DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

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CHAPTER 3

Her scent coming from the closed bathroom told him that Marie was still angry and confused, but had already calmed so far that she was now most likely pondering on this new information. Logan decided to give her the time she'd need to make up her mind and accept that it might be her subconscious fears to hold her captive in that vicious circle. With a sight he fetched the remote control from his nightstand and revived the TV.

Half an hour later Rogue emerged from the smaller room, clad in her jeans and a long sleeved shirt. She let her pajamas and Logan's button-up – everything neatly folded – fall down on the couch, before staring back at the other mutant lying on the bed. "That was reckless, Logan." She simply stated her arms crossed over her chest.

"It wasn't. I could have pulled away at the first sign of your mutation." He left the comfortable bed and closed the distance to the still annoyed brunette, placing his hands on her hips. "That's a point to start workin' on, darlin'."

Rogue scoffed, her arms still wrapped about her own body. Her body language signaled plainly that she wasn't in the mood to hug and make up so easily. "Whaddya mean? That Ah don't kill people in mah sleep?"

Logan rolled his eyes about her stubbornness and sarcasm. "As long as you relax and don't think 'bout your mutation, it's turned off or at least down." He slowly sneaked his hands around her waist, his fingers meeting at her back. But he withstood the temptation to pull her body flush against his own. In moments like this it was for her to make up her mind and come to him for comfort, not like back in the hospital when she was too petrified to let anyone close and he had to force his way to console her.

"Turned down?" This got her attention. It was true that the only success in her year long sessions with the professor had been a slowing down the intensity of her draining somebody. This was the reason why she was able to touch John for long moments and control the fires he had caused in the Drakes' garden, without sending the boy into a week long coma.

The Canadian felt her relax her tensed muscles somewhat. "Last time you freaked out 'bout me touchin' your bare skin, back at the motel you remember. Then I had several seconds till your abilities kicked in and even then, the pull was much lighter and slower than usually."

She really hated it when he was right about issues concerning her mental state, he had figured out before she did.

'You know, runt, Jimmy's right.'

'Shut up, Victor!' After a moment she added. 'Ah ain't giving him the satisfaction with telling him he might be right.'

'Might be?' Her inner Logan chimed in. 'Sounds pretty valid to me.'

'Oh, fuck off, Logan! Ya're such a pain in the ass sometimes!' Especially when he shoved the fact right into her face that he was right about something and she was not.

Logan watched his love space out for a moment. Her scent told him that her inner conversation did the opposite to calming her temper and despite knowing it better he pulled her closer to him and placed a peck onto her lips, snapping her out of her inner world. "Hey, don't let Victor get under your skin, Marie."

Rogue blinked a few times and pushed her hands flat against his chest, bringing more space between them. "It's not only Victor, you ain't any better." She grunted out between gritted teeth while tuning the feral brothers in her head out.

He groaned and decided to drop the topic for the time being. His hands left her waist and slung them about her neck, tangling his fingers in her dark locks. "Hey, I could hold you… stroke your bare skin… was nice." His kind hazel eyes searched for her chocolate ones and their gazes eventually locked.

Sighing, the brunette understood his offer to bury this issue, since both of them knew he had a point and she wasn't ready to admit it. "Yeah, it was nice... Really nice." She suppressed the pleased grin that struggled to form on her lips when she thought back to the moment waking up snuggled to his naked chest. Still annoyed, it took her a moment to give into his gentle lips kissing her softly and returning his kiss. When they broke away due to her mutation, she half smiled into his kind face, before pushing free from his embrace. "Get dressed, sugah. We're actually in time for breakfast."

Chuckling he placed a peck onto her forehead and walked over to the bathroom. "9 a.m. is too early for us, babe, isn't it?"

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When Logan returned to the main room showered and only wearing his battered jeans from the day before, he approached the fresh washed wife-beater, tee shirt and flannel that waited for him on a stool. Snickering he picked the fabric up and his gaze traveled over to the brunette sitting on the bed watching the news. "You know this is another couple thingy we've goin' on for months now, baby?"

Rogue faced him startled. "Whaddya mean, Logan?"

"You placin' the clothes you want me to wear out for me." A lop-sided grin plastered his features.

Rogue blushed slightly. It was true, she had never really gave a thought about it when she began to lie fresh shirts and jeans onto his bed every morning a few weeks into their mutual travel. A shy smile sneaked its way to her red lips. "Ya want me to stop?"

"Nah, Marie. I ain't complainin', darlin'. Just pointin' out." He slipped the tee shirt over his head and watched the brunette turn the TV off and slide from the bed with a content smile on her features.

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A few minutes later they entered the small dining hall on the first floor of the Inn. Marie's gaze swept over the breakfast buffet, relishing in the smell of scrabbled eggs, bacon, pancakes and hot coffee, though she wasn't a coffee drinker, but she liked the aroma. Her eyes wandered over the tables with blue and white flowers in vases on them. Only one table was occupied by a family with two rather bored and tired looking teenage girls.

