The first time Rogue went out with Logan - a week after he had returned from his year up North 'chasing leads' from the abandoned base at Alkali Lake - they had been friends, nothing more. She was seventeen, and he still had no idea who he had been, let alone how old he was. Logan had taken her to a rustic little diner on the side of the highway, and over a chocolate milkshake, a beer, and a platter of nachos, they had talked. Rather, she had talked, until Logan had interrupted her melancholy musings by telling her all her friends were idiots for not realizing what a fantastic person she was, and that it wasn't her fault that they couldn't see past her mutation. By the end of the conversation they had both been laughing as they made fun of her so-called friends, some of the things they laughed at were probably a little mean but after the week she had been having it was a welcome distraction.

They went out regularly, whenever one or the other was having a shitty day, or just needed some downtime. They would steal Scott's motorcycle, or if the weather was bad one of his other cars that he loved almost as much, and they would head off. Sometimes just for an hour, sometimes for the whole day. Sometimes they would just sit and talk, other times they would go to the movies, a few times Logan took her to bars with him to watch him fight, and on a couple of occasions she managed to convince him to take her shopping.

The night after her twentieth birthday, everything changed.

On the day of her twentieth all her friends at the mansion threw her a party, and plied her with good food and presents. The next night Logan took her out for a late birthday dinner. It was halfway through the meal when Rogue realised, this night was an awful lot more 'date' like than their normal excursions. She didn't say anything at the time but when Logan stopped outside her bedroom door, after walking her there, and stooped to kiss her softly on her lips, she knew.

She had smiled softly, as the brief kiss ended before her mutation could even tickle, as she informed him she had a good time. That was a nice date, they should do it again some time, she had said as she slipped into her room. Leaving Logan grinning like an idiot in the hall.

The next Tuesday, Logan was waiting at her door to take her out again. Tuesday's became their date night, they still went out at other times but Tuesday’s were extra special.

--

This Tuesday found them wandering through the mansion's rose garden, it was late, and they had just returned from their twelfth date. Logan had finally given in to calling them dates by the fifth, and by the tenth he had admitted his feelings for her, also his worries that he didn't want to rush her, and he still wasn’t convinced he was good enough for her. They were still in disagreement over taking the next step in their relationship, and Rogue was teasingly calling Logan out for being scared.

"I'm not scared Marie, well... not of you... I'm- I'm scared of me, I'm scared of hurting you, I'm scared of scaring you, I'm scared of screwing this up," Logan finally admitted, with a sigh.

"Yeah, it's probably going to be a little scary for me, and probably hurt a bit, and probably be a little awkward, but you know what else it's going to be?... It's going to be perfect, because it's going to be you, and me, and I love you, and you love me, and the pain will go, and the nervous newness will pass, and one day we can look back and laugh at the awkwardness, and then have really hot sex to prove just how perfect we are together," Marie said, pressing herself up against him, as her arms wrapped around his neck, and she smiled up at him.

Logan grinned down at her for a moment, before tugging her fine scarf up over her lips, and kissing her deeply. "It's not going to be awkward baby," he supplied, with a deep chuckle, that she could feel reverberating to her toes.

"Oh yeah, prove it," Marie replied, outright challenging him; she knew he couldn't resist a challenge.

"Hmm, prove it she says... prove it. Well then, you come by my room in an hour and I'll prove it to you, all night long baby," Logan growled suggestively in her ear. "Of course, if you're too chicken I'll see you at breakfast," he added, as they turned and walked back toward the mansion, before heading upstairs to their rooms. Neither aware their plans had been overhead, by someone who had been getting increasingly jealous over their burgeoning relationship.

And now she had the perfect opportunity to end it.

--

She had an hour, an hour to figure out how to pull a fast one on the Wolverine, and put an end to this little fling of his that was taking him away from her. The trick would be fooling his senses. The sight and hearing would be easy enough, she could do that with her telepathy, his sense of smell would be the trickiest one to beat. She was pacing the halls as she thought, when she heard a sound from the laundry. An idea popped into her head and she rushed into the room, hunting for... something...

Ah ha! She found a shirt of Rogue's, well, rather, one of Logan's, but Rogue had been wearing it out by the pool the day before. It hadn’t been laundered yet so it would have Rogue's scent on it. There was also the stash of shampoo and body wash that Rogue used, in her locker in the gym.

With a decidedly evil grin, Jean rushed down to the gym. It wasn't hard to get into the locker, none of them actually locked, and she showered quickly, with all of Rogue's products. Rogue had even been kind enough to leave one of her bodysuits in the locker, it was a little tight in places on Jean, as she was taller than Rogue, though she bristled at the fact she didn't fill it out as well as the younger woman did, before she rushed upstairs wrapped in the Rogue scented clothes.

The fact that someone might see her was dealt with by scanning around her, and telepathically prompting anyone nearby in another direction. She was thankful Scott was out of town this week, as she slipped into her room undisturbed, and grabbed the brand new, wine red silk lace lingerie set Scott had bought for her but she hadn't worn yet.

Casting her mind out to see where Rogue was, she grinned devilishly when she saw the girl was still ‘getting ready'. It was still twenty minutes to the hour Logan had given Rogue, but sweet little Rogue just couldn't wait. She sniggered, as she tiptoed down the hallway to lightly tap on Logan's door. Easing herself into Logan's mind as he approached the door she fed him the image she wanted him to see, essentially, Rogue's face instead of hers.

"You're early," Logan teased, refusing to open the door any wider even as he grinned down at her.

"What can I say, I couldn't wait," Jean replied softly, using her telepathy to distort what he heard, giving her words a more southern twang. There was no way she would actually lower herself to attempting Rogue's trashy accent; even after five years out of the South she still hadn't lost it. "Are you going to leave a girl waiting?" Jean asked impatiently, as she sensed someone in another room further down the hall stirring.

