Logan cringed and pulled the blankets tighter around him. He started opening and closing his throbbing hand. He heard the others on the team walking down the stairs and past the TV room he was in. Scott glanced in as he walked past, then stopped and looked again. “Scott?” Jean murmured.

Scott laughed, “Wow Wolverine, you burrowing down for winter? Hibernation is good for the grumpy bears, I hear!”

Logan grunted as he sat up and winced as he forced his body to his feet. “Fuck off, One-Eye.” He growled as he slowly made his way to the elevator.

“He’s got the growling down.” Scott said as they walked into the kitchen. Ororo and Jean laughed as the walked in.

Rogue stood at the counter pouring hot water into a heating pad and sticking it into a box with the others. She could hear what went down and was pissed, but bit her tongue from saying anything.

“Sounds like the hibernation hasn’t helped much.” He smirked

Hearing the smugness in his voice made her grit her teeth as she walked to the fridge. She looked up and saw the lone metal ice cream scoop some child had left in the freezer. She stared at it a moment and then ran a gloved finger over it, as the others were chortling at Scott’s reference. She ran her bare finger down the scoop once more as it reminded her of what he must be feeling right now.

Only one thought hung in her brain ‘No more’, and with that she grabbed the ice-chilled scoop from the freezer and walked up to Scott. With no warning she grabbed his sleeve at the shoulder and ripped it off his arm.

Jean lurched out of her chair “Rogue…”

Not shifting her attention towards the furious red head, she stayed focused on the struggling Scott. He tried to twist out of her hold, but he was no match for her strength or her rage. She pressed the frozen scoop against his bicep. “Feel that?” she grit out, “Metal… cold metal…” she moved it slightly and he gasped at the chill, “Imagine your bones covered in it.”

“Rog...” he squirmed again in her unyielding grip.

She interrupted him and went on as if he hadn’t spoke, “You see the thing about going on missions day after day, and diving in ice water to save one of your own is… the metal starts to get cold… no break in the relentless schedule… no time to warm up.” She looked at Jean, “Tell them what happens to a body in the stages of hypothermia, doctor…”

Jean’s jaw dropped but no sound came out.

“No? Well I’ll tell you.” She focused back on Scott, “The blood doesn’t go to the extremities. It stays in the core trying to keep the vital organs functioning. Without the warm blood though, the joints in his arms and legs start to get chilled and stop working properly, making it hard to move. Healing factors work in over time to try and cure the freezing muscle, making it feel like knives are being thrust in. The over use of a healing factor makes you tired and dizzy, but the unrelenting cold doesn’t allow you to sleep.” She turned the scoop to the front keeping him chilled, “His head is metal too, so his blood tries to keep his brain warm and the constant change in temperature gives him a massive headache.” She closed her eyes trying to keep back the tears, “Then, as if his pain wasn’t enough, his blood, that’s working so hard to warm him, is being spilled to save YOU. And as if it wasn’t enough, as if it meant nothing; you mock him!”

She tore the scoop away and threw it to the table if front of them. She stepped back, still glaring. “The difference between you and me, Cyke, is that I don’t sit back and watch a suffering friend, stumble in pain. And I sure as hell don’t stab him in the back, like all of you screw ups! I would have thought someone with so much knowledge of weather, or a doctor understanding health, or a team leader looking out for his team would fucking notice when one is hurting!” She turned back toward the counter, “Or maybe, that’s it… you just don’t fucking care.”

There were tears in Ororo’s eyes, and some pouring down Jean’s cheek, “Oh God, I’m…”

“Shut up! I only have one more thing to say to you… I hear any of you saying ANYTHING to him and I use every bit of my strength when I deck you… and I’ll make sure to spit on you as you heal. Just like your doing to him… to hell with all of you!” She turned and put all the heated up, therapeutic cloth pads from the oven into a box. She grabbed some mugs and took the whole steaming kettle. The box strap was thrown over her shoulder and she stomped out leaving the three to reflect.

They soon heard Rogue talking to a child outside the door, “Miss Rogue?”

