As they had a small lunch out on the grounds near the lake, Logan kept thinking that there was some little detail that he was forgetting. With a bit of luck, he might remember it before whatever he'd forgotten caused more trouble, though his track record with trouble thus far suggested that trouble would find him, regardless.

It was when the thought crossed his mind that 'at least 'Ro isn't likely to go all crazy and try to demand some elaborate wedding of the century' that he realized what he'd forgotten. He'd sorted out that he'd like to marry 'Ro, and she'd agreed to marry him. They hadn't decided on a date or really on a location. But most women – at least in America – wanted a ring with a shiny stone on it when their man proposed. He had not offered Ororo Munroe a ring with a sparkly stone on it when he'd asked her to marry him. If she decided that he was slighting her, would she just frown, lecture, or zap him with a lightning bolt?

A lightning bolt… Rings normally conducted electricity quite well, would wearing a ring hurt if she called the lightning? After a few moments of trying to remember if he'd ever seen her do that while wearing jewelry, he drew a blank. Call wind, rain, and fog – yes. But he'd only ever seen her call lightning a handful of times, and they'd all been in uniform.

"Ro? Is it safe for you t' wear rings an' such? If someone like Jean has on a ring, that carries an electric shock. Then again, Jean can't call that shock down from the sky," he paused, looking at her and felt himself smiling. "I was wonderin' if you wanted us to go looking for a ring for you. Since you did say yes…"

"I can wear rings safely, though a powerful current may be harmful to certain stones," Ororo was smiling.

"That mean that we might go looking for a ring?" Logan moved his hand until it was resting at Ororo's shoulder, his fingers making little circles over her back.

"Perhaps a metal band without a stone," Ororo agreed.

"Whatever you want. I want you, a ring or no ring is a little thing for me," Logan admitted.

As he sat there with the beautiful woman who had stolen the remnants of his heart, Logan felt himself smiling. Life could be good again, and he felt like he belonged. Remy and Clarrie considered him family, cared about him, wanted him in their lives. 'Ro wanted to marry him, eventually have his children. He was starting to get along better with Hank, helping with repairs. Starting to feel like he belonged at this place.

Remy shook his head as he watched them. As much as he'd hoped that maybe there could be something between himself and the beautiful Storm, it didn't look like it would happen. She was with Logan, and wouldn't be parted for anything other than the most blatant offenses or death. Logan wasn't likely to die anytime soon, no matter how dangerous the missions he went on happened to be. And while Logan was many things, he wasn't stupid enough to betray or abuse Stormy.

Not that there wouldn't be times when he made her angry, or did things that frustrated or confused her. Logan was a man, and it was the nature of life that women sometimes got mad at the men in their lives. That men and women didn't always understand each other. Lord knew he'd learned that one from the many women he'd had in his life – family, teachers, friends and lovers. Women and men just didn't think the same way.

"Clarrie's going to be happy about dis," he murmured, walking away from the garden. He rather suspected that 'happy' was an understatement.

Logan had said that he wasn't suited to being a Disney hero, and that he'd be even less suited for any of the Disney princesses or the other Disney girls. That he suspected the Disney villainesses might be too close to some of his exes. Stormy was no more a Disney heroine than Logan was a Disney hero. They'd probably be good together.

"Remy needs to stop watchin' so many sappy movies. Maybe some more friends be a good idea as well." Walking back towards the mansion, he decided that he'd ask someone out for a date. Maybe that Betsy with the British accent? Or the reptile girl with the loud music? At worst, they'd say no. Slightly better, they'd have a date and decide things wouldn't work. Regardless, it would be a step up from peering through the shrubbery and feeling envious of someone else's love-life.

After all, Remy should make certain his life was going well. Worrying about the lives of those you care about was all well and good, but not to the expense of having your own life. A life of his own meant that he should try a little dating, have a little fun. Maybe he'd spike the coffee with pepper while he was at it. Life was short, why not keep people on their toes?

End part 35.

During the sparring session with Remy, Logan found things going in an unexpected direction. As much as the implied trust gave him a warm feeling, the question came as a complete surprise.

"Remy been thinkin' it be time to worry 'bout my own love-life rather than yours," the Cajun had commented, even as he tried to kick Logan's legs out from under him. "Been wonderin' about some of de ladies. Betsy, Sasha, Beverly, Theresa, Julia, Christy, Olivia… Got any advice?"

"Betsy had something for a while with Warren, she might fall for a bit of charm and a pretty face. But that's obviously not enough to keep her interest," Logan tried not to let himself get angry at Warren again. He managed to keep the claws in as he punched at Remy's head.

