It's been 4 years. 4 long years of waiting for him to walk through that door to what was our bedroom. Waiting for him to sweep me up back into his arms, hold me close, and to tell me that he loves me again.

I'm 22 years old and I live everyday on nothing but faith. He should come back to me. We should pick up where we left off and save me from all the pain he has caused me. Deep down I know he won't come back, but what's a gal like me got other than hope?

I still sleep in our room. The room that I moved into when I was a girl of 18. The room where we spent many nights wrapped in each other's arms. The room where I gave him everything I held dear to me. My heart. My Soul. My virginity.

I sit at the window tonight, my arms wrapped around myself, shielding myself from the chill that is eating me from the inside out. He was my everything. My world. My universe. I gave him everything I could. It just wasn't enough.

Sure we had our ups and downs. We had times where we had such lust for one another that it was hard to contain. Where he would just look at me and I knew that soon his hands were going to be ravishing my body because of how much he yearned to have me. Other times we would be at each other's throats. Him growling at me, telling me that I was still just a child and that if I was really an adult that I would have been able to see beyond my naivety.

Maybe if I acted like an adult then he would still be here. Maybe if I was the woman that he wanted, I wouldn't be alone right now. I should have told him that I loved him with everything that I was. Because I loved him with every fiber of my being, hell, after being alone for so long I still love him that much. But it might have been enough to make him stay. Maybe I could have been enough to make him stay.

4 years ago next month he told me that I needed time to grow up. 4 years ago he told me that there was nothing I could do from stopping him from leaving me. 4 years ago I cried my eyes out for 2 days because he decided to leave and I was powerless to stop him.

Draven starts to cry in his bed. I lift him up and carry my son to the window, whispering sweet nothings in his ear to try to sooth him. 3 years ago I gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. 3 years ago I grew up entirely. I no longer had to deal with just my own pain, but now I was responsible for another life. Draven is the only thing that keeps me going anymore.

My eyes wash over the grounds below. The Xavier Institute. The only home I have really had since finding out about my 'gifts'. It's entirely quiet. Except the sprinklers that just kicked on at 4 am. And the cries of my son that soften as he is lulled back to sleep.

Our son needs you Logan. I need you. Come back to us. Come back to me Logan....Please come back.

It takes 10 minutes to calm my baby boy down. I have my arms around him as I sit on the window seat. His head laying on my left breast with his thumb in his mouth. In the glimmering moon light he looks more like his father than I have ever realized. Dark brown almost black hair. He has Logan's chin, nose and eyebrows. My green eyes and soft white skin. Draven even has his father's temper.

The other night he was tired more than usual. I had taken him to the zoo and he missed his morning nap. After a long day of fun and teaching him about the different kinds of animals there were he just about threw a fit at bedtime. Jubilee took him upstairs for me so I could make a cup of tea and Draven just about ripped a chunk out of her hair. hearing Jube's cries of distress I ran to the staircase and picked up my son. I apologized to her and took him to our room. He was thrashing around violently and crying at the top of his lungs so getting him in there as quickly as I did was not an easy thing to accomplish.

"Draven James! Calm down Sugah... ya gunna hurt yaself!" The name came out sterner than I hoped but my voice eventually softened. His cries went down several decibels. The tears didn't stop though.

I set him sitting up on my bed so I could grab his Pajamas. I turn my back on him and go to the dresser, pulling out a little back T-shirt, a clean pair of underwear and dark green pants.

"Mama...Mammmma!" I turn around to see the tracks of tears on his pink little face.

"What's wrong baby? Mama knows ya tired. Ah'ma get ya int' ya pjs!"

Playtime. That boy loves playtime. I walk over to the bed and take off his little shoes. His white socks to tempting not to touch. My fingers start tickling his feet and he giggles through the sobs. I tickle his tummy and he falls backward on the bed in almost hysterics. His laughter has always been the sweet music to my ears. I bend over him and kiss his tear stained cheek before blowing a little raspberry on it. I continue trying to distract him from his bad mood as I undress him and put his clothes on.

He's only been potty trained for a year and a half. That was another hellish thing to go through but she was thankful for it being over. "Ya gotta go potty? Go potty!"

He silently crawls off of the bed and walks over to the bathroom, stopping at the miniature toilet. After doing his business he returns with his hands raised to me.

"Didcha wash ya hands?"

"Nope." He says with a devious little smile.

"Ah see. How 'bout if Mommy helps?"

"Okay Mommy."

Back into the bathroom he goes and I follow him. Lifting him onto the sink I put his hands under the faucet and push the top to the soap down, it magically turns into foam. He loves that and laughs. The tears are gone. His face is back to soft white. We wash his hands and I reach for the toothbrush and he shakes his head.

"No." He says stubbornly and crosses his little arms over his chest. God he's so much like his father.

"Draven." I raise an eyebrow and look at him as if he has no other option. After a 3 minute stand-off he gave in and brushed his teeth.

I tucked him into his little bed.

"There ya go hunny. Snug as a bug in a rug." I make a funny face and he laughs again. "I love you baby."

He yawns and runs a little hand over his mouth before answering. "I lub you too Mommy." It melts my heart every single time. I stand up and kiss his forehead.


Now I sit on the window seat, my son sleeping soundly on top of me. I take him back to the bed, cover him with his soft blankets and kiss his forehead again. He moves around and settles on his right side.

I love him with all that I am. I would instantly give my life for him. And Logan doesn't even know he has a son.

Tears that I have been holding back for weeks rise and I crawl, clothes and all, into what was once our bed. Silently they roll down my cheeks. This was so unfair. Why should she be the only one caring for him? Logan should know that he has a boy... one that is so very much like him. He should be able to have as much love for their child as she does. Draven needs a father. Sure the Professor, Hank, Kurt, and Scott are always willing to be around. They are father figures to him. But he needs his father. His real one.

I need his father. My tears are coming so fast that I have to clutch the pillow tightly to my mouth to stop myself from sobbing out loud. I'm doing this alone. I am alone. Yes, I may have help from my family here in the mansion. But emotionally I am alone. Physically at night I am alone.

I wish you were here. It hurts so much to see someone who is so much like you grow a little more everyday and not have you here to share in the experience. I love you Logan. Why won't you come back?? I'm here... I'm always going to be here...

As exhaustion finally consumes me, my face is still covered in tears and as is my pillow, I start to mutter to myself. "Please come back to me Logan... Ah love ya... Please come back..."


Darkness consumes me.

The rays of the early morning sun crept through the curtains of the room and blinded my closing eyes. Fuck. I open one eye slowly. Just a crack to be sure that it's morning. I have nothing but bitter thoughts about the sleep I got the previous night. It was one of the eyes where you exhaust yourself so much that you pass out and by morning your body is craving more sleep. I slept for 6 hours and it feels like I had only 10 damn minutes. My eyes open fully to my dismay. They are sore and probably red from the crying I did last night. I sit up and look over to my son's bed. He's gone.

