Chapter Eight: Bonding Processes


A few days after Christmas after the Schroeders had returned home, the girls were a little confused when they ran into K, hauling skis and ropes with her to the barn.

"What are you doing?" Zoe asked as K dropped half of what she was carrying, swearing to herself.

She looked up at them quickly, her hat almost blocking her eyes as the straightened up with a grin. "Zoe, would you grab that ski please? I kind of need it."

Zoe did as she was asked, looking at both the equipment and the woman curiously. "Isn't this a downhill ski?" she asked, her eyebrow raised as K cheerfully nodded. "But there isn't anywhere to ski around here is there?"

"I don't know. There must be somewhere. But that's not what I'm up to," K replied. "I've been working on something since we got back from the honeymoon. Today I'm going to see if it works out the way I hoped it would."

"Does Logan know what you're up to?" Zoe asked, but K started laughing hysterically as she shook her head no in response.

A short while later, Zoe was laughing with K as she took one of the biggest horses in the barn out, harnessed up like she'd be driving her with a strange looking rig on the harness as the horse broke through the somewhat shallow snow, pulling K on the skis, with K grinning and laughing to herself as she gathered her reins. "I think we've got it, Zoe," K called out just before the horse stopped and K nearly fell sideways.

"You might want to rethink your confidence level on this?" Zoe suggested, watching the little woman warily.

"Oh, hush. This will work. I've done it before," K told her, readjusting a few things.

Meanwhile, Chloe had gone to the garage with Kitty, as the two of them planning to leave and do a bit of after holiday shopping. Kitty greeted Logan with a bright smile as he stood in the open garage door, smoking a cigar and leaning on the door frame.

But when Logan didn't respond right away as he usually did to her, she had to try again. "Hi Logan," Kitty said cheerfully, stopping nearby when he still didn't answer her. "You OK?"

He glanced at her for an instant, his eyes barely leaving his wife as he watched her gathering up the very long reins, adjusting her skis as the horse snorted, pawing at the snow. "What. The hell. Is she up to now?" he said quietly to himself, blowing smoke into the cold air.

Kitty and Chloe took up watch with him, though it was clear none of them had clue one as to what was happening. But even from the garage it was clear that Zoe was beside herself laughing as K suddenly urged the horse to move. It dragged her along, almost looking like she was water skiing behind it, and before long, the snow was flying like a wake while the horse sped up.

"Sonofabitch," Logan mumbled as K got the horse running, holding the harness with one hand and the reins with the other. She got the horse to do a few turns both ways before it spooked and took off, and before she could get him under control, K's ski caught on a hidden mound of dirt and flipped her. The horse ran a few lengths before it stopped and turned toward her, blowing warily as it approached her.

By the time the horse stopped a few strides away from her, Logan was already halfway to her, and Zoe was running her way too. "You're gonna break your damn neck, woman," Logan grumbled, heat in his voice as he knelt in the snow and helped her sit upright, directing Zoe to take the skis off – though one was broken from the dirt mound.

"I'll heal," she replied, getting an angry glare from him.

"Not the point," he growled as he helped her to her feet. "What the hell were you doing anyhow?"

"Ski-jorring. Swedish version. I need a partner for the American version," she said before she looked like she had the idea of the century. "Oooh, Hey! You wanna help me?" K asked with a grin.

"Dragging you behind a horse? No. No I don't," Logan replied.

"Aw, come on, love. Please? I've never been able to get anyone to help me with this."

"Yeah, because it's crazy," Logan told her, shaking his head.

She looked crestfallen before she started working on him. "Oh come on. I do all the training you want me to. Help me with this. All you have to do is ride and mind the rope." She leaned in and gave him a kiss, shamelessly trying to coax him into it. "It'd be safer than me doing it all by myself … please?" The two of them went back and forth until Chloe finally bit her lip and jumped in.

"I'll ride for you," she offered, but she stopped short when Logan gave her a dirty look.

"Can't do it now, anyhow. Ski's broken, " Kitty added.

K looked at the skis, and nodded with a sigh. "You're right. I'll have to find more," K replied.

"Don't be in a rush," Logan said before he gave her another kiss and headed over to get her horse.

"I can do that," K told him, but he waved her off and simply gathered up the reins for the horse and led it to the barn.


With the holidays past, and classes restarted, it was a constant bustle at the institute. When you added in missions and training time it was positively hectic. It wasn't unusual to see both students and teachers half asleep in the window seats littering the library and living rooms. Add to that the still unending newlywed routine, and you had K and Logan's schedules. It was draining, but worth it.

