Rogue had her in yellow clad child cradled against her chest, both girls content and awake, as she approached the half-asleep form of her mate. "Mornin', Logan."

"Mornin'." He grunted and rolled onto his back in the middle of his bed, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

The brunette grinned down on his grumpy features, knowing how he hated happy morning-people and conversations before breakfast – she wasn't any better in that point, but today she felt full of energy. "Do ya know what day is today?"

"Huh? Umm, Sunday?" He caught the sight of his tags, no her tags hanging around her neck.

"And?" She looked expectantly, but he only furrowed his brows, trying to remember what might be special about this day. 'Not her birthday, not the anniversary of our meetin'…'

'You ain't even rememberin' the date, bub.' Wolverine growled.

'But I know it was some time next month… or the month after that…' He gave up. "And what, Kid?"

"Daddy is sometimes such a jerk." She cooed into her daughter's serene face.

"Hey!"

Rogue kissed the little girl's forehead before answering with a bright smile that reached her eyes. "We'll have Becca for exactly one week this afternoon."

"One week…" He trailed off. "Could swear it's at least a month." Snickering he grinned towards his two girls and stretched his arms towards his daughter. "C'mere, kiddo." His mate placed the small child into his waiting arms, before crawling onto his bed next to him, snatching the remote control from his nightstand.

Logan placed a whiskered kiss onto Becca's soft cheek, making her contort her little face and lift her chubby hand to his sideburn, pushing ever so lightly. Chuckling he lifted the tiny girl up above his head, looking into her deep blue eyes. "Huh, you gonna tell me, I should get shaved, lil' skunk?" Becca made a sound alike giggles and her father pulled her small body towards his face with a playful growl, attacking her small belly with kisses, before cradling the hiccupping baby onto his bare chest and nuzzling her downy hair.

Soon he felt two chocolate eyes rest on his relaxed features and he faced the grinning brunette. "Somethin' up?"

"Nah, ya're just so damn cute. Worth a picture."

"Don't you dare, Kid!"

Marie laughed about his horror-stricken expression while switching through the channels and leaning closer into his side. "How was your fight yesterday? Broke some bones?"

His smug smirk was more than a reply. "I think one guy even lost a few teeth. Friday is the next fight." It was out of question if he would attend.

The brunette beamed at him while clutching his large hand in her small ones and running her fingertips over his knuckles. "Then we could go to the mall next Saturday. Ya need a few more clothes, Logan."

He groaned as if in pain. "No, I have enough."

Now Marie was giving him his trademark eyebrow. "All your belongings fit into one backpack. Ya're wearing the same smelly jeans ya fought yesterday in and your tee shirts are all victims to Becca's spit." She paused a moment. "Ya even wore the grey school-sweater because ya have run out of flannels and wife-beaters."

"Don't mind to wear those a few days."

"But Ah do mind and so does mah nose."

"What's the washer for?"

"That's not the point, Logan!" She returned her gaze to the flickering TV screen. "It's decided. We'll go shopping next weekend."

"I didn't decide anythin'." Logan murmured annoyed but accepted his fate. His index finger ran through the short white strain of his daughter's hair while he came up with another topic. "Umm, Becca, you'll have to ask your mama what she wants for her birthday." His eyes swept over to the brunette next to him as he propped the tiny girl up, steadying her head. "Tell me what your heart desires, Kid."

The past week had been so eventful and long that she had indeed forgotten about her birthday in less than two weeks. Marie blushed at the first thought that entered her mind. "Well, Ah wish it would be mah 18th birthday."

"Would second that, but it's one of the few things I can't give to you."

"Really? Don't ya know someone to fake IDs, Mr. Logan Anderson or do ya prefer Mr. Sheppard?"

"Kid, even if I would give you a fake ID, the geeks here would know the truth." He heard her huff and pressed a kiss to her head. "Think of somethin' else."

"Dunno." She answered after a while.

"A book, CDs or a cell phone maybe?" If she would still need gloves, it would make things so much easier.

