Rogue raced to the Med Lab, knowing full well she would have to explain every bit of Logan’s situation to Hank before he’d surrender the needed supplies. Every step to arrive there was one more second of preparation for the speech she would deliver. Arriving at Hank’s office just as he was about to rip into a pack of Twinkies, she walked straight in, flopped down in the guest chair, and took a deep breath before speaking.
“Logan doesn’t want to come down here to get treatment because it might stir up his Stryker lab nightmares, which sometimes make him pop the claws in his sleep, and he shouldn’t do that now. I’m gonna take care of cleaning the stitches because he doesn’t want anyone else bugging him in his room, so I need supplies and basic instructions, plus what to look for in the way of infection and such.”
Hank blinked a few times, absorbing everything she’d just rushed out, and said, “Okay.”
Rogue breathed a silent whoosh of relief. The doctor moved efficiently through the Med Lab’s main hospital room and started opening cabinets, putting things in a plastic tub. ‘Wow,’ Marie thought, ‘I ought to be a lawyer. That was too easy.’
Returning to his office, Hank handed her the tub and pointed to each item as he described the procedure, “Use the hydrogen peroxide to swab the stitches thoroughly. Be generous. It will foam up, but that’s normal.”
He talked her through the whole procedure, plus sterility practices, plus bandaging, plus watching for signs of infection. “If anything like that happens, see me immediately. If he starts running a fever or having increased pain, see me immediately. If he pulls a stitch out somehow, see me immediately. If a red streak appears running up the arm, see me immediately,” he was ticking off the list on his fingers. Rogue noted Hank’s dark blue eyes scanning back and forth in thought, as if he were searching the inside of his brain for any missed details, “I believe that’s it.”
“Cool. Can the bandages come off now? They’re bothering him a lot.”
“As long as he keeps his hands clean, avoids a lot of public contact surfaces like door knobs, sink faucets and the like, then yes. Although, another day wrapped wouldn’t hurt....” He dropped the hint gently, “And I’ll pay a ‘house call’ tomorrow, just to make sure.”
“I’ll see what I can talk him into. Thanks, doc,” Rogue was out of the office and on her way back to the room before the first Twinkie disappeared.
Back in the room, Rogue unwrapped the bandages and audibly gasped at the sight of the stitches holding Logan’s skin together between every knuckle. Nothing looked suspicious as Hank had described, so she set to work lightly swabbing the area. Logan sat in noticeable silence while she worked over him, so she broke the tension by talking about her decision.
“I’ve made another big step in my life, sugar,” she drew a deep breath and continued without looking at him directly. “I’m ending it with Bobby. It’s time.”
“I wondered when you were gonna get back to that little bomb you dropped as you were leaving.”
She kept working without rising to the bait, “Like I told you before, things have been going sour between us for a while now, even before I took the cure, and it’s just getting worse.” Rogue didn’t want to clutter up Logan’s life with her petty relationship problems, but maybe it would distract him from his problems, so she nattered on, “I’ve been seeing him with Kitty a lot lately, and even I have to admit they look right together, somehow.”
“You sayin’ he’s ran around on you?”
She looked up to see his dark head cocked in that ‘I’ll kill you where you stand’ expression that Logan usually saved for the cage and missions, and for provoking Scott in the past. Apparently Bobby could bring it out in him, too. Alpha male, to the hilt.
Rogue hedged her words, “Bobby hasn’t done anything that I haven’t done, so we’re even, I guess. Still, it’s time to end it officially. I’ll tell him tomorrow, and things will be better for everyone, especially me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not,” she gave him a gentle smile, then picked up the fresh wrappings for his hands.
“No, babe. Not tonight.”
“I’ll make you a deal. You keep the hands wrapped one more night, and I’ll help you get cleaned up. I didn’t tell you this before, but you’ve still got some dried blood on you here and there - Hank didn’t get it all mopped off downstairs. You could use a shower. Seriously. And your hair’s a wreck, dude.”
