that popped into her head, "Scott picked a fight with Logan once and was going on about how Logan was just going to break your heart when he abandoned you, and leave you miserable for the rest of us to look after when he got sick of being tied to 'an average looking mother', Logan absolutely lost his shit, I was sure we were going to be scrapping Cyclops bits off the walls by the time he was done but he managed to keep his cool long enough to tell Scott, and I'm paraphrasing here because Logan was a lot more explicit, there was nothing 'average' about you, and how as far as he was concerned you are the most gorgeous woman, inside and out, that he's ever met, and that never in a million years would he ever 'get sick of' you, and the only way he'd ever be 'leaving' was with you and the boys right by his side where you all belonged."

"It was so sweet," Kitty added, hugging Rogue closer to her. "Has Logan really never told you any of this?" she asked incredulously.

"Well," Marie blushed, "He says stuff like that all the time, I just figured he was horny and trying to get in my pants... though he has always been pretty sweet, and sometimes painfully honest, ever since I met him."

"So we, and by we I mean you but we'll help you pick it out, should totally get him a little something so he can enjoy his gorgeous woman," Jubilee started again towards the store.

"I wasn't kidding Jubes," Rogue tried again, "I really can't do this stuff justice, I'm a mother now, I'm flabby and covered in goddamn stretch marks," she groused.

"Don't worry, they have stuff for that," Jubilee grinned, "Though I would have been certain Logan would have fixed you right up in that department with those healing hands of his," she added, sounding mildly curious.

Rogue blushed and admitted, "He did offer but I said no."

"Why?" Kitty asked curiously, "If they make you so self-conscious why not let him fix it for you? You know he'll do anything for you."

"Because it hurts him every time he does it and I don't want to be hurting him constantly, I guess... I guess I also felt like I deserve it, to not be so pretty anymore, because of... well, because of the baby that isn't his," she finished miserably.

"Okay, serious time out." Kitty pulled them out of the flow of human mall traffic and sat them down on a bench. Turning the stroller towards Rogue so she could see both her sons, Kitty started talking.

"Do you think Logan blames you for this, really, because you and I, and Logan too, all know the only person to blame for this situation is Sabretooth. Logan loves both these little boys exactly the same, they are both his sons as far as he's concerned, and yes, I've heard that come out of his own mouth. And he loves these two only slightly less than he adores you. There is nothing wrong with you, there is nothing wrong with either of your son's, and you do not 'deserve' to be punished for what that asshole did to you, not by your sons, not by Logan, and definitely not by yourself. You are amazing Rogue, I think so, Jubes thinks so, Logan won't shut up about how fantastic you are. Your boys are the luckiest kids around, yes, they've been thrust into the middle of a shitty situation but with two parents who love them as much as you and Logan do, they are going to grow up to be absolutely fantastic people. Stop selling yourself short Rogue, stop beating yourself up over things that aren't your fault, and stop laying blame at your own feet when it doesn't belong to you."

Marie sniffled softly, as a lone tear ran down her cheek. "I'm a horrible mother," she whispered, as Jubilee and Kitty both sat closer beside her and wrapped their arms around her, before either of them could protest she continued. "Sometimes I’m terrified I don't even love him."

"Who? Logan?" Jubilee asked, looking confused.

"No, Liam," she clarified.

"Well now we know for sure you do," Kitty replied. At Rogue's surprised look she continued, "Sweetie if you didn't love that little boy you wouldn't care that you didn't, the fact you do care shows you do love him, because you're worried you're not showing him enough that you do but you are, everyone can see that."

"Yeah, just don't accidentally spoil him over Aidan by trying too hard," Jubes added, with a grin and a hug.

"Thanks guys, I don't deserve you two," Marie told them, with a watery smile as she returned her friends hugs while she watched her sons dozing in their stroller. She could feel her doubts and fears weakening just a little bit more, she did love both boys, she knew she did, she was mainly worried about the 'one day', far in the future, when she would have to tell them about Liam's biological father; would both boys still love her just the same?

Watching Rogue pull herself together as her smile began to grow, Jubilee subconsciously gave herself and Kitty a pat on the back for a job well done before she rose again. "Now, where were we... ah yes, retail therapy, come along Rogue to the lingerie store," she announced dramatically, pulling Rogue back to her feet. Kitty took the stroller this time, as Jubilee finally managed to pull Rogue through the glass doors into the brightly lit store.

"This way," Jubilee announced, dragging Rogue off to the back of the store, stopping in front of a rack of lacy baby dolls. "This will do nicely," she announced, picking out a dark green front closure piece, "No excuse for him to tear this off with the one and only clip right in front of his face, now you just need some crotchless panties."

"I've never understood the point of those," Marie commented, as Jubilee swept away to another display.

"You get to look hot with no access issues," Jubilee replied, "Means he doesn't have to tear them off, they might live longer than one viewing."

Twenty minutes later Marie was in the changing room trying on a few of the selected pieces. Jubilee sure was a natural at this she realised, regarding her form in the green lace of Jubilee's first selection. It covered her belly and stretch marks, while still making her look sexy as hell, yes, she could live with that.

After paying for her purchases Marie tried to ignore the mild embarrassment of wandering around the mall with the bright pink bag of unmentionables. That was made easier by imagining the look on Logan's face when he would see her later in a few pieces, though that brought its own flush of colour to her cheeks when she started to imagine what would come after the look.

"Roguey's thinking about hot Logan sex," Jubilee whispered loudly to Kitty, making both Kitty and Rogue blush.

"Shut up Jubes," Marie tried not laugh, "Come on, I'm starving, let's get lunch," she added, turning the stroller towards the general direction of the food court; they had already been here three hours and not only was she hungry but her feet were killing her. Hopefully food would have the added side effect of shutting her big mouthed friend up for a while.

Picking a secluded table, tucked in the far corner of the food court, Jubilee went to grab the three of them food, while Marie breastfed the twins. Normally, in the privacy of her own room, she would feed them both at the same time but that usually involved a fair bit of flashing, or the complete abandonment of clothing for her top half. So this time she settled for the longer route of feeding one at a time, while Kitty entertained and then burped whoever wasn't being fed, much like Logan had done that morning. She was pleased to note, no one else seemed to give a second thought to the breastfeeding mother in the corner.

Jubilee returned from the food queues with lunch just as Marie was finishing feeding Liam, which was not a moment too late as Marie’s own stomach chose that moment to begin requesting sustenance in earnest.

"You sure you should be eating that much Rogue?" Jubilee asked, as she pushed the two double cheeseburgers and chocolate milkshake Rogue had requested towards her, "I thought baby weight was a thing mothers were always worried about?"

Rogue grinned around the straw of her milkshake, as she patted the back of the baby on her shoulder with her other hand. "Logan says I'm losing too much weight too fast, I'm almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight but he's of the opinion that I was too light then, also, it takes a lot going in to put enough out to feed these two," she explained.

They ate slowly, surrounded by the general bustle of the mall, their conversation only occasionally interrupted by noises from one or both of the infants amusing themselves with rattles and teething rings, in their stroller.

Returning a dropped rattle to Aidan's chubby hand, for the fourth time, Marie watched a sleepy yawn cross his face. Liam was already asleep again, the comforting feeling of motherly contentment distracted her, until Kitty reached across the table and nudged her.

"Come on, Jubes has two more stores she wants to hit then we need to go, Logan's going to start worrying if we don't have you back soon," Kitty told her. Marie noted that the trays and food rubbish had been cleared off the table while she had been distracted, and Jubilee was already halfway to the bins.

An hour later the three young women exited the stuffy building into the crisp winter chill of late January. As many bags as could be were hung off the stroller until Marie announced that anymore would topple it over, and Kitty and Jubes had shared the remaining bags out between them. They walked briskly to the far end of the car park where Marie had parked the truck. Unlocking the double cab and opening the flatbed, the girls hurriedly set about loading everything in for their return trip. Marie didn't want the boys out in the cold too long so, as soon as Kitty had thrown her bags into the back of the truck, she and Marie collected a baby each and carried them around to their seats. Marie laughed, and threw back an 'I told you so', when the stroller toppled over as soon as the stabilising baby weight was removed, and all the bags were spilled onto the ground, much to Jubilee's displeasure.

Once the boys were buckled into their seats Marie returned to fold up the stroller, while Jubes and Kitty loaded the last of the bags. As Marie was securing the tailgate and cover to hold their load, a familiar scent hit her as the breeze shifted and gusted towards her. Panicked, she looked around, only to find herself staring directly at the black-eyed gaze of Sabretooth. She froze in fear as she watched him, standing motionless about sixty feet away.

Kitty was the first to notice Rogue had stalled, looking over to see what had caught her attention Kitty gasped in shock before flying into action. Ripping the keys out of Marie's hand she flung them at Jubes, and quietly told her to get them out of here, as she dragged Marie to the passenger door.

Jubilee froze momentarily, why had Kitty given her the keys, no one but Rogue was allowed to drive the truck, Logan’s orders, Kitty knew that. Of course, Kitty wouldn't have told her to without a damn good reason, and now was not the time to argue judging by her tone. It wasn't until Jubilee was pulling herself into the driver’s seat that she saw Sabretooth. Kitty and Rogue were already in the cab so without a second thought, or even taking the time to put her seat belt on, she turned the engine over and backed up. Sabretooth was now moving towards them so Jubilee didn't waste any time switching gear, before she punching the gas, swerving around a car that was rolling down the row looking for an empty space as it blared its horn at her. Her attention only half on the road in front of her, as she watched Sabretooth pick up speed behind them. They needed to go faster to get away from him, to do that they needed to get out of the car park.

The car park exit was unusually crowded, blocked by a little old lady who refused to take any gap when she could still see cars. Swearing into the cab Jubilee mentally apologised to Logan, as she swerved the wheel and took the truck over the kerb and onto the footpath. The pick-up bounced wildly as Jubilee floored it down the footpath and then out onto the road. She ignored the blaring horns and squealing brakes, from the cars she pulled out in front of, as she pulled the vehicle into the flow of traffic and took off, watching in satisfaction as Sabretooth stopped chasing after them as she squeezed them through a more red than orange traffic light, and away.

Logan was in the garage, taking a break from working on his new motorcycle. He was not waiting for Marie to get home... he wasn't, at least that's what he would tell anyone who came to ask. He was sitting in the open garage door, leaning against the wall enjoying a cigar, when he spotted Marie’s truck turn in off the road, tires squealing loudly, before it flew up the wide drive towards the garage.

Instantly on alert, he scanned the road the truck had just turned off, to be sure nothing was following them - there were no other cars he could see. He noticed as the vehicle got closer that it wasn't Marie in the driver’s seat but Jubilee, that annoyed him a little, he knew how Jubilee drove, that was the main reason he had said no one but Marie was to drive it, insurance and all. Catching sight of Marie's pale face, where she was crammed on the bench seat between Jubilee and Kitty, he suddenly didn't care.

Pulling himself to his feet, he watched as Jubilee slammed the truck into park, the handbrake being applied before it was at a full stop seeing the vehicle jerk sharply to a stop. Then she leapt from the driver’s seat, heading for the front entrance of the mansion. She caught sight of Logan halfway there and changed course.

"What happened?" he growled, meeting Jubilee on his way to the truck, where Kitty was now trying to get Marie out of the vehicle. He could hear at least one of the boys hollering from the backseat.

"Sabretooth was there, he came up when we were loading the truck, Rogue panicked and froze, she hasn't said a word since she saw him, I managed to get away before he caught us, he took a swipe at the back of the truck though, and I had to go, uh, off road a bit to get away from him, sorry," Jubilee looked apologetic, though obviously distracted by Marie.

Logan got to the passenger door, and moved Kitty out of the way gently. "Check on the boys," he ordered, as he reached for Marie, her eyes were glassy and she was obviously in shock. He reached out and touched her face, only to snatch his hand away quickly when Marie jumped hard, and her mutation greedily bit at his skin.

"It's okay darlin, everything's okay, you're safe, Jubilee got you all out of there, he's gone baby," Logan soothed, running his hands up and down her covered arms gently, as he watched recognition begin to flood her face.

"Oh god," Marie whispered, as she burst into tears, burying her face in his chest as she clutched at him. She sobbed for a few minutes before she started pulling herself together. "I can't believe I did that, I just froze, what if Jubilee and Kitty hadn't been there, I left them unprotected, how could I do that," Marie stated angrily, as she swiped at the tears on her face.

"It's okay darlin," Logan stated, gently rubbing her back, "You panicked, it's understandable, we can work on that, besides, you didn't leave them unprotected you had Kitty and Jubes, if they hadn't been there you'd have handled the situation completely differently but you didn't have to in this instance because they could handle it for you, you did good darlin, all of you did.” Logan nodded to the two girls, who were now holding a baby each, bouncing them gently to try and shush their hiccupping sobs.

Pulling Marie into another hug, as a shudder ran through her, he kissed the top of her head softly. "Better now babe?" he asked after a moment, when he felt her start to relax. She nodded silently. "Mutation turned off?" he probed further.

"Yes," she answered after a pause. Immediately Logan tipped her head up and kissed her. She had a small smile on her lips when he pulled away. "What was that for?" she asked.

"I missed you," was all Logan said, as he turned and gestured for the girls to hand over the babies. By the time babies had been handed over Marie was out of the truck, Logan turned to her and handed Aidan to her, keeping hold of Liam, and gently nudged her in the direction of home. "I'm going to get this lot sorted out, you guys get your shopping, then put the truck away Jubilee," Logan directed, as he followed Marie towards the house.

"Yes sir," Jubilee beamed, Logan gave her permission to drive Rogue’s - read his - beloved truck, an admission he owed her one if ever there was one.

Quickly gathering up all the bags out of the back, Kitty began ferrying them up to their room, while Jubilee parked the truck in its usual spot. She assessed the scratch damage on the back of the truck where Sabretooth had tried to grab hold, it wasn't too bad, she just hoped Logan would still be as thankful to her once he had checked over the suspension.

She picked up the last of their bags and trailed after Kitty up to their room, once there they quickly sorted out the bags that were Rogue's, and the things they had bought for the boys, their spoiled honorary-nephews, before making their way to Logan and Rogue's room. The suite door was open when the girls approached, and they could hear them talking softly in the bedroom.

"Knock, knock," Kitty called out at the open door.

"Come on in," Logan called back from the bedroom.

The girls wandered in and over to the bedroom, where they spotted Rogue sitting cross legged on the bed, a hungrily feeding baby in each arm. "Thanks for bringing that stuff up," she beamed at them.

"No problem girl," Jubilee replied, as she reluctantly relinquished the truck keys to Logan.

Kitty set down the bags on the dresser before she turned to Rogue. "What do you think Sabretooth was there for?" she asked softly.

