A/N: Last chapter before the epilogue! I enjoyed writing this story, especially because cute and fluffy is my usual genre. Plus Logan in domestic situations is always a riot. You don't expect the X-Men's killing machine to be docile.
Tossing and turning in her bed, eight year old Lilly was caught in the throes of a horrible nightmare. Behind her eyes she saw terrible things happening to her mother Elle, who was currently eight months pregnant with her new sibling. Lilly had been looking forward to being a big sister for so long, and now that it was almost time, her anxiety was on overdrive. In the nightmare she saw everything from anti-mutant protesters attacking the mansion, to Magneto coming out of retirement and going rogue, to even Elle falling down the stairs and crushing the baby.
When Lilly finally woke with a strangled scream, she felt like her body was on fire. She was sweating all over, her heart rate was through the roof, and her hands felt sticky. The sheets were everywhere for some reason, and when she tried to untangle herself, she immediately froze. The pain she had felt from her body being on fire had a cause, and she immediately screamed at the top of her lungs.
Logan was awake the instant he heard Lilly screaming, and he leapt out of bed and ran to her door, popping his claws along the way. Normally he slept in the nude, but once Elle had hit the eighth month of her pregnancy, he went to bed in shorts in case something came up. This was not what he had in mind, though, detecting the terror in Lilly's shrieks. How had something gotten through security? He was ready to impale whoever hurt her the second he threw open her door, but stopped dumbstruck at what he saw.
Lilly was sitting upright on the bed, staring in horror at her bloody hands. Right on the back of her palms, right between her knuckles, were three thin bone claws, just like his own before the adamantium. He immediately leaned back on the door frame and began laughing, causing Lilly to stare at him through her tears as though he'd gone mad.
"Logan, Lilly? What's wrong?" When Elle arrived and saw her husband laughing like a fool at her daughter's trauma, she was horrified. "You asshole! Move!" Logan stepped aside to let his very mad and very pregnant wife through, and watched as she sat on the bed cradling her daughter as best she could.
"Mama, what happened to me...? Why is Daddy laughing?"
"He's laughing because he's an idiot," Elle explained, gently picking up one of Lilly's hands and inspecting the claws poking through her skin. She gave a faint smile, and rubbed at the last piece of the uncertainty puzzle. It was time to come clean to their daughter, and lay everything out. "Honey, you know how I told you we got married when you were four?"
"Yeah... You said sometimes parents have babies before they're married."
"And you know how in Professor Xavier's Mutant Relations class that at times, mutants and humans don't always get along? That sometimes, humans do bad things to mutants?"
Lilly lowered her head. "...Yes. That's what my bad dream was about. I was really afraid that something would happen to the baby, that they would do bad things to it. And then when I woke up, I had these things on my hands."
"You got them from your Daddy," Elle explained. "He had bone claws too, just like yours, except that he was captured by the bad people. They put metal on his claws before he escaped. Do you understand?"
"Uh-huh."
"The same bad people that captured him, also captured me when I was a little girl. I was captured for a long time, before I escaped. After I escaped, that's when I had you."
"Okay."
"But listen to me, baby." Elle smoothed out Lilly's hair, and lifted her chin. "I didn't meet your Daddy until after I already had you. Your Aunt Jean found us at the mall, saved us from some bad people, and brought us to live here at the mansion because we didn't have anywhere to go. After that, I met Logan."
Lilly tilted her head, trying to understand. "But Mommy, he's my Daddy."
"Yes, he is. He's raised you since you were a baby."
"So how could he be my Daddy if you didn't meet him until after I was born?"
Elle looked over to Logan for advice, but he still had the shit eating grin on his face from earlier and would be no help. "...The stork put you in my tummy before I escaped from the bad people. When I met Logan and fell in love with him, we just knew he was your Daddy because you look exactly like him and because his senses picked up on you. Only we just didn't know for sure. The reason Logan is laughing now though, is because those claws prove you are his daughter. RIGHT?"
