Another two years at the mining camp passed by, the peace returning to normal. Cookie silently held a grudge against the three friends, shorting them out of their weekly food supplies. Logan's eyes always narrowed, but he made up for it by going out into the woods and hunting deer. Rose kept herself busy in the camp's office, having finally caught up with the horrible mess the record keeping books had been in before they got there. Jubilee still tended the bar, and in her own way got the men there to act more civilized. They still fought, but each of them knew the unwritten rule that it never take place in 'Jubes' Place' as they had dubbed the tavern. Too many of them had been the recipient of slaps that for some reason had burned hot from her hand that sobered them up fast.

One evening Jubilee sat behind the bar and idly twirled a glass of beer around, watching the sudsy foam slosh around. She poured a shot of whiskey that she had gotten an acquired taste for and gulped it down, slowly sipping her beer afterwards.

"What are ya doin'?" Logan asked, walking up to the place and sitting down at one of the stools. He frowned and took the shot glass from the table. "That looks nasty tasting." Jubes cocked an eyebrow at him and laughed.

"Oh, I think some day you'll love boilermakers. I bet you'll drink 'em like water too," she mused, merriment sparkling in her eyes. Logan snorted.

"Not flamin' likely," he muttered, taking a thick cigar from his pocket. "Got a light, Darlin'?" Jubilee's fingers fumbled at the matches and scattered them on the bar. Her throat seized up and her heart hammered in her chest. ~I haven't heard him call me darlin' in so long...~ The way he had said it reminded her of him as an older man, when she had first fallen in love with him. "Hey, you okay Jubes?" Logan asked, leaning over the bar, a concerned look on his face. Jubilee blinked back the sudden tears and smiled.

"Oh yeah. Just clumsy, like usual."

"Jubes, there ain't nothin' clumsy about ya. Now Stan, that's clumsy," he said, lighting a match and taking a long, satisfying pull from his cigar, nodding over to the drunk man who was trying to dance with one of the camp's prostitutes, or as they were known in their profession, "lovies". They usually set up shop for solicitation in the bar before heading out with their clients to their own cabins, and Jubilee didn't mind. She ran a clean bar, not a moral one. She knew about them and didn't wish them any ill will, seeing as they were a part of this mining town's life just as the little seen priest was.

Jubilee giggled at Logan's comment, then stopped when she realized he was holding one of her hands in his own large ones. She stared at them, noticing how tiny and delicate her own hands seemed in comparison to his work roughened hands. Tiny hard pads had been worn on her fingers and palms from her work, but his were scarred with calluses from lifting sharp rocks and wielding the heavy pickaxes and sledgehammers he had graduated to when he was too old for the barrow duty. Her eyes moved up to his heavily muscled forearms and chest from his endless days of hauling and lifting, yet they were still a ghost of what she knew he would grow into. His face caused her to pause and enjoy what she saw. Gone were the hard, deep creases and lines from years of torture in medical labs and life. In their place was smooth skin that covered a strong bone structure: high cheekbones, a stubborn point to his chin, the strong angle of his jaw line. His nose had grown into his face now, for before it had been almost too large. In profile, he looked like a brooding hawk, the end of his nose hooking ever so slightly, his nostrils flaring slightly almost unconsciously as his enhanced sense of smell was on the work at all hours. His lips were almost always in a frown though, but it never bothered Jubilee like it sometimes bothered Rose. She was just too used to his brooding silence already, she guessed. His thick winged eyebrows still shadowed his brilliant blue eyes, the right one quirking upward when something piqued Logan's interest.

"What?" Logan asked, the eyebrows Jubilee was admiring unabashedly gathering in the middle in a look of confusion.

"Oh nothing. You've got some leaves in your hair," she commented, giving herself an excuse to run her fingers through the thick, silk-like strands of ink black hair that touched the collar of his worn work shirt. "See?" she asked, picking several out.

"Yeah, well I was out in the woods tonight," he mumbled, averting his eyes as if he had a secret that he still wanted to keep to himself. Jubes knew better though. She knew he went out in the woods and ran with the pack of wolves that lived nearby as an outlet to release his animal side before it got too much for him.

"Yeah, I could tell. You want me to try an' mend those pants later on?" she asked, noticing a long slash across the shin where one of the wolves had probably been a little too rough in their play with him.

"Yeah, thanks." With that, he stood up and ambled over to the table where Smitty and some of the other miners were sitting. Jubilee admired the unconscious animal grace in him that caused him to walk so fluidly, almost gracefully. She smiled as Smitty clapped him on the shoulder as Logan sat, involving him in the conversation immediately. Then she sighed.

"Flamin' hell, I'm falling in love with him all over..." she whispered, putting her elbows on the bar and propping her chin up in her hands. "This time I'm not too young for him too, there's nothing standing in my way..."

"Hey Lee, you goin' stand there and mutter to yerself all night or are ya gonna serve some beer?" a man shouted, holding up his mug for a refill. Jubilee shook herself out of her thoughts and pulled another mug full of the amber liquid.

"Alright already Frank! Don't get so testy!" she shouted, grabbing another bottle of whiskey while she was at it when one of the men from Smitty's table called for it. She served Frank his beer and handed the bottle to David, who immediately grabbed her around the waist and pulled so she was sitting in his lap.

"Thanks Sweetheart," he said, lowering his head to give her a playful smacking kiss on the lips.

"Get yer hands offa her," Logan growled, putting a hand on David's shoulder, squeezing none too gently.

"Hey, I was just playin' around, wasn't I Jubes?" David said, helping her stand up. "Tell 'im," he implored, knowing that there would be finger sized bruises along his shoulder come the morning. Jubilee's eyes lit up for a fraction of a second at the purely possessive sneer that curled Logan's lip, hope springing in her chest. Then she banked it before anyone noticed.

