Logan sighed looking around the School. It was decorated to within an inch of its life and smelled like a pinesol factory. He could see a few kids scattered around the rec room and sidestepped to avoid the sprig of mistletoe he could smell above him. He heard someone arguing on the far side of the room and decided to go have a look. He saw Morgan sitting on a stool her wings partially flared in annoyance. Scott was standing before her his body practically quivering in anger. "You are not holding that ceremony!"

Morgan raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips before replying. "It's a legitimate religious ceremony and it's not going to hurt anyone."

"Its blasphemous!"

"It's Yule, Scott. It's still a legal holiday in England for Christ sake!" Morgan was getting agitated and Logan could see her dark eyes starting to change colors. He'd always thought her eyes were brown but on the few occasions he'd gotten a good look at her eyes he'd noticed that they were in fact a very dark red.

Scott scowled darkly. Suddenly his features smoothed and Logan heard Xavier's wheel chair whirring up to the confrontation. "Professor. Will you tell her that she can't do that pagan ceremony?" Scott appealed to the Professor.

Xavier looked at Morgan and she seemed to be calming down and Logan wondered if her wings felt like leather or if they were soft like a bats then wondered why he'd thought of that as her wings slowly tucked themselves close to her back. "I wasn't aware that you are a practicing Wiccan Morgan." The touch of irony in Xavier's voice was not lost on the woman.

"Given my looks you think I was ever welcome in church?" She asked sardonically. "Actually I was Christian for a long time even after I ran away from home but I've since had the chance to find a path that suits me better."

Suddenly Rogue came trotting into the room. She skidded to a halt upon seeing the confrontation and looked up at Logan. "Whats goin' on?" She asked quietly.

"Scooter won't let Morgan do a Yule tradition thing and Chuck is mediatin'." Logan replied in an undertone.

Xavier nodded to Morgan and looked at Scott. "She is right Scott. It won't hurt anyone and I dare say some of the kids might enjoy participating. We don't all hold your faith."

And just like that the arguments were over and Scott was stalking away. 'Probably to sooth himself with a coke.' Logan thought irreverently.

Rogue went over and gave Morgan a quick kiss then looked at Logan. "Come to lunch with me?" She asked surprising him.

"Sure." He replied.

Rogue waved to Morgan and hooking her arm through Logan's dragged him out to her car. They drove to a local pub and She ordered a burger, fries and a beer. He ordered the same and they spent a few comfortable moments filling their stomachs. After most of his burger was gone her looked over at her. "So what'cha need kid?"

"Morgan has a brother. He's a mutant. She used to get letters from him every week and she says he was hiding his mutation really well. He could pass for human. Well the letters stopped coming and she's scared he's hurt or someone found out about him but she can't go help him." Rogue sipped her beer again.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Did she tell you about what she used to do before she came to the school?"

"Yeah. She was a Merc. They kicked her out." Logan had the feeling something was up.

"Kicked her out...yeah that's her polite way o' sayin' they tried to kill her." Rogue scowled. "She managed to escape and was on the road when Charles found her. She's been getting death threats. They want her really dead. She knows things that they don't want her talkin' about. If she leaves the School grounds they'll tag her."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "She left with me last week." He pointed out.

"Yeah. With you. No one was gonna mess with her with you around. They may be mercenaries but they ain't stupid." Rogue pointed out.

"So I'm s'posed to go find out what happened to her brother? Why hasn't she asked Chuck or the X-Men for help?"

"Cause she doesn't know if there's any reason to be worried. She wasn't even gonna ask ya. I'm doin' this without her knowin'." Rogue shrugged.

Logan drank his beer and munched his fries while he thought it over. Rogue did the same. "Where does this kid live?" He asked.

"In Virginia."

Logan did the calculations in his head. "You can fly the jet right?"

"Yeah." Rogue finished her beer but didn't look over at him.

"Tomorrow Scooter and Storm are takin' the kids Christmas shopping. We'll leave then."

Rogue nodded. She paid the bar tender and they went back to the mansion.Logan watched Rogue marshal the younger kids into inventorying the wrapping paper and the tape before he went down into the danger room for some sparring.

