Chapter 1

Logan opened his blue eyes, staring into the darkness of his room. He could feel someone sitting beside him on his bed, and when his eyes adjusted enough to see, he relaxed and lay back on his pillow.

"Hey, kiddo," he whispered, "have another nightmare?"

The girl who sat there sniffled, then nodded. "I wanna go home."

Logan sat up and wrapped his arms around her, feeling her tears soaking through his shirt. He rested his cheek on the top of her head, taking a deep sigh. He longed to go home, too. If he could just remember where home was.

"I know you do, Sonya. Right now, it's not safe for you to be home. But I promise, I'll keep you safe here."

"Really?" she sniffled.

"Really. Now," he said, shaking off a yawn and running a hand through his hair, "how 'bout I take you back downstairs to bed?"

"Why do you sleep up here, anyway?"

Logan flicked on the bedside lamp and pointed to the walls in the attic room. Each wall had at least six holes in it, in groups of three. Sonya stared at them, then at his hands, understanding at last.

"Oh," was all she said.

"Yeah."

She put her hand over one of his, carefully touching his knuckles. When she lifted her eyes to his, he was surprised to see admiration in them.

"I think you are beautiful, Logan," Sonya whispered, then reached up and kissed his cheek.

At first, Logan couldn't speak. Finally, he managed to reply, "Thank you, Sonya. I think you're beautiful, too."

She leaned back against his chest again, listening to his heart. Logan sat there, thinking about what she had said. Most people, mutants included, were afraid of him - or, more correctly - afraid of his claws and what they could do. But she had been brave enough to sit beside him in the dark, knowing that he often woke up in a rage. And here she still sat, her soft hand resting gently on his own rough one. The look in her eyes, Logan thought; she trusts me. She trusts me, like she trusted the Professor. Then he shook his head. No, it wasn't just trust in her eyes. His eyes widened slowly as he realized what she meant for him to see.

She treats me like a favorite uncle.

She loves me.

Logan looked down, about to speak to Sonya, but her eyes were closed. She had fallen asleep against him. He gently eased himself out from behind her and stood up beside the bed. She looked so peaceful that he almost didn't want to move her. There was always an empty couch downstairs that he could sleep on for the rest of the night. Finally, he decided to pick her up and take her back down to her own bed.

Logan carefully slid one arm underneath her knees, slipped the other one behind her neck, and lifted her easily off the bed. He kicked the door open wide enough for him to walk through and took a moment to steady himself before he started down the steep stairs to the second floor. Sonya moved in her sleep, her arm curling up around his neck, and he smiled softly. It was strange how a young girl could make him feel...needed.

When Logan reached Sonya's room, he quietly pushed the door open and stepped inside. There were three beds in the room, and the one furthest from the door was the only empty one.

"Figures," Logan whispered to himself. Although the mansion was kept in good repair, the floors would still creak sometimes. A few times, that fact had come in handy, but right now, all he wanted to do was put Sonya back to bed, and then go back to trying to sleep himself.

He crossed the room without making a sound, placed the girl in her bed, and pulled up her covers. She shifted, but stayed asleep. Silently breathing a sigh of relief, he turned and began to walk back out of the room when his bare foot hit a squeaky floorboard. Logan winced and froze, his gaze flicking to the three beds, watching for any movement. When he didn't see any, he quickly leapt across the room and landed in the doorway. He grabbed the doorknob and started to close the door.

"Logan?" Sonya's sleepy voice asked from inside the room.

"Yeah?" he whispered back.

"I love you."

Logan rested his head against the cool door frame and closed his eyes. He was never any good with feelings. Finally, he replied, "Yeah, I know you do. I'll see you in the morning, kiddo."

When she didn't say more, he closed the door and walked down the hall, deep in thought. The next time he looked up, he realized that he'd walked down the stairs to the first floor, and was just entering the kitchen.

Bobby Drake was sitting in his usual late-nite spot, a container of ice cream in front of him. When he saw Logan walk in, he smiled cautiously and held out the ice cream.

"Hungry?" Bobby asked.

"No, thanks. Are there any..."

Bobby stood up. "Storm bought you some yesterday. It's hidden in that locked cupboard over there. The keys are up on top of the fridge."

Logan's eyebrows knitted in a frown. "How do you know where the keys are?"

"Storm told me. She knows I stay up late and eventually run into you. And, more importantly, she trusts me."

"Hmm," Logan said, cocking his head to one side, "I'm not so sure I would."

Bobby looked offended. "Why not?"

Logan opened the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of beer. He locked the cupboard again, put the key back, and then twisted the cap off the beer.

"Because you're a teenaged boy. That's why."

"Man, whatever." Bobby tried to brush past Logan, but the man blocked his path. Logan set his beer down and put his hands on Bobby's shoulders.

"Hey, take it easy. I'm just saying, there's a lot of kids in this place, and one of them could read your mind or something and find it. Someone might try to blame you, that's all."

"Yeah, well, there's one problem with that scenario."

Logan eyed him. "What's that?"

"None of the kids in here can read minds. Only Ms. Gray and the Professor could."

"Yeah?"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. Okay."

Logan took a sip from the bottle and grimaced. Next time, he'd have to tell Storm what kind to get. He considered dumping the bottle, then reconsidered and took a large gulp. He was just about to sit down at the kitchen table when there was a loud crash from the direction of the living room.