After the Alcatraz Island battle against the Brotherhood, Marie graduated from Xavier’s school even though she no longer had a mutation anymore. Ororo thought it was only fair to let her graduate with the rest of her class even though she had taken the cure. The day after graduation, she had talked Marie into helping to teach the incoming students in September. The school was still greatly understaffed and the battle hadn’t made recruiting teachers any easier. Plus all the graduates would have to move out of the school to make room for the overflow of new incoming students. The school had an upswing in calls for admission after Alcatraz Island. Marie generally seemed happy to help, since Xavier was so generous to take her in, and help save her from his former close friend now arch enemy. She felt she should give back some of her time to the school to help other mutants find opportunities to learn about the world they had to share with people that may or may not accept them.

Marie didn’t make college plans because, though she had taken the cure, she was still afraid of what could happen in a classroom were the cure to fail and the possibility of accidental contact with her skin. Jubilee talked her into taking online classes like she and the other graduates were. She breathed easier because she could have the best of everything; she could take the classes, help out Ororo by becoming a teacher, move out of the school into an apartment with Jubes and Kitty. She wasn’t sure if there would still be a place for her on the X-Men team because even though she was no longer a mutant. Marie told Ororo about Scott teaching her how to pilot the X-Jet while he tried to deal with the loss of Jean. It was hard but, she tried to cheer him up while he tried to teach her the basics.

Ororo approved Marie’s plans wholeheartedly and was glad all the graduates agreed to move out. Since Alcatraz, she had to make room for an influx of new mutant rescues and students. Over the summer, some of the old staff rooms were being turned into rooms for some of the younger mutants, where bunk beds could easily double the room capacity to 4 instead of 2 per room. Professor Munroe didn’t care that the former students she had asked to teach had no degrees in education or enough qualifying credentials. She knew they would do their best to make sure the subjects that they were taught would be passed on to the new students. Dr. Moira Kinross MacTaggert stepped in to become the co-doctor team at the school with Dr. Hank McCoy. The person she needed was Logan for security and defense… But Ororo couldn’t reach him at all. When Logan wanted to disappear, he could do it well. No one had heard from him since the Alcatraz Island.


Months later… It was the last Friday in August and Rogue finished up writing up her curriculums for her art, history, and meditation classes for Professor Munroe. Her face still hurt very badly; at least it didn’t sting anymore. Dr. Moira had carefully patched up her wounds, gave her a sticker, and a lollypop for being brave like she did when the younger ones came in for their check-ups and shots. She told her she was lucky that there were no facial fractures. She also ran some tests for her and proved Marie’s hypothesis. The cure had failed. She formed the theory when suddenly she felt like a burning sensation like a hot flash all over her body that her mutation was back. Marie began telling everyone to call her Rogue, she started wearing gloves again, middle of August. Everyone knew what that meant and her close friends were sorry it that it hadn’t worked for her. The emotions overwhelmed her and she had to escape for a while. Ororo understood but told her not to take too long with the school gearing up for the upcoming student packed semester.

Almost as sudden as the cure’s failure, she began to hear the many voices of those she’d absorbed again. She was so very distracted that she couldn’t concentrate during her morning meditations and it slowly drove her crazy. Her inner Logan told her to run, so Rogue went on a trip to free her mind and spirit for a while, to get the voices and mutations under control before going back to concentrate on teaching. Especially so since she would be teaching meditation to the students every day. How could she prove that the techniques she was teaching actually worked if she was so out of control?


When Rogue came back from her trip she had dark sunglasses on and she looked a bit shaken up. She wouldn’t allow them to touch her covered body or hug her. Everyone asked why and what happened to her face; she just said she had an accident. Then they would ask for more details and she’d made up something as stupid as it sounded; she’d gotten in a bar fight… But Jubilee knew better; Rogue in a bar fight? Nah… Maybe Logan would but not Rogue, no way… Rogue wasn’t that stupid. Jubilee just couldn’t leave her friend alone about it. The make-up she used every day didn’t cover the bruising well enough, and once Doc Moira took care of the wounds with bandages, you could tell she’d been hit badly. She and Kitty volunteered to do Rogue’s make-up with gloves and gentle application. Jubilee spotted Rogue in her room on the way down the hall through her open door in the apartment they shared. Text books all around her, on her lap, on the floor, and all over the bed.

“What’s new, chica?”

“Ahm finishin’ up the curriculum Ororo wanted before we start teachin’ next week.”

“How about you, me, and Kit-Kat go out for some fun tonight?”

“Lahk what?

“Karaoke night at The Shattered Club.”

“Ah don’t sing. And what’s with the name… Geez, so laame.”

“Well Kitty and I are going. I’m taking Peter and Bobby’s going with Kitty. You can come too.”

“Na, Jubes. Ah’ll be a fifth wheel. Ah don’t really feel like partyin’ tonaht. ah’m safe heah. He doesn’t know ah’m not livin’ at the school anymore.”

“Come on Roguey, we’ll protect you if he shows up,” Jubilee started to whine.

“The police ah supposed ta call meh the minute he makes bail.”

“There will be four of us there. If we have to we’ll recruit more help. Bobby can freeze him solid if he has to.”

“Ah know. Ah’m just scared but, ah’m not, ya know? On tha outsahd, ah have a plan. On tha insahd ah’m shakin’ lahk a leaf. What if he wants ta kill me Jubes? Ah mean really stab meh through fer good this tahm. Ah don’t wanna have ta drain him inta meh ta save mahself. Ah don’t want alla his nahtmares, bad habits, and naughty behavya.”

“Okay, how about this. Do what you would do if you were home in the south. What would a southern chica do?”

Jubilee saw the wheels turning in Rogue’s mind on her face and then the light bulb moment when she’d come to a decision. She wasn’t sure she was going to like it.


“Ya know, ya may be on ta somethin’ there… Ah’m gonna go huntin’ then…”

Rogue remembered Professor Xavier had a cabin in upstate New York, not quite too far from the school, out in the woods. She would go there and hide out if he came after her; it could possibly keep her friends safe from his wrath if he was coming after her. If things got bad, there was no one around for 20 miles in any direction, and she knew how to take care of business.

“Hunting? You’re scarin’ me Roguey… Why would you wanna go hunting now? Please say you’ll come with us, chica…”

“Alraht, ah’ll go but, ah have a favor ah need. If he comes heah, don’t even talk ta him if ya don’t wanna but, tell him ah’m up at Professah Xavier’s cabin. Give him this address, ah don’t care if ya have ta slip it under his bedroom door but, make sure he gits it without makin’ him mad. And tell Kitty not ta make him mad either.”

“Okay, we leave in an hour. They’ll be here at 8.”

“Fahn, ah’ll git changed. Ah’m takin’ mah car too,” it was better that way if she needed to run.

“Righty-oh, see ya there.”

Time flew by and the posse showed up, Bobby, Peter, and Kitty pulled into the driveway of the apartment. Kitty honked to let both the ladies know they had arrived. As Rogue put her seatbelt on, she remembered the day she told Logan to do the same… She followed Kitty’s Ford Flex that Jubilee was driving. She had a bad feeling about how the day was going to end… But hey, at least she wouldn’t have to worry about getting beat up by the man she once loved, ever again. Nightmares plagued her almost every night after her injuries. The scenes so vivid and real like she was getting beaten all over again, seeing that fiery look of anger in his eyes, the scared woman he was with backing away from the scene. Rogue didn’t think he’d do what he did to her; it was naïve of her to think he wouldn’t do what he did. Her face, a month later now at the last Friday of September, her bruises were still changing color from fading dark red to her natural skin color.


The group headed out of town as they drove on County Road 233 to The Shattered Club. A little hole in the wall bar that had karaoke night twice a week and of course the alcohol was flowing… No customers under 18 but, they still carded the younger folks when they tried to order alcohol, and did have a menu of non-alcoholic drinks for those that couldn’t touch it. They had tasty menu options according to Peter, who liked to order just about one of everything on the menu when he came to the Club. Of course he shared what he ordered to keep all the females of the group from picking off his plate. Bobby usually ordered his own anyway. During the week, the place was mainly filled with bikers, Japanese business men, tourists, loners, and lots of people with broken hearts… On the weekends, the bar filled up with college students, professors, and other professionals.

Rogue parked next to Kitty’s car and got out of her four wheel drive Jeep Wrangler, white rock crunching under her booted feet in the parking lot. She was concerned with the way Logan drove, that she would only have two miles to run once he made bail, and until he made bail; she’d have to run. The cabin was at least 20 miles or more from the bar. She had made a deal with the woman there that night, to call Marie on her cell, as soon as he made bail. The woman wasn’t too happy about it but, agreed. That important call hadn’t come to her yet and she was getting more anxious. Rogue knew if Logan found her, they would be headed straight for hell. She promised herself she’d never let him get close enough to touch her again. Her eyes twitched at the pain her memory triggered at the painful memories of that night. She heard a voice inside her remind her… He swore to protect me… And he ran off. He swore to protect me… But who was the real enemy to protect her against now? They had once been decent friends… And now, there was no more friendship between them.

She really, really didn’t want to be at the karaoke bar, went against her better judgment to be there but, she was there for Jubilee, and yeah for Kitty too. Rogue made peace with her but she still hated Bobby to some degree for cheating on her. She thanked God every morning that she hadn’t been stupid enough to sleep with him too. She tried to be civil to Bobby after their break up before Alcatraz Island, in the Danger Room pre X-Men training courses because he was a teammate but, Storm never paired them together again. It was too dangerous for the whole team. Outside the club, before they were about to enter the establishment, Rogue held a little meeting.


