Disclaimer: This fan fiction is not written for profit and no infringement of copyright is intended.

“Do you mind stepping away from my girlfriend?” Callum snapped, gesturing to Marie. “Or do you really want her to bleed to death?”

And like an automaton Logan moved away, his face a mask of anguish as he realised there was nothing he could do to help. The guilt of it, the knowledge that he’d let her fucking down eating him alive. Marie’s boyfriend was hissing under his breath, trying to manoeuvre around his adamantium ass and Daken to tend his fiancée while Akihiro snickered- “Nice going, gai-jin,”- and despite himself Wolverine snarled. Going to push the younger man away from Marie and release her from the claws that had skewered the both of ’em-

But he didn’t.

Because right at that moment Kitty Pryde came tearing over to him from the remains of the Stark jet, Jubes at her heels while Stark took off towards the West 97th Street Gate like the Devil was on his tail. Without a word of explanation she gripped his and Daken’s shoulders, phasing both men- though the process didn’t extend all the way through Akihiro. Daken’s expression turning surprised, then callous, his wrist twisting as he tried to gouge at Marie through Logan’s wound before he could move out of the way. For a second Logan hissed in pain, his spine arching at the agony of it-

But nothing happened to Marie.

Nothing.

Because Kitty had managed to leave the length of Daken’s claw still buried in Marie’s belly solid. Its presence the only thing keeping her from bleeding out. It clicked in Logan’s head: Every member of the X-Man team trained with Hank in basic first aid, and every one of them knew the first rule of treating a knife wound: You leave the puncturing object in until you get the patient to an operating theatre. Doesn’t matter what you have to skewer, steal, blow up or phase to get them there but you don’t remove the weapon unless you want the patient to bleed to death. The three points of un-phased bone in Marie’s stomach were all that was standing between her and an agonisingly slow death from exsanguination-

And that being the case, Logan realised they’d have to keep the bastard there for the time being. He really didn’t like it, but there it was.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Callum snapped then, trying to push Daken away from Rogue. Jubes snarled, one of her paffs exploding into life at her fingertips, another spray of them circling both Daken and Callum like so many fairy lights.

The doctor might have been oblivious, but suddenly Akihiro looked nervous as Hell.

“Watch your tone, asshole,” Jubilee muttered. “My girl probably just saved Roguey’s life-”

Callum rolled his eyes and Logan and the girls growled in unison.“In what universe did she do that?” he snapped.

“In this universe,” Kitty said. “I’m trying to stop her bleeding out: Our healer Joshua won’t get here in time and we might lose her to the delay. As a doctor, I would have thought you’d understand…” She nodded towards Daken. “Just make that jackass touch her and everything will be fine, she’ll absorb his healing-”

“I absolutely cannot allow that animal to maintain contact with Marie!” Callum snapped. Shooting both Daken and Logan the kinda disgusted look woulda gotten a man who wasn’t trying to save his girl gutted, and not listening to a word Kitty said. Fucking dumb-ass. “He could still do a lot of damage with those claws still inside her-”

“We won’t let that happen,” Logan muttered. “I won’t let that happen-”

“Why, because you’ve done such a bang-up job of protecting her before now?” That self-righteous little prick. The feral gestured to the wound in his gut with one claw, teeth bared. “You see this, boy?” he rumbled. “I got this taking care o’ her. Which is a damn sight more than you can say-”

Callum put his face in Logan’s. “Are you saying I can’t protect Marie?”

Logan put his face in Callum’s. “I’m saying you couldn’t organise a fuck in a whorehouse let alone handle my girl-”

“So she’s your girl now?”

His smile was feral. “Always has been, always will be-”

“Animal,” the whelp snapped.

“Limp-dick-”

“Neanderthal-”

“Pussy-”

“Okay, that’s it!”

And Jubes paffed the pair of them, the brightly-coloured globes of plasma temporarily blinding even Logan. The chortle he heard Daken give not helping his Zen at all. His sight cleared to show him a thunderously unimpressed firecracker, her lethal little hands on her lethal little hips and an expression on her face woulda had the Devil peeing in his pants, let alone Remy LeBeau. “Attention morons!” she snapped. “We so don’t need this: We’ve got a Wolvie-on-Rogue shish kabob going on so drop the pissing contest and deal, capisce?” Daken twitched as if he were about to make a break for it and she paffed him in the balls. Twice. Even Callum winced. “Now you two are gonna help me dose our girl with Captain Dumbass here’s mutation until she heals, and then you are both gonna get down on your knees and beg her forgiveness for being such prize dicks. Because I swear, you keep this shit up and I’m gonna talk Rogue outta staying with either of you. Or kicking your asses, whichever comes first.” She shot Logan a vicious look.

