Logan came downstairs into the recreation room and sat down on the couch next to Jean and Storm. He groaned with annoyance when he realized they were watching Oprah. Scott, Bobby, Peter and Kurt were playing pool nearby.

"So Logan, where's the little wife?" Jean asked teasingly.

Without a hint of amusement in his voice he answered,
"Doing her homework."

Jean and Storm exchanged curious/concerned looks and then
Jean cleared her throat before clarifying, "It was a joke, Logan. We found out this morning that Rogue does your laundry and cleaning."

"She does the grocery shopping too," Storm chimed in cheerfully. "And she cooks for him."

"Yeah, you got it pretty good don't you?" Jean was teasing him again.

Logan didn't reply, just leaned forward and took the newspaper from the coffee table and began to read. The women exchanged a look again then shrugged and went back to their show. He finished his paper about ten minutes later then got up and walked over to the pool table. He had just started playing Scott, Bobby and Peter when Rogue and Jubilee came into the room. Rogue came over to Logan as he was taking his shot and he raised a brow at her in question.

"Sugar, Jubes wants to go to the mall," Rogue told him.

He nodded, took his shot then straightened and took his wallet out of his back pocket, gave her his debit card, and smiled.

"Don't go over the limit, baby," Logan said quietly. She nodded. "And don't let Yellow get you into trouble. Call me if you need me."

"I won't, honey. And we'll be careful, promise. You're the best," Rogue grinned at him and stood on tiptoe to kiss his sideburns then she and Jubilee left.

Scott studied Logan curiously a moment then asked, "You let her use your debit card?"

"Sure," Logan shrugged like it was perfectly normal to give an eighteen year old girl free reign of your bank account. "I told her I'd get her a card for her too but she likes it this way. I put her on my bank account when we came here and I opened her a trust savings account to put her money in that she makes too. She's saving it for a vacation to Australia and New Zealand for her twenty-first. I told her she didn't need to. If she wants to go there for her birthday I'll take her. She said yeah but she'll want to do some shopping too and there's something else she wants to buy but she won't tell me what it is."

"You trust an eighteen year old girl with your bank account," Scott said slowly, his face full of shock and disbelief. "Jean and I don't even have a joint account."

"I trust Rogue with everything I've got," Logan told him with dead seriousness. "And I do mean everything, money being the least of it."

"How did the trip to Gatlinburg go?" Peter asked him. To all their astonishment, Logan blushed then cleared his throat.

"It was great. We had a great time," Logan answered trying to sound casual about it. "She took lots of pictures. I'm sure she'd show them to you."

"Do anything special?" Bobby asked next.

"The whole trip was special," Logan said. "It was her birthday."

Scott, Bobby and Peter exchanged amused and somewhat worried looks over Logan's uncharacteristic openness. He had been in an extremely good mood since he and Rogue returned from their three week vacation to Tennessee. He hadn't made any of the junior X-Men cry once all week.
Logan's cell rang then and he answered it. "What's wrong?" he asked. All three men knew without asking that it was Rogue.

"Sugar, nothing's wrong. I wanted to know if you needed anything while I'm here in town," Rogue said over the phone and Logan visibly relaxed a little.

"Nah, baby I'm good. Just don't let Yellow talk you into buying anything ridiculous," he said.

"Of course not, Logan. I was thinking though maybe we could go out tonight for dinner," Rogue suggested softly. Logan knew that tone. It was the 'I really want this but I'm shy about asking for it' tone. He smiled.

"Sure, baby. We can do that," he replied gently. He was almost certain she was smiling when she spoke again.

"Great, sugar. You won't regret it. I gotta go now. We're here," she said.

"Okay, darlin. I'll see you later," Logan said then he whispered 'I love you' into the phone where the others couldn't hear and she whispered it back then they hung up.

"What was that you said at the end?" Peter asked curiously.

"None of your business," Logan replied gruffly. "And it's rude to listen in on people's phone calls."

A few hours later Rogue walked into her room and dropped her shopping bags, including one from Victoria's Secret on the bed. Logan was in the shower and left the door open to their joint bathroom. She grinned wickedly and stripped off her clothes before walking in to join him.
Logan smiled when she opened the shower door and stepped inside, pulling her to him and kissing her thoroughly.

"Missed you, baby," he said beginning to soap her up along with him under the spray.

"I missed you too, sugar. Jubes, though I love her to death, gave me the worst headache," she told him. He nodded knowingly and massaged her head while he shampooed her hair. She moaned with pleasure. "Ah yes, baby. So good."

"Oh darlin the sounds you make," Logan groaned and pressed his body flush against hers, letting her feel his arousal against her belly. She grinned as he rinsed the shampoo out of her hair and applied the conditioner. As he did that she let her hands roam over his body freely. She had long ago memorized every single inch of the glory that was Logan but rediscovering her territory was always fun. And it drove him crazy.

Which explained why after the conditioner was rinsed from her hair she found herself pinned up against the shower wall, her legs wrapped around his waist and his cock buried inside her thrusting in and out powerfully by a very turned on Wolverine.

"I warned you," Logan growled against her neck. She rolled her hips around as he thrust and he groaned with soul deep pleasure. "Oh baby, yes!"

He sped up the pace of his thrusts and reached a hand between them to massage her clit and she screamed. "Oh God Logan!"

Logan gave her a feral grin and then they were both beyond thought or playing, moving together frantically and making sounds that were primal in their ferocity and passion. When she came hard around him, biting down on his neck Logan's climax was triggered too and he came deep inside her with five long bursts of white hot seed into her womb. They trembled with the aftershocks as the movements slowed then stopped and looked into each other's eyes. Neither of them were capable of speech so gentle kisses had to suffice for the sweet nothings and declarations of love that usually accompanied earth-shattering orgasms.

After their shower they went back into the bedroom. Logan eyed the bags on the bed, particularly the pink one, and went to grab it to look inside when she snatched it away and shook her head.

"No, sugar. This is for later," she scolded. He pouted a little but gave in, knowing how awesome her surprises from that store could be for him.

So instead he slid into a fresh pair of Levi's and laid back on the bed to watch her put on her black lace bra and panties then apply her body lotion that made him want to resume their shower activities. After that she put on a pair of thigh high sheer hose with black lace trim garters and her slinky emerald green silk dress that clung in all the right places. She went to bathroom to do her hair and makeup and Logan took that time to put on a black t-shirt and black button-down shirt over it. The t-shirt he tucked in but the button-down was left unbuttoned and un-tucked so that his Indian head belt buckle could be seen. Then he put on his dog tags, newly modified and also holding his gold wedding band on them. Black cowboy boots came next and he simply ran his fingers through his hair to comb it, still damp from the shower. When Rogue came back out and saw him she had to catch her breath. He heard her and gave her a wicked grin that said 'yeah I know you think I'm sexy'. She grinned back and slipped on her high heels.

Logan's eyes were drawn to her thick, hip length and softly curled brown hair though as she bent over to put on her shoes. His fingers itched to play with it. In fact, on their honeymoon in Gatlinburg he had spent hours doing just that, especially those white strands that framed her face and reminded him always of how close he'd come to losing her. When she straightened and looked at him she frowned because he had so many emotions on his face.

"What is it, Logan?" she asked.

He smiled and shook his head then pulled her into his arms. "I love you, that's all."

"I love you too, baby," Rogue threaded her fingers through his hair and smiled. "Damn you're sexy. I'm the luckiest girl in the world. And don't argue with me about it."

He laughed and nodded. Their debate over who was the lucky one could go on for hours. "Okay, baby. You win this time. Ready to go?" he asked.

"Just gotta put my gloves on and get my purse," she answered slipping out of his arms.

"Honey, why don't you go without the gloves? I know you hate wearing them," he suggested.

"Because I don't want everyone to know yet I learned how to control it," she explained slipping on her black silk gloves. "I'm not sure how they'll react. And I don't trust them."

"I don't either but I hate seeing you uncomfortable," Logan grumbled as they made their way out the door and into the hallway.

"I'll be fine, Logan. I'll take them off when we get in the car," Rogue said and he nodded with a sigh and took one of her hands in his, lacing their fingers together while they walked.

"Okay," he could live with that. They made their way downstairs and upon seeing Scott, Jean, Storm and the Professor there in the foyer with some new guy neither recognized, reluctantly let go of each other's hand.

"Ah, there you both are," the Professor said smiling. "Logan, Rogue, I'd like you to meet Remy LeBeau aka Gambit. He's the newest member to our X-Men team and will be teaching French here. Remy, this is Logan aka Wolverine and Rogue. Logan teaches martial arts, self-defense and industrial arts. Rogue recently graduated from here and will be starting college courses soon. She's just been moved from the junior team to the senior X-Men."

Remy smiled at Rogue and took her gloved hand in his then kissed it, ignoring the growl it elicited from Logan.
"The pleasure is all mine, chere. God, you're beautiful," he said slowly.

"Yes well, thank you I guess," Rogue slipped her hand from his giving him a wary glance and inched a bit closer to Logan who promptly but his body between his wife and the Cajun.

"And we've met before," Remy said to Logan. "It was a long time ago. I was her age. You made me take you to Stryker's Island so you could kill someone and we ended up rescuing a bunch of kids they had there. The last time I saw you was there. You'd just been shot in the head when I caught up to you and didn't remember who I was or who you were for that matter. I tried to get you to come with me but you said you'd find your own way. You haven't aged a bit, homme."

"You have but I remember you now," Logan said slowly.
"Stay away from Rogue."

"Papa Wolverine's protective of his petite, huh?" Remy grinned wickedly and Logan fought the urge to put his teeth through the back of his head.

Rogue knew this and hooked her arm through Logan's giving him a little tug. "Come on, sugar. We're gonna be late," she told him.

"Yeah," Logan nodded and then put his arm around her shoulders leading her away.

"Where are you going?" Jean asked them.

"Out," Logan called over his shoulder. They went to the garage and got into Logan's '67 Impala then drove off.
Standing there after they were gone Remy looked at the others and smiled lazily. He knew what Logan and Rogue were hiding. He'd felt her ring under her glove when he took her hand and Logan's band was dangling on that set of dog tags he had on. Apparently the moron had forgotten to put them under his tee.

"So, how long have they been dating? She's a young fille though so it can't have been long," Remy asked thoughtfully. "Logan has a thing for sassy brunettes, though, especially when they have light colored eyes to contrast with the dark hair. Those emerald greens of hers are the prettiest I've seen in a long time. I bet he loves hearing that sweet honeyed voice screaming his name."

They all stared at him dumbfounded. Then Scott said slowly, "Logan and Rogue aren't a couple. They're friends. She only just turned eighteen a month ago."

"Uh-huh. Y'all keep telling yourselves that. If they ain't though, I think I'll give him a run for his money cause that is a fine little petite that just walked out of here. And she's Southern too. Kind of makes me homesick. I bet she even knows how to cook grits and biscuits and make sweet tea," Remy stated with a wicked grin. Then he rubbed his hands together looking a bit evil. "Yeah, this is gonna be more fun than I thought it would."

With that, he turned and walked up the stairs with his suitcases in hand. The others turned and looked at one another with worried expressions.

"You don't think he's serious about going after Rogue, do you Professor?" Storm asked, "Because Logan will dismember him."

"I think he's quite serious and that he already knows what Logan is capable of," the Professor answered.

"Why would he think Logan and Rogue are dating?" Scott asked. "I know they're close but I mean, Logan isn't exactly subtle when it comes to women. If he had feelings for Rogue surely we would have seen it before now."

The Professor was silent a moment then shrugged. "I simply do not know, Scott. I wouldn't broach the subject with either of them though. You know how temperamental they can be when confronted about each other," he warned.

