Papa ch 10
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After trudging to his room and giving Abigail a rather unpleasant bath, (as he wasn't fond of all the bubbles and splashes that came along with the new body wash for kids Jean had bought), Logan dressed Abigail in her pjs and carried her downstairs for a little grub.
The last thing she ate was that slice of pizza in the mall and he was a bit surprised she wasn't complaining about her hunger like she did earlier. But he figured with the near fatal car accident and all, she wasn't too concerned about food. That is until they reached the kitchen.
When Logan arrived, Abigail in hand, (and Wilbur in her hands) he wasn't surprised to see the others in the room, munching away on their own dinner they managed to scrounge up, each one of them keeping as quite as a librarian, the room only emitting sounds of chewing.
Logan chuckled to himself, expecting this type of typical behavior from them after their all out bus war. As if having a mansion turned into a school designed for mutants wasn't strange enough, their way of apologizing was even stranger. Quiet apologies and sleeping on the issue seemed to work best in this household as, silent meals stood for, "I'm sorry for what I've done", and sharing the blankets at night really meant, "Can you forgive me?".
Logan chuckled again, shaking his head in dismay and opening the refrigerator to see what he could put together. "What a strange place I live in" he thought to himself, still looking around for food.
Meanwhile, Abigail who was standing next to him, whined a little and thrust her arms in the air, wanting Logan to pick her up. "Papa" she softly cried out, still displaying that I'm-hurt-and-need-attention look on her face as she did so.
Logan sighed, picking her up by one arm and slinging her onto his hip, continuing to look around in the fridge.
Oddly enough, ever since the accident, he found himself being less and less annoyed by her little cravings and needy habits.
He didn't think he'd ever been so scared when he saw her sitting there crying, with blood leaking from her for head, and the fact that it refused to heal for awhile didn't make it any better.
He's never seen an injured child before in his life and the sight of it just triggered some sort of strange sense of fear. And if that wasn't off enough for some reason seeing her like that made him think about Striker and the pain he put her through and he didn't want her to relive that; she was too young. So he did his best to do everything he could to get her happy again; even if it annoyed him.
"Ah, Bingo" he said aloud, finding the perfect dinner supplement, and brining out the supplies from the fridge. "Alright kid, turkey sandwich or Mac and cheese?" he asked, showing her a pre-made sandwich and one of the personal sized cups of Mac and Cheese while he pulled out a pre-made sub sandwich for himself.
"Ah!" Abigail said, reaching for the turkey sandwich and Logan nodded.
"Turkey sandwich, smart choice" he said, setting her on the counter while he fetched for a couple plates.
Setting both sandwiches for her and for him on separate plates, Logan used his claws to cut hers into small pieces, before digging around in the fridge again for some milk and placing the liquid in a sippie-cup for her. He then dug around in the pantry for a few gold fish crackers and added it to the plate, before dusting his hands off in completion.
Setting her on the floor and carrying the food to the table, Abigail followed greedily behind, keeping her eyes on the food. He set the plate at a vacant spot at the table and helped her up on the chair, Abigail wasting no time indulging herself in the food.
"There you go kid, enjoy" he said. "A Logan specialty."
He sighed as he grabbed his own food from the counter and made his way over to the table, sitting down next to Abigail before she could complain.
As he began eating he looked around the table to find everyone still silent, a couple of their eyes wondering occasionally to look at him or to look at each other or to look at their food. But still no one said a word.
Logan chuckled again. "Ah" he thought to himself peacefully. "Just the way I like it; silent." He added with a smirk. "We should fight more often"
……………………………….
The next morning Logan surprisingly awoke to his usual time, around 10: 30 in the morning and he turned around to find little Abigail lying fast asleep in her little encirclement of pillows.
Rising up out of bed and giving her an odd look, Logan checked the clock to make sure his eyes were seeing correctly and he stared at her again just to make sure this wasn't all a dream.
Little Abigail, still asleep? Was it really true? The girl normally arose at the peak of dawn and pounced on his bed until he was forced to get up and now she was asleep.
Halting from his journey toward the bathroom, Logan ventured back to the bed and placed a finger under her little nose, just to make sure she was breathing.
Yup, still inhaling and exhaling.
He shrugged.
"I guess she's just sleepy" he remarked to himself, going back to the bathroom. If she was sleepy he sure wouldn't complain. He could get used to this.
About 20 minutes more passed and he finally finished his morning grooming, exiting the bathroom and entering back into his room, only to find Abigail still sleeping, clutching her precious Wilbur and Blankey. (the shirt, not the new one).
Again Logan gave her a perplexed look.
It was ten til' eleven and Abigail was still asleep. What was she doing last night? Moonlighting?
He knew after they finished their silent dinner, he had put her straight to bed and she'd fell right asleep, but that was about twelve hours ago and she was still at it.
"I wonder if it has anything to do with that little concussion of hers" he thought to himself, leaning over to inspect her for head only to find the bruise was gone. "Hmm" he said aloud, running his fingers across it. "Bruise is gone, but she's burning up." He thought.