Logan and Rogue landed the jet in a vacant lot and switched on the stealth mode. Walking down the street they chatted easily about holiday plans in the mansion. To the casual observer they looked like a couple out on a walk or a pair of friends. Only those who looked closer saw the truth. They were friends but they were also comrades in arms. Veterans of a war they'd been born into.
Rogue pointed out the house they were staking out. "That's the place. We're gonna wait until the good reverend leaves then do a little B&E."
Logan chuckled and pointed to a bench. "We can sit there. It won't look to suspicious."
They sat and Logan slung his arm over the back. He folded his leg up over the opposite knee and sat watching traffic pass. About two hours passed and Rogue was starting to get antsy when the door opened and a tall thin gray looking man strode out. He was talking on a cell phone and looked pissed off. He locked the door and stalked down the street to a car. Once he'd driven off Rogue was on her feet and moving across the street, Logan close on her heels.
She knelt down in front of the knob and Logan shielded her from the street while she worked. In less than two minutes she'd picked the lock and had the door open. He locked the door behind them before looking around. The inside was clean, quiet and smelled like cleaning solutions. Logan looked around and took in the subdued interior. It was obvious to him that the pastor was a bachelor with only a few touches showing that there had been a woman in his life quite a long time ago. Rogue was moving through the house with a quick, silent step and Logan followed her. She made a beeline for a door in the kitchen and opened it to reveal a set of stairs leading to a basement. "What're you thinkin' Darlin'?"
"Basement or attic. It's the most logical choice for holding someone captive. If he ain't in either one we start looking for the kids room. Maybe he left some kinda clue as ta where he'd go." Rogue replied stalking down the steps.
The basement was a typical basement, bare bulb hanging from the ceiling, unfinished walls and ceiling. The whole basement was a single room with dark nooks and crannies. "Robert?" Rogue called softly. "Robert. We're friends of Morgan's."
Nothing. The room was quiet and after a few more minutes of silence Logan shook his head indicating to Rogue that he couldn't hear a heartbeat or breathing. She nodded and went back up to the kitchen. Rogue went back into the foyer and headed up the stairs. She peeked into the rooms on the way to the trapdoor leading up into the attic. She looked up at the attic door on the ceiling and shook her head. "Nope. He ain't up there."
Logan looked up at it and agreed, it had a layer of dust and cobwebs hanging from it indicating it hadn't been opened in a long time. Rogue moved off and started investigating the rooms. She found the kids room on her first try. Logan frowned looking around while Rogue started poking through the desk drawers. It struck him as way too clean, even for a kid who'd been supposedly kicked out or run off. Rogue huffed in irritation. "There ain't anything here sugar."
Logan was about to speak when he heard the door being unlocked. He pulled Rogue back against him and stood against the wall behind the door. They heard the pastor muttering something then another voice, younger more submissive. Suddenly the Pastor exploded into an angry tirade. "Just like your demon sister. Don't know why I though you could be saved you worthless Satan spawn. Get out of my sight." A resounding crack issued forth from the downstairs and Logan knew it to be the sound of flesh on flesh. The guy had hit the kid and it made Logan's blood boil.
They heard a set of heavy footsteps trudging up the stairs and Rogue eased out of Logan's arms. The kid opened the door and walked into the room. He shut the door behind him and started when he saw Rogue. Rogue clapped a hand over his mouth and shook her head. He nodded and she took her hand away. "Hey Robert. I'm Rogue. Morgan told you about me." She whispered.
He nodded and Logan got a good look at him. His hair was as dark as Morgans but poking through the thick growth was a pair of black horns growing at his temples. They looked ragged and the skin around them was swollen. Logan guessed that they'd been cut or filed down. The kids eyes were the same dark red as Morgan's and when the kid smiled he saw the sharp teeth. Privately Logan reflected that the intolerant ass down stairs had gotten just what he deserved. Two kids who looked like what he was most scared off. Up close the kid smelled like sulfur and Logan hazarded a guess at what the kids talent was. "You teleport don't ya?" He asked.
"Yeah." Robert replied looking surprised.
"So why haven't ya before?"
Robert winced and wouldn't look at him. Rogue raised an eyebrow at him. "We'll get into that later sugar. Right now we need to get outta here."
Logan nodded and went to the window. He noticed the sculpted juniper bush under the window and nodded. "We leave out the window."
He opened it and popped the screen out. Rogue nodded to him to jump out first. Then Robert jumped out landing in the juniper with no more than a crunching noise of breaking twigs. Rogue jumped out last and Logan moved to catch her earning a dark look from Robert which Logan ignored. They were just disappearing around the corner when they head the pastors voice yelling Roberts name. They started jogging down the street Rogue keeping Robert ahead of her. He seemed genuinely scared of the thin gray man behind them.
Rogue hurried him up into the jet and closed the hatch. As they were taking off Logan saw the gray face turn purple with rage and he smirked flipping the irate man the bird before they were out of sight. He looked over at the kid. "He gonna file a complaint?"
Robert shook his head looking sick. "He's been trying to 'rid me of the demon that stole my body' for the last two weeks. Ever since my horns grew in. He's so disgusted by me now though that he probably won't. He'll probably calm down and be relieved that I'm gone."
The kid sounded so dejected that Logan was moved to put a hand on his shoulder. Rogue spoke up. "We're taking you to live with us."
"At that school Morgan wrote about?" The kid perked up.
"Yeah." Logan replied. "You'll fit right in."

