I'm sorry to say I started this back when stores were starting their holiday ads. Just wanted this to be ready for you all this year. I am neither Pete Abrams nor Jhonen Vasquez.
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The last car took off down the drive to the gates of the Xavier Institute, taking the last student home. Rogue watched with a twinge of jealousy before wandering off into the depths of the mansion. Even the professor had somewhere to be, though he wouldn't say where. Kurt had offered to take her with him to Germany, but she had declined. Now she was starting to regret it.
The next few days were rather quiet. Beast was doing research that took up all his time and Logan was being his usual secretive self. All she could gather was the former was doing something beyond her understanding while the latter was planning for a relatively short trip. In response, she packed a few items of her own and kept watch.
Two days before Christmas day, she found him checking his motorcycle carefully. A duffel bag lay on the ground next to him. He didn't respond when she approached.
"Are you going somewhere?" she asked. He grunted. "Where?"
"Up north," he replied.
"Can I come?" For a few moments, he simply stared, as though he had no idea what she meant. "It'd be nice to spend the holidays with someone for once. It's not like Mistique would welcome me with open arms.
Some emotion showed on his face, but was it gone before she could catch it. He plucked a set of keys off the rack and went to one of the cars. He slung his bag into the back seat and climbed in the driver's side. Another few moments passed before he said, "You coming?"
For some time they drove in silence. She watched as trees became more frequent and mountains that seemed to be far in the distance grew larger and more distinct. "Where are we going?"
"To see some family," he murmured. He pulled onto an old, unpaved road. They followed it down to the end to a near solid wall of trees and underbrush. Here he jumped out and sniffed around.
She opened her own door, but he quickly said, "Stay here. I'll be back." And he plunged into the woods.
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A thin stream of smoke rose from the tree line. At the base was a small fire, fed by a girl clutching a stuffed animal. The former was swaddled in old clothes that were covered in innumerable stains. The latter was a beagle, rather care-worn, and with only a few spots of blood marking its coat. A blanket of fallen pine needles was heaped over them both, though stopping far short of the fire as to not catch. Sleep tugged at her eyelids, though she fought it.
Wolverine approached and she stood. "Hey kid." She nodded. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," she replied half-heartedly.
They stared at each other, neither quite accustomed to this sort of situation.
"Hydra's gone," he said to fill the silence. "Shield thinks you're dead." She grunted. "You need a home." She opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. "What have you got to lose?"
"I broke in twice," she muttered. "Neither time I gave them reason to like me."
"Chuck'll understand." He took her hand. "Come on."
She pulled free to kick snow over the fire and stomp it out. This caused Logan to wince, for her feet were clad only in thin socks in serious need of darning or replacement. When she was satisfied, she took his hand again and gave him an expectant look.
"So, X23--"
"Don't call me that," she replied. He raised an eyebrow. "Laura."
"Laura." He nodded to himself. "And..." Trailing off, he gestured at the beagle.
"Cassie."
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Rogue was fervently wishing she had asked for the keys. Her own items barely did anything to get her warmer.
Then her prayers were answered: Logan emerged from the vegetation. One of his arms was wrapped around a young girl who held a stuffed beagle tightly. He opened the back door and she hesitated.
"Rogue, X-twe...Laura," he said with a hint of desperation in his voice. "Laura, Rogue." Rogue's eyes flickered between the father and daughter. The latter was doing the same with him and Rogue. "She's my daughter," he explained.
That was a rather sobering thought. A few things clicked in Rogue's mind and she smiled carefully. "Nice to meet you."
Laura relaxed and climbed in. Soon they were off. The ride home was just as silent. Rogue glanced back over her shoulder and was met with a similarly inquisitive look. The younger girl was idly stroking the head of the beagle with one hand.
The sun was sinking under the horizon when the institute came into sight. The gates swung open to admit the car, then shut just as quietly. Logan pulled into the warmth of the garage. Laura followed Rogue to the doors of the institute.
Logan watched for a moment, then scooped up a handful of snow and lobbed it at X23. She spun around, clutching the beagle in her left arm and extending her right claws. Wide eyes stared at him in confusion.
Behind her, Rogue packed her own ball and tossed it at Logan. When the weapon spun to defend herself from this angle, she merely forced a laugh and smiled.
Hank McCoy took that opportunity to chase a few intruders out of the mansion and effectively defused the situation. The two teenage boys ran into Rogue, sending all three to the ground. They caught sight of Laura's long, shiny claws and screamed. They fumbled over one another in their haste to run to the fence and clamber over.
"Welcome back," Hank said with a friendly grin, changing from the ferocious beast into the gentle teacher. "His eyes caught Laura's. "All of you."
A blond girl dashed out, clutching a number of glowing spheres between her hands. These went away when she noticed the tracks and lack of intruder. Rather lucky for Rogue, who was seized in an embrace.
"Merry Christmas!" Tabitha said with much gusto. "Figured it'd be pretty dead around here." She turned to Laura. "And who's this?" She didn't wait for a response, but wrapped an arm around her newest friend's shoulders and led her inside.
"Think she'll fit in?" Wolverine grunted. His tone was of indifference, but his eyes showed his deep concern.
