Hope Returns

Epilogue

By: Lily Handle

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Author's Note: The epilogue, the last part of this story. I know, you're all sad to see it end, but don't worry, I'll be posting some write ins shortly. I've also starting to think about original plot lines for the next story in the Hope Series, so you'll just have to be patient and wait for a bit. Please read and review.

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Hope sat in the Infirmary, working on the paperwork that had piled up in her absence. Hope had stopped thinking about it as her kidnapping, if she thought about it that way, it just brought up too many painful memories. She'd recovered physically while in South Carolina, all her stitches were out, she had gained the weight she lost back and could use her right had with relative ease. Her pointer and middle fingers would always be slightly bent, but she could hold a pencil and do many of the things she was able to do before. Her time with her family had started to heal her emotionally, starting a scab over a very big wound that probably would never be completely closed. The students at the Institute didn't ask about what happened to her, Hank had once or twice but Hope had just shaken her head. He didn't need any more guilt. She'd talked with Charles about it, usually when she had some time to spare. He was a very good listener and the days when she talked with him she could usually go to sleep at a reasonable hour, but still she felt fragile inside. She also had officially started training to become an X-man. The easiest part of the whole thing was giving her a code name, Coma. She had her own uniform, too. When Charles had made the announcement the students had instantly started regaling her of horror stories about training sessions, it had been one of Hope's favorite moments in the Institute. She would actually train by herself, while the students were in school, that way she could still treat students during their training days. All in all, everyone seemed to be moving forward from this. Except for her, though she acted like she'd forgotten or moved on, she felt stuck. And I don't have a single clue on how to move forward, Hope thought, taping the pencil in her hand against the counter. Hope glanced up from the paperwork when the door opened, Logan stood there, frowning at her.

"Why aren't you in bed?" He asked, watching her. Hope looked towards the clock, it was past midnight.

"I got distracted," Hope shrugged, "What are you doing up?"

"Working," Logan walked into the room, "How's the hand?"

Hope glanced down at it and the three bright scars, "Healed. It wasn't your fault you know, I did it myself."

Logan shrugged, "I still could have hurt you, slicin' through the truck like that."

"I don't want to talk about it, Logan," Hope muttered, looking away from him.

"All right, Doc," He said and walked away. Hope sat there for a few moments, then leapt up from her seat and went chasing after him.

"Logan wait!" She called, reaching out and grabbing his arm, "I'm sorry."

"Hey, you don't want to talk about it, you don't have too," He said, lifting her hand off his arm and turning around to face her.

"I need to go back," Hope blurted, looking up at him, "I have to go back."

He stared at her for a while, "Get a jacket."

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Hope stepped off the last step of the stairs to the jet and into the snow. Her eyes were locked on the cabin, which almost looked like something you'd find on a Christmas card, but it didn't feel that way to Hope. She didn't shiver because of the cold, but because of the memories it brought back. It was a place that would always make her feel lost and afraid. After this, she was never coming back here, ever.

"You want me to wait in the jet?" Logan asked.

"No, it's alright." Hope took another step forward, "It doesn't matter to me." She heard him walk down the stairs and felt him standing behind her.

"When Trask first took me here, I managed to get away," Hope said, her eyes never leaving the cabin. She was more or less talking to herself, almost forgetting that Logan was with her, "I ran for the woods, not sure on which way to go, but it was the opposite direction from Trask, that's all that mattered. So I ran, it was hard too, I had leg shackles on. I found a hollow tree trunk to hide in." Hope turned her face upwards to look at the stars, "It was the first time I'd ever heard wolves. He caught me, found me pretty easily considering I thought I'd made it pretty hard to follow my trail. Well, he dragged me through the snow, back here and then tossed me in the shed. I think he liked to keep me in dark, cold and cramped places." Hope turned towards the shed and started walking towards it. She stopped a few steps later; she could smell her father's cigar smoke. She turned around to look and Logan stood by the jet, a cigar hanging from his mouth.

"Want me to put it out?" He asked.

"No, my father smokes the same cigars."

"He sent me some, for saving you."

"My father loves those cigars, but my mother hates them, so she makes my father smoke them on the front porch," Hope smiled at Logan, "Did he send you a half box or a full one?"

"Half."

"The only person I've ever seen him give a full box to was my brother," Hope looked back to the shed, "I can't tell them about this. Even Michael, who I thought I could tell everything to, I can't."

