Disclaimer: The X-Men, Wolverine, subsequent characters and settings all belong to Marvel. I am not receiving any profit from this venture and am solely writing for pleasure. Teva Lawson is of my own creation.

This is a much, much darker story than those that precede it. The M rating is for sex, violence, language, rape and attempted suicide, so if any of these might be triggers for you I advise you to steer clear.


With the moon in the new phase, the sky was a rich, dark blue just fading into night from twilight, shot through with stars that twinkled through the atmosphere. The warm early-summer air smelled like lilacs from the outdoor gardens, freshly-cut grass and chlorine from the pool, and the two figures lying on the slope of the roof could hear splashing and laughter from that general vicinity. Someone had turned on a radio, apparently one of the adults because it was classic rock instead of hip hop or pop, so that Bob Seger's gravelly voice rolled over the words about a musician on the road.

Not that the couple were particularly aware of it, since they were necking like teenagers. Teva's hands were tangled in Logan's wild, unruly hair as he lay on his back, one arm secure around her middle while his other hand worked it's way up the back of her shirt. She nipped at his lower lip, biting down harder when he growled approvingly and stopping just short of drawing blood. There was a time and place for their particular brand of intimacy, and the mansion's roof was not it.

A loud wolf whistle broke them apart and they looked up to see Rogue flying over, waving and grinning. "Don't mind me, y'all!" she said, banking around until she was out of sight again.

Teva snickered, reaching up to push her hair back out of her face. "Guess we should be glad that was'nae one of the kids."

Logan grinned at her. "Not like they don't see that when the teenagers are makin' out in the rec room like us adults are blind." He gave her one more kiss, just a press of lips against hers, before he sat up and pulled her with him, settling her between his legs so that her back was against his front. His arms wrapped around her and she leaned back against him, sighing happily.

"The view is amazing up here," she commented quietly. "Even if all you can see is the tops of trees, and the sky. I used to backpack in Scotland when I was a lass, and I liked to find places where there was no light pollution so I could see all the stars. I sometimes forget living in cities just how much I miss that."

He kissed her temple, nuzzled his face against her neck and breathed in her scent, Ivory soap and the lavender shampoo she used, motor oil on her shirt from working on her car earlier that day. "I'll hafta take ya up to Canada sometime, way up north where there's nothin' but snow an' animals an' trees. Seems like there are more stars than sky up there."

"Mmmm, I'd love that." She snuggled as much as she could, hooking her hands over his arms. "I have'nae been camping in a verrae long time."

"Maybe when school's out, we'll go."

"It's a date, then." Contentment radiated from her like a heat lamp, carrying with it its own scent, soft and sweet.

Logan felt his breath catch and said the first thing that came to mind.

"Marry me."

She jerked at his words, pulling away and turning slightly so that she could look at him. "What did ye say?" she asked, heart pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it.

He steadied her, his hands strong and sure. "Marry me," he repeated. "Ain't no other place I wanna be than at yer side, Teva. Telepathy or not, ya got yer fingers wrapped 'round my heart so tight it hurts. Feel like I can't breathe when I see ya sometimes."

Tears burned in her eyes suddenly, and she felt her own breath catch. Her throat was tight with emotion, a million things swirling through her head, but none of them doubts.

He tucked her hair back behind her ear. "You've seen every part of me there is, the dark places I never thought I could face, and ya haven't run. Ya haven't let me run, either."

She took a shaky breath, let it out slowly, leaning into his touch when he stroked her cheek. She knew he wasn't quite finished yet but wouldn't have been sure what to say had he given her an opportunity to speak.

"I know I ain't got much to offer, I ain't got but the one name an' not a whole lot to show for it. We're good together, an' I love ya, ain't a doubt in my head I wanna spend the rest o' whatever life I got with ya." He let go of her long enough to dig in his pocket and retrieve the ring he'd been carrying around for the last couple of weeks. "Teva, marry me?"

"Logan, I -" She looked down, first at his hand holding the ring, and then back up at him. "Aye, I'll marry ye." Her voice trembled and she leaned up into him to kiss him, to let the emotion out that way, because she didn't feel like she could keep it contained. When she pulled back he took her left hand and slid the ring on, and she got her first good look at it: a flat band of some silver metal, titanium she thought, with a vine pattern that looked suspiciously like the one on the fretboard of her favorite Ibanez guitar. An opal the size of the nail on her little finger broke the vines, glinting with a hint of fire even in the dark.

