Author's note: Thanks for all the emails I got in which you guys wanted to help me after my computer crash. I spent two hours yesterday and somehow managed to find the file again. : (
The original document was completely destroyed and wasn't of any use anymore, so I kept on searching, since I saved the chapter a lots of times in between. And tadaa! It was hidden as a weird titled .tmp file somewhere else. When I opened it, I received some strange letters, but the whole text was hidden in between. So I didn't have (Thank God!!!) to re write everything. I tried it and it absolutely didn't work. : ( So, here it is. The last chapter! Have fun reading it!!! ; )
Return to Weapon X
Warm water ran down her soaped ivory skin and fiery red hair, while she had her eyes closed and enjoyed the feeling it gave her. For the first time in months she felt alive again. Felt the strength she was used to returning to her, which she had lacked during her time with Weapon X. Her long fingers brushed briefly over the still visible bite mark that was left from the last night. It had been a night full of twisted emotions. They had been rough and gentle, had been loving and passionate, wild and caring…
She didn't know what to think about it, though parts in her wanted it. By letting it happen, she knew, it would only become harder to look into Scott's face. Absently her hand stroked over her belly and she heaved a deep sigh, before she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Grabbing a large white towel from a pile on a wooden shelve right next to her, she wrapped it around her still slightly slender form; taking another to dry her long hair with it before she walked over to a mirror. Looking into it while her hands kept on rubbing her hair with the towel, she recalled what she had unmistakably seen in his eyes.
It had been so easy for her to read in them that he had been torn between pushing her away and giving in. That he was fighting with the last moral part he had left within him. He wanted to listen to reason, as she had wanted. But at the same time their bodies had pushed too hard to bring them together. And now she felt guilty… Guilty because she had cheated, guilty because she knew she couldn't hide it in front of her fiancé and guilty because she had seen in his eyes that it wouldn't happen again. This night had been a unique exception and he would very likely either not come back with her or leave right after he had gotten his things from the mansion.
Brushing through her hair lost in thoughts, she walked back into the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed; looking at his still sleeping form that was sprawled on his belly over the whole bed, while the sheets were only covering his thighs. She smiled slightly when he sighed and pulled the pillow closer just to bury his face even more into it. She knew him well enough by now that he would very likely awake soon. And she was right…
After another deep sigh, he turned his head towards her and opened his hazel eyes sleepily. "Morning," Jean said softly and fixed her eyes on her hands quickly when he slowly sat up; not caring about the sheets that were falling down.
"Mornin'," Logan grunted, his voice still thick with sleep and ran a hand through his tousled her, which stuck up into every direction possible and made her blush by the thought about how cute it actually looked on him. "How late is it?" he asked and cracked his neck to get rid off the painful pressure on it.
"Nearly 10 a.m. Did you sleep well?"
"Like a log!" he yawned and slowly got up. "I need a shower…" With that he got up and walked over to the bathroom.
Hearing how he closed the door, Jean quickly jumped up when she realized that her whole stuff was still in it. Opening the door, she looked directly into his confused face and noticed the cocked eyebrow he gave her. "I still need my things. Sorry!" she apologized, blushing slightly when she realized that her eyes had looked at his body maybe a second too long.
"Don't mind if you dress here, Red," Logan replied and turned on the water as hot as possible as he was used to in the morning. Living at the mansion for some time, he had soon figured that he couldn't get the water as cold as he liked it. Being used to snowy mountain rivers and lakes in Canada, he had decided that he might try the opposite as well. Heating his body up to nearly being burned before he quickly changed the temperature into the opposite, he had figured that the shock the cold water gave him right afterwards, nearly made him feel home. Nevertheless, he missed the icy water of the mountains very much…
"You can actually cope with that?" Jean asked him in disbelief when the mirror began to mist and thick steam, that make her think she was thrown right into the climate of a rainforest, made her feel sweaty again.
"Sure," he answered with a shrug and had to smirk when he saw that she still held her towel very tight. "Get dressed, Jean. Nothin' I haven't seen already."
Blushing, she broke eye contact and turned her back to him, before she slowly began to put crème on her body. Watching her closely, Logan swallowed hard and immediately felt a strong heat rising within him. Turning his head to the shower again, he quickly changed the temperature to as cold as possible, which earned him a confuse look of her. Seeing that she had already taken care of all body parts except her back, Logan reached automatically over and took the lotion out of her hands. When he touched her back, she gasped and tensed her muscles briefly; not being able to stop her heart from kicking into a deadly strong rhythm. Closing her eyes, Jean couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of his hands massaging her sore muscles. Leaning into his touch, she shivered slightly and goose bumps soon became very visible on her skin. Seeing it, Logan stepped back and put the lotion away, before he stepped into the shower; leaving her rather confused in the middle of the room. "Get dressed! We head off after breakfast," Logan said and waited until he heard how she left the room. Hearing the door being closed by her, he let out a deep hiss and leant against the cold wall of the shower, while icy cold water poured down on him.
Waiting for his body to cool down again before he took the shower gel into his hands, he couldn't help but shake his head. This had been close, too close before he would have done something very stupid. And he began to hate her for this. She was the only person he knew that could make him lose control within seconds. Because of her he had to feel things he never wanted to feel in his life and because of her he had probably done the second biggest mistake in his entire being. Sighing, Logan began to wash off the foam quickly before he turned off the water and stepped out. Wrapping a towel around his hips, he knew he had to make a decision soon. Looking into the mirror while he began to brush his teeth, he began to think about possible ways and realized that only one decision could be the right one for him and her. So he made it…
After a long breakfast during which he tried his best to avoid her, they followed Heather and James towards the hangar where the others were already waiting. While Jean only said a brief good-bye and thanked the team for rescuing them, she watched how Logan took his time with his friends. It was more than only obvious to her that he liked this place, also being here and she began to feel strangely. At least something strange was gathering in her chest and soon felt a painful pressure she never experienced before. And it didn't take long for her to figure out what it was. She felt suddenly scared…
Seeing how he waved once more to the others, she turned around to follow Heather and James up the ramp into the jet. Taking her seat, Jean fastened the seatbelt and stared out of the small window; thinking about what might happen when they returned back home…
Logan took the seat right behind his former teammates, so that they were able to talk a bit more. He had noticed the strange look on Jean's eyes and asked himself if she was sensing something. He could only guess what it looked like within her by the thought of facing the Boyscout again. Still, he didn't care. If their fearless leader made the decision to attack him, he would teach him a lesson about what fear really looked like. Nodding towards Heather who had asked him if everything was alright, Logan heaved a brief sigh and leant back into his seat when the jet's engines roared to life. Soon he would be home again. Even if it didn't feel like home to him anymore…
The closer they got, the more Jean was close to freak out. Biting her pale lips, which color was only a bit darker than her white face, she had run to the toilet twice by now when a strong nausea had come up. Sitting down again, she thankful took the glass of water Heather offered her, while she briefly met Logan's gaze who gave her one of his brief illegible looks that could only made her guess what he was thinking. Swallowing the water, she put she glass down and closed her eyes. Leaning her head back against the rest, she kneaded her hands nervously. Right after they had taken off, she had begun to prepare all kinds of sentences she thought would stop Scott from freaking out, would explain the whole situation to him. Still, she couldn't help but feel scared to death. She might be able to lie to herself about that everything would turn out fine, but in fact she knew that they were heading right into a disaster, which would change at least her life forever.
