A Logical Progression


Title: A Logical Progression
Author: Terri
E-mail: xgrrl26@yahoo.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. Poo.
Archive: WRFA, Mutual Admiration, Dolphin Haven Peep
Hut - anyone else, please ask and I'll happily provide
:)
Feedback: Please? With a cherry on top? Good, bad,
and ugly welcome.
Summary: What if Logan and Marie kept a cool head,
open communication lines, and just a pinch of optimism
about their relationship?
Comments: I like a good angsty story (OK, usually one
with a happy ending) as much as the next girl, but I
started to wonder why these two *had* to be
dysfunctional most of the time. Heck, they seemed to
have the makings of a pretty open and straightforward
relationship in the movie - couldn't they try to work
out the issues between them in a pretty direct manner?
I was in a rare cheerful mood and in the mood for a
story where they did work things out, despite some
pretty big obstacles. Then, Lateo flung a bunny about
an unpretty Rogue, one that doesn't clean up into a
beauty queen with a little bit of soap and elbow
grease, one that would make people wonder why Logan
was with her. That, plus the urge to write an AU
story, turned into this little fic :)


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They picked her up on a routine mission. She'd been
in the lab for almost five years by the time they
found her. That meant that she was seventeen, and it
also meant that she'd probably seen every horrible
thing that one person could do to another by now. By
the looks of her - burned cheek, scarred back, hacked
up legs - she'd had a lot of those horrible things
done to her too. They took her back to Xavier's, back
to the mansion, as an act of pity. There was no way
she could fight as an x-man and she had no valuable
skills. In fact, most of the team wanted to leave
her to the local authorities and hope for a foster
placement, as they had with the majority of the other
underage mutants found there, but Logan insisted on
taking her to Xavier's. He was the one who'd found
her, strapped naked to an examination table, and he
was in charge of this particular mission, so his
wishes were followed.

For the most part, Marie stayed in the room they'd
assigned to her, the one next to Logan's. She had a
room to herself due to her severe mutation, which she
welcomed. The other kids at the mansion looked upon
her with disgust or pity or both, a reaction which
most of the adults had as well. The exception was
Logan, who she saw as her hero, her savior, and who
seemed to see her as something worthwhile, something
good. He'd burst into that lab, killed the men
hurting her, and freed her. Even now, he watched over
her, checking in once each day, asking how she was
doing, how she was feeling, and if she needed
anything.

Most of the kids made fun of her attachment to him.
Most of Logan's teammates scolded him for paying her
too much attention, for leading a poor, horribly
disfigured girl on by letting her think he harbored an
interest in her. Logan usually told his teammates to
stay out of his business, and Marie adopted the same
response after a while. She herself had no delusions.
Logan had plenty of female company in and out of his
room, and Marie knew he could have any woman or girl,
and probably any of the men, if he wanted them. She
knew he wouldn't want her when there was any other
option available, let alone the abundance of options
Logan had before him.

But she relished in the fact that it was her he chose
for companionship. He only came to talk to her, he
only wanted to watch hockey games with her, he sought
out only her company at the end of each evening. He
delighted in teaching her things, especially
self-defense, his specialty and area of instruction at
the school. It wasn't a lot, and Marie knew that
somewhere in her objective mind, but it was more than
she'd had in a very long time and it felt a lot like
everything she could ever hope for. She was content
with their relationship as it was, and if she
sometimes found herself wishing she was whole,
unblemished, and attractive in his eyes, she only let
those wishes have a hold over her for a moment,
thoroughly disciplining herself to think more
practical thoughts in short order.

Everything went along well for the better part of a
year. Then, one day, Logan didn't come and check on
her at the end of the evening. Marie waited until
almost midnight, but he did not appear. She cried
herself to sleep that night, salty tears winding their
way down her mottled cheek. Finally, after three
days and nights, Scott came to her door to see if she
was all right. She said she was fine and Scott
complimented her on handling Logan's absence well. It
wasn't until Scott said he was very sorry that Logan
had been taken during the mission and that he hoped
they would be able to find him soon, that she broke
down. She should've known, she scolded herself, that
Logan wouldn't miss a day. She should've known
something was wrong right away. Scott only said that
they were trying their best to find him, and that
maybe one day they would.

Marie didn't want to wait for 'one day.' She began
her own search. The x-men, she'd learned from Scott,
had tried to locate Logan using Cerebro and had
failed. They stopped right there, giving up any
active search in favor of a wait-and-see-if-a-clue-
comes-to-us approach. Marie hid her fury at that,
surreptitiously searched the mansion files and
computers for records of Logan's last mission, and
found out all she could about illegal mutant
experimentation labs. She was determined to find him.


She had a hunch about where he might be after three
months of digging. There was a lab, or at least
rumors of one, hidden somewhere deep in the woods of
British Columbia. Marie was playing a hunch - there
was no firm information, no sure lead, but something
in her gut told her that Logan was there.

She gathered her nerve and her courage and went to the
Professor, Scott and Jean. She told them all she'd
found and where she thought Logan was. Scott said
there just wasn't enough to go on. The Professor said
he knew how much Marie must miss Logan. Jean said
that Marie needed to let go and move on. Marie
nodded, packed up the papers and maps she'd brought,
thanked them for their time, and returned to her room.


Logan had told her where he stashed money, guns,
knives, explosives, and other helpful items, in case
there was ever an attack on the mansion or an
emergency. Marie took something from each category,
the most immediately helpful item being the keys to a
truck that Logan owned. Logan, not the Professor.
They'd talked often about his need to keep things of
his own, and Marie knew well the wisdom of that
approach now. She left the mansion between 3 and 4
a.m., the time when most people were in deep sleep,
the time that Logan had taught her was best for a
getaway.

It took her only three days to reach her target - 54
hours of actual driving time with brief stops for
sleep along the way. She took another day to rest and
survey the lab. Logan had always taught her that you
should gather information first, then make decisions,
then take action. She followed his advice very well.
Her observations told her that infiltrating the lab
would be very difficult. In fact, she thought, it
would be easier to destroy than to sneak in and out
of. She liked that idea. She liked it a lot.

So, she spent one more day planning, and then, on the
sixth day after leaving the mansion, she made her
attack. She quickly and quietly planted explosives
around the perimeter of the building, careful to stay
out of sight of the exterior security cameras, then
she retreated to a commanding vantage point, armed
with a high-powered rifle. The lab was big on
high-tech, mechanical and electronic security, and
light on manpower. Marie estimated that, when the
security teams cam running out to investigate the
explosion, she could probably eliminate half of the
force from the hillside. Indeed, she counted 22
soldiers felled with her rifle in the ensuing action.
After they realized that they'd be picked off if they
kept coming out, Marie set off the big explosive, the
one that would compromise the structural integrity of
the building, the one that would bring it down on
everyone inside.

