It had been almost four years. Everyone believed that he was dead. A man who couldn’t be killed was dead. Only she knew that they were wrong. Her love for him told her that he was alive. He could not die. Not like this. He would come back for her. He would come back for their son. He always came back. She looked out of the window into the starlit sky. In her arms her sleeping two-year-old son softly purred and a smile appeared on her face. He was just like his father. He had wavy black hair standing up at either side that even Marie couldn’t comb down. The truth was she loved it that way. It always reminded her of Logan. The only feature that Alex did not share with his father, were his eyes. They were just like his mother’s, deep brown but much more younger.
Alex’s third birthday was near and Marie missed Logan more than ever. She had shown Alex some of his father’s photos and Alex would always ask her, “When will dadee come back, mommy?” Marie had told him that Logan had gone on some mission.
And she would reply, “I don’t know baby. But he’ll come back some day.”
It had become a routine for Marie to sit at the bedroom window and wait for Logan to return. There hadn’t been a single night when she hadn’t cried to sleep. On some night like this, Alex would wake up crying and Marie would pull him on her lap and he would return to his peaceful sleep. Marie remembered the time when Logan had finally returned after two years from his visit to the Alkali Lake.
Logan had come back for good this time. He had come for Marie. Marie had just turned twenty and hadn’t yet gained control over her mutation and neither had she loved anyone else but Logan. After weeks of waiting for the right time Logan finally confessed his love for Marie. Marie had been sitting on a bench in the garden under a similar starlit sky. Logan had been watching her from his room. After some time he joined her on the bench.
“Hey Marie,” he said as he sat down next to her. After Logan’s return ‘kid’ had become ‘Marie’ as naturally as the distance between them had diminished. He sat closer than anyone else dared to sit next to her. Well he wasn’t anyone else. He was Logan, the man who had once touched her deadly skin on purpose, without worrying about his own life. He was the man who had been willing to give his own life for her.
“Hey.” She smiled that special smile she gave only him.
“What are ya doin’ sitting out here in the cold?”
“Nothin. I was just thinking.” Her southern drawl had faded a bit but the honey sweetness of her voice was still there.
“About what?”
“My home. My momma.” She looked up at the stars spread over her head.
He looked at her for a moment and asked, “Are you happy here Marie?”
She looked at him and smiled again, “Of course I’m happy Logan. It’s just that sometimes I remember my childhood days. My friends. My family.”
Logan knew. Now was the time.
He took her gloved hand in his. She did not resist. She always craved for touch and when it came to Logan, the man she loved, the craving doubled.
“Marie?”
“Yeah?” She turned her gaze to him.
“Do you love me?” He placed her gloved hand entwined with his bare one, against his chest and she could feel the slightly elevated beating of his heart.
“Huh?” She looked at him dumbfounded.
“Because I love you. So… do you love me Marie?” She continued to stare at him.
“Alright. Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
When Logan’s confession of love finally sank in, tears formed in her eyes.
“Yes…” she somehow managed to say out aloud and followed it with a whisper of, “I love you Logan.” Then the tears flowed freely but Logan stopped them midway quickly wiping them off with his thumb.
He softly kissed her on her lips, too quick for her skin to react. Marie hugged him tight burying her face in his chest as Logan put his arms around her and held her close.
Ororo and Jean had been watching all this from inside the mansion. They looked at each other and exchanged a smile. Without each other both Marie and Logan were incomplete, lost and lonely. Marie calmed the beast within Logan while Logan made Marie feel safe and happy.
Alex shifted in her lap and Marie moved a gentle hand over his face. She wondered whether Logan had looked the same during his childhood. She looked back outside and returned to her memories.
After that night Marie and Logan could never be separated, not even when Marie would spend an hour every day with Professor Charles and Jean to learn control her mutation. Logan would remain right by her side quietly looking at everything going on. Marie was often tired after the sessions and Logan always wanted to be there if she needed him. The only time when Logan had to go away from Marie was on missions. After coming back he had joined the team. But the missions were quite rare and so Logan got to spend most of the time with Marie.
A month later Marie moved into Logan’s room. The Wolverine always frowned at the little girly changes that Marie made in their room, but Logan found it all cute. One day after returning from an evening workout in the gym Logan found a light pink, tiny teddy bear patterned bed sheet neatly spread out on the bed.
“Marriiee…” Marie who was sitting at the table on the other side of the bed followed his eyes and said, “Cute, isn’t it?”
“PINK!!? Teddy bears?” He waved his hands over the bed sheet.
“Please…I like it.”
That did it. He could not fight with her now that she had said her patented please and given him that heart-tugging look.
Two months after that Marie finished her graduation and teaching course and took up a job as a teacher at the mansion itself. She taught English literature, her favorite subject. Some day she wanted to be a writer if she did not join the X-Men team.
It was the happiest time of Marie’s life. A week after she began teaching, Logan proposed to her. It happened in the same place that had become their favorite since the time Logan had told Marie that he loved her: the bench in the garden. And it happened at the same time of the night, under the starlit sky. The two people that had been watching them during the earlier occasion had now become four. Scott, Jean, Hank and Ororo stood at the window. Scott and Jean had been married for around five months while Hank and Ororo had been going out for around the same time. All four of them really cared for the couple sitting outside. Logan had talked to the foursome about his plans and all of them were overjoyed.