“Ya’ll know, ah’m not sure ah’m safe heah. If he comes here, ah’m goin’ ta tha Professah’s cabin. It was lahk a second home ta meh when ah was goin’ a lil’ mad because mah mutation came back. Ah’ll let ya’ll know when he’s heah, and give ya’ll tha cue, so ah can sneak out the back, got it? Ah need all ya’ll’s help with a diversion.”

“Sure chica, we can distract him. Need any other help? I can zap him if you want.”

“No, no. When it’s tahm fer meh ta git ah’ll just whispah, BS, ta who’s next ta meh. Ah’ll call Jubes when it’s over.”

“When what’s over Rogue?” Kitty asked.

“Never ya mahnd, ah’ll be fahn. If ah ain’t and ya’ll don’t heah from meh in a week, instructions are in mah safe under mah bed, on what ta do fer meh…”

Rogue couldn’t tell them her plans because if she was arrested; she didn’t want to make them accessories to the crime if one was committed. It was all about plausible deniability. The plans contained in the safe weren’t about running or having Logan go to jail for murder, they were plans for her funeral service. They had been difficult to write out but, she had done it to give them peace of mind in the event of her death someday.

“Okay, let’s just hope it don’t come to that,” Bobby said, sounding more and more like Scott every day, “We don’t need to be gutted for helping you either.”

“Ya’re such an ass, Bobby,” Rogue said.

Kitty slapped him upside the back of his head for emphasis and winked at Rogue.

“Ouch.”

“Thanks, sugah. Ah couldn’t reach him.”

“Serves you right, Rogue needs our help, I’ll stay with the boys, Kitty. You take her out through the wall of the little ladies’ room in the back,” Jubilee said.

Peter stood around listening to the plans with one ear, watching the road for the man in question, while the other ear listened in on the plan.

“Will do, now to create the diversion, I will count and when I say three, we’ll all get up. Peter will stand, come around to stand behind Rogue to block which direction we go. Bobby you, sort of stand close to Peter. Jubes you go stand on Peter’s other side. Then Rogue and I will sneak into the ladies’ room and I’ll help her out through the wall. I’ll be in there for ten minutes. Then Jubes you come in, we’ll be together another three minutes before you come back out, and then a couple minutes later, I’ll come back. He’ll wonder where Rogue went.”

“Sounds lahk a plan, thanks guys, ya’ll don’t know how much ah appreciate this.”

“Just don’t let him hurt you again, chica. You deserve better. You know we’re there if you need us.”

“Thanks, Jubes. Thanks ya’ll. Now, let’s try ta unwind…”


They entered The Shattered Club and Peter spotted a table about fifteen feet near the ladies’ room. Jubilee was first up to the mike. She had picked out her song while they had been listening to the radio on the way to the karaoke bar. She was up on stage for her big strong tough guy, Peter. He’s trying not to blush in the darkness of the audience. She sang Rhianna’s, Umbrella. She received a high five from all the girls, up next was Kitty. She got up there all nervous about being up in front of the crowd of strangers and her friends but, she didn’t let it show too much. She sang Bob Seger’s, Horizontal Bop, complete with dance moves. Rogue’s advanced hearing told her Bobby groaned in embarrassment. She felt more like that fifth wheel like she said she would. Jubes asked her to come along and she really tried to relax but, as she drank her second beer with the others, she got more nervous. She sat at their table fingering her bottle, peeled the label off, while she watched other poor off-key souls get up and try to sing their songs. Rogue looked at the clock on the wall over the stage and then she checked her cell phone. No missed calls and she had a sudden feeling that he was out…


Logan took a few tired breaths as he waited for them to empty the manila envelope on the counter that contained his things they had collected from him. His pair of dog tags that Rogue had given to him when he came back to the school and Stryker attacked; the other pair he left with Stryker under the new Alkali Lake. His watch and his new wallet were the next items to be checked off. He bought it for himself on the road the Christmas after Jean had sacrificed herself at Alkali Lake. His reason behind the purchase was because he thought a wallet on a chain seemed to look fashionably cool, and no one would dare take the wallet on the chain out of his pocket. The last item was an X-Phone. Charles wanted him to have it in case he needed help but, now there wasn’t really anyone left to call for help. He considered leaving it behind but, took it anyway.

Before the manila envelope was opened for him to reclaim his things, Logan had tried to find out what he was in for. The law behind the counter said that he had been arrested for assault and battery initially. Some woman at a bar in Laughlin City had called because she had witnessed the crime and reluctantly helped the injured party to safety. Then once the injured party was looked at, the woman decided to press charges but, the injured party declined, and talked the other woman into not pressing hers and that was all the clerk knew. Logan didn’t understand. He hadn’t remembered beating anyone up. He remembered meeting… There must have been someone else there that night. Had the animal gotten loose and hurt someone? Had it been an angry boyfriend, husband, or lover that he hit? Wait, the woman saw him hurting someone… She might be able to fill in his blanks. He he’d been cage fighting but he couldn’t remember a sign of some idiot trying to get his money back. He remembered he had just wanted a beer, a fight or two, something to eat, and a quick fuck before he went to sleep in his truck in the parking lot.

It took a while for him to get approval to leave being that he had the blades in his arms and they kept setting off security alarms. Logan now had an understanding with the law in Northern Alberta, they didn’t piss him off, and he let them live. What he hadn’t known was that before he had been arrested, Rogue had told them some of his story, leaving out many details, and asked for them to go easy on him after she asked the woman not to press charges. The woman that called really couldn’t press them, she wasn’t the injured party. Sure, the woman could have filed a sexual assault charge but, Rogue knew that it was consensual and would testify that if she had to. All she wanted was for him to spend the night in jail and get over the alcohol he’d consumed that night. Truth be known, neither one knew just how much alcohol he had consumed that night.


Logan couldn’t wait to get out and be free. He had decided to take a few more months to get over Jean and decide which way he wanted to go now that he wasn’t tied down anywhere. There wasn’t a real enough reason to be tied down at the school according to his brain but, his heart ached to see Marie again. He believed she had taken the cure and was now living her life but, he needed to know that she was all right. In the parking lot of the bar in Beaver Falls, Alberta, on his last night in town, he had a fateful decision to make. Go right and go into more Canadian wilderness, bars, women, and loneliness or… Go back, step into Scooter’s shoes, lead the X-Men, and help Ororo run the school. Nah… In one of the worst mistakes he could have ever made, he decided to spend a bit more time out on the road and ended up in Laughlin City again… As he waited for them to reset the last alarm, he remembered going to the bar he met Rogue at and found a woman, pretty, perky, late twenties, a red head named… Named… Named Fire something. Firebug, Firelight, Fire... Firecracker. That was it.

She said her parents named her that because of the way she was born or some shit like that. And then his memory from that meeting was blank until he was in jail on a cot with his hands in cuffs in an X shape on his chest. Logan finally made it out the front doors of the jail. Okay, so how was he making it out of jail? He hadn’t remembered if he had called someone to help him make bail. Earlier that afternoon, someone came to tell him the charges had been dropped after five days. They kept him for a whole five damn days! Because of a confidentiality clause, they wouldn’t give him the name of the injured party and as he stood there in the bright sunlight of day, he tried to form a task to do list… 1. Find out what the hell happened that night, finding Firecracker in Laughlin City, 2. Finding out who he supposedly had assaulted and battered to find out if he needed to finish the job… He was not a man to apologize, and 3. Finally getting his butt to the school before anything else happened. Logan checked his wallet and he had just enough money to get his truck out of impound, for something to eat, something cold and Canadian. He opened the truck and it still had that home on the road smell.

He relaxed into the seat behind the wheel and put his belt on. Instantly, when he heard the click, he recalled Rogue’s voice telling him he needed his seat belt on, of course he didn’t have time to refuse and then his old camper truck crashed into the tree and he went flying out the windshield. He wondered how Marie was doing at the school. Logan had missed graduation day by his own fault. Ororo couldn’t reach him for Marie, he ignored the calls. She wanted it to be a surprise for her if he could show up… It didn’t pan out and Marie seemed happy, sad on the other side of the coin during the ceremony. Ororo didn’t have to tell her, Marie could tell by her expression. He wondered if she was still with that Ice Prick. Was he finding ways around her mutation? He wondered, what if she hadn’t taken the cure…?

Logan didn’t know for sure because he had taken off from the school almost as soon as the Blackbird landed. He didn’t even say good-bye. He turned on his engine and changed his mind, Firecracker could wait. His stomach told him food was required, so he drove to a truck stop diner nearby, and ate. Once his stomach was full his mood seemed to improve. The more he thought about heading to go back to Laughlin City; he felt a pull to go back to New York stronger. So, he changed his mind again and decided to head for the school. He decided that seeing Marie again would make his heart glad and he could make it up to her for missing her graduation. Maybe he could bribe her into forgiveness by getting her tickets to see her favorite band or to go see a movie with her favorite people in it? Instead of trying to over analyze what he could do to buy his way back into her good graces, he thought about how long he was going to stay, and if he did, what was he going to do with his time at the school. Teach yes but, what? He was no art teacher like he’d lied to Bobby’s parents. Self-defense sounded like a good idea. Then later when he had them warmed up, he’d teach them combat, hand to hand, defense, and offense. Logan would definitely have to teach them that if any of the students wanted to join the X-Men.