Scott nodded knowingly. He had been the recipient of many verbal and sometimes physical assaults from the pair after trying to give some well-meaning advice. He was not going to try it again. Ever.

Logan and Rogue made it to the restaurant on time and she had finally gotten him in a better mood after Remy's flirting ruined it. Now they were seated across from each other and smiling, her hand in his on the table.

"So you gonna tell me what was in the bag?" he asked grinning.

"What bag?" she feigned ignorance and he laughed.

"The pink one," Logan raised his eyebrow and waited. It's effects on women was legendary. But apparently not on his wife. God, he loved that word. His wife. He was a married man.

Rogue simply shook her head and smirked at him. "No, sugar. You have to wait till we get home."

He pouted, actually pouted, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Then again, remembering their honeymoon and the ungodly amount of sexy lingerie and clothing Logan had purchased for her with the excitement of a schoolboy too, it was understandable how put out he was at her keeping her surprise. The man loved dressing her up, then undressing her at his leisure, like she was his own personal Barbie doll. It was adorable and she could just imagine what he'd be like with their daughters when they had some. He'd insist on pink, he was old-fashioned that way, at least when they were babies. He'd probably put them in pretty little dresses and ribbons in their hair and treat them like precious fairy princesses because he sure as hell treated their mama like a queen. Yep, she was one lucky woman.

"Just a hint, baby?" he asked pleadingly with a little smile.

"One hint," she conceded and his face lit up like a Christmas tree. She pursed her lips thoughtfully to ponder which hint to give him then smiled slowly. "It's made almost entirely of lace."

Logan's eyes drifted down her body, imagining all kinds of possibilities where lace could be involved and swallowed hard, feeling his groin tighten with lust. This woman was going to kill him. But damn, what away to go.

"Sugar, how long has your chain been outside your shirt?" Rogue asked him suddenly. He looked down at his dog tags and shrugged.

"I guess I didn't tuck them under," he replied. "Why?"

"You think someone saw your ring?" she asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Logan's eyes narrowed and he sat back in his chair. This secrecy business was getting old and pissing him off. "Would it matter if they did?" he asked slowly, anger clearly in his voice.

"No," she said cautiously seeing how upset her husband was becoming. "We agreed we weren't going to hide it but we weren't going to shout it from the rooftops either. - You want to tell them, though don't you?"

He sighed in frustration and leaned forward, looking away then back at her. "No, I mean yeah I do. I want to tell everyone. Hell, I want to tell complete strangers on the street. I'm happy, baby. You've made me so happy, more than I deserve and you're my wife now. I'm your husband. I want to tell the world. Is that so wrong? Are you ashamed of me?"

That tortured, scared expression on his face broke her heart. She shook her head quickly and came around the table to sit in his lap and wrap her arms around his neck. "Sugar, no. No, I'm not ashamed of you. That'll never happen. And no, there's nothing wrong with wanting to tell people that we're married and happy. I just, I don't want to hear anyone say bad things about you because of how young I am. You know how Scott is and if he starts causing trouble I won't be held responsible for my actions, Logan because I will lay him out."

"Baby, I don't care what people think of me. I love you and we waited till you were legal. I did the right thing by you and my conscience is clear," Logan told her firmly.

"Honey, I know that. You treat me like I'm the most precious thing in the world. I couldn't have dreamed up a better husband in my wildest imaginations," Rogue smiled at him, raking her fingers through his hair lovingly. His gaze was intense and sincere when her eyes met his again.

"You are the most precious thing in the world, to me you are," he said. Then he kissed her and whispered against her mouth. "I love you so much, darlin. There aren't words to measure just how much."

"I know the feeling," she whispered back. "We'll tell them all in the morning, okay?"

Logan nodded and pulled back to look at her, his hands stroking her back. "Thank you, baby."

"Not a problem, sugar. If something's bothering you I want you to tell me. Don't hold out on me, Logan. Honesty and trust, remember?" she asked. He nodded firmly then she stood and went back to her chair.

"It goes both ways you know," Logan reminded her and she nodded. They held hands again and smiled at each other after a moment. "Oh and keep your distance from the Cajun, baby. He's a charmer and an empath and he'll use both to get into your pants if his natural techniques don't work."

"I've been warned," Rogue grinned wickedly then she laughed. "Honestly Logan, who would be dumb enough to try and sleep with your wife?"

Logan thought about that a moment then laughed too. God, he loved her. After they ate and slow-danced a while they drove back home. Finding Remy in their apartment was not the most thrilling thing they could have envisioned when they came through their front door and into their living room busily kissing and taking off each other's clothes. The sound of the Cajun's throat clearing made them freeze and look wide-eyed at each other.

"There's someone here," Rogue whispered against his mouth. He nodded.

"LeBeau," he muttered and turned to look at a very amused Louisianan sitting on their couch.

"Oh don't let me interrupt, homme. The Professor said I could stay in y'all's guest room seeing as we're old friends and everything," Remy told him grinning like the devil.

"Well, we'll just see -," Logan started but Rogue stopped him with a hand on his arm and a look.

"Sugar, there's plenty of room. It's not a big deal. Come on, let's go to bed. You still haven't gotten your surprise, yet," she told him with a teasing smile at the end while tugging him toward their bedroom. "Remy, make yourself at home."

"Yeah whatever she said, Cajun. Oh," Logan stopped at their doorway and turned to look at Remy. "Keep your thieving hands off my wife."

"Wife? Well, you lucky bastard. The others around here don't even know you're a couple," Remy replied smoothly, not surprise at all in his expression which made Logan frown. "I felt her ring through her glove earlier and yours is on that chain there. Don't worry, I didn't spoil the big surprise for y'all. Good night."

"Night," Logan muttered then Rogue pulled him into the bedroom and closed the door.



Once she had him safely inside their bedroom Rogue let go of Logan and went directly to her pink bag in the closet.

"Now sugar, you just get comfortable on the bed there and let me go change."

Logan nodded and began stripping off his clothes and boots while she went into the bathroom to change. He was almost giddy with anticipation. Not that anyone else would ever know that. Nope, just his baby. And he knew he could trust her to keep his reputation as a bad ass intact. It was their one month anniversary tonight and since she had decided to wear something special Logan took out a pair of black silk boxers he'd bought this past week and slipped them on after undressing. He left his dog tags on though, she liked it when he did.

When Rogue came out in a little crimson lace flyaway baby doll, all his blood went south and he gave her a grin so wicked it would put the devil to shame. She gave him a sexy smile and very slowly made her way over to the bed, crawling on all fours over to him and straddling his lap.

"Well, sugar do you like it?" she asked playing with the ribbons tying the top together.

"Hell yes," Logan whispered huskily and he took a deep breath, rubbed his hands in anticipation and grinned again. Now, where to start? Hmm, so many possibilities. Logan finally decided on her belly. He began tracing circles over it with his fingertips, sliding under the lace on either side just to tease her while he leaned forward and placed nibbling kisses on her sternum and collarbone. Those spots drove her wild and he knew it.

"Oh Logan, honey you know me too well," she moaned throwing her head back and grinding her hips in circles against his while her hands roamed his chest and shoulders.

"Of course I do, baby. I'm your husband," he smiled against her skin, his hands coming around her back to dive into that Mayan chocolate and platinum streaked hair of hers. She found it eternally amusing that he loved to play with her hair. Of course, she found it endearing too, just like his enthusiasm for putting her in lingerie, so he let it slide when she giggled now. He silenced it with a searing kiss and plunged his tongue inside her mouth to taste her. "Damn darlin, what you do to me."

Rogue broke the kiss and pulled back to look at him then slid one hand down his chest and belly and under the waistline of his boxers to wrap around his already hard cock. "Sugar, I know what I do to you. I can feel it," she grinned and he laughed. Then she leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "This panties are crotch-less, too honey. Just so you know."

That made his laughter end abruptly and he was suddenly kissing her hard and thoroughly. She helped him get out of his boxers and tossed them aside then he took her hips and sheathed himself in her to the hilt, making them both cry out with pleasure. His hands came up to cup her breasts and massage them.

"Ride me, baby," Logan told her and she started moving in circles and up and down in steady, torturous rhythm on his cock, her hands braced on his chest. He busied himself in ridding her of her lace top and then sat up and suckled each breast in turn until they were sore and erect, now rocking in motion with her.

Their moans, groans and grunts of pleasure grew into screams and roars as they picked up the pace and then Logan flipped her over onto her back and pulled out so he could remove the now soaked panties before sliding inside her again and pounding fiercely. She hooked her legs around his waist and raised her hips to take him deeper, earning her a loud growl of approval. By the time they climaxed, and damn but they came hard, Rogue was sure she saw stars and Logan blacked out for a second, they were covered in sweat and shaking from the force of it. They were also happier than two people had a right to be.
Laying there tangled up together afterward, Rogue ran her fingertips down Logan's chest and belly lazily and said,
"I wonder if Remy heard all that."

"Don't know and don't care," Logan muttered sleepily. "Remind me to write Victoria's Secret a thank you letter."

"Okay, sugar," she pressed a kiss on his left pectoral and then rested her head there. Before long they were both sound asleep.

The next morning when Remy got up, he found them in the kitchen cooking breakfast cheerfully. He groaned in protest at being awake at 6 am and glared at them as he sat down at the bar.

"Morning, sunshine," Rogue smiled and handed him a cup of coffee. "Breakfast'll be ready in a few minutes. I hope you like grits, eggs, bacon and biscuits."

"I knew you'd be a keeper, chere," Remy brightened up a little and sipped his coffee. "This is the best coffee I've had since I left New Orleans."

Logan smirked and flipped the bacon. "Marie's cooking is the best I can remember having," he said proudly giving his wife a wink.

"I was right about her being a screamer, too," Remy said next. Rogue gasped with surprise and Logan growled. "Hey now, I was just making an observation. It's not like it was my name she was screaming. Though, -,"

"Keep it up bub and I'll slice that tongue right out of your mouth," Logan warned seriously.

"Fine, fine I give," Remy held up his hands in surrender then went back to drinking his coffee.

The rest of breakfast went on relatively well. Remy complemented Rogue on her cooking, and silently made a vow to himself to make her some good ole Cajun food one night. He thought she would appreciate that. Logan continued to growl whenever he made a flirtatious comment but Remy just shrugged it was just his nature to flirt with beautiful women.

They dressed and went downstairs after that. It was Saturday so no classes. They went into the rec room and this time Logan left his tags out on purpose and Rogue didn't wear her gloves. Remy grinned with anticipation of how the other X-Men would react to the couple's news. Scott and the Professor were watching a World War II documentary when they came in and sat down. Remy took a seat on the couch next to Scott. Logan sat down in one of the leather wing chairs and pulled Rogue down into his lap. She settled into him comfortably and played with his tags.

Jean and Storm came in shortly after discussing Jean and Scott's wedding plans. They had only been engaged three years. No rush or anything. When they saw Logan and Rogue seated as they were Jean dropped her wedding binder and gasped.

"Scott," she exclaimed looking at the Fearless Leader. He glanced at her in surprise. "Did you not see the way they're sitting together?"

Scott looked over at Logan and Rogue and then back at Jean. "So? They're always cuddling like that. It's cute," he shrugged and turned his attention back to the television.

"How are the wedding plans coming, Jean?" Rogue asked the upset red-head.

Jean picked her binder up and gave Rogue a chilly glare. "They are just fine, Rogue. Thank you. Now, you really shouldn't be sitting in Logan's lap. It's inappropriate."

"Where I come from it's not unusual for a wife to sit in her husband's lap," Remy remarked drily. He looked over at Jean and smirked. "Maybe they do things differently up here."

