CHAPTER TEN
Susan's contract at Xavier's School for Gifted Children didn't require she do anything but practice medicine, but when an interesting opportunity presented itself, she was game. That was the case when Marie and Jubilee asked her to help plan a prom. There were four high school seniors this year, the largest group in many years. The last time a prom had been held was for Scott, Jean and Storm. Susan thought it was a great idea and agreed to bring it up at the next faculty meeting.
Predictably most of the Team thought it was a great idea and were more than willing to pitch in. Also predictably, Logan expressed, "That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard." His comment was ignored. Most of the faculty was used to his bluntness and occasionally disrespectful behavior during meetings.
Susan was not and after the meeting had been dismissed she purposely went to Logan's office. Closing the door quietly behind her, she drew a deep breath. "I need to talk to you."
He casually swung around in his chair. "Ok. What's up?" He sensed anger from her. More seriously, he questioned, "What's wrong?"
"You're behavior in the meeting was unacceptable and your comment was insulting."
"What are you talking about?"
"You acted like an ill-mannered, teenaged punk."
He raised his brows in shock, not having a clue what she meant. His attitude infuriated her even more. "The others may put up with your behavior, but I won't. I treat my colleagues with professionalism and I demand the same in return."
"Susie, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Oh please! Must I list it? Alright Logan…" and she proceeded to expound on proper business meeting behavior and how he did not measure up.
He grew tense and angry as she proceeded to lecture him like a naughty school boy. Finally he snapped. "I've heard enough of this shit!" and he stalked out of his office, slamming the door hard enough to crack the glass.
Round two continued later that evening. Susan attended Travis' Senior Athletic Banquet with Allen, her ex-husband and she had forgotten to mention it to Logan.
In the time since their first harsh exchange, he'd cooled down and was ready to put it behind him so, he thought he'd take her to dinner as a peace offering. When she didn't show up at her house, he called her cell. Since she was at the banquet and not on call, her cell was turned off. Maybe traffic's bad he thought as he waited on her front porch. When an hour had passed and she still hadn't shown, he started to worry. He tried her cell again and only got voice mail. He called School but no one he spoke to knew of her whereabouts. He was wallowing in irritation and worry so when his cell rung, he jumped. The ID indicated it was Electra.
"Miho, I hear you're looking for Susan."
"You heard right."
"I think she said tonight's Travis' banquet, or something like that."
He didn't remember her mentioning it, but that didn't mean she hadn't. "Oh yeah, I forgot." he fibbed. "Thanks." He clicked off his cell. Looks like it's gonna be a while he thought and went to the kitchen for a beer.
After a six pack, enough time to get worked up and hungry as a grizzly bear, she finally returned in a car he didn't recognize and with a man he didn't recognize! He stood on the front porch, arms crossed at his mid section, glaring at the idling SUV in the driveway. She appeared deeply engrossed in conversation with the other man. What was probably only two minutes, but seemed like two hours, she emerged from the SUV, but not before she kissed the other man on the cheek. Irritation gave way to bubbling jealousy-fueled anger.
She waved to the other man as the SUV pulled away and then turned to him. "Hey Bright eyes!"
"Who the hell was that?" he growled.
Taken aback, then instinctively realizing where he was coming from and quickly recovering composure she answered succinctly, "That is the father of my children."
Only half-listening, he was about to spout off something derogatory, when her words sunk in. Deflated, he replied "Oh. Ok."
"So glad you approve" she snipped.
"Susie, where the hell were ya tonight? I've been waiting here for hours. I wanted to take ya to dinner."
"Come inside" she said and went into the house. Dropping her purse and sloughing off her jacket, she continued. "Tonight was Travis' Athletic banquet. I thought I told you…Oh maybe I forgot. Pour me some wine, please. I'm sorry, didn't mean to worry you."
"Damn it woman, don't you answer your cell phone?"
"Excuse me?"
"I've been tryin' to call you since five."
"Did you leave a voice mail?"
"No."
"Well then, how do you expect me to know you've been trying to call me?"
She had a point, but he didn't want to concede it. Feeling stumped, he simply cursed.
"What is your problem, Logan?"
"What's my problem? I'm hungry, I was worried about you, I wanted to take you out to….to make up for the asshole I was earlier today…and…oh screw it." He turned away, headed for the door. "I'll see ya tomorrow."
Following close behind, she gently said, "Hey, don't leave."
"Look Babe, I really need some space. I'm kinda getting' ready to go off."
"Why? Please talk to me."
His back to her, he paused in the doorway and then whipped around. "Why? You wanna know why? Ok, for starters, I don't appreciate getting ripped a new one, like you did this afternoon. Second, I wanna know where you are…."
"Whoa! Hold-up cowboy" she interrupted. "I knew earlier today had something to do with this. You acted like a child and I called you on it. You know what? I'll do it again if you give me a reason to. As for knowing where I am, well, …I didn't intend to worry you, but….I am independent adult and not accustomed to checking in." She was being extremely diplomatic but really wanted to tell him where to get off.
He bit his bottom lip and clenched his fists, fighting off his temper. Again he realized she was right and his reaction was way over the top and all he could do was curse.
She quickly realized he was pushed to the wall. Calming her tone, she said, "This is getting us nowhere. Let's call it a night."