2 seconds of panic flow through me before I realize that he must have crawled out of bed and into mine sometime during the night. He's sleeping soundly to my right. My heart rate slows down a bit before I plop myself back down against the pillows. Being a panicky mom always sucks. She was always so paranoid that something was going to happen to her son. Their son. Damnit.

It was too God damn early in the morning to be thinking about Logan. Marie turned her head to the left and strained her neck so she could see the clock on the bedside table. 6:28 am. What day was today? Oh right. Sunday. Sunday's were normally full of chaos. They would leave in the afternoon and Draven and her would do their weekly shopping. Now a days he was growing like a weed and she had to get him new clothes every other week. She would occasionally buy things for herself. The necessities, but nothing that ever was just for her. Draven always came first.

Draven sighed and rolled over toward her, rubbing the night gook from his eyes. After a few moments he stopped and looked wide-eyed at his mother. "Mama!"

"G'mornin' sleepy-head." Amusement plainly on her face.

Draven giggled and pushed the covers away from him. His Batman pajamas twisted around him. He quickly moved and did a belly flop on Marie. "Oooff! Ya gettin' big Sugah!"

"Morning Mommy!"

She hugged her son as his head settled on her left shoulder, she lovingly stroked his hair and took in the scent of her offspring. "You ready to get dressed Little Man?"

He lifted his head and excitedly nodded.

Good Lord this child was going to run her ragged today, she could already tell.

"Okie Dokie, then lets getcha dressed."

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

25 minutes later Marie was carrying a well groomed and well dressed Draven down the stairs to the kitchen. He was rambling on and on about how much he wanted a batman outfit. That boy was always going on about superheros... if only he knew what his mother did before she started teaching...

Hank was always an early riser, despite the fact that it was a weekend. He was sipping a cup of coffee and reading the morning paper when they entered. He lifted his eyes from an article about mutant activists in the community and matched the huge grin that Draven had on his face. "You two are up rather early."

Marie set Draven down and he ran over to Hank and jumped into the seat next to Hank, "...Unfortunately." Marie grumbled.

"I just made a fresh pot of coffee." Setting the article down to pull out the comical panels that were in the paper for Draven.

"Hank, ya an angel."

"Don't say that around Warren." Humor rose into his eyes. "He might get offended."

A dry laugh escaped her lips as she tried to focus on her goal. Acquiring caffeine enough to make a coma patient want to get up and dance a jig.

"Hank. Rwead to me!" Draven looked up, eyes full of hope, to the gentle fuzzy blue man.

Looking down, he found a panel of Garfeild and enthusiastically read it to the child. The child looked at him in awe trying to understand why his owner was so mad at Garfield. When Hank explained it to him.

"He took his dinner! Jon was going to eat that! And the cat ate it!"

Draven clapped his hands and squealed with laughter.

By the time that his laughter died down, Rogue had made a huge cup of coffee and was forcefully trying to chug it down. Hank couldn't help but notice the dread that was flowing off of her body. "So what are you too planning to do today??"

Rogue put down her half empty giant glass of caffeine and sighed heavily. "Ah have a ton of errands t' run. Ah gotta get Draven sum m're clothes. Pick up a gift fer Ma's birthday. Go to the post office to send pictures of us t' mah parents. Ah was gunna go an' get some stuff fer mah classes... but Draven's gotta have his afternoon nap. Then Ah gotta prepare fer class next week."

If the huge circles under her eyes weren't an indicator that she was exhausted already then it must have been the fact that she was yawning between every other sentence. Poor girl.

"Well, I'm not going to be doing much this afternoon. I was just going to be in the lab going over paperwork for next week that I can put off. Why don't you leave Draven with me? I think I could keep him busy for several hours."

Marie's face lit up. "Really? Oh God Hank that would be a Godsend! You really don't mind?"

He chuckled. "I would love to spend the day with the little guy. That is," He turned his attention to Draven who was playing with his shoes. "If he would like to have a few hours of play time."

At the sound of 'play time' Draven's attention was caught and he started wiggling in his seat excitedly. "I'll take that as a yes." Hank folded the newspaper in it's original form before getting up.

Rogue rushed over and gave Hank a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much Hank. I need a day to get out. Maybe I'll get a facial or something..."

"Do whatever you need Sweetheart. I'll take care of him for the day and you can have you're little guy again after dinner. Is that okay?"

"That sounds perfect Sugah. As long as you think ya can handle him for 10 hours."

A grin swept over his face. "If I can't, Kurt will surely be of assistance." He picked up Draven from the seat and swung him upside down. Giggles bursted through the kitchen as her son was placed on hank's shoulders. It was an interesting sight to see a small child on a 'beast' of a man like Hank's shoulders tugging at his soft blue fur.

"GO HORSEY GO!"

Laughter could be heard all the way down the hall before the elevator doors closed.


Marie picked up her coffee cup again and sat down at the table, sipping her coffee in peace. It was hard being a single mother living in a mansion with tons of people. Being the independent and stubborn gal that she has always been, she never wanted to bother anyone with asking for help. Draven was a handful... Almost as much as his father.

Shit. No. Not today. "This is mah morning. And mah afternoon. Ah Ain't gunna sit 'round feelin sorry fer mahself or fer Draven. Ah'm gunna worry 'bout mahself today." She muttered to herself as she finished the last of her coffee and walked to the sink. Washing her cup quickly she decided to get out while she still had the offer on the table. Grabbing her purse and her car keys, she went down to the garage. Which car should she take?

She didn't need the Mini-van. Awe hell, the thought of stealing Scott's sports car is not worth getting the lecture when she returned. The black Jeep was staring her in the face. A smile curled on her lips as she ran a hand through her long auburn hair. The virginal white streaks fell in front of her eyes again as she maneuvered herself inside the vehicle.

Turning on the ignition she looked at the clock, 7:35am. Breakfast would be great about now. She pulled out of the garage and headed down the long winding driveway of Xavier's Institute. Turning left and going down the street, she wouldn't know for several hours that there was a distant rumble of a motorcycle coming from the right that is headed to the Mansion.

It was nearly midnight when he had stopped off at a local bar he used to go to. Nothing like getting piss ass drunk to try to numb your emotional pain right? The neon beer signs in the windows gave off a glow that stretched over the concrete in front of the entrance. He had just stepped onto the curb when someone was being thrown out the door and crashed down at his feet.

"AND STAY OUT ASSHOLE!" Logan looked toward the burly man who had hurled the sloppy drunk from the establishment and raised an eyebrow. The man heaved in breath after angry breath and went back into the bar. Logan looked down for a moment, pitying the poor guy who was passed out on the concrete he'd been that guy several times, before stepping over the man and following the burly guy inside.

