Marie silently walked into the garage of the mansion where Logan was working late one night. She heard music coming from a small radio, and even though she knew she could never sneak up on him, she always tried.

She saw the lower half of his body sticking out from under one of the many vehicles. Something loud hit the floor and Logan let out a loud, drawn out, "Shit!" and she covered her mouth to suppress the laugh that wanted to escape. Then walking over to him, Marie straddled his hips and with a gentle thud, sat down on top of him.

Logan grunted. "Damn Marie, knock the breath out of me why don’t ya?"

Marie laughed as Logan rolled out from under the car with her still on his hips.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked.

Marie got off of him and sat next to him using the car to rest her back on. "I came to see when you would be done, and if you needed any help."

"Almost finished," he said, wiping the grease off his hands, "and I could always use your help. Where’s Kayla?"

"She’s in bed," Marie told him. "She fell asleep with Christopher while watching Spider-man."

Logan shook his head and rolled back under the car. "I told Scooter about letting his son watch those movies with *my* daughter. She’ll probably wake up in the middle of the night again."

Kayla was Logan and Marie’s four year old daughter. After a year of living together they’d discovered that Marie was pregnant. They had each been delighted about the news, but didn’t know how the other truly felt. Marie had been afraid Logan would feel obligated to her, and Logan was worried that Marie would feel tied down at such a young age. But after several long talks revealed they were both happy about the baby, their fears were put to rest. They also felt in no hurry to make their union legal.

"Will you hand me that thing there?" Logan said, pointing to one of the many tools scattered about the floor.

Marie handed him the tool. "Logan can I ask you something?"

"Sure, babe. Anything."

"Umm I was wondering…" Marie paused with trepidation. "What do you think about having another baby?"

Logan slowly rolled out from under the car and looked at Marie with wide eyes. Again Marie found herself having to keep from laughing. Logan still had one hand under the car holding on to something to keep him in place. He had his head raised slightly and his mouth was hanging open.

"Are you pregnant?" he finally managed to get out.

Marie shook her head and slowly said, "No...I was thinking more about having another baby on purpose and not just by accident." She wasn’t sure how Logan would take this and so far his reaction had her concerned.

Logan sat up and rested his arms on his knees. He turned his head and looked at her with a grin on his face. "You really wanna have another one of my kids?" he asked.

Marie grinned and nodded her head. She had to bite her bottom lip to keep from screaming. She watched as Logan nodded his head, deep in thought and stared at the floor. Her heart skipped a beat as Logan’s smile grew and grew.

"Well," Logan said wiping his hands on his hips and standing up, "I guess we better get started."

Marie let out the scream she was holding in and jumped up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a heated kiss on his lips. Logan lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. They stood like that for a moment without speaking, both melting at the heat radiating from each others eyes. Logan swayed them back and forth with the music still playing on the radio before walking them towards the door.

"So you want to get started now huh?" Marie asked looking down at him.

"That’s right," Logan told her. He turned a slow circle and kissed Marie on her collar bone.

"What we are we doing just standing here, then?"

"This is my attempt at a romantic moment dance," Logan said grinning.

Marie leaned over and kissed him. When she pulled back up she said, "Logan, God love you for it, but you don’t have to make this moment any better than it already is."

Logan’s expression turned serious and he told her, "Yeah I do."

"And why is that?" Marie asked.

"Because I wanna ask you to marry me."

Now it was Marie’s turn to look shocked. She let her legs fall to the ground and stared at him with amazement. She was not expecting him to ask her to marry him.

Logan still held her tight against him, waiting for her answer.

"Logan, I wasn’t trying to hint th..." she tried to say.

But he placed a finger on her lips and silenced her. "Marie I’m only going to ask this once," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes!” Marie nodded her head. “Yes I will!" She put her hand on the back of Logan’s neck and pulled him down so she could kiss him.

Logan grabbed one of her hands and held it next to his heart. He gently led her around in a small dance, thankful a slow song was playing. Reluctantly moving away from her lush mouth, he rested his forehead against hers. "I’m glad you said yes, darlin’, ‘cause I thought I was going to have to keep asking you."

Marie laughed and looked up at him. "Logan," she said turning serious, "take me to bed."

"Anything you say, baby."

Much to Marie’s surprise, Logan picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He began to practically run towards the door that led to the back stairwell of the mansion.

When they reached their bedroom, they both were frantic with touching and kissing any part they could of each other. Once stripped of all their clothes, Logan rolled Marie under him, only stopping when he thought he heard a faint whimper coming from Kayla’s room. He paused and looked up trying to listen.

"What is it sugar?" Marie asked while giving him opened mouth kisses along the jaw.

Logan listened some more. Hearing nothing he turned his attention back towards Marie. "Nothing, baby," he said. He rested one hand above her for support and used the other to apply feather light touches to all her sensitive spots. He stopped to stare at her for a moment.

Marie smiled up at him. She loved this about Logan--he always took the time to take her in. The looks he gave her just before making love to her made her feel cherished in every way.

Logan lowered his head, giving her a slow kiss on the mouth. "You’re so beautiful," he whispered against her lips, "I love you."
"I love you too, Logan." Marie whispered back. She took the hand he had placed on her neck and moved it slowly down her body, resting it on her hip. "Make love to me now."

Before he could respond he thought he heard the distinct sound of Kayla crying. He rolled over and sat up, listening for any more sounds. Marie propped herself up on her elbows and listened with him. "Did you hear Kayla?" she asked.

As soon as she asked the question, they both heard Kayla holler "Daddy!"
"Shit... I’m going to kick Scott’s ass tomorrow," Logan said quietly.

"Daddy!"

"Mommy will be there in just a second, Lil Bit!" Logan hollered back.

"But I want you, Daddy!" Kayla hollered back ending in a wail.

"Logan, she wants you, sugar," Marie said with a small smile.

"Daddy, please come here!"

"Don’t worry I’ll be waiting right here when you get back."

Logan got up and put his sweats on. He gently opened the door to Kayla’s room and peeked inside. He could see Kayla sitting up in her bed. Logan’s heart melted when he saw her hold out her arms and heard a whimper escape from her pouting lips.

He walked over to her and picked her up. "What’s the matter, Lil Bit?" he asked as he threw the covers back. With Kayla clinging to him tightly he lowered himself down onto her bed.

"The green man was coming after me on his flying machine," she said sniffling.

Logan rubbed her back looking up at the ceiling wondering what to say.
He thought he was going to choke with the death grip her little arms had around his neck.

"Was this the same green man from the movie you watched earlier?" he asked.

Kayla raised up to look at him. "Yes,sir."

"Well, just so you know, I kicked his ass so damn..." Logan was stopped by Marie’s sharp voice calling his name from the other room.

He gave Kayla his best ‘oops’ look, and Kayla laughed at her daddy getting in trouble. Logan lowered his voice and said, "Now don’t tell Mommy, but I kicked his ass real good."

"I’m glad you kicked his ass, Daddy!" Kayla said loudly. Logan covered her mouth with his hand and said "Shh!" He waited to hear if Marie would say anything. Kayla only giggled against Logan’s hand.

Marie rolled her eyes, at her daughter’s words and the giggles that came after. She listened as Logan began to tickle her and get her mind off her nightmare. After a while things grew quiet and Marie wondered if Logan had fallen asleep in there with her.

Logan shuffled quietly back into his and Marie’s bedroom. He shut the door and turned to face Marie. He couldn’t help but smile at her sleeping form curled up on her side. He got in the bed and spooned her, looking down at her face, moving the hair that had fallen over her neck. Placing a kiss there, he settled down next to her, wrapping his arms around her. He felt Marie snuggle into him.

Logan knew that they would finish where they had left off in the morning, but for now he was content to let her sleep. His last thought before going to sleep was how good life was for him now.

"Logan, wake up!"

Logan rolled over onto his back but still kept his eyes closed. He felt Marie’s hand on his shoulder shaking him. "Logan, you’re going to be late. Wake up."

He opened one blurry eye to see the vision of Marie standing over him.

"Good morning, sugar," she said as she bent over to give him a quick kiss to the forehead. "Sorry I fell asleep on you last night"

"It better not happen again," Logan said. He wrapped his arm around Marie’s waist and pulled her down onto the bed next to him.

"It won’t. I promise, but we don’t have time for this. You have to take Kayla to her classroom, and I have to get to mine before the students do," Marie told him as she walked into Kayla’s room.

Logan groaned and looked at the clock. He got up and went to take a shower. When he emerged, he noticed clothes were scattered all over the floor and the bed unmade. Knowing how Marie hated to leave the room unclean, he began to pick up a few things. Marie came out of Kayla’s room carrying Kayla on her hip.

"Daddy! You’re taking me to school," Kayla said.

"That’s right, Lil Bit," Logan said pulling the covers up on the bed.

"Logan, leave it. I’ll get it later," Marie told him grabbing Kayla’s bag. She turned to him with a smile on her face and said, "Besides, it will be easier to get into later."

They stopped just before leaving the room, and Marie passed Kayla to Logan.

"I like the way you think darlin’," Logan said grabbing Kayla and her stuff for school.

Marie smiled and kissed Kayla on the cheek. "What do you think about Daddy and me giving you a little brother or sister?"

"Really?" Kayla asked.

"Yep, we’re going to start right after lunch," Logan said.

Marie elbowed him in the ribs, and looked at Kayla. "Have fun today at school, and obey Ms. Munroe."

Logan tilted Marie’s face up to him and gave her a long kiss. "Daddddyyy we have to go!"

"Sorry, Lil Bit, but I just love to do that to Mommy," Logan said walking out the door.

"Can I have a kiss like that?" Kayla asked.

Logan chuckled and said, "No, those kind of kisses are just for mommy."

"Oh," Kayla said disappointed.

"These kind of kisses are just for you," Logan told her. He blew his mouth on her neck and began tickling her with his beard.

"Daddy stop!" Kayla said laughing. "That tickles!"

"Love ya, kid," Logan told her.

"I’m not kid, I’m Lil Bit," Kayla said scrunching up her nose. "Mommy told me that you used to call her ‘Kid’ all the time and it drove her crazy."

"She said that, did she?" Logan asked.

"She also said that she loves you a whole lot. Like this much," Kayla said and stretched her arms out. "She loves me this much though," Kayla said smiling and stretched her arms a little further.

"Is that right? Well. I’ll let you in on a little secret," Logan said leaning towards Kayla, "My arms are bigger and I love you both more."

Kayla turned to see how much further they had to go and spotted her friend Christopher Summers with his dad. "Christopher!" she shouted with such volume that made Logan cringe. He let her down so she could go say hello.

"Morning, Logan," Scott said as they met in the hall.

"Morning, Scooter," Logan turned to give Scott a stern look. "The next time Kayla has a nightmare, I’m coming over and pounding on your door, and trust me you won’t like what I have to say."

Scott just smiled at Logan and said, "Oh come on, Logan, they wanted to watch it. I thought it would be harmless."

"You need to learn better judgment," Logan told him. They stopped talking long enough to hear Kayla tell Christopher, "Mommy and Daddy are going to start right after lunch on getting me a little brother."

Scott laughed at the distress on Logan’s face. "I’ll leave you alone so you can settle this one," Scott told him walking Christopher into the classroom.

Logan bent over bracing himself on his knees. He looked directly into Kayla’s innocent face. She looked so much like Marie at times, enough to make him wonder just how much of a part he’d played in her creation. "How about you keep that a secret from now on?" Logan told her.

"But I want everyone to know," Kayla told him.

"Well, when the time is right we’ll let you tell anyone and everyone. How’s that sound?"

"Okay Daddy," Kayla said smiling.

Logan gave her quick kiss on the cheek and told her to go school. As Kayla walked through the door, Scott walked out.

Both men began walking towards the lower levels of the mansion. "So, a little brother huh?" Scott questioned.

"We were talking about it." Logan said. "I asked Marie to marry me last night," he added quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear as they passed in the hall.

"It’s about damn time," Scott said coolly.

"Yeah, I know," Logan said smirking. He would never let Scott see him grinning like a goofy idiot.