Logan and Marie walked towards the bench, where Marie sat down while Logan rested his arms on Marie’s shoulders from behind her. Jean, Scott and Ororo sighed, as they couldn’t see the couple’s faces. After a while, Logan straightened up and walked around the bench and stood in front of Marie.
He said, “Remember Marie? On a similar night like this, in this very place, I had confessed my love to you.”
Marie looked up, nodded and said, “Yes. How can I forget it? It’s the best thing to have happened to me. It’s something that I’ll cherish forever.”
“Well, today I wanna give you one more thing that I hope you’ll cherish too.”
“What?”
Logan put his hand in his jean pocket and removed a velvet box. Kneeling down in front of Marie and opening the box to reveal a diamond studded gold ring he asked, “Marie, will you marry me?”
Marie put her gloved hands over her mouth in surprise but they slowly came down into her lap as the truth hit her.
“But Logan, I still haven’t been able to control my mutation. What if...”
Logan quickly dismissed her.
“No Marie. I know you’ll gain control over your skin. It doesn’t matter if I’m not able to touch you. What matters is that I love you. With all my heart and soul I love you. I wanna spend my whole life with you. I want your love…” He did not move from his position.
Marie lifted her hands from her lap and cupped his face.
“I love you so much Logan…” She placed a soft kiss on his forehead over his rumpled hair and sighed. Logan closed his eyes at the feel of her warm breath on his forehead. “I will…”
Logan looked at her for a moment and finally realized that it was her answer. She had said yes. He smiled and slid the ring onto her finger. After that Logan picked Marie up and swirled her round and round till finally both of them collapsed to the ground laughing. Inside the mansion Scott, Jean, Ororo and Hank hugged each other.
She ran a hand through Alex’s hair feeling its silkiness between her fingers, her bare hand running through her son’s hair. Touching other people felt so natural now unlike the very first time she had touched Logan- her skin to his skin. Nothing in between.
Logan was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee when he heard the professor’s voice in his head.
**Logan, come to my office quickly. I need you**
Logan immediately rushed to the professor’s office. When he reached there he saw Jean sitting in a chair in front of the professor. Next to her was Marie, her skin a bit whiter than usual and her hands plucking at her gloves on the table. She wasn’t wearing her gloves! She had removed them and placed them in front of her, something that she never did when people were around.
“What is it professor?” His tone was full of concern.
“Sit down Logan.” The professor gestured to the chair next to Marie.
Logan sat down; glancing sideways at Marie and then asked again, “What is it?”
“No professor…” Rogue pleaded.
“Don’t worry Rogue. You have to try.” The professor assured her and then turning to Logan he said, “I have a feeling that Rogue has gained control over her mutation. Because of your healing power, you would be the most suitable person for her to touch.” He smiled and continued. “Also I think that you’d want to be the first person that she touched. Even Rogue would want that, wouldn’t you Rogue? It’s just that she’s a bit afraid.”
Logan’s heart was jumping up and down in his chest, just like Marie’s. He turned to face Marie and spoke softly, “Don’t worry Marie. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” He put out his hand in front of her. “I love you and I know you can do this. So take my hand, touch me.” Marie looked at Logan and then at the professor who gave her an assuring nod. Closing her eyes she concentrated fully on not hurting Logan. Very slowly she moved her hand ahead. Logan closed his eyes and quietly prayed, not for himself but for Marie. He wanted this to work. She had been working on it for weeks.
And then he felt it, her soft hand on his. No silk glove in between. He waited for the pull. But it did not come. Both of them opened their eyes, delighted at what had just taken place. Logan held her hand tighter and kissed her soundly on the lips. As they broke the kiss, tears formed in both their eyes. Marie held the professor’s hand and thanked him. She would never be able to thank him for all that he had done for her. Then she turned to Jean and hugged her tight. Jean wiped away her own tears and Logan gave her a warm smile.
That whole day Marie hugged and held hands with almost everyone at the mansion while Logan followed her with a huge smile spread across his face. Kitty and Jubilee could not contain their squeals when Marie touched their faces with her bare hands. After every few minutes she would turn around and give him a light kiss. When they walked hand in hand towards the dinner table that night, Jean whispered to her husband, “I’m so happy for them.”
“Yeah me too.” He replied and smiled at Logan and Marie who took the two seats on his right.
A month later, on September 4th, Logan and Marie got married in the same garden where their life had changed forever. Marie looked wonderful in her pearl-white wedding gown, with her long hair tied up and the two white locks falling on either side of her face. Logan found it difficult than ever to take his eyes off her. Jean had just declared that she was pregnant. That night they had a double celebration.
Marie looked at the garden and the bench where she had spent most of her time during the last three and a half years thinking about Logan, waiting for Logan and crying for Logan. She had resumed teaching when Alex turned a year old but the earlier enthusiasm and spirit was no longer there. She had only started teaching again because the professor wanted her to. That was the only way, thought the professor and Jean, which would help Marie forget about Logan. But they were wrong.