"Nothing good," Logan muttered, from where he stood. "More importantly though, what did he pick up on?" Logan looked curiously to Marie.

"He looked a little shocked," she admitted, "And he was definitely scenting, you said Aiden and Liam smell different so I would say he probably picked up on that, I don't know how long he'd been there, he was specifically standing downwind so he may have been there for a while," Marie finished, looking worried.

Logan nodded. "I'll go talk to Chuck later, keep him updated, get him to keep an eye on him, tomorrow I want all three of you in the danger room,” Logan added, "Bring the boys down too, they'll be able to sit in on this, I want to teach all three of you a few tricks to getting away from that oversized furball. That okay darlin?"

"Sounds like a good plan," Marie confirmed, with a determined nod.

"Thanks Logan," Kitty added, they wouldn't always have a vehicle on hand to make a quick getaway in future, so whatever he could teach them would be useful knowledge. "Well, we'll leave you guys to it," Kitty spoke up again, noting Logan's gaze repeatedly flick towards the pink bag on the dresser, she had a feeling she knew where his thoughts were tending towards. With a blush she quickly scoot out the bedroom door, followed by a grinning Jubilee.

They were stopped at the suite door by Logan. "Thank you, both of you, for your quick thinking and getting them out of there, it really means a lot to me," he said bluntly.

"No problem Logan," Jubilee said, "You'd have done the same for any of us, hell you'd have got us out and stayed to fight the bastard while we got away," she grinned.

Logan laughed. "True, and don't worry about the truck Jubilee, that sort of damage is easy to fix and much preferable to the alternative," he said pointedly.

With satisfied smiles, both girls bid a final farewell and made their way back to their own floor. Listening to the door close, and the lock click behind them, Jubilee nudged Kitty. "Do you think he's going to like it?" she asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Dear god Jubilee, you spend far too much time thinking about your friends sex lives," Kitty announced, hurrying faster down the hall. Jubilee just laughed as she trailed along behind her.

Mystique ran over the plan again. Their three previous attempts to break Magneto out of prison had all failed. In a last ditch attempt they had come up with a plan to force Xavier to intercede on their behalf.

It was a simple plan in all reality, just kidnap some of Xavier's little brats, and demand Magneto's release as ransom for their safe return.

If it wasn't for the multiple recent upgrades to the school's security system it would have been a simple case to lead kids directly off the grounds, like she had done with that Rogue brat who had caused this whole problem in the first place. As it was though, they needed to wait for some of the kids to leave the mansion grounds. Despite Christmas having only recently passed, none of the kids had left the school grounds unaccompanied by adult X-Men. Until today.

They had gotten word from their lookouts of three girls in a black pick up leaving the school. Unfortunately, the lookouts hadn't managed to get the license plate, and had lost the pick-up quite quickly. Mystique had gone through the mansions database herself, planning to use Xavier's own tracking system to find the vehicle, however, there wasn't a single pick-up truck owned by the school, according to the database.

She had sent Sabretooth out to track the vehicle immediately, with instruction to the lookouts for them to return to their post and alert them if the pick-up returned. If it was only a short trip it was possible they would return before they could be located. Four hours later, the lookouts reported back to her that the pick-up had returned, at speed, with all three girls on board.

Mystique was fuming, four hours should have been plenty of time for Creed to find them, there weren't that many malls they could have been at. So how the hell had they got away, and why the hell was Creed still not back, three hours after the girls had returned. She was just typing out another furious text, demanding to know where he was, when she heard him stomp in the backdoor.

"Where the hell have you been and what the hell happened?" she demanded, as she stormed out of her office and into the kitchen. He sat heavily at the table, taking a healthy swig from the mostly empty bottle of whiskey he had in his hand.

"I found them," he grunted.

"Yet they returned to the mansion three hours ago, seemingly unscathed," she replied darkly.

"It was the girl, the girl from the machine..." he started, an odd conflicted look crossing his face.

"Oh great, she would have made an excellent hostage, she got us into this mess she could get us out, least the little bitch could do," Mystique sneered. "So why the fuck isn't she here?"

"They had two babies with them," Creed added.

"So? You've dealt with kids before haven't you, you didn't seriously let them go because of that did you?" Mystique scoffed at the thought of the deadly Sabretooth feeling sorry for a mewling infant enough to skip a job.

"I didn't let them go, I only found them as they were leaving, they got in the truck and took off before I could get to them, I... I got distracted," he admitted, "It was long enough for the Asian girl to gun it out of the lot."

"You got distracted? By what, by babies?" Mystique asked in disbelief. Sabretooth nodded, a brooding look on his face as he glared at the booze in his hand. It suddenly occurred to her to wonder just how much he had had to drink, he usually wasn't this talkative. "So, what did babies do to distract you exactly?" she queried, maybe there was something here they could use.

"They ... they're twins, they're the machine girls--"he started.

"Her name is Rogue," Mystique snapped, annoyed, did this guy pay any attention to the files she briefed him on.

"They're Rogue's," he growled back, glaring at her, "But only one of them is the runts."

"... How do you know that?" she returned, interest piqued.

"They smell different, one scents like a mixture of him and her, the other one scents of her and..." he trailed off.

"Oh god, you didn't!" Mystique exclaimed, catching on to where he was going, "You fucked her without a fucking condom!"

"Of course I used a fucking rubber, her skin sucks life out remember, not going to die for one barely average, borderline necrophilic fuck... One broke, I didn't think much of it, she was supposed to be dead that night after all, and if it meant my scent was on her when the runt found the body all the better, then they rescued her and I didn't think any more of it," he shrugged, and took another swig.

"Does she remember what happened?" Mystique asked, pondering how she could use this information to their advantage.

"I don’t know, maybe, actually, after her reaction today, probably.” When Mystique looked at him, as if asking him to elaborate, he added, "She froze up when she saw me, her friend bundled her into the truck while the other drove."

"So... Xavier is holding the child of one of our members at his mansion... We can use this," she plotted after a several moments of silence. "Mount an assault on the mansion, 'rescue' the child, ransom it back in exchange for Magento, it’s probably the highest value target in the whole building from that perspective... of course, you'll need to stay on the front line to keep an escape route clear with the others, I can get inside to find where they keep the baby-" she broke into an evil grin- "But I'm not going to know which is which, so I guess I'm just going to have to take both! It's excellent! With a traumatized mother, and a furious Wolverine, both willing to do whatever it takes to get their child back Xavier will have no option but to relent, and quickly, better yet, if we then move the babies into hiding, Wolverine will likely tear the X-Men apart. Even if we only achieve one or other of the objectives it will be perfect, I'll begin planning the assault now, we'll need to move quickly..." She turned and rushed out of the room before she was even finished speaking, leaving Creed at the table, scowling into his drink.

He didn't like this. It hadn't been his intention to impregnate the girl but it didn't change the fact that it was his child Mystique was proposing to use as bait for her plan. A long dormant protective instinct, that had begun brewing when he had scented out the infants, whispered in the back of his mind that the kid was better off with the girl, and his runt of a brother, than anywhere near Mystique.

--

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, far too cheerful a day for Marie to sit around moping about her run in with Sabretooth. If one could even call it that. She was up early making breakfast when Logan appeared out of the nursery with a baby in each arm.

"Come on mama, the midget's get priority, I'll finish that up," he said, kissing her good morning as she felt one baby reaching to pull on the fabric of her shirt while the other began sucking on a fistful of her hair. It had grown long enough to reach almost to her waist even when in a ponytail, and both boys loved nothing more than to tug on it or goober it all up.

Extracting herself with a bright smile, she gladly accepted each infant and carried them over to the couch. It took some rearranging but she eventually had both boobs out and a hungry mouth attached to each one, and with a surprisingly minimal amount of fussing.

Once the boys had eaten, Marie placed them on their mats to play for a while, so she and Logan could eat.

"I've got to meet with the Professor this morning," Logan told her casually, he didn't need to say it was about their run in with Sabretooth. "You going to be alright holding down the fort with the Thing's?" he asked, clearly uncertain about leaving her alone so soon after her fright.

"We'll be fine,” she replied cheerily. "And how about we go for a picnic for lunch, seeing as how it's such a nice day?" she suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea, do you need me to grab anything food wise or do already have a plan?" he queried with a grin.

"Oh I have a plan, however my plan will require a basket so if you could find one of those and bring it back with you that would be great, I think there’s one in the kitchen supply closet, up high somewhere if I’m remembering right," she replied, as she placed her empty plate on the coffee table, before lying down across the couch and Logan's lap.

He gently ran his fingers through her hair as they enjoyed each other’s company, and watched their boys roll around and try to crawl, between bouts of trying to maul their various toys to death. The boys made clear they were tired again not long after, with synchronous yawns that set Marie off too.

Logan chuckled. "Let's put the midgets down for a nap, and then their mama too."

Logan didn't end up leaving for his meeting for another hour, after the two of them got distracted when Marie insisted she wasn't tired, so Logan had to wear her out. Marie kissed him sleepily, as he eventually pulled himself back out of bed and re-dressed. The smug grin on his face informing anyone who cared to ponder, just what he had been up to.

He knocked on Chuck's office door, and was mentally called in before his knuckles had connected with the wood. "You know I don't like you doing that," Logan commented, as he entered the office. Suddenly becoming aware of the other presences in the room, he turned a questioning look on the Professor.

"I apologise, I was about to call you so this was just good timing. We have received intelligence that Mystique has mobilized all the Brotherhood operatives in quite a substantial radius, the exact target is unknown, and the timing of whatever attack they have planned is also unknown but with the rate they are preparing, it is likely to be soon, we are expecting another attempt to release Magneto and--" Here Logan cut Charles off.

"Not Magneto, they're coming here," he advised, glancing over the print offs of intel and surveillance photos spread across the desk.

"What makes you say that?" Scott asked, sounding uncertain.

"I don’t know if the girls told you but they went to the mall yesterday, Jubilee, Kitty, and Marie, took the boys with them, they ran into Sabretooth as they were leaving, he tried to intercept them but they managed to break a few road rules and get away. Marie believes he got close enough to scent the boys, so he'll know about Liam, they're coming here, and they're coming for the--"

Like a moment of foreshadowing, just a scene too late, sirens began to sound through the whole building, alerting the residents to a perimeter breach. Immediately the team broke, meeting ended, and the X-Men raced for the nearest exits. As the youngest students ran for their designated shelters to await further instruction, the older students, and those training to be X-Men, joined the adults outside to face the intruders.

There wasn't time to set up communication equipment, so Xavier and Jean hastily cobbled together a telepathic connection between a half dozen 'leaders', to send details of the assailants around. Xavier could count about twenty signatures approaching, some trying to sneak around the building, to gain entry at less guarded points.

The fighters quickly spread out, to tackle their foes head on. For a moment it was the calm before the storm, then all hell broke loose when dozens of mutants burst out of the shadow of the woods to attack.

Logan thought he spotted Sabretooth but couldn't be sure, when he asked the Professor to locate him there was a negative response. He was somewhere within a wide radius but the Professor could not pinpoint his exact location stating simply that he was 'South'. As the fighting grew more desperate and vicious, Logan signalled for Jubilee to follow him. Kitty joined them as they reached the patio.

"You two go upstairs to Marie, you're her last line of defence, if anyone gets to you call the Professor to alert me, then hold them off for as long as you can until I get there, got it?" he ordered quickly.

"Got it!" both girls replied, taking off at a dead run inside the building.

A few minutes later, with much of their force depleted, the Brotherhood operatives were forced to pull back. Logan watched in satisfaction as they beat a hasty retreat, some if their wounded being abandoned in their haste. Suddenly, a concerning figure picked herself up off the ground, before turning to help a fallen teammate.

"Kitty!" Logan called, rushing over to her, "Where's Marie, and Jubilee?"

Kitty looked at him confused. "I haven't seen Rogue all day, and I haven't seen Jubilee since breakfast--" Was all she managed to get out before Logan was dashing for the mansion, cursing loudly.

"Mystique got through," he yelled at Scott, as he flew across the field and into the building. He took the stairs two at a time, hearing the pounding of feet behind him as several others followed. As he stepped off the stairs at the right floor, he could see the still form of Jubilee laid out cold on the floor halfway down the hallway. His ears told him she was alive as he rushed past her, she likely hadn't even seen the attack that knocked her out.

He burst into the suite just in time to see Mystique's choke hold on Marie falter, as Marie began to drain her, through a hole she had torn in the leg of Mystique's pants. The blue form went down to her knees a moment later, before Marie spun around and kneed her hard in the side of the head, knocking her out cold. Logan was over the couch before Mystique's body had even hit the floor, cradling Marie to him as he scanned her quickly for injury.

"Careful!" Marie exclaimed, "Let me turn it off," she explained, as Logan felt her skin gently zap him.

He moved his hands to a part of her that was covered by her clothing, holding her close until she sagged against him in exhaustion. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

Marie assured him she was fine, before she moved him aside and rushed back into the nursery. The boy's cribs were empty, which gave Logan pause for a split second as he felt his heart leap into his throat, but Marie was heading across the room before he could speak. She slowly pulled open the deep drawer in the bottom of the freestanding wardrobe to reveal the two, still sleeping, infants, tucked away between spare blankets.

"Darlin you're a genius," Logan told her proudly, as he sat down heavily beside her, gently picking up the nearest baby to cradle him to his chest. Marie did the same, and they sat side by side until Logan picked up the scent of tears. He pulled Marie between his legs and hugged her tight, wrapping his whole family in his arms, as she cried tears of relief. That was how they were found several minutes later by Scott, once Mystique had been secured.

Jubilee rushed in unsteadily moments later. "I'm so sorry Logan I don't know what happened, I didn't even see what hit me..." she mumbled, slurring her words slightly – the poor kid probably had a concussion.

"It's okay Jubes, it's not your fault, she got the slip on me too," Logan assured the girl, as the babies began to stir.

"How did you know?" Jubilee asked curiously.

“I didn’t, they started to pull back and I saw Kitty on the field, when she said she hadn't seen you I knew it must have been the shape shifter tagging along with you... and I sent her straight to her target," he berated himself. "I'm sorry darlin, I should have come up myself..."

"No Logan, you were needed more down there. Besides, I handled the blue bitch, and I have to tell you, it felt really good!" Marie added her two cents worth, earning a chuckle from everyone around her.

"There's still the problem of Sabretooth, he didn't show during the fight, make sure the Professor keeps scanning for him, just in case he's still around somewhere, the fact the others didn't hang around and wait for Mystique makes me think she had a different escape plan, one that may involve him," Logan directed at Scott, who nodded solemnly in agreement.

