Marie wandered down the hallway the next morning, knowing from the wide-open doors and tangled sheets of the other bedrooms that both Logan and Emily were already up. The kitchen was the mostly likely place to find them, and she was just about to enter when she heard their voices.

"Daddy, why don't you love mommy anymore?" Emily asked sadly.

"Your mother ask you to ask that?" Logan mumbled in response.

"No, I see it, you don't hug her no more, or kiss her, or call her pretty names, and mommy sleeped in a different room, she cried last night, she didn't think I saw, sometimes you cry too," Emily said, her words even more heart-breaking to Marie's ears.

For several moments there was no response, then Emily spoke again. "Is it because mommy went away? Because mommy said she won't do that again, not like last time, she promised even."

"And did that make you happy?" Logan asked, a smile clear in his tone, bringing to Marie's mind a precious memory of him, smiling at her.

"Uh huh, it doesn't make you happy?" Emily queried curiously.

"... A long time ago, before you were born, your mommy promised to love me, and never to leave me... your mommy broke that promise," Logan replied, after a pause and a heavy sigh.

"You don't trust her now?" Emily responded, as astute as always.

"I can't trust her now," Logan murmured.

"Why?" Emily demanded.

"Because if I start to trust her again, then I remember that I love her, and I... I can't lose her again squirt, so it's just easier not to. I'm sorry if that makes you sad but I won't ever stop your mommy from seeing you, okay? No matter what is going on between me and your mommy, she is still your mommy and I will never stop her from being in your life and loving you, or your brother," Logan said, stressing his point to the girl.

"Even though it makes you sad daddy?" Emily asked sadly.

"That doesn't matter squirt, I'm doing this for you, not for me," Logan replied.

After a few moments it was obvious he had returned to preparing breakfast, Marie silently slipped away from the kitchen door. She needed a few minutes to think, and didn't want Logan to suspect she had been eavesdropping.

--

They took Marie's car to drop Emily off at kindergarten, before driving to Marie's home. She had asked Logan to help her pack, so she could move back to the mansion, and he had agreed. He parked out the front of her modest apartment building, and trailed Marie upstairs to apartment one zero five. It was the first time he had seen where she was living, and while it was relatively clean looking, it was run down, on the seedier side of town, and some of the neighbours were more than a little dodgy.

"Home sweet home," Marie mocked, when she was finally done wrestling with the key, and gestured for him to follow her in. "You want a coffee?" she asked, as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Um, sure," he replied, taking the opportunity of Marie being distracted making coffee to have a look around. The apartment was stripped of anything personal, nothing to show Marie really even lived here, except one family photo on the hall table. The stained sofa was old, and uncomfortable, and still smelled like weed, among several other less than savoury scents, and it looked like a patch of carpet had been set on fire. "You know I wouldn't have let Emily come visit you here, right?" he eventually commented, as Marie handed him a hot mug.

"I wouldn't have wanted Emily coming here," Marie admitted softly.

They stood in silence, until they finished their drinks, before Logan spoke again. "Anything you want me to help pack?" he offered.

"No, that's okay, it won't be long until you've got something to ferry down," Marie replied, flashing him one of her fabulous smiles that he had missed so much.

Two hours later the apartment was empty, the car was packed, Marie had dropped her keys back to the building manager, and they were navigating their way through the city traffic back toward home. The ride was taken in silence, neither speaking a word until they were parked at the curb out front of the house.

"Logan... I want to start seeing Emmy regularly again, I know I let her down last time but I won't do it again, she needs me, I realise that now and... truth be told, I need her too, would it be alright if we started the Saturday visits again?" Marie asked.

"Of course, I'll never- unless you're drunk or high, I'll never stop you from seeing her, and if it's easier for you I can bring her to the mansion so you can have your visits there if you like?" Logan offered.

"Thank you, I'll let you know, it'll probably depend on what the doctor orders," Marie replied, resting a hand on her bump.

