Disclaimer: I own nothing.

~X~

Part II

2002—X2 Timeline

~X~

After the day Rhea reawakened, her recovery was steady but it wasn't before long that she was back on her feet and teaching once again. Days, weeks, months and soon years had passed since Logan left the school. The first few weeks, Rhea would—without realizing—find herself watching the doors as visitors came and went, a little thought in her head wondering when Logan would walk through those doors once again. And apparently, she wasn't the only one—Rogue, whom she had bonded closely with since her arrival at the school, often spoke of him as she toyed with the dog-tags around her wrist.

But, alas, two years passed and there was no word of Logan. By this point, Rhea began to doubt he would ever return, and soon the memory of him became dusty. In those two years, Rhea remained teaching at the school and continued her day-to-day living. By this point, she was 24 nearing 25 years old, and the toll of spending her youth at the school was beginning to hit her. Somehow, she had managed to let Storm convince her to sign up to a speed-dating night.

Rhea hadn't taken it seriously, she doubted she would meet anyone from it, but alas in came Tom. Tom was three years her senior, an accountant and overall "normal". He owned his own flat in the neighboring city which he shared with his Golden Lab. By coincidence, the two of them had both been begrudgingly convinced by their own respective friend to attend the speed-dating night, and had no high expectations of the night. They shared a few jokes about their experiences thus far with other participants, before the bell sounded and Tom moved to the next date. Rhea was more than surprised when the overly-enthusiastic event organizer handed her Tom's card, along with a few others that Rhea knew were definite no-go's.

A dozen dates in, a lunch with his parents, and an introduction to Rhea's parents over the phone, one would say that the two were exclusively "dating" without the label being agreed. Rhea enjoyed his company; Tom was gentle, a constant calmness about him that, as an empath, Rhea found refreshing, and seemed genuinely keen to be with her. There was only one problem: Tom knew nothing of whom or what she is.

"Thanks for the lovely afternoon," Rhea smiled as Tom turned into the school's graveled drive in his sleek Volvo. They had spent the afternoon walking the surrounding national forests, stopping in-between their hike beside one of the lakes with a picnic Rhea had prepared that morning. All in all, it was a perfect spring day. Tom pulled to a spot outside the front doors, and turned to face her. Tom was handsome—in the pretty-boy way, perhaps in a way Scott was, with his clean shaven jaw, neatly combed brown hair and warm brown eyes.

"Are you sure you won't give me a tour? I'm dying to see the place that I hear so much about." Tom peaked around her to stare at the large oak front doors.

Rhea shook her head. "It's my work. My students live here too." That and her students and colleagues were mutants.

Tom smiled in defeat. "Fine. See you Saturday?"

Rhea nodded, a smile tugging at the edges of her lips. "It's a date." Tom grinned leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. Rhea returned the kiss, pressing her lips firmer against his. Moments later, Tom had pulled away. He lingered in her presence for a second, brushing a strand of her blonde curls behind her ear, before leaning back to his side of the car. He silently watched as Rhea collected her things and exited the car. As she shut the door, Tom whistled that was visibly heard through the open car door. "What?" Rhea consciously rubbed at her trousers—did she have grass stains all over her ass? However Tom nodded to the left of her. "Whose is that?"

Rhea turned to see what Tom was referring to and felt her heart skip a beat. Standing a few feet from the front doors was Scott's motorbike—the bike Logan had took the day he left the school. Logan was here? Rhea stared at the bike with a sudden rush of feelings—that even herself, ironically, couldn't understand. "It's Scott's." Rhea finally responded, turning back to Tom, hoping her flustered appearance didn't show. Apparently, it didn't because after a wave, Tom was soon driving back down the gravelled driveway and out of sight.

Rhea watched his turn away and disappear at the end of the long driveway and turned back to look at the bike. Logan was back.

Inside, the foyer was empty—no doubt most of the children in classes or the common rooms. Rhea carefully smoothed down her jacket and consciously fingered her curls to make sure a twig or leaf hadn't unknowingly tangled in her hair. Meanwhile, she slowly walked down the corridors, heading for the kitchens so she could deposit her picnic basket and the half-eaten food within it. However, when she reached the communal kitchen, she wasn't quite expecting what she saw: Storm having a coffee with Logan.

"Rhea," Storm was the first to notice her in the threshold of the kitchen. "Look who's back!" Storm exclaimed.

Logan, who had originally been back-faced to her, turned in his seat to look at her. Donning his brown leather jacket, he barely looked any different than the day he left two years ago. Rhea subconsciously noticed the way his eyes roamed over her up-and-down. Rhea knew she probably looked a bit different—she had taken up running, which meant she had dropped a dress size or two—and her hair was now cropped to a little under her chin; A desperate hope to make her children take her a bit more seriously by making her look older.

"Hey kid." He finally said with a sharp nod.

Rhea shuffled on her feet. "Hey, Logan. You look… good."

"So do you." Logan responded.

There was a long silent pause and in that time Rhea remembered the last time he probably saw her—bloodied, on the brink of death with serious brain damage, giving her his blood. Rhea opened her mouth, to thank him for that night he saved her like she has wished to do for two years, but words appeared to failed her now the moment was here. Storm, however, was quick to fill the silence.

