"Hey Rogue, um, something's come up for this Friday, when we're supposed to be doing your check up, but I have some time now, do you want to come down to the lab now so we can get it done?" Jean asked cheerily, sticking her head in Rogue's open bedroom door.

"Oh, no thank you, Logan's out at the moment, I'd rather wait, I don't mind rolling it over until next week, everything seems to be fine and normal, baby’s still doing gymnastics inside of me so I'm pretty sure she's alive," Rogue chuckled, not making any attempt to move from where she was lying on the bed in a pile of pillows.

The pillows had appeared after a bad night’s sleep when she had complained half-heartedly about the mattress not being the right shape. Two hours later Logan had turned up at her door, along with Jubilee, and Kitty, all three of them carrying piles of various size and shape pillows for her. It was hilarious, though at the same time it did make lying down a lot more comfortable.

"Oh, it's okay, there's no need to bother Logan, it's just a check-up, you don't need him to hold your hand," Jean commented dismissively, smiling at her encouragingly.

"It's not that, Logan likes being there, he worries too much if he isn't reassured regularly that everything's okay," Rogue replied, grinning at the memory of Logan freaking out the first time she got Braxton hicks, even though she told him it was perfectly normal he had carried, literally carried her down to Jean 'just to make sure'.

"Of course he says that Rogue, he'd be all kinds of an asshole to tell the pregnant teenager 'look kid I'm busy, go bug someone else', Logan may be an asshole sometimes but that would be a whole new level for him," Jean laughed, as if it was the most hilarious thing she had ever heard that Logan might actually want to be involved with her baby. Seeing Rogue's conflicted and confused countenance Jean added patronizingly, "You really can't rely on him so much Rogue, you know Logan, eventually he's going to get sick of being tied down and he'll take off again, I don't want you to get hurt when that happens, I mean, when was the last time he went out fighting, or drinking, he hasn't been anywhere, or done anything in months that wasn't some sort of errand for you," Jean added.

Rogue didn't bother pointing out that surely that fact alone voided Jean's entire statement, with a scowl she simply repeated she would see her sometime next week.

"Alright," Jean replied placatingly, as if Rogue were a child who wanted to dress herself even though she'd put all her clothes on inside out and her shoes on the wrong feet. "I'll be in the lab all afternoon if you change your mind," she added before leaving.

--

It wasn't until the next day that Jean's comments really hit Rogue. Logan had stopped by her room, or rather, through her room. He would often use the internal hallway from his room to hers, to check in with her before he went out, or downstairs, to see if she needed anything. On this occasion he was going out.

"Just heading out for a bit kid, you want me to bring you back anything?" he asked, a perfectly harmless comment he thought, so he was immensely confused when Marie promptly burst into tears. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly, as he knelt down on the floor beside where she was seated on the couch.

"I'm sorry - I'm sorry I need so much, I'm sorry you have to take care of me, you don't have to, I won't be upset if you want to go do your own thing, you don't have to look after me all the time, if you want to go out and fight, or get laid, or something, it's okay, you don't- I'm not trying to hold you here and..." Marie hiccupped through her sobs.

Logan looked confused for a minute. "I know," he replied eventually, "But I don't want to do any of that, I want to take care of you, I'd much rather be here with you than out there, hey, listen to me-" he bumped her chin up to get her to look at him- "I only do that shit because I'm bored and got nothing better to do, now, with you, I got something much better to do, besides, if I need a fight the danger room gives one hell of a better fight than I'll get in any cage," Logan replied with a chuckle. "Now what brought this on, who's been in your ear, cause the Marie I know would never think so low of me as to think I'm just filling in time hanging around."

"Jean, she said you were just hanging around and doing stuff for me because you didn't have the balls to tell me to screw off and take care of myself, that one day you're going to get bored of me being so needy and take off," she told him, wiping her eyes, before blowing her nose on the tissue he handed her.

"Well, she's wrong darlin, dead wrong, I'd have hoped I'd have said and done enough to have proved that to you by now," Logan said, trying to sound hurt even as his grin told her he was teasing.