Switching her gaze briefly to Logan, who was talking to his friends right now, Jean asked herself what he would do. If Scott attacked him, she was completely prepared for that, he would probably face the whole wrath of an angry Wolverine that waited too long to fight for dominancy over the mansion. And she already knew who would win… She had seen the Wolverine at work. Had seen how lethal and merciless he could be if he had to fight his way out of something. And Scott's blasts might be able to injure him or stop him briefly, but he wouldn't be able to react that fast to stop a fully outraged Wolverine, whose thoughts were simply either you or me in such a situation. And she had seen that he could push himself beyond limits to guarantee his survival. Looking out of the window again, Jean felt how those primal thoughts sent a shiver down her spine. Especially by recalling how much of the opposite he could be. Even if he rather preferred to die than admit it, she had taken a peek at his gentle side during their time at Weapon X and the last night. And this thought made her instantly shiver again…
Feeling the sudden change, Jean awoke from her daydreams as she realized that the jet was already landing. Giving Logan a frightened look, she immediately felt sick again when her heart kicked into high gear. Running a hand through her face, Jean felt the cold sweat on her forehand and began to quiver, while he had his eyes fixed to the front again. Now was the time to test if her prepared words were successful or not. Thinking about it, she noticed that she couldn't even remember what those words were. Wrapping her arms around herself, Jean closed her eyes again and leant her head back; desperately trying to stop her body from collapsing in fear and nervousness.
As soon as the jet had landed, Logan got up from his seat and took look at her. Even if she hadn't spoken it out aloud, he had felt her emotions running wild the whole time through. And it nearly made the berserker within him freak out, too. The possessive part of him wanted to pull her close and protect her against everyone who wanted to touch her. The rational part of him, which had the upper hand right now, knew that both of them had to face the truth. And this would be more than ugly. He knew how he would react if his girlfriend was pregnant with a baby that wasn't his. He knew what he would do… But he couldn't tell what Scott would do… The only good thing was that the Boyscout hadn't his abilities and was able to smell him on her. If, then the whole situation would probably take another ugly turn. At least, he thought, the bite mark between her neck and shoulder wasn't that obvious anymore.
Stopping right next to her, Logan gave her a look and nodded towards the hatch. "You comin'?" he asked her softly, while Heather and James were already waiting at the open gate.
"I can't…," Jean whispered and shook her head, while she radiated a terrible fear that made the beast within him fight for dominancy again.
"You have to," he only replied and opened her seatbelt before he took her hand into his; being a bit more roughly than he actually wanted, since she had grabbed the armrest in a deadly, firm grip. "Come on, they're waiting."
Shaking all over, Jean fought against his movements towards the hatch and shook her head again. "Please, I can't…," she begged again and he sighed.
"Would the two of you go ahead and tell them we are out in a minute?" Logan asked his friends and James nodded.
"Sure. But don't be too rough with her, pal, okay?" the man answered and took his wife's hand. Stepping out of the jet, they looked surprised at the gathered mutants in the wide garden that was covered with thick white snow. "Look at that," James said and gave Heather a surprised look. Seeing how a bald man in a wheelchair made his way towards them, they descended the last steps of the hatch and took the hand they were offered.
"I'm Charles Xavier," the man greeted them and gave him one of his kind smiles. "Welcome to the mansion."
"I'm James McDonald Hudson," James introduced himself politely before he turned towards the red haired woman next to him. "That's my wife Heather McNeil Hudson."
"Hello, nice to meet you, sir," the woman said and smiled back at the older man if front of them, before she took notice of the approaching brown haired man with strange looking ruby quartz glasses.
"Where's Jean?" this one immediately asked obviously very nervous and turned his gaze to the hatch.
"Scott," Charles said and folded his hands in front of him. "I think it would be more polite to introduce you to our guest first, before asking questions."
Blushing a bit, the man ran a hand through his hair and held out a hand to each of the strangers. "I'm sorry. Scott Summers," he introduced himself and gave the hatch a short impatient look. "It's just…we thought they were dead."
Heather nodded. "So, you're her fiancé if I am not mistaken?" The man nodded a bit confused. "I see… Well, Logan tries to talk her into coming out."
"Why won't she come out?" Scott asked her frowning and crossed her arms in front of his chest, while Charles concentrated on Jean's brainwaves and nearly gasped when a rollercoaster of mixed feeling overwhelmed him.
"She's obviously stressed. Very stressed…"
"How do you know?" James asked the man in front of him surprised and received a smile from the Professor before he began to explain it to the couple.
Inside the jet, Logan still stood, arms crossed in front of the picture of misery Jean was and sighed in frustration. "Look, you can't stay in here forever. It doesn't change the fact that you have to face him sooner or later. You come out or he comes in, so what?" Hearing another sob as an answer, he sighed and turned around. "Either you come out with me now, or you've got to face One Eye by yourself. With me you have at least the change of hiding yourself, got that?" Beginning to move, he felt how she suddenly grabbed his right hand firmly.
"Wait!" Jean pleaded and looked at him scared to death.
"Then move!" Logan replied impatiently and pulled her up with an easy movement of his right arm. "Hiding doesn't change anything. He'll find out, you can't prevent that from happening, Red!" Seeing how she wiped away her tears and still held on to him tightly, he gave her one last look, before he moved towards the hatch; dragging the shaking woman behind him with her…
By now also Storm and Rogue were gathered around the Professor and switched their heads to the jet when they heard the creak of the hatch. Seeing two people coming out of it, nothing could stop Scott from starting into a deadly run towards the red haired woman, who only gave him a more than frightened look. Not caring about Logan who still held her hand firmly, the mutant threw himself at the woman and clung to her as if she would vanish if he let go. "God, Jean…," Scott whispered close to start crying in relief, before he kissed her mouth and cheek desperately. "We thought you were dead." Pulling her even closer, while Jean had her eyes fixed on Logan, she suddenly felt how her fiancé stiffened. It didn't take long until he slowly let go of her and stepped back a bit.
Even if she couldn't see his eyes, she could easily follow the movement of his head, which lowered a bit to her abdomen, before he switched back to her face and then to Logan, whose eyes were as cold as ever when he faced his leader. Seeing how Scott reached out with his right hand, Jean froze on the spot when he ran his hand over the bulge on her belly slowly. Hearing the disgusted snort, she only saw how his eyes flashed red in anger through his glasses before he pushed her roughly away and turned around.
"No, wait!" Jean cried and tried to get a hold on his hands, but Scott turned around and raised it warningly.
"Don't!" he hissed while his cheek tensed dangerously. Walking over to the others, he shouldered them roughly out of the way and walked towards the mansion with his hands buried in his pockets.
Burying her face in her hands, Jean turned towards Logan and leant against him sobbing, whereas he could only watched how Scott slammed the doors open in anger. The sound of cracking wood vibrated in his sensitive ears and he knew the others probably weren't even aware of it. Looking towards the others, he slowly began to move again; shoving her down the hatch with him, when suddenly Storm and Rogue started to ran towards them.
"Logan!" Rogue cried and he quickly had to let go of Jean when the young woman threw herself at him crying. Holding her tight, he looked at Storm who embraced the still messed up Jean and gave him a confused look. He only shook his head and gave Rogue a brief kiss on the forehead, before he let go of her.
Embracing Storm tightly, who kissed him on the cheek, he heard her relieved sobs on his neck. "God, we really thought we lost the two of you…," the woman cried when she let go of him after a while. "Where have you guys been? And what has gotten into Scott?" Completely confused Storm looked to and fro; realizing how messed up Jean was when the redhead clung to Logan again.
"Later okay?" this one only said and walked over to the Professor, who, as he could tell, was more than relieved to see them.
Shaking Logan's hand before he embraced Jean, Charles scanned them from head to toe to see if they were really okay, except obvious mental exhaustion. "I can't even tell you how good it is to see you again. Let's go inside. I already told your friends that they can stay overnight, Logan."
Following the Professor's lead, Logan nodded briefly. "Thanks…"
Inside, the adults gathered in Professor X's office which, as Logan immediately noticed, was still the same except the Christmas decoration that could be found everywhere in the mansion. He sat down on a sofa on the right of the room with Jean next to him, while Storm and Kurt took the seats in front of the desk. Heather and James had chosen the two chairs next to the sofa. Folding his hands in front of his face while his elbows were on the armrests, the Professor looked at his returned mutants intently; noticing Jean's condition clearly. "Are the two of you really alright?" he asked and switched between them.
"More or less," Logan replied and felt how Jean tightened the grip on his left hand.
