Author's Notes: Ah ha, I am back with another chapter! I'm glad you see y'all are excited for a sequel! Hopefully you'll like what happens...haha! Anyway, without further adieu, please enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men.

One Year

Chapter Two

--

February blew in with chills and snow overnight, making the start of the team visiting Moira a bit difficult. Storm had wanted them to wait until the worst of the storm passed, but Peter argued that they should just go. Despite Marie's anxious face, Logan wanted to get a move on too - the faster they left, the sooner they'd be back was the way he saw it.

"So…how are we getting there anyway?" Warren was asking nervously as the group gathered itself together in the mansion's front hall. The mutants seeing them off were already there and waiting for them.

"The jet," Logan answered, excitement building at the prospect of flying it. He grinned, despite himself.

"No," Summers said, "Not possible. First, you don't know how long you'll be there. Second, you've got nowhere to store it. Third, I don't trust you flying it, especially in this weather."

"Hold on just a minute," Logan began, feeling testy at the lack of trust from Summers. Logan knew he knew what he was doing when flying the jet, and he definitely didn't appreciate the jab about trust. Marie's hand tightened its grip on his and he looked down at her, surprised. She was trying not to smile as well as look sympathetic and severe, all at the same time and failing miserably at all three. Logan felt the insult slide away and allowed himself to smile back at her. It amazed him how she just had to look some way at him, and he could calm down. He looked back up, though not in Summers' direction.

"Scott's right," Storm allowed. "We'll take you to the airport and fly you out that way-"

"No chance the commercial planes are flying now," Hank said, shaking his head.

"Train?" Bobby questioned.

"Can't we just drive?" Peter asked, his impatience laced through his voice. He rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited for an answer. Logan saw Marie glance out the window at the snow covered grounds. She seemed slightly nervous. He felt a frown starting to form.

"Well…" Storm looked thoughtful. "I suppose you could. Four-wheel drive could make it through, of course, though you'd have to be careful. It'll take a lot longer than flying."

"Let's just do that then," Logan growled, ignoring the look Marie shot him. He knew she wasn't surprised by his actions. "Peter, Warren, let's go." He scooped up his travel bag and spun around towards the garage. Marie hurried after him, as did the rest of the X-Men who were with them.

"Where's Sage?" Logan caught Kitty asking Bobby.

"Something about how she needed to keep an eye on Mystique," the boy answered.

"Logan?" Marie whispered, catching his attention away from any other conversation going on. He looked down at her, raising his eyebrows. "You'll be careful driving, won't you?" Her question caused him to crack another smile.

"When am I ever not careful?" he asked, a smirk gracing his face. In that split second the concern on her face was covered by a smirk as well, but too soon that left.

"I know, it's just…last night you had me thinking, that's all. So be careful, especially in this weather."

"I know, darlin'. I know." Logan reached his free arm out and caught her around the shoulders, pulling her close. She tilted her head in towards him and Logan had that disturbing feeling that even though every thing was going fine now, the future was still out there, waiting to happen…

"Everything in?" Logan asked, checking the three bags belong to him and the other two.

"Not quite." Alex suddenly appeared behind the group of waiting X-Men, a bag in his own hand.

"Eh?" Warren looked around the side of the black SUV in surprise. "What's going on, Alex?"

"Alex?" Summers' surprised tone rang out at the same time.

"I'm going with you," Alex announced firmly. He stared at Logan, who merely stared back. "I was with Rogue in this place, and I know a little bit about it. I don't know if you'll need my help, but you got it."

"Alex, you can just stay here," Summers insisted, but his younger brother shook his head.

"Nah, I need to get out of this place for a bit. I need something more exciting to do right now. I figure these guys may need an extra hand at some point, and probably will need it more than you guys here do."

"Eh, let him come," Logan shook his head, opening the driver's side door. "It's not worth the argument, or the wait." After all, Peter was already sitting in the passenger's seat, his jaw clenched tight. Besides, the look on Summers' face was priceless.

"Thanks," Alex said, throwing his bag in the back and shutting the door. He and Warren climbed in as Logan turned to Marie.

"Be good," he whispered to her, and she grinned.