"So, I’m going to be your Best Man right?" Scott asked.

"I don’t think so," Logan said.

"Hey! Who saved your ass that night those twins were all over you at the bar?" Scott asked with mischievous grin on his face. They got in the staff elevator and pushed the down button.

"Telling Marie that I got make up on my shirt from a drag queen who couldn’t keep his hands off of me didn’t help either," Logan said with sarcasm in his voice.

They walked out of the elevator and began to go their separate ways. "Hey it worked didn’t it? Besides I think being the future father-in-law of your daughter gives me the right to be your Best Man," Scott said. He knew just how to get Logan going.

"Over my dead body is my daughter marrying your son!" Logan hollered, then added, "Damn, Scott they’re only four. Let’em grow up."

Scott laughed knowing that Logan wasn’t taking him seriously. "Hey, Logan?" he called out before entering the mission room.

Logan turned. "Yeah?"

"Be prepared in case we have to go on a mission tonight. The Professor is expecting intelligence on a mutant holding facility near the Canadian border."

"Got it," said Logan, entering the security office.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"If we have a boy what do you want his name to be?" Marie asked Logan. They were laying in their bed after a blissful afternoon together.

Logan shrugged his shoulders. "I don’t know. What do you think?"

"Well," Marie said turning her head to rest her chin on his chest, "I like the name Hunter."

Logan thought about it a second, then said, "I like it."

"Good, I’m glad," she told him. "I guess it’s time for me get Kayla."

Marie got up and started getting dressed. Just before leaving she gave Logan a kiss and told him to be dressed by the time they got back.

"Mommy, guess what?" Kayla asked as they were walking down the hall.

"What is it sugar?"

"Ms. Munroe told us about the Statue of Liberty today," Kayla said looking up at Marie. "But I already knew what it was. Isn’t that where you got your white hair from?"

"Yes it was," Marie told her.

"And that’s where Daddy saved you, because he loves you," Kayla said giggling.

"Yeah he sure did."

They reached the room and saw Logan dressed and sitting at the table. Marie could tell something was wrong by the look on his face.

"Daddy!" Kayla said, running to jump in Logan’s lap.

"Hey Lil Bit. How was your day?" he asked.

"Good, Christopher drew me a picture," she told him. "Do you want to see it?"

"Maybe later, I need to talk with mommy right now. Why don’t you go play in your room until I come get you."

"Okay," Kayla said running towards her room.

Logan walked over to the door and shut it so he and Marie could talk.

"What’s the matter?" Marie asked walking towards him.

"Chuck just called. He received some intel on mutants being held against their will. He’s asked me to help Scott and Hank come up with a plan for rescuing them," he told her.

"When are we leaving?" Marie asked.

"Chuck said we’d have better cover after dark. You’re supposed to get Kayla ready to have a sleep over with all the kids down in the library."

"Who’s staying with them?" Marie asked.

"The Professor, Jubilee and Bobby. We’re going to need everyone we can, this is a pretty big place to cover and there is going to be a least two entry points," Logan said.

He was holding back the most vital information and Marie could tell.

"Logan," she said placing her hands on his forearms, "what are you not telling me?"

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a big sigh, before walking over to the bed and sitting down. Marie followed him and sat next to him. "Chuck," Logan began slowly, "says that this place might be the one where I was kept."

"What are you going to do?" Marie asked. There was concern and fear in her big brown eyes.

"I’m not sure, but I know I want to kill the person that took my life from me," Logan said with venom in his voice. "And I may just get my chance. Chuck said that the location was underground and swarming with military."

Marie placed her hand on top of his and tried to give him an assuring smile. "Just remember that you’re not alone in this, and that I’m here for you."

Logan nodded but didn’t say anything. He kissed Marie on the cheek and got up, walking towards the door. "I’ll be back when it’s time to suit up," he told her, but just before leaving the room, Marie stopped him.

"Logan, I want us to tell Kayla goodbye together."

"Okay," was all he said, and then he was gone.

For a moment Marie stared thoughtfully at the now empty space Logan had just vacated, then she looked around the room, taking in the things that needed to be done before the mission. She heard Kayla laughing in the other room, and leaving the bed unmade she left to go check on her.

"What are you doing?" Marie asked, sitting on the floor next to Kayla.

"Having a tea party," Kayla replied, setting up her tea set.

"May I join you?"

"Sure, mommy," Kayla said with excitement. She handed Marie her tea cup and saucer. "Can I put real water in here?" she asked holding up the tiny pitcher.

"Yes you can," Marie told her.

Kayla ran to the bathroom and filled the pitcher up with water. She walked slowly back to Marie so she wouldn’t spill any. "Where did daddy go?" she asked.

"He had to go talk to Uncle Hank and Uncle Scott," Marie told her. She wondered how to explain to Kayla where they were going. "Kayla baby," she said, patting her lap, "come sit in mommy’s lap."

Kayla crawled into Marie’s lap and looked up at her. Marie thought that she looked just like Logan. She had his hazel eyes and Marie was pretty sure that if Kayla’s hair was short it would stick up just like his.

"You’re going to spend the night in the library tonight with Christopher and the others," Marie told her.

"But I want to sleep in my bed."

"Baby if you do, you’ll be here by yourself because mommy and daddy won’t be here," Marie told her, rubbing her fingers through Kayla’s hair.

"Where are you going?" Kayla asked.

"We are going out on the big plane with everyone except Jubilee and Bobby. They are going to stay here with you and the rest of the kids."
Kayla’s lip started to quiver. "Is that the same plane Uncle Remy came back on when he got hurt?"

"Yes, but Uncle Remy got better remember," Marie said placing a kiss on Kayla’s forehead.

"I don’t want you to get hurt mommy!" Kayla said crying.

"I won’t baby," Marie told her. She started rocking Kayla back and forth. "Daddy will take care of me, and I’ll take care of him."

Kayla stopped crying for a moment and stared at Marie.

"How about we finish our tea party?" Marie asked.

"Okay," Kayla said sniffling.

"I love you Kayla," Marie told her giving her a kiss.

"I love you too, mommy," Kayla said pouring her ‘tea’ into Marie’s cup.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Are you going to bring my mommy back?" Kayla asked Logan. They were standing outside the library telling each other bye.

"I promise Lil Bit," Logan replied.

"And you won’t let her get hurt," Kayla said, shaking her head.

"I won’t allow her to get hurt," Logan said firmly.

"Okay here you go," Marie said, walking up carrying a pillow and blankets. She set them down and kneeled before Kayla.

Kayla wrapped her arms around Marie’s neck. "Bye mommy. I love you."

"I love you too.” Marie said. “Be good for Jubes and Bobby okay? Be watching for the plane. Mommy will wave to you."

Kayla nodded and looked up at Logan. He picked up her up and held her close. He hated going on missions, he never knew what was ahead of him, and he couldn’t risk losing Marie or Kayla, or being separated from them.

By the time Bobby came out to grab Kayla’s stuff, Logan was whispering words in Kayla’s ear, causing her to laugh.

"Is this all her stuff?" Bobby asked Marie.

"Yes," Marie replied.

"Do you guys know what the game plan is yet?" he asked.

"I don’t, but Logan does. We’ve got to get suited up, then Scott’s going to brief us on our course of action. We are planning on flying out in an hour." Marie told him.

Kayla walked up and smiled at Bobby, "I’m ready now," she said.
"Good Christopher is waiting for you," Bobby said. Looking up at Logan and Marie he added, "You guys be careful."

Shaking their heads they began to walk down the hall, the sound of Kayla saying, "Come on popsicle, let’s go in," echoing behind them.

Marie looked at Logan who glanced away as though he hadn’t heard a thing. "Logan, you’ve got to stop doing that," she said.

"What? I’m just having a little fun," he told her.

Marie swatted him on the shoulder and laughed.

Logan wrapped his arm around her waist and turned serious. "Marie," he began, "you’re going to be on Scott’s side of the building and I won’t be near, but if you need me just contact Kitty on the plane and she can notify me."

"Okay, I will," she told him. She didn’t tell Logan, but she was beginning to get a bad feeling about this mission.

"I trust that you will look after one another and return safely," Charles told the X-Men standing before him. "You all have been trained well for missions like this and I’m confident that you all know what has to be done."

All the X-Men except for Scott turned to walk onto the Blackbird. Charles looked up at him and smiled a thin, worried smile. "Bring them home, Scott," he said.

"Yes sir, I’ll take care of them," Scott said seriously.

"And watch Logan. I fear he may become vulnerable at any time."

Scott nodded his head in agreement. He patted Charles on the shoulder, and then walked onto the jet.

Charles watched as the ramp closed, wondering what the outcome of this mission would be. He had an uneasy feeling, but wasn’t quite sure what the cause of it was.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is where Alpha team gets dropped off," Scott said turning around in his pilot chair. "Each team member will be in contact with the team leader, which is Wolverine. Remember stay clear off the spill way and enter through the side door."

The Alpha team slowly walked down the steps. Gambit, Nightcrawler, Jean, and Wolverine. They were the ‘grab’ team. Their objective was to find the mutants and get them out.

Just before getting off the plane, Logan stopped in front of Marie. He bent over and gave her a heated kiss, before pulling back and fixing her with a stern look. "You need to turn your control off now," he said.

"You got it, sugar," Marie told him.

"Be careful and don’t go looking for trouble."

Marie nodded her head. "That goes for you too Logan."

"I’ll see you on the plane."

"Okay," Marie gave him another kiss and then concentrated on flipping her mutation on.

Jean and Scott walked up having finished their goodbyes. "It’s time Logan," said Scott.

"Take care of my girl, Cyke," Logan said.

"You take care of mine," Scott returned.

Marie and Scott watched their two lovers standing in the snow as the ramp closed blocking their view. Only themselves, Storm, Beast and Shadowcat were left on the plane. They made up the Beta team. Their objective was to cause a diversion, to keep the focus off of the Alpha team.

Scott flew the Blackbird to the second entrance point. As they reached a door that resembled a storm cellar, Scott let the Alpha team know that they were about to enter and told them to be ready for the signal. They left Kitty behind to control the jet and monitor communications between each team leader.

As she walked down the stairs into a dark corridor Marie began to sense something was wrong. "Cyclops where are all the guards?" she asked.

"I’m not sure Rogue," he replied with concern.

"Maybe this part of the base is no longer in use," Storm said.

"Or we were given the wrong information and there is no one here," added Beast.

They continued to walk down the damp hall looking for some sign of life. An entrance with a green glow coming out of it caught Rogue’s eye. She began to walk towards the entrance, mesmerized by the odd sense of deja vu she was having.

"Rogue, where are you going?" Storm called out.

"I have to see what’s in that room."

"Rogue stay with the group," Scott ordered.

Rogue began to feel panicky. She was desperate to see what was in there, but she did as she was ordered, and turned to continue with her team mates.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What the hell is taking them so long?" Logan asked pacing.

"Relax Logan, give them time," Jean said.

"They should have given the signal already," he said, frustrated.

"I agree, do you think they ran into trouble?" Gambit asked.

"Maybe their entry point was harder to access than we thought," said Kurt.

Neither of their comments made Logan calm down.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scott knelt down at the sight of a few men standing in the main area of the dam. He motioned for the rest to get down and take cover, then turned and gave the ‘be ready’ signal. At his command Storm’s eyes went white, and she made a bolt of lightning crash into center of the room. They then walked in, prepared to fight.

Seeing the signal, Logan entered the building with the others following him. He stopped when he reached the edge of a hall and looked at the others."Wait here."

"Logan," Jean called out to stop him, "Dammit! He does that every time."

"The Wolverine knows what he’s doing," Kurt told her.

The sounds of fighting reached their ears, Logan’s claws slicing through bricks. Then after a moment of silence, Logan returned. "Let’s go."

"It’s not fair that you get to kick all the ass," Gambit said.

Logan ignored him and clicked on the mike of his ear piece to call for Kitty. "Shadowcat do you copy?"

"Shadowcat here."

"Do we turn left or right next?" Logan asked.

"Left,” said Kitty. “Then it’s a straight shot to the control room."

