Eyes Like His

Rating: M (for later happenings)

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.

Author's Note: X3 never happened and Marie has control of her skin. This takes place about a year after X2. We're assuming Logan's been splitting his time between Laughlin City and the mansion for the past couple of years.

"Kid...kid...wake up..." he whispered as he shook her shoulder.

Marie let out an inaudible "hmmm" before rolling onto her back and rubbing her face. He smirked as she tried to yank the covers back over her body, but he had pulled them off...mainly because he was trying to wake her up, but partly because he was curious to see what she slept in.

They were still nothing more than friends, but since her 18th birthday and after she learned how to control her mutation, he started seeing her differently. Despite her new sex appeal, he kept it plutonic because he wasn't sure where they would go from there. He valued her too much as a friend to lose her to one...amazingly delicious night of passion.

Logan sighed as Marie waved him off and turned back over, "Too early..."

"Come on, kid...wake up."

He was about to hit the road and head back to Laughlin City for a few months and he wanted to be sure he said goodbye to Marie while she was awake. The last time he left while she was asleep, he got chewed out the next time he spoke to her on the phone.

"You don't leave without sayin' goodbye to me, Logan!" she yelled. So here he was, making sure he woke her up so that she could walk him down to the garage.

Logan shook her arm one last time, making her roll over and groan, "What?"

"I'm about to go. You said you wanted to see me off."

She sighed and slowly sat up as she rubbed her eyes, "Alright...I'm up...hand me my robe."

He grabbed her robe off of a nearby chair and handed it to her. A few moments later, he was walking down to the garage with a half asleep Marie in tow.

She yawned, "So...how long you gonna be gone this time?"

He shrugged as they entered the garage, "Not long. Just need to boost my funds...thought I'd do some cage fighting or somethin'."

He headed over toward the Chevy Avalanche the professor had purchased for him in a show of thanks for his assistance in the school, at Liberty Island and Alkali Lake. Although Xavier would have preferred it if Logan stayed in the mansion full time, he, more than anyone, knew of Logan's nomadic nature.

"Well, don't forget where home is", she sighed as he tossed his bag into the truck.

Logan rolled his eyes, "I'm a drifter, kid. I don't have a home."

She pulled him into a tight hug and whispered, "Bull shit..."

He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes as he relished the feel of her body pressed to his, "Yeah, yeah...ya got me."

Marie smiled over his shoulder, "I'm gonna miss you."

He finally, and reluctantly, let go of her and looked down into her eyes, "Yeah right. You're gonna miss givin' me shit for my cigar habit and my mostly carnivorous diet."

"That too."

He chuckled a little and nudged her chin with the back of his forefinger, "Stay outta trouble, ok?"

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, "You too."

Logan smirked as he climbed into the truck. She took a step back and watched as he pulled out of the garage and pulled out of the driveway, disappearing around the corner.

When Logan arrived in Laughlin City and checked into his motel, he immediately called Marie to let her know he'd arrived.

"Hey darlin'."

He swore he could hear her smile on the other end as she spoke, "Hey Logan, how are ya? Made it in?"

"Yep. Bout to take a shower."

She laughed a little, "Nice."

He quirked a brow, "What's that s'posed to mean?"

"If you're about to take a shower, then that means you must be naked...or close to it."

Logan stuttered nonsensically for a few moments before finally forming the words, "Careful, kid..."

"Oh lighten up, Logan. I'm just messin' with ya."

"Hmph."

A soft chuckle came from the other end as she sighed, "Well, I'm glad you made it in. Make sure to call me next week, ok?"

"Sure thing, kid. Take care."

"You too, bye hon."

"Bye."

It wasn't until minutes later, when water was beating against his teeth as he stood in the shower, that he realized he was still smiling after talking to her.

That night, he headed to a bar, hoping he could find a semi-decent looking woman to bring back to his room for some fun.

A couple of waitresses looked tempting, so he flirted a little and watched them squirm in delight every time he favored one of them with a wink.

When the door to the bar opened, he watched an attractive blond rush in and remove her jacket. She called out to the bar's owner, "Phil! I'm so sorry I'm late. It won't happen again."

Phil groaned something in response. When the blond turned around, Logan immediately recognized her as Janice, a girl he'd slept with during his last stop-through a year and some months ago.

When her eyes fell upon his form, she stiffened and glared before turning away from him. Logan rolled his eyes and took a swig of his beer. He never promised her anything...it's her own fault if she expected more than what he delivered.

He tried to relax and continue working his game on the waitresses, but as each of them came in contact with Janice in the kitchen or behind the bar, they'd gasp and turn their looks of adoration to ones of scorn and disdain.

It was clear he wasn't going to get lucky tonight.

Logan finished his beer, tossed some money on the bar and left.

He was half asleep when he heard someone walk up to his door, pound on it, then scamper away.

Logan thought about ignoring the knock, but he was curious as to why the culprit ran away, so he walked over and opened the door.