With a smug grin, Logan eventually opened the door wider, stepping back to let her enter.

"Mmhmm, I like this," Logan all but purred a moment later, as he slid his hands around her waist, and buried his face in her neck, catching the scent of Rogue from the collar of the shirt she was wearing.

Sensing time was of the urgency Jean set out to catch a Wolverine in her trap, and the poor man wouldn't have a clue. That was alright though, Jean would be there to comfort him when Rogue dumped him and wouldn't talk to him, oh everything was going to work perfectly.

Rogue tried to keep the giddy grin off her face as she showered, shaved (in case she had missed anything earlier), she blow waved her hair quickly, and brushed her teeth again. Then she dressed in her brand new, sheer, white silk bodysuit, and the deep forest green, silk lingerie set - that the Logan in her head had salivated over when she spotted it while out shopping with the girls the week before. It sure was convenient having your boyfriend in your head to tell you what he liked.

'Baby, I'd like you any way I could get you,’ Logan purred in her head, even as she felt him casting an appreciative eye over her body in the mirror.

Deciding she was ready, she cast an eye over her options for covering herself for the short trip to Logan's room - she was giving him a show, not anyone else she happened to run into on the way.

'The kimono, or your flannel?' Rogue asked the Logan in her head, who groaned, even as his baser side, the Wolverine growled appreciatively.

'Tonight is for you baby, go the kimono,' Logan offered, even as she saw the image of herself, wrapped up in his flannel that went along with one of his hotter fantasies.

With a grin, knowing she would get to play that one out later anyway, she slipped on the ankle length green silk garment, decorated with tiny pink cherry blossoms. Tying the sash in a quick release knot, so she could whip it off sexily once she got to his room, she peered out into the hallway. After checking the coast was clear, she lightly skipped, down the hallway.

It wasn't until she had her hand on the door handle that she realised, there were already recognizable noises coming from inside the room. With a frown she checked she had the right room, counting the doors to be sure this was indeed Logan's room. It was. Gripping the handle tighter, to stop her hand from shaking, she turned the handle and pushed the door open, staring in shocked silence at the sight before her.

A raft of emotions lanced through her as she watched Logan and... Jean!?

No! Her brain screamed in denial. He had told her... and her the little idiot had believed him! Anger quickly flooded through her as she took in the sight before her, fuelled by her inner Wolverine who instantly reacted to her pain. Even as her inner Logan tried to argue it wasn't right but at least let him explain, he wanted her to walk right in and demand an explanation but instead she turned on her heel and left. Slamming the door behind her just as she heard the pair in the bed climax.

'Marie, I don't know what was going on there but at least let him explain, I swear to god baby if it was what it looked like I'll let you fucking kill him,’ Logan pleaded with her, all the while cursing himself for the idiot he was.

'Oh, if I go in there sugar I'm going to kill him, there is nothing you could do to stop me!' Marie fumed, as she stormed into her room, slamming the door behind her again. She tore her kimono off and flung it into the bathroom, tearing off the lingerie and hiffing it under the bed in her fury. She let the anger fuel her as she tried to figure out what to do, if she went back to that room she would drain him, or Jean, or both of them. If she waited until morning she just gave him a chance to make something up, and she would have to see him, and her... and how could he do that to her!

She felt the first tears slide down her cheeks as she decided she needed to get away, the sudden desire to run overwhelmed her. She pulled on her clothes, thick jeans, a sweater, swapping her silk gloves for leather. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and laid her coat and boots on the bed. Staring down at the open duffel on her bed she tried to calm herself down enough to think rationally, was she leaving for good, or just going to calm down and come back.

Logan wanted her to do the latter, if she wouldn't talk to him right now, going away long enough to calm down was a good second option. Wolverine didn't care either way, he just wanted to lash out at everything around him, make the world feel her pain. Underneath it all, another voice whispered to her darkly to run, run and never come back, he would never truly want her, and if some part of him did, then her running would hurt him as much as he had hurt her.

--

As Jean recovered from her intense orgasm she marvelled at just what a talented lover Logan was. She would enjoy having him in her bed, not that there was anything wrong with Scott but Logan was just so much more intense. The only downside to the whole situation was the way he was murmuring *her* name, as he nuzzled up to Jean, she would have to fix that. For now though, her plan appeared to have been successful, she had heard the door open, and she thought she heard it slam shut as Logan had come hard, with a shout of the girls name as he had picked up the flood of her fresher scent. Now, she used her telepathy, and his spent energy, to push Logan into sleep.

Quickly slipping out of his room, she ran back to her own room, spotting the light spilling out under Rogue's door. She reached out with her mind to the girl, to see just how well her plan worked. Seeing her indecision Jean telepathically nudged her toward the most extreme reaction.

'Run, run and never come back, he would never truly want her... and if some part of him did, then her running would hurt him as much as he had hurt her.'

Ten minutes later she listened in glee as light footsteps tread from Rogue's room, down the hallway, and quickly down the stairs. Watching from her window, as the stealthy figure stole hurriedly down the driveway toward the road, Jean couldn't help the smile that flitted over her lips. That was the little tramp out of her way.

--

Logan almost purred as he felt himself waking up, for the first time in a long time well rested, sated, and with beautiful visions of what he had come to the conclusion was the most beautiful woman in the world, looking thoroughly satisfied in his arms. Without opening his eyes, he reached for the other side of the bed, to pull her closer, only to find an expanse of empty mattress.

Cracking an eye open with a dissatisfied grunt he grinned when he saw Marie's shirt - okay, it was really his but it looked much better on her - laid over the pillow beside him... So that's why he could still smell her delicious scent, cheeky little minx. Here he had been hoping to expand her education a little more before breakfast, oh well, the hunt for her would serve as a welcome foreplay.