Scott was still somewhat in shock that Logan had so quickly, and accurately called the Brotherhood's strike. The man was a tactical genius from what Scott had been able to glean from his infrequent use of the Danger Room, always several steps ahead of his opponent, whether real or virtual. He was still trying to come up with an argument that would convince him and Rogue to stay on at the school, even if just for Logan to assist as an X-Man. So far nothing seemed to be working, and the pair had even begun to talk about their impending trip back across the continent, much to his annoyance.

The rest of the day passed in a nervous haze for Marie. They didn't end up going for their picnic lunch, the gazebo Marie had planned on utilising had been damaged in the fight, unusable even if she could get over the possibility of Sabretooth still being nearby. She eventually agreed to let the boys out of her arms, to be put to sleep in their cribs, but nothing Logan could say could convince her to leave the room, and so she spent the afternoon dozing and reading in the rocking chair.

After the boys nine pm feed Logan changed their diapers, while Marie dressed them for bed. He finally managed to convince her they would be fine in the next room, and carried her off to bed once the boys were down.

She slept fitfully. For the first several hours she kept trying to get up every ten to twenty minutes to check on them but Logan wouldn't let her up, wrapping his arms around her tightly and assuring her they were sleeping peacefully. When she eventually fell asleep, her dreams were plagued with nightmares. She had seen enough of Mystique's plan to know that even had she achieved her main goal, of bargaining Magneto's release, she had had no intention of returning the boys. That thought chilled her to the bone, and she resolved to talk to the Professor the next morning to find out what he planned to do with Mystique.

She felt like she had only just fallen asleep, in the wee hours of the morning, when Logan launched himself out of bed suddenly, and flew out of the room. Marie hurriedly ran after him, ignoring the fact she was clad in only a t-shirt and panties. She skidded to a stop in the nursery doorway, and clapped a hand over her mouth to stop the scream that tried to burst out.

Standing over Liam's crib was Sabretooth. The window frame, where a motion sensor was located, to warn if the window was opened, was mangled beyond recognition but it didn't matter. Logan had heard the squeak of the window opening, and been in the room before he had managed to get all the way across the room.

"Get away from him," Logan growled menacingly.

Sabretooth held up his hands placatingly, as he continued to watch the baby sleep. "Just making sure 'Stique didn't get him," he told the pair, as he finally stepped away from the crib.

Marie waited until he was just over arm’s length away from the crib before she darted around Logan, and snatched Liam from his crib. She picked up Aidan too, and retreated again to the doorway with two grumpy, half awake infants fussing in her arms, not at all impressed with their impromptu waking.

"I never meant for this to happen..." Sabretooth started a moment later, motioning towards the baby.

"Oh really," Marie replied sarcastically, "You mean you don't go around raping girls for fun hoping to knock one up eventually, maybe there is a part of you that's a normal person, oh no, wait, that's right, you're just a sick fuck with an attitude problem, who thinks it's fun to screw with people, I know why you did it and I will never forgive you, my baby will be nothing like you, you're not welcome in his life, this will be the last time you ever see him so don't bother coming back," she stated angrily. Logan stood between the two of them, claws drawn now that the boys were out of harm's way, as he let her say her piece.

"Can't argue with any of that," Sabretooth grunted with a resigned chuckle. "Take care of him, what I did is on me, not him... If Xavier ever loses Mystique, I'll keep tabs on her, she'll be pissed you bested her twice girl, I'll make sure she doesn't bother you... can I just...?" he started to ask, gesturing toward Liam again.

"No!" both Logan and Marie replied forcefully.

A sudden pounding of feet, down the hall towards their suite, alerted them to the approach of their teammates. Sabretooth took that as his cue to leave, growling as Logan took a swipe at him as he jumped out the still open window. Logan followed him out the window as the rest of team rushed into the room, joining Marie at the open window watching in frustration as Sabretooth made his escape.

Storm began to summon lightening but Marie stopped her, there was more chance of it hitting Logan. Scott took aim instead, hitting Sabretooth squarely in the back but succeeding only in pushing him faster into the treeline.

By the time everyone got to the ground floor, Logan was making his way back inside, he shook his head when he saw Marie. "He got away, that hit didn't even slow him down Scott but thanks for trying,” he advised.

"Do you think he'll come back?" Marie asked uncertainly.

"No darlin, I don’t think he'll come back, you said your piece, gave him his warning, he'd be a fool to try and come back," Logan told her, wrapping his arms around her and their dozing infants. "Besides, I think he does genuinely want what's best for Liam, and he seems to have decided that that's to stay with us. So long as we can keep Mystique out of the picture, we should be fine."

"Speaking of Mystique," the Professor announced, approaching the group. "The authorities have been advised of her apprehension, they wish to try her without delay for a rather long list of crimes, provided she doesn't manage to fool her way out of incarceration she will likely be behind bars, so to speak, for some time. It really is a shame, she had so much potential but she let others opinions of her cloud her mind and fester into hate." The Professor shook his head sadly. "I apologize Logan for the delay in alerting everyone, when I retired for the night Sabretooth was outside the grounds, I assumed the perimeter alarms would alert us if he attempted to enter, I didn't realise he was in until Rogue's panic alerted me."

"That's okay Chuck, he managed to disable the window alarm in the boy’s room too, I'm just lucky I heard the window open," Logan stated. "Anyway, I think that's enough excitement for tonight, let's get these two back to bed, shall we?" Logan asked Marie, as he nodded toward the stairs.

Marie nodded in agreement, and thanked everyone for their help before bidding them all good night. They passed a crowd of children of various ages, who had been woken by the clambering on the stairs, or by their scared roommates, and come to see what was happening. Ororo didn't even have to tell the children to go back to bed before they scattered in the directions of their rooms.

When they got back to their suite Logan checked the whole space before he would let Marie enter, just to make sure no one else had snuck in with Sabretooth. Once he was satisfied they were alone, he checked the mangled window. It seemed their intruder had spotted the magnetic connection, and from the outside cut through the frame to sever the wires to the alarm, they would need to upgrade the window alarms so they would sound automatically if tampered with in future; the curfew breaking students were going to hate him for that.

Neither Logan or Marie were happy for the boys to sleep in the nursery, not with its now broken window, so the boys joined their parents in their much larger bed for the rest of night. Logan watched Marie as she drifted to sleep, smiling down on their boys, he wasn't sure he would be able to sleep but the view for the rest of the night would make up for it.

Marie kicked back, laying back in the swinging daybed hanging from the porch. Normally she wouldn't be sitting around outside at this time of the year but it was an unusually warm fall day, and she was sick of being cooped up inside. So, while Logan and the boys were busy adding onto the boy’s playhouse, Marie bundled herself up, made herself comfy in a little fur blanket nest, and relaxed with a book resting on her again bulging belly.

She was simultaneously reading and watching the boys as they toddled around in their snowsuits and gumboots, looking like plump little snowmen, as they passed Logan random tools, nails, and various rocks and sticks they came across in their explorations. It was very cute, as they usually were.

She was out of things to do to prepare for the new baby, due in only two weeks. Jubilee and Kitty had both come to stay for a month during Summer Break from their respective colleges. They had spent the time catching up, helping with the boys, decorating the new girly nursery, and packing lots of pre-prepared meals for the deep freeze, so she and Logan would be able to spend more time with the boys, and new baby, once she arrived. It had been equally as relieving as it was sad when the Terrible Twosome had left but the boys, picking up on the sadness of the parting, made it all better by giving everyone lots of hugs.

They'd had five weeks of peace and quiet and family time since, though Helen and Peter were due to arrive in about a week. They were only able to stay for two weeks but Helen and Marie both wanted her present for the birth this time around, so they were hoping the timing would work out. The whole 'family' hadn't been together since the boys first birthday the year before - the 'grandparents' hadn't been able to make their second birthday in person, due to Peter being ill, but 'Uncle Andy’ had flown out loaded with gifts from everyone.

Marie often wondered if her boys were just a little bit too spoiled, then when she thought about not spoiling them, she decided she couldn't do it. Baby gave a rolling kick inside her belly, turning her attention back to her book as it slipped out of her hand with the movement. It fell to the porch floor with a thud, and was followed by a muffled curse. She saw Logan look up, startled - he was always so damn jumpy around her when she was pregnant - before he chuckled and waved one of the boys to him to whisper something in his ear. A few moments later Aidan was at her side passing the book back to her.

"Thank you, sweetie," she told him, ruffling his hair in lieu of a kiss or hug, she couldn't move or reach around her belly to do either right now.

He babbled something akin to 'you’re welcome', before launching into a two-year olds version of show and tell about a rock he had found. Eventually he lost interest in that and, leaving the rock in her hand, wandered off to see what his brother was playing with.

The view out the large windows of the cabin had changed quite a bit since they first moved up to Whitehorse permanently. The wide-open views of the hillside and valley beyond were now partially interrupted by the short fence Logan had built, to keep the boys from wandering off into the surrounding forest. A rather fancy two storey playhouse stood off to one side - though the upstairs was so far inaccessible to the toddlers, planning ahead Logan had called it when he had built the little play mansion. There was also a small playground with swings, a slide, and a sandpit with a myriad of trucks and little diggers to move the loose material. It was any kids dream backyard.

Logan joined her a while later, immediately fussing over her to make sure she was warm enough. Once she had finally convinced him she was, she shifted so he could join her on the bed. They sat in contented silence watching the toddlers play, until the sun began to sink toward the horizon and Logan insisted everyone go back inside.

As she watched her sons 'eat' their dinner later that night, getting almost as much in their hair or down their fronts as in their mouths, Marie decided again that she liked the way her life had turned out. She hadn't taken an easy road to get here but she loved where it had brought her, despite the ups and downs she wouldn't change a thing. The look on Logan's face, as he attempted to rescue some of the boy’s food, led her to believe he felt the same.

--

A plump middle-aged woman stepped out of the taxi that idled in the driveway of the sprawling mansion. As the driver retrieved her bag from the trunk the woman rechecked the address, scrawled in her daughter's neat handwriting, on the letter she had barely put down since she had found it.

"You're sure this is the right place," she asked the taxi driver again, for the third time since they had turned off the road.

"Yes ma'am, this is Xavier's School, and there's the man himself," he replied, waving toward the bald man in a wheelchair who was rolling to a stop at the top of the front steps.

Hurriedly, she pulled out her purse and paid the taxi driver, who then bid farewell to her, also acknowledging the man he had identified as being Charles Xavier, before he got back in his car and pulled away.

"Hello sir, my name is Patricia D'Ancanto, it has recently come to my attention that my daughter attends, or did attend, your school," she politely introduced herself.

"That is quite possible," the cultured man replied, "Come to my office and I can review the school's records and see if we can find her, my name is Charles Xavier I am the headmaster of the school, we cater primarily to mutants, I assume your daughter is a mutant. What is your daughter's name?" he asked, as they wandered through the richly appointed foyer and into an equally as well-organized office.

"Anna Marie D'Ancanto is her name, but she went by Marie for most of her life, and yes, she's a mutant, I suppose," her mother replied, noting with interest the surprised look that came over the man's face.

He immediately wheeled himself to a filing cabinet, pulled open a drawer and removed a file. He flipped open the file and scanned its contents, before murmuring a 'yes, very interesting,' as he moved back to his desk. Once in position he addressed the new comer directly.

"Mrs D'Anacanto, please take a seat," he began.

"Please, call me Tricia," she interrupted, as she sat down opposite him.

"Certainly, Tricia, your daughter did indeed attend this establishment, she arrived in November almost three years ago, here she was known among her peers by the name Rogue, she graduated in January of last year, well ahead of her peers, though from her records that was not unusual, she no longer lives on campus, she opted not to attend college, and she now resides in Yukon, Canada, with her husband--" he was cut off again by Tricia's surprised exclamation of 'husband?'. “Yes, I understand Rogue and Logan were married last year, they are expecting their third child any day now I believe," he advised.

With a flourish he opened the file and slid it across the desk towards the woman. Sitting on top of the pile of papers was Marie's yearbook photo, along with that there were several photos of Marie at various school events, her seventeenth birthday party, and graduation. Next came several photos of the twins, and a family photo which included Logan. It was the only photo, that he knew of, of Logan, the man was incredibly adept at avoiding cameras.

"Is that ... her husband?" Marie's mother asked, pointing to Logan.

"Yes, indeed, that is Logan," Charles replied.

Marie's mother narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the man in the photo before commenting, "How old is he?"

Charles tried to smother his grin, the typical response of any parent finding them self in this situation he was sure, he had had much the same reservations himself about the unlikely pair at the beginning. Deciding truth was the best option he replied, "Mr Howlett's exact age is unknown, he was victim of some rather dubious government experimentation on mutants some decades ago which has resulted in some loss of memory, however he is believed to be somewhere close to two hundred years old."

Tricia's eyes opened wide in shock. "But- but he doesn't look a day over forty!" She stammered.

"And he likely never will, his mutation includes a healing aspect the result of which decreases the aging process, if not rendering it completely obsolete, Rogue appears to have taken on this mutation also, though the exact extent of how much of Logan's mutation she has metabolized is unknown," he began. At Tricia's confused look he elaborated. "Rogue did not have an easy time from the point she... left your home, she first came to our attention when another mutant attempted to kidnap her - it is not only the government that will use mutants for their powers, sometimes it is our own brothers, and Rogue's mutation is very powerful - she and Logan were brought to the school for protection, unfortunately we failed her and she did end up being kidnapped, she almost died, surviving only thanks to Logan using Rogue's mutation to absorb his own and heal her, however, it had the unintended side effect that after several instances of the pair using their mutations to heal Rogue, from one thing or another, her DNA rewrote itself, it appears permanently, and she developed her own version of Logan's mutation, she has also permanently taken on the mutation of another mutant who could shapeshift, and to a lesser degree the mutation of the mutant who kidnapped her giving her a degree of magnetism."

"So, this Logan was with her before she came here?" Marie's mother asked.

"From what I understand they met on the road and had been traveling together for some time. When they stopped moving, to wait out the winter snow, that was when the mutants that had been following Rogue were able to catch up to them, when they decided Rogue should stay at the school and continue her education here, rather than a public school, Logan left for a time. I will admit I was unsure at the time the exact nature of their relationship, and whether I should be welcoming Logan back if he did return, however, when he returned, your daughter made it very clear that her allegiances lay with Logan, and that if we didn't allow him to stay, she was leaving, obviously none of us wanted that, including Logan, so we allowed him to stay. Their twins were born three months later, and Rogue graduated six months after that, they left the following spring to make their way back to their home in Yukon, both keep in touch, and Rogue's friends regularly visit them when they can, I believe a pair have recently returned from such a trip just this last summer, Logan and Rogue haven't returned for a visit yet, though Logan does return to the school from time to time to assist," Charles briefly advised.