"Jean? What about you?" Charles asked the woman and was clearly concerned for her well being. "Do you need medical attention?"
Shaking her head, the redhead didn't look up. "No…"
"What happened?" Ororo asked them all of a sudden and made Logan shrug.
"You tell me!" he replied and gave Kurt a questioning look. "Last thing I know is that I took off with Jubes and the Elf…"
Kurt nodded. "Ja. You sent us ahead a bit to cover our backs and when we turned around you were gone. We looked for you, but couldn't find you, mein Freund."
"Scott first believed you took off alone because you found something," Ororo added on what Logan could only snort and shake his head. "But since even Jean couldn't reach you, we began to look for you in teams. We also asked the Professor for help, but he could not even locate you with Cerebro. Two days later, Jean was suddenly gone, too and soldiers began to attack us. They took out Kurt and Bobby with one blow, so we had to flee. We wanted to return with more mutants later, but it was completely useless." Shaking her head, Ororo looked at her hands. "The two of you were just gone. We looked for nearly two weeks without getting any results… So what happened? Where have you been?"
"Weapon X near Yukon, Alaska," Logan replied and saw how his teammates looked at him in surprise, while Charles face became grim.
"Alaska…," Storm said and raised a hand briefly. "No wonder that we couldn't find you. We turned Canada upside down."
Turning to Charles, Logan narrowed his eyes briefly. "The mission was a trap. From what I've caught they'd planned to capture me. Otherwise you'd never been able to find their facility."
"But why Jean then?" Ororo asked confused.
"Simple. Because she's female. Jubes, Kitty and you were just lucky."
The Professor's fists were clenched firmly and he shook his head in disbelief. "I should have sensed it…"
"No, you couldn't Chuck," Logan said and moved a bit to get into a more comfortable position. "They are good in hiding stuff…"
"But who are they?" Ororo asked frowning and looked to and fro between Charles and Logan for help.
As an answer he extracted his claws on one hand. "That's them…"
Shocked, her eyes widened. "Oh my God! Those bastards who did this to you?" Looking at the Professor in disbelief, this one nodded without meeting her eyes. "What did they do this time?"
"Their fun stuff. Nothing you wanna know, 'Ro!"
"I wouldn't be asking otherwise! What did they do to you?"
Sighing, Logan fixed his glare on a smiling Santa Clause that stood on the table in front of him. He knew why he hated that stuff… "They tried to erase my memory again. To reprogram me as they called it…"
"And to Jean?" the woman asked next and nodded to her friend, who appeared to her more like a stature.
Looking up, since Logan didn't reply, Jean noticed that everyone was looking at her. Feeling how her heart kicked into high gear, she quickly lowered her gaze again. "Some tests…," she replied barely audible and hoped to satisfy the others with it.
Noticing her friend's behavior, Storm suddenly felt scares. She could tell that there was more behind than only tests. "They…they didn't rape you or something, did they?" she asked carefully and let out a deep breath when the redhead shook her head.
"One of them tried. But he was interrupted by this scientist guy," Jean added calmly and looked down on her hand that was still entwined with Logan's.
"Who is he?" Ororo asked with a slight flash of pure white in her eyes.
"Doesn't matter!" Logan cut her off. "He's dead. So are the scientists and most of the soldiers."
Seeing the confused looks on the other's faces, he knew what would come next.
"How?" Kurt asked him even if he already knew the answer.
"What do you think?" Logan said and held up his free hand. "The only guys I couldn't get my hands on was the director," he added towards Charles who wasn't as surprised as the others, since he'd seen what the mutant was capable of when he's read his mind.
"And how did you find Jean?" Ororo wanted to know and turned a bit to have a better look at him.
"They brought her into a cell next to mine one day. After finding out that we know each other they tossed her into mine." He forgot intentionally to mention how she was pushed into his cell, when Charles came up with the next question.
"I'm sorry to be so direct but…," he began and gave Jean, who was lost in her own thoughts, a look. "…from what I've seen in your mind once and from Jean's strange behavior I can tell that this wasn't all, Logan. I need to know exactly what they did to both of you to be of any help."
Meeting the older man's gaze, Logan's muscles tensed briefly. Up to know he'd done his best to shield his mind against him, to not let him know what exactly had happened. It wasn't because of what they'd done to him. He was more concerned for her. Looking at Jean, he only saw her nodding briefly to show him that it was okay for her if the others knew about it, too. Sighing in frustration, he ran a hand through his face and began to tell the whole story.
When he had finished, Ororo was staring at them in shock while tears ran down her face. Kurt had a rosary in his hands and was praying in silence, while Charles look even scared the Wolverine completely. Logan was sure that man could even wake the dead with it. He'd never seen him that angry and merciless. But a look on Heather and James, who, too, hadn't known everything so far, also told him that the older man wasn't the only scary one in that room right now.
"So that's why Scott reacted like that…," Ororo said after a while more to her herself and shook her head. "Sorry for saying this, but I'm glad you killed them!"
Heather let out a short derisive hiss in disbelief. "They really burnt you alive?"
"Had worse, darlin'," Logan answered briefly with a cocked eyebrow.
"How can you say that?" she gave back with a slight trace of anger in her voice. "What's worse than being burned alive?"
Snorting, Logan gave a short hatred smirk. "Believe me, they can do worse than that!"
Shaking his head still in shock, Charles turned to their two guests in the chairs. "Kurt will show you a room where you can stay at. We eat dinner together at 6 p.m. in the dining room downstairs. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask!"
"Thank you, sir!" James nodded and smiled briefly before he and his wife got up and left together with the blue mutant.
"I don't believe this!" Charles hissed furious after the door was closed behind them.
"Don't blame him for doing it!" Jean pleaded and made him look up. "He had no other choice!"
"Jean, I would never blame Logan for saving your life!" Charles replied calmly. "I even call it lucky that the two of you were together most of the time. I don't even dare to imagine what else they would have done…"
"Yeah, as I said," Ororo nodded darkly. "Thank God, they are dead!"
"I suggest the two of you rest until dinner. You still look very exhausted," Charles said after a while and Logan nodded. Getting up, he pulled Jean with him and left followed by Ororo the room.
"I'm really glad the two of you are back," the woman said once more, hugging and kissing them again. "And don't worry about Scott," she said to Jean soothingly. "If he gets to know the truth, he'll feel sorry for behaving like an idiot."
Stopping at Logan's door, Jean smiled slightly and nodded even if she knew better. "Yeah…"
"See you later then," Ororo said and walked down the corridor.
Seeing how Logan opened the door, Jean gave him an insecure look. "Can I stay with you? I can't go to him now…" Stepping inside of his room, he turned to look at her briefly before he nodded in agreement and waited for her to come in. "Thanks," Jean said calmly and watched how his eyes quickly scanned the room. She knew about his ability to know exactly, no matter how long he was away, where he'd left everything. Since he didn't give any of his casual grunts or snores, she assumed that everything was fine. Afterwards, he walked over to the bed and let himself fall backwards. Sitting down on the edge of it, Jean took a look around herself, unaware that he was watching her.
"I don't bite!" Logan growled and nodded to the empty spot next to him. "You're tired, so lay down and sleep!" Grabbing his pillow he rolled over to his right side and closed his eyes; heaving a deep satisfied sigh.
Watching him, Jean finally laid down next to him and realized that he was already deeply asleep. To her it was a complete miracle how he did this. She knew he either slept lightly due to nightmares and strolled around the mansion if he couldn't or wouldn't sleep, or, like now, he laid or sat down and was completely gone within seconds. Turning her back towards him, since she always slept on her right side, she grabbed a pillow on her own and closed her eyes; feeling how the tiredness began to overwhelm her slowly. It didn't take long for him to pull her closer with one arms, when the possessiveness of him took over unconsciously. Smiling in slumber, Jean covered his hands with hers and drifted completely into oblivion.
Later, everyone else was gathered in the dining room and waited for them to reappear. To reconcile time, Ororo had begun to question James and Heather about Logan's past with them, while Scott commented some things with hatred snores. "So, he was a member of your team after you've found him?"