"You too," was her reply. "Call me when you can." He nodded, then leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead for a brief minute before pulling back and climbing into the SUV himself. Shutting the door, he made a show of pulling on his seatbelt for Marie, who rolled her eyes and started laughing at him. As the engine started up, Logan swallowed, knowing this meant he was going to be separated from Marie for…well, he didn't know how long.

"Here we go," Logan heard Warren said, mostly to himself as he pulled out and started down the drive. The flakes of snow, also accompanied by sleet, hit the windshield, creating an almost instantaneous lack of visibility.

"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Logan growled as he turned on the defroster and the windshield wipers. He pulled out of the front gates and into the road, and slowly the four began to make their way away from the mansion.

That evening found Logan still driving, though much slower in the dark. Peter hadn't questioned Logan's apparent choice of driving straight through, though he had asked if they shouldn't switch drivers. Not exactly trusting the three younger men, Logan had insisted he was fine. Now however, he was starting to regret that choice. The daytime driving had been rough enough, and just as things were getting even more treacherous in the dark, he felt his concentration waning. He didn't particularly want to stop now though, since that seemed like admitting failure. Besides, everyone was sleeping, or nearly there, so they wouldn't exactly be safe drivers to switch with.

"Logan?" Alex's voice drifted softly through the car, waking neither Warren nor Peter. Logan shifted at the sound of it. "Need a break?"

"Nowhere to stop yet," Logan grunted, wondering if he should be unnerved by the younger Summers brother's concern. "This road seems to go on forever, and I can't see anything." He peered through the windshield into the blackness that was lit only by the SUV headlights. There was silence for a bit again, then-

"Can't believe Peter actually fell asleep," came Alex's soft voice again. "He's really worked up about this. Guess it's a good thing he's a pretty quiet guy."

"Hn," was Logan's response. He wasn't a fan of small talk to begin with, and he was tired and trying to concentrate on driving in the snowy darkness. Alex seemed to pick up on his lack of interest and remained silent. The headlights picked up a sign -- a truck stop was coming up, it looked like. Despite himself, Logan knew he'd have to stop. Wanting to go straight through was all well and good, but this weather was awful, and it just wasn't worth risking it, not at this point. "We're stopping for the night," he muttered.

"Oh." Alex's voice held just a trace of his surprise, but he didn't say anything else. Logan concentrated on pulling off the road and towards the tiny stop. It looked like it was composed primarily of eateries and cheap hotels, with one gas station and a few houses towards the backdrop. The slowing motion of the car was causing the others to wake up as Logan pulled back to the station first. .

"Filling up now?" came Warren's sleepy voice. "Do that in the morning, let's go find a hotel now."

"Fat chance," Logan muttered, unbuckling his seat belt and gearing himself to go out into the cold. "You always gotta be prepared for anything, and that includes a quick exit. So, we fill up now." He opened the door, letting the blast of cold air make it's way in and startle Peter completely awake.

Logan stared straight ahead in the small hotel room. The whole business was vaguely reminding him of his nomadic ways before settling in with Marie at the mansion, with the exception that Alex was also in the room, brushing his teeth before sleeping. Sighing, Logan eyed the small, twin beds. Neither looked particularly comfortable.

"Peter sure wasn't happy about stopping, was he?" Alex chuckled as he rinsed out his toothbrush. "I have a feeling we're going to have an early start tomorrow."

"Let him complain," Logan grumbling, finally picking the bed closer to the window and settling back on it. "This weather sucks and he knows it. We have plenty of time." Shutting his eyes and hoping that Alex would shut up as well, Logan let his mind drift back to the previous night. He smiled to himself as he felt the small weight of the ring against his chest. What Marie thought about the two of them now, he wasn't certain, but he felt quite certain that when they both returned, something was going to change for them.

That terrible feeling about the future pressed in on him again and he forced himself to think that the change for them would definitely be for the better.

The dull pounding on the door startled Logan out of bed and, snarling, he had it open before he was even fully awake.

"What?" he growled, claws out and ready to attack before noticing Peter taking a slight step back.

"It's 7:30," Peter said softly. His lips twitched slightly as he tried to smile. "This is your wake up call." Logan stared at him a moment, baffled, and then as his mind began to fully wake up he realized Peter was trying to be funny.