Tonight Marie felt the same uneasiness and anxiety she had felt that day five months after their marriage. Then, fear had also been present whereas tonight there was anticipation. Hope. Longing.
Marie hadn’t been able to eat properly for two days. She had a constant dizziness and had even cancelled her classes. When Logan came to know about it he immediately took her to Jean. At the same time an urgent mission came up and the X-men had to leave urgently. Before leaving, Logan went to the med-lab where Jean was running some tests on Marie.
Marie who was sitting on the table held his hand tight. “Logan. I’m scared. Please stay. Don’t go…”
“I ‘have’ to go Marie. But I’ll be back soon. Okay?” He put his other hand over hers.
“You promise?”
Logan smiled. “Yeah. I promise.” He kissed her and said, “take care”. With that he turned around and left.
Jean placed an assuring hand on Marie’s shoulder. “Don’t worry Marie. Lie down. I’ll soon get the test results.”
Jean thought she knew the reason why Rogue was feeling sick and she smiled inwardly, stroking her stomach. Her doubt was confirmed when she saw the test results some time later. ‘Marie was two weeks pregnant.’ When Marie woke up half an hour later, Jean went to her and smiled. Marie sat up and was a bit confused to see the smile on Jean’s face.
“What is it?”
Jean gave her a hug and said slowly so that every word was clear.
“Marie, you and Logan are going to have a baby.”
Shocked, Marie looked at Jean and asked, “What? You sure?”
Jean nodded. Marie hugged Jean again and said, “This is so great! I’m so happy! Logan’s gonna be so happy!”
“I’m so happy for the both of you Rogue.”
“But now you need to rest. Should I help you to your room?”
“No. I’ll be fine. Thanks.” Marie got down from the table and went upstairs to her room.
But as she opened the door of her room she heard the sound of the blackbird and turned to go downstairs to greet her husband and give him the news. Jean who had received the professor’s message was already waiting in the main room. The look on the faces of Scott, Ororo, Hank, Bobby, Jubilee and Kitty was not one she had expected to see. There was also a boy who entered with the others. But the one person who would always enter after Scott wasn’t there. Marie had stopped at the top of the stairs looking for Logan.
“What happened? And where’s Logan?” Jean asked.
A look of utter pain crossed everyone’s faces. No one could answer.
“Scott?” Jean asked again.
“He couldn’t make it.” he replied with a choked voice. Jean gasped.
“NOOOOOOOOO…!” Marie wailed as she ran down the stairs towards the door. “Logan!!” she screamed and was almost out but Scott’s strong arms stopped her.
“Rogue…”
“No, I want to go to Logan.”
“Listen to me Marie! Please!!” But Marie wouldn’t listen. She tried to free her arm from his grasp.
“Please Scott, Logan needs help.” She was crying now, tears flowing freely.
“I’m sorry Marie. But Logan’s not coming back. He’s DEAD.” He cringed at his own words.
“NO!NO!NO!NOOOOOOOO!!!” Marie collapsed to the ground, her head between her hands. Scott felt pain spread though his entire body. Why did it happen to Logan? He should have helped him. He should have saved him. It was his duty as their leader. Scott would never forgive himself his entire life.
He kneeled down and put his arms around Marie, cradling her.
“I’m sorry.” He repeated.
He heard Marie whisper, “Logan’s not dead. He can’t be. He’ll come back. I know he will come back. He has to come back. For me. For our baby.”
Scott looked up at Jean with shock. **Marie’s pregnant? **
Jean nodded sadly tears blurring her sight. **She just came to know**
He put one hand over his visor-covered eyes. Ororo put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up.
“Take her to her room.” Scott gently picked up Rogue who was continuously whispering ‘Logan will come back’ like a mantra, and took her to her room. Jean followed behind him and gave her a sleeping pill. Finally when Marie fell asleep Scott and Jean came downstairs.
“Logan will come back.” A fine mist formed on the glass into which Marie had said the words. Scott had told her everything that had happened. She believed everything except that Logan was dead.
“Ororo and I were fighting with Toad and Mystique. Logan was fighting Deathstrike when Sabertooth suddenly came onto him from nowhere. Hank rushed to help Logan and moved Deathstrike away while Logan continued to fight Sabertooth. They were moving away from us and closer to the cliff. I called out to Logan to warn him but at that very moment Sabertooth pushed Logan hard against a rock. Logan fell unconscious. Ororo knocked down Toad and ran towards Logan. But Sabertooth pushed her away and before she could use her power, Sabertooth picked up Logan and threw him off the cliff. Ororo attacked Sabertooth but it was too late. Everyone else escaped. I guess their main aim was to get to Logan. Sabertooth’s in prison.
We searched for Logan everywhere, but in that rocky sea he was nowhere to be found. All we found was his jacket covered in blood floating in the water.”
After listening to the entire story Marie placed a hand on Scott’s hand and said, “Don’t blame yourself Scott because I don’t blame you. Logan isn’t dead.”
Scott was thankful for the glasses because Marie couldn’t see the tears in his eyes.