The place wasn't as small as it looked. Classic Canadian bar. He did a once-over of the inside, surveying how many people were in the room before turning to the bar. "Logan! How've you been man? You haven't been around in ages!" Marty's voice echoed over the juke box and the laughing drunks that filled the space around it.

"Hey Marty." Logan gave a rare smile before taking his leather jacket off, putting it on the back of the chair and raising himself to sit on it. "I know it's been a while. Have been sorta busy." Okay, that was the biggest lie he's told in a while. He's been fuckin' bored out of his mind for the last year and a half. Initially he went back to his cabin in Northern Canada to find that someone had broken into it and trashed the place. While cleaning up the pigsty that those fuckers left for him, he decided that he should expand the cabin by several rooms. For shits and giggles he took his sweet ass time with the project, he finally finished it after 26 months. Everything was finished, the wood inside was replaced and stained. He even hand crafted the furniture

Since then he had been doing nothing but drinking himself into a stupor. He felt empty. Like there was something huge he was missing in his life. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, the feeling that was tearing his heart was too painful to ignore anymore. He missed her. But he wanted to give her a chance to grow up, experience freedom before she ended up tied down to the power-crazy Wolverine... "Whatcha been up to lately ol' boy?" Marty's voice tore him back into reality. He hadn't realized that the friendly bartender slipped his favorite beer into his hand with the cap already off.

He took a long sip of the amber liquid and sighed. "A little of this, a lot of that. Fixed up my Cabin up north. That was a bog ass job." Logan snorted.

Marty was carefully drying a few glasses and then flopped the towel over his right shoulder. "I'll bet."

"How's the business been?"

The Bartender's smirk at how full the bar was on a late Saturday night. "Business has been good. Obviously. So Good that Jaime and I might expand a little."

"Really?" Logan's interest was only slightly peaked. Most of it had to do with the fact that his mind was wondering about how Marie was doing and how damn good the beer tasted.

"Yeah. Jaime's pregnant. We're gunna have twins here in about 5 months!" His face was beaming with pride.

The news was initially a shock, but he was genuinely happy for Marty and his wife. "Congratulations Bub. You guys deserve it. Haven't you guys been tryin' fer a few years now?"

"Yeah, for about 6 now. But now we're finally gunna get to have the little bundles of joy." He was grinning like an idiot. "When are you going to settle down and have a baby of your own, Man?"

Logan was drinking the end of his beer when he said it and it almost made him spit the beer all over the wooden counter. Instead it just made it go down the wrong pipe. Wolverine sputtered. He coughed and after about 30 seconds he was fine. Marty's worried expression seemed to fade as he gave his old friend a glass of water. "I guess that means not any time soon huh?" He smirked and shook his head.

"I ain't saying no... I just think I need to find the right girl damnit." Logan was scowling and he drank down half the glass of water he was given.

"If I can recall correctly, you were almost head over heels for some gal a few years ago. What was her name? Marcy?"

"Marie." Logan growled low in his chest. Was it that noticeable? Thinking about her was painful enough on his own. Having someone else bring her up was just like putting a bow-saw into his chest and turning it on.

"Yeah! That girl. Weren't you datin' her for a while? She seemed to be the apple of your eye for a while. What happened?"

"I left." Logan finished the end of the water and motioned for Marty to give him another beer.

Getting the hint, he grabbed another one for Logan. "Well why the hell you do that?" Marty twisted off the cap and handed him the bottle, a look of utter confusion on his face.

"She needed time to grow up." Logan slipped the top of the bottle into his mouth and started to tip it, letting the frosty liquid wash into his mouth.

"Well, you've been gone a long time my friend. Maybe she moved on by now."

It hit him like a bag of rocks. What if she had moved on? He knew that her feelings for him ran deeper than any abyss could... but what if she got tired of waiting around for him? She was still a kid... a mere 21 years old. Wait.

"Marty what day is today?"

The middle aged man looked at his watch. "April 27th. Technically has been for over an hour."

Shit. He missed her birthday. She was 22 now. Surely she should be old enough by now for him to come back. She wan't going to be happy about his return. But he could have her. Fuck the 'could'. She was going to take him back, even if she didn't want him anymore.

Logan got up suddenly and chugged the rest of the beer. Grabbed his wallet, he threw 20 bucks on the counter in Marty's direction. He nodded to his old friend. "Thanks Marty."

"Where are you running off to now?" His eyebrow rose up in curiosity.

"To go see my girl." Logan gave him a devilish smile as he turned and walked away.

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

It was a hard journey but after almost 7 hours of riding, he finally made it back to the mansion.

The roar of the engine finally ceased as he parked outside of the garage. Logan rose, making the motorcycle raise from the sudden absence of his weight, threw over a leg and strode up to the door. Without bothering to knock, he walked in to find the mansion to still be at ease. It was too early on a Sunday morning for anyone to be awake. He took his time making his way to the kitchen. If he was going to face Marie after 4 years of being gone, he needed a beer. And if she wasn't here... then damnit he was going to need a beer.

During the 7 hour drive, his thoughts were dominated by Marie. The only thing he could think of was why he left and as much as he wanted to justify the fact by telling himself that she needed time to grow up and experience life, he knew in his heart that that was a bullshit reason to leave. The truth of the matter was: He didn't want to be 'tied down'. The big bad Wolverine was tired of having to have the responsibility of caring for someone else, knowing that they were going to eventually die and he would live on. What changed? He realized that he would much rather spend the time that they had together, instead of wasting it away and running from happiness. At the end of the day, he was tried of knowing that he was alone. He was tired of knowing that he would never let himself have the opportunity to start a family. He was tired of forcing himself to detach from the people he cared about. He was tired of running. The Wolverine may want to be free for right now, but the man behind the feral mutant wanted a family. Logan didn't want any other woman. Logan only wanted Marie. His Marie.

When he walked into the kitchen no one was there. He grabbed a beer from the back of the refrigerator, surprised that they even had some and sat down in a chair at the table. He got a light scent of his Marie, the testosterone scent that clearly radiated from Hank, and a smell of someone he hadn't had the pleasure of sniffing yet. He chugged half of his beer when someone happened to *BAMPH* into the kitchen, his blue tail being seen from above the large granite top island. His attentions were obviously buried in the fridge.

"Hey Kurt."

With a crash the half empty gallon of milk that Kurt was holding crashed onto the floor, it's contents seeping from the broken plastic. Kurt was found on top of the refrigerator, staring at the man he didn't know was in the room accusingly and full of fear. "LOGAN! I didn't know you ver going to be here mein freund..." His eyes kept shifting as he continued to look around in uncontrollable panic. "Ven did you get here?"
He jumped off of the fridge and over to the sink where he grabbed a towel to start cleaning up his mess.