"Yeah. Good plan" he growled. "See ya." He stalked out, hopped on his motorcycle, briefly pausing to look in her direction.
She stood there in the doorway looking dejected. "I love you."
He was just about to kick start his Harley, when her last words short-circuited his temper. I'm such a pussy whipped son of a bitch, he thought. "Yeah, I know." He dismounted his bike, bound across the driveway and wrapped her in his arms. "I love ya, too."
"I think this qualifies as our first fight" she observed. "I guess we need to kiss and make up."
He growled low in his chest. "I'm gonna do more than kiss ya, woman." Then he scooped her up in his arms, planted a warm, wet kiss on her mouth and carried her off to the bedroom.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Since they were living together except when her son's came to stay on weekends, Susan began relying on Logan to help her ferry her kids to various after school activities. He was so much easier to deal with than her ex-husband, Allen, to whom the concept of flexibility was completely foreign.
On particular crazy afternoon, she put in a desperate call to Logan, since she was completely tied up at the hospital, Allen was tied up with an emergency and her oldest, Travis, had after school baseball practice.
"Bright eyes, I know your busy" she began in Logan's voice mail "but, I can't get away and neither can Allen. Can you please, please, please pick Matt up from school and get him to the orthodontist by four-thirty? Matt knows the way, he'll give you directions. Go home and take the Jag. I owe you. Thanks. Love"
When Logan checked his voice mail then looked at the time he realized he had about fifteen minutes to fight traffic and get Matt. No time for stopping by the house to switch from his bike to the Jag. Thinking fast, he came up with plan B and buzzed Scott. "Hey! I need to borrow your helmet."
"What for?"
"Sue wants me to take Matt to some appointment. I haven't got time to switch for her car. I'm gonna have to us my bike so I need a helmet."
"Fine. Just don't trash it."
"I swear, man. It's for Matt. Nothing's gonna happen."
So Matt was suitably impressed when Logan pulled up to his posh school on a Harley. The kid made maximum points with his peers while lots of parents, waiting in line in their 'oh so proper' Volvo's, Lexus's, Mercedes and high end SUV's visibly sneered their disapproval. Logan restrained himself, with significant difficulty, from saluting them with a rude gesture as he drove off with Matt on the back of his bike.
"Where to?" he asked the boy as they whizzed through traffic.
"We need to go to Mullholland Avenue."
They arrived with absolutely no time to spare. Walking in, the smells of the place just about flattened Logan. He'd never in his memory been anywhere near a dentist or orthodontist. Even so, he felt his sinus's start to burn and his eyes stung and if he stayed much longer and his stomach would start doing the tango. Sometimes his enhanced sense of smell was a royal pain. "Hey kid, I'm gonna wait outside. It's a nice afternoon" Logan said as an excuse.
"Ok. See ya in about half an hour."
"Cool." Logan answered and exited office as fast as he could.
Afterward, Logan was supposed to drop Matt back at his father's and step-mother's. He really hadn't inquired too much into Susan's previous marriage. He knew they'd divorced about 10 years ago due to him having an affair. When he pulled into the driveway of Allen's elegant home which was much fancier than Susan's, he came roaring out of the house, completely irate that his son would be on a motorcycle. Logan had imagined someone fairly close to Susan's age, based on her telling she'd met Allen back in medical school, but apparently she had not mentioned that he had been on of her professors and was a good twenty or twenty-five years older.
The older man looked him up and down disapprovingly then said in a commanding tone.
"I'll thank you not to transport my son on the back of this vehicle again."
Allen's only words to Logan were 'I'll thank you NOT to transport my son on the back of that vehicle again."
Embarrassed, Matt just thanked Logan and slunk into the house.
Logan fought to stay cool and civil though he wanted to tell the guy off. "Yeah well, I got the word a little late and these were the only wheels available to make the appointment on time." Logan said tersely.
"As I said" Allen repeated sternly "please don't transport my son on a motorcycle. It's not safe." With that he turned on his heel and stalked back into the house.
Logan gave Allen's back a one finger salute then squealed out of the driveway burning a circle on the pavement for maximum effect and sped away. He knew somewhere down the line this was coming back to bite him in the butt.
Logan got along pretty well with Susan's sons and over time had begun to spend time with them. They thought highly of Logan's motorcycle the three of them had been known to get on Susan's bad side for sneaking off for an afternoon of dirt-biking. They could usually get back into good graces though, when they pitched with weekend chores.
One Saturday when it was Susan's turn for the boys, she had wanted Travis and Matt to trim all the hedges around the house. It was a huge job and they really weren't thrilled about it
Logan drove up on his bike just in time to see Travis had toss a wad of mulch at Matt and Matt fling a rock back at Travis, hitting him on the shoulder. Travis ripped a string of expletives and Matt answered back just as rudely. The boys were just about to throw punches when Logan intervened. "Ya know, if you guys would quit messing around and get this done, I could probably convince your Mom to let us go biking."
"Yeah, well why don't you grab some trimmers and help?" Matt snapped.
"Shut up, Matthew" Travis admonished. "Don't listen to him, Logan. The twerp is always trying to get every body else to do his work for him."