"Logan, he was just playing around. No need to get all caveman on him," she said, taking the other men's empty glasses and requests for refills. She leaned over the table and got the last one, sending a playful smirk and a wink towards Logan, who was now brooding. He looked up and then quickly down, as if something was on his mind. "Tell ya what, I'll make ya one of those boilermakers, how 'bout that?"

***

Jubes closed up for the morning, turning around just in time to catch Logan walking towards the offices to sign in for quarry duty and pick up his supply of dynamite for the day. Smitty had made him in charge of the explosives ever since the last man had blown his hand off in a careless mistake.

"Mornin' Logan!" Jubes said, waving at him. He stopped and talked with her, seeing as he was early. Then he suddenly stopped and a large, hardly ever seen smile lit up his face for a moment.

"Hello Rose." ~Oh no. Not again. First I had to deal with Wolvie's torch bearing for Jean, now I gotta deal with Rose's. Why does he have this thing for redheads?~ she thought bitterly, smiling at Rose's welcome anyway. ~Maybe I should go out and rinse my hair with some of that red ochre I found over by the quarry...~ she thought sarcastically. She bade them goodbye for the day and wandered back to their cabin, flinging herself on the bed and clutching the pillow that still smelled like Logan's hair to her chest. Taking out the usually hidden strand of turquoise stones from under her shirt, she sighed.

"Am I ever going to get Logan to love me?" she asked the empty room, closing her eyes before frustrated tears fell. "Or am I always going to be just his sidekick?" Of course, the only answer she got was the utter silence, then the loud boom as Logan's explosives sounded off in the distance.

***
The explosions were still going on when she opened the bar, then later on in the evening as well. Smitty had ordered many of the workers to put in some extra time during the night to make up for the week of vacation he had given them earlier. The bar was deserted, Rose had come by for a cup of tea, then she said she was going to do some overtime on the books and run them by Smitty. That left Jubilee alone for the time being. Bored out of her melon, she held her hands out and played a version of 'cat's cradle' with her paffs, making them stringy and thin as if they were pieces of yarn twirling over her fingers in little patterns. She looked out the window, noticing how hard the rain was coming down. The booming thunder was muted by the explosions and she let her mind wander, imagining what Logan was doing. Her head turned when she saw one of the men run past the bar, skidding in the mud and heading towards Smitty's personal cabin. The man was in such a rush, that it caused Jubilee to dissipate her paffs and stand in the doorway. Moments later, the man and Smitty both ran out, Smitty still putting on his cap. Rose ran out after them, her hands to her mouth.

"What's going on Rose?" Jubilee asked, frowning as she heard Smitty yell something, but over the thunder she couldn't make it out.

"Oh Jubilee, up at the rock face...oh God...there's been a cave-in!" Jubilee paled. ~The rock face...that's where Logan was assigned to mine tonight!~ Without bothering with a jacket, she took off in a sprint to catch up to Smitty, her heart hammering in fear.

***


"You stay there!" Smitty yelled over the thunder, shoving Jubilee away from the main pile of rubble. He grabbed a lantern and ran in, shouting orders to his men. Jubilee shivered, looking to her left where some men had already pulled out bodies.

"Logan?" she yelled, running towards them, hoping against hope that he wasn't among the dead. She let out a sigh that was part relief that he wasn't dead yet, part grief because she had gotten to know these men.

"Oh David," she whispered, closing the man's sightless eyes with a hand. She looked up to see Rose standing near Fred, one of the regulars in the bar.

"Fred, Logan's in there, is there any way..." Rose stammered, shivering in the cold rain.

"It don't look so good Rose," Fred replied, lowering his gaze sorrowfully.

"No! I refuse to give up that fast on Logan!" Jubes yelled, turning on her heel and running to the last spot she had seen Smitty at.

"I thought I told you to stay away!" he told her, shoving rocks and debris out of the way.

"And I thought I told you I was stubborn! Logan's in there and I'm not leaving until I find him!" Jubilee yelled, the rain plastering her hair to her scalp and making her thick shirt cling to her skin. She gritted her teeth as the sharp rock cut into her hands, but she didn't say anything about it. Smitty saw her stand up and close her eyes, saw her weaving on her feet.

"There! There's someone over there, I can' feel it!" she said, pointing towards an unlikely mess of rock. If there were anyone there, it would be highly unlikely that they would be alive. She snatched up a shovel and started picking at the rock, Smitty going over to help her.

"You know this is useless. Them poor bastards were goners the minute the seam went," a man said, holding out a jacket for Jubilee. She grunted and threw the shovel aside, reaching for a nearby pickaxe instead.

"I ain't losin' any more of my men, you hear me? I'm not givin' up on them that easily!" Smitty yelled, still prying at the rock.

"You already lost 'em," the man told him. "Now get aside before we lose you to pneumonia."

***


"Wolvie, don't you dare die on me! You let me know where you are, dammit!" Jubilee screamed through her tears, her cut hands aching and making her work slippery. "Don't leave me, don't you dare leave me!" She wished she had a better grasp on her powers, wished she could use her limited clairvoyance better to be exact. The fact of the matter was that in trying to pinpoint Logan, she had concentrated harder than she had ever before and was starting to feel ill to the point she was going to ralph all over the place. She had done stunts like that before. Brown outs, that's what she called them, because everything went dull in her vision but brown around the edges. Kind of like when the power in a home doesn't go to a complete blackout, just only part way. When she had used her pyrotechnic powers to the max, she had suffered one of them, her body not able to keep up with the energy she exerted.

~You ain't givin' up on Wolvie! He never gave up for you, you're not going to start now! He's your partner, your friend...~

"Logan you tell me where you are so's I can tell you I love you without you chickening out on me, you big gallute!" Jubes sobbed, pulling away some more rocks. Then she heard it. Somehow she heard over the sounds of the men toiling around her and the booming thunder the sound of something barely human crying out for help.

