The Never Ending Story #2

The way it is

Sequel to The Savage Lands

This is the story that never ends.....yes it goes on and on my friends...a Brooke started writing it not knowing what it was, and you pplz started reading it becuz it is the story that neva ends....yes it goes on an on ma fwends....lalalallalaa ^-^ dedicated to ma sista annie, ma fwend wennypoops, ma puppy torre, an ma fwend eripoo buttman...

Disclaimer: The X-men and all the other characters in this story EXCEPT Forest and Ryan (well kinda) and wolverine are marvel's. ergs why can't I have wolverine? Someone get me a wolverine for Christmas!! Oh FINE wolverine is Marvel's TOO. Ryan is mine KINDA cuz I have based him off an existing Marvel Character, just changed his name and history.

Enjoy!!

+++++++

Rogue clamped a hand over her mouth in an effort to still the rising bile that burned her throat.

She leaned on the wall, willing the room to stop spinning in circles, willing the rising waves of nausea to settle.

She needed relief.

Pushing through the swinging doors of the Infirmary, she tried to focus her blurry eyes and scanned the room for the redheaded telepath, finally spotting her leaning over a microscope at the far end of the infirmary.

Not trusting the contents of her stomach to stay in their proper place, she sent out a panic-stricken thought to the woman before her.

~Help~

Jean jumped up, startled as a desperate plea for help lodged itself in her mind.

"Rogue! I didn't see you...oh, my, are you alright?"

She slid off the tall stool and hurried to where Rogue stood, swaying drunkenly, and took a grip on her arm before she could keel over.

"What's wrong, Rogue? Headache? Stomach Cramps? Is the nausea back?"

Rogue nodded her green tinted face faintly.

"N-nausea," She managed to gasp out before another wave overtook her and she spilled out her stomach contents to the ground.

Jean had to keep back her own gag reflexes as the sight and smell threatened to overwhelm her.

After getting her natural reflexes back in control, she stepped closer to Rogue and helped her to one of the shiny metal examination tables.

She went to the storage cabinet, rummaging around for a moment before returning triumphantly, holding a small vile of white pills aloft like a prize.

"Aha! Here they are. Take 2 of these and it'll give you some relief."

She handed Rogue a cup of water, being careful to stay out of range of her mouth.

Rogue nodded in thanks and popped the pills, taking a long swig of the water before handing the empty cup back to the doctor.

After a minute, Jean fetched her trusty sidekick; the clipboard that had become as vital to her as her arms or legs.

"Now, Rogue, when was the first time you started experiencing these waves of nausea?"

Rogue closed her eyes and ran the back of her hand over her sweat-covered forehead.

"Oh...ah dunno....probably when Magneto held us captive."

Jean nodded and scribbled notes.

"Do you notice any other discomforts?"

Rogue thought for a minute.

"Not really....except...well....ah'm really tired."

Jean smiled patiently. "That's to be expected, Rogue. You went through a huge ordeal with Magneto and his minions."

Rogue sighed and heaved herself off the exam table, taking deep breaths to calm her still racing heart, and visualizing feeling healthy and fit.

"Take this vile with you, Rogue, and take two pills every 4 to 6 hours if you continue to feel nauseous. Come back to me if this continues or your symptoms progress.it's probably nothing more than a exotic strain of stomach flu, but it pays to be cautious."

Rogue took the tube of pills and thanked Jean for her help before making her way out of the Infirmary.

Jean watched her until she was out of sight, churning thoughts over in her mind like wildfire.

"I wonder," She breathed.

*************

Rogue woke up the next morning to an increasingly familiar lurch in her stomach.

She groaned as she fumbled for the bottle of pills and took a swig out of the water she kept by her bedside, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes.

She reached for her watch, feeling her stomach flop as she remembered that today was her training day, on which she would meet Logan and spar with him in the danger room for an hour or so.

Usually she loved the challenge of wrestling with her feral friend, but lately they hadn't gotten along so well.

