"I see something," Remy spoke as the little bi-wing's altitude dropped them closer to the area where Lena had sensed the Sabertooth. Dropping further revealed a man on the bank of the river they'd been following, flanked on two sides by large, territorial bears. Remy banked the plane and pulled up so he and Lena could keep an eye out for Jesse.

"Remy, look dare!" Lena spotted her first, riding a log and braving the rapids down the ever-narrowing river. Silence gripped them as the panorama unfolded. Jesse was doing her best to stick to the deepest part of the river, nearly four miles away from a 60-foot waterfall. Remy pushed the plane's throttle forward, hoping to find a way to rescue her before she got that far.

Seeing Jesse's form bobbing through rapids was enough to set Logan into motion.

"Buckle in," he pointed to Remy and Lena. "I'm poppin' this door." Both mutants took him at his word. When the wind currents shifted and the side hatch opened, they were ready.

"I'm goin out there, Gambit," he continued. "Just circle around and get me underneath her. I'll take it from there."

"Logan, you can't just jump," Lena tried to protest but Remy cut her off.

"He don' just spect to catch her…?"

"He got this, Chere, he know what he doin."

Jesse never heard the plane above her, nor did she hear the bears roar when they both attacked Victor. The water that was dragging her mercilessly over rocky outcroppings and swirling rapids prevented her from seeing Logan claw his way to the top of Remy's plane. If she had been able to see him crouching, anchored to the bi-wing by adamantium claws, raw strength and determination, her heart would have stopped in her chest. All Jesse knew was the roar of the water, the bruising and battering of rocks and the pull of a current she had no strength left to fight. She was coming to the end of her journey. The reality of where she would wake up tomorrow had settled over her like the water that chilled every part of her being. She reminded herself that to lose her life on this plane was to find it among the spirits. Soon she would rejoin her beloved Charlie Ray and tell her father she forgave him. Her life had started with them, and so back to them it was going. Even with this peace, her heart was heavy for Logan. She had loved him with all that she had. She didn't want to leave him, wasn't ready to watch over him from as far away as the stars. Still clinging to her sodden log to buffer her from the current's worst, she stretched a hand toward the sky. The log bobbed and tossed so much she knew that soon she'd have to let it go. But just one more time she wanted to raise her face to the sun and thank the Great Spirit for life. With a deep breath she whispered to the universe, thanking the water for taking her life as opposed to her enemy. Then she let go of the log and surrendered, wondering how it would feel to fall out of the sky.

As she succumbed to the river's embrace her grandfather's favorite lullaby sounded in her ears.

"Don't worry

About a thing -

Cuz every little thing

Is gonna be alright."

It calmed her to hear his reminder. When she had been little and they'd sung the song together he had let her keep the drumbeat. Now as her body bobbed in the rapids, buffeted by rocks below and water above, she felt like she had when he had rocked her as a child. It was good to know the transition from one world to the next was a peaceful one. Like she had as a child, she surrendered to the darkness, knowing she'd wake up in a much better place.

Downstream Remy banked his plane carefully and headed back around to the waterfall, glancing up every so often at the place where Logan's claws protruded through the roof. As long as they were there, he knew his friend was still hanging on.

"How dis gon' work, Remy LeBeau?" Lena asked. "He jus gon' jump an catch her?"

Remy said nothing for a long moment, eyes intent on locking in on Jesse so he could calculate the best speed and altitude.

"If he push off dis plane hard enough he land on dat far side," Remy pointed ahead of them. "Gonna be a rough landing, but I think he can handle it."

He pushed the little plane ever closer to the cliff face, dipping lower, then backing off, all in an attempt to be at the right place at the right time. The aircraft swayed as Logan stood to his feet, one hand still anchored in its metal skin.

Even a few hundred yards from the falls Logan could feel its mist and the air currents that rose to buffet both him and the plane. He sensed Jesse's body hurtling forward above him and shouted out to the only spirit he knew.

"This was your dream, Charlie Ray!" He shouted over the waterfall's roar. "Gimme what I need to make it come true. Either that or take both of us."

Using every bit of strength he had, Logan launched himself toward the opposite side of the falls, just as Jesse hurtled over the edge. They met in midair as she crashed against him, the momentum from their impact pushing them both toward the rock-strewn bank at the bottom. Logan wrapped his arms and legs around her, turning so his back would take the brunt of the impact. Hitting the ground knocked him out for a minute. When he came to he had Jesse in his arms but she wasn't breathing.

