The air was tense at the mansion. Wolverine had just returned after two years; two years of no communication. Many things had happened in his absence.
Rogue sat in her room deep in thought. Not a day had gone by these last two years that she hadn't thought of her dear Logan. She felt a kick in her stomach and reached down to feel it. She was seven months along. The impossible had happened. The untouchable Rogue was pregnant though not through happiness.
Ten months ago a stranger had come begging shelter. He claimed to be a mutant, his power was immunity to many of his fellow mutants powers. The professor tried reading his mind but found that to be impossible. His impulse was to turn him away, not trusting someone he couldn't read, for fear that he could be an enemy. But then he reasoned that most people don't have his gift of telepathy and take their chances with people all the time, so why should he not do the same?
The man's name was Peter Shelby. He was 28 years old, 6'0" tall, and good looking. He quickly became friends with Scott and Bobby, and fit right in. Everything was going well until the day he met Rogue.
Upon his discovery of Rogue's strange power, he became greatly intrigued. He immediately wanted to see if he could touch her and become the one person on earth immune to her deadly curse. Rogue at first would have nothing to do with it, and tried avoiding him. She had had the misfortune of touching three men since discovering what she was, and in doing so hurt them seriously, and now possessed their memory. However, Peter would not leave her alone for many days and at last she consented to let him try. She took off her long black glove and closed her eyes. Peter stared into her face and reached for her naked hand. He waited for the pain that was meant to follow, but it never came. Tears began running down Rogue's face and she opened her eyes, resting them on Peter. He put his hand up to her face and wiped the tears away. Rogue smiled weakly.
Over the next couple weeks Peter pursued Rogue with all his might. Knowing that he was the only man who could touch this beautiful girl made him feel possessive of her and he couldn't bare the thought of any other man being with her. Rogue was very troubled by all of this. She had never stopped loving Logan, and the thought of any other man but him touching her was unbearable to her. And yet, she feared that this could be her only chance at having a normal romance, and was therefore very tempted to succumb to Peter's advances. For part of her couldn't help but like him. He was very charming and charismatic.
She decided to speak to Jubilee about it. Jubilee had always been like a sister to her, and Rogue told her everything that was troubling her. Jubilee listened silently, and when Rogue was finished she sighed and looked into her friend's face.
"I know you like Peter and think he's harmless, but I just wouldn't be too sure. I've seen him when he looks at you. He has this strange look in his eyes. He scares me."
Rogue laughed. "What do you mean he scares you? I think you're being paranoid, Jubes."
Jubilee frowned. "I hope you're right. So, what are you going to do?"
Rogue shrugged and looked away. "I can't spend my whole life alone waiting for Logan. Especially when I know he's in love with someone else. Who knows if he'll ever even come back."
Jubilee's jaw dropped down. "What are you saying?! You can't have given up already. He promised you he'd come back. And you know my theory about who he loves. He loves you, hon, I know he does. He's gonna come back!"
Rogue turned her head back to her friend, revealing that she was crying. "I pray that you're right. My heart aches for him. I miss him so much. I think about him all the time, and cry myself to sleep nearly every night." She wiped her eyes. "I need some distraction. This can't be healthy behavior. I'm 18. I should be out there doing things that girls our age do."
Jubilee hugged her friend. "I'm sorry. You're probably right. Nobody can expect you to wait for Logan forever. Maybe you should go out with this guy and see if anything comes of it."
Rogue pulled away. "No, you were right, maybe it's too soon to give up. If only I knew his true feelings before he left. If I knew that he loved me I'd wait for him forever."
"Rogue, you need to decide on your own what you're gonna do and I'll be on your side, regardless of what you choose, but I do think maybe you should consider going out with him once. It's not like it has to be forever. If you decide he isn't your type then you can just tell him. Just go on one date with him and see how you feel, maybe you'll have fun."
Rogue considered her friend's words and decided to follow the advice.
"I guess I can give it a try. I'll let him know tomorrow."
"Now you're talkin!" Jubilee said excitedly.
Rogue got up early the next morning and went off to find Peter. She found him in the danger room practicing with Beast. After they finished she went down to Peter. She passed Beast who was just leaving.
"Good morning, Rogue."
"Good morning, Hank. How was practice?"
Hank laughed.
"Different than I expected. If you're planning on asking Peter to practice with you be careful. He's better than he looks."
Rogue laughed.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
Peter was wiping his face with a towel. Rogue went up to him and smiled.