Ignoring her final comment, he continued, “If you leave the gauze off, I ca....” Rogue cut him off with wave of her hand.
“No. Even if you’re unwrapped, you can’t lather up and scrub yet. That’s where I come in. And what the hell’s the matter with you, turning down a long, hot shower with a female helper?”
She’d finally done it: he was speechless. “I’ll go run the warm water while you ditch those sweats. You want a shower, or a bath? I’m betting you’re a shower guy.” Before he could answer, she was gone into the bathroom and the water was running. Logan heard some rummaging around from the bathroom, then Rogue returned wearing nothing but a bath towel wrapped around her torso, covering her from armpits to barely below the hips. “Come on, Logan. Shuck those britches. I know you’re not shy about nudity, and I can’t kill you with a touch any more, so there’s nothin’ to be afraid of.”
He stood and walked closer to her, almost pinning her to the bathroom door frame, “Yeah, there is, darlin’ - it’s called jail. You’re called bait.”
“Not any more, I’m not.”
“Did they cure you of that, too?” There was a taint of sarcasm, but she ignored it.
“No, Logan. The day I took the cure was my eighteenth birthday. I’m legal now.”
He seemed stunned for a few moments, “Damn it. I’m sorry, Marie. I totally forgot about your birthday. I was thinking that next year was the big eighteen for you.”
“Nope - I’ve been legal for a few weeks now, but I didn’t expect anyone here to remember, because it was the day y’all were on Alcatraz. But that’s not the issue at hand. I’m talking shower here, not a trip to Vegas for a quickie wedding and a whirlwind honeymoon on a waterbed.” She put a hand to his bare chest and pushed him back toward where they’d been sitting, “Logan, I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me: kept people out, gone to Hank to learn how to take care of you, plus I’ve brought you food, and I’m gonna keep doing all that until you’re ready to handle things your own way. But you gotta cooperate a little; let me take care of you. Don’t fight me all the time on every single thing. I’m doing a good job so far, but I’ll do a better job if you’ll just work with me here.”
To her surprise, he leaned against her and nuzzled into her hair above her left ear, “I’m sorry, darlin’. I don’t mean to be an asshole, but this whole thing has got me shaken down to the bones, and I’m not saying that to anyone but you, understand?”
She spoke softly to him, her breath drifting over his bare shoulder, “Yeah, I do understand. I know it’s rough. I remember what we talked about before, about our attitudes toward taking the cure. I also know that if anyone can snap back from a hard blow, it’s you. You just have to take the time to figure out the adjustments to make. Give yourself time to learn how to live a new way. I know it’s not easy, because I’m doing the same thing, just for a different reason and from a different angle.” She felt a trembling sensation go through him, and thought that he was on an emotional edge like she’d never seen before, so she wrapped her arms around him and held on gently, “We’ll get each other through this, one way or another. Trust me on that, Logan. Trust me.”
In a few moments, he whispered to her, “Just how much do you trust me?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Are you really gonna get in the shower with me, naked, and expect me to behave myself?”
“I am wearing this towel for a reason. But I can toss it aside if you’d be more comfortable that way.”
“Marie, you’re evil.”
That brought a throaty laugh from her before she explained herself, “Nope, just a woman wanting her friend to be clean. It’s an interesting change of roles, don’t you think? A few weeks ago, I couldn’t touch you, even though I wanted to, badly.” She saw him pull back from her with a curious expression. She continued, “Yep - I had lust in my heart, mister. You’re gorgeous, in case you never looked in a mirror before. But now, your hands are temporarily out of order, so I get to ‘do’ all that touching. Oh, it’s in the name of medicine and nursing, of course! It’s all perfectly innocent,” she waved her hands blithely to dismiss any doubts.
“Bullshit.”
“Are you gonna take off those pants, or do you need help?”
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Rogue becomes a care-giver, and talks Logan out of his clothes.