Logan smirked. "It's okay. Three's better than two. Just give me a chance to grab some coffee then I'll come out and show you how to get this job done." He sauntered into the house and made his way to the kitchen. "Hey, babe. Where are ya?"
"I'm upstairs" she called then yelled "Bombs away" and dropped a wad of bed sheets over the upstairs railing to the entry below. A moment later, she did the same thing with an armful of dirty, damp towels. "Hey, what'cha doing here so early?" she asked and without pausing said "Would you grab those towels off the floor and put them in the laundry room...please"
"No problem. I just woke up early." he answered. "Sue, when I drove up the boys were actin' pretty tense. I kinda told them if they chilled out and got their chores done, we'd...um..."
"You told them you'd take them biking, didn't you?"
"Guilty" he admitted sheepishly.
"You know, Logan, sometimes I think I've got a third teenager around here."
Playing for her sympathy, he replied, "Well, ya know, I don't remember being a teenager. I can't help myself."
"You're so full of it" she laughed.
"Thank you." he answered with a slight bow. "I'm going to help the boys out, ok?"
"Yeah, go on. I'll find something to occupy myself.
Logan joined the boys in the front yard. They had managed to quit arguing, but hadn't made much progress. He belted back the rest of his coffee then set the mug on the hood of one of the cars. "Ok, gentlemen, let me show ya how its' done. Oh, by the way guys, don't freak." He snapped his claws out and with precision neatly sheared a row of hedges.
"Oh, that is too cool!" Matthew exclaimed. "I want those!"
"Dang Logan, you better hope the neighbors don't see you." Travis warned.
"Actually, I hope it's your mom who doesn't see. She'll kick my butt." Logan answered as he worked his way down the hedgerow. "Now you guys work down from the other end and we'll meet in the middle."
They finished up in no time and none of the neighbors ever anything but Susan caught sight of what was going on. "Hey, I thought the rule was powers don't get used unless absolutely necessary?" she hollered to them from the back door.
"Oh this was absolutely necessary." Logan answered with mock seriousness
"I see. I guess you'll have to hurry up so that you boys can get all grungy and nasty biking this afternoon."
All three answered in unison. "Yes ma'am."
"Oh whatever. You guys pick up the clippings before you take off... and James Logan, I'll deal with you later." She smiled slyly.
Logan raised his eyebrows at her, returning the same sly smile "Promise?"
She gave him a wink. "By the way, dinner is at seven and I expect you guys back in time to grill steaks." She closed the kitchen door before they answered.
When they came back from their adventure that evening covered in mud, the boys had some bruises and great spirits. They came bounding in through the garage door.
"Don't take one more step." Susan commanded as soon as she caught sight of their messiness. "Now back up. You guys are not bringing all that mud into my house.'
"Oh come on, Mom! What are we supposed to do?" Travis complained.
"Strip down to your underwear and then hit the showers."
Matthew looked stunned. "Mom, that's like too embarrassing."
"Matthew Allen Harris, I changed your diapers fourteen years ago."
"Give it up, Matt." Travis warned as he began to strip.
Logan just stood there wondering if she meant him too. She did. Then she left them to dash to the showers while she started on dinner.
Logan was the first to emerge, all cleaned up. Susan got a feeling of deja vu when she saw him standing in the kitchen, shirtless in jeans.
"You look good, baby, real good." she said as she prepared a salad "but go get a shirt, the boys are here, remember."
"Can't find a clean one" he replied with a very sly, come-hither grin on his face.
" Logan, I put your t- shirts in the dresser, second drawer, right side."
"I was going to wear something a little nicer than a t-shirt."
Susan looked sheepish. "Oh. Your button-downs are at the dry-cleaners. Sorry"
"Great. Then a t-shirt it is," and he headed back to the bedroom.
He returned, pulling on a blue NYFD t-shirt. "Please don't tell me my shirts are coming back starched? I hate starched shirts."
"Just a little, sweetie. You don't want to look like you slept in your clothes, do you?"
"Well, if it's a choice between starch and no starch, I don't mind looking wrinkled" he answered grabbing a beer from the fridge.
"You're a mess." she chuckled. "Pour me some wine and go start up the grill."
He saluted. "White or red?" he asked.
Just then, Travis and Matt wandered into the kitchen. "Set the table, boys" Susan ordered. "We're dining al-fresco tonight."
The boys set to work. "Hey mom, I'm going out. Got a date with someone." Travis informed her.
"Really? With whom?"
"Jubilee."
"As in Jubilee, from Xavier's School?"
"That would be the one."
"Travis William, how did this come about?"
"I dunno. We're just going to the movies with some of the other kids. No big deal."
"Trav, be careful mixing mutant kids with non-mutants. There are a lot of intol..."
"Mom, it's cool. I'm hanging with Jubilee, Marie and Bobby. I'm the odd one out this trip."
"Ok, son. Midnight curfew."
"Yes, ma'am." The six- foot high school senior, gave his mom a hug. "Can I borrow the Jag?"
"Not on your life."
"Dang." the young man mumbled as he walked away.
Once Travis had left, Sue and Logan lounged on the front porch watching Matt and other neighborhood kids skateboarding up and down the cul-de-sac. In between watching the kids attempt to not injure themselves, Sue was writing out invitations and announcements for Travis' upcoming high school graduation and Logan was quietly strumming Travis's guitar.