"How did it go?" Storm asked, eyes glinting mischievously. Rhea looked at her dumbly as Logan stared between the two. Storm rolled her eyes, "the picnic, idiot." Storm turned to address Logan. "She was up in the early hours getting the picnic ready for her romantic date. So,"—she turned her gaze back to Rhea—"how did it go?"

"Good." Was Rhea's short response, trying to hide the heat on her cheeks by busying herself emptying the contents of the basket into the fridge or dish washer.

"You've been seeing this guy for two months and all you have to give me is good? Give a woman a break here." Storm exclaimed. "Did you at least get it on?"

The chair scraped and Logan was to his feet, gruffly saying something a long the lines of needing to unpack or something, and left the kitchen. Rhea turned to look at Storm, this time not bothering to hide her embarrassment. "Storm!" she hissed. "I can't believe you just said that!" Storm shrugged. "Now he probably thinks I'm some sort of… of… floozy." Rhea cringed.

Storm shrugged again. "So? It's Logan. He's no Saint."

Rhea rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go change."

"Wait," Storm made her pause before Rhea left the kitchen. "The Professor asked if you didn't mind looking after the kids tonight."

"Sure," Rhea nodded. "Why—is there a mission?"

Storm glanced out into the corridor and then looked back at Rhea. "You know the attempted assassination on the president the other night?" Rhea nodded, it's all the news has been on about over the past two days. "Me and Jean are going to hunt down the mutant that did it."

"So it was a mutant then?" Rhea responded grimly. The tension between mutants and humans has been beginning to run high ever since the events of two years ago with the The Mutant Legislation Act. God forbid, Rhea hated to think what kind of war this would begin if the world were to catch wind that it had been a mutant that attempted assassination of the President of the United States.

"It looks like it." Storm responded, just as grimly. "The Professor and Scott are leaving to see if Magneto had anything to do with it." Rhea shuddered at the name but nodded. It seemed like a fair assumption—anything as serious like an attempted assassination of the president for free mutants' rights would have Magneto's name on it. "Don't worry—you won't be alone. Logan will be with you."

~X~

Rhea didn't see Logan again for the rest of the afternoon, only when she was seeing Professor Xavier off—at this point, she had changed out of her half-mud streaked clothing and into a relaxed pair of jeans, white cami top and grey cardigan. Logan was leaning against the banister of the staircase; as she strode down the stairs to see Professor X and Scott off, Logan—as if his ears pricked and caught her scent—turned to look at her. He gave her a curt nod to which she returned with a half smile before turning her attention to Professor X.

"We'll be gone for a couple of hours at the most." Professor X said, as Rhea stopped a few feet from him. I'm sure we'll know soon enough if Magneto is behind the assassination—he's never been the type to miss an opportunity to stake claim of his actions. "If there's anything—contact any one of us." Rhea pressed a hand on the Professor's shoulder and watched as he began to relax visibly. He gave Rhea a bashful smile. "Thank you, Rhea."

"We'll be fine." Rhea reassured the Professor. "I doubt the children will be much trouble. Not with Logan here to scare them." Rhea peaked over her shoulder to look at Logan, who was watching from a few feet away. He merely shrugged his leather-donned shoulders in response—uncaring for the fear he instilled on the children. The Professor chuckled. "Good luck Professor."

And with that, the Professor was out of the door with Scott, leaving Rhea and Logan alone. The moment the oak doors clicked shut; there was a long moment of silence—bar the distance sound of children talking and shouting somewhere across the house. Rhea turned to look at Logan, surprised to see he was still watching her. "Coffee?" Logan nodded and the two silently started walking in the direction of the communal kitchen.

"What is it you did back there?" Logan asked, breaking the relatively comfortable silence that had been in up until they reached the kitchen. Rhea looked at Logan brows knitted in confusion. "You know—to the Professor? And to me, the night that Rogue disappeared."

Rhea was racked her brain back two years, a flash of a memory before her eyes—her hand resting on Logan's arm, much similarly to how she had touched the Professor moments ago. "You mean my power?" Logan nodded, silently accepting the mug of coffee she had offered him, before returning to the coffee pot to pour a mug of her own. "I'm an empath—I can sense, read and manipulate someone's emotions." Logan stared at her silently. Rhea was beginning to realize Logan wasn't much of a talker—even with her powers, he was hard to read. It was almost refreshing. Rhea awkwardly brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "I also have low-level telepathy." She said, taking a sip from her coffee.

"Like Jean and Professor X?"

Rhea shook her head and swallowed. "Mm, no—probably more on the scale of Jean than the Professor; before I would usually have to touch someone in order to read someone's mind, but over the past two years… it's strengthened. Not massively, but if I concentrate, I can hear someone without touching them. The closer proximity I am, the easier it is." Rhea shrugged. "My empathic powers are far stronger." Rhea looked up at Logan; "And you? Other than your healing powers and obvious claws . . ."—Rhea motioned towards hands, to which he flexed in reflex—". . . I'm assuming you're a feral?"

"How did you . . .?"

"I didn't read your mind." Rhea quickly answered the question written across his face. "You're not the first feral I've met. He was one of my students. Much less powerful, but similar in ways. And besides, you notice someone's presence far quicker than any other human would. You spotted me moving down the stairs before I had even come into view—heightened senses I assume? That and when you gave me your blood, I found myself preferring steak slightly on the rarer side." Rhea grinned. Logan let out a loud snort of laughter. "Thank you, by the way; for saving my life." Rhea finished with a whisper. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second, and Rhea was reminded how green Logan's were.

