Marie sat in the hallway outside the med lab. She had followed the team in when Logan had been unloaded from the jet, initially sitting quietly in the corner just watching and waiting before she had been forced out of the room when Jean had gloved up to start surgery to close the worst of the heavily bleeding wounds marring Logan’s once flawless skin.

She had been sitting out here for the last four hours. At one point she had fallen asleep, waking in a panic when she had a nightmare that Logan was bleeding to death; only to find waking reality not much better. Her butt was going to sleep on the cold metal floor, her stomach was growling hungrily. She didn't know when she had eaten last, she wasn’t even sure what day it was, and she felt all sticky and dirty like she desperately needed a shower. It didn't help that she could smell Logan's blood all over her.

The elevator at the end of the hall opened with a muted ping, and the older bald man who she had met last time she was here - Professor Charles Xavier, her brain reminded her - wheeled down the hallway to stop beside her.

"Wolverine will be out of surgery shortly," he said softly, "Jean is dressing the last of his wounds now, why don’t you come upstairs, we can get you some food and some sleep?" he asked gently.

"No," Marie answered, "I have to see him first."

"He is sedated at the moment and will likely be for at least the next day or two--" the Professor continued.

"I have to see him before I can go," Marie stated again forcefully. She was not leaving until she had at the very least seen him.

Xavier nodded, the girl was radiating determination, and he accepted he wouldn't change her mind. "Well then, while we wait perhaps we can discuss yesterday's events," he suggested gently.

"I don't want to," Marie muttered.

"I understand it may be an uncomfortable subject but we need some information on how you were taken from the school, and where you were kept, to improve on our security to prevent this from happening again," he added.

"When I was taken I was sitting on the patio outside the kitchen having a coffee, I was waiting for L-Wolverine to wake up last time," she let out an ironic laugh, "Then he walked out of the kitchen... at least, I thought it was him, he was acting spooked and said we needed to get out of here, that something was wrong, took me around to the garage and jumped in a car, I tried to ask him questions but he kept fobbing me off, which he's never done before, so I asked him questions that I knew he knew the answer to but the guy in the car didn't know... The car pulled into a lay by and I jumped out and ran for it, the big hairy guy, Sabretooth, he came after me and knocked me out... I guess I was unconscious most of the day because I don't remember much, until I woke up on the boat under the statue. Sorry, not really much help," she shrugged, and wiped tears out of her eyes.

"I see, and if I may ask, Magneto mentioned to my team that he was using your mutation to run his machine, how was he planning on doing that, and what happened to Wolverine?" he continued, attempting to keep her talking.

"Magneto used my mutation to absorb his mutation, to use me to power his machine, because the machine was going to kill whoever powered it, and he was a fucking coward who wasn't willing to die for his own fucking beliefs," the last half of her statement came out in a deeper growl than Rogue's normal tone, and she started to giggle softly. "Sorry, that was Wolverine, he's pissed with Magneto."

"You are speaking with Wolverine?" Xavier queried, surprised.

"Uh, when I touch someone I get, like, a piece of them, inside my head, usually they get shoved right into the void in my head that I set up for them but... today's been a little stressful, initially Magneto and Wolverine were both in my head but Wolverine's pushed Magneto into the void now, he's still here but that's cause I asked him to stay... I need him, until I know the real one's okay, he's mostly quiet,” Marie murmured her explanation with a soft smile.

"Hmm, that's very interesting," the Professor responded thoughtfully, "So Wolverine touched your skin then?"

"Yeah," Marie smiled wider, almost grinning. "She was dead, I figured if I could give her some of my healing, she'd be okay, it worked," was the full reply.

"That was Wolverine?" Xavier asked, concern evident.

Marie nodded. "Sorry, I'm tired."

"How long have you known Wolverine?" Xavier queried, hoping he may be able to work her weariness to his advantage.

Rogue turned to look him dead in the eye, one eyebrow cocked in an expression that clearly read, 'nice try', before she yawned widely and tipped her head back to rest against the wall to feign sleep while she continued to wait. A moment later her head sprung up, her attention turned to focus on the door of the med lab a split second before it slid open.