Rolling out of bed, he took a quick shower, before tugging on his jeans and a singlet, and padding barefoot out of the room. He had to pass by Marie's room to get to the stairs but her door was partially open, and he could tell she wasn't in there, so he continued without stopping.

An hour later he was starting to get annoyed. He couldn't find her, anywhere. Cafeteria, kitchen, library, even the garage, no sign of her. Deciding he must have missed her at some point, he jogged back up the stairs heading back to her room.

"Good morning Logan," Jean greeted him cheerily, as he passed her on the stairs. He mumbled a distracted 'morning' as he passed her without a second thought, missing the annoyed scowl that crossed her face before she pasted her smile back on and continued on her way.

Pushing open the door of the room he was after, Logan called out for Marie, not realizing until he had barged into her bathroom that something was very, very wrong. The bathroom was a mess, the medicine cabinet open with discarded bottles knocked to the ground, Marie's toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, and other smelly girly shit was gone. The peach blossom perfume he had bought her for her eighteenth birthday, that she hoarded for only the most special occasions, was smashed on the floor.

Stepping back into the bedroom, he realised it too was bare. All Marie's clothes, gone, along with her favourite books, and her laptop. The leather gloves he had given her when he first returned to the mansion almost four year ago were thrown haphazard on the bed... he caught a glint of metal on the floor, under the edge of her bed. Stooping he picked up his dog tags, the chain snapped where... had she simply torn them from her neck?

The realization hit him suddenly. Marie had left, and from the look of it, Marie had left specifically because of him. What other message could there be in the very specific items that had been left behind.

He gently picked up the green silk kimono he had given her for her twenty-first birthday only a few months before, where it had been almost reverently laid over her chair. Bringing it to his face he could scent tears, relatively fresh tears at that.

What had happened? What had he done? Had he hurt her? Maybe she hadn't been ready? Did the Wolverine take over and force himself on her? ... No, he wouldn't, he loved Marie, admittedly at a much baser level but he would never harm or force her... coerce maybe?

The simple fact was, he needed to find her before he could get any answers, and the sooner he left, the sooner that would be. She could have hours in head start on him, he needed to leave, now.

Racing for his room, he finished dressing in record time and hurriedly crammed his personal effects into his pack. He took with him Marie's kimono, and the gloves that she left behind, and stuffed the tags onto his pocket. The perfume couldn't be salvaged but he would buy her a new bottle when they got this - whatever 'this' was - straightened out.

On his way out of the building he tracked down a couple of Marie's closest friends, hoping against hope one of them might have a clue about where she might have gone, or even why she might have gone. They were all as clueless as he was, Marie's sudden disappearance wasn't only a mystery to him. They promised to let him know if she contacted the mansion, or returned before he could find her.

As he was pulling himself onto his motorcycle - yes, Scott's motorcycle, that he was commandeering yet again - he heard footsteps rushing toward him and paused; praying it was one of Marie's friends coming to tell him she had returned, or even called and would agree to speak to him.

"Logan, what's going on?" Jean asked, as she rushed up to him where he straddled the silent machine, ready to bring its engine roaring to life.

"Rogue's taken off, I don't know why, and I don't know where, but I have to find her," Logan explained, as briefly as he could.

"Oh come on Logan, Rogue's a big girl, she can look after herself, she doesn't need you chasing after her all the time," Jean replied, with a tolerant chuckle and an amused gleam in her eye.

"She's left Jean, packed all her stuff and gone, without warning to anyone, I have to find her," he repeated, as the bike started.

"Maybe she just got sick of you smothering her Logan, I've tried to warn you to back off, she was bound to try and escape eventually, she's all grown up Logan, you need to let her go, she's not your responsibility anymore," Jean said, crossing her arms and glaring at him indignantly.

"Then I will find her and she can tell me that to my face, now unless you're telling me where the fuck she is, get the hell out of my way Red," Logan growled menacingly. Without waiting for her to move, Logan gunned the bike, brushing past her as he sped out of the garage and up the driveway.

Jean glared after him. Damn it, that wasn't how this was supposed to happen... Well, he would be back, of that she was sure, as she scanned his mind, picking up his thoughts on where to start looking. Places she knew Rogue had resolved to specifically avoid, because she had known they would be the first places he would look for her. Yes, he would be back, and she would be waiting, a sympathetic ear, and a willing body. She would have him yet.

It was a year and a half before he found her, and in the end it was by pure dumb luck.

After traveling west and north, following what he remembered of Marie's travel patterns from the last time she had run from her home, along with his own instincts. He headed through the northern states, then north through Canada and into Alaska, sure that that would be where she would run to again. She had often spoken of her desire to return to Alaska, after he had taken her for her graduation present. He turned Alaska upside down for three months before determining she wasn't there. Making his way back east, this time across Canada and back down into New York, in case she had gone that way and stopped somewhere along the way.

He stopped at the mansion when he hit New York for a mere hour, long enough to determine she hadn't returned there. She hadn't called, and the Professor hadn't been able to find any trace of her either. Little did Logan know but Jean was fuming when she and Scott returned from a romantic weekend away the following day, to hear through the gossip mill that he had been and gone. Damn him, and damn that little tart for her meddling, was all she could think.

After his stop at the mansion, Logan tried his hand at reverse psychology. Where would he least expect her to go? Somewhere she could hide in plain sight, where he wouldn't think to look for her... Before long he found himself heading south, to Mississippi. He found her old home town, even found her old home, didn't find Marie. He headed west again, all the way to California, tried his luck in Northern Mexico, before making his way east again.

He wearily dragged himself into a little beach side bar in Florida one night. He was drowning himself in whiskey in a dark corner, cursing the heat, and the humidity, when he picked up a scent he had been missing for far too long. Immediately his head snapped up, his keen eyes scanning the crowded bar, trying to spot the girl he was dying to see.

Nothing.