" Hey! Get over here!" she shouted, screaming for Smitty and the other men. She herself darted in the hole, reaching an overturned wheelbarrow from where the sound was coming out from under. Debris covered it and she shoved the rocks aside. "Somebody, help me get this turned over," she whispered, fearing that any noise she made would cause the already fragile roof to collapse on them. Men came in and hefted it over, staring in shock at the sight that lay before them.

Logan lay in a fetal position, his body curled over that of a young boy. His right arm was bent at a funny angle and blood pooled under his head and leg. His eyes opened a tiny bit and the first thing he saw was a teary eyed Jubilee. He closed his eyes and relaxed his hold on the boy's body as he fell into unconsciousness at last.

Jubilee stepped out of the men's way as they carried him out, mindful of his arm where she saw a sharp protrusion of slightly opaque bone stick out from above the elbow. She winced, knowing it must hurt something fierce and knowing that she'd have to be the one to set it before it healed wrong and she'd have to break it all over again for him. The other workers had unearthed more men in various stages of injury, from the barely scratched little boy Logan had shielded with his body to the old man who looked as if his foot had been smashed beyond recognition. The men put Logan on a liter, intending on taking him down to the bar where she had heard Smitty say was going to serve as a temporary shelter and a place to have all the injured for the town's doctor to look at all at once.

"No, take him to our cabin," she ordered, steering the man at the lead away from the bar.

"You sure Miss Jubes? I mean the doctor is..."

"Going to be really busy. I can take care of Logan, don't worry about me," she said, nodding as they followed her. She bade them to set Logan on his bed for now and move the long table away from the side of the wall and more towards the middle of the room. Then she had them heft up the litter and put him on top of it. While they were still there, she took out the lone bucket she possessed and set it outside, letting it fill to the brim with rainwater. When she was ready, she told the men to go back home to their families if they had them, or to see if their help was needed elsewhere.

"Jubilee! Is Logan all right?" Rose asked breathlessly, coming in from where she had ran all the way down.

"No. We're going to have to set his arm," Jubes said, putting her hand inside the bucket of water and creating a hot paff to heat it to the right temperature while Rose's back was turned getting more lanterns for them to see better with. "You watch his claws, I have a feeling he's going to pop them," she warned.

Just as she predicted, Logan's eyes snapped open, his gaze blind as his mouth contorted into a grimace of pain at the mere touch of Jubilee's fingers to his arm. Rose screamed when he growled, his hands bunching into fists and a sick sounding schluck coming when his claws burst from the skin between his knuckles.

"Jump on his good arm for crying out loud! Don't let him cut you!" Jubilee yelled, holding his other arm down by extending her leg up and stepping on his wrist. She pressed down on his shoulders with her arms and put her lips right against his ear. "Hey! It's me, don't fight," she screamed, trying to get him to come to his senses. "It's Jubes, yer pal! Come on Logan..." Trying anything, she rubbed her head against his lips, hoping the scent of her hair would trigger some sort of nonferal memory. Thankfully, he stopped struggling.

"Logan? If you can understand me, nod your head." Jubilee breathed a sigh of relief as he slowly nodded. Rose let go of his arm and backed away.

"Lord, I forgot how it was...how they looked..." she stammered, her eyes wide. Jubilee turned to her and saw that she was terrified. It finally came to her that she hadn't seen Logan's claws since that terrible night all those years ago.

"Rose, go to the bar and get me that bottle of brandy that's under the counter and bring it back to me. Then go back and see if Smitty or anyone needs any help. I think I can handle Logan fine now," she said, gently turning the girl towards the door.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." ~Like I don't have enough on my hands without having to worry about you freaking over Logan's claws...~ When Rose was gone, Jubilee turned towards Logan again.

"How you doin' big guy?" she asked, going over to the small chest against the wall and taking out one of her shirts. She winced as she tore it into strips, her hands giving protest.

"Hurt. You're bleeding." Logan sat up.

"Woah buddy! Don't go sitting up on me when you're not ready to!" she shouted, fearing that he would topple over from whatever blood loss he had suffered. She noticed that his claws had inched back under his skin and that the flesh they had penetrated had already started to slowly heal. "Yeah, I know I'm bleedin'. Happens when you get cut." Jubilee said gruffly, wrapping up her injured palms before she touched Logan again. Logan grimaced in pain as he used his good arm to rip the sleeve of his shirt off, showing Jubilee a bloodstained arm and a clean break to his forearm.

"Okay, this is gonna hurt," she whispered, taking hold of his arm in both of her hands. With his free hand, Logan squeezed her shoulder. "I'm gonna push on the count of three, okay? Just don't skewer me," she said, a ghost of a grin forming on her face. Logan nodded his head and took several deep breaths. "One, two, three!" Jubilee shouted, shoving with all her might until the bone was pushed back in it's proper place. Logan let out a howl of agony and squeezed Jubilee's shoulder until she shrieked with him. They sat/stood there afterwards, both of them breathing hard and shaking.

"I hope that worked," Jubilee breathed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Hope so too," he answered back, his head drooping to touch hers. Rose came running in then and handed the bottle to Jubilee. She thanked her and took the cork out with her teeth, spitting it aside after the redhead had left. She then pressed the bottle to Logan, who drank a big gulp before handing it back to her. She took a drink and then poured some right on Logan's arm, causing him to yell in pain.

"I know it hurts, but I don't want anything infecting it, making your healing factor work double time than it is already." She poured a little on another rag and dabbed at his leg where she saw the mean gash already trying to heal. The wounds at his head were gone, the only thing there were little white scars that were slowly fading. Dipping another cloth into the hot water, she bathed his skin, cleaning the blood away. Suddenly, she leaned against his knees, holding the sides of the table with painful palms.