"They don't need to know about it," Logan offered.

"No, they don't, but they want to know. When they didn't think I was looking I could see the pity and the curiosity in their eyes. I can't tell them, because then they'd just hover even more. I couldn't go anywhere without Thea, my sister, offering to drive me, or Michael walking with me. Couldn't get a single moment alone except late at night when everyone else was asleep, of course at night I didn't want to be alone. It drove me nuts after awhile." Hope took another step towards the shed, but found herself stuck. She couldn't go closer, she couldn't face that place again. "He threw me in there like I was nothing but a sack of potatoes. After the first night I was so cold I couldn't move. Trask came back, took the handcuffs and then just left me there. I hated him, I wanted him dead, but I never meant to kill him. I just, just lost control, like I was a wild animal or something. I was so cold, so weak, I couldn't stop myself."

"I know the feeling." Hope turned back to Logan, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I killed a man, Logan, I did something very wrong."

"Doc, Trask was a monster. He's worth more dead than alive."

"I've saved the lives of murderers, rapists and child beaters, just because Trask was a monster it doesn't make it okay to kill him." Hope looked away, back towards the shed. Even from where she stood, feet away from it and with so much time since she'd been there last she could smell the blood, hear Trask screaming, "I can't go back there. I thought I could, maybe face it, but I never want to be back in that place again."

"Don't force it, Doc, you don't have to prove anything."

"I just have to heal something." Hope sighed and walked to the cabin, "Are you coming in with me?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. locked that place up," Logan said.

"There's a trick to these cabin door knobs, we have some just like it back home," Hope twisted the doorknob the wrong way and heard the pop of the lock, "Twist the knob the wrong way and the door just opens, have to tell S.H.I.E.L.D. their security is iffy." Hope opened the door and stepped inside. She could see in her minds eye herself moving around inside, panicked and afraid. "When I first came in here, I felt like crying because I was warm again. There's nothing like that feeling." Hope took a step forward and stood in the middle of the cabin looking around. "This would be a nice place to get away from the world, no wonder Trask chose it."

"You okay Doc? You're looking a little pale," Logan interrupted.

"Do I really?" Hope looked down at her hands, they were shaking, "Guess this is bothering me more than I thought."

"You want to get out of here?"

"No, not yet." Hope walked through the second door, back outside into the night.

"The guilt you feel about what happened here, you shouldn't have because you had no other choice Doc. Someone took you, they were gonna kill you and you decided you didn't want that, so you fought back. It was your only choice whatever guilt you're carrying around because of this, it ain't worth it."

Hope turned around and looked at Logan, trying to read him. It sounded like he'd actually experienced something like what had happened to her. So much of him was a mystery to her, but even though he told her nothing, she was still telling him what she could barely tell Charles. "You know, when Stryker was dragging me to the truck, I was done. I'd tried fighting, I'd tried surviving, and nothing worked, so I just… I just reached the point where I didn't want to fight anymore. I was perfectly ready to die," Hope sighed, "But then I heard you and I could do it, I could fight back."

"You know Doc, that's the nicest thing I think you've ever said to me," Logan smiled, and Hope smiled back. She started walking towards Logan, he watched her while she crossed to him, taking the cigar from his mouth. She found herself wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. She held on to him tightly while she slanted her mouth over his, kissing him soft and slow. She could never really tell him how it had felt to see him coming to her rescue but she tried with this kiss. He seemed to understand, wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her tighter against him. She could taste the smoke of the cigar on him, found it comforting and deepened the kiss. It seemed to stretch on for hours, but Hope moved her hands to cup his face and slowly she broke the kiss.

"We should go back," She sighed with some regret. She happily could have stood out in the snow kissing Logan for hours, but she had reality to get back to.

"Yeah," But he kissed her again, drawing out a sigh from Hope, before slowly pulling back. They stepped apart, smiling at each other again. While she walked to the jet Hope looked back over her shoulder once more and then put it all behind her.

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Author's Note: I have been dying to do a Hope/Logan scene in this story and finally I got the chance! Not that the whole point of this was the kiss, but wasn't that just great? Fluff, fluff, fluff, fluff, fluff! If you get the point, because I'm not going to tell you what it is, then you get a cookie! A large, over-sized cookie. If you don't, please enjoy the fluff. Please read and review.

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