But to his dismay the girl in question only shook her head. "Kitty gets the newest music from the net, the next Harry Potter book isn't out yet and whom shall Ah call, Logan? Everyone Ah know is here at this school."

"Fine…" He began to stroke the back of the sleepy baby. "Any ideas?"

"Nah." Marie snuggled closer to him and placed her head on his naked shoulder. "Ah wanna spend mah birthday with ya and Becca."

Logan wanted to argue that, but decided to plan some kind of surprise for her big day. Maybe her two friends would come up with an idea.

Time flowed by as the three of them lay cuddling on Logan's bed watching TV. The mansion was slowly waking and so were their chaperons. The Canadian smelled the other man before the knock rang from his door and Scott entered the room. The X-Men leader's eyes immediately centered on the bed and its three occupants. His anger began to boil when he saw the bare chest of the other man, Rogue was leaning against. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Watchin' TV? Or what does it look like?" Logan growled back and felt his daughter become uneasy due to his tensing muscles. It had been so nice until now. Why wasn't it Storm to make the wake up visit?

Scott's jaw tightened and he stepped further into the room while his girlfriend and Ororo approached the open door. "And why can't you wear a shirt like anybody else does? Or are you gonna tell us it was Rogue, who convinced you that shirtless is inn?"

It was one thing that the nerd was bad mouthing him, but nobody was doing this with his Marie, if he could help it – and he could. His eyes narrowed dangerously and a vicious snarl emerged his throat while Rogue picked their daughter from his chest and held her close as he leaped to his feet. With one stride Wolverine had Scott by the hem of his shirt, ramming him into his wardrobe and bringing his sharp Adamantium claws to his throat. "I was nice enough and overheard the crap you talked, but you'll never, you hear never bad mouth Rogue again." His claws were scratching along the skin, not deep enough to make him bleed dangerously, but enough to have small red scratches on his neck.

Both men kept staring into the other's eyes, the women holding their breath as Logan eventually stroke out with his left hand and brought it forward with almost lightening speed – his claws returning to his arms in the process. Jean's shriek echoed through the mansion as Logan's fist collided hard with her boyfriend's nose. With a sickening crack Scott slumped to the floor unconscious as the raging man let go off of him. "Take this as a warning!" The Canadian barked and snatched his smelly tee shirt and demin button up from the carpet, his dark eyes switching to the two women in the doorway. He growled and headed for his bathroom.

Jean was at once at Scott's side, making sure he wasn't injured seriously while Storm approached the brunette and her child with a still uncomfortable expression on her face. "I thought he got to fight yesterday?" She whispered as the shower was turned on.

Rogue nodded, fully aware that the sound of a running shower wouldn't hinder Logan to pick up on their conversation. "Yep, he just didn't get laid." She stated nonchalantly, seeing the curious, yet perplexed gazes of the X-Women linger on her. "Not that he didn't had an opportunity, but he turned that slut down and came home for a cold shower." She had to shove this piece of information right into the redhead's face. "Umm, Ah'll get dressed for breakfast now."

X X X X X

When Logan returned from his bathroom, now completely dressed, he walked over to the armchair, his girls sat in, and eyed them angrily. "Kid, why did you tell that Red and Storm?"

"Umm, Dr. Grey warned me that ya ain't Prince Charming and would leave me sooner or later." She paused a moment searching for words. "Ah kinda had to tell her that ya umm, … could control certain urges."

His anger went up a notch, just this time it wasn't aimed towards his mate. "Red did what? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Their eyes locked. "Ya like her."

"I like lookin' at 'er. That's all." He shook his head, now understanding why she had kept that information from him. "All men have their eyes on beautiful women."

"All but Mr. Summers." A grin plastered her lips.

"He might if he'd get that stick outta his ass and act as if he had balls once in a while." The amusement vanished from his features and he became serious again. "Marie, you are my mate. I don't want us to have secrets from each others." He saw her nod and smelled her apprehension. "You don't like 'er." His voice was soft and understanding.

