“She didn’t exactly give up, but looking into her mind, all that was there was a wall. An impenetrable wall, thick and high. I felt her mind seconds before she collapsed. It appears everyone she has absorbed over the years were rising up in revolt. Some of them were…horrible people. Rather than let one of them control her, Rogue retreated into her mind to control them. She sealed herself and all of the others in her mind. She refused to let one of them take over her body.”

“Will she wake up?” Logan asked, his voice low.

The Professor sighed and pressed his palms together. “I honestly don’t know, Logan. But if I would have to guess, I would have to say it’s doubtful that she ever will.”

Logan growled, “Why the hell not?”

“From the brief glance I got from her, I got the impression that she was preparing to hold the personalities down permanently.” he shook his head sadly, “Her mind was in complete chaos. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”

“Can’t you do anything to help?”

“You have to understand. The mind is a delicate thing. I could try to take the personalities from her mind, but I can’t guarantee that the personalities is all I would get.”

“You mean you could get her memories?”

“Yes, Logan.”

“Do it.” he growled.

The Professor shook his head, “I cannot and will not do that. It is morally reprehensible to do it without her permission.”

“Then ask her. Enter her mind and do that thing you do.”

“I have tried. The wall around her mind won’t let me through.”

Logan stood from his chair and started pacing Xavier’s office. He chewed the cigar in his mouth and ran his hands though his hair. When he stopped, Xavier raised his eyebrow expectantly. “Send me. You can do that right?”

“I can, but what makes you think you will have anymore success than me?”

“Just a feeling I have.”

The Professor briefly considered Logan before closing his eyes. “We can try it, but I cannot make any promises. Meet me in the lab in two hours.”

Logan nodded and quickly left the room. He walked to his bedroom, but found himself unable to concentrate on anything when he got there. He paced, took a shower and even gave his room a quick clean-up. When he found himself pacing again, he growled in frustration and ran his hands through his hair. Sitting on his bed heavily, he sighed.

Seven years. Seven fucking years! It didn’t matter that she hadn’t come back for him, the fact that she was in his life again was enough for him. Then she shuts herself down before he even had a chance. There were many things you could say about the Wolverine, but that he gave up easily was not one of them.

He’d missed her. He missed seeing her smile, the way she teased him. He missed her scent, the way it could calm him and arouse him at the same time. The feel of her skin even through the layers of clothing she’d been forced to wear.

When his chest tightened and he felt suspicious moisture at the corner of his eyes, he released his claws. The familiar pain grounded him and he took a slow breath. ‘Quit being a pansy.’ he told himself. There was no way he was going to let her go. Even if he had to fight to keep her.

Logan eyed the Professor, “No snooping in my mind, Chuck.”

The look the Xavier shot him was extremely annoyed. “Please lie down, Logan.” Raising an eyebrow at him, Logan settled onto the hard surface beside an unconscious Marie. “Are you ready?”

After taking in Marie’s calm features, he nodded.

He immediately felt an invading presence in his mind a minute before the world went black. When he opened his eyes, there was a tall brick wall in front of him. He let out a low whistle. “Impressive, darlin’.”

He unsheathed his claws and took a quick swipe at the wall. When three claw marks appeared and stayed, he smirked. It took him longer than he thought it would, portions of the wall regenerated even as he took them out, but when he stepped through the hole that he created, he allowed himself a small feeling of victory.

As he took in the landscape, he immediately recognized a Japanese garden. Tranquil waters flowed under several bridges, connecting a small patch of green grass to the rest of the garden. He smiled. Marie sat in the center of the small island, and she appeared to be meditating. She looked beautiful.

“Why, thank ya sugah.” Marie opened her eyes and smiled at him.

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

Marie tilted her head at him, “My mind, my rules.” When she stood and stared at him intently, her face tense, he frowned.

“What’s wrong, darlin’?”

She shook her head and closed her eyes. A moment later, she gasped. “How did you get in here, Logan?”

He crossed his arms over his chest, “Made a hole.”

