Within the proximity of twelve hours, Logan had gone from sporting a make-believe buzz from his aged cognac Moyet in the confines of his dark classroom, to being coated with flour whilst having to deal with a crying child, who fell from the counter of the kitchen and broke the cookie jar from under her arm as she hit the ground. They were surrounded by a good amount of the staff, all of whom were less than thrilled to have to clean such a mess and hear the cries of the girl. Logan's patience hadn't lasted long as he snapped, "Will somebody shut this fucking kid up?"

"Seeing as you're already dirty, why don't you do it rather than whine about it?" Scott had countered, not wanting to deal with it any more than he did.

The wolf-like beast scanned his eyes on his peers, indimidating with his stare to no avail. It was the threat of a non-present Xavier to make him do it that coerced his decision to help her. Yes, it was his decision. He begrudgingly bent down to her level, and somewhat gently took the arm that appeared to be hurt. He had to admit to himself that she deserved some credence for crying because the glass pieces that were the cookie jar were stuck all over, some even reaching an inch deep. Hell, he was surprised now that she wasn't passing out or something.

Meanwhile, the poor girl's wails were being heard by the students who could be less concerned with finding the source of the problem as they had faith that their teachers would fix whatever it was for them. And at such an inconvenient time, too; tomorrow was scheduled as the first day of final exams, written and physical.

Logan had taken the liberty of bringing her into his arms as a means to try to comfort her. She leaned awkwardly, as he had never held a child before for more than a second (only having ever held another in a bridal style), like when moving them out of harm's way while in his Wolverine persona. Although she was still crying, her breathing started to hiccup, essentially slowing and quieting her. He was relieved as she was starting to calm down as he weirdly patted her back. He had started to recollect the events that ultimately led to this unfortunate event.

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At noon on that Friday, it had only been a half day for students as a means to give them extra time to prepare themselves for their final exams. Logan was slightly thrilled for the fact that he now had extra time to get in some reading. It had been his second time reading the Jungle by Upton Sinclair. The animialistic and sadistic instincts within him was not exactly tuned off by the production methods of Chicago before the Meat Inspection Act.

He read contently for a few minutes before his lips tugged in an unusual smirk of a memory flash. He had aged his cognac in his drawer for a while, now. He had bought it aged ten years and kept it closed five more on a practice of good faith and as a use of the only patience outlet he had: alcohol. He had poured a generous glass for himself straight up, and slowly savored the taste. He finished his drink and poured another. Nobody was there so they wouldn't bust him. He went back to his book. His imagination was once again fancied as-

"Hey! You're needed in the back yard, some kids are playing around with some stranger." Kitty had alarmed. Logan couldn't really be bothered with such a petty matter, surely nothing could stem from that. If it was such a problem, someone else could deal with it. He just told her that it wasn't his problem. "Why are you drinking on hours, anyway? The Professor told you about that time and time again!"

"You do realize that today was only a half day? Or was that too much for you to handle cause now you have nothing to look forward to today?"

"But she's a little kid, like can't be older than five or six. They might hurt her or something, she's playing with the older boys. Just do it you lazy ass!" That sparked his unwilling motivation. It was obvious that she was gonna make it his problem.

He sighed and ventured to the back yard to find a group of six boys tossing her around in the air. She wasn't screaming but was obviously very distressed with her expression and short shrieks. He went in into their circle and caught her once and for all, yelling "Knock it off! Git before you get a set of gills on your necks!" They disbanded immediately. Despite all of the trouble it has given him over his life, he had to admit that he liked being able to do that to people without even toughing them yet.

He then remembered the fact he was holding a child he didn't know and slightly nervously placed her back to the ground, figuring she wouldn't want to be in the air anymore. She sat down on the ground for a few seconds to collect herself. She felt ready to puke and it was evident on her face. She gagged but to Logan's relief and curiosity, did not produce any vomit. She gagged a few more times, but not even bile would emerge. It was then he took notice to how skinny she was. Not exactly near death, but not healthy at all, either. Her clothes were mainly in tact but pretty worn. A typical case street rat. He felt a little sorry for the kid.

She finally stopped gagging and was able to stand again. She was pretty intrigued by his tall and muscular physique, and liked that she felt it could withstand a train, or so it seemed. He was scowling, but he seemed friendly enough. She coughed, "Do you need a room or home cleaned?"

He looked at the kid quizzically. "Why would you want to clean a house, let alone something this size?" He gestured to the massive X Mansion. She must not have taken much notice before, as she was bewildered by its size.

"If I do a good job usually I can get dinner or some food." He was feeling his cognac already starting to wear off, and having this kid around him wouldn't help his buzz.

"Hey kid, if you behave yourself and the Professor likes you, maybe you can crash here a night. But that's it. This ain't a charity case or orphanage. Speaking of, are you gonna tell me you are lost from your parents or something?" He was slightly agitated for some reason.

She slightly quivered, but was able to swallow her emotional side for a bit. Her silence as a response told him enough. She told him that she had wandered around with the other homeless people, kids and adults alike. She then said that she was on her own now because she felt like it was time. He decided not to pick at her brain anymore. So it was that, he directed her to Xavier's office and left instantly. He was glad that escapade was over.

He went back into his classroom, sat back in his chair, and poured himself another well deserved glass.

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It was around midnight when the super-centenarian was hungry enough for a late night bite. The evening snacking rules were considerably liberal, so it wasn't unusual to find a few others to be grazing as well. By the time he closed the fridge door, he only then realized the pint sized pursuer of cookies was the same girl he had helped out earlier. He turned on his heel, but her screech startled him to turn to her again, his face meeting a whole bag of flour, for she thought to make a grab for that rather than the cabinet door. That's how he got to where he was now.

Logan noticed that almost everybody was already gone, assuming him to be responsible. He had to question their sanity and sense of judgment for actually thinking it okay to leave a small child under his supervision. He could hardly handle fairly normal adults, let alone unpredictable kids. But there he was. He suddenly heard a clank from the ground and looked down to see a fragment of glass. Soon he saw another one fall, then another, until he looked at her wounds slowly healing. He was not ready for that discovery, but it was nonetheless discovered, by Logan and Professor Charles Xavier, the only other person left in the kitchen other than the two. He smiled and let out a little chuckle.

"I guess it would only be logical to allow her to stay, even though she is much younger than your typical student here. But we can make a few adjustments, I'm sure."

Logan looked at the little girl's healed arm, and looked at a fairly blank face devoid of tears and pain. Her cries were loud but could make one feel sorrowful.

"Where would she stay then?" Logan asked.

"It seems that she is already acquainted with you, so I suggest your room for the time being. If you don't mind."

Logan did mind. He felt bad for her, but he wasn't going to burden himself with something that wasn't even his responsibility. He had to decline.

"Then perhaps she'll stay in my office and I can hopefully pull together a bed for her, although the last spares went to the new students last week."

Xavier knew what he was doing. And Logan did, too. He wasn't going to waste his time with him. He took the kid and angrily walked to his room. He hated having to be burdened to think of another person every second, but he did know that she had a long day. His earlier intention of leaving her to somewhere/someone else had obviously backfired, and it seemed now like she wasn't leaving any time soon. He placed her on his bed and told her to get to sleep, and not to complain about nightmares, ask for a goodnight kiss, wake him up for water, the bathroom, and not to rustle around all night. She wasn't going to give him much of a fuss when she felt the soft yet firm structure of the mattress. She did, however, unexpectedly stand up and kiss the center of his chest, the only place she could reach, and thanked him, then said goodnight. She slept soundly after that, not bothering him as promised. He laid down on the floor, trying to empty his mind. But his thoughts still lingered around the enigmatic kid. How peculiar that she shared his healing mutation, or so it seemed to be. He figured that since Jean and Xavier both shared telepathy, it wouldn't be unlikely for another person to have some familiar mutation traits.

He wasn't realizing himself fall into sleep as his mind was preoccupied, and soon he was also out. Usually, a typical night for him would be filled with the most unpleasant of nightmares that were probably based on terrible truths. But he slept soundly as the girl did; at least she did, for the first hour. Forgetting their deal, she had silently crept out of the bed and dragged the blanket with her, getting comfortable on his chest. He did not stir, nor did his breathing become labored. She pulled the blanket over them, having a nicer sleep that evening with a more consistent heat source with a nice sound to listen to; a heartbeat.