"She sees only the animal in ya… Ah don't like the way she looks at ya."

"Jealous, huh?" Logan crouched down in front of her.

"Ah know ya wanna sleep with her." She whispered, but her eyes were still trained on his face.

The Canadian took a deep breath and contemplated his answer. "Yes." He saw the hurt this simple word caused his girl. "I wanted, but she wouldn't have meant anythin'. It's just her looks, Kid, that wanna make me jump her bones."

"Ah know." She really did. After Liberty Island she caught herself staring at Jean's butt and became quite wet at the fantasies about the doctor that clouded her mind the first days after Rogue had absorbed a giant portion of Logan.

He was surprised to smell no lie from her. "Marie…"

"Ah have ya in mah mind. Ah know it's just your instincts telling ya to mate with the alpha female… to spread your genes." She looked away and squeezed Becca closer to her body.

Logan was at a loss of words, the man in him was ashamed about how true that statement was. But next to her hurt and anger, he sensed that there was something on her mind she hesitated to say. "Marie? What is it, Kid?"

She took a deep breath and locked eyes again. "Once we are mated… Ah mean ya claimed me as yours…" She saw his surprise about her choice of words, but continued. "will ya still have the need to … ya know with other alphas?"

He kept staring at her in shock for a moment. "Ferals mate for life, Marie." But before he could continue the brunette interrupted him, her scent full of insecurity.

"Ah know… Ah looked your mutation up… Ya're an alpha male. Alphas usually chose a strong and…" Her voice almost cracked at the next word. "worthy female. Ah'm not."

Her bluntness startled Logan and he felt Wolverine pace in his confines agitated, roaring at the mere thought his Marie might think herself inferior to someone like Jean. "Christ, Marie, who gave you the idea to be unworthy?"

"Ya never got that… hunger… that glint in your eyes when ya looked at me. Not the same as when ya throw a glance at her." She felt the tears sting in her eyes when she confronted him with her piled up worries. She knew he loved her and Becca more than anything in the world and that he wanted her, but still it wasn't the same.

It broke Logan's heart to see the girl in so much distress he caused her. "Darlin'." This new endearment made her look up. "I don't look at her differently."

Anger flared in her chocolate orbs. "Ya do! Even the ya in mah mind said it!" Rogue snapping at him made Becca cry and the teenager began to rock the baby gently. "Shh, is fine."

Logan must have looked quite dumbfounded as he contemplated this accusation. His fingers ran through his still damp hair while he searched for an answer. "Maybe I do." He saw her resolved glare. "It has nothin' to do with you bein' not a worthy female."

"What is it then?"

"Dunno." She hitched her brow at his half lie. "Maybe it's your youth."

"Ya mean Ah look like a child?" Marie was aware that she looked even younger than she really was. When she had arrived at the mansion Scott was about to make her attend the 8th grade until the professor supported her claim that she was already 16 years old – even though she wasn't sure which date it had been and she hadn't been sure if her birthday still wasn't a few days away.

Logan swallowed hard. "You're beautiful, but still need to grow up." Her features were unreadable for once and it made his gut clench. "I love you, Marie, and I know you'll be a breathtakin' strong woman one day. I always knew."

"But." She could hear the unspoken word in his tone.

"But I never wanted to push you. You should take your time growin' up. Enjoyin' your childhood." He saw she wanted to object. "I messed up your life, but I still don't want you to grow up faster and miss the little things the kids wanna do these days." He saw her mouth opening, but he beat her to it. "I know you're more mature than any of the hormone driven kids under this roof and that one is also to blame on me and Bucket Head." He grasped her hand and squeezed it gently. "I know for sure you'll be a strong and worthy mate. You already gave me a healthy daughter and you take good care of her. Who says you won't be an alpha one day?" He brushed the single tear away from her pale cheek and enclosed her with his arms when the girl leaned against his chest.