"Jubes?" Logan tilted up her face and stared at her with worried eyes.

"How well are you healed?" she asked breathlessly, already weaving on her feet.

"Starting to get better."

"Oh good." Logan jumped from the table and caught Jubilee in his good arm when her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she sagged backwards, her legs crumpling out from under her.

***

Jubilee felt rather than saw Logan when she came to next. Then her eyelids fluttered open and she was faced with his broad chest covered in a clean shirt. His left hand stopped making idle circles over her shoulder and tilted her face up.

"Hey."

"Hey. How long was I out?" she asked, sitting up in the low bed and staring down at him.

"Long enough to sleep through Rose coming in and putting my arm in a sling," he replied. Jubilee looked at her freshly bandaged hands. "Slept through that too. Ya had rocks and stuff all in there Rose had to pick out." Jubilee sighed and lay back down, burying her nose in his shirt.

"Thank you," Logan said, hugging her tight. "For fixing my arm, taking care of me...not giving up on me. Smitty told me what happened up there with you." Jubilee turned her head so she was looking at him.

"Would you have done the same thing if it had been me trapped instead of you?" she asked.

"Yeah. We've been through a lot together; you, me and Rose. We'd all do the same for the other. I know it."

"Yeah. We would." She didn't have the heart to tell him how horrified Rose had looked when she saw his claws again.

"Jubes?"

"What?"

"I've got a secret I wanna tell ya. But you have to promise not to tell anyone else, all right?" He moved so he was propped up on his left elbow, staring right at her. Jubilee was almost frightened of the intensity of his azure stare, she hadn't seen him that focused in a long time. ~Not since back in New York...~

"What is it?" she asked. Logan took a deep breath and let it out slow.

"I've been thinking these past few days. Thinking about stuff. Ya know, love an' everything." ~Oh my god, here's where he tells me he loves me! Okay Lee, ready to tell him you love him back?~

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I love Rose so much, I can't keep it to myself any more. Since you're my best friend, I wanted you to know first that I'm going to ask her to marry me." Jubilee was quiet, staring at him without really looking at him. "Jubilee? Didja hear me? I said I'm going to ask Rose to be my wife. Jubes? Yer scaring me. Yer not gonna pass out again, are you?"

Jubilee looked at him finally and blinked. She carefully stood up and on shaky legs went towards the little chest she had gotten a shirt out of. Reaching inside the collar of the shirt she wore, she tugged with all her might at the necklace around her throat. The metal clasp silently groaned at the strain, but soon the delicate piece broke, making the turquoise stones fall into the palm of her hand. She bundled the piece up in a scrap of cloth and shoved it to the very bottom of the chest, a single tear escaping between closed eyelids.

"I'm fine," she said, "I'm happy for you." In reality though, she felt as if her heart was bleeding out. A pain that had nothing to do with being physical began in her chest as she let her shoulders slump out of Logan's line of sight. "Really happy for you."

***

Jubilee turned and swiped at her eyes at the sound of Rose coming into the house, a bundle of clothes in her arms.

"Good afternoon Jubilee," she said. "Are your hands hurting?" ~No, my hands are fine. It's a couple of other parts that hurt now...~ Jubilee smiled and shook her head.

"No, they're doing good. Thank you for cleaning them up." ~Hey, stop being so stiff Lee! She's going to think you're angry at her or something!~ For all her thoughts, she just couldn't get herself to even register a tiniest bit of resentment towards the beautiful woman. She sighed, knowing that Logan had made up his mind and that was that.

"I'm gonna head off to the bar, see if anyone needs any help," she said instead, giving Logan a wink as if to say "there, you have some time alone with her now". She went towards the bar, but decided to stop along the way at Pauline Fowler's house. The woman was out at the side, washing clothes and hanging them up on the line.

"Hello Pauline," Jubilee said quietly. She had seen her husband Matthew in the line of lifeless men the night before. Pauline didn't say anything, she just smiled weakly. Then her lips crumpled and she let out a loud sob. Jubilee had always liked the woman. She was a young wife, probably no older than she or Rose. Pauline and Matthew had spent many a night in the bar keeping Jubilee company while their son played at their feet. Jubilee immediately went to hug her, whispering soothing words in her ear.

"I miss him so much already," Pauline cried, clutching Jubilee's shoulder tightly. "It's just as if he's at work still and won't be coming back till almost nightfall. But this time he's never coming back..." The woman let out a shaky breath and wiped at her red rimmed eyes. It had looked like she had already been doing a great deal of crying since last night. "I loved him so much..." Jubilee's own eyes started to tear at the sight of the woman in so much pain over losing her husband. She thought about Logan and how scared she had been. He could have easily been one of the dead men in the quarry as well. Then she thought about how his eyes had shone when he professed his love for Rose to her. Somehow she felt that her pain and Pauline's pain were almost one and the same.

"I want to thank Mister Logan though. He saved my son's life. And I hear that you were the ones that found them. Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done if I'd have lost both Matthew and Gregory." Jubilee stayed with her for a while, then decided against going to the bar. She'd see to it later on in the evening. When she got back to the cabin, she saw Rose and Smitty outside talking together. They turned when she came closer.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Smitty asked, taking her hands and examining the bandages. "You have the rest of the week to recover," he told her. Rose smiled and bid Smitty good bye as she went back into the house.