Logan finally broke from his stupor enough to come sit by his family's side, and picked up one of Lilly's hands. "I haven't seen them like this in so long, I almost forgot what they looked like," he mumbled with a grin, running a thumb along one of the bony protrusions.
"Well? Tell her what they are!" Elle urged, hormones raging.
"They're bone, sharp as hell, and they prove you're mine," he said, kissing Lilly's forehead.
Lilly winced as Logan felt along her wrist. "It hurts."
"I'm guessing because your wrist is so small, shoving all three through at once is putting a strain on the tissue. When you use them, you'll probably have to keep the middle inside."
"Can you show her how to get them back in?" Elle asked, as she wiped the blood from Lilly's hands and arms.
Logan nodded, kissing Elle and rubbing her stomach. "I'll take care of her. The two of you go back to bed, the last thing we need tonight is a surprise early visitor from the stress."
"Oh please, your first kid didn't come out until the day before the hospital was going to induce me, and I didn't even go in until a few days before that. I think this one's good for a little longer." Elle couldn't help teasing. Logan may have made a new discovery tonight, but in her mind, there was never an alternative. Lilly had always been his. With a comforting hug, Elle bid Lilly goodnight and left Logan to bond with their daughter.
The next morning, when everyone was gathered for breakfast, Logan announced that they had something to share with the team. Remy stopped making silly faces with Jean and Scott's three year old daughter Rachael, and immediately started prying. "What is it, mon ami? We having twins?"
"What?! No!" There was a pause as Elle and Logan both went white, then a glance to Hank for confirmation. "...Right?"
"I am fairly certain there is only going to be one baby born within the next month, Logan." The blue doctor couldn't help joining in with the chuckles going around the room. "Besides, mommy would have been able to feel long before now the effects of having more than one."
"No more baby talk, you'll make me think these false contractions are real," Elle grumbled, stuffing herself into a cushy chair that Kurt teleported in from the common area. While Hank made sure that everything was okay with her, Logan brought Lilly forward.
"The announcement concerns Lilly," Logan picked up where he left off. "We had a little discovery last night, in case anyone heard the commotion." He then turned to her, and crouched down to her level. "Okay Lil, breathe nice and easy, take it slow, and think of how nice it'd be to turn One-Eye into a pincushion."
"WHAT?! Logan!"
"Don't mind him, kiddo, just go ahead." Lilly smiled at her father, then focused on her hands just like he taught her last night. Slowly, and with just a little pain, the outside claws on each hand emerged. Keeping the middle retracted helped like Logan theorized, but there would still be some wrist pain until her body got used to expelling and withdrawing them.
There were plenty of wide eyes and awes from those in attendance, and even a few claps to make Lilly feel less awkward about her new mutation. Though, Logan's real intentions for showing Lilly off hadn't seemed to be grasped by the crowd quite yet. That is, except by a certain blue beast. Elle was the first one to notice the strange grin on Hank's face, though she brushed it off as the Professor began to speak.
"Lilly, my congratulations on developing a secondary mutation! It is common for mutants your age to start expressing their gifts, but we weren't sure if you were going to develop a second power since you already have your mother's healing abilities. Now it looks as though you have your father's skeletal projections as well. Most impressive!"
"Yeah, and you know what that means, Chuck?" Patented Wolverine Grin #11 made a rare happy appearance, creeping out half the room. "That means that Lil is my kid. MY kid! Hear that, furball? Guess your little theories way back when were wrong!"
Hank nodded, and stood from his chair. "Logan, Elle, I have a confession to make."
Elle raised an eyebrow, while Logan scowled. "What do you mean, confession? Don't tell me you really were keeping something from me all those years ago?" The urge to snikt was overwhelming, but luckily Remy and Jean were both projecting peaceful thoughts.
