Marie woke slowly, an unfamiliar scent assaulting her nose. She reluctantly opened her eyes, only to close them when overly bright lights hit them. After taking a few deep breaths, she looked around the room. She recognized it as a hospital room, but not like one she’d ever seen before.

She glanced around the room once more and blinked rapidly when she saw a man sitting in a chair a few feet from her bed. Raising her eyebrows and smiling, she studied him for a moment. He was HOT. Great body from what she could see. His arms rested across his stomach and his chin was resting lightly on his chest. He was snoring lightly and her mouth opened of it’s own accord and she ran her tongue over her dry lips as she decided that he was definitely the hottest guy she’d ever seen.

When she realized what she was doing, she snapped her mouth shut and covered it to smother her giggle. Here she was, waking up in a hospital bed, with no memory of how she got there, and she was ogling a guy she’d never met before. Her girlfriends would laugh when she told them later.

When a wave of dizziness hit her, she groaned and raised her hand to her forehead. She let out a soft groan and took a few deep breaths. She was unaware the man had moved until he lightly touched her head, smoothing her hair back gently. “You okay, darlin’?”

She moved her hand to look at him and was met by the most beautiful hazel eyes she’d ever seen. She gave a dumb nod, not breaking eye contact with him. After suppressing the silly urge to kiss him, she tore her gaze away and cleared her throat cautiously. “Yeah. Just, um, a little dizzy.”

“Chuck said that might happen.” he said, his hand now lightly moving through her hair. She let out a sigh at the sensation and closed her eyes. A moment later they popped open and she frowned slightly.

“Who’s Chuck?” She asked. “Is he mah doctor or something’?”

His hand stopped for a moment and he studied her face. “Yeah. Something like that.”

When he resumed moving his hand through her hair, she was ridciously grateful. She felt his gaze remain on her and she bit her lip, “So…do I know you?”

She met his eyes, confused by the flash of pain she saw. “Yeah, darlin’.” he seemed to hesitate, but the moment passed quickly. “I’m your husband.”

Her eyes widened and after a minute she let out a disbelieving snort. “Uh-huh. Ah’m only seventeen, how can Ah be married?”

He shook his head slightly, “Marie, this may be hard to hear, but you’re not seventeen. You’re twenty-seven.”

Her chest tightened and she swallowed hard. “What?”

“You’re not seventeen anymore. You had a serious head injury about a month ago. We weren’t sure what the damage would be, until now. You lost ten years Marie. I’m sorry.”

All of the sudden, her head clouded and she did something that she could only remember having done once before.

She fainted.

When she woke up the second time, she heard the sounds of arguing voices.

“I thought we agreed that when she woke, I would tell her what had transpired.” A man’s voice. Very dignified, even if he did sound…well, pissed.

“No. You agreed with each other. I never agreed to shit.” The man from before. Her husband.

“Logan. Your behavior is not helping.” A woman. Her voice was very cultured. Marie felt a slight surge of jealously. Whenever she traveled out of the south, she felt like a country bumpkin. She would never sound like that.

“Who said I was trying to help?” It was said with a growl that sent a shiver down her spine. Her husband again. Logan. She felt slightly giddy, she was married to hunk.

“Rogue needs all the help she can get right now, and this attitude of yours will only hinder our efforts.” The dignified guy, he sounded calmer now. ‘Who’s Rogue?’ she wondered.

“You know what, Chuck? You can take your self-righteous attitude and shove it up your-”

“Logan!” The woman interrupted, sounding offended.

Her laugh rose up before she could stop it and she cringed when the room was suddenly silent. She heard movement and reluctantly opened her eyes to see Logan, her husband. She loved the sound of that. Another man, must be the dignified one. He was bald and from what she could tell, wheelchair bound. The woman was beautiful, red hair framed a stunning face and her eyes were studying her a little to intently.

She immediately looked away and took a deep breath. The woman made her very uncomfortable. A hand took her own and she met Logan’s eyes with a grateful smile. “Logan, huh?”

He smiled back at her, “That’s me, darlin’.”

“Ah’m sorry Ah don’t remember.” she said softly.

He lifted one eyebrow and tilted his head. After a moment, his lifted her hand and kissed her palm. “You’re with me. Nothing else matters.”

