Disclaimer: I don't own the x-men and am not making any profit off of them.
Logan sat on the blackbird seat, the girl cradled in his arms. Cyclops looked at him, but he didn't pay any notice. He just stared at the little girl. Storm looked at her worried.
'Where was she?'
'Let's just get her to Hank Ro.' He said quietly. The girl looked around her obviously terrified but unmoving, not fighting. It was something that scared Logan to see.
'It's okay; nobody's going to hurt you. I'm going to look after you.' Her whispered his voice soothing and soft. Ororo and Scott exchanged puzzled looks.
Logan carried the little girl into the Lab. She started to breath harder her heart beating faster. Logan looked around him, the cold steel surfaces of their laboratory cross medical centre, which before seem an ordinary part of his home now seemed to shimmer with something sinister. A image of a laboratory a little like this one filled his head, the walls covered in odd looking equipment, and in pride of place in the middle three liquid filled glass tubes, large enough to fit a man. Everybody knew the government did experiment on mutants, even this little girl.
'NO!' He gasped looking straight into her eyes. 'No, we're not going to hurt you, never.' He said his voice shocked at the horrific insight into the girl's feelings. She stared up at him trembling.
Beast walked in from a door opposite. He immediately stopped staring at the girl. He gave Logan a look that said volumes.
'Our new student?' Logan nodded. The girl despite all his assurances was visibly remembering against his chest. 'Would you like to sit her on the bed?'
Logan tried to sit the girl on the bed, her thin arms wrapped tightly around his neck; he reached up to gently disentangle her. 'It's alright darlin, it's alright.' He realised that she was not going to let go, her thin arms were also quite strong and he wouldn't be able to move her without hurting her.
'Perhaps,' Hank began. 'Since she is obviously in quite some distress and she doesn't seem to need emergency medical care, we could let her settle down here for a day or two before a physical examination?'
'Yeah, I think that's best.'
'If you'd like to get her something to eat, some new cloths, let her have a bath and show her to her room?' Hank prompted knowing Logan was a little at a loss at what to do with the girl.
'Come on.' He said calmly to her, she remained in his arms, completely motionless as he made his way up to the kitchen that was luckily empty of inhabitancies. For the time being. He sat her on the kitchen table, and this time she let go of him. 'Okay, lets see.' He said as he opened the freezer. 'I think you could use a hot meal, but you need to eat soon, so we nuke it.' He smiled holding up a microwave roast dinner. 'Beef?'
She didn't answer but the hungry look in her eyes was one that he had seen in hungry animals all the time.
'Guess it's good enough huh?' He threw it into the microwave turning the dial, he got out plates and cutlery and then turned to see the girl watching carefully, aware of his every movements.
'I'm not going to hurt you kid. I'm going to make you some dinner, and then you can have a nice hot bath and get some sleep. Does that sound okay?'
Silence.
'Okay. There use to be another teen girl living here, Kitty, she left some of her old cloths here, they'll be a bit baggy on you but you can wear them until your ready for Ro to take you shopping. You'll like that.' He started talking trying to get the girls trust.
'You'll have a room near to Ros attic, the tall African woman with white hair; she'll help you if you need anything. If you don't want to ask her then you can always ask me. I'll help whenever you need it.' The microwave pinged, Logan opened the door, and dumped the contents of the plastic tube onto the plate. ' Sit there,' he pointed to one of the chairs. The girl tremberling, walked over to sit on the chair offered. Logan put the plate down next to her. He turned around and poured her a glass of water and set it next to her. She sat there looking at the food but not eating.
'What's wrong?'
She didn't reply.
'You must be starving, go on eat it.'
She picked up the fork and started shovelling food into her mouth, swallowing it with out hardly chewing.
'Hey, hey slow it down Hun, you'll choke.' She didn't stop. 'Okay Hun, uh I'll get you some pudding.' He reached into the fridge for a yoghurt, after a second look at the gobberling girl he buttered some bread and placed it on the table next to her. He started talking again as she ate.
'That blue guy was doctor Hank McCoy, he wants to cheek you over, make sure you're okay. Maybe tomorrow? Quite a few of us live here, we're all mutants like you.' The girl looked up wearily. 'This is a safe haven for all mutants. We find mutants in trouble and bring them here to help. That's what we're going to do for you, we'll teach you or send you to school or help you to get in touch with family, anything you want, we'll help. Okay?'
The little girl stared at him, with a guarded look on her face.
'Do you want to go to school?'
The little girl nodded.
'You can wait as long as you like to start, whenever you feel ready.'
He sat across from her keeping her company until she finished eating.
'How about a shower?'
She nodded.
'Okay, follow me.' He led her upstairs and to one of the woman's bathrooms stopping to grab a towel form an airing cupboard on the way.
'Um wait there a second I'll go and find you some clean cloths.'
Logan found his way to Kittys old room, and opened up a few of the draws, searching through for anything warm and not to threadworm. The girl was still waiting outside the bathroom. He handed her the cloths, she took them and stood there looking nervous.
'You take as long as you need I'll wait downstairs in the kitchen for you, ok?'
Without any indication she had heard him the girl went into the bathroom firmly locking the door behind her. Dazed Logan started walking towards the kitchen but stopped, he needed some feminine help.
A few minutes later he was sat on Ororos bed trying to make sense of what he wanted to say.
'I take it you have some problems with our new student?' She prompted him.
'Not problems exactly, she worries me, I'm not sure why.'
'Maybe your not use to girls with her background. The girls you've taken under your wing so far have all been plucky and tough.'
'Taken under my wing?'
'Kitty, Jubilee, both plucky, bright young girls who know there own mind. This one needs more care, more protection.'
'Will you help?'
'Naturally, we all will Logan. I know she's affected you but we will all look after her. The responsibility doesn't sit on your shoulders alone.'
Logan thanked Ro, he went to wit for his girl in the kitchen. Soon enough she came down her hair wrapped up in a towel and in the baggy jogging trousers a sweatshirt he had picked out for her.
'It's quite late,' he looked at his watch 3:30 in the morning, very late.
'Shall I show you to your room.' He took the girls silence as an answer and lead her up to womans quarters, the room at the far corner near to the door to Ororos attic was free he opened the door and showed her in.
The room was decorated in the style of most of the guest rooms in the mansion. Quite large, painted in neuter colures with a dark patterned rug in the middle of the floor. There was a desk with chair, a wardrobe, bed and dressing table, all moderately old and made of oak.
' Right, this is your room for now, Ororos room, is through that door and up the stairs.' he made a general waving motion with his hand to indicate the right door.
'Do you need anything else?'
He was answered very politely by the door being closed in his face.
Yes very long in the coming, this is now higher priority on my do list though so it'll move along a lot faster than it has been doing. I'm not quite sure if there will only be one more chapter two more might be more appropriate, or even 3 more. I'll see how it goes.