Logan smirked wickedly and Rogue buried her face against his neck to keep from showing her grin. Jean was flustered and angry, turning as red as her hair. Scott and the Professor and Storm were all looking at Remy in surprise.

"Husband?" Scott repeated turning his gaze to Logan and Rogue.

"You got married?" Storm asked smiling in excitement. She saw Rogue's wedding band and squealed in delight. "Oh my God, it's so pretty!"

She raced over and took Rogue's hand in hers to inspect it. The younger woman looked at her husband and he shrugged, figuring it a chick thing. "Yes, we're married," Rogue told Storm.

"I love the engraving," Storm told her. "Tudor roses and three claw marks in between. That's unique. Congratulations, you two."

Storm hugged them both then stepped back and grinned at the rest of the company.

"Where's Logan's ring?" Scott asked curiously.

"On his tags," Rogue held them up. "His claws cut the first one we got off on the wedding night."

"Oh yeah, sucks," Scott nodded. "Can I see?"

Rogue held out her hand to Scott and he took it inspecting the ring. "It's Black Hills gold. Logan had them made six months ago when he proposed," she explained.

"Beautiful," Scott said. "I like the design. It suits you both. I wanted something unique like that for me and Jean. But I haven't been able to come up with anything yet. Where did you get married?"

"Gatlinburg," Logan said. "We didn't do it there to hide what we were doing or anything. It's just if we had told everyone or anyone here then you would have wanted us to have the wedding here and everyone would have gotten involved. You and Jeannie have been planning your wedding too so we didn't want to take away from you. And we just wanted it to be the two of us. It's a very personal thing, exchanging those vows and all, and well we're private people."

"If we hurt anyone's feelings then we're sorry," Rogue said backing him up. "But really, we just wanted it to be about the two of us."

"We understand completely, Rogue. And congratulations to you both," Charles told them smiling. "I just can't believe I didn't see it coming, or know what was going on."

"We have photos, from the wedding and some sightseeing stuff we did on our honeymoon," Rogue told them. "I'll go get the album."

She got out of Logan's lap and ran upstairs. He smiled after her. "I'm a lucky man," Logan stated smugly.
"You're a dirty old man," Jean shouted at him. "She's barely eighteen, a baby Logan. How could you?"

"I love her," Logan growled at the interfering telepath.
"And she loves me. What you think means less than fuck all to me or her so zip it, Red."

"I agree with Logan," Scott told his fiancee. "Rogue is a legal adult and he waited till she was one. He did the right thing. And with all those people in her head she's a lot older than any of us."

"Thanks, Scooter," Logan gave the younger man a genuine grin which was returned. Rogue came back with the photo album and settled back in Logan's lap to show Scott and Storm the photos.

"That is so beautiful, Rogue," Storm said. "You look like a princess."

"That's my baby," Logan stated nuzzling Rogue's neck and smiling. "Speaking of babies, we're gonna have one in about eight and a half months."

"No shit?" Scott asked in surprised. Logan grinned and nodded.

"Yep. She's had the baby smell the past two weeks," Logan confirmed. "My nose doesn't lie. We've got an appointment with the doctor this afternoon."

"Didn't waste any time, huh Logan?" Jean asked snidely.
"I'm a doctor. Why didn't you come to me about it?"

"It? You mean my baby? Well, it might have to do with your attitude, Jean. I knew you'd have this reaction to Logan and I. You should know, though sweetie, you never had a chance in hell with Logan. He only flirted with you to piss off Scott and so you and Chuck wouldn't see how in love he was with me when we got here. You were a diversionary tactic, Jeannie. Nothing more," Rogue told her coldly. Logan's grip tightened around her and he murmured calming words in her ear while he kissed the spot below her ear.

"We're using Dr. Julie Sawyer. She's a mutant too and we had our first appointment last week. She's good and we both like her," Logan told them all.

"I know her. She's an excellent choice, Logan," Charles said nodding. "Given your new married status and a baby on the way, perhaps I could renew my offer to let you have the cabin by the lake?"

"Only if I buy it from you," Logan said firmly.

"Where would you get the money?" Scott asked him.

"It turns out I have lots of money. We ran into my brother while we were honeymooning and he told me everything I could ever hope to know about my past. My name is actually James Logan Howlett. I'm way older than the Professor there and I have lots of property and money I've accumulated over the years. So yeah, Chuck I'll buy that cabin from you but we might not be here at all very often. We're starting a family and really just want some peace and quiet. After the baby's born we're going up to our place in Canada for a little while," Logan told him.

“You’re not leaving the school and the team, are you?” Scott asked surprised and a bit concerned. They really needed everyone right now with the MRA still up for debate and attacks by the Friends of Humanity had gotten worse lately too.

“We aren’t sure yet,” Logan admitted carefully. “We’ll be here if there’s an emergency or something but I have to think about Rogue and the baby now. They need me and they come first.”

“That’s understandable, Logan. Yours and Rogue’s priorities have changed,” Charles told the couple calmly. “You may buy the cabin and land around it from me and it can be yours and Rogue’s home when you’re here.”

“Thanks, Chuck,” Logan gave him a nod.

Rogue looked at the others, none of which looked that happy with the news that she and Logan might not be X-Men for much longer, and felt a bit guilty. She and Logan knew things were tense right now but they deserved to be happy and have the family they wanted too. The risk of staying on the team and having a baby and being together wasn’t worth it to them. They had discussed it at length many times. Maybe after the baby was born and they had time to adjust to married life and parenthood then they would come back and Logan was still gonna go out with the team on missions in the meantime. She wasn’t though. Logan had been adamant about that and she had agreed it was too dangerous. Sometimes it really sucked that the woman was the one who had to give everything up during pregnancy. The only thing Logan had given up so far were his cigars because they made her sick.

The next two months were both happy and rough for the newlyweds. On the one hand, they were in love and obscenely pleased about that. On the other hand, Logan was pulling both their weight on missions with the team and Marie had to experience the hell of morning sickness that didn’t know how to tell time. Also, Logan was teaching classes and Marie was taking college courses by correspondence and acting as Storm’s teaching assistant in history and literature.

They did get a kick out of witnessing the bickering (aka mutual attraction) of Remy and Jubilee. The pair had begun arguing almost immediately upon meeting and Logan and Marie found it humorous as hell. Logan was happy about it because it meant the damned Cajun stopped hitting on his wife. How he’d managed to keep from gutting the little bastard since he’d started staying in their guest room was beyond him. He couldn’t wait till they moved to the cabin. There were still a lot of things he needed to get done to it, though. He had been working on it with Pete and some of the others since he bought it from the Professor.

This afternoon was Marie’s ten week appointment with Dr. Sawyer. So far everything had been going great. They were gonna do a new ultrasound today and get an updated picture of the baby, and a movie of it on DVD too. The last one they had was just a photo of the baby at six weeks and they had it pinned on their fridge. Logan had showed it off to everybody he met and all the students and staff at the school when they first brought it home. Marie had scanned it on their computer and set it as her FB photo. No expectant parents could have been more excited about their first baby than the two of them. So they were looking pretty forward to their appointment today.

As luck would have it, though, while they were getting ready to go in their room the X-Men got an emergency mission. Logan had just gotten dressed after showering when the Professor called him telepathically to let him know. He cursed and looked over at Marie getting her purse together.

“Darlin,” he began in a regretful tone and she knew the moment she looked at him what it was.

“Damn it, Logan,” Marie huffed. “You’re kidding.”

“No, Chuck just paged me,” Logan answered tapping the side of his head. “I gotta go, baby. He said the FOH are burning people at the stake in Arkansas. We have to hurry.”

“Fine, I’ll get Jubes to go with me or something,” she nodded and kissed him goodbye. “Love you, sugar.”

“I love you too, baby,” he smiled and with a strange nagging, uneasy feeling took one last look at her before he left. He had the oddest feeling something bad was about to happen. No, he thought shaking it off as he made his way down to the X-Level to change into his uniform and meet up with the others, he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him. They’d get down there and do the mission then get home and he’d get to watch the movie of his kid from Marie’s ultrasound. Everything was gonna be fine.
________________________________________
Marie had ended up having to go to the appointment alone. Jubes was out shopping with Kitty and Remy had gone out with Logan and the team on the mission. She was already on the table in the exam room and they had just finished recording the ultrasound of her very healthy ten week old baby when the boom of an explosion shook the building.

“What in the world,” Dr. Sawyer got up and walked to the door to go and see what was going on when the door burst open and three men in black ops uniforms and masks entered carrying guns and pointed them at the doctor and Marie. A fourth man entered also in uniform but he was unmasked and looked oddly familiar.

“Hello, Mrs. Howlett,” the man told her with a shark-like smile. “I’m Captain Richard Stryker, the late Colonel’s nephew. You do remember him, don’t you?”

“He’s the one who was in charge of the Weapon X program that put the adamantium in Logan and made him lose his memories,” Marie answered placing a protective hand over her belly.

“That’s right, dear,” Richard Stryker replied. “I’m pleased to tell you I’ve restarted the program and you have been selected as a participant. Your baby is of particular interest to me. Now, we don’t want to cause you or the child any harm. And you don’t want that, either, do you? The first twelve weeks are critical and you wouldn’t want to risk the baby’s safety. So you’re going to be a good girl and come along with us and no one will get hurt, aren’t you?”

Marie’s blood had run cold the moment the man had opened his mouth. She had no idea what to do. She was outnumbered. There was no telling what kind of ammo they had in those guns, and she didn’t take him for a moron to come unprepared for her gifts either. They were all covered up and gloved. And he was right. If she did attack them and they had to subdue her it would put the baby in distress. Logan was gonna be so pissed. He would find them, though. She knew he would. That gave her the strength to get off the table and walk over to them.

“I won’t put up a fight,” she said in a resigned, angry tone. “Just don’t hurt my baby. You should know, though; Logan will hunt you all down and kill you for this.”

“I look forward to meeting him, dear,” Richard told her before stepping forward and placing adamantium cuffs around her wrist that had a built-in suppressor for her powers. The green light turned red on them when they were locked and Marie was now defenseless. Then he looked at his men. “Leave the doctor alive but knock her out. I want her to tell the Wolverine exactly what happened here.” The men nodded, one of them hit Dr. Sawyer over the head to render her unconscious, and then they escorted Marie out with Richard following to a van parked outside before driving off.

________________________________________
Logan was just coming out of the Blackbird with the team six hours later when the Professor, Hank, Jubilee, Kitty and Dr. Sawyer met them in the hanger. He knew right away something was wrong. That bad feeling had been nagging at him since he’d left and all during the mission. And suddenly it all made sense. It wasn’t about him. It had been about Marie and the baby.

“What happened?” he asked in a tight, angry voice. Inside of course, he was terrified.

“Rogue was taken by a Captain Richard Stryker, the late Colonel’s nephew, during her appointment at Dr. Sawyer’s office,” Charles explained calmly. “Apparently the Weapon X program was reopened and Rogue and the baby have become the new selections for whatever this Stryker has in mind. I was able to track her with Cerebro into Maine but I lost her two hours ago which makes me believe they’ve gone somewhere fortified against my special abilities.”

“Why didn’t you alert us when we were still in the air?! We could have gone after them?!” Logan demanded as he began pacing angrily. “They could have her anywhere by now and she can’t fight back because of the baby!”

“Logan, we will find Rogue and get her and the baby back safely,” Charles told him trying to calm him down. “I’m going back to Cerebro now to continue to try and pinpoint her location. You must remain calm, Logan. They’ll need you to be strong and have your wits about you when we are able to rescue them.”