It was a calculated risk. She knew that Logan could
survive grievous injury, and he'd often regaled her
with tales of his recovery from some gruesome,
life-threatening wound. If he didn't survive, she
tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that he
would be better off that way than alive and in the
hands of his torturers. When the dust slowly abated
from the building's collapse, she drew her Smith and
Wesson, attached the silencer, and made her way to the
building.

The people left alive mostly begged for help instead
of offering resistance, but Marie shot any that she
could identify as a soldier or doctor anyway. It took
quite a bit of searching through the unstable
structure, but she finally found Logan, crunched
beneath a large concrete supporting pillar. He was
breathing and his pulse was good, but he was not
conscious, so he'd be of limited help to her. She'd
planned for that contingency, bringing a long a sturdy
but lightweight jack. She labored to move the pillar
a few inches off of him, and finally had raised it
enough to scoot him out when he began showing signs of
consciousness. Bleary eyes looked toward her, then
widened in fear.

"It's OK. It's OK. I'm going to get you out of
here." She half-carried, half-dragged Logan fully
free from the rubble, then hauled him behind her as
she crept through the collapsed structure. She got
him well clear before planting the final set of
explosives and reducing the once-fearsome lab to
nothing more than a smoking hole in the ground.

She dragged Logan the few hundred yards to his truck
and placed him inside. She knew they had to clear the
area before anyone could respond to any last-minute
cries for help that might have come from the lab. She
drove the truck off-road, into the forest, hoping that
the cover of the trees would shield them from aerial
surveillance. Marie hadn't planned much beyond that.
She'd figured that by this point, Logan would either
be healing and able to help her or he'd be dead and
she would no longer much care what happened to her.
She tried to bind his wounds a little with the old
shirts of his she'd brought, and waited for him to
heal.






When his eyes first open to see a sleeping Marie
beside him, he thought he must be hallucinating. He'd
thought of her often while he was at the lab,
wondering if she was all right there by herself, if
the other people there were treating her OK, who she
would find to talk to once he was gone. And he'd had
no doubt that he would not return from the lab this
time. He'd overheard the doctors saying something
about extracting the adamantium from his body. He'd
barely survived having it put in; he was certain he
wouldn't survive having it taken out, not with
anything resembling sanity left in him. But something
had happened before they could figure out the best way
to do it - yes, Logan remembered, someone attacked the
lab.

His first thought was that the x-men had come looking
for him. But he quickly discarded that possibility.
For one, they would never bring Marie along. If she'd
tried to stow away with them on the plane or
something, they'd have known, or at least Jean
would've known. There was also The Policy - no high
risk missions unless there is significant civilian
casualty exposure. He was only one potential casualty
and Chuck wouldn't risk a half-dozen of his
expensively trained, hard-to-replace x-men to get back
just one. No, Logan finally reasoned, Marie must've
hired someone to do this and snuck away from the
mansion somehow. As if she'd heard his thoughts and
known he wanted some answers from her, she suddenly
opened her eyes.

"Logan? Are you all right?" He nodded. "Whew. I
was worried."

"What happened here, Marie? How'd you find me?" The
doctors had told him that the lab was psi-shielded.
She couldn't have hired a telepath to do it and even
he would've had a hard time doing the manual tracking.


"I looked. I knew one of these places somewhere
must've had you, and I picked this one on a hunch.
Are you sure you're OK?"

"Yeah," Logan replied, sitting up a little. Marie
mirrored his actions. "Where's everybody else?"

"I don't think there were any other mutants in the lab
with you. It looks like you were the only one there.
Well, the only one there still alive." He was looking
at her intently, and Marie suddenly realized that her
bad side, the burned side of her face, was facing him.
She tried to always sit with her good side to him, so
he wouldn't have to look at the ugly parts of her, but
now, she was stuck in the driver's seat. Maybe she
could ask him to change places with her.

"No, no, I mean - where's the other people? Whoever
busted up the lab and got me out."

"Um, it's just me."

"You?" Logan asked in disbelief. There was no way
that sweet little Marie could pull something like that
off by herself. It just wasn't possible. Sure, he'd
taken to teaching her a little about weapons,
hand-to-hand, tracking, but this was something that
would've been almost out of his league, let alone that
of his sometime-student. "Holy hell, that was
dangerous, Marie! What were ya thinkin'?"

"I tried getting the x-men to go, but - but they
wouldn't believe me that you were here. I didn't have
any proof, just a feeling. I'm sorry."

"I don't give a shit about that - you coulda gotten
hurt. Wait - are you? Are you hurt?"

"Just scrapes," she answered shyly, hoping that at
least some of her hair would fall across her
disfigured cheek as she tilted her head downward.

"Lemme see." He reached out for her, but when she
flinched away, he realized he wasn't wearing any
gloves. "Shit. There's gotta be a pair in here
somewhere. Yeah. There we go. Glove compartment.
Knew I had some in there." He looked back to Marie to
see her fidgeting, very nervous. He began to worry
that she was hurt more than she was letting on.
"Lemme see ya, kid." He gently tilted her chin up and
noticed a small tickle of blood sliding down along her
hairline. "Knock your head on somethin'?"

"I- I don't remember. It's all kind of a blur. I was
just thinking about getting you and getting out after
the building fell." Logan paused in his examination
and met her eyes. "Sorry."

"Listen to me, Marie. Don't - don't do this ever
again. No matter what. I don't wantcha riskin' your
life to help me out. What would I have done if you'd
gotten yourself killed, ever think of that?" He was
trying to rein his temper in, but thoughts of a dead,
broken Marie or Marie back in the hands of the
'doctors' weren't helping. "I don't wantcha to take
those kinda risks, not for anybody."

"I couldn't just leave you there with - with them."
She spat out the last word and tears began to fill her
eyes. "I don't want you to get killed either. You're
- you're all I have, Logan."

Logan sighed, his anger dissipating some with her
words. "You have the x-men, Chuck. They'll always
put ya up and take care of you. Why do ya think I
brought you back there, huh? I wanted you to have a
place that was safe and that you could stay at no
matter what." Marie lowered her head and a few tears
fell. They were equal parts in response to his kind
words and in relief at the realization that he was
really OK, OK enough to be chastising her. Logan took
her in his arms for a careful hug. "Look, just talk
to me, OK? You and me - we can always talk to each
other, that's what you always say. Just talk to me
now. What made ya come all the way out here lookin'
for me, Marie?"

"I told you. I couldn't leave you to those - those
people. And I don't want - I don't like it at
Xavier's when you're not there." She relaxed a little
now, burying her face in his shoulder. "You're all I
have, Logan," she repeated.

"OK. OK. But listen to me, kid. You've got your
whole life ahead of you. I'll be - I'll be fine, no
matter what happens, I'll heal. You won't." He
didn't mean for that last part to come out harshly,
but it had, and it caused Marie to pull away from him
with a pained glance and then to turn herself away
from him. Kicking himself for saying it when it was
so very obvious that she didn't heal like he did, he
tried to apologize, putting a hand on her back.
"Sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

"It's OK." Marie tucked her legs up beneath her and
turned away form him a little more, belying her
shaky-voiced words.