"It's too early fer jokes," he finally muttered, withdrawing his claws and Peter gave a real, though small smile. "Gimme fifteen," Logan added before shutting the door. He turned around and grabbed the pillow off his bed. A well aimed throw and a shout from Alex made Logan actually smile. "Wake up!" he called to him as he made his way for the shower.

Halfway through the day, the storm, which had only been light snow all morning, started getting worse, and Logan found himself with limited visible conditions. Peter, in the passenger's seat again, was leaned forward so far that his nose brushed against the windshield. His eyes were squinted, trying to see into the snow filled roads.

"It's getting icier," Logan muttered to no one in general. Even with the four-wheel drive, the SUV occasionally slipped for a second. The snow that had started the day now had given way to heavy freezing rain.

"Maybe we should stop, and see if it gets worse?" Warren suggested quietly. Peter's jaw clenched, but Logan had to admit it was getting to be a little bit crazy to be out in this weather now.

"We'll keep going until we see a decent sized town," he finally decided. "There's got to be one coming up soon, right Peter?" Logan indicated the map that sat untouched in Peter's lap. With a sigh, Peter sat back in his seat and opened the map up. His jaw was still clenched.

"Yeah, there's one in a couple of miles," he finally said. "At the rate we're going, we'll get there in about forty-five minutes or so."

"Good," Logan nodded, keeping his attention on the treacherous driving conditions. Had it only been him in the SUV, he knew he probably would have kept on going through the storm. But these were Marie's friends with him, and he had promised Marie he'd return to her - and he didn't want it to be in a body bag 'cause he'd wiped out in this weather. Since when was it better safe then sorry? Logan found himself asking himself. The four in the SUV remained silent as it continued on.

Pulling into a hotel parking lot nearly an hour later, Logan let out a sigh of relief. The roads had been absolutely terrible, worse than he'd expected, and he was glad to be able to sit back and relax for a little bit.

"How long do you think we'll have to wait?" Peter asked as he grabbed two of their bags out of the SUV.

"Till it's drivable weather," Logan answered. "And don't start with me," he added as Peter was about to protest. "You know what I call drivable weather is a hell of a lot different than what most other people would." He started in towards the hotel, ignoring the eye rolling of Warren and Alex. In a moment, the quiet crunch of footsteps in snowy ice followed him.

They had managed to pick the completely wrong town to stop at. Out of the entire storm that was passing through the state, it hit that particular spot the hardest, and the four stayed cooped up for an entire week. Logan thought he would have gone insane if it weren't for being able to call Marie.

"Peter just sits around, staring at nothing," he was telling her towards the end of the week. "And between Alex and Warren, neither one stops talking. They bought a deck of cards here and I can't play poker with them anymore," he finished crossly.

"Why not?" Marie asked, giggling.

"They told me I was either the luckiest bastard they knew, or the best cheater in the world and that I wasn't allowed to play." Marie burst into complete laughter then, and Logan sat stewing while she finished. "Better now?" he asked as she calmed down, pretending to be more irked than he actually was. It was just good to hear her voice again.

"Much," she answered. "But Logan I'm glad you guys aren't trying to drive there now. Everything on the news looks really bad, and I hate to think of you driving in that mess."

"Well, don't worry about it," he added. "It'll probably be another couple days or so before we could even think about getting out of here."

"Good," she said. "And who knows, maybe you'll get to play poker again after all." Logan could hear the smile in her voice and it made him smile slightly as well.

"And how are you doing?" he asked softly. "Find those diaries yet?"

"Oh," Marie answered, all laughter gone. "Well, it turns out that Mystique had some other information that she hadn't shared with us. Apparently the Professor had - oh wait, hold on a second," and then "WHAT?" he heard her shout to someone in the background. "NOW? OK, HOLD ON…," and a moment later, "Logan? I've got to go, something's come up."

"What is it?" he asked, instantly alarmed. Her voice wavered with unhappiness.

"Just, more things about the diaries. Look, call me later tonight, or at least once more before you start on the road again, ok?"

"Sure," he muttered, feeling…he didn't even know. Cast off, perhaps.

"Thanks," she murmured into the phone. "Oh, Logan. Don't be mad. We knew we'd be busy. Too soon this'll all be over and we'll be back with each other. Ok?"

"I know, I know," he replied. "Go on, don't make them wait."

"Ok," and the smile was back in her voice. "Logan, I love you."

