Marie stood in the doorway of the professor's office as Logan leaned over a map on the professor's desk, pointing out locations to Storm, Charles and Hank as they stood gathered, listening as he described Jean's possible location.
He explained that he'd spent time with his ears to the ground, traveling the country digging up contacts and potential witnesses.
Marie noticed that, unlike everyone else in the room, the professor seemed hesitant to get excited about Jean's possible return.
Suddenly, she stepped forward, "I'm sorry...I just have to say what everyone is thinking...what if Jean isn't herself anymore?"
Logan straightened and furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"
She pursed her lips, "She's one of the most powerful mutants ever...yet she's been able to be held against her will for nearly two years? I mean, even if they've kept her comatose all this time, do you honestly think that her being trapped within her own mind for that long didn't do some kind of damage to her mental state? We have to be prepared for the possibility that she might not be the Jean we knew..."
A few of those gathered in the room started to respond, but the professor spoke up, stopping them, "Rogue is right. I've had these fears for some time...but...I never wanted to openly admit them."
Logan threw his hands up, "So what? We're supposed to just leave her be? Let her stay with whoever might be keeping her?"
The professor shook his head, "No...but we can't approach this as a rescue mission. We have to gather intel...because there might not be a Jean left to save..."
Logan looked at the faces around the room before clenching his fists and stalking from the room.
Marie bit her bottom lip and hesitated briefly before following him. She found him in his old room, staring out the window. He must have smelled her, because he started talking to her without even bothering to turn around, "I bet you're wonderin' why I feel the need to find her...even after all this time..."
"No, I get it. You love her..." Marie leaned against the wall next to him and looked up at the stars, "Ya know, if it were Scott...I'd probably keep looking for him too...even knowing that he wasn't himself...I'd give anything just to see him one last time..."
He placed a hand on her back, "I'm really sorry-"
Marie held up a hand, "Don't...let's not go there. I know there was no other way...and I know you just wanted to save my life."
"I couldn't let my kid grow up without a mother...you're everything to Jamie."
She nodded, "It took me a while to accept that you made the only call you could."
Logan looked down, "I have to find her. I know she's not the greatest person, and, to be completely honest, she's manipulated me into doing some shit I'm not proud of...especially when it comes to you and Jamie...but I feel responsible."
"It's OK, Logan. You don't owe me an explanation."
He stared at her for a while, "I feel like I do."
"Why?"
Logan turned to look at her, "Because you're the mother of my child...and no matter what, I can't shake these feelings I have for you-" He abruptly stopped talking when his voice cracked. He gripped the window frame so tight, she could have sworn she heard the thick wood crack beneath his grip. She gently put a hand on his arm as he cleared his throat and shook his head, "When I think about the shit I did...the day Jamie was born...goddammit...it's a miracle you even let me in her life now..."
She looked down, "You're her father."
He slowly cupped her face in his hands, "I'm not good enough for her...for either of you..." Marie desperately tried to avoid eye contact, but Logan was persistent in his grip on her face, "...but that doesn't stop me from needing you, wanting you...loving you..."
Marie started to speak, but before she could, his lips were on hers.
The kiss was passionate and deep, but she tried to fight him. It wasn't until he backed her up against a wall did she relent. He moaned against her neck, "Marie...tell me...please..."
His touch was full of need and desperation as he begged her to admit the feelings she'd long since held inside. She whimpered, "Logan..."
Logan expertly unbuttoned her pants with one hand and slowly pushed his hand inside and immediately sought out her clit, making her practically purr at his touch. Marie shuddered as he pushed her shirt up and yanked the cup of her bra down, grabbing a hold of her supple breast and kneading the soft flesh.
Within seconds, he'd transferred her to the bed and was in the process of removing her clothes. Every now and then, he'd have to gently tug a random article of clothing out of her reluctant grip, but in the end, Marie relented and found herself naked and quivering on the bed as he crawled a top her, lowering his hips down between her open legs.
As he reached down to guide himself into her, he kissed her neck, "Tell me, baby..."
Marie's voice trembled as she closed her eyes and remembered what Dr. Stewart said. Now that Logan had admitted his feelings, there was slightly less risk involved to her...so she let out a breath and whispered, "I love you..."
Just as the words left her mouth, he buried himself inside of her.
Marie arched beneath him and moaned as he slowly began moving in and out of her. She ran her fingernails up his back and began slowly undulating her hips upwards to match his thrusts, deepening his penetration.
Their bodies moved in perfect unison as their gasps, moans and whimpers created a soft, erotic chorus that was practically music to Logan's ears.
He grabbed her leg and raised it around his waist as he gripped onto her smooth thigh. Logan pressed his forehead against hers as he felt her body tremble beneath his, signaling that her climax was just around the corner, "Yeah baby...that's it..."