Logan didn't quite know what else to do or how to make
it up to her. Why don't you try using the brain for
once, asshole, he thought sardonically. First, he had
to find out if she was hurt, where, and how badly.
Then, he had to find out where they were and who might
be coming after them. Lastly, he had to figure out
how to get somewhere where Marie would be safe. "I
needta know if you're hurt," he ventured softly. She
shook her head. He'd already seen the cut on her
forehead, so he knew she was hurt at least there, at
least a little. And she'd said 'scrapes', plural, so
there were probably other wounds. He decided to try
again. The thought that he'd never seemed interested
in 'trying' before Marie passed through his mind. "I
saw the little cut on your forehead. Lemme fix it,
OK, Marie?"

"It's OK. It stopped bleeding."

"Lemme see," he asked, slowly turning her toward him
by the shoulders. Her head was down, hair falling
over her face. He swept one side of it up with his
gloved hand to get a good look at the cut. "Don't
look too bad." She was right - it had stopped
bleeding and was starting to scab over. "Where
else're you hurt, darlin'?" He knew she liked it when
he called her that. It usually got at least a small
smile, and this time was no exception.

"I've got some - some scrapes on my knees, but they're
not bad. There's some on my shoulder too. I think
I'm OK. Just - just a little shaky." She turned her
head so that she could see him a little better, but
immediately turned back. For some reason, his heart
tightened at that.

"You wanna let me have a look, huh?" It wasn't really
a question, it was an instruction. She nodded, turned
away from him again, and began shrugging her jacket
off while keeping her back to him. "Where are we
anyhow?"

"British Columbia. Way north. I drove about twelve
kilometers into the forest, off-road. I haven't seen
anybody coming, but - " She cut herself off with a
sharp hiss of pain as she peeled her blood-soaked
blouse from her wounded shoulder. "That one might be
a little worse than I thought."

"Grrr....." He'd always had a strong reaction to the
smell of her blood, from the very first day he'd found
her in that lab. Simultaneous urges to lick it all
clean and to kill something weren't easy to cope with.


"Is it bad?" Logan tried to shake himself out of his
emotional reaction, and he gently probed her wound to
come up with an answer for her question. It was a
jagged tear that happened to hit a fairly large blood
vessel. The bleeding looked to be slowing, but not
stopping. She could slowly bleed to death from it
over several hours, maybe a day, or it might heal on
it's own given a little pressure and some bandaging.


"It's bad." He'd asked her often to let him touch
her, to see if she could borrow his powers and use
them to heal her wounds. He knew how much they
troubled her. This might be the perfect opportunity
to try to talk her into it again. "I think - I think
I should touch you."

"No, Logan, no." She did turn to face him now,
modestly holding her tattered shirt up to her chest to
cover herself. "You need to heal. You're still - "

"I'm just fine," he interrupted, already pulling off
one glove. "Just relax, Marie. Everythin's gonna be
OK. I'm just gonna touch you and fix this right up."

"Logan..is it really that bad?"

He'd never lied to her, and he wasn't going to start
now, but that didn't mean that he couldn't try to
convince her. "It ain't good. Somethin' hit a big
blood vessel. It's a slow bleeder, but it could bleed
ya to death." Marie shivered, and Logan felt a pang
of remorse for painting such a harsh picture. "I'm
not gonna let that happen, one way or another. It's
your call, but I think yeah - I think I'd better touch
ya."

Marie squirmed a little. "I - I don't know what to
do."

"It's OK," he assured, "lemme take care of it."
Receiving the barest of nods from her, he reached out
for her unspoiled cheek and lay his hand on it.

Immediately, the pull began. Logan fought to hang on
to consciousness, and he kept his eyes fixed on her
shoulder. He watched as the skin re-knit itself,
watched her heal. Glancing to her face, he held on a
moment longer, noticing that her burn scars were still
as awful as they always had been.

"Let go, Logan, let go!" She shoved him away from
her, and he let the blackness take him for a few
moments. Marie began to panic as she watched him
twitch and thrash in the passenger seat. "Oh God.."


After a few moments, though, he calmed, and in another
few, he opened his eyes. "Whoa"

"Logan? Are you all right?" Marie was leaning in
close to him, looking at him with worried and teary
eyes. "Logan?"

"I'm fine." Dammit, he thought, nothing - nothing for
the scars. They hadn't healed one bit. "I'm OK."

Marie moved back, giving him space to sit up a little.
"It didn't work, did it? Not - not on my face or any
of the old scars. It didn't work." It dawned on him
that she hadn't even taken a glance at the mirror to
check - she'd been too busy worrying over him. She
still wasn't looking to see for herself, she was
waiting for his answer. If even a little of his
disappointment showed on his face, she probably
already had it.

"I'm sorry." She shrugged, and tears began to fall in
earnest. He took her hand in his. "I'm sorry,
Marie."

"I - I didn't think it would work. I'm sorry -
they're so ugly and I just want them gone and I can't
even get my stupid powers to do that, you still have
to look at them and they're horrible and - and - " A
huge, heaving sob cut her off. Logan began to worry
that she'd hyperventilate if she couldn't calm
herself.

"Hey, take some deep breaths, OK? It's gonna be OK.
Don't cry, Marie, it's - you're OK and I'm OK and I'm
outta that lab, thanks to you. It's all gonna be OK."
He sandwiched the hand he'd been holding in both of
his. "Try to calm down. We gotta - we gotta move
outta here pretty soon, OK? Can you - can you calm
down a little and switch me places? I'll drive." She
nodded at that and tried to regain her composure. He
released her so that she could move out of the truck
and around to the passenger side. Once they were both
well-settled back in the vehicle, Logan paused before
starting up the engine. "You doin' OK over there?"

Marie tried to smile and nodded. "Sorry. I didn't
mean to get all emotional." She smiled a little more
and her burned cheek twitched in turn. "It's been
kind of a busy day." That got a smile from Logan, as
she had hoped.

"We're gonna drive in a little further, find a place
to camouflage the truck and hole up for the night.
It's startin' to snow a little, so we gotta get a move
on. Can't leave 'em tire tracks in the snow to
follow. Too easy to spot from the air." Marie
sniffled, and sat up a little straighter. "We'll just
stay put here and then we'll figure out what we're
gonna do next."

"Aren't we - what about calling the x-men?"

Logan frowned at that. "If they wouldn't come out to
get me, they ain't comin' out to help us. Even if
everybody back there is toast, I just - I don't think
they'd do it, not now, not until the dust settles and
they're sure it ain't a high-risk situation. Did you
leave anythin' important back at the mansion?"

"No. I used some of your money, but I have the rest
of it here, your guns and things too. That duffel bag
has your clothes."

"No, darlin', I mean did you leave anythin' important
of yours?" Marie shook her head no but shot him a
confused look. "Good. We're not - we ain't goin'
back right away. We're gonna wait for Chuck to
contact us. He'll give us a heads up when and if
everythin' is safe."

"OK."