"How is the other team holding up?"

"They are keeping the soldiers at bay, but it’s kind of hard for Cyclops to send frequent updates when he’s fighting."

"I’m out," Logan told her. He looked at the rest and said, "We need to hurry."

They reached a dead end, facing a round, silver door. "Jean," Logan said backing up to let her stand out front, "do your magic."

Jean stretched her arms out and focused on the door, but nothing happened. She tried again, and failing the second time, she turned and said, "It’s not working. The door is too thick."

"Try harder," Kurt told her.

Jean turned, stretching out her arms, and using every ounce of energy she had, she tried to will the door open. Logan, Gambit and Kurt had to shield their eyes from the red flames that began to surround her. With a scream, Jean threw her arms forward causing the door to buckle, then fall.

"Damn Jeannie, who knew you had it in ya." Logan said walking past her.

They walked over to the control panel and begin to monitor the security TV’s on the wall. Logan saw two men walking by themselves down a hallway.

“Logan, isn’t Rogue in the same hallway as those soldiers?” Kurt asked.

Logan stared at the screen. “What is she doing?”

“It looks as though she is alone,” Remy pointed out.

They watched as the two soldiers kept walking briskly toward their destination. Then suddenly they stopped and the older heavier set man turned his head to face the direction Rogue was coming from.

"I’ve got to go after her," Logan said, turning to run towards the door.

"AGHH!" Scott screamed as Hank applied pressure to his leg.

"Sorry friend but we have to stop the bleeding," Hank told him

Ororo stood by, half watching out for anything and half helping with Scott.

"Come on let’s see if we can carry you back to the Blackbird," Hank said putting one of Scott’s arms over his shoulders. Ororo grabbed the other arm and put it over her own shoulder.
When Scott was standing up he looked around to see where Rogue was. "Where did Rogue go?" he asked.

Ororo looked up and didn’t see her either. "Oh no! She’s gone back to that room."

"Go after her!" Scott ordered.

"We can’t leave you here and Ororo shouldn’t go by herself," Hank began, "Call Kitty and see if the others have the mutants out yet."
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Marie walked down the steps and into a large room. The reflection of water bounced off the walls. As she looked around tears filled her eyes. She knew where she was. It was the room from Logan’s nightmares.

She walked over to the small pool, seeing the claw marks all over the place.

"All of this wasn’t meant for you, but you’ll do," snarled a voice from behind her.

Rogue turned and screamed for help at the sight before her. Then she felt something hard hit her across the head and all went black.

At the sound of Marie screaming, Logan froze. He saw Scott, Hank and Ororo just ahead, but he paid them no notice. Instead he ran past them as fast as he could.

"Look for the green room Logan!" Scott shouted after him.

Logan ran, and finally he saw the green room Scott was talking about. When he came to the end of the steps he paused taking it all in. "Fuck!" he said. He knew that this was the one from his nightmares.

The clanging of a metal door brought him back to reality. He ran toward the sound calling, "Marie! Marie!"

When he reached the door, he stepped outside into the night air and snow. He looked around for any sign of Marie. He spotted a soldier carrying a limp Marie in his arms heading for a helicopter.

"NO!" Logan hollered and ran after them. He watched in horror as the soldier jumped into the already airborne helicopter. He continued running until he was directly under it. "No!" Logan shouted over and over, sinking to his knees as he watched the helicopter fly off. When he could no longer see the aircraft he grabbed the sides of his head and began rocking back and forth. He cried out to no one in particular, "Oh God they took her!" He bent over and put his head in the snow and beat his fists against the ground causing snow to fly up. "Marie, I'm so sorry," he cried in anguish, "What am I going to tell Kayla?"

"Logan, where’d they go?" Scott shouted.

Logan turned to see the rest of the team coming up behind him, Hank and Gambit carrying Scott. He stood up to meet them halfway. "They put her in a fucking helicopter and took her!" he shouted. "We’ve got to go after her, dammit!"

"The Blackbird is on its way," Kurt said.

"Where in the hell were you people? Dammit, you were supposed to be keeping an eye on her," Logan hollered. He lowered his head. "Shit! I’ve got to get her back."

“There were no mutants. This whole thing was a trap.” Hank looked grim.

Jean tried to be practical. "Once we get in the Blackbird, we can locate the helicopter on radar and follow it."

They all looked up at the sound of the jet coming. Logan was the first to get on. He ran to the control panel and scanned over it. "Did you see the helicopter?" he asked Kitty.

"Yes, but I lost track of it along this grid," she said, pointing to the radar screen.

Ororo jumped into the co-pilot’s seat and readied the jet for takeoff. "Logan, have a seat we’re taking off," she told him.

Logan walked to the back of the plane and sat across from Jean and Scott. He buckled his seat belt and laid his head back, looking up at the ceiling. "Logan," Scott called out weakly, "We’re going to get her back."

Jean gently pushed Scott back down flat on the bench. She was wrapping his leg to stop the bleeding until they could get back to the med-lab. "Logan,” she said as she worked, “I’ve contacted the Professor. He is trying to locate Rogue with Cerebro."

Without saying a word, Logan unbuckled his seat belt and got up to walk to the front of the jet. "Do you see anything?" he asked.

"Nothing, it’s as though they’ve disappeared," Ororo told him regretfully.

"Well look harder," Logan ordered.

"We’re trying Logan, but there is nothing out there," Kitty told him. She was trying to keep her own emotions at bay.

"What if we go back to the mansion and see what the Professor can do," Hank suggested.

"Marie is out there somewhere not at the fucking mansion!" Logan shouted.

"I know that, but we need to get Scott back to the med-lab and-"

"Scott’s fine! We are not turning around!" Logan said, pushing Hank back.

"I think Logan’s right,” said Remy. “Rogue is out there and we need to go after her."

"Logan, let’s not get out of hand. We need the Professor in on this," Hank said.

Logan looked around at the faces of the X-Men. Kurt had his eyes closed praying and Gambit stood beside him shuffling his cards, ready to back him up no doubt.

Logan lowered his head in defeat, "Fine the sooner we get back the sooner I can search on my own."

"We’ll help Logan," Kurt said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once they had landed at the mansion, Logan took off for Cerebro, with Remy following him.

"Let’s get you to the med-lab Scott," Jean said.

"No, take me to Cerebro. I want to hear what the Professor has to say," Scott told her.

Logan and Remy reached Cerebro just as the Professor wheeled out. "Did you find her?" Logan asked.

"Logan, I’m sorry but I can’t even sense her," Charles told him.

With a shaking hand Logan rubbed his forehead. He felt as though he was going to be sick, he didn’t even try to hide the tears that were brimming his eyes. "What...what about...she was unconscious would that have anything to do with it?"

"No, even when a person is unconscious they still have brain activity," Charles said. He turned his head not wanting to see Logan’s reaction.

"No! What I’m going to do?" Logan cried out. He was completely and utterly lost.

"Let’s go to the mission room maybe we can come up with something there," Remy suggested. He was trying to give Logan some hope.

But Logan turned his head to face the Professor. "Are you saying she’s dead?" he asked.

Before Charles could answer, Scott along with the others came around the corner. "You!" Logan
yelled pointing at Scott. "You were supposed to be watching her!"

He charged after Scott with a loud roar, but Hank stepped in between them. "You son of a bitch! You didn’t look after her and now she’s gone!" he hollered at Scott, the breath knocked out of him as Hank slammed him against the wall.

“Calm down my friend,” Hank said as he held Logan back.


"She’s gone," Logan said against Hank’s shoulder.

"Logan, we’ll start looking for her. We’ll get answers," Ororo told him.

"You should go and see Kayla," added Jean softly.

"And tell her what?" Logan said, loosening himself from Hank’s grip. "Tell her that her mother is not coming back? Tell her that I couldn’t get to her in time? That Marie could be dead and it’s my fault? Fuck, I’m going to be sick." He bent over to catch his breath.

"You can tell her that it was my fault, that as a leader I didn’t watch over my teammates," Scott said. He was still leaning on Jean for support.

At that Logan just looked up at him and stared. He stood up straight and began walking away from everyone.

"Logan…" Remy called out, but was stopped by the Professor.

"Let him go, Remy," Charles said. He looked at the others. "Go get changed and properly dress Scott’s wound. Report to the mission room in an hour." He began to wheel off.

"Where are you going?" Hank asked.

"I’m going to contact my informant and see if she knows anything," Charles told them. “We’ve been set up. Whoever kidnapped Rogue knew we were coming. I just wonder if it was Rogue they wanted.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Logan walked slowly down the hall that led to the library. He stopped when he got to the door taking in a deep breath. Quietly opening it, he looked around, spotting Jubilee and Bobby talking on a sofa. Ignoring them he went straight to Kayla’s sleeping form by the fireplace. He scooped her up his arms and began to walk out.

"Logan, how did it go? Did you find the mutants?" Jubilee asked softly.

Logan didn’t answer but kept walking out the door. He stared down at Kayla as he walked to their rooms. Looking at her sleeping face caused silent tears to stream down his cheeks. She looked so much like Marie, especially sleeping.

He opened the door and pressed his back against it to shut it. Marie’s sweet scent assaulted his nose as he stood there.

He looked down at Kayla as she started to stir, and he walked to her bedroom to lay her down on the bed. For a long while he stood over her, watching her sleep. Then he dissolved into tears when it occurred to him that he didn’t have the words to tell Kayla why her mother wouldn’t be here in the morning. Placing a kiss gently on Kayla’s forehead, he pulled the blankets over her and walked out of the room.

One Year Later..............................


"She was there, I know it," Logan told the Professor.

They were in his office discussing the X-Men’s last attempt to find Rogue.

"Logan, I’m afraid that the search for Rogue has reached a dead end... The trail is cold, we have no more leads to pursue." Charles stopped when Logan stood up abruptly.

"No! We are not giving up," Logan said, shaking his head. He turned his back on Charles and placed his hands on his hips.

"Logan, this is hard for me also," Charles said, "it’s been hard for everyone. Rogue was dear to..."

"Is, Chuck," Logan said turning to look him in the eye, "She *is* dear to all that know her."

"Logan, you can’t spend all your time out there searching. Kayla has been feeling neglected and-"

"Don’t start telling me how to fucking raise *my* daughter!" Logan shouted. He began stalking towards the door.

"I’m not trying to tell you how to raise Kayla!" Charles told him. "I’m saying you need to be here to raise her. You do realize that you missed her birthday last week."

Logan hung his head. "Shit," he whispered. He had forgotten Kayla’s birthday. He’d been gone for two weeks on a lead that had turned out to be bogus.

"I’ve arranged for a memorial service tomorrow morning for Rogue, it will be in her favorite spot in the gardens," Charles informed him.

"You what?" Logan spat out angrily.

"It’s time Logan," Charles told him, "It’s time to lay it to rest."

Logan raised his hand and pointed a Charles. "This is bullshit, Chuck. Fucking bullshit." Then he opened the door and left.

He was walking fiercely down the hall, causing the kids to stop and watch him in fear when he rounded the corner and collided into someone. Papers flew everywhere. "Watch where you’re goin’," he told the person.

"I’m so sorry, please excuse me," the woman said. She bent down to pick up her papers.

Logan picked up a few and handed them to her. When the woman looked up he sucked in a breath. The woman had eyes exactly like Marie and her hair was the same dark brown.
"Hi," the woman said holding out her hand to shake Logan’s, "I’m Valerie."

Without answering Logan walked off.

Valerie watched as Logan took the stairs two at a time She wondered what his problem was. But then when he was gone from her sight, she continued her journey to Charles’ office.

"Ahh Miss Cooper, do come in," Charles said.

She reached over to shake his hand. "Hello Charles. It’s nice to finally meet you in person."

"Yes indeed. Please have a seat." Charles gestured to a chair. "Have you met any of the staff yet?" he asked.

"Yes, Ororo and Jean greeted me at the door. They are very nice. I also bumped into someone in the hall… although he didn’t seem too friendly."

"Yes, well that was probably Logan. You will have to excuse him, he has a hard time of late. He lost his fiancé during a mission and hasn’t been able to get over it yet. I imagine it will be a while before he does. They were very much in love."