Logan rose an eyebrow at Kurt's hasty actions. "Just a few moments ago."

"Oh. Did you have a safe trip?" Kurt started to soak the milk up with a towel and then brought it to the sink to ring it out before soaking it again. It was a decent attempt to look busy, but Logan saw through it anyway.

"If you can call a boring one safe, then yes." Logan sipped his beer again trying to avoid the frustration building inside of him..

There was a few minutes of silence while Kurt cleaned up the milk spill. The silence was enough to make him lose his temper.

"KURT! What the HELL is going on?" Logan's patience was running thin as he watched his old friend throw away the broken milk container after salvaging the last portion of it into a small child-size glass.

"Vat do you mean...?" Nightcrawler looked like he was going to shake all the leaves off of a tree.

"Why are you so damn jumpy? You've never really been afraid of me before! I'm not gunna hurt-" Logan's inquiry was abruptly brought to a halt.

"Kurt what is taking so long with Draven's-" Hank's voice was soft and dwindled to a stop when his eyes met with Logan sitting in a chair at the table, looking like he was going to pop a vein in his neck. He had been letting Draven hang from his left arm playfully as the child giggled madly until Draven noticed the sudden tense silence in the room. Hank lowered his arm the little boy's feet touched back down to the ground and the child detached himself from him, not going far.

It was like looking at a mini version of himself. The child had his black hair, most of his facial features... but there was something about those eyes... he had bright green eyes. And he was very pale...much like someone Logan knew. Then it dawned on him. "You have got to be shitting me." He slipped the words out before thinking.

Hank vocalized in a stern tone, "Nice to see you too Logan. Would you please take into consideration that we have a very impressionable child present and watch your profanity."

Logan stared at the child dumbstruck, his mouth hanging open slightly.

Draven reached up and gently tugged at Hanks lab coat, enough to get his attention. "Hank... Hank... Who's that man?" The child couldn't help but point in Logan's direction.

McCoy's eyes met with the child's innocent and curious ones. "He's a friend of your mother's."

"Oh... MOMMY WON'T BE HOME FOR A LONG TIME!" Draven yelled it across the room, as if Logan was deaf. The ringing in his ears confirmed that he wasn't.

Yeah. He was going to need a lot more beer.

The morning flew by. In the last 6 hours Rogue had gone to get coffee, had a sit down breakfast in a diner, went and got a pedicure, bought herself some new clothes, got Draven a Batman action figure and some new pjs, and now she was browsing around at the Super Wal-mart in town.

Lazily she walked up and down the isles trying to think of things that she needed. She stopped in the make-up section. It had been a while since she wore anything other than cover-up to make the dark circles under her eyes disappear. Maybe a little eye-liner, some eyeshadow...ooh perhaps a lip gloss or two... Shit.

"Ah really gotta think 'bout datin' again." She muttered under her breath, a lot louder than intended.

A woman who looked like she was in her mid 30's was toward the end of the isle, looking at compacts. She looked up. "I beg your pardon? Were you talking to me?"

Rogue flushed in embarrassment. "No no... just trying to convince myself that Ah needta start dating again..."

The lady smiled. "I had to give myself a pep-talk when I had to get back out there to look for Mr. Right. Hell I'm still looking for him. I have tried for the last year and have only gone out on about 10 dates. It's hard when you're a mom trying to pay child support and take care of yourself."

Rogue nodded in agreement. "Mah son is 3. Ah'm a single mothah. The fathah left meh about 4 years ago an' Ah ain't heard from 'im since. Ah highly doubt he even knew he left meh pregnant."

The woman held her hand up to her mouth in disbelief. "Oh hunny, I'm sorry to hear that...My name is Barbara by the way." She walked over and extended her hand to her.

Rogue took it eagerly, her skin under complete control. "Mah name's Marie." It slid out. It was just so easy. The only people who knew her real name was her family, everyone she left behind when she became the Rogue, and of course...Logan..

"It's nice to meet you Marie." Marie. It sounded so nice coming from someone who didn't know anything about her. She didn't feel the need to hide who she really was. Rogue was such an alias that came with all of the discrimination; all of the burden of being a mutant.

"Nice t' meetcha too Barbara." A genuine smile flashed over her face as she removed her hand from that of her new acquaintance.

"Do you live in the area?" Polite conversation just transitioned easily into getting into a little more personal.

"Yeah, actually Ah live about 15 minutes away. In Wes'chester." Marie's attention was brought to the woman's attire. Something casual, navy blue jogging pants and a pale blue blouse. the look complimented her own sense of casual Sunday shopping. She made note of her own clothing: Faded well worn jeans, a black tank top and one of Logan's old green flannels that was unbuttoned. Well, Barbara may be dressed more acceptably than herself, but comfort on a Sunday like this was key.

"Oh, I've been there before. The scenery is great."

"Yeah, it's pretty beautiful." Marie turned and started looking at different shades of eye-shadow. Maybe she could get a nice shade of green to match her eyes... People always told her she looked smashing in green. Was it because she was just pale enough? Along with her dark hair and her brilliant green eyes how could the gal not look good in such a great color?

"What are your plans for tonight?" Barbara asked the question out of the blue. Perhaps it was more polite conversation.

"Oh ah wasn't doin' nothin' special. Mah friends said they'd look after mah son fer meh all day so Ah could get some things done and so ah could go out." She took her cell phone out of her pocket and glanced at the time. 1:27pm. "Ah still got about 7 hours of free babysittin' time t' do whatevah ah need t' do. Been shoppin since 'bout 7:30 this mornin' an' ah'm really just here t' waste a little time and get a few things while I have the chance."

Barbara nodded in understanding. "Well... I don't do this very often, but because we have similar life situations, I was thinking that maybe tonight you would like to join my friends and I for a drink tonight? We were just gunna go grab a martini or something and chat. Hoping to meet a decent guy or two. We'd love it if you came to chat!"

The sudden invitation threw Marie off guard, but hey it's not like you meet women in similar predicaments. Especially not when you get cooped up in a mansion with several hundred mutant students and a child to raise. Shit. When was the last time that she even went out to a bar for a drink? Let loose? Damn. Today had been the most relaxed that she had been in over a year! Like any other single mother who's working, she deserved a life too right?

"Ya know what Sugah, Ah'mma take ya up on that offah. Ah could use a few drinks to end my relaxation day." Marie grinned.

Barbara's face brightened up and her eyes gleamed the same amount of enthusiasm. Lemme give you my cell phone number and we'll discuss the details later tonight.

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

15 minutes later, Marie had purchased her items and was driving home. Her thoughts started to get away from her...