"Jubilee, I have to tell you something," Smitty started. "I ain't got no clue as to how you knew exactly where to look for Logan an' the Fowler boy, but I ain't gonna pry. An' I noticed lights comin' around ya last night as ya dug. Didn't see any lanterns around either." Jubilee's eyes went wide as she realized that he had seen her daring to use her paffs in the eyes of others. Ever since she had been dumped in the past, she had been so careful not to be caught using her mutant gifts. The night that she had attacked Thomas Logan, it seemed as if no one remembered it. Rose had blocked the majority of the details out of her mind ever since she wrote the account in her journal. Jubilee had taken a look at it while the girl was out and saw that there was nothing to be said about her powers in it.

"But like I said, I ain't gonna pry. You saved Logan an' little Gregory's life. Don't make no difference to me one way or another. I just told Logan the same thing. By all rights, he should have died along with the rest of them men, seeing as his injuries were so bad."

"Oh, no they weren't. They just looked a lot worse than they really were. Only a sprained arm and a few cuts to his leg, not to mention a bump on the head." Jubilee quickly said. Smitty raised his eyebrow and shook his head.

"Whatever you say Jubes. You take care now, an' remember what I said about staying away from the bar 'till yer good an' ready to come back." Smitty said, touching his cap as he turned to walk off.

***

The atmosphere around camp for the following days was a somber one. With the free time that they had, Logan and Jubilee spent it talking. For no apparent reason, he wanted to know everything about her. She tried to tell him in the most roundabout way about her parent's deaths, skipping over the time she had spent with the X-Men and GenX, explaining hazily about her stint in L.A.

"You ever have a beau?" he asked suddenly.

"Why do ya wanna know about that?" she asked back, staring at him as she sat in a nearby chair changing her bandages.

"No reason. Ferget I asked."

"No, you asked an' ya wanted to know. Yeah, I had a few boyfriends," she said, remembering her very first one when she had still been a pre-teen mallrat, then smiling at Ev's memory, then shaking her head at the thought of her very latest one. Funny, she couldn't remember his name, but she remembered that she had hooked up with him only to make Wolverine jealous. Hadn't worked. He still saw her as his sidekick.

"Did you love any of them?"

"I don't think so. I know I liked them in one way or another, but I never really loved them. There was only one man I ever loved," she said, thinking about the broken necklace in the chest so close to her.

"Oh? What happened?"

"Why you wanna know?"

"Because I think yer tired of listening to me talk about Rose all the time. Let's talk about you." Jubilee sighed and didn't turn around.

"I never told him I loved him. We were really close, just like you an' I are, and I was always his sidekick, the girl he called 'kid'. I guess I deserved it, I was young enough to be considered his kid sister or his daughter," she said studying her hands as she cleaned them again. "It didn't bother me though, the age gap. It bothered him though."

"What happened?"

"One night I came right out and told him I loved him. He went all weird on me and things went bad. I never saw him after that." It was the truth, she had been whisked away soon after. "I don't wanna talk about him anymore, I'm gonna go for a walk, okay?" Jubilee said, getting up and heading out the door. When she was alone, she looked up at the clear sky.

"Because I'm tired of always being brushed off for some other woman."

***

It was late when Jubilee finally started back. She had spent the entire day sitting out by the little creek nearby collecting her thoughts. ~Maybe Gateway sent me back because I was supposed to realize that Logan's never gonna be mine. Maybe he wanted me to see it for myself...~ She sighed, thinking that she had been sighing way too much as of late. She was going to head over to the bar just to see how things were going when she saw Logan freeze outside Smitty's office window. Scrunching her eyebrows up in confusion, she watched as his face held a certain level of disbelief mixed with anger and pain. Then he turned on his heel and ran off towards the woods. She decided that with the look on his face that he didn't need to be alone. She ran towards him, wondering what had set him off in the first place.

Jubilee skittered to a halt when she saw Logan face to face with a large male wolf. Even thought she knew that he spent his nights among them, she didn't realize the size of them. This one was obviously the leader of the pack. She cringed as Logan flung himself at it, claws extended. They both growled, the sound fierce and not at all playful. Logan yelled out as he was bitten in the arm and slashed at the wolf, sending it sprawling several feet away. Logan crouched low, his face in the familiar berserker rage expression Jubes had gotten to know. The wolf got up, its tail between its legs and whined, lowering its head as well. Logan stood up, breathing hard as the once alpha male limped off away from the pack. Logan watched it go, then threw back his head, howling his pain to the skies.

Jubilee watched, her heart wanting to go to him, but stayed where she was. Suddenly his head snapped to where she was hidden and he growled, the hair at the back of his head bristling as if his hackles were raising. He still had his claws out, and the blood that dripped from his arm stained his shirt. She had the distinct feeling that she should get up and run, but she ignored it. Instead, she stood up and walked towards him.

"Logan..." she was cut off by an animalistic snarl. He stepped towards her, his blue eyes glazed over in rage. His nostrils flared as he showed his teeth, his almost too sharp canines shining in the moonlight.

"You knew," he growled. "You knew about Rose."

"I knew what about Rose? What's going on?" Jubilee asked, backing away slightly. Logan growled and jumped towards her. Only instincts saved her from getting caught be his left set of claws as she rolled to safety.

"Don't you play stupid with me!" Logan roared, lashing out again. Jubilee once more dodged him. Crouching low, she held out her hands, her fingertips glowing.

"Don't make me hurt you," she whispered, her pyrotechnic blobs forming already, their heat warming her hands. "I don't want to hurt you." He gave her no choice as he lunged again, catching the hem of her flannel shirt, the sound of material ripping sounding loud in the sudden silence. She shot a volley of low level paffs at him, wincing when he snarled in pain as they hit his chest. They circled, the look in Logan's eyes never changing from that crazed glare. He would lash out, she would jump and fire at him. Between trying to tire him out, she heard the story.

"You knew about Smitty wanting to see Rose alone, didn't you? How he had always taken a liking to her..." ~Oh! Logan caught Rose and Smitty together, that's what happened! Now this all makes sense.~ Jubilee jumped out of his way again.