Cursing his own overactive imagination he continued in his endeavour to pickle his liver, or pass out from alcohol poisoning, whichever came first. He was draining the last of yet another bottle when he saw a flash of white come out of the store room behind the bar. There, only eighty feet away from him, on the other side of the bar, was Marie. He watched her in shock for about an hour, she worked here it seemed, and from the way she smiled and chatted with the customers she was well liked. The biggest change of all though was her clothing, or rather, lack of it.

She still wore her gloves, but only short little wristlet gloves, the type that back home she had only ever worn in the middle of winter with long sleeves. Those tiny gloves were the only sign of any concession to her mutation. Her cut off jean shorts barely covered her gorgeous ass, and her tank top was so tight he could make out the seams of her bra as it stretched down to barely her waist. Threaded through the belt loops of her shorts was one of her old scarves.

Some things never changed though, he noted, as his eyes made it down to her feet. Despite the temperature, and her beach side location, she was still wearing her sturdy hiking boots.

As the bars crowd began to thin out he quickly considered his options, did he confront her here, or did he follow her home and try and talk to her in private? Eventually deciding on the latter option - it would leave her without an out to run away from him after all - he headed out of the bar, to wait for her shift to end. It was two am before he finally spied her wander out of the alleyway behind the bar, and begin to trek down the street, obviously on her way home.

He followed at a distance, walking the bike, headlight off so as not to draw too much attention to himself. When she followed a path up to a run down but still tidy apartment building, Logan grabbed his pack, and stealthily followed after her.

He followed her into her apartment when he heard the shower start up, taking the opportunity to get the lay of the small space before she came out. He was wholly unprepared for Marie to walk out of the bathroom five minutes later, stark naked. They both froze in shock, neither having expected to see the other, or in Logan's case, so much of the other.

Marie recovered from her shock first, growling angrily as she shouted, "Just what the fuck do you think you're doing here?!"

Shaking himself out of his dreamy haze, Logan replied, almost as angry. "Looking for you, for a goddamn year and a half, what the hell happened Marie!?" he demanded, all his worry, longing, hurt, and rage bursting out of him in one horrible mess of emotion.

"What happened! What happened?!" Marie parroted, laughing mirthlessly. "Gee, I don't know Logan, what, was that bitch not enough of a woman to handle you, huh?" she asked sardonically.

"What!? ... What woman?" Logan asked, forcing himself to calm down, even as his confusion intensified. Before Marie could respond Logan raised a placating hand. "Look, us yelling at each other isn't going help this situation, why don't we- you go get dressed- and then we can talk, without yelling at each other," he suggested softly.

If Marie didn't know better she would say he was afraid, and good, he should damn well be afraid of her. "I don't want to talk to you, I don't want to see you, and I don't want to hear any of your bullshit excuses," she stated deathly calm.

"I get that distinct impression but I've been looking for you for eighteen months Marie and I'm damn well not leaving without clearing up what the hell happened between us as the very least, I... I thought you were happy, I thought..." he sighed, running a hand through his hair, and down his face. "Just, can you get dressed, please, and at least listen to what I have to say."

All of a sudden he looked tired, he looked older, he looked like a man broken and beaten. For a split second Marie felt her old feelings of love and desire begin to blossom, until she ruthlessly crushed them back into the box they had escaped from. Turning silently she walked into her bedroom, leaving him behind in the living room as she went to dress.

When she returned she was dressed in her comfy pyjamas, soft flannel sleep shorts and another, longer, tank top. Walking soundlessly past him, where he still stood, seemingly rooted to the spot, she fixed herself a coffee. She didn't offer him one.

Taking a seat on the sofa, and tucking her legs up on the seat beside her, she glared at him. "Well, hurry up, make your excuses so I can throw you out," she stated coldly, sipping on her drink. She watched in cold amusement, as he opened his mouth several times as if to speak but nothing came out, eventually he took a seat opposite her.

"I'm sorry... if I pushed you that night, for things you weren't ready for, I didn't mean to, you didn't have to run baby, you could have just told me, I- I would do anything for you Marie--" Logan began, before she cut him off.

"Don't call me that, you have no right to use that name, and no, I think it was a damn good thing I got 'pushed' that night, can you imagine I actually believed you when you said you loved me, I was such an idiot, what should I have told you Logan? Huh? I would have figured a smart one like you would have already known 'don't a invite a woman to your room only for her to turn up to find you fucking another woman', or did you think you could get me to join in or something--" She didn't realise her rant was increasing in volume until Logan cut her off.

"What?! What the fuck do you mean fucking another woman? Mari-Rogue, the only woman in my room that night was you," he swore.

"Yeah, tall, red-haired me, that's right," Marie scoffed, feeling her inner Wolverine prowling dangerously. The Logan in her head was being very quiet, that shouldn't surprise her though, he was finally getting what he wanted, she was finally talking to him.

"Wha- I don't understand Marie... There was never anyone in my room that night but you, I swear, god, there hadn't even been any other woman in my room since I came back to the mansion, unless you count the cleaner but if I recall correctly she was short and black haired.” He was clearly trying to lighten the mood with that crack but the dark glare she shot him showed, he well missed the mark. "Alright then, when was this woman in my room? And who was this woman?" he demanded. "What did you see that night Marie? Because clearly we have very different recollections."

"What did I see!? I opened the god damn door to see YOU BONING JEAN that's what I god damn saw!" Marie screamed at him, as the anger, hurt, betrayal she had spent the last year trying to crush flowed out of her. "You told me you loved me, you told me my skin meant nothing, you told me we would be together, and then- what- she got lonely and threw herself at you and you were just too god damn happy to catch her, you didn't even try to hide it, you... I hate you, I HATE YOU, so if you thought you could just waltz back in here and pick up where you left off with me now that you've had your fun with her, or she's dumped you, or whatever, you can think again. I don't love you, I don't want you, I hate you, and I want you to leave!"

