Somewhere between St. Louis and Kansas City Logan decided that they'd better stop for the night. He could drive straight through but Rogue was intent on staying awake with him. It would do no good to get to their destination and draw unwanted attention because she looked like a zombie.
Pulling off the interstate at one of the little mom and pop motels that had seen better days, he paid cash for the only room left. The room was definitely better than the one in New York City, at least there was a good bed he could stretch out on. In no time at all, she'd showered and curled up in bed fast asleep.
Morning came fast, but with a decent night's sleep and a solid breakfast, Rogue was feeling good again. He'd already told her they'd arrive at the safe house that evening so she endured another day of endless miles. Watching the next state sign come and go she finally asked, "Colorado? Like Denver or something?"
"Or something." She sighed at his answer. It wasn't like he'd allowed her to bring a phone to call someone and give the location away. There hadn't even been time to miss Jubes and Kitty yet. Give her a week or so and she'd want to know what they were up to.
In the end, they didn't even go near Denver but passed through one of the smaller cities without stopping. At some lonely turn off between mountain passes, they headed north. The byway wound through the mountains. There were a couple groupings of houses now and again but for the most part only trees and boulders.
Rogue had plenty of time to think and realized that she was going to be in an isolated location with a man she barely knew, for who knew how long. If she put all the puzzle pieces together she still didn't know what to make of it. The Professor and Mr. Summers wouldn't send her with someone they didn't trust. Also, his behavior toward her, though at times gruff, was gentlemanly at the least. They'd shared hotel rooms and he'd always made sure she had privacy and never did anything inappropriate.
He was professional to the core, and besides being able to scare people off with a single look, he hadn't done anything to indicate he was protecting her. Well, besides that first night when he shielded her from Sabretooth's lecherous glare. Or was there more? He was always alert, always watching and if she meshed it with all the rumors she could remember, she wasn't going to notice him protecting her because it was second nature to him. He was constantly analyzing their surroundings while she just bumbled her way around.
Rogue needed to change. She might not have heightened senses or healing like he did, if all the stories were to be believed, however, she wasn't even using any of her normal senses. She would need to start being more observant and try to hone those skills. The first step would be to watch him and gain a few clues into what he was looking at, what he was listening for.
Maybe she hadn't fibbed to Jubilee after all. Rogue resolved to use this as her own personal training session. Wolverine might not teach her to fight, but she would use this opportunity to learn to be more aware of her surroundings. She no longer wanted to be playing catch up with her life, she wanted to try being proactive for once.
Somewhere along the dirt road to the remote property, Logan noticed a subtle change in his companion. Was it how she held her head a little higher? Or that she seemed more alert? Whatever it was she appeared to have made a decision and that was always a good thing.
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