"I didn't know anything of the sort. But I'm glad it happened! I'm glad you saw it!" she yelled, her anger going over the boiling point. "I'm fed up with having to sit on the sidelines while other women worm their way into your heart without deserving to! Rose never loved you like that! She still thinks you're a little boy that needs to be sheltered and taken care of by her." ~I'm the one that loves you like that, you damn nimrod!~ Her words caused him to pause. He stood there a few feet away from her, breathing hard, his chest exposed from the burn marks her paffs had made to his ruined shirt. Then his shoulders sagged. Letting out one more howl, he turned around and struck out on a nearby tree, leaving three deep gouge marks on its bark. Then he retracted his claws, leaning against the wounded tree. His back shook as Jubilee realized he was crying. She carefully made her way towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. He turned and she felt her heart tugging at the helpless face he gave her.

"It's true, isn't it?" he whispered. Jubilee nodded her head.

"It is. I'm sorry you had to find out the hard way, Logan." He sank to his knees in the grass, Jubilee going with him. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around him and felt his strong arms squeeze her waist. They sat like that for a long while, not saying anything, just simply holding the other.


***

There was a subtle change in Logan ever since that night in the woods. Neither he or Jubilee said anything about it, but he became a little more withdrawn, quieter than he had been before. If Smitty or the others noticed anything, they didn't say so.

"Hey darlin'," Logan said one night several weeks later, sitting at one of the stools. He lit his evening cigar and gave a tiny grin when Jubilee set a glass of whiskey in front of him.

"Hey. How was your day?" she asked, pouring three mugs of beer for waiting miners.

"Busy. We cleared part of the west pile. An' you?"

"Busy too. Stopped a fight some of the newer men had in here earlier." Logan laughed, looking at the two men she pointed at with her eyes. One of them was nursing what looked to become a black eye, the other held a rag to his mouth.

"Don't think they'll be starting anything in here for a while," he mused, throwing back his drink. "You hear the news?"

"What news?"

"Rose an' Smitty are gonna get hitched. Smitty actually came to me an' asked for her hand." Jubilee put down the whiskey bottle and reached for his hands. Logan stared down at them and shrugged. "Don't bother me no more. 'Sides, everybody thinks she's my cousin." He moved his hands till he was holding onto hers and brought them up to his lips.

"Gonna turn in early. Night Jubes." Jubilee swallowed hard and nodded.

"Night Logan." She tried not to be completely obvious when she watched him amble towards the tables where the men in his crew sat and talked with them for a while. He moved over to Smitty and Rose and said something to them, then turned towards the door. She caught herself before she started staring like a fool after him in the doorway. Some of the men at the bar looked at the other, then one of them elbowed another in the ribs.

"Well, looks like Miss Jubes is all starry eyed over Logan," one of them said, nodding his grizzled beard at Jubilee.

"Yep Toby, an' it's about time. A lady as pretty as she is needs a man in her life."

***

Jubilee smiled as Rose came over and told her about her happy news. She looked the woman over and noted how bright she looked. Her cheeks were flushed slightly, her eyes all aglow.

"And I just love Mister Smith so much," she gushed, still smiling as Jubilee poured her a cup of tea.

"Oh Rose, you don't know how happy I am for you," Jubes told her, honestly meaning it. She listened as Rose went on about the details of her planned wedding, pouring drinks and carting them to different tables all the while. After a while, Rose and Smitty left hand in hand, causing a loud round of applause for the new couple. Morning came along and Jubilee only had to prod one old man out and back to his home before locking up. She walked to her cabin, thinking how soon it would just be hers and Logan's when Rose moved in with Smitty. A smile came to her face as she looked at her hands, still feeling the prickly stubble on Logan's chin as he had bent down to kiss them. She kicked off her boots as soon as she got inside and undressed down to a plain white shift. She was getting into bed when she saw the little yellow daffodil on the pillow. Picking it up, she grinned, placing it on the table next to the water pitcher. She frowned when she lay down, feeling something hard scratch between her shoulders. Sitting up, she gasped as she saw the turquoise and sliver necklace laying there, the broken ends connected with a strong yet thin piece of leather knotted together. She beamed, slipping the piece over her head and feeling a sense as if it should always belong there.

***

The months that followed went by in a blur. Rose was now happily married and living with Smitty in the large cabin at the top of the hill as a contented housewife. Jubilee hadn't seen her this happy ever. Logan remained a little bit on the morose side whenever somebody mentioned Rose's name, but it quickly passed. He spent more and more evenings at the bar with Jubilee, leaving some nights almost the last one out. Or there were the mornings when he walked to the office to sign in for work earlier than he should, stopping by to help Jubes close up.

Rose had been married for a year and a half when Logan one day fidgeted around in his cabin. Smitty had given his crew the day off since they had mined well over quota for the past week. The bar had been closed for a while since the newest shipment of supplies hadn't come in yet and they were all out of booze. So with nothing to do, Jubilee lay on Rose's old bed on her stomach, reading a book that Smitty had loaned her.

"Let's go out and do something," Logan said suddenly, shoving aside the piece of wood that he was trying to whittle at with a tiny knife. Jubilee looked up at him and raised her eyebrows.

"Okay, what?" Instead of telling her, he went over to the bed and pulled her up, taking her hand and heading over to the mess hall where the new cook that had taken Cookie's place worked. Logan told her to stay outside and she complied, laughing at his serious manner. He came out a few minutes later with a basket and a blanket.