Rogue got tired of waiting for Firecracker to call. She excused herself and went to the pay phone in the back. She called the jail where Logan had been and found that he had been released three days ago. So, he could be anywhere by now… She might have a week or a couple days with the way he drove. The tried not to sound panicked on the phone before she hung up. When she got back to her seat, she leaned over to tell Jubilee the good news. She tried to calm her down by giving her more alcohol but, it didn’t work for long. Knowing Logan could be close by made her jumpy. Rogue tried to relax in her chair and then she sensed he was there. She began to use the advanced senses she had from him to locate where he was in the room. She stiffened and Jubilee asked her what was wrong.

“Logan’s heah, ah can feel him.”

Jubilee tried to seek Logan’s location in the crowd but it was too dark. Then she leaned across the table and gripped Peter’s arm. He looked over and lent her an ear.

“Wolvie’s here, can ya see him?”

Peter stretched his neck up and looked around.

“He is at the bar; he isn’t looking this way now. I will stand and block his view so you can go.”

He tapped Bobby and uttered, “BS, pass it on.”

Bobby turned to Kitty and whispered in her ear, “BS.”

They were about to get up like they all had planned when Rogue whispered into Peter’s ear, “Not yet, ah wanna sing first.”

They all looked at her and nodded like she’d lost her mind. Rogue didn’t need to go back over the list; she had her song, and waited while another bar patron was singing a long song. While that person sang, she could feel a pair of eyes on her, burning into her skin. She began to impatiently wait for the song to end. The song was finally over. She got up and went to the mike as the gang she was with cheered for her. The music started ad she began to feel the music in her bones.


Logan entered the bar and quickly took a seat at the bar. He needed to get a little liquid courage before continuing on to the school. He caught a familiar scent that told him that Marie was there, turned in his seat, to spot that very person going up on stage. Then he spotted her friends at their table. He decided not to crash their little party. Marie looked good but, something was off about her… Her white streaks still framed her face. He studied her hips and his eyes trailed up to her chest, and there they lingered a few moments. Her hands were covered in her trademark long silk opera gloves… That was it. She’s wearing gloves… What happened, Logan wondered. He had thought she had taken the cure… Maybe she had taken his advice and not taken the cure, or… Maybe it wasn’t Marie anymore, maybe it was Rogue? Then he looked up at her face, she looked a bit mad, hard to him. He definitely wanted to speak with her before the whole group left. God, he had missed her. Logan just wanted to hug her, make sure she was real, and she could tell him in her sweet southern accent that things would be all right from now on.

“This is fer all ya women out there who’ve ever been mistreated bah a man. Or had one promise ta protect ya but, he beat ya up instead.”

Instantly, she had his attention. What was that all about? Logan wondered if she was talking about him but, not everything she said was true. At least he hoped it wasn’t. If he was wrong and it was the Ice Prick, he’d make sure his remains were never found.

“County Road 233 under my feet
Nothin' on this white rock but little ol' me
I got two miles till he makes bail
And if I'm right we're headed straight for hell.”

Did she know he was in jail? If so, how could she possibly have known? He prayed she was wrong; he had already been in hell, now he was looking for a bit of heaven.

“I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door and light a cigarette
He wants a fight well now he's got one
He ain't seen me crazy yet.”

Now Logan knew something bad had happened. Where had he been, oh yeah, in jail where he couldn’t protect her. She didn’t need a shotgun to prove her point; he would take care of her better from now on.

“Slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man
I'm gonna show him what a little girl's made of
Gunpowder and lead.”

Instantly, Logan’s hands curled into fists and they began to itch at the thought of someone harming his Marie. His? Where the hell did that come from? She wasn’t his; she was probably still with that Ice Prick. He never hit Marie or shook her. Had Wolverine hurt her and he didn’t know it? Now she was talking about gunpowder and lead… What the hell was she planning?

“Well it's half past ten, another six pack in
I can feel the rumble like the cold black wind
He pulls in the drive, gravel flies
He don't know what's waitin' here this time.”

What the hell? Was she planning on getting and drunk shooting him? Ororo wouldn’t allow that to happen at the school… Or would she? Maybe now wasn’t a good time to go back to the school…


“Hey I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door and light a cigarette
He wants a fight well now he's got one
And he ain't seen me crazy yet.”

I never asked for a fight, he thought. He wouldn’t fight Marie anyway. He never wanted her to face the Wolverine. Logan knew she must have picked up the smoking and drinking from the parts of him she absorbed.

“Slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man
I'm gonna show him what a little girl's made of
Gunpowder and lead.”

Funny, he thought she was made of magnolia blossoms, spices, and everything nice. He had to find out what happened and sooner the better, for his conscious. He couldn’t live with himself if he had hurt her.

“His fist is big but my gun's bigger
He'll find out when I pull the trigger.”

Logan looked down at his fist as he held it in the palm of his other hand. Then his head shot back up to Marie on the stage as she mentioned pulling a trigger. She planned to shoot him… Shit. What had he done to her? Okay so he hadn’t protected her as much as maybe they both would have wanted but, he was coming home to make up for lost time. Logan finished his beer as he continued to watch her.


“I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door and light a cigarette
He wants a fight well now he's got one
And he ain't seen me crazy yet.”

He didn’t want to fight with her; he just wanted to understand what the hell was going on with her. Logan hoped he could talk to her before she had the chance to shoot him. Even if she did, he knew he wouldn’t die permanently. Unless… Unless she planned to do something to him while he was dead. He didn’t like that idea. He shrugged off that idea because he knew the adamantium would protect him… But what if she planned to down him and then drain his mutation? Then what?

“Slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man
I'm gonna show him what a little girl's made of
Gunpowder and gunpowder and lead
Gunpowder and lead, yeah, yeah, ha.”

God, he needed to talk to her. He had to wonder, if he had done something terrible to her, would she forgive him? He didn’t think he could live with her hating him for the rest of her life. Now he realized that she had been a good friend to him when he didn’t think he needed her. Logan recalled just about everything that she had said and done for him when he got back from the road after Jean died the first time. He just didn’t understand what happened to that girl she once was, that would make her sing songs like that to him.


Rogue finished her song to a big round of applause from her table and the room. She left the stage and sashayed her Southern booty back to her seat, while another drunken loner got up onstage to sing off key. Once again she could feel those eyes on her. It was time to leave. If she was going to make it to the cabin before midnight, she had to leave. She leaned over and mouthed Jubilee, “BS.” The word passed around quickly and then Peter counted off as they had planned. Suddenly they all stood up and Rogue headed off to the restroom with Kitty. Once inside the room, Kitty turned Rogue around.

“You sure you’re gonna be okay?”

Rogue hesitated. “Yeah, yeah, ah think ah will, Kit.”

They waited for the appropriate time and Jubilee came into the restroom. All the girls hugged.

“Well ya’ll, this is it, ah’ve gotta go. Wish meh luck.”

“Good luck, chicka. Call if ya need help. I’m gonna miss you,” Jubilee said.

“Ah know, no tee-ah’s now. Come on Kit, or ya’ll are gonna make meh crah.”

Then Kitty hugged Rogue and they jumped through the wall together. On the other side Kitty let her go.

“Thanks Kit-Kat, take care of Jubes.”

“You’re welcome, bye Rogue.”

“Bye.” Then Kitty phased back into the wall.


Rogue made it to her vehicle and started it up. She put on her belt and started for the road. She was at the intersection and turned toward the road that would take her to the late Professor’s cabin. She was speeding carefully along the road when she thought she saw Logan in her rear view mirror.

'Damn you, Logan,' she thought to herself.

He figured it out too quickly, Jubilee must have given him the address. He must have been speeding to catch up to her that fast. So, he wanted to play cat and mouse… Rogue started to drive erratically to get away from him as he tried to pull up next to her vehicle. She tried to rush his truck with left side of her Jeep Wrangler to make him get out of her way. She hated to damage her transportation but it was worth it if it bought her time to run away.


Back at the bar, he’d seen all the ladies head off to the restroom, and decided to wait for them to come back to the table to tell Marie that they needed to talk. Minutes passed and Yellow and Kit-Kat came out… No Marie. Where was she? Maybe she needed another minute? Fine he’d wait. What set him off and running was when Yellow came up to him and handed him a slip of paper with an address. She told him that’s where Marie was running to. So, he jumped in the truck and drove like a bat outta hell to catch up with her. When he tried to get ahead of her to get her to pull over she started weaving and trying to run him off the damn road. She nearly succeeded a couple times. Logan started to panic. She was driving like a maniac and wouldn’t pull over. He had to stop her somehow. So, he managed to get ahead of her and slowed down to make her slow down, zig-zagging to block her from getting ahead of him. After about ten minutes of driving, he finally got her to stop. He slowed to a stop, jumped out of his truck, started to yell at her through the jeep window.

“What the hell were you doing, trying to get yourself killed, kid?”

“Ah’m not a kid anymore, Logan. Ah grew up while ya weren’t lookin’.”


Rogue was pissed as she put her Jeep into reverse. He had the nerve to still call her a kid! She took off again and decided to take the quiet, back way to the cabin as she continued to erratically drive. Once again, Logan was suddenly on her like white on rice. Fine, he really was asking for it. This time when he stopped her, she jumped out of her vehicle. He met her half way.

“What was that all about back there at the club, Marie?” He asked.

“Don’t call meh that! You don’t have tha privilege ta call meh anythin’ otha than Rogue, and ah’m not sure ah even want ya ta call meh that!” She yelled right at him, she wanted him to see her anger.

“Fine, I don’t know how grown up you thought your drivin’ is, but it ain’t mature. What the hell were you gettin’ at back there, I never abused you. I never hit you either, kid.”

It must have slipped out, BIG mistake, she thought.

“Ya burned meh deep, Logan, not just emotionally, mentally but, physically too.”