"Not sure Remy lookin' for anyt'ing serious," the Cajun admitted.

"Don't bother asking Sasha, you aren't the sort that she'd be interested in," Logan chuckled, remembering some of the things that he'd heard and smelled from that girl.

"Why not? Remy be charming homme, why not ask belle femme out for dinner?" Remy gave him a look of offended dignity that was almost convincing. It didn't go with the attempted sucker punch to Logan's gut.

"You'd have better luck with Sasha if you were a belle femme, that's why," Logan countered. "Talk to Beverly if you want a wild girl with a fondness for metal music."

"Sasha likes femmes?" Remy let a distracted smile cross his face. "Suppose dat be one argument Remy not gonna get around."

"Theresa's related to that Irish guy. The one who carries a gun, and shows up every so often to talk to Charlie about internationally wanted mutants. Just imagine what he'd do to you if things end badly before you ask her out. Julia's dating what's his name, the one with the tattoos up his arms. Christy has a crush on someone, I'm pretty sure it isn't on you, and she seems too serious for you. Olivia might be open to the idea, but she's a bit of a romantic. Tammy's been having an on and off and on again thing with the guy with the yellow motorcycle, the one with the Green Bay jacket. Rosalie's a sweet girl, but she might be scared off by you and your colorful past. Jean, Diana, Chloe and Helen are involved with people. You know that 'Ro and I are dating, and I think you're a bit old for the rest. I don't have any advice on how to ask someone out," Logan gave Remy a look, even as he threw him over his shoulder and towards a tuft of dry grass.

"Remy t'ought you weren't a Disney prince?" the words were teasing as Remy turned his landing into a roll and threw some acorns at him, which naturally exploded.

"I'm not. 'Ro's not a Disney princess either, even if she is my princess," Logan found himself smiling like a sap.

"Fair enough," Remy admitted. "You done t'rowing Remy around like a pair of dirty socks?"

"I guess so. Now on to making things go boom, and don't think I didn't notice those exploding acorns," Logan looked at Remy.

"Didn't figure they'd hit you. Maybe a distraction… You mad at me?" Remy ran one hand over his hair, glancing over at the branch where he'd left his trenchcoat.

"Nah. I noticed that they didn't have much charge to them, just enough to make a pop and a flare," Logan shook his head. He wondered if Remy had deliberately kept the charge that weak or if it was a coincidence – either way the explosions had been much smaller than Remy had shown before for wood of that weight.

"Been trying to do a weak charge. Sometimes a pop an' a spark be better than a big boom," Remy waved at the small scorch marks on the grass. "Don' want to set the woods on fire. Remy not have one o' dem healing factors like you."

Ignoring the comment about his healing factor, Logan gestured at one of the scorched places. "Sometimes a pop and a flare are enough. Sometimes you want to level the place right now. Good reasons to figure out how to vary your charge."

"Leveling de place…" Remy shivered.

"We aren't going to try that here. Best find somewhere that needs destroyed before we try that. And to make sure that we aren't caught in it," Logan insisted. "This is to teach you, not to turn you into blackened cooked Cajun."

"Don' wanna be cooked," Remy agreed.

Logan tossed Remy his coat. "People don't want to be burned, or cut, or whatever form of injury might be possible. But burns… if they're bad enough, they get the nerves and you don't feel any more pain. It just gets harder to move. For me, I heal after that. Eventually. Cuts might mess with your motion too, if it hits the nerves or the tendons, but I always find it more irritating when things look fine and just won't work for a while."

"Lessons from a healing factor?" Remy slid the coat on as he watched Logan. "Most of us can't heal so good."

"Figure out what's worth the pain, worth maybe being injured to you. It might take more for you than me, but there will be something, maybe someone that's worth it. You have to be the one who decides if something's worth that risk, that pain. Worth dying." Logan paused, thinking to the years that he could remember and the fragments that might have been memories from the years before. "Anyone who's a decent person has something that's worth it to them. Maybe someone."

"Dat's not always easy," Remy mused as they headed towards the gorge that they had started using for target practice.

"Life isn't always easy. Neither's growing up," Logan countered. Walking along the path, he considered those words. Growing up wasn't easy, and he seemed to be making more progress on that lately. Becoming a father-figure for Clarrie, a mentor for Remy. Helping Hank with the Danger room repairs. Getting involved with Ororo.

