A Drop of Rain

Note and Disclaimer: I will never own the characters and plots from X-Men, but the other characters not in the original series are mine for the imagination to play with. This is the sixth story (and most likely final this time) of the series "Unspoken" and the third in the new timeline. This is also a direct sequel to Remember Me, Remember Us and On the Turning Away. Enjoy, everyone!

I watch the city burn,
These passions slowly smoldering.
A lesson never learned, only violence.
Is your world just a broken promise?
Is your love just a drop of rain?
Will we all just burn like fire?
Are you still there? Tell me now…

Can you stand the pain?
How long will you hide your face?
How long will you be afraid?
Are you afraid? Oh…
How long will you play this game?
Will you fight or will you walk away?
How long will you let it burn?
Let it burn, let it burn…

June 9, 2023

The machine beeped and dinged so many times that even Logan was going mad listening to it hourly. He reached over to the limp white hand forgotten on the bed, hoping that somehow, his life would be exchanged for this woman's, the one who sacrificed so much already and now was as still as a child's doll on a shelf. However, vain hopes never did him any good. It was best to just sit and be there for his wife.

Danielle Mitchell, the widow of a ruthless dictator and a wife to the practically immortal man she loved, was dying. Found unconscious in town, she was transported to the nearest hospital in Yonkers, where they left her on life support. With no visible signs of decay and no bodily activity, the doctors declared her brain dead and pushed to have the plug removed and to let her die quietly.

Logan refused their pleas to let Danielle drift away in peace. He could not let her go. He could not allow himself to be the cause of her death, even though it was highly unlikely she would allow herself the luxury and would lie dormant for years. He only wanted to reverse what he had done, even if it meant dying in the future he sought to save, and to preserve what little harmony there was in this lifetime.

His hand moved from hers to her red hair…or what was left of it anyway. The locks had turned to a more greyish color that he had seen before going back in time and no bottle of dye was going to hide it. She had been running against death then, Logan recalled. She had tried hard to keep their youngest children together and worried about the older ones at the same time. She was conflicted and close to losing her sanity, tired from the running and out of all hope. Even she doubted that going back to 1973 would solve all of their problems.

Jean snuck in when Logan wasn't paying attention. She observed him for the past day and thought him too dedicated for his own good. Sure, she blamed him for a million things, including her cheating on Scott a long time ago. However, she could not hold the grudge to the man who was from another time compared to the one she knew. This one genuinely loved Danielle and would do anything in his power to ensure her survival. His own? It was doubtful and suicide was never an option.

"Do you need anything?" Jean's voice was gentle and even sympathetic. She ventured no opinion about the state of affairs and tried to have the best bedside manner she could muster.

"None." Logan's reply was softer. He did not turn to face her.

"If you need anything, let me know. Mae is also available." Jean did not want to think of Shannon Mitchell's friend, already impugning herself for Danielle's failing health. "I am sure we can come up with something."

Logan said nothing more, allowing Jean the chance to back away. Once she was cleared from their private circle though, a reflection came to mind. Believing that nothing was going to make Danielle get any better if he left, he hopped from his chair and chased after Jean. He sniffed her scent to her office, a place he still dreaded. Before Danielle ever came into his life and destroyed his sense of self, there was Jean, the forbidden fruit. She was a beauty then and even now, trapped as innocently as he was in this charade. He quickly shook that all away and tried to clear his throat for attention.

She noticed him as she stuffed some odd papers into a filing cabinet, rummaging as she worked. "Yes?"

"Can you get the Professor? Please?"

"I can when you are ready. A question remains though."

"What?"

"Have you given any thought to your children?"

Logan could have slapped himself and named himself the most selfish father ever. Daken and Celeste had not been seen since Logan had found their mother the day before and perhaps heard the gossip. He hardly had the time to call the farmhouse too. By now, Michael and Riley and their other halves (and maybe Devon, that rascal) would have heard the news. It would devastate them to know that their father figure was hiding in his grief and blaming himself for hell knows what else.

I should contact them.

"No, not yet." Logan sounded defeated. "Do you have a telephone I can use?"

Jean grinned weakly, motioning to the one on her desk. It wasn't what Logan was used to and it took some minutes before he figured out how to use it since it was like a miniature computer (a rotary phone would have been better), but he managed to get the numbers dialed and the other side ringing. By then, Jean had disappeared and allowed him space to talk alone.

Michael answered the other end after the third ring. "Dad?"

"Yeah." Logan felt awkward talking with his adult child. "Listen, I need you and Riley to come to the mansion as soon as you can."

"Why?" Michael was confused. Then, his tone changed to one of dread. "Jesus Christ. It's Mom, isn't it?"

"Just get your brother and come," Logan ordered, a little more sharply than he intended. Michael was no kid and shouldn't have earned it. "You can leave everyone there."

"Daken warned me. He told me that Mom wasn't doing well. I didn't believe him."

"Now isn't the time for regret. I need your ass and Riley's here. You aren't doing your mother any good sulking like an idiot."

Logan could not tell if his message was received and he did not care. He was not in the mood for the pity parties. He hung up angry (hopefully), storming out of the office. He immediately went back to Danielle, sitting by her side in silence. Contemplating on his conversation with Michael though, he thought himself an asshole. He could have comforted Michael and told him that things would be all right. He could have added that Danielle would pull through and they would be happy again.

But that's not the truth.