“Are you goin’ crazy, kid?” He asked her. “I never hit you and you know it.”

“Oh, you ain’t seen meh crazy yet, old man. Then how, did ah, git this, hmmm?”


Then she took off the sunglasses she wore day and night and showed him the slowly healing bruise on her cheek, around her eye socket. The bright light of her headlights brought the injuries to the surface. Instantly, he felt like someone punched through his adamantium chest. Logan was horrified. He’d hurt her badly. He tried to search what memory he had, he couldn’t remember hitting anyone, especially not her.

“Yeah Logan, ya did this and ah ain’t gonna ever let ya do it ta meh again. You’re nevah gonna see meh again once ah get in mah Jeep. Since ya haven’t kept yer promise, ah’m protectin’ mahself from now on. Good-bah, Logan.” He watched her as she marched back to her Jeep, hopped back into her seat, and took off again.

He hopelessly watched her again as she drove off like a bat out of hell again, as fast as she could get away from him, all the while his mind screaming; ‘NO! Don’t let her leave!’ Wait! He needed an explanation. It wasn’t right to accuse him and then just run off without explaining what happened. Logan needed to find out what the animal had done to her. He jumped back into his truck and drove down the road at a bit slower pace to give her a bit of time to calm down. It was also dark and he had never been to the location that Yellow gave him on that slip of paper. So, the landmarks were going to be hard to find and he hadn’t gotten a GPS installed in his new truck yet. Besides, he was a man and men don’t need a GPS to remind them of their failure of not having the right directions. So, Logan decided he didn’t need one at the time when he got the truck but, now he was rethinking that decision.


Rogue looked at the mantle clock. Half past ten and another six pack in as she sat inside the cabin waiting for Logan to track her down. She had left a couple of six packs of beer in the fridge from the last time she had been there not too long ago. The end of her nightmare was coming soon, she knew it; she felt it in her bones. She ignored inner Logan’s voice. When she was on the cure, she realized she had missed Logan in her head. Now, since the cure had failed and she was mad at Logan, she actually got so angry at the real Logan she thought about killing him for good. Draining every drop of his mutation until he died, then she’d put him in a compartment in her mind, and leave him there for the rest of her life. Revenge would definitely be sweet then… Would it really? However, she was a good girl. She didn’t go around killing unless she absolutely had to. She was itching to let her inner bad girl out…

Unexpectedly, she felt the rumble of his engine like a cold black wind that blew through her body. She shivered as she heard the truck getting closer. She tried to steel her nerves as she heard his truck pull into the drive and abruptly stop, sent gravel flying. Rogue figured it was about time to show him what she had waiting for him. She stood from her spot inside the cabin and went out into the lighted porch. She sat on the swing, lit up another cigarette, crossed one leg over the other, and started puffing away as if it would calm her. She watched him as he sat in the truck; knew he was planning his next move. Thinking, what in the hell was she doing clogging up her airways with black lung death. She didn’t care, she could always turn on Logan’s mutation and heal it.


Logan thought about a couple verses from that song she sang as he watched her come out, sit on the porch swing with her shotgun in one hand, and cigarette in the other. She had been right about him worrying about her smoking but he understood it because of his need for cigars when he was stressed. He looked at his fist and agreed it was big, and yes her gun was bigger. Since she had laid her bomb in his lap, he felt like maybe he should let her shoot him. He already felt guilty and he didn’t know what exactly happened. He supposed it didn’t really matter anyway, he had hurt her deeply and that was something he had always feared might happen if he ever stayed around her. Things happened to the people he loved so that’s why he never formed any attachments; that he could remember anyway, until her… And she rocked his world. Literally, overnight he had more attachments than he’d ever had because of her. Now, a few of them were dead but, most survived. Logan finally decided to face the music and got out of the truck. He turned to walk toward the two story cabin but, she stopped him in his tracks.

“Whadda ya want, bub,” she asked and he picked up on the inflection of himself in her voice. Her Southern accent seemed deeper as well.

“Tell Me,” he said, his throat suddenly dry.

“What was that? Ah can’t heah ya.”

“Tell me,” he yelled. “Tell me what happened… I need to know.”

“Ya were drunk.” The three words Logan never wanted to hear from her.

“Go on.”

“Yeah, ya were drunk and havin’ a fuckin’ good tahm with a redhead against a wall behahnd tha bar where we first meht. Ah came up to ya and called ya by name.”

He didn’t remember much of that night but, the redhead’s name.

“Looks to meh lahk ya don’t remembah good ole’ Firecracker, do ya, sugah? Come on, she was up ta heah and had big tits.” Logan flinched as more of his attitude came out of her mouth.

Sure, he had patchy memories of meeting Firecracker; she had been in Laughlin City with him but, he didn’t fully remember her in detail. She had been a good quickie right before he woke up in jail. He tried to keep his cool as she went on…

“Yeah, her. Ya were callin’ her Jean and she kept tellin’ ya her name was somethin’ else. She looked at meh lahk she thought ya were crazy. Ah tried ta stop ya from makin’ an even biggah mistake by knockin’ her up, ya growled, and suddenly hit meh. Ya backhand hurt lahk hell, mah face still hurts from tahm ta tahm.”


Logan was mortified. He must have blacked out the after meeting Firecracker, the animal gotten loose, and had hurt Marie… Rogue badly and deeply. God, what the hell had he been thinking? He had thought he had gotten over Jean by the time he’d gotten to Laughlin City, apparently he hadn’t if he was still fucking her in his mind. The guilt started to build within him.

“Then ya let her go and turned for meh. Ya shook meh lahk a fuckin’ rag doll and hit meh again on mah other cheek, just as hard. Ya were yellin’ at meh, wantin’ ta know what business of mahne was it who ya fucked and what did ah care; ah had Bobby the Ice Prick ta run home ta.”

He felt like letting her take all of his healing energy to repair the damage the animal inside him had caused. If he could do anything to heal her pain he would. He started to move towards her to fix things.

“Ah, ah, ah, not so fast, bub,” she warned as she cocked the gun and set it back across her lap. “Ah guess it was mah fault fer carin’ so much about ya enough ta be yer friend. Ah came ta fahnd mah best friend in tha first place, mah best friend in the entire world, ta let ya know that tha cure failed fer meh, and that ah had broken up with Bobby after ah caught him cheatin’ on meh with Kitty. So no, ah didn’t have the Ice Prick ta run home to.” He could feel the pain in her voice shoot straight through his chest. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take of her recounting.

“No, it was my fault Marie… I had no right to hit you.” He couldn’t let her take the blame.

“Ho, no mister, ya don’t git ta use mah name. It’s Rogue. Jubes and Kitty cared fer meh fer a few days ta let mah vision get back ta normal. Ah couldn’t walk on mah own. Jubes helped meh cover mosta this up with make-up. They begged meh ta call the cops and press charges. Ah couldn’t take any more of their beggin’. So ah lied and told ‘em ah did, ah called them and told them ta use an elephant tranquilizer on ya. Ah couldn’t take the risk of ya resistin’ arrest and guttin’ the cops, now could ah. But it wasn’t meh. Firecracker called the coppers. She pressed the charges and once we got ta the jail, they said that the charges didn’t stick because she wasn’t the injured party and they wanted to release ya. Ah talked them inta keepin’ ya a few days to sober up.”

Ah so Rogue wasn’t the one that had him arrested for assault and battery. Right then he couldn’t blame her… He deserved it.


“So, why didn’t you file your own?”

Logan tried to search her face for any crack in her walls she had built so that he could get a foot hold in before she would be able to repair them. If he could find a crack in a wall and work it to his advantage, maybe he might be able to get her to forgive him. It had worked somewhat in the past for him.

“Ah… Ah wanted ta see ya one last tahm before ah say good bah forevah.”

He could see there was a crack started. He watched her soften a little, like her follow through was weakening. He moved closer to her about three feet but, he still left her the ten foot wide berth she bade him to stay away from her.

“What do you mean, forever?”


“Are ya hard of hearin’? Ah meant, ah wanted ta see ya one last tahm before ya go away, nevah ta be seen bah mah eyes, again. Ya swore ya’d protect me… What a bang up job, Logan. As ya can see, ah’m protectin’ mahself now. Ah nevah wanna see ya again, Logan.”

‘And if ya believe that, ah’ve got ocean front property in Arizona...’ Rogue thought.

She had to protect herself and convince him to go away. She had to dig in and hurt him just as much as he hurt her to drive him away. The animal would get the message and run but, would the man inside get the same message? Physically she couldn’t beat him up because of his skeletal enhancements but, she could wound his heart emotionally.

“An don’t even think ‘bout comin’ any closah on this property, bub. Ah know how ta use this thang,” she said as she puffed her last bit of her cigarette and held up the gun. “Don’t think ah cain’t see ya tryin’ ta sneak closah, Logan. Just stop.”

Rogue looked up at Logan once again, this time she noticed he looked defeated. She hated to crush him, but it was better for both their sakes if she broke it off between them but, she wasn’t expecting his next move...

“I’m sorry.”

“What?” She asked not quite believing what he’d just said.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what more I can say for the pain I’ve caused us both.”

She waited a few minutes as she considered his apology. She couldn’t accept because the trust she once had in him was gone.

“Ah can’t accept Logan, it still hurts too much,” she said and looked down at the wood planks of the porch.

“Will you, in time?”

“Maybe but, raht now, ah just cain’t. Ah cain’t trust ya raht now.”

It just killed her not to be able to acquiesce his apology and make all the pain go away.