~Ya know, Ah ain't had sex since the last time that Logan stormed out and then Ah found out Ah was pregnant. That fuckin' sucks. Ah can barely remember what it feels like. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit. Ah need ta quit mah whining and go out an' do somethin 'bout it. There is no reason for Logan ta return. He has nothin' here anymore. In his eyes, Ah wasn't a worth while reason fer him staying, so why the hell would Ah be worth comin' back fer? Maybe Ah'm not worth it.~

Tears start to develop in her eyes, but she held them back. She was tired of crying.

~Ya bein' ridiculous Marie. Ya worth crossin at least 6 oceans for. You're a Mommy. Everything Draven has. Ya are the world to another human being who relies on you for survival, for guidance; if that isn't worth nothin' than Ah dunno what is.~

She thought about her energetic son and a smile couldn't help but spread across her lips. There was no doubt in anyone at the Mansion that the Rogue loved her son more than anything else in the world. There would be no limit to the protection that boy had. Not only does he have a mother who is willing to die for him and do anything within her power to save him, but he has hundreds of mutants that would help him in an instant if he was in trouble. It's always been comforting to know that she wasn't alone with Draven. She may feel emotionally alone because she is a single-mother, but physically there are tons of people around willing to help her.

~Fer the last 4 years Ah've been waiting. No, Ah've been hoping...that he would just come back randomly and everything would fall into place. We'd be like we used ta be. In love. And he would fall in love with his son and we can be a happy family, just being together an' lovin' each other. Well Marie, it's been 4 long God Damn years. It's time to move on. Even if he was to come back in a year or so... why wouldcha take him back? Ah may love him, but Ah ain't a damn doormat that he can choose to step on an' off whenevah he wishes. Ah still have a little dignity left.~

"From this day forward, no more hope. No more wishin' fer him t' come back and be the gentle misunderstood man Ah use' ta believed he was. Ah'm gunna start goin' out an' finding Draven a real father. Someone who can love my son and Ah without having the urge to abandon us. Ah deserve that. Yeah Ah do." Her words echoed through the vehicle. They were full of enthusiasm and a passionate yearning to move forward with her life. Just as she finished saying 'Ah do', ironically enough she started pulling into the lengthy gravel driveway to Xavier's school for the gifted, entirely oblivious for the scene that awaited her inside.

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

After parking in the garage, she took the shopping bags upstairs. After such a relaxing day, she just wanted to get into the shower undetected. The mansion was alive with kids downstairs playing games in their rec room, watching Tv, or in general them teasing each other. It was the usual ruckus to be found on a Sunday afternoon. Wanting to avoid the brunt of it all, Marie took the backstairs that lead almost directly to the teacher's wing. All she had to do was take the elevator on the side 2 floors up afterward and *BAM* she would be home free and 25 feet from her door.

The only sounds were the slight rustling of the bags she was carrying. Quickly and with cautiousness she opened the door and silently closed it behind her. Breathing a sigh of relief when the room was empty she walked over to the bed and dropped the packages. Shrugging out of the clothing she wore all day, her legs brought her to the bathroom in her white bra and black panties. There was a song that she had stuck in her head that she was dying to hear again. It played on a radio station a year or so ago and Rogue could't help but go out and buy the album the next time she went to town.

It may have been sorta small but it did what she wanted it to do. She opened the hatch, saw the CD and closed it again, impatiently pressing play and searching for her song. Out of habit she put in on repeat. The gentle riffs poured from the speakers. A sense of relaxation hit her in waves that almost instantly made her sleepy. Turning up a volume a few decibels, the relaxed Rogue walked over to the bed and started taking everything she bought out of the bags. The items she bought for Draven she put on the end of the bed, so that when he walked in, he would instantly see them. After she met Barbara, she made her way over to the women's underwear section and picked out a few sexy thongs and a couple of colorful lace booty-shorts.

"Wear one tonight?... Don't mind if Ah do." She muttered to herself before she turned her actions on automatic and concentrated on the song by Black Label Society, her voice carrying on with it.

Living, fighting, obsessing
Just as long as I can share it all with you
Yesterday, today, tomorrow, come rain, come shine
Hell and back, the beginning in between till' the end of time
All that shines turns to rust
All that stands in time turns to dust

A twisted smile came on her lips as a brightened feeling of understanding washed over her. That was exactly how she had felt about Logan. She hadn't cared about all the negatives about his personality. All of his drinking, smoking, womanizing, the rage that ate him from the inside out; all of it. She hadn't given a damn. She just wanted to be with him. And the bitter truth of all of it was that every shining thing she loved about him recently died within her. All the emotions. All the pain and pleasure she had received from their relationship was dead. Rusted over. The shiniest metal in the world oxidized, never to be polished again at her realization that he was never coming back. Acceptance was all that she had, the acceptance that it was over and that she had her little boy as a reminder of what she thought love was once. Pfft. Love. You never walk out on those you love. Deep caring and infatuation as a naive teenager.

Real love was shining in her son's eyes every single time he uttered the word "Mama." Real love was knowing that she was the universe to her child. Mother is God in child's eyes. If there was anything that she should have hope for, it would be that her son would always love her.

Any feelings of hope that she had for Logan to come back died this morning. It had taken her 4 long years to realize that she was better than that. That she could move on from Logan. He had probably moved on a long time ago. The concept of Logan with other women always hurt her deeply, cut her at her very core, but now she felt numb. Even the word 'Logan' in her head had become numb. It was a sick indifference that she had known was coming. Now that it was here, it was a relief. Marie would rather feel devoid of any emotion than live through all of the pain of the last 4 years being alone all over again.

She laughed to herself weakly and twisted her arms behind her back, undoing the little metal clasps of her bra. It fell to the floor with a soft 'thump' on the dark tile of the bathroom. Bending over she slipped out of her panties and kicked them over to her bra. Ritualistically she pulled back the see-through glass door to the shower, turned on the water nozzle and adjusted the temperature to her liking. The glorious liquid cascaded onto the drain loudly, the song continuing on over the sound of the rushing water. Her delicate fingers pulled up the metal tab from the faucet and the water bursted out of the shower-head. The sight of it was intensely inviting.

One foot raised as she stepped into the bathtub, deliciously warm water poured over her left shoulder as the other foot followed suit. One quick motion of her body and the water ran over her head. Marie instinctively closed her eyes and began to relish in the liquid heat that seeped into her skin and warmed her to the bone. You never really appreciate the simple things in life until life throws you a curve-ball. If something so simple as warm running water could make a girl's day complete, who the hell needs a man?