Rogue let her fury calm and knelt down, the box’s corner brushing the floor. “What’s up, Sugar?”

Mitzy stood there wringing her hands; she produced heat and saw things around her as the color of their heat intensity when she used her mutation. “Well… Mr. Logan isn’t right. He doesn’t look the normal color.”

Rogue sighed, “I know sugar, Mr. Logan is sick right now… and cold”

Mitzy brightened, “I could sit beside him! I’ll be super warm, he’d like that right?”

“Right.” Rogue smiled “Tell ya what, I’ll fly you up there and you can share a mug of cocoa with me. What do you say?”

Mitzy clapped, “Yes! We’ll make him all better!”






Rogue smirked at the picture they presented, “Does it feel better, Mr. Logan”.

“Yeah Pipsqueak, feels real good.” Mitzy scrunched her glowing shoulders and curled up tight to Logan’s back. Logan smiled softly at Marie, “Thanks, Kid.”

Marie nodded at him and sipped her cocoa. She smiled back when she saw him flexing his hand and finally sighing in content.

“Mr. Logan?”

“It’s just Logan for you Pipsqueak, we’re a team now, right?”

“A team? Like how the X-men are?” she hugged his bicep when he flexed his arm and glowed a little brighter.

“Nah, like a family; you, me and Marie. We take care of each other, no matter what.”

“Like today, when you saved me from being taken back to the lab?”

“Yeah kid, and like you are now for me.”

The room was silent for a while as Logan looked into Marie’s tear filled eyes. She smiled brightly at him and mouthed the words ‘I love you’.

When Mitzy finally piped up, “I like being in a family, I think ours is the best ever, right?”

Marie set down her mug and crawled in next to Mitzy, “Right, Sugar!” and after a soft hug for Mitzy, and interlacing Logan’s fingers of one hand with their own they all drifted off. Logan finally warming, Mitzy between the parent figures she so desperately needed and Marie finding a home within their hearts.

Marie opened her eyes and saw a tuft of black hair tickling her nose, and a pulse of heat warming her up. She glanced up at the clock to see that it wasn’t quite five yet.

Snuggled between her and Logan was Mitzy, who was currently using Logan’s arm as a pillow, while his other hand was linked with hers along Mitzy’s side.

Glancing over Mitzy’s head Marie looked at the relaxed face of her true love, finally sleeping soundly. Thoughts of his recent struggle to sleep brought the missions up clearly in her memory.

~~Flashback~~
Logan kissed her hard and whispered to be careful, as she ran to the back of the plane to enter a sealed back compartment that would allow her and Storm to leave the plane without screwing up the pressure in the cabin.

Storm’s eyes were already white as she called forth her control to ease their flight. After receiving Storm’s nod she threw a lever that released the back hatch, and without missing a beat, crossed her arms and fell backwards out of the plane.

It didn’t matter how many times she’d done it, the wind slamming her face and the uncontrolled initial fall always scared the hell out of her. Free falling wasn’t something she enjoyed and was more than happy to collect her run away stomach as she gained control and flew on her own power.

She glanced back to see Storm gathering herself as well, and shortly there-after fog started to hide their decent to the facility below. Rogue touched her com link to open the line, “We’re in the clear sugar… Ah’ll make sure you get a boom to let ya know it’s safe to land!”

Her com link fizzled before Scott’s voice came on, “Stealth Rogue, we’re going for stealth.”

“Ahh, gee sugar… they capture our little ones and you wanna play nice? Can’t say Ah agree, but Ah’ll be just as sweet as Ah can… promise!” Rogue winked at Storm who smirked. Scott knew when the accent came out she was up to something… and he was fairly sure, he wasn’t going to like it.

Ten minutes later, a massive boom was heard before a fire ball flew straight up, Scott rolled his eyes as the com link came back, “See sugar, Ah’m warmn’ this place up! What with all this freezing weather, they’ll thank me! Ah’m sure of it. Told you Ah’d play nice.”

Logan and Beast smirked at each other as Scott stared bringing down the jet, when suddenly they heard a gasp, “Guys, their weapons look kinda scary… ain’t nothing I’ve seen before.”