"Love you back."

It was only a few days after that phone conversation that Logan deemed the roads passable, though had he asked any of the town's residents, they would have disagreed with him. But Logan hadn't asked any of them and he also had enough sitting around and watching the news. Unsurprisingly, Peter was antsy enough to agree with him. So, they started out into the snow again.

"Geez, could you have hurried us out of there any faster?" Warren was complaining as Logan slowly started pulling out of the parking lot and towards the main roads.

"There were other reasons for leaving," Logan muttered. He had rolled the window down and lit a cigar before leaving, despite the protests of the others. Sometimes he just needed the comfort of it, he decided, and that morning in the hotel breakfast area had been a bit alarming.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked, leaning forward. "What other reasons?"

"Didn't you watch the news at all this week?" Peter answered for Logan, who quickly closed his mouth, hiding his surprise. "News of the Virus is spreading quickly, because the actual virus is spreading quickly. It's now a requirement for every mutant to go get checked out a hospital, and there's been talk of containing all mutants with the Virus together."

"What the hell? Can they do that?" Alex demanded.

"As of now, no," Peter continued. "They can't prove the Virus is actually harmful, to either mutants or humans, as it's still mostly flu-like systems. But people are getting nervous, especially those already biased towards mutants."

"But what does this have to do with us?" Warren asked.

"People were lookin' at us funny," Logan simply said. "Apparently, we look suspiciously like mutants, which means we could be contaminated, and could contaminate the town as well." Plus, Logan added to himself, he might have almost lost his temper when that guy in the breakfast area cut in front of him and took the last donut. Already feeling a bit short tempered to begin with, Logan's claws may have made a showing in a last ditch attempt to get the sugary treat he longed for, much to the surprise of the other patrons…

"Are you kidding me?" Warren asked incredulously.

"No," Logan answered, startled out of his thoughts. He tossed the remains of his cigar out the window as he continued. "People are nervous, and so I thought it was probably a good idea to just leave 'em alone. We need to be getting' a move on anyway."

"Wow." Alex sat back, expressionless. "I can't believe that people are so…easily frightened."

"Yeah right," Warren muttered. "Better get used to it." Logan glanced at Warren through the rear view mirror. Last night, when Logan had gone down to visit the vending machines, he had seen Warren being verbally assaulted by some guy staying the hotel. Stepping in between them, Logan knew he had probably caused more harm than was already there, but it was better than sitting back and watch the boy take it.

"Yeah," Logan muttered, and Warren glanced up at him.

The entire next week was slow going, as the weather was still bad and the roads remained even worse. Eventually, the weather cleared up enough that the roads could be effectively salted and the team started making up for the lost time.

"You know, it didn't seem like this took that long on the jet," Warren commented after nearly two and a half weeks of travel.

"That jet ride was the longest ride of my life," Logan muttered, more to himself than any of the others in the SUV. He could remember it clearly, flying towards Safe Haven where Marie had been kept captive for a week. And after getting there, to find she really didn't remember him…even thinking about it caused him to shake slightly. Logan grimaced to himself, unwilling to believe he had allowed himself to be sucked into going back to the place.

"Well, I only got to fly half way, and then had to make the rest of the way myself, thanks to Storm's plan," Alex was saying. "It's further away then you'd think. But yeah, it's definitely faster with the jet. And good weather."

"Don't forget, it's not that actual building we're looking for," Peter added. "We've got to find whatever small building Dr. MacTaggert mentioned, and find them from there. We're actually going farther than we did before."

"Right, and does anyone know how we're going to do that?" Warren wondered out loud. "First of all, we've got to find where Safe Haven was. Then we've got to find this small building, wherever it is. Then we've got to search through tunnels to find Dr. MacTaggert and the others, hopefully not getting killed in the process. We've also got to hope they'll be expecting us, you know."

"Didn't Storm mention something about how they'd be waiting for us?" Alex asked. "Or that at least someone would be ready to take us to the right place? I know Dr. MacTaggert called back and they discussed something."

"Oh yeah," Warren trailed off. "I guess she did say then when we were making plans to leave. But she didn't say who would be waiting for us, or where. So we don't know exactly what building we're going to, or who will be there waiting for us, which means we don't know what we're doing."