She remembered the night that had changed it all, when she had swayed into his lips, drawn by some unknown force to Logan, noticing for the first time how his eyes studied the depths of her soul, and how his gruff features felt against hers.

Before that, she hadn't thought of him as any more than a good friend, maybe a best friend, but certainly not to the point that she would have thought they would ever get involved with each other.

She sighed and slipped off her big t-shirt and shorts, pulling on her shower cap and stepping into the refreshing stream of water that beat down on her skin.



+ + + + +

She rushed down the corridor to the elevator and slapped her fist on the down button, waiting impatiently as she fiddled with her silver peace earrings.

The bell dinged and the doors opened, exposing the inner linings of the basement elevator.

Stepping in, she punched the special code known only to the members of the team into the keypad.

"Welcome, Rogue. Where would you like to go today?"

An automated voice greeted her.

"Danger Room, and be quick."

The doors slid closed and she felt the floor drop down before coming to a halt.

"Have a nice day." The elevator said as the doors opened to reveal shining metal hallways and doors.

"Thank you, Ah will."

Rogue told the elevator as she flew to the door of the Danger Room.

She knew it was silly but she could never resist responding to the automated voices of the various equipment in the mansion.

She entered the mission room and quickly pulled her uniform on, zipping it up to the chin and securing her boots.

One couldn't make slips when wrestling with Wolverine.

She had learned that early, when he had taken advantage of a loose bootstrap, tripping her and forcing her into submission.

On another memorable occasion, he had slammed her against the wall when she paused to yank at an open zipper.

He was merciless.

She flexed her jaw and ran her keycard through the handle of the Danger Room door, hearing it click as it opened.

The large round X formed by the four Adamantium counterparts whirled open, leaving a large hole for her to go through.

She paused as always to rub her hands on the virtually unbreakable door, marveling at the technology of humankind.

So few things in her world were unbreakable.

She had learned to appreciate the few things that could withstand her awesome strength, counting them as valued treasures in her rather bleak world.

Logan was one of those treasures.

His bones where laced with the precious metal, and that combined with his healing factor, rendered him as the one friend she could count on always.

Around him, she didn't have to be careful about throwing a playful punch to his shoulder, or breaking his ribs in a hug.

And he didn't care that her skin was untouchable.

She sniffed as she reached the last door that blocked the entry to the Danger Room, rubbing her nose with her index finger.

~I can't let him see me cry,~ she thought angrily.

She smoothed away an imaginary wrinkle in her red-and-green uniform, and squared her shoulders.

~Be strong.~

The soft whir of the opening doors echoed throughout the hallway, and she jumped to the side of the door as she had learned to do from previous experience.

On her very first session with Wolverine, she had walked in unprepared and he had jumped her from behind and pinned her to the ground, laughing all the while.

After a brief glance inside she was sure the Danger Room was empty.

Relieved, she stepped inside.

~Just like I thought. Empty.~

She launched herself almost lazily into the air and floated to the little landing right beside the control room's large glass window.

~Why run the stairs when you can fly?~ She thought with a smirk.

Besides, her feet hurt.

Reaching the door, she found it unlocked and entered the little room full of computers to run all the various holographic simulations and machinery that were the Danger Room's purpose.

She was puzzled. ~No one here either,~ she thought warily. ~This smells fishy!~

She checked her watch unbelievingly.

~Watch says it's time,~ She thought. ~Wonder if it's broken?~

Just then, the soft whir of the Adamantium doors attracted her attention, and she crept up to the window to take a peek.

She sank down into a chair, shocked.

~I beat him,~ she thought, watching his yellow-clad figure sniff the air then start to make it's way to the control room, climbing the steps rapidly.

The silence that lay across the room was shattered by the banging of the door.

"Rogue! There you are. C'mon, let's get movin'."

He pulled her to her feet with a grunt.

"You gettin' heavier or somethin'?"

She scowled at him, but remained silent as she followed him out to the landing, then she swung her legs over the railing on the stairs and pushed away, dropping a few feet before her powers kicked in and held her up.

Frowning for a moment, she descended gracefully to the far-off bottom.

