Epilogue

The New Xavier Institute for The Gifted, New Hope, PA

Seven Months Later

Sami sat quietly underneath the tree trying once more to reach beyond the miles to sense her son's emotions. It was something new that Professor Xavier had suggested she attempt and she'd been trying it for several weeks. But so far all attempts to feel her son had been unsuccessful. She huffed in frutstration at her current failure and jerked her head back, hitting it on the old oak against which she sat. "Ouch!" she whined "Easy there Sam, you might hurt the tree!" Sami cast a doleful look up at her twin brother who stood above her, an easy grin on his face. "Easy for you to say! You try doing this mind meld stuff or whatever it is." "Well lucky for me I don't have to!" He said pulling her to her feet. "Yeah, I know." She said sadly, reminded that this was his last day there. In a few hours he'd be back on a plane to California, leaving her and his life as a mutant behind to rejoin the real world. "You'll get it, sis. You're too gifted not too." "Yeah." She replied dully. "So, did you finish saying your goodbyes yet?" "Yup. Everybody but you." "Saving the best for last?" She asked smiling up at him. "Always." He said quietly drawing her into his arms. She sighed and hugged him tightly, until finally she knew she had to let go. "Sure you won't change your mind and come with me?" "No." she said "I have my reasons for staying here." "Yeah, I know." Eric said looking past her shoulder at the approaching figure. "And one of them is heading this way right now." Sami twisted around and spied Wolverine making his way towards them. She turned back to her brother and gave him a sour look to disguise her blush. "Very funny" Eric laughed and gave her another quick squeeze. "Just make sure he treats you right." She drew back and punched him in the arm. "Quit it!" she hissed at him, just at Logan reached them. "Hey Logan." She said detaching herself from her brother. "Hey." Logan said staring down into her eyes He wasn't sure why but lately he'd been feeling a bit uncomfortable around Sami. Well perhaps uncomfortable wasn't exactly the word, it was more like a hot jolt hitting his stomach and heading lower. It was certainly a bit unsettling to find that the little girl he'd known had turned into such a breathtaking woman. A woman he was becoming more and more aware of. And he sensed that she might feel the same way about him. "So today's the day huh?" Logan asked, tearing his gaze away to address Eric. "Yeah, I'm heading out now. We were just saying goodbye." Eric said. "Well good luck to you Flare." Logan said shaking Eric's hand. "And don't worry about your sister here. We'll take good care of her." "Yeah, I know you will." Eric said with a smirk that sent Sami's elbow back into his stomach. Logan stared, a little confused by the play between the two, as a car pulled up. "You ready Flare?" Bobby said from the car. "Yeah, coming." "Well I'll see you guys." "See ya." Logan said "Hey!" Sami said grabbing her brother for a final hug before he got into the car. "Whenever, wherever!" She whispered to him, choking back the tears. "Whenever, wherever!" he whispered back. And then he got into the car and drove out of sight.

Sami watched the car until she could no longer see it through her tears. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as Logan quietly stood next to her, fighting the urge to take her in his arms and console her . She finally turned back to him, with a blush. "Well,I should probably get back" She said. "Uh, yeah, me too." And the two of them turned to stroll back up to the school. "So what did the Professor want to see you about this morning?" She asked him, trying not to be so aware of how good he smelled. "Oh, well he wants me to take a trip down to North Carolina for a few days, to check out some new mutant there." "Oh." Sami said a little dissapointed at the thought of him leaving. "So you're gonna go then, huh?" She asked. "Yeah, I guess." He said suddenly a little depressed himself at the thought. They walked in silence the rest of the way up to the school. It wasn't until they stopped at the front steps that he said to her. "Would you, maybe, want to come with me, to North Carolina that is?" "Really?" She said eagerly. "Yeah!" He said. "Tell you the truth, I'd be glad for the company. It's a long drive." Play it cool. Samantha thought. "Oh." She said non-chalantly, "Well then yeah, ok. I'll go." Her heart was doing flip-flops at the thought of spending the next few days (and nights) alone with Logan. "When do we leave?" Logan smiled at her broadly. "As soon as you're packed. Just pack light ok." Sami smiled up at him, unable to keep the excitement from shining in her eyes. "Not a problem. She said breathlessly. Gimme about 20 minutes ok?." And she took off up the stairs, with Logan smiling after her, both of them looking forward to the long trip ahead.

The End