"Where did you learn to play that piece?" Susan asked.
"I just figured it out" he answered.
"You never cease to amaze me, babe."
He smiled. "I try my best." Glancing down the street, he watched Matt ollie on his board. "You know that looks kinda fun. You suppose it would be totally uncool with Matt if I gave it a try?"
"Probably not. Lately Matt thinks your the coolest dude around."
"Yeah? How come?"
"I got a phone call from Allen about a week ago, I guess. He'd heard all about how cool you were and this and that from Matt. I think he was really just being nosy" Susan explained with an edge of irritation. "Then, and this is the part that really made me angry, he wanted to know if it was true you're mutant and how involved were we... and just stuff that was none of his business."
She was venting now. Logan stopped playing and listened intently to her.
"Then" she continued, "he gives me this business about good examples for the boys and elitist crap about the boys associating with the 'right' people and that I needed to keep that in mind. How dare he insinuate that I don't keep things in line with the boys. Damn it, he was the one that did all the running around. He even had the nerve to bring that... that bitch to our home." Realizing her emotions were starting to overflow, she quieted with a sigh. "I'm sorry; I don't need to burden you with all of this."
"Hey, it's ok" he said reaching for her hand. ""Who else can you vent on? You've got every right to be pissed, lady. How about if I have a conversation with Allen?"
"Good Lord, no Logan. That's exactly what he wants, to stir up trouble".
"I'll give him some trouble if he really wants it" Logan growled. "He's not going to mess around with you and make you unhappy while I'm around."
" Logan, promise me you won't say or do anything. Honestly, the best thing to do is absolutely nothing. I'm not going to engage him in any debate. What's going on between you and me is none of his business. And as far as how I conduct my life with the boys, he just does not want to go there."
"I promise I'll try. But, it might be tough."
Matt and some of the other kids skated up the drive seeking Cokes and a time check so their conversation ceased. It was quarter 'til eleven so Matt's said good-bye to his friends and they headed home. "Hey, mom, how come you always kick Logan out at night when we're around on weekends?"
"Excuse, me?" Susan answered sternly
"Come on, mom. It's not like we don't know he's here...
"Matthew Allen, this is a conversation that I am not going to have with you. You are treading in territory that is none of your business. Am I clear?"
Logan bit his tongue and decided to excuse himself. If he got into this debate, he was going to lose no matter what. "I think it's time for me to go home." he said giving Susan a peck on her lips and quickly heading for his bike.
Not giving up easily, Matt tried to engage Logan.
Logan took a deep breath and really thought about his response. "Matt... I gotta tell ya... I support your mother in all things." Then he swung his leg over the bike, kicked the engine and rode off- not for the Mansion, but just to cruise some bars, shoot a little pool, break a few hearts and see what was going on. It was too early to call it a night.
So he headed out Westchester, crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge and turned on to Palisades Parkway headed for some bars in north Jersey. He was more comfortable with the clientele in boro's like Teaneck or Bergenfield. He stopped off at a scenic overlook for a few minutes, just to smoke a cigar and find a restroom. Parked at this particular overlook, he noticed a familiar red pick-up and a forest green Jeep. The pick -up was Travis' and the Jeep belonged to the School. He cut the engine on the bike drifting silently into the parking area. From down the pathway he heard voices, rather loud and inebriated voices. He crept down the trail and found the kids sitting together in cozy couples. Judging by the number of bottles, plenty of beer had been consumed. "So, how was the movie?" Logan's voice rumbled from the darkness.
All four of them jumped up. "Oh my God, it's Logan," Marie exclaimed. " We are in so much trouble." Bobby interjected. " I'm gonna be toast when my mom finds out" Travis added.
Then Logan let loose. "What the hell do you kids think you're doing? You're all underage. Who sold ya the beer? You bet you're in trouble. Did anybody think about driving? It's a damned good thing I came along when I did..." his fury ebbed as he realized what could have been. "... otherwise, I might be scraping you idiots off the road." He shook his head and then just glared at them a long moment. "Here's what's going to happen. First, pick up these bottles and throw them away. Next, get into Travis' truck, then, I'm going to drive you back to school and you can explain yourselves to the Professor and Mr. Summers. Travis, after I drop Marie, Jubilee and Bobby back at School, then you and I will go home and you can explain yourself to your mother."
Travis glared at Logan, embarrassed at being caught and resentful of his interference.
The four kids were silent on the back to School. Marie couldn't bring herself to even look Logan in the eye. She knew how disappointed he was in her. Jubilee was softly crying. She had been in trouble before and knew that it was not going to go easy for her.
Bobby was too drunk to have a grip on anything. About halfway back, he mumbled that he didn't feel too good and they had to pull over so he could be sick. Finally Logan dropped them back at the school leaving them in the care of Scott and Charles and then started back with Travis.
Waiting in stony silence in the front seat, Travis was staring out of the window into the darkness, the alcohol having made him angry, itching for a confrontation.
Logan stopped at the overlook to load his bike into the back of the truck. Travis got out to watch. He didn't want Logan to scratch up his truck and he was looking for an opportunity to pick a fight.
"You know, I'm ok. I don't need you to take me back home" Travis grumbled.
"Travis, I know you don't think you need me to take you back home, but I'm still gonna."
