The Future

Wolverine had just woken up from the nightmare that was 1973, only to find a world that was very much changed from the one he left behind – changed for the better. Trask's Sentinels weren't hunting down mutants and humans alike, he had woken up in a warm bed and everything was peaceful. Of course, he had to find the Professor to find out just what had happened after Lehnsherr had thrown him into a body of water skewered with metal. Even Wolverine couldn't imagine how he had managed to pull his ass out of that one.

When he entered Xavier's office, he received the usual, warm smile from him, only for that smile to be replaced by a look of dawning realization before saying "You're a professor of history Logan." That, if nothing else, Logan got a kick out of.

"Yes…" he replied slowly. "I'm having a little trouble there."

"I see. You have much to catch up on, my friend"

Logan was about to reply when the very last person he wanted to see entered the room unannounced: Erik Lehnsherr. "You bastard," he growled before punching the old man in the nose, breaking it.

"I deserved that," Erik admitted, grabbing a tissue off Charles' desk to try to stop the bleeding.

"You tried to kill me!"

The (physically) older man looked down in shame. "I will admit that is not one of my prouder moments in my life. Though, in my defense, that period of time was a dark one for me."

"Cry me a river," Logan grumbled. "That's a shitty apology."

"I am sorry," he insisted. "But I am also a different man now: one who has the sense to feel guilty for my many sins, among them being attempting to kill you."

Wolverine didn't look happy but he appeared appeased for the moment with what Erik had said. "Now does anyone care to tell me what happened after my ass was thrown into the water and left to die?"

"Was that really necessary?"

"I just thought I would emphasize how much I like you right now, bub."

The Professor sighed at Erik and Logan before beginning to explain the gap that existed in Logan's memory. (Not that missing memories was exactly a new experience for the mutant. If there was anything he was familiar with, it was lost memories. "After you were rescued by Raven - "

"Wait just a goddamn second," Wolverine interrupted. "Mystique rescued me?"

"Yes," Charles responded, as if it were the obvious fact in the world. "Of course Raven rescued you but after she rescued you, you decided that you needed some time on your own so you left and, unfortunately, became entangled with Stryker. You'll notice your claws are metal; though I do not know all the details, I know that your experience with that man was quite the debacle." Great, Wolverine thought sarcastically to himself. Some things, it would seem, were inescapable.

"I let Erik go, knowing they would likely kill him without so much as a trial unless some sort of special arrangement was made. So, we made such a special arrangement and gave Erik a trial where he was acquitted of the most heinous charges and though he is still serving his lifetime sentence of community service, he is hardly worse for wear. Afterwards, he finally got to meet his daughter, who still prefers to be called Lorna, and they immediately grew close. I swear she was only living here for a week before she began calling Erik 'dad'.

"As you can see I started up the school again and everyone came back. Lorna proved to be quite the wonderful student, I might add," he added with a fond smile. "Everything fell into place quite nicely, here. And once you returned, it was not only a relief, but a pleasure to see you once again, Logan."

"So this asshole got to walk away scot free?" he asked, jamming his thumb towards Erik.

They were suddenly joined by yet another person. A woman with green hair and green eyes walked into the room without having to touch the door. (The Professor had metal doorknobs.) "Dad I was just looking for you," she said, beaming. "Pietro and Wanda are both wondering if you still wanted to make that trip this weekend. I know the kids are getting excited already." She took in Erik's appearance. "What happened to your nose?"

"The kids?" Logan asked.

"I have grandchildren," Erik explained, a smile on his face, before telling Lorna, "It's nothing. My nose is fine." Since being reunited with children, he had enjoyed living a simple life free from the worries he had carried since his childhood. After the life he'd had, a little normality was welcomed gladly and he loved the family he now had dearly.

She looked suspicious, but changed the subject since her father clearly didn't want to discuss it. "I don't think you have to explain the fact that you have grandchildren to Logan," Lorna said, sending a smile towards the afore-mentioned mutant. "We've known him for a while now."

"Of course. How could I be so foolish?" he said lightly. "Tell Pietro and Wanda that I would love to make a trip this weekend with all of you. May we work out the details later?"

She nodded and smiled at the men in the room before leaving to tell her brother and sister. Erik was about to follow suit before he turned to Logan. "Up until today, we have not been enemies Logan – far from it. If you're willing to bury your hatchet I would appreciate it because I would love nothing more than to be friends." He'd give Logan some time to think it over and decide whether or not he wanted to forgive Erik for the poor way he had treated him all those decades ago.

As he walked the halls, all the memories from 1973 came flooding back to him, having been reminded by Wolverine. Shortly after Lorna and Erik had moved into Charles' mansion, Allegra, Dianna, and Jeremy were soon to follow. All of them currently worked as professors at the school and Allegra's children had attended the school with Lorna, though they opted not to stay and be X-Men. When he exited the building and came up to Stevie's memorial, he smiled, trying to hold back tears.

The pain was still there and Erik suspected he would never escape the ache in his chest whenever he thought of Stevie. He would never stop wondering what would have happened if she had lived, what she could have accomplished. "I hope you would be proud," he said to her memorial. "I've tried so hard to make things right and I want it to be good enough." He had imagined a thousand times what she would say to him if she could see him now and he suspected she would smile and tell him that he could not have made her happier. If nothing else, imagining she would say that helped to ease some of the guilt he still carried with him for not being there when she needed him, for not being there to watch his daughter grow up for ten years – not being there for any of his children when they were young.

But now, with his family more or less intact since Stevie's death in 1963, Erik was finally beginning to see the world in a more positive light and hope had gotten a foothold in his heart.

A/N: I like to keep my epilogues short and sweet, so let me know what you think. Thank you all so much for reading and I hope that you've enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it!