Logan nodded in acceptance. He understood that she couldn’t trust him; he couldn’t trust himself right then either. She’d spoken and given him a fraction of some hope in the fact that maybe in time she could forgive him. Maybe if he could just get her to let him in, he could show her just how sorry he was but, it wasn’t to be considering her attitude. He looked at her hard, one last time before he turned around, and went to his truck. The Wolverine inside wouldn’t let him beg. His pride was somewhat still intact but, Logan metaphorically had his tail between his legs as he climbed into the truck. He put on his seatbelt and remembered the first time Rogue tried to make him use it. He didn’t need it but he’d worn one since, when he remembered, just for her. He started up the truck and looked up at the porch where Rogue sat. She sat there as he put the transmission in gear. He turned the wheel and began to leave. Something began to eat away at him.

As he looked out the driver’s side rear view mirror, he saw her get up and go inside. That something ate faster at him. He screeched to a halt and put the truck in park. He threw open the door and got out of the truck. He slammed the door and began a dead run to the front door. Once there, he took the steps two at a time. Then he stopped, breathing harder, and took a minute to inhale deeply, exhale before he knocked on the door. Any sacrifice he thought would be worth it in the end. He just couldn’t lose her for good, she was more important to him than he ever before realized, in that moment. He waited patiently and then he heard the locks opening…

“Logan, what do ya want,” Rogue said, obviously surprised that he was there.

He took another step forward pushing his way in the door and at that point he didn’t care if she hated him for the rest of her life. She had to know…

“I couldn’t leave without doing this…”


Suddenly, Rogue found herself being kissed, and hard. She was trapped in his arms as she tried to fight him off, but he was too strong and she began to feel her mutation begin to pull on him.

‘Oh no, no please,’ she begged in her mind.

Instantly, she got a flood of a lot of things, but the main current was his feelings and a few memories. As he weakened she managed to push him off of her.

“Damn you, Logan,” she yelled at him as he fell backwards to the wood of the porch.

Then she had a moment of clarity as she felt what he had tried to send her. He was truly sorry for what he had done, he sent her feelings of comfort, and the memory of the promise he’d made her on the train just before Magneto tore it apart. He showed her that he loved her. As she looked at his unconscious form on the porch she knelt down saddened.

“Damn you, Logan,” she whispered softly as tears began to form in her eyes.

Rogue stood and backed up. She closed the door and left him on the porch like some dog. Her mind was in such turmoil. Could she give up her best friend for good or let him back into her life and risk getting hurt again. She felt that he didn’t deserve to be her friend right then. She didn’t know if she could ever let him back in, already mad that he’d kissed her on purpose without her permission, and that he’d forced himself on her. She didn’t know if she could ever forgive him for that. Rogue went and sat down on the couch in the living room with another beer. On the other hand he’d taken such a risk doing what he just did and somewhere in the back of his brain he did love her. Logan wasn’t a man of many words. And it was obvious to her that the animal part of him took over for a flash to give the man guts enough to show her how the human side of him felt. Down deep, Rogue realized she loved him too but she couldn’t let those feelings rule her actions right then. Tears began to fall down her face; she couldn’t even ‘like’ him at that moment. After she finished the beer, she went to the only bedroom and crawled in under the quilt. Sleep found her quickly.


Logan found himself in the blackness of his subconscious facing the Wolverine.

‘What the hell did you do?’

‘I took over, Bub. She had to know how you were feeling.’

‘She’s going to hate ‘me’ now you jack ass.’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘I do and I’ll tell you another thing, she’s going to hate ‘me’ for forcing myself on her.’

‘I don’t care. I had to sacrifice your ass to keep you from losing her for good.’

‘Might still lose her, you dick.’

‘Yes, that’s a risk we’ll have to take but, now she knows ‘you’ love her.’

‘Shit, I really wish you hadn’t hurt her like that. There had to be a better way.’

‘Not in my book, bub, I had an objective I had to complete. Mission accomplished.’

‘Now only time will tell if it was successful or not.’

‘I can live with that.’


‘What if I can’t?’

‘Oh come on, grow a pair will ya. I’ll get ‘us’ through this.’

‘Have you considered you may have fucked it up all to hell?’

‘If I have, you’ve got my word that we’ll go find a cage circuit to work it out of ‘us’.’

‘I just can’t believe you hit her. I promised to protect her…’

‘Bub, I was getting ‘us’ over Jean, high on alcohol, and I needed a good fuck. She interrupted that and I got mad.’

‘Don’t you dare do it again, got me? I promised to protect her once and you ruined that. Now I have to prove to her that she can trust me again, and I intend to promise her again. This time I intend to keep that promise, damn it.’

‘Okay, whatever you say, bub.’

‘No! Not whatever. She’s too important to me to lose.’

‘Right and that’s why I took it upon myself to help your ass out before she left and we’d never see her again, or have you forgotten she’s got a part of us inside her. She could lose us like, ‘that,’ if she really wanted to.’

‘Thanks for the reminder.’

‘You’re welcome.’


The next morning, Rogue woke up and went to the kitchenette in the clothing she wore the night before, to make some coffee. Her head began to pound the minute she got up and some coffee seemed like the best remedy. She sat down at the kitchen table nearby and began to think about what had happened the night before. She took a few sips of her coffee and sighed. Then suddenly Rogue realized that she’d left Logan on the front porch mat last night. She got up and scrambled to the front door. She opened the door and there, still on the porch mat was Logan’s unconscious form. She sharply inhaled at the surprise and then released it.

“Oh shit, Logan.”

Rogue knelt down and she stroked his hair with her gloved hand, trying to rouse him.

“Logan, wake up. Come on, it’s tahm ta git up.”

He wasn’t moving. She didn’t think she’d been in contact with him long enough last night for him to still be out. Something else had gone wrong. She went to the bedroom on the second floor, slipped on a pair of clean opera gloves, and changed her clothing before she went back to Logan. Then she rolled him flat on his back and began to pull him inside of the cabin. Pulling on some of her training she’d managed to get him on the couch in front of the fireplace. She put a pillow under his head and covered him in the quilt from the couch. Quickly, Rogue set about building a fire. She wondered if he might have gotten too cold outside. She started to mentally kick herself for leaving him outside all night. She just couldn’t let him inside last night. Then after the fire was blazing hot, she went and got another quilt off the rack in the bedroom. She draped it over Logan and sat by his side on the floor. She just knew he wasn’t dead; he couldn’t be dead, because he had his healing factor.

Just to keep herself from too much worrying, she pressed two fingers to his neck and indeed found a pulse. It was very slow but there. Rogue promised herself to call for help if he didn’t wake up by day’s end. Time began to tick by and she began to get more agitated. Why wasn’t he waking up? She got up from his side and began to pace. At first in front of the fire and then she began to pace around the room.

‘Come on, wake up Logan. Wake up, so ah can chew ya out,’ she thought, ‘fer doin’ somethin’ so stupid.”


Almost the whole day later, 11:33 p.m., Logan slowly started to come into consciousness and the first thing he heard was floor boards creaking. Someone was making that noise. It sounded like pacing. Where was he? He smelled Rogue. Rogue. Rogue was pacing. Must wake up. He opened an eye slowly. She was out of eye shot. He slowly he opened the other eye and groaned. He felt like shit but, he knew he was in one piece. Suddenly, Rogue was there by his side, on the floor, while he was still horizontal.

“Logan?”

“Hey.”

“Hey,” she said softly.

“How long have I been out?”

“It’s almost midnaht.”

“Shit.”

“Ya know ah should chew ya out fer what ya did.”

“I know, I deserve it.”

“But… Ah can’t. Ah am still bustin’ mad at the seams but, that will take more tahm to heal. Ah’m more mad at mahself fer leavin’ ya outsahd last naht.”

“I know. I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have done what I did last night. I wasn’t myself.”

“Ah know. It will take some tahm but, ah sort of forgive ya, now that ah know how ya feel.”

“How I feel? About what?”

“You, the Wolverine, me, us.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m really sorry darlin’, about that night and for hitting you. I never meant to hurt you, Rogue... Marie,” he dared use her name to make it more personal, to show he really meant it.

“Ah know. Somewhere deep down, ah knew ya weren’t yourself that naht but, ah refused ta see it.”

“I know and that doesn’t excuse my behavior, darlin’. I’ll understand if you don’t want me as a friend.”

“Hold on. Ah know you’re sorry Logan but, that don’t mean ah’m givin’ up on ya totally just yet. We’ve been through so much tagether. It’s still gonna take tahm for meh ta heal inside an’ out.”

“Understood, I should get goin’ so you can have your space.”

“Ah never said ya had to leave raht now. Stay. You’re obviously not all bettah yet.”

Rogue couldn’t believe she was letting him stay in spite of what he’d done the night before. Here she had been ready to get rid of him for good while she couldn’t see him but, once they were face to face again, that was all-together a different matter. She had seen the confusion, hurt in his eyes last night, and especially now by the firelight. She could see that he was still beating himself up for it in his eyes. She had witnessed first-hand the devastation in his face because of what the animal had done. Just the expressions on his face when she explained what happened on that horrible night made her doubt that he really knew what he had done to her. Now that she had more of his abilities, she could smell that when he said he was sorry, that he was sincere, honest truth. And since she’d had a night to sleep on it, had time to think about their relationship while he was out cold, maybe she would give him a chance. She couldn’t punish the man for the animal’s actions even though they were sharing the same body.

For the time being, she decided it was better to let him stay and recover his strength before sending him back out on the road.

“Are ya hungry?”

“Starvin’.”

“Ah’ll make somethin’ then.”


She stood to leave and he grabbed her gloved wrist. She felt the strength in his grip and it triggered a flashback of the night of the attack. She remembered that he had grabbed her arms when he had shaken her like a rag doll. Rogue quickly pulled her wrist free of his hand as if she had been burned.