Rogue was on her feet before Jean had stepped through the door, addressing her before she had a chance to speak. "Can I see him now?"

"He's not conscious, and not likely to be for some time, I've managed to stop all the bleeding but I had to give him a blood transfusion which may mean it takes longer for him to heal, but yes, so long as you don't try to wake him up you can go in and sit with him for a short time," Jean acquiesced.

Rogue was off before she had even finished speaking, approaching the bed quietly. She snagged a nearby chair and rolled it closer for her to sit on as she gently took Logan's hand. He was cold to the touch but not as pale as he had looked on the jet.

The Professor and Jean watched her from the door.

*'Could you get any information on them from her?'* Jean asked, telepathically.

*'Not much, she largely refused to speak, she has Wolverine in her head but she said it was a result of him touching her on the statue,'* Charles replied, considering his next action. *'I'm going to scan her and see if I can pick up any surface thoughts.'*

A moment later, both Xavier and Jean were surprised when a deep rumbling growl echoed, telepathically, through their minds. Rogue turned and glared at them from her position beside the unconscious man.

"Don't do that again," she stated firmly.

Jean regained her composure first. "Apologies Rogue, it's often easier to ascertain a patients mental state when they are relaxed and not worrying about being scanned. I will also need to do a physical exam of you, with Wolverine being in the state he was in it slipped my mind earlier, we can do the exam here if you like, so you don't need to leave Wolverine just yet?"

"I'm fine, he healed me, I'm all good," Rogue tried to brush her off.

"No offence but I'm the doctor, I'll decide that, if you'd prefer, we can take you to the emergency room," Jean stated, leaving no room for argument.

Rogue glared at her before asking, "What do you need?"

The exam was quick, Rogue was correct, she was in perfect health. Jean took a blood sample for testing to check all Rogue's nutrient levels were at optimal levels, she had a feeling the girl had been on the road for a while, which often meant not eating well.

"All right, everything's good, you are clear to go, I would recommend you go straight upstairs, get something to eat, and then get a good night's rest," Jean said, adding to encourage her to take a break, "Wolverine won't be awake until tomorrow night at the earliest."

"Yeah, I'll head up shortly," Rogue answered, going back to her place at his bedside.

Jean left then, to get her own snack, a shower, and bed, seeing as it was now two o'clock in the morning.

Marie waited until she heard the elevator car head up to the ground floor before she let out a sigh of relief. "God Logan, I'm not sure if I want to stay here if you're going to spend all your time unconscious!" She got no reply, other than an amused chuckle from inside her head, and the repetitive beeping of various machines around the room. "I'll be back to check up on you in the morning, well, whenever I wake up, I love you," she whispered, kissing his hand softly before gently setting it back down on the bed. She pulled out a couple of extra blankets and laid them over him, concerned at how cold he still was. She brushed a lock of hair off his forehead before dropping another kiss on his still lips before she left the room, turning the lights down as she exited.

Slipping into the kitchen she noted the dirty dishes left behind by another midnight snacker, she assumed it had been the doctor. She hurriedly ran through the contents of the fridge, pulling out cold meats, cheese, and a few vegetables, to make herself a loaded sandwich. Logan was encouraging her to eat as much as she could stomach, with the excuse that healing consumed a lot of energy, and if she didn’t, she would feel worse in the morning. She added a large glass of milk to her meal before she sat down at the table by the window and began to eat.

When she was so stuffed she couldn't eat another mouthful if she tried, Marie deposited her dishes in the sink and made her way back upstairs to the room she had been assigned when she first arrived. All her stuff was still there but she opted to slip into Logan's room first, where she swiped one of his t-shirts, before making her way back to her room. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table that read seven minutes past three and figured, what the heck, it was already insanely late-slash-early, she may as well have a shower first, to wash the stink of death and blood off her.

Half an hour later she was washed, dried, and dressed in Logan's shirt, that smelled comfortably of him, and ready for bed. She left her own clothes to soak in the tub, hoping the blood would come out when she washed them tomorrow. Slipping under the covers she sank into the soft warmth, praying for no more nightmares.
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