"He leaves her all alone with baby twins?" Tricia asked aghast.

"The school has a private jet that Logan utilises to make the trip, it's only a few hours that way, I don't believe he's left Rogue alone for longer than a few days at a time, and their boys are very well behaved," he replied with a chuckle.

"Am I- are you able to give me their contact details so I can contact them?" Tricia asked, after a moment’s consideration.

"I would be happy to ask them if they agree to that," Charles nodded, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you only just now attempting to make contact with Rogue?"

Marie's mother hung her head in shame. "We never meant for her to leave, things were said without consideration, Marie's daddy was a proud man, he refused to admit he had made a mistake when she left, saying it was her choice and if that's what she wanted that's what she would get. He refused to try and look for her, and I was too afraid to report her missing in case people... got the wrong idea, I didn't know places like this existed or I would have contacted you sooner. My husband never told me Marie tried to contact us, I didn't find the letter until I was cleaning out his den after his passing..." she paused to sniffle, as she dabbed lightly at her tears.

“He wrote her a letter in reply, though he never sent it, that damn pride getting in the way again, I think she needs to read it but it seemed too impersonal to just post, especially in this situation... I've missed her terribly, never stopped worrying about her, wondering where she was, if she was safe..." she gave up trying to speak through the cloying emotion that was welling inside her. Charles handed her more tissues as he gave her a moment to compose herself.

"I understand," he told her gently, "While I make contact with Rogue, I can have one of the teachers show you to a guestroom, we would be happy to host you for a time while we attempt to reunify your family."

"Oh thank you, thank you so much Mr Xavier, I can't thank you enough. Please- please don’t tell her about her father yet, if she'll talk to me I would like to tell her myself, break the news gently," Tricia said, regretfully.

"Of course," Charles reassured her, as the office door opened and Scott entered. "Mr Summers will show you to an available guest suite, I will notify you when I have been able to make contact, in the meantime, dinner will be served at seven, just follow the sounds of hungry children to find the dining room."

Once he was alone in his office, he picked up his phone and dialled the speed dial for Logan's cell phone, it rang once before the call disconnected. Frowning in confusion he dialled again, however this time all he got was a recorded message saying the number he was attempting to reach was switched off. Frowning deeper he made his way to the elevator, pausing for a group of boisterous boys making their way, at a million miles an hour, from the stairs to the nearest exit, before he continued down to the lower levels. He wanted to check all was well with the pair he was attempting to contact, if so, he would attempt to contact them again later.

He was pleasantly surprised when he mentally scanned the area the young family was located. There were several extra mental signatures, including the calm uncluttered mind of the family’s newest member. He briefly attempted to make contact with Logan.

-"I thought that might have been you,"- Logan thought to him, when he felt the gentle brush against his mind. –“Didn't want to wake the baby, I'll call you back later tonight, once everyone's asleep."-

-"My apologies for the intrusion, no rush for a return call, I can call again tomorrow if that would suit you?"- Charles replied.

-"That would be great, any time after nine would be fine,"- Logan answered. A strong feeling of contentment washed through the connection between them, as Logan gently nudged an image of the brand-new baby, fast asleep next to her slumbering mother, in his direction.

-"She is lovely, congratulations again, and congratulations on the safe delivery,"- Charles told him. He hoped his news about Marie's mother wanting to make contact wouldn't upset the family's peaceful introduction period. -"I'll leave you to your bonding, until tomorrow,"- he farewelled the other man, gently easing himself away.

He picked up the excited thoughts of the two little boys, being entertained by 'gendma', as he left. They were already enamoured with their little sister.

--

The next morning at breakfast Marie's mother approached him, querying whether he had had any luck making contact. Carefully avoiding mentioning the recent birth of the couple’s newest baby, he advised he had made brief contact but hadn't been able to talk to either in depth but he had instruction to calling them again at midday.

After that topic was dealt with, he and Tricia engaged in further conversation about the school and more about what they did, not only to educate mutant teenagers but to help them learn to control their powers. The other teaching staff joined them, Scott handled the introductions, having taken the opportunity to introduce himself the afternoon before. All the teachers gushed over how proud Tricia must be of her daughter, and what a lovely student Rogue had been.

Tricia was glad her daughter had found such an accepting place to embrace her after her impromptu departure from her childhood home. She was also amazed at the number of mutants around her, she didn't even realise so many existed, yet all around her children of all ages were ... well, being children, with amazing feats of power.

They chatted about Marie some more and how she learned to control all the aspects of her mutation. Tricia was filled in in more detail about Marie's kidnapping and rescue, life at the school, and how many missed having her around. Her personality was still the shining beacon of light it had always been, her mother was proud to note. Nothing ever got her daughter down, not for long at least.

Tricia was surprised too at the glowing reports relating to Logan, her alleged son in law. He appeared to be as well liked as Marie was. She had done her math the night before, on the limited information she had been given, and determined this man had to have been bedding her daughter at not even seventeen years old. While she accepted that was legal, in most places, it still concerned her that her daughter may have been coerced into a relationship with a much, *much*, older man. That really didn't seem to fit with the description she was being given of the man in question however.

She tried to push her thoughts and worries aside, and be patient. She had waited so long to be this close; it wouldn't kill her to wait a little longer. After breakfast she excused herself and went to explore the rest of the school. She observed from afar some of the morning classes, visited the veritable ghost town that was the rec room during the school day, and eventually settled down with a good book in the school's vast library.

As midday came around, she found she was so nervous she couldn't eat. She tried to stop herself from barging into Mr Xavier's office and demanding an update but half past the hour found her pacing outside the door. After a few more minutes she knocked.

The door was opened by Mr Summers, Scott, one of the teachers, who ushered her in and to a seat.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, at this stage however I don’t have much to update you on other than, I was able to speak to Logan and advise him you were wishing to make contact with Rogue, he is going to speak with her and they will get back to us with an answer in due course, I was instructed to advise, that yesterday, your as-yet-unnamed granddaughter was born, and as such Rogue is still recovering from the birth, Logan advised that if he thought the news would be too much for her to handle at this time he would hold off on speaking to her so not to be concerned if it takes them a few days to--" Charles's comments were cut off, by the ringing of the office phone.

Scott answered the phone, if it wasn't Logan or Rogue, he would be able to get rid of the caller quicker than if the Professor answered it. His grin a moment later told Charles all he needed to know about who the caller was, even before he moved to hand the phone over.

Taking the call Charles turned on the speakerphone. "Logan, I'm here with Rogue's mother, and you are on speaker, that was faster than I expected, what news do we have?" he asked.

"Marie's right here so I'll let her speak for herself," Logan replied, his tone light, indicating the news was hopeful at least.

"Momma, are you there?" a teary female voice spoke, after a brief rustling of the phone being handed over.

"I'm here baby," was all Tricia could get out, passed the lump on her throat.

"Oh momma, I didn't think I would ever see you again, I wrote and no one replied, I thought... but that doesn’t matter now! I've missed you so much, please momma come on up and meet your grandbabies, and Logan, you’ve got to meet him too, and..." the bodies huddled around the phone heard as the phone at the other end of the line dropped, with a muffled plop. Logan could be heard in the background, reassuring Marie and trying to calm her down, as she sobbed with pure joy, after a moment Marie came back on the line. "Sorry about that, I just can't believe this is happening! Please momma, say you'll come visit?" she asked happily.

"Baby I'll be there as soon as I can organize everything, I wouldn't miss this opportunity for the world!" Her mother beamed through her own tears of joy; she had her baby back. Now she just had to figure out how to get to Yukon.

"All right," Logan's voice came over the line again, though muffled enough so they knew he wasn't talking to them. "You leave me and Chuck to sort out the details, she'll be here before you know it, so calm yourself down and get some sleep, you hear me, don't make me called Helen in here, she'll go harder on you that I will."

They heard Marie giggle happily before she murmured goodnight, the padding of feet on bare wood filtered down the line before a door was heard softly closing.

"Alright Chuck, if you can sort the ride we've got the accommodation sorted, so long as you don't mind staying at our place Patricia?" Logan said, as he came back on the line, "If it takes any longer than that to get you up here I think Marie might just burst."

"If that's no trouble for you, I wouldn't mind staying, I wouldn't want Marie traveling just yet anyway," Tricia replied excitedly, never mind her daughter, she thought, she might just burst herself!

"I can indeed handle the flight Logan, though would your offer of accommodation be able to extend to one more room?" Charles asked, as Jean popped her head into the room. Tricia was projecting quite loudly and Jean had no doubt picked up on it.

"Let me guess, the Summers' want to tag along too?" Logan chuckled, "Sure, thing, it's going to be a full house but we can swing it. Should I expect you all in about four hours?"

"Make it five, some of us haven't packed yet," Scott replied.

The plans were quickly settled, and Logan laughingly ended the call, to go try and corral his young wife back to bed. Her nervous excitement had her up and about again, too wired to sleep. Jean was filled in on what had taken place and left Scott to pack for them, while she set about gathering up the baby gifts that had been gotten for the new baby, in the months since Jubilee and Kitty had been up to visit. She also packed up some baby specific medical instruments because she was a doctor damn it, and that's what doctors did.

Marie was other the moon when Logan had told her, her mother would be there in five hours. She immediately tried to set about making up bedrooms, and cooking up dinner for the crowd that was to come. Logan had other ideas however, and ended up resorting to picking her up and carrying her back up the stairs. He even tried good naturedly threatening her if she came out of their room again before her mother arrived - it didn't work.

Helen and Logan got the two main floor bedrooms ready for guests, Helen and Peter themselves were in one of the basement bedrooms, the other two were set up for the boys in one, and the new baby’s eventual room. The 'nursery' was a converted walk in wardrobe in the loft, so baby wasn't so far from mama while she was isty bitsy.

Logan eventually gave in to allow Marie to cook up a southern feast, in honour of her mother’s arrival, but only on the proviso that she accepted assistance, and she at the very least sat down when she could.

The boys, when not in bed, were confined to their play corner, or baby jail as Marie had nicknamed it, so they were out of everyone's way. The newbie was asleep in a Moses basket on the coffee table, for no reason other than Logan didn't want Marie rushing up and down the stairs to the loft every time she made a sound.

Lunch was done, and dinner preparation was well on its way, before Marie finally settled down long enough to feed the baby. She was tucked into the armchair with baby quietly suckling while Logan managed the boys, who both decided they must cuddle mama right at that moment. Eventually the boys were placated by being able to sit on daddy’s lap and watch the baby feed, gently touching her downy hair from time to time. Marie could tell she was going to be a little livewire, with the way she glared at her brothers whenever they got too close to her meal.

"She needs a name," Marie announced, "We can't introduce her without one."

Logan sent Liam to collect Marie's notebook, where she had set aside a page in the back for her shortlist. He got side-tracked halfway back, and ended up throwing the book in frustration when he got annoyed at being called back with it. While Marie tried to hide her mirth at his mini temper tantrum, Logan played the bad cop and made him come back and pick it up, he rewarded him by getting him to give mama a kiss to say sorry for throwing her book. Getting his cuddle with mama calmed the toddler down almost immediately before he went off to play again, this time happily.

"Alright, let's see what we've got," Logan announced, opening the notebook. "No... no... no, Marie we are not naming our kid eggs, milk, or flour," he told her, trying to sound serious despite the teasing twinkle in his eye.

Marie shook her head as she chuckled. "The other end of the book," she replied with a tolerant roll of her eyes, as Logan grinned and flipped the book over.

He glanced over the list, before pulling out the pen tucked into the spiral spine of the notebook. Crossing off names as he went down the list, he narrowed it a lot before he finally stopped, glancing from what was left of the list, to the baby, that was now lying still regarding him blandly with her big blue eyes.

"What have we got left to pick from?" Marie asked, trying to peek around the edge of the book.

"Caitlyn, Keaira, and it's corny as hell but Pixie is cute, maybe that can be her nickname, we can't really call her Thing 3 after all," Logan replied. He watched the baby as she continued to watch him, she reached out a chubby hand toward him and he responded by offering her a finger for her to grab hold of. Jean had tried to convince them, when the boys were born, that new babies didn't, or couldn't, smile. As he watched the tiny pink lips curve and expose shiny pink gums, he decided he still didn't believe that.

"What do you think kiddo, do you want us to call you Caitlyn? Or do you want us to call you Keaira? Hmm, what's it going to be?" he asked the little girl, who changed tack and decided to try to suckle on his fingers instead of squeezing them.

"Caitlyn goes better with the boy’s names I guess," Marie suggested.

"Yeah, but she's not one of her brother's," Logan added.

"You're leaning towards Keaira aren't you," Marie laughed, "What does it mean?" she asked, she couldn't remember off the top of her head and she still couldn't see the book.

"It means 'little dark haired one', which works, though so far all of our kids are dark haired so it's not much of a differentiation," Logan replied with a chuckle. "Keaira Marie... I like it, I think she likes it too, either that or she's about to fill her pants again," he said, earning another laugh from Marie.

"Sounds good to me, Keaira Marie Howlett it is. Now, should daddy go change your poopy butt so you can go back to sleep, huh?" Marie said, picking the tiny girl up to plant a kiss on her tiny button nose as Logan stood. After handing the baby over, she stood herself and stretched leisurely.

She was tired but still didn't feel like she could sleep, her dilemma was sorted when Liam wandered over with a pillow and a book, asking her to ‘wead it mama?’. She pulled the giant bean bag lounger out of the corner, closer to the fire, and the boys loaded it up with pillows and a furry throw, before all three of them piled on.

With one boy tucked under each arm Marie started reading, watching Logan as she read when he came back downstairs several minutes later, with a sleepy swaddled baby. He rocked little Keaira gently for a while, until she was sleepy enough to settle straight in when he put her down in her basket. He then added more wood to the fire before he sat on the couch not too far away, watching as Marie read book after book, as both boys, and eventually she herself, fell asleep.

Helen and Peter returned from their walk an hour or so later, silently slipping inside when Logan gestured for quiet, and pointed toward the group on the bean bag. Helen pulled out her phone and snapped a photo to add to her collection of her 'grandbabies'. They fixed refreshments almost silently as those around them slumbered undisturbed.

The distant roar of a jet engine caught Logan's ear while he was fixing himself a coffee. Checking his watch, he confirmed it was most likely the X-Jet, they were about two minutes out if he was hearing right. He gently woke Marie who rushed upstairs to make herself more presentable, though he thought she looked perfectly fine in her warm flannel pj pants and tank top. Though the fleece leggings, woollen socks, and oversize woollen jumper she came back down wearing was just as comfortingly appealing.

He took the boys potty before he made sure their clothes were still clean and tidy, though Marie ignored him and made her own inspection before she was satisfied they would make a good first impression.