"I had it made custom," Logan told her. Relief at her agreement flooded through him, the worry of a million other men before him washing away. He laced his fingers with hers. "Didn't want somethin' a ton o' other women already have, I wanted it to be special."

"Oh, Logan." She reached up and cupped his face, kissed him again before wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tight. "It's beautiful, mo chride, it's perfect. I dinnae ken how ye kept this a secret, though."

He laughed softly, reaching up to sheepishly scratch at the back of his head. "Honestly ain't got a clue, darlin', kept thinkin' you were gonna pick up on it. For two weeks now I been sweatin' bullets and hopin' it'd be a surprise. Wasn't sure I'd make it."

"Well, ye have been a wee bit skittish but as ye get that way sometimes anyway, I did'nae think anything of it." She lifted her head and inhaled. "I think the others are starting the barbecue. We should join them and share the news."

"I'd rather keep ya to myself," Logan grumbled, but he got to his feet and helped her up, too. "Ya sure ya wanna be the center of attention?"

Teva cocked her head to the side. "That is'nae a thing that's ever bothered me, Logan. I'd much rather it be my friends than a few thousand screaming strangers, aye?" She climbed through the dormer window first and waited for him to come in before heading down the stairs from the attic. "Not that I'm not already extroverted, mind you, I just feel more comfortable around people that I ken."

He caught her arm when they hit the main floor, pulling her close before they went outside to join the others. "Quick question: ya want a long engagement?"

She pursed her lips for a moment while she considered. "No, that feels too much like I'm using the time to consider whether or not I'm making a bad decision. I see no reason to drag it out."

"Alright, same here. What about the wedding? Big? Small?"

"Oh, small, definitely, probably just here on the grounds. I dinnae care for anything too fancy, either, I'd much rather be comfortable." She smirked. "I believe you once told me that I'm nae much of a lady since I wear steel-toe combat boots, and you were right. I dinnae care to wear a dress if I dinnae have to."

"So I don't gotta wear a tux?" He visibly relaxed when she shook her head. "God, I knew there was a reason I loved ya." He took her hand in his, kissed her forehead. "Ya ready, baby?"

Charles Xavier was beaming at them from his seat near the door where Hank and Scott were grilling. ~I believe congratulations are in order, but I won't spoil your news.~

"I was wondering when you two were going to join us," Scott spoke up, half his attention on them and half on the burgers he was flipping. "Rogue said you were up on the roof."

Teva smirked and put her arm around Logan. "So what if we were, Scott? You gonna tell me you've never been up there messing around with a girl?" She caught a hint of grief from him and almost apologized until a smile appeared on his face.

"We're not all interested in running the bases, Teva. At least not all of the time."

"Speak fer yourself, Slim," Logan said. "'Sides, I can't see Emma ever unwindin' enough to make out somewhere she could get caught."

The unmistakable scent of Dior floated on the breeze, heralding the White Queen's arrival before she came into sight. She'd dressed down for once, was actually wearing jeans (designer, of course) with a white top, her platinum blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail. "One must always keep a certain amount of dignity, Wolverine, and not allow their ... baser instincts to take over. It's what separates us from the animals that walk on four legs, is it not?"

Teva could feel the anger that rose up in Logan and knew that he was aware Emma was trying to get a rise out of him, combined with his feelings that Scott wasn't honoring Jean's memory so soon after her passing, but she knew what had gone on there and didn't judge any of them. Sometimes you just found love where you needed it. "C'mon," she said quietly, squeezing him with her arm. "I think there's drinks over by the pool."

Logan let her lead him away but didn't relax until Emma was behind them. "Smug bitch," he grumbled.

"She's just a socialite who thinks she needs to mark her territory, seems to think this place is hers." Teva bent when she got to the cooler and pulled out two bottles of Pepsi, handing him one. Since her concert in Tokyo eight months ago she hadn't touched alcohol at all, though she'd had cravings for it and had trouble sleeping without it until she learned to live without it; but, like all alcoholics, even one more drink would set her off again and it just wasn't worth it. Logan helped keep her honest.