"You looked good out there. Hank seemed surprised."
Peter smiled.
"You seem a little surprised yourself."
Rogue laughed.
"Not at all."
Peter studied Rogue closely.
"So what brings you down here?"
Rogue smiled.
"I was just wondering if you still wanted to go out some time."
Peter grinned.
"Are you kidding? Yeah. How about tonight?"
"That'd be great."
That evening he took her to a fancy restaurant where they talked for hours and had a wonderful time, but Rogue just couldn't stop feeling guilty. She felt as though she were betraying Logan by having a good time with another man. They went out twice more and after the third night. Peter finally got up the nerve to kiss her. Rogue pulled back, shocked. It was then that she decided that it just wasn't right to continue their relationship.
She tried explaining her feelings to Peter, but what she told him just made him angry. Though Peter had only known Rogue for a few weeks, he had fallen hopelessly in love with her. After the talk between them Peter changed. He started showing his temper more and more. Then one night he came home drunk and started banging on Rogue's bedroom door, begging to be let in. Bobby tried stopping him, but this only resulted in a fight. It ended with Peter knocking Bobby out and leaving in a rage. Everyone was relieved to see him go.
A week later, the professor and Jean left New York for a conference in Washington and Peter came back. It was late and most of the inhabitants of the mansion were asleep. However, he wasn't concerned with anyone but Rogue. He crept to her room and violated her, then left through the window. A week later Rogue discovered that she was pregnant. She had never felt such sorrow. It was now more than ever that she longed for Logan to come back, but he never did.
Jean and the professor tried to convince her to abort the child, saying that it would probably die while being born just from touching her skin and that it would always serve as a reminder of the horrible incident, but nothing would convince Rogue to kill her own child. Later Dr. Hank McCoy, a.k.a. Beast, researched it and told her there was only about a 10% chance of the baby responding negatively to her touch. Because the child would be carrying Rogue's genes, and those of a mutant resistant to her, the baby would most likely be immune to her deadly skin. That comforted her, but she was still overwhelmingly sad.
The baby kicked again. Rogue came out of her thoughts and smiled. She still couldn't believe that her Logan was actually back! Her hand went unconsciously to Logan's dog tags that hung around her neck. Maybe everything would work out yet. During the last couple of months, Rogue had finally found some peace within herself and had accepted her life. She even began to get excited about having her child and, with the help of Jubilee, had decorated one of the corners of her large room as a nursery and started considering possible names. Through it all, though, there was still the constant worry in the back of her mind that the baby would not be able to handle touching her skin.
Rogue looked down at her stomach and grimaced, wondering what she was going to wear. She still hadn't seen Logan since his arrival and she felt very nervous. She definitely hadn't planned on being pregnant when Logan came back. She had daydreamed so many times of his return. She knew exactly how she wanted it to be and what she wanted to say, but everything was different now. She suddenly had no idea what to do or say. All she did know was that she wanted to look her best for him, despite her bulging belly.
Rogue wondered if he would still consider her a child. At 19 she looked more like a woman in her mid twenties. She had become strikingly beautiful and, due to the extensive work outs she had done since Logan's departure, she had a perfect body. Even in her pregnancy she looked wonderful. She had mostly gained weight in her belly and chest and whatever else she gained only made her look better. She went to her closet to find an outfit that wouldn't, in her eyes, make her look like an elephant. She finally decided on a pair of maternity jeans and a button up cotton blouse with quarter sleeves. She didn't want it to look too much like she was dressing for him. Leaving her white streaked hair loose, she started down the stairs.
Ororo had been the one to open the door when Logan arrived. She'd hugged him and asked him how he had been. "I need to see Chuck" was all he'd said. If Storm was hurt by this, she didn't show it. She simply smiled and led him to the professor's office. He had been in there for three hours. Rogue decided not to disturb them and went out to the garden to wait. A few moments later Jean came out to join her.
Silent, she sat down next to Rogue and stared vacantly. Rogue didn't have to be psychic to know what was on Jean's mind. During the two years Rogue had spent at the Academy, she had become very close friends with Jubilee, Ororo and Scott, but for some reason Jean had always kept her distance from Rogue, treating her with a certain coldness. Rogue could sense that Jean deeply disliked her and wasn't quite sure why that would be. Jean had everything in the world Rogue could ever want. Touchable skin, and Logan in love with her. Finally Jean spoke.
"You know you're only going to end up getting hurt by this. Logan will never see you as anything more than a child. Remember, when he left, it was me who held his heart."