"I told you back then, I was bound by patient privilege not to discuss this with you. But, since it's out now, I may as well confess. ...I knew the whole time," he admitted.
"You WHAT?!"
"Logan, please calm down," Charles urged, sensing an impending blowout. "You've been Lilly's father for the last six years, does the biological side really matter? Do you suddenly love Lilly more because she's legitimate?"
Logan scoffed at the term. "That's horseshit."
"Language..."
"Sorry, Jean."
"Then the matter is settled," Charles declared. "To tell the truth, though, I don't believe there was any doubt that you were her father, Logan. There are just too many similarities."
"We had it called from the first time he held her," Ororo chimed in, making Elle smile from the recollection and doing her best to stir the conversation in a happy direction.
"I'm honestly surprised Hank managed to keep it a secret," Jean mused, "especially with me around the lab. I've picked up so many of his stray thoughts, it's embarrassing. Do you have any idea how much he loves twinkies?"
The whole room laughed, causing Hank to grumble in response. "Well, even if Lilly didn't have his claws, it would have come out sooner or later. Especially if the new baby had been a girl, the resemblance would've been uncanny. Then he'd really suspect!"
Logan's brow twitched, but he let the doctor go about his business. Excitement over for the morning, everyone began readying for another day of learning at the School for Gifted Youngsters. Elle had a prenatal checkup with Hank, and then of course the scientist wanted to get a good look at Lilly's new claws. Logan kissed them both, and promised to behave while they were gone.
After a pat on the back from Remy and an agreement to meet in the Danger Room later, Logan was left to ponder the morning's developments. So Hank knew the whole time. Meh, Logan decided it wasn't anything to fret about. He'd have a nice long talk with him later about yanking his chain, but for now he was much more intrigued by something else the doctor had said this morning. If the new baby had been a girl... Logan knew what he heard. Hank just let it slip that they were having a boy. Grinning to his ears, he started running through all the fun he was going to have with his little guy.
Scott noticed the devilish grin, as he stopped back in for Rachael's forgotten teddy bear. "What's got you in such a good mood?"
"Oh, nuthin' much. You think three is too young to start combat training?"
"...Are, are you asking if I'm going to make Rachael-"
"Naw, I'd better wait 'til I see what he can do. 'Course if he heals like his mother, maybe I can start kendo and judo when he's fiveish... and Gumbo probably wouldn't mind hanging around if I let him show off his bojutsu. Yeah, think I'll do that."
The leader of the X-Men scratched his temple, as he watched Logan continue mumbling to himself with abandon. Mid-thought, the soon to be father of two got up and wandered out, never even bothering to get Scott's answer.
Scott, Mr. Cuddles?
"Coming, honey," he answered Jean aloud, shaking his head. He never thought he'd see the day Logan, of all people, settled down.
A/N: I have the visual of Peter Griffin in the delivery room when Meg is born, holding all the sports equipment and asking if the doctor can "check again" when he says it's a girl. Imagine Logan's disappointment if that were the case. Hank would definitely be clawed. XD The bouncing blue beast is safe, though. Funny he kept that other secret so long, but couldn't keep this one for even six months. ;)
Patented Wolverine Grin #11 is actually the face he's making on the cover of Wolverine 1:1. You know, the one where he's grinning and making the "come here" gesture? I didn't realize that was drawn by Frank Miller at first, because I'm so used to his later work. I recommend picking up the Wolverine TPB, it's a good read and it is different from the movie (everything is nowadays).
One last note, regarding Lilly and her claws. She's basically going to use them the way Laura/X-23 uses hers (except no silly toe claw). She'll use either the two outer claws or the single inner claw at once. She can use all three at the same time if she dislocates the hell out of her wrists, but it's a mess to get them back in her arm so she prefers not to do so. Oh, and don't think Daddy is going to neglect her because he's got a son on the way. Someone has to show her how to use those claws, and there's a whole Danger Room full of robots to smash up. :3