Author's Chapter Notes:
Hello my Lovlies!

Sorry for the delay in updating. I had a devil of a time figuring out dates and time zones for this chapter. If they don't work for you, let me know in the review section.

In this chapter, Logan deals with the aftermath of Marie's loss of her beloved Tigger. And then fun times ahead... It is brought to you by Panera Bread, my screwed up week, and original skittles.

I must thank tamisnead for her job as my wonderful beta. I must thank Tricky Business for the inspiration to take a road trip. THANK YOU!
I must thank the readers who follow me and our couple on this wild ride. Thanks Tricky, Xgirl14, tami snead, etc...

THANK YOU!

Enjoy!
Logan’s Room
Instructor’s Wing
Xavier’s School for Gifted Students
Westchester, NY.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
8:00 A.M.

Logan was worried… Marie hadn’t really cheered up in spite of his best efforts to do so. His feeling toward animals leaned more to the utilitarian view; if it didn’t have a useful purpose, why have a pet? Even though he felt that Tigger was just a dumb cat, he realized the cat was much more than that to his girl. He was a friend, confidante, snuggle pal when the badass Wolverine was away on missions, etc. And losing a pet like she had, had not been easy. At first after Dr. Moira took care of her needs, Logan carried her, curled up in his arms, upstairs to his bed and tucked her in with him. There was no way he’d let her sleep with him in her bedroom. Too many memories of the deceased cat lived in the shadows. So they’d ended up in his safe cave. She cried herself to sleep as the medication she’d taken down below finally kicked in as he held her. He wished he knew what he could do for her. Logan hated to see her so upset. Every time she cried and he heard her, another piece of his heart broke and in place of those pieces, hate for Victor filled the void.

With the sheets pulled up to his stomach, Logan wracked his brain for ideas on what to do… He knew he needed to get her out of town and soon. Victor had been to their second home and for now it was unsafe. So he would have to get Marie out of town quietly as possible, but where to go? She’s been to Alaska and that’s too cold now. California is full of sun. Yeah that would be good… So, Logan decided to take Marie to California for the rest of Memorial Day weekend. Then he formed a list of things he needed to do. He was sure that a visit with Lara and Frank and some extra sun might help. Yeah he was going to make her run away from the memories and the pain for a while. Maybe by the time they got back, Marie could face things stronger. Soon Logan fell back asleep with Marie sleeping in his arms. Food could wait…


Headmaster’s Office
Xavier’s School for Gifted Students
Westchester, NY.
10:00 A.M.

Logan woke up to an empty bed. God he hated waking up alone. Marie left him a note on her pillow. She’d gone to help Ororo pick strawberries from the greenhouse garden for canning. She left a little smiley face and a kiss with her sexy red lipstick. He sat up, rolled his shoulders before he stood, and threw on a clean shirt and jeans. A little hair gel, a little combing, and he was Mr. Badass again. A quick stop for socks and boots before locked up the domain he shared with Marie. He went down to meet with Charles in his office. This time Charles actually allowed him to knock, which surprised him a little.

“You got a minute, Chuck?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Please take a seat.”

“Nah, this won’t take long. I need to take Marie out of town for a while.”

“I see, has she not improved?”

“No, not really. I’ve tried everything I know to do, short of shaking it out of her. I had an idea of goin’ out to California to go see Lara and Frank Wyle.”

“I don’t see a problem. I’m sure we can rearrange the staff for the students that cannot go home for the summer. Was there anything else?”

“Yeah actually. I’m also planning to take her to see her parents and get that meet and greet over with. She’s been avoiding going to see them. I’ve been showerin’ them with stuff on Marie’s behalf. As you know, they haven’t met me yet. I would like it to go well, but…”

“You are apprehensive.”

“Yeah. I want it all to go perfect, but this world ain’t perfect. I just don’t want it to all go to hell in a hand basket.”

“I understand. Take the Suburban. I believe it has a full tank. I think getting Marie out of here will be beneficial for you both. Take two weeks or a month if you like. If you need it, take the summer and explore. I will ask a favor, if you do decide to take long excursion, I need you to stop in New Orleans and check in with Remy Le Beau. The child Jubilee is carrying is due in August and Marie could help keep her calm while you can take the father-to-be out for a few hours.”

“I thought I heard Jubilee wanted to be here to deliver with Hank and all.”