Logan fixed his eyes ahead, and began weaving through
the trees.







They found a good spot, tucked into a natural recess
in the hill. The snow was coming down quite a bit,
and Logan retrieved their clothing from the truck bed.
They put most of it on, to try to stay warm. Logan
wanted to stay put until the storm was over and then,
if there was still no word from Xavier, hunt something
for food and start moving through the forest.

Marie finished bundling herself up in the clothing,
and reclined the seat to be more comfortable. Logan
copied her actions, and they lay on their sides facing
each other. Marie felt very comfortable that way -
her damaged cheek was pressed to the seat, and all her
other visible scars were covered by clothing. She
felt almost normal.

"The snow is pretty."

"It'll actually keep us warmer, you know, once it
builds up into a good coverin'. Keeps the wind out."

"Are you feeling OK? Do you - do you want to talk
about anything?"

"You mean 'bout back there?"

"Yeah."

"No."

"OK. I'm glad you're OK." She never pushed him to
talk, and Logan appreciated that. It was probably why
he found himself talking to her so often. There may
even come a time when he would talk to her about this.
"I've never been to Canada before, you know."

"I like it up here. It's quieter, less people."

"Easier on your senses?" He gave a gruff nod. "After
you touched me, I could smell and hear everything
really well there for a while. It was amazing, but I
can see how it would be hard, especially in crowds."

"Yeah. Are you - everythin's OK up in your head,
right?" Marie nodded. She'd told him a little about
how her powers affected her mind, but nothing in
detail.

"You were really hoping it would heal the scars. I
can feel that in my head." That came out in a
whisper, and Logan knew that it was a signal she
wanted serious conversation.

"Sorry that didn't work."

"Me too. I wish you didn't have to look at them, I
wish that somehow, they'd just go away. But I kind of
knew the touching thing wouldn't work. That would
just be too simple, you know, poof - scars gone.
Things don't work that way." Logan reached out a hand
to stroke her hair and scooted closer to her. He
always had the urge to comfort her when she said
things like that, but he'd learned early on that
sometimes words didn't help. Little touches, small
signs of affection, seemed to work much better.
"They're permanent. I know that, deep down. To tell
you the truth, I don't remember how I looked before,
not really. I was twelve when they took me. I don't
have any pictures or anything. I don't remember being
without them, not much, not any more."

"I don't remember bein' without the claws either.
Those're permanent too, somethin' that was done to
me." This was the kind of talking he'd never done
with anyone else, the kind of talking he could never
imagine doing with anyone but Marie. "I'm glad I
killed all those fuckers who did that to you."

"I killed all the people who were hurting you back
there. There's no one left alive." Those words came
out in a fierce little whisper. Marie's eyes burned
with remembered anger and resolve.

"They needed killin'," Logan responded, his hand
tangling deeper into her hair and beginning to caress
her scalp. "Just wish you hadnta been the one to do
it. You don't need anymore shit in your life. I
wantcha to stay in a safe spot from now on, got it,
Marie?"

"I've only ever feel safe when I'm with you."

"Guess that means I'll hafta stick close to ya."
Marie smiled at that. "You can keep me outta trouble,
huh?"

"I really missed you when you were gone. I cried the
first night you didn't come over. I - nobody told me
what happened, not until days later." Her expression
stayed even, almost light, but her voice grew husky.
"When I found out, I started looking. I don't know
what I would've done if I hadn't found you. I felt -
I felt so all alone without you. I know you're - you
like to do your own thing, but when you came to see me
every night, I really felt - " Her restraint broke,
and a few tears spilled down. "I'm sorry."

"It's OK." Logan's other hand found its way to
Marie's stomach, and he almost unconsciously began
stroking her there. "I did think about that when I
was in there. I thought - what's Marie doin' now? I
wondered who you found to talk to and who was lookin'
in on ya when I wasn't there."

"Nobody," she answered. That hadn't helped slow the
tears. "I really meant it when I said you're all I
have."

Logan sighed. "Well, you've got me for the duration,
Marie. I ain't goin' nowhere. Not voluntarily,
anyway." They exchanged dark smiles at that. "You
stick close to me too, OK? No more goin' off on your
own and doin' stuff like this. You're - I don't even
wanna think 'bout somethin' happenin' to ya." The
truth was that she was the only thing important to
him, the only thing without which he couldn't function
well. In his own way, he relied on her every bit as
much she did on him. The nightly visits, the talks,
the feeling of having something that was his own,
someone he connected with, someone it was safe to
share things with, someone worth protecting - they all
made him feel something he hadn't ever felt before.
Much like Marie felt normal with him at times, he felt
human with her.

"Nothing will. I promise." Her full lips worked
themselves into a smile. "This is - this is kind of
nice, you know? I hate that you had to go through
that, that you were hurt, but this - us having a
little time alone together - it's nice."

"Yeah," Logan replied absently. One of the urges he'd
been feeling around Marie before he'd been taken
surfaced again. He kept having an urge to hold her,
maybe lay a gentle kiss in her hair too. He didn't
really know what to make of them. He was fairly sure
they weren't sexual urges, but they weren't exactly
friendly urges either. If he'd thought about it very
much, he'd have realized that they had been coming
more frequently and with more intensity. He did know
it was all part of the big *something* they had
between them, whatever that would turn out to be.
"Hey, Marie - you wanna move over?" That way, he
could lay all the way back in the passenger seat and
put her on top of him. That would work. That way,
they'd both be warm, and he could hold her, and the
urges would be satisfied.

"Ummmm...."

"There's not enough room for both of us on this side.
Just scrunch over a little." He disentangled his
hands from her and began shifting over.

"You'll get my bad side. I - I was kind of liking
being on this side." She couldn't meet his eyes now.


"You don't have a bad side." He scooted over the
center console. "Move over a little. I'm gonna - I'm
gonna put ya on toppa me and throw that coat over us
both. We'll be warmer that way."

"OK," she said a little unsteadily, pressing herself
up against the door until Logan got situated.

"C'mere." He pulled her down to him, and noticed that
she rested her scarred cheek against his chest. "You
comfy?" He felt her nod and debated whether he should
say what was on his mind or not. He didn't want to
upset her, but she was always open with him, and he
wanted to tell her. It was important, even if it
didn't come out right. "Ya know, those scars on you -
I don't mind lookin' at 'em. What you said before
about you wishin' I didn't hafta look at 'em - that's
not a problem. It's not like they're ugly or
anythin'. They're just - just there." She was quiet
for several long moments, but Logan could tell by her
breathing and heartbeat that she wasn't too upset.

"I think they're ugly. They make me feel ugly."

"There's not a single ugly thing 'bout you, kid.
Believe me, I've seen every kinda ugly this world can
throw atcha. You ain't it. Not even a little bit."

"That's nice of you to say."

Logan wrapped both arms around her and gave her a
squeeze. "It's the truth. I don't wantcha to think
that there's anythin' wrong with you, 'cause there
ain't."