Her anxiety shot up as the jet touched down in their clearing, the boys rushed to the windows to loudly exclaim their awe at the sight, while Logan moved to Marie. He hugged her reassuringly, before helping her with her coat. The boys already had their boots on and were jumping up and down impatiently at the door by the time their parents were ready. Leaving Keaira asleep under Helen's watchful eye, the family made their way out to greet the new guests.

Logan scooped both boys up before they could scoot out the door, and gently explained to them that they needed to be on their best behaviour. He explained to them, in a way he hoped they understood, that mama's mommy had come to visit, and that mama hadn't seen her in a very long time so they had to let mama go first and say hello.

The boys didn't seem to care all that much about the visitors though, all they wanted was to 'wide da p'ane'. Logan laughed as he promised them a ride in the plane 'tomorrow', he had learned that trick early on, though he didn't think the boys would have forgotten about the big black plane by the following day.

Marie clung to his arm as they approached the jet, he could feel she was shaking, and her breathing was shallow, as if she were afraid the smallest movement would cause everything to blow away. She jumped when the gangplank of the jet began to lower, and he heard a sob, when Jean led a middle-aged woman to the cold hard ground.

With a smile and an encouraging nudge, Logan watched as Marie rushed forward, and her mother did also. They hugged each other, laughing and crying as they greeted each other. As they chattered animatedly about how good it was to see the other, Logan felt a little of his newly discovered apprehension fade a little. Marie's mother being back in the picture could mean trouble for him, he knew he was no prize catch as far as a southern mother would be concerned but he had already determined to try and win her over, if only so Marie would know he had tried at the very least.

As the women pulled away, and Marie made a move to introduce her men, Logan set both boys down on the ground, walking them over. They were an odd mix of simultaneously curious, and shy as they politely said hello. Both Marie and her mother bobbed down to their level while Marie again explained to them that this was her momma, who had come to meet then, and that she was their grandma.

Both boys looked confused before asking worriedly about 'grandma inside'. Marie smiled and explained to them that they had two grandmas, grandma Helen, and grandma Tricia. Here Tricia interrupted and told the boys they could call her meemaw, that way they could have a grandma and a meemaw. They seemed happy with that explanation though still a little standoffish, they both did give 'meemaw' a hug though, before running off to greet the more familiar 'Uncle Scott' and 'Aunty Jean'.

As the group watched the boys run off Marie turned her mother’s attention back to Logan, before she could introduce him Tricia spoke somewhat flatly. "You must be Logan, everyone spoke very highly of you at the school, you'll have to forgive me if I take a little longer to warm up to the man who got my sixteen-year-old daughter pregnant."

Logan bristled at the comment but his only reaction was a cutting comment, delivered in a surprisingly civil tone, about how if the fifteen-year-old hadn’t been chased out of her home he never would have gotten the opportunity.

Marie was shocked, initially by her mother’s reaction, and then by Logan's response, though admittedly her shock there was more at how restrained he had been. She was even more surprised when her mother cracked a grin, before she started laughing openly.

"Touché, Mr Howlett, touché," she said with a laugh, before sobering and continuing, "Thank you, for everything you have done for my daughter, but don't ever make me regret saying that - you think southern daddies are bad with their shotgun toting, they ain't got nothing on southern mommas."

Logan chuckled in response, before turning to Marie and informing her, "You know, I think I like your mother."

Marie laughed brightly in relief, tears in her eyes as she hugged first Logan and then her mother.

Logan kissed Marie's temple softly as he stepped away, urging her to go back inside before she got cold, and informing them that he would help Scott bring in their guests’ bags.

By the time Logan and Scott, followed by Jean and two very excited little boys, got into the house introductions were complete between Helen, Peter and Tricia, and a squalling Keaira was being unveiled as she wailed for her next meal.

Tricia fussed over her delightedly, as Marie made herself comfortable to feed her. Jean announced she needed all the details about the little girl, and good naturedly demanded to know why news of her arrival had not reached the mansion yet.

"Uh, well, I guess we forgot," Marie admitted, "It was the anniversary, and then she arrived and then I slept most of the next day, while Logan was busy with the boys, and then mom - it's been a busy couple of days!"

"Anniversary? I thought you guys got married in April?" Jean asked confused.

"We did," Marie replied with a soft smile. "Keaira was born on the anniversary of the day we met, October twenty-third."

Tricia began asking questions then. Marie retold their story for her, detailing how and where they had met, their trip north across Canada, settling into the cabin. She told her about Sabretooth, and getting introduced to the school, getting kidnapped and being rescued. She told her mother about their time apart, while Logan had been repairing the cabin, and the day she had written the letter home - it was the day she had found out she was pregnant, and she was feeling particularly alone that day because of not being able to share her joy. She told her about how school had gone, her friends, memorable field trips, and the day Logan came back and she could finally reveal her secret.

They talked about the boys birth, and juggling school and new babies, Marie gushed about how great Logan was at being a dad - which made him just a little uncomfortable when all the women in the room beamed at him - and how he would stay up all hours of the night to tend to the boys so she could get enough sleep to study. Marie asked Logan to pass her the photo album as she burped the baby, then handed her off for quick cuddles, before she had to go back to sleep. They spent hours pouring over the album matching pictures to events that had already been detailed, until they got to the day they had left the mansion to return home.

"Why did you leave?" Tricia asked worriedly, her daughter had had friends there, surely they would have had a job opportunity for her, and she could have been around people, instead if out here in the cold wilderness.

"We asked the same thing," Scott replied with a grin, "Even offered them both jobs to try and convince them to stay but these two are too stubborn for their own good!"

Marie laughed. "We needed our space to do our own thing, besides, it's nice up here, the people are nice, town's nice and close, there's lots of activities, good hunting, and enough space for the boys to go wild without bothering the neighbours."

"You have neighbours?" several people asked surprised, to which Marie pointed off in several directions and told them how far away each neighbour was.

"So, what did you do on your trip anyway?" Jean asked curiously, flipping through pages of the photo album.

Marie detailed all the significant places they had stopped, since leaving the mansion on the first of March the year before. By April they had made it as far as Banff and spent a week hiking the national park trails - there were a lot of photos of that. After several pages of tramping and scenic shots there was a full-page picture of Marie in a gorgeous white dress, accompanied by Logan, Liam, and Aidan in jeans and dress shirts, the boys were wearing little waist coats too.

"Oh my God, it's beautiful!" Jean gushed, "I’ll admit, I had just assumed you guys went to a courthouse and signed paperwork when you said you 'got married'," she admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed by her own poor assumptions.

"To be honest, that's all I planned for if we bothered getting married, it really wasn't high on my list of priorities but Logan had other plans... We turned up at this place called Fairmont Chateau, at Lake Louise, and Logan was all like 'happy birthday', I figured the stay at a fancy hotel was my present, until I opened this big box on the bed and inside was the dress. Then he told me we were getting married, in four days, on my birthday, it was literally the day from which I could legally marry and Logan was all like 'done'. He did everything, without even telling me, the dress, the flowers, and he flew Kitty and Jubes out for the weekend to be bridesmaids," she turned the page, showing more photos from the day.

"And the boys were the ring bearers, Logan was so convinced they would drop the rings he had them on little chains, attached to their jackets, like a pocket watch… It was a good plan because it turned out they were more interested in trying to eat them." She smiled wistfully, "It was amazing, absolutely perfect… Even better than the 'better late than never' sixteenth birthday party Logan threw for me back... November, that first year, seven months after my birthday."

They leafed through photos from the wedding weekend, there were even a few of Kitty and Jubilee, confirming they had indeed been there, even though they had never breathed a word to anyone. There were more of the boys, including one of Liam shaking a stick at a bear that was standing on the opposite shore of the little lake they were visiting, trying to scare it away.

After a few pages the pictures went back to their journey, more scenic shots, photos of the boys asleep in their car seats, one of Marie fast asleep as well. There were photos that looked like they were from a bar, which Marie explained was owned by a friend, there was even a photo of the family with Jack and Alice. The next page was turned and met with surprised gasps.

"Oops, I forgot about those," Marie replied, in mock innocence.

"You didn't put those in did you?" Logan asked, from where he was in the kitchen with Helen and Peter cooking up the food Marie had prepared earlier. He knew exactly what photos would have gotten that reaction.

"Of course," Marie replied cheekily, as Helen made her way across the room to see what was causing the fuss.

There on the page was a collection of photos of Logan, bare chested in a chain link cage, even a few action shots from various fights so there was no mistaking what was going on.

"So, Logan fights people, in cages... is that his job?" Tricia asked, looking concerned.

"Logan fights more for fun than anything else, though that was the last time he fought, and only because the crowd asked so nicely, I asked very nicely too," Marie commented coyly.

"Very nicely," Logan murmured with a snigger, from the kitchen, though Marie and Peter were the only ones to hear.

"And you took the boys in?" Jean asked, "They let you?"

"It's not a 'bar' bar, it's a restaurant bar, so we went there for dinner, there were other families there too for dinner, and then Logan got asked to stay. The boys were asleep by the time the fights started, and slept right through," Marie replied reassuringly. She wasn't stupid enough to put her boys in that sort of danger, Jack's bar was safe, it didn't have the rough crowd that some other places did.

"But Logan fights people, in a cage, for money?" Tricia repeated, still trying to wrap her proper upbringing around the thought.

"Yes momma, he did fight people, in a cage, for money, a lot of money," Marie confirmed, smiling to herself, she had always wondered what her mother would think of that.

"And, that's legal?" Tricia asked incredulously.

"Strictly speaking, no, but so long as no one gets too badly injured, or complains, the cops tend to turn a blind eye, especially out in the small towns where entertainment is scarce," Logan replied.

"So, what do you do for money then, what's your day job?" Tricia asked curiously. Several others perked their ears to catch his answer, no one really knew what he did for a living, though Helen and Peter knew he had had a job when he lived in Nova Scotia.

"We live off interest and investments mostly," Logan replied dismissively, "Don't have a steady job, haven't for about seven years actually, don't need one, means more time to focus on home and the kids."

"So, what you're saying is, you're a rich bum," Scott replied, trying to hide his surprise behind humour. Logan chuckled and agreed readily. "So that's how you got the girl," Scott added with a smirk.

"Hey! That was uncalled for," Logan added, looking mildly annoyed.

"Indeed," Marie agreed, glaring at Scott.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I'm sure you married Logan for more than his money," Scott replied cheekily, turning the photo album around, still open to the cage fighting photos.

Marie gave up trying to be offended and laughed outright, Logan just shook his head, still trying to appear offended. "Come on time for dinner," he commented, as the last of the food was set out on the table, "More smack talk after I've fed my wife."

Toward the end of the friendly meal Keaira began to cry, it was feeding time again, and Logan's nose was telling him she needed a fresh diaper too. He told Marie to stay and eat while he went to change her. Baby joined them at the table for a time before her hunger grew too great and she began to grizzle in earnest. Marie gently took her in her arms and moved to a more comfortable chair, and as their guests finished eating they migrated to the couches to continue conversation.

The photo album came into play again as Marie detailed the rest of their road trip. Redecorating the boy’s bedroom, their first birthday, first Christmas in the cabin, there were photos of Marie's reaction when Logan told her she was pregnant again. Jean was fascinated that Logan had picked up on the hormonal changes associated with Marie's pregnancy before she had herself. There were photos from Marie's nineteenth birthday, a page declaring 'it's a girl' accompanied by ultrasound photos, and the boys second birthday.

These major events were sprinkled with photos of the boys on adventures with their playgroup friends, and other family outings. The building progress of their playground, and a variety of pillow forts, blanket tents, and a variety of photos of either Logan or Marie captured in cute situations. Logan's favourite photo was the final photo in the full album, a photo of a pregnant Marie, with a little boy on either side of her, all three fast asleep while the boys hugged Marie's belly.

"There's no photos of the boys when they were little?" Tricia noted.

"That's a whole other album, for a whole other day," Marie replied with a laugh, as she lay the fed, burped, and now softly snoring Keaira against her chest. Her tiny nose scrunching when it came in contact with Marie's fuzzy jumper, until she found a comfortable spot to continue snoozing.

Shortly later the boys began to yawn, leading to Logan hoisting one up in each arm to carry them off to bed. They insisted on giving mama and sister a kiss before bed, and begged mama to read them a bedtime story, eventually relenting when daddy promised to read them two. Helen and Peter opted to turn in early also, and followed Logan downstairs. Scott and Jean also made an excuse to take their leave, taking all the guest bags and following Marie's directions to the two ground floor bedrooms that had been set up for the new guests.

For the first time in nearly four years Marie found herself alone with her mother.

Tricia seemed to notice as well and smiled softly at her while she tried to come up with something to say. "You've grown up so much," she commented after a few minutes, watching her granddaughter sleeping on her daughters’ shoulder.

"Well I should hope so," Marie replied, "I was just a tad irritating in my younger days," she joked.

"You did have your moments," Tricia agreed with a laugh. She sobered up a moment later before commenting, "I'm sorry for what was said, I'm even more sorry for what was left unsaid, I'm sorry for not making more of an effort to find you sooner, I- I thought you would just calm down and come home again and we could work everything out but you never did..." Tricia dabbed at her fresh tears, as she remembered the moment she realised her daughter wasn't coming home.

"I'm sorry too, but not for leaving, it was the right thing to do, and I never would have ended up here if I hadn't," Marie pointed out with a smile.

"You- you really are happy?" Tricia asked eventually.

"I am," Marie replied, gazing down adoringly at her sleeping daughter, "I've never been so happy in my life, I've got my babies, I've got Logan... so tell me truly momma, what do you think of Logan?" Marie asked, trying to stifle her apprehension at what her mother may reply.

Tricia considered her response, her initial fears about Logan were that he was too old, and too rough for her sweet little girl. While he was both of those things no doubt, he also clearly cared for her deeply. She was confident he wasn't just interested in Marie because she was young and pretty, and he was definitely a good father, gentle, patient, and compassionate, all things one wouldn't assume by just looking at him.

"I think he loves you more than anything, and would do whatever was in his power to make you happy, and you really can't ask for more than that from a man, you made a good choice," Tricia answered her, "You two make beautiful babies too, but did you have to start so young?"

Marie laughed brightly. "Why not? I always did want lots of kids," she reminded her.

"That is true, you've always been a real little mother, always dragging something home and wanting to keep it." Tricia recalled fondly, finding homes for the various animals Marie had brought home with her through her childhood had been a task and a half.

"So, how did you track me down?" Marie asked a moment later, suddenly recalling she didn't know how her mother had come back to their life.

"Well, I was cleaning out your daddy’s den when I found a letter from you--"

"Why were you cleaning daddy’s den?" Marie interrupted. Daddy didn't like anyone moving things around in there, even complaining to momma about her 'moving things' when she had done nothing more than dusted in there.