After a few minutes of luxuriously drenching herself in the water, she finally gave in and grabbed her bottle of shampoo. Pouring a huge palmful into her hand she started lathering her long hair with the cleansing product. Over the last 4 years her hair had grown almost a foot and a half and was nearly to her butt even after she had cut it a few times. It was still magnificently thick despite how much hair she sheds when she brushed it or when she showers. Once more she had dipped her head beneath the shower-head, to wash away the last 24 hours of grime and tiredness from her hair. Once all the suds were gone she reached for her new favorite conditioner. Draven had giggled hysterically 6 months ago the first time she had gotten out of the shower with her hair smelling like ripe peaches. He had grabbed her wet hair and declared, "Mommy smells yummy!" and proceeded to stick her wet hair into his mouth. Rogue laughed in the shower at the memory and slathered her hair in the conditioner. As she reached for her neutral scented shower gel and the loofah, she started to sing the lyrics of the song again despite the fact that this was it's 3rd time playing.

"As above, so below
But you ain't no fool and honey, I'm damn sure that you know
Yesterday, today, tomorrow, come rain, come shine
Hell and back, the beginning in between till' the end of time..."

Washing her body slowly, her hands running over almost every self-visible surface, she continued to sing, without a care in the world, putting her vocals to the test.

"All that shines turns to rust
All that stands in time turns to dust"

The song gently descended into its ending once again and she had began the process of rinsing her entire body to rid herself of all the body wash and conditioner bubbles. Being fully successful in her act, Marie shut off the water and pushed down the metal piece to release it's excess directly into the drain. She opened the fogged up shower door allowing steam to escape, grabbed a medium sized towel, rubbed her face to absorb unwanted water droplets, carefully stepped from the shower onto the black rug in front of the toilet, whipped her hair forward and girlishly wrapped her wet hair up in the towel she was holding. When she straightened her back again, not only was she still dripping wet but she had what looked like an over-sized turban on her head. Without another thought she turned away from the door and leaned into the shower to turn the water on again to give the tub a good rinse-down and to collect her hair from the drain.

Out of habit, she had left the bathroom door cracked open so that she could shower and yet still hear Draven if he needed her in the middle of the night. Very rarely did he ever need anything and even if he did, he knew better than to barge into the bathroom while mommy was in the shower. If he wanted something her little man would normally get out of bed and say 'Mama?' through the door. Old habits are hard to kill.

When she finished rinsing the tub out she turned the water off again and turned back around to throw her lost hairs into the trashcan on the other side of the toilet, the last thing she expected was to see a very impatient, mildly pissed off, mildly aroused, and mildly drunk Logan staring at her exposed body from the now fully open doorway. Turban and all.

~If only the father was as polite and considerate as mah son.~

He kept his distance. The moment that she registered that she was stark naked, she grabbed a bigger white towel from the towel rack and wrapped herself quickly. Not that it really mattered, he had seen her naked a thousand times before he left. It was a privilege he lost the moment he walked out on her.

"It's 'bout time that you got home." He growled. Aggression in every syllable that he spoke. "Where the hell have you been??"

~What no 'Hey baby, Ah haven't seen you in 4 years, how's life been treating you?' or an 'Ah'm sorry Ah left you to emotionally rot in the hell that became ya mind when Ah walked away.' Fuckin prick.~

"That's none of your God Damn business Logan." The words slid from her mouth easily and with hot emotion and it wasn't the good kind.

"The hell it isn't." He crossed his arms and grimaced. It was his sure way of trying to be intimidating. There was no way in hell that that was going to work on her. She knew him too damn well, unfortunately.

"The hell it is! What the hell do ya want from meh?" Her voice bordered on anger, but had twinges of desperation in it. She needed to get out of this room. Suddenly the walls were too small, the air was too humid from the shower, and the bastard was hogging up the doorway. He was here. Why? Why the fuck would he come back now? Just when she decided to give up on him...just when she was going to reclaim her freedom. When her heart couldn't take anymore of his bullshit.

"An explanation would be a great fuckin' place to begin." His eyes cut through her. God when did she suddenly lose the ability to hide how she felt? You would think that she would have had enough practice keeping her emotions in check around people in the last 4 years...

Laughter, she couldn't help but bitterly laugh at him.He had to be joking. "Logan, Ah don't owe you a fuckin' thing. It's not like we're togethah anymore. Ya walked out on meh remebah? Ah don't gotta tell ya a damn thing about mah actions or what Ah do. It's none of ya concern anymore. Ah ain't one of ya concerns anymore."

"You're wrong Marie." He shook his head. The expression on his face showed clearly that he was trying to keep that trademark temper in check. Thus far he hadn't lost it. Nothing more than an aggravated tone of voice and a few growls.

Rogue on the other hand, was about to lose her composure. Every night that she had stayed awake crying because she missed him, because she felt so alone, the long night of tears that were shed the night she found out she was pregnant, the countless hours of questioning why she even bothered to get out of bed after he left... and most of all the pain of being abandoned by the man she loved more than anything else in the world; all started to flood back as excruciating memories. Rogue pulled the wrapped towel off of her head, her damp hair falling all the way down her back in soggy strands, and threw the towel on the tiled floor. "NO LOGAN. Ya wrong. What in Gawd's name do you think gives ya the right t' come in here after 4 years without a damn word of if ya was alright, not a damn phone call to check an' see if Ah was okay, not a letter, no fuckin' postcard, not a single fuckin' shred of contact, and ask meh where the hell Ah was fer the day? What the fuck is wrong with ya?! And when the hell did ya start givin' a damn again?" Her chest was heaving from the intensity of her anger. Her left hand that was keeping the towel up was clutched in her fist tightly. If anyone else would have walked in, they would have seen hellfire and brimstone in her green eyes.

"I came back for you!" The words were out of his mouth before he could even take them back. The choice of words wasn't exactly what should have been chosen at the time being considering how upset she was.

"Bullshit. Ya came back t' see if ya could have a cleared conscience. Ya probably hoped that Ah wouldda got smart and married someone else so that Ah wouldda been someone else's 'responsibility'." Her voice was now full of hatred and disgust.

"Marie..-"

"No Logan. Ya don't get the pleasure of calling me that anymore. Ah ain't Marie. Especially not t' you." Ouch. Nothing like a woman scorned..

"Fine. ROGUE, I left because I didn't think it was the right time for us to be together... You needed time to grow up.. and I just wasn't ready." His voice was dangerously calm, and he looked as though he was choosing his words carefully.

"Ah needed time t' grow up? Ya left meh with no other option Logan. Ya just left me."

"For the record, I didn't know you were pregnant." His eyes looked down, almost as if he was too ashamed to look at her.

"Yeah well, neither did Ah. How do ya think Ah felt when the only man Ah had evah loved walked out on meh, only t' find out a few weeks latah that Ah was pregnant with his child?" She loosened her death grip on the towel because she was cutting off the circulation to her fingers and made a move toward him, now that she was almost completely dry it would be nice if she could get dressed.

"If I would have known Ma-Rogue... You know I would have been back here in a heartbeat." His eyes met with her face and a glimpse of sadness shined in her eyes before her anger came back.