She was on her feet by the time she finished, tears streaming down her face as her voice cracked, even as she choked down the sob that threatened to break out. It was lies, all of it, she still loved him, she still wanted him, but she didn't have the strength to put her fractured heart back together. And there was no way in hell she was going to play second choice to that bitch.

For endless minutes Logan just stared at her, pain and confusion the only emotions she could see on his face. Until her vision blurred and he was eventually hidden from her view, behind a wall of unshed tears.

"Marie... I don't... that's not what happened, Marie..." He leaped to his feet and caught her arm, when she snorted derisively and turned her back on him. "I swear Marie, I've never touched Jean, hell, I haven't even flirted with her to piss Scott off in years, I'm not interested in Jean, I wasn't then, I wasn't even when I came back to the mansion... It's always been you Marie, I just had to wait for you to grow up, that night with you was the best night of my life Marie, I had been looking forward to the day I could make you mine for so long, I--"

"Well you didn't make me yours now did you, so any claim you think you have on me you can shove it up your ass and--" Marie tried to begin again but Logan cut her off.

"Marie, will you listen to me! I don't know how to convince you, I was not with Jean, I've never been with Jean, you have to belie-- Turn your skin on!" he suddenly blurted. "Whatever you've done to turn it off, undo it, turn it on, the only way you're going to believe me is to see my memories, to see what I saw Marie, which was you--"

"I don't want your memories of boning that whore in my head!" Marie snapped, immediately yanking her arm out of his.

"There are NO memories like that in my head Marie, it never happened, please, I'm begging you Marie, please, look, tell me what you see, see me and you Marie, only you," Logan really was begging, and for the first time since she had known him he was crying.

'Please Marie, he's telling you the truth,' the Logan in her head whispered to her softly. She noticed then that even Wolverine had fallen strangely silent.

'I know what I saw,' she declared, trying to shore up her failing resolve.

'Now see what he saw,' Logan murmured.

It felt like hours they stood there, facing off in the middle of the living room, as Logan watched Marie's indecision and anger warring in her eyes. When he saw her eyes harden he felt like he had been sucker punched, she was going to deny him, he just--

The burn of Marie's power surged through him so suddenly it almost knocked him off his feet. It felt different though, his energy wasn't being sucked from him, it just felt like he was being torn to pieces, specifically his head. As he clamped his eyes shut against the pain and its resulting nausea, he watched images of his life, playing before his eyes as they poured into Marie. He forcefully pushed his most precious memory into the vortex - the two of them, lying sated in bed, wrapped up in each other as he whispered to her how much he loved her as he drifted to sleep.

When the rush abruptly shut off, he finally collapsed, still conscious but mentally drained, and with a splitting headache.

"I need to process these," Marie snapped, turning to walk into her bedroom. She paused at the door and turned back to him. "You can sleep on the couch, there's spare bedding in that closet."

With that she was gone, leaving him too weak to move on the floor. All he could do was pray, pray she had seen it all, pray she believed him.

--

He woke late the next morning, a crick in his neck, from sleeping on the too short couch, that he quickly stretched and popped back into place. He could hear that Marie was awake, awake and pacing around her room but he didn't think it was a good idea to try and talk to her yet. She would come out when she was ready; he hoped.

Wandering into the kitchen he perused the contents of her refrigerator, trying to decide if he should make them breakfast. The nauseating somersault his stomach made at the thought of food put him off, and he eventually made his way back to the couch.

He was sitting, with his head in his hands, elbows propped on his knees, when he finally heard the bedroom door open. He didn't dare look up.

Silently Marie padded over, and sat on the armchair opposite him. "I saw what you saw, I... I need you to see what I saw," she whispered softly.

"How?" Logan asked immediately, confused but willing to do whatever she needed.

"I didn't only learn how to turn it off," Marie answered, with a hint of a grin as she held out her bare hand to him. Her smile grew wider when her took her hand without hesitation. Closing her eyes and concentrating, Marie pushed her way up to the psychic barrier that separated her consciousness from Logan’s, joined by her skin. With a gentle nudge she pushed her memories of that night through the barrier and into his mind. Everything from her giddy excitement, to her shock and hurt, all the way up until she fell asleep on the train to Tennessee, crying as her heart shattered.

She watched in silence as Logan sat with his eyes closed, his frown deepening as his eyes began to move behind his lids while his brain processed the images that had been fed to it. Very quickly his expression changed, his mouth falling open in shock, then anger, and finally anguish taking over until he whined unconsciously when he felt her agony. When he finally opened his eyes, he was worried.

"Whose memories are real?" he murmured, after a moments silence.

"I think there's only one way to find out, Jean was either there or she wasn't," Marie replied tightly. She had been able to come to only two possible conclusions over the course of her sleepless night, either Logan had figured out a way to fake memories and pass them on to her, or someone had played the both of them. His reactions were leading her believe the latter.

"Will you come back with me to New York so we can sort this out?" Logan asked, hope shining bright in his face.

She didn't even need to pause for thought. "Yes, but promise me if it turns out that bitch is responsible for this you'll stay out of my way and let me have my revenge, if that bitch has cost us almost two years of life together, and all this heart ache, I'm going to make her pay," Marie growled dangerously.

"Only if you promise to leave some for me," Logan replied, with a dark grin.

--

They took two vehicles to get back to New York, Logan on Scott's motorcycle, and Marie in her beat up pick up truck. Logan had eyed the hunk of junk warily when he had first seen it, expressing doubt that it would even start let alone make it to New York, until he had taken a look under the hood.

"It's just got to look the part enough not to get stolen," Marie replied, tapping her temple to remind him just how much of him she still had swimming around inside her - of course the him in her head had made sure her vehicle was road safe and reliable.

They pulled up outside the mansion gates just before midnight, both so eager to get to the bottom of this that they didn’t stop for more than gas and toilets. Marie parked her truck in the shadows across the street from the main gate, before climbing onto the motorcycle for the short trip up the driveway. Leaving the motorcycle parked out front, they let themselves in with Logan's access code, it still worked despite the fact he hadn't been back to the mansion in nearly a year.