"Of course," Beast said evenly, loping forward .
"We should probably keep her out of training for a bit," Logan said with a nod.
They turned a corner to see Tabitha holding onto a distraught Laura. The former looked at them desperately for help, which Logan immediately gave.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a voice with tenderness that surprised Rogue and Beast.
"I killed him!" X23 sniffed, wiping away a tear.
"Who?" She pointed to the festive image of Santa Claus on the wall. He recalled a story of a mall Santa in the witness protection program killed during a break while in full costume, though that had happened several years ago.
"I ruined Christmas," she continued. "I'm sorry."
"No, Hydra ruined Christmas," he replied. "But they didn't." He thought out his response, confused of how to explain it. "Hydra didn't make you kill the Santa Claus. "You see..." For a few moments he fumbled for the right words. "Santa can't die."
"That's right!" Tabitha said, smiling. "Come on, there's probably something on tv."
As luck would have it, they spent the next couple hours watching Disney's "The Santa Clause" and endless commercials.
"So I'm going to become Santa?" Laura asked, her arms tightly clutching Cassie. Tabitha grabbed the remote and switched to a different channel in time to see a particularly jiggly Santa fall onto a strange green dog that carried a plate of cookies and milk and a similarly hued, bug-eyed child. X23's eyes were glued to the screen once more.
The end of this story was met with a blank stare. The others exchanged looks, wondering if this was too much for her, but were surprised when she burst out laughing. A few words were distinguishable, including "space," "platypus," and "metal boy." Logan shifted his gaze to Tabitha, who simply nodded. He looked back at Laura, who looked much more relaxed than after the first show. The credits of Zim soon faded into the theme song of another.
They passed much of the night in this manner. Around two, X23 drifted off. Rogue was snapped awake when this happened, self-consciously pulling her clothing over any possible exposed skin. Laura felt her pillow move and woke up. For a moment the girls just stared at each other. Rogue was the first to relax and lean back into the cushions with a smile. Laura joined her after another moment.
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The sun rose, filtering through the windows to land on the assembled sleepers. The tv was still on, though the happy specials were gone. Instead, a news report told of last minute shoppers and troubles at the mall. Several shelves' worth of the X-Treme Tickle Me Elmo had been set off and fallen down, tripping many and causing aisle blocks. Then there was another person that had been bludgeoned with a potted plant after buying the last iPod Molecular in stock. Fortunately, the plant was not damaged too badly, merely the pot.
Beast loped off down the hall when the front door chimed. The others stretched out as they slowly awoke.
"Logan?" Mr. McCoy looked distinctly uncomfortable. The weopon Xes caught a scent and neither seemed happy. "There's someone here for you." To the others, he said, "I'll make breakfast."
"No you won't!" Tabitha vaulted over the arm of her chair and grabbed Rogue and Laura. Logan followed Beast silently, trying to think of what he would say.
Nick Fury stood from the armchair in which he had been reading a sheaf of papers. Logan heard Beast leave and close the door as he stepped forward.
Fury handed Wolverine the papers and watched as the latter scanned them. Hix expression did not change and he finished.
"She can't stay with you," Fury said. "X23--
"Laura," Logan interrupted. "She has a name."
Fury sighed. "She's not like you or me."
"She's my clone!" Wolverine paused to keep his emotions in check. "I would know her better than anyone else." He became aware of a strong scent permeating the room and his resolve hardened.
"Ask any of your colleagues." Fury seemed to feel he had played the trump card. "The improvisations made to create her makes her unstable." Invuluntarily, Logan's eyes flickered to the door. "She's standing right there, isn't she?" He shook his head. Fury opened the door swiftly.
For once, Tabitha looked incredibly serious. "You can't take her away. She just got here." Her usual smile returned. "Besides, it's not like she's some kind of killer."
"Actually," Fury began and her face fell once more.
"That explains how she didn't know Santa Claus," she muttered. "For shame." At this point, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. made the mistake of not cutting her off. "And what else have you deprived her of? Love? Chocolate? Fun? I bet you've never even let her have any friends!" To Logan, she said, "Breakfast's ready," before continuing to glare at Fury.
"Shield had nothing to do with her creation or upbringing," Fury said evenly in the tone of a public relations expert.
"So she stays with her closest family," she concluded.
He was at a loss. His eyes flickered from her furios gaxe to Logan's relieved expression and back. With a sigh, he threw up his hands in defeat. "If anything happens, I'll be back for her." He strode out with a simple "Merry Christmas" in his wake.
"I think that went rather well," Tabitha said at last. She led Logan to the kitchen area.
Rogue was trying to hand Laura a spoon in an attempt to stop the latter from stabbing at the batter in an attempt to stir. Both abandoned their efforts when he walked in, though neither seemed ready to say anything.
Logan crossed the room in three strides. "He's letting you stay."
Her face lit up as she seized him in a bone-crushing embrace. Tabitha high-fived Rogue and Beast patted Logan on the shoulder.
"Let's celebrate!" Tabitha cheered as she snatched the spoon from Rogue. "Take a seat, I'll finish with this."