"Can I tell you something, something a little hard?"

"Sure."

"Sometimes I wonder if you - if you would be attracted
to me if I didn't have the scars, if you hadn't seen
me so - so humiliated and defiled in that lab. If
we'd met, just two normal people, you know, talking in
a bar or something, I wonder if you would like me, you
know, like a girl."

"You want an honest answer?" Marie didn't respond.
"I'd never have gotten to know ya. I'd have probably
seen if I could getcha into bed, and then I'd have
moved on. It's better this way."

"Right. Right. You're right." Logan could tell that
she was trying very hard not to cry.

"Marie, you're not - you're not - " He stopped himself
before he could say something that would come out
wrong. As he cast about for the right words, Marie
finished the thought for him.

"Not someone you think about like that. I
understand."

"I was gonna say you're not some quick fuck, you're a
person to me. I don't normally give a shit, you know,
'bout other people. But I did with you, and I did
right off. There was somethin' 'bout you - I've
always felt like you're mine, OK? I dunno what to
compare that to. I guess I'm tryin' to say that
things are the way they are and there are some good
things comin' outta that. I got to know ya, and I
like havin' ya close by. If you were just some random
woman, you wouldn't be my Marie."

"I know," she whispered, hugging him back a little.
"I'm really grateful for all that, I am. But I just -
sometimes I just wonder, that's all."

Logan didn't respond, he just laid a gentle kiss on
the top of her head. The truth was that he was
beginning to wonder too - not about whether he
would've been attracted to a different Marie, but
about the strong attraction he felt to this Marie. He
put those thoughts out of his head for now, and
settled in for some sleep.







They woke to the sound of fierce wind. The storm had
picked up in intensity, causing the snow covering that
had fallen on the truck to whistle away in the harsh
winds. It was just before dawn. "Damn," Logan
commented. "Haven't seen a storm like this in a long
time."

"I should've checked the weather reports."

"Eh. Sometimes you they can't predict storms like
this anyhow." Marie shifted a little against him.
"You doin' OK?"

"Yeah. I'm a little hungry. There's - in the bag on
the driver's seat, there's some food. Nuts, beef
jerky, hard candy." She just looked longingly at the
bag, though, and didn't make a move for it.

"Go on, then, help yourself." Logan wondered if she
was waiting for him to eat first before taking what
she needed.

"I'm too comfy and warm to move." They both chuckled
a little, before Marie finally did slither an arm out
to grab the bag. Logan noticed that she made no move
to get off of him. Marie retrieved some nuts and beef
jerky and divided the food into two portions, then
propped herself up on Logan's chest to hand him his
half. "Here," she said simply, before laying back
down and nibbling on her food.

"Thanks." Logan noticed that the nuts were cashews -
his favorites. "I'm pretty comfy here too. Might as
well wait until this blows over. If they haven't come
after us yet, they probably ain't gonna, especially in
this weather."

"Do you think the Professor will contact us soon?"

"Knowin' him, he'll give it at least another day or so
- if everythin' is calm. If not, could be longer.
Don't worry, we'll get back to Westchester eventually,
and I can keep us together for a while livin' out
here. It's gonna be OK."

"You know, I had a weird dream last night - I dreamt
that we were living in this little cabin, high up in
the mountains, juts you and me." That vision struck a
chord in Logan. Isolated home, a life in the
wilderness, Marie - it all seemed very appealing.
"Weird, huh?"

"What were we doin'?" He felt Marie fidget at that
and he felt her body heat rise just a little. She was
probably blushing at the moment. "Oh."

"Sorry."

"Not a problem." Jean had told him often that Marie
had a crush on him, and to be very vigilant in
discouraging those feelings. Logan had pretty much
ignored Jean's advice. He liked being the object of
Marie's affections, she seemed to like liking him, and
he didn't analyze it much beyond that. His instincts
told him that he belonged to her, and she to him. He
knew that was true, he trusted it, he just wasn't sure
what that should mean. Especially now, when she was
still a teenager, still recovering from her ordeal,
still gaining confidence in herself. It was a
delicate juncture for her, and Logan had felt no rush
to act. He'd taken to thinking that they would work
it out together in time. They'd always been able to
be open and honest with one another, and he had
confidence that that would see them through this as
well. His task now was protecting her, caring for
her, helping her recover. That was it. Or, at least
that had been it, up until she risked her life to
rescue him from the labs, until the possibility that
they didn't have as much time as he had assumed to
work it all out suddenly seemed very real.

"How about a total change of subject?" Marie offered,
nervously.

"OK. Whaddya wanna talk about?"

"Um, I guess I could bring you up to date in what's
happened at the mansion while you've been gone."

"Anythin' interestin'?"

"Scott and Jean set a date for the wedding. Next
month on the 18th. They invited me, which was nice.
Ororo's taking a vacation - I think she was supposed
to go this week - she wanted to see the Grand Canyon.
You know her - nature girl. The Professor and Jean
were before Congress again last month. I don't think
the mutant registration thing will pass this time
either, there was a lot of debate when I watched on
C-SPAN."

"What about you? What have you been up to?"

"Planning this, mostly." Logan frowned and tightened
his grip on her.

"What about that test? The GED thing?"

"Oh! I did get the results. I passed. In fact, I
got the highest score in the state for that sitting.
It was kind of nice."

"We'll hafta celebrate when we get back. Pizza and
beer, huh?"

"I'm not supposed to have beer." Her voice was warm
now, teasing. He felt her nestle her head against his
chest, apparently done eating.

"One won't hurt ya. Plus, you'd be almost legal in
Canada."

"What does that have anything to do with?" There was
laughter in her voice, and Logan found it creeping
into his as well.

"I'm from here. I go by my native beer rules."

"Oh, I see. Well, then, pizza and beer it is." Logan
felt small, warm hands move across his chest. He
didn't think Marie realized she was doing it. "Can we
not get anchovies, though? At least on half. They're
icky."

"They're fish. They're good for ya." He didn't say
anything about her caresses, mostly because he was
enjoying the feeling - it had been the first nice
touch in a long time, and it was stirring something in
him, something warm and comforting.

"They're icky fish. And we can get vegetables on the
pizza. Those are good for you too."

"No onions."

"Right. I remember you don't like those." Suddenly,
Marie seemed to catch herself - Logan felt her tense
and still the movements of her hands. "Sorry. I
wasn't paying attention."

"It's OK."

"You're really good to me, you know? About all that
kind of stuff, you're - you're really very kind."

"I don't mind it." Logan had a sudden inspiration.
He wanted to ease her discomfort about the whole
topic, and probe her feelings a bit, and he thought he
may have hit on a way to do it. "Look, Marie, why
don't you just lemme know what you'd like, OK? I
mean, I know you have, uh, ideas about me, and this
kinda stuff - bein' close, a little touchin', and
that's fine by me. Why dontcha just tell me what
you'd like in that department?" Maybe if she could
come out and ask him for things like hugs and little
touches, she'd feel better. If it was out in the open
instead of something she felt she had to be
embarrassed by, she'd probably feel a lot more
comfortable, and this way, he'd know what she really
wanted. After all, having a fantasy is one thing -
acting on it is another.