"Thinks she's better than you," he said, accepting the second bottle.

Teva's eyebrow rose. "Oh? And how's that?"

"She's a class 9 telepath, an' yer what, a 4?"

She rolled her eyes. "Aye, and she's got fake boobs and that is'nae the nose she was born with, should I be jealous of that, too?" She fiddled with the cap from her soda bottle. "Dinnae go fighting battles for me, Sir Knight. She is'nae even worth the time it takes to worry over."

"I just don't like someone talkin' bad about - oof!" Logan was cut off by a small child tackling him around the middle, and he looked down to find Molly Hayes with a death grip on him. "Hey, kid, what's up?" he asked, patting her back awkwardly.

"Julian's teasing me again!" the blonde girl said, looking up at him with big green eyes beneath a hat knit to look like a pink rabbit, long ears dangling down past her shoulders. Yet another of the girls he seemed to collect without every really meaning to, but he'd saved her life and gotten her to leave her life on the streets and that earned him her love. Even if she did complain occasionally that he smelled like wet dog. "Except Mr. Summers said we're not allowed to use our powers against other students and I just think that's stupid."

"I know, Moll, but ya gotta listen to 'im." He disengaged himself from her and crouched down so he could look her easily in the eye. "But sometimes ya gotta stick out fer yourself," he said, lowering his voice so that only the girl and Teva could hear. "Pop 'im one an' make sure ya don't get caught, 'cause I sure as hell ain't gonna 'fess up to tellin' ya to do it."

The bright smile that lit up Molly's face was radiant and Teva watched the way it transformed Logan's body language, from wary to proud. She'd never paid much attention to how he was with the kids, mostly because all he usually did was grunt at them or yell at them in combat class, never really showing any true affection for them. Sometimes one got under his skin, crawled into that spot in his heart he thought had been boarded up a long time ago.

Teva reached out, needing to touch him suddenly. "I will'nae breathe a word of it, either," she promised. She fully expected the girl to go bounding off to exact her revenge but she was staring very intently at the hand Teva had placed on Logan's shoulder.

"Are you guys getting married?" she asked in her usual top-of-her-lungs voice. Several heads turned in their direction at the exclamation. "Lemme see, lemme see!" Molly demanded, grabbing Teva's hand and nearly knocking Logan over in the process.

Jubilee and Kitty had stopped playing checkers on the lawn and came over to join the spectacle, Molly still cooing over the ring like it was the best thing she'd ever seen.

"Am I hearing wrong?" Jubilee asked, sidling up to Logan as he stood and draping her arm over his shoulders, easy for her to do with her extra height. "Is my Wolvie getting married? After I carried such a torch for you, too, you're killing me here."

"Stow it," Logan grumbled, giving her a big hug. "Yeah, I asked her, she said yes. Ya ain't too mad at me, are ya, darlin'?"

She gave him a smacking kiss on the mouth and grinned. "Of course not, Logan! I always wondered if you'd wanna get hitched again, after Mariko, and I'm glad it's Teva."

The woman in question was now holding Molly, who'd jumped on her back like a little monkey. She'd heard Jubilee's words and glanced over to find Kitty eyeing her closely, like the Jewish woman expected her to do something; Teva had never had trouble getting along with Jubilee, the Chinese woman full of bubbly energy and accepting of nearly everyone, especially if Logan decided he liked them.

Kitty, on the other hand, had always been something of a closed book to her, being quiet and keeping to herself when she was in town visiting from Chicago, where she went to college. Their first meeting had been strange, Teva remembered, with Logan being uncharacteristically affectionate with her, and how Kitty had seemed suspicious of it. Nothing had ever come of it but Teva always felt as if she were being watched and silently weighed, judged, to determine whether or not she was worthy of Logan's love. She supposed she could understand it if Kitty were merely jealous of her, except it wasn't that, the younger woman had never had designs on his body the way Jubilee had teased about having.

So she stood there and listened to Molly babble while trying to figure out what was going on, if there was going to be trouble with Logan's adopted daughter, at least until Remy distracted her from her thoughts.

"Begone, petite fille," he said, removing Molly from her back and shooing her off so that he could properly embrace his 'little sister.' "What on eart' have you gone an' done, chere?" he asked, holding her at arm's length.