"Fuck you, Logan. You're not my dad." he retorted, venom in his tone.
Logan was about to spout off back at the boy, but stopped himself. "You're right, Trav, I'm not your Dad. I wouldn't even try to fake it, but I hope I'm at least your friend. As a friend, there's no way I'm going to let you drive."
"Where do you get off thinking you're my friend? You're just the latest guy screwin' my mom."
The look on Logan's face changed from concern to dark fury. It took every bit of self control he had not to punch Travis. "Boy, I'm warnin' ya right now. Don't ever talk about Susan like that again."
"You're warning me? What are you going to do? Rip me up with your claws?"
"Travis, just back off, will ya." He didn't know where this stuff was coming from and he wasn't sure he could keep up the understanding approach much longer.
"I will not back off. You need to back off. There's no way you can be my friend. You think I'm stupid? You're just out to get what you can from her- enjoy some of the high life. You just can't stand it because I'm calling you on it. You're just screwing my mom so you can enjoy the lifestyle while you can. "
Logan realized Travis, though drunk, wanted to protect his mom. "Travis, I'm not out to take advantage of anybody..."
"You're a liar, too" Travis yelled and swung at Logan.
Logan caught arm, flipped him and pinned him to the ground. "Boy, I could finish you off right here but I won't. You know why? Because I love your mother. Do you hear me? I'm not taking advantage of her. I love her. And here's a newsflash for ya, she loves me back." He struggled to keep his voice firm and even.
Cursing, Travis struggled vainly against Logan.
"I'm not going to let you up until you calm down" Logan cautioned. "If you've got issues, we're going to deal with 'em right now. Do you want to act like a man or an idiot? Logan hoped Travis would calm down. He was fast running out of ideas of what to do or say and his patience was nearly at an end. Then a revelation hit him. The only way to deal with Travis was complete honesty. The young man needed the whole story. "Listen up, Travis. What you are saying has merit. Not truth, but merit. You're right, I am not in the same league as your mom, not even close but this is what happened. I met your mom, what in March? Yeah, mid-march. I took one look at her, and yeah, she turned me on. I made a move, an out of line move. Your mom turned me down. Then your mom and I dated. Your mom made the next move. We fell in love. What can I say? If you don't believe me, then let's go talk to her right now. You got the balls to do that?"
The challenge to confront his mother, hit a nerve with Travis. He stopped struggling against Logan and quieted. "You're not shitting me are you?" Travis asked, almost meekly.
"No."
The alcohol buzz and fury began to drain away and Logan felt a change in the boy's body. He let him up.
"I am such as asshole" Travis choked. "Man, I'm really sorry... Oh shit, what time is it?"
"Two fifteen, dude." Logan answered matter- of- factly.
"Geez, I'm so in trouble."
"Trav, you're going to have to explain to your mom what went down about the beer. She's going to hear about it next week anyway, you can bet on that. As far as the other shit is concerned, that's between us. You love your mom. I love your mom. Neither of us wants anything bad to happen. I think we can both agree on that."
Travis nodded, fighting back tears. The alcohol was wearing off and he was realizing what an out of control idiot he was being.
"Alright. Let's go home and I'll help with damage-control as much as I can."
They got into the truck and right before they pulled into the drive they spotted Susan sitting on the front porch, looking beyond irate, Travis said, "Hey thanks for not kicking my ass, and oh by the way, if you are a praying man, pray for me, because Mom is going to do more than kill me."
"I hear ya, Trav, and I believe ya."
Fully aware of intricate 'family politics', Logan silently stood by Travis as the young man faced his mother. Then, the 'shit hit the fan' as Susan delivered her special brand of discipline to her son. Travis promptly lost his driving privileges until graduation. Logan kept true to his work and didn't mention the fight.
As soon as Travis had gone off to bed, Susan and Logan sat down at the kitchen table to unwind. "Is it always this exciting with kids?" Logan asked wearily.
"All the time... Hey, I' m so sorry you had to get involved."
"I'm just glad I came along when I did. When I think about what could have happened, it makes me kinda sick."
"I know what you're saying, love. It's every parent's nightmare." She yawned, "I'm turning in. Coming?"
"What, you're not throwing me out?"
"I think it's time we stopped kidding ourselves. We're certainly not kidding the kids."
"Yeah, I know what ya mean. I damned near choked when Matt started his little dialogue tonight."
"Kid's are smart. Especially mine" she said with teasing pride. "I did appreciate your support, though."
"Thanks. Honestly, I don't know exactly where that came from. I wasn't sure what to say."
"Well, where ever it came from, it was perfect. You have to give yourself more credit, Logan. You're really a decent person. I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if you weren't." She wrapped her arm around his waist and they went to their room to settle in for what was left of the night.
CHAPTER TWELVE
As soon as the regular school year ended, the men of the X-Team began what was supposed to be a fairly routine off-site training exercise but it sure didn't end up that way. Scott, Kurt, Victor, Logan and three older boys, Bobby who would be known as Iceman, Piotr, who was already known as Colossus, and Kyle, whose gift was a shape-shifting, but hadn't settled on a code name yet, were beginning to train as part of the team, flew to a remote area in the hills of Kentucky. The plan was to camp and live off the land for several days and teach the boys the art of tracking and using their special skills effectively. It was one of Logan's favorite training exercises because nobody could out-do him in tracking skills and living off the land was second nature. In a way it was more of a vacation, as far as he was concerned.
