The days away from his two girls were much harder than Logan had ever imagined them to be. At night, he would wake up by Becca's cries only to find himself alone in a dirty motel room, miles away from his daughter and mate. His returning nightmares were the other reason to keep him awake. For the first few nights Marie's tee shirt – or more her scent on it – had helped to calm him from the fragments of his past haunting him in his dreams and afterwards, but now after the first week had gone by, the cloth smelled only after him.

Logan rolled onto his side and his hazel eyes caught sight of the picture of his two girls that usually rested on his nightstand - as if the two brunettes were watching over him in his sleep. Reaching out he traced the smiling face of his young mate and felt the Wolverine in him stir, yearning for her soft touch and her soothing scent.

Since he had left her for the first time after Liberty Island, Logan felt always incomplete on his journeys – like he had left the girl more than just his dog-tags, but a part of his very being. And now after Becca's birth and Marie's acknowledgment to be his mate, the urge to return and never leave their side again became almost unbearable.

It wasn't like his search was successful in the slightest and would compensate the emptiness he felt in his heart. The town archives held no hints that a mutant had lived in the area or that a man was reported missing or claimed dead without a body. The only mutant related reports were about rapes that took place 20 years ago in the entire vicinity of Alkali Lake. All victims had claimed their attacker had inhuman nails and teeth and they had deep scratch and bite marks to show as proof.

But this was his only finding and it only showed that Sabretooth had lived near Alkali Lake a few years before Logan had lost his memories. Xavier's hint with the secret research facility at the dam wouldn't leave him alone and he wondered if the other feral mutant had anything to do with it. But then again, Logan hadn't found anything else than a dam at the dam the last two times he had been there.

The only positive aspect of his road trip was the 1700 dollars he had earned with cage fights – and the satisfaction that Scooter cussed colorfully every time he entered the garage and saw the empty spot his beloved bike used to occupy – at least this was what his Marie has told him during their daily phone calls.

X X X X X

Meanwhile at the mansion, Marie tried her best to distract herself from thinking of Logan all the time. She missed him terribly and was looking forward to their talks every day. During her quality-time with her daughter – usually the time she should use to make her homework – Marie would tell the baby why her father was absent and what he might be doing at that moment. Those one-sided talks would rather calm her own nerves – banning the thoughts of her mate screwing some barfly into the depths of her mind - than reassure the infant.

The brunette was glad that she lived at her school and didn't have to spent precious minutes – which she could share with her bed - on the way to school. Another pro was the understanding and help offered by her teachers – at least all but one of her mentors held real sympathy for her situation.

Scott had asked her if she needed him to pick anything up from town or if he should drive her to the mall to shop some baby stuff. Storm, who was an early riser, was so kind to take over Becca's 6 A.M. bottle and so the weather witch drank her herbal tea in Logan's leather armchair while feeding Becca and watching the news broadcast.

And what the redhead concerned, there were Jubilee, Kitty and Pete. The three would see to it that Rogue was never alone with the doctor. They would wait in the doorframe of the classroom when Jean called Rogue to her after class, they would accompany the young mother to Becca's weekly check-up and they would spend their time till curfew with Rogue watching TV in Logan's room, playing cards or simply chatting. Bobby and John offered their help with carrying the diaper bag or Rogue's books – always trying to reestablish their former positions within the clique.

Marie hadn't missed the satisfaction on Jean's features when it became official that Logan had left the mansion for one of his journeys. Her fake sympathy was sickening and the redhead couldn't let the topic rest – even in Jubilee's presence – that she had warned the teenager to don't rely too much on Logan and that the feral wouldn't return so soon.

Marie and Jubilee had shared a good laugh about the dumb face of their teacher when Marie had filled her in on her talks with Logan on the phone and that he was currently at a motel near the Canadian border.

Now as the thirteenth day of separation was turning towards its end, Marie bid her spare time in the mansion's computer room. Kitty, Bobby and John sat a few computers away, the boys playing WoW while Shadowcat checked her emails. Next to Rogue had Jubilee her feet propped up on the table and made funny faces to a gargling Becca lying in her lap.

The young mother suddenly picked up on the rumbling of a bike and a bright smile slipped onto her features as she jumped from her chair and ripped her daughter from her friend.

"Rogue?" The Asian squealed startled and she and her friends watched the brunette race out of the room. They shared a puzzled gaze and leaped to their feet and followed her – curious.