Logan came up the stairs in time to hear Marie's comment, and the underlying stress of the query. Sharing a look with Tricia he gently extricated the sleeping baby from Marie's arms, and laid her down in her basket, before he took a seat next to Marie. Whatever news was about to be shared was not good.

Tricia waited for Logan before she began. "Sweetie, your daddy passed away, about two months ago...” she paused as Marie stared at her in shock while the news sank in, her sobs muffled when Logan pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. Once Marie's initial shock had worn off Tricia continued, "I don't know why he never told me about the letter, he wrote a reply to you but he never sent it, I brought it with me because I thought you should read it but that can wait--"

"No!" Marie interrupted again, "Can I read it, now?"

"Of course, I'll just go get it," Tricia answered, as she rose to go after her bags.

When she returned, she was loathe to interrupt the moment between the pair on the couch. Marie was sitting across Logan's lap, her head resting on his shoulder as she cried softly. Logan was gently rubbing circles on her back as he whispered something, obviously comforting, to her. The moment was broken when Logan noticed her enter the room, and Marie turned her attention to the folded paper in her hand. Handing the letter over Tricia sat and waited.

"You read it for me," Marie said, after a moment’s hesitation, pushing the letter at Logan.

"Darlin I think you n--" Logan tried to speak.

"Logan I can't see the words, please, read it for me," Marie begged again, she needed to know what it said. With an acquiescing nod Logan took the paper from her hand, and unfolded it before reading out the scrawl on the page.

The letter began by apologising for words said that weren't meant, and for making Marie feel like she had no choice but to leave, her father stated that hadn't been his intention, that he had been scared for her but it was not right of him to have heaped everything on her as if she were to blame. He went on to say how proud he was of her, for her strength and tenacity, and urged her never to lose those qualities, and how he hoped she was telling the truth that her time on the road had not been too hard on her. He congratulated her on getting control of her mutation, and getting into school, and encouraged her to pursue her education. He finished the letter by saying he didn't know when he would send it, he was ashamed with himself and didn't feel like he deserved her forgiveness, which he knew she would give because that was always how she had been. He signed off the letter with his love.

As Logan finished reading, he sat in silence as Marie digested the information. She wasn't crying, though tears were leaking through her lashes, and she had a soft smile on her lips. After a few minutes she opened her eyes and looked up at Logan.

"Daddy would have liked you too," she announced decisively.

"You think?" Logan asked with a grin, he doubted it but he wasn't going to burst her bubble.

"I think so too," Tricia replied, smiling through her own tears. "Anyway, I found the letter, and it had the address for the school, I flew to New York the next day, explained to Mr Xavier who I was and that I was trying to find you, and now today, I'm here."

They chatted for a while longer, Tricia filling Marie in on the goings on in Mississippi, before Marie yawned widely and Logan announced she really did need to sleep now. Marie showed her mother to her room, hugging her again, just in case this was all a dream and when she woke up she was gone again. She joined Logan upstairs a short time later, where he was already waiting for her in bed with an again hungry baby.

As they spooned together in bed as they drifted off to sleep a concerning thought brushed her mind, everything was going so well right now something was bound to go wrong. She shuddered as she pushed the thought away, and turned to bury her face in Logan's chest.

--

Their visitors stayed for a week, taking care of all the cooking and cleaning, and even minding the boys while Logan and Marie bonded with the new baby. For Marie it was a nightmare, it was like having five extra Logan's to harass her about getting enough sleep, not going outside in case she got sick, encouraging her to eat far too much food, and generally treating her like an invalid.

"I'm going for a walk!" she announced, early on the last afternoon of their guests stay. "No, I don’t need to sleep, no I don’t need to eat, yes I'll wear my coat and a scarf, no Keaira doesn't need to feed yet, I will be back in an hour." She was leaving no room for argument, she needed to get out of the house for a while.

"Yes dear," Logan grinned at her, even he had been able to tell she was getting over the coddling, "Can I make one request?"

"You can request but that doesn't mean it will be granted," Marie informed him.

"May I come with you? Might be the last time we get some alone time for a while," he whispered in her ear.

Marie laughed in response. "You may come with me," she replied, kissing him softly, "But only if you don't slow me down, hurry up." She was out the door and off down the driveway before Logan had finished kicking his boots on, he jogged to catch up as he pulled on his own coat.

They wandered down the nearly deserted road toward the highway, hand in hand. The road was an easier surface for Marie to walk on, she wasn't going to risk trying to trek across country yet, so they wandered in the direction of the highway, about twenty minutes’ walk away. They passed a few cars as they went, most belonging to neighbours, some they knew, some they didn't, they waved greetings anyway. A couple of neighbours stopped to talk and ask after the new baby and promised to stop in at some point to meet her, one mother declaring the boys had been missed at playgroup the last couple of weeks, and offered to take them off their hands for a couple of hours if they needed a break.

In all it was a pleasant excursion, the air was crisp but not cold, and Marie ended up unwrapping her scarf and unbuttoning her coat. She shot Logan a look that dared him to say something, he wisely kept his mouth shut. Their little world was peaceful and calm, even the sight of a large unknown vehicle parked on their street wasn't enough to arouse undue suspicion.

They fare welled their guests later that afternoon, with lots of laughter and only a few tears. Helen and Peter begged them to visit 'soon', Tricia promised to fly up and visit them from Mississippi 'when it's a bit warmer', and Jean reminded Marie again to send more photos back to New York and to visit whenever they came east.

With that they were alone again, their perfect little family in their cosy little cabin, in the middle of the snowy woods.

In the depths of the silence and darkness of night Logan woke with a start. He managed to avoid waking Marie, leaving her sleeping next to the baby. He had heard a solid sounding thump he was sure, and as he listened, he heard another.

He moved to the window, standing in the shadows he watched the treeline in the direction he thought the sound had come from. Sure enough he saw movement, just inside the treeline, illuminated just enough by the filtered moonlight.

Silently he pulled on his jeans, checking the video baby monitor as he did, to be sure the boys were still in their beds, before padding down the stairs. Checking outside again, he saw movement behind the tree line still, though getting quickly further away from the house. He tossed up running straight out to chase whoever it was down but decided he would move faster if he threw his boots on first.

He slowly unlocked the door and popped it open, thankful he had oiled the hinges recently so it didn't squeak. He hit the emergency lock and alarm as he closed the door behind him, he would know immediately if anyone tried to go in while he was out. He scented the air, as he stood in the shadow of the house to see if he could get an idea of what he was up against. The scent of gun oil and powder was noticeable, for him, while the human scents were muted, like someone had attempted to cover their scent; whoever he was up against must know something about his mutation.

As near as he could tell there was no one nearby, so he quickly dashed across the open yard to where he had seen the first movement. He saw an indentation where something hard and heavy had hit the ground. Above him in the tree, about three metres up, a human size crow’s nest was camouflaged among the spindly branches.

Cursing to himself, wishing he had woken Marie up and sent her to the panic room before he came out, he followed the footprints that led off through the wood toward the road. Scenting the trail ahead, he stumbled when he picked up a familiar scent.

Sabretooth.

With a growl Logan moved faster, sacrificing stealth for speed, catching up with the other mutant just before he got to the road. He was carrying two black clad bodies but dropped them unceremoniously when he heard Logan's claws slide out as he burst through the trees behind him. Logan was surprised when he held up his hands in submission, making no move to engage him, though leaving his options open to retreat.

"Didn't mean to wake you, just out for a spot of hunting," Sabretooth replied, kicking one of the bodies at his feet.

"You better have a damn good excuse for this," Logan growled, Sabretooth had been given the only warning he would be getting about staying away from their family.

"Mystique apparently got pissed and decided to try and screw over anyone she could from the inside, Rogue was at the top of her shit list. An ... informant, advised she had ratted out the family, all they needed was to find out where you were--" Sabretooth began to explain.

"If I find out you led them to us--" Logan started furiously but Sabretooth quickly shook his head.

"They followed Rogue's mother - she didn't know she was being tracked - let's just say the father's death wasn't an accident. There's a U-Haul out on the road, they've been using that to monitor you for the last week, they wanted to wait until your guests were gone before attempting to move in," he advised.

"Still doesn't tell me what you're doing here," Logan pointed out, still a little sceptical of his story.

"I said I would keep tabs on Mystique and make sure she didn't bother you, that includes by using third parties. Just going to return the minions to their master, they won't bother you again," Sabretooth replied, moving to collect his prey again.

Logan followed him to the U-Haul, and chuckled in surprise when the door was opened and the two bodies were added to an already substantial pile inside.

"I should have got everyone but keep an eye out just in case I missed one," Sabretooth told him, as he shut the cargo door and headed for the cab of the truck.

"I'm coming with you," Logan answered, not trusting the guy to deal with the threat sufficiently, what reason did he have to trust him after all.

"Nope, you're staying here, and looking after them, anything happens to that family of yours I'll come back and kick your ass myself, I can take care of this," Sabretooth replied, surprisingly sensibly.

"I'll be telling Chuck what you're planning," Logan warned him, making it clear he would be keeping tabs on him.

"That's fine, just tell them to stay out of my way, I'm not out to take prisoners and I will take down anyone, absolutely anyone, who gets in my way." With his piece said, Sabretooth slammed the cab door shut and drove away, leaving Logan standing in the middle of the road with an odd feeling of familiarity at the interaction.

As Logan made his way back to the house, he kept his senses open, scanning for more intruders, and mentally analysing the terrain for future upgrading of the property's security system; no one should have been able to get so close to their home.

Logan punched in his override code for the emergency lockdown of the house, and the door popped open so he could step inside. He had turned to shut the door when he heard Marie speak behind him, relief evident on her voice.

"Shit Logan, warn me before you disappear like that next time!" He turned back toward her as he locked the door. Not only was she up but she was armed too, and he watched as she unloaded one of the rifles he kept strategically hidden around the house.

"Sorry darlin, I thought it was just a wild animal, I didn't expect to be gone so long, where are the kids?" he asked, as he double checked the gun had been fully unloaded before returning it to its hiding place.

"I moved them to the panic room, when I saw you disappear off in the direction of the road. What was out there?" she asked worriedly.

"It's all sorted now darlin, nothing you need to worry about," Logan replied, kissing her gently and offering her a reassuring smile.

She wasn't going to let it drop though. "I mean it Logan, you've never tried to keep secrets from me before, what's going on?"

Logan sighed, as he picked up the phone, she was right, and he shouldn't keep things from her, especially not something as important as this, though he drew the line at sharing the inference that her father had been murdered.

"It was military, apparently Mystique tried to sick them on to us, it's being dealt with but I need to pass on the info I've got to Xavier," Logan told her.

"Who's dealing with it if the Professor doesn’t know yet?" she asked in confusion.

"Sabretooth," Logan stated bluntly.

"He was here!?" Marie asked in uneasy panic.

"He followed the soldiers, took them out, and he's returning them to base, with our regards," Logan shared.

"But ... why?" Marie asked, even more confused.

"He promised to keep an eye on Mystique and stop her from bothering us, he's keeping his promise I guess, he's gone now though darlin, and I have to tell Xavier so he can track him and figure out where these guys came from, and who they're working with." Logan dialled Xavier's emergency line as he spoke, it was answered as he finished his sentence.

He quickly rehashed the whole story again, filling Xavier in, extracting his promise to scan their area first and let him know immediately if Sabretooth had missed any military goons. Once the call was made, and the X-Men were on alert, Logan pulled Marie into his arms and suggested they go back to bed. The kids were still asleep in the emergency bed in the panic room, the boys lying together, back to back tugging backwards and forwards periodically on the blanket laid over them. Keaira was snoring softly in a little nest between two pillows.

"Why don’t we just leave them here?" Logan murmured suggestively, as they stood in the doorway watching their children sleep soundly. Marie giggled and shook her head, picking up Keaira gently and leaving the boys for him to sort out.

Victor pulled the U-Haul up to the security checkpoint at the address that was pre-programmed into the add on GPS. He had pulled on one of the grunts uniforms at an en route stop - if he could get into the base without drawing suspicion he would be more likely to get the guys in charge.

He flashed credentials from one of the bodies in the back. Obviously, the guy had been someone important if the way the guard’s eyes had widened were anything to go by. He had been hurriedly waved through without a closer look at, or in, the truck. Good, he wouldn't need to kill the guards, yet.

He followed the existing tire tracks to an underground parking garage, the door opening automatically and closing again behind him. Parking the truck between two larger troop carriers, where it was less likely to be seen, he exited the vehicle. Locking it behind him in the hope it would slow down the grisly discovery within, before he headed into the lions den.

He made his way toward the command centre, it was key card only access, thankfully he had grabbed a card from a guy who looked sort of like him. Hopefully the resemblance was close enough that if the entry was equipped with facial recognition it would get him in. The door opened a few seconds later, and he was surprised to find someone waiting for him when it did.

"He's been expecting you Sergeant, this way." The nerdy looking computer tech turned, and began to walk toward an office at the back of the room.

As soon as he stepped into the room, he felt his hackles go up, he knew that scent. The man in the chair, facing away from him, was none other than William Stryker. He had thought that fucker was dead already, looked like he was about to fix that.

The nerd left, closing the door behind him. Stryker spoke smugly, asking after the success of the mission as he spun his chair around.

"I'm going to call this one a success," Sabretooth replied, as his clawed hand closed around the neck of the man in front of him. It took a split second before recognition flashed across the face of the man in front of him, and he opened his mouth to speak.

"Sorry, you always seem to be able work your way out of death when people let you speak so I'm going to have to cut you right off," he growled, as he crushed the throat of the man in front of him, taking an immense amount of satisfaction in watching him struggle and twitch as his life slowly, suffocatingly, ebbed away.

Moving back to the door he snapped the lock home, before dumping the body out of the chair and kicking him unceremoniously into a corner. Taking a seat, he accessed the computer and ran through the base schematics, trying to figure out what they were actually doing at this place, and where his next target was most likely to be. He was mildly surprised to find there were already mutant captives at this base, and they must have only been planning to hold the Wolverine here temporarily; none of these cells were likely to hold him for long.

Running through the base security system he disconnected the alarms and external communications, before putting the whole base on silent lock down. He sealed the prisoner cells and close circuited their climate controls before setting off the fire control system for the rest of the base, so the oxygen was all being sucked out the ventilation system. Lower oxygen levels wouldn't affect him as badly, or as quickly, as it would affect the humans.

With that done he set to work.

