Disclaimer: They aren't mine and I'm still as poor as ever.
A Touch of the Blues…part 7 by vangiekitty
Continued from part 7…..
"Damn it, Logan- Just do it!" Rogue was standing in front of the short, muscular mutant with her left forearm extended and bared, the long sleeve of her uniform pushed up above her elbow. The Danger Room was deserted, the early morning session being over and Rogue had picked this moment to corner Logan. Having the Dream the night before had left her shaken and sleepless but more determined than ever not to give up on Hank so easily. After all, she was a resourceful woman and lying tangled in the sheets, wet and panting from her nightmare's aftermath, a plan had come to her. A plan that necessarily involved Logan. And so here she was, asking his help.
The only trouble was- Logan seemed reluctant to help her without an explanation that Rogue wasn't ready or willing to give.
"Why?" he asked suspiciously, for the third time. Rogue felt ready to scream in frustration.
"I told ya, ya don't need ta know." She snapped, impatiently.
"Hell yes, I need ta know. I'm not gonna start slicin' ya up like a plate o' cold cuts without a damn good reason, Darlin'!" Logan growled, not budging.
"It's not like I want ya ta kill me, Logan." Rogue said in exasperation. "It's just one lil' cut!"
"And I say ya don't get so much as a scratch without some kinda explanation." His eyes were hard.
Damn. Rogue was getting desperate. She tried another tack. Her eyes got suddenly big and watery.
"Logan, Sugah, I'd tell ya if I could but I just can't right now. Please trust me- I need your help!" Rogue didn't have to fake it as she let a single tear to roll down her cheek. She had to get another chance with Hank and she needed Logan's help to do it. Without it- all was lost! Perhaps if she gave in and showed her emotional weakness, Logan would relent and help her. So she let her desperation show, but Logan, (the cretin!), refused to be moved.
"Nope. That ain't cuttin' any ice with me, girl." He said, his eyebrows lowered. "Cry all day if ya want to but I'm still not slicin' ya open!"
Rogue thought rapidly. Time to pull out all the stops. It might be mean to use what Logan perceived to be his weakness against him, but Rogue was truly desperate now. And she was more than a little pissed that he was putting her through the ringer just for a little cut on her arm. Hell, they were supposed to be friends! If Logan had asked her, she'd have cheerfully taken a flamethrower to his hairy butt! But here he stood, demanding explanations she couldn't give and refusing to help her. Rogue's hands curled into fists-OH- he was gonna get it now! She was going for his soft spot!
Drying her eyes rapidly, she brightened up and asked in a sweet, conversational tone:
"So, Logan. Jubilee tells me you're quite tha constant reader now. Guess tha book worm bit ya hard, huh, Sugah?"
"Maybe…" Logan was instantly suspicious of the sudden change in Rogue's mood. Women- he would never understand them!
"Yeah," Rogue continued in her best taking-tea-in-the-drawing room voice, "I even heard ya been raidin' Jubilee's bookshelves on a regular basis. Been readin' everything ya can get your hands on, huh?"
"Well, Hell!" Logan shifted uneasily, what was she getting at? "Hank got me started on that damn Little Women, and I just can't seem ta stop! Bobby's no help, either. He wants me ta read that flamin' Gone With the Wind out loud to em!"
"Oh yeah?" Rogue's eyebrows went up.
"Yeah." Logan's voice got lower. "He says it'll be an enrichin' experience for both o' us. He…he wants me ta do tha voices too. I can do Rhet real easy but …Scarlet's a lot harder."
Rogue stifled a laugh as she imagined Logan trying to talk like Scarlet O Hara. "Well that sound fine, Logan. There's no harm in sharin' a good book with a friend. And just cause ya happen ta enjoy books that are kinda…sentimental…"
"That's not true!" Logan yelped. "I like lots o' real gory books too!"
"Oh yeah? What gory, frightenin,' manly book are ya readin' right now, Sugah? I bet you're readin' a Steven King novel, right? Or maybe one a those espionage spy books by Tom Clancy? Hmmm…" She pretended to think, tapping one finger against her temple lightly. "No…that's not quite right. Seems ta me that Jubilee told me somethin' bout one of her favorite books that went missin'. One she used ta love when she was little." She continued to muse while Logan sweated. "What was that book now? Oh yeah!" she snapped her fingers. "Charlotte's Web! That's the book!"
Logan paled. "Well, so what, Damnit!" he growled. "I barely even started it anyway!"
"Oh," said Rogue casually. "So ya won't mind if I tell ya the ending…"
"No! Now don't do that ta me, Darlin'…It'd be just plain cruel!" Now it was Logan who was pleading.
Rogue had him right were she wanted him and she knew it.
"Well let me tell ya somethin', Sugah," she said, fiercely. "I read that book when I was in the third grade just like every other little girl I know and I will not hesitate to spoil the ending for ya if you don't cut me right now!"
"Ya wouldn't!" But Logan knew she had his number.
"Oh yes I would! Hey, did ya know somebody dies in tha end a that book?"
"Aw, no! Don't tell me that! I figured since it's a kid's book, it'd have ta have a happy endin'!"
"Sorry ta disappoint ya, Sugah, but somebody buys tha farm, so ta speak, and it isn't Wilbur! And unless you help me out here, I'm gonna tell ya every last detail! Oh," she was pulling out all the stops now, going for the jugular. "And I'm gonna tell Jean and Storm how you and Bobby rent tha saddest movies ya can and spend every Thursday night bawlin' your eyes out when ya should be doin' something manly like bowlin'!"