The activities in the mansion quieted down for a few days. Jean always tried to comfort Rogue. Scott had now taken both Jean and Marie’s responsibility. Now and then he even got help from Bobby, Kitty, Jubilee and Remy.
Four months after the accident, Jean gave birth to a healthy baby girl who was later named Angela. By then almost everyone else had returned to his or her usual routine. Everyone except Rogue. Jean felt really sad for the young woman. She had seen so much pain in her whole life. And now the one person she loved was dead. She felt more sorry because Logan never came to know about his baby.
Four months after Angela’s birth, Alex was born, a one-month premature baby. Holding her boy in her arms with tears running down her face Marie had said just one thing, “Come back Logan. Come back.”
“Come back…” she repeated those words, as she looked at Alex, now almost three. Two weeks later he would be celebrating his third birthday and she her fourth wedding anniversary. Alone! She carried Alex to the bed and gently put him down so as not to wake him. Getting into the bed herself she pulled the blanket up over herself and Alex. It was too cold for the end of August. The sound of the birds chirping woke her up. She looked at the clock on the side table. It was 5:45 am. She had a class at 2:00 that afternoon. She had lot of free time.
She checked on Alex and got out of the bed. Stretching she walked to the window and opened it to let the cool morning breeze blow in. She went downstairs to make herself some coffee. Jean was already sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee with Angela next to her quietly drinking her chocolate milk. Marie gave her a smile.
“You know how cranky she gets when Scott isn’t around.”
“Scott hasn’t come back yet?”
“He’s on his way. Should be here any time now.” “By the way, coffee’s there if you want it.”
Marie smiled. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure.”
The roar of Scott’s bike was heard in the driveway. Angela guessed that her father had arrived and ran to greet him. Jean shook her head and continued sipping her coffee. Marie turned to the counter to pour herself some coffee.
Just then Jean heard Scott in her head.
**Jean? Where are you? **
**In the kitchen **
** Is Marie with you? **
**Yes she is. Why? **
**I’ve got someone with me. Someone for Marie **
** Who? **
** Just come here to the garage. Alone! You’ll see. ‘Angie…’**
Jean smiled and looked up. Marie was watching her.
“Anything wrong Jean?”
“Nothing. I…I was just talking to Scott. Um…I’ll see you later Marie.”
“Sure.”
Jean put the coffee mug in the sink and went to the garage. She could hear Angie’s laughter and her smile widened. Even she had missed Scott so much. He had been gone for a week. As she entered the garage she found Scott leaning against the van and smiling at his daughter who was pretending to be an aeroplane with her arms spread at her sides and was being waved in the air by another man who currently had his back to Jean.
When Scott saw Jean he walked over to her and gave her a light kiss.
“Missed you…” he said as he kissed her again.
“Me too.” “Who’s he?”
“Mommy! Look.” Angie waved her hands and made a whooshing sound.
Jean’s mouth dropped open as she finally saw who the man was. He put Angie down, who was obviously disappointed with the landing, and came towards her.
“Logan?”
“Oh! So Scott told you about me.”
“Logan, I’d like you to meet my wife, Jean.”
Jean looked at Scott with confusion but Scott simply nodded.
“Hi!” she shook Logan’s extended hand. “Scott talked to me about you on the phone. How are you by the way?”
“Fine… Cute little girl you have there.”
Jean smiled. This was shocking. He looked almost the same. He had lost some weight and oh, the side burns were gone!
“Okay Logan. Let me show you to the spare room. Later we’ll go and meet professor Xavier.”
“Alright.” “We’ll meet later.” He told Jean and picked up his bag and followed Scott outside the garage.
** Jean, come upstairs to our room. I’ll explain everything. **
“He doesn’t even remember us?” Jean sat down on the bed.
“I told you Jean. The man doesn’t remember anything. I found him in a restaurant outside New York. He was bartending for Chris sake!”
“What do we do now?”
“I’ve talked to the professor. He’ll talk to Logan and then decide what is to be done. ” He sat down next to Jean with a hunched back. Jean gently massaged his tired shoulders.
“Things will work out. Look at the brighter side. Logan is alive. Marie was right. He is back. You’ve brought him back.”
MARIE. Jean shuddered at that. The girl had waited for so long. And she had been right all along. But how would she handle the fact that Logan didn’t remember anything about the past. She would be shattered. Logan may not even know her! And Alex? He knew his dad. He had seen Logan’s photos. How would he react?
It felt like Scott had read her thoughts because he said, “I’ll go talk to the professor. We have yet to tell Marie.”
Logan had a nice warm bath, got dressed up to go to meet the professor and was standing at the window overlooking the garden, waiting for Scott. Incidentally, the spare room happened to be just next to Marie’s. Scott had told him about the professor and the x-men and was looking forward to meet the professor in the hope that he might help him remember at least some of his memories. His gaze moved to a figure walking in the garden alone, her long hair waving gently and her hands feeling the soft touch of the newly bloomed flowers.
“Marie…” Logan surprised himself by saying the name he had never heard before. He turned around as he heard a knock on his door. Scott pushed open the door.