Things were going along terrifically until the last day. As a final test for the boys, it was decided that they would have to track Logan. It was proving to be a daunting task for the boys and even Scott and Victor were beginning to show their frustration as hours passed and they could not locate Logan. In teams, the group made sweeping circles of a several mile area. The terrain was steep and heavily wooded. Logan was aware of each team's locations and managed to evade them all.
"Is there any way to sneak up on Wolverine?" Kyle whispered to Scott as they traipsed through the forest.
"Only if we're downwind and extremely lucky" Scott replied.
"And we can't go back until we find him?"
Scott nodded and they continued the search. Suddenly Scott froze in his tracks, causing Kyle to bump into him. "Hold up! Do you see that? Off to the left?"
"Yes sir. What is it?"
"It's a still."
"Huh?"
"Moonshine….illegal alcohol and its owners are probably not the sociable type." Scott explained. "We need to give this a wide berth."
"Why?"
"We might be mistaken for competition or the DEA."
"Not cool. You know, Logan's probably hiding out nearby."
"Maybe, but they won't find him any easier than us."
"Good point."
"C'mon Kyle, let's head north and then circle this sector."
As luck would have it for them, Logan was in the treetops above. As the X-men Team Leader and trainee hastily retreated from the area, Logan caught scent of the moon shiners. They had been aware of trespassers in their territory and were prepared to protect their investments with shotguns. Cleverly hidden in underbrush, the moon shiners raised their guns and aimed at the retreating Scott and Kyle.
Logan had just a split second to make a decision. He could pounce down and disable one of them but that would leave the other still capable of firing. Logan yelled "drop" knowing Scott would react appropriately and then pounced from the treetops onto the moonshiner closest to his teammates. At the same instant to other moonshiner squeezed off a shot that hit him squarely in the left mid-back. Scott reacted nearly simultaneously to the commotion, crouched, turned and lasered the moonshiner, hurling him through the air landing him in an unconscious heap before he could fire off a second shot gun blast.
Logan's pounce had knocked one moonshiner unconscious but the force of the shot gun blast knocked him face- forward onto the ground not completely unconscious, but definitely not all there either. Moments later, he pushed himself to his knees and then tried to stand. Dizzy and weak as his body worked hard to heal, he started to pitch forward again but was steadied by Scott. The bloody, gaping wound on Logan's back sickened Kyle. Embarrassed, the boy retreated behind a nearby tree, being quite ill.
"Thanks. Gimme a minute." he grunted painfully.
"Sit down and rest" Scott suggested as he gently lowered him to the ground, propped against a tree for support.
Victor and the other boys heard the shotgun blasts and tore through the woods toward the sound. Victor, first on the scene, surveyed the unconscious moonshiner and his face was etched with concern for Logan who was leaning against the tree looking as bad as he was feeling. "What the hell happened?" he asked, agitation and concern in his voice.
" Logan saved our butts." Scott answered. "He stepped in front of a shot gun."
Logan peeled his eyes open and surveyed the team. Then sensing something, "We've got to get out of here" he said. "I think our moon shiners have backup."
"Can you make it back to the jet?" Victor asked
Logan hauled himself to his feet, still using the tree to steady himself. "Yeah" he grunted still in significant pain, though by the time they made it back to the jet, he appeared to be almost completely healed. He could hide the cramping sensation and intermittent sharp pain in his back if he worked at it.
For Logan, the healing process could be as painful as the wound. Bone, muscle, nerves and skin burned as the repair process went on. Something like a kidneys or lungs healing could cause him enough pain to incapacitate him for a length of time.
They flew back to Westchester in relative silence, all thinking about the "what-ifs" no one wanted to voice. Instead, they covered up any fears with typical masculine joking and making light of the whole thing. All the what-ifs would come out at the inevitable de-briefing and nobody was looking forward to that.
Meanwhile, back at Xavier's School, Susan had just finished up with her last patient and was beginning to input data into her computer. Suddenly she thought about Logan and was struck with a strong feeling of unease. "Electra, have we heard anything from the guys?"
"No, but they're due back in a few hours."
"I know. I just thought they'd give us an ETA by now. I hope they'll be back in time for the hockey game tonight." Susan had scored season tickets for the New Jersey Devil Rays, who were finalists in the Stanley Cup play offs and the game was at home.
"I know what you mean but we won't hear anything until they make their landing approach."
Susan sighed "Ok" but she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad had happened.
As the Team approached Westchester, Victor requested some weather to hide their approach and Storm, in the jet port control, was happy to comply and made sure the basketball court was clear of any kids. The sudden fog bank and the rumbling of the jet port opening alerted everyone to the X-teams' return.
Just before disembarking, Logan switched out of his bloody and ruined leather uniform and into black sweat pants and a gray sweatshirt and asked his teammates not to say anything about the shotgun incident. If he had been hoping not to tell Susan anything his hopes were dashed when he spotted Susan and Electra waiting for them. The first words out of Susan were exactly what he expected.
"What happened?"