Rogue looked away to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I realize that it's you he loves, but I can't help loving him still. Besides, you're engaged now. Maybe that will end his feelings for you."
Jean scowled and quickly turned away."You're obviously not familiar with the ways of men." She paused and smiled at Rogue as if at a small child. "Men don't fall out of love that easily. If anything, being unavailable makes women more attractive to them."
It was as if she were trying to convince herself more than Rogue, but none the less, Rogue was upset by Jean's words. She had stolen Rogue's last hope.
"You must understand, I'm only trying to help. It's better if you're prepared."
Without answering, Rogue got up and went back to the mansion. A small smile formed on Jean's face.
Rogue was just starting up the stairs when someone touched her shoulder. She spun around and gasped. It was Logan.
"Hey kid." Rogue frowned inwardly. That had answered her question. He still did think of her as a child.
She quickly smiled to cover up the hurt. "Hey yourself."
Logan looked down at her stomach then quickly turned away as if in pain. "I heard about what happened. I'm so sorry I didn't keep my promise to you." He looked as if he were about to cry.
Rogue smiled sadly and put her gloved hand to his face. "Please don't blame yourself. I never have. It was an unrealistic promise you made to me all that time ago. You can't devote your whole life to protecting a person you only knew a few days."
Logan looked angry. "It wasn't unrealistic! I should never have left you here. I should've taken you with me to Canada."
"Logan, don't do this to yourself. What happened, happened. I'm trying to make the best of it. This may be the only way I can ever have a child I can touch."
"You sound as though you're grateful for what he did," he said with surprise.
"I'm not grateful. I just don't want to be sad or angry anymore. I'm going to love this child with all my heart and I'm not going to let that man destroy my life any longer."
Logan nodded. "I'm sorry. You're right," he said awkwardly.
Rogue's hand went nervously to the chain around her neck. Logan smiled. "You're wearing my tags."
"Oh, would you like them back?" she asked, starting to unclasp what had become in the last two years her most valued possession.
"No, no! I'd rather you kept them. They look better on you anyway."
Rogue blushed and lowered her hands.
"Well," Logan said, "I'd better start unpacking."
"You're staying then?" Rogue asked with tears in her eyes.
"I'm not gonna leave you again."
Rogue wiped her tears and smiled.
Rogue sat in her room deep in thought. Not a day had gone by these last two years that she hadn't thought of her dear Logan. She felt a kick in her stomach and reached down to feel it. She was seven months along. The impossible had happened. The untouchable Rogue was pregnant though not through happiness.
Ten months ago a stranger had come begging shelter. He claimed to be a mutant, his power was immunity to many of his fellow mutants powers. The professor tried reading his mind but found that to be impossible. His impulse was to turn him away, not trusting someone he couldn't read, for fear that he could be an enemy. But then he reasoned that most people don't have his gift of telepathy and take their chances with people all the time, so why should he not do the same?
The man's name was Peter Shelby. He was 28 years old, 6'0" tall, and good looking. He quickly became friends with Scott and Bobby, and fit right in. Everything was going well until the day he met Rogue.
Upon his discovery of Rogue's strange power, he became greatly intrigued. He immediately wanted to see if he could touch her and become the one person on earth immune to her deadly curse. Rogue at first would have nothing to do with it, and tried avoiding him. She had had the misfortune of touching three men since discovering what she was, and in doing so hurt them seriously, and now possessed their memory. However, Peter would not leave her alone for many days and at last she consented to let him try. She took off her long black glove and closed her eyes. Peter stared into her face and reached for her naked hand. He waited for the pain that was meant to follow, but it never came. Tears began running down Rogue's face and she opened her eyes, resting them on Peter. He put his hand up to her face and wiped the tears away. Rogue smiled weakly.
Over the next couple weeks Peter pursued Rogue with all his might. Knowing that he was the only man who could touch this beautiful girl made him feel possessive of her and he couldn't bare the thought of any other man being with her. Rogue was very troubled by all of this. She had never stopped loving Logan, and the thought of any other man but him touching her was unbearable to her. And yet, she feared that this could be her only chance at having a normal romance, and was therefore very tempted to succumb to Peter's advances. For part of her couldn't help but like him. He was very charming and charismatic.
She decided to speak to Jubilee about it. Jubilee had always been like a sister to her, and Rogue told her everything that was troubling her. Jubilee listened silently, and when Rogue was finished she sighed and looked into her friend's face.
