"You're never gonna be alone.

From this moment on,

If you ever feel like letting go,

I won't let you fall."—Never Gonna Be Alone

Several days earlier…

"Everyone keeps lookin' at that girl like she's broken, no hope. She ain't. Bent. Bent so far she looks broken, maybe. But no one who's broken wants that much to be a better person."-Gambit

It was more awkward, even then when Marie needed him around. She had been a runaway. So had he, really. They had met in a bar, and almost been killed together the same tonight. There was something there, they could relate. After Liberty Island, she had been more like him, even, thanks to absorbing enough of his personality, thanks to her powers. Not enough to be a twin, but it had been like he had raised her, almost. They had that bond, people could see it immediately. Marie, the Rogue, was Logan's girl, and not in the dirty way.

This girl was different. Lying prone next to her on the grass, Logan was reminded again how grateful he should be to Charley, and Jean, and even Storm, for tolerating him so well. Scott… well, he was just a dick, regardless. This girl was a mini-version of him, but worse off than he had been at that age. At least, he hoped he hadn't been that badly off at 16...

"You hit two feet to the left." He said quietly, peering into the scope on his own AR-15. The girl silently reached up and adjusted the wind age on her rifle's scope. Fired again. Four hundred yards away, the pumpkin exploded, a spray of orange flying into the air. "Good shot, you did it." The girl didn't respond. Logan shifted a little, flicking a bold wolf spider off the sleeve of his leather jacket. It vanished off into the grass.

"Is this a skill I'll need frequently?" Laura asked neutrally, still staring through the scope. It had taken her two hours and nine bullets to achieve that shot, from set-up to pulling the trigger. Most people needed training courses that lasted a week or more. Logan wasn't sure if she was 'gifted' or most people were just idiots when it came to rifles…

"Probably not." Logan admitted. "I haven't."

"Did Xavier ask you to take me out of the mansion because I got in that fight?" Laura asked. Logan answered her question as bluntly as it was asked.

"Gambit said you felt like I was ignoring you, playing favorites with Rogue." Logan sighed, rubbing his head. He still wondered how he had spent years on the road, yet pretty much ended up with multiple kids acting like he was their dad. Laura fell silent, and it stretched on for a good thirty seconds before she finally spoke. She had the attitude of a kid that was awaiting some dreaded lecture.

"She never tried to kill you." Her eyes were still on the targets in the distance, but she hadn't racked the bolt to put a new round in. Logan froze for a second, taking that statement in. He had never raised kids, but he could pretty easily read the emotion behind that statement.

"Kid… I don't blame you for that." Logan told her. "So stop blamin' yourself." He looked at her, but she was still resolutely staring through the scope, like some answer to her life might be out there. Maybe it was. "I'm not tryin' to play favorites with Rogue over you. It's just how it is. I've known her for years."

"I know that." Laura said flatly, pulling back the bolt and chambering another round in her Remington 700, shifting her sights. Logan sighed inwardly. What were you supposed to do with kids when they were like this? Give 'em a hug, tell 'em it'll be fine, that you love them? He hadn't seen enough family movies to know for sure. Laura was even harder. Sometimes she would be as reserved and flat-toned as a soldier awaiting court-martial, and sometimes she talked closer to how a normal teenager would.

"I don't know what to do with you, a lot of the time." Logan said quietly. "Because… really, you are me, and I don't want you to be me." Laura didn't speak. "You're different, than Marie. I know her, I know she's going to be okay at the end of the day, even if I was in the ground. But you… you don't have anyone, but me. We're two of a kind. But the life I lived—I don't want that for you. I want you to have a better life than I had." He saw her grip tighten on the rifle's stock.

"I'm trying." She said quietly. "I… I don't want to be like this. I want to be more like Rogue, or Kitty… more normal. Not like…" Her voice trailed off. Logan glanced at her, out at the woods.

"It wouldn't kill you if you were a little more social, kid." He said. "But you're not them. You've walked through hell and back, and neither of them would still be alive if they had to go through what you've gone through." He saw a measure of satisfaction on her face at knowing that. Awkward silence resume for a moment, and Laura's rifle boomed again. Four hundred yards away, a used plastic bottle filled with water flew up into the air. He could see her thinking things through carefully, saw the question on her face before she turned and asked it.

"Did you bring me out here because you're leaving again?" She asked sharply. Logan smiled faintly.

"I have a small trip down south, in two weeks." He said. She scowled, looked away. "Chuck has someone coming to the mansion Thursday, 2:30. A lawyer. You need to be there."

"Why?" Laura snapped, adjusting the scope for a farther target.

"Adoption papers." Logan said offhandedly. "You're goin' with me on the trip, kid." She looked at him immediately, frozen for a moment.

"Adoption papers?" She repeated. He nodded.

"Yeah… I figured, we're family, so why not make it official?" Logan said. "Who knew, Chuck has some friends who are lawyers. But he needs us to sign some papers." She was quiet for a few moments, and he could see her mulling it over. The scowl that had been there a second before was gone, and she was almost smiling.

"Will you stop calling me 'kid' if I sign?" She asked.

"No." Logan said without hesitation. Laura faked irritation, but only for a moment. Logan sat up, shifting a crink out of his neck. That was the worst part about long range shooting—the cramps from being prone on a hillside for so long. Laura let go of her rifle and did the same, sitting on her knees. He glanced around, then at her. He wasn't cut out for this kind of stuff, but occasionally it was needed. If even a thieving Cajun started telling him he was dropping the ball… it was probably near crisis, Logan mused.

"I know I'm not perfect at shown' it… and it's been a long time… since I had something this close to a normal family…" Logan said slowly, looking the girl in the eyes. "But I do love ya, kid. " She paused again, looking straight at him. He could see her thinking, see her trying to decide what to say, deciding whether to be stoic, or react like a teenage girl.

The girl won out, and she abruptly hugged him, putting herself off-balance, with how she had been sitting. Logan smiled faintly, and hugged her back.

"I love you too." She finally said, a little awkwardly, her cheek on the front of his chest. "And… thank you. I… I'd like to have family." He patted her back once. It was a little awkward for him too, but he was looking forward to getting used to it, having a daughter. She pulled away, and there was a small smile on her face. He wasn't sure if that was a tear in the corner of one eye. Considering her, that was roughly the equivalent of Rogue or Kitty breaking down and crying with joy.

"So… are you actually going to shoot while we're here?" She asked wryly. Logan sighed, went prone, aimed, and fired three shots in three seconds. Off in the distance, three more plastic bottles were obliterated. Laura raised an eyebrow in an expression similar to the one Logan often wore. He chuckled a little. Teenagers were probably a lot harder to deal with when they had claws… but he was pretty sure he and Laura would be fine together.

A short ficlet inspired by that moment in "Target X" where X-23 is snooping around someone's room at the mansion, grabs a teddy bear, and rubs it on her cheek. She just didn't get enough time in that series—probably not elsewhere, and to be honest, I wasn't sure where to post this… there were about 3 sections that would've been fine.

Review if you liked it! And if you think it should be continued into a short ficlet, say so! I'm open if people want to read it.