When Logan and Caleb returned with dinner and drinks, the other guests had just arrived. A crowd of people occupied the homes small foyer as they removed coats and introduced themselves or were introduced. Caleb introduced Flora, she was a pretty, shy girl, maybe five-foot-tall at a push, with big green eyes and curly ginger hair, too light to be red, too dark to be strawberry blonde, she had pale skin with a generous sprinkling of freckles. She reminded Logan of a fairy.

Once they were finished dinner the subject shifted from getting to know each other to the reason why the other family had been invited over.

"Long story short," Logan answered when Flora's father, Kyle, asked, "The school we work at in New York is specifically for mutants, a uh, security threat, has come to light for Caleb so Sarah and I are moving him to the school for safety. He mentioned Flora being a mutant as well, and that he was worried about leaving her alone at school with no one else to watch out for her, we've been directed to extend an offer of a place at the school for Flora, to you. It's a year-round boarding school, with onsite dormitories, all students and most of the teachers are mutants, it removes the stigma mutant kids get in a public school and allows them to focus more on studying, we also teach them how to use or control their powers, where possible..."

"New York is a long way to consider sending our daughter away too," Flora's mother, Marlene, interrupted.

"It is," Logan conceded, "Parents are welcome to visit as regularly as they can, long distance phone calls are allowed, and she can come home for holidays. We have no interest in pressuring you to make a decision either way, just letting you know the option is there," Logan stated. After a minute Logan noticed Flora's hand moving under the table in Caleb's direction, Caleb turned to her, worry evident before he addressed her parents.

"They're not going to stop harassing Flora, they're getting worse. They tried to trap her in the locker room three days ago, none of the girls would do anything to help her, I'm not gonna speculate what they were planning to do. They slashed your car tires last week, and we caught them trying to break into your house when we got home from school the week before. The fire hose incident last month wasn't accidental, they could have drowned her. It's only a matter of time before Flora gets hurt, or worse, all because she makes plants grow, that's not right, and it won't happen at this school," he was saying when he was interrupted by a cell phone.

It took a moment of everyone looking around dumbly before Marlene realised it was her phone. She answered with a polite hello, first looking confused, before turning pale. "No, no officer, no one was home … the boys went to their friends directly from school, we're having dinner with another friend … we left about six o'clock. What's happened?" she asked panicked. A moment later she gave Sarah's address and arranged to meet with someone in a few minutes.

Curious glances and a concerned query from her husband when she hung up, led her to catch everyone up on the conversation. "That was the police, something's happened at the house, they were making sure no one was home, they're coming here to talk to us, they said not to come home tonight because they're doing a scene examination..."

Dinner was hurriedly cleared away, a knock on the door only a few minutes later heralded the arrival of two uniformed RCMP officers. They were armed with photos of damage to the house, smashed windows, threatening messages scrawled on walls in red paint, and the head of every flower in the front garden cut off. It was all a very clear, and explicit, threat to Flora.

Once the officers were convinced the family was indeed safe, and had offered them assistance with finding accommodation until they had finished their scene examination, they left to continue with their work. It took mere minutes for Marlene and Kyle to turn to Logan. "What do we need to do to get Flora enrolled?" Kyle asked, noting the sigh of relief from Flora as she ran to her mother and hugged her, tears in her eyes.

Sarah had already offered her guest bedroom to Logan and Rogue for them to stay the night but Marlene and Kyle accepted her offer of her sofa bed, and reluctantly agreed to Flora using the spare bed in Caleb's room on the strict proviso that the door stayed open. Several hours later, once all the enrolment documents had been completed, and more questions had been asked and answered about the school, the parties finally retired for the night.

Rogue had slept the night before while Logan had driven straight through but she was still exhausted, she could only imagine how tired Logan was feeling. As the house fell quiet around them Rogue rolled over to wrap her arms around Logan. "Sleep Logan, everything will be fine, we'll be back on our way tomorrow, and I know you'll want to drive straight through so you need to sleep now."

"I'm trying," Logan replied with a grin, rolling himself to hug her too, burying his face in her hair, as he sighed tiredly. He was asleep a few minutes later, Rogue was debating with herself whether to stay awake as a 'lookout', when her eyes eventually closed of their own volition.

--

"Rise and shine, and get out of that bed before her parents catch you," Logan spoke, as he stuck his head in the teens open door. Caleb leaped out of the bed he had been laying on, spooned around Flora, so quickly he ended up on his ass on the floor. Both teens blushed brightly at being caught, though their panic died when Logan just grinned and shook his head in amusement.

"We need to be out of here in an hour, Caleb, you pack what you need to take with you, Flora, you come help me and Rogue make breakfast." Neither teen complained, just thankful they weren't going to get ratted out, both jumping up to get on with their assigned tasks.

