When Logan woke up, he had a feeling something was wrong. He immediately went downstairs to find that Bobby, Jubilee, Storm, the professor and Hank had gathered in one of the classrooms.
Logan walked in and leaned against the door frame, "What's going on? Schedule a staff meeting without me?"
Bobby shot Logan a look as the professor spoke, "It seems Rogue has broken off her engagement with Bobby..." Logan had to stop from breaking into a toothy grin, but that didn't prove to be a problem for too long as the professor continued, "...and she's run away. Did she say anything to you, Logan?"
Logan looked as if he'd just been hit in the chest with a sledge hammer. He took a few deep breaths and looked down as his mind raced. He tried to remain aware of the people around him, but as his eyes darted about, the professor took notice, "Are you alright, Logan?"
Logan looked at the professor. Big mistake. He immediately heard his voice in his head, "What have you done?"
Logan shut his eyes and desperately attempted to block the professor's probing of his mind. He turned on his heel and rushed from the room, leaving everyone except Charles to look suspicious and confused. He was shoving clothes in his duffle bag when the professor knocked on his door.
"Outta my way, Chuck" Logan said as he opened the door with his bag in hand.
The professor stared at him, "I know you love her, Logan. I’ve heard you project whenever you two were in the same room..."
Logan growled. Guess he hadn't been so great at blocking the professor from his mind, "Even if it is true...that's not your business."
The professor sighed, "It wasn't before, no, but now that she has run away it is. She's all alone out there."
Logan pushed past him, "Which is exactly why I need to go find her."
The professor followed him, "How will you find her? Follow her scent? Guess?" Logan stopped and turned around as the professor continued, "I will help you."
A few minutes later, Logan stood behind the professor as he activated Cerebro. They both saw Rogue sitting in an office or waiting room of some sort with a clipboard in her lap. Her head was down and she was busy writing something.
Logan wrote down the coordinates the professor gave him and took off in one of the cars from the mansion.
-------------------
Marie sat filling out the endless pile of paperwork the clinic required of her. She rubbed her wrist as carpal tunnel began to rear its ugly head, then continued writing and yawning. She hadn't gotten any sleep in the damn hotel room...not particularly because it sucked, it was actually decent to be a Radisson, but had she stayed up all night arguing with herself over whether she was making the right decision.
Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she allowed herself to believe that Logan loved her and he would want to have this baby with her, but then she'd actually call herself “stupid” out loud.
Marie would have to stay at the hotel for about a week to heal, then after that, she didn't know where she would go. She contemplated visiting her parents, but she still held too much animosity toward them to go. She would never just abandon her kid the way they abandoned her.
Rogue paused her thoughts for a moment. She had taken up so much time thinking about the kind of father Logan wouldn't be, she never bothered to truly think of the type of mother she would be. She knew she would never abandon her child...whether they were mutant, human or green with purple spots. She was patient, loving, kind, but didn't take any shit.
Before finding out she was pregnant, she always thought she would be a great mother...but that was under completely different circumstances. Visions of her sitting up in a bed holding a tiny bundle as Bobby smiled on proudly had disappeared from her head and were replaced with her alone with a crying infant, looking exhausted and depressed.
Would Logan abandon her? She nodded. Of course he would. She wasn't entirely sure he would want her if she was available to him. She had always had the suspicion that one of the reasons he kept coming back to her is because he knew she wouldn't leave Bobby. Now she had and she was actually relieved. As time passed, the space between them had grown, and she could tell he had changed...she had too.
Marie looked up from the paperwork and glanced around the room. The office was mostly empty besides two other women. She didn't know what the other older woman was there for, but she knew exactly why the teenager huddled in the corner was there.
She had the same look on her face as Marie.
She purposely started stalling on her paperwork because she was beginning to have doubts about her decision. She had never been fully sure, she just thought it was her only option...but her heart was forcing pictures of a baby into her head. It would probably be a girl...Logan just seemed destined to end up with a gorgeous daughter he'd end up having to protect from guys just like him. She'd have her hair and Logan's eyes.
Marie shook her head and looked down, "Shit..."
She tapped the pen against the clipboard, which elicited an annoyed look from the other women in the waiting room. She walked up to the window where the office assistant sat, "Um...I think I need to cancel my appointment."
The woman gave her a sympathetic look, "Do you think you'll want to reschedule or are you really canceling?"
Rogue bit her lip and sighed, knowing the woman knew exactly what she was backing out of, "I don't know yet...but I have the number. Thanks."
Rogue handed her the clipboard and left.
Logan had been giving himself an internal ass whooping during his entire ride to the city. All he had was coordinates and a GPS to point the way.
When he reached his destination, he parked in front of the building and walked in, looking at the directory. There was a couple of dentist offices, eye doctors and a women's clinic. He realized his efforts to get her pregnant were probably successful, so he figured the women's clinic was the best bet.
When he entered, he went to the window, "I'm looking for...a friend. She's 20, auburn hair with white streaks in front and brownish green eyes. She been here this morning?"
Logan immediately knew Marie had been there from the look on the woman's face, "I'm sorry sir, I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss our patients with unauthorized individuals."
He rolled his eyes, "What was she here for?"
The woman let out an exasperated sigh, "Sir...again, I can't discuss our patients. If you're looking for an explanation of our services, you can refer to the flyer over there, or visit our website."