"Damn!" Logan swore again. He knew she had him. "Alright, already! Ya twisted my arm." SNICKT One shining adamantium claw cleared it's sheath. "Where do ya want it?"
Rogue couldn't help being bit smug over her victory.
"Right up the underside of my arm here. And not too deep, but fairly long. And don't hit any blood vessels for pity's sake!" she emphasized.
"Ya don't want much, do ya?" Logan snarled, slicing her arm where she had indicated with surgical precision. "There, ya happy now?"
Rogue gasped at the sudden pain as a bright line of scarlet suddenly appeared on her arm.
"I still don't know why ya wanted such a crazy thing done to ya." Logan remarked. "But I can't have ya tellin' all my secrets and blowin' my cover!"
"You're secret's safe with me." Rogue promised, watching little rivulets of red run down her arm. They certainly seemed to be running fast…
"Yeah. Thanks a lot." Logan growled, then softening a bit he said, "Listen, Darlin', about tha end o' that book, tell me- is it…Charlotte that dies?" His voice wavered a bit.
"She's just a spider, Logan." Rogue pointed out. "They don't live forever, ya know."
"Aw, damn." Logan's eyes looked suspiciously red and Rogue almost forgave him all the hassle he had put her through. Almost. "Well," he continued. "I gotta go."
"Me too," she replied, distractedly. And under her breath she added, "Gotta seek medical attention for this nasty cut!"
Logan had turned away but he still heard her. He turned back and his eyes widened.
Well, well, well. Looks like I'm not tha only one with secrets around here! Gotta crush on that good doctor, Rogue? Thought I saw ya makin' eyes at him last night!"
"It's none a your business!" Rogue snapped, infuriated again. But before her temper could get the better of her, she had an idea. Changing her tone from red-hot to sugary-sweet she said nicely,
"Well, I do have ta be runnin' along now Logan but I just want ta thank ya for your help. I think it's real sweet that ya like ta read so much now and since you're takin' an interest in children's literature and ya say ya like a happy endin', why don't ya check out a book called, Where the Red Fern Grows? I guarantee you'll love it!"
"Where the Red Fern Grows, huh?" Logan was still mildly suspicious. "And ya say it has a happy endin'? Cause I've had about enough o' all those damn tear jerkers everybody's been reccomendin'!" He snorted. "How Hank could say Little Women was a nice book is beyond me. I mean, when Beth dies and then Jo won't marry Laury…" He broke off, shaking his head. "But ya say it's got a happy endin'?" he repeated.
"Oh yeah, Sugah! The happiest!" Rogue assured him earnestly, trying to suppress a grin. Her arm was throbbing now but she paid it no attention.
"Well, then I think I'll go check it out right now. I think Jube's has a copy in her bookcase. After findin' out about Charlotte, I need a little pick-me-up!" Logan's eyes were still red at the thought of the kindly spider's impending doom.
"You just do that, Sugah." Rogue urged him. She watched Logan walk away, muttering and tried to keep a straight face. Was he in for a surprise! For a moment she felt a twinge of guilt- Logan wasn't such a bad guy. But, damnit! He just pushed all her buttons, refusing to help her until she forced him and then guessing at her crush on Hank- Nope, she refused to feel guilty. He definitely had it coming. Besides, he was a grown man, he could handle it…maybe. She grinned again, then put the whole thing from her mind.
Now it was time to take herself to the med lab and put her plan into action. She looked down at her arm again. And was shocked to see that it was bleeding much more rapidly then before! What had happened? Maybe Logan had cut her more deeply than he had meant to. Suddenly, seeking medical attention for her injury was no longer a ruse to see Hank- it was a necessity! The blood was pouring from her arm and dripping onto the highly polished surface of the Danger Room floor; there was quite a puddle there already.
Realizing that she was now losing a dangerous amount of blood, Rogue moved quickly out of the Danger Room and down the steps to the basement where Hank's lab was located.
"Hank?" She was felling dizzy and light headed now; freshets of blood were pouring down her arm. Desperately, she tried to put pressure on it, but the wound was too long. Maybe Logan had nicked an artery or something?
"Hank?" she called again. But there was no answer, and, looking in through the doorway, Rogue was horrified to see that the lab was unoccupied and Hank was nowhere in sight. This contingency she hadn't planned for! She had only meant to get a shallow little cut from Logan so she could have an excuse to talk to Hank again. She hadn't meant to get seriously injured! And now she was bleeding like a stuck pig and Hank wasn't around- and the world was spinning! So mush for her crafty plan! Her last thought before she fainted was,
"God, I feel so stupid!" Then she collapsed in a limp heap, her bleeding arm trapped beneath her in the med lab's doorway.
Author's note: Hey, as you can see, I continue to enjoy adding literary references to my favorite books in this series. In case you aren't familiar with the book, Where the Red Fern Grows, it is an absolute tearjerker about a little boy whose dogs get killed. I can still remember sitting in fourth grade and crying my eyes out as our teacher, Mrs. Marshall read the extremely sad ending. LOL- Logan * is* in for a surprise!
On another note, I know lots of you are waiting for the next installment of Delicious…Disturbing but somehow this series just won't let me go! I promise I'll try to get to D&D soon but in the meantime, hope you enjoy this. And thanks to everyone for all the lovely feedback! J vangiekitty