The Professor left them then. Logan went straight over to the equipment lockers on the wall and began dismantling them to vent some of the impotent rage he was feeling at the moment at not being able to go and get his wife back. Those mother fuckers had done it again. They just wouldn’t leave him alone. Now they’d gone after Marie and their baby. He’d kill them all. They would beg for death before he was through with them. When he thought of everything that Marie must be going through, how scared she must be – and all because he hadn’t been there to protect her, he wanted to die. He let out feral roar of rage when he ran out of things to destroy and fell to his knees there in the hanger, shaking with sobs.

It was Scott who went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder in comfort. “We won’t rest till we get her back, Logan. I swear it,” he promised in a determined voice. Then he added quietly, “You’ve got to get it together, though. Go get showered, changed and try and eat something then meet us in the War Room. We’ll find her.”

Logan took a deep steadying breath then let it out and nodded as he stood up. He gave Scott a pat on the back and walked silently out of the hanger. The others stood there in mild shock after witnessing the Wolverine’s breakdown.

“Dudes, if anything bad happens to Rogue, besides being kidnapped I mean, or that baby, then you know we’ll lose Wolvie too,” Jubilee stated in a worried tone. She looked over at Remy who just nodded in agreement.

“I know, Jubilee,” Scott said with a concerned frown. “I want everyone in the War Room in an hour. We’ve got work to do. I meant what I said. We’re not resting till we find Rogue and get her back.”

It took them six weeks to locate where Marie was being held. The Professor had been at it in Cerebro day and night since she’d been taken and the others had been contacting and investigating every known or rumored facility in the northeastern US and southeastern Canada. They finally located the one she was at in Nova Scotia near Halifax and it was heavily guarded. The team wasted no time however and left immediately to launch the rescue mission. They all knew Logan wasn’t going to wait. After his initial violent reaction he had been eerily calm and quiet since during the investigating and planning for the rescue. Honestly the silent, too calm Wolverine scared and worried them all more than the hostile one. But they were gonna get Rogue back soon and everything would be all right again.
________________________________________
Logan was fine as they entered the lab facility. He was fine as they had to incapacitate the guards one by one on their way to free the other prisoners they’d found from their cells. He was not fine when he caught her scent near the medical wing. Wolverine came roaring to the forefront of his psyche and he had his claws out stalking as he followed her scent, killing anyone who got in his way. No more incapacitating, no more playing nice guy X-Man. They were neutralized, quickly and cleaning, without him having to hardly break stride. No one takes his wife and lives to tell about it.

He knew the other X-Men were following him at a safe distance. They all agreed beforehand, albeit reluctantly, that when they got near Marie they were all to back off and let Logan do what he had to do. Not even Scott had argued about it.

When he finally entered the room she was in, he found her strapped to a patient bed, IV in her arm and sleeping. She was on a heart monitor but there was a fetal monitor on as well. Logan pushed Wolverine to the back of his mind as the need to take care of Marie and the baby became more important than revenge. And Wolverine didn't understand about these machines and how to get them off her safely.

He heard someone move by the door and turned his head to look at Jean trying to come forward and shook his head at her, stopping her cold. Logan went to the table beside the bed and picked up the chart reading it thoroughly. They didn't have her sedated, it said her body wouldn't react to the drugs they had tried and they didn't want to risk the fetus. Reading further he discovered they had placed her in their Weapon X program. That term he knew. Logan's blood ran cold when he read the next part.

{Subject Rogue (aka Anna Marie Howlett formerly D'Ancanto) successfully impregnated by spouse subject Wolverine (aka James Logan Howlett). Mother captured without harm to fetus or herself by Special Ops team six weeks ago during the tenth week of pregnancy. Fetus progressing at normal human rate of gestation. Fetus at sixteen weeks (4 months) in gestation on this day; all tests reveal both mother and child to have the same regenerative healing processes and feral mutations as the Wolverine. *100% success rate expected. Every calculation points to healthy gestation and uncomplicated birth for both mother and fetus.*}

He put the chart down with shaking hands and looked back over at Marie sleeping, hearing both her and their baby's hearts beating, one slow and steady while the other was faster. They were both healthy and alive. He had the bar of the hospital bed in a white knuckle grip and didn't realize he was crying and shaking until he felt the tears fall onto his hands. Wiping them away angrily, he got a grip on himself and began gently removing the IV in her and the plugs of the heart monitor. He heard Jean move again at the door when he lifted the sheet and bent Marie's legs gently so he could see how to take out the fetal monitor.

"Logan, maybe I should do that," Jean offered. He shook his head and gave her a feral glare.

"No one else is going to touch her," Logan growled. "I'll be careful."

He turned his attention back to Marie and very carefully removed the fetal monitor then replaced the sheet and took a blanket from the bed nearby and gently wrapped her up in it before he lifted her in his arms and began to carry her from the room.

"Logan?" Marie moaned groggily. She knew his touch, his scent and it woke her now being this close.

"Yeah baby, it's me. We're going home. Just hold tight to me," Logan told her kissing her temple.

"The baby?" Marie asked worriedly putting a hand on her belly.

"It's fine, darlin. I can hear the heartbeat," he assured her. She relaxed against him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I had to go with them. Couldn’t risk hurting the baby," she whispered against his neck. He nodded.

"I know, baby," he kissed her again then stopped when they got to the others. "Burn the chart over there, find the other records and burn it all. Blow the whole fucking place to kingdom come. I want ashes, Cyke."

"We'll take care of it, Logan," Scott assured him solemnly. "I give you my word."

Logan gave him a curt nod and carried Marie out and got her settled safely in the Blackbird while the others set the bombs and burned the file room. The Blackbird was a safe distance away and headed toward home when the place blew. It was so big you could see it from the air and Logan wished he felt better after knowing it was destroyed but he didn’t. When were these fuckers gonna learn to leave him and his loved ones alone?

He looked at Marie sleeping beside him, blanket tucked around her and her arms holding her belly to protect the baby, their baby, and let some of the tension leave his body. He reached over and put his palm on her belly and concentrated on the baby's heartbeat. It was strong, healthy. His other hand came to brush her hair gently from her face and he leaned over to breathe in her scent, his scent, their baby's scent. Wolverine purred contentedly in the back of his head. She was his mate, this was his cub. It was all so simple to Wolverine. This was his family, to love and protect and kill for if need be. Logan swore to himself then that no one was ever gonna hurt his family again. If anyone tried they were gonna die as slow and painful death as he could envision for them. And Richard Stryker was at the top of that list.

When the jet landed, Logan took Marie in his arms and without a word carried her to their room and laid her on the bed then went to the door, shut it and locked it from anyone who might disturb them. He drew her a warm bath with the jasmine vanilla bath milk she liked and then stripped off his uniform then very gently unwrapped her from the blankets and took off her hospital gown before carrying her to the tub and found her looking at him wide-eyed with a thoughtful expression as he checked the water temperature.

"Are we taking a bath?" she asked him softly. He nodded.

"We sure are, baby," Logan answered gently. He lowered them both into the tub and cradled her back against his chest. He wanted the hospital scent off her. He bathed her gently with a soft cloth and her honey-oatmeal soap that he kept when she used his bathroom.

Marie was by no means incoherent. She was wide awake now and very lucid. Logan knew that too but he was being so careful with her, so tender, that it broke her heart. His hands shook at times as he bathed her. Then he washed her hair with her own shampoo and conditioned it. She cooperated, knowing he needed to do this himself, when he told her to close her eyes so he could rinse out the soap. Then she surprised him by turning around and taking the soap and cloth to bathe him as well. He let her, keeping very still, and also cooperated when she washed his hair. Then they got out of the tub and Logan toweled her dry oh so carefully and dried her hair too, combing it out for her before he let her dry him off and comb her fingers through his hair. He seemed to like that because his eyes slid shut and he groaned with pleasure.

When he opened his eyes again she was smiling softly at him. Then she sobered and took his face in her hands.

"I'm okay, honey. Everything's okay. I knew you'd find me," she spoke softly and it broke her heart when tears filled his eyes. Then suddenly he was on his knees in front of her, arms wrapped around her tightly and his face pressed against her belly. She just stood running her fingers through his hair as he cried and clung to her. "Okay, sugar. Let it out. I'm here, honey. Just get it all out. We're okay. Everything is okay, Logan."

He calmed after a few moments and then pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her belly and put his hands there, gazing at the spot in awe. "I can feel it," he whispered in amazement. "I hear the heart beating and I can feel it."

Marie covered his hands with her own and smiled when his eyes met hers. He smiled back. "I know, honey. It's amazing, isn't it? He's all that kept me going. That and knowing you'd find me, find us," she told him.

"He?" Logan asked looking back at her belly.

"I know it's still early but I just know it's a boy, Logan. I can feel it. I can't really explain how," Marie told him and he just shrugged and looked back at her with a grin.

"I'm not gonna argue with maternal instincts, darlin," Logan said. Marie knelt down to his level, his arms coming around her to hold her to him and smiled. He was suddenly aware that they were naked and sitting on the bathroom floor in each other's arms.

Marie watched his eyes dilate with lust and felt his shaft grow and harden with arousal against her belly between them. It caused her own arousal to spike and he growled when he smelled it. She arched against him, rubbing her breasts against his chest and purred, her own feral nature taking over. Logan freed one hand and slipped it between her thighs to check her wetness. She was already ready for him. He took her legs, wrapped them around his waist and stood carrying them to the bed and lowering them down on to it.

When he entered her, he was gentle with her, even now in feral state, Wolverine was being careful not to hurt her and the baby. He moved inside her with slow, deep thrusts. She moved with him and caressed his body with her hands and mouth wherever she could. She knew just where to touch him, where to kiss him. Logan had never had better sex than this. It was home, being inside her. She was made for him.

"I love you," Logan whispered into her mouth as he kissed her gently.

"I love you too, Logan," Marie whispered back. "But stop holding back. You're not gonna hurt me or the baby. We won't break."

He laughed a little and gave in, quickening his pace and the force of his thrusts. Soon they were both undone, moving together frantically and powerfully, growling and screaming headed toward their release. They came together, so hard that stars appeared before their eyes and Logan bit down hard on her neck to mark her as his. He had her nail marks all over his back from her own claiming.

He pulled the covers over them and spooned her from behind, securing his arms around her tightly, one hand resting protectively on her belly, her hand on top of his, and they drifted off to sleep. It was the first whole night of sleep that Logan had gotten since she was taken. But he went to sleep that night, his mind at ease now that she was safe and sound in his arms and that their child was growing healthy and strong inside her.

The next morning when they woke Logan made love to her again and then they took a shower before he put her back in bed and told her to stay there while he got them their breakfast and then he watched while she ate everything he got for her dutifully.

"Logan, sugar, I really am okay," Marie told him after he took the tray away and stretched out on the bed next to her. "Can I at least get dressed?"

"I put a nightgown on you," Logan gestured to her long black sleeveless nightgown and she nodded.

"Yes, honey but I mean real clothes. I probably need maternity clothes. I don't know if any of my jeans will still fit cause I'm already starting to show a little. But some of my dresses might fit. I'm not going to stay in bed the rest of my pregnancy, Logan," Marie said sternly. Logan pouted and she fought the urge to laugh. He probably had every intention of making sure she did just that.

"Fine," Logan muttered. "Where do I get maternity clothes?"

"I'll go shopping for those, honey. You don't - what?" she stopped and asked when he started shaking his head slowly.

"You're not going anywhere without me and I'm not letting you out of my sight when we're in public," Logan said firmly. "I won't risk it again. I can't."

She regarded him for a moment then nodded and bent down to kiss him and run her fingers through his hair. "Okay, sugar. We'll go together."

He held her close and then leaned over and rested his head in her lap, closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of her fingers massaging his scalp. After a moment he muttered, "Damn, that gets me so hard."