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Scott's irate voice met them in the hanger.

"Shut it Scooter. We brought yer plane back in one piece didn't we?" Logan growled.

"You took it without letting anyone know where you were going. Christ, it's bad enough you take off with my bike now you're joyriding in the jet!" Scott was starting to lose it Logan thought idly.

"Relax sugar." Rogue said walking down the steps. She was leading Robert who was understandably hesitant to meet the irate Scott.

Scott caught sight of the boy and calmed down immediately. Rogue nodded. "See we had a good reason."
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"Don't scare me like that Rogue! I didn't know where you were and no one else knew either." It was the first time Logan had heard Morgan raise her voice and she sounded damn near close to tears.

He watched her wrap Rogue up into her arms her wings coming forward to wrap around her as well. Logan had noticed a while back that even if Morgan looked completely calm he could get a good idea of how she really felt by watching her wings. Rogue was patting her back. "Ah'm ok sugar. I got a surprise for ya though."

Morgan unwrapped her wings and looked at her curiously. Rogue looked over at Logan and he nodded. "Come on in kid."

Robert stepped into the room and Logan watched Morgans face go from curious to elated. She let go of Rogue and ran full tilt to Robert. She wrapped him in a hug Logan knew might leave bruises given how strong the woman was. "Rob. Oh Gods Rob how the...?" She leaned back to look at him. Why did you stop writing to me? When did you get the horns?" She didn't seem to notice the tears washing down her face.

"Aw geeze Morgan." Robert flushed but didn't actually let go of her.

Rogue walked over to stand by Logan one hand tucking into her hip pocket She looked up at him and smiled. He grinned back then looked over at them and cleared his throat. They looked at him. "Merry Christmas guys."

Morgan tried to stifle a sob. Rogue went over and hugged her. "You told me you were worried about him and if you could have anything you wanted for Christmas you wanted to see him again."

Morgan wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and leaned down to kiss Rogue quickly. "Thank you." She said roughly.

Logan felt a thickness welling up in his chest but pushed it aside and watched the three of them. Someone had walked up to stand beside him. Storm touched his arm. "Your doing?" She asked.

"Nah. Rogue's. Morgan couldn't leave to do it herself so Rogue asked if I would help. How could I say no to my girl?"

Storm smiled gently. "She is isn't she? Your girl."

Logan felt her leave and after a few minutes decided to leave them to their reunion.
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He was sitting on the tiled roof of Storms arboretum a few hours later when he heard the sound of wings. He looked over and saw Morgan land gracefully on the tiles. She was holding a six pack of Molsens. He grinned and scooted over to make space for her. She sat beside him and handed him a cold beer. She twist the top off her own and the sat in silence for a few minutes drinking.

"Thanks. For bringing my brother here." She finally said.

"No prob." He replied gruffly.