He gave her a peck on the lips. "I love you too" then forced himself to walk briskly out of the jet port and into the command conference room. Susan followed right on his heels, the rest of the team close behind.
" Logan, why aren't you in uniform?"
"Got a hole in it" he answered being purposely vague
"Damn it, James Logan" she hissed "How did your uniform get a hole in it?" She used his given first name on very rare occasions.
"Sit in on the debriefing and you'll hear all about it, ok."
"Oh, fine then." she huffed and took her customary seat. The others filed in and Charles rolled in.
As team leader, Scott headed up the debriefing. For whatever reason, he kept it short, but added that he felt that some more discussion might be warranted later on. Susan sat through the entire debriefing in silence, chewing on a finger nail and carefully observing Logan for any signs he might still be suffering effects of the injury. She didn't detect anything obvious, except maybe that he seemed uncomfortable sitting in his chair shifting his position frequently and she detected just a slight grimace on his face every now and then.
Then Scott dismissed everyone, but before Logan had a chance to get too far, Susan said "I want to see you in the med lab right now.
"What for?" he asked, strong irritation in his voice.
"CT Scan."
He shook his head. "Oh come on! I'm fine."
Looking him straight in the eye, she challenged, "No you're not and I can tell. Look at me and tell me you're 100."
He couldn't because he had pain still and just muttered 'Shit' then followed her to the med lab.
He hated CT Scans. Going into that tunnel reminded him of things he'd rather not remember. Plus there was the obnoxious dye that felt like fire and produced a metallic taste in his throat, plus the scans were only partially effective as a diagnostic tool anyway. It couldn't see through his adamantium skeleton.
He didn't say much as Susan prepped him for the scan. She knew exactly how irritated he was and wisely kept her mouth shut. "What kind of music do you want while this is running?" she asked just before she closed herself off in the control room.
What? I don't care."
"Suit yourself" she answered but selected a Bruce Springsteen CD knowing he really dug The Boss. She spoke from the control room. " Logan, this is probably going to take about twenty minutes. I'm going to have you breathe deeply and then hold your breath periodically, so listen for me, okay."
"Yeah, I know the drill" he answered curtly
When the scan was done, she came back into the scanning room to unhook the IV.
"You've got several pellets lodged in your left kidney and a few others floating around in your abdomen." she told him. "Are you feeling any pain?"
"Not so much pain as just kind of an ache in my back" he lied. He was feeling a lot of pain. "So what now? What can you do about it?"
Susan thought about her answer for a moment. Quite honestly she wasn't sure just what to do. Odds were he'd be fine. What she wasn't sure of was whether his body would rid itself of the pellets or would they just stay there? Would extracting them be helpful? "I'm not sure." she finally answered.
That took him by surprise and the look on his face showed it.
"My best guess is that these things will probably pass out of your urinary tract, sort of like kidney stones. So, I recommend a wait-and-see approach. If things get too uncomfortable I can perform something called a percutaneous nephrolithotomy"
"Plain English, please." he snapped at her
"I make some incisions then pick the shot gun pellets out of your kidney and you go on your way after a few hours, well probably minutes for you, except the anesthesia would knock you on your butt longer than the actual procedure."
"Hate to mention this, but I don't take to anesthesia. What about just waiting it out?"
She looked puzzled for the moment. "I gosh, I forgot that. I don't know, Babe, maybe a couple of hours, maybe the weekend." She wasn't happy to have to be so vague. "It's up to you."
"Waiting it out seems like the best choice" he answered half-heartedly
At home after the CT scan, Susan could tell that Logan was hurting but doing his level best to ignore it. He wasn't his usual romantic self when they went to bed that night and when his head hit the pillow he was asleep within minutes. About two hours later he began to toss and turn, the pain in his back intensifying, beginning to radiate through his belly. Around one a.m. he got up and used the bathroom then emerged in a mild state of panic. Shaking Susan awake he asked "Is it normal to piss blood?"
She sat upright and shook the sleep out of her brain. "What? Yes, it can be. How much blood?"
"How should I know?"
"Oh, good grief. What color was your urine? Brownish, bright red, some where in between?"
"Definitely bright red and it didn't feel too pleasant, either."
"Oh. Maybe you passed one of those pellets. I don't suppose you didn't flush?"
"Sorry."
"Do you need some pain meds?"
"Actually no. I'm okay, now. My back still hurts some. Tolerable, though."
"Good. Come on back to bed."
He slept another two hours before the pain returned, this time more intense. He got up and walked around the still, dark house, but it didn't get better. Now really hurting and burning in his groin, he sat down in the family room and tried meditating the pain away but it just grew sharper, making him nauseous.
Finally, he gave in, woke Susan and asked her for some pain medication. Whatever she gave him actually took the edge for a few more hours meaning whatever it was; he'd probably never had it before. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't work a second time.
When he awoke next it was about eight. Susan was in the kitchen preparing breakfast and he ambled out of the bedroom looking very rough.
"Morning Bright eyes, you look like hell." she said reflecting sympathy on her face.
"I feel like hell" he answered taking a stool at the breakfast bar.
"Hungry?"
"A little."
"Hey, it's really important you take in a lot of fluids right now. That's going to help pass the pellets."
He pursed his lips tightly and squint his eyes. "Right, and that means I get to enjoy the exquisite pleasure of feeling like I'm pissing glass."
