Author's Chapter Notes:
**CONTENT WARNING**
This is one of the warned about chapters, dark and may be triggering.
If you want to skip this chapter all you need to know to pick the story up in the next chapter is Ava detailed her experience in the lab.
The next morning, they got the two kids dressed and ready for breakfast. Ava had not slept well the rest of night, though she didn't have another full-blown nightmare, she did wake both Logan and Rogue up, sobbing in her sleep. As they got her dressed the next morning both noted how subdued and clingy she was but it wasn't until she startled violently, when Scott opened the door unexpectedly, that Logan decided they needed to get to the bottom of what was worrying her, sooner rather than later.

Scott was just checking in that all was well after the events of the previous night, he wasn't trying to catch Rogue and Logan in a compromising position or anything, though he was concerned about how much time the latter was spending in the formers room. The group had missed breakfast in the cafeteria, and Caleb had already taken off for class. Logan's attempt to get James to go with Scott to get some breakfast didn't quite pan out but when Ava's tummy rumbled hungrily, he figured the kitchen would be deserted this time of morning, and private enough for them to talk freely with her.

Jean stopped by the kitchen when she heard them getting ready to eat, to make sure all was well with Logan, and to offer sleeping pills for Ava if the nightmares continued. Logan thanked her, he hoped it wouldn't come to sleeping pills, he didn't like the idea of drugging his seven-year-old child.

As they were eating breakfast, the door opened again. Again, Ava startled, this time sending a spoonful of scrambled eggs across the table when she jumped. As Ororo obliviously made her way to the coffee pot, Logan turned to Ava while Rogue cleaned up the mess of splattered egg.

"Ava sweetie, why does the door scare you?" he asked, gently but directly.

Ava teared up, dropping her head as she dropped her spoon. "Bad things happen when the door opens," she whispered.

"What kind of bad things?” Logan pressed, when she didn't reply straightaway, he added, "The doctors?"

"No," Ava replied softly, "The soldiers- the soldiers are worse," she said as big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

Logan felt his stomach sink as her pulled the little girl into his lap, she curled herself into a ball as he wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his shirt. "Is that what your nightmare was about last night? About the soldiers?" Ava nodded. "What did the soldiers do, Ava?" Logan asked, even though he had a suspicion didn't want to know.

Ava shook her head, as she burst into full blown sobs. "I don't wanna," she said, as she tried to hide in his shirt.

Ororo was now watching the scene closely, as was Rogue. James seemed to be aware that his sister was upset but appeared to be content to leave Logan to deal with her, as he finished her breakfast.

"I know you don't want to talk about it sweetheart but you need to, it will make you feel better and it will mean we can help you better," Logan told her gently, as he soothingly stroked her back trying to calm her tears.

"How will it make me feel better, I don't want to think it," Ava replied, stubbornly.

"I used to think the same thing," Logan told her, "But now Rogue knows and it makes me feel better, knowing someone else... understands."

Ava stared up at him with tear filled green eyes. "What did they do to you, in your lab?" she asked in return.

Logan knew he needed her to trust this part of him, so, ignoring Ororo's presence, he gave a brief sanitized overview of his time in the lab to the little girl who split her attention between closely watching Logan and Rogue. Whatever she saw from the two of them seemed to set her at ease, and when Logan finished his story, she started on hers.

"The doctors weren't so bad, they just had lots of needles and took my blood, sometimes they cut me, I don't think they took my organs, and they didn't put metal in me, they did drill in my bones sometimes, which hurt, lots, and if I screamed they put stuff in my mouth so I couldn't breathe...

"The soldiers came when the lights turned off, three, sometimes four of them. They took my clothes, and then they took they clothes... one of the soldiers put his smoke things on my skin, it burned, but it went away so he kept doing it, the other two soldiers they - they..." she choked up, as Logan hugged her tighter. The rage was starting to simmer through him, he had a fair idea what she was trying to tell them, and he had determined he killed those fuckers far too quickly.

"What did they do?" Rogue prompted, as she reached out and gently stroked the girl hair, though Logan could tell by the tears in her eyes she knew too. Even Ororo stood frozen, tears in her eyes as she listened.

"They put their pee-pees in me, in my bottoms, sometimes at the same time, sometimes... it hurt, they always made it hurt, if I didn't scream enough, they hurt me more. They said they liked listening to me scream... The fourth one was the worst... He would tie me up, and put stuff in my mouth so I couldn't scream, sometimes he put his pee-pee in my mouth and I couldn't breathe... he had a stick too that he stuck in my bum, and he cut me, all over, he made blood come out, lots and lots of blood, and blood came out in my wees too.