"You're welcome." Was his gruff response. There was a long pause before either of them spoke again, silently sipping on their coffees. "So, this boyfriend—he a mutant too?" Logan was finally the one to break the silence. Rhea shook her head. "He knows what you are?" Rhea hesitated before slowly shaking her head again. Logan's eyebrows rose and lip curved in a smirk. "So you're relationship's set on a lie?"

Rhea huffed. "Hey—that's a bold assumption don't you think? We've only been dating for less than two months. I'll tell him… eventually." Rhea added, the last bit more to herself. Rhea rolled her eyes at Logan's expression. "It's not exactly an easy subject to approach, y'know?"

"Listen, kid—a bit of advice? With everything going on Mutant-Act-thing, it's better to come clean sooner or later."

Rhea raised an eyebrow. "This is coming from the lone wolf?" Logan said nothing. Rhea sighed. "With everything the media and the government are sprouting out about mutants… he'll probably end it with me."

"More reason to tell him sooner than later."

Rhea opened her mouth, but just in that moment Kitty appeared through the kitchen walls, looking a little breathless and alarmed. "What is it Kitty?"

"It's one of the kids, Miss, he climbed one of the trees as a dare and he fell and hurt himself."

Rhea turned to look at Logan, giving him a small apologetic smile, before moved to Kitty's side. "Well, let's go have a look at him shall we? Would you be so kind, Kitty?" Kitty wordlessly grasped Rhea's outstretched hand and pulled her through the wall, from whence she came.

The wound turned out to be nothing more than a slight sprain that nothing but a bandage and a couple of asprins couldn't heel. After bandaging the boy up, Rhea had sent him on his way—not before giving him a lecture about behaving irresponsibility. Once the boy left, head slightly hung and cradling his bandaged hand, Rhea began rounding the children up, deciding it was best they were all kept in the house considering there were only two pairs of adult eyes tonight. Logan supervised the children that were sitting, watching TV or playing cards, whilst Rhea helped the children scattered around some of the tables with their homework.

For the most part, the children behaved—bar from the slight disagreement with Jones and one of the other kids over the TV, which was quickly ended by Logan's yell to "pip down"—and two hours later, the children were in their dormitories. Rhea had finished up saying her goodnights to some of the children, and started to head down the corridor, where Logan appeared from one of the children's rooms.

Rhea smiled when she spied the frustrated look on his face. "Let me guess—Jones wouldn't put his game console away?" Logan grunted. "Don't fret—he doesn't sleep much. His power makes it difficult from time to time. He won't be much of a bother." Rhea smiled up at him. She didn't realise their height difference until they were so close—he had to be at least a foot taller than her. "Rogue asked about you." Logan quirked an eyebrow in response. "She wanted to make sure the kids hadn't driven you mad yet." Rhea laughed. "I think she might have a little crush on you." she added as she remembered the way Rogue's eyes lit at the subject of Logan, silently adding in her mind that Rogue wasn't the only one.

"She's dating that Bob kid though right?"

Rhea nodded as the two began walking down the corridor, to the staircase and towards the teacher's wing. "Bobby." She corrected. "She admires you. You were the first mutant she met. She can't blame the girl for having a little crush." Rhea watched Logan, curiously acknowledging how the emotions that flitted through him—mostly, it was discomfort, but there was a glimmer of gratitude for the young girl that thought so highly of him.

"Yeah, well, she's a kid—she'll grow out of it."

"You're probably right," Rhea hummed. "Not that I can blame her. You caused quite the ruckus for the female students when you arrived, running around the school bare-footed and chest half-exposed." Rhea laughed at Logan's disgruntled expression. "I'm not lying—if anyone would know what they were feeling, it's me." Rhea shuddered. The two continued in silence as they reached the teacher's wing. "How long are you here for?" It had been the question running through her head for the most of the day.

"I don't know." Logan answered. "A couple of days, weeks maybe." Rhea nodded, feeling a slight twinge of disappointment. "Just until I know the next move."

"The next move?" Rhea cocked her head to the side in question. Logan hesitated. "In recovering your memories?" he nodded. "Will the Professor not help?"

A frustrated expression crossed his face. "He seems to think it's something I should figure out alone."

Rhea bit her lip as she felt the pain and frustration radiating from the man before her. "I could try." Rhea found herself blurting out without realising. "I can't promise anything—I am by no means as powerful as the Professor, but . . . I could try?"

Logan stared down at her intently. "Why? Why would you help me?"

Rhea smirked. "You're not used to acts of kindness are you, Logan?" Logan looked slightly taken aback. "I can feel it—the pain." Rhea murmured, reaching up with a hand, she brushed a lock of his brown hair that hung low over his forehead and gently tapped his temple. "Right here." Rhea whispered. Rhea moved her eyes to connect with his; he was staring down with her, eyes burning in an intense stare. Rhea quickly dropped a hand, a blush filling her cheeks. "I'd like to help . . . if I can."

Slowly, Logan nodded. "OK."