"Really?"

"Really."

She propped herself up to look at him, angling the
scarred side of her face away from his gaze. "I like
this. I liked being close to you like this a lot."
He smiled a little to encourage her to go on. "I
liked sleeping with you holding me. I'm not - we
don't have to do that, you know, if you don't want to.
But I liked that. If you don't mind too much. I
mean, all of this is if you don't mind too much."

"I don't mind at all. What else?" He was surprised
to see her eyes fill rapidly with tears. "Marie?"

"Nothing else. Nothing else. That's it." She lay
her head back down, avoiding his eyes.
"C'mon. I know it's kinda - kinda a touchy subject,
but you can tell me."

"Nothing else. Really. I mean, there's - there can't
be anything else. Not for us. Not with me like
this."

"Like what?"

"Ugly. Damaged."

"Stop it. You're not. I toldya - "

"I know you're always trying to make me feel better,
Logan, I do, but the other things I might think about
us doing together - they just can't be. I wouldn't
feel right doing more than that knowing we won't ever
be, well, together. Not that way. It would just feel
really bad, I think, to do any more than that and then
to know we won't be together."

Logan pondered for a moment. He could feel her
trembling, and he wanted what he said next to be the
right thing. It had to be the right thing for Marie.
"I know what you mean. Those other things you might
be thinkin' about - I wouldn't wanna do 'em if we
weren't gonna be together, be lovers, either. Not
with you. I know I'm - I know you see women in and
outta my room, but that's different. That's a
one-time deal - I know it and they know it. I don't
think it would be like that with us, if we decided to
do that." He tightened his hold on her before saying
the next part. He wasn't sure how she would react.
"I know you kinda like me. It's OK. We've talked
about it. I like you too. There's some kinda thing
goin' on between us. I don't care that your face is a
little hurt or about the other scars. That don't
matter to me, and your mutation don't matter either.
I'm a stubborn man, a hard-ass, Marie. When I want
somethin', little things like that don't stand in my
way. You know me. I just don't think we needta rush
into anythin', though. Not now. We can take our time
and you can tell me - you can point me in what
direction you wanna go. We'll talk about it and
figure it all out together. It doesn't hafta be this
big, stressful thing in your life. I don't want it to
be. Maybe we should start figurin' it out."

"Are you saying - what are you saying?"

Logan harrumphed. He *wasn't* good with words. It
wasn't coming out right. "I'm sayin' that I know you
like me. I like you too. There's somethin' there, I
think we both know that. I'm sayin' for you to tell
me what you wanna do. If you wanna do more stuff than
me holdin' ya, OK, let's talk about it. If you wanna
sleep with me from now on, OK, let's move your stuff
over to my place when we get back and we'll figure out
how that's all gonna go. I'm sayin', Marie, I don't
wanna have you worryin' or sad 'bout this thing
between us. It's a good thing. I just think we
should, you know, take it nice and easy and not jump
into bed together or somethin' 'cause I don't think
either one of us is ready to do that and I don't think
our relationship is there yet and the one thing I
don't wanna do is fuck anythin' up between us, OK?
You're important to me. I feel like we need to be
careful here."

"Logan, you could have anyone you wanted. You do -
you do have anyone you want. You don't want to be
stuck with me. I'm - I'm - "

"I don't wanna hear one bad thing 'bout you comin'
from those lips. I don't wanna hear it. Marie, all
the things you think are wrong with you - they could
be said 'bout me too. You wanna hear it? People
could say - there's Logan, fuckin' experimented on,
all cut up by doctors, had claws put in and his
memories taken out. You wanna know the truth? Only
difference is that my scars don't show, and I kick ass
good. Frankly, so do you now - pullin' this one off
like that. Not that I wantcha doin' that, not at all.
My point here is - yeah, I'm good at gettin' women
inta my bed, but did you see any one of 'em come
lookin' for me? No. Just you."

"You don't have to feel indebted to me for that. It's
- you saved my life first and - "

"And there's a reason for that." She still hadn't
been looking at him, so now he gently lifted her head
to see her eyes. When she began to turn her head to
the side, hiding her scar, his grip on her jaw became
firm, holding her in place. "I saw you and I felt
somethin' for you. That's what I suck at, Marie -
gettin' lotsa women to fuck me goes great, but gettin'
one to talk to me, really give a shit about me,
findin' one that I give a shit about - that doesn't.
If we're gonna talk about this, if we're gonna give
goin' ahead and gettin' closer a try, you gotta just
trust me when I say that I ain't doin' things outta
feelin' sorry for you, or grateful, and I ain't
thinkin' of you as anythin' but good, beautiful. OK?"

"That's going to be hard to do. I - I know it sounds
weird, but - I think it's going to be hard to trust
that, even with you." Paradoxically, he smiled at
that and his grip on her jawline eased. "What?"

"I know. It's not weird. I'll try to make it easier,
but I understand what you're sayin'. But you're gonna
give this a go, then?" Marie nodded. "Good. Good.
But remember what I said about no rush - we can move
you in and all, but you don't hafta feel like
everythin's comin' atcha all at once. We'll go slow,
but we'll get movin'." She nodded again, and he let
her lay her head back down on his chest. He noticed
her grip on him tighten considerably. He knew she was
afraid. Bad things - they were both accustomed to
dealing with some very bad things. It was familiar,
if not pleasant. Good things were new, frightening.
But Logan felt like it was worth a try with Marie. He
felt like it was definitely worth a try.







Xavier did eventually contact them, and they did
return to Westchester. The first night, Marie simply
stayed in Logan's room. No one noticed, but the
following day, when they began moving her things over
and Logan informed Xavier of the new arrangement,
everyone noticed. None of it much bothered Logan - he
had asked Chuck if he was going to make a fuss about
it, though, making it clear that he would leave the
mansion, and the team, for good, if Xavier had a
problem with it. Many of the comments, though,
bothered Marie. Whispered rumors about her made their
rounds through the mansion. Most had her on the
receiving end of Logan's charity, and most people felt
sorry for her. Some, though, were darker, casting
forth conjecture about her sexual abilities, things
she might have picked up during her stay in the labs.
Those were the ones she tried to keep from Logan and
just endure. She knew well what his reaction to those
kind of rumors might be.

Marie didn't cry over any of it, though, until the day
she happened upon Logan and Betsy, talking in the
kitchen. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop but she heard
her name and paused outside in the hall for just a
moment.

"No, really. Why Marie? You can tell me."

"Let it go, Betts."

"I mean, she's not your usual type."

"That's right." Logan's voice was mostly even, but it
held just a hint of anger.

"We all feel sorry for her, of course, but, really,
this is above and beyond the call of duty. You saved
the poor thing's wretched little life, what more do
you owe her?"

"Why are you still talkin'?" Now the anger was front
and center. Betsy only laughed, though.