X X X X X

Logan had parked the bike in front of the mansion's main entrance and was now pushing the large oak doors to the foyer open, his backpack hanging lazily with one strap from his shoulder. Hearing his mate's voice on the phone wasn't enough to sate the longing he felt in his heart and he missed holding his little daughter in his arms, he even missed her spit on his flannels. He eventually realized that he needed his girls' presence like he needed air to breath, so he had spontaneously blown off his trip and returned home to his family.

His heart was beating fast as he entered the large hall, ready to sniff his way to his mate when he heard a surprised and high pitched "Logan?" echo from the staircase. Looking up to the landing, his face split into a soft and gentle smile. There his two angels stood smiling down on him with wide eyes. Before he could cover the distance separating him from the stairs, Marie had already rushed down and was throwing herself and Becca into his embrace.

The brunette pressed her face into his chest, inhaling deeply his unique scent of tobacco, wood and leather. She felt his strong arms wrap about her and their child, holding them close to his heart. The three of them stood there a moment, Jubilee and the other students watched them from the floor above, until Becca emitted a frustrated cry. Marie pulled slightly away, giving her daughter more space and looked up into her mate's bright hazel eyes. "Why didn't ya say anything?"

Chuckling, the Canadian placed a peck onto Marie's forehead, not caring about the audience for once. "I wanted to surprise you, Kid." Her obvious happiness about his return and the bright smile that reached her chocolate eyes warmed his heart and made him feel whole once again.

When they broke away he reached out and lifted Becca up and held her on eyelevel. "Hey, kiddo! Do you remember me?" He smiled gently into the infant's face and chuckled as she placed her chubby hand on his muttonchops, gargling happily. "Yup, I'm the one with the fuzzy cheeks." Ignoring the arrival of Scott and a few more students, Logan kissed his daughter onto her tiny nose and held her up above his head. "You got quite tall, lil' skunk!"

"Oh, please! Don't talk such bull!" Marie narrowed her eyes at him as she fetched his cowboy hat from the floor - her welcoming hug had been a little too enthusiastic.

Logan shook his head and propped his daughter up onto his shoulder, kissing her downy head in the process. "I ain't. Becca has grown." He suddenly felt tiny hands grip his hair and pull at it slightly. "And look, Kid, she can grasp and hold things much better than the last time I saw her." The proud smile soon mixed with a painful expression as Becca's pull on his dark locks got fiercer. "Oww." Careful to not hurt the baby Logan opened her hand and let her body slip down his chest a little, to bring his hair out of harm's way.

Marie watched him sheepishly and recalled her daughter's new quirk to grasp her mother's white bangs and shove them into her mouth to suck on while getting a new diaper. "Umm, ya might be right."

"Sure, I am!" Logan rearranged the backpack's strap on his shoulder and fished for the bike's keys in his pants' pocket, before throwing them towards Scott.

The other mutant caught the keys and hurried eagerly to the door and his bike, but stopped in his tracks as he heard Wolverine's nonchalant voice. "Oh, you should know, she has a dent."

"WHAT!" The fearless leader of the X-Men whirled around and glared into Logan's face, his jaw tense. "You brainless monkey! You won't come near one of my babies ever again!"

To Logan's disappointment Scott continued his way without another word. "Oh, cool down, Cyke. She's fine; just in the need of a little gas."

"What?" Cyclops stopped once again and even with his large red sunglasses on, you could see his eyes bore into the feral. "You lied?"

Logan only shrugged and placed his arm around Marie's shoulders. "I wanted to hear you cuss like a sailor, but as things look now, Rogue has made this one up." He pressed her to his side.

"Ah didn't!"

Meanwhile the other teenagers had found their way down to the main floor and Jubilee had her hand propped up on her hip, staring at her teachers. "She didn't, Wolvie. Mr. Summers called you a 'fucking bastard' and 'asshole' on several occasions and the words 'damn' and 'shit' also fell quite often."

"Thanks, Jubes," said Rogue while a giggling went through the rows of the students.

"Jubilation Lee! Detention!"

"What? I just quoted you, my teacher," answered the girl innocently and held her mentor's glare. But before a staring contest between Scott and Jubilee could begin, Storm had entered the hall and smiled at the reunited family.

X X X X X

In the meantime John had raced down the corridors and had yelled into the rec room and the library "Wolverine's back!". It seemed nobody had won the bet, since the earliest bet was placed on Logan's return being after three weeks – by Storm. Officially, Rogue didn't know about the whole thing, but she had shared her teacher's option or more hoped that the weather witch's guess was right.

Jean looked up from her book. 'No, this can't be!' She reached out with her mental powers and picked up on Logan's presence and his and Rogue's happiness. 'I can't believe it, he returned for that brat!' The redhead gritted her teeth and stood up. She fought the anger and jealousy down and followed her students with a fake smile on her lips. No one noticed the bookshelves shake faintly by some invisible power.

When the doctor entered the hall Logan and Rogue came her way, him carrying Becca while his other arm was slung around her mother's shoulders as the petite brunette leaned against his side smiling happily.

Jean forced a smile onto her features and stepped closer to the feral man. "Hi, Logan. You're already back?"

His eyes flickered over to the redhead briefly, flashing his sexy smirk at her. "Yep, I missed Rogue's burned omelet for breakfast."

"Hey, that happened only once and turning food in a hot pan isn't exactly easy while ya have a sucking baby hanging on your breast!"

"Uhu, now it's your fault Mommy can't cook," cooed Logan into his daughter's serene face, his brow hitched while a grin plastered his lips.

"Hey!" Marie hit his arm playfully, knowing full well he was only joking. "Ah planned a welcome dinner, but if ya don't appreciate mah cooking, we can always go to McDonalds."

"Why don't we eat in the dining hall, Kid?"

Marie made a face. "Today is polenta-day."

"Fine, I'm convinced. You'll cook and I'll baby-sit Becca, so you won't have an excuse for burnin' the food."

"Haha, ya're so funny today." The girl muttered in mock annoyance.

The three had walked up the stairs without gracing Jean with another word – let alone a greeting by Logan.

On their way to their rooms, Marie led her mate to the computer room to pick up the diaper bag and baby seat and to shut down the computer she was using.

"Whatchaya doin', Kid?" He looked over her shoulder onto the monitor as she closed one of the browser's tabs. "Wolverine?"

A small blush crept onto her cheeks and she met his inquiring gaze. "Ah thought Ah really don't know anything about your namesake." She saw his eyes travel over the Wikipedia article. "It's quite interesting, Logan. In an Innu myth the Wolverine is the creator of the world." The brunette saw a cocky grin plaster his lips, not surprised that this new information fed his monstrous ego even more. "There's even a story about Kuekuatsu and his lover the moon."

Logan faced his mate again, a brow quirked upwards. "Kookootsu?"

Marie giggled and corrected the feral. "Kuekuatsu, it means Wolverine." Then she began to tell the myth she had found on the internet. "He and the moon lived together in the spirit world. And every night, they would wander the skies together. But, one of the spirits was jealous." Marie was a little startled by the frown spreading on his features, but she carried on with the tale.

"Trickster wanted the moon for himself. So he told Kuekuatsu that the moon had asked for flowers; he told him to come to our world and pick her some wild roses. But Kuekuatsu didn't know that once you leave the spirit wor-"

Logan suddenly began to speak, unsure where this information came from. "You can never go back."

Marie was surprised. "Yes, exactly." Now she was frowning at him. "Ya know this tale?"

"I'm not sure." Logan closed his eyes and tried to remember where he had heard this before. "Continue, Marie."

The brunette scrutinized his expression for a moment before speaking again. "Every night, he looks up in the sky and sees the moon and howls her name. But..."

Here it was Logan's turn again to pick up the tale. "He can never touch her again." He slowly opened his eyes and saw his mate's puzzled features. "I can't remember when or where I'd heard this story before, but I somehow know it." He thought a moment. "I feel it was kinda important to me."

"It must be from the time before you've lost your memories." Marie felt new hope was within their grasp. "It's just a theory, Logan, but maybe this story is the reason for choosing 'Wolverine' as your codename."

He nodded and sank down in the chair closest by. For the next hour they went through Marie's findings, but there were no new flashbacks, confirming Rogue's suspicion that this particular tale was the reason for his name. Giving eventually up, they returned to their room, Becca was soundly asleep in her carrier meanwhile.

The brunette watched Logan dump the content of his backpack into the laundry basket in the corner of her room. "Oh, Ah found out that wolverines don't have cubs or pups, but kits."

"Kits?" A sly grin formed on his lips as his mischievous gaze settled on her. "So the Kid's kid is a kit, huh?"

"Funny, mister!" Marie chuckled and tossed her pillow against his head.

X X X X X