"How awful for him," Valerie said.

"It’s one of the reasons I wanted to see you as soon as you arrived. No one here but me knows that you were my government contact. I would like to keep it that way," Charles told her.

"Okay. Was it on my intel that Logan lost his fiancé?" Valerie asked.

"Yes, it was at Alkali Lake. But you and I have discussed this once and there is no need for you to blame yourself," Charles told her.

Valerie nodded her head in agreement.

"Now," Charles began, "Let’s discuss why I asked you here. Have you ever taught five year olds before?"

"Yes," Valerie said.

"Have you ever taught five year old mutants?"
----------------------------------------------------------

Logan slammed the door to his room and grabbed the duffel bag off the floor. He dumped the dirty clothes out of it to make room for clean ones.

As he was packing, Kayla walked out of her room and sat on the bed next his bag. "Where are you going daddy?" she asked.

"I have to go look for mom again," Logan said, turning from her.

"I don’t want you to go." There were tears filling her eyes.

Logan continued shoving clothes into his bag. "I have to Kayla."

"I never get to see you. I miss you daddy," Kayla said, crying.

Logan sat on the bed next to her. "I have to go find your mom. Don’t you understand?"

"But you’re gone for so long and then I have no one," Kayla said through the tears.

Logan thought about that for a moment. Then he got up and went into Kayla’s bedroom. He gathered up her clothes and stuffed them in her Barbie suitcase.

Kayla stopped crying when she saw what he had done. "Come on let’s go," he said, and she bounced off the bed and grabbed his hand. Logan handed Kayla her suitcase and grabbed his duffle bag off the bed.

Kayla talked non-stop as they walked down the hall, but Logan barely listened. When they reached Scott and Jean’s room, Kayla looked up at Logan with trepidation. "What are we doing?" Kayla asked.

Logan knocked on the door and after a moment Jean answered.

"Hello Logan what can I do for you?" Jean asked.

"I need you to keep Kayla for a while," he said.
Kayla let out a screeching cry and started clinging to Logan’s leg. "No, I want to go! I want to go with you!" she cried.

Logan picked her up and handed her to Jean while she was kicking and screaming. "Logan, can’t you see what you’re doing to her?" Jean asked angrily.

Without responding Logan walked away. "Daddy! I want you!" Kayla screamed after him. She was struggling with Jean and trying to run after Logan.

"Logan you can’t keep doing this!" Jean shouted after him. She watched as Logan disappeared into the elevator. "Logan!" she shouted one more time.

Logan stopped in the kitchen to grab some food for the road, then headed off to the garage. Once he entered he was greeted by Scott and Remy.

"Where do you think you are going?" Remy asked.

"I’m going to look for Marie," Logan said, tying his bag on the back of a motorcycle.

Scott folded his arms. "What about Kayla?"

"What about her?" Logan said, tightening the rope.

"You know what I’m talking about Logan,” Scott said forcefully, “this has to end now! Kayla needs you to be here, not following some cold lead."

"Well since the X-Men have decided to give up, someone has to look for her," Logan glared, getting on the bike.

"We didn’t give up Logan," Remy began, "there’s nothing left to go on."

Logan shook his head and started to crank up the bike, but was stopped by Scott’s hand covering his. "Kayla no longer has a mother....are you going to deprive her of having a father too?"

"You get the hell away from me," Logan snarled, shoving Scott’s hand off him. "You’re the reason I have to go out and look for Marie in the first place."

Scott pulled back with guilt, but Remy stepped forward. "What about tomorrow Logan? Who’s going to be there to hold Kayla’s hand and explain what’s happening?
Because no matter who does it, they can’t replace you, her daddy."

For a split second Logan had second thoughts about leaving. But then he swallowed it back down and looked directly at Remy. "*You* can hold her hand for all I care, I have to go find Marie." Then he started the bike and drove off.

"That bastard!" Remy shouted.

"He’s just hurting," Scott said, "give him time... he’ll come back. Despite his actions the last few months, he loves Kayla far too much to leave her for very long."
----------------------------------------------------------

Logan drove for miles before stopping at a bar. He kept replaying Kayla’s screams over and over in his head and he needed to try and find away to forget them, so he sat at the bar and ordered a beer. He was lighting his cigar when the bartender said, "I don’t think I’ve seen you here before."

"Just passing through," Logan mumbled.

"Headed home to your family?" the man asked.

Logan looked at the bartender with questioning eyes. He shook his head. "No."

"Ahh, I get it... you’re running away from your family."
The bartender held his hand out "I’m Mike by the way."

" Logan," he replied, shaking the hand.

"You must have a pretty crazy family if you’re running from them," Mike said.

"It’s something like that."

"Yeah I’m the oldest of ten brothers and two sisters,” Mike said with a rueful smile. “I know what a crazy family is like."

Logan didn’t comment but just took a swig of his beer.

"You got any brothers or sisters?" Mike asked.

"No," said Logan. Then after a moment he added, "I have a few people I consider my brothers, I guess you could say that."

"What about kids? You got any kids?" Mike asked.
Logan didn’t know if he wanted to go that route with a stranger. "I’ve got a little girl, she’s four. No wait, she just turned five."

"I have two kids,” Mike told him. “I wasn’t around much while they were growing up. They have kids of their own now and all I’ve seen of them is a few pictures."

Logan got up and put money on the bar to pay for the beer. "I have to be going," he said.

"All right you take care, man."

Logan nodded and walked out of the bar. When he was about to pull out and head north he stopped for a moment. He thought about Marie and what she would think of him leaving Kayla. He thought about Kayla growing up without a mother and a father who was never there.

Then he turned his bike around and headed back to Westchester.

Around midnight, Logan pulled up to the gates of Xavier’s mansion. He punched in his code, then pushed his bike in so that it wouldn’t wake anyone. Heading silently through the halls and up the stairs, he eased open the door that led to Scott and Jean’s suite, noticing that their bedroom door was ajar and they were both asleep. He walked over to Christopher’s door and peeked inside.
Kayla was sleeping on the bottom bunk, wadded up tissues all around her.

Logan picked her up and turned toward the door.

"Shit!" he hissed in a hushed voice. He was standing face to face with a bed-head Scott, who was standing there, arms crossed over his chest.

Neither needed to say anything, at that moment they understood each other completely.

"I’m taking Kayla to her room," Logan whispered.

"Are you staying for more than a day?"

"Yes."

"Everyone understands Logan," Scott said, "including me. I’m so sorry for what happened. If I..."

"Scott, I know," Logan held up his free hand. "Just give me time."

Scott nodded knowing that for now, it was enough. One day Logan would be able to truly forgive him. He stepped aside and let Logan pass.

"Damn Scooter, even after being in bed you look like you just jumped out of a J.C Penney catalog," Logan whispered as he walked towards the door.

Scott looked down at his red and blue plaid pajamas, and then watched Logan leave with Kayla sleeping on his shoulder. He smiled a tight smile as he shut
Christopher’s bedroom door and walked back to his own bed.

Just maybe, he thought, things would start to get better now.
__________________________________________________________

Logan woke up with Kayla’s leg laying across his chest. He looked at the clock and figured that they needed to get up for the service. He was really dreading the whole day, but he knew that he needed to be there for her.

"Kayla," he called out softly, gently shaking her.

He watched as her eyes slowly opened and she looked up at him. "Where am I?"

"You’re in our room," Logan told her.

"How did I get here?"

"I came and got you out of Christopher’s room last night," Logan said. He brushed her unruly hair out of her face.

"Are you gonna leave again?"

He shook his head. "No, I’m going to stay."

At that Kayla gave him a sleepy smile and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "I love you daddy," she said, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Kayla, do you know what we have to do today?"

"Aunt Jean told me that we were going to stand outside and talk about mommy."

He nodded. "Do you have any questions?"

"Is mommy ever going to come back?"

"I don’t know Lil Bit," Logan answered ignoring the pain in his chest.

"Is mommy dead?"

"I don’t know that either. We’ll never know unless we find her."

Their conversation was interrupted by the phone ringing. It was Jean, calling to tell him that they would start at ten o’clock.

Logan hung up the phone and looked at Kayla. "Let’s go get you some breakfast, then we need to get ready."

After breakfast and Kayla’s bath, Logan stood before the closet and stared at the massive amount of clothes before him. He had no clue what she should wear. He looked down at Kayla who was standing beside him in one of his t-shirts. "Do you know what to wear?"

Kayla looked up at him and shook her head. "Mommy always told me."

"Yeah, me too Lil Bit," Logan said, trying to push some of the clothes aside.

"I think I need a dress."

Logan picked one out and held it up. "What about this one?" he asked.

Kayla shook her head. "I’m too big for that one."

He threw it over his shoulder onto the floor and picked another. Kayla said no to that one too, and the next dozen or so he held up. "You’re running out of clothes Kayla, pick one," he said, trying not to sound frustrated.

"Umm," Kayla looked around at all the dresses on the floor. "How about this?" She dug through the pile and picked up a navy blue dress

"Okay, let’s get you dressed." Logan stepped away from the closet and over the pile of clothes.

After he had got Kayla changed, he stood back up and said, "You stay here and play while I get ready."

"What about my hair?" Kayla asked.

"What about your hair?"

"Mommy always fixed it for me," Kayla told him.
Logan frowned. "Hold on second, I’ll be right back."

He found the cordless phone and dialed Jean’s number. He waited while it rang and rang. It took ages for Jean to finally pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Jeannie, I need a favor," he said nervously.

"What is it Logan?"

"Can you come over and help me with Kayla? Maybe fix her hair and make sure her clothes are alright?"

"I’d be glad too," Jean told him.

"Okay…uh… good. Give me ten minutes before you come over."

"I will. Bye" Jean said, hanging up.

Logan told Kayla to stay in her room, then he got himself ready. After he finished he heard Jean knocking on the door. "Come in."

"How are you this morning?" Jean asked.

"I’m doing fine for now."

"And Kayla?"

"She’s doing good. She’s in her room. Thanks for doing this, it’s just that Rogue was the one that took care of all that and I don’t have a clue what I’m doing."

"It’s not a problem Logan, really. I’ll be happy to help anytime." Jean walked towards Kayla’s room. "Scott and Christopher will be dropping by if you want to walk together to the gardens."
__________________________________________________________

At the end of the service, everyone stopped to give Logan and Kayla their condolences. Scott and Remy both told Logan that this didn’t mean that they would stop looking at every chance they got.

Logan left Kayla playing with Christopher, so that he could talk with the Professor.

"Logan, there is someone I want you to meet," Charles said. "This is Valerie Cooper. She is to be Kayla’s teacher when school starts."

Logan recognized the woman as the one he’d bumped into in the hall. He shook her hand. "Sorry if I hurt you yesterday."

"That’s all right," she told him. "I’m sorry for your loss. I too have lost people I care about, often abruptly, so I can identify with you."

Kayla came running over and tugged on Logan’s pant leg saying, "Daddy I’ve got more questions for you now."

"Is this your little girl?" Valerie asked. She knelt down in front of Kayla and smiled. "I’m Valerie. I’ll be your new teacher this year."

Kayla hid her head behind Logan’s leg in shyness. "You have such pretty hair," Valerie told her.

"I lost my barrette," Kayla told her.

"Well you know things that go missing can always be found," Valerie said, reaching behind Kayla, "if it’s by the right person." She finished by holding up the missing barrette in her hand.

Logan felt uneasy by Valerie’s choice of words and excused them both from the Professor and Valerie’s presence.

"Did I do something wrong?" Valerie asked Charles.

"No, dear," Charles replied, "Logan is just learning to adjust, that’s all."

Logan and Kayla walked to a bench away from the crowd. Kayla climbed up in Logan’s lap and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "What do you want to know Lil Bit?"

"Everybody talked about the special things that mommy did," Kayla said.

Logan smiled sadly. "That’s because she is a special person."

"I wish I could do something special for mommy."

"You’ve done special things for mommy," Logan told her.

"Like what?"