“Scott, their plasma rays!” Storms voice flashed over the radio.

“Rogue, DON’T ENGAGE without back-up! Do you copy?”

Then suddenly Rogue’s outraged voice, “Damnit! Bastards, those are kids in there!”

They heard a male mumbling over the com, but it was too gibberish to make out, “Mutie freaks, huh? Let me show you how to play with someone your own size!”

Laser lights shot through the fog and a solid slam before the com screen flashed ‘Rogue link deactivated’ in red.

“Fuck, land this shit Cyke! Where the hell is Storm?”


“This is Storm! Scott hurry, she’s taking out the front line defense… but I don’t think she’s totally immune to those guns… she’s …Oh goddess, HURRY.”

“Landing now, on our way!”

The sight made them suck in their breath, Rogue ripped off the gun on a tank she’d over turned, and rammed it into a sentinel that was heading for the armored truck with the kids inside. She was still too far away when a Sentinel came up from behind her out of the fog and slammed its arm into her, throwing her into the facility guard wall. Scott blasted one as he ran forward as another sent a shock wave from its palm at him. It forced his body back and over the bridge to the icy waters below.

“Scott!!!” Jean screamed as another Sentinel locked on her. Kitty grabbed her and phased them threw the hand of the metal giant. She looked back to the bridge and saw Logan dive over, hoping that he’d reach him in time she used her powers to throw a tree into the head of the sentinel incapacitating it.

Rogue ripped off the head of another but was knocked out from the metal robot blowing up under her. Quickly another grabbed her, “Target acquired!” a robotic drone called out and started to fly off.

Logan not seeing the event as he pulled himself back over the bridge clawed a leg out from under a robot aiming for Jean and Kitty. As it fell back he saw Jean pointing up and glanced that way. Streaks of brown and white were blowing around from the palm of one that was lifting off.

“Wolverine, NO!” Jean screamed as he grabbed its leg and used his claws to hack it off. The sentinel started to swing drastically, the left jet not able to control its lift off. It fell back and was thrust into the damaged facility by the remaining jet on its left foot.

“Fall back!” Storms voice came over the com… Logan ignored it as he dove for the hand holding Rogue. Jean watched as everything seemed to go in slow motion as Logan, holding Rogue was sent over the bridge from a blast. Back into the freezing waters, she heard the jet’s engines roar to life as Storm frantically tried to give them an out… an escape.

Kitty, Bobby, Beast and Kurt filed into the jet and she eventually followed, yelling to Storm that they had three over the bridge. Storm stiffly nodded and raised the Jet in that direction. “We’ll have less than 20 seconds… make it quick!”

Jean ran to the ramp, and watched stupefied as Logan dragged Scott behind him with Rogue draped over his shoulder towards the jet. She lifted Scott with her mind and brought him safely in as Logan climbed the ramp.

He collapsed beside Rogue and watched as Jean wrapped them in heated blankets. She started rubbing Scott’s chest to warm him, but turned as Rogue moaned, shaking off the effects of the explosion.

“’Ro the kids… are they safe?” Rogue slurred.

“Oh Goddess, the children!” Storm gasped.

“MARIE, stay here. We’ll get ‘em” Logan urged.

“No, sugar… you need my strength” she gave him an exhausted smirk as she stood and the stumbled back into the snow after the abandoned truck. Rogue ripped off the doors and grabbed two of the oldest as Logan grabbed Mitzy and another young student.

Beast and Nightcrawler got the kids buckled in as Storm flew off… no one noticed how pasty and blue-lipped Logan and Rogue were, or the fact that Logan barely was wearing a uniform. Hell, they thought, that was normal of the geeks to not think anything of the healer and indestructible one. Logan grabbed Mitzy who was sobbing and clung to him. Marie crawled beside them and laid her head on his shoulder as they both closed their eyes.
~~end of flashback~~

That had been the start of that nightmare facility… there had been missions to bring down the facility the next two nights as the x-men rotated out. Except for Logan, …somehow he had been called to go all 3 times.