"Now... where would the good doctor be?" Marie asked coyly, a hint of malice in her eyes.

"Let's try the lab first, it'll be more private than her room," Logan suggested, summoning the elevator as he spoke.

The light filtering from the med lab doors immediately told them someone was in there, and they confidently strode right in. Jean was distracted by whatever was on the screen in front of her and didn't notice their approach, until Marie stepped right up beside her and cleared her throat.

"Rogue!?" she asked in shock, before her eyes flickered to Logan, instantly becoming wary and guarded. "You found her Logan, that's good, are you back to stay?" she asked, hoping her voice didn't give away the quick thrill of fear that stabbed through her when she saw the dark look in both of their eyes.

"No, we're here for answers, answers that you have in that pretty, stupid little head of yours," Marie stated, her tone overly sweet, as she reached out without warning and wrapped her bare hand around Jean's throat. Jean's reaction to seeing them told her the woman knew damn well why they were there and what had happened, shame for her she didn't realise the danger she was in until it was too late.

Feeling her mutation reach into Jean's mind and begin sorting through, and tearing out the images she wanted. She reached out with her other hand, catching hold of Logan's wrist, sharing the images with him. After a moment she felt Logan wrench his hand away, and heard his furious roar as he began to take his fury out on the inanimate objects of the room around them.

Spotting a flash of apprehension in Jean's eyes, Marie knew she hadn't discovered all the woman’s secrets yet. Delving deeper, she faltered and gasped when she found what the woman was trying to hide. Immediately Jean began to struggle. Hoarse, unrecognizable words gurgling from her throat, that was clenched in Rogue's hand, as her grip tightened and a malicious smile turned up her lips.

"Thank you, you've been very helpful," Marie said sweetly, right before she shifted the focus of her power to zap the other woman’s energy, rendering her unconscious. Stepping away from the crumpled body on the floor, Marie caught Logan's arm as he advanced, claws drawn.

"Let me go Marie, you had your revenge it's my turn now," Logan said, in a barely coherent growl.

"Oh you'll get your revenge Logan, but she needs to stay alive to enjoy it." He turned to Marie at her malicious tone, seeing fire and hatred burning in her eyes.

"Okay, I won't kill her," Logan agreed, withdrawing five claws before advancing on the unconscious woman again.

Marie knew she should probably feel bad as she watched Logan carve the woman up, he sure was skilled with blades. Poor Jean was going to scar horribly from those cuts... she deserved it. When Logan was finished, though still humming with pent up rage and the desire to kill, she tugged him over to the labs washroom, silently helping him clean himself up, before leading him back to the elevator.

"Where are we going?" Logan asked, as they stepped out of the elevator onto the teachers wing.

"Jean has a gift for you," Marie replied, leading him down the hallway, and silently opening the door to what had been designated the mansion’s 'nursery'. This room was used for babies, or small children that were recovered from labs or abandoned, and needed more adult interaction and supervision than the dorms offered.

Silently crossing the room toward a crib in the corner, careful not to wake the two other children in the room, Marie carefully picked up a sleeping, dark haired, little boy, turning to hand him to Logan.

"What...?" he started to ask, pausing when Marie laid her hand on his arm and pushed more information into his head.

It turned out, Jean, the idiot, had forgotten she and Scott had decided to stop using birth control, in the hopes of starting their own family. Logan, being just so good at everything he did, had knocked her up first when she slept with him. She hadn't told anyone about her despicable actions but Scott had gotten suspicious at the close dates to his week out of town. Then the blue eyed newborns eyes had begun to change colour at around four months old, going a deep, dark hazel. He had confronted Jean with DNA results two weeks later that said he wasn't the father, demanding to know who was. The minute she let slip Logan's name, Scott walked out on her.

Logan stared at the baby in his arms, his son, his son with a woman he hated more than anyone on the planet. Hell, she had even managed to rank herself higher on his hate list than Magneto and Sabretooth, who both barely beat out the unknown scientists and lab workers who fucked him up and took his memories, but... it wasn't the kids fault.

Turning to Marie he clarified. "You want to take revenge on her by taking her kid?" he asked.

"She only kept him because she thought it would give her leverage to win you over, we can give him a better life, we can love him better," Marie replied, a soft smile turning up her lips, as she ran a finger over the child’s forehead, down his cheek and over his tiny little lips.

"It doesn't bother you that it's hers?" Logan queried uncertainly.

"You thought it was me, she made sure you thought it was me, so from your perspective, me and you made that baby, I don't care what his DNA says, I will love you, and I will love this baby, until the day I die," Marie stated, softly but decisively.

Without a word Logan slid his hand behind her head and pulled her forward, kissing her the way he had wanted to for so long. "I love you too Marie, and you're his momma, no matter what," he assured her.

A soft rustle behind them, turned their attention to the other occupants of the room. Before the little three year old, who was now blinking and staring at them sleepily, could make a sound, Marie turned to her and bobbed down.

"Hey sweetheart, it's time for you to be sleeping," she whispered softly.

"I need a pee pee," the little girl replied, yawning as Marie helped her out of bed and to the bathroom, before tucking her back into bed.

"Goodnight little one, sweet dreams," Marie said, kissing the little girl on her forehead as she closed her eyes with a smile and drifted off back to sleep.

Logan was waiting in the hallway, once she was sure the small child was back asleep, and not about to scream bloody murder and give them away. He took Marie's hand and led the way out of the building, the sleeping baby boy still in his arms. They ignored the motorcycle parked on the driveway, it had a tracker in it and neither of them wanted to risk the X-Men coming after them now.

Back at Marie's truck, Logan settled Marie into the passenger seat and handed her the baby, before he walked around the truck to drive.