“Remy will also have information he doesn’t want Jubilee to know about. There’s word of a new breeding underground lab. We don’t have a definitive location yet to shut it down.”


Logan started to think about what Charles said and his mind began to reel.

“You think that could be the reason Victor’s back in town, collectin’ samples for testing, to the highest bidder?”

“That could very well be a possibility, Logan. But we cannot jump to conclusions and go in… With claws blazing. We must be precise.” Logan’s eyebrow peaked as he smirked.

“That’s never stopped me before and you know it. At this point, I just wanna keep everyone safe. We fixed the problems with the security sensors and cameras. No one’s settin’ foot in here without us knowing about it. There’s even an adjustment for shape shifters like Mystique.”

“At this point, just get out of here and take Marie with you. Have a good time, send postcards if you like, I’m sure myself or one of the other instructors would be glad to read them to the students.”

“I’ll have Marie send some when we stop. Okay, we’re out of here for a while.”

“Call if you need any assistance.”

“Sure thing and thanks.”

“No problem.”

Logan headed out to Ororo’s greenhouse garden to see if they were still harvesting strawberries. Now all he had to do was kidnap his girl and hit the road.

Ororo’s Greenhouse Garden
Xavier’s School for Gifted Students
Westchester, NY.
11:00 A.M.

Marie had a small wicker basket filled with paper towels at her feet. Then her arms went up to a cylindrical white tube containing hydroponically grown strawberries. She had her arms up with a pair of gardening scissors in one hand and a giant strawberry in her other hand. They were exactly the same size as the ones Logan had purchased from that Disney store in California. The basket was filled with paper towels to keep the basket from bruising the fruit. She hadn’t noticed Logan was even there until she heard Ororo say his name. He came up to her with a wicked look on his face and she blushed. She could tell what was on his mind without reading it… They were both reminded of the night she and he shared the strawberries from California and where all the chocolate melted to. The eyebrow peaked and he smiled as he realized she was reliving the same memory. Marie put the strawberry she had in her hand into the basket and tucked the gardening scissors into the pocket of her shorts.

“What brings you out here, sugah?”

“Get that skimpy little thing you call a swimsuit on and pack a bag. We’re hittin’ the road in fifteen minutes,” he spoke, volume high enough for Ororo to hear.

“Why? Where we goin’?”

“Thirteen minutes…” Logan teased and turned to leave. “’Ro, if you need us for any weddin’ items that need handling just call my cell.” Marie left the basket she had filled on the planting table on her way out.


Poor Ororo looked like she was going to have a coronary. What was she going to tell Tabitha Green? They still had other things to take care of… None of which she could pinpoint. She took a deep breath and calmly replied that she would call if she needed anything.


The Garage
Xavier’s School for Gifted Students
Westchester, NY.
11:30 A.M.

Marie’s heart was racing as she made it to the garage just in time. The door was open and Logan was already in the all black Suburban behind the wheel, with the engine running. She opened the door and jumped up into the seat. She put her belt on and as Logan drove to the main entrance gate to the school. She calmed her breathing and settled into her seat. She pulled up one leg and tucked it under her right leg.

“So, where we goin’?”

“Surprise. With any luck we’ll be there by Memorial Day.”

“Why Memorial Day?”

“Don’t know, just picked that day.”

“Don’t know or don’t wanna talk about where we’re heading?”

“Pick one.”


7-Eleven
Columbus, OH.
9:40 P.M.

Logan pulled into the parking lot of the convenience store and killed the engine. Marie was sound asleep next to him. They had stopped an hour after hitting the road to fill up on Marie’s travel necessities, which were more like luxuries to him. She had to have her Twinkies, chocolate hockey pucks otherwise known as Ding-Dongs, Sprite, and trail mix with the M & M’s, Fritos, Doritos. Of course he couldn’t forget her beef jerky with the mild teriyaki flavor. All he’d ever needed on the road was a few cigars, a box of extra-large condoms, and a case of Molson. Not to be drank of course while driving. Now dinner was winding down into fourth meal which was the late night after fighting meal he’d go out for at a diner if he could find one nearby. Marie had been sleeping for several miles. He hated to disturb her because she seemed to need the rest. He picked up some of their trash from lunch and very quietly got out of the vehicle. He decided to just pick them up something to nosh on and hit the road.