A short time later, Logan and Rhea were standing in her room. Rhea lingered at the door, watching as Logan moved around the room, taking in his surroundings. "Sorry about the mess," Rhea stammered, picking up some discarded items of clothing she had been wearing earlier today from the floor. Logan didn't seem to acknowledge it, instead focusing on the framed photographs on the bedside cabinet. "That's my parents." Rhea had came to his side to see the photograph he was looking at; it was one from when she was younger, the first day they moved to the US, standing outside their new home. "They're currently touring the world, lapping up their early retirement. I think they're in Thailand right now." Rhea murmured staring wistfully at the faces of her parents.

"You miss them?" Logan asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

Rhea hummed in response, pulling her eyes from the faces of her parents to see the picture Logan had picked up. "Oh, that's Tom." Rhea blushed as she recognized the strip of images that had been taken from a photo-booth.

"You do that a lot, don't you?" Rhea looked at Logan in question. "Blush." The statement only made more blood pool in her cheeks. Logan chuckled in response. "It's cute."

Rhea rolled her eyes, snatching the picture from Logan's hands. "It's embarrassing." She muttered as she placed the photo back where it belonged.

"He's looks like a Golden Lab. A pup." Logan acknowledged.

Rhea laughed. "That's funny you say that, because he actually has a Golden Labrador. Besides, is that a bad thing—dogs are cute." Logan merely grunted in response. "Right, get on the bed." Logan turned to look at her, eyebrows raised. Rhea blushed heavier this time, and lightly slapped his forearm. "Oh, you know what I mean." Logan chuckled but obeyed; striding over to the bed in three short strides across the room and placing himself against the headboard. Rhea silently climbed onto the bed once he was seated, situating herself next to him, her knees tucked beneath her and her hands fiddling in her lap.

"Right . . . just relax, if you can. Breathe in." Logan stared at her for a moment, to which Rhea motioned with a hand for him to breathe. Logan rolled his eyes, slowly shutting them and breathed in. "And out." Logan breathed out. "I've never done this before, so I have no idea how this will turn out." Rhea muttered, slightly nervously.

"Not exactly helping me relax here, kid." He cracked an eye open to look at her.

Rhea smiled sheepishly. "Well, good thing you have super healing, huh?" she joked. "Now, close your eyes."

Logan huffed and reclosed his eyes.

Rhea took a deep breathe. Focus, she thought, before carefully—slowly—pressing her hands either side of his head. She stared at Logan for a moment before slowly shutting her eyes and beginning to concentrate, letting the power seeping from her arms to the tips of her fingers. Before long, images and thoughts were beginning to flash before her mind. She began to see various memories over the past years of his life. She saw Logan, riding Scott's motorcycle; Rogue—with brown hair—sitting next to him in his truck; Rogue with her hair how it is now; Logan fighting in cages, in run-down bars nursing pints of beers. This she assumed was before Rogue and Magneto, before he came here. He looks lonely, Rhea thought to herself.

After that the images changed—this time he was watching through Logan's eyes as Jean walked down the stairs. "Hello Logan," Jean spoke to him in his memory. Rhea could feel the attraction he felt towards Jean from the memory. Then he was walking up in the lab, the first day at the school, and Jean was leaning over him. The memories moved on, he was then sitting in Professor Xavier's study, watching as the Professor introduced Storm, Jean, Scott and latterly Rhea. Then he was at the train station, standing over Rhea's unconscious body that was surrounded by blood. Rhea was momentarily disturbed to see herself in this shape.

"The head trauma is severe," Jean's voice spoke through his memory. They now stood in the lab, Logan watching from a short distance away as Jean spoke to the Professor, Storm and Scott. "I'm afraid I don't see her making it through the night. And if she did, she won't be able to walk, talk, speak or think coherently again."

Rhea watched as Storm let out a croaked sob. Scott quickly laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We should contact her parents." Scott solemnly spoke.

"What if I gave her my blood?" Logan's voice suddenly spoke out to the room. Four eyes turned to look at him. "I heal don't I?"

The Professor turned to look at Jean. "It could work." Jean responded.

And then the memory dissolved, to be replaced by another one. He was no longer at the school, and was in fact trekking through snow. Rhea quickly came to realise this was Alkali Lake. The one fragment of his past life the Professor had managed to uncover. Except, the place appeared deserted. No living soul, other than the lone wolf that prowled through the forests. Rhea felt his frustration as he found none of the answers he had hoped for. I'm sorry you couldn't find what you were looking for Logan, Rhea thought to herself.

As soon as the memory appeared, it disappeared and this time he was back at the school, in the kitchen with Storm, when my (current) memory-self appeared at the doorway. Rhea watched through Logan's head as his eyes lingered on my body, finding herself shocked when she felt a pang of desire through his body. Was Logan . . . think I was attractive? Rhea shook her head, stopping herself loosing concentration.

I need deeper, Rhea thought, I need the past.

As Rhea thought to get deeper into his mind, momentarily flashes of memories moved before her eyes—moving too fast and blurred for her to decipher. But slowly, some images became clearer. She saw Logan, driving a truck towards a cabin in the woods, a beautiful woman with dark black hair, telling Logan she loved him, and a story of a moon and a wolf. After that the memories that followed were disorientated, flashes of white lights, explosions, blood, and finally a tank filled with liquid, and people in lab coats moving in and out of his vision. And pain—astronomical pain that she couldn't bare.

Rhea gasped, yanking her hands from Logan's head and fell back in the bed, panting and heaving. Once again, Rhea had returned to the present.

Logan, too, was in a similar shape. "I could see everything you saw," Logan gasped. "I heard your voice inside my head."

Rhea, too weak to comprehend, tried not to think too much into what Logan had said—knowing it was likely Logan had heard everything she had thought as she watched each memory. "It wouldn't be a surprise," Rhea breathed, struggling to catch her breathe. "I connected my mind to yours—it's how I accessed your memories." Rhea winced, the taste of metal entering her mouth as she spoke. She carefully brought her hand to her upper lip, feeling something wet trickle down, which turned out to be blood.

"Are you OK?" Logan said, noticing she was bleeding.

"M'fine," Rhea consciously wiped the blood from her nose with the back of her head, but the blood was still coming down. "Pass me a tissue?" Logan quickly grabbed the box of tissues from her bedside table and tossed it in her direction. Rhea mumbled her thanks, yanking a handful of tissues from the box, tilted her head back and held the tissues over her nose.

"Does this happen a lot?" Logan said, after a while of watching her dab at her bleeding nose, which after a minute or two had began to stop.

"Occasionally, if I use my powers too much," Rhea answered, her voice muffled through the tissues. "I'm fine. It's stopped—see?" She insisted, pulled away her tissue. She judged from Logan's wince that she looked like quite the bloody mess. "Did you see what I saw at the end?"

"The woman?" Logan nodded.

Rhea stared at him carefully. "Do you know who she is?" Logan shook his head. "A wife maybe?" Rhea thought the idea that a woman, out there, had been missing a husband for 15 years was sad. She also thought the idea of Logan having a wife almost difficult to believe—whether that was because of her own feelings or because of Logan's tendency to prefer his own company than anybody else's. She struggled to image Logan with the whole American Dream—a beautiful wife, children and the white picket fence.

"I . . . I don't know."

Rhea could feel the conflict going through his mind and reached forward to grasp her hand in his, sending a wave of calm throughout his body. "It's OK." Logan looked up at her, his face visibly torn, and eyes pained. "We can figure it out."

~X~

Logan had left shortly after Rhea's nose had stopped bleeding, with the excuse that she needed to clean up and rest. Rhea let Logan go, admittedly knowing Logan was right. After a shower and changing into her nightwear, Rhea laid in her bed, where Logan had lain not long before. She could still smell his musk scent and feel his warmth on the sheets; Rhea rolled in her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she remembered the memories she had just seen inside Logan's head—with everything she had saw, her mind kept going back to that particular memory when he felt his desire towards her. The memory left her torn and confused, for just several memories before, she had felt the feelings Logan had felt for Jean as she walked down the stairs. It seemed impossible to believe that Logan could possibly like Rhea when he liked Jean.

Rhea huffed and yanked at her quilts, just as she heard her phone go off. She picked her flip phone up from the bedside—it was a message from Tom, telling her how he enjoyed their date and looked forward to seeing her on Saturday. Rhea felt a sharp pang of guilt. What was she doing? Rhea thought. She had Tom—it didn't matter what Logan did or didn't feel. Rhea sighed and began typing her response, wishing him goodnight with a kiss. As she placed her phone back on the bedside, she rolled to the opposite of her bed—away from the scent and warmth Logan had left behind—and shut her eyes, pleading for sleep to consume her.

However, when sleep did consume her, she felt herself awakened quite suddenly by an intense feeling that radiated around the building—fear. Rhea shot up in her bed, grasping her head, when a sharp knock on her door echoed throughout the room. Rhea slipped out of the bed and opened the door to find a terrified Rogue at her door. "What is it, Rogue?" Rhea went to grasp the girl, but Rogue stepped away; Rhea quickly realized she was only wearing her black nightgown and she was glove-free.

"The school is being attacked. Ah don't know who they are but they're taking the kids."

Rhea grabbed her nightgown and passed it to Rogue who gratefully slipped into it. Rhea wrapped her arm around the young girl. "C'mon." the two of them began running bare-footed down the corridors, when suddenly they were they collided with Bobby and John.

"Rogue!" Bobby yelled in relief, to which Rogue returned.

Rhea grabbed John's shoulder, giving him a squeeze—pleased to see John and Bobby were both safe. "C'mon, this way." The four of them began running where Rogue and Rhea came from when they were dropped by the octagon window smashing to pieces. Rogue screamed. Rhea quickly grabbed Rogue's clothed arm and pulled the four of them away—heading straight for the stairs, heart racing and body pulsing with adrenaline. There had always been discussions in staff briefings what to do in the case of attack, but never before did Rhea ever anticipate they would be in this situation—when she was alone and the one of two adults in the school.

Please be safe, Logan, Rhea thought as they reached the bottom of the stairs and began heading for the front doors. But they were stopped to a holt when the doors busted open and men dressed in black with armed guns and torches to make it impossible to see their faces, advanced forward. Rhea pushed the three teens back, arms stretched over them in a desperate attempt to protect them. "Stay back!"—Rhea screamed—"I warn you!" just as the words left her lips, a growl sounded from above; Rhea looked up to see Logan jump from the top of the staircase, claws drawn. Rhea pushed Rogue, Bobby and John back as Logan attacked—swiping their attackers to the ground with two effortlessly swipes of his claws.

"Logan," Rhea breathed in response, happy to see him in that moment.

Logan looked at her and nodded. "Let's go." He headed for the front doors.

"Wait-"-Logan turned to look at her-"-the other children. We have to . . ."

Logan quickly interrupted her. "There's no use. One of the older kids lead a small group to safety. The rest have already been taken. The best we can do is get out of here and find the others. OK?"

Rhea thought on Logan's words before shakily nodding in agreement, biting her lip and trying not to show her tears. She had failed. She was meant to be able to protect the children—and she couldn't even do that. "Let's go." Rhea shakily said and the five of them headed for the doors. Logan pushed them open and the five of them were overwhelmed by bright blinding lights. Rhea raised her hands, desperately attempting to shield the lights from her eyes, in order to see past it.

"C'mon, this way."

Rhea felt Logan's hand grab her own and tug her away from the doors. Rogue, Bobby and John were close behind. "We need to go to the secret passage." Rhea said to the five of them. Logan looked at her and then nodded, as if it to say, lead the way. "Follow me," Rhea said to the others and they began sprinting in the direction of where the secret passage was locating. Rhea's heart was thumping in her ears, she felt a huff of relief as she saw the empty corridor and rushed to the door to the secret passage, pressing against the wood which fell back with her touch. "Get in!" Rhea ushered to Bobby, Rogue and John that all squeezed through. As she turned to look at Logan, she felt herself being pushed through into the passage "Logan!" she yelled as the door dropped shut.

"Miss White!" Rhea looked over her shoulder to see the desperate, terrified eyes of Rogue, Bobby and John—she knew then her duty was with the children, not Logan as much as her heart screamed at her. Rhea looked back at the shut passage door. "Good Luck, Logan." Rhea whispered before running to join the three teens. "C'mon, we have to get you to safety." Rogue lingered, hesitating. "Please, Rogue, let me get you to safety and then I'll go back for Logan." Rhea began heading forwards the light at the end of the tunnel.

"No, wait, please—they'll kill 'im!" Rogue yelled.

Bobby looked between John and Rogue. "He can handle himself—lets go!" John exclaimed.

"Bobby, Miss White—please."

Rhea bit her lip. "The moment it gets to dangerous, you run for danger—OK?" Rogue quickly nodded and the three ran back to the passage door. Rhea quietly pushed it up; Logan stood in front of the attackers, there was man standing in front of them—bold, aged. Rhea didn't recognize him, but Rhea had a feeling he recognized Logan by the way he stopped the attack on him. "Bobby," Rhea whispered. Bobby looked at her wide-eyed before nodding, quietly placing his hand on the wooden floor. Ice began to seep from the walls, turning into a thick barrier of ice between Logan and the attackers.

"No!" Logan yelled, desperately clawing at the ice.

"Logan, come on." Rogue pleaded.

Logan turned to look at them, a look of desperation on his face. He looked back at the ice, watching as the man reached up to press his hand against the glass. Logan growled before following after Rogue, Bobby and Rhea back into the secret passageway. Rhea yanked the door shut, as her eyes connected with Logan's. A silent conversation between them confirmed that man held an answer to his past. But nothing was said; the five of them ran down the secret passage way, taking a sharp turn that brought them into the garage. The five of him piled into one of Scott's cars, Rhea purposefully pushing Rogue into the front as the back was a tight squeeze—Rhea didn't want any accidentally touches of skin.

"What the hell was that back there?" John said as they reached the road, speeding down the winding lanes, away from the school.

"Stryker," Logan answered. "His name was Stryker."

Their eyes turned to look at Logan. "Who was he?" Rogue asked quietly.

"I can't remember." Logan muttered. Rhea stared at him through the rear-view mirror for a long time; their eyes connected through the reflection as felt his gaze on hers. Rhea had this inkling Logan would find out who this Stryker was soon enough.

~X~

It was a three hour drive from Xavier's School to Boston. Most of it had been spent in silence, Rogue, Bobby and John had managed to drift in and out of sleep but Rhea and Logan remained awake—though neither of them said a thing. Rhea's mind was churning with worry for the other students that had either been taken or left behind—she only hoped to God they had made it to safety. Logan, on the other hand, was stuck thinking of Stryker—flashes of his face and the words he had said repeating again and again in his mind.

An hour and a half into the drive, John woke from his slumber and began mumbling about needing something to eat. "We're an hour from Boston—we'll get food then." Was Logan's curt response, however he was responded with the sound of John's stomach growling. Beside her, John grumbled and rested his head once more back against the window, drifting off into another light sleep.

Only ten minutes later, it was Rogue this time that piped up. "Logan . . . Ah need the toilet."

Logan looked at her with an exasperated look. "Hold it."

Rogue shook her head. "Ah can't."

Rhea sighed, leaning forward between the two front seats. "Logan, we need a rest stop." Logan gave her a side-glance, spotting her firm-look and sighed, clicking the indicator and merging off the road to a gas-station they were passing. "Thank you." Rhea said gratefully, before prodding John and Bobby awake as they pulled to a stop. "C'mon, let's get something to eat."

John immediately jumped out of the car and Bobby groggily followed behind. Just as they were heading for the gas station, Rhea stopped and turned to Logan, who was already lighting a cigar.

"Uh, Logan?" he looked at her, taking a long drag. "Do you have any cash?" Rhea was suddenly very aware that all of them were still dressed in their nightwear, bar Logan. Logan grunted but delved into his pocket, pulling out a couple of notes that he passed to her. "Thank you."

Bobby, Rogue, John and Rhea made their way into the gas station. Rhea left the two boys alone while she accompanied Rogue to the rest-rooms.

"You couldn't have done anymore, y'know," Rogue said to her quietly as they washed their hands. Rhea looked to her through the reflection of the rest-room mirrors. "Whoever attacked the school knew what they were doing—this wasn't a normal attack."

Rhea nodded as she plucked two paper towels angrily and began scrubbed at her hands. "I know. Whoever this Stryker guy is, he has connections in high places; which makes him more dangerous than Magneto." Rogue swallowed thickly. Rhea turned to the girl, grasping her hands on her clothed shoulders. "Rogue, I want you to promise me something,"—Rogue slowly nodded—"If something happens to me, or to Logan, and you're in a dangerous situation—whatever you do, just get yourself, Bobby and John out." Rogue opened her mouth to protest. "Please, don't humor me, just promise that."

Rogue quickly nodded. "Ah promise."

Rhea breathed. "Thank you, Rogue."

By the time they reached the car, the boys were slurping on slushies and munching on hot-dogs, which they had also bought for the rest of them. They sat in the car until they had finished eating and drinking. No sooner than Bobby had taken his last sip of the slushy, they were hitting the road once more. Rhea had offered to drive, to give Logan a break, but he ignored her comment with a blink of the eye.

An hour later, they had reached Bobby's home, with direction from him by the end of the journey. He lived on a suburban street and a beautiful home. Rhea commented on this as they pulled up into the drive. "Thanks," Bobby muttered. "Their car's not here—No-one's home." He said, looking around to the people in the car.

"Good. It will give us the chance to re-group before we find Storm and Jean." Logan answered, stepping out of the car to stretch his legs—John and Rogue following suit.

Rhea lingered however, as she felt the anxiety rippling from Bobby in waves. "Bobby?" she said. Bobby looked at his teacher, worry evident in his eyes. "Is everything OK? Are you sure you want to be here?"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah, it's just . . . well, my parents don't exactly know what I am. They think I'm at a special school for gifted people. And by gifted I mean 'smart'." Bobby quoted.

"That's OK," Rhea nodded understandingly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, calming his anxious emotions. "We don't have to tell them anything you don't feel comfortable with. Alright?" Bobby hesitated and then slowly nodded. "C'mon." and with that, Bobby and Rhea exited the car. Logan lingered around the car, he looked at the two of them—judging by his expression, he had heard everything they had said but made no movement to acknowledge it.

Bobby led the five of them through into the house, Logan and Rhea lingering behind. After calling out for his family, he was met with only silence. "They're not here." He confirmed. "I'll find some change of clothes for us all. C'mon, Rogue, I'll show you my room." Rhea watched as Bobby and Rogue walked up their stairs. John had already found himself a place on the sofa and was flicking through channels on the TV.

Rhea turned to Logan. He had produced the X-Men cell from his pocket and was observing it, turning it in his hand. "It's the X-Men cell. Jean, Storm and Scott will all have one. I'll be able to get in touch with one of them through that." Rhea explained. Logan nodded. Sometime after that, Bobby was running back down the stairs with a change of clothing for them—which only Logan passed off, considering he was still in jeans and tank-top. "Thank you Bobby. They're lovely." Rhea smiled warmly at the boy, who gave her a smile in return and pointed her in the direction of the downstairs bathroom through the kitchen, before heading back upstairs.

The clothing Bobby had provided were a pair of grey slacks and a v-neck blue sweater, with some old white plimsolls to wear with it. It wasn't exactly her style, but she was grateful to be out of the nightgown. When she re-emerged from the kitchen, she spotted Logan cursing at the phone. "No luck?" Rhea asked, anxiously, to which Logan responded with the shake of a head. "We will just have to keep trying." Inwardly, Rhea was hoping Stryker hadn't gotten to them first. "Logan . . . Stryker . . ." Logan looked at her. "You don't think he had anything to do with your memory loss, do you?"

Logan exhaled. "I have no idea. But he was a big part of my past that I know for sure. And I plan on finding out why." Rhea nodded and the two stood in silence for a short moment in time. "I need a drink." Logan grunted, heading for the fridge, pulling out a bottle of beer, clicked off the cap and began gulping down the contents.

Rhea sighed and turned away, looking outside the window—observing how the house reminded her of her own home in Washington State; only their house backed onto a thick forest, whereas theirs backed onto more suburban houses. Rhea jumped with she heard the sound of knives and yelped. "Logan!" she yelled as she saw Logan with his claws stretched out to a cat. "It's just a cat. What are you thinking?" Rhea felt a smirk tug at her lips when the cat licked the claws. "Not so scary to the feline world, huh?" Rhea smirked, crossing her arms.

Logan gave her a half-annoyed-half-amused look and retracted his claws.

Before he could respond, the two of them turned to the sound of noise coming through into the house. Three people walked in, whom Rhea could only assume was Bobby's family.

"Who the hell are you?" the father said, the mother quickly picking up the cat and holding it close to her chest.

"Uh . . ." was Logan's smart response, looking to Rhea for help.

Rhea turned to look at the family, putting on her most friendly smile. "Mr and Mrs Drake, my name is Rhea White and this is . . ."-she paused as Bobby began running down the staircase, hearing the commotion of his family's return. Rogue followed shortly after, pausing half-way down the staircase, to observe from afar.

"Bobby, why aren't you in school?" his mother asked, concerned.

"Ur,"—Bobby hesitated—"This is Professor Logan and Professor White." Bobby looked to Rhea, wide-eyed. Rhea gave him a subtle nod and encouraging smile. Bobby breathed and looked to his family. "There's something I need to tell you."

~X~

Safe to say, Bobby's family's reaction to his mutant status could have gone better, and could have gone worse as well. After making everyone a cup of tea, Rhea stood beside Logan as Bobby explained what Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters were really for. She watched the faces of her parents as he turned the tea in his mother's cup into ice.

"Mr and Mrs Drake," Rhea stepped forward as Mrs Drake dropped the saucer to the coffee table, all of them watching as the cat jumped up and began licking the frozen tea. She gained the parents attention and gave them both a calm smile. "Bobby is very talented. He, like many other children, is able to learn and grow up with their own kind. The school is place of sanctuary for many children who are scared of the powers they are born with." Rhea pressed a hand to Bobby's shoulder giving it a tight squeeze. "His place is so very valued and I hope you do not let this deter you from sending him to us every school year."

Bobby looked at Rhea gratefully. "I can do so much more than that." Bobby nodded to the frozen tea.

Bobby's brother jumped up then, running for the staircase. It didn't take much to realise what Bobby's brother thought of Bobby's powers. Rhea gave Bobby's shoulder another squeeze as she felt his hurt, watching his brother disappear upstairs. "This is all my fault." The mother exclaimed, shaking her head in anguish.

"Actually, they've discovered the males are the ones who carry the mutant gene and pass it on—so it's his fault." John interjected.

"John!" Rhea hissed. John merely shrugged. Rhea rolled her eyes and looked back at the now dumbstruck family. "If you'll excuse me—bathroom." Rhea murmured, walking past Logan who gave her a curious look, but she didn't acknowledge it—heading for the staircase and walking upstairs. As she reached the upper floor, it didn't take her long to locate Bobby's brother who was ending a call as she approached the room. Rhea knocked on the door alerting the boy of her presence. He jumped and moved away from her, obviously uncomfortable by her presence. "Ronnie is it?" she asked and the boy nodded. "My name is Rhea. I teach your brother at his school."

Ronnie uncomfortably look at her. "You're . . . one of them."

Rhea nodded. "I am a mutant, yes." Ronnie looked around him, obviously looking for alternative routes out of the room. "I just wanted to talk." Ronnie paused, looking back at her. "That's all." She insisted. "I wanted to talk about Bobby." Ronnie said nothing, staring at her unblinkingly. "I know you've probably seen a lot of stuff about mutants on the news—all of which aren't exactly positive." Rhea sighed. "I just wanted to tell you, that despite everything the media and the government are telling you about us, Bobby is still your brother and doesn't mean you any harm."

"How can he be when he's one of those . . . things."

Rhea gritted her teeth and tried not to flinch at how he described the mutant race. "We're just like you, you know. Only we have an extra gene—nothing more than that. Just like you are born we blue eyes, blonde hair, or I am born with freckles. It's just the way we are made up. We can't help it, we can't stop these powers. We just want to be accepted and loved. Please, Ronnie, do not fuel those things we do not understand with hate. It only causes those we love to be hurt. Do you want Bobby to be hurt?" Ronnie hesitated. Rhea suddenly felt a wave of guilt from him. It felt more than the guilt of running away from his brother. "Ronnie . . . what have you done?" Ronnie nervously looked towards the phone. Rhea looked at the phone and back to Ronnie. "Ronnie—tell me now—who did you call?"

Ronnie opened his mouth. "I-I'm sorry, I-I can't accept what you—or him—are. It's unnatural."

"We have to go now! Rhea!" Rhea heard Logan's call from downstairs, his tone of voice urgent.

Rhea gave Ronnie one last look before running downstairs to see the others rushing towards the front door, Logan's claws drawn. The second the five of them stepped foot on the porch, a voice shouted "Drop your knives and put your hands in the air!" Rhea looked to her left to see a police officer, gun drawn, pointed in their direction. In front of them, several police cars were parked on the yard. To their right, they were also being approached by two other officers with their guns pointed towards them. They were surrounded.

"What's going on here?" Logan said.

"It was Ronnie." Rhea whispered, turning to look at Bobby apologetically. "I'm sorry, Bobby."

"Put the knives away." The police officer repeated.

Logan turned to the man. "I can't." he responded. Rhea grasped onto his bare shoulder. Logan, Rhea thought, we have to do something. "Look . . ."-a shot fired and suddenly Logan was falling to the ground. Rogue screamed as Logan dropped to the ground, bullet to the head.

"Logan!" Rhea yelled, dropping to his side.

He was gone.

"But hold me fast, hold me fast
'Cause I'm a hopeless wanderer
And hold me fast, hold me fast
'Cause I'm a hopeless wanderer"

- Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford and Sons

~X~

Author's Note: X2 will be split into two chapters as I realized how long this one was getting! What's your thoughts on the story so far?