“Thanks for lettin’ me stay. I know it’s not easy lookin’ at my ugly mug.”

She shyly turned and walked away not wanting to give him a comment, leaving the area as quickly as possible before she fell apart. Once in the kitchen, she found herself slightly panting, tears welling up in her eyes, and she took a few minutes calm down. She kept telling herself that another attack wasn’t going to happen. She was going to make damn sure of that. Rogue went to the refrigerator and didn’t really find anything appetizing. She checked the cupboards and found a few cans of stew. She figured that would be best, at least it had some beef in it so Logan might like it. She found a manual can opener, a pot, and began to work at making something to eat. As she began to stir the pot she relaxed more about being frightened and being mad at him. It was going to take some time to get over what the animal had done but, why waste the energy thinking about it right then? Her mind drifted to what she’d absorbed from him. It felt like it was the closest she’d ever get from him resembling some kind of love.

Rogue knew love to him was almost a foreign thing. It was still new to the man since he’d lost his memory and the animal made him live more in lust mode than in love. Choosing to have one night stands instead of forming a relationship and developing love with someone because he was in a primal survival mode. She wondered if she’d ever hear him say those three little words that almost every couple on the planet shared. She wouldn’t push him but, if that kiss he gave her was any clue, she felt like maybe those words wouldn’t be long in finding a voice. She came back to her senses so she didn’t burn the stew.


Logan watched her leave and thought he had found a way back into Rogue’s good graces. It was going to take time to build trust with her again. He’d seen the look on her face when he grabbed her wrist and she panicked. He must have gripped her wrist a little too hard, because he smelled her fear and she practically ran into the kitchen to get away from him. He faintly smelled salt water and he worried that he had scared her. He inwardly chastised himself for doing something so stupid. Logan was concerned that he had set back any progress he had with her. He decided to keep his body to himself so that she wouldn’t feel as frightened of him. The smell of the stew began to waft into the living room where he was by the fireplace on the couch.

“That smells good, whatever you’re cookin’.”


“Come an’ get it.” She teased as she began to serve up the stew in two bowls.

Silence and then she heard a thud on the hard wood floor. Rogue took off running from the stove after turning off the fire. She went right to his side. He had collapsed to the bear rug in front of the fireplace. Mentally, she beat herself up for saying what she said and feeling even more buggered at him for taking her seriously.

“LOGAN! What were ya thinkin’, ah was just teasin’. Ah was gonna bring it to ya. Silly nut. Come on let’s getcha back up on the couch.”

“I thought my legs were stronger than they felt. Sorry. Let’s just sit down here,” Logan said from the bear rug in front of the fireplace.

“Fahn, let me go get tha food,” she turned her back to him and rolled her eyes.

Rogue stood, went back to the kitchen, put a spoon in each, and grabbed the two bowls off the counter. She handed one to Logan and he was able to hold it in his hands without dropping it, leaning against the couch. She set hers on the floor next to Logan and went back for something to drink. She had a few beers left. They weren’t Molson’s but, he would have to deal with that his own way. She brought two of the beers over and sat down on the far side of the couch in front of the fireplace, while Logan was on the bear rug, who’d waited for her to return before he began to eat. She took her first tablespoon in and wow, really good stew.


When she sat down on the couch to eat instead of sitting by him, he didn’t take it personally. He knew he had upset her again. Mentally, Logan beat himself up once more, disappointed that he hadn’t gotten it right with her yet. It seemed that lately their relationship with each other was just a routine of various ways of making each other hurt. She hurting him by not waiting for him, turning to the Ice Prick and sneaking out to get the cure without asking his opinion; telling him, that he didn’t understand her plight. He didn’t know that from her point of view, he had hurt her by chasing after Jean instead of wanting to spend time with her, hurt her by running away when things got rough or serious between them. She even felt the pain of betrayal by catching him with Firecracker and his assault in Laughlin City. And he would never know, until she told him herself.

He brought the first spoonful if the warm stew in his mouth. He savored the slow cooked, squared beef and vegetables as he chewed. He swallowed and sipped some of the rich, thick, dark caramel colored, full of flavor beef broth. Logan ate another spoonful before he tried to compliment the chef.

“This is good.”

“It ain’t too hot is it?”

“Nah, it’s just right.”

Logan polished off his bowl and set it aside. He didn’t want to be rude and ask for seconds if there weren’t any. He took his beer in hand and took a sip. God, it tasted like piss water. He needed a Molson and bad. He thought about if he had any left in the refrigerator in the camper. Logan couldn’t remember any for certain. He listened to Marie finish off her bowl of stew as he watched the fire blazing. She had done a good job of stacking the wood campfire style, just like he’d taught her in his survival class he had a couple years back. He felt a stab of pride hit him in the chest. He wondered what else she remembered from that time. Hopefully, she remembered more than that. Another stab hit him again… This time, the realization that she was almost all grown up dawned.

“Ya wanna kill the pan?” Marie asked breaking his thought path.

“What about you?”

“Ah’m not as hungry as ah thought ah was. If ya want it, it’s up fer grabs. Othahwise, it hits tha icebox.”

“Yeah, I’ll take it,” he answered her.


Logan watched her leave with both soup bowls and he absently wondered how much wood she had left. If he decided to stay a few days and rough it out with her, he needed to make sure the wood box was well stocked. He moved back up onto the couch in the opposite corner from her seat. She came back and handed him his bowl.

“Thanks.”

Then he watched her as she sat in her spot on the couch and curled her legs into her thighs before taking another sip from her beer. Logan turned his attention back to the stew and finished it before it got cold. He set the bowl on the small end table, next to the table lamp. They sat together in an awkward silence, neither one knowing what to say.


Rogue sat quietly for a good long while, staring at the fire, and losing her thoughts to the dancing flame. Her inner Wolverine told her that she needed to take a stand and to fight the real Wolverine, to make him pay, and to give her back her power, since the animal took it from her. She needed to prove that she was an alpha female. Because the animal broke the spirit of who she was, she was acting more like an omega female. She needed to fight back and put the real animal back in his place, a kind of correction… She needed to use a feral form of a spanking but, Rogue didn’t have the strength to want to. She figured that more fighting so would only bring the man and her more pain. She was also afraid that the animal would make the man give up and just walk away from her for good.

The confusion began to set in, make him stay or make him go?

Before the attack, with the cure, Rogue wanted to go to him, take charge, and mate with him like a male and female feral couple would. Now after, she was tired, tired of insanely fighting for a relationship with him that continued to be one sided. She pulled one of the couch’s pillows to her and held on to it as if it were a life preserver as she continued to watch the flames dance.

“I’m sorry for grabbin’ your wrist too hard. I didn’t mean to cause you more pain,” she faintly heard a voice that sounded like Logan say.

“Huh? What?” Rogue asked as her eyes refocused on his fire illuminated face.


Logan had watched her sit at the far end of the couch, and it felt like Hawaii trying to look at New York. Her face told the story that her thoughts were just as far away. He decided to break the uncomfortable silence and apologize for grabbing her wrist the way he did. Then she spoke and he knew that she had been far away in thought.

“I said; I’m sorry for grabbing your wrist earlier. I didn’t mean to cause you more pain.”

“Oh. Ah’m all raht.”

“Are you? How are you, really?” He could hear the concern in his own voice.

“Ah… Ah don’t wanna talk ‘bout it tonaht. It’s late and ah should git ta bed.”
“I’ll sleep here on the couch, if that’s all right with you,” Logan offered.

True, he could have slept out in his camper but, he didn’t want to take the risk of leaving the cabin just yet. She might try to lock him out if he left. Then he’d have to go back to square one and try to get back on her good side. She was vulnerable and volatile right then and could fall off the emotional fence she was straddling. Logan remembered that there were two bedrooms upstairs but he didn’t feel like sleeping on a dusty bed. Hell, he’d even sleep on the floor at her feet if it made her happy. No, he was going to sleep downstairs on the couch.

“Okay,” she said softly. “Ah’ll go get ya some supplahs.”


Logan watched her leave and wondered about what he had missed in her life. She had gone and grown up under his nose. No, that wasn’t right, because his nose wasn’t around much for her to grow up under. And when it was, he realized that he spent a lot of time flirting with Jean and pissing Scott off. No wonder he didn’t know that the Ice Prick and Rogue weren’t an item. Logan decided that he needed to have a good old fashioned chat with her like they used to do on occasion on a bench under one of the trees in the garden. He felt a pang of regret then; he missed those times. Somewhere deep down, he knew that things would never be the same between them again.


Rogue went to the linen closet and opened one of the plastic tubs where the clean linens were kept. She pulled out a couple top sheets and then grabbed one of the four pillows on her bed before going back downstairs. She placed the linens and pillow on the far end of the couch. She turned to go and his voice stopped her.

“I’ll be down here if you need me.”

“Night, Logan,” was all she could think to say.

“Night, Rogue.”

She turned and left Logan sitting on the couch. She went up to the master bedroom and locked her door. Rogue couldn’t trust that Logan wouldn’t attack her again if Wolverine got loose. Not that the simple metal lock would keep him out if he really wanted to get to her but, she could escape to the deck outside her window if she needed an escape route. She wondered if she had to run if she could circle back in time to get to her vehicle to run before the animal caught up to her. She figured he would probably know she would eventually come back for transportation. Rogue could picture him standing there by her Jeep with his arms folded and a pissed look on his face.