“Ready?”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
Jean sat next to Marie on the bench. The professor had asked her to tell Marie about Logan. Jean and Scott were the ones closest to Marie. Scott was her best friend and Jean like an elder sister. Jean too was equally protective about Marie.
“Hi”
“Hi” Marie smiled. “How’s Scott? How was his trip?”
“Fine. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the same.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Um…I don’t know how to say this.” She looked around and let out a sigh. Looking back at Marie she said, “Marie… you were right all along.” She put her hand through Marie’s as Marie continued to look at her waiting for her to finish what she was saying. “Logan is alive. Scott brought him back here today morning.”
“WHAT!!” Marie stood up. “Logan is back? He’s really here?”
Jean nodded.
“I have to go see him.” Marie rushed to go inside.
“No Marie! Wait!” Jean went and stood before her. “There’s one more thing I have to tell you. Listen to me.”
“What?” Marie stopped breathing heavily.
“Logan has lost his memory. He doesn’t remember anything.”
The look of surprise and delight on Marie’s face changed to shock and disbelief.
“No! It can’t be. Tell me it isn’t true.”
“I’m sorry Marie. But it is the truth.” Marie sat down on the lowest step at the entrance. Jean sat next to her and told her everything that Scott had told her. Marie listened carefully, becoming more and more desperate with every word Jean uttered.
When Jean finished, she got up and walked up the stairs.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to see him Jean. I want to see him.”
“Right now he’s with the professor. You’ll see him soon.” Jean prayed that the professor had told Logan everything so that things would be a bit easy on Marie.
Marie nodded sadly and went upstairs to the library. Alex was still asleep. In a way she was glad for that. Had he been awake, he would have asked all sorts of questions, which she was not ready to answer. Not yet.
In the meanwhile the professor had talked to Logan and told him about his past at the mansion.
“So I joined the x-men here and also got married to Marie. But soon after that I had to go on a mission where I got injured and was thrown off the cliff into the sea. Everyone thought I was dead. Even you thought so too because you couldn’t contact me with your powers.”
“Everyone except Marie believed that you were dead.” Scott corrected him.
The professor had wanted it to be a slow session where Logan would remember everything on his own. But Logan insisted on being told just about his role at the mansion.
“So that makes up around four years of my life. What about the rest?”
“Well that, even I do not know. According to what you had told me, some experiments were performed on you, which resulted in your mutation. All you remembered when you came here the first time were the previous fifteen years of your life that you had spent wandering from place to place.”
Logan nodded a bit disappointed.
“You can see Marie and your son Alex.” ‘Alex’ Logan made a note of it in his mind. “They are in the room next to yours. What you want to do next depends on you. If you need any help, we’re always here.”
“Thank you professor. And by the way, could I keep the spare room? For at least a few days?”
“Sure. But I hope that you won’t need it for too long.” The professor smiled. Logan walked out of the office and started to go to his room.
“Logan?” he stopped and looked up. Jean was standing a few feet in front of him.
“Hi.”
“Remember anything?”
“No.” He shook his head.
“Oh…” She turned to go downstairs.
“Jean?”
“Yeah?”
“Where’s Marie?” For a moment there Jean thought that he actually remembered Marie. But then she recalled what he had just told her.
“I think she’s in the library. I’ll ask her to meet you.”
“Thanks. I’m in my room.”
Jean nodded and went downstairs as Logan returned to his own room.
He sat on his bed and thought about all that the professor had told him. He believed what the professor had told him. He had seen some of it in his nightmares. He had a feeling that he had also seen the professor, Scott, Jean and a few others in his dreams. There had also been a girl. Her face was never clear but he always felt peaceful when he felt her presence in his dreams. When she came the dream was no longer a nightmare. She always left emptiness in his heart when she left.
There was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
She slowly opened the door and stepped in. Logan held his breath as she walked towards him, her milk white skin glowing in the faint light coming through the window. Logan stood up and cleared his throat.
“Hi.”
Marie held back the tears that threatened to flow any moment. Four years. He looked a bit different. He had lost some weight. The look of irritation that always seemed to be on his face was no longer there. He seemed more calm and open.
“Hi,” she replied. “How are you?”
“I’m doing fine. How about you?”
“Okay.” She was definitely going to cry now. He was her husband and they were behaving like they had just met. Actually they had. At least for him it was true. But Marie, she hadn’t expected this when he returned.
“Ah…the professor told me everything that happened. I believe him. I really do. It’s just that things are moving so fast. I mean, before I came here I had nothing. And now I have a wife and a son. I don’t understand what to do.”
Marie pursed her lips to stop them from trembling. She sat down on the bed, staring at the floor, blurred by the tears in her eyes. Logan moved to the dresser and opening the drawer he pulled out a small velvet bag. He sat down next to her on the bed and emptied the contents of the bag into his hand.
“I had this on when I was saved by those fishermen and taken to the hospital.” He showed her the gold ring, which four years back she had put on his finger. She touched her own ring.
“I assume this is my wedding ring.”
“Yeah.” She nodded and took the ring from his hand.
