The next morning dawned bright and sunny. Rogue wasn't surprised on waking to find James in her bed and cuddled up to her, she hadn't thought he would last the whole night in his own bed. He had woken her up at about three, as he crawled under her covers with her, and wrapped his little arms around her as he went back to sleep.
Rogue slipped out of bed as slowly and gently as she could, hoping not to wake James. She needed to shower this morning, and that would mean closing, and locking, the door to the bathroom, so he wouldn't accidentally wander in and possibly touch her. She'd just finished rinsing her hair when someone started pounding on the door.
"James? Is that you?" she called out softly, as she shut the water off and hurried out of the shower. The thumping stopped but she could hear sniffles coming through the door. She quickly towelled off and pulled back on her long-sleeved pyjamas and gloves before unlocking and opening the door. James was sitting on the floor outside the door, tears welled in his eyes. "James, are you okay?" she asked, before the little boy pulled her out of the bathroom and hugged her tightly.
"Bad room?" he said, sounding confused.
"No sweetie, it's just a bathroom, it's where you get clean... I wish I could explain so you would understand... see my skin, it hurts people, and I didn't want you to get hurt while I was in the shower so I locked the door..."
"You locked the door?" James asked surprised.
"Yeah, see," Rogue picked him up and carried him into the bathroom, showing him how the door locked. He tested out locking and unlocking it himself several times before he wriggled out of Rogue's arms to thoroughly inspect the bathroom.
"Mama safe," he finally said, with a satisfied nod. He promptly unlocked the bathroom door, walked out, and closed the door after him, leaving Rogue standing alone in the bathroom in shock.
She opened the door a moment later to find James back in her bed. "So, I can lock the door and finish my shower now?" she asked. James nodded. "You going to be okay out here on your own?" James nodded again. "Okay, I'll be out soon," she told him, shutting the door and locking it after her, she waited a few moments to be sure he wouldn't change his mind before she undressed again and resumed her shower.
She dried herself thoroughly this time, enjoying being naked for a while, before pulling on a clean bodysuit, shorts, and t-shirt - she left her gloves off for now as she still had to dry her hair. She unlocked and opened the door to check on James before she did that, he was playing happily on the floor with some of his toys, though as soon as she switched on her hair dryer he suddenly appeared in the doorway.
"What that?" he asked, eyeing up the offending noisemaker.
"It's a hair dryer," Rogue explained, "It blows warm air so the water goes out of my hair, you want to see?" The little boy toddled over curiously, and held his hand out to feel the warm air blowing. He sat on the lid of the toilet, and watched as Rogue dried her hair completely before announcing, "Mine now!"
"But your hair's not wet," Rogue said, with a laugh, James insisted, so she turned the dryer onto him while he sat there grinning and giggling as the warm air mussed his already messy hair, until Rogue announced he was done and switched it off.
She pulled her gloves on as she followed James back to the bedroom where he rushed to the door, intent on leaving. "Not yet," she called him back, "You have to get dressed first."
James looked confused as he looked down at his pyjamas. "Clothes?" he said, pointing to what he was wearing.
"Pyjamas," Rogue told him, "You wear pyjamas to go to bed, you wear clothes at day time," she continued, pulling open his drawers to reveal his clothes. "What would you like to wear today?"
James closed the bedroom door again before coming to peruse his options, he pulled out a pair if brown corduroy overalls and a green t-shirt and handed them to Rogue. He took his pyjamas off and stuffed them under the covers of his bed before he let Rogue help him dress. Again, he refused shoes which worried Rogue a little, she'd have to get him used to wearing them before winter, summer was fine to run around barefoot but not winter, not if you wanted to keep your toes at least.
Once they were ready they headed for the stairs, James was getting better at navigating them with some practice but it still took them a while to get down, several other people passed them as they made the trip, which slowed them down even more as James stopped to wave to everyone who said hello. Just as James was stepping off the last step the mansion's front door opened, both Rogue and James looked up to see who it was.
"Logan!" Rogue exclaimed, letting go of James' hand to rush to him, wrapping him in a hug as he smiled at her.
"Miss me huh?" he asked cockily.
"Yeah, though not as much as I could have, still have a decent dose of you up here," she replied, as she stepped back, her attention being drawn back to James when she felt him wrap his arms around her leg as he curiously regarded the newcomer.
"Hey little guy," Logan said, crouching down closer to the boy’s level when he noticed him. "I'm Logan, what's your name?" he asked gently.
James looked up at Rogue, before he turned his attention back to Logan and responding, "James." He stepped out from behind Rogue, tipping his head to one side as Logan watched his nose twitch as he scented him out. Obviously, the kid was a feral. He watched the little boy’s brow furrow as he stepped closer, sniffing harder.
"Alright I know I've been on the road for a while but I don't smell that bad kid," Logan said with a chuckle. He was about to stand back up when James jumped at him, throwing his arms around Logan's neck, and burying his face in the crook of his neck. Logan started at the sudden movement but calmed when he realised the kid was just scenting him, still, the same confused look on his face, like he was trying to figure something out.