"Because someone's got to try to talk some sense into
you. Sure, you've been through the entire female
population of the mansion, the town, and probably the
county, but there's no reason you can't have seconds.
No need to resort to this kind of thing."

"And what kind of thing would that be?" Marie
couldn't see it, but Logan was gripping the can of
beer he'd come down for tightly enough to cause the
metal to strain. It looked like it might pop any
second.

"Oh my." Betsy's tone affected seriousness now.
"Don't tell me you've actually convinced yourself you
have feelings for the girl. That's possibly the one
thing I can think of that's actually more pathetic
than the charity fuck you must be - " Betsy was
abruptly cut off, but Logan's gruff voice filled the
brief silence.

"I said, let it go. It's none of your damn business."
Marie heard one of them draw in a deep breath and
heard both of them moving. "I ain't interested in a
second go-round with you, if that's what you're
gettin' at. You were a mediocre fuck the first time
around, and you're usin' the male population around
here as some kinda consolation for the fact that you
can't get that nasty little mouth of yours wrapped
'round Summers' dick. That what you wanted to hear,
Betts?"

"I seem to remember you enjoying our time together
quite a bit," she hissed back. "And even a mediocre
fuck would have to be better than looking at what's
left of that girl. I don't know how you even get an
erection." Logan issued a growl, but Betsy kept
going. "And if you want to talk about the happy
Summers couple, let's do that. How long have you been
sniffing after Jean, hmm? Have you asked little
what's-her- name to dye her hair red yet?"

Marie's eyes widened at that and she heard a scuffle.
Deciding that she'd better intervene before this got
physically, not just verbally, ugly, she entered the
kitchen, drawing the immediate attention of both
occupants. Which was quite a feat, considering that
Logan had a white-knuckle and undoubtedly painful grip
on Betsy's shoulders and was pinning her to the
refrigerator. The can of beer he'd held was rolling
on the floor beneath them. They all stood there,
seemingly suspended in time, for a few long moments
before Marie spoke.

"I was, ah, outside. Maybe - maybe you two could stop
this?" She didn't quite know what to say, and Betsy
was now casting her mocking looks. "I'm, uh, going to
go back upstairs now."

Logan let Betsy go, intending to follow Marie out of
the kitchen. Betsy, however, chose that moment to let
out a loud laugh. "Go on, my dear," she called,
"after all, you make quite the *lovely* couple."
Logan whirled back around at that, landing a punch
square to Betsy's nose. He smiled when he heard it
crack.

He was ready to land another blow, when he felt Marie
holding onto his arm as he swung it back. "Don't,"
she pled, "Just don't."

"You son of a bitch!" Betsy was on her feet now,
ready to counter attack. "I can't believe you hit
me!" Logan only growled.

"Um, just - just calm down, OK? Let me get Dr. Grey
to - "

"Shut up, you stupid little twit!" That prompted
another growl from Logan and things might've gotten
even uglier if Scott hadn't wandered into the kitchen
at that particular moment.

"What's going on here?" He quickly crossed the
kitchen to Betsy's side. "Are you bleeding?"

"He hit me! He broke my nose!" All of Betsy's
previous bravado was gone. Now, she looked about as
fragile as a china doll. She pressed herself to
Scott's side and blinked up at him with big doe eyes.


"Logan!" Before Scott could get any more admonitions
out, Marie stepped in front of him and spoke.

"They were arguing. She said - she said some very
unpleasant things about me, and Logan got upset. He
didn't just hit her for no reason."

"I don't care what she said, there's no excuse for
that!" Scott let go of Betsy to take a step toward
Logan and Marie. "I want to see both of you in the
Professor's office in ten minutes. I'm taking Betsy
to the medlab, and I expect you to stay the hell away
from her. We don't hit women around here, Logan, no
matter what they say." Logan was about to say
something, but Marie shushed him. Scott brushed past
them, with an arm around Betsy, who gave them one last
mocking glance over her shoulder before disappearing
into the hallway.

"I'm sorry," Marie said.

"What the hell for? That wasn't your fault."

"It kind of was because we live together now and - "

"Hey - it ain't your fault. Fuckin' Betts was
shootin' her mouth off." Logan took a few deep
breaths, trying to calm himself. Marie let him,
staying quiet until she was sure he had his emotions
in check.

"Do you remember when I said it might be hard to trust
that - that you don't see me like that, like Betsy
talked about me?" Logan nodded, more than a little
worried. "I think I understated."

"Look, don't - don't listen to what she said. Betts -
she just likes to stir up trouble." Marie only
shrugged. "What?"

"I think most people, they probably think a lot like
she does. They wonder what you're doing with me when
you could have someone a lot better. Did I tell you
Jean came to talk to me today?"

"No," Logan answered, instinctively taking a few steps
closer to Marie. "What did she want?"

"She, uh, wanted to tell me that you - you're a man
with a strong sense of honor, and you would do
whatever you felt I needed, even if it wasn't really
what you wanted, you know, for your own life, and - "

"She said that?"

"Mmm-hmm. I mean, she was very - uh, well, she was
somewhat subtle about it, but I get the message. I'm
just in the way of you being with someone good. It's
not really hard to figure out what she was getting at.
And I don't know if - "

"I know. I know. Listen, Marie, forget what Betts
said, forget what Jean said. I don't care what they
think, and you shouldn't either."

"But I kind of do," Marie said softly. "They're your
friends and teammates."

"And I don't really give a good rat's ass about any of
'em."

"Jean - "

"Jean wasn't meant for me. You were. That's the way
I like it." He fidgeted a little while she digested
his words. He was heartened at the fact that she
seemed to actually be very seriously considering what
he'd said. "I'm gonna talk to the Professor, OK? You
don't hafta do that. I was the one who broke her
fuckin' nose, so I'll talk to Chuck. Why dontcha head
on back upstairs, darlin'? I'll be up in a minute."

"I'd rather go with you. Scott - Scott said both of
us, and - and I'd really rather just hear what they
have to say about me. I know you're trying to protect
me, but I'd rather know. I can handle it."

"OK. OK. But no bullshit. I'm not gonna listen to
any crap about any of this. If Chuck don't want us
here, that's fuckin' fine by me." At the moment, it
seemed like an option far preferable to letting Marie
face a barrage of insults of one variety or another.
He held her eyes for a moment longer, then they headed
for the Professor's office.







They all sat in Xavier's office for more than an hour,
listening to the Professor reprimand Logan for his
actions and Betsy for her words. Marie was glad that
Betsy didn't get off scot-free, and that the Professor
didn't seem to place sole blame on Logan for what had
happened. He did tell Logan, however, that if he hit
another mansion resident again, no matter what the
provocation or the extent of Logan's value to the
team, he would not hesitate to evict Logan from the
mansion for good. Logan grunted in response, but it
was clear that the two men had an understanding.
Betsy had been very quiet the entire time, saying
almost nothing in reply to the Professor's comments to
her or to Logan. After Charles finished, he dismissed
Scott and Betsy but asked Logan and Marie to stay
behind.