“I’m sorry Marie. I don’t remember anything. All of it is just clustered somewhere in my head. Some parts of it, I see in my dreams. But I’m just not able to join those parts together. It’s all a mess in here.” He tapped his head.
“I understand.” She somehow managed to speak those words clearly.
“But I want to try Marie.” He kneeled down in front of her. “I want to remember. I want my memories back.”
She looked at him and a single tear rolled down. His brow furrowed. It hurt to see her cry.
“Don’t cry…” he wiped the tear away. She shivered at the touch she had craved for so long. Logan let his hand remain on her cheek for a little longer as Marie felt the warmth of his body flow into hers. Despite the cold metal running though his whole body, he had always been warm. She looked into his hazel eyes and for a moment forgot everything around her. As Logan pulled his hand away she came back to reality.
“How’s Alex?”
“Good. He’s sleeping.”
“Oh. Can I see him later?”
“Anytime.”
He got up and closed the drawer.
“Logan?”
“Yeah?”
“What do I tell Alex?”
“About what?”
“I had told him that you had gone on a mission and would be back soon. And now that you’re back he will want to know everything, where you’ve been, what you did… so I don’t know what to tell him.”
“ Just tell him that I’m not feeling so well at the moment. When time comes I will tell him everything.”
“Alright. Here, take the ring.”
“No.” she looked up at him. “Keep it with you. I’ll take it back the day I remember everything.” She sighed and looked like she was going to cry again.
“Okay.”
She got up and went out of the room. Logan sank into the bed as she closed the door. Outside in the corridor stood Scott leaning against a wall. She went to him.
“Alex just got up. Jean took him down with Angie for breakfast.”
She smiled to hide the tears but failed. Scott put a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, what happened?”
“Nothing. NOTHING!” she cried. Scott pulled her into his arms.
“God. Why did it have to be this way?”
“Shh… everything will be fine soon. I promise.”
That evening Scott was outside with Logan, talking about all the training sessions at the mansion.
“Daddeee…!” the sound stopped them. Angie came running and Scott pulled her up in his arms. Logan smiled at the girl he had met earlier that day and failed to notice the boy who had come up to him.
“Daddee!?”
“Huh?” he looked down at the small boy pulling at his jeans. He quickly realized that this was Alex and picked the boy up.
“Hey, Alex!” Scott smiled.
“Daddy? Is that Alex’s daddy?” Angie asked.
“Yes sweetie.” Scott replied.
“I missed you soooo much. Where were you?”
“I had gone out for some work.”
“Why didn’t you come to meet us?”
“I couldn’t. I was too far.”
“Will you go again?”
“No.” Logan shook his head. “I won’t go.”
“Will you play with me?”
“Sure. What do ya wanna play?” Logan put him down and Alex pulled his hand.
“Come inside. I’ll show you.” Logan looked at Scott.
“Go ahead. We’ll see you later.”
Logan ran inside the mansion behind Alex.
Alex ran around in the corridor. It was his turn to be the bad guy while Logan pretended to be one of the x-men.
“Ha-ha-ha. You cannot do anything. I will destroy you!” Alex shot at Logan with his fake gun.
“Aaahh!” Logan kneeled down acting like a bullet had hit him.
“Wait. I’ll show you my powers. Then I will win!” Alex continued.
“That’s it. I will not let you do anymore harm to my friends. I will fight you and I will win.” Logan picked Alex up with one hand and held him up. Alex squealed.
“This is your end Sabertooth!” He stopped abruptly and put Alex down. “Sabertooth?” he said to himself.
Scott who had come upstairs had witnessed everything along with Jean. Both were enjoying the whole scene before them but Scott froze as he heard what Logan had said.
“Those exact same words.”
“What?”
“Jean, he said those exact same words on the cliff before Sabertooth threw him off into the sea.” He whispered to her.
“I think he remembers little parts.” Jean replied.
“Probably when he is in similar situations.”
“We have to talk to Marie.”
After dinner they told Marie about all that had happened.
“We have to do something so that he remembers. There’s a chance that instead of these small bits he may remember the whole thing.” Scott paced around the room explaining everything to Marie seated on the bed while Jean looked on.
“I think I know what to do.” Marie told Scott. “You’ll have our help if you need.”
“Thanks. By the way where are Alex and Angie?”
“Angie is with Jubilee. Alex is with Logan in the gym.”
“Gym?” Marie raised her eyebrow.
“Yeah, gym.” Alex had been with Logan all evening. He even sat next to Logan during dinner.
Logan looked admiringly at Alex who was trying with all his might to lift the dumbbell before him.
“Come on son! Just a little bit more.” Logan encouraged him. Finally Alex succeeded in lifting the dumbbell off the ground.
“Well done!”
“Ice cream?” Logan had promised the boy ice cream if he succeeded in lifting the dumbbell.
“Alright.”
Logan followed the boy into the kitchen and removed the pint of Chocolate ice cream from the refrigerator. Both of them started digging into the ice cream.
Logan was busy scooping out the ice cream with his spoon.
“Dadee? Why don’t you stay in our room?” The sudden question hit Logan. He didn’t know what to say.
