“Marie are you going to be alright?” Logan had just finish explaining to his lover about their child showing signs of having a mutational gift. Sure the child was not biologically theirs, but as the last weeks had past Logan forgot more and more how Ella was not technically his daughter. At least not yet. And now he had just told the only mother Ella had ever known, that she had missed her child’s first experience of being a mutant. And in their world that was like missing your child’s first word or step. Of course Logan omitted a few things about the experience, like instead of being in the middle of the woods they were just in Strom’s garden on the roof. Now that the fact was told to Marie, Logan was worried that she would be really upset. Thus far she listened to his story, cried a few small tears, but over all was not openly upset.
“I knew things like this might happen.” Logan raised one eyebrow stating that was no reason for not being more upset. Marie sighed and continued with a sheepish and very weak smile. “Okay honestly I’m mad as hell, but I don’t have the energy to put behind that type of emotion.” A few more tears slid down her cheek. Logan gentle rubbed them away with his gloved hand. “Was it amazing?”
“Yeah, she will be a regular X-geek before we know it.” Logan said with a small smile.
Marie laughed softly at Logan’s attempt to humor her, sighed and told him what she thought of the situation. “Well she has to talk to Xavier. He is always telling us that the sooner he can start working with the children, the sooner they can learn to control and use their powers productively. Maybe he can learn more about her, since her memories of before being rescued seem to be gone. At first she was to afraid of the med lab and being with the professor alone, but now I think Ella will do just fine in a meeting with Charles.”
“She does like him, calls him Grandpa Chuck.”
Marie smiled and laughed gentle again. Logan was trying his hardest to keep her smiling. “Logan I want to get better, I’m trying so hard to do everything that Hank and Jean think will work. But I’m just not feeling any different.” Marie cried softly. She hated being this weak in front of him, but her emotions were just erupting. She had no control over anything in her life anymore.
Logan took Marie into his arms, and gently kissed the top of her head. “I know darlin’, I know.”
**********************************************
After Marie fell asleep in his arms, Logan went to talk with the Professor. He listened to Logan’s concerns for both Ella and Rogue. He still did not have an answer about Rogue, but he agreed to talk with Ella. Being the grandfather of all of the children in the institute he was more than happy to help them with their problems. And a first time mutation, though not necessarily a problem, still needed to be handled carefully. After all problems with handling their mutations is why most of the children have ended up at his school for the gifted.
Logan could not handle the waiting. True he did not age and time had no major effect on his life, but that did not mean he was known for his patience. He was a more go get it done and over with type of person. But now he could do nothing but wait. At least he was only waiting for the professor to finish talking to Ella. He had canceled his classes knowing that he would not be able to focus on teaching with his little girl talking to the professor about, well he was not sure what about. So he canceled his classes, instructing them to do something productive during their free time, and went to the gym to work out.
He was in the process of doing pull ups, when he heard someone enter the gym. “What do you want?” He asked without looking up, and since the gym’s smells over whelmed his senses he had know clue as to who was bugging him.
“Mr. Logan.” He heard a quite voice address him. “We were wondering if there was anything that we could do?”
Logan dropped from the pull up bar and looked at and gave the girl a very small smile. “No Claire, there is nothing you can do.”
She nodded in understanding, but was still hesitant to leave him. “You know everything will work out in the end. The doctors might not know anything right now, but they can figure it out.” She was quite like a mouse, even looked like one, but Logan knew that the girl was smart and had lived through more tragedies than a common sixteen year old.
“Yeah I know that.” Logan answered, and watched her think over her words carefully.
Claire looked at her feet then at the doors before continuing in a whisper. “Ella is fine with the professor. She’s talking a mile a minute. You really have nothing to worry about.” Logan grunted to show his disbelief and shock by that information. She smiled at him and winked. “I don’t just look like mouse I have their hearing too.”
Logan looked at her not in really amazement but in understanding. “Thanks. I didn’t think it would be right if I stood close to the door to over hear.”
“Well, I’m sure all your questions will be answered soon, since the professor’s door is opening now.”
“Damn girl, my hearing isn’t even that good.” Claire smiled and started to walk towards the doors.
“You might want to shower first Logan; Ella has to go back to class anyway.”
Logan grunted. “Speaking of classes, tell your classmates in the locker room that they better be prepared to work overtime in the Danger Room tomorrow.” Logan said with an evil laugh as Claire’s face turned to dread.
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‘Come in Logan’
“Could you just once let me knock?” Logan said with a grunt as he entered the Professor’s office.
The Professor listened to Logan’s grunting and complaining about his mind being invaded as the Wolverine took a seat across from the desk. Logan sat in the chair and just stared at his hands as the professor sorted through a few pages of different colored papers on his desk.
“Ella is a very smart child.” Logan looked at the professor with one eyebrow raised, questioning the older man in front of him. He already knew Ella was smart, couldn’t Chuck find out anything else? “Yes I did find out some other interesting facts about Ella’s past.” Logan grunted again about him reading his mind but sat to attention in a way to respect the professor and what he was about to find out about his little girl. “She is a relative of Mystique’s.”