“Ungrateful, bastards!” her whispered outraged words woke Logan, who simply smiled and whispered back,

“Ain’t that the name of the game, darlin’?” He shrugged lightly, as to not wake Mitzy, who they’d both bonded with after bringing her here 6 months ago, “Not gonna kill me, Marie.”

“You ain’t indestructible… you can hurt, you could be killed.”

“That’s true for any of us freaks,” he murmured, “but I heal.”

“No excuse, they treat you like a pawn or ace card they have in their back pocket. They ain’t got no right!”

“Let it go, Marie. We’re safe and the knuckle-head here is too. We did alright.”

Marie smiled, “You love her, Logan. Knuckle-head or not.”

“Love you, darlin’”

“Love you too, sugar” and Marie’s brow was still creased with concern and aggravation until she was finally able to follow Logan back to sleep.

Mitzy update: I had a reviewer mention that she didn’t like ‘knuckle-head’ as much as say ‘pip-squeak’. She is totally RIGHT! My reasoning in the beginning was that it is a common reference in Canada used for the young in the two areas I usually visit. However, she is correct and I wasn’t happy when I wrote it at the time. I’ve looked up other names and I love Doodle Bug, for Marie to call her… as you’ll see. Then I thought of Firefly for Mitzy’s nickname from Logan. THANKS Wendie!!!!!

~~~

Ororo quickly made her way to Logan, who was currently exiting the danger room with Marie “Logan!” She slowed when he turned, “Might I have a word?”

Logan shrugged and leaned against the wall of the sub-basement.

“Understandably I have no excuse for such unforgivable behavior as I have shown these past weeks. But, I would ask your forgiveness anyway. You are a dear friend, and I apologize for being anything but appreciative of all you’ve done for us, and the mansion.”

“No worries ‘Ro.” He shrugged again and walked into the showers to grab his stuff before heading up to their room for a shower.

Marie obviously didn’t share the sentiment as she glared quietly at the Goddess.

“Rogue, I’m sorry for my behavior towards you as well. I had earned your words to set us straight. I appreciate you bringing it to my attention. I do truly regret it.”

Marie sighed, she knew the goddess meant it, but she had a hard time swallowing a verbal apology. “He ain’t a machine ‘Ro. Try remembering that when you and Scott assign and hand out missions to the team.”

“Of course, it will not happen again.”

****************************************
Marie was all but ripping her work-out uniform off in her anger, “How do you just let it go, Logan? That ain’t near enough to make up for it! They’ll just do it again if you let them!”

Logan caught her furious hands by the wrists and his thumb massaged gentle circles against her palm. “They aren’t that bad, Marie. I’ve been used for worse, and at least they have good intentions.”

“Yeah? Well fuck their ‘good intentions’, those ‘good intentions’ almost got you killed!” although there was obvious anger in her voice, her body had started to relax at his gentle ministrations.

He sighed, “It ain’t nothing I can’t handle.” He kissed her gently and tugged softly at her white streak, “Tell ya what, why don’t we do that trip to Alaska you’ve always wanted. Just you, me and the Firefly off on a bonafide family vacation!”

Marie laughed her stance finally easing completely, “Bona fide? Really Logan, do you even know what ‘bona fide’ means?”

He smirked, “Nah, but it sounded good.” He unclasped her bra and she looked down surprised to see he’d undressed her during her ranting. “Ready for that shower now?”

She sighed, “Yeah, but don’t think I’m going to forget this vacation idea. No massage or make-out session will save you now!” she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself as they headed to the bathroom where steam was wafting out the half closed door.

Logan followed her into the shower and wrapped his arms around her waist as she wet her hair, “Don’t want out of it, Marie.” He murmured when her head was no longer under the spray. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, wouldn’t mind the break. His skilled hands started to roam to her breasts as he pulled her back against his body.

She smiled softly, “You deserve a break, sugar! I’m all for spending time with you… helpin’ ya ‘relax’ a little” He jolted when she slid her hand behind her back and wrapped it hand around him, giving him a gentle squeeze.