Morgan pulled out a couple cigars and handed him one. He looked over at her. "Thought they made you give these up."

"Today's a special day. I'm celebrating. Tomorrow it's back to being good." She replied and lit the cigar.

He did likewise and took a long drag. "You know I kinda thought you were lettin' them push ya around. Lettin' them make ya give up what ya like."

"What changed your mind?"

"Rogue told me why ya can't leave here."

Morgan gave a sardonic huff of laughter. "Yeah. I guess she would have had to tell you why I couldn't go help my brother myself."

He nodded. "They got you pinned here don't they?"

"It's not so bad. I got a roof over my head. Food in my stomach. A girl I love. I can live without beer and cigars so long as those needs are met." She replied.

Logan finished his beer and she handed him another. They stared out at the grounds silently. She rolled the bottle between her palms for a while until she finally seemed to reach a decision. "I heard you talking to Storm. About Rogue being your girl."

He felt his body tense and tried to relax. She noticed, he wasn't surprised that she'd noticed. She'd made a living out of noticing stuff like that. "I heard a lot about you before you came back you know. You were her absolute favorite subject."

He nodded and sipped his beer. "And now?"

"Still her favorite topic." She wasn't looking at anything in particular but her noticed her hands. Still rolling the bottle between them. They were long fingered. Slender with no nonsense nails. The only decoration was a slim silver band on her middle finger on her right hand

He made a none committal noise and Morgan smirked. "Yeah. She still loves you. That hasn't changed."

"She's with you though." He replied.

"No. Not any more." Morgan said back.

Logan was so surprised her almost dropped his beer. He looked over at her. She was looking out at the woods her arms propped on her knees the beer bottle resting lightly in her fingertips. She nodded slowly. "Yup. She told me about a half hour ago. Said she couldn't be with me anymore. Said she couldn't lie to me, she was still in love with you and it wouldn't be fair to me."

"Shit." He muttered.

"Yeah. So my question is...Do you love her back?" Morgan pinned him with a piercing gaze and he knew he couldn't lie to her.

"Yeah. I do."

Morgan nodded. "Kinda what I figured."

Logan felt a pang of guilt at her accepting tone. He generally didn't bother with guilt but the knowledge that he was the reason Morgan didn't have the person she loved anymore was daunting. He looked over at her. "Look kid. I didn't mean it to happen."

She gave a lopsided smirk and he knew her heart wasn't in it. "I know. I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I knew something like this was going to happen."

Logan reached over and slung an arm over her shoulders. He felt her lean her head against his shoulder and smelt the salty tang of tears and a part of him grieved with her. She wiped at her face after a moment and sat up with a sniff. "Sorry."

"Nothin' to be sorry for kid. You love her and she's not yours anymore." He kept his arm slung across her shoulders. Her wings had half unfurled to balance herself and his fingers brushed against them. The felt warm and soft. Like well cured leather.

She fiddled with the ring on her hand and looked over at him after a moment. "I'm gonna be leaving tomorrow."

He nodded. "Runnin'." He said calmly.

"Yeah I guess you can call it that. Rob is safe here he'll be able to learn how to control his power and he'll get a good education." She replied.

He nodded. "Yeah. You'll be sendin' letter I guess."

She nodded and it struck him how odd it was talking about her leaving. He acknowledged privately that he'd miss seeing her around the mansion. She was one of the few people who understood him. He pulled a box out of his pocket and handed it to her. He also handed her a cell phone. "Open the box on Christmas. Use the phone if you need help." He said.

She nodded and handed him a small box too. "Open it whenever you like."

He pried the lid off and found a set of silver rings with something written on the inside of each ring. "It's runic. The runes for love, cherish and commitment." She said. "I had one of the kids stretch it out to fit you after Rogue broke up with me. The other one will fit her." She smiled softly and stood up. "Bye." And she stepped off the roof her wings snapping open and catching her.
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The next day the mansion was buzzing with the news. Logan had gone to Rogue and she'd moved into his room that night. Morgan had vanished leaving most of her things behind. She'd apparently taken a backpack of cloths and a few other things but she was gone and everyone in that mansion could guess why.