The control room was the first to be purged, not a soul left alive among the carnage when he left. The black of the stealth uniform he was wearing hiding most of the blood he was saturated in, giving people less warning as he approached that he was one to be avoided. He left a trail of destruction in his wake as he headed for the experimentation labs, it wasn't until he hit the lab that he encountered the first soldiers with breathing gear. He took the first mask he came across for himself, smashing the rest as he went so no one else could come along after him and use them.

He came across a small problem as he cleaned the lab. Not all the prisoners were in their cells it turned out. There were two incubators, each holding a tiny infant, that had been sealed to run on closed circuit oxygen tanks, and a young woman who was barely conscious where she was strapped to a gurney. Her vital signs were low, it appeared she had had an oxygen mask at some point but the snivelling excuse for a mad scientist who had been torturing her, had taken it for himself. A well-placed slash, or ten, took care of the doctor, before he gently replaced the oxygen mask on the girl.

He paused as he left the room, confused, why the fuck had he cared about helping the girl. Before he could dwell too much on that thought, he shut the door and locked it behind him, ignoring the fact that he did that solely to protect the only three living people left in there.

He had purged the entire base by the time the first security system was over ridden. The emergency lights suddenly switched on as alarms began to sound, followed by the sudden rush of cool air as the air conditioning came back online, and began to pump oxygen back into the compound. He quickly unsealed the cell block, every cell was already open, he didn't bother telling the prisoners to leave. If the distinctive tickle of a telepath had been anything to go by, the X-Men were already on their way, they could deal with mopping up the prisoners.

He headed back to the surface, taking out the first two waves of reserve personnel as they entered, clad head to toe in black, with useless body armour, and flashlights on the ends of equally useless guns. It wasn't until he had taken out the two squads that he realised the foes had stopped. He made his way to the exit only to see a battle raging outside between what was left of the bases men, and the leather clad figures of the X-Men.

With a satisfied nod of approval, he determined his job here was done, let the geek squad pick up the prisoners. He found a locker room, and shed the blood-soaked clothes he was wearing. Glad to take the opportunity to jump through a shower long enough to hose off the worst of the gore, he then went through lockers looking for civvies in a near enough size.

He was pulling on boots when he heard the soft padding of bare feet on concrete. Walking out of the locker room he came face to face with the girl from the lab, she was up and walking around so he assumed she was healthy enough. She saw him and ducked around a corner quickly.

He chuckled. "You can come out kid, rescue squad is outside, just let them finish cleaning up the stragglers before you try and go out."

"You're not a soldier?" the girl commented, not sounding surprised, "You- you were in the lab, you killed the doctor."

"Yep, so don't piss me off or I might change my mind about letting you live, go back down with the other prisoners and wait for the evacuation," he grunted, as he turned back to the exit. The girl was hot on his heels. A moment later he spun on her with a growl, just in time to see her scurry into the locker room behind them. Thinking his tag along problem was solved he continued on his way.

He hit the exit and began to slink across the outside of the complex until he got to a clear area to make a break for the fence line. He slashed through the fence and jumped through the hole, freezing when he heard the fence ringing a second time a few moments later as someone else followed him through the hole.

"God damnit, get out of here kid, don't follow me, wait for them-" he indicated to the leather clad individuals with the shiny black plane- "You'll just get left behind and lost if you follow me.” He turned and dove into the forest, moving quickly, hoping the girl would get the hint and not follow him. Half an hour and three kilometres later he realised the girl was still trailing behind him, how she had managed to keep up he had no idea.

He stopped another hour later on the outskirts of a town. It was full daylight now, and he got his first good look at the girl when she caught up to stand only a few meters away from him. She was skinny and dirty, though he could tell she was pale skinned underneath the dirt, her hair was dark brown, though how much of that was greasy dirt he couldn't be sure, and her eyes were a deep dark blue. She was dressed in a dirty hospital gown, tied in front, and had a pair of oversized army-issue boots on her feet.

"Well, I can't take you in there can I," he commented, nodding to the diner they were standing not far from as he looked her over. "Wait here, I mean it, wait, I'll bring back some food in twenty minutes. Stay," he reiterated firmly, before he moved across the street. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder as he reached the other side and was pleased to see the girl had moved to just inside the shade of the forest, and she was indeed waiting.

He ordered a decent amount of food, to go, before making his way back to the girl. She was nowhere to be seen when he got back to where he had left her. For a moment he wondered if she had finally gotten the hint and stopped following him, when he heard a muffled scream from deeper into the forest. He set the food down on the hood of a newly parked car and leapt into the forest, expecting to find himself face to face with soldiers who had followed them from the base. Instead he saw the girl on the ground, pinned down by a guy who appeared to be high. Her gown was torn open, and a second man stood over her trying to get his pants off.

With a furious snarl he grabbed the two men, throwing them hard enough into a nearby tree to leave them a broken pile of bloody meat where they fell. The girl was crying and scrubbing at her skin where the men had been grabbing at her.

Watching her reaction, he suddenly felt sick. Is this how Rogue had felt, and reacted, to what he had done to her? Had his own brother felt the same sheer hatred for him, that he was feeling for these men now? If he had it paled his own feelings of dislike for his brother that had motivated his vile actions, a dislike that he couldn't even remember the cause of. As he knelt down next to girl to console her, he suddenly wished he could undo his prior actions, a feeling he recognized as remorse, perhaps even guilt. Neither feeling he could remember having felt in a long time.

He left her side for a moment to retrieve the hot food, and stealing a flannel shirt from inside the car he assumed belonged to the would-be rapists, before leading the girl away from the town. They ate in silence beside a small stream before continuing on their way, the girl now wrapped in the flannel to cover the gaping opening of the hospital gown. He didn't want to leave the girl again so soon but they needed to get out of the area faster than they were, which meant finding a car.

He promised to be back on ten minutes, leaving the girl in a concealed grove of trees. He considered stealing a car until he saw an older model pickup with a for sale sign on it. There was less chance of getting caught if the vehicle you were driving wasn't reported stolen he reasoned, sticking his head into the store the truck was parked out front of and asking after the owner. An old man with a recently amputated leg followed him out, popping the hood and turning over the engine so he could give it a quick once over. For the price it was a decent vehicle, apparently only being sold because it was hard to drive a stick shift with only one leg, but he still managed to talk the guy down another five hundred bucks in exchange for cash on the spot.

Eleven minutes later he pulled up to the spot he had left the girl, she was anxiously waiting, looking about her nervously, before he called her over to jump in the truck. Turning west they hurriedly headed out of town.

Several hours later, the girl was asleep as Sabertooth pulled into the driveway of the place he was fairly certain he would not be welcome. At the very least though he needed to let them know he had taken care of the threat.

He pulled up out front of the large log cabin, spotting Logan pausing to observe his approach where he was digging a trench from the garage to the house. He could see Rogue in the fenced yard, eyeing him warily, with a tiny baby in her arms; he hadn't known they'd had another baby, no wonder Logan had been so angry about him being there. Logan confronted him the minute he stepped out of the truck, his slamming door waking his sleeping passenger.

"It's taken care of, I left the prisoners and the records for the X-Men, took out everyone else, the guy running the place was one William Stryker, don’t know if you remember him, he's been a thorn in our side since he found out about us, he's taken care of, you'll need to get Xavier to see if the chain of command went any higher and how the program was being funded--" the rest of his statement was cut off by the rush of wind and muffled roar of jet engines as one of the X-Jets floated in over the treetops and down into the clearing.

Sabretooth snorted in amusement when he saw two little scruffy heads pop over the fence, as the two little brothers watched the plane in wide-eyed awe. "Looks like they didn't get your dislike of all things to do with flying," he commented dryly.

"How do you know I don't like flying?" Logan queried, the first words he had spoken so far, as his scowl darkened.

"I don’t remember what happened between us to put us at odds but you're still my brother, I remember enough," Sabretooth replied, almost sounding sad. "Well, I'll leave you to it I guess, don’t want to overstay my welcome," he muttered turning to get back in the truck when he heard footsteps rushing up behind him. The last thing he wanted right now was another laser punt from the X-men leader, broken ribs were a pain in the ass to set right.

"Did you do that, the whole base, single handedly!?" a shocked voice caused him to pause; Sabretooth just grinned darkly and nodded as he turned toward the younger man. "But ... how?"

"I know Mystique always thought of me as nothing more than muscle for the grunt work but after two world wars, and multiple other militaristic commands, through multiple other conflicts, I do have extensive strategic combat experience, and folks are generally too preoccupied when you cut off their oxygen to put up much of a fight, the biggest problem with an underground base,” he shared with a sneer and a dismissive shrug, continuing back to his truck.

"Wait, don't go," the X-Men team leader added. "Logan, I know you and Rogue don't want him in your home but what we found concerns him too," Scott continued, when Logan growled warningly.

Rogue had approached cautiously during the exchange, and Creed didn’t dare attempt to approach. She still had the newborn baby in her arms, from the pinks and purples the tiny form was wrapped in he was going to assume it was a girl. Sabretooth watched as the pair held a silent conversation, before Rogue nodded minutely. When Logan relaxed he knew he had been given permission to stay, for now.

"If it's not too much to ask, seeing as I'm here for a bit, can the girl get a shower?" He nodded to the girl, still watching the scene intently from the front seat of the truck.

"You find a new toy?" Logan sneered derisively, when he spotted the girl.

Sabretooth grimaced. "I deserved that... She followed me from the lab, don't know why, I killed half a dozen people right in front of her, but apparently I was the better option than waiting for them-" he gestured toward the jet- "I haven't been able to stop anywhere yet for her to clean herself up and--"

"Yes, that’ll be fine, tell her to come in I'll get her sorted," Rogue spoke for the first time, before turning and walking back to the house, she was obviously uncomfortable with having him there but trying to hide it.

He moved to the passenger door of the truck, instructing the girl to follow 'the girl with the baby', and she would get her a shower. The girl cautiously began toward the house, pausing to look back to him every few steps. She seemed relieved when the whole group of men standing around the truck, all began to move toward the house also.

She almost tripped over two little boys who came tearing out of the house, yelling 'sowwy' behind them as they rushed up to one of the men and each grabbed onto one of his legs. She smiled at said man's complaints at the action, even though he continued to tramp back to the cabin, dragging the two boys along for the ride.

The woman with the baby was down the hallway, popping her head out at the commotion before motioning for her to follow. The bathroom was large and bright, with a huge shower, the mother was laying out towels and wash cloths, shampoo, body wash, and other items she thought the girl might need.

"I'll grab you a change of clothes too," she added with a friendly, if somewhat strained, smile.

"You don't like him," the girl stated bluntly.

Marie's smile faltered. "He did something horrible to me and I really don't feel comfortable being around him," she replied matter of factly.

"He's changed," the girl whispered, as Marie turned to leave the room.

"That doesn't undo what he did," she stated softly in response.

"He wishes he could," the girl replied quietly, a knowledge in her eyes that Marie had seen before; if she had to guess the girl was either a telepath or some form of empath.

"I'll leave the clothes outside the door," was all she could come up with to reply.

She made her way upstairs, ignoring the men as they walked in, she could see Ororo approaching the house from the jet. She hurriedly dug out some of her old clothes that had been relegated to the nostalgia section if her wardrobe, they still fit her, when she wasn’t pregnant, they just weren't practical for breastfeeding babies. Taking an outfit back downstairs, she placed it outside the door of the bathroom, before joining the crowd in the kitchen.

The boys were sitting at the coffee table drinking cocoa and munching on cookies while they coloured pictures, neither seemed disturbed by the stranger in their midst. Logan and Scott were fixing drinks for everyone else, while Ororo made a beeline to Marie to fuss over the new baby. Sabretooth meanwhile was sitting at the table trying to avoid eye contact with anyone but particularly her, he was closely watching Liam though.

They all took seats around the table, Logan and Marie on one side, Scott and Ororo on the other with Sabretooth at one end. Then Ororo began to speak.

"We were able to uncover all the records from the lab, this group has been experimenting on mutants for a very long time, including you Logan, and you Victor," Ororo addressed Sabretooth, as she handed each man a file, loaded with notes.

Logan leafed through his file, noting the x-rays and file notes from the eighties, relating to the metal bonding process, notes about memory wiping and mind control attempts. A file note halfway through suggested they believed he was deceased, though no explanation was given for how that might have occurred. That the file continued after he was marked deceased was concerning and he leafed through the remaining pages. There were references to DNA splicing attempts, and more recently to cloning and breeding attempts.

Logan paled as reached the last page which triumphantly declared;
'Breeding attempt 64.
Viable foetus post first trimester.
Viable foetus post second trimester, growth rate elevated.
30 weeks - Mutation stabilization procedure, begun.
34 weeks - Mutation stabilization procedure, complete.
36 weeks - Mutation activated.
36 weeks, 2 days - Pre-term delivery, foetus self-caesarean.
Claws, present.
Healing ability, active.
Control, minimal - neonate triggering release of claws but no discernible pattern or trigger.
Maternal link severed - female deceased.
Procedure successful.
Future recommendations: Delay mutation activation until post-birth.'

"This appears to be saying these fuckers were 'breeding' mutants," Logan commented shakily, as he passed the file to Marie for her to read. He didn't know whether to be terrified or furious, it seemed he had at least one more child.

"Not only you," Victor replied, snapping shut his own file with a furious snarl.

"Yes, we recovered two infants, less than two months old, Jean ran bloodwork on them first thing, the results... well, see for yourselves," Ororo handed each man a sheet of paper.

"Where are the babies?" Marie asked, she didn't need to see the DNA results to know what the implication was.

"We have brought both with us, they're still on the jet, Kitty's with them, we wanted to break the news gently. The mother of Logan's child is dead, as the child's father, Logan, you are its legal guardian, we assumed the two of you would want to raise the child, we brought the other because we simply didn't know what else to do with him, the mother refuses to have anything to do with him, as far as she is concerned, understandably, the child is the culmination of every bad thing that happened to her in that place, it doesn't help that the baby has claws, and fangs, and when the baby couldn't stomach formula, they strapped her down and forced her to breastfeed, it seems the baby reacted to her fear and fought against her as much as the doctors, bit and scratched her up pretty badly, how they eventually fed the child we're not entirely sure--"

"I did.” The girl Victor had brought with him spoke as she emerged from the hallway. She was clean, pale freckled skin glowing, brown hair still dark but now red and grease free, and eyes sparkling brightly at the amazing feeling of finally, after months, being clean. "I suppose I should introduce myself, my name is Anna," she said, as she crossed the room and took a seat between Logan and Victor.

Marie got to her feet, finally comfortable enough to put Keaira down, she placed her in her basket on the kitchen counter as she got the girl some food and a drink.