He had no idea how old he really was, or what sort of man he'd been before he'd lost his memories. But Logan suspected that it was more than time for him to become a responsible adult. Just not too stuffy and dull.

End part 36.

Logan sighed, leaning back in the chair on a little side porch. This particular porch had a splendid view of the sunrise, which meant that at the current hour of almost sunset, it was swathed in shadows. A wonderful place to sit alone and think. Only a small handful of people would ever consider looking for him here…

"I was wonderin' if you might be hidin' back here," Marie's accented words drawled from the door.

Logan sighed, remembering the days when he'd sat here with Marie, watching the sunrise. Back when he'd thought that they'd build a life together. Of course, she'd often been half asleep during the sunrise, snuggling against him with sleepy, half coherent noises. Back before those dreams of a future had shattered. Making a deliberate effort to keep his temper in check, he glanced towards her, "I hadn't expected anyone to be looking for me."

"They found a midwife. She came out t' meet me, an' we talked a little. Then she hooked me up to that ultrasound machine an' took a look at what's goin' on in here," Marie patted her stomach with one hand. "Turns out that I'm expectin' twins. Both of them seem pretty healthy so far, an' she thinks but won't swear to it that they're girls."

Logan blinked, unsure just what he should say. If he and Marie were still dating, this would be the time to be happy, and hugging, maybe kissing. Time to talk about names and wonder who they'd look more like, if they'd have Marie's mouth or his eyes. If they'd wind up with either of their parents' mutations. But they weren't dating anymore. Weren't going to be a happy family together. They didn't know if the babies were his or Warren's. If he was remembering his basic biology right, they might even be one his and one Warren's… "I'm glad that everything's going good for you, an' that you and the little ones are healthy."

"She said there was a test that they could do now, to identify the father. But it sounded sort of risky to me. It involves a long needle an' taking a cell sample from the baby… from both of them. I didn't want to take the chance that somethin' could go wrong with that," Marie made a gesture that combined a shrug with a protective arm across her stomach, which was starting to show her pregnancy. "I can't swear that I'll ever have another chance at bein' a mama, an' I don't want to do anything to make a bigger mess than this already is."

"Most people are afraid that they'll mess up when they first become parents. The ones who aren't worried are generally the ones who don't care," Logan offered. Part of him wanted to tell her that she didn't need to worry, that she'd do fine. Except that he didn't know that, had no idea how to take care of babies. "Besides, there's a lot of people here, someone's got to know something about babies."

"Y' aren't mad?" Marie looked at him, biting at her lip while she shifted her weight from foot to foot.

"Mad? Because you figure the babies'll be safer if you wait a few more months until they're born to figure out who's the daddy? Not mad about that at all," Logan shook his head. "I'm the last person who'd send you to take more lab tests or anything to do with needles unless there's no other choice."

Marie gave a small laugh, "I have to give you that one."

"If they are mine, either of them, I hope they look more like you. I'm not that great to look at, and I'd make an ugly girl. S'pose the eyes might not be bad, but they don't need anything like this mug," Logan offered that, in hopes that it would somehow make things less awkward. He didn't think it would work.

"Now, y' don't look that bad!" Marie tried to glare, though a smile kept slipping through around the edges. "Alright, it's a good thing that y' don't try to dress in drag or anythin', because you would make a rather big boned girl. But a daughter wouldn't have your shoulders. And I always liked your eyes."

Logan sat there, almost smiling. Despite everything that had happened between them, he did hope that things went well for Marie, that her babies were healthy. Regardless of who the father was.

For a while, she just stood there, the lights of the hallway backlighting her. After a while, she spoke again, "So, you an' Ororo?"

Logan nodded. "Yeah."

"I hadn't expected that. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with it, but… You're… and she's…" Marie faltered, her hands making gestures as if they could pluck the words from the air for her lips. "You're just so different from each other."

"Life's full of surprises. I hadn't expected it either," Logan almost reached for a cigar, remembering as his fingers brushed the pocket that smoke was supposed to be bad for babies and… well, bad for people without healing factors in general. "You might consider naming one of them for your mother. Traditional sort of thing to do. Or maybe flower names, those can be pretty. If you didn't have things in mind already. And if the babies are girls."

"I'll have to think about that. Names, I mean. It just seemed… I know this is real, that it's been real, but it was just…" Marie sighed, and looked down. "Part of me just kept expectin' to wake up an' this whole thing would be a dream. Baby names have been pretty far down the list."

Logan just nodded, all too familiar with feeling like something couldn't be real.