He thrust into her hand a little and buried his face into the side of her neck, nipping her gently with his teeth. Her head fell back leaning on his shoulder as his hand slid down her body and between her legs.

Marie moaned and arched into his hand, while her hand squeezed on reflex drawing a groan from him. “Bed?” she whispered breathlessly.

“Here.” He murmured before spinning her and pushing her against the shower wall.

Her hands fisted in his hair when she wrapped her legs around his hips. She tried to push him in her once he was lined up, but he drew back. “Trying to be gentle here, Marie. That ain’t gonna help me keep in check.”

Marie moaned, “Gentle later, hard and fast now!”

“Fuck,” he thrust into her to the hilt, “Still sure?”

“God, yes! More Logan!”

He smirked tightly and gave her a predatory look, “Just remember, you asked for it!” and he started pounding into her until he had to kiss her hard to muffle her scream of completion, quickly followed by his growl as he bit her neck with one last thrust.

~~2 Days Later~~

“What’s a starter?” Mitzy asked as she leaned up on her tip toes to peer under the hood.

“Turns the car over…” he was prying at a bolt that was starting to piss him off.

“The whole thing?! Upside down? Wow!”

Logan suddenly listened in as he was confused by her response, “What? Oh… no, just turns over the ignition, means it starts the car.”

“Don’t you need it then? Seems awful important, maybe you shouldn’t take it out.”

Logan smirked, “Yeah kid, it’s important. That’s why I needed to put this one in… the other one ain’t workin’ no more.”

“Oh…” she was still watching with rapt attention on her little toes.

“Tell you what, Firefly.” He scooped her up, “Why don’t you sit in here and turn the key this way, when I say to.” Her eyes were wide as she touched the key gently.

“K, I can do it.”

“Just don’t do it before I say, K?”

“Yes, OK… when you say.” She squirmed in the driver’s seat to her knees. She had both hands on the wheel gently and was looking out the windshield at the raised hood.

Logan smirked and returned to the frustrating bolt.

*****

“Where have you two been?” Marie inquired.

Mitzy was grasping the material of Logan’s jeans near his knee, “We was fixin’ your car!”

Marie glanced up at Logan, “You fixed the starter in the jeep?”

Logan shrugged as he walked by to the fridge, “Wasn’t nothin’. Needs to be running good for the road.”

She touched his arm and smiled, “Thanks, Sugar.”

“It’s already for the trip. Should see us there.” Mitzy got very still for a moment, then leaned her head against Logan’s thigh still clinging to his jeans. Logan glanced down at her, “you ok half-pint?”

“Uh huh.” She whispered, but her trembling little lip and downcast eyes gave her away.

Marie’s brow creased in confusion, then her eyes widened before sinking down to her knees on the floor. “Hey now, Doodle Bug. You don’t think we’d leave without you, do you?”

Mitzy shrugged, “Maybe I thought that, … maybe.”

Marie smiled, “We ain’t leavin’ you behind! We’re a family, remember?”

Logan smirked down at her when she snuck a glance up at him to see if he agreed, “Yeah, way I hear it is ‘someone’ has a birthday soon.”

Mitzy smiled a little and her eyes lit up, “I do!”

Marie smiled, “Heard this birthday girl was turning 5, you know who that might be?”

Mitzy started to bounce on her toes, “Yes, it’s me, I’m the birthday girl!”

Logan raised a brow, “Marie here seems to think you might want to go to Alaska for your birthday, with us. Course it’s up to you and all, but I thought we might have a special day, just us to celebrate.”

“YES! I want to go!”

Marie smiled, “I even looked up some places you can choose from to go for your birthday, like the zoo, or aquarium…” she sent an evil smirk to Logan, “And the birthday girl gets to choose where we ALL go! Even Logan has to for your birthday.”

Mitzy’s little shoulders scrunched up as she covered her mouth to hide her giggles, when Logan let out a long-suffering dramatic sigh.

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

So much for complete! I guess now I’m on a roll … I’m thinking of putting on the vacation and figuring out a way to have Scott and Jean make it up to Logan. Any thoughts?