"Logan..."
The speed of his movements began to pick up as he felt her tighten around him, until suddenly, they were both rendered speechless by simultaneous orgasms.
When he reclaimed his ability to function, he leaned down and softly kissed her collar bone, "I do love you, Marie..."
Her bottom lip trembled as she ran a hand through his hair and let out a soft sigh, "I know..."
Logan realized that she seemed upset and slowly raised his head to look down into her face, "What's wrong?"
"If Jean comes back...if you find her, and she recovers from whatever she's been through...this won't matter. You'll toss me aside...cause she's your first choice."
Before he could reply, Marie pushed him off and began hurriedly collecting her clothes from around the room, dressing as she moved about.
"Marie...let's just talk about this..."
She closed her eyes, "It's my fault. Really. Earlier, before you announced that you may have found Jean, I was ready to admit my feelings to you...and then, when you told everyone that Jean might be alive, I actually wished she would just stay gone...I know that makes me a monster."
"That doesn't-"
Marie interrupted him as she pulled her shirt on over her head, "...and now, you're gonna leave me...leave Jamie, to embark on some rescue mission to save your first, true love, and I...I let this happen! I'm a complete, fucking idiot!"
"Does the fact that I told you I loved you mean nothin' anymore?"
She pulled her jeans on, "Oh, it means something...it means that now, I can look at you and take comfort in the fact that you have feelings for me, but they'll never be as deep as the ones you have for Jean."
"You're the only one who's sayin' that."
He pulled on his underwear and groaned, "Jesus Christ, kid! People can change their minds! They get mature...they can gain new perspectives and change their stances based on learning new shit...and that's what's happened to me. I have lived life without you...I've known what it's like to be on the outside lookin' into the family that should be mine...I've been jealous of the man who you shared your bed with...I want you. I want us...regardless of whether Jean comes back or not."
A knock on the door kept Marie from replying. Logan pulled on his shirt and answered, finding Jamie and Jubilee there.
The four year old smiled, "There you are!"
Marie smiled, "Hey baby...you ready for bed?"
She nodded, "Ready!"
Marie took Jamie by the hand, "Let's go baby girl."
A couple of days later, Marie got word that the team was going to stage a mission to scout out Jean's location and possibly rescue her.
She had been avoiding Logan, but felt that this might be her last chance to see him before Jean returned to the mansion and shook up everyone's lives.
She got up early on the morning of the mission to head down and bid everyone...especially Logan, farewell. By the time she made it down to the hangar, the jet was gone.
Disappointed that she didn't have the chance to say goodbye to Logan, she turned and made her way back upstairs. When she reached her room, she found Logan sitting on her bed.
He stood, "Hey..."
"What are you doin' here? I thought you were leavin' with the team."
"I've spent the past two years, crossin' the country, spendin' time away from Jamie, and bustin' my ass for leads on her whereabouts...and now that I've done that, I need to concentrate on the life I want...the one that includes you, me and Jamie...as a family."
"But Jean-"
Logan looked down, "Chuck said that the chances of her comin' back here as herself are slim to none...and I need you to know that you're the most important woman in my life...so I stayed..."
"Logan...I don't know what to say..." she said as she lowered her head.
"Don't say anything, kid..." Logan walked over to her and gently tilted her chin upwards, "Just kiss me..."
Marie did, fully and hungrily on the lips.
The kiss would have become more, but the arrival of a freshly awoken Jamie stopped them.
*****************EPILOGUE*************
The mission the X Men ran that day revealed a near dead, still unconscious Jean.
She was being held by the remnants of the Hellfire Club, and, due to their disorganization and nomadic tendencies, she had not been properly cared for.
Her body was ravaged by bed sores, and she was severely malnourished.
Hank treated her body, but the professor was desperate to treat her mind.
When he entered her psyche, he realized that she was brain dead, and probably had been for some time.
The cause was not immediately known, but the professor would later surmise that her psyche possibly committed some sort of telepathic suicide due to her inability to cope with being trapped within her own mind for so long.
Marie, Logan and Jamie moved away from the mansion soon after in order to concentrate on getting their daughter acclimated to life as a "normal" family.
By Jamie's sixth birthday, Logan and Marie were expecting their second child. Her reaction to the new pregnancy brought about a rush of emotions and anxiety, which Logan felt warranted a visit to the "head doctor" she'd told him about.
As they sat in Dr. Stewart's office, waiting for her to come in, Logan looked around, "So, this is the chick who helped fix you after I broke you?"
Marie nodded, "I guess you can say that..."
"I guess I owe her then, huh?"
She smiled a little, "Oh yeah...big time."
THE END!