“Um… you see… I came just today. And… I’m not feeling so well. I don’t want you and mommy to fall sick.” Could there be a dumber answer?
“Mommy misses you.”
“She does?”
“Uh-huh. She cries a lot.”
“Last night?” Logan put down his spoon. The ache in his chest returned. He couldn’t explain why.
“She cried every night when you were not there.”
“Does she know you know?”
“No.” Alex shook his head.
“Alright.” He looked outside. “You want more ice cream?”
“No.”
“Alex…?” Marie called out from up the stairs. Marie had waited in her room happy that Logan and Alex were spending so much time together and enjoying themselves.
“Mommy I’m here.” Marie came into the kitchen.
“Hey Alex, its bedtime.”
“Mommy, I want to sleep with dadee...”
Marie looked at Logan. “Not today kid.” ‘Kid’ he had called her that the first time they had met. “Some other night. Okay?”
“Pleeease.”Alex pouted.
“Honey… daddy needs to rest. Some other time alright?”
“Hey. Tonight you go with your mommy and see that she doesn’t cry okay?” Logan whispered in Alex’s ear so that Marie couldn’t hear.
“Alright.” Alex got down from the stool and went to his mother. Marie picked him up and smiled at Logan.
“Say goodnight to daddy.”
“Goodnight dadee.” Alex put his arms around her neck.
“Goodnight Alex. Goodnight Marie.”
“Goodnight Logan.” She went to her room. The joy he had felt when he saw her disappeared and he felt the same emptiness he had experienced in his dreams. Logan shook his head and returned the ice cream to the freezer. He was glad that Alex was not sleeping with him. Sometimes he’d have pretty horrible nightmares and would end up slashing something or the other to pieces with his claws. He didn’t want to harm the kid in anyway. Never.
He was breathing heavily, his body covered in sweat. “No!” He put out his hand. “Oh God. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Logan… LOGAN.” He sat up, fully alert, ready to pop his claws. Marie was standing at the side of the bed. She switched on the lamp.
“What happened?” he squinted as the light hit his eyes.
“I think you had a bad dream.”
“Yeah. But how did you know?” he looked at her.
“I just know.” Marie shrugged her shoulders. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Ah…No.”
“Okay.” Marie turned to leave.
“Marie?”
“Ya?”
“Thanks.” She smiled and left.
Logan remembered his nightmare. He was fast asleep troubled by some nightmare. That same girl from his dreams had come to wake him up. But when he opened his eyes he realized that he had his claws buried in her shoulder. She moved her hand closer to his face. That was when Marie woke him up. Logan knew that this dream had happened sometime in the past. But when? Where? And who was the girl? He didn’t have any answer.
He knew just one thing. He wanted to find that girl. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. That he was sorry he left her alone. He would find her someday.
Now that Logan was back, plans for Alex’s birthday had to be changed a bit. Jubilee and Kitty were making all the preparations with some help from Jean and Ororo. Jean knew that Marie wouldn’t want a big celebration and a small party would be enough. She would also have to take care that Marie didn’t come to know of any of their plans. The next few days were uneventful. Marie continued with her daily classes while Alex spent most of his time in his preschool and playing with Logan. Every night Logan would have nightmares and Marie would be there to comfort him. He told her about the ones where he was tied down to a table and painful experiments were done on him. Marie knew about them all. She had seen some of them herself.
Logan resumed his training with the x-men. He hated to sit around doing nothing. Scott was happy to have him back while the younger kids prayed that he wouldn’t be as strict as he had been four years back. They were glad to learn that he wasn’t.
Alex’s birthday was on the next day. Logan had already got a gift for the boy. Scott had helped him with it. After Logan’s return the two men got along well and it surprised both Jean as well as Marie. That evening Logan walked out of the danger room after a pretty tiring session. He freshened up and went outside for some fresh air. There he found Marie sitting on the bench in the garden. Along with all the residents of the mansion, even he had come to know that it was her favorite place. He now knew why. The place was so comforting. No doubt Ororo received so many compliments. Colorful butterflies dancing on the flowers, the serene rays of the setting sun and the soft evening breeze. Alex was busy running around after the butterflies.
“Hi!” Logan sat down next to her.
“Hi.” Her voice sounded so sweet. She had been lost deep in thought.
“A penny for them?”
“I was just thinking about Alex. Tomorrow he’s going to be three.”
“You know he’s quite understanding and intelligent for his age.”
“Yeah, I know. I just found out one more thing.”
“What?”
“His mutation. It’s surfaced early though.”
“What is it?”
“He has your healing power. Just a while ago he fell right in front of me and scraped his knee. The very next moment, the bruise was gone completely. I’m so glad that he doesn’t have my mutation. I’d never want that for him. It’s so painful when you’re with someone but you cannot touch that person.” Tears glistened in her eyes.
“Marie…” Logan put his arm around her shoulder. In the past few days he had gotten close to her on very few occasions.
“Whatever happens happens for the best. What matters is that we love Alex and that he’s happy.”
Marie turned to face Logan. There was something in his eyes that she had never seen ever since he came back. Slowly Logan moved ahead, his warm breath tickling her skin. She closed her eyes as his lips faintly touched hers.