"Course," Logan muttered, before hurriedly exiting the car. "See you Saturday," he called, as he stalked back to the house, not looking back.

With a sigh, Marie put the vehicle back in gear and rolled away again, trying not to think about the possible future of their relationship when Logan could barely stand to look at her, let alone talk to her. She wanted so badly to beg his forgiveness, and tell him this baby was his but she had a firm suspicion he wouldn't believe her. She would ask Jean about DNA testing, so she could prove it to him when she told him, she just hoped he would accept the baby. Their son; the son she had secretly been hoping for the first time she got pregnant.

--

"Well hello Miss... Rogue," Jean commented, as she walked into the med bay, dressed in her familiar white coat and perusing the file in her hand, "What are we here for today?" she asked, in a familiar doctorly manner.

Marie giggled. "Dare I suggest you and Scott role play a fair bit?" she teased with a cocked brow, drawing a chuckle and, was that a blush, from the good doctor.

"Where were we," Jean replied, clearing her throat and trying to get herself back in 'professional' mode.

"Well Doc, I seem to have some sort of growth inside of me, I don't think it's a tumour it seems to shift and move, any ideas?" Marie asked innocently.

"Alright, in all seriousness, what prior medical care did you say you had had?" Jean queried.

"Just the one visit and scan at nineteen weeks four days," Marie replied.

"Did you find out late or were you just trying to save on medical bills?" Jean queried.

"Let’s go with found out late, haven't been since because I didn't want the doctors asking questions," Marie replied with an embarrassed flush. She didn't know how much Logan had told the others about what she had been up to while she had been MIA.

"Questions about?" Jean pressed. "If it's something that could affect the baby I need to know," she pointed out, when Marie made no move to answer.

"I was drinking, fairly heavily, and... drugs," Marie eventually responded in barely a whisper, tears dropping down her cheeks as she did.

"From when, and until when?" Jean asked, trying to keep her tone even and professional.

"I started drinking, probably three weeks after I left, I'd have been around seven or eight weeks then I suppose... drugs were never... well, maybe once or twice a week, I suppose that's kind of regular," Marie said with a shrug.

"What kind of drugs are we talking here?" Jean asked, taking notes as Marie listed everything she could remember taking. "And when did you stop?"

"A week ago," Marie replied.

"Everything? Cold turkey?" Jean asked in surprise.

"Yeah, it was easier than I thought it would be, maybe I wasn't taking enough, or maybe I just had good motivation," Marie replied, gently rubbing her belly. "I had good motivation the whole time though, it just took Logan kicking me in the ass to see it," she murmured.

"Speaking of... who is the father?" Jean asked softly.

"... Logan," Marie replied confidently, fresh tears in her eyes.

"Have you told him?" Jean queried, wincing at the pained huffed of a laugh from Marie.

"He wouldn't believe me if I did," she answered, an air of resignation in her tone.

"Why not?" Jean asked with a frown.

"He thinks I cheated on him, I know he does, without proof I know he won't believe me," Marie replied sadly.

"Have you cheated on him? Even while you've been apart," Jean asked gently.

"No... not that I know of, I just... I couldn't, at first I... I don't know, I left and was just sort of, enjoying being alone, then I started missing him, and then... I didn't want anyone else; I've never wanted anyone else," Marie began to sob.

"Why did you leave Rogue?" Jean queried, frowning in concern as she moved closer and offered a comforting embrace to her friend.

"I don't know," Marie responded, "I don't even know if it was me that did, I don't really remember what happened all that well to be honest."

"Were you taking drugs then?" Jean asked in confusion.

"No, aside from pain killers occasionally for the headaches," Marie replied.

"Alright, well, I think that's something you need to talk about with the Professor, see if you can figure out what happened, maybe one of the voices managed to take over?" Jean suggested, it had after all been an incredibly out of character episode. "For now though, let's check out this baby, and do you want me to do a DNA test for you to show Logan?" she asked.

"You can do that?" Marie asked, "And it's safe?" When Jean confirmed, Marie readily agreed.
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