Logan dragged himself off his motorcycle, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck to relieve some of the tension from the ride. He couldn't wipe the grin off his face at the thought of what would come next - he could just picture Marie running down the stairs to jump into his arms, maybe intentionally trying to knock him off balance... Or she would try to sneak up on him like she sometimes did, trying, always failing, to catch him off guard.

Then they would head up to his room, his arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist, so he could 'unpack'. He would lock the door, and press her up against it, and kiss her softly through the scarf she was always wearing. Then he would throw her onto the bed, unpacking forgotten, and ravish her. Then while she was laying in his bed, sweaty, and sated, and out of breath, he would slide the ring he had bought onto her finger.

The ring was perfect, he had known the minute he spotted it in a second-hand store window that it was meant for her. The green emerald, guarded by three small marquise diamonds on either side, all set in platinum... just what he needed to accompany their announcement.

They had decided to wait, until he had returned from this latest trip, to finally reveal they were a couple. They hadn't intended to tell anyone, ever, it was their business and no one else's. Recently however, a miracle had occurred, one neither of them had expected, not with the precautions they had to take when together due to Marie's mutation.

They had made a baby.

Every time Logan thought about his child, growing big and strong, cosy and warm inside Marie's womb, he couldn't help the feeling of peace and joy that washed over him. He had never thought about children, truth be told he had never deemed himself worthy of having a family, he didn't deserve something so precious. Children were for 'good people', not animal men with no past... but children were for loving women like Marie, and if she wanted his children, he would give her as many as she cared to have.

It wasn't until he was standing at the bottom of the stairs that he realised, Marie wasn't there... Double checking his surroundings, he confirmed she wasn't hiding somewhere trying to sneak up on him either. With a frown, he jogged up the stairs, maybe she was already waiting for him in his room... laid out on his bed, in that sexy lace lingerie she had shown him before he left, telling him he would just have to hurry back if he wanted to see it on her.

His room was empty too.

Dumping his pack unceremoniously on the floor he turned on his heel, and headed across the hall to Marie's room, a voice catching his attention as he reached for the door handle.

"Logan! ... Uh, Rogue's downstairs, I'll take you to her," Jubilee called to him, somewhat nervously, as she gestured for him to follow her. She had the elevator at the ready by the time he caught up to her, shrugging and making the excuse that it was 'faster than the stairs' when he cocked a brow at her questioningly.

He didn't see what button she hit but when the elevator doors opened onto the steel lined sub level hallway, he began to feel an ominous weight settle in his gut. Jubilee didn't wait around for him to ask her what was going on, leaping out of the elevator she hurried down the hallway with Logan hot on her heels, before coming to a stop at the infirmary doorway, wordlessly pointing him through the door.

Pausing momentarily, his blood ran cold as a litany of images ran through his minds eye as to what he might find on the other side of the door. Hurriedly he shoved his fear aside, and stepped through the door.

The first thing he noted was the thick scent of tears and misery, the second was how pale her skin was, as Marie laid asleep on a hospital bed. Silently approaching the bed, his gaze running over her trying to figure out what was wrong with her. His eyes followed the trail of her arm, to where her hand lay, resting protectively over a tiny body. As the scent of blood reached through the haze in his mind, he immediately knew what had happened.

His eyes, burning with unshed tears, turned to Marie's when he heard her release a stifled sob. "Oh Marie... I'm so sorry baby, I'm so sorry," he murmured into her hair, gathering her into his arms and tenderly holding her as she began to sob, obviously not for the first time if the wastebasket full of tissues was anything to go by.

She clung to him for a long time, great shuddering sobs heaving her shoulders as she clutched at his shirt. After a time, her soft, muffled, voice met his ears, scratchy and thick from tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I didn't..." she sobbed.

"You didn't mean to what, darlin?" Logan asked in confusion.

"I didn't mean to lose him," she whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"Hush now, none of that darlin, it wasn't your fault, you didn't do anything wrong, it- it just happens sometimes is all," Logan murmured softly, a new worry settling in his mind now. How did he stop Marie blaming herself for losing the baby?

"D- do you want to hold him?" Marie asked, with a miserable sniffle.

"Soon darlin, I've got to make sure you're alright first," he told her honestly, hugging her tighter as he felt her relax a little more into his arms.

After several minutes he felt her shift, pulling away from him. She wiped her tears away, smiling at him softly as he quickly kissed her tear stained cheeks. He brushed her hair back from her face with his still leather gloved fingers, trying to smooth it some. "You feeling a bit better now?" he asked gently.

She nodded, though her smile was still somewhat strained, before she shifted on the bed to sit up and reach around him. He sat down on the bed beside her and watched, as she scooped up the tiny swaddled form, barely large enough to fit in the palm of his hand, and she held it out to him.

For several minutes he sat in silence, just taking in the image before him. His thumb gently ran over the tiny face, and the tiny hand that peeked out from the woollen fabric it was wrapped in.

Not 'it', his brain screamed, helpfully reminding him this was his son. His tiny, dead, son. He felt the first tears run hotly down his cheeks, as Marie wrapped her arms around him, her head resting on his shoulder, as her other hand cradled their child together with him.

How long they sat together and cried over the tiny, still body of their child Logan would never know. Eventually the automatic lights in the lab dimmed, signalling it was well after dark outside, and carefully he extracted himself from Marie's grasp. Laying the tiny boy back in the little crib someone had made for him - in what he recognized was the jewellery box he had bought Marie on some trip several years ago - he turned his attention back to Marie, who was gazing forlornly at the child.

"How long have you been down here?" he asked softly, gathering her back into his arms.

"Since yesterday," Marie answered softly.

"Have you slept?" he queried, the dark circles under her eyes told him no.

"I've dozed some I guess," she replied.

"And Jean checked you out, you're okay?" he questioned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Marie answered, her tone telling him she was physically fine but mentally was a whole different story.

"Want to go back upstairs, sleep in your own bed?" he asked, placing a soft kiss on her crown.

"No, but I'd sleep in your bed," she murmured, sounding as lost and alone, but not quite as terrified, as when she used to sneak into his room after their nightmares when she was younger.

"That sounds like a good idea," Logan agreed, with a smile. Turning, he picked up the jewellery box, and its precious cargo, handing it to Marie before he scooped her up into his arms, and made his way back to the elevator.

The mansion was dark and quiet as he moved down the hallway, everyone else having long retired to bed. His bedroom door was still partway open, so it wasn't an issue to nudge it wider to allow them to pass before he softly kicked it closed. Gently lying Marie on the bed, he stripped the hospital gown off her, before wrapping her in the silk sheets that adorned his bed. He kicked off his boots, and stripped off his belt, jacket, and button-down shirt before he lay down behind her. Spooning her to him, as he watched her small pale hand smooth over the tiny stunted features of their child.

"Sleep darlin," he encouraged, holding her tightly until she fell into a deep restful sleep, before he relaxed enough to join her.
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