Rogue giggled. "Yeah, yeah you have, I'm sorry, it's just these stupid hormones, and she said it and my brain started freaking out, thanks Logan, for everything," she reached over and wrapped her arms around his chest, hugging him tightly.

"It's not a problem darlin, now, back to my initial question, anything you want me to grab you while I'm out?"

With a grin Rogue replied, "Kiwi's, the yellow ones."

"Aren't there any in the kitchen," Logan asked confused, he was sure he'd seen some in the last few days.

"There were," Marie replied, "I ate the last of them yesterday, there's only green ones left now but the green ones... don't agree with me, for some reason."

"Alright, yellow kiwis it is," Logan answered, dropping a kiss on top of her head as he stood and headed for the door.

"And pretzels," Marie added. " ... And sardines."

"What the fuck?" Logan stopped. "Kiwis and sardines?" he asked to clarify, looking humorously disgusted. "That is the weirdest combination yet kid, congratulations, it sounds positively disgusting," he said, after she nodded her confirmation that that was indeed what she had said, before he grinned and headed out the door.

--

His mood deteriorated as he got further from Marie. How dare Jean fill her head with that shit, when she should be resting, and comfortable, and most importantly, not worrying! He was determined to give her a piece if his mind and as he hit the ground floor, he could hear her voice floating down the hall from the direction of the kitchen.

Slamming the kitchen door fully open he stalked into the room, noticing all eyes turn to him immediately, the few kids in the room had the good sense to move away, some slipping out the other doors away from the kitchen. Spotting Jean almost immediately he stalked toward her.

"Why the hell would you say that to her? Why would you tell her I was going to leave? The poor kid is freaking out enough without you filling her head with bullshit worries," he paused to give Jean a chance to answer, when all she did was stare at him open mouthed, he continued. "For the record, I am not going anywhere, any of you tell Rogue otherwise and I will be getting all the fighting I need, right here, kicking your ass. That girl, and that baby, mean more to me than you can ever comprehend and I will not be going anywhere without the both of them right by my side, so you get that through your head right now and stop trying to drive a wedge between us Jean."

With his piece said he turned and silently walked back out of the room. He chuckled to himself as he watched kids scurrying to get out of his way, it took a moment for him to recall a conversation he had overheard some months earlier. The kids had been talking about how to tell when their teachers were mad so they could stay out of their way to avoid extra homework or chores, one of the kids had mentioned knowing how mad Wolverine was by how quietly he walked, the quieter he moved the more mad he was, which the kids had lamented meant it was harder to hide from him. Seemed they were learning to count on some of their other senses to keep track of him and his moods.

--

"Well, that was unexpected," Jean commented, once Logan was hopefully well out of earshot.

"What on earth did you say to Rogue!?" Ororo asked shocked, she'd seen some strong reactions from Logan when it came to the girl but this was by far the most severe.

"I just suggested to her that she shouldn't rely on Logan always being around to do stuff for her and should try and start standing on her own two feet... I suppose I did say he might not be sticking around long-term, I mean, he's always been a loner, and he has left her behind once before don't forget," she replied. She hadn't thought there was anything wrong with preparing the girl, surely if she was adjusted to the idea it would be easier for her when Logan did eventually disappear.

"I'm with Logan on this one," Ororo responded, "He might have left Rogue here before but I honestly don't think it had anything to do with not wanting to 'stick around long-term', I mean, they were in near constant contact while he was gone, and he dropped everything and rushed back the second she asked him to. I'm going to say this now, because, much like where your thoughts were no doubt coming from Jean, I think certain people here need to start adjusting to this idea- I think Logan is setting up for a relationship with that girl, an honest to god, until death do us part, kind of deal," Ororo shrugged with a smile, "And I think Rogue is fully on board with that idea."

With a grin, she stood and left the room quickly, hopefully the other two would think over her statement before reacting. In case they didn't, she didn't want to be anywhere nearby when the shit hit the fan.
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