"I'll keep you updated on what's going on." Marie gave a tired smile and turned back into the mansion. As she was walking away, she murmured, "at least Logan is willing to know what's going on. To stay posted on what might be his kid… his kids. What am I gonna do with twins? An' there'd be no problem with a girl looking… well, sort of like him. But not with those shoulders."

End part 37.

Logan was still thinking about Marie and her pregnancy the next morning, when it was time to take Remy and Clarrie on their run. It wasn't that the idea had been constantly on his mind, but somehow or other his mind had circled back to that conversation several times. He might be a father in a few months. Marie was worried about becoming a mother. There was now a midwife in some level of association with the school. Marie might be the first to need such a person, but he doubted that she'd be the last. What sort of preparations would be needed for babies in the school?

"What's on your mind, Logan?" Clarrie's voice tugged at his attention.

"I had a talk with someone last night. You probably know that Marie's going to have a baby," Logan paused, suspecting that one of his almost-kids would have something to say.

"Most people know," Clarrie admitted. "Babies are awfully cute, and there haven't been any around here."

"What's her baby have t' do with you? The two of you aren' together anymore," Remy countered.

"Marie's going to have a baby, an' she's nervous about it. She's not sure what to do, how to take care of a baby, how much things will change. I can understand those worries," Logan didn't mention that he might be a father, that Marie's baby – no need to mention that the midwife said twins – might be his baby. "Either of you know anybody here with experience with babies?"

"Like babysitting? I'm a bit young for that," Clarrie offered. "I know they can't eat real food, and it takes a while before they can move, and you have to hold them very, very carefully."

"Remy don' have experience wit' de enfants. Perhaps Remy can find someone wit' experience, an' point them towards Marie for some advice?" Remy murmured. "Enfant can not help who be the parents, or what the parents do."

"Exactly. The baby didn't get itself into this mess, and there's no reason not to try to keep the baby from suffering. I think she'd welcome some good advice about babies." Logan paused before admitting, "And I don't think I know anything about babies."

"But I thought you knew something about everything," Clarrie grinned at him.

"Somet'ing you don' know about… T'ink dat makes Remy feel better," Remy started shuffling a deck of cards, and then smirked, "Lots of women like a man who knows somet'ing about de enfants."

"If I ever knew anything about babies, it was from Before, and in the bits that I haven't got back. I'll just have to learn it again," Logan shrugged. He had to admit to himself that he liked the idea of a family of his own, which meant that unless all of his family were strays that he brought in, like Remy and Clarrie, instead of his own children, or his and 'Ro's children, then there would be babies somewhere along the line. He wanted to be able to help with his own children. But right now, he had no clue what to do with or about an infant.

"It might not be a bad idea for all of us to have at least a little idea. And if babies can make as nasty a stench in their diapers as some of the jokes suggest, then maybe some of the kids will be a little more careful, so that they don't wind up with unexpected and unplanned babies." Logan shook his head, considering how reckless and impulsive some of the students could be with other aspects of their lives.

"As long as this doesn't wind up with some sort of flour bag or egg baby substitute sort of thing, then fine," Clarrie murmured. "It can't hurt to know more, and if we aren't ready now – and I know most of us aren't – then it's best to know that before it becomes a big issue."

"Makes sense," Remy nodded. "An' it's always better to start learning wit' someone else's instead of when you have your own."

"We can ask around, mention that her mom's not around to give her advice. If we're supposed to be there for each other, doesn't that include for babies as well as weird powers or being strange colors?" Clarrie sounded like she'd made her mind up about the matter.

Logan smiled, feeling proud of his kids. He'd given up on trying to keep them as just students, and just accepted Clarrie's declaration that they had become a strange sort of family. The truth was, it felt nice to be wanted as a father-figure. He wondered if he'd wind up as a father-type for Marie's babies, or if he'd just be one of many uncles. He wondered if he'd wind up with more students becoming adoptive children. If he'd have his own children, with Ororo. And a small part of him wondered if he'd had children Before, in the times that he didn't remember.

What he didn't want to admit was that the idea of being a full time parent to a tiny baby was more intimidating than fighting a giant robot that shot lasers and had the ability to step on a person and crush them like an empty beer can. He understood Marie's fears about her babies. And that was a challenge that so many people faced every day…

End part 38.