"Yes, at least he stayed with us for some time. But when James offered him the leadership, he soon took of," Heather explained and noticed that also Charles and some younger woman were listening attentively.
"Of course he did," Scott spat. "It had to do with being responsible for something…"
Bending forward, the redhead, but also Ororo, Jubilee and Rogue gave him a warning look. "You don't know him one bit!" the woman said and saw how Scott turned his head into her direction.
"Excuse me?"
"Scott, just because you are pissed off about something of which you don't even know the whole story, you do not have to act like a complete asshole now," Ororo said angrily and narrowed her eyes.
"Sorry, the asshole role is already allocated!" he shot back and heard how Charles cleared his throat warningly.
"I wonder where they are…," Rogue mumbled and looked at Bobby briefly who could only shrug.
"Maybe sleeping," this one suggested and saw Scott's arrogant smirk. "Not what you think now!"
"Did I say something?" the man replied and crossed his arms.
"Call Logan arrogant bastard once more and hell brakes lose here. Bet on that!" Jubilee shot at him angrily and shook her head.
"Is it always like this between him and Logan?" Heather asked Ororo calmly and the woman heaved a deep sigh.
"Let's say…they weren't very fond of each other from the first moment they met…"
Nodding, the redhead figured the problem. "Jean?"
"Precisely!" Ororo replied and looked at her watch. "I'll check on them. Be right back!"
Getting up, she left the room and walked over to the staircase where she ascended the stairs. Walking down the long corridor, she stopped at Logan's door and listened carefully. Since she couldn't hear the tiniest sound, she knocked carefully and waited. Frowning, Ororo opened the door carefully and looked into the room. "Logan?" she asked in a whisper and came closer when he didn't react. Looking at the sleeping couple on the bed, that clung to each other tightly and looked more like one person, she bent forward a bit and touched Logan's shoulder slightly. "Logan?" Shrieking, she quickly jumped backwards when he slashed out at her all of a sudden and fell to the ground. Staring into his confused eyes, while he held Jean tight, she began to quiver in shock. "What…what are you doing?"
"'Ro?" he asked confused and shook his head slightly while he tried to calm his racing heart. "What did you do?"
"I only touched your shoulder," she replied and got up slowly; still she kept a distance between them.
"Don't do that again!" he warned her and retracted his claws on his left hand again, while he checked if Jean was okay.
"What was this about?"
"I thought you were one of them, sorry…," he said calmly and ran a hand through his face. "What do you want anyway?"
"We're waiting with dinner. I only wanted to ask if you're coming or not…," Ororo said calmly and wrapped her hands around herself, still feeling the aftereffects of his attack. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. If you want to sleep I'll…"
"No, it's okay. She needs to eat," he cut her off began to shake the redhead next to him slightly. "Jean? Come on, wake up, darlin'…" Seeing how she pulled a face after a while and cuddled up to him even more, he shook her a bit harder. "Come on. Wake up!"
"What?" Jean mumbled after a while, her voice thick with sleep and slowly opened her eyes.
"Time to eat, Red," Logan said and pulled a strand out of her face, while he was watched closely by Ororo, who was surprised about his unfamiliar gently behavior.
"What time is it?" the woman asked and slowly let go of him; still not noticing her best friend right next to her.
"Past 6:30 p.m.," that one replied and made Jean startle a bit. "Sorry, for waking you."
Shaking her head, the redhead ran a hand through her face. "It's okay. If I sleep too much now, I can't find any later." Getting up, she joined Logan, who was already standing next to Ororo and walked with them towards the door.
"I warn you," the weather witch said when they reached the lower level. "Scott is a real bastard. Don't do anything to provoke him, Logan!"
Snorting, this one buried his hands in his pockets. "Better tell him not to provoke me!"
"Don't start anything. Please!" Jean begged him and touched his arm briefly.
Meeting her eyes, he finally sighed. "Fine… But if he attacks first…"
"No one's talking about that Logan. Only don't start anything by yourself!" Ororo said and entered the dining room. While she walked around the table and took her seat next to Heather again, Logan and Jean sat down on the last two empty seats opposite Scott. This one had still his arms crossed and was glaring at them through his glasses. Despite his calm outer appearance his muscles were tensed and his blood began to boil when he looked at Logan. This one on the contrary did his best to avoid his gaze, since he wanted to keep his promise not to start anything. By looking at his opposite this would be completely impossible.
"Had a good nap?" Heather asked them and smiled kindly, whereupon Jean smiled back slightly and nodded.
"Yeah. Didn't even know that I was that tired."
"Told you so," Logan said and met her eyes briefly.
"Do you already know what it's gonna be?" Jubilee asked excited and referred to the baby, while he cocked an eyebrow at Ororo who only shrugged apologetically.
"Sorry, but she has noticed it by herself. It wasn't my doing!"
"So? What's it gonna be, Wolvie? Come on, you know it! I can see that!"
James had to grin at his former teammate when he heard the nickname. "Another nickname, huh?" he asked smiling and bent forward a bit. "And still the womanizer as I see, pal!"
Smirking at his friend, Logan could only shrug and tried to ignore the snort Scott gave.
Since Charles noticed the tensed situation between both men, he quickly intervened and smiled at the other kindly. "Since we are all together now, let's finally begin to eat." Raising a glass he looked at his two mutants. "As I said before. Welcome back home and despite everything that happened, congratulation to the baby."
"I still want to know what's it gonna be, Wolvie!" Jubilee protested and looked at his friend pouting. "Come one, tell me! Pleaaasseee!"
Sighing, Logan cocked an eyebrow at her. "I hope not as annoying as you, Jubes!"
Giggling, Kitty and Rogue grinned at her friend, while this one stuck out her tongue at them. "That's not an answer!"
"Actually it was," he smirked. "You just didn't get it."
Groaning, the girl stabbed some peas with her fork. "You are still as mean as ever!"
Giggling, Heather shook her head and gave James an amused look. "Still the same old Logan, huh?"
"Definitely!" her husband replied grinning and sipped on his water.
"Jerk!" Jubilee cursed and gave Logan an angry glare, but this one only chuckled smirking.
"Everyone got it, except you, Jubes. Right guys?" Bobby asked his friends who only nodded. "See? You're just too dumb!"
"Dumb?" the girl shrieked and let her fork fall out of her hands. "I give you dumb, Popsicle!"
"Guys, come on! Not when others want to eat!" Ororo intervened and stopped Jubilee from throwing peas at her opposite.
"So later, bet on that!" the girl said and narrowed her eyes, while Bobby could only grin.
"Yeah, what ever! What do you wanna do? Throw ice at me?" crossing his arms playfully he gave her a wide grin.
"You'll see! Revenge is sweet, honey!"
"Now you made her angry," Kitty joked and knew that she just added herself to Jubilee's revenge list. "Ah, come on, Jubes! You are really dumb. Logan said he hopes not as annoying as you. He did not say as Bobby, did he? So what do think is it gonna be?"
Cocking an eyebrow at the girl, Logan watched with amusement how the girl thought about it. Chuckling, he shook his head and sipped on his water, while even Jean had to smile. "Dumb fits ya!"
Just as Jubilee was about to shoot something back, Jean turned towards her a bit. "Up to now it looks like a girl."
"Satisfied?" he added and began to eat slowly.
"A girl?" the young Asian woman asked and suddenly had to grin. "Oh, I wanna see that! Wolvie and a girl…," she purred and grinned even wider by the look he gave her. "That'll be even better than television!"
"Why's that?" James asked her curiously and ignored the warning growl Logan gave the girl.
"He can do everything, but never handle a baby girl! We once went shopping in a mall and there was a kindergarten which did a field trip. And there was this cute little girl who got lost and ran directly into Wolvie here and…"
"Jubes!" Logan growled warningly. "You wanna still be able to eat, right?"
"Come on, I wanna know!" James said and winked at the girl. "What happened then?"
Seeing how Logan kneaded the spots on his knuckles where his claws came out, Jubilee bent forward a bit. "I tell ya later!" she whispered.
