The next morning Marie warned everyone that Logan was not to be disturbed. She informed the Professor and then Logan’s students that classes that day were cancelled. Remy even agreed to take on the junior team’s training for the rest of the week so Logan could get some rest. They all agreed that a tired Wolverine was a hostile one and that was to be avoided at all costs.
When Marie brought him some food at lunch she was surprised to see him awake and relaxing in bed watching a hockey game re-run. Setting the tray down before him she grinned, “Hey, sugar, did you get enough sleep?”
“Oh yeah and I needed it too. Thanks for keeping everybody away,” he smiled back and dug into his food. She got on her side of the bed and sat with him. “What’ve you been up to, darlin? You’re not overdoing it, are you?”
“No, I’m fine. Everybody’s fine, honey,” she assured him. “In fact, me and Jubes got some more baby shopping done this morning. I finally figured out what colors I want in the nursery, too. You wanna see the samples I got? There’s all shades of – what is it?”
Marie frowned noticing how still he’d gotten and the strangest glare on his features.
“You went to town,” Logan said slowly. She nodded frowning. So he took a deep breath and tried again, “You went to town – without me.”
Realization made her pale and she winced apologetically. “Logan, I didn’t even think about it. Jubes was with me so I wasn’t alone, though. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about you getting some rest and I didn’t want to bother you. I wanted to show you that I can get things done myself too and you don’t have to do everything all the time. I hadn’t even thought about Stryker still being out there.”
He turned back to his food and started eating again. After a few moments he said, “Don’t do it again, Marie.”
“I won’t,” she promised. Then she reached out and put her hand on his arm to get his attention. “Logan.”
He looked at her and raised a brow.
“You know that I’d never intentionally put our baby and myself in harm’s way, don’t you? I love you and our little boy more than anything. I’d never do anything that could hurt either of you, Logan,” Marie said earnestly.
Logan’s expression softened then and he nodded leaning over to kiss her gently. “I know that, baby. I just – I was lost without you, darlin and scared out of my mind that I wasn’t gonna find you or that the person I did find wouldn’t be you anymore. It could happen. I know you’ve got a good idea what those bastards are capable of but it could have been a lot worse than it was. I expected it to be worse. I prepared myself for the possibility that I’d lost you, that you and the baby would be dead or worse when we got there. If that had happened, Marie, they’d have had to put me down. I’d have found a way to die because I’m not gonna go on without you. It wouldn’t be right, living in a world without you in it,” he explained, his voice tight with emotion.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his pulse point before nuzzling there and whispered, “I’m not going anywhere, Logan. I’m not gonna die on you.”
He leaned back, his eyes pleading, and whispered, “You promise, baby?”
“Yeah,” she smiled softly and kissed his lips, “I promise.”
Breaking the kiss she gave him a beaming smile and ran her fingers through his hair making him purr involuntarily. Those beloved hazel eyes met hers and he grinned, “It’s almost cruel what you do to me, baby. Now, tell me about the nursery. What colors did you decide on for the Chief?”
“Well, for the walls I picked French pale gold and grassy green and for the trim I picked Kingston brown. They’re real earthy colors and they looked great together, not too dark so the baby gets depressed but not the usual baby blue one gets for boys most of the time. I wanted something different for Jamie,” Marie explained showing him the color samples. He nodded thinking it over.
“That should go with the furniture I made for him. Pete finished painting those forest animals on it all yesterday. Why rabbits, baby?” he asked.
“It’s Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter. You know the children’s stories? They’re adorable,” she told him firmly.
He just shook his head and smiled. It was a good thing their son was gonna have her, though because he didn’t know the first thing about what children’s stories were the best let alone the characters in them. He could teach Jamie to hunt and fish and work on bikes and cars and trucks and kick ass and all about women and sports but he didn’t know anything about kid stuff like storybooks and cartoons and toys. But he’ll probably learn real fast once the Chief is born. It was kinda exciting to tell the truth. Fatherhood was something he’d never done before and he was looking forward to it. Besides, with Marie here doing it with him then the chances of him screwing up were way less than they’d be if he tried it alone. Having a kid with anyone else had never even crossed his mind. He’d never thought about babies or being a daddy until he met her anyway. After he met her, though it was all he thought about. It didn’t help that the Wolverine in his head kept pointing out how young and fertile she was and how she’d give them good cubs and that she was his mate and he needed to claim her. The son of a bitch finally let up after the wedding night and had been content as a kitten since her pregnancy had been confirmed.
They talked a while longer about the baby and the nursery plans and the plans for the rest of the cabin while Logan finished his lunch before snuggling up together. He liked it when they got a chance to do this because he could rest his hand on her belly and feel the baby kicking and moving around while he talked to him. Marie always smiled to herself and kept quiet while he did it. He trusted her to never tell a soul he was this affectionate and tender with her and their little one. It was something private just between them.
~
A week later, Logan was back to his usual self. He and Pete had finished the nursery loft at the cabin and now the girls were finished decorating it too. He’d done the painting because he didn’t want Marie inhaling the fumes, healing factor or not. As for the rest of the cabin that was done as well. In their bedroom he’d even put in a skylight above their bed so they could look at the stars and not feel closed in. He made sure to make it storm-proof though because being hit by lightening was not fun and he was in no hurry to do it again. Marie had done all the decorating. It was all similar to their home in Elk Valley in Canada but smaller. Their cabin up there was huge compared to this one near the school. It wasn’t too far from the mansion, about a fifteen minute walk through the wooded path off the grounds that led to the lake, but far enough away to give them privacy from everyone else. They were all set to move the rest of their clothes and stuff in tomorrow but most of it was already there now. Remy was taking their attic apartment at the mansion with Jubilee who had moved in with the Cajun now so Logan supposed they were serious about each other.
