Disclaimer: As I've said before, I don't own the X-Men.

A/N: Well, here it is. The final chapter. I've put off posting this because I'm kinda sad to see this story end. I've enjoyed writing it, and reading all of your great reviews and comments. So thank you very, very much for all the reviews/alerts/favorites! I'm considering writing another fic set in this universe, but I'm not entirely sure yet. Let me know if you guys would be interested. Hopefully this won't be my last story in this fandom either way. Again, thank you for sticking around and reading! I hope you like this last chapter.

Rogue stared at her reflection in the mirror over the dresser as she reached up and let her fingers graze over the numbers branded into the back of her neck. 56399. Some days she could swear she still felt her skin burn. With a shake of her head she picked up her gloves and pulled them on one at time. A patch of pinker, newer skin caught her eye on the palm of her first hand. And a thin pale scar twisted its way around her other hand. Once both gloves were securely on the evidence of what had happened six months ago was hidden from sight. Just the way she liked it.

She grabbed the brown trench coat off her bed and pulled it on as well. Even after six months, countless sessions with the Professor, and a few talks with Logan she still felt more comfortable with the added layer of protection. She was getting better though.

She was.

She had to be, because she couldn't live the rest of her life with the most painful moments of her life constantly hanging over her.

'One day at a time,' Logan had said a few months ago.

Today she was going to take the next step. She'd prepared for it without letting any know. The Professor was right though. This was her life, not Carol's, and she had to live it. She couldn't let Carol dictate the way her life went.

'I can do it,' she told herself.

With a deep breath she headed out of her and Kitty's room and towards the elevator.

"Alright, gonna work on agility and defense today," Logan announced from the tower overlooking the Danger Room. Summers, Jean, Kurt, Kitty, and Gambit stood waiting for the simulation to begin. "Try to keep up, Gumbo," he added. The idiot cajun gave a two fingered wave with his overly cocky smile.

He looked down at the control panel, but before he could begin the simulation Kurt's startled voice came over the comm. "Rogue?"

Logan looked up, and sure enough Rogue was standing in the entrance of the Danger Room, decked out in full uniform, plus the long coat she'd gotten into the habit of wearing. A crooked, proud smile tugged at his lips at the sight.

Rogue hadn't been comfortable using her powers the last several months, and hadn't taken part in any simulations. It had been unanimously agreed that none of them would push her into it either. They weren't even sure of the extent of the powers she'd absorbed from Ms. Marvel.

But now she seemed ready to give it a try.

Everyone had seemed uncertain if she'd ever be able to use her powers again, but he'd known she would get through it. She was Rogue. She'd needed time, which she more than deserved, but he knew Stripes. Surrendering wasn't in her blood. More than that though, he knew she wouldn't let her friends go off and risk their lives without her nearby to save their idiotic butts.

"Welcome to the party, Stripes," he said as the others watched her a little uncertainly.

She smirked up at him. She'd gotten back herself the last couple of months, and he was glad to see the old Rogue smirk was still full of spirit.

"You're not broken, Stripes," he'd told her a few months back after yet again finding her in the kitchen in the middle of the night. "A little bent out of shape, but not broken."

Looking at her now, he knew she was finally starting to believe him.

Rogue looked at the others as they stared back at her.

"Welcome to the party, Stripes."

She looked up at the window above them, where Logan was watching them, and smirked back in return. She'd half-expected someone to try and stop her, but was glad to see that Logan was at least on her side and confident in her. She'd prove herself to the others if necessary.

And prove to herself that she could still do this as well.

She walked further into the room and nearly rolled her eyes when Kitty started bouncing excitedly.

Scott stepped up next to her as the others got ready to start. "Are you sure you're ready for this, Rogue?" he asked quietly.

She tugged one of her gloves on a little more. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," she answered, sounding far more confident than she actually felt.

The simulation began a second later before Scott could reply, and soon they were all separated by the insane obstacles Logan had cooked up. She dodged projectiles. Climbed a chain and flipped off to avoid an electrical charge. The electric pulse grazed her leg as she flipped backwards, and the surge of power sent her back to a place she never wanted to go back to. For a moment she imagined it was Creeps with his taser rod.

With a scowl she pushed the thought as far away as it would go. She had to focus on the present, not the past. And there was no way she was going to let Creeps continue to get in her way. She dropped to the ground to avoid more projectiles, and looked up just in time to see a large cylindrical metal beam flying towards Jean.

The red-head had her back turned, focused entirely on keeping a fire at bay. Rogue didn't give it a second's thought. Instincts took over. She flew into the air and intercepted the beam. It pushed against her chest as she tried to get a good grip on it, but finally it slowed to stop above the others' heads. She held it there, exerting almost no energy at all. Her heart raced, but not from the effort of keeping the large beam from moving. A buzzing energy washed over her.

It felt good.

With one forceful shove Rogue lifted the beam above her head. Below her everyone seemed to stop and stare, but she ignored them. She pushed the beam away and sent it flying towards the opposite wall, where it blinked out of existence just as the simulation ended.

Her coat billowed around her as she lowered herself back to the ground. She simply smirked at the expressions staring back at her, not really sure how else to respond. They were impressed, but mostly she thought they looked happy. As if to confirm her suspicious, Kurt disappeared and then reappeared right in front of her with a broad grin.

"Welcome back, schwester," he said.

She sidestepped out of the hug he nearly subjected her to, but mostly just to make him laugh. Once the surprise and excitement finally died down, they all headed out of the room to grab showers before lunch. Remy winked at her as they left the room together.

She lagged behind once she spotted Logan in the hallway though. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Kitty looking around for her, but once the other girl spotted Logan she grabbed Gambit's arm and started dragging him closer to the group as they made their way down the hall. Rogue had to admit that Kitty could sometimes be more perceptive than they usually gave her credit for.

"So?" she asked, stopping in front of Logan.

"So what?"

She wasn't sure why his opinion mattered, but for whatever reason it did. Her confidence slipped a fraction, but she tried not to let it show. "What did ya think?"

Logan gave her the same look he'd given her when she'd arrived for the session earlier. It was similar to the one he'd given her when she'd crashed his motorcycle into a convenience store to save his skin. It looked a lot like he was actually proud of her.

"Nothin' to surprise me with, Stripes," he said with a shrug. "I always knew you'd kick butt when you wanted to."

A smile tugged at her lips, but she went with rolling her eyes instead. "Is that supposed to be some kind of inspirational speech?"

"Nope. Just a fact." He started walking down the hall, and she fell into step next to him. "Wanna go for a ride?"

She didn't bother answering directly. She hadn't turned down taking her motorcycle out yet. "Where are we goin'?"

"We'll find out when we get there."

Rogue nodded at the answer. It kinda reminded her of her life lately, and she wasn't sure if he'd meant the double meaning or not. The last year had been a hard one. One filled with shocks and nightmares and the making of more nightmares. She'd lived through it though. She had survived even though she'd had no idea what she was doing, or how the future would work out. At one point she hadn't even been sure she would have a future at all. She'd found her path in the end though.

She still had no idea where life would take her now. She wouldn't delude herself with thoughts of a smooth future with no twists or bumps in the road, and she knew the dark thoughts that still kept her up at night wouldn't just go away, but at least she knew there were people she could trust to have her back. Whatever was going to happen would happen.

They'd figure out how to deal with the future when they got there.