"Geez kid, get some ventilation would ya?" he said, pulling the blanket she was snuggled up in, down a little so her body could get some air.
Before he could continue to inspect her strange sleeping habits, there was a knock at the door, interrupting him from going further.
Logan rolled his eyes. "What now?" he mumbled. "I thought Chuck said we had the day off."
Yanking open the door, he was just about to yell at whoever it was, standing in his doorway, until he came face to face with Rogue, looking back up at him.
"Mornin' Logan" she greeted with a warm smile.
Logan's face softened. "Ya mornin' kid" he said. "What's up?"
"Uh, nothing really" she replied. "Storm just wanted me to tell ya that the furniture for Abby just came in an' she wants you tah help her an' Ms. Grey set it up."
Logan sighed, re-thinking the professor and his proposal to take the day off. This is not what he had in mind. "Set it up where?" he asked.
Rogue briefly peeked inside his room. "In here I guess. I mean, if ya room was a little cleaner" she grinned.
Logan playfully glared. "You makin' fun of my stuff kid" he teased, playfully pushing her.
Rogue laughed. "I'm just teasin'." She said. "Don't get your boxers in a bunch. But seriously, Ms. Munroe wants you to help her downstairs."
Logan sighed, "Alright I'm commin'" he said. "Hey kid, do me a favor, watch the squirt for me while I'm gone."
Rogue smiled. "Sure thing, just hurry back ok? I aint' to good with kids" she said.
Logan scoffed. "Niether am I, and look where it got me"
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It didn't take him long before he reached the garage and when he did he found, Storm, Jean, Cyclops and Colossus, all assembled there, chatting amongst themselves about the furniture in front of them.
"So" Logan began, placing a cigar in his mouth and quickly lighting it up, making his presence known in the garage. "Where'd all this crap come from?" he asked, looking at the various boxes.
They all turned to face him, Scott rolling his eyes and Jean and Storm giving him a helpless smile. "Well good morning to you too Logan" Jean said with a playful roll of her eyes.
Logan gruffed, withdrawing the cigar from his lips and letting a small cloud of smoke pour out. "So where'd all this junk come from?" he re-asked, kicking a small pebble by his foot out of the garage.
"It's not junk" Storm defended. "It's Abigail's furniture; I bought it yesterday"
He huffed. "That's some quick delivery"
"Everything's quick when you pay enough money" she giggled and Logan nodded. Boy did he know that.
"I thought today was our day off?" he asked, taking another inhale of his cigar.
"It is our day off" Jean said. "And what better way to spend it than to assemble furniture for a lovely new student of ours?" she asked.
"I could think of 10 right off the top of my head."
She chuckled. "C'mon Logan, don't be such a grouch, Abigail needs to sleep somewhere"
"Right" Logan responded suspiciously. "And just where exactly is this somewhere?" he asked, already knowing the answer. He knew that all this furniture would some how wind up in his room but it still irked him to ask; just in case.
"In a bed silly" Jean said, patting the box next to her that contained the bed. She was clearly avoiding the direct question being asked, as she didn't want to have to be the one to break him the bad news.
Logan narrowed his eyes. "Don't play games with me Jeannie" he said. "Where's the bed goin'?" he asked.
Jean helplessly sighed. "Alright fine" she said. "You caught me, the furniture is going in your room Logan. Happy? I said it. Your room"
Logan sighed. He knew this was coming. "Why?" he asked, inhaling again in his cigar.
"Because, she's too young to be with any of the other kids; she has to stay with one of us."
"Yes, one of us. Why does that One of us have to be me?"
"Because she likes you" Storm answered for the telepath. "She copes best when she's with you so we figured this would be the easiest" she replied.
Logan huffed again. "I'm surprised you don't suspect me for being a pedophile like the rest of the world" he grumbled, exhaling another puff of smoke.
"I did" Scott informed him and Logan glared.
"Piss off Scooter" he shot at the other man.
"Oh c'mon Logan. Don't be like this." Storm persuaded. "Who knows, maybe this could work out to be a good thing"
He shot her a raised eyebrow. "How?"
"It could be like…………………it could be like…….like having your own daughter." She said, sprouting the idea off the top of her head.
Logan's eyebrow peaked even further upwards. "I don't remember asking for one" he said.
"Oh c'mon Logan, the professor agrees, it's a good idea." Jean said.
"You know I just love how you guys consult me first before making decisions about my room." He replied sarcastically.
"Logan……….."
"No, no, forget it" he interrupted, dismissing it with a wave of his hand. "Just bring in the damn furniture"
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With the help of Scott and Colossus, (and Bobby who had been walking by and had gotten sucked into helping) they had finally managed to drag the furniture to Logan's room, only to stop short when they stepped, inside.
Utterly flabbergasted, the group was stunned speechless when they caught sight of the mess in Logan's room. Clothes and shoes all over the place, bed unmade, whiskey and beer bottles scatter all over, an ashtray filled to the max with cigar butts, and the curtains closed giving the room a dