Hi! So this is a story I've been thinking about for awhile. It's going to start very slowly, and sketchy, but I have some really fun ideas once I get into the story. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have a lot of problem's writing for Logan and Storm. I love their characters a lot but I find it really hard to write for them. So, I'm sorry if I don't do them justice! If you're interested in reading more for this story, please review! I'll probably only continue if there's obvious interest, because I have a crazy schedule right now and I'm already slacking on my other stories at the moment (I promise, I'm not lazy, just crazy!)

So, please read and review!

J.C Posch

Better Summary: Storm and Logan left the X-men years before to protect their daughter Leah from some prophecy. They hid out as humans in a rural Canadian town, breaking their ties to their superhero lives. But seventeen years later, they learn that even the best intentions can't protect their human daughter from her destiny.

xXx

It was a brisk, late April day. The sun was bright, but a chilly wind swept through the Xavier grounds. As the X-men gathered in the long drive way by the double cab, white pick-up truck, they pulled their jackets closer around them to protect themselves from the wind. There was a mixture of emotions in the gathered super heroes. Two of their teammates were leaving them today.

"-and you better call me when you get there or so help me, I will come after you in the Blackbird and give you a piece of my mind." Jean threatened, giving Storm another firm hug. "And don't think I won't!"

"Jean, honey, let her breathe." Scott said gently prying his wife off his old time friend. "But really Ororo, if you need anything, call us and we'll be there."

"We'll be okay Scott, but thank you." Storm said, forcing a smile.

She knew her friends didn't understand hers and Logan's sudden decision to leave the mansion and X-men to move to a small town in British Colombia. If one of them had told her they were leaving without an explanation, she would have been equally hurt and confused. But something's you just can't explain to people, even your best friends. As much as you want to.

" 'Ro? Can you take Leah for a second?" Logan asked, coming out from behind the truck where he was loading the U-Haul. In his masculine arms was a small baby girl, happily gurgling at a couple of small blackbirds on the lawn. "I'm just going to do a last sweep of the garage to make sure I didn't forget any of my tools."

"Oh, I'll take her!" Jean said excitedly, surging forward to take the small baby. She hid her face in the girl's soft black hair for a moment before giving Storm a reproachful look. "I still can't believe you're taking my Goddaughter away from me."

"You know we wouldn't if we didn't think it was necessary." Storm said softly.

"But why is it necessary?" Scott asked, not for the first time. "You never gave us an answer."

"And you're not going to get one." Logan said with an air of finality.

"Don't" Storm and Jean said at the same time. They shared a smile before Jean continued on. "This is your last day with us. I don't want to remember this as just another 'battle of the wits' between you two. Scott, stop asking. Logan, don't egg my husband on."

"Fine." Scott said.

Logan wrapped an arm around Storm's waist. "You aren't cold, are you 'Ro? I can did out another sweater for you."

Storm shook her head. "No thanks, I'm alright, just…nervous."

Logan gave his wife a reassuring squeeze before leaving to load another box into back of the truck.

"Don't even think of leaving before saying goodbye to me." Henry McCoy growled humorously, hurrying out of the mansion with his white lab coat flapping. He wrapped Storm in a hug. "My apologies, I meant to be out here sooner but two of the students thought it would be funny to play chicken with jalapeno peppers."

"Chicken?" Storm asked, partly amused and partly horrified.

"Yes. They each got down about three each. Trust me, they are both very much regretting it now." Hank said, taking Leah into his arms. "Hello sweetie pie, how's our little x-lady today?"

Leah, ecstatic at seeing her favourite blue face, let out squeals of joy. Too excited, she yanked on one of Hank's sensitive whiskers.

"Oh!" Hank carefully freed his whisker and handed back the baby to Storm. "Her mother's beauty and her father's attitude, what a deadly combination."

"Lucky it wasn't the other way around." Scott murmured in his wife's ear, earning him a hard elbow in the side.

Storm bounced Leah in her arms as she gazed up at the large window of Xavier's office. Charles Xavier himself looked down upon the gathering from inside. They had already said their goodbyes prior to coming onto the grounds. Only he knew the truth about why the parents were leaving the lives they knew with their small daughter. For their daughter.

"We'd better get on the road now, while there's still some sun." Storm announced, handing the baby to Logan to strap into her car seat. There was another round of hugs.

"Yeah, hate to hit bad weather, eh?" Angel said jokingly, winking at Storm as he shook Logan's hand.

Jean's eyes teared up as she hugged her long time best friend for the last time.

"You don't have to do this. You don't have to go." She whispered.

Storm just gave Jean an extra long hug and a small smile in reply, thinking "You'd do the exact same if you were in my shoes, Jeanie"

Logan finished his and Hank's hand shake and nodded to his wife. He got into the driver's seat, having agreed before to drive until the border. Storm got into the passenger seat beside him and waved to their friends until they were out of sight. Letting out a sigh, she leaned back into her seat.

"You okay 'Ro?" Logan asked, concerned. Storm had been his long time friend, and four years ago when they discovered shared feelings between them, a love had blossomed. She was his everything. He never was so happy in his long life until he had her. And when they found out about Leah, that love had grown even more. He still couldn't believe anything as good as them could be a part of his life.

"Yes…no." Storm looked over at her husband with piercing blue eyes. "Is this the right thing to do? Wouldn't she be just as safe surrounded by X-men?"

"We've been over this 'Ro." Logan said, turning on his signal. "This is the best thing to do, for her."

Storm nodded, then turned to stare out the window. Slowly, rain began to fall.

xXx

Storm leaned on the hood of the truck, amused, watching Logan trying to remain calm as he dealt with an annoying neighbor. They had arrived at their rural new home last night and had slept in a local motel. Today they were attempting to move their belongings into the house, but were having some difficulty as their new neighbor from down the road had stopped by to inform them, Logan in particular, that some people in the area, not him of course, thought that interracial marriages did not belong in the quiet Canadian town.

Ignorance, everywhere they went there would be ignorance and hate came with that ignorance. Whether it came from being mutants or from a black woman marrying a white man, they couldn't escape it. But both were strong enough to ignore those who would want to hurt them for things they didn't understand.

Storm could laugh off their stupidity, but Logan was having difficulties keeping his temper.

"You stupid, intrusive son of a-" Hearing Logan's raised voice and seeing the warning signs, Storm raced to the two arguing men's side.

"I'm just telling you, I don't have a problem with it, but some people here-" The nosey neighbor tried to say.

Storm saw the shiny tips of Logan's claws begin to emerge from his fists and quickly interloped their hands she hers covered the tips. She was right in knowing that Logan would regain control rather than harm her. She felt the claws retract and smiled at the neighbor.

"Hello, I'm Mrs. Logan." Storm said pleasantly. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just thought you might want to know that the roads are supposed to get icy pretty quick, so you might want to head home."

"Icy roads?" As soon as the neighbor said it, large hailstones began to fall from the sky. "I left my petunias uncovered!"

With that, the neighbor left in a hurry. As his truck pulled out of the driveway, the hail stopped.

Storm turned her icy stare on Logan. "What was that?"

"You heard that moron!" Logan shouted, gesturing at where the truck pulled away. "He -"

"He was stupid, that's right, but you were being stupid too." Storm said calmly. Logan gawped at her, making her smile and take his hand. "I really don't care what people say or think about us. What I do care about is exposing us as mutants after we've come all this way."

Logan turned away and mumbled something. Storm turned him back to face her.

"I'm serious Logan, we agreed that this was best for Leah." Storm said sternly.

Both turned to stare at their daughter, who babbled to herself happily in her swing they set up for her on the porch. She was their everything. Her happy nature and sense of wonder at little discoveries, her love for everything. She was known for falling asleep with Logan on couch after a hockey game and for following Storm around the apartment at full speed crawl. Because of her, they were willing to upend their lives.

Logan sighed and the tension released in his shoulders. "Alright, alright. But that moron just got me mad-"

Storm pressed her lips up against Logan's, silencing him. Pulling away, she said "I know. Now let's finish packing, before that freak hailstorm comes back."

Logan grinned at Storm before both of them went back to unpacking their belongings.

xXx

*six years later*

"I'm going to do it!" Leah screamed.

"Don't do it!" Eric yelled louder.

"I'ma gonna do it!" Leah yelled gleefully.

"Leah, don't!"

Leah let go of the swing's chains, jumping from the swing set when she reached the highest level she could reach. Squealing as she flew through the air, Leah's moment of joy was soon ruined as she slammed into the grass of Eric's yard.

"Leah!" Eric yelled, running to his best friend's side.

To his relief, Leah pushed herself up from the ground and began to laugh. He punched her in the shoulder and scowled at her. "Don't do things like that, you crazy nut! You're gonna hurt yourself!"

"No I'm not." Leah argued, hitting Eric back. "I was just trying to fly."

"Crazy." Eric insisted.

Seeing she wasn't going to win the argument verbally, Leah grabbed a handful of mud and splattered it on Eric's red shirt. Giggling at the outrage on her friend's face, Leah made a run for it as Eric picked up his own handful of mud.

Ororo and James Logan's daughter, Leah, had grown into an energetic and sweet six year old. She was smart for her age and ridiculously stubborn at times, a trait which could have come from either of her parents. Her mother worked as a teacher at the local high school while her father, well, she wasn't quite sure what he did. He was a mechanic, but he went away a lot for what he said were business trips but Leah called them "secret missions".

Leah had physical traits of both her parents. Her skin was a light coffee tan. Her hair was black like Logan's, but recently they had begun to see traces of pure white in certain parts of it, giving it a salt and pepper look. Her eyes were startling blue, like her mothers, but the spark in them that told people to beware of a temper came from her father. She was built like a dancer, but was very durable. Lately she had been dressing in boy's clothes, fancying herself a tomboy, but it didn't trick people into believing the beautiful little girl was a boy like she thought it did.

Ororo believed the change in clothes came from having a boy for a best friend. Eric Craig was a neighbor's son who went to school with Leah. They had been best friends from when they first met at a another neighbor's pig roast a year before they started kindergarten. Eric had skinned his knee while running after one of the older kids at the gathering, and began to cry. Leah promptly told him to stop, because soldiers didn't cry (something her father had told her) and gave him the cookie she had been saving in her pocket. The beginnings of a perfect friendship.

At the moment, both children were playing in Eric's yard. Ororo had parent/teacher interviews that night at the high school, Eric's mom was working a double shift at the hospital, and Logan was not yet back from some "secret mission"; which left Eric's dad Steve, a recently unemployed mine worker, in charge of the kids.

Ten minutes into their mud fight, both kids broke down laughing.

"Truce, truce!" Eric begged breathlessly, scraping some mud out of his hair.

"Alright, but 'member, if anyone asks, I won." Leah said seriously, collapsing onto the ground beside Eric. She was already just as competitive as her father.

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"Real ma-ture." Eric annunciated the word carefully.

"You don't even know what that means, bub." Leah said sticking out her tongue.

Rather than retort, Eric laid back on the grass with his hands linked behind his head. For reasons unknown to Leah, Eric let out a giggle.

"What?" Leah asked, curious.

"Noth'n."

"Really, what?"

"You just talk funny." Eric answered.

"Yeah? Well you look funny." Leah retorted, but laid down beside Eric. "I love yah, bub."

"I love yah too Leah."

Experimentally, Leah leaned over and kissed her friend on the lips. It only lasted two seconds. When Leah pulled away, Eric was bright red.

"Uh, uh…uh?" Eric stuttered, looking afraid.

Leah blushed, speechless. Her embarrassment soon turned into fear as Eric began to convulse violently. When the convulsions stopped for a moment, Leah reached out slowly to her friend.

"Eric?"

Before she could touch him, Eric let out a horrible scream that made Leah cover her ears. It didn't sound human. The screaming continued as Eric's bones began to elongate and shift. Thick black fur sprouted out of the little boys skin and his nails grew long and hard. When the screaming finally stopped, a creature out of the movies stood before Leah on four legs. No longer the sweet little boy with green eyes and black hair Leah knew, Eric was something between a man and a timber wolf.

The first thought that came to Leah's mind was, "Do I have cooties?"

She held her breath and stood perfectly still as the creature slowly stepped towards her. He circled her and sniffed her. Leah was startled to see the thing that scared her so much had her best friend's sparkling eyes.

"Hey, hey what's going on out here?" A loud male voice yelled. Leah spun to see Steve standing in the open doorway, a beer bottle in one hand and a tv remote in the other. Seeing Eric, his eyes widened. Droping the remote and bottle, he grabbed Eric's baseball bat that leaned against the house and ran at them.

"Get away from the kid, you mutant freak! Leah, get in the house!" Steve yelled, saliva flying from his mouth. Coming apon Eric, the boy stood still in fear. Steve smashed the bat as hard as he could into his son's ribs. Eric let out a howl of pain.

"Mr. Craig, don't! Please don't!" Leah cried, afraid. "It's Eric, don't hit him!"

Steve looked at Leah for a moment, in shock. Slowly, a look of coldness crept into his eyes. He turned back on Eric and began to beat him harder.

"No, stop it!" Leah screeched, leaping in front of her friend, but Steve was in too much of a rage now to even realize the little girl in front of him. He brought the bat down once again, and all Leah could do was shield her head.

Eric was still himself enough to realize the danger his friend was in. He grabbed her with his paws and shoved her to the side forcefully. He was not used to his strength yet and forgot about his claws. They bit into Leah's shoulders and ripped, leaving long deep scratches. Leah let out a scream, making Eric flinch more than the baseball bat ever did. Loping like a puppy that paws were too big for it, Eric ran and leapt the fence. Steve was in a daze for a moment, then ran to his truck to drive after him.

Leah held her shoulder in pain as tears ran down her face. The last few moments were scary for a six year old. In fact, they'd be scary for anyone of any age. Pushing back her pain and fears, Leah did the thing she always did when frightened. Went to Daddy.

As fast as her little legs could take her, Leah ran through the BC forest towards her house to find Logan.

xXx

"Did they find him?" Ororo asked softly. She was sitting at the round kitchen table with a cup of now cold coffee in her hands. She had brought Leah back from the emergency room, having her cuts cleaned and stitched, and had been waiting for Logan to get back. Leah was asleep on the couch, having refused to go to bed until Logan got back with news of Eric.

Logan sighed and ran his fingers through his thick black hair.

"Yeah, Angel found him near the abandoned mine. Jean and him got the poor kid calmed down enough to shift back to his regular form, but he's still pretty scared." Logan answered, taking a seat beside his wife. "Lucky to have found him before his father and the mob he formed did. There's too many people in this town with guns."

"That poor little boy. It's not easy to find out that you're a mutant, but to have to learn at such a young age, this way?" Ororo shook her head.

"We've all had it tough 'Ro." Logan said, painfully true. "Is Leah okay?"

"Yes, considering." Ororo sighed, tying her hair back into a ponytail. "The doctor's had to give her stitches, and something to sleep."

"Her face, when she came stumbling through the trees, all that blood…I've seen some bad stuff in my life, but seeing my little girl look that scared and pale, that might have been the worst." Logan admitted. Ororo rubbed his back soothingly.

"I know." Ororo said. "Are they on the way to the mansion yet?"

"Yeah, Jean did her stuff and put him to sleep for the ride." Logan answered. "They all said hi."

Ororo nodded and looked down at her hands. She broke off all contact with her superhero friends the moment she moved to Canada. She thought going 'cold turkey' was going to be easier on everyone. She settled into the safe, if dull, life of a small town high school teacher because she thought it was best for Leah. Logan couldn't do as his wife had. He opened a garage in town and worked as a mechanic but he was still involved with the superhero world. Much to his wife's dismay, he still traveled around the world for 'favours' and team ups. It put stress on the marriage but there was nothing Ororo could say or do to stop him.

"I miss them."

"I know."

"But this is for the best."

"If you say so."

Ororo glared at Logan, then went to the sink and dumped the remains of her coffee. "I'm going to bed."

"Alright." Logan waited until Ororo was a safe distance away before going to the couch and picking up the still sleeping Leah gently, minding her injured shoulder. In his arms, he kissed her forehead and walked towards her bedroom.