He was briefly distracted by the sound of car wheels peeling out of the motel parking lot. Another, much smaller sound soon attracted his attention. He followed the noise down to the ground, where a baby girl laid in a car seat with a note attached and a diaper bag.

"What the fuck?"

He jumped back as if the baby was a poisonous snake. She whimpered and began crying as Logan looked up and down the outdoor walkway of the motel, looking for help. It was pretty cold out, so he slowly and carefully picked up the car seat and baby bag and placed it inside of his room.

"Shhh...shh...shh...I dunno what to do, kiddo...what do you want?"

He saw a pacifier attached to her and quickly put it in her mouth. Luckily, the crying immediately ceased.

He took the note off of her and read it:

Logan,

This is your daughter, Emily. She's the result of the one night stand you and I had 15 months ago. You left right afterwards and didn't even bother to leave a phone number, so I didn't know how to contact you when I found out I was pregnant. You didn't even give me your last name.

I was so stupid to have slept with you. It was the biggest mistake of my life.

While I was pregnant with Emily, I didn't have insurance, so I've been buried in debt by medical bills and have no help whatsoever. I never wanted to have kids, but there she is. I've done everything I can to support her, but I don't have anything left. I can't afford to support Emily, emotionally or financially.

I hope that you're able to take care of her the way I can't.

Janice

Logan hyperventilated and plopped down on the edge of the bed before running a hand through his hair. He looked at the baby, who was happily sucking on her pacifier and shook his head.

He found himself laughing...almost hysterically, "No...no there's no way you're my kid...I mean...there's no way."

The baby smiled back at him in response. Her hazel eyes were as deep and bright as his were...her eyes were just like his.

"Oh god..." he murmured in panicked realization.

It took him fifteen minutes to figure out how to get Emily out of her chair. When he had her in his hands, he awkwardly held her out in front of him as she gnawed on her fist and drooled.

Her diaper was so full, it was leaking, so he laid her on the bed and rummaged through the diaper bag and pulled out a diaper. He found a box labeled "baby wipes" and pulled them out as well.

Taking the diaper off was easy enough, but seeing the mess she'd made inside was worst than something out of a horror film. He gagged a little and dry heaved, "Oh god..."

He snatched out a wad of baby wipes and began wiping. He damn near had a stroke when a little bit of poop got on his hand.

When he finally figured out how to put the new diaper on, he grabbed his phone and called Marie. She picked up in mid-yawn. It was after midnight after all.

"Marie! Shit...thank god you answered the phone."

The panic in his voice seemed to wake her up, "Logan? What's wrong?" He didn't have the chance to answer before Emily started whining from the bed. "Is that a baby in the background!"

"Marie...this woman...I slept with her like a year and a half ago and she dropped this baby girl at my door with a note...a note that said the kid is mine."

"What!"

Logan pinched the phone between his shoulder and cheek so that he could free his hands up in order to pick up the crying infant. Marie sat up in bed and flipped on the light as Logan stuttered, "Kid...you gotta help me, I dunno what the hell I'm doin'. She keeps crying for no reason."

Marie was dumbstruck for a few moments before she was finally able to speak, "Ok...ok, calm down. She might need to be changed-"

"Already did it...it was hell."

"Ok, so maybe she's hungry."

Logan awkwardly rocked the baby, "What does she eat?"

"Uh...how old is she...a year and a half ago would mean she's about five months old...formula...did the woman leave formula? Bottles? Does she have a diaper bag or something?"

Logan nodded and laid the baby down as he grabbed the bag, "She's got a bag."

"Look inside. Maybe she left a can of formula or something. Infamil...Similac...Gerber?"

Logan found an empty bottle and triumphantly snatched a can out of the bag, "Found it! Similac!"

Marie pinched the bridge of her nose and began pacing in her room, "Ok. Follow the instructions for measuring on the back of the can for how much water and formula you'll need."

A few minutes later, Logan had Marie on speaker phone as he fed Emily her bottle. He let out a breath, "Damn kid...I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Panic and run around in circles."

He snorted a little and shook his head as he looked down at the baby in his arms, "I dunno what to do."

There was a long moment of silence on the other end of the phone before Marie cleared her throat, "Do you think she's really yours?"

Logan looked into Emily's eyes and sighed, "I dunno."

She heard the uncertainty in his voice, "You don't know or you don't wanna know? Cut the bull shit, Logan. This is me you're talkin' to."

Logan rubbed his forehead and stayed silent for a long time, "She's got my eyes..."

Marie bit her bottom lip, "You gotta come back, Logan. You can't do this on your own. It's not exactly healthy to raise a baby out of a motel room."

He agreed, so as soon as he got off the phone with Marie, he changed Emily one last time and strapped her into her car seat.

When he finally figured out how to buckle her car seat into his truck, he hit the road.

Sooooo, what do you think? There's going to be plenty of fluff (and smut later on) to spare, so stay tuned!

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