Logan left them to it, moving on to the next room. Sarah was already up, busily packing her personal belongings, and making a list of things she needed to organize to get the rest of their belongings packed and shipped. Seeing what she was planning on bringing with her Logan was glad they'd brought the larger SUV with them, she wasn’t a light packer, not that he'd say anything. He quickly confirmed with Sarah which vehicles they were taking, and a seating and packing arrangement for the vehicles.

Recalling Logan's protective streak, and his concern for Caleb, Sarah suggested that the teens ride with Logan - his vehicle would give them more space and make a more comfortable trip for them anyway. They discussed Logan's plan to drive straight through to New York and switching drivers at some points, and it was agreed that Rogue could tag team with Sarah.

They didn't end up getting on the road for two hours, after they had to wait for Flora's brothers to make their way over from their sleepover so they could say goodbye. Logan was happy to wait given the circumstances, even though it meant another hour before they got back to James; word was, from their call home that morning, that he hadn't slept well for the second night in a row and was starting to show the effects. He was unsettled and asking for them repeatedly. Rogue had talked to him on the phone for a while, until they realised it was upsetting him more to be able to hear her but not see her.

They made good time on the trip, lunch was picked up at a drive through and eaten on the go but they stopped for dinner in Minneapolis. When they hit the cars again, Rogue took a turn driving for Sarah, who suggested Flora ride with them too for some girl time.

--

"So," Logan commented, when he and Caleb were alone, rolling down the highway at a steady pace. "You know pretty much everything there is to know about me, what about you?"

They conversed for several hours, talking about Caleb's childhood, his school, and sports achievements. He made a passing comment about how much he had missed having a dad growing up but that his mom had always assured him the he would have been there if he could, though she had never gone into the specifics of why he wasn't there. Logan in turn assured him that if he had known about him, he would most definitely have been there for him, that he was here now and he hoped he could make up for at least some if what was missed.

"I understand better now," Caleb assured him, "You were going through a lot, and you were trying to protect mom, can't really ask for more than that. The fact that you turned up straight away when you found out about me shows you care about me too, and James... And Rogue, what's the deal with her anyway, is she like, your girlfriend?" he added curiously.

"Sort of, it's a bit, deeper than that. Rogue and I... I love her, a lot, but for ferals, like me, and probably you, love goes further than it does for most normal people. Rogue's a part of me, and when I saved her life, I became a part of her too. Her mutation puts limitations on just how close we can be but we work with what we've got," Logan shared, he wasn't exactly sure how to explain his feelings for Marie in all honestly, he just knew without her, even just apart from her, he was only a fraction of the man he could be, she completed him, softened his sharp edges, and shielded him from the world in a very different way than he protected her.

"Isn't she a bit young, I mean she doesn't look like she's much older than me, which is a little creepy, if I'm being honest," Caleb shrugged, glancing at Logan apologetically.

Logan sighed; this he could explain a little easier. "She's eighteen, and yeah, that's young but... every mutation has its downside, ours is no different, my healing means I don't age, that's probably why your mom recognized me right away, I haven't changed, at all, in sixteen years, or for god knows who long before that. Some of my nightmares - which is how my memories come out sometimes - suggest I could be over a hundred years old, possibly closer to two hundred. I won't get older but Marie will, one day the visual age difference is going to go the other way. I don't want to waste any of the brief stretch of time I get with her."

Caleb went quiet for a time. "Does that mean I won't get older either?"

"It's possible, it depends how strong your healing is. Jean, she's a doctor at the school, explained it as you'll likely age up until the point your body reaches its peak, for guys that's usually thirty-five-ish, and then you'll just stop there, healing will stop you from going over that peak and down the normal decline of age," Logan told him.

"Are there any other mutations that stop people from aging?" Caleb asked curiously.

"I suppose, to varying degrees." It was Logan's turn to shrug, that was probably a question better directed at Jean, he didn't know much about mutations, other than his own and Rogue's.

"So, one day Flora's going to get old and die, and I'll still just be me..." Caleb said, more as a thought than a question.

"Probably," Logan answered anyway.

"And mom," the boy added.

"And Rogue, and any of your kids that don't get your mutation, and your friends, and extended family. It's kind of depressing when you stop and think about it, so, I try not to, until recently I never had a reason to, then I met Rogue," Logan admitted.

Caleb fell quiet again, obviously thinking about it, in depth. When he eventually spoke again it was on much lighter topics, just getting to know small things about each other, favourite foods, sports teams, music, etc.

They stopped for gas and to swap drivers as they came into Indiana, playing musical chairs again with passengers. Rogue ended up shotgun again in the SUV, while Caleb and Flora fell asleep in the back seat after they finished their midnight snacks, Caleb acting as Flora's pillow. Rogue eventually fell asleep too, her gloved hand in Logan's as he drove.