She turned on the light by the bed and sighed as she sat down on the right side of the bed. She took a deep breath and then exhaled before going to the dresser and pulling out a pair of pajamas. She changed into them before slipping into the covers of the queen bed. Rogue turned out the light and as she lay there in the linens she felt a sudden wave of emotion hit her. Her eyes began to fill with tears and she started to cry. She was letting out stuffed down tears that had been in the well of deep emotion. Even though her pillow absorbed her tears she cried for all the time she wasted trying to fight to keep him interested in wanting to be with her. Most of the time, she’d failed because he was chasing Jean or his past. Rogue made a decision, she was done, and it was over. No more fighting for a relationship that really was never there to begin with. If they wanted to remain civil and get along, that was fine. The trust was gone. Maybe a friendship could grow, in time? It finally dawned to her that she didn’t matter to the man or the animal as much as they meant to both parts of her. And for that she began to grieve… A couple hours later Rogue had cried herself to sleep.


From where he sat, Logan watched Rogue go up the staircase and into the first room on the left. His sensitive hearing picked up the bolt sliding in to the slot, the locking mechanism in place. The sound told him that she wanted him to stay out. He sighed. How the hell had he let things get so fucking twisted with her? Sure he could blame Jean, he could blame Scott, and he could blame the animal but, wasn’t he a part of the animal too? In the end, he had to blame himself. He stood, made himself a bed with the sheets, and the pillow on the couch. Logan pulled the quilt off the back of the couch and spread it across his makeshift bed before he pulled his boots off. Then he stretched out between the sheets. While he was trying to relax his sensitive hearing picked up a sound, a sound from upstairs. He looked up to the door to the master bedroom and focused in on the sound. He heard Rogue crying.

Logan felt a stab of guilt like a kick to his abdomen. Every cell in his body told him to go to her, to comfort her, make her feel better but, her lock on the door reminded him that she needed her space. He knew that it wouldn’t keep him out but, she hadn’t come to him for help. He listens and lets it sink in, the damage that the animal caused. There’s no way he can sleep now. A few hours later, the sound stopped and he couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to see if she was all right. Logan went up the stairs as quiet as possible and he picked up on a strong scent of salt water. She had been crying a lot… He focused in and heard her breathing slow and even; she had cried herself to sleep. It wasn’t right. Rogue shouldn’t be sad. She should be happy and having a good time, and the sooner he got her back to that, he realized, would make him happy. He went back down to the couch and tried to get some sleep.


During the dark early morning hours, Rogue began to have nightmares. They started out with the attack. She could feel the weight of Logan’s heavy body against hers, his warm breath in her ears, growling. She felt his hand slap her face, not once but twice, injuring both sides of her face. Then the nightmares shifted into some of Logan’s memories of his past that she had received from him kissing her earlier. She felt the white hot heat of the metal going into her body and she started screaming in her mind. Then she was in a plane… She was inside the plane about to jump. A voice from somewhere told her that mutants had to be saved. Then the nightmare shifted into an ocean and she felt like she was drowning. She started screaming again in her mind and she felt better the more she screamed because it was helping her fight back to the surface. She had no idea that those screams had actually found a real voice.


Sometime after four in the morning, suddenly there was a blood curdling scream. Logan’s eyes shot open and he lost control as Wolverine let the claws loose. He scrambled to get up and took two steps at a time as he rushed up the stairs ready for a fight. He busted down the locked door.

“You okay, Rogue?” He said rather roughly.

Then his facial expressions softened when he saw her knees curled up to her chest and her forehead down on her knee caps.

“Yeah, yeah, ah’m fahn,” he smelled her lie and more salt water.

Wolverine calmed down and Logan took control, put away the claws. Logan went to the bed and sat a few inches from her feet.

“You don’t look fine. I’m here if you wanna talk.”

He could hear her trying to slow her panicked state. The salt water scent began to fade. He wanted to touch her somehow to reassure her that it would be okay but, he kept his hands to himself. Logan didn’t want to push her into talking until she was ready but, he was prepared to if she was going to put up walls.

“Ah’m fahn. Ah’m gonna go back ta bed now.”

“Were they mine or yours?” Logan asked knowing that she had experienced someone’s nightmares.

“Go on back to bed Logan, ah’m fahn.”

Rogue held onto what pride she had left and sent him back downstairs. But he wasn’t leaving… So, she got up out of bed and held open her busted door. She moved to lean up against the damaged door frame.

“Please go back ta bed Logan, ah’m tired.”

“We’re gonna have to talk sometime, Rogue.”

“Ah know but, raht now ain’t the tahm.”

She saw his shoulders sag; she could see his disappointment, and he stood to leave. She was immediately torn between making him go and letting him stay in bed with her for the rest of the darkness. Her heart reminded her of what he had done and more pain made her stand firm. He finally walked out of her room and she listened for his footsteps down to the last step, because she counted them, just to make sure he was downstairs. She closed the door and moved the dresser in front of the busted door frame for what little privacy she could get. Rogue sighed and moved back to the bed. She flopped down on the semi warm sheet and wondered if she should make Logan leave the cabin; to get more time alone to deal with her pain. Her brain screamed that it was too much to process and so she decided to go back to sleep. She laid back and brought her feet up as she pulled up the covers.


Once Logan made it off the last step, he heard a piece of heavy furniture as it moved across the floor. He knew she was shutting him out, literally, emotionally and physically. He was back at square one. He wondered if he should stay. She was obviously in pain and his presence seemed to be annoying her. But something inside him told him to stay and work it out. The man wanted to love and comfort the injuries the animal caused away but, the animal wanted to claim her and show her that he was in control. Ultimately, both were wrong in their approach to how to fix the situation. Rogue’s pain pulled on his heartstrings the longer he stayed, driving him crazy. Out of the blue, he got the feeling that he had to get out of there. The walls seemed to be collapsing and he couldn’t breathe. The animal began to tell him to run as the fight or flight instinct began to flare. He had to run. Logan moved to the couch and put his boots on his socked feet. He grabbed his jacket on his way out the door…


Logan stepped off the porch and broke into a dead run, his mind a whirlpool of emotions. The anger at what the animal had done was the most overwhelming emotion but, there were others there scratching to get up to the level his anger was at. Then anger at him began to set in; anger that he hadn’t stayed at the school long enough to be there when the cure’s failure was announced. Anger, that he hadn’t spent more time talking to Rogue about her decision to get the cure. Anger, that he hadn’t come right out and given her examples of how he knew what she was going through, been where she was headed. Anger, that he hadn’t taken the time to prove to her that there were a few ways around her mutation. Logan left in the pre-dawn darkness and ran out into the surrounding woods around the cabin, in a northwesterly direction. He ran until his lungs burned from the coldness, the speed at which he inhaled, and exhaled. He stopped and he felt his mutation erase the pain. Once deep into the forest he began mutilating trees. Small or large, didn’t matter. A kind of self-torture… Relishing in the blood loss and pain the animal had caused him, as if he deserved it, and at the time he felt like he did.

When he tired, he flopped down on a freshly fallen log and cried, released his emotions. He felt broken and so unworthy of anything Rogue chose to give him, in the past and the present. Unworthy of anything anyone ever gave him; that was why being a loner worked. The payoff that he got out of being one was that he didn’t have to love, feel, and form attachments. He could stay in a perpetual wilderness of numb. The animal took the man’s voice and he howled, because the animal finally realized what he had done to his mate. If there still was a future… With her, he had to take the chance and risk everything in him to win her back.


Rogue was lying in bed looking at the ceiling, trying to count sheep backwards, when heard the sound. The cabin’s front door slammed and she waited to hear the engine of his truck start up so that she could judge him unworthy of her affection. But, it didn’t come…

‘Where was he goin’?’ She thought as she lay in bed.

Curious, she got up and went to the bedroom window. She just barely made Logan out in the moonlight as she saw him disappear into the trees. He was running again… To where, she had no idea. She felt sadness wash over her and she decided to go back to bed once more. There was no use in staying up for the rest of the night waiting for Logan to return. It would only keep her tired and she needed all the energy she could muster to help her get through the next few days. Rogue crawled back in between the sheets again and before her head hit the pillow she worried if he would stay when he came back. If he didn’t, well then, there was her answer. If he stayed, then maybe she’d give the man one more shot. After her decision was when she heard the blood chilling and sorrow filled howl through the window.


Rogue heard the pain in that howl and somewhere deep down it pulled on her heartstrings. Suddenly, she had an imaginary angel Rogue dressed in an all-white X-Men uniform, complete with a halo, on her shoulder. She turned her head naturally and saw a devil Rogue dressed in an all-red X-Men uniform, complete with horns, and a tail. No pitchfork.

“Great, now ah’m seein’ things.”

‘Pain is good. He hurt you, we should make him pay for what he’s done,’ the devil Rogue began.

‘Can’t you hear? He’s hurtin’ inside. You should go to him, be his friend.’

“Ah can’t,” Rogue protested.

‘Leave her alone, she’s the injured party here, not him.’

‘How long will you make him suffer? It won’t make you feel any bettah, ah promise you that.’

‘Ah beg to differ, Miss Prissy Pants. We’re feelin’ just fahn.’

‘You know we love him, deep down. How long will you hurt the man we love?’

“Ah don’t wanna hurt him, really, ah just…”

‘You do, you want him to hurt. You remember how bad our face felt?’

“Yeah, so?” Rogue answered.

‘He needs to feel lahk that.’

‘But Logan suffers because of the Wolverine every day,’ the angel Rogue pleaded.


Rogue had to take a few moments to think. The angel Rogue was right. She heard a pounding thud in her head from behind the door she had Logan in her mind locked behind.