Today Marie was in a nesting mood. Logan found her after classes were over at the cabin during a cleaning frenzy. The place was already spotless from when they cleaned it a few days ago after they finished all the painting and trim work and set up all the furniture but apparently she wasn’t content with it.
“Uh darlin, is this where you’ve been all day?” he asked.
“Yep,” she nodded dusting the bookshelves in the den. “Why, what time is it?”
“It’s supper time, baby. When’s the last time you stopped and ate?” Logan frowned. She stopped to think about it then shrugged.
“I guess it was breakfast. I’ve been busy,” Marie told him. “What’d you do today, sugar?”
“Marie, the house is clean enough. Come on and let’s get some supper. You shouldn’t go all day without eating, baby. The kid’s probably starving,” he took the duster from her and then led her out, or tried to anyway. She stopped halfway to the door and he turned and looked at her. “What?”
“Why don’t we eat here tonight? I stocked the kitchen with groceries yesterday for when we move in tomorrow. I’ll cook us something here,” she suggested. He smiled slowly and nodded.
“Yeah, we can do that. But how about I start cooking and you go clean up. You’ve gotta want a shower after cleaning all day,” Logan told her. She nodded, gave him a quick kiss and went to get a shower while he started them a supper of steak, scrambled eggs and loaded baked potatoes.
It wasn’t until they were finished eating and relaxing on the couch watching a movie when their phone rang. Marie picked it up answering, “Hello?”
“Hey, Stripes, it’s Victor,” a deep gravelly voice that belonged to her brother in law said on the other end. “Let me talk at Jimmy a minute.”
“Sure, here he is,” she told him and handed the phone to Logan. “It’s Vicky.”
Logan chuckled and heard Victor growl at the other end. He told him, “That’s what you get for calling her ‘Stripes’, Vic. What’s up?”
“I got a lead on Stryker Jr. if you want it. They set up a new base over here and have been acquiring mutants from this area. The dumb son of a bitch actually approached me offering me a job,” Victor told him. Logan’s hand tightened on the phone and he growled low in his chest alerting Marie to the seriousness of the topic. “He didn’t have the balls to do it in person, though, sent a subordinate. I sent the little fuck back to him in a box with a big red bow and a note telling him to go fuck himself. You’re on his list, though, that much I got out of the guy; you and Rogue and the baby. What is it by the way? Boy or girl?”
“It’s a boy,” Logan answered. His voice was tight with barely controlled anger. “We named him James Logan Howlett II, Jamie for short. It was Marie’s idea. – Where are they, Victor?”
“Maybe I should take care of this myself, Jimmy,” Victor said after a moment of silence. “You need to be there for her and the cub.”
“You can’t take them all on your own, Vic. We’ve got a whole team here,” Logan argued.
“I’m not alone, Jimmy. Look, I’ll call you when it’s done and hell, I’ll even send you the fucker’s head in a box. You’re needed there, though. You give me a call when she delivers. I wanna meet my nephew,” Victor told him then hung up.
“Victor, don’t -,” Logan began then heard the click and then the dial tone. He cursed and hung up the phone.
“He found them, huh?” Marie said quietly. Logan nodded. “He wouldn’t tell you where?”
“No,” he shook his head then sighed. “He’s right, though. I’m needed here. I can’t leave you and the baby alone, especially with you both on the target list too. Victor said he’s not alone and he’ll take care of it.”
“You think he’s working with the Brotherhood again?” she asked frowning.
“I don’t know,” Logan shrugged and looked over at her. “I need to tell Scooter and Chuck about it, though. They keep tabs on Bucket-head all the time. If Vic’s with him then they can probably find the location that way.”
“Then what’s wrong, sugar?” Marie asked. He sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair before taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together.
“I hate leaving it up to other people to take care of it,” he admitted. “I can’t be away from you and the baby and I don’t want to. You know that. I also know that Cyke and the others can handle it and that Victor can handle it too. I just don’t trust anyone to do it better than I could. And I want that bastard Stryker’s head, baby. I wanna kill him so bad I can taste it for what he put us through, the danger he put you and the baby in.”
“Logan, if you feel that strongly about it then I’m sure I can spare you for that one mission. Once Scott gets the coordinates and plans out the mission it won’t take long to get it done. I’m only in my sixth month, Logan. We’ve got three more after this one,” she reminded him. “If it means that much to you then you won’t be happy unless you get to go. I’m not gonna hold you back from what you feel you need to do, honey. And I won’t be alone. I’ve got a whole school full of super powerful mutants to watch my back and I promised not to leave the grounds anymore. I’ll just stick with the Professor while you’re on the mission and wait like the others. I will tell you this, though. If you do decide to go, you’d better come back to me in one piece and alive. I’m not raising this baby without you, Logan. He needs his daddy. You’re not as invincible as you think you are. You better be careful and keep the Wolverine in check. If he starts getting out of hand, just remind him that you’ve gotta get back to me and the cub.”
Logan nodded slowly, taking it all in and thinking it over. Finally he sighed and wrapped his arms around her kissing her temple. “I still don’t know if I should risk it or not but I’ll give it some more thought before I commit one way or the other. We need to get Scott and Kit-Kat on to finding the location tomorrow. Then we’ll see where to go from there.”
“Sounds like a plan, sugar,” she agreed resting her head on his shoulder. After a moment he spoke again.
“You know I’m not going anywhere, don’t you? I’m not gonna let anything happen to me, darlin,” Logan said quietly. She looked at him and he met her eyes.
“You promise, hon?” she whispered.
He kissed her and smiled whispering back against her lips, “Yeah, yeah I promise.”
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