"Okay," James whispered back and grinned at his friend.
Jean had watched Scott closely in the meanwhile and was surprised that he was so calm. Still, she knew him well enough to see that he pushed himself to his limits to keep control. Seeing how he slowly put down his fork after he finished eating, a strange feeling spread in her chest and she knew something was terribly wrong all of a sudden.
"So," the man said and every head switched to him. "Where do you want to put the dog kennel, hm?"
"Scott!" Ororo said aloud warningly and noticed how Logan's head had shot upwards while his eyes turned ice cold.
"Dog kennel?" Heather asked him in confusion and looked to and fro the two men who were seizing each other up for coffins.
"Well, a cage would do, too, right?"
"Scott, I suggest you stop immediately," Charles warned him and gave his X-Men an angry look.
Jean felt how Logan had gripped the armrest firmly and covered his hand with hers. Feeling how her heart was racing in fear, she noticed that he was more than only close to the edge of losing his temper. "Don't. Please!" she begged him, but he kept his eyes on his opposite.
"Why dog kennel? I still don't get it!" Heather asked with a slight trace of anger and turned to Scott, who sat arms crossed and eyes fixed on his nemesis on his stool.
"Well, one animal needs plenty of room, but two… Right, Logan? Or do you want a kitty-box on every level?"
Staring at her fiancé in shock, while the others had fixed their eyes on Logan who had slammed his glass with such might on the table that it broke, Jean felt how tears came up. "How dare you…," she hissed and glared at him in anger.
Charles had turned to the man on his left and bent forward angrily. "Get out of this room, now! We have a talk later about your behavior, Scott!"
Ignoring Logan's menacing growl, Scott only shrugged and got up. Walking towards the door, he turned once more. "Don't forget to buy a flea collar!"
Only hearing how a stool crashed against the wall and seeing a shadow moving at the door, Jean jumped up shrieking when Logan threw himself at Scott, who shot his beam to late at his attacker. Gasping, she turned her head to the others for help, who were as paralyzed in shock as she was.
Within seconds, James, Kurt, Bobby and Colossus had gotten up and followed the two fighting mutants, while Ororo embraced Jean tightly who had begun to sob. Turning her head to Charles, whose face was a mask of anger, she nodded and led Jean upstairs, while Heather followed them for support.
"Shall we go and help, too, Professor? Rogue asked and saw how this one shook his head. "But we could help…"
"No, Rogue!" Charles said and moved towards the door. "You don't want to get into a fight between them. Believe me."
"That came from the kitchen!" Bobby said and turned around a corner closely followed by the others. "Peter, you try to grab Logan. Kurt after he got a hold onto him, you teleport with them as far away from Scott as possible, okay?" Seeing how his teammates nodded, he stopped at the kitchen and gasped when he saw the mess in it. "Okay, where are they now?" Looking around, he soon noticed that it was unusual cold in the room. It didn't take long and his eyes caught the shattered window. "Outside!"
Just as they approached the window, James saw a shadow becoming bigger. "Duck!" he yelled and they barely jumped aside, when Scott crashed through it and shattered another window to pieces. Hearing the loud hollow sound he made when he crashed against the counter, James reacted as fast as he could and threw himself at him when Wolverine appeared.
"Logan, stop!" Bobby yelled before he could even realize that it was not his teammate who stood in front of him. Seeing how Scott fought to get free of James iron grip, Peter quickly threw himself at Wolverine, before this one was able to leap at his nemesis and yelled at Kurt to teleport. Watching them disappear after Wolverine growled aloud in anger, Bobby only hoped that they could manage to get him under control. "Are you crazy, Scott?" he asked his leader and shook his head, while James slowly let go of the injured man. "Do you want him to kill you?"
"Shut up!" Scott hissed and tried to get up, but fell directly down again with a painful hiss.
"That's your own fault, Scott," the Professor said who had entered the kitchen and looked at the mess. "What has gotten into you to provoke Logan that much? You know perfectly well how he reacts!"
"Well, I bet that's why he did it," James said and gave the messed up man a look.
"You don't even know the whole truth behind it," the Professor went on with his sermon and gave the two men a sign to lift him up. "Would you take him to the infirmary? I have to call Hank first, since I doubt that he will let Jean even touch him."
"I don't need medical attention," Scott spat and tried to stand on his own feet, but nearly collapsed again.
"No, you don't need it," Bobby said sarcastically. "If you have one intact bone in your body, I congratulate you!"
Helping the man towards the elevator, Charles looked around the half destroyed kitchen and concentrated on Jean.
Shrieking, when a familiar bamf echoed through Logan's room, the three women nearly jumped of the bed in shock. Looking at the black smoke, which slowly vanished, they soon saw how Peter did his best to stop Wolverine from getting up. "Calm down, Logan!" the man panted and clearly had trouble to keep the beast underneath him from moving. "I could need a hand h…," he was about to say, when his teammate jumped up with roar and caused him to crash into the bathroom door; sending wooden splitters into every direction.
"Logan!" Ororo gasped and raised her hand to attack him if necessary, but this one wasn't even interested in it.
"Calm down, mein Freund!" Kurt tried to soothe him, but stepped back when the merciless pitch black eyes switched to him.
"When I say get off me, I mean it!" Wolverine growled and cracked his neck before he turned towards the women.
"If you already look like being pulled through a shredder, what does he look like?" Heather gasped with widened eyes, when she saw the torn and bloody clothes of her friend.
"What do you think?" her opposite growled still furious and began to pace to calm down.
"Jean? Is Logan upstairs with you?"
Startling by the sudden interruption, Jean received odd looks from the others. "It's Charles," she soothed them and concentrated on the open link. "Yes, he is."
"Does he need medical attention, too?"
Widening her eyes in shock, the redhead met Wolverine's gaze briefly, which slowly turned back to normal. "What did you do to him?" she asked him frightened and received only a snort as an answer. Looking at Kurt who helped Colossus back to his feet, she quickly scanned him. "Logan not, but Peter needs some, I think. What happened to Scott?"
"Send Peter down. I called Hank and he will be here within the next hour. Scott seems to have his foot and some rips broken. Nothing that can't be fixed, but better make sure the two of them won't meet so soon again!"
"I will…" Switching her gaze to Logan, who had finally managed to get the berserker under control again, she looked at him with mixed emotions. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah…," he grunted and sat down on the ground next to the destroyed bathroom door. Meeting Peter's eyes, he lowered his gaze. "Sorry for that!"
"Whatever…," that one replied and nodded when Jean told him to go down to the infirmary.
Heather had kneeled down next to her friend in the meanwhile and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Are you really okay? You looked pretty messed up…" Stroking through his hair gently, Ororo cocked an eyebrow at the woman before she turned to Jean who had her gaze lowered.
"You know that I can take some beating, darlin'," he smirked at Heather who gave him a kind smile. "And he looks worse, believe me!"
"I really want to know what had gotten into him…," Ororo said outraged and crossed her arms angrily. "How can he say those things? It's an innocent baby and not a monster…"
"It's my child and his girl, 'Ro! That's enough!" Logan said darkly and felt how his healing factor began to repair the damage he had taken.
"You guys and your rotten alpha-male stuff!" she yelled at him. "If you want to kill each other do it somewhere else next time and not in front of the children!"
Growling at her while his eyes blackened slightly, Logan's head shot up. "Did I attack him first?"
"Yes, you did! You attacked him first physically!" the woman shot back not minder pissed off. "You should have just let him go. No one would have gotten hurt and I don't even want to know how the room looks like you fought in."
Chuckling darkly, he got slowly up and came closer. "Easy for you to say, girl!"
Grabbing her friend's hand quickly, Jean shook her head and stopped Ororo from saying anything else. "Jean, you know…," the woman began but one look into the green eyes told her that it was enough.