"D-dada?" James asked, in confusion, a moment later.
Logan froze as he moved the kid back a step, his nose was still twitching and his brow still furrowed. Taking a sniff of his own Logan matched his confused look, there was definitely something in the kids’ scent, something familiar.
"Where did you find him?" Logan asked Rogue.
"He was at the lab, only prisoner. Kitty and Scott are still trying to decode the lab records, Jean's running her own tests on him though, he - he's feral and he heals, Jean thought there might be some sort of relationship between the two of you so she's running DNA tests. I'd say this confirms there's some connection but then again he calls me mama, even though I told him to call me Rogue, so, who knows," Rogue replied, looking uncertain, this was just what Logan needed to run again surely.
"Hm, a little young to be a mama, yet," was all Logan replied with a wink, before he set James back on his feet and stood. "I take it you two were heading for breakfast," he continued, ignoring the surprised and amused look Rogue was throwing him in response to his comment. Noting Rogue's look shift toward confused as she looked between him and James, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tugging her along to walk with him before saying, "No point worrying about it all just yet, let Jean finish her tests, or see if Scott and Kitty can find anything. Might just be a coincidence," he said, with a shrug.
James grabbed hold of Rogue's hand again and the three made their way to the cafeteria.
Jean wasn't at breakfast, everyone else though spotted the trio as they entered. Several people waved and said hello to James, who tried his best to hide between Rogue and Logan. Logan was welcomed back warmly, even Scott shook his hand and welcomed him back, despite Logan's clearly expressed annoyance with the other man for putting Rogue in danger by taking her on a mission. Scott just shook his head and laughed, and told him they could talk about it later.
"Isn’t anything to talk about One Eye," Logan muttered, as he set down his breakfast and took a seat next to James who was sitting between him and Rogue.
Jean came in a few minutes later, looking distracted, so distracted she missed the extra occupant at the adults table. Logan just watched in amusement as he ate, helping Rogue encourage James to eat his breakfast too, as Jean began to rattle on about the records that Kitty had decrypted, and she had been reviewing.
"How are James' test results coming?" Logan inserted into the conversation at an appropriate point.
"The profiles just about done, I should be able to scan the database shortly, the results should be done by the time Logan gets here," she replied, completely oblivious to who she was answering. It wasn’t until someone sniggered that Jean realised the whole table had gone quiet and several people were trying not to laugh. "Oh! Logan, sorry, I completely missed you, I apologize, I wasn't expecting you so soon," she said, trying not to laugh herself when she realised her oversight.
"Yeah, how did you get here so quickly?" Rogue asked suddenly, she hadn't even been expecting Logan until after dinner that night, at the earliest.
"I didn't end up stopping last night," Logan shrugged, before adding, "Not enough decent fights this close to civilization." Rogue laughed, she just so happened to know where the best fights around here were but she wouldn't mention that in current company. "So, the results should be in midday?" Logan pressed Jean on his initial query.
"Do I even need to bother finishing the test?" Jean asked, raising an eyebrow, Logan's pressing of the issue made her think he knew something that no one else did. He nodded, looking slightly uncertain. "Should be done in a couple of hours, I'll let you know as soon as results are in," she assured him. She watched the rest of the meal as James and Logan interacted, it was surprising to see the little boy so comfortable with another person where the only one he had relaxed around since arriving was Rogue. She was confident the results were going to confirm what she was already suspecting.
After breakfast, Rogue, Logan, and James made their way upstairs, James again insisting on climbing the stairs unassisted. Which gave the pair plenty of time to catch up as they waited for him.
"Sorry your room isn't ready," Rogue apologised, as she opened the curtains and windows to air the room out, "I wasn’t expecting you so soon so, with James to sort out yesterday I hadn't got to this yet." She began pulling out fresh sheets as she set about getting the room ready.
"Don’t worry about it, I know how to make a bed, are you looking after him are you?" Logan asked her.
"He was a little standoffish when he arrived and growled at everyone else so yeah, he's kind of become mine," she replied, with a nod and a happy smile.
James wandered in then, with a book in hand. "Mama read?" he asked politely holding out the book to her.
"In a minute sweetie, just let me finish in here and then we can go read," Rogue replied.
"I told you already, I can make a bed, go, read him the book, that's more important," Logan interrupted, taking the sheets out of her hand with a grin.
James was already sitting on Logan's couch waiting for her, when she sighed in defeat and sat down beside him, accepting the book he handed her. He cuddled up to her as she read, he was unusually subdued and clingy, though really, she only had one day of association to base that off, maybe he was just acclimating, he had had a big morning after all.
