It was pitch black when Logan suddenly jerked awake, he wasn't sure why he had woken so suddenly but as he did his mental check, running through each sense to see what he could pick up from his environment, he noticed an odd scent. Throwing back the covers he stood, and padded over to the open door that led to Rogue's room. They had taken to leaving it open over the last few weeks, as Rogue approached, and had now passed, her due date, just in case she needed to call to him in the middle of the night.

It was through that door that he could now pick up this new scent. It was an odd smell, damp and sweet, and he felt like it was probably something to do with the baby. He followed the scent to Rogue's bed, where she lay fast asleep. Tugging back her blankets, gently so he didn't wake her, he observed the damp patch on her bottom sheet and her nightie, which was riding up nicely to show a lot of thigh and a little ass cheek; and he was going to stop that train of thought right there...

He tucked the blanket back over her gently, if he had to put money on it he would say that was amniotic fluid but it was nowhere near the amount Jean had said to expect when the waters broke, though she had also mentioned the possibility of leaks leading up to birth. He had just decided it must be a leak, and was about to head back to bed, when he heard Marie's breath catch, and he sensed her body tense unconsciously.

Glancing at the clock, that read a little after midnight, Logan took a seat on the couch and waited. About five minutes later there was another hitch in her breathing and more tensing. With a grin Logan settled deeper into the couch, silently making himself comfortable as he settled in to wait for baby's arrival. He couldn't help the smug grin as he caught the date on the clock, looked like the little rascal was indeed going to arrive on the tenth like he had predicted. He fell asleep again not long after one and was woken by a sharp gasp from the bed, a little after half past three.

"Logan!" Marie called out loudly, as she tried to catch her breath after the significant contraction.

"It's alright, I'm right here," he murmured soothingly, as he shifted from the couch to the bed to help her move.

"How long?" she asked, once she was seated on the edge of the bed.

"I've been here since just after midnight, your waters been leaking a little but when I realised you were having contractions, I figured it was best to let you sleep," he told her.

"I wondered why I was damp, should probably get changed now that I'm up, before I get cold," she said, as she gingerly lifted herself into a standing position.

Ten minutes later she was clad in a fresh nightie, with one of Logan's flannels on top for extra warmth, though Logan also turned up the heat on her air con so she would be more comfortable. She was slowly walking around the room, pausing when she needed to, shifting position regularly, and just generally trying to distract herself from the discomfort of what her body was doing. Logan helped where he could, supporting her when she needed it, getting her heat pads, and gently combing her hair up, as they waited.

It was almost five when the contractions hit their minute long, every three to five minutes. And Logan mentally began to count down as he softly massaged Marie's lower back as she leaned over her dresser. She was obviously uncomfortable, with her contractions being obviously painful, but she was so far handling the process well.

It was half five when Logan sensed Marie's pain levels suddenly increase. "What's happening, what do you need?" he asked gently.

"I don't know, something's changed, I think- I think she's moving, I think we skipped a step, she's on her way out," Marie said between breaths. It quickly became apparent she was right, the contractions where lasting the full minute but coming about every one to two minutes.

"I'm going to duck out for a minute and let Jean know we're ready for her, okay darlin, I'll be back before you know it," he told her gently, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder. He got a whimpered response of 'hurry', before he slipped out, into the main hall, and jogged down to Jean and Scott's room.

Knocking on the door, loudly, thanks to his metal reinforced knuckles, he impatiently waited for movement on the other side. When he could hear those inside were moving, but not fast enough for his liking, he knocked again.

"What's wrong?" Jean said a moment later, throwing the door open as she tugged her dressing gown on.

"Baby skipped a step, we've just jumped straight to minute long every two minutes," Logan told her, turning and heading back for Rogue's room before he was even halfway done with his sentence.

Jean rushed after him, trailed by a half awake, confused looking Scott. It took Jean two tries to get Scott to realise she was telling him to go to the med lab and get the birthing kit she had prepared earlier. By the time she got to Rogue's room Logan was back in his position, supporting Rogue, soothing her gently and whispering encouraging words to her as the girl moaned and whimpered and panted her way through contractions.