She giggled and looked down at him as he shifted to look up at her. "Well, we can't have you going around like that," Marie said gesturing to his prominent erection under his jeans. She ran a hand down his chest and belly and began stroking him through his jeans slowly but firmly and he growled.

"Darlin, you do know how to torture me," he choked out. She eased out from under his head and moved to straddle his hips, unzipping his jeans and freeing his erection. He watched while she lifted her nightgown to her hips and then very carefully lowered herself onto him. "Careful, baby. Christ, you're wet already?"

"I'm always ready for you, Logan," she whispered as she planted her hands on his chest and began to rock slowly. It was sweet but powerful that time, a slow build to a climax that rocked them both. Logan's last thought as they fell asleep again in each other's arms was that he could get used to mornings like this.

They went shopping at the mall when they woke again and Logan held tight to her hand the whole time, even going into the dressing room with her to try on clothes. Marie thought he was gonna bite Jubilee's head off when she tried to tell him to stay there with her.

"No, Logan, you can't go back there," Jubilee pulled on his arm and Logan whirled on her with a loud growl making her jump back. She looked past him at Marie who shook her head at her friend.

"No, Jubes. Just leave him alone. I want him with me," Marie told her firmly. She tugged on Logan's hand in hers. "Come on, honey. It's okay."

Jubilee nodded and watched as Logan led Marie to the back, checking for anything suspicious as they went. It occurred to her then what he must be going through, and Marie too. The man was sticking to her like glue and sending a murderous growl to anyone who happened to look her way that he didn't know.

After getting Marie suitable new clothing and having lunch in the food court, they went back to the mansion. Logan disappeared for a few hours after they got back and Marie finally found him in his shop going over some blueprints with Scott and Hank.

"Sugar, whatcha doing?" she asked him running a hand up his back.

"For our new place, you know, the cabin," Logan told her gesturing to the blueprints. "I'm turning the loft into a big nursery. We'll need more space with the baby and I'm soundproofing the walls of our bedroom we don’t, you know, wake the baby during certain activities."

Marie looked them over and nodded in approval. Then she yawned then and leaned against him. His arm came around her shoulders and looked at her with concerned eyes. "I'm okay. Just tired from all the shopping," she answered before he could ask.

"Why don't you go take a nap, baby?" he suggested gently.

"I will but right now, what I really, really want more than anything in the whole wide world - is some rocky road ice cream," Marie told him with her best puppy dog eyes.

He laughed outright and nodded slowly. "I take it we don't have it in the kitchen?" She shook her head. "Okay, baby. I'll go get you some rocky road ice cream. Go lay down till I get back."

"Kay," she said grinning and then dutifully went upstairs to their room. Once she was gone Logan looked at Scott and Hank who were grinning at him.

Logan just shrugged, "Hell, if she wanted the moon right now I'd do my damndest to pull the thing down and give it to her. I'd better go get that ice cream, though. At least it's not Cheerios and sardines or anything gross."

Both men laughed as Logan went to his car and drove off. He was back with her ice cream not ten minutes later and took it up to her. She was sitting up in bed, quilt pulled around her, watching TV and crying? Oh no, this wasn't good. Logan set the ice cream on the nightstand and then sat down on the bed next to her.

"Darlin, you okay? What's wrong?" Logan asked worriedly.

"Oh Logan, it's just silly. I saw this commercial with a daddy and his little boy going fishing and it made me think of you and our baby and how much you're gonna love each other. You're gonna be the best daddy and I'm worried because he's gonna love you more than me. I don't know anything about being a mama. What if I mess it all up?" Marie explained through choked sobs.

She thought he was going to be a great father? And she was worried about her being a good mother? Well, that just made no sense to him at all. Logan pulled her over into his lap and rocked her gently. "Baby, trust me you have nothing to worry about. You're going to be the best mama in the whole world. Our kid is going to love you more than anything. If anyone screws this kid up it'll be me," he told her. She pulled back and shook her head sternly.

"No, you're wonderful. You have the instincts for it. Even when you're Wolverine you would always put the baby first, protect it with your life. I don't know what the hell I'm doing," she muttered. Then she bit her lip and teared up again. "I so want a little boy that’s just like you, Logan. Do you really think he'll love me too? That I'll be a good mama?"

"I don't think it, baby I know it," Logan assured her firmly. Then he kissed her soundly. "I got your ice cream for you. Eat up. Maybe the chocolate will make you feel better. Kid'll probably like it too."

Marie took the ice cream and spoon from him and dug in as he settled next to her on the bed. "You're the best, sugar. I don't know what I'd do without you," she said resting her head on his shoulder.

"Likewise, baby," Logan answered feeling his chest tighten with emotion. God he loved her.

“Hey Logan?” she asked a few minutes later. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She was frowning thoughtfully at her ice cream. “It needs something.”

“What? Like sprinkles or whipped cream or something?” he asked.

“Yeah, that and maybe some caramel syrup too and ooh, zesty dill pickles, those too,” Marie told him. He just nodded, sighed and took the ice cream from her and got up walking to the door.

Logan turned back just before he got there and clarified, “Caramel syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles and zesty dill pickles?”

“Yep, then it’ll be perfect, sugar. Thank you so much,” she beamed at him.

He nodded again and took the ice cream to the kitchen all the while wondering if this was the beginning of those pregnancy cravings that baby book for daddies she’d made him read had warned about. Logan shrugged it off. His Marie wasn’t like other women. Besides, it wasn’t a difficult request. If she wanted toppings with her ice cream then he’d get them for her. No big deal.

In retrospect, Scott would admit that yeah maybe it was a bad idea to make Logan go out on a mission so soon after rescuing Rogue. He might even admit that not informing Logan that the facility housed the doctors and government officials responsible for Rogue's kidnapping and financed the Weapon X program was an even worse idea. He would definitely admit that letting Logan go in first was the most phenomenally stupid idea he’d had all year. Because it was not Logan they found when the screams and gunshots ended thirty minutes after Logan entered the building. The silence that met them was deafening but then there was a distinctive sound of a feral growl in the darkness.
Turning on the lights all they saw were bodies everywhere, dismembered and bloody, and the Wolverine in the middle with his claws unsheathed and covered head to toe in the blood of his victims growling at them with bright gold eyes.

"Oh no," Remy breathed when he realized who stood before them. “No one move."

"We need Rogue," Jubilee whispered fearfully.

"Well she's not here, Jubilee," Scott whispered back in annoyance. Apparently Wolverine didn't like the tone of his voice because the growling got louder and he took a step towards them.

"Stop, Wolverine," Jean said sharply holding a hand up and stopping him telekinetically. He didn't like that a bit. "You have to calm down. We're not enemies. We're friends. We'll take you back to Rogue."

He seemed to consider that, not really understanding any words but 'enemy', 'friend', and 'Rogue'. Wolverine knew that Rogue was a word that meant something strong to him.

"He doesn't call her that," Jubilee told them. She took a cautious step toward Wolverine whose eyes fixed on her instantly. "Wolverine, she means Marie. We'll take you home to Marie now. But you can't kill us. You want to see Marie, don't you? And the baby?"

"Marie. Mate," Wolverine said with a firm nod. "Baby. Cub. Mine. Both mine."

"Yes and we'll take you back to them," Jubilee said. His eyes narrowed on her, though.

"You have them," Wolverine snapped Jean's control on him, God knows how, and had Jubilee by the throat in all of two seconds, dangling her in the air close to his face.
"Where?"

"Home," Jubilee choked out. "They're safe at home. I promise. Please don't kill me."

While Wolverine's attention was on Jubilee, Scott took the opportunity to shoot him with the tranquilizer gun they brought just in case this happened. It was loaded with sedatives that could put even Logan down for a short amount of time. Within seconds, Wolverine was on the ground unconscious. They got him back on board the plane and headed home, strapping him down on a gurney in the back for the journey.

Unfortunately, the sedatives wore off halfway through the flight and he snapped the restraints and went berserk so they had to make an unscheduled landing about an hour from the school in a field. Scott called the mansion and told Pete to drive Marie out to meet them. They locked Wolverine up in the plane, taking the emergency hatch themselves to get out. There was no telling what damage he was doing inside trying to get out but it sounded like he was trying to take it apart piece by piece, the sounds of his claws being punctuated with feral roars of rage.
Marie and Pete drove up in what must have been record time and she got out at a run to them.

"Where is he?" Marie asked breathlessly. Scott pointed to the plane.

"We had to lock him in. He's destroying my plane," he told her. She snarled at him with irritation and began walking toward the plane.

"Open the hatch, Scooter," she called over her shoulder to him. Scott did as she asked with all of them staying a safe distance away. The entrance to the jet lowered and Marie watched as the tall, dark figure of Wolverine, realizing he was being let loose, came to stand at the top. He caught her scent and let out a low growl that anyone else might take as threatening but to her it was just recognition. "Come on down, sugar. You've been a bad boy tonight. Scott's pretty upset about his plane."

Wolverine followed her scent and voice out of the plane and his eyes never left hers once he locked on to her standing there. In quicker strides that she thought possible he was inches from her and then holding on to her for dear life, breathing in her scent and purring and growling against her. He was checking her over, she realized and held still as he inspected her body for abuse or pain. He finally came down on his knees before her and put both hands and his face against her belly and took on a look of utter concentration. She ran her fingers through his hair soothingly and waited. When he was satisfied, finding her and the baby both healthy and happy, his whole body relaxed and he pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her with a gentleness that no one would have thought the Wolverine possessed.

"Sing," he demanded with a growl and buried his face against her neck. She nodded and got settled comfortably then began singing their song to him. It was the same one she sang when he had a nightmare or had one of these episodes. It was the song they'd first slow-danced to at their favorite bar and grill in town. And it fit them. So Marie sang 'A Love That Will Never Grow Old' by Emmylou Harris and he tightened his arms around her and sighed with soul deep contentment at the sound of her singing to him.

The rest of the X-Men present watched in awe as Wolverine sat holding her, rocking her gently in his lap as she sang to him, looking peaceful and content. Marie was never the least bit afraid of Wolverine. And she was the only thing that calmed down and brought Logan back. Even before they admitted to themselves that their feelings were well beyond friendship it had been only Marie's presence that could bring Logan back from his feral state. He turned frantic and scared if she wasn't around and when afraid the Wolverine lashed out with violent ruthlessness.

Once the song was over, Marie kissed Logan's temple and whispered in his ear. "Honey, it's time to go home now. It's not good for the baby or me to be out here in the night air. And you need a shower."

It was Logan who lifted his head and looked at her with clear golden hazel eyes. He nodded and stood them up then scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the jeep that Pete had driven her there in. He settled her in the back and got in beside her with a nod to Pete that it was time to go.

"You think the jet will fly back okay or should you all come with us?" Pete asked Scott as he went to the driver's side.

"Just get them home. If the jet's not working, we'll call for a pickup," Scott told him. "They need some space."

Pete nodded and drove him, Logan and Marie back to the mansion. After a long shower and some serious lovemaking the couple collapsed on their bed and fell to sleep. As it turned out, the jet was just a bit banged up but no engine damage and thus the others were able to fly home.

No one bothered Logan and Marie the next morning. It was Marie's growling stomach that woke Logan, who promptly went to the kitchen and brought a sizable breakfast back up for him and Marie to enjoy in bed.

While they ate, she watched him thoughtfully. He seemed all right but he was very quiet. "Sugar, what's on your mind?"

"That I could have hurt someone last night," Logan said slowly. "Not you. I'd never hurt you or the baby. But I had Jubilee by the throat and nearly killed her. I am dangerous when I'm like that and the only person on earth who is safe from me when I'm feral is you. They also need better tranquilizers. What if I'd made the jet crash?"