+ + + + + + + + +

"Let's work on blocking today."

Rogue blinked as a short spell of dizziness overcame her.

Logan looked at her for a moment.

"You okay?"

She shook her head.

"Yeah, Ah'm fine," She said. "Just terrific."

He frowned.

"You don't look so hot. You seen Jean?"

Rogue sighed impatiently.

"Yeah, ah have, now let's get on with the darned workout so ah can relax and enjoy the rest of ma Friday."

He shrugged and began to lay out the basics for blocking.

Rogue suddenly found it a challenge to stay awake.

She swayed on her feet and found herself leaning against him, when she suddenly realized he wasn't talking anymore, but was instead watching her curiously.

She struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Rogue, Darlin', I think you should go back to bed," He ventured cautiously.

"Why you say that....shugah....." She mumbled sleepily, snuggling her face to his shoulder.

He grinned hesitantly.

"Look, I'll carry you up to bed and tuck you in, okay?" He suggested.

That brought her back to her senses.

"What, so you can jump in too, like you did back there?" She snapped.

He looked hurt.

"Rogue....I...."

She snarled.

"Rogue nothing! Ah'm going back to bed, got better things to do with my time than spend it arguing , especially with you."

She turned back to the door, but the sleepy spell overwhelmed her anger, and she found herself unable to make it back to her soft cocoon.

"One more thing," She said, swaying back into his body.

"Would ya mind helping me to bed and tucking me in, shugah?"



*********

Rogue snorted irritably as she rummaged through the fridge.

It was 2 o'clock in the morning, and it made no sense at all to her that the fridge lacked sundaes with grilled chicken strips.

"What the hell are you doin'?" Came Logan's familiar you-woke-me-up voice.

She closed the fridge and laid out the ingredients on the table beside it.

"Ah want a sundae," She said as she got out the frying pan.

Logan stared at her in disbelief.

"Rogue, it's 2 in the mornin'!" He snarled.

"Ah know that!" She snapped as she set the pan on the stove and turned on the heat.

He watched her for a few moments, curiosity finally overwhelming his initial grumpiness.

"You want a sundae?" he asked as she placed the chicken in the pan.

"Uhuh," Came the pleasant reply.

"Then why the fuck are you fryin' chicken?!"

She bristled.

"None of your fucking business, shugah."

He growled.

She ignored him and continued to fry the strips of chicken, finally turning off the stove and placing the chicken on a plate to cool as she created her sundae.

"Get me that bowl," She said, pointing to a pretty sundae dish that sat in one of the cabinets.

He fetched it for her, becoming more and more curious as she continued to create.

She finally laid the strips of chicken over the ice cream and topped it off with a dab of chocolate sauce.

"Eww.Rogue that's gross." He said as he watched her dig into the fowl desert, taking large spoonfuls and shoving them into her mouth with a satisfied grin.

"How can you eat that?"

She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Ah just woke up and wanted chicken sundae," She mumbled through a mouthful of food.

He continued to watch in amazement as she polished it off, licking the bowl and the spoon and still looking unsatisfied.

"Ah'm still hungry," She said, opening the fridge again.

He shook his head with a grin.

"No wonder you're getting heavier," he commented wryly. "If you're eating that much."

She shot him a scowl and rummaged further, finally pulling out a tin of sardines.

He looked slightly nauseous.

"This'll do.with some more chocolate.perfect." She said, rolling back the tab and taking out one of the small, closely packed fish.

He made gagging noises.

"Rogue, that's absolutely disgusting!" He said, staring as she dipped each sardine into a bowl of chocolate sauce, licking her fingers and the bowl once she had finished.

"It's just food, shugah." She said patiently, looking at the empty bowl with a sad expression.

She looked up at Logan, studying his features with sudden interest.

He began to slowly back away.

"Uhh....Rogue...I'm not food..." he said, alarmed that his own life might be at risk.

~Who knows?~ He thought uncomfortably. ~She just polished off a chicken sundae and a tin of chocolate dipped sardines!~

She sighed and washed her dishes in the sink, finally toweling them off and placing them in their respectful cabinets.