“Mommy look.” Alex showed a butterfly sitting on his palm. Logan pushed away and moved to his side of the bench. The sudden change hurt Marie. Looking at Alex she forced a smile. The butterfly flew off and Alex went running after it.
Logan cleared his throat. “I…I’ll see you at dinner.” Marie didn’t reply. He got up and left.
“Alex, let’s go inside. It’s getting dark.” She wiped away the tears.
“Okay mommy.” Alex came towards her. Taking him by the hand she went inside. Seeing Angela and two other kids, Alex went to play with them. Marie quietly went upstairs to her room smiling at Jean and Ororo on her way. She locked the door behind her and succumbed to the tears. Why? What had gone wrong? Didn’t he love her anymore? With every question that she asked herself more tears flowed.
Marie did not come for dinner that night. Logan’s eyes kept searching for her everywhere. He thought of going to her room to apologize but couldn’t gather the courage. He bade Alex goodnight and retired to his own room.
Alex opened the door and found Marie sitting at the window, silently gazing outside, her eyes swollen and her face wet with tears. He went to her and she picked him up and hugged him tight.
“Mommy, don’t cry.” He said sadly.
“Okay.” She nodded but the tears wouldn’t listen.
“Let’s get you changed.” She got him changed into his night suit and after he brushed his teeth she put him to sleep. Alex was very much tired and fell asleep quickly. Marie tried to sleep but couldn’t do so.
In the next room Logan was lying in his bed lost deep in his dreams…
“I’ll be back for these…” he gave her his dog tags promising that he’d come back and he did.
“Do you love me? Because I love you… so do you love me?”… He finally confessed his love. “I love you Logan” she replied…
“I wanna give you one more thing that I hope you’ll cherish too.”
“Will you marry me?” GOD! His heart was beating so fast!
“I love you so much Logan…I will.” Yes! …
“Logan, please don’t go. I’m scared.” “I’ll be back soon… I promise.”…
“I’ll take care of you.” “You promise?” “I promise.”…
He held her limp body praying that she was still alive and placed his hand on her face. He would give his life for her. As he collapsed to the ground he saw her walk towards him. She looked like an angel in her white wedding gown. As she moved closer to him her face became clearer. Finally she stood over him, her hand reaching out for him. “Take my hand.” She told him in her honey sweet voice. He took her hand and got up.
“Marie….” “MARIE?” she smiled. “I love you Logan. I’ve always loved you” ’
Logan sat up in his bed, his face full of shock. Marie. It had been Marie all the time. The girl from his dreams was none other than Marie. Now he understood why he felt what he had felt during the past two weeks. He had a connection with Marie. A connection that even a lost memory couldn’t break. His heart twisted with sadness when he realized the pain that Marie had been through during the past four years. He got out of the bed and putting on his t-shirt he went outside.
He slowly pushed open the door to her room so as not to wake up Alex. Somehow he knew that Marie was awake. She was. She was sitting at the table, staring at a photograph in her hands, lost deep in thought. She didn’t see him enter and almost jumped up when he came up to her. He quickly put his hand over her mouth.
“Shhh…” he put one finger over his lips. “Come with me.” He took her hand and led her outside. She quietly went with him, checking on Alex before leaving the room. He kept walking until he finally reached the desired spot. He stopped and turned around to face her. She looked up at him with pained eyes. His own eyes filled with tears when he saw her clearly. Her eyes were red and her face pale. He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her deep. Finally when they separated she looked at him and smiled, her lips trembling.
“You remember…”
“Not all. But whatever it is, it’s enough.” He kissed her again.
“I love you Marie. I love you so much.”
“I love you too Logan. I love you too.” She put her arms around him and he buried his face in her hair.
“Don’t ever leave me again.” She cried.
“I won't. I promise. And this time, I’m keeping my promise.” He fingered her white streak. “I think I can have the ring back.”
She looked up at him and smiled.
The next morning when Alex woke up he found his father next to him.
“Dadee!” he jumped into Logan’s lap.
“Hey…” Logan kissed his son’s forehead. “Happy birthday Alex.”
“Happy birthday sweetie.” Marie ran a hand through his hair.
That evening Alex had a great birthday party. This time there was a double celebration. Alex celebrated his third birthday while Logan and Marie celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary. Everyone at the mansion was very happy. For Alex, for Logan and for Marie. Alex was running around with Angela. Marie was with Jean. Finally after so many years Jean had seen Marie smile and laugh whole-heartedly. Jean squeezed Marie’s arm. “Always keep smiling like this.”
Marie gave her a hug.
“Thank you Jean. Thank you for everything. You and Scott have done so much for me. I owe you so much.”
“Hey, you’re like a sister to me. Don’t ever think that you owe me anything. Now go have fun with Logan.” Marie looked at Logan who had been looking at her for quite some time. She started walking over to him.
“And oh, Marie?”
“Yeah?” She looked back at Jean.
“Happy anniversary again. Actually its happy annibirthary!”
Marie laughed and joined Logan. Life was good.
THE END
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
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Story Notes:
Starts where X1 ends.