Scott had been so pleased with how easily Logan and K worked together in the Danger Room that he pushed to get them training together as a one-two combo. At first, Logan was hesitant, as one would expect him to be, but once they'd done a few sessions together he realized how intuitively they were working. He didn't have to direct her like he did any time he started to work with someone new. When they paired up, she was always right where he wanted her to be.

They were running a heavy session together with Charles overseeing alongside Scott when suddenly their simulation died and Charles asked them both to join him in the booth. They passed Scott going in with a smirk on his face, and as soon as the doors closed behind them, they could hear that Charles had restarted the program for the rest of the team without them.

"Are we in trouble?" K asked, though Logan shook his head and swatted her to get her moving quicker.

"What's wrong, Charlie?" Logan asked as he pulled out a chair for K to have a seat.

"Have either of you noticed that you are sharing a very subtle psychic bond?" Charles asked, though his question was answered when both of them stared back at him blankly.

"I'm sorry what?" K said, turning her ear towards him, as if she could have misheard.

Charles chuckled as he relayed what he had observed, pulling up a section of their session so they could see. In the replay, it was clear that as they were fighting back to back, Logan saw something while K's head was turned that she clearly did not. Without saying a word, she dodged the flying piece of shrapnel – according to Charles, exactly in the manner that Logan was mentally shouting at her to move.

"It's not very well defined, and it may only be in play when both of you are in a fighting mindset, but it seems as though the focus you have opens it up. It's entirely possible that you may be able to expand this further," Charles told them, but still both of them stared back at him without commentary. "I may be able to help you find a way to take advantage of this possible development."

Finally, the couple looked at each other for a moment, unsure of what to make of it. And as K frowned, Logan made the first move. "Sure. Let us know when you want us," he said, slightly surprising K.

Charles smiled warmly and they finished out the remainder of the team session from the booth, after Charles decided that the team as a whole relied on the destructive couple a bit too much, and he wanted them to practice without them.

Upon ending the session, the rest of the team looked much worse for wear than they had been in recent months. Scott realized quickly that the professor was right – they've been relying far too heavily on Logan for years, and with K in the mix it was that much easier for them to simply hang back and let them do the lion's share of the damage – both taking it and giving it.

It was nearly a week after the new year began when Logan and K started going to sessions with Charles, trying to find the trigger to their suspected bond that Charles was sure was there. Both Logan and K found the process to be tedious and frustrating.

"You need to tap into the same state of mind you use when you're fighting to access it," Charles told them, smiling, encouraging them. "It will be a bit harder to do since your abilities are not based in the mental, but rather the physical and physiological."

K rubbed her face with her hands, a headache blooming with her frustration that Charles was not helping with … at all. "You're getting close K. Keep trying," Charles told her, his eyes brightening up.

But she really didn't want any of it. "You want me to tap into my fighting mindset? Maybe ...throw something at me. This is just ….. ugh!" she growled low as she crossed her arms, breaking Logan's concentration as he smiled to himself.

"Would you like to know what Logan's thinking?" Charles asked. "You may be able to do just that."

K stared at him flatly, completely unamused. "What he's thinking? Hell, you don't have to by psychic to know what he's thinking." K turned toward Logan, watching him as he simply stared back at her, his chin in his hand as he leaned forward on his elbows.

"Do tell," Logan said, eyebrow raised, and completely entertained.

"What you're thinking … is not polite for mixed company," K said, crossing her arms and leaning back. "That … and this whole thing is ridiculous."

Logan smiled at her crookedly as he shook his head. "No, I was just thinkin' you're cute when you're mad." There was no way he was going to admit that she was pretty much spot on in her estimation of his thoughts.

She scowled at him and rolled her eyes as Charles shook his head at both of them. They continued for a little while longer until K couldn't see the point of it anymore. She'd never tuned into anyone, never felt anyone's mind that wasn't invading hers. "This is insane, Charles," K said, melting halfway down in her seat. "What's to say it's not that we don't just … get each other?"

Charles tipped his head in concession to that, though he wasn't ready to give up on it yet. "Perhaps what's needed is to try a different approach," Charles said. "We'll revisit this in your next session in the danger room – next week."


Jean found K in a window seat a few hours later while Logan was in a class, her head between her knees, hair hanging down as she rubbed her temples trying to relieve the pressure that had built up during the session with Charles. "You alright?" Jean asked as she sat down next to her, rubbing her back.