"Well, it's too damn late for that now isn't it?" A look of frustration gave him the incentive to move out of her way when she obviously wanted to make it into their room. No. it wasn't their room anymore. It was her and Draven's. There would be no way in hell that she would let him sleep in this room anytime soon.

"I'm here now." He uncrossed his arms. He started looking around the room that she stood in, taking in all of the changes since he had been away.

Rogue opened her dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants. Almost slamming it closed. Tearing open another one to take out a tank top. "Have ya lost touch with ya hearing? Ah said it's too damn late Logan. There is nothing you can d' t' change mah mind. Ah don't want ya here. An' Draven doesn't even know ya. We don't want anythin' ya have t' offer." Regret filled her heart the moment the words left her mouth. She knew she was over-reacting... but now she was just being overly-cruel.

"I don't give a rat's ass what you say. I'm not leaving. No matter how much you may hate me." Suddenly she couldn't stand to look at him. She turned her back to him and stared at the clothes she pulled out of the dresser, not saying anything in response.

He resisted the urge to touch her shoulders. Didn't she know that this was killing him? He didn't come here to make her upset... he came to make everything right. Now he has a little boy who is a spitting image of himself running around. Doesn't she understand that he cannot walk away from that?

A few more moments of agonizing silence came about before he spoke again. Logan's voice was low, nearly a whisper, but she heard every word.

"I never stopped loving you Marie and I never will."

Her eyes started to burn. She was about to turn around and respond when she heard the door close quietly. Marie didn't have to turn around to know that he had left her. She didn't think that she could feel anything more heartbreaking than when he walked out on her the final time...but she was wrong. This hurt so much worse.

In all of the arguing, the repeated song had been forgotten entirely. It was the only noise that was heard from Marie's room.

All that shines turns to rust
All that stands in time turns to dust

Finally she gave into the burning sensation in her eyes and broke the promise that she made to herself... as one lonely tear slid down her cheek with Logan's name on it.

The scent of her salty tears permeated through the door. Logan stood there for a full two minutes, trying to will himself to walk away, knowing that her tears were because of him...Again.
~ "How do ya think Ah felt when the only man Ah had evah loved walked out on meh, only t' find out a few weeks latah that Ah was pregnant with his child?" ~ He didn't let a single emotion show. It was just too hard. If she really knew the anguish that he went through every day to stay away... if only she knew how many god damn times he had picked up the receiver in a phone booth and dialed the mansions number. He had spent every night alone. Just as alone as she had been. She was in his thoughts every minute of every damn day. Even when he wanted to get his rocks off, he could barely perform. All he ever saw before his eyes was her. In his dreams she haunted him. No longer was he thrashing around in his sheets because of the terrors of being submerged in a liquid, hundreds of lengthy needles digging into flesh, the pain, the agony of it all no longer compared to the yearning he had for the love of his life. Night after night she would slip into his dreams. The softness of her southern accent flowing over him like honey. The brightness in her eyes, every single cell shining with her love for him. Only for him to wake up to an empty bed. Stale sheets of the hotel room bed. Alone.

Over and over again he repeated this process until he was near madness. Every day he would drink himself into a stupor. Every night he would go to the bar, fight his hardest, win enough money to drink himself into another stupor the next day. He tried not to sleep. He tried not to dream of his lovely Marie smiling and laughing happily. He missed her too much. He loved her too much. But try as he might, he knew that it wasn't the right time to go back to her. Or at least that's what he thought.

Through the door he heard her sob. She was completely losing it. As much as his heart was breaking he couldn't bring himself to turn around, swing open the door and give her the comfort that she had been seeking for the last 4 years. His pride wouldn't allow it. His fucking pride never allowed it.

So Logan did the one thing that he knew that he could always do and get away with; he started walking in the opposite direction.

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His feet eventually brought him into the kitchen to get another beer. Yup. There he was again, using alcohol as a crutch to run away from his emotional pain. He really shouldn't be around anyone right now. It was very likely that the next person to say the wrong thing was going to get at least 3 new holes to breathe from. When the pop from the cap sounded, so did the sudden shrill cry of Draven from the other room.

Logan's adrenaline was instantly flowing through his veins. He dropped the beer on the counter, it knocked over and the amber liquid poured over the white marble. Eventually making its way to the edges and dripped onto the floor. The mess went unnoticed. In seconds he had run into the rec room with his claws unsheathed. Draven was on the floor, crying like there was no tomorrow. When his blurry eyes met with the adamantium claws from across the room, he instantly quieted, but the tears continued to pour down his innocent face. Logan's eyes scanned the room, The only occupant was Jubilee. Yellow outfit and all. Popping bubble gum and watching MTV. She seemed completely unaware of the sudden cries of the child.

"What in God's name are ya doin' Yellow? You gunna ignore him until he turns blue??" Jubes jumped up from the couch and looked at the sheer anger in his eyes.

"WOLVIE! I..I...I Didn't know you were here.. Rogue.. uhmm.. she doesn't mind if I watch him..." Her studdering was complimented by the instant shaking of her knees. It was surprising that Jubes was one of the few people who didn't know that Logan was back at the mansion. His anger and sudden materialization freaked her out. As if his rage didn't scare her enough. But this is the first time that she had ever been caught doing nothing to sooth his cub...

"Watch him cry himself to death? What is wrong with ya Kid?? If he's cryin' there's gotta be a reason fer it!" He sheathed his claws and crossed the room to the sobbing child. Without a second thought, he picked the child up and held him up in his left arm, holding the toddler close to him. The sobs quieted further and now the tears had gone from streams to the occasional raindrop. Logan bounced him up and down a few times and made a low manly cooing sound. His right hand gently scratched Draven's tummy, his voice surprisingly tender, "What's wrong little guy? Why are you crying?"

Draven's hands went to his eyes, rubbing them viciously. "I...I want my MOMMY!" The tears started to go into streams once more. Shit. That was the last thing he wanted to do, was go back upstairs to a distraught Marie. She needed a little more time to herself.

"Well, Mommy's in the shower right now. Ya wanna come with me to the kitchen? Wanna grab a snack?" Logan didn't even want to look at the shocked expression that he knew was on Yellow's face.

Draven looked at him with big green eyes as he sniffled. "Mmmokay." Logan gave a smile of relief and one of slight happiness. He may not know how to be a father... but damnit it was hard to resist the cuteness of his son. Without a word to a smirking Jubes, he exited the rec room and headed toward the kitchen, the kid's small hands cluthing his green flannel shirt.

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Okay. Time to play Daddy. This can't be too hard. Make sure the kid is clean, dressed, breathing, fed and getting sleep. The big bad Wolverine could handle this. Right?

"So... what kind of snack do you want?"

"Pizza!"

Logan opened the fridge and the freezer. No pizza in sight. Damn.

"No pizza."

"Lazaanya!"