As Jean checked on Rogue's progress she grinned up at Logan. "She's skipped a few steps by the look of it, baby's crowning already, you're almost there Rogue, keep doing what you're doing," she added her own encouragement as she settled back to monitor and wait, shutting the door firmly against bystanders, who had been woken by Logan's early morning wakeup call, and come to see what was happening.

--

An hour later, with one final push, Marie felt her little watermelon, as Logan had teasingly begun calling the baby, slide out of her completely, falling gently into Logan's waiting hands. She didn't have the strength to open her eyes as she anxiously waited for baby to make a sound, sighing in relief as the piercing wail she had been waiting for split the air. After a few moments, and with some coaxing from both Logan and Jean, she was able to adjust her position to turn and sit down against the waterproof squabs Scott had brought up from the med lab for her.

In an instant Logan had placed her tiny, wailing, ick covered daughter against her chest.

"Oh... she's so beautiful," Marie smiled tiredly through tears.

"Isn't she just," Logan added, a tender smile on his face as he watched Marie run a finger over the little girls features. "And check out that hair, no wonder she was such a feisty little thing, red hair, she's definitely gonna be trouble," he said with a chuckle, the wet mop of hair looked dark brown but his eyes could pick out the definite red hue that it would go once it dried.

For about fifteen minutes they sat in relative silence, just watching the baby, stretch and yawn, and gaze wide eyed at the world around her. She turned her attention to Marie, staring up at her as she reached for her face, clearly recognizing her voice. Baby surprised everyone when Logan spoke again, and she immediately turned her attention to him.

"Hey little watermelon, you know who I am too huh?" Logan said softly with a smile, watching in fascination as baby grinned gummily at him, before smacking herself in the face with an uncoordinated fist as she tried to get it into her mouth.

"Looks like she's hungry, do you want to try and breastfeed her now?" Jean asked, the placenta would need to be delivered shortly but there should be time for a quick feed first.

--

At seven thirty, just as the anxiously waiting crowd was getting ready to call it a morning and head down for breakfast, the door they were waiting on finally opened.

"Well?" Ororo asked excitedly, hoping against hope it wasn't a false alarm. They'd been in there long enough she didn't think it was.

"Mommy and baby are doing well, they can take visitors for a little while but then they both need to rest," Jean answered, stepping aside to let the eager crowd peer into the room.

Rogue was propped up in the freshly made bed, clutching her tiny little bundle of pink swaddled baby, she grinned up at those who were waiting, and gestured for them to come in. So many faces craned to get a good look at the little girl, the faces obviously too much for her, she promptly shut her eyes and began to drift off to sleep.

Logan was shifting the bassinet to the ready at Rogue's bedside while she showed off her daughter, he hung back for a while eager to observe her comfortably relaxed demeanour, before she yawned widely. "Alright, that's enough, time for mommy to get some sleep, baby will be waking you up again before you know it," Logan said, moving through the crowd to pick up the sleeping baby so she could be put to sleep in her own bed. Rogue pouted as he took baby away, before calling him back so she could kiss her goodnight.

"Oh, and what's her name, have you decided yet?" Ororo asked, names had been flying around for months but Rogue had been keeping her final pick quiet.

"Lydia," Rogue said softly, "Lydia Evangeline Logan."

Logan froze before turning away from the sleeping child to regard Rogue in surprise, she was watching him, a small, hopeful smile in her face. It was the only name he had; would he be willing to give it to her child. With a chuckle and a smile at her, Logan turned back to the baby, his smile growing even bigger as he watched her sleep, Rogue really did want him in her life, in her child's life. Nothing would make him happier.

Ororo 'aww'd over the name before she gave Rogue one final hug, and ushered everyone out of the room to let the little family sleep.

"You don't mind, do you?" Marie asked uncertainly, the sudden thought that she probably should have asked Logan first before assuming, making her self-conscious in her uncertainty.

"I don't mind in the slightest, I'm glad I could give her something," Logan replied, lying down on the bed beside her so she could snuggle down beside him, resting her head on his chest.

"Maybe one day we can give her some siblings too?" Marie suggested sleepily.

"Already planning the next one huh?" Logan replied with a chuckle, "That sounds like a good plan darlin."
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