‘Don’t let him out. Don’t let him win,’ devil Rogue pleaded.

The more she thought about what angel Rogue had to say, her heart was changing. He had gone through so much pain already… And then she remembered the promise she made to herself once she found out he had been in a lab. She wanted to be there for him to prove to him that he wasn’t the animal they all perceived him to be. Rogue realized that even though he hurt her, she needed to be there for him. After all, it was partially her fault she got attacked to begin with; she had to admit to herself. She should have known better. Once she made the decision to talk with him in the morning, exhausted, she went back to sleep.


In the morning, when the sun hit her face like a bright flashlight beam, Rogue woke up. She yawned and realized that she felt like a Mack truck had hit her last night. She threw back the covers and swung her legs off the bed before she sat up. Her head immediately began to pound, like Native American tribesmen on handmade drums during a war or rain chant. She took a few minutes to breathe before trying to stand on her own. When she did, she passed out, fell because she got up too fast. A few minutes later, she awoke on the floor, she wondered where Logan was. Surely, he would have heard her fall and came running right away but, it was quiet downstairs.

“Shit,” she said as she pushed her torso up by her arms and sat up; her arms hurt and her body let her know that falling wasn’t a good idea.

She got up, completed her morning necessities, changed her clothes, and went downstairs. Logan wasn’t on the couch in front of the fireplace where she hoped he would be. She worried that there was a chance that Logan might have left after what she heard last night. When she opened the front door and saw his truck, she let out a breath she wasn’t aware she’d been holding. His truck was still in the driveway but, where was he?


Logan slipped down from the log, sat on his ass in front of it, and went to sleep with his head back against the now slowly decaying tree he’d cut down. In his sleep, Logan began to dream… The animal copy of himself appeared before him in his dream; he was lying down on a flat rock atop a grassy knoll. He had a freshly cut, brand new Cuban cigar in his mouth; his hands behind his head and his head towards the sky.

‘Gotta get back to matin’ basics…’ Wolverine told Logan in his head as he started a conversation, between animal and man.

‘Uh, I don’t think she’s gonna wanna mate with me, much less you right now, Bub… And those are?’ Logan curiously asked in thought after a pause to process.

‘Fire, shelter, food, and water. Gotta prove that we can provide for her.’

‘Move over,’ Logan said before he sat down on the rock next to himself.

He patiently listened to the Wolverine giving advice. He told him that he needed to prove that he could provide stability, security for her. Build her a fire and she would know that you can keep her warm. Feed her and she would see her place in your pack. Take care of her and she would see that you want to protect her as you would if you were her mate. Show her that you do care for her, that she does mean something to you and she might be able to let us back into her life. Logan had to admit, the animal did make sense.

‘You gotta behave. I can’t try to regain her trust if you take over.’

‘I can’t promise I will. I’ll try harder. But you know when I get a whiff of her juices, all bets are off.’

‘No, I have to stay in control.’

‘All right, now that we want her as our mate, I will tone it down but, if she calls my name, I’m there.’

‘Deal.’

Logan didn’t understand why he suddenly felt like he made a deal with Satan. He watched the animal disappear and then he moved on to better dreams of Rogue.


A ray of sun brightly shining on his face, made his eyes crack open.

“Rogue,” he said as he figured that he was no longer sleeping.

She was the first thought on his mind as she had also been the last, last night. He sat up so that he could get the sun out of his eyes and then he rolled his shoulders; he easily popped his neck. He stood and looked around at the damage he’d caused the night before. Whew, they’d have plenty of firewood if they couldn’t resolve their problems by the start of winter. Then he remembered what he had dreamed the night before. Logan remembered that he needed to stand up for himself. He was in control now, not the animal. He recalled his purpose for being there in the first place. He needed to apologize as the man again, without hurting Rogue again. He needed to apologize as the animal. He needed to pamper her without being too saccharine, not overly obvious. He needed to get her to let out the emotions he knew she was holding inside. They would poison any future with her if he couldn’t get her to let go. He needed to start building some kind of trust.


Back in the cabin, Rogue debated building a fire to cut the chill in the room or going out to find Logan over a mug filled with coffee, cream, a teaspoon of sugar, and a couple fingers worth of liquid courage from Xavier’s liquor cabinet in the living room. She turned and leaned on the kitchen counter as she took another sip of coffee. Suddenly, the door burst open and here came Logan carrying an abundant arm load of wood inside. He kicked the door closed behind him and carried the wood to the fireplace. Out of the blue, without asking he just started stacking the wood on the wrought iron grill. Without acknowledging him, she poured him a cup of coffee and fixed it how he liked it. Rogue moved from the counter and closer to the couch in front of said fireplace. She watched as he lit the newspaper roll he had pulled from his back pocket and used it under the grill to ignite the bark of the wood he’d stacked. Then when the logs began to catch fire, she watched his face glow with the light from the growing fire. She studied the left side of his face.

He looked tired, more haggard than she’d ever seen him; which seemed pretty impossible for someone that didn’t age. His beard had grown thicker and his hair looked like a bird’s nest. Rogue realized that he must have had a rough night. A startling thought crossed her mind. He looked lost… The moment broke as he stood and turned towards her. She handed him the cup of coffee and he thanked her before he brought his heavy frame to the couch. A long uncomfortable pause hung between them.


Logan had stopped in his camper to change his clothing. A fresh undershirt, flannel over shirt, and jeans. He caught a glimpse of his hair in the mirror on the way out. The animal approved of the disheveled look. Then he opened up the cab, grabbed an old newspaper from the seat, and tucked it in his left back pocket. It didn’t take him long to gather a super amount of wood. He burst his way in by kicking the door latch open. He headed right for the fireplace. His nose caught the scent of Rogue and coffee as he set up the logs to burn. Her scent and the scent of the coffee grew stronger and he knew she moved closer towards him. Logan hoped that she would be open to talking with him after he barged in on her last night after her nightmare. He built the fire and the animal wondered if he might catch a whiff of her arousal if she watched him any longer from the couch. Yes, he knew she was watching him and so he paused just a little longer before he decided to join her.

“Thanks,” he said as he took the mug filled with coffee from her.

He took a seat next to her, but not so close to scare her away. He savored his first sip of coffee and how she made it just right. Oddly, he couldn’t think of anything to say right then in the moment. A good half an hour passed by before Rogue broke the silence finally spoke.

“Where’d you go last naht?”

“Out… I needed to let off some steam,” he said as truthfully as he honestly could.

Telling the truth now for Logan seemed impossible, but because he broke the trust bond between them, he now needed to always tell the truth, and never lie to Rogue again.

“Oh.”

“When you’re up to it, we gotta talk,” his tone a bit more serious than he would have liked.


Rogue held her mug close to her lips. She lowered her eyes to a spot on the hardwood floor between the rug and the brick of the fireplace. She took a sip and hovered the cup near her lips. Was she ready for that kind of conversation? Was he ready for her to let him have it with both barrels? She knew that she needed to let him know how deeply he emotionally cut her… If healing was going to begin, she had to let it all out. She resolved to let her anger out as she took another sip of her coffee. Rogue knew he could take it if she chose to use him as her personal punching bag.

“All raht, we’ll talk, but ah need a refill. You want one?”

“Sure, darlin’,” he said as he gave her a half smile.

He called her something other than ‘Kid!’ Had he changed for the better? She wasn’t sure but she liked the new title. She took their mugs into the kitchen counter and refilled them, complete with the liquid courage in hers. She even slipped him one and a half fingers worth. Then she took up her seat once more and curled her denim covered legs under her. She handed him his cup and started sipping on the warm liquid. She didn’t know where to begin; should she release her emotions or tell him how bad he hurt her?


Logan was a little surprised that his coffee had an interesting new flavor in it and the eyebrow went up as he watched her. Somehow, he sensed that he should open the floor.

“I know I hurt you, and for that I’m deeply sorry. I know you don’t trust me right now but I’m gonna make you three promises; which you might think don’t mean a hill of beans, but I’m tryin’ my best to restore what I’ve damaged.”

Rogue didn’t say a word so he continued on.

“One, I’m gonna tell you the truth. I’m not gonna lie to you. No more white lies and lyin’ by leavin’ things out neither. Two, I’m not gonna make you promises that I can’t keep. I’m gonna keep my word. I once promised to take care of you and I intend to keep that promise, whether you need me or not. And three, I will be as transparent as I possibly can so that you know that I’m me and not the animal. You’ll know that I’m myself and that I’m sincere.”

She didn’t say anything. He began to worry something was wrong. Maybe she was just processing what he’d just said? What he’d said was more than he’d said to her in a long time. He noticed her pulse jumped a bit, but her breathing seemed somewhat calm. Too calm, had he said too much? Shit, what if she’s still mad at me?


‘This is it. Ah have to let this go or ah cain’t move on,’ she thought before she turned slightly and tucked a leg under the other.

“When you hit meh, it hurt real bad at first. Since you burned meh lahk that, it sent a real clear message to meh… That ah didn’t matter to you as much as you meant to meh. And that was what hurt meh more than your backhand,” she said and then looked him square in the eye just for a moment so that he could see her pain.

She didn’t hold his gaze for long because she didn’t want to see too much of his reaction or she might falter in her resolve.

“Ah have been in pain for some time now. Not just physical, but emotional because of the betrayal and the loss of trust ah had between mahself and someone ah thought was mah best friend,” tears began to form in her eyes.

Rogue noticed that Logan didn’t say a word as she spoke about her grief.

“Ah know things ain’t gonna be easy between us for a long tahm, Logan, and ah don’t have a clear picture of what has to be done to set things raht, but ah have to try or ah can’t move on.”