"I've gone and gotten engaged, mon frère ainé," Teva replied, leaning up so she could kiss his cheek. "Seems you'll have a brother-in-law verrae soon."

"Ya growin' up, Teva, right before Remy's eyes." Remy let her go but kept his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "Before he know it, you'll have your own bébé runnin' around stealing hearts."

Teva went stiff but managed to keep the smile on her face, even as Logan sent a questing thought to her. ~I'm okay~ she assured him. ~Remy just caught me off guard asking about kids.~

~We'll talk about that later.~ She felt Logan 'touch' her, a comforting feeling against her astral self that took away some of her anxiety. Some remained behind as she wondered whether or not she was even capable of having children with her family history of miscarriages and barrenness, and whether or not that would effect Logan's feelings about marrying her. She clamped down on that, hard, and tried not to let it bother her.

Their other teammates were making their way over to offer their congratulations, asking if they'd set a date, what kind of wedding they were planning, typical questions for a newly engaged pair. They had the benefit of being able to converse over their telepathic link in shorthand to answer with little hesitation despite the fact they'd been engaged for little over a half hour now. Every time Teva thought of that she felt like giggling, her emotions quickly heading back towards elation, and before she knew it they'd decided to get married in two weeks, in the gardens, surrounded by friends and family.

Logan, finally having booted Remy from his fiancée's side, felt just as joyous as she did, remembered feeling this way when Mariko had agreed to marry him. It was the thought that this woman, that any woman, would choose to put up with him 'til death did they part, that made him want to crow and preen like a peacock. Pride and love warred for dominance and finally settled for sharing space, taking up so much of his mind that he belatedly noticed the way Kitty held herself apart, looking less than pleased.

When Teva broke to go fiddle with the music, he went to his 'daughter.' "What's up, kittycat?" he asked. "Ain't ya happy fer me?"

"Of course I am," she replied, attempting a smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I dunno, but I don't like it when ya lie to me. That shit ain't ever flown with me, Kitty Pryde, and it ain't gonna start anytime soon. So tell me what's buggin' ya 'fore I drag it outta ya."

She scowled. "I just think you're rushing into this," she said. "I mean, two weeks? Don't you need more time to plan?"

Logan squinted at her. "What's it matter how long the engagement is? She an' I have been together for over a year now, all told. Hell, I was with M'iko for less time, an' ya seemed overjoyed when she an' I were gonna get married, even though it meant I'd be livin' in Japan most of the time." He touched her arm and felt how tense she was. "Is that it? Ya think I'm gonna run off somewhere an' ya won't see me?"

"Well, Teva's from Scotland, I thought -"

"That's yer problem, girl, yer thinkin'. C'mere." He hugged her, kept her close. "Teva's home is here, now, has been for some time. So's mine. I ain't goin' anywhere, sweetheart, not if I can help it."

"Well, I feel like a boob. I don't even know why I'm worried, I just - I hate change, you know that."

Logan kissed her cheek. "S'ok, darlin'. We all gotta deal with change, but this is a good one. Ain't nothin' changin' but some vows bein' taken, I'll still be ol' Logan." He hooked his arm with hers. "C'mon, kittycat, let's get some food and go listen to the music."

Teva caught him when he returned, gave him a kiss that recalled the heat between them up on the roof without being too revealing. "Everything okay?" she asked, nodding at Kitty who was talking to Ororo and Jubilee.

"All's well," he said. "Ya think maybe we can slip away from the party?" he asked, bumping his hips up against hers. "I got a powerful need to strip ya naked and make ya forget yer name."

"And hear me scream yours?" She grinned and nipped his bottom lip before pulling away. "Later, mo gille, I'm famished. Need to get some food in my stomach before I can even contemplate anything else."

"Hey, Teva!" Scott was calling her name from the back steps and holding up the cordless phone. "It's for you!"

She gave Logan one more kiss. "Make sure the hordes dinnae devour the food before I get back." She danced away from a swat on the ass and made her way back towards the mansion, thanking Scott as she took the phone and went inside to get away from the noise.

"This is Teva."

"I did'nae ken if I'd ever hear your voice again, lass."

"Da?"

"Aye, Teva, and I'm afraid I've nae called with good news. Your mother has passed on."