"He's right. You haven't been there, 'Ro! So you don't know what this means to Logan," Jean said briefly and let go of her hand before she ran a hand through her tired face. "Would you leave us alone, please?" she asked both woman who nodded silently and left the room. Shaking her head, Jean heaved a deep sigh. "I knew this would happen…"
Sitting down on the edge next to her he nodded. "Haven't expected anything else of him…"
"And what now?"
Logan shrugged. "I bet Charles gives him a sermon and tells him everything. But I doubt this will change anything."
Frowning, Jean looked at him from aside before she understood what he meant. "He can't blame a child for what those bastards have done…"
"Not a child, Jean," he replied and looked at her darkly. "My child. It would be different if it was someone else kid."
Sitting next to each other in silent, while both were lost on their own thoughts, Jean waited until she could feel Scott on their level again. Concentrating on him, she got up when she felt how he entered the room she used to share with him. Seeing how Logan grabbed his leather jacket, she waited until he was gone, before she got up and headed to her room. Not knocking on the door, she directly made her way into it and faced him.
"What do you want now?" he asked and tried to find a comfortable position on the bed with the plaster on his right leg. Hissing, when his rips hurt again, he leant back with a loud groan.
"It's your own fault, Scott!" Jean said even if she felt touched to see him suffering that much. And she could only thank a higher being that her friends had managed to intervene before one of them would have been killed. And she was convinced that it would have gotten that far… "What has gotten into you, can you tell me that?"
"What?" he asked angrily and looked up a bit. "I finally have you back after thinking you were dead for months and you are pregnant with his kid. So how else do you want me to react, Jean?"
"You don't know what happened," she said through clenched teeth and came a bit closer. "You don't…"
Snorting he shook his head. "I know it! The Professor has told me everything and what he has done to you only proves to me that he is a damn animal!"
Biting her lip while she felt tears coming up, Jean could only shake her head in disbelief. "Logan saved my life! Not only once in there…"
"By raping you?" he shot back and put as much disgust in the word as possible.
"He had no other choice, Scott!" she said aloud and felt her heart kicking into high gear. "This bastard pointed a weapon to my head and shot me before, so what do expect Logan to do? Let them kill me? Is that what you want?" she nearly yelled at him crying and saw how he looked down. "You have no idea what they did to us, what we've been through. And don't forget that I'm only staying here because of Logan! He got us out! Only because of him I am here. So how dare you to treat him as if it was his fault?"
Not saying anything for a while, Scott crossed his arms as good as possible. "You think I don't know, do you?" he asked her more calmly but still with a more than angry undertone.
"Know what?" Jean asked and stopped her pacing while she wiped away her tears for the fifth time.
"Your neck. I've seen it…," was all he said and her eyes grew wide in shock. Grinning in disbelief, while he gave a short derisive laugh Scott shook his head. "You really believed I wouldn't notice that you slept with him?"
Looking down embarrassed, she began to bite her lip. "It just happened…"
"Just happened…," he spat through clenched teeth. "Hope ya had fun!"
Running a hand through her wet face, Jean heaved a deep sigh and waited for her nerves to calm down a bit. "Look,…we've been together in that cell for five months. We have been through hell together, so yeah…," she sat and opened her arms in despair. "It just happened…"
Scott could only give her a skeptical look and shook his head again. "And the next thing is that you want to tell me he doesn't mean anything to you, right?" he asked her in return and saw how her cheeks blushed a bit. "Jean… I have seen how you look at him since he stepped into that school. You can't hide this attraction to him and I have only waited for that moment!"
"Thanks for trusting me…," she gave back and walked over to the window to look out. Scanning the garden, she raised an eyebrow when she saw Logan with Heather sitting on the veranda. She could tell by their body language that they talked about something serious.
"Jean…," Scott suddenly said and made her startle a bit by the sound of his voice. "You know I love you. I could even forgive you that, because I know that it was a unique thing for him." Seeing how she narrowed her eyes angrily, he raised a hand to tell her to stop and listen to him. "And I would do anything…but not raising his child!"
"It's also my child, Scott!" Jean said aloud and turned to face him completely. "This child is also part of me. You can't blame it for what happened! It's a baby for God's sake!"
Sighing, he ran a hand through his face. "I am not blaming the baby. But you know what I think about him… And you can't expect me to care for his child. Sorry, I can't do that!"
Staring at him for some time in disbelief, Jean fixed her eyes on the ground. "What do you want me to do? I can't get rid off it anymore if that's what you want. And I wouldn't do this!"
"Then give it to him. It's his kid, so let him handle it," he replied coolly without looking at her.
"Sure. And the next thing you tell me is that I'm not allowed to care for my baby, huh? Do you even know what you're saying, Scott? You wanted to have children as far as I can remember!" she nearly yelled at him and felt her blood boiling within her.
"Yeah, I want. But not his!" he shot back using the same undertone than she had.
Shaking her head, Jean walked over to the door. Just as she had grabbed the doorknob, she stopped and glared at him once more. "Can you even understand what it felt like for me?" she asked him through clenched teeth. "The fear I had to experience that if it's a girl they would kill it and force another one onto me? Can you understand that only for a second, Scott?"
"Would have been better if you ask me," he replied and stared at the opposite wall. "Because Logan won't take care of it! And you know that. I bet he'll leave with his former teammates or shortly after them, Jean. So face the truth about him!"
Shaking her head, she slammed the door shut behind her as hard as she could. Leaning against it, Jean heaved deep calming breath before she ran a hand through her face and wiped away her tears with it. Seeing how Ororo, who was just passing through, watched her, she couldn't help but glide down and start sobbing desperately…
"You can't do this!" Heather said for the at least third time and looked at her friend, who was sipping on his beer while he held a cigar in his other hand.
"Why not?" he only asked and looked into the darkness of the garden.
"Logan, this is your child. And it needs you as much as it needs Jean."
"And?"
Groaning, the woman made a turn in despair. "You are still as stubborn as I know you! You can't just leave with us tomorrow."
Shrugging, he exhaled the smoke and watched how ash fell to the ground. "Either you take me with ya in the jet, or I use my bike. The second way takes longer, so what?"
Sitting down on the stool opposite him, she bent forward to look him right into his hazel eyes, which were more black in the dim light the kitchen projected. "Why?"
"Do I have to explain every step I make?" he asked her angrily and glared at the woman briefly.
"Yeah. If you leave your child, then you have to!" Heather shot back and stopped him from getting up. "Why?"
"You know why!" he hissed pissed off and pulled his hand away from her. "I don't want to have kids, that's it."
Sighing, the woman ran a hand through her long hair. "Too late for that, isn't it? This child is yours, Logan and it will exist soon. And you can't just pack your things and leave Jean alone with it!" Giving him the same angry look, she held it until he looked away. "Why do you want to give this up? You care for her, she cares for you… So why? I don't get it!"
Sipping on his beer, he shook his head and put the empty bottle down before he got up to walked through the garden. As long as she would stop questioning his decisions, it was fine for him. It wouldn't change anything anyway. He made a decision, so it was settled and nothing and no one could change this. "Stop following me!" he growled when he hurt her footsteps behind him.
"No, I won't!" Heather said aloud and grabbed his jacket roughly to make him turn around. Ignoring the growl, she grabbed both wrists of him firmly. "Why?"
"Because I don't want to have a family, damn it!" he grunted through gritted teeth and tried to get rid of her. "You got your answer so leave me alone, girl!"
"You still think this is all happening because of you, don't you?"
"And it fucking is! They did this stuff to her because of me!"
Giving a laugh, Heather shook her head. "Did you ever think about the fact that Jean is still alive because of you? That knowing you was the thing that kept her alive?" Hearing his snort, she tightened her grip. "What do you think would have happened to her if they hadn't gotten to know about your connection to her, Logan? Then this bastard would have raped her and not only he would have! They would have done thing to her like the woman you have told us about during the meeting. They would have shot her like an animal. Knowing you had guaranteed her survival because to them she was something special! And only because of you!" she nearly yelled at him outraged and noticed that he had stopped the pulling. "And I know you well enough to see how much she means to you!"