Once the trash was in the bin, he pulled open the door and that damn bell went off when he crossed the sensor’s beam of invisible light. The sound irritated his ears. He went down to the middle of the first aisle and picked out Marie’s brand of tampons. He’d smelled the shift in her scent. It dawned to him that maybe that was why she’d been so much more emotional over the cat than he thought she should have been. And a quick pick up of that special female medicine for special needs during that time of the month. Then he went over to the chips section and got a big bag of those Baked Lays he liked with a sandwich. He decided on the bigger bag because the bags were usually filed halfway with air and Marie liked to steal chips. A quick trip to the refrigerator with the cold sodas, grabbed Marie a couple Sprite refills, and a fresh bag of ice for the cooler behind his seat on the floor. It was put down there so Marie would have easy reach access. After that he grabbed a couple submarine sandwiches filled with lots of Italian meats and cheeses. He put all the food on the counter and decided to go back and make him a large coffee to go.

The guy behind the counter had stared at Logan all the while he’d gathered the food. It wasn’t like Logan hadn’t noticed; he could hear the man’s racing heartbeat. He kept his eyes low as he rung up the items for him. He didn’t really even tell him how much the amount was when it totaled on the register. Logan happened to see it and threw down a couple twenties on the counter. The man gave him change and then when Logan had the bag in his hand he scared the clerk.

“BOO,” Logan yelled at the man before he smiled and left the store.


When he opened the door, Marie was sleepy but awake. She’d put a light jacket over her lap before she’d gone to sleep and it was now folded across her lap. Logan handed her the plastic bag of food and climbed back into the Suburban.

“What’s this, sugah? Where are we?”

“Dinner… Or a snack if you want to eat later, I’ll stop. I didn’t realize we hadn’t stopped for food for a while. You were sleepin’ for most of the drive here. We’re in Columbus, Ohio.”

“Wow, didn’t realize ah was that tired. Dinner is fahn.”

“Good darlin’ cuz, I’m starvin’.”

“Ah saw what you did to that poor man in there… Did he piss his pants?”

“Why do you think I smiled before I left.”

Marie smiled a true smile. The kind Logan really loved about her that he hadn’t seen in days. Logan buckled in and started up the engine.


“You want meh to make up your sandwich?” She asked as she popped open the plastic wrap on the foot long submarine sandwich.

“Yeah if you want, dinner’s to go tonight.”

Out of the plastic she plucked the chilled mayonnaise and mustard packets. She opened them with her teeth and squirted them on the top and bottom portions of bread. She spread them with the little white plastic knife that had been inside the plastic wrap with the mayonnaise and mustard.

“How would you lahk it? In sections or all at once.”

“Pick one,” he gave her the non-answer as he concentrated on the road.

Marie knew what he really wanted anyway while he was driving. When he was driving he usually liked the longer sandwiches in half and the smaller square sandwiches cut in half in a diagonal cut. At least he was a crust eater… She opened the bag of Baked Lays and put a few inside his sandwich. Never, before he met Marie did he consider putting chips inside his sandwich. Now whenever he had a sandwich, he couldn’t eat the two separate. There was something about the flavor of the chips that gave it a better taste. She carefully cut the submarine on her lap and handed him half with a napkin from the glove compartment to hold it all together. Then she wrapped up the other half in the left over plastic wrap and put it inside a Ziploc bag before it went inside the cooler to keep it cold. After that she attacked her sandwich and made hers just like his.


Big Bubba’s Bad 24 Hour Barbecue
St. Louis, MO.
10:00 P.M.

“We have to stop for ribs, sugah. It’s important,” Marie almost whined.

“All right, don’t have a cow darlin’. We’ll stop for ribs as soon as I find a good place to park.”

“Yeay,” she cheered like a giddy 5 year old.

Logan rolled his eyes and smiled. It was good to see her happy. He pulled into the next driveway to his left that he could find. Marie was gone after opened his door. She had disappeared into the restaurant before he could get around the SUV to open her door for her. So, he locked up their belongings and he went inside. The smell that hit his nostrils sent the Wolverine into instant mouth-watering mode… A bouquet of brown sugar, ketchup, and various spices combined with the smell of cooked beef, pork, and chicken wafted past his nose from the kitchen made Logan’s mouth salivate even more.
Chapter End Notes:
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