He woke up the next morning to find her on top of him, face asleep and peaceful. He wasn't too happy about it, groaning,but was a little tired still, and figured they both could use some more sleep. He was again unconscious, but was awoken by a weight lifting off of his chest. He woke up again to Jean and Storm walking with the child out of the door. She was evidently scared of them, as she turned around and desperately looked at Logan, who was leaning out of his door. He wasn't going to follow them, hoping to finally rid himself of her, giving a small wave goodbye. He lit his morning cigar and picked up the Jungle again, getting hungry as the children's ears were being ground into the meat-

Suddenly he couldn't read it anymore. Last time it had entertained him greatly at this point, but this time it was inexplicably disturbing to him. In a while he got dressed in fresh clothes and headed down to the Danger Room to coach the final exams in his class. Ever since things had calmed down, he had become both the Danger Room coordinator and history teacher, enjoying the best of two worlds. He would never admit that, though.

He had spent a total of five hours coaching that day. His obstacle course had been very rigorous, as expected, but what was unprecedented was the amount of successful completions this semester. Logan thought to himself that he had either made the course way too easy or had his students finally wised up and learned to carry their own weight? The completions were making him quite pleased. His pride was short lived, though, as he was voiced in by Xavier to go into his office and to prepare for some quite startling news. His mood darkened as he prepared for the worst; his thoughts were torturing him again, images of being told that someone was dead. He dreaded it would end up again being Jean... he had always a small, but noticeable romantic candle for her, but never would carry it further than a fantasy. She was happy with Scott, and even if he were able to have her, he just knew something wouldn't work out with it. He was used to loving anything from afar, anyway. Thankfully it had dwindled significantly over the years, but his care for her never did. If anything, his love and loyalty for his team had somehow increased.

He had finally made it into the Professor's office, and found he was not alone; Hank, Jean, Scott, Ororo, and a few kids from the lab, whom he had never bothered to learn their names, all stood at the desk where Xavier sat. Logan noticed a smirk tugging at Scott's lips. He could only imagine what this was about.

"Logan, we all agreed that it was necessary to share our findings about our new friend with you." She appeared from behind the desk and feebly tried to sit on top. Scott bent down and placed her on top. She flashed a demure smile for his deed. She looked at Logan.

"Well, we have found her mutation. As you already know, mutations are from the X-chromosome that every human has at least one of. In her case, she had two mutated X's. This mutation is different, because the alleles on the opposite ends of the chromosomes are amphibious."

"So she's a toad kid like that freak?"

"Not exactly," Xavier explained, frowning at his rudeness. Logan laughed at his own joke. "They give her a lesser form of mutation, and as she matures, either a stronger form or even completely new mutation will take over. Think of her current power as a set of baby teeth. She has a healing capacity that is delayed, but still works. She also has a far superior mental capacity compared to those of her age, but we're not sure if she's exactly a genius yet. Still, much smarter than the average five year old. We expect that the intelligence agent was inherited regardless, and will stay with her if nurtured."

"She's just five?"

"Indeed. We estimate a birth date of June 28th. She has no birth certificate we could find."

"So what does this all mean to me?" He asked, getting bored and annoyed with the ambiguity. Everybody exchanged looks before Jean spoke up; "Logan, I think you're going to take special interest in her from now on."

"Why?"

Ororo looked at the cute girl and asked her to stand in the hallway with her for a second. She jumped down from the desk and shyly took Ororo's hand, then waited outside the closed door as she was told.

"What are you guys trying to fucking say already? I don't have all damn day. Finals are right now!"

Xavier took a breath. "Her mother had been missing for a while now, and it's been accepted that she's dead. No medical records, no dental, legal, anything. It's likely that she herself was a vagabond or a wanderer. There are no files of this child, so according to the government, she does not exist. That could help us and her."

"And?"

"And, after examining her genealogy, our database has brought attention two things: she is completely half Irish. Also, she has similarities in her DNA has to another mutant..."

Logan felt uneasy.

"Logan, we've run a paternity test... She's your daughter."