"And that's the point, don't you guys get it?" he barked back at her. "What do you think how many people are out there who want to see me dead, eh? What do you think will their party look like if they get to know about her and the child? I can't have these things, don't you see that?"
"But you guys are save here. You have friends who will help you. You perfectly know that one call is enough, Logan! Trying to protect them honors you, but think about what you will lose at the same time!" she said and hissed when he pulled his arms away violently. Following him even further through the garden, until he stopped again, Heather kept a distance when she saw how the moonlight was reflected in his eyes. "You know, I thought about it."
"About what?" he grunted and crossed his arms.
"Why you told me to stick to James," she replied calmly and heard him sighing. "You know…after seeing how you look at her, I figured that there was something I couldn't give you. Something…was missing between us, I first thought. But then again, I thought about it again and it hit me…"
"Hope not to painful…," he hissed cynically and looked away.
"It hadn't had anything to do with me," Heather said with a visible sad undertone in her voice. "It was because of you, wasn't it?" Waiting for a reply, she knew he wouldn't give her one and smiled slightly. "The problem with you is not as others think that you can't feel. It's that you feel too much, right? Because of your mutation and enhanced senses. You pick up feelings all around you and have to deal with yours at the same time. And if you lose control once you know what happens…" Looking at him in the darkness, Heather knew she was right. She could tell it from the way he stood in front of her, even if she could hardly see him. "And that's your problem, Logan… Allowing yourself to feel too much. That's why you left me. And that's why you want to leave her…"
"Done with your chick stuff?" he growled after a while and tossed his cigar away. "Yeah? Good!" Not waiting for her, he walked back to the mansion, not caring that she followed him.
"You want to leave her, because she doesn't only make you feel too much, but because you already love her, isn't it?" Heather asked him angrily and tried to get a hold of him again. "And just because you are too damn proud and scared, you are willing to throw away the greatest thing you can have in your life. How stupid are you?"
"Stop analyzing me as if I am some fucking math task!" Logan yelled back at her and pushed the door open angrily; leaving small holes in the walls.
"Then tell me you are not a coward!" Heather shot back and ignored the looks he gave her. "Tell me that you are not afraid to lose yourself into something which might not last forever. You are afraid of being hurt again, so you doing the easiest thing and run away." Giving a short derisive laugh, she kept on following him upstairs. "It's funny, really. Fearless in battle but you shit your pants when it comes to let someone touch your heart. Good job, Logan! You should thank them for making you an emotional wrack!" Startling when he suddenly pushed her against a wall violently, she hold her breath for a moment; thinking that he would extract his claws and slice her into pieces.
"Shut.up!" Logan growled in a menacing low voice and pushed her roughly aside before he slammed his room door open; causing Jean and Ororo to jump in shock. Seeing them he narrowed his eyes to their maximum. "Get out!" he hissed and made both women look at each other, before she quickly left the room, just to startle again when he slammed the door shut right behind them.
Taking notice of Heather who heaved a deep sigh, Ororo gave her an angry look. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing. Just told him the truth," the woman replied and began to walk towards the room they had been given for the night.
"And what truth?" the other woman asked again, eyeing her suspiciously. "I haven't seen him that pissed off against us ever…" Recalling the incident before Senator Kelly had stepped into the school, she tilted her head briefly. "Okay…once…"
"You'll see. He'll spend the whole night brooding, I hope. Good night!" Heather said and left them alone.
"Do you get it?" Ororo asked Jean, but this one shook her head.
"Do you help me pack my things tomorrow?" the redhead asked her and looked at her friend sadly.
"You sure you wanna do this? I mean…Scott behaved like an asshole, but…"
"Not after what he has said, 'Ro," Jean shook her head. "I can't forgive him calling my baby an animal first and then wishing that those bastards should have killed it…"
"Okay. You can stay at my room for tonight," Ororo nodded and shoved her into the direction of her room. "Let Logan calm down. I'm sure we can help him rebuilding his room tomorrow, too. So we need sleep!" Nudging her friend encouragingly, she laid an arm around her shoulder.
On the next morning, Ororo had helped Jean to pack her things as promised. Not knowing where to put them, they decided to leave them in the corridor first. Since Logan hadn't shown up for breakfast and was nowhere to be found, they met the others on the veranda when Heather and James wanted to fly back home.
"It's strange," Ororo noticed and looked around. "I mean you pissed him off pretty much, but…he wouldn't just let you guys go without saying goodbye…"
Noticing how Heather gave her a strange look, Jean began to frown when the woman tipped to her head. Concentrating, she understood what she wanted her to do…
Upstairs, Logan was packing his things into a bag, when Jean suddenly came in. "What are you doing?" she asked him and stopped at the door.
"What does it look like?" he replied without looking up or stopping what he was doing.
Coming closer, she watched him closely. "So you leave me alone with a child, huh?" she asked him dryly and tried to hide her pain behind a blank mask.
Sighing, Logan walked over to the wardrobe and pulled his things out of it, too. "You're not alone, Red…"
Jean gave a short derisive laugh and shook her head. "What else do you call it if the father just pisses off?"
Stopping in his movements, Logan looked up and glared at her angrily. "I'm NOT pissing off!" he hissed and caused her to smirk cynically.
"Oh, really? So you pack your stuff into a bag because you got tired of your wardrobe?!"
Shaking his head, he tried to stay calm by heaving a deep breath. Still, he felt his heart racing while his blood began to boil. "I told you that I don't want to have a child, Jean!"
Stepping closer, she faced him directly with a mask of anger, while her arms were crossed. "But you WILL have a child soon, Logan!" she said aloud and held his gaze. "Too late to change anything about it!"
"Not my problem!" he shot back and slammed the door of the wardrobes shut. "I said I don't wanna have a family and I meant it!"
Biting her lip, Jean shook her head in disbelief and was close to start crying. "How can you be so cold hearted all of a sudden? This is our child, Logan! Our baby. It's a part of you and me, if you want it or not…"
Turning around, he faced her angrily and threw his bag towards the door. "This child isn't even supposed to exist! What do you want to tell it later if it asks if it was a love child, huh?" he yelled at her and made her back off a bit. "You only exist because a son of a bitch pointed a weapon to you mother's head and made your father rape her? Is that what you want to tell it?!"
Jean could only stare at him in shock and kept on shaking her head in disbelief, while tears ran down her face. "I hope you never come back!" she hissed and turned around; leaving the room angrily, while Logan closed his eyes and ran a hand through his face. After staring on the ground for a moment, he finally grabbed his back and followed her.
"Jean…," he called after her and rand down the stairs.
"Piss off!" Jean yelled without even turning around and kept on walking down the corridor blindly.
"Jean, wait!" he tried it again and grabbed her hand; brining them both to a halt right in front of the kitchen where the others were still gathered on the veranda.
Turning around in one quick move, she gave him a slap around the face. "You wanted to piss off, so piss off, Logan!" she yelled at him and tore herself away from him crying. "I'm done with you!"
Feeling his temper failing him, he glared at her. "Damn it, don't you want to understand?" he asked her as loud as she was talking to him.
Laughing briefly, she nodded. "I do understand, Logan!" Jean hissed through clenched teeth. "I perfectly understand that the mighty Wolverine is nothing more than a damn coward! Too afraid to take responsibility his own child!" Looking away, while he tried to hold onto the last bit of temper he had, Logan ignored some of the others who had come to the door to look what was wrong. "You've hoped that it was a girl so that they'd get rid off it, don't you? So that you don't have to deal with it…," Jean asked him heavily crying through gritted teeth and began to shake when she held back a sob.
"This ain't true!" he hissed and faced her again.
"Really? I think it is…," she gave back and still tried to mask her pain with bitterness and anger, while her heart shattered into pieces.
"I don't have to listen to this shit!" Logan said angrily and pushed her out of the way to make his way to the door, where the others quickly stepped aside.
"Fine, run! That's the only thing you're good in! Running away from problems and your life…," Jean yelled after him and made him stop, while his hand grabbed the doorframe firmly. "You are a fucking coward, nothing more!"