With a grin she caught her love grasp a plate and hurry over to the meat, while she made her way over to the pancakes. From the corner of the eye she saw Helen leave another room that looked like a small kitchen and approach Logan and her with a warm smile on her lips. "Morning."

"Good morning." The woman greeted. "What would you like to drink?"

Usually Logan would growl at such good tempered morning-people like Helen obviously was, but he thought better of it and flashed her a half smile. "Mornin'. Coffee would be great and hot chocolate for the sugar addicted girl." He smirked as he heard the old woman giggle when she watched Marie drown her breakfast in maple syrup.

Rogue blushed a little and stopped the flow, acutely aware of the amused stares she received from Logan and her host. She approached one of the empty tables while Helen returned to the kitchen. Suddenly a colorful teen magazine caught the brunette's interest and she snatched it from the neighbored table while placing her pancake-syrup-soup onto the wooden tabletop.

Logan had taken his time to move all bacon onto his plate and then bury the mountain of meat under scrambled eggs and two slices of toast bread. Walking over to the table Marie had chosen he heard one of the teenagers whisper to her sister while pointing her index finger towards his jam-packed plate. His scowl darkened for the split of a second and both girls froze in fear before returning their gazes to their cereals. "Found somethin' interesstin', kid?" He grinned down at her just as Helen placed a mug of hot black coffee in front of his seat.

Rogue smiled at the elderly woman while looking up from the magazine. "Thank ya." Then her gaze swapped over to the other mutant with a playful grin. "Just a little reading material for tonight."

Helen returned to the kitchen from where her husband emerged with new bacon to refill the buffet. His eyes immediately fell onto their newest guests, his wife had told him the evening before and he could hardly believe his eyes. The hair was different, but it was indeed Logan Howlett sitting at his table with a girl. Mr. Sheridan almost envied the other man about his still young looks – time hadn't been this generous with him.

When he made his way back to the kitchen, he found his wife peek through the open door. "You're right. It's him." He placed the empty plate onto the counter and beckoned Helen to stop her spying.

"The girl is really his daughter, Frank." She closed the door behind herself. "The age of the teenagers is hard to tell nowadays, but I guess she's about 18. Kayla must be her mother."

He calculated silently and came to the same conclusion. "Likely."

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Rogue's chocolate eyes still roamed over the forest green motorbike leaning against the car retailer's office wall. The bike was a piece of junk – she didn't need the feral brothers' expertise to know that, but that old vehicle had caught her interest. "Momma would get a heart attack." She murmured under her breath and tore her gaze from the machine when Logan emerged from the office.

"Thanks, bub." The mutant nodded to the other man and made his way over to his new trailer, his love on his heels, not missing her look on the old motorcycle. "Get the cardboard boxes and the cleanin' stuff we bought yesterday into the trailer while I attach it to the Jeep."

"Yes, sir." The brunette gave him a mock salute and hurried over to their car.

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Logan had already begun to sweep the rotten leaves and dirt with the old broom out the front door while Rogue changed into her mold contaminated clothes from the day before. With a grunt he breathed in the clean summer air on the porch, grimacing at the persistent stench of the decaying organic material and the rubber gloves he wore. Not that he had to fear to catch a rare disease, but when he had the choice Logan preferred to not touch that filth with his bare hands.

Rogue stood in the middle of the cabin's main room, her gaze wandering over the cupboards of the kitchen, the fireplace and then landed on the couch. The sofa consisted of a wooden frame, which looked quite intact and tattered cushions. With a sigh the brunette approached the pillows and decided that too much damage had happened to them to get them fixed again and so she lifted one cushion up in order to bring it to the trailer.

But as soon as she had removed the pillow, a rustling resounded from the seating cushion and something was moving beneath the fabric. Before Rogue could guess what might hide there two big brown rats scurried out from under another pillow on the couch and jumped in fear onto the couch-table, then the floor and one eventually hid under the kitchen's boards while the other jumped right into the heap of wet and rotten leaves in the water-damaged corner.

A high pitched shriek rang from Marie's lips as she dropped the pillow in shock and hurried over to the large windows that gave the impression of freedom and refuge. "Logan! Do something!" The Canadian had just reentered the cabin when all hell broke loose and was now watching her with his trademark eyebrow. "Get them out!" She exclaimed while hopping onto the tabletop and sitting down on the round table, her feet hanging in the safe air. "Kill them! Doesn't matter what! Just do something!"

The chuckle, he couldn't bite down, left his lips as he neared the couch shaking his head. "I don't get you sometimes. What's so damn scary at rats that you'll twist your panties?" Now she was staring daggers at him and he couldn't stop his taunting – she just looked so damn cute. "It's like a big hamster with tail."

Her eyes widened in disgust as she watched him scent the air – what didn't help with all the other smells lingering in that room. "A long naked tail! It's just eww!" She shuddered at the mere thought, but gathered enough courage to slide down from the table and step closer to the rat home ignoring the laughter in her mind. She had her pride and she kept telling herself that it were just rodents, some people even had as pets.