"I'll bet they have a pretty good idea who we are though," Logan interjected. "So I don't think we need to worry about that. Making certain this isn't a trap is a much better priority…" He should have talked to Storm about this more, he knew, but he had been more concerned about spending time with Marie. Now it was coming back to cause him problems. His lips curled in a snarl at his frustration.

"Well, after we've come this far nothing's going to stop me," Peter said. "I won't leave until I see Magik, trap or no."

"That's a dumb attitude, Pete," Warren responded, patting his friend on the shoulder. Alex snorted.

"Be that as it may," Logan allowed, "No one runs off to do their own thing. We're all going back to the mansion alive, so no personal agendas allowed." The last part, a growled threat, wasn't missed by any of them, and the trip continued on in silence. The weak February sun struggled to shine through the cloudy skies.

A total of three and a half weeks travel time later, the SUV finally pulled off the main roads and wound through a few side streets before turning down a back alley. It made its way slowly down the blackened-snowy asphalt before turning a sharp left onto a graying-snow covered gravel drive. After following the gravel through a slightly wooded area, the SUV left the gravel for a muddy trail through more woods. It slipped through the trail for about five minutes before the snow became thicker and the process became even slower. Sharp turns kept it sliding unevenly across the trail, and several times it came close to hitting an object, usually a tree. It took it another ten minutes or so before the trail opened up to a wider gravel lane, which eventually opened up to a concrete lane. The thick layer of ice and snow made the travel even more treacherous, though there weren't as many objects around to hit. Eventually the SUV traveled up to a large flat space, with random pieces of twisted metal and cement blocks sticking out here and there. The snow covered it peacefully as the ice glistened in the daylight, creating a beautiful, but eerie scene.

"End of the line," Logan announced as the SUV slipped and slowed. "We just gotta find a place to stash this." Four sets of eyes scoured the area for an SUV sized hiding place, but nothing was really standing out.

"What about off in those woods there?" Alex finally suggested, pointing to the trees closest to the remains of Safe Haven. A few trees stood clumped together, their thick branches growing together. Logan shrugged and started coaxing the SUV towards them. After a few tries, he managed to pull it far enough under the trees that it was mostly hidden. Working together, the four started pulling other branches and brush to cover the SUV. Eventually it was concealed enough for even Logan, and, grabbing their bags, the four started walking back through the snow towards what was left of Safe Haven.

"Never thought I'd be walking back through here," Warren said as they carefully picked their way through.

"I told myself I wouldn't come back here, and yet, I fought to do just that," Alex said wryly. His face was pale.

"Well, we just do what we have to," Peter said, ending the conversation for a minute. As they passed by the remains, none looked over at them, each for their own various reasons.

Logan even held his breath, trying to shut out every sense from acknowledging the place that had captured, held, and tortured Marie. It wasn't right that any of that happened, and just being near the place made his jaw clench and his fists tighten. A familiar sensation rushed through him, demanding vengeance, but Logan squished the Wolverine down. Not here, not now, he muttered in his mind. It had been easier to keep the Wolverine under control when he'd been with Marie, when the odd sensation of being loved was kept first and foremost in his mind. Here, out in the open, away from that love and around that which threatened it's very existence, the Wolverine was trying to rise up again.

"Logan?" Warren's voice cut through his mind, and Logan looked up, realizing he'd stopped walking. "You doing alright?"

"Yeah…yeah," Logan shook his head and started forward again, passing the other three without looking at them. After a moment, he heard them continue after him. He berated himself silently, unhappy with his lack of control. It surprised him, when the other three caught up and began talking, that he welcomed them and their distraction.

"So, do we see anything like a building?" Alex asked. "She said it was to the north of where the building used to stand, right?"

"Yes," Peter answered. "But I don't see anything yet." They continued on in silence for a bit longer before Warren suddenly stopped.

"This is stupid," he said darkly. "There's no one around. I'm gonna fly up and see where it is." He removed the brace that helped hide his wings and, as they fluttered free, he stretched them outward. With a powerful jump, he launched himself up into the air, the powerful beating of the wings sending back enough air to nearly topple the other three. Logan growled quietly and braced himself against it.

"Well, ok," Alex said. They watched him fly higher for a moment, before Logan shook his head and continued walking in the direction they had been going. Shrugging, Alex and Peter followed him, and they all followed Warren.