"Say that again!" Logan yelled back at her and turned around again; slowly coming closer while his eyes sized her up for a coffin.
Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she stepped closer too; facing him even if her instincts told her to run. "You.are.a. she repeated slowly and in a low voice that was completely unusual for her. Logan narrowed his eyes in fury and gave the perfect expression as if he was about to slap her. "I know why you don't want to have a family or your child… Why you're running again…," she added and saw his muscles tense dangerously.
"Really?" he hissed and crossed his arms, too.
"You're afraid to fail! You're scared that something happens and that you're alone again because you think that it is all about you…"
"And it is…," Logan shot back on which she shook her head.
"No, it's not! They would have caught me and done those things to me or even worse if you hadn't been there, too!" Jean looked at him crying and heaved a deep breath to be able to speak further. "If you hadn't been there they would have raped me and forced me to do even other things and I would have ended like this woman had… And I would have never been able to get out of there if it wasn't because of you! You saved me. And our baby…."
"Heard that before," Logan grunted and looked away. Still, she noticed that he was a bit calmer.
"Logan, all I'm asking of you is to stay… I'm not asking you to marry me or change your life. Just stay…"
Turning his head, he looked into her pleading eyes for a while. "You have Cyke… He'll be a better father than me… I don't even know what it's like to be a child, Jean."
Wrapping her arms around herself, she shook her head. "Scott doesn't even look at me, Logan. And he said he would do anything, but never raising your child!" she answered crying. "Why do you think my stuff is standing in front of your room?" She looked at him again and saw that he shook his head.
"I don't want you in my room or bed, Red!"
Shocked about his unexpected reply she stared at him. "But…I thought you…," Jean stuttered confused.
"Yeah. And that's the point," Logan replied and looked onto the ground. "You love him, not me. And I don't want you in my room or life if you want me as a father only. I can't do this, sorry." With that he turned around and was about to walk towards the kitchen again, when he stopped once more. "Either you're in that package, too, or not. But I can't be just your friend anymore…"
Watching him leaving, Jean quickly stepped forward. "Why do you think did he throw me out this morning?" she asked him barely audible and he turned with a cocked eyebrow. "He told me to pack my things after I told him that I can't be with him anymore…" By a look into his face, while the others still looked to and fro between them, knowing that the couple wasn't even aware of them, she noticed that he was thinking about it. "But I don't want to move into your room either as long as you don't want to be a father for real, Logan. I don't want you to pretend to love this child if you want to get rid off it in reality…" Realizing her mistake, too late, she only saw how he moved closer quickly.
"I never said that I want to get rid off it, Jean! That's what you think! But I never said that!" he hissed and made her back off.
"Then why did you pack?" Jean asked him in return and nodded towards the bag on his shoulder, but he only shook his head and looked at Heather and James who where still waiting outside. "Logan, please! I'm only asking you to stay and help me…nothing more…" Grabbing his hand, Jean gave him a pleading look again, while tears still ran down her face. Wiping them away gently, he gave her a last look, before he turned around and left.
Looking at the door in shock, she pulled a face and turned around; running down the corridor sobbing until she realized that she was standing in front of his room again. Looking at the box in front of it, she picked it up like in trance and carried it inside. After getting her suitcase, too, she closed the door behind her and dropped both things on the bed. Letting her eyes travel around the room, Jean didn't even realize that she was still crying heavily, when she got her toiletries bag out of the box and walked over to the bathroom. Looking at the few things he had left, she sobbed aloud when her hand reached out to move them away. As another hand grabbed her wrist…
"Don't even think about fighting for room…"
Turning around quickly, Jean's eyes looked directly into hazel pools, and felt how he let go of her hand. Realizing it, she let the bag fall and threw herself at him sobbing aloud, whereupon Logan pulled her close. "I thought you really left…," she cried and wrapped her arms around him.
"Well, I had to say good bye, hadn't I?" he replied and stepped back a bit to wipe away her tears again.
But Jean noticed that he was keeping the distance on purpose. Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around herself. "But I still don't get it. Why did you pack?"
"Because you're right…," he replied barely audible and avoided her gaze. "I'm a coward…"
Sighing, he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "There are people who want me dead, Jean. If someone of them finds out…they'll try to get the kid because it carries part of my genes. They won't stop hunting me, Jean. And you know that!"
Shaking her head, Jean came closer with a determine look in her eyes. "They won't get it! It's safe here, Logan. They would be stupid to attack a school full of mutants…" She heard him sigh in frustration and knew that he gave up for this time. Standing opposite each other rather helpless, she gave him looks from time to time. "So what now?" she asked him after a while and saw him shaking his head again.
"I can't be a friend only anymore, Jean," Logan told her once more, angry with himself about how weak she had made him. Back then he just took what he wanted when he wanted. And now he stood in a bathroom with her and discussed it…
"I don't want you to be a friend only, Logan," Jean replied and met his eyes briefly.
"Well, what do you want me to be?"
"What can you be?" she asked in return and had to smile slightly about how ridiculous this situation actually was.
Stepping closer, he cupped her chin and made her look at him. "Everything you want me to be…as long as you really want me…"
Moving closer, Jean held his gaze. "I want you to be the father of our baby, Logan…"
Letting go of her, he shook his head and stepped back again, which made her sigh in frustration. "I can't be that only, sorry!" About to walk back into his bedroom, he stopped when she raised her voice once more.
"And I want to try it…,"Jean added barely audible.
"Try what?" Logan asked and cocked an eyebrow at her, while she bit her lip.
"Us. If it works…" Looking down, she felt his eyes on her.
Not completely convinced, he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Us as what?" he asked her skeptically and watched her closely when she looked up again.
"As a couple," Jean replied barely audible and blushed a bit. "That means…if you're fine with that…"
Turning around, Logan came closer again and stopped right in front of her. "You already know the answer. But what about you?" he demanded to know and made her look at him again. "I don't want you to stay with me just because of the kid and I make you feel better… I want to be more than just a friend, Jean. If you can't give me that, pack your stuff and leave!"
Looking at him for a while, Jean stepped as close as possible and pulled him down into a gentle kiss, before she wrapped her arms around his waist. "You already are…," she said barely audible and leant against him. "You've always been more than a friend, Logan… Thought you knew that by now…"
Smirking when he heard her using the same words against him, he had used in the cell before, he pulled her close and rested his head on hers. Standing like this for a while, he finally bent down to pull her into a deep kiss. "But don't even think putting up Christmas stuff in my rooms, girl! Otherwise I kick you faster out than you want to!"
Laughing when he pulled her up into his arms and dropped her onto the bed, Jean smirked at him after a brief kiss. "Not even the tiniest decoration?" she asked him innocently, since she loved Christmas. Feeling how he sent a shiver down her spine with the look he gave her after his eyes had scanned her from head to toe, she knew what he was up to.
Smirking wolfishly, Logan shrugged playfully. "You might decorate something else…," he replied huskily and watched in amusement how she blushed.
Narrowing her eyes, she raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it actually me who has to get a gift for moving in?" Jean asked him playfully and tilted her head a bit.
Tucking on her shirt, Logan snorted. "You get me, isn't that enough?"
Laughing, she slapped him playfully against the chest. "Heather was right. You really are an arrogant bastard sometimes…"
"Yeah, love ya, too, darlin'," was everything he said before he pulled her into another deep kiss…
The End
Well, that was it. The last (nerve-wracking) chapter of this story. Hope ya liked it and enjoyed reading it: ) Can't still believe that this computer really dared to erase the first 9 pages. Now it's 42 that I typed today. More than I ever imagined for this chapter. LOL Well, thanks to all who read it and reviewed! I hope you liked this last bit here, too and I promise to go on with Changes soon, too. I'm just a bit stuck there, but I haven't forgotten about it (even if I said I wanted to do parallel writing…blush). Thanks again for your support: ) Hope to see ya all soon again!!! Please review and thanks again to those who wanted to help me out with the computer crash!!! You guys are really great: ) See ya!