After the morning run with Clarrie and Remy, Logan took a quick shower and tried to sort out his thoughts. He wanted things to go well for Marie and her babies, but... While he could finally look back on their time together without aching for how it fell apart, he wasn't in love with her any longer. The hope of being the one she built a future with, with the two of them raising a family of charming children with her hair and maybe his eyes, had faded to no more than the memory of a dream. She could build a future without him, and no longer haunted his dreams. Beyond that, seeing her no longer felt like he was being stabbed with a dull blade in the guts, no longer gave him the burning ache of betrayal. He could look at her without seeing her kissing Warren, without feeling his heart shatter.

That felt good, and surprisingly lightening. Like he'd just dropped a heavy pack from his shoulders.

"Maybe that's this whole 'letting go' thing I keep hearing about," Logan mused.

His eye caught on a photograph of himself and Ororo, taken when they were leaning against one of the trees, and he felt himself smiling. Maybe it was just that someone else filled his hopes and dreams now, someone else that he wanted to build a future and family with. Another woman who made his pulse race and his insides flutter. How could he keep wallowing in his misery when he had the chance to build a life with Ororo?

As he made his way towards the Danger Room, he decided that it probably helped that Ororo was already a confident woman, secure in who she was and what she could do. Her sense of ability and self-respect wasn't tied in to their relationship. "A strong, determined woman. That's what I've needed all along."

"What's the plan for today, Hank?" Logan called as he approached the Danger Room, which had an interesting assortment of materials present. There were bits of paper, cardboard, wood, and even some chunks of coal and metal. Some were just sitting on the floor while others were on the mechanical arms that would turn them into moving obstacles or targets. At a guess, this would let them test both intensity, and precision. There was an odd scent to the air, like scorched flesh and something that wasn't quite fire or lightning, but a bit like both. Whatever it was, it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"Scott and Jean found us a new student, and we thought it might be prudent to test young Mister Starsmore's abilities in controlled circumstances. It seems that he has some form of energy projection, as well as some telepathy," Hank replied.

"Did you need some more of the sensors popped into place before the testing?" Logan offered.

For a few moments, Hank looked thoughtful, one clawed finger tapping at his chin. "I believe a few more sensors would not be amiss, my friend. The additional data about the frequencies and any temperature variances created by his power could be most intriguing."

Shaking his head, Logan pulled out a few more of the sensor arrays, as well as a few tools. As he began to place them in the corners of the Danger Room, he muttered, "Hank could've just said 'yes' like a normal person."

Logan wasn't expecting the young man who walked into the Danger Room as he was just closing the last panel. Rather, while the footsteps didn't surprise him, or the way that the scent of young man and scorched flesh and that not fire/lightning drew near, Jonothan Starsmore took him by surprise. Starsmore had the lean and lanky look that was common among teens that weren't done growing, and a shock of wild brown hair that acted as if it was infested with static and questioned gravity. His shoulders were hunched in a leather jacket that was zipped up to the top, with the high collar stiffened up to cover up to his chin, and the ends of a scarf trailed out the front, having been wrapped around Starsmore's neck and lower face. The overall effect suggested the poor boy was either freezing or preparing to hold up a bank.

"It appears that everything is ready for us to begin an initial testing sequence. Whenever you're ready, Mister Starsmore," Hank called.

-Right then. Should this guy step out of the room?-

The words arrived in Logan's mind having sidestepped his ears. Touching one ear, Logan sighed, remembering that Hank did mention that Starsmore was a telepath. Though why he couldn't just open his mouth and talk like most people… Then again, most people didn't wind up scarves like that. Had something happened to Starsmore?

-Too right, something happened. When this power first started, it felt like indigestion, and it just… burst out of me. – Reaching up, Starsmore started unwinding the scarf, and stuffed it into one of his jacket pockets. That caused a curious orange-yellow light to appear, shining up from under the jacket collar. When he folded the collar down, the actions revealed a roiling mass of orange-yellow energy spilling out from where his chin, lower jaw and throat should have been. – I haven't been the same since.-

"That explains using telepathy then," Logan murmured. He didn't ask, but suspected, from the young man's words and the scent of scorched flesh, that it had also been painful. It seemed Starsmore must have developed some measure of control, as the scarf and the jacket seemed unharmed.

-You're one of the few who's thought of that without going full of pity for the poor crippled boy. And yes, it hurt quite a bit.- The voice seemed different this time, fainter. As if it was only for Logan's ears, or rather, only his mind.

Logan stepped out to let them test the energy against some things. He glanced back to see the energy emerging from Starsmore, and turning the paper, cardboard and wood on the floor to ash. The energy curled around Starsmore, looking like a burning cloud.

At least he didn't seem to have the same issues with labs that Remy had.

End part 39.