Beating the envelopes that were labeled for the school against her thigh Jean walked into her office and settled behind her desk. With a quick toss she turned away from the scattered correspondence on the desk and stared out the window.

Three months. Ninety-three long, painful days and nights since Scott and Rogue had disappeared together. She felt the chill from everyone around her. Felt the animosity, the anger that was tangled with confusion and speculation from her peers and the students.

It was something she had known was coming, and now the problem was she didn’t have an answer they’d understand. She didn’t understand it herself. She’d woken the morning after Logan had vanished, after he’d walked away from what she’d offered to find Scott already up and gone.

A quick search had revealed Rogue was gone as well and she’d felt something within her shatter even as she felt a faint but niggling sensation of hope. Perhaps they’d find Logan, perhaps everyone could be happy, could have the love they needed.

Now, weeks later that hope had died a slow, agonizing death along with the realization that Scott wasn’t coming home to her. Pushing aside her heartache she turned back to the mail. Opening bill after bill was repetitive but soothing, mindless work that allowed her to fly through it.

Pausing at the envelope with the address on it but no return stamp she cut into it. Ignoring the knot of dread in her stomach Jean pulled out the slim piece of paper.

Unfolding it with fingers that trembled she blinked steadily as she recognized the scrawl upon the page.

Dear Professor Xavier;

I am writing to let you know of several things I feel are important. First of all Mister Summers has decided to go to Washington State for a while. Said he wanted to clear his head and come to terms with things. Please don’t worry about him. I think he just needs to wrap his mind around the events that have taken place the past few weeks.

Secondly, I am fine. I’m living in a cozy three bedroom trailer. I have a cat, a dog, and most importantly I have a Wolverine to protect me and keep me company. I know it must have hurt you the way I ran but I had no choice.

Logan needed me. He needed more than he would ever have at the mansion and I had to follow him. He makes me whole. Mister Summers wasn’t too happy with things when we caught up to Logan in some backwater fight bar but he quickly got over it when he saw the shape Logan was in.

It was bad Professor. He’d been there a week when we got there and he looked like he hadn’t gotten up off the barstool. Boy was he shocked to see us. Then he just smiled sadly at me and Scott and said something about an eye for an eye. And he was glad that I’d found love even if it was with a pansy ass like Scooter.

Scott blushed and shook his head but Logan merely glared at him before ordering another bottle. We drug him outta there and over to the hotel. After cleaning him up and letting him sleep off the effects of the booze and drugs…we won’t go there…I made him listen to me. I made him understand that we could be okay as long as he wanted to be. Turns out he did want it. Wanted us to be an *us* so badly that he was punishing himself the only way he knew how to.

Anyway, I’m just writing to tell you that we won’t be back to the mansion for a while. Logan needs to have some time and so do I. We need to have some down time. We want a chance to have some normalcy before we go back and have to defend our relationship to everyone.

I’m sorry if this disappoints you but we have no other choice. Scott’ll probably be back before Christmas but I can’t say for sure. We’ll be there when we get there.

Your friend, Rogue.


Blinking at the wash of burning in her eyes Jean let her forehead touch the desk and let the sobs come. She knew she would have to offer some form of apology to those she’d hurt…and she didn’t know how she could do that. She had nothing to offer anyone, least of all those she loved.