"Ready?" he asked, taking her hand again. He led her into the woods, deeper than she herself had ever gone. She gasped as she saw a beautiful piece of land before her. A waterfall roared as a river carried the water away. All around her, the trees grew a lush green. Large gray boulders covered here and there with light green lichen protruded from the ground. Birds sang in the branches above them. Logan grinned at her and let go of her hand to spread out the blanket, then bade her to come sit with him. They ate their lunch, taking in the brilliant sun that filtered through the canopy of trees and enjoying the rush of the water to their right.

"How did you find this place?" she asked him, leaning back on her elbows and wiggling her toes, her boots and socks over in the grass.

"One night I came across it. I like it, don't you?"

"Yeah. It's beautiful. Thank you Logan for bringing me here." They were silent for a while, just sitting or laying down, enjoying the other's company. Logan's eyes drooped and he fell into a doze. When he woke up, he couldn't find a trace of Jubilee anywhere.

"Jubes? Where ya at?" he asked, looking about. Then he saw her pale gold feet sticking below a branch. Reaching up, he caught one in his hands and tickled the sole of her foot till she shrieked and kicked about, laughing all the while. "Ya look like a squirrel in that tree, Lee," he laughed.

"Oh? Well, you look like a...a..." she said, leaning backwards until she hung upside down by her knees. "A big ole' bear!" she giggled. Logan's eyebrow quirked upwards and he showed his teeth.

"A bear, huh? I'll show ya a bear!" he mock growled, pulling Jubilee off the tree until her feet touched the ground. She shrieked and went off in a run, looking behind her periodically. She stopped when she didn't see him anymore.

"Gotcha!" Logan yelled, jumping out from behind a bush in front of her. She shrieked again and ran back, by he caught up with her and tackled her legs, sending her sprawling on top of the blanket, his fingers torturing her sides. She flipped over and reached around his shoulders and their tickle fight became a friendly wrestling match. They rolled around the blanket until Logan pinned her down. He looked down at her and grinned, breathing heavily from their fight.

"Do ya give?" he asked, smiling broadly.

"Never." She squealed again as Logan tickled her sides. "No fair! No fair!"

"Oh? How come? Oh, that's right, I don't have a ticklish spot!" Logan growled against her throat. Suddenly, both of them stopped moving. Logan lifted his head and stared down at Jubilee's face, she opened her eyes and stared up at him. As if in slow motion, Logan's hand snaked up her side and cupped her cheek, his face moving down to meet hers. She sighed as he kissed her, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She tried to enjoy it while it lasted, seeing as if she knew Logan he would back off and move further away from her, unattainable as ever. What surprised her was when he let her mouth go only to move down to kiss her throat.

"Tell me to stop Jubes. Tell me because I can't," he moaned, licking her collarbone. It was as if her wildest dream had finally come true: Her Logan was barely holding onto his control, about to ravish her there on the forest floor. A wave of desire flowed through her and she threaded her fingers into his hair. Lifting his head up, she kissed his lips tenderly.

"Don't stop. Don't ever stop Logan."

***

Hours later they lay together, the sunlight coming through the trees and creating dappled shadows over their bodies. Logan's hand caressed her side, marveling at the softness of her golden skin. Jubilee stirred in her sleep and moved to snuggle up closer to Logan's body. He bent his head down and kissed her forehead, causing her to cutely crinkle up the skin there and mumble in her sleep. She didn't stir when he gently rolled her to her back and started covering her face with butterfly light kisses though. He smiled against her lips when he felt her kiss him back as passionately as he was kissing her.

"Thought you'd never wake up, darlin'," he murmured, his mouth busy with her suddenly fascinating earlobe. Jubilee sighed happily and stretched languidly against him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"What? Got lonesome?" she asked playfully, tilting her head as he pressed open mouthed kisses along her throat.

"Yeah, somethin' like that." He moved up to stare at her face, a dead serious look in his eyes. "I love you, Jubilation Lee," he said. Tears sprang to her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, catching her tears with the tip of a finger. Jubilee closed her eyes tight and bit her bottom lip. Letting out a shaky breath, she stared at him.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to tell me that. I love you so much Logan," she whispered. Logan let out a pent up breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding and swallowed a lump that had gotten thick in his throat.

"Then I'll tell ya that every day Jubes. Every day, I promise." His head moved downward again and there was no more need for words.

They arrived back at the camp well after dark. Going to the mess hall, they returned the basket to the new Cookie. Jubilee liked the man. He was tall and skinny as a reed, but he made even the simplest of foods taste divine. He had a friendly nature to him too, and a booming laugh that shouldn't have come out of such a thin person. At first glance, Logan had been wary of him, growling whenever he got in the chow line. Then as the months progressed, Cook was accepted by him.

Now Cook laughed, passing them both two plates of food. He eyed Jubilee and winked. As she thanked him, he leaned over to whisper something in her ear.

"I'd eat in your cabin, Sweetie. You forgot to button your shirt right." Jubilee blushed as she saw that all her buttons were off track. Cook laughed again and heaped up another helping on both of their plates. "You two look like you need the extra...nourishment, no?" Jubilee laughed with him and turned to Logan, who was actually blushing. She thanked Cook and took Logan's hand again, the both of them heading towards their home. Once they got there, Jubilee took Logan's plate and placed it with hers on the scarred table. As Logan closed and bolted the door, she lit a few candles. He advanced towards her with a wolfish glint in his eye.

It was late when they finally got to eating, scarfing down the food like they hadn't eaten in weeks. They couldn't stop touching the other, be it her hand on Logan's knee as they ate or the sleek glide of Logan's hand up her thigh. After they ate they curled up in bed together, staring at the other's face, smiling contentedly. Jubilee fell asleep soon after, the sound of Logan's heart beating so close to her ear lulling her under.

***

She woke later on when Logan kissed her goodbye, sitting on the edge of the bed to put his boots on.

"I'll see you later tonight," he told her, bending down and nuzzling her shoulder.

