Waking hours later Logan was surprised to find Rogue already awake, her breathing steady and even, and her scent, thankfully, lacking tears. He could feel her little hand between their bodies where they were still cuddled up close, resting on her abdomen protectively.

"You feeling a bit better now?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," Marie replied but didn't comment further for several minutes. "Would you be mad if I kept the baby?" she asked unexpectedly.

"What? No! Why would you think I would? And why do you care what I would think?" Logan asked puzzled.

"Well... it's not your baby, and Wolverine hasn't shut up with his growling inside my head since I found out but I have no idea what exactly he's mad about..." she answered, trailing off as she turned surprised eyes up to him.

"You have Wolverine in your head?" Logan queried, "Have you told anyone about that?"

Marie smiled. "The Professor knows, we were both kinda confused when we found him sulking around in the shadows, the you in my head kept quiet about him but promised he wouldn't be a problem, you even helped me build his room, though he really doesn't spend much time in there, I like having you and him around so you kinda have free reign inside my head to come and go as you please, you always go back to your rooms when I ask so I don't have to lock you up like the others."

Logan chuckled. "No offense kid but that's the most bizarre statement I've ever heard in my life," he commented, hugging her so she'd know he didn't mean it in a bad way.

Marie giggled in response. "I know. So, any idea what exactly is upsetting Wolverine?"

Logan sighed. "He's angry with himself, for not protecting you, he's angry at Sabretooth, for hurting you... he's not angry at you though darlin, and definitely not angry at the baby. I take it with me and Wolverine inside your head you have a fair idea where my thoughts are at in regards to you-" he continued at Marie's sheepish nod- "The baby might not be mine but it is yours, it's a part of you, I'm going to try not to influence you one way or the other, because it's your... it's in you so it's your choice, but if you go through with this and keep the baby I will still be here for you, for both of you." He felt Marie sigh in relief as she hugged him tighter.

"Thank you, I know how you feel about me, and I don't want to screw up what we have, I feel the same way and I want what we have to grow, eventually, I don't want baby to be a road block in that, I want you to love him, or her, too," Marie admitted.

Logan tapped her chin up so he could look down into her eyes. "That won't be a problem darlin."

"Good," Marie replied with a nervous smile, "Because I'm keeping it."

Logan smiled in return, leaning forward to place a quick kiss on the end of her nose. "I know," he replied, "I saw it on your face the first time you saw it move," he added, at her surprised and questioning look.

Marie smiled fondly as she remembered, the strong feeling that washed over her as she had watched the tiny human being wriggling around inside her. They lay in contented silence for a while before Logan suggested they get up, he could do with a shower after his road trip and Marie needed to eat, he declared. Once they were both showered, separately, and dressed - Logan pilfered some clothes from Marie's room while she was showering - they made their way down to the kitchen.

Lunch had finished already so they helped themselves to food in the kitchen. Logan made Rogue take a seat while he fixed for her, leaving her to begin exploring something she really hadn't thought she'd ever have to think about, pregnancy.

"Aww, baby is the size of a peach!" she declared, showing Logan her phone, displaying the progress calculator she had found on the internet, why it compared baby's size to fruit she had no idea, though it was kind of cute she added.

"Yeah, you're not going to think it's so cute when baby's the size of a watermelon and wants out," Logan replied with a chuckle.

"Oh God, that- that was imagery I could have done without," Marie replied, trying to stifle her horrified laughter at the thought.

While they were eating Marie felt a gentle psychic tap at her mind, opening up to the connection she heard the Professor's request for her to come to his office once she was finished eating. "You get that too?" Logan asked when her focus turned back to them. With a nod she slowly continued eating, trying to tamp down the rising nausea, caused by stress as opposed to the baby inside her, as she tried not to think about the multiple ways this meeting could go. She hoped Jean was right and the Professor would be as supportive as she had suggested.

When they were finished eating Logan took her hand, before pulling her closer and wrapping his arm around her as they walked. Whatever happened she could do this, she had Logan and he would be there for her, no matter what.

--

"Rogue my dear, I trust you slept well?" the Professor's gentle, soothing voice, floated across the room to her, as Logan held the door for her.

"Yeah, I did," she replied, flashing a grateful smile at Logan. Also present at this impromptu meeting were her teachers, Scott and Ororo, Jean entered the room too as they were taking their seats.

"Jean has filled us in on your condition, and the circumstances surrounding it, I, personally, am terribly sorry for what you went through my dear, and for not picking up on your underlying distress, you are very good at hiding things my dear but you don't need to do that, we are all here to support you," the Professor stated simply.

Rogue flashed him a grateful, though tearful, smile, her confidence that this situation was going to be alright was growing.

"In the past we have offered individual counselling to students who have been, victimized, you are not alone Rogue, as unfortunate as that is, and we have decided to also offer counselling in a group setting going forward in the hope it will allow you all to draw strength from each other, and support each other, an announcement will be made in the coming weeks once dates have been scheduled, we can also offer you individual counselling if you would like?" Xavier offered.

With a quick glance at Logan, Marie smiled as he squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I'm okay on that front but thank you," she replied.

"Certainly, Jean has advised of your options at this stage, have you had a chance to give the situation more thought?" he continued.

Taking a deep steadying breath Rogue replied, "Yes, I've thought about it and I will be keeping the baby."

"That's a big decision Rogue," Jean commented, "A life altering decision, are you sure you've considered all the ways that will impact your future?"

"Yes, I think so," Rogue replied confidently, "Either way, I'm not going to kill my baby, that would be worse than what he did, in my opinion, and it won't help anyone, least of all my baby."

"Alright then, your due date, based on the scan is December fourth, we can play around with your class scheduling closer to the end of your pregnancy to work around the birth and anything that comes up around then, you are officially excused from gym class, doctors’ orders, you can join in if you want to but don't overdo it, I would recommend you take part in the summer classes this year, at least, to make up for any time you take off when baby is born, I'd recommend around a month to recover and get baby settled, probably closer to three if you opt for a caesarean delivery. Health wise, baby is so far so good, we'll do another scan at twenty weeks to confirm gender, and if you have any concerns in the meantime let me know, we don't want to do too many scans but other things like listening to the heartbeat and stuff can be done more regularly. I've put together a list of books and resources you might want to read up on in preparation, and I printed off some photos for you from the ultrasound," Jean finished with a smile, as she handed over an envelope she'd brought in with her.

Rogue pulled out the pictures, gently running a finger over the grainy image as she smiled down at the baby, her baby. Her whole life was about to get flipped on its head again but this time she didn't mind so much. "Thank you," was all she could say.

"The other issue is going to be living arrangements," Logan added, "Can't have a new-born in the dorms disturbing all of the kids, and wherever Rogue gets moved to it's probably better to do sooner rather than later so she can get settled in plenty of time."

"Indeed," Xavier answered, "I was actually going to ask if you, Logan, would be up for the task of renovating some rooms to give Rogue a small suite, a bedroom, bathroom, and nursery at least, there are some empty rooms on the teachers wing that would suffice. I expect you are staying for the time being?"

"Yeah," Logan confirmed, "If I can get a look at the rooms, I can make a list of materials and get started straight away."

"Excellent, we can settle the details later, Ororo can show you the rooms and make sure they can be made suitable for the new mother," Charles replied, with a warm smile directed at Rogue. "For now, we best all get back to our classes, though Rogue you are excused from attendance for the rest of the day, I expect you back at class bright and early on Monday."

"Yes Professor," Rogue replied, with a smile as she stepped around his desk to hug him tightly, this had gone a lot better than she had expected.
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