"I'm sorry, sweetie. I do have an idea of what you're going through. There's still the surgical option."
"That's ok. I can handle it. How do you know what this feels like?"
"Urinary tract infections. It's more often a female thing. But pissing glass, as you so eloquently put it, is about the most right on description I've heard."
He put his palms up "That's too much information."
She handed him a plate full of eggs and bacon and set a liter bottle of water by his place. "I want you to finish this water by noon, ok."
"Can't I have a beer? That's fluid." He knew what her answer would be.
"No, you cannot have beer." she answered him incredulously. "Clear, non-alcoholic fluids. Water is best. I'll ok non-caffeinated soda if and only if you chug enough water. Got it?"
"Got it." he answered glumly between bites of the eggs and bacon. "Do we have any apple juice?"
"No. Try this," and she pulled out a glass jar from the fridge pouring him some cranberry juice then handed him a large pill.
He looked at the glass suspiciously. "What's this?"
"Cranberry juice. Helps keep the urinary track acidified and infection down. You probably won't get an infection, but it can't hurt."
"And the horse pill?"
"An antibiotic, just to be on the safe side."
"Whatever" he said. The drugs wouldn't do squat but to humor her he swallowed the pill with a belt of the cranberry juice then scrunched his face at the taste. "That stuff tastes like... just plain nasty." He reached for the water and chugged about half the bottle.
Already the pain medicine she'd given him a few hours earlier was wearing off. The ache in his back was intensifying and a burning urgency to urinate drove him into the bathroom.
" Logan, take this with you." She handed him a strainer.
"What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Catch the pellets when they come out, that way we'll know how many more to go."
He looked at her like she was crazy, took the strainer into the bathroom and promptly tossed it into a corner. Susan could hear him cursing and complaining and then he flopped on the sofa when he came back. "This is going to be just a swell day." he said mostly to himself with the pain intensifying again. He lolled his head back against the couch and closed his eyes against it then, he groaned as the urge to urinate came again.
" Logan, are you hurting again."
"Yeah." he grunted. The wave subsided. "It's getting pretty bad, Sue."
Before she could get more medicine from the bathroom, another pain hit hard, a cold sweat, strong nausea and dizziness washed over him. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, cradling his head in his hands.
"Hey, you're looking a little pale around the edges. Are you nauseated?"
He could only nod. Then his stomach lurched and he tasted bitterness in the back of his throat. He got up quickly and pushed past her for the bathroom while she followed on his heels. Breakfast did not stay in his stomach. When he was through, he was quite certain last night's dinner and maybe yesterday's lunch came along with the purge. Feeling shaky and feeling like he still might heave, he went over to the sink to splash water on his face and rinse his mouth.
"I think maybe injectibles are going to be a better choice." Susan soothed as she applied a cool rag to his neck. "Come over here and lay down" and led him to the bed.
He said as he eased himself onto the bed, his back propped against the headboard. "I'm still feeling really sick."
"No problem." she answered retrieving a basin from the linen closet. "As a doctor and a mom, I'm never out of reach of one of these" and handed it to him just in time. When the next purge subsided, she injected him with some painkiller and anti-nausea meds and then sat with him until they took effect.
"I'm not sure I can wait this out." He said shakily feeling that burning urge again. "Gotta go" he announced and staggered to the bathroom hanging onto furniture and the door frame for support.
Susan stayed close but not so close she denied him his privacy, listening to his curses and groaning. She heard a flush, then a thump that made her rush in to his side. He was on his knees heaving bile and stomach acid into the toilet. She had to wait for the siege to stop to help him back to bed. "I can't handle this." he moaned.
"I'm sorry, baby. I think the drugs aren't working. I'm not certain anything I have will help.
Logan could only nod in agreement
Do you want me to do another CT?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No, cut the pellets out."
She heaved a very long sigh. "I still to have to do another CT. I have to locate the remaining pellets and it could be more complicated now that they've begun moving through your urinary tract. I'm not an urologist."
He looked desperate. "Are you saying you can't do it?"
"I'm saying that it's Saturday and getting a consult even from a colleague who owes me a favor is going to be tough. But, I'll try, love." Taking him to her hospital crossed her mind, but she didn't want to stir up mutant issues. Sadly, she knew of physicians flatly refusing to treat anyone who even tested positive for the X factor. She had an urologist friend, but no idea what his take on mutants was.
Logan nodded and she could see that he was drifting out, his body and mind shutting down something like hibernation. It was a scary thing to observe unless you knew what was normal for Logan.
"I think when you wake up going to the med lab might be a good idea. I don't feel comfortable here at the house anymore" she said, absolutely certain she couldn't handle him by herself if he became totally incapacitated or heaven forbid, even delirious or violent. .
"Agreed", he slurred as he closed his eyes and gave into healing sleep.
Mercifully, when he awoke about four hours later, he was much better. She still insisted they go to the med lab for another CT but the scan proved clear and the worst seemed over. His pain was diminished down to a dull ache. By late Saturday night, he was feeling completely recovered and itchy to get as far from the med lab as possible. He wanted to "prove" to Susan how good he felt but she told him to cool his jets for another day or so. He pouted a little but finally agreed, falling into sleep that lasted clear into Sunday afternoon.
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