Author's Note: I'm currently laid low with a nasty lingering cold of some sort, and I didn't want to be the only one suffering. This is some light and fluffy Nyquil-fic, where the X-fuhcks are on some sorta undercover rescue mission or something. Many thanks to Emmagem803 for agreeing to look over this crazy piece of work. Standard disclaimers apply. We'll be back to our regular scheduled programming (Trickles) sooner rather than later.

Logan looked up at the sound of hollow coughing. He'd watched her get progressively worse all morning, graduating from sniffles to sneezes before the cough had started. Her steps had begun to drag, and he could smell the misery she radiated. The suppression cuffs had negated his healing factor, but his feral senses were a part of his physical makeup and were only slightly muted.

The squad of soldiers kept the captive mutants cowed with a combination of verbal intimidation, flashes of their standard issue pistols, and when needed, jolts from modified electric cattle prods. Rather than chaining them together, each pair of cuffs was linked by a length of chain that ran through a small loop on a metal ring fastened about their midsections, just long enough so that when one hand reached their face, the other was pulled snug against their waist. Their feet were hobbled separately, with barely enough chain to allow a shuffling march. The restraints were designed to reinforce the idea that they were helpless while still allowing them to walk, feed themselves and eliminate without requiring their guards to interact unnecessarily.

The soldiers called a halt for the midday meal and piss break. He saw the girl sigh and collapse wearily. Time for him to do something. Logan caught a brief glimpse of half lidded brown orbs through a mop of medium length brown hair as he approached her. Snot ran down her face unchecked, and deep coughs marked the time regularly. Her enervation was a bad sign. This morning her health had been sound enough, and for her to have progressed in a few hours to this level of fatigue meant she would need medical care before the day was done.

"Listen, kid. You gotta get your act together before the guards decide you're not worth the effort and shoot ya. Come on, I'll help you up." Technically, since this was a group of powerful and valuable Alpha Class mutants, it wasn't certain if she would in fact get shot. It was better not to risk it though, or to risk attracting attention from them that could lead to her isolation from the main group. He extended his hand towards her and waited as she visibly weighed her will to live against her instinct to rest, then reached one hand for him as she maneuvered her feet more or less underneath her.

They'd been parked near a swiftly running creek, so he led them upstream of most of the others and urged her to drink as deeply as she could. Dehydration would be her worst enemy during the march.

"If you can eat anything, you should." He pointed to her ration. He finished his in three measured mouthfuls while she watched him with her arms limp in her lap, and her body limp against his side.

"Why?" Her voice was gravel and whisper, and she winced as she spoke. Her eyes were fever bright but sincere. He knew she wasn't asking why she should eat, but why he was helping her and what he expected out of it. Still, he pretended to misinterpret.

"Because you need the energy. Now try to eat." She narrowed her eyes either in annoyance or distrust. He chose not to guess.

"No. WHY?" The effort of emphasis instigated a prolonged coughing spell, and she panted in the aftermath while he glared and considered his answer.

"Eat, and I'll talk. Hurry up, kid, we don't have much longer." She nodded and used her teeth to break off a small chunk of the dense bar. She chewed slowly and it was obvious that she found the task distasteful. "I know they taste like shit, but they got what you need to keep you moving." She nodded at this and swallowed, then broke off another small chunk. "You wanna know why I'm helping you? Simple. I'm gonna need you later." She furrowed her brows and chewed. "We're all Alphas, kid, and we're being escorted about three hundred miles by a dozen bullies with tranqs and cattle prods. The thing about bullies, kid? They're all show. As soon as we take out the top personnel the grunts will lay down arms. They don't actually know who they have 'captive' - I've got a strike team of three other highly trained mutants here with me, and we're here specifically to rescue you and the others." He could see the spark returning to her eyes and she swallowed before biting off another piece to chew. "When we stop for the night my friends and I are gonna get us all out of here and I want you to be ready to make a move. Got it kid?"

She cleared her mouth to speak. "Marie. Yeah, I got it."

He grinned at her. "Good girl. Name's Logan. My friends up there are the X-Geeks." He chuckled at her raised brow. "At least, that's what I call 'em. Now get some rest if you can, Marie. Don't worry. I'll take care of you." At this she stilled and pinned him with a look both more wise and more innocent than he'd been expecting.