His eyes did another swoop of the fridge. No lasagna. Shit.

"No Lasagna."

"COOKIES!"

Logan frowned. Marie might kill him if he gave the kid sugar right before dinner.

"No cookies."

"...No cookies?"

Well I'll be damned. The kid has the most adorable pout... I'm almost tempted to give him a cookie...

"What about fruit? You like fruit?"

Draven clapped his hands and swung his feet back and forth over the side of the counter next to the fridge. Logan looked to his left and raised his eyebrows and closed the doors. "I guess that's a yes."

The child nodded enthusiastically.

"What kind do you want?"

"Nannar."

"Nannar? What the hell is a...oh." He turned around to the fruit rack and grabbed a banana. A stride and a half and he had handed it to the child then went to the sink to dampen a washcloth to clean up his beer spill. He was halfway through cleaning up the counter when he noticed the child was just staring at the fruit in his hand. "Why aren't ya eating it?"

"It's not naked."

"WHAT?" Did he just say what I think he said?

"It needs to be naked." Draven looked up at him with a definite stubborn face. Like father like son.

Then it hit him. He didn't peel the damn thing. Duh. He quit soaking up the beer with the rag and wiped his hands on his jeans, walked over, took the banana and popped the top of it off, ripping the peel down its side. "There you go kid. Chow time."

"Thank you." 3 years old and he's already polite. Logan shook his head and laughed. This kid was a trip. No. He needed to refer to stop referring to Draven as 'this kid', he was my kid. Is my kid. Will always be my kid. Just as he was turning around again, "Wait!"

"Hmm?"

"Do ya want first bite?" Considering he was a meat, beer, meat, beer, and more meat and beer kind of a guy... he was going to decline the offer. But Draven was so enthusiastic about it. He was smiling like it was Christmas morning and he got just what he asked for from Santa.

"Sure kid." Logan bent down and grabbed a bite of the banana. Amazingly enough, Draven started to giggle. The littlest things amused him. With a mouth full of banana Logan thanked him.

"You're very welcome."

As he chewed, Logan couldn't stop smiling. In one day he had become a father. And he loved it thus far. It was amazing how easy it was to love a child. To love his child. Draven took a bite of the banana and swung his feet. The mess. Yeah. Gotta clean that up or Kitty might freak out. Fuckin' clean freaks. He wiped off the counter and went back to the sink. Wrung out the rag, rinsed it, and wrung it out again. Now for the floor. He bent down and got on his knees, wiping the side of the marble island off before getting the small puddle on the tile.

"Mr Logan?" Logan started to rise from the floor.

"Yeah kid?"

"Are you my Daddy?"

*THUD* Logan had jerked up at the question and hit the corner of the island with his head. Giving him an instant head ache. "MOTHER...TRUCKER! God In heaven! That hurt!" He straightened himself and his right hand instantly started rubbing the sore spot on his head which was now easing into a dull throb.

"Answer me." Draven crossed his arms in defiance, the empty banana peel still in his hand, now being squished to his chest.

"...ermm.. look kid..."

"Are you my Daddy?" His expression didn't change. Shit. He really was his father's son....

"Yes."

A few seconds of silence. So very awkward.

"Good."

Logan's eyes widened and he laughed.

"Why is that good?"

"...'cause I like you."

Logan snorted. He snorted with laughter. The big bad Wolverine SNORTED.

"I like ya too kiddo."

It had only taken Rogue a few minutes to recollect herself. She put on the sweat pants she pulled out, unwrapped her long hair from the towel letting them fall in to damp ringlets, pulled the tank top over her head and walked into the bathroom again. She hung the 2 wet towels over the shower rod to dry and defogged the mirror with a swipe of her hand. Her emerald eyes gazed at her face. In four years she had gone from the fun-loving girl with a million smiles for one person to a woman who looked like she had aged with wisdom and years of painful experiences. It was the same girl who had looked into the same mirror after long nights between the sheets with the Wolverine. It was the same woman who looked into the same mirror every morning after her son had stayed up until the wee hours of the morning crying his little heart out.

Marie wasn't soft anymore. She had callosed over the years. Didn't smile nearly as often as she had in her youth. The little things didn't make her grin like an idiot anymore. She had learned to roll with the painful punches life jabbed at her. It gave her strength... or so she thought.

One sudden appearance from Logan and her world had flipped around. He came back. Out of the fuckin' blue. Was she supposed to be prepared to see him again? If she was, then she got the short end of the damn stick. Hell, she didn't even get a damn stick. If he thinks that she is going to fall into his arms again and be willing to be the love-struck Marie he used to know... that fucker had another thing coming. Marie smiled deviously to herself in the mirror before turning and leaving the bathroom.

She noticed her cell phone on the bed side table as she walked past it. Swooping it up she opened it and started going through her contact list. She stared at Barbara's number for a few moments before hitting the call button and putting the phone to her ear. 4 rings and Barbara's voice came from the phone.

"Hey Barbara, it's Marie."

"Oh hi! So did you decide if you're coming with the girls and I tonight or not?"

"Yeah. Ah need a night out with some gals who are in mah kinda situation. Maybe Ah'll get lucky an' meet a guy."

"Great! I was going to get in the shower and finish getting ready after I make the kids dinner. So meet us at the Blue Moon at 8?"

"Sure. That's notta problem." Marie smiled to herself.

"I'll text you when I leave."

"Alrighty."

"See you soon then."

"Bye."

"Bye."

The phone snapped close with a sound of finality. The clock on the night stand read 5:23pm. 2 1/2 hours. That would be plenty of time to get ready, see Draven for a little while and have someone put him to bed for her.

She flipped open the phone again and punched in a number she memorized years ago as she quickly turned into the bathroom again. As it rang, Rogue opened the cupboard under the sink and pulled out her hot rollers set and set it on the sink.

"Yellow?"

"Jubes, d' ya still got that black bombshell in ya closet with the matching shoes?"

"Yeah Chicka, why?"

"Ah'm goin' out tonight an' Ah need t' make mahself look hot."

"Are we talkin I need a tall glass of ice water in my pants or something that would melt the devil's eyebrows off?"

"Both."

"Damn Chicka You're serious."

"As a heart attack."

"Is Wolvie going to like this idea of you going out tonight?"

"Like Ah give a fuck?"

It's amazing how easily Rogue could see the shit-eating grin on her face over the phone.

"Okay Chicka. You want my help?"

"Ah'll give ya 10 minutes t'getcha ass in mah room."

"I'll be there in 6."

"That's mah Jubes."

"Yeah yeah yeah."

"Bye."

Again she snapped her phone closed. Quickly she plugged in the hot rollers and grabbed one of her big brushes, setting her attention on her hair.

To hell with Logan. She was going to live her life the way she wanted to. And she was going to do it while looking sexy as hell.