"Before you were born mommy couldn’t touch anyone because of her mutation. She would have to wear clothes and scarves to protect herself and others. Then when she found out about you, she wanted to make sure she could touch you, so she learned how to control it."

"I didn’t know that," Kayla said, smiling a little. "Did you leave me because you were sad about mommy?"

Logan looked at her not knowing what to say, he didn’t want Kayla to think it had anything to do with her. "I left to look for mommy, and I would also leave because everything would remind me of her, but I’m not going anywhere for a long time now."

Kayla nodded her head and said, "I’m sad too. I miss her so much."

Logan wrapped his arms around her and placed kisses on her forehead. "Things will get better for us, Lil Bit. I..." He wanted to say promise, but the last promise he made to her he didn’t keep, and that was to bring Marie back. "I’m sure it will," he said.

He hoped so. He really needed it to get better for both of them.

SIX YEARS LATER.............................

"Cyclops," Logan called over his microphone. "What is Val’s status?"

"She’s approaching the office now. Logan there are two guards about to approach you from the left. Remember no killing, just hit them hard enough to knock them out."

"Okay got it,’ Logan said, getting himself ready to fight.

Scott relaxed in his chair on the Blackbird. A few seconds later Valerie came over the speaker. "Cyclops,
I’ve reached the door and I’m about to roll the motion detector under it."

"Okay I’m ready," Scott said.

He waited a few moments until the layout of the room came up on the screen before him. Seeing that no one was in there he told Valerie, "All clear to enter."

Valerie eased the door open and entered what was a large office equipped with several desks. Locating the one she wanted, she walked over and sat down. She began typing in passwords and inserted a disk into the hard drive. "Okay, tell Logan I’ll be ready in five minutes and to start heading this way," she told Scott.

Just then the air vent in the roof flew open and a small figure dressed in all black landed on the floor. She had long brown hair and a mask that covered the top half of her face. She grinned at Valerie. "I believe that’s for me."

It took Valerie a moment to recover from being stunned. "Cyclops, the Assassin is here. Tell Logan to come quickly," she said into her ear piece.

The assassin charged towards Valerie causing them both to crash to the floor. Using her Martial arts training, Valerie escaped and stood up. She reached for the disk, but the Assassin grabbed her hand and said, "I don’t think so."

Valerie jerked her hand away and slammed a fist across her jaw. The Assassin backed off, only for a moment, but it was long enough for Valerie to grab the disk and try to run.

But she wasn’t fast enough. The Assassin grabbed Valerie’s long hair and pulled her back, causing her to scream in pain.

Logan was running as fast as he could to Valerie’s location. As he rounded the corner of the hall he heard a scream and a loud crash. The next thing he saw was a person dressed in black running out of the room and in the opposite direction.

As he ran into the office he saw Valerie laying on the floor by a desk. "Are you all right?" he asked kneeling beside her.

Valerie nodded her head. "Yes…she’s got the disk, you have to go after her."

With a frown, Logan stood up and took off quickly, sprinting towards the Assassin. But when he rounded the corner of the hall he was met with a black gloved fist, knocking him flat on his back. He blinked for a moment, trying to register what had just happened, before heaving himself back up and running again.

When he finally caught up and charged at her, he grabbed her around the torso from behind. They wrestled on the floor for a few moments until the Assassin pressed her knee against Logan’s crotch causing him to back off in pain.

He scowled as he watched her enter the stairwell, listening to her high heeled boots clicking as she disappeared up the stairs.

Now he was really pissed.

He followed her up to the roof, but as he looked around the open roof top, he saw nothing.

"Shit!" he hollered. He was still standing there, trying to catch his breath, when he heard a gush of wind behind him. He turned slowly to see the Assassin standing there with a coy smile on her lips.

"What’s the matter? Someone got something you want?" she taunted.

Logan let out a roar and charged towards her. The assassin met him with a roundhouse kick to the head knocking him back onto the ground.

She laughed and bent down, grabbing Logan’s wrists and pinning them over his head as she straddled his hips and sat down on top of him.

"You know every since we first met so long ago, you’ve been falling on your back for me," she said leaning in real close to Logan’s face. "I kinda like the idea of a man who is always ready."

Logan began to try and loosen his hands from her grip.

"Sorry, sugar but you can’t beat my super strength," she said smiling.

"I’ve told you once already, I’m not your fucking sugar"

"That’s too bad,” she told him. “I kinda like you.” She nuzzled her nose against his and began kissing him. Logan took the opportunity to bite down hard on her lip.

"Ouch! You son of a bitch!" the woman yelled. Then she bent back down and added, "But that’s alright, sugar, because I like it rough." She kissed him again quickly on the mouth.

Logan growled and popped his claws with a speed as quick as lighting, jerking his wrist towards her head. When he made contact with the left side of her face, he cut through her mask, causing it to fall to the ground.

The assassin grabbed her face and yelped with pain.

Still pissed, Logan reached up to remove her hands, to see who the hell she was. But she jerked away.
Just then the door to the roof opened. Scott and Valerie were approaching.

The Assassin removed her right hand to look at them. Then flew off.

Logan did a double take. He could have sworn she looked like Marie, but she had green eyes and no white streaks in her hair. He sniffed the air to try and pick up a scent, but couldn’t.

Valerie ran over to Logan and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Logan ignored her, still staring into the night sky, eyes fixed on the direction in which the woman had disappeared.

"Logan, you hurt?" Scott asked.

"I’m fine," he replied. He stood up and shook the dirt off his leather uniform.

"Did you get the disk?" Valerie asked.
Logan shook his head.

"Dammit!" shouted Scott. "For the past three years this Assassin has always been one step ahead of us!"

"Well I’m glad you’re okay," Valerie told Logan. She stood up on her tip toes and planted a kiss firmly on his mouth. Logan started to wrap his arms around Valerie’s waist to pull her closer.

Scott groaned and thew his hands in the air. "Okay, could you two at least wait till we get back to the mansion?" he said, walking back to the door.

Valerie laughed and grabbed Logan’s hand, leading him back down the stairs. But just before stepping inside, Logan looked back up to the sky, wondering who it was he’d seen.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Logan sat in the locker room with his uniform unzipped and hanging halfway off. He began replaying each time the X-Men had met with the Assassin.

Slowly, his mind elsewhere, he removed his uniform and put on his regular jeans and white t-shirt. Grabbing his wallet out of the locker, he sat back down on the bench and opened it to remove a faded picture of Marie. He smiled faintly at the memory of when the picture was taken. He and Marie had been talking in the woods when Jubilee had appeared out of nowhere and snapped a picture of them. When Jubilee had given them a copy Marie had torn it in two, keeping the half with him for herself, and giving the Logan the half with her in it.

"Logan," Scott said, walking up, "what happened between you two on the roof? You looked as though you saw a ghost out there."

Logan snapped out of his day dreaming and clenched his fist around the picture to keep it hidden. "Nothing," he said, "I just got a glimpse of the Assassin’s face, that’s all."

"Really? What does she look like?"

"I didn’t get a good enough look Scooter," Logan said, standing up.

"Well, we’ve really got to find some information on who she is and who she’s working for."

As he closed his locker door, Logan nodded his head in agreement.

"I’ll see you around."

"Alright," Logan told him.

Only when he was sure that Scott had gone, did Logan stare at the picture of Marie once more. He placed his thumb over the left side of her face. Deciding that it was just his imagination, he began sliding the picture back in his wallet.

"What’s taking you so long?" Valerie asked leaning against the doorframe of the locker room.

Logan looked up and smiled at his fiancée. "Where is Kayla?" he asked.

"She’s staying over in Jenny’s room. They are having a slumber party."

"I’m going to look over some documents in the mission room for a while." Logan walked towards her, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her close. "I’ll be up later."

"Okay, but don’t stay too long. Remember our suite is ears free for the whole night," she told him, grinning.
Logan kissed her, then continued on his way to the mission room. He sat looking over mission logs to see if he could find anything that would give him a clue as to who the Assassin was working for. He had been down there for over an hour when the Professor wheeled in.

"Logan you should be upstairs getting some rest," Charles told him.

"I had some things I wanted to look over, Chuck," Logan said, without looking up.

The Professor picked up a few of the papers and skimmed over them. "Are you reading up on all the information we have on the Assassin?"

"Yeah, just trying to figure out who she works for and why she’s always where we’re going to be." Logan laid down the papers he was looking at and picked up some more.

"Well, all we know for certain is that she’s assassinated at least ten of the congressmen who were pushing for mutant registration," Charles said.

"Do you think we overlooked something when we were trying to find out if it was Magneto?"

"I don’t know," Charles began, "I have no doubt that Eric could have someone doing his work while he is in prison. Mystique is busy being Senator Kelley, but ‘he’s’ always away, so she’s probably been up to no good."

Logan nodded his head, deep in thought. He still thought that they were missing something, though he didn’t know what.

"Well goodnight Logan," Charles said turning to exit.

"Chuck, I need to run something by you," Logan said quietly.

Charles turned slowly around. "Yes?"

"I think I saw someone that looked like Rogue," Logan told him. "Except, this person had green eyes instead of brown. And she had solid brown hair, no white streaks."

"Logan, you are probably not going to want to hear what I have to say," Charles began gently, "but with your wedding coming up next week, you are probably feeling some guilt. You may even feel as though you are betraying Rogue." Charles paused as Logan hung his head. "But all that is normal Logan. The person you saw may have resembled Rogue, but it’s been almost seven years since she’s been missing."

"You’re right, I know you’re right, it’s just that this person really looked like her, and she…she even called me the nickname Marie used to call me," Logan said, standing up.

The Professor stopped him. "You know, it’s all right for you to hold onto Rogue, how could you not with Kayla? She is looking more and more like her mother every day. As I’ve told you many times before, if you ever want to talk about any of this, you can always come to me."

"Thanks, Chuck," Logan said, patting him on the shoulder.

Then he left the Professor sitting alone in the room, thinking about what Logan had been through and how far he’d come since Rogue’s disappearance.

"Last night the Assassin broke into the prison that was holding Magneto and helped him escape," Scott said grimly to everyone that was sitting in the mission room. It was a few days after their most recent encounter with the Assassin.

"Are you sure it was her?" Hank asked.

"He’s right, what if someone was taking the opportunity to copy-cat?" put in Ororo.

"From the video we have, it looks to be her." Scott slid the tape into the VCR.

"What if it was Mystique posing as the Assassin?" Valerie asked.

Logan frowned. "Let’s just watch the tape and see."

Scott pushed play and moved back to sit with the rest of them. They watched the figure dressed in black fighting the guards.

"One thing is for sure...either that’s Mystique fighting or she was trained by Mystique," Valerie said.

They all turned to look at her waiting for her to explain.

"Look at her! Who else has a fighting style like that?"

Scott shrugged his shoulders. "You’re right...if that’s not the Assassin, then it could be someone trained by Mystique."

"Do we know where they went?" Logan asked.

"No." Scott shook his head." The Assassin is well trained in blocking the Professor’s telepathy, and Magneto had that helmet."

"Scott, is there anything else?” said Ororo. “We really need to be going."

"No, you guys go ahead. I just wanted you to see this," Scott said, waving them off.

"When we return we can discuss this in better detail," Hank told him.

Valerie looked at Logan who was sitting next to her. "I have to go to the mall and do some last minute shopping. Do you want to come?"

Logan shook his head. "No, I’m going to spend time with Kayla. How long are you going to be?"

"All day," she said giving his arm a squeeze. "I have a lot of last minute wedding details to take care of."

Logan leaned over and placed a kiss on her lips. "Be careful," he told her.

Valerie smiled at him and stood up. "Three days and you and I will be married!" She gave him another kiss and left.

Logan looked over at Scott who standing in front of the T.V., replaying the tape over and over again.

"What are you seeing Scooter?" Logan asked, getting to his feet and walking over to him.

"Look here," Scott said, pointing to the paused screen. "The Assassin takes off her mask, and when she does Magneto flinches and steps back." Scott pushed play and looked at Logan. "What do you think that means?"

Logan watched the tape, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don’t know."