"You're going to be late for your shift," she said, at the same wrapping her arms around his waist and tugging him closer to her.

"Aww, Smitty'll understand." Jubilee giggled and then kissed him again.

***

The supply wagon came later on that day, so Jubilee had to drag her tired body out of bed to oversee the stocking of her portion. She grinned ruefully, knowing full well why she was exhausted and not regretting a moment of it.

As promised, Logan stopped by the bar as soon as his shift had ended, never once leaving his seat next to Jubilee's station.

"Will you look at that Toby?" Emmalou, one of the camp's older 'lovies' asked, pointing towards Logan and Jubilee. "She's positively glowing."

"Didn't I tell you she was due for a handsome man to take interest in her? Didn't I Toby?" Frank asked, chuckling as he drained his mug.

"That you did Frank. An' I don't recall arguin' with you either. It's good to see a smile on both of their faces," Old man Toby said, grinning and standing up, holding onto the gnarled cane he had for support. "It's real good," he said as he hobbled up, his mangled and smashed foot dragging slowly behind the other.

The days passed by quickly, Jubilee closing up before morning broke, almost running back to her house to catch Logan before he left to work in the quarry. Logan spending the evening beside her at the bar, some nights leaving early others leaving right as she closed up. Then there were the mornings where he jumped from bed and hurried to surprise her when her back was turned as she locked up the door to the bar. He'd take her in his arms and turn her around, pressing her to the door as he kissed her goodbye for the day. The rare days that they did have off together they spent in their hidden spot in the woods or behind closed doors in the privacy of their home. Jubilee had never been so happy. She felt like sending off fireworks into the sky, just to let some of that happy feeling go before she burst from it.

One day they were relaxing beside their waterfall, cuddled up in the other's arms. Logan bent his head down and kissed her ear.

"Marry me," he told her. Jubilee froze in his arms. She had never once thought about being more to him than just a lover. ~If I say yes, what would that do to his future?~ she asked herself, but then shook her head. She honestly couldn't remember anything specific about her own past, and she realized that she didn't want to. She didn't want to think about the time when it was mutant versus human, or when she had to pit her superpowers against evil. She liked it here much better and it looked as if she wasn't ever going back. ~Maybe I can change his future,~ she thought, ~Maybe somehow prevent him from being tested on!~ Logan turned her around to face him, worry written on his face.

"Jubie? Will you say something?" he asked, fear flickering in his eyes. Jubilee smiled and cupped his face in her hand.

"Yes." Logan stared at her, a happy smile breaking over his face. "Yes, I will!" Gathering her into his arms, he shouted out his joy, hugging her tight to him. She smiled, hiding her face against his chest in the warm folds of his shirt.

Later that night, Jubilee lay tucked under Logan's possessive arm that he had wrapped around her waist. She sighed, feeling his deep and even breathing against the back of her neck and the soft scrape of his stubble against her shoulder as they lay spooned together. She was about to drift off to sleep again when there was a knocking at their door.

"Wuzzat?" Logan sleepily mumbled, tightening his hold on Jubilee. She pushed his arm aside and grabbed one of Logan's long shirts, buttoning it up quickly. Pushing the hair out of her eyes, she opened the door.

"Miss Jubes, there's a man that wants to see ya outside yer bar. Won't tell me his name," Henry, one of the newer miners said. Jubilee frowned, wondering who it was.

"Okay. I'll be out there as soon as I get dressed," she said, closing the door again. Logan was already up and shoving on boots.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, heading over to the floor where her discarded patched up trousers lay. She tugged them on quickly and tucked her shirt into the waistband.

"With you. I got a funny feelin', baby." It was odd, because Jubilee had the same feeling in the pit of her stomach too. She nodded and took his hand as they walked together. Jubilee stopped in her tracks when she saw who was sitting on her bar's doorstep.

"No. No, you can't be here!" she whispered. The grizzled dark skinned man turned his head and looked at her. With one finger, he beckoned for her to come closer.

"NO! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Jubilee screamed, clutching tight to Logan. The man shook his head sadly and raised his arm, sending the item he had in his hand spinning in the air.

"What's going on?" Logan demanded, holding her tighter against him. Jubilee's eyes spilled over and she kissed him as if her life depended on it. A wind had picked up, blowing her hair away from her face. The little man still swung his arm in the air, another wind forcing Logan to let go of Jubilee. She screamed as that wind stopped and the wind that pushed her towards the little man intensified. A bright light appeared behind the man and Jubilee stared at it in horror.

"I love you Logan! Don't ever forget that, even if you forget anything else! I'll always[ love you!" she cried. Then she was swept into the portal and was gone.

***

Jubilee fell from the sky and grunted as she hit the ground. Gateway was nowhere to be seen. She pounded the dirt in front of her with a fist, giving up to her tears. Great sobs wracked her body and she shook. Curling up into a little ball, she had no idea where she was; all that she knew was that the man she loved was gone.

Her head jerked up weakly as she heard the almost soundless approach of footsteps.

"Jubilee? Is that you?" a quiet voice asked. Jubilee turned her head and saw a tall man in a brown trench coat. At first, she didn't recognize him, but then his devilish red on black eyes sparked a memory. "Logan! I found de petite!" he yelled behind him. There came a rush of feet and before her stood a much older man than the Logan she knew. Her eyes filled with tears and she sobbed, watching as the yellow and blue costumed man shoved his hood off his head and gathered her into his arms. There was something wrong to it all. He held her like a father held a daughter, not as a lover held his future wife.

"Darlin, we've been lookin' all over fer ya! You've been gone for almost three weeks now," he said, hugging her close. She looked up and stared at his face and more tears stained her cheeks. Her vision became blurry and black around the edges. Just before she passed out, she opened her mouth.

"You're not my Logan..." she whispered.