Logan snatched a flyer as he walked out the clinic. He stood outside of the building and looked through it. His eyes immediately fell to the page entitled "Abortion Services" and he cursed out loud.
He looked up and down the street helplessly, hoping to somehow see her although he was sure she was long gone.
He attempted to collect his thoughts and decided to continue his search at nearby hotels. Since she had no car and limited funds, she was likely a short distance from the clinic.
Four hotels later, he was walking into the Radisson lobby, "Hey...I'm looking for my girlfriend. I forgot whether she said she was staying here or at the Ramada...she's got auburn hair with white streaks, kinda young and talks with a southern accent."
The woman behind the desk thought for a moment, then nodded, "Yea! She's a sweetheart...Anna Marie..."
"That's my girl", Logan smirked as he pulled a picture of her from his wallet to prove he was who he said he was. He'd stolen the picture from Marie's room a year ago and had kept it with him on his travels.
The woman gave him a polite, but curious smile and Logan immediately knew why. The age difference was clear, "I don't think she's come back since she left this morning, but you're welcome to wait for her in our lobby."
Logan knew that there would be a scene when they first saw each other. He needed their meeting to be private, "Actually, do you think you could do me a favor?"
It took Logan a lot of flirting and one fake, mushy story about how he and Marie met to get the woman to give him the key to her room.
It wasn't long before he heard her putting her key in the door. He stood in the middle of the room, "Hey kid..."
She almost dropped the bag she was carrying when she saw him, "Logan..."
He wasn't sure what to say next, so he just walked over and took her hand, "You ok?"
She let out a breath, "Am I ok? What are you doing here?"
"I was worried about you", he said as he watched her remove her hand from his grasp and walk by him, setting the bag out of sight.
"I'm fine", she lied as she sat on the edge of the bed.
Logan took a "Cut the bullshit, Marie...I know."
She looked down and felt her stomach churning, "How'd you find out?"
Logan said as he sunk down into a chair across from her, "Because I got you pregnant on purpose, I knew you were off birth control...I needed to find a way to get you away from that little popsicle."
Marie stood, glaring at him as she shrieked, "You what?!"
He quickly jumped to his feet, matching her volume, "I did what I had to do!" They stood there for a while, just looking at each other until he spoke in a slightly calmer tone, "What did you do at the clinic, Marie?"
She gritted her teeth and shoved him in the chest, "I got rid of it and I'm glad I did!"
He stumbled back more out of shock than from being pushed. Logan just stared at her as she pointed her finger in his face, "For over two years you have tortured me! You kept coming back to just put me through the ringer...wanting me because you can't have me. You just used me for your own sick, twisted pleasure! Now...I find out you've moved on from fucking with my emotions, to actually sabotaging my life?! My body?!"
Damn. Now that she put it that way, he did sound terrible. He shook his head and spoke weakly, "It wasn't like that..."
She threw her hands up, "Then tell me! For fuck's sake just tell me what it was like! Set the record straight, Logan...for once."
He opened is mouth to say something, but nothing came out. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he just say it?
She stared at him expectantly for a moment before tears started forming in her eyes. When it was clear he wasn’t going to speak, she laughed bitterly and looked down, "Exactly what I thought."
She walked over to the door and snatched it open, "Get out Logan..."
He sighed and tried to buy himself some time, "What about you? You can't just live out of hotels."
She closed the door and crossed her arms, "I just eliminated any reason for you to be concerned for me and my welfare, Logan." He actually looked hurt, which made her clear her throat and look away, "Fine...I'll go back to the mansion...as long as you're not there when I get back."
He recovered from the verbal punch she delivered to his gut, "Fine...I'll hit the road for a while."
She her hand on the door handle again, "No Logan...I don't want you there...at all. I don't want to see you again."
He knew that after what she'd just done, she was bound to be angry, hurt and overly emotional, so he decided to placate her, "Fine."
Logan knew he was blatantly lying to her, but figured she'd come around after a few months without him.
He started to walk out of the room, "I mean it Logan..."
He glanced over his shoulder and nodded before walking away. As Logan hit the road, Marie picked up the bag she had brought in and tossed the contents onto her bed. She ran a hand through her hair as she looked down at her prenatal vitamins, "Just you and me, kid."
Marie returned to the school the next day. After all the initial greetings and relieved hugs, she asked for a moment alone with her ex fiance. She told Bobby that she was pregnant with a child that didn't belong to him and she refused to name the father...but Bobby had one pretty decent guess. He screamed at her so loudly and called her such vile names, Piotr saw fit to come in and put an end to their conversation.
Hank, Storm and the professor didn't try to pressure her into naming the father of her child, but they all knew it was probably the only missing X Man. In fact, the only person that Marie came out and told was Jubilee.
She told her the whole story, which Marie almost immediately regretted, "O-M-G! Chica! He totally loves you!"
Marie let out an exasperated sigh as she put her clothes back in her dresser, "Jubes...love isn't really in Logan's vocabulary and even if it was, he was just using me in some sort of sick territorial game."
Jubilee sighed, "I dunno girl...any man who would knock a girl up on purpose is obviously looking for something to hold onto for the long run, but that's just my opinion."
Rogue simply shook her head and laughed, but inside, she wondered if there was any real truth to her friend's opinion.
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