With a sigh Scott turned the T.V. off. "Anyway, now we have to worry about Magneto and The Assassin working together."

Even though Logan couldn’t see Scott’s eyes, he could tell by his facial expression that he was worried. "We’ll figure something out."

"I’m not so sure about that."

Logan frowned at the response. "Don’t you and Jeannie have a kids day or something like that?"

"Oh dammit," Scott cursed, grabbing his forehead in his forgetfulness. "I forgot all about that. She’s probably pissed."

"Later, Scooter," Logan told him as Scott walked out of the room.

He picked up the remote and played the tape over again, pausing it right at the point that the Assassin took off her mask. He saw that she looked over her shoulder and the right side of her face was exposed to the camera. He leaned in close to get a better look, but the picture was too fuzzy, so he turned the T.V. back off and went to look for Kayla.

"Hey dad can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Lil Bit," Logan told her. They were sitting side by side on the couch watching a hockey game together.

"Daaad," Kayla whined. "I told you about calling me that! I’m not a little girl any more."

Logan raised his eyebrow at her. "I’ll be the one to decide when you’re not a little girl any more."

Kayla raised her eyebrow right back, matching Logan’s look.

Logan just shook his head at her stubbornness. "What is it you wanted to ask me?"

"Well, next week while you and Valerie are gone Jubilee is taking Jenny to the mall to have a make-over. Can I get one too?" she asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because for one you’re too young, and I don’t trust Jubilee...she’s a bad influence on you."

"But daddy please..." Kayla began.

"Kayla, the answer is no," Logan told her in a firm tone.

Kayla dropped the subject knowing she wasn’t going to be able push her dad any further. They sat there in silence for a few moments until she said, "Dad I have one more question."

"What is it?" Logan asked.

"Will you teach me how to play pool?"

"Why?"

"Because everyone knows how to play, and we plan to have a championship next week and I want to beat Christopher."

Logan smiled. "You wanna play now?"

"Yeah," said Kayla with a big grin.

They spent most of the afternoon in the games room. Most of the kids around the mansion were either out or hanging around elsewhere so they had the room all to themselves.

As they were putting up the pool cues to leave for lunch though, Remy came barging in.

"Logan we need you in the mission room now," Remy said.

"What’s going on?" Logan asked, alarmed.

"Something has happened in D.C. The Professor has called a meeting."

Logan looked at Kayla and said, "We’ll have our lunch together tomorrow Lil Bit."

"Okay daddy, be careful," Kayla said, leaving the room.

As they walked to the lower levels Logan turned to Remy. "What the hell has happened to get you all nervous?"
Remy swallowed. "The Assassin has struck again. And this time it was a mutant."

"A mutant?" Logan questioned, "Do you know who it was?"

"Mystique...in the form of Senator Kelly," Remy told him, entering his code to access the lower levels.

Logan drew in a sharp breath. "Where did this take place?" he asked.

"In his main office."

They entered the mission room and saw only the Professor, Bobby and Kurt waiting. "What do you know?" Logan asked the Professor.

"To tell you the truth Logan, I’m not sure I know anything," Charles said. "I’m not certain if Eric had Mystique killed, or if it’s some kind of set-up and Mystique is still alive."

"Do we have any video surveillance?" Remy asked.

"No," Bobby told him. "They were installing a new security system so the video cameras were temporarily out of order."

"How do they know it was the Assassin then?" Logan asked.

"Because," Kurt began, "Senator Kelly’s secretary saw a woman dressed in black enter through the open window and slice his throat. She then witnessed the woman exit back out through the same window… by flying."

"I have a feeling something very bad is about to happen. The Assassin usually strikes and then lays low for a while," Charles told them in deep thought. "I have no idea what she might have in mind now, after breaking Eric out and assassinating Mystique."

"We still don’t know if that’s what happened," Logan reasoned. He too was in deep thought about the whole event.

"Where are the other X-men?" Remy asked.

"Scott is on his way back," said Bobby, "and Hank and Ororo will also be here shortly."

"I need to go and find Valerie," Logan said. He headed for the door, intent on finding a private phone instead of using the one in the mission room.

"Yes, please do," Charles said. "I’ll feel more at ease when all my residents are back under one roof." Turning to Bobby he said, "Go tell Jubilee and Kitty that they will be responsible for the children....and Jean as well when she returns since she won’t be able to go any missions for some time now due to her condition."

Then when Kurt was the only one left in the room, the Professor turned to him and said, "I feel that we are missing something and I can’t seem to put all the pieces together."

"We’ll figure something out Professor," Kurt told him. "We always do."

The Professor shook his head slightly, a worried expression on his face. "Not always Kurt, we don’t always find the answers we seek."

"Logan, have you spoken to Valerie yet?" Charles asked.

"No." Logan paced the floor anxiously. "Her cell phone
seems to be turned off."

"Well, I’m sure she’s fine," Charles said in a soothing tone. "I suggest that we wait for Eric’s next move before deciding on a course of action."

"But what if it’s something fatal?" Ororo asked.

"I’m sorry Storm, but there is nothing else to do but wait," Charles said, shaking his head. "Eric is very well equipped in blocking my telepathy, and so are his colleagues."

"I need to go check on Jean," Scott said, standing up.

"Yes, I think it will be best if we all continue to go about our normal routine until we know more."

"Is Jeannie okay?" Logan asked, as the rest of the X-Men left the mission room.

"Yeah it’s just one of her headaches again," Scott told him. "You’d think with this being her third pregnancy she wouldn’t have any trouble, but just before we got Bobby’s phone call she was in real pain. Her hormones have got her telepathy out of control and she can sense and feel everything ten times stronger than normal."

"I remember from the first..." Logan was interrupted by his cell phone ringing.

"That’s probably Valerie," said Scott.

"Yeah," Logan said, digging the phone out of his back pocket. With a gruff voice he answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Logan...?" Valerie’s voice came through on the other end.

"Where the hell have you been?" Logan asked. He turned and signaled to Scott that it was indeed Valerie, and Scott turned to leave.

"Sorry, my cell phone was set on no ring and I didn’t realize. I just heard about Senator Kelly," she said.

"You missed the Professor’s meeting," Logan told her.

"I’m sorry. Are we planning to do anything about it?"

"You need to come home. There are things we need to discuss."

"Logan, we are not postponing the wedding," she said.

"Just come home so we can talk," he told her.

"Okay, I’ll be right there.” Valerie told him. “Bye,"

"Be careful."

"Logan?" Valerie called him back. "I love you."

"Yeah just get here fast," Logan replied.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"NO!" Valerie shouted.

"Val listen to me. There is something big about to happen and we really can’t afford to be gone right now," Logan said, trying to calm her.

"I have been planning this wedding for almost a year, and
I waited three years for you just to ask me," Valerie told him. She sat on their bed, putting her face in her hands as she let the tears flow. She looked up at Logan and asked, "You do still want to get married, right?"

Logan sighed and sat next to her. "Yeah I do," he said. He held her hand and raised it to his lips placing a kiss there. "Don’t ever think that I don’t want to get married. It’s just that they may need us here, and if we leave after the wedding..."

"What if we only stay for a week and not the two weeks we had originally planned for?" Valerie interrupted.

"But Kayla..." Logan began.

"Will be surrounded by some of the most protective people," Valerie said. She leaned over gave Logan a heated kiss on the lips.

After a moment Logan pulled back. "We still need to..."

"Logan nothing is going to happen while we’re gone," she told him.

"But..." Logan began, but Valerie put her finger over his mouth.

"Shhh, no more talking."

Valerie kissed him again, this time leaning back on to the bed. Logan followed her, pushing the nagging feeling he had out of his mind.

"Scott, I need you to watch Rachel while I go to Valerie’s room," Jean told her husband, as he stood in front of the mirror, tying his bowtie. It was the day of Logan and Valerie’s wedding and Jean was supposed to be helping the bride get ready.

"Okay, where is she?" Scott asked.

"Here I am Daddy," Rachel said, walking out from behind
Jean and running towards him.

Scott bent over to pick up his three year old daughter. "Come here, Baby doll," he said as he scooped her up in his arms and tossed her in the air a few times.

"Okay, don’t let her eat anything that’ll mess up her dress, and I’ll be back just before the ceremony," Jean told him. "How do I look?"

Scott rested Rachel on his hip and smiled at her. "You look wonderful. Doesn’t mommy look wonderful?" he asked Rachel.

Rachel grinned and nodded.

"Well, I don’t think I look so wonderful," Jean said, placing her hands on her well rounded belly.

Scott walked over to her and placed a kiss on her lips. "If you have the slightest headache or if you can’t hold your shields up I want you to come back here and rest," he told her firmly.

"I will," said Jean. "I’ve felt fine the past couple of days, and I feel great today."

"Good. Where is Christopher?"

"He’s in...no wait," Jean paused and turned her head slightly. "He’s in the kitchen. I don’t think he could wait for the reception to eat."

"Why am I not surprised?” Scott said, smiling. “He’s a growing boy."

"I’ll be back later," Jean told him.

"Bye mommy," said Rachel.

"Bye baby," Jean called back.

"So, what do you want to do while we wait?" Scott asked.

"Let’s paint," Rachel suggested.

Scott chuckled. "I don’t think Mommy would be too happy with that."

As Jean rode in the elevator to the third floor where the bride was getting ready in Ororo’s room, she was struck by a sudden pain in her head. She let out a groan, and placed the palms of her hands on her temples.

Then as soon as the pain had begun, it ended, leaving Jean grasping the railing with one hand and her stomach with the other. She tried to control her breathing before the elevator door opened.

Stepping out of the elevator, she gave herself a few seconds to recuperate before she continued down the hall. She passed Logan as she rounded the corner.

"Afternoon, Jeannie," he said, smiling.

Jean put on a fake smile to cover up what had just happened. "Were you trying to take a peek at the bride, Logan?"

"So, what if I was?"

Jean shook her head and continued down the hall. "You know that’s bad luck," she called back at him.

"Val, your dress looks absolutely divine on you!" she said as she walked through the door.

"Thank you," Valerie smiled.

"Sorry I’m running late. I had to take care of Rachel," Jean told them.

"You only missed Logan trying to break the door down," Ororo said. She was behind Valerie making sure the train was secured.

"Yes, daddy was being very persistent about wanting to see Valerie," Kayla said. "But I made him leave."

"You look very pretty as well Kayla," Jean told her.
Kayla grinned at Jean and twirled in her dress. "Thank you Aunt Jeannie."

"Oh God I’m so nervous," Valerie said. "I feel like I have a ton of butterflies in my stomach fluttering around."

"Don’t worry," said Kitty, coming out of Ororo’s bathroom. "All you have to do is walk down the aisle, say I do and leave."

"And hope Logan says the right name," Valerie joked. The rest of the women paused for a moment, staring at Valerie who was smoothing out her dress. Jean looked at Kayla who was busy trying to put on lipstick and completely oblivious to what was said.

"Kayla, not too much or your daddy will fuss," Valerie said.

"Okay," said Kayla, closing the tube.

"How have your headaches been lately?" Valerie asked Jean.

"I haven’t had one since the day Senator Kelly was killed," Jean fibbed. "But it’s getting harder for me to hold up my shields. And the Professor has had trouble keeping me from sensing his thoughts."

"Really?" Ororo asked.

"That’s interesting," Valerie said absently.

"I thought the Professor was the best at maintaining a mental block?" said Kitty, slightly confused.

"Well, I don’t get his full thoughts...just little snippets," Jean explained. "Maybe I’m just having an extreme case of maternal instinct."

"If someone will get me my bouquet, I’m ready to head downstairs," Valerie said, changing the subject.

"I’ll get it!" Kayla shouted, anxious to help.
Kayla ran recklessly towards the box that held the flowers. As she ran she tripped on the leg of a table and began to fall head first. Both Jean and Valerie reacted by grabbing her arms to steady her. Jean was immediately hit with another sharp pain in her head. She kept her grip on Kayla to keep from losing her own balance. Distorted images began appearing in her head causing more pain.