"I know you like Peter and think he's harmless, but I just wouldn't be too sure. I've seen him when he looks at you. He has this strange look in his eyes. He scares me."
Rogue laughed. "What do you mean he scares you? I think you're being paranoid, Jubes."
Jubilee frowned. "I hope you're right. So, what are you going to do?"
Rogue shrugged and looked away. "I can't spend my whole life alone waiting for Logan. Especially when I know he's in love with someone else. Who knows if he'll ever even come back."
Jubilee's jaw dropped down. "What are you saying?! You can't have given up already. He promised you he'd come back. And you know my theory about who he loves. He loves you, hon, I know he does. He's gonna come back!"
Rogue turned her head back to her friend, revealing that she was crying. "I pray that you're right. My heart aches for him. I miss him so much. I think about him all the time, and cry myself to sleep nearly every night." She wiped her eyes. "I need some distraction. This can't be healthy behavior. I'm 18. I should be out there doing things that girls our age do."
Jubilee hugged her friend. "I'm sorry. You're probably right. Nobody can expect you to wait for Logan forever. Maybe you should go out with this guy and see if anything comes of it."
Rogue pulled away. "No, you were right, maybe it's too soon to give up. If only I knew his true feelings before he left. If I knew that he loved me I'd wait for him forever."
"Rogue, you need to decide on your own what you're gonna do and I'll be on your side, regardless of what you choose, but I do think maybe you should consider going out with him once. It's not like it has to be forever. If you decide he isn't your type then you can just tell him. Just go on one date with him and see how you feel, maybe you'll have fun."
Rogue considered her friend's words and decided to follow the advice.
"I guess I can give it a try. I'll let him know tomorrow."
"Now you're talkin!" Jubilee said excitedly.
Rogue got up early the next morning and went off to find Peter. She found him in the danger room practicing with Beast. After they finished she went down to Peter. She passed Beast who was just leaving.
"Good morning, Rogue."
"Good morning, Hank. How was practice?"
Hank laughed.
"Different than I expected. If you're planning on asking Peter to practice with you be careful. He's better than he looks."
Rogue laughed.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
Peter was wiping his face with a towel. Rogue went up to him and smiled.
"You looked good out there. Hank seemed surprised."
Peter smiled.
"You seem a little surprised yourself."
Rogue laughed.
"Not at all."
Peter studied Rogue closely.
"So what brings you down here?"
Rogue smiled.
"I was just wondering if you still wanted to go out some time."
Peter grinned.
"Are you kidding? Yeah. How about tonight?"
"That'd be great."
That evening he took her to a fancy restaurant where they talked for hours and had a wonderful time, but Rogue just couldn't stop feeling guilty. She felt as though she were betraying Logan by having a good time with another man. They went out twice more and after the third night. Peter finally got up the nerve to kiss her. Rogue pulled back, shocked. It was then that she decided that it just wasn't right to continue their relationship.
She tried explaining her feelings to Peter, but what she told him just made him angry. Though Peter had only known Rogue for a few weeks, he had fallen hopelessly in love with her. After the talk between them Peter changed. He started showing his temper more and more. Then one night he came home drunk and started banging on Rogue's bedroom door, begging to be let in. Bobby tried stopping him, but this only resulted in a fight. It ended with Peter knocking Bobby out and leaving in a rage. Everyone was relieved to see him go.
A week later, the professor and Jean left New York for a conference in Washington and Peter came back. It was late and most of the inhabitants of the mansion were asleep. However, he wasn't concerned with anyone but Rogue. He crept to her room and violated her, then left through the window. A week later Rogue discovered that she was pregnant. She had never felt such sorrow. It was now more than ever that she longed for Logan to come back, but he never did.
Jean and the professor tried to convince her to abort the child, saying that it would probably die while being born just from touching her skin and that it would always serve as a reminder of the horrible incident, but nothing would convince Rogue to kill her own child. Later Dr. Hank McCoy, a.k.a. Beast, researched it and told her there was only about a 10% chance of the baby responding negatively to her touch. Because the child would be carrying Rogue's genes, and those of a mutant resistant to her, the baby would most likely be immune to her deadly skin. That comforted her, but she was still overwhelmingly sad.
The baby kicked again. Rogue came out of her thoughts and smiled. She still couldn't believe that her Logan was actually back! Her hand went unconsciously to Logan's dog tags that hung around her neck. Maybe everything would work out yet. During the last couple of months, Rogue had finally found some peace within herself and had accepted her life. She even began to get excited about having her child and, with the help of Jubilee, had decorated one of the corners of her large room as a nursery and started considering possible names. Through it all, though, there was still the constant worry in the back of her mind that the baby would not be able to handle touching her skin.