"We'll need to stop somewhere for bottles and formula," Marie broke the silence, as the truck began to roll away, "He'll be hungry soon... and diapers, some more clothes, and a carseat," she listed off, turning to Logan with a soft smile. "I love you Logan, I'm sorry for running and not sorting this out, I'm sorry you were alone, and I'm sorry I was alone."

"That's all in the past Marie, hell if we'd figured this all out back then, and left then, we wouldn't have found him, all's well that ends well," Logan replied, reaching over the space between them to take her hand in his. "What are we going to name him?" he asked after a moment, watching the child sleep out of the corner of his eye. The kid was totally dead to the world but maybe that's what people meant when they said 'sleeping like a baby'.

"Jean named him--" Marie began.

"I don't give a flying fuck what that bitch named him, what are *we* going to name him?" Logan interrupted with a disgusted growl.

Marie got a dark little grin on her face before she replied innocently, "I like the name Jack."

Logan grinned. "I like that name too, nice, sturdy, easy to remember... and if Jean ever finds out she'll hate it," he said, echoing Marie's malicious thoughts.

They rolled down the dark highway, smiling and happy, with baby Jack snoring softly in Marie's arms, off to start the rest of their lives, together, as it should have been all along.

Jean sat back in her seat, resting her eyes, trying not to think. Today was her son's twenty fifth birthday, she hadn't seen him since he was nine months old, and she had no one to blame for that but herself. She had been torn for so long over whether she should wish he was alive and well, happy and healthy, or whether the girl she had tried to destroy had taken her revenge on her by taking her son away from this world permanently. There was no way to know for certain, the Professor had never been able to find any trace of them. Her only consolation had been, as far as she knew, his father had been with the woman who took him from her, hopefully that had been enough to save her sons life.

But damn it, she was trying *not* to think about this! She scowled as she shoved the thoughts aside.

The X-Men were on their way to a lab location they had been given, the only problem with that was, for the last six months every lab they had attempted to raid they had been beaten to. Whoever it was that was beating them, took no mercy on those running these places. Who they were, where they were based, and what they did with the captive mutants was still unclear.

When the jet touched down near the compound Jean began to feel a growing sensation of foreboding, as she made her way after her teammates. When they got to the front gate of the compound Scott exploded.

"God damn it, they beat us again, who the hell are these people!" he fumed, as he took in the warped and twisted metal fencing, and the mangled bodies littering the ground into the base.

"We're about to find out!" Jean replied apprehensively, as a rapidly growing fury built in her mind that she sensed to be several highly aggressive people approaching. They were distracted when the sound of an engine was suddenly heard roaring to life behind them, bright headlights flaring on as a black van crunched to a stop to their right. Headlights illuminating them but more importantly, lighting up the whole area in front of the base entrance eerily.

The driver of the van stepped out, a young girl, probably only about sixteen or seventeen. She gave them a once over before, without a word, she stalked toward the front entrance of the base just as several people exited. The X-Men turned their attention to these newcomers, three men, three women. Two of the women were carrying children, probably only about ten to twelve years old, one of the men was supporting the third women, obviously a captive of the lab, and probably in her mid-twenties.

"Who the hell are yo..." Scott started, just as one of the women handed over the child she was carrying to the van driver, before pulling a black balaclava off her head. Dark and light hair tumbled free down her shoulders.

"Aw, Scooter, you don't recognize me? I'm hurt... but she recognized me," Rogue chuckled, when Jean gasped and took a step back. One of the men chuckled too as he stepped forward, tugging his mask off, wrapping an arm around Rogue.

"Logan!? Rogue?" Scott stared in confusion at the pair. "But... why- what...?"

"Well you see, turns out the X-Men were doing a pretty shitty job shutting these places down, some of these dumb fuckers made the mistake of coming after our little girl-" Logan spoke, gesturing toward the other black-clad woman on their team- "We took exception to that, so now we're doing the job," he replied nonchalantly.

The X-Men had all relaxed now, now that they figured their old teammates would not be hostile. Well, except maybe to Jean but let's face it, after finding out the extent of what she had done to the pair, everyone had been a little hostile toward her.

"Your daughter?" Scott asked, curiously.

"Mmhmm, Laura, and that one's Alice, then the boys, James, and Jack, but that’s just the older ones, the young ones are still at home," Rogue introduced each, who nodded in turn. Jack tugged off his balaclava last, as all eyes turned to him.

For several minutes the X-Men observed the group, absorbing the news they were a family, until Jean stepped tentatively forward. Momentarily forgetting her fear of the pair who had ruined her life, leaving her alone, scarred, and shunned.

"Ch-Charlie!?" Jean suddenly commented, as she studied the features of the man Rogue called 'Jack'. He had Logan's dark hazel eyes, though the shape was neither Logan's nor Rogue's, and his dark hair was more Auburn than Black.

Cold, hard, eyes turned to her, an eyebrow cocking in a familiar gesture as he regarded her with contempt. "My name is Jack, use it," he growled. God he looked just like Logan, both of the boys did, though the other had a streak of white in his hair, obviously a trait from Rogue.

"No, your name is Charlie, I named you Charles and-" Jean began to tearfully explain.

"And I don't want anything from you, you bitch, not even your goddamn name," Jack interrupted, his tone deathly calm but dripping venom; obviously he didn't only get his looks from Logan.

"You don't know... I'm your mother, please Ch-Jack, they kidnapped you when you were just a baby, I couldn't find you, I-" Jean was sobbing now, pleading, reaching for him.

"I know damn well who you are egg donor, and I don't want a damn thing to do with you, so back the fuck off." He growled, deeply and ominously, as she continued to approach, until he had stepped up next to Rogue and stood protectively at her side.