Confusion broke lose as Kayla also began to scream, and Kitty and Ororo ran to stop Jean from falling. The images began replaying in Jean’s mind but she couldn’t make any sense of them. As Valerie pulled Kayla out of harm’s way, Jean’s grip on Kayla loosened.

Kayla stopped screaming as soon as Valerie let her go, and went over to the bed to get a pillow to prop Jean’s head up with.

"Jean?" Ororo called, "Can you hear me?"

Valerie handed Kitty the pillow, who gently lifted Jean’s head to place it under her.

Jean could hear Ororo calling to her, but she couldn’t answer because she was too caught up in the images flashing through her mind. They kept replaying, over and over until the last one froze. Jean saw a woman lying on her side on a wet floor, and a pair of hands reaching, touching the body to roll her over.

Jean sucked in a breath and opened her eyes. Ororo and Kitty slowly came into focus, along with Valerie who was standing above them.

"Are you okay?" Kitty asked softly.

Jean sat up and tried to catch her breath. She nodded her head and rubbed the perspiration from her forehead.

"Should we call for Scott?" Valerie asked.

"No, don’t," Jean said weakly, "I’ll be fine. Scott will just overreact and I don’t want to ruin your day."

"But what if you have another bad spell? Scott will be pissed if we don’t tell him, regardless of what day it is," Kitty said.

"I’ll tell him after the wedding," said Jean. She started to stand up but her stomach got in the way. So Valerie held out her hand and pulled her up while, Kitty and Ororo supported Jean’s sides and back.

"Aunt Jeannie are you okay?" Kayla asked timidly. She was standing behind Valerie watching with wide eyes.

"Yes, Kayla I’m fine. Are you okay?" Jean asked.
Kayla nodded her head and said, "I won’t tell daddy or Uncle Scott about what happened."

Jean smiled and said, "Thanks Kayla, I’m going to tell Scott later." Jean didn’t want Kayla to get the idea that keeping information from Logan was a good thing.

"Valerie, can I go find daddy before it’s time to start?" Kayla asked.

"Sure, sweetie. You have plenty of time," Valerie told her.

The women watched as Kayla left the room. "Do you think she’ll be okay?" Valerie asked.

"It probably just scared her." Ororo said.
Kayla shut the door and stood in the hall by herself. She lifted her hands up and stared at them flipping them back and forth. When she had touched Jean it had felt like needles poking her skin over and over. She didn’t know what to do, because images had also started to flash in her head. Thinking she was the only one that saw them, Kayla didn’t mention it to anyone. She had seen the woman lying on the wet floor and someone flipping her over. Kayla closed her eyes and tried to picture the woman’s face again.

Her eyes flew open at the memory of two white streaks. "Momma?" Kayla questioned. Wondering where the memory came from, Kayla walked down the hall in search for her Dad.

Kayla walked the halls of the mansion searching for her father, but she couldn’t find him anywhere. She kept rubbing her arms hoping to make the tingling sensation go away.

As she walked into the kitchen, she bumped into Christopher.

"I hope you’re ready to get your butt kicked at pool next Tuesday," Christopher teased.

Kayla ignored him. "Have you seen my dad?"

"No, I haven’t."

Kayla turned and walked away without giving Christopher another thought. She hurried down the hall heading for the garage when suddenly someone grabbed her bare arm.

"Let go of me!" Kayla shouted at the contact.

"Geez I’m sorry," Christopher said, releasing her.

"What do you want?"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I’m fine...just don’t do that again," Kayla told him.

Then she walked off wondering why nothing had happened when Christopher had touched her skin. She concluded that it must have been Jean causing the images.

Christopher watched her walk away, shaking his head slightly. His dad had told him once that girls get confusing as they get older, but at twelve years old they were already confusing.

Not finding her dad in the garage either, Kayla decided to walk outside. She wondered past the tables where the reception was to take place, noticing that a few people had already taken their seats for the ceremony. She walked slowly to a small corner of the gardens behind the mansion, where she stopped and carefully picked up the hem of her dress so that she could kneel down before the large stone that stood there. She ran a hand over the name Rogue, a sad smile on her face. The only thing Kayla could remember about her mother that was not from a picture, was that she’d smelled like ivory soap. She remembered her mother saying once that any other kind of soap would drive her daddy’s sensitive nose crazy.

"Hey Lil Bit," a voice came from behind her.
Kayla turned to see Logan walking towards her. "Hi daddy," she said quietly.

"Christopher told me you were looking for me." Logan squatted down next to her and placed a hand on her back.

"Yes sir, I wanted to make sure I got to tell you good bye," Kayla said.

"Well, I was going to make sure I saw you before I left. I would never leave without saying good bye," Logan told her.

Kayla smiled and turned her head back to the stone, drawing Logan’s glance to it also. "With you getting married, does it mean momma’s never coming back for sure now?"

"It’s been a long time since your mom disappeared, Kayla. If she were alive we would have found her by now," Logan said softly. "But I want you to know that no one can replace your mother, that she will always have a special place in my heart."

"I like Valerie she’s nice. It’s just hard for me to remember momma and I was afraid you were going to forget her too," Kayla admitted. She turned towards Logan and wrapped her arms around him, hiding her face so he couldn’t see the tears she was crying.

"Hey, look at me," he told her. Kayla pulled back and sniffled a little. "I will never forget your mother. You remind me of her every day, you have her mouth and her nose. I’m sorry but I think you got your wild hair from me, but it’s the same color as hers."

Kayla giggled a little at the thought of having hair like her daddy’s.

"And you know you can always ask me about her any time," Logan said.

Kayla nodded. "I know, I was just thinking about her today, that’s all."

Logan kissed her on the cheek. Then he looked at his watch ."It’s about time to start, so you better go find
Valerie."

"Okay, I love you daddy," Kayla said, starting to run off toward the mansion.

"I love you too, Lil Bit," Logan replied. He watched her run until she disappeared from his sight. Turning slowly he faced the stone once more. ‘In Memory of Rogue, Friend, Lover and Mother,’ was written across it. Logan pressed the palm of his hand over the engraved name and rubbed it back and forth. It was a routine of his done so often that a indention was forming in the stone. It was almost as if he was trying to erase her name.

He stopped when he heard the music start. Sighing, he hooked a finger in the collar of his tuxedo and tried to stretch it out from his neck. Giving the memorial one last look he turned and walked away.
----------------------------------------------------------

After the ceremony everyone stood outside in the driveway of the mansion to see Logan and Valerie off. Logan shook the Professor’s hand. "Thanks for everything Chuck. Call me if we need to come back."

"I’m sure things will be fine for now, Logan. You and Valerie have a good time."

Logan turned and came face to face with Scott and Remy.

"I feel I should warn you ahead of time," Remy told him, "Jubilee is the one that drove the car out of the garage, so you better check the glove compartment."

"Thanks for the heads up."

"Be careful Logan, any sign of trouble and we’ll be there," Scott told him.

Logan nodded his head and said, "I’ll contact you if there is, but other than that I don’t wanna see your sorry ass for at least a week. Now, I’m counting on you guys to keep an eye on Kayla while I’m gone." Logan turned to face Remy. "And don’t let her go to the mall with your girlfriend."

"Speaking of Kayla, I think someone is waiting to tell you bye," Scott said, pointing behind Logan.

Logan turned and saw Kayla standing by the car waiting for him. Scott watched as he walked over and knelt before her, giving her a hug. Then Valerie walked over and whispered something in Logan’s ear causing him to stand up. Valerie waved one last time before she went to the passenger side door and got in.

"Hey there Lil Chere," Remy said, when Kayla walked over to where they were standing. "How about we go inside and I teach you some card tricks?"

"Sure," said Kayla sadly, watching her daddy and new step mom drive off.

"They’ll be back shortly Kayla," Scott told her gently.
Kayla nodded her head and grabbed Remy’s hand as they walked inside.

Scott looked around for Jean, but couldn’t spot her. He went inside and headed upstairs to their room to search for her, finding her tucking Rachel into bed.

"How are you feeling?" Scott asked.

"I’m tired," Jean told him. Then she added quietly, "I had another sharp pain in my head today. It caused me to black out for a moment."

"What?!" Scott practically shouted. "Why didn’t yo-"

"Shh!" Jean said placing a hand over his mouth before he woke Rachel. They walked out of her room and Scott continued, "Why didn’t you tell me? When did this happen?"

"It happened in Ororo’s room," Jean told him. She walked over to the couch and was followed by Scott. "I’m fine now, but something happened while I was in pain."

"What happened? You should have been up here lying down all day."

"Well, as the pain started I closed my eyes, and then images appeared."

"What kind of images?" Scott asked.

"I’m not sure, they were running through my head so fast I couldn’t make sense of them. Then the last one slowed down and it was like I was looking through another person’s eyes. I saw a man whose face was covered and a woman lying on the floor, then a pair of hands rolled her over. It was hands that blong to a female. Before I could see a face, I opened my eyes."

"What do you think it means?" Scott asked.

"I don’t know," said Jean, shaking her head. “It was like I seeing the image through my own eyes, as though I was the person that was rolling the body over.”

"I want you to go and get some rest. You don’t have to worry about helping with the clean up," Scott said.

Jean pushed herself up off the couch and walked toward the bedroom. Scott helped her into bed and set a glass of water on the nightstand. "Call me if you need anything," he told her, placing a kiss on her lips.

It didn’t take long for Jean to fall into a deep sleep.
When she woke up she was breathing heavily. She opened her eyes to see Scott above her gently shaking her shoulders. "Scott?" she asked.

"You were having a nightmare," he told her.

"Someone’s projecting." She grabbed the sides of her head. "They’re in pain, and on the verge of exhaustion."

"Jean, what’s the matter?"

Jean sat up and threw off the covers, putting her feet on the floor. "We need to get the Professor."

"Stay here, I’ll get him," Scott told her.

"No, I’ll go with you," Jean said, already putting her robe on.

They headed down the hall to the main floor, only to be greeted by the Professor and Remy, both already in the hallway watching the front door.

"I was just about to call you," Charles said. "I figured you would have felt it too."

"What is it?" Scott asked.

"I don’t know, I sense that someone is deeply disturbed," Charles said. "I’ve already contacted the others and told them to be on guard in case the situation turns hostile."

"Do you know who it is?" Jean asked.

"No, but I don’t really sense any danger, just someone in need."

"Why not use Cerebro?" Scott asked.

"Because if it is someone to fear, I don’t want to lead them to the lower levels."

"What time is it?" Remy asked.

"Around two thirty," Scott told him.

"Why don’t you guys take a look around the grounds see if you can find anything," Jean suggested.

"Let me get my visor," Scott said, running back up the stairs.

As Remy and Scott walked around the grounds they didn’t see anything that looked odd. They were walking back to the front door when Remy turned to look around one last time. His eyes focused on a dark lumpy shape just outside the main gate.

"Scott, was that there earlier?" Remy asked.

Scott turned to see where Remy was pointing. He shook his head. "No, it wasn’t."

Scott put a hand to his visor as they walked cautiously towards the gate, trying to see what was lying on the ground. As they got closer Scott said, "Hank and Ororo are on their way out."

Remy nodded and slowly opened the gate. "It looks human, but I don’t think they’re breathing," he said.

Scott heard Hank and Ororo approaching as he knelt down and rolled the body over. "Oh my God!" he said. Behind him he heard Ororo gasp in shock.

Hank reached over to check for a pulse. "She’s still breathing let’s get her to the med lab," he said. Then he moved the white streaks of hair out of her face to reveal Rogue’s brown eyes staring blankly back at them.

Scott sat in a chair dozing off outside the room where Rogue was sleeping. It was seven in the morning, and Rogue had yet to wake up. He had sent Jean back to bed and told the others he would stay with her until they got up.

"Scott," Charles called as he approached, "you can go. I’ll sit with her for now."

The Fearless Leader yawned as he stood up. He peered into observation window of Rogue’s room., "When are you going to notify Logan?"

"I’m not sure," said Charles, deep in thought.

Scott turned abruptly at what the Professor’s tone might imply. "He should be told...now."

"I know that, but think about where Logan is at the moment. He was just married yesterday..."