"Come on Jess," he sat up among jagged rocks and soft, muddy earth, skin closing over cut and bleeding flesh even as he repositioned himself and pulled her up into his arms.

From above, Remy circled his plane, looking for a spot where he could land.

"You think they're ok?" Lena spoke mostly to herself.

"Don' underestimate the Wolverine," Remy assured her. "Now we jus gotta figure out a way to get them both outa there."

The drumbeat in Jesse's lullaby got louder, feeling as though it were pounding throughout her entire body. She saw a circle of warriors dancing under the stars, a small group of drummers stood to one side, keeping the beat. Her song faded and a chant took over, as warriors in full regalia, bells tinkling at their ankles, eagle-feathered headdresses waving to the stars, raised their voices to the heavens. They were saying something, but she was too far away to make out the words. Sometimes it came out in Iroquois, sometimes in English. The beat never varied, only its intensity grew. Finally the word became clear to her.

"Live," they chanted over and over.

"Live."

The meaning was not lost on Jesse. After all she'd been through, the word held more meaning to her now than ever. Struggling to get closer to the sacred circle, she placed a hand on one of the drummer's shoulders. Her father turned his face to her, tears dripping down his cheeks.

"Live, Jesse."

In a rickety bi-plane directly overhead, another voice joined in the chant. It had a Caribbean accent, but that didn't seem to matter.

"Live."

Then the word was spoken by another voice. The drumming stopped. A huge weight of water was expelled from Jesse's stomach as Logan turned on her side. With all her strength Jesse reached for the voice she loved above all others.

"Live, Jesse. Live."

Her body coughed and spasmed, desperate to rid itself of the water trapped in her lungs, even more desperate to replace that water with much-needed oxygen.

"Come on Pocahontas, I need you to live."

With what strength she had left she curled her fingers around his hand, still gasping for air. Closing her eyes again she saw one last vision of Charlie Ray.

"He did it," she told him. "Just like you said."

Though her voice was gone, she opened her eyes for one brief moment. Beckoning Logan closer, she managed to speak two raspy words into his ear.

"Nice catch."

"Jesse," Logan called her back to semi-consciousness, even as he heard a rescue 'copter flying over. He smoothed back her hair, running his fingers through the shortened locks. A crew would be on them in minutes. He wasn't yet ready to let the rest of the world intrude.

"Sabertooth?" Jesse managed, as Logan kissed the scars on her cheek.

"I'm thinking parts of him'll be bear shit soon," Logan whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me."

Jesse opened her eyes, frowning and shaking her head in disagreement. "You were there. You were with me all the way. Victor woulda killed me back in the apartment if it wasn't for you." She leaned heavily against him as the effort to speak sapped her strength.

"He'da never got that chance if I'da stayed where I belong."

Jesse squeezed his hand and shook her head again. "You were there when I needed you," she managed. "You were there when I fell out of the sky."

Logan held her tight as he watched a rescue crew disembark from one of Sheriff Greyhawk's helicopters, body board and first aid equipment in tow.

"I'm hungry, can we go to Tony's?" Jesse whined, not quite conscious. Logan smiled against her cheek as he felt her hand find the side of his face.

"Whatever you want, kid. Soon as we get home. You just name it."

The first EMT was working his way toward them, threading between pools of water and craggy outcroppings of rock.

"What if all I want is you?"

Logan laughed a little, the sound a reminder that it was something he hadn't done in a while.

"You sure about that?"

She nodded, even as the rescue team began to maneuver her out of his arms.

"Everything all right here?" The EMT asked, crouching to assess the situation.

"Ma'am, are you alright?"

Jesse nodded, far from willing to let go of Logan now that she had him back.

"I'm alright." She whispered, locking eyes with Wolverine.

"Every little thing… is gonna be alright."

As the moon rose and bathed the wilderness known as Cedar Ridge with its light, a rustling could be heard in the proximity of an old Indian man's cabin. They had hunted him and his people down and forced them onto this Reservation. Then they had broken every promise they'd ever made. None of that mattered to him anymore. He sat with his back against a giant oak tree, waiting for a friend. That friend came, silhouetted in silver and grumpy as ever.

Charlie Ray watched, eyes crinkling with laughter, as the wolverine trundled across his back porch and stood up, chattering something to the old man, then disappearing into the forest. He raised his pipe in salute. A puff of smoke left his mouth, enveloping Jesse's grandfather, and soon he too had disappeared, leaving nothing but his voice upon the wind.

"You did well, my friend, and I thank you."

The End.