The brunette watched warily how Logan lifted the tattered fabric from the seating pillow, the one the moving and now also squeaking came from, revealing a nest in the fluffy cushion-fillings. Rogue's features relaxed somewhat and she bend down to get a better view. "Ohh, Logan look, baby rats!" Meanwhile the pissed off rat mother stood on her legs and began to grit her teeth audibly when Wolverine reached down towards her cubs. "Don't ya dare and kill them!" The girl screamed determined and grasped his wrist almost forcefully.

"What? You just said I should get rid off them!" His puzzled gaze met hers.

She stepped closer to the rate family, her expression a mixture of pleading and exasperation. "But that's a mommy with her babies! Take them carefully and bring them to the garage."

"Alive?" He asked uncertain if he had understood her order correctly.

"Yes! How else?" Rogue barked, her eyes widening. A moment past by, in which she contemplated the situation. "Ya'll take the mother CAREFULLY and Ah'll carry the cushion with her babies."

Shrugging about his girl's change of mind Logan eyed the still threatening rat with a predator's look in his darkening orbs, before his hands shot down towards the small animal with lightening speed. The rodent had never had a chance and was now squeaking in his grasp, before she turned her head around and sank her sharp teeth into his index finger. "That fuckin' brute bit me!" He almost sounded disbelieving, how such a small animal would dare and attack the mighty Wolverine. But he had to ignore the pain and the urge to forcefully remove the shark like mouth from his flesh. "Think got even down to the bone!" With his now free hand he eventually got a grip on the animal's neck and caused her to lighten her bite on him.

"Don't be such a baby, Logan!" Rogue furrowed her brows on his antics and bent down to pick the cushion up when another rat fled from the sofa. 'They're more afraid of me than Ah'm of 'em.' She told herself calming her nerves and watched the new rat race into the leaf heap to the other.

While carrying the nest, she scrutinized the about a dozen cubs in it. She had to smile involuntarily when one of the half naked babies began to crawl over its siblings, but failed to do so and rolled onto its back. The downy brown fur was much lighter on the stomach and Marie noticed that the dark skinned tail – that wasn't so disgusting on a closer look – had a light patch on its tip.

Shaking his head about Rogue, the mutant opened the garage with some difficulty, the rat still clinging to his finger. "So what now, Marie?"

The brunette pushed past him and observed the room until her eyes fell upon a small hole in the wall beyond the counter. With a grin she walked over and gently placed the nest down in front of the opening to the Canadian wilderness.

Grunting Logan let go of the rat, which still hang on his hand with its teeth for a moment before she realized that she was free and let herself fall to the ground and hurried over to the old bike, hiding there. The Canadian saw the disapproving glare of his love. "What?" The brunette rolled her eyes and left the garage. "Great, now I've rodents room in my garage."

"Ah already have an idea. Will ya just stop the sulking and catch the other rats in the living room?"

He narrowed his eyes on her when they returned to the cabin. "I ain't sulkin'!" But she ignored his comment and vanished into the study with a cardboard box. A few minutes later the girl returned with four wooden boards, Logan first wondered where she had gotten those from, but then noticed the empty bookshelf in the study behind her. He followed her to the smaller hut with another rat tasting its way to his Adamantium bones.

From her peripheral view Rogue saw the rat mother had returned to her cubs and she approached her carefully picking up a hammer and nails from the counter. She saw Logan's curious gaze on her, after he had placed the rat down on the floor.

When he returned a little later with another animal in his hands Logan saw that his love had already connected the four boards to two walls and was now carefully position it around the nest, so the cushion was encircled by wooden walls on all four sites and the only way out was the hole in the wall. Fine, they could probably climb over her makeshift barricades, but they would find some grate to close this window to freedom - or rather to the garage.

He walked over to the new rat home and placed the male rat down next to the cushion observing Marie's work. "Good job, kid." He eventually praised her and began his hunt for the animal he had placed on the garage's floor a few minutes before.

Grinning the brunette stood up and made her way towards the exit. "Thanks, sugah. Now convinced that Ah'm able to help ya with the repairs?"

"Never said I wouldn't think you capable of using a hammer, darlin'." He cursed colorfully when his prey evaded his hands and hurried under his old pickup. The last he heard from his girl before she left the hut was her giggles about his failed hunting attempt.

Logan had eventually captured the rodent and placed it to the others and was now on his way back to the cabin to catch the rest, he almost walked right into Rogue, who carried the cushion fillings, a cookie and a cup. "Whatchaya doin' with the Oreo and the water?"

"They're for the rats." She saw his eyebrow quirk upwards. "What? They'll need something."

He couldn't suppress the snicker. "They lived almost two decades on their own."

Rogue pursed her lips and would have crossed her arms if they hadn't been full with stuff. "And?" Wasn't like she needed his permission to feed the animals.

"Do whatever you want, darlin'." Chuckling he walked back to the cabin and resumed the cleaning of the floor while watching out for more rats.

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