"It took us freaking three hours to get to it!" Alex exclaimed. "I thought she said they ran to this place?" The four stood outside a nondescript building, painted white. It blended in with the snow covered landscape, and Logan had to admit to himself he was glad Warren had been scouting from the air. The two perspectives had been what led the four to the building.

"She said Quicksilver ran with them here," Warren corrected. "That guy is super fast - she probably didn't realize how far away it really was. It was also dark, so she couldn't see how fast they were going. Plus, you guys were all working your way through thick snow and slush, whereas they had none of that. We just hit more delays, that's all."

"Well, are we going to go in or what?" Peter asked impatiently. He moved to grab the doorknob, but the door opened before he could do so.

"Well, well, took you long enough."

Logan made up the rear of the line that followed Pyro through the tunnels underneath the ground. He didn't trust the little fire maniac, especially knowing he'd been held at Safe Haven and probably had experiments run on him, like Marie had. Since nothing about the whole situation seemed particularly trustworthy anyway, Logan knew he'd just have to go along with it...for the moment at least. As the group stood now, Peter followed Pyro first, with Warren and then Alex, who grumbled about not being able to see over Warren's wings. They all wore face masks that Pyro had presented to them, assured that they were all still wrapped in plastic and therefore not contaminated.

The only light was held by Pyro; the huge floodlight cast shadows over every surface. A thick, earthy smell tickled Logan's nose, as well as a few chemical scents. He tightened his hand into a fist, ready to fight should this turn out to be some sort of a trap. He couldn't count how many times they'd turned, or which directions they'd gone, but it seemed they'd been going on for quite a while, which might mean they'd been duped.

"Here," Pyro suddenly said. He stopped and turned to face the four behind him. "This is where Moira is." Opening the door, he stepped back and held the flood light up, illuminating the room and the tunnel way.

"You've made it!" A delighted, yet worn out feminine voice drifted out of the room, followed by a small coughing fit. As they passed by Pyro to enter the room, none of the first three turned to look at him, but when Logan passed by, he did. He contained his surprised at the pale features of the fire maniac. For his part, Pyro sneered at him, but Logan merely stopped himself from rolling his eyes before looking into the room.

"I'm so glad you're all here," Moira was saying. She was sitting in what looked like a medical bed, resting against the metallic wall. A table, obviously raised and covered in papers sat next to the bed, complex items written across them. She looked exceptionally tired, and every now and then a violent coughing fit rocked her body.

"We're ready to help you," Warren answered, moving closer to the table. "Is this what you've worked out so far?"

"Yes, yes but don't worry about that right now, I've got something more I've got to tell you," Moira answered, waving her hand in the air. She pushed herself away from the wall and carefully sat up. After a moment, she dragged herself off the bed and stood, a bit unsteadily, smiling weakly. "You can see I'm not quite myself," and she acknowledged her body with a wave of her hand, "so you'll have to forgive my slow movement."

"Don't worry about it," Peter said. "But you should probably sit down." Logan could see the impatience on Peter's face, despite his attempts to hide it.

"No, no, not right now. There's something you need to see, and something even more important I need to tell you. Hurry after me," and here Moira started shuffling out of the room. Logan resisted rolling his eyes again and stepped back of out the doorway. He glanced at Pyro, but the younger mutant was focused on Moira's movements.

"Is it true about the virus being out among everyone else?" Moira paused on her way out of the room, and looked at Logan.

"Yes," he said. "So far there haven't been any deaths, but it's sweeping through the mutant population, creating even more fear and animosity between mutants and humans."

"Oh no," Moira sighed. "We've got to hurry with this cure then. But now, follow me!" With Pyro and his floodlight leading the way, the four members of the team quietly followed Moira through the tunnels.

"Can things get any worse?" Logan heard Alex mutter to himself.

"Of course they can," Moira called back, and Alex started, surprised his voice had carried so far forward. "And things have already gotten worse here. It's all bad news, I'm afraid." Silence reigned once more, and Logan felt something heavy settle in the pit of his stomach.

'What have we gotten ourselves into now?' he wondered, and the fleeting image of Marie flashed through his mind before he, along with the rest of the group, stopped before another door. Moira reached for it and turned the handle, and they all entered the room to very bad news indeed.