Rogue looked down at her stomach and grimaced, wondering what she was going to wear. She still hadn't seen Logan since his arrival and she felt very nervous. She definitely hadn't planned on being pregnant when Logan came back. She had daydreamed so many times of his return. She knew exactly how she wanted it to be and what she wanted to say, but everything was different now. She suddenly had no idea what to do or say. All she did know was that she wanted to look her best for him, despite her bulging belly.
Rogue wondered if he would still consider her a child. At 19 she looked more like a woman in her mid twenties. She had become strikingly beautiful and, due to the extensive work outs she had done since Logan's departure, she had a perfect body. Even in her pregnancy she looked wonderful. She had mostly gained weight in her belly and chest and whatever else she gained only made her look better. She went to her closet to find an outfit that wouldn't, in her eyes, make her look like an elephant. She finally decided on a pair of maternity jeans and a button up cotton blouse with quarter sleeves. She didn't want it to look too much like she was dressing for him. Leaving her white streaked hair loose, she started down the stairs.
Ororo had been the one to open the door when Logan arrived. She'd hugged him and asked him how he had been. "I need to see Chuck" was all he'd said. If Storm was hurt by this, she didn't show it. She simply smiled and led him to the professor's office. He had been in there for three hours. Rogue decided not to disturb them and went out to the garden to wait. A few moments later Jean came out to join her.
Silent, she sat down next to Rogue and stared vacantly. Rogue didn't have to be psychic to know what was on Jean's mind. During the two years Rogue had spent at the Academy, she had become very close friends with Jubilee, Ororo and Scott, but for some reason Jean had always kept her distance from Rogue, treating her with a certain coldness. Rogue could sense that Jean deeply disliked her and wasn't quite sure why that would be. Jean had everything in the world Rogue could ever want. Touchable skin, and Logan in love with her. Finally Jean spoke.
"You know you're only going to end up getting hurt by this. Logan will never see you as anything more than a child. Remember, when he left, it was me who held his heart."
Rogue looked away to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I realize that it's you he loves, but I can't help loving him still. Besides, you're engaged now. Maybe that will end his feelings for you."
Jean scowled and quickly turned away."You're obviously not familiar with the ways of men." She paused and smiled at Rogue as if at a small child. "Men don't fall out of love that easily. If anything, being unavailable makes women more attractive to them."
It was as if she were trying to convince herself more than Rogue, but none the less, Rogue was upset by Jean's words. She had stolen Rogue's last hope.
"You must understand, I'm only trying to help. It's better if you're prepared."
Without answering, Rogue got up and went back to the mansion. A small smile formed on Jean's face.
Rogue was just starting up the stairs when someone touched her shoulder. She spun around and gasped. It was Logan.
"Hey kid." Rogue frowned inwardly. That had answered her question. He still did think of her as a child.
She quickly smiled to cover up the hurt. "Hey yourself."
Logan looked down at her stomach then quickly turned away as if in pain. "I heard about what happened. I'm so sorry I didn't keep my promise to you." He looked as if he were about to cry.
Rogue smiled sadly and put her gloved hand to his face. "Please don't blame yourself. I never have. It was an unrealistic promise you made to me all that time ago. You can't devote your whole life to protecting a person you only knew a few days."
Logan looked angry. "It wasn't unrealistic! I should never have left you here. I should've taken you with me to Canada."
"Logan, don't do this to yourself. What happened, happened. I'm trying to make the best of it. This may be the only way I can ever have a child I can touch."
"You sound as though you're grateful for what he did," he said with surprise.
"I'm not grateful. I just don't want to be sad or angry anymore. I'm going to love this child with all my heart and I'm not going to let that man destroy my life any longer."
Logan nodded. "I'm sorry. You're right," he said awkwardly.
Rogue's hand went nervously to the chain around her neck. Logan smiled. "You're wearing my tags."
"Oh, would you like them back?" she asked, starting to unclasp what had become in the last two years her most valued possession.
"No, no! I'd rather you kept them. They look better on you anyway."
Rogue blushed and lowered her hands.
"Well," Logan said, "I'd better start unpacking."
"You're staying then?" Rogue asked with tears in her eyes.
"I'm not gonna leave you again."
Rogue wiped her tears and smiled.