And it would never be. It was a lie that Logan was not willing to stand by. Whether or not Danielle pulled through, their lives would never be the same again.

It was some time later before Xavier arrived. He noticed Logan had been sleeping upright in his seat and waited patiently, thinking it a while before he woke up. In the meantime, he took the chance to appraise the situation and to see how serious it was. From the way Mae, Jean and Kitty had been blabbing all at once when they pinned him to his own office corner (and a great headache that was!), they were sure that they were standing at the edge of a great cliff and were going to be pushed off of it.

Rubbish. Then again, to disregard the word of a woman would be foolish. Best to see what is happening.

Reaching over to Danielle's forehead, Xavier brushed his fingers against the greying hair and remained on the surface on her mind. He closed his eyes, opening them only when he was inside. Around him was darkness and death to a dimension he could not define. He could not clearly wade his way through the sea that engulfed him and threatened his very existence. Pulling away, he jerked the bed and disturbed the dreamless world Logan previously allowed himself to have.

The older mutant was slightly and briefly embarrassed to be caught sleeping on the job, as it were. "Professor," he offered as an apology. He did not know what else to say.

"Logan." Xavier smiled warmly, the same he would give to a student in trouble. "Would it trouble you to tell me anything on your mind?"

It was a joke from the strong telepath. Logan's mouth worked out a chuckle, but it came out all wrong. It was full of anguish and pain. He was reproaching himself, Xavier noticed, and would continue to beat himself up for the position Danielle was in. The Professor refused to place any grave accusations though. He thought it noble of her to remember her wedding vows and to keep Logan in her protection always. It was most certainly robbing her of all life.

"I would have thought you had the answers," Logan replied with some animosity. "Three women came forward and none of them had the whole story?"

"There's always a shred of truth in everything one states," Xavier pointed out. "I would not think all of them untrustworthy and completely annoying. Do not be irate at them, Logan. Jean was trying to help Danielle and Kitty was protecting herself. Mae…well, I would keep away from her if I were you."

"She doesn't scare. She never did."

"You and Roger have a shared past that has been…interesting, let's say. Let's keep it there and leave them alone, shall we?"

"Uh-huh. I see. So, you want the truth?"

"I would appreciate it please."

"I should have never agreed to change the past. This would have never have happened. I could have lost Danielle once and not multiple times."

"But evil would have won, as you would have put it. Danielle would be dead anyway and you may have survived. Your children would suffer a long way on their own."

"If they allowed the Sentinels that pleasure. All of them would have done anything to spite them."

Xavier nodded in agreement like they were not arguing the finer points of ethics. All five people were capable of taking care of themselves. "I think I see the problem."

"We all had a few of those epiphanies," Logan admitted. He calculated this to be the best time to talk to Xavier about the rift between the two lives. "Did any of them women tell you?"

"Kitty mentioned something solid," Xavier explained slowly. "She states that an earlier encounter with you and Danielle revealed a little about her dreams and the connection between all three of you."

"I was the passenger and Kitty and Rogue the drivers."

"And Danielle was the wedge that broke through to the other side."

Xavier and Logan faced each other squarely. It interested the former to no end how easy it was to get the latter to open up, especially when it concerned his wife. He recalled 1973 vividly, before Danielle was even born. Logan had no problem telling him how he reached the mansion and his eventual his altercation with Hank did not begin their friendship well. It was strange to hear of it, but as the days past in relative normalcy, from scheming to enacting the plans to stop Mystique, he trusted Logan without any doubt. He could not back from that now, especially in such a crises.

"So many battles waged over the years…and yet, none like this. Are we destined to destroy each other or can we change each other and unite? Is the future truly set…?"

Indeed, it was a deep pondering he encountered again and again when he felt Danielle use her powers to create an image of their former lives and one he would never share. What if this future wasn't truly set? That he and many more like Kitty and perhaps Rogue can alter it so that their loved ones could survive? Or will this be the final nightmare they faced and that two souls would depart from this Earth? Could there be no way this time?

Is this future truly set? Or do we need to make it stick?

Xavier finally patted him on the shoulder. "I would recommend rest, Logan. In the morning, I am certain we would all come up with ideas to resolve this issue."

"And if I cannot sleep?" Logan challenged.

"You would need it for Daken and Celeste," Xavier reminded him. "They are also counting on you. Michael and Riley would be strong enough to handle this. They had seen worse. The youngest two would be devastated."

Celeste would never be that upset, Logan recounted, although it was subject to change drastically. Even before, he recalled his stubborn daughter to be aloof, only using the convenience of a mother when she could not get her way with him. Today? God only had an infinite answer evolving around the social creature. Sure, she would be relieved that Danielle was out of the way and would not ground her, but when the loneliness settled, where would Celeste be? Would she come over to watch over her mother like the hawk with her youth? Would she forget all of the unforgiveable words then, regretting what was done just as Logan was?

"I wouldn't want them to see their mother like this," Logan decided. His pronouncements as a parent should count for something even if Danielle was the primary discipliner. "I will deal with them tonight."

Xavier shook his head positively, respecting this decision and conceding. "I will be in my office if you need anything. Hank and I need to do a little research."

"Would you need an extra pair of eyes?"

"Do not volunteer yourself, Logan. Two people is crowd enough. Besides, there are tasks enough for you."

"Like what?"

"Turning on the radio for starters." Xavier smirked, wiping away his laughter in such a serious place. "I'm sure Danielle and Jay both would enjoy it."