"Sugar, they all know that you didn't mean to hurt Jubes. Scott said she approached you even after they said to stay put. Besides, I don't think you would have killed her. Rendered her or them unconscious maybe but not killed them," Marie put a hand on his neck gently and he met her eyes.

"Yes, I would have. They said they had you and would take me to you. In that state of mind, though all I thought was they have you and they're in the way of my getting to you. No one gets in the way of my being with you, Marie. No one," Logan's voice was so quiet and intense that it sent a chill up her spine. He was deadly serious. Then he looked away and sighed deeply. "I think I should hang back from missions for a while. It's not safe for any of them to be on a mission with me when you're not there. And you'll be out for a long while yet with the baby coming."

"All right, Logan. If you think that's the best thing then that's what we'll do," Marie nodded firmly. "You know you better than anyone. If you say it's not safe right now then I believe you."

He nodded and then sighed again before giving her a kiss. "How mad do you think Cyke is about the plane?"

"He seemed fairly calm about it to me but I think maybe he blames himself for letting you go in first and alone," Marie replied. "I don't imagine you'll get much argument from him about your decision."

"No," he shook his head, "Probably not. So, how you and the kid doing today?"

"We're good," she smiled at him and he smiled back then lay down with his head on her belly to listen to the heartbeat. After a moment or two he rose up a little so he could look down at it and placed a hand where his head had been.

"Hey, kiddo, it's Daddy. Listen, I know you got to stay in there and grow and all but I'm looking forward to meeting you when you decide to come out. Mama's gonna keep you safe and warm in there till then, all right? She's a good sort, your mama. You'll love her. She takes real good care of me and I'm very high maintenance," Logan spoke softly to her belly and smiled at feeling the baby moving around inside. "She thinks you're a boy and I'm not gonna argue with her about it. But in case you are a girl, that's okay too. I don't care either way really. I just want you and Mama to be happy and healthy and safe. That's all that matters to me. I love you so much, kid. When you get out of there, I've got so much stuff to teach ya; fishing, hunting, tracking, how to work on bikes and cars, how to kick ass, then when you're older drink beer and oh, hockey. You've got to learn all about hockey; and football and baseball, too but hockey first. Just so you know, we pull for Canada's teams not those sissy New York Rangers your mama likes. No offense to her but I think the kid should follow the daddy's favorites in sports. But we'll talk about that later on. Right now, I just wanted to say hi and let you know I'm here and I love you."

He kissed her belly gently and then looked up at her. She was crying but smiling at him and he smiled back. "You are the sweetest man in the world," she whispered with so much love and affection that it made his chest hurt.

Logan came up and kissed her slowly then whispered against her mouth, "Just keep that between you and me. I got a reputation to protect."

Marie laughed and he grinned wolfishly. "Your secret's safe with me, baby."

"I know," he said with sudden seriousness. "I trust you."

"I trust you too," she rested her forehead against his and buried her fingers in his hair, "Completely."

Two months later, Marie had entered her sixth month of pregnancy with their son. Yep, it was a boy so Logan had to admit that she had been right when she called it. They'd even given the little guy a name already; James "Jamie" Logan Howlett II. It was Marie's idea but Logan had to admit he'd been flattered she loved him enough to name their firstborn after him. And he also had to admit that up until around the start of her fifth month that her pregnancy had been pretty stress-free for him, aside from that six weeks she'd been kidnapped that is. But as far as usual hormonal stuff and all he'd gotten off fairly easy until she hit month 5 and now entering month 6 and her last trimester, Logan was in hell.

Right this minute he was hiding, yes the Wolverine who fears no one, was hiding from his pregnant wife. The whole day had just started off bad. For one thing, he hardly ever got any sleep anymore because she was waking him at all hours during the night to get her some strange combination of food or drink that he 'had' to get right or it ended up in his face or against the wall. He didn't get sleep during the day either, because he was either teaching classes, training the junior X-Men or doing pick-ups since he was taking leave from the team missions, finishing the renovations to the cabin, building baby furniture for his unborn son, or doing things for Marie. And he didn't mind any of it. He really didn't. He loved taking care of his darlin and their baby and he accepted his responsibilities at the school too.

But this morning when he got called to do a pick-up with Storm at four am after getting two hours of sleep, then coming back and teaching classes all day and doing two DR sessions with the junior team that afternoon, and finally getting upstairs to take a nap with Marie who had just gotten through with her classes that day too, she woke him up not ten minutes later wanting him to get her some chicken lo-mein, egg rolls and beef & broccoli from Lao Ping's in town with a side of raspberry yogurt and cherry tomatoes.

Logan had looked at her and for the first time since they met the puppy eyes didn't work on him. He told her no, he'd go get it later but right now he was gonna get some sleep and if she really wanted it that bad to get it herself. He might have needed to keep that last part to himself but as tired and as bad a mood he was in right that moment he hadn't and that had set off her temper.

Now, Logan had heard about hormones and he'd experienced a few instances where she had gone way off the reservation with him the past month but she had never been as scary as she was right then. She'd pushed him off the bed and screamed at him that she was carrying his fucking child and he needed to remember that. She also said that asking him get her certain things to eat sometimes didn't seem like that big a chore to her. At least he wasn't the one who was gonna have to push a watermelon out of their pussy in a few months. By then he had stood up and she was yelling right in his face. Unfortunately with the mood he'd been in just then he'd lost his temper too and said a lot he wished he could take back now.

He'd told her that even he needed his fucking sleep and maybe if she stopped eating a five course dinner every few hours then the baby wouldn't be the size of a melon when she popped it out. That comment earned him a punch that threw him against the wall. And it made him even angrier. By the time he was finished she was crying, he felt like an asshole, and she kicked him out and told him that he could find somewhere else to spend the night.

So here he was, sitting on the edge of the loft he was renovating at their cabin by the lake he'd bought from Chuck and working on his fourteenth beer of the 24 pack of Molson's he'd picked up at the store. And that's where Scott found him.

"So here you are," Scott said taking a seat beside him. "I just lost twenty bucks to Pete. He bet you'd be here at the cabin and I bet you'd be at the nearest bar."

"Nothing I need at a bar that I can't get a liquor store," Logan told him quietly. Then he raised a speculative brow at him. "Unless you were hinting I'd be after something there other than alcohol. You weren't, were you?"

"I don't think you'd want to cheat on her but the whole mansion heard your fight and you said some pretty harsh things, Logan. Where do you think Rogue thinks you are right now?" Scott asked frankly.

"She knows I wouldn't cheat on her," Logan answered finishing his beer and getting another one. He took a swallow then set it down and rubbed his face tiredly. "I was a real bastard to her, wasn't I?"

"Yep," Scott nodded.

Logan growled and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I'm just so fucking tired. I've gotten maybe three or four hours of sleep in the past week and I lost my temper. I shouldn't have said all that shit. It's not true. I love her, I love the way she looks carrying my kid, and I don't really mind getting her whatever she wants to eat or whatever when the cravings hit her. I don't. I love taking care of her and our kid. I'm just tired. Now she's in there crying and I feel like an asshole and I'm still not getting any sleep. I can't even get drunk and pass out properly because of my healing factor," he chuckled harshly and groaned hanging his head in his hands.

"I can't say I know what you're going through because I don't," Scott told him. "I do know that what you and Rogue have is rare and you're about to get the most precious gift a person can in that baby boy she's carrying. I would advise you to go back and beg forgiveness."

"She told me not to come back tonight," Logan muttered bitterly. "So do I honor her wishes or ignore them and take your advice, Cyke?"

"That – I don't know," Scott admitted frowning. "Marriage is hard, huh?"

"Oh no, marriage is awesome," Logan shook his head. "I love being married to Marie. She's beautiful and sweet and loving and level-headed and keeps my temper calm and soothes the Wolverine when he's restless. That – hormone-driven crazy woman is not my sweet wife. It would have to be my kid that drives her nuts. So again, it's all my fault."

"You idiot, she loves that baby and she loves you – more than is probably healthy or sane to tell the truth," Scott laughed at him in disbelief. "You're her world, Logan. You think anyone else on the planet has the power to hurt her like you did with a few harsh comments tonight? No, they don't. If it were anyone else, she'd have just shrugged and told them to fuck off. But because it was you, she's bawling her eyes out thinking Logan doesn't love or want her anymore."

"Jesus, Cyke, nothing could be further from the truth. She and that kid are everything to me. I'd be lost without them. You'd have to put me down like a fucking dog if anything happened to them," Logan was horrified that she was thinking that. "No one is more important to me than Marie and our baby."

"Do you really mean that, Logan?" Marie's soft but hoarse from crying voice called from behind them. The men turned and looked at her. Logan stood and walked over to her. She looked so scared and uncertain that it tore his heart up.

"Baby, you gotta know I love you more than anything," Logan told her taking her hands in his. "I didn't mean what I said. I was tired and pissed off and I took it out on you."

"I'm sorry too, sugar. I've been such a bitch, bossing you around and all. I swore I wasn't gonna turn into one of those crazy pregnant women," she shook her head helplessly and choked by fresh tears. He brushed them away with one hand and wrapped his other arm around her pulling her into a hug and kissed her hair when she buried her face in his chest and fisted his shirt. "I've been so selfish, Logan. I didn't even realize you hadn't been getting any sleep or that you were worn out. I'm really sorry, honey. I'll do better I promise."

"I was out of line with what I said too," Logan admitted. "I'm sorry about that, baby. You know you've never been more beautiful and sexy to me than you are carrying my baby. And you're not too big and I don't mind getting you whatever you want to eat whenever you want it."

"No, I have two feet and two hands. I can get it myself. I'm not helpless," she shook her head and looked up at him. "Why don't we go back to our room and I'll bring us up some food and we'll stay in and I'll give you a massage for a change? And if anyone tries to wake you up before noon tomorrow I'll put them into a coma."

"God I love you," Logan growled and kissed her fiercely. Then he led her out calling back over his shoulder to Scott, "Utter a word of what you just overheard and witnessed, Scooter, and your ability to give Jeannie any kids will be non-existent."

"Gotcha," Scott nodded his understanding and smiled to himself watching the couple leave. One thing was certain. Logan and Rogue's marriage was never gonna be uneventful. He couldn't wait to see what happens once that kid is born and Logan and Rogue both get to experience sleep deprivation.

The next morning Marie warned everyone that Logan was not to be disturbed. She informed the Professor and then Logan’s students that classes that day were cancelled. Remy even agreed to take on the junior team’s training for the rest of the week so Logan could get some rest. They all agreed that a tired Wolverine was a hostile one and that was to be avoided at all costs.

When Marie brought him some food at lunch she was surprised to see him awake and relaxing in bed watching a hockey game re-run. Setting the tray down before him she grinned, “Hey, sugar, did you get enough sleep?”

“Oh yeah and I needed it too. Thanks for keeping everybody away,” he smiled back and dug into his food. She got on her side of the bed and sat with him. “What’ve you been up to, darlin? You’re not overdoing it, are you?”

“No, I’m fine. Everybody’s fine, honey,” she assured him. “In fact, me and Jubes got some more baby shopping done this morning. I finally figured out what colors I want in the nursery, too. You wanna see the samples I got? There’s all shades of – what is it?”

Marie frowned noticing how still he’d gotten and the strangest glare on his features.

“You went to town,” Logan said slowly. She nodded frowning. So he took a deep breath and tried again, “You went to town – without me.”

Realization made her pale and she winced apologetically. “Logan, I didn’t even think about it. Jubes was with me so I wasn’t alone, though. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about you getting some rest and I didn’t want to bother you. I wanted to show you that I can get things done myself too and you don’t have to do everything all the time. I hadn’t even thought about Stryker still being out there.”

He turned back to his food and started eating again. After a few moments he said, “Don’t do it again, Marie.”