"You bitch!" Jean screamed at the girl, though she was hardly a girl anymore, she must be in her forties by now, though she didn't look a day over twenty-five. "You think this is some sort of game, stealing my child and turning him against me!?" she fumed, though she had the good sense not to continue to approach now that both Logan and Charlie- Jack were protectively flanking her. Not to mention the other three 'children' who, though they appeared relaxed and at ease, were obviously ready to join the fight at a moments notice.

"The only one playing games was you Jean, and you lost," Rogue replied coolly, the barest of grins touching her lips even as she tried to quash the pity that rose in her heart for the women standing before her.

"You broke into my home, you attacked me, he carved horrible slurs into my body, and you stole my child, if that wasn't a game what was it?" Jean fumed.

"I’ll be honest with you, that was revenge. You wrote the rules Jean, you made your bed, now you lie in it, you're the one who used your mutation to manipulate us, you're the one that caused this, and you're still trying to act like the victim... well guess what, I don't need to act the victim, even though I was, Logan was, Jack was, but we all won, I got Logan, he got me, Jack got a family that loved him and wanted him, not a mother that just wanted him as a pawn to win a man she didn't have a right to," Rogue stated, angrily but calmly.

"That's not true, I loved him, I did, I wanted him, I..." Jean tried to argue.

"Maybe you wanted him, when you realised just how badly you lost," Rogue replied with a shrug, "And we didn't turn him against you, you did that, all we did was tell him the truth. Now if you'll excuse us, we have people to get home," Rogue finished, turning and walking away from the group, toward the van where their rescues were being loaded into seats. If she didn't leave soon she was going to lose her cool and attack Jean, but she had promised herself a long time ago she wouldn't. That woman had already stolen enough of her life.

"Logan, why don't you guys come back with us, we can work togeth--" Scott didn't bother finishing his sentence when he spied Logan turn his head, and pointedly glare at Jean. "Alright, fair enough... Do you guys need help? Where do you take the rescues? Do you need funding for medical expenses, schooling?" he asked instead.

"No Scott, we're sorted, we've got doctors, and a school, and a good town to help them, the younger ones come home with us, add them to the brood, the older ones get therapy, recovery, we help them get into college or a job, we've got this," Logan advised, shifting to completely ignore Jean who was still standing mutely in place just staring at Jack, who was pointedly acting as if she simply didn't exist.

"Well, is there some way we can contact you, to coordinate, so we're not treading on each other toes?" Scott queried.

With a tolerant chuckle and a shake of his head, Logan handed over a satellite phone. "Number's in there, emergencies only, she doesn't come within five hundred miles of our home, ever," he replied, pointing at Jean. "If we need to contact you we know how to."

Before he got a chance to walk away Scott stopped him with another query. "Your daughter, Laura, is she alright?"

"The usual; nightmares of repeated rapes, regular beatings because she takes after me in the compliance category, almost complete metal bonding procedure... but she's doing good, she's strong, and stubborn as hell, she gets that from Marie I swear," he and Scott both chuckled at that, there was no way he and Marie’s kids would have been anything but, not with both him and Marie to influence them.

"I'm sor--" Scott began to say.

"Don't," Logan interrupted, "What's done is done, we don't need your pity, she doesn't need your pity, we just need to shut these fuckers down for good, that's one reason we won't work with Chuck, he doesn't agree with our methods, does he?" Logan asked, brow cocked in amusement as he gestured toward the dead soldiers lying a short distance away.

"No, he doesn't approve of your methods... but we all understand the desire," Scott replied.

As Logan and Jack turned to walk away another thought occurred to Scott. "Hey, does Rogue still have Magneto's powers?" he asked curiously.

"A little, why do you ask?" Logan grunted in reply.

"I was wondering how you messed up the fence," Scott replied, pointing to the ten foot razor wire that had been effectively rolled back, several bodies caught up in it.

"Oh, that's Jack," Logan replied with a grin, as the young man's whole body seemed to glow, and he contorted the fence further telekinetically.

They were halfway across the clearing when Jean called out again. "Jack... I love you," she said softly.

The boy turned back to her for a split second. "I have a mother who loves me, I want nothing from you," was all he replied, before he continued to the waiting van and wrapped his arms around Rogue, hugging her tightly, then he picked her up and carried her into the van.

"I love you momma," he murmured, hugging her tightly as the van rolled away, toward their home. His dad was driving, Alice navigating, not that dad needed a navigator but she begged to come and wanted to be useful, even though Logan refused to let her actually come onto the base. James and Laura were dealing with the rescues, Laura cleaning and bandaging cuts and scrapes on the two little girls, James, splinting the woman’s left leg and wrist.

"I love you too little one," Marie replied, hugging him tightly as she felt a tear slip down her cheek. She had been dreading the day Jean finally found Jack, the last thing she wanted was to lose her son, she just hoped their relationship was strong enough.

Jack growled irritably a moment later, and at Marie's gentle query he told her Jean was trying to contact him telepathically.

"Want me to help?" Marie asked, with a grin.

"Sure," Jack answered, with a responding grin, feeling the moment she turned her skin on and gently nudged her way across her skin’s barrier and into his conscious mind. A moment later he felt the swift mental punch Marie threw at Jean, who promptly disappeared.

"What are you two up to?" Logan asked over the seat, when he heard them chuckling.

"Just dealing with an intruder," Jack replied, still grinning broadly, and settling back in his seat for the seven-hour ride home. He felt like a weight had been lifted off him, now that that 'introduction' had been dealt with, hopefully he didn't have to worry about dealing with that woman ever again.

--

Jean sat in silence on the way back to the mansion, the painkillers she had taken were doing absolutely nothing to help with the migraine she had had since she tried to contact Jack. God, trust Logan to give him such a horribly boring name, and that bitch Rogue, she knew what his name was why didn't she tell Logan!

'To spite you of course,' her subconscious mocked her. 'She's right though, you brought this on yourself, what goes around comes around,' was the last thought that went through her head as tears began to track her face.