"I wanted to speak to both of you privately for a
moment. I would like to encourage either of you to
approach me should you be subjected to any more
comments like those you encountered from Betsy in the
future. I shall take action to nip that kind of thing
in the bud."

Logan and Marie exchanged a look. They were a little
taken aback - the Professor had never taken much of an
interest in Marie and they both knew that he had some
reservations about their relationship. "Uh, OK,"
Logan answered for both of them. "Is that it?"

"No. I was wondering if you two might be more
comfortable living out in the lodge. It would provide
somedistance from the other residents, which I
think both of you may enjoy." Marie knew what the
words really meant - leave, for the sake of peace in
the house. That was probably why he'd offered his
assistance a moment ago as well. He didn't want
dissention among the team. Marie felt bad that the
Professor was trying to get Logan to leave because of
trouble she'd had a hand in causing.

"Fine by me. We'll move our stuff today."

"You - you don't have to," Marie said. "I can move
out and you could visit. You could visit me. You
don't have to leave the mansion."

"You go, I go," Logan calmly argued. "Besides, I
could use somewhere a little quieter. Fewer people,
fewer noises and scents. It'd be good for me to get
out."

"But - "

"Look, Marie, I know it's been a hard day, but don't
go gettin' all upset over this. Don't go blamin'
yourself. It's a good idea. I'd like to move. You
and me, just the two of us, with the whole house for
ourselves - that sounds a lot better to me."

"I just don't want to keep you from your teammates or
make you any more separated from them than you already
are because of me." Her eyes were cast downward, but
her expression was even. She wasn't overreacting,
she'd said it in a very matter-of-fact tone, but she
did want Logan to know her thoughts.

The Professor leaned forward with some interest. This
wasn't how he'd expected their relationship to be.
He'd envisioned Logan as wanting a subservient,
younger, 'handicapped' partner so that his dominance
would be unquestioned in the relationship. Actually,
Charles had thought that *only* that kind of
relationship would work for Logan. He'd pegged Logan
as having more than a few control issues, and that,
combined with his animal side, would naturally lead to
a strong tendency toward dominance. However, watching
them work their way through this now, Charles was
struck by just how much real communication was taking
place between the two, and even more so by Marie's
seeming equal footing in the discussion. He was
downright amazed that Logan was explaining his
position and trying to use logical reasoning to
convince Marie. He'd expected something more along
the lines of - we're moving, Marie, and that's it.
He'd also have expected Marie to be much quieter, much
more emotional, much more unhinged by this whole
incident than she apparently was. Interesting,
Charles thought.

"I ain't separate 'cause of you. It's 'cause of me.
And I don't really take to movin' just 'cause we upset
the apple cart either, but there's a lotta benefits
for us in it. I say let's do it."

"OK," Marie said slowly, after thinking it over a bit.
"OK. Let's do it." Logan gave a clipped nod, then
sat back in his chair. He noticed that Xavier was
still watching him quite intently.

"What?"

"Nothing. Do you need any assistance in moving?"

"Nope, we got it covered. Anythin' else?" Xavier
shook his head, and watched the pair leave his office.
Very interesting indeed, he thought.








A few days later, they were settled into the lodge.
Marie had taken to sprucing up the place a little,
adding some minor decorative touches, making it their
own. Logan worked on getting a fire going, in
anticipation of their first dinner in their new home.
Their domestic ministrations were interrupted by a
knock on the front door.

Logan went to answer it. No one had come to visit
since they'd begun moving their things in. Frankly,
he didn't want any interruptions. Tonight was the
night he and Marie had talked about going a little
further in their physical relationship, and he was not
in the mood to have those plans disrupted. His mood
spiraled even further downward when he opened the door
to see Betsy standing there.

"Hello."

"Get the hell outta my house." She smirked at that,
and cast a look over Logan's shoulder to see Marie
headed their way.

"I came over to apologize. If I said something
upsetting to either of you, I'm very sorry."

It was Logan's turn to smirk now. He could smell the
insincerity rolling off her in waves, and didn't doubt
that this little stunt was Xavier's idea of having her
make amends. The Professor probably knew better than
to try to get him to apologize to Betsy. He was
probably hoping this would smooth things over.
"Whatever. Get offa my porch." He swung the door
shut, but Betsy stopped it with a hand.

"Aren't you going to be polite and invite me in? I'd
love to see what you've done with this old hunting
shack." Marie came up right behind Logan, and placed
a hand on his back before he could bite out a rude
answer.

"I'd really rather you not come in. We were just
about to have dinner. Goodbye." Logan raised an
eyebrow at Marie's words. She normally wasn't this
assertive.

"Oh, don't tell me you're holding a grudge, my dear.
Let's all just try to get along, shall we?"

Logan had turned to get a better look at Marie by the
time she answered. Her expression was even, and he
noticed that it was her 'good side' that was partially
shielded from Betsy's view by his shoulder, not her
'bad side.' "I don't think that's what you'd really
like. I think you should leave now."

"Well, I'm very disappointed that you can't be civil,
Marie. I'm sure the Professor would be disappointed
to hear it as well." Marie only shrugged. "I've come
bearing apologies, after all. What more can you
want?"

"Your apology don't mean shit to me, Betts. I'm gonna
tell ya for the last time - get offa my porch."

"If you insist on judging me so harshly and being so
unforgiving, I suppose there's nothing more *I* can do
about it." She affected a disappointed expression,
and finally turned to go.

"One more thing - " Logan called to her retreating
form "- don't come back. You ain't wanted here."
Betsy only huffed, feigning insult and surprise, then
turned back toward the mansion. Logan shut the door
harshly behind her.

"I wasn't too mean, was I?" Marie asked from behind
him.

"No," he answered honestly. "You did good." She
smiled broadly at that. "But hey - where'd all that
come from? Not that I'm complainin'."

"Oh, I just got to thinking about the things you keep
telling me, you know, how I'm not all bad and how you
kind of like being with me, and I thought - I'm a
little bit OK. Why should I let her intimidate me?
I'm not the one who should be ashamed of themselves,
she should, for being so mean to us."

"So some of that's actually sinkin' in, huh?" Logan
pulled her to him by the waist.

"Uh-huh. To be honest, I kind of like it. I like not
worrying all the time about how I look and if you're
happy with me or if I'm torturing your life. It's
nice to just take your word for it that everything's
OK once in a while. It's nice to have a few moments
of just happiness sometimes."

"Us - happiness? Damn, who'd have thought?" She
smacked at his arm playfully, enjoying being teased.
"Come on, let's get dinner on."

"OK. Um, you know what we talked about maybe - maybe
doing later on? We can get started on that after
dinner if you want." She was blushing now. It didn't
show up much on her scarred cheek, but Logan thought
it made her look particularly adorable.

"Sounds good. Let's get a move on." He gave one last
look out the window in the direction of the mansion,
then turned to follow her into the kitchen.

 
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