The statement was slightly odd, but before she could ask him what he meant, the wheelchair bound man spoke. “What is the last thing you remember, Rogue?”

She frowned at the name, but since he was obviously speaking to her, she closed her eyes and tried to remember the last thing she had done. “Umm, well, I was at the pond by my house. George, David and Lorraine were with me. We were swimming. David had just asked me out. And… that’s it. I can’t remember anything after that until I woke up here.”

The bald man frowned and closed his eyes. “Are you sure?”

After thinking for a moment, she nodded. “Yep.”

He nodded and she twined her hands together, but the movement didn’t sooth her. It felt like something was missing. She took a deep breath and glanced at him. “Has it really been ten years, sir?”

He met her eyes and gave her a gentle smile. “Yes. Please call me Professor.”

She gave him a smile back, but a moment later, winced slightly. Massive pain hit her behind her eyes and she started to shake as she felt as if her brain were being invaded. She started to hyperventilate and squeezed her eyes shut. But a second later, she opened her eyes and fixed the red-head with an intense stare. “Get out of mah head. NOW!”

The red-head staggered back as if stuck, blood trickling from her nose. She let out a soft whimper and clutched at her head. Marie thought she heard Logan growl, and his hand tightened on hers. She looked at him hesitatingly, but saw his eyes on the red-head. His face was hard and for a moment, confusion took over. But when she look back to the woman and saw tears of pain running down her face, the professor at her side, she gasped and lifted a hand to her mouth. “Ah’m so sorry. Ah didn’t mean ta-”

“Don’t apologize to her, darlin’. You were just defending yourself.” Logan looked back to her, lifting a hand to touch her cheek. She searched his face almost desperately, making sure he wasn’t angry.

“But Ah don’t understand. Mah head, something was wrong. But then Ah just knew that she was doin’ it. Ah wanted her to stop, but…” she looked down and fisted her hands in the sheet that covered her. “Ah didn’t mean to hurt her.” she said softly.

“We know.” The professor spoke from her opposite side, his face suddenly tired. The red-head was sitting down in a chair, her head in her hands. “Jean?” he said expectantly.

She raised her head with a pained groan and met Marie’s eyes, her own bloodshot. “I’m sorry. I never should have done it without your permission.”

Marie gave her a small smile in acceptance of her apology but was still confused. The professor sighed slightly, “I think it would be best if you left for now, Jean.”

Jean nodded and shakily stood, exiting the room. When the door closed behind her, Marie turned to the professor. “Please. Tell meh what just happened.”

“Jean was being a bitc-”

Logan started, but was cut off by the professor. “-Jean was…” he sighed and rubbed his temples. “There are many things you need to know. But the most important would be for you to understand that Jean is a mutant. A telepath. As am I.” He gestured to Logan, “Logan is a mutant as well. He has many gifts, but the most prominent would his healing.”

Marie looked to Logan and studied him. He stared at her steadily, his face unreadable. When she gave him a slight smile, he closed his eyes for a moment and tightened his hand on hers. When a sudden realization struck her, she turned back to the professor. “Am Ah…” She trailed off, unable to finish.

He gave her a slight nod and a sympathetic smile, “Yes. You are.”

She let out a gasp and shook her head. “Mah daddy said that mutants are a bunch of freaks. He said that they should all be shot. He wouldn’ta liked meh being a mutant.”

Logan growled slightly, drawing her attention. “He didn’t darlin’. When we met, you were in Laughlin City. Hitchhiked your way there.”

A sob caught in her throat and she suddenly found herself wrapped in Logan’s arms. His scent enveloped her, calming her immediately. But she didn’t let him go, staying in his arms.

Xavier and Logan looked at each other over her head and Xavier gave a slight nod. “I will return in a couple of hours, Rogue.”

She nodded against Logan’s chest and heard the whirring of his chair as the Professor left. The room was silent, the only thing she could hear was the beating of Logan’s heart. When a sudden thought hit her, she lifted her head and looked around. “Is there a mirror in here somewhere?”

He gave a slight smile and nodded, standing. Helping her to her feet, he supported her as he led her to an adjacent bathroom. When she stood in front of her unfamiliar reflection, she knew immediately that she wanted to know the woman who stood in her place.