“I won’t,” she promised. Then she reached out and put her hand on his arm to get his attention. “Logan.”

He looked at her and raised a brow.

“You know that I’d never intentionally put our baby and myself in harm’s way, don’t you? I love you and our little boy more than anything. I’d never do anything that could hurt either of you, Logan,” Marie said earnestly.

Logan’s expression softened then and he nodded leaning over to kiss her gently. “I know that, baby. I just – I was lost without you, darlin and scared out of my mind that I wasn’t gonna find you or that the person I did find wouldn’t be you anymore. It could happen. I know you’ve got a good idea what those bastards are capable of but it could have been a lot worse than it was. I expected it to be worse. I prepared myself for the possibility that I’d lost you, that you and the baby would be dead or worse when we got there. If that had happened, Marie, they’d have had to put me down. I’d have found a way to die because I’m not gonna go on without you. It wouldn’t be right, living in a world without you in it,” he explained, his voice tight with emotion.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his pulse point before nuzzling there and whispered, “I’m not going anywhere, Logan. I’m not gonna die on you.”

He leaned back, his eyes pleading, and whispered, “You promise, baby?”

“Yeah,” she smiled softly and kissed his lips, “I promise.”

Breaking the kiss she gave him a beaming smile and ran her fingers through his hair making him purr involuntarily. Those beloved hazel eyes met hers and he grinned, “It’s almost cruel what you do to me, baby. Now, tell me about the nursery. What colors did you decide on for the Chief?”

“Well, for the walls I picked French pale gold and grassy green and for the trim I picked Kingston brown. They’re real earthy colors and they looked great together, not too dark so the baby gets depressed but not the usual baby blue one gets for boys most of the time. I wanted something different for Jamie,” Marie explained showing him the color samples. He nodded thinking it over.

“That should go with the furniture I made for him. Pete finished painting those forest animals on it all yesterday. Why rabbits, baby?” he asked.

“It’s Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter. You know the children’s stories? They’re adorable,” she told him firmly.

He just shook his head and smiled. It was a good thing their son was gonna have her, though because he didn’t know the first thing about what children’s stories were the best let alone the characters in them. He could teach Jamie to hunt and fish and work on bikes and cars and trucks and kick ass and all about women and sports but he didn’t know anything about kid stuff like storybooks and cartoons and toys. But he’ll probably learn real fast once the Chief is born. It was kinda exciting to tell the truth. Fatherhood was something he’d never done before and he was looking forward to it. Besides, with Marie here doing it with him then the chances of him screwing up were way less than they’d be if he tried it alone. Having a kid with anyone else had never even crossed his mind. He’d never thought about babies or being a daddy until he met her anyway. After he met her, though it was all he thought about. It didn’t help that the Wolverine in his head kept pointing out how young and fertile she was and how she’d give them good cubs and that she was his mate and he needed to claim her. The son of a bitch finally let up after the wedding night and had been content as a kitten since her pregnancy had been confirmed.

They talked a while longer about the baby and the nursery plans and the plans for the rest of the cabin while Logan finished his lunch before snuggling up together. He liked it when they got a chance to do this because he could rest his hand on her belly and feel the baby kicking and moving around while he talked to him. Marie always smiled to herself and kept quiet while he did it. He trusted her to never tell a soul he was this affectionate and tender with her and their little one. It was something private just between them.

~

A week later, Logan was back to his usual self. He and Pete had finished the nursery loft at the cabin and now the girls were finished decorating it too. He’d done the painting because he didn’t want Marie inhaling the fumes, healing factor or not. As for the rest of the cabin that was done as well. In their bedroom he’d even put in a skylight above their bed so they could look at the stars and not feel closed in. He made sure to make it storm-proof though because being hit by lightening was not fun and he was in no hurry to do it again. Marie had done all the decorating. It was all similar to their home in Elk Valley in Canada but smaller. Their cabin up there was huge compared to this one near the school. It wasn’t too far from the mansion, about a fifteen minute walk through the wooded path off the grounds that led to the lake, but far enough away to give them privacy from everyone else. They were all set to move the rest of their clothes and stuff in tomorrow but most of it was already there now. Remy was taking their attic apartment at the mansion with Jubilee who had moved in with the Cajun now so Logan supposed they were serious about each other.

Today Marie was in a nesting mood. Logan found her after classes were over at the cabin during a cleaning frenzy. The place was already spotless from when they cleaned it a few days ago after they finished all the painting and trim work and set up all the furniture but apparently she wasn’t content with it.

“Uh darlin, is this where you’ve been all day?” he asked.

“Yep,” she nodded dusting the bookshelves in the den. “Why, what time is it?”

“It’s supper time, baby. When’s the last time you stopped and ate?” Logan frowned. She stopped to think about it then shrugged.

“I guess it was breakfast. I’ve been busy,” Marie told him. “What’d you do today, sugar?”

“Marie, the house is clean enough. Come on and let’s get some supper. You shouldn’t go all day without eating, baby. The kid’s probably starving,” he took the duster from her and then led her out, or tried to anyway. She stopped halfway to the door and he turned and looked at her. “What?”

“Why don’t we eat here tonight? I stocked the kitchen with groceries yesterday for when we move in tomorrow. I’ll cook us something here,” she suggested. He smiled slowly and nodded.

“Yeah, we can do that. But how about I start cooking and you go clean up. You’ve gotta want a shower after cleaning all day,” Logan told her. She nodded, gave him a quick kiss and went to get a shower while he started them a supper of steak, scrambled eggs and loaded baked potatoes.

It wasn’t until they were finished eating and relaxing on the couch watching a movie when their phone rang. Marie picked it up answering, “Hello?”

“Hey, Stripes, it’s Victor,” a deep gravelly voice that belonged to her brother in law said on the other end. “Let me talk at Jimmy a minute.”

“Sure, here he is,” she told him and handed the phone to Logan. “It’s Vicky.”

Logan chuckled and heard Victor growl at the other end. He told him, “That’s what you get for calling her ‘Stripes’, Vic. What’s up?”

“I got a lead on Stryker Jr. if you want it. They set up a new base over here and have been acquiring mutants from this area. The dumb son of a bitch actually approached me offering me a job,” Victor told him. Logan’s hand tightened on the phone and he growled low in his chest alerting Marie to the seriousness of the topic. “He didn’t have the balls to do it in person, though, sent a subordinate. I sent the little fuck back to him in a box with a big red bow and a note telling him to go fuck himself. You’re on his list, though, that much I got out of the guy; you and Rogue and the baby. What is it by the way? Boy or girl?”

“It’s a boy,” Logan answered. His voice was tight with barely controlled anger. “We named him James Logan Howlett II, Jamie for short. It was Marie’s idea. – Where are they, Victor?”

“Maybe I should take care of this myself, Jimmy,” Victor said after a moment of silence. “You need to be there for her and the cub.”

“You can’t take them all on your own, Vic. We’ve got a whole team here,” Logan argued.

“I’m not alone, Jimmy. Look, I’ll call you when it’s done and hell, I’ll even send you the fucker’s head in a box. You’re needed there, though. You give me a call when she delivers. I wanna meet my nephew,” Victor told him then hung up.

“Victor, don’t -,” Logan began then heard the click and then the dial tone. He cursed and hung up the phone.

“He found them, huh?” Marie said quietly. Logan nodded. “He wouldn’t tell you where?”

“No,” he shook his head then sighed. “He’s right, though. I’m needed here. I can’t leave you and the baby alone, especially with you both on the target list too. Victor said he’s not alone and he’ll take care of it.”

“You think he’s working with the Brotherhood again?” she asked frowning.

“I don’t know,” Logan shrugged and looked over at her. “I need to tell Scooter and Chuck about it, though. They keep tabs on Bucket-head all the time. If Vic’s with him then they can probably find the location that way.”

“Then what’s wrong, sugar?” Marie asked. He sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair before taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together.

“I hate leaving it up to other people to take care of it,” he admitted. “I can’t be away from you and the baby and I don’t want to. You know that. I also know that Cyke and the others can handle it and that Victor can handle it too. I just don’t trust anyone to do it better than I could. And I want that bastard Stryker’s head, baby. I wanna kill him so bad I can taste it for what he put us through, the danger he put you and the baby in.”

“Logan, if you feel that strongly about it then I’m sure I can spare you for that one mission. Once Scott gets the coordinates and plans out the mission it won’t take long to get it done. I’m only in my sixth month, Logan. We’ve got three more after this one,” she reminded him. “If it means that much to you then you won’t be happy unless you get to go. I’m not gonna hold you back from what you feel you need to do, honey. And I won’t be alone. I’ve got a whole school full of super powerful mutants to watch my back and I promised not to leave the grounds anymore. I’ll just stick with the Professor while you’re on the mission and wait like the others. I will tell you this, though. If you do decide to go, you’d better come back to me in one piece and alive. I’m not raising this baby without you, Logan. He needs his daddy. You’re not as invincible as you think you are. You better be careful and keep the Wolverine in check. If he starts getting out of hand, just remind him that you’ve gotta get back to me and the cub.”

Logan nodded slowly, taking it all in and thinking it over. Finally he sighed and wrapped his arms around her kissing her temple. “I still don’t know if I should risk it or not but I’ll give it some more thought before I commit one way or the other. We need to get Scott and Kit-Kat on to finding the location tomorrow. Then we’ll see where to go from there.”

“Sounds like a plan, sugar,” she agreed resting her head on his shoulder. After a moment he spoke again.
“You know I’m not going anywhere, don’t you? I’m not gonna let anything happen to me, darlin,” Logan said quietly. She looked at him and he met her eyes.

“You promise, hon?” she whispered.

He kissed her and smiled whispering back against her lips, “Yeah, yeah I promise.”

Two weeks later, Scott and Kitty got the location of Stryker’s new base pinpointed to a remote area of the Coronado National Forest in southern Arizona. Then the Professor did a thorough scan of that area with Cerebro and what they found out was more than alarming. The X-Men sat around the conference table in the War Room and listened worriedly to Scott’s status report.

“They have mutant guards at the facility, some of the worst we’ve seen in fact, though no one from the Brotherhood. Magneto and his group appear to be nearby so it’s likely that they are the team that Sabretooth is working with planning an attack on the facility,” Scott told them. “They also have human guards, scientists and doctors, how many we don’t know. Our first plan of action is do some reconnaissance, learning shift change schedules and try and get a list of the leaders and the more dangerous mutants they have on staff. For that mission will be myself, Shadowcat and Jean.”

“You need to make contact with Sabretooth and find out what the Brotherhood knows. If they’ve been there a while then Magneto will have all that information already,” Logan pointed out.

“Logan, he won’t approach them if you’re not there,” Marie told him frowning. He nodded silently and sent her a look that told her he had already made his mind up to go. Sighing she took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly letting him know it was okay.

“Well then, I suppose Logan’s going too,” Scott said warily. He was still a bit apprehensive about taking the Wolverine on missions without Rogue after the ‘trying to dismantle the jet’ incident. “This is just recon anyway. We’ll be gone a day or two at most. For the attack mission we’ll need the whole team, except for Rogue of course who will remain here with the Professor in the control room.”

“What about what happened last time?” Bobby asked worriedly glancing at Logan. “He nearly killed Jubilee and then the rest of us on the jet because Wolverine got loose and Rogue wasn’t around.”

“Going back on missions so soon after Rogue was kidnapped was a mistake,” Logan admitted. “But I’ve had time to deal with it now and I’ll be fine. If something does happen then stay back and don’t approach me. I’ll come out of it on my own. You can’t force it. But I don’t think it will. If Victor’s there then you won’t have to worry about it either. He’ll get me back in line.”

“Victor Creed, as in Sabretooth?” Bobby asked sarcastically.