"You promise?"

He didn't hesitate a second. "I promise."

Marie was miserable. Grade A, 'I bet I'm sicker than that time I got food poisoning and chicken pox at the same time,' 'is this seriously better than dying' type, bone-weary miserable. She distracted herself momentarily from the endless trudge by contemplating the stranger beside her. There wasn't anything about his physical appearance that screamed 'knight in shining armor,' except for maybe his kind eyes. His entire mein and countenance projected the opposite, that this was a dangerous man you were better off crossing the street to avoid. He wasn't exactly handsome, not in the way she was used to thinking of as attractive. He was hairy, stern, more than a little rough around the edges and kinda old. He was hot in a manly way, she decided. Also, he was undeniably ripped underneath that black leather get-up (or rather the shredded remnants.) The other three 'X-Geeks' were similarly attired, so although his outfit was slightly disturbing it wasn't as out of place as it would have been. It also nicely corroborated his story.

She had been keeping up as best she could, but Logan was supporting her almost entirely by the time the forced march was halted for the evening. "My kingdom for a bottle of nyquil…" She breathed to herself without much humor. He must've heard her because he quirked a sexy half grin at her, before leaning down to speak. His voice was soft and urgent.

"Soon. When I give you a signal, you need to drop to the ground and don't move until I say you can. You can do this." She nodded. He got her a drink of water and shuffled her over to a less populated area, where she leaned against him for a long moment. "Wait here." He held her gaze until she nodded and had to turn her head to avoid coughing in his face. He stepped away from her slowly, carefully. She kept her feet and hoped it looked like it took way less effort than it actually did.

She watched him moving stealthily away, and her skin grew heated. "Bless my unworthy soul, that man is … (cough cough) … like some kinda sexy avenging angel when he moves like that." When he stiffened his shoulders and half turned toward her, she panicked a little. "Shit. My ears are stuffed. I probably shouted that. Way to go, Rogue, (cough) make the only person who's shown you any (cough cough) kindness in the last 8 months skeeved out with your pervy comments." Her skin grew hotter but her insides were impossibly cold.

Lord Almighty, this isn't lust or embarrassment, I'm running a fever!

Her head felt light and heavy at the same time. She noticed that her ears were ringing right before it started to drown out all of the other sounds. She had to sink down then, before she fell. The cup of water threatened a reappearance and the panting she did to combat it made her head feel even lighter. She'd just rest a little, so that if he still wanted to save her creepy ass she'd be able to follow his instructions. It really wasn't like her, a proper southern lady, to think much less say things like that. It must be the fever. Surely he'd understand…

She opened her eyes and caught a curiously sideways view of mayhem and carnage. Her avenging angel was gracefully dancing around in her field of vision, whirling and lunging while the staccato flashing of pistol fire kept time. She blinked, but it must've been more than a blink because when she opened her eyes again he was crouched in front of her, telling her that it was time to move. "Lo- (cough cough) Logan? You were so beautiful. Did you know that you're beautiful when you move, Sugar? I love watching you dance." She closed her eyes again, because her head ached something fierce and she was more tired than she ever remembered being.

The next thing she saw was a brightly lit tiled ceiling. "Marie." The beeping of a monitor near her head sped embarrassingly along with her heart beat. She found his face, and he was smiling that breathtaking crooked smile at her again. "That was some cold you caught, darling. You've been out almost two days." He cleared his throat and looked away for a moment before he continued. "You're at the Xavier Institute now, getting some medical care. Now that you're awake you can move upstairs to a real room, it'll probably be more comfortable. You're safe now, kid." She didn't get the chance to ask any of the hundred questions that were in her head because a large blue furry man in a doctor's ensemble entered the room then.

"Rogue, it's so good to see you awake, my dear! My name is Dr. Hank McCoy, but you can call me Hank. How are you feeling?"

Rogue? How does he know that name? She looked back at Logan and he was sheepishly avoiding her gaze. Ohhh. A wide grin split her face and she replied quite honestly, "I've never felt better in my life."

And they lived happily ever after. The end.