"Doesn’t matter. If I was him I would be pissed that you hadn’t told me already." Scott crossed his arms over his chest. He and the professor had rarely disagreed on anything.

"I agree, but I think we should find out more about her condition before we notify him. Logan is not the type to ask questions, he demands to know what is going on, and I want to be able to give him the answers when he asks"

"I’m contacting Logan tomorrow morning, whether we know something or not," Scott said, walking away.

The Professor frowned at the attitude Scott had, even though the he knew that Scott was just acting upon his leader’s instincts. He opened the door and wheeled silently into Rogue’s room, stopping his chair at the head of her bed to look her over. His eyes skimmed over the machines that were making beeping noises as they monitored her.

"Where have you been Rogue?" Charles asked quietly. "And why couldn’t you come back to us before now?"

He leaned forward and placed a hand on each side of her face. Closing his eyes, he slowly entered her mind.

He found himself standing in a room filled with darkness. He looked around, straining to see anything. A small green light blinked in the distance, so he began walking towards it, pausing momentarily to enjoy the brief opportunity to use his legs again. As he approached he heard a faint whimpering coming from the somewhere else in the room.

He saw the figure of Rogue sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head down, crying softly.

"Rogue?" the Professor called out.

The figure’s head snapped up and she stared at Charles with shock.

"Rogue, do you know who I am?"

She slowly nodded her head and began to stand up.

Charles walked slowly towards her. "Will you come back with me?"

"No," Rogue told him. She hugged herself and fresh tears fell from her eyes. "They made him leave and now that I am in control I’m waiting for him to come back."

"Who are ‘they’?" Charles asked.

"The ones who put *her* in here," Rogue said, pointing to something behind the Professor.

Charles looked behind him to see a woman figure sitting in chains. She had long brown hair and green eyes which stared at him with a blank expression.

He walked over to her. "Who are you and who put you here?"

"She won’t answer you," Rogue said, walking up behind him. "She is no longer in control, something happened and now she just sits there."

"If you are the one in control why not wake up?"

"Because," Rogue began hesitantly, "I’m waiting."

"For what?"

"I’m waiting for Logan to come back...they made him leave." Rogue started to cry again, "They sent her and she took full control, she made Logan leave me. I want Logan back!" She began to beat her fist against the Professor while shouting, "I know who you really are and I want you to bring Logan back! Damn you! You are not the Professor! Get out of my head!"

Charles opened his eyes and slumped in his chair. He had to get Rogue to come back. He wondered who the woman was in Rogue’s mind.

"Good morning Professor," Hank said, entering the room.

"Good morning Hank. I trust you got some rest this morning?"

"Yes, although I had a dozen theories running through my head."

"Yes, me too," Charles told him. "After you and Jean examine Rogue completely, I would like to hold a meeting with the others to discuss what to do."

Hank nodded. "Jean should be down in a moment. Give us an hour or two."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So are you saying that you think she has developed a new mutation?” Remy asked.

“I think it was forced upon her to have,” Hank replied. They were all standing in the room where Rogue was kept, talking about her condition.

"What other things have you determined in your examinations?" asked Charles.

"Well, upon examining her muscular tissues, and I’ll have a better understanding of this once she is awake, but she could very well have some form of super strength," Hank said.

"How?" came from Ororo.

"Her mutation," Charles said, realization dawning. "Most likely who ever held her captive, made her absorb another mutant. When I was searching her mind there was another person... a woman locked up there. Rogue told me that she was no longer in control and that someone had put her there."

"If this woman is no longer in control of Rogue’s mind, why won’t she wake up?" Scott asked.

"Because when Rogue absorbed this other mutant, it pushed out the Logan in her head. She’s waiting for him to come back," the Professor told them.

"Which is why we should contact Logan," Remy said harshly.

"I agree," Scott said.

"No, let’s wait another day," the Professor said sternly. "I want to search her mind one more time, and then we will notify Logan."

Scott shook his head in disbelief and Remy stood up to leave. The others also excused themselves leaving Jean and Scott with the Professor.

 

"I am going to try and read Rogue’s mind again, but first I have some things to take care of," the Professor said to Scott and Jean. "Please excuse me."

Jean nodded and turned to Scott as the Professor wheeled past them. He had his back to her, but she could see the tension in his shoulders as he stood there. "Scott..."

"We need to call Logan," he said.

"The Professor knows that, but think about Logan. He isn’t going to know what to do with himself, and-"

"Regardless.....how Logan reacts doesn’t matter.” Scott turned to face her “You know that."

"The Professor just wants to have answers for him, that’s all."

"It’s a mistake," Scott said, turning to leave. "And it’s one I’m not willing to pay for."

"Scott don’t..." Jean called after him, but she knew he was right and she made no attempt to stop what he was about to do. Instead she made her way to Rogue’s room.

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Valerie rolled over in the bed to answer the ringing phone. "Hello?"

"Valerie, this is Scott," the voice on the other end said.

"Hello Scott. Is there a problem?" she asked. "Is it Kayla?"

"No, Kayla’s fine. I’m real sorry but something has come up and I need to speak to Logan."

"He’s in the shower at the moment. I’ll tell him you called."

"I can’t stress the importance of the situation," Scott said, sounding agitated.

"Okay."

"Bye,” he sighed.

"Bye," Valerie returned. She pushed the end button on the cell phone. Then staring at it for moment she removed the call from the recent calls list. She heard Logan cut the water off, so she placed the phone back on the nightstand and rolled over to face the bathroom door.

"Mornin’," Logan said, walking out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Good morning to you too," Valerie said, smiling sweetly at him.

Logan walked over to the bed and knelt down on the floor so that his face was even with her. In between the small kisses he placed on her mouth he said, "I thought you were going to join me in the shower this morning?"

"Well, you didn’t wake me up," Valerie said. "How about you get under here with me and make up for lost time?"

Logan smiled at her and shook his head. "Let’s go to breakfast, then come back here."

Valerie gave an exaggerated pout. "Pretty please?"

"Tempting, but I’m hungry." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "I promise we can come straight back here after breakfast and do whatever you want."

"Sounds good to me," Valerie said, getting out of bed and walking towards the bathroom.

"Hey Val," Logan called her back while digging through his suitcase for a pair of jeans to wear.

"Yeah?"

"Who were you talking to while I was in the shower?"

Valerie froze in front of the mirror trying to think of what to say. After a moment Logan appeared at the door. "Val? Who were you talking to?"

"Oh just Scott," Valerie said.

"What did he want?"

"He didn’t really say," Valerie told him. "Just that Kayla’s doing okay."

"I should probably call her later," Logan said, heading back into the bedroom.

Valerie watched him walk way with a grim expression on her face. She had to come up with a plan to keep Logan distracted from calling Scott back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jean?" Ororo called softly as she entered Rogue's room.

"Hey Ro'" Jean said smiling.

"I came to see if you want me to sit with her for a little while?" Ororo asked.

"That would be great. I have to go and take care of Rachel," Jean said standing up from the chair she was sitting in. She walked over to double-checked the monitoring equipment before she left. She smiled weakly and brushed back a piece of white hair that had fallen into Rogue's face.

"How long do you think she'll be unconscious?" Ororo asked.

"I don't know. I wish she would wake up soon though," Jean said with a worried expression.

Ororo noted the look on Jean's face and asked, "What are you not saying?"

Jean looked at Ororo and then back at Rogue, "The longer she's unconscious the greater the possibility of her waking up with a form of permanent amnesia."

"Oh my," Ororo said, letting Jean's words sink in.

"And it's not just that," Jean continued, "Think about all the things she has missed. I mean...your and Hank's wedding, Kitty and Bobby's. Kayla growing up, and I don't even want to think about how Logan being married is going to affect her. Not to make a joke of the situation, but the only thing that's the same is the fact that Remy and Jubilee are still the 'on again off again' couple of the mansion."

"Do you think she'll know how long she's been gone or where she was?" Ororo asked.

"I don't know," Jean said. She turned to leave pausing just before she walked through the door. "Talk to her every once in awhile, it may not seem like a lot but it might help."

Ororo nodded and began to move the chair closer to the bed. She made herself comfortable, taking Rogue's bare hand in hers and giving it affectionate squeeze, having a small amount hope that Rogue would squeeze back. She didn't.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scott, Remy and Hank stood outside Rogue's room watching the Professor as he sat in the room with her. They were eagerly waiting the Professor's second attempt to read Rogue's mind. While standing there, Kitty and Bobby approached them.

"We just heard the news," Bobby said.

"Jubilee called us," Kitty filled them in. "Is there any change?"

"No," Hank told them.

"The Professor is going to read her mind again," Remy said keeping his eyes on the observation window.

"Has anyone called Logan?" Bobby asked.

"I called but he was in the shower. Valerie said he would call me back but that was two and half hours ago," Scott said. "I'm going to try him again soon."

"You guys want us to stick around and help watch the kids while you stay down here?" Bobby asked.

"Kurt and Jubilee are up there now, I'm sure they would appreciate your help," Scott said.

"Scott," Jean called as she approached, "You guys shouldn't be hanging around while the Professor is in there. You could throw his concentration off."

Hank and Scott walked back to Jean's office while the rest made their way to the elevator. Jean stayed and watched the Professor place his hands on either side of Rogue's head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kayla had noticed most of the adults acting strangely that morning, and they seemed to be making more trips down to the lower levels than usual. She wondered what was going on.

She stood with Jenny and Christopher in the concession line at the theater watching the four adults in a whispered discussion. Storm had just got off her cell phone and everyone seemed concerned with the news she was telling them.

"So what do you think is going on with them?" Jenny asked.

"I don't know, but something is definitely up and I would like to find out," Christopher said.

"Too bad you aren't a telepath like your mom," Jenny said to Christopher. Then turning to Kayla she added, "Maybe you'll develop sensitive hearing like your dad."

Kayla continued staring at the adults as Jenny waved a hand in front of her face, "Earth to Kayla...Where'd you go girlie? You, like, spaced out on us there."

"Oh sorry. I just feel like something is going on. Don't you guys?" Kayla asked turning to face her friends.

"Duh! What have we been talking about this whole time?" Jenny said.

"Sorry! I was trying to see if I could read their lips," Kayla said.

"Last night, while I was getting a drink of water, momma came in from downstairs without dad," Christopher said, "Then this morning she let it slip that she was going to relieve dad of his 'watch.' What do you think that meant?"

Kayla studied Christopher thoughtfully as he adjusted his ruby quartz glasses...an exact copy of the ones worn by his father. Every since the last few weeks, when Christopher complained of a burning sensation behind his eyes his parents made him wear the glasses in fear that his mutation was manifesting.

"I don't know," Jenny said. "I heard Aunt Jubes telling Remy that she couldn't believe they haven't told 'Wolvie' yet."

"What does telling my dad have anything to do with it?" Kayla questioned.

The others shrugged their shoulders and they made their way to the front of the line. All three were lost in their own thoughts about what could be happening in the lower levels of the mansion. They took their seats in the theater a few rows away from the others so they could continue their discussion before the movie started.

"What if they have someone hidden in the lower levels?" Jenny suggested.

"That's crazy...Why would they hide anyone?" Christopher said.

"I think we should sneak down there and check it out," Jenny said eating her popcorn.

"Like I said you're crazy. There's no way to get to the lower levels without a password," Christopher said digging into his box of candy. He paused when no one said anything. He turned his head to the right to face Jenny, then he turned to face Kayla, they both had mischievous smiles forming across their faces.

"Tell me you guys don't have a password!" Christopher hissed. "It's against the rules for you to be down there unless you have to visit the medbay!"

"Relax Summers," Kayla said taking his box of candy from him. "We don't do anything but look around a little bit."

"Yeah dude, you sound like your dad," Jenny said. She paused when the lights began to dim then leaning over Christopher's lap so Kayla could hear she whispered, "I have a plan on how to get down there when we get back."

Christopher let out a groan and shook his head. He knew he was in for it now. He fixed Kayla with a look that said 'Are you sure about this' Kayla shrugged her shoulders and continued eating Christopher's candy.
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until next time.....