--

Breakfast was another stop for food and to switch drivers, on the outskirts of Du Bois, Pennsylvania. They didn't call home that morning, just texted an update on their progress so Scott and Jean could tell James when they would be back. This time Logan ended up driving with Caleb and Flora both, taking the opportunity to get to know Flora a little better.

She was a great girl, he could see why she'd caught Caleb's attention, she wasn't just pretty on the outside but she had the same gentle, caring soul that both Sarah and Marie had, it seemed to attract ferals. She was lacking a little in confidence but Logan knew that would come with age and experience. Her hair wasn't the only thing about her that was fiery though, he noted as she berated Caleb for teasing her about something.

Her mutation was nature based, she could make plants grow, literally, she demonstrated with a dried cranberry from a bag of trail mix. A seed inside the fruit had survived the drying process, and when she added water and applied her mutation tiny roots began to appear, half an hour later they had a little cranberry plant joining them on their travels. Flora kept pushing the plant to grow until it was flowering, she admitted she couldn't make it fruit without some manual pollination of the flowers but she didn't have the right tools to do that without damaging the flowers. The girl was, unsurprisingly, very knowledgeable on plants, Logan had no doubt she would get on well at the school, not least of all with Storm.

--

Their caravan pulled into the mansion’s driveway bang on midday. Rogue wasn't surprised to see James at the doorstep waiting for them, Scott having to hold onto him to stop him from running up to the cars before they'd stopped moving. As soon as cars shut off, he was released and was waiting at the door of Sarah's car for Rogue as soon as her door opened.

"Mama, you gone too long," James announced, as he jumped into her arms, hugging her tightly when she picked him up.

"I know little man but we're home now," Rogue replied, hugging him back with equal ferocity. She felt when he released his grip on her, to reach for Logan, who was approaching from the second vehicle. She handed James over when Logan reached them, the little boy immediately wrapped his arms around Logan's neck.

"You miss us eh little guy," Logan asked with a grin, he felt bad the boy had been upset but he had to admit, since his run in with Marie he had been enjoying the fact someone cared about him enough to miss him when he wasn't there. James nodded frantically where his face was buried in his shoulder, not releasing his grip around his neck.

"Well, I got a surprise for you," Logan said after a moment, turning back to the SUV, James sat up to look around and see what his surprise was, as Logan came to a stop in front of Caleb. "This is Caleb, I'm Caleb's dad, just like I'm your dad, that means Caleb is your big brother."

"What's a brother?" James asked, looking confused.

"A brother is family, like a dad but more fun cause they won't tell you off when you're naughty," Logan said, with a smile, "That means if you ever need me but I'm not around, like if I'm away, you can go to Caleb and he'll help you out, isn't that right?"

"That's right," Caleb replied with a grin. "Hi James, it's nice to meet you," he added, holding out his hand to shake James' when the little boy made it obvious he was still wary of him. He was amused and a little surprised when James leaned forward and sniffed at his hand, before licking him and then grabbing his hand to pull him closer.

James continued to sniff him for a minute before he reached his chubby little arms out and threw himself out of Logan's arms at Caleb, who caught him awkwardly. "Hi Caleb," James replied, as he hugged onto his big brother, continuing to sniff at him to imprint his scent.

A sound from the car a moment later drew his attention to the other new arrivals. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing at Flora.

"This is Flora," Logan said, moving to introduce the girl to everyone. "And this is Sarah, she's Caleb's mama, and she's going to be a teacher here," he added, pointing out the final new arrival.

James looked warily at Sarah, before reaching for Rogue again. He spent the next several hours in her arms or on her lap, tired from lack of sleep and wary of letting her go in case she left again. He even cried when she handed him over to Logan long enough to go to the bathroom.

The group turned in for the night after an early dinner. Sarah and Caleb were settled into a two-bedroom suite on the staff wing, while Rogue introduced Flora to the girls on the dorm wing, they were all very helpful with finding clothing for Flora to borrow until her parents could send down some of her own belongings. She had come down with only the clothes on her back, that she had been wearing already for two days, because the Police still weren't finished at her home.

When Rogue made her way back to her room on the staff wing, Logan suggested he take James for the night so Rogue could get a decent night’s sleep. James immediately objected, refusing to let go of her.

Rogue shrugged. "You need sleep more than I do anyway Logan, you've barely slept in four days."

Logan smiled and hugged her, dropping a kiss on her forehead, "Alright then, you two win, I'll see you in the morning." As he pulled away James grabbed onto his hand.

"No, dada stay," he begged. Logan opened his mouth to object when James repeated, "Stay dada, p'ease," accompanied with puppy dog eyes that rivalled Marie's.

"You been teaching him bad habits?" Logan asked Rogue with a chuckle, "Alright kid, I'll stay." He followed Rogue into her room, closing the door softly behind them. He would stay until James was asleep before slipping back to his room. That had been the plan at least but James had fallen asleep clinging to him, and he had fallen asleep not long after.
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