“No.” Logan said in a very serious way. “There is no way that my little innocent sunshine is in anyway related to that blue-body..”
The Professor interrupted Logan’s rant, “She is a niece I believe, a fact that Ella does not remember clearly, but is suppressed in the back of her memory.” Logan was about to speak again, but Charles raised his hand to stop him. “Both of Ella’s parents were mutants but died in a car crash. Ella survived because she was in a car seat. After the accident Mystique took her to a friend to watch over, and from there to the warehouse. But Ella was only there a few hours before the X-men showed up. It would appear that Mystique wishes Ella to be here at the school, other wise she would have left her niece in the care of her trusted friend.”
Logan nodded in understanding to Charles conclusion, and the two sat in silence both thinking of the circumstances that lead to Ella coming to the mansion and into first Rogue’s life and then Logan’s.
“I don’t like Mystique.” Logan said plainly as he put his head into his hands. “That warehouse has something to do with Rogue being sick, and if Mystique was there…well she could have a solution.”
The Professor nodded but stayed silent, in hopes that Logan would form a plan on his own. Logan never spoke. “I could attempt to tracker, she does not have Erik’s helmet, but she can still find ways to hide from me.” Logan only nodded to the Professor’s suggestion. Charles sighed and continued. “If I am able to find her and make contact with her, I will try and set up a meeting for the both of you on neutral ground.”
Logan’s head was still resting in his palms. He felt useless, helpless, and restless. He wanted to be able to help his Marie, protect his daughter, and get some answers from the one person that seemed to have them; a woman who has already tried to kill Rogue twice and appears to be the one responsible for putting her on her death bed now. Logan sighed, and looked the professor in the eyes knowing that his idea of a plan was his only hope. “Okay Charles, try to find Mystique and set up a meeting for us, I will met her on almost any terms.”
Charles nodded glad that Logan was coming to terms with his findings from Ella’s past. He heard the Wolverine inside Logan’s head and knew that the “young” man in front of him was dealing with deep emotional turmoil, and would leave the house for a few hours.
“Logan the good news is…” Logan stared at the old man in front of him with a look that just screamed ‘you have so got to be kidding me with that line. “Ella was excited to talk about her mutation. So many kids come into my office scared of themselves and what they might accidentally do. But Ella was confident in her mutation and can’t wait to learn how to control her new abilities. This is a very good thing Logan.”
Logan gave the professor a half smile. “She is a very good thing, Chuck. I can’t wait until Rogue can see her daughter’s mutation.” With that last statement Logan got up to leave the Professor’s office. But before he could walk out the door Charles got the last word.
“I will have Scott look after Ella, while you go gain control of the wolverine.” Logan grunted in dismay, but nodded with agreement of his need to run wild for a few hours.
**************************************************
Logan spent the rest of the late afternoon and early evening hours running around the woods. The mansion’s residents were a bit surprised to hear wolf cries, but were confident that they were perfectly safe. When he returned to the mansion he went straight to Rogue’s room, which he considered as their room, took a shower, changed into sweats and went to collect Ella from Scott.
He was not too happy to have to see Scott right now, but did not want his daughter sleeping so far away from him. When the fearless leader opened the door, he was a bit shocked to see Logan at his door. Jean was right behind Scott, both still fully dressed since it was only nine-thirty. They allowed Logan into their rooms, where he started searching the room for any sign of his little girl.
“She’s asleep in Aiden’s room. We can take her down to breakfast tomorrow if you would like.” Jean said while leading Logan over to her son’s room.
“No.” Logan said plainly while looking over Ella’s sleeping body. She was sleeping on an air mattress on the floor, while Aiden slept in his bed. “Thank you for watching her.” Logan picked her up carefully and started heading out of Scott and Jean’s apartment.
Scott stepped in front of Logan before the larger man could leave. Logan just stared at his suppose leader, but did not say a word. . “Let us help you.” Scott finally said slowly but more in an understanding way than in a commanding leader way.
Logan sighed. “I’ve got to do this.” He looked down at the small child that he carried, and sighed again, a deeper tired sigh. “Thank you for looking after Ella, that means more to me…to us than you know.” Scott was going to make a comment but Logan continued before he could. “If I think you could help in anyway I will let go of some of my pride and ask.” Logan wasn’t speaking in his gruff I don’t need any help voice, but rather in a soft gentle almost defeated whisper.
Scott nodded in an understanding way. Jean smiled gentle in hopes of looking calmer than she felt, because she too felt defeated when it came to Rogue’s illness. Logan gave them a quick nod and took his daughter back to her own bed that was with in his listening distance.
After placing Ella in her bed and covering her with her blanket, Logan sat by her side and watched her sleep. He could hear her heart beating and her deep breaths, and it calmed him. He knew that no matter how evil her biological aunt was, or what may come in the near and distant future, Ella would forever be his, his and Marie’s, their daughter, if not in blood, in heart and soul. The trio would not be separated by any evil being, not even death.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Okay so I finally have some answers to some of the questions everyone has. Or atleast leads to finding the answers. Just read the chapter. Sorry it took so long to post, I just couldn’t get to editing it. Plus it’s like five pages long with lots of long paragraphs and less conversation.