"Yeah. Just have a massive headache from working with Charles & Logan," K replied, sounding beaten down. "Shocker. Locked in a room with a pair of guys that want to know what I'm thinking. Pure. Torture."

"So I take it the whole … connection thing isn't going as well as Charles thought it would?" Jean asked.

"Honestly, I think he's off his rocker on this one," K answered. "The idea is a little bit out there, though, I'll admit… I really don't understand all that was going on back there."

Charles came into the room shortly into their conversation while K was still in her little corner with Jean, the two of them leaning against each other and discussing things quietly.

"Charles, why don't you just link them up so she can see what she's searching for," Jean said as Charles watched the little woman with a little frown. "You know it's much harder when you don't know what you're trying to find – imagine how hard it must be for them when they aren't even telepathic."

Charles considered it, and shook his head. "I don't know if that will work. I'm not sure they're capable of that complete of a mental connection. This may very well be simply an instinctive protective mode. But you're right, K. It's probably best just to see if it works on its own," Charles finally said softly. But that just got Jean to consider it further. She tightened her mouth as she thought it over.

K started chuckling quietly when she saw the smoke coming from Jean's ears. "OK, I'm going to go lay down," K said, "You guys let me know what you decide to do with our brains when you hash it out fully. I'm sure Logan will just jump at the chance to have someone smash our minds together. Why not."

Jean opened her mouth to try to convince her in some way that it could be done, or try to explain further when Charles put up a hand to stop her. "Let her go. She needs rest anyhow," he told her as Jean sank back to where she was previously seated, sure there had to be a way to make this easier.


The next session was in the Danger Room. K had given up the idea of it before they even showed, figuring she'd just make it a good workout, and grumbling to the tune of 'can't teach an old dog new tricks'.

Logan stole a kiss before their sim started, and when she slipped into the zone, Jean reached out trying to help the two of them to connect. When it happened, both of them had a total shift in body language, and their precision and speed skyrocketed. They both knew exactly the limitations of the other and took total advantage of it, filling in for each other as the intensity of the program progressed. When it was all done, it was almost a chore for them to sever the connection. Charles was pleased, and Jean was smug.

"It's not a normal psychic bond," Charles said when the two ferals finally glanced up at the booth. "But I'd like you to try to refine it, if you can."

Both of them were exhausted. Physically, mentally and emotionally. It seemed like something that called for a nap rather than a pep talk. K had enough for the day, and she was more than ready to just call it, but there was still a class for Logan to get to – conveniently in the Danger Room in less than a half hour, and after that was K's riding class.

Logan helped her to her feet from where she'd slipped at the end of their session, and kissing her once she was upright. "You alright?" he asked, knowing she wasn't all there just yet, having felt her state of being before the connection broke, and if he was honest, he wasn't entirely right just yet either.

She nodded and leaned into him. "Sure. I'll be fine," K promised, trying to will it into being. He wrapped his arms around her tighter, and she laid her head on his shoulder, reveling in the moment before she had to go and sit down for a bit in the control room with Jean beaming at her the entire time.

The two women watched Logan's class for a while. He seemed to be perfectly fine, and K made her way up to the barn, prepping for an easy class. They were doing games on horseback - just silly stuff to break up the monotony of drilling technique.

All was going well, laughs were had by all when suddenly, during a simple down and back race K passed out and fell off her horse, hitting the ground hard. Jean had been her lovely assistant for the day and she was at her side in a heartbeat as K blinked hard trying to regain herself. The class looked horrified, and Jubilee rushed to catch the loose horse before it riled up the rest of them. She stayed at the wall while Jean helped K to her feet, trying to get her out of the arena. But once she was upright, K looked around like she was searching for something until she spotted Jubilee, and waved at her to come over. When Jubilee finally got close, K slipped the reins back over the horse's head and asked for a leg up.

"You're not getting back on,"Jean said with a frown. "Not after the day you've had."

"Like hell I'm not," K argued. "I can't let her think that it's OK to run if someone falls. Besides, if you fall off you get back on if you're able." Though when they all refused to give her the requested leg up, K made the horse bow so she could mount on her own. As she settled on the mare's back, Jean spoke up.

"You're not exactly able to get back up though, K. You passed out. Why?" She looked openly worried as she asked.

"What are you talking about?" K asked. "Clearly I'm able. I'm up here aren't I?" She gestured down to the horse as she lined her up to move out again. "I'm awake and nothing's broken." When she kicked the horse forward to do the down and back again, this time she pulled it off flawlessly, and even slid off when they stopped. "Now I'm done. Class, you did exactly the right thing. Jubilee, thank you. You did very good stopping her when you did." K drew in a breath and gestured to the class with a little smile, dismissing them as a whole.