"Are you okay?" He asked as she stood, staring at the empty counter looking forlorn.

She burst into tears.

"N-no! Ah....ah....d-don't..."

He ran to her and threw his arms around her heaving shoulders with concern.

"Shhh, it's okay, darlin', no, don't cry, baby, don't...." He said soothingly, placing his hand to the back of her head and holding her to his shoulder.

She pushed him away in mid sob, suddenly furious.

"Get away from me! You're not getting that from me again!" She hissed.

He looked stunned.

"I....no, Rogue, I wasn't...."

She suddenly returned to looking tired and oblivious, as she had at that morning's session.

"C'mon Rogue, you need to get to bed. Get some sleep."

She let herself be led along to her bedroom, offering no objections when he picked her up and laid her in her bed like a little girl, tucking in her blankets and giving her a kiss on her bang-covered forehead.

" 'Night, darlin'." He said, watching in disbelief as she drifted off before he could even lean back, a smile on her angelic features.

He watched her a few moments more before making his way back to his own room.



+ + + + +



Rogue sat, staring at her breakfast with a tired expression.

"Rogue, is everything alright, child?"

She turned to look at the tall African faux goddess called Ororo, known more commonly as 'Ro.

"Everything's fine, 'Ro. Ah'm just not hungry."

They exchanged a smile and 'Ro turned back to her meal.

Rogue sighed.

No matter what she kept telling everyone, she was not fine.

She was tired all the time, she had nausea every morning and sometimes well into her day, and she woke up in the middle of the night craving almost inedible foods.

She stole a glance down the table at Logan, watching him devour his breakfast in record time.

They still weren't easy with each other, even though he had been doing his best to make it up to her.

/ You alright? /

She felt a foreign thought slide into her head, and saw Jean looking at her with concern.

~I'm fine,~ thought Rogue.

But Jean knew that was a lie.



+ + + + +



Later that afternoon found Rogue once again in the infirmary, sitting on a exam table while Jean took tests and interrogated her, nodding and scribbling notes all the while.

"How long have you been feeling sick for?"

Rogue thought for a few minutes.

"About three months now."

Jean looked thoughtful.

"And have you felt any swelling or soreness in your breasts?"

Rogue looked startled.

"Well....ah....yeah...why?"

Jean sighed and put down her clipboard.

"I'll tell you when the tests come through."

The doctor finally gave her another vile of pills and gave her instructions on their use.

After thanking her, Rogue made a beeline for the fridge, a grilled cheese sandwich with pineapple calling her finicky appetite.

She made her way to the living room sofa, only to find Logan already laying on it.

"Scootch," She said, threatening to sit on his shins.

He took one look at her plate and scrambled to the other end of the sofa, covering his mouth with his hand all the while.

Rogue smiled and took big bites, making sure to waft some of the smell towards him.

He watched her quietly for a few moments, then cleared his throat.

"Uhhh....you feelin' better?"

She shrugged.

"Ah guess," She said.

After a few moments of silence he got to his feet.

"Well...I, umm, gotta go.....Scooter...."

He watched her for a moment before making for the door.



+ + + + +



Rogue swung at the large punching bag in the gym, attacking it as if it had caused the problems in her life.

She threw a particularly hard punch, and her fist sailed right through the bag.

Surprised, she stared at the hole for a moment before shaking her head and leaning back.

She wondered if there was something permanently wrong with her.

For the last three months, she had felt sick, tired and moody, lashing out at all those around her, including those who only wanted to help.

She'd thrown a fit when they'd insisted she stay behind on their last mission, which was so unlike her.

Lately she had found her temper easily ignited, and that was something when you could dent steel doors by knocking on them.

" Rogue! There you are."

She turned to see Logan striding towards her.

"Whatcha looking for me for? Bed feel empty?" She taunted, then instantly regretted it at the hurt look on his face . ~Why the heck did I do that?~ She thought.

"No, Jean wants you in the infirmary."

Rogue nodded and gave the bag one last punch before heading for the door.



+ + + + +