"My mutation is a form of touch empathy, I can read people's emotions and emotion-based thoughts, in the case of the, uh, let's go all Star Wars and call them the weak minded, I can influence emotions, the doctors used me to calm the babies down so they could be fed, in the end they decided rather than getting me to calm them and a third party to feed them, they would just manipulate my hormones until I lactated and get me to do the feeding too." The girl paused to thank Marie for the food she set down in front of her.

"Jean said the boys are borderline malnourished," Ororo advised concerned.

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you don't feed people properly," the girl replied, around a mouthful of stew. "Also, my mutation when I use it to calm them, makes them sleepy and they don't feed well, they need to be fed by someone who actually makes them calm by appealing to their senses rather than manipulating their emotions, that was never going to happen in the lab though, everyone was too scared, and the doctors and soldiers were too angry."

"That makes sense," Marie commented, noting Victor was oddly quiet.

"Well, we weren't expecting Victor to be here but seeing as how you are, as the father you are--" Ororo began.

"No," Victor replied immediately, "I can't take the kid, I can barely look after myself, I don’t *want* to look after myself, there is no way that is a good situation for a kid. I know- I know I don’t have any right to ask," he started, turning to Logan and Marie, "But would you take him, at least then he can grow up with..." he broke off before mentioning Liam.

"Family?" Logan suggested, receiving a hopeful nod in return. "I don't know--" Logan began, only to be interrupted by Marie.

"Logan you can't be serious! He's family," Marie declared, glancing toward their own twin boys who were blissfully unaware of the situation as they coloured in their books, and occasionally the table beside.

"I get that Marie, I do, but five kids under three, that's not exactly going to be a calming environment for two feral clawed infants, to be honest I'm not- I'm not even sure it’s safe to take the one that's mine, the rest of the kids don't heal Marie, the last thing we need is a clawed toddler going around stabbing the shit out of his siblings because he’s throwing a temper tantrum," Logan pointed out. It hurt him to say it, to suggest his own child wasn't worthy of growing up in his own family but he was at a loss of how best to protect all of them.

"No Logan, I won't accept that, they belong here, both of them, I hear what you're saying but we can work around it, there's got to be some way to stop them accidentally doing any physical harm but abandoning them is not the answer," Marie replied, she was close to tears herself, though she knew that was largely down to her wacky new mama hormones. “What if Aidan or Liam pops claws tomorrow, are you going to give up on them too?” she suggested, knowing that was just a mildly manipulative comment to make, though really, what was the difference.

"Five kids… Under three…" Logan repeated bluntly, "As much as I love you and love the kids I just- that's one hell of a job Marie, even just the breastfeeding, are you really up to going back to seven plus hours of breastfeeding a day? I mean, I can manage the boys while you do but... I suppose, if we got a housekeeper it would help, they'd definitely have to be mutant friendly though... and..." Logan trailed off as he caught the triumphant smile on Marie's face. "God damn it, the things I get myself into with you around, shit," Logan commented with a resigned chuckle, as he surrendered. Marie threw her arms around his neck as she laughed happily, pressing a kiss to his whispered cheek.

The sudden change in tone from the adults at the table attracted the attention of the boys, who left their colouring books and cookie crumbs to see what was going on.

"Wha' 'appen mama?" Aidan asked curiously, as he tried to climb onto his mother’s lap.

Marie smiled, as she picked both little boys up and settled them on her knees. "You guys know how you have a new sister now, right?" she started.

"Kee-ra!" Liam shouted, pointing to the basket where he knew the baby was sleeping.

"Yep, Keaira… Well, you're going to have two new brothers as well," she said, watching their faces to see if they were understanding.

Both boys looked confused before Aidan pointed to her stomach and asked, "More bubbas?"

Logan chuckled. "More bubba's but these ones aren't growing in mama's tummy, they're already born, like Keaira is now. Do you want to meet them?" Both boys nodded enthusiastically, big grins lighting up their faces in response. It was no secret that they both loved their sister to bits, so more babies just like her were bound to be as well received.

Scott stood, to go and help Kitty bring the babies in, while Marie sent Logan to get the double pram tucked away in the nursery for them to be put down in.

Marie watched Victor as he sat at the table looking conflicted. "Victor," she said softly, waiting for him to look up at her. "Go and meet him," she said, nodding toward the door where Scott had paused. He looked surprised, then grateful, as he rose and followed Scott out to the jet.

Anna was smiling now, tears in her eyes as he left. "Thank you, that meant a lot to him," she said softly once the door was shut.

Marie didn't reply, she didn't want to be nice to the guy, she didn't want to make him happy, but at the same time a part of her wanted to forgive him. What he did was terrible but what he did gave them Liam, and as the little boy sat in her lap playing with her hair as he chattered about having another baby, she knew she wouldn't change that for the world. She wanted to forgive him for Liam's sake, forgiving didn't mean forgetting, she reasoned, just accepting it happened and what was done was done.

Turning her attention back to the matter at hand, she asked Ororo if there was any information on the baby’s mothers. Two more files were presented, much thinner than the men’s, with some generic information on the women. Marie almost wished she hadn't asked as she read through the information, she knew Logan would read it too and no doubt blame himself for what the poor girl, who had lost her life at the hands of his child, had gone through. She tucked the files away inside Logan's file, she wasn't hiding them, she just hoped he didn't see them yet... ever.

Logan came upstairs a few minutes later with the stroller and the pram baskets, putting it together ready for the new boys who would be using it shortly.

Kitty appeared at the door then, greeted by excited shouts from the boys as they leapt from Marie's lap and ran to hug her, they excitedly asked if she had brought them presents this time. "Well, not exactly presents but I did bring your two new brothers," she replied, as she turned back to the door as Scott and Victor entered, each carrying a tiny swaddled baby.

Though these babies were a couple of months old they only looked about the same size as Keaira, Marie worried as she took the bundle Scott handed her, under the boys’ watchful eye. She watched discreetly as Victor stepped up to Logan and handed him the other baby, hearing his muted 'take care of him', before the two men parted.

Sitting down on the couch, as Kitty dropped the two wriggling toddlers back onto their feet, Marie introduced them to the first of their new brothers. Unsurprisingly they woke him up pretty quickly. Before he could begin to wail, and disturb the other two babies, Marie set about preparing to feed him.

"Anna, could you be close for this, just in case something happens," Logan asked, worry evident in his voice, though he was visibly trying to staying calm for the sake of the baby in his arms.

Anna agreed readily, she was going to miss the babies, she had gotten quite attached to them but she was happy they would have a family now. She settled down next to Marie, who was perfectly calm and exuding motherly energy, and watched as the hungry little boy sniffed at the increasing scent of milk and began trying to wriggle his way toward the source.

Marie spoke softly to him as she moved him into position, and he stopped wriggling as soon as his hungry mouth latched onto her breast. He had a strong suck and was swallowing milk as fast as he could get it, hopefully a few weeks of regular feeds would get him up to weight, she would have to make sure she was eating enough to make enough milk to feed all three babies.

Anna ran her finger gently down the baby’s cheek, smiling at the contentment before furrowing her brow in confusion when she picked a stray thought.

"What is it?" Logan asked immediately, noting the odd look.

"He- he thinks you smell like daddy," Anna told Marie, puzzled, "But how can he know what his daddy smells like?" she asked, still confused. The thought was a positive one though so she wasn't worried about it, though no one else seemed able to understand it either.

Logan sat down on the opposite couch as the baby he was holding began to stir. The boys distracted the little one from his hunger for a time but he eventually began to grizzle and fuss. Logan offered him a finger to suck on to keep him busy for a while longer, that turned out not to be the best idea though he discovered, when he felt tiny little fangs emerge from the baby’s gums a minute later and sink onto his finger, annoyed that he wasn't getting any milk.

"Want to swap, the little vampire is past hungry," Logan told Marie, as he eased his finger out of the baby’s mouth.

Marie hurriedly swapped babies, trying to push aside the concern of this little one biting her with those fangs. She swapped breasts so he would have a full supply of milk to suckle on. Gently manipulating the engorged nipple she squirted a bit of milk into his mouth before he was close enough to latch on. The fangs instantly receded into his gums as he began to reach for the milk, latching on hungrily and sucking away without the slightest scratch.

Anna scanned him too, no thoughts of daddy but he was very happy, she giggled before whispering the thought she picked up in Marie's ear. Marie joined in her laughter when Anna informed her that baby thought she tasted yummy.

Before Marie could finish feeding the second baby, Keaira was awake and starting to fuss. Kitty picked her up and rocked her gently, Jubilee was going to be so jealous when she found out she got to hold the new baby first. Logan swaddled the first baby once he was burped and sinking into a blissful food coma, before laying him down in the pram to sleep. He collected the second baby when he began to drift off, full of milk, at the breast, allowing Marie to take Keaira.

"We need another bassinet, and another crib," Logan reminded her, "I can go get another bassinet in town but if you want a matching crib, we'll have to order it from back in New York."

"That's fine, we won't need it for a while yet. Are we going to put the newbies in Keaira's nursery or in the boy’s room?" Marie replied.

"Until they're sleeping through the night probably better to keep them with Keaira." Logan's attention was drawn from Marie to the baby in his arms, when he suddenly realised Liam was hanging over the baby almost in his lap. He watched in surprise as Liam put his face right up close, nose to nose with the baby, whose nose wrinkled and twitched as he scented his genetic half-brother before he began to purr softly. Liam giggled and began to purr in response, before climbing fully into Logan's lap and gently pulling the baby into his arms, the baby in turn quickly snuggled down and went to sleep.

"Did that just happen?" Logan asked, glancing over at Marie who was staring at the boys in shock.

"Yeah, that was weird," she replied.

"They know they're brothers," Anna said, after lightly touching both children, "The little one knows the smell, the bigger one... I don’t know how he knows."

"Is it going to cause problems, with the others and ... the dad issue," Marie asked concerned.

"I don’t think so," Anna replied, scanning each of the children. "They know they are related, that's natural, even wild animals know who they are related to, but your pack is not always your family, if they are raised together, they can form a pack, even where the direct blood links are lacking... theoretically." Anna shrugged, she wasn't a scientist, just a girl with a fondness for zoology, either way, the kids all seemed happy.

She monitored their emotions as Aidan climbed into Logan's lap as well, cuddling up next to Liam on the other side of the baby who cuddled up to both of them in return.

"Well, today has been interesting," Marie announced, once all three babies were fed and wrapped up asleep.

"Today is going to be a walk in the park compared to the next few months," Logan pointed out, wrapping his arms around her as he watched their expanded family slumber. Even Aidan and Liam had fallen asleep on the couch.

"I wish we could stay longer but we have to head off," Scott told them, ignoring Kitty's pout. The sun was beginning to sink in the west. "Is there anything you guys need?"

"Chuck wouldn't happen to know of a mutant friendly housekeeper in the area would he, not really the kind of thing you want to go around asking after," Logan replied, with a grimace.

"I'll ask him," Scott replied. "Or maybe someone would be willing to relocate if you can provide accommodation, a graduating student maybe," he suggested.

"That's not a bad idea actually," Logan said thoughtfully, "We do need that new garage, could put an apartment over it, that way we'd have someone on hand if there was an emergency." Marie thought he was worrying for nothing but that was Logan, always prepared for everything, and that was one of the things she loved about him.

It wasn't until the jet was leaving that Marie realised Victor was still there, Anna too, though she had been offered a place at the school she had declined. Marie felt her anxiety creep up as she turned toward him, he looked even more uncertain than she felt, which made her feel marginally better.

"Thank you," was all he said, surprising her, and she suddenly found she didn't know how to respond.

After a moment she stepped forward, he looked momentarily panicked, and like he wanted to run but he held his ground and waited. She reached out and took his hand, taking a deep steadying breath before she looked up at him, tamping down on the part of her that wanted to drain him until he was an empty husk.

"We'll take care of him, and- and you should visit sometime-" he shook his head before she smiled and repeated- "You should, you're family, no matter how you look at it. You did a shitty thing, and I won't lie, it's going to be hard for me to trust you, but what's done is done, we are all going to be around a hell of a long time so we need to put this behind us, you've proven you've got our back when we need it, today could have been so different if you hadn't been there-" she shuddered at the thought if what could have happened had they been attacked by the military in the middle of the night- "I know you're sorry, and I forgive you, I won't forget but I do forgive and I hope you can accept that, for Liam's sake."

He pulled her forward as he wrapped his arms around her, he felt her tense and almost pulled away again but then he felt her own arms wrap around him in return. Letting out a sigh of relief, he felt some of the guilt that had been eating at him lighten. "Thank you," was all he said, again.

When they finally broke apart, Victor turned to Logan. "You know, the worst part about this whole fucked up situation is, I don't even remember what we fell out over in the first place, I don't remember why I hated you so much, I realised recently that no matter what it was, it could never justify what I did to you, to both of you, I'm truly am sorry," he said, genuinely remorseful.

"I'm sorry too," Logan replied, "There's a lot I don't remember, in fact I barely even remember you and those memories I do have, have all been tainted… but Marie's right, we have to move on, for everyone's sake, we can keep taking eyes for eyes but we're just going to heal up to do that shit all over again for the rest of forever, I prefer the idea of working together, much more productive, less self-destructive. I forgive you." Logan pulled Victor into hug, and for a moment it felt like it had back when they had been brothers, side by side, taking on the world together.

The boys wandered outside looking for their parents then, sleepily rubbing at their eyes and yawning, as they stumbled toward them. Seeing their parents giving people hugs spurred the boys on to copy. Victor looked to Marie for permission when Liam offered him a hug, she nodded her approval before he bobbed down to Liam’s level and for the first time held his son. Aidan joined in the hug too, when he was finished giving Anna a hug, before they both ran off to play.

Marie hugged Anna goodbye, thanking her for taking care of the little lab babies, and inviting her to come back and visit too.

"Make sure he stays out of trouble," Logan commented to Anna, nodding to the other feral, as he hugged her goodbye too. He wasn't quite sure how it happened but it seemed his brother had attracted a waif of his own, he hoped for the both of them that however things worked out between them it would make them both as happy as he and Marie were.

Victor rolled his eyes. "Get in the car kid before I leave you behind," he grunted gruffly, turning for the beat up pick up; he had shown enough emotion today to last him a good few more months. The truck rolled out of the driveway a few minutes later, Anna waving out the window behind them.

As the sound of the engine died away to be replaced with the gentle rush of wind through the trees around them, Marie smiled happily.

"What are you grinning about?" Logan queried, as he wrapped her in his arms and began to slowly walk her backward toward the cabin.

"You realise we have to do the naming thing all over again," she replied, smiling happily.

"That brain of yours better get busy coming up with a new list then," Logan replied with a chuckle and a kiss as they stepped inside, almost tripping over the two little boys that scooted in around them.

The door closed softly behind them.
A quiet and calm beginning to what was sure to be a tumultuous future.