She was beside him in an instant. “Where?” she asked, her voice frantic.

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and saw her eyes widen. “Damn it!”

When he looked, he saw several people crowding around the hole he had made. Marie quickly flew over and knocked a few of them away. “Help me!” she yelled. “Ah can’t hold them back and fix it at the same time.” He was already on his way, and while she had been fighting the ones surrounding the hole, many more appeared.

“Aw, fuck.” he cursed and quickly made his way to her side. As he reached her, she gave him a grateful look. “Just hold them back, okay?”

“You got it darlin’.” She turned and placed both hands on the wall, her face a mask of concentration. While she worked, Logan fought off the inhabitants of her mind. He didn’t know how she accumulated so many in her head, but he could see why she’d been in such pain.

How she’d kept them in control before he had no idea. He even caught a brief glance of Sabertooth. When a statuesque blond landed in front of him and the crowd stepped back, he groaned. “Carol.”

Carol smiled at him, but it wasn’t nice. “Why are you helping her? After what she did to me, to us-” she gestured around at the crowd surrounding them. “You should be helping -us-.”

Logan gave a low growl, “I don’t gave a shit about any of you, and I love her.”

Carol glared at him, “Then you’re an idiot.”

When a soft hand touched his shoulder, he gave a quick glance at Marie. He gave her a soft smile and she watched him with a sad expression. Then she turned to the crowd and her even stare made them all grumble and walk away. Except Carol.

She glared at Marie, “You and I both know that you should let me out.”

Marie shook her head, “Not gonna happen.”

“You killed me!” she hissed.

“Actually, you’re just in a coma.”

“Bitch!”

Marie glared at her, “Get lost, Carol.”

With a final glare, Carol turned and flew away. Logan turned and winced when he saw the look Marie was giving him. “Do you have any idea what would have happened if one of them had gotten out?”

“Um, sorry?”

Marie opened her mouth then closed it, shaking her head at the sheepish expression on his face. She sighed, “What are you doing here, Logan?”

“The Professor couldn’t get in, so I figured I’d try.”

“Why?”

“He can help you. Remove the personalities, give you your brain back.”

“Really?” he saw a small smile start across her face before she frowned. “What’s the catch?”

“There is a chance he could end up taking more that just the personalities. He might get your memories too.”

“How big a chance?”

Logan ran a hand through his hair, “The way he said it, a pretty big chance.”

Marie turned, “So Ah could get my life back, but loose myself? Ah don’t know if it’s worth it, Logan.”

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “We could be together, Marie. Just you and me, telling the rest of the world to fuck off.”

He saw her smile and she slowly relaxed into him. “You and meh?”

“Yeah.”

“You promise?”

He smiled against her hair, “Yeah, I promise.”

“Tell him to do it. But you need to do one thing for me.” she turned and grasped the material of his shirt. “When Ah wake up, if Ah don’t remember, tell me everything.”

He frowned and cupped her face in his hands, “Why?”

“Because it makes me who Ah am. The woman who loves you.”

He rested his forehead against hers, “You sure?”

“There is so much Ah wouldn’t mind losing, but there is so much more that Ah wanna keep.”

He sighed and traced his thumb over her bottom lip, “I wish we could have those years back.”

She shot him a teasing smile, “We wouldn’t have lost them if ya hadn’t been being an ass.”

“Shut up, Marie.”

“Make me.”

He smiled at the invite and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was chaste, light and too short. They sobered when they stepped back, “You tell the Professor to stay in mah mind. He needs to be ready when Ah let my shields down.”

He nodded, his face serious. He took her hand and placed a kiss to her knuckles. “So how do I get out of here?”

She closed her eyes and he could tell she was concentrating. When she opened her eyes, she gestured behind him, “Hurry.” A hole had appeared just big enough for him.

“I love ya, Marie.”

“Ah love you too, Logan.”

He turned, quickly moving through the hole and it closed behind him. The world went black a moment later and when he woke, he saw Xavier watching him. “Do it.”