Logan finished making the bed before lying down on it, watching as the little boy on the couch eyed him warily as he cuddled up to Rogue, the kid had obviously bonded with her, which he couldn't blame him for, that was why he was back after all. He switched his attention to Rogue before too long, she looked genuinely happy as she quietly read the bizarre story about a talking pig to the toddler. After a few minutes he felt his eyes closing. In truth, he had driven flat out to get back since Rogue had told him she was going on the mission, he had been almost fifty hours without sleep.
By the time Rogue finished reading the book Logan was asleep. She smiled to herself, as she signalled for James to be quiet and picked him up, silently slipping out of the room leaving Logan to sleep. She'd been able to tell he was tired when she first saw him, and she didn't doubt last night wasn’t the only night he had driven right through to get back. As much as she wanted to be annoyed with his overprotective streak when it came to her, she couldn't bring herself to be when he made it so obvious he was willing to make such grandiose sacrifices for her.
She took James back to their room, asking if he wanted to go play outside but he shook his head, instead entertaining himself with his toys inside. A couple of hours later James stopped playing suddenly and came to stand in front of her, where she was quietly reading a history book for the lesson she had to give on Friday.
"Everything okay?" she asked the boy, as he stood uncertainly in front of her.
"Are you goin’ be my mama forever?" James asked suddenly, his brow furrowed in concern.
Rogue thought for a moment. "James, I'll be here to take care of you for as long as you need me, but we might find your real mama, don't you want to go home to be with your real mama?" Rogue asked.
Immediately the little boy began to shake his head. "She di’n't like me," he said sadly, "She di’n't read me stories, or give me toys, I - I did sompfing bad, and she send me to the bad place," he revealed. "You won't send me to the bad place," he said with certainty, as he climbed onto the couch next to her, and hugged her. "Will dada send me to the bad place?" he asked suddenly, looking scared.
"No sweetie, Logan would never, ever send you to the bad place, ever, Logan's been in the bad place too, he would never want you to be there, he'll keep you safe, just like I will," Rogue assured him, tearing up at the look of sheer relief on the boy’s face. Could it possibly be true that the boy’s own mother had given him to a lab. She pulled James into her lap and wrapped him up in her arms as she tried to hide her tears from him, she couldn't hide them from Logan who entered the room then, she could tell from the look on his face that he had heard James' comments.
Before Logan could add his own two cents, they both received a telepathic prompt to come to the briefing room. Verbalizing the directive so James would know what was going on, Logan helped Rogue to her feet so she didn't have to release her hold on the boy. They jumped straight on the elevator to head to the lower levels, the car stopping on the ground floor to pick up Scott and Ororo before continuing on.
When they arrived in the briefing room both Jean and the Professor were already there. Everyone quickly took seats, James still sitting in Rogue's lap, as Logan took a seat beside her. Despite the fact he was confident what the results would reveal Logan was still nervous to hear the confirmation. He didn't know anything about being a father, the fact he didn't even know he had a kid was testament to that.
"I'll get this out of the way quickly I suppose," Jean said, placing a file on the desk, "DNA confirms he is your son Logan."
Logan let out the breath he had been holding as he let the thought cement itself in his mind.
Rogue was holding his hand under the table and offered him a reassuring squeeze, she knew from his memories that one of his concerns had always been of having family out there he had left behind when he lost his memories but this situation seemed so much worse.
He offered Rogue's hand a return squeeze as he turned to James. "Guess you were right little guy, I am your dad, you okay with that?" he asked James directly. James regarded him contemplatively, before turning to Rogue, then back to Logan, his gaze settled on the pair's joined hands before he smiled brightly and nodded decisively, he then promptly climbed across their knees into Logan's lap and hugged him. Logan hugged him back, feeling a contentment settling in under the stress of suddenly being thrown in the deep end with a toddler being thrust into his life.
"You listen to me and you listen real good," Logan said, as James began to relinquish his grip a few minutes later and Logan sat him on the table in front of him. "I don’t know anything about being a dad, so I'm probably going to be a pretty shitty dad but I'm going to do my best and I can promise you that you will never, ever, end up in one of those places again, not while I'm breathing, you hear. You’re mine, and I'm going to look after you, and protect you, and if I ever screw up at being your dad you tell Rogue so she can kick my ass alright," Logan told the little boy, earning a teary chuckle from Rogue. James just grinned brightly and hugged Logan again before settling down in his lap, content to sit with him quietly.
After a minute, the little boy pulled Rogue's hand back toward him, and one of Logan's too, and held them both, so all three of them were holding hands. He had picked up on the bond between Logan and Rogue and knew, this was his new family.
Logan prompted Jean to continue with whatever news she had left to share, she detailed James mutation, and the limits the lab had tested him to before he had been rescued. Thankfully, though some fairly horrific tests had been performed on the boy, he had so far been largely spared from torment due to the labs determination that he was too young for physical enhancement. Rogue shuddered at that phrase as Logan hugged the toddler, his son, closer to him, trying not to remember, in vivid detail, what that phrase truly meant.