When all the chores were finished, she skipped dinner and went straight to bed, leaving Logan to find her half asleep when she didn't show up on time to eat. "Jeannie told me what happened," he said as he climbed in next to her. "You alright?"

K just sighed and rolled onto her side as he rested his hand on her hip, and pulled her closer. "Yeah, I just don't know what happened. I was fine one minute and on the ground the next. Didn't break anything though, so we're good," K said, but the look on his face indicated clearly that he thought otherwise.

"Sweetheart, you can't break anything," Logan said flatly. "That's just not a good measure anymore." His tone was matter-of-fact before he leaned in and planted little kisses all over her face. "What happened?" he asked as he tried to get her to spill. "Come on. Tell me."

She kissed him back as her arms slipped around his neck. "I really don't know, but you can keep trying to get it out of me," K replied and he couldn't help but smile at her thought process.


The next day the school was abuzz with the news of K's fall. The students had shown their colorful imaginations with their explanations on why she'd hit the ground. Theories ranged from someone giving her a mind blast, to a hidden mind control device, or drugs. One girl was convinced she'd fallen from being too exhausted trying to keep up with Logan in bed, while another girl decided she had to be pregnant.

By the time K's class met next, they all had their own ideas, and all of them were looking at K as if she was going to snap, pass out, fall off again, or even just break down crying. No one in the class was riding right, all of them were tense as they waited for something to happen and it was so ridiculous that it was laughable.

K had heard the rumors all day, and had seen that she had to hit it head on before someone lost control of their animal and got hurt. "Alright. Halt. Everyone," K said, stopping in the center of the arena herself. "Dismount. All of ya," she growled out, slipping down from the big mare and waving them all in to center. "You guys are not focused at all. You want to tell me what the problem is?" It was obvious that she was daring them to say what was on their mind. But she wasn't surprised in the least when Chloe was the one to speak up.

"We all know you fell yesterday, and we're just um …. are you pregnant?" Chloe asked the last part at a whisper, and immediately, the girls in the class erupted into giggles.

K waited for the giggles to die down before she answered. "No. I'm not. Thank you for asking." She looked around her class before she decided to continue on since clearly, that wasn't going to be enough to stop the rumor mill. "It's like I've said before, everyone falls once in awhile. That means everyone. Myself included. It's just a part of riding." She let out a breath and shrugged up both shoulders. "Truth be told, I really don't know why I fell, but it was long overdue."

But when all of them seemed to just stare back at her, waiting for the other shoe to drop, she decided that she couldn't disappoint them. "Maybe what we need to do is fall. Everyone." The class looked like she'd thrown water on them.

"But I thought we were supposed to try to NOT fall," Zoe said, looking unsure.

"Yeah, that's the point. You guys have gotten afraid to fall, or you think you can't. Time to learn the right way and the wrong way so that when the inevitable happens, you'll be less likely to get hurt," K said, giving them the signal to mount up.

K took no time in starting to show them what a clean fall looked like versus a bad one. She went ahead and let it happen, knowing that she could heal while they couldn't do so nearly as quickly, explaining what kind of damage was possible from the falls she'd taken as she laid on the ground, gathering herself. When the class was over, the kids were laughing again, bragging about their 'falls'.

Charles stopped her in the hallway when she returned to the mansion, cleaned up from the class in clean clothes and wet hair. "That was an inspired way to handle things, K. However, I'd like to delve further into why you fell yesterday," Charles told her. "I believe Jean and I owe you an apology. You were stretched too far mentally. I won't push you into anymore sessions to connect any time soon during training. I'd rather simply return to my office for further sessions, and the next time you two do achieve … whatever it is you're doing, it will be on your own. I think it was the interference of initiating and terminating the link that caused your stress."

K leaned forward to kiss his temple. "It's fine. I'm just sorry I didn't say something sooner, all things considered. It would at least have avoided the rumor mill that was so incredibly prolific," she said with an easy smile. "I won't ignore it if it happens again like that." she promised, earning a resigned smile from Charles.

"It's so easy to forget how quickly the two of you heal when you brush it off so easily," he remarked, resting his hand on hers before giving her a squeeze. "I miss our tea times. Would you consider making them a regular appointment again?"

K smiled at him easily. "Yeah, I think that might be nice. Thank you," she replied, giving him a wave when she stood to escort him to dinner.