“He’s my brother,” Logan stated in a cold, warning tone that made Bobby flinch. “He’ll straighten me out and get me back to Rogue if I lose control.”

“He’s with the Brotherhood, Logan,” Scott pointed out calmly. “You think he’ll help us just because he’s your long lost brother?”

“Family comes first for Victor,” Logan nodded. “He offered to take care of this on his own because that bastard Stryker is targeting me and my family, because he kidnapped my pregnant wife. So yeah, I know he’ll help us.”

“That doesn’t guarantee Magneto and the others will,” Storm said frowning.

Charles nodded slowly then said, “I will speak to Erik about the matter. I’m sure we can reach an understanding. The one I’m concerned with in his group is Mystique. She’s become very unstable and unpredictable over the years. The only one who can control her is Erik.”

“Maybe this time around he can get her to keep her thieving blue hands off my man too,” Marie muttered under her breath. Logan heard her and gave her a reassuring squeeze of her hand then smiled when she looked at him.

“I got all I want right here, darlin,” Logan whispered leaning over and kissing her gently. “Besides I told you nothing happened in the tent that night. I threw her out.”

“She still wants you,” she said. “And I don’t trust her or Erik. You go with the team on this mission and you stay close to Victor. At least I can count on him to bring you home safe to me if it goes bad.”

“I’ll be fine, baby. Besides, have I ever broken a promise to you?” he asked. She shook her head and smiled grudgingly. He returned it and brought her hand to his lips to kiss it. “See, everything will be fine.”
-
When they arrived at the location that Charles told them was where the Brotherhood was staying Logan immediately sniffed out his brother watching them from a boulder nearby. The entrance to the Brotherhood’s desert stronghold was in the side of a mountain that led into a valley. Victor jumped down in front of Logan and smirked evilly at the disconcerted looks from the other X-Men.

“How’s Stripes and the cub, Jimmy?” he asked. “I told you not to come.”

“This is just recon,” Logan told him with a smirk of his own. “Besides, Marie said to tell you to make sure I get back home safe and sound or she’s holding you accountable.”

“Well, that goes without saying,” Victor acknowledged then tilted his head toward the others. “Why’d you bring them with you?”

“They were gonna come without me actually. We need information, Vic. What does Buckethead know so far?” Logan asked.

“Now, now Wolverine, there’s no need for name-calling,” Erik said striding over to them with Mystique and Pyro behind him. “Your manners certainly haven’t improved since our last meeting. Hasn’t that lovely little Southern belle you married tamed you at all? I understand congratulations are in order as well. I have a hard time imagining you as a father, though.”

“You keep your mouth shut about my family!” Logan snarled starting toward the old man but Victor held him back. “You don’t even think about my family!”

“Erik,” Victor said in a censuring tone that had Magneto nodding absently.

“Yes, I remember. We’re all being civil now. I harbor no hostile intentions toward young Rogue or her unborn child,” Erik said. “In fact, we’re all here to avenge her kidnapping, aren’t we? Now, I already spoke with Charles before you arrived and have agreed to a truce for this mission against the new Stryker. Hopefully it will go better than Alkali Lake did. Lovely to see you again, Jean. What a miracle it was that you survived that flood.”

“Yes I was lucky,” Jean acknowledged with a curt nod.

“Could we get to business?” Scott interrupted sounding annoyed. “We’re here to do recon then return to begin coordinating our plan of attack.”

“I would recommend we do that here, and I suggested so to Charles. Nonetheless, please come in and we’ll share what we have then you can return soon with the rest of the team,” Erik told him calmly. Then he gave Logan an arrogant grin. “Of course, we can’t keep Wolverine from his wife for too long. I’m told that’s positively dangerous.”

Logan sent him a look that should have killed him on the spot then followed Victor and the others into the valley stronghold. He fucking hated Magneto. He’d almost lost Marie because of that bastard and he’d never forget it. If he ever found a way to kill the fucker before he turned him into an adamantium pretzel then he would, no hesitation and no regrets.

Victor sensed his brother’s rage and hung back a little to talk to him. “You’ve gotta calm down, Jimmy. This is gonna get rough enough with you losing your cool because of him. Breathe deep and concentrate on getting back to your mate and the cub. If you’re this wound up doing recon then I’m not convinced you need to be on the actual mission. We’ve got some bad-asses waiting on us in there. You remember Omega Red?”

“No,” Logan shook his head.

“We went up against him in the 60’s in Russia. It was the Cold War,” Victor told him. “He’s got a healing factor, tentacles, absorbs life forces and a lot of other shit that’s hard to beat. He nearly took us both out back then. He and Vulcan are the leaders of the mutants they have guarding the facility. Vulcan is Gabriel Summers, the One-Eyed Boy Wonder’s brother, and he’s gonna be hard to beat too. He can absorb and manipulate energy, heals some, and can fly and put up force fields along some other stuff even I didn’t understand but it didn’t sound good. They’ve got about fifty other mutants following their orders. It’s gonna take everybody working together on this and I don’t need you fucking up and getting yourself killed or captured because you’ve got a grudge with Magneto and Mystique.”

“Fine,” Logan nodded gruffly in agreement. “I’ll keep my cool. I just can’t stand the bastard.”

“Yeah well, no one can really except for Blue and maybe Xavier,” Victor told him with a dark chuckle. “But one case of revenge at a time, Jimmy. We need him right now.”
Again Logan nodded and they reached the others in a tent that held a long table covered in maps, blueprints and other document files. Scott and Kitty were going through it all with Erik and Mystique while Jean stood nearby glaring warily at Pyro, Emma Frost, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch.

“Well, the Wolverine,” Emma purred grinning at Logan. “I heard we were going to be graced with your presence but I didn’t dare believe it.”

Logan frowned in confusion and leaned over to whisper to Victor, “Did I sleep with her?”

“Nope but she damn sure tried,” Victor assured him. Logan gave Emma a stern look then.

“Sorry, blondie but I’m off the market,” he told her.

“Oh yes, I heard that too,” Emma nodded. “You married Rogue. Interesting choice, I thought, marrying the one mutant on earth that could probably kill you.”

“I wouldn’t provoke him, Emma dear,” Erik called from the table. “He’s sensitive about his family.”

“Why don’t you go take Havok or Avalanche for a ride, Frosty?” Victor asked her with a derisive sneer on his lips. “Hell, do ‘em both but leave my brother alone. He never wanted you back in the day and sure as hell doesn’t now that he’s with his mate.”

“Jealous, Victor?” Emma said dragging her hand seductively down his chest where he caught it in a brutal grip before she reached his torso.

“You know, Frosty, you’re kinda like the village bicycle. Everyone’s had a turn,” Victor said with an evil grin that had her feeling slightly panicked, “Well, everyone but me and Jimmy anyway. I never could stomach the smell of other men on my woman and neither could he. How many did you fuck last night; three or four? I hope they used protection.”

“You’re still a bastard, Creed,” Emma snatched her hand from his and stormed out then.

Victor chuckled and called after her, “And you’re still a bitch, sweetheart.”

“Wow, you really know how to charm the ladies,” Pyro said rolling his eyes at his comrade.

“Don’t worry, kiddo, she’ll get around to you too as soon as your balls drop,” Victor told him ruffling his hair making the young mutant glare at him. “Just make sure you wear a rubber. That chick’s got more STDs than James Bond nowadays.”

Pyro ignored him and turned to Logan. “So you and Rogue are having a kid, huh? Is she doing okay?”

“She’s great,” Logan admitted carefully regarding the young man. He hadn’t disliked the little Firestarter before exactly, not as much as he loathed Ice Dick anyway, but he was still wary of the kid. Hell, he was wary of anyone asking after his wife and son, though. “Her and the baby are both healthy and everything.”

“That’s good,” Pyro smiled genuinely at the older man. “I knew it’d be the two of you together. I told Bobby he was deluding himself if he thought he could compete with you. How’s he doing?”

“You’ll see for yourself soon I reckon,” Logan said with a shrug. “He’s dating Kit-Kat over there last I heard. You know, if you wanted to come back the Professor’d let you.”

“Nah, I like it here. There were too many rules there, too many restrictions on my powers. I couldn’t be me,” Pyro shook his head. “I regret not saying goodbye though. Rogue was like a sister to me. And Jubes was – how is she?”

“Yellow’s with Gambit now,” Logan told him. He missed the way Pyro’s face fell at the news and continued, “He was interested in Rogue but I set him straight real quick about that. Then Jubilee came in and dug her hooks in him. They’re bunking together now in our old apartment in the attic. Rogue and I moved out of the mansion.”

“Oh,” Pyro nodded slowly. “This Gambit guy’s new huh?”

“He’s a friend of mine, not as old as me but older than you and the others,” Logan nodded. “He’s from New Orleans. His ‘gift’ is blowing stuff up. You’ll get along fine.”

“I bet,” Pyro responded flatly and Logan turned to look at him. Recognition crossed the older man’s features and he gave the kid an apologetic pat on the back.

“You win some and lose some, kid,” he told him. “There’re plenty of fish in the sea.”

“Yeah I know,” Pyro nodded. “She was the first though, you know?”

“That just means she’ll stay with you. Memories are priceless, kid. I should know,” Logan said and Pyro had to admit he was right. Giving the Wolverine a curt nod he walked away and out of the tent to be alone a while.

Logan looked over at Victor who had been listening to their conversation.

“You always that quick to share information, Jimmy?” Victor asked raising a brow. “I thought I taught you
better than that.”

“He’s harmless, for the most part anyway, and it’s nothing Marie wouldn’t have told him,” Logan shrugged and took a cigar out of his pocket and lit it. “I’m not allowed these near Marie anymore. They make her sick since she got pregnant. Oh and I got this for you, from the last ultrasound. Meet your nephew, Uncle Vic.”

Victor took the black and white photo of his nephew’s ultrasound and gazed at it with a rare feeling of awe. Not much surprised him after being alive so many years but his brother’s baby boy sure came close. “He’s got your chin,” he stated after a moment, “And her eyes.”

“I know,” Logan grinned glancing at the photo. “And he’s healthy as a horse. The doc says he’ll be at least eight pounds when he’s born.”

“And you’re calling him Jamie, huh?” Victor asked and Logan nodded. After a moment longer he carefully tucked the photo into his pocket and regarded his brother. “I think you should stay home with her, Jimmy. It’s not safe leaving her unprotected. You said they’re bringing the whole team back. That just leaves that Professor and a bunch of kids to look after Rogue and the cub. It’s a golden opportunity to take her again and this isn’t the only facility they have to take her to, Jimmy. You need to stay with her. I told you I’d handle Stryker.”

Logan hadn’t thought of that. Victor had a point. He frowned darkly and grumbled angrily before tossing his cigar away. “Goddamn it, I wanted to gut that fucker myself. I want his blood, Victor. I want to see the life leave his eyes and I want him to know who’s sending him to hell and why.”

“I can guarantee that, Jimmy, but you’re gonna have to let go of your pride and accept help from someone else this time,” Victor told him. “I know you, maybe even better than your mate does, and I know you’d never forgive yourself if anything happened to her while you’re here getting revenge. Just think hard about it before you decide. It’s not gonna be something you can take back later.”

Logan nodded and scowled down at his feet, deep in thought, as Victor walked away. He didn’t know what to do now. Victor was right. If he left her unprotected at the school, even as powerful as Charles is, and something happened to her and their baby he would never forgive himself. But could he really just set back and let others take care of his vengeance? And what if they didn’t manage to get Stryker? He knew Victor was capable of doing what he said but he also knew that he wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving it in someone else’s hands. It was a damned if he did and damned if he didn’t situation. He really needed to talk to Marie about it – again – before he made up his mind.