"One time I couldn't sit up the next day, the doctor came and told him off, that night... he came alone. But I didn't see him again after that, he hit me lots, as well as the other stuff. That's what my nightmare was about. I don't remember much, but my eyes wouldn't open the next day, and I couldn't move, the doctors had to move me to the needle room for days and days... None of the soldiers came for a while after that but… then the door started opening again..." she finished in a whisper, as she buried her tear streaked face in Logan's shirt.

He was humming with rage as she finished her tale, literally vibrating with the repressed desire to find those fuckers and make them pay. At this rate if someone offered him the option of going to hell to find them and torment them for the rest of eternity, he'd seriously consider it. Rogue had moved to kneel down beside him, wrapping her arms around both him and Ava as the little girl cried. Even Logan's rage couldn't drown out the feeling of failure at protecting his daughter.

Jean and Sarah walked into the room then, taking in the scene in front of them in shocked silence before they moved to comfort Ororo who was still standing by the coffee machine, tears running down her face. Before they could start asking questions Logan stood, not releasing his hold on Ava. "We need some air," Logan told Rogue, which she knew was Logan speak for needing some alone time, he nodded toward the growing crowd, silently asking her to run damage control.

With a nod of understanding Rogue watched him walk across the lawn, and disappear into the woods with Ava. As soon as he was out of sight Rogue broke down in tears, collapsing into her chair as she sobbed. Ororo moved over to her and hugged her, doing much the same, neither yet able to articulate clearly to fill the others in on what was going on. The Professor, and Scott joined the room in short order, the former having picked up on the mental anguish of so many, the latter just after a midmorning coffee.

Jean was handing out tissues as Rogue finally managed to pull herself together. James, worriedly climbed into her lap, whining softly, confused by her tears. She hugged him tightly before she turned to the questioning faces gathered around the room.

"James, why don't you got find Caleb and see if he's finished his class, you didn't get to say good morning to him earlier," she suggested, not wanting to worry him more.

"Mama okay now?" he asked, as if he wasn't sure if it was okay to leave her yet.

"I'm okay now, sorry for scaring you," she told him, offering him the best smile she could work up. He didn't seem entirely convinced but allowed himself to be ushered out of the room and went in search of his big brother.

"Okay, what happened!?" Jean demanded, as soon as he was out of the room.

"Ava told us about her nightmare last night. Were you guys able to recover any records from the lab she was in?" Rogue asked.

"Some, yes, do we need to go over them?" Jean asked worried.

"Yeah, and Logan's going to want to see them later too, he's also going to need the danger room for the rest of the day, Scott would you be able to put together a DR mock-up of Ava's lab?" Rogue asked, her inner Logan making suggestions on things he'd find useful in calming down. At this rate she may just take a turn herself.

Scott confirmed he had already begun a render from the mission logs, while Jean called down to the computer lab and asked Kitty to bring Ava's file to the kitchen. Ten minutes later Rogue pulled out the notes relating the Ava's extended stay in the 'needle room', handing them to Jean for her to review so she could be certain she hadn't missed anything in her medical exam.

Jean was pale and visibly shaking by the time she finished reviewing the notes, as she was about to detail the extent of Ava's injuries Logan returned, carrying a now soundly sleeping Ava. He sat down next to Rogue without a word and nodded for Jean to continue. The report included the name and rank of the soldier who had abused her but not what was done to him, Scott assured Logan he would scour the records and find out.

"If he's still alive all I need is a location," Logan growled. Once he had talked with Ava, calming and reassuring her that none of what happened was her fault, and that none of the men who had hurt her ever would again, she had finally managed to fall asleep while his own fury had continued to boil. He could feel the claws pressing again the skin of his knuckles, so eager and ready to burst out and shed the blood of those who wronged his child that his wrists were locked and largely useless. The pain in his hands was enough to ground him sufficiently that he could keep them in check, though not for much longer.

"This information should be passed on to law enforcement Logan," Sarah tried to argue.

"So what? We can get in trouble for having classified information, and custody of a Government experiment, while he gets away scot free? No, if he's still alive that's gonna change quick," Logan replied dangerously, no one would hurt his child and get away with it, not while he was breathing. "These people don't play by the rules Sarah, sometimes we can't either."

"There is no punishment the law could hand down that would compensate for what this child suffered," Jean added, casting her eye over the notes again with a shudder. "She should be dead, multiple times over going off these notes, the fact she survived... it's a miracle but I don't know what it's going to do for her mental health," Jean admitted.

"She's going to be alright," Logan replied, hugging the child sleeping peacefully on his knee, "Me on the other hand..." he huffed a dark laugh - "I need to go blow off some steam, would you -" he turned to Rogue but before he could finish his sentence, she nodded.

"I'll stay with her," Rogue said with a soft smile, "Scott's finishing up a program you'll like," she added, pointedly glancing at Scott, who grimaced and rose to leave the room. He may just end up helping Logan test the new program.
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