“And frankly, Wolvie,” she added in an undertone, “I expected more from you.”

Logan shut his mouth with a snap at that.

Grabbed a hold of Daken then, yanking the leather glove he was wearing off his hand and forcing his bare flesh towards Marie’s. Suitably chagrined at having been given that rarest of things: a moral dressing down from Jubilation LeBeau. Because you knew you were well and truly being a dickhead if Ju-Ju Bean felt the need to intervene, there wasn’t a man in the Mansion didn’t understand that. And it wasn’t like it was the first time he’d made a stupid decision regarding Marie: He’d made plenty of ’em already, not the least of which had involved bringing that redhead barfly home two years ago. But he’d been so convinced he was doing right at the time. Just like he’d been convinced he was doing right arguing with the whelp just now. Which didn’t make him any less of an asshole, or any more worthy of Marie. Beside him Callum was muttering under his breath, irate at how he’d been spoken to but too spineless to try and back out now. Any worry about Marie apparently having disappeared behind his bruised ego and pouting lip. Daken was putting up a Helluva struggle, for the first time looking scared- “No, I don’t want to touch the parasite,” he kept muttering, “I don’t want to touch her-” But between them Jubes and Logan managed to force the bastard’s flesh onto Marie’s. The bastard falling to his knees with an agonised screech as he made contact, Marie’s mutation kicking in and draining him since apparently it had a lot less mercy than the rest o’ her. And a lot less forgiveness too. Daken’s eyes rolled back in his head, his healing factor racing through her, knitting skin and muscles and tissue back together beneath Logan’s wondering- and the whelp’s horrified- gazes. Red rushing to her cheeks, warmth along with it. She took in a massive breath, her chest rising as if her heart were about to explode, her beautiful brown eyes opening, finding his-

And with one swift motion she was in his arms. Pulling him close to her.

Giving him the kinda kiss that starts fires-

Because her mouth was hot and wet and hungry, every inch of her pressed against him. Fingers scraping through his hair, her little body warm and soft and alive in his arms. Everything about her screaming that she was His. Arousal flooding her scent just like it had in Vegas, but under it something he else remembered, something musky and warm and honeyed that he had once upon a time called love. The scent of it sweeter than anything else he could knew in this world, the only thing he’d ever walk away from heaven to find. She let out a little muffled sigh and Logan pushed down a wave of guilt: On some level he knew this was to do with her taking Daken’s power- She’d done this in Vegas the last time it happened, after all- But he couldn’t bear to bring it to a halt. Because she was here and alive and she wanted him-

“What the Hell do you think you’re doing?” Callum snapped then.

They broke apart, Marie looking up to see the man she’d been living with glaring at her. Lips drawn back from his teeth, hands on his hips, the pose making him look like a little fucking teapot. His expression more accusing than he’d any right to, when he was using it on a girl who’d just been at death’s door. Logan felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, the inner Wolverine taking over- Nobody talks to our mate like that, bub- but Marie did nothing. Just blinked at the asshole and then tried to wriggle outta Logan’s grasp. Unable to meet his eyes, her cheeks now flaming for an entirely different reason. Guilt and embarrassment flooding her scent. Logan put her down- it wasn’t in him to hold her when she so clearly didn’t want him- And it was only when she left his arms that the pain in his gut turned vicious. The full truth of his situation finally hitting him full force as he sank to the floor. Because-

I’ve lost her, he thought, I’ve really lost her.

And considering all I’ve done to her, I don’t even have the right to complain.

Kitty Pryde reached out a quiet hand and laid it on his shoulder then. Gave it a little squeeze, her expression kind. He looked up at her and she offered her hand, unzipping the front of her uniform and pulling out a small silver flask with the other. Muttering, “Don’t ask,” when he opened his mouth to inquire how she kept that hidden there, “And don’t argue. We don’t have much time for you to tell me what’s really bothering you before the team get here, and the press.” And with that she pulled him to his feet, the pair of them seeking out a quiet place to talk before all Hell broke lose-

While behind them, Marie watched Logan walk away from her. Unable to meet her gaze, guilt wafting off his scent. She felt Callum’s hand on her waist, heard his voice talking annoyingly close to her. Smelt his fear and aggravation, his disgust when he realised that she wasn’t quite as sorry about kissing Logan as he thought she should have been. Soon she knew the team would be here, and Tony, and the press, and probably Senator Osborne (she could feel Daken’s hatred of his employer burning like an itchy, angry thing under her skin) but right now she didn’t care none. Couldn’t bring herself to care. Couldn’t even bring herself to smile at Callum as he pulled her close and checked her wounds-

Because all that could fill her head and heart was the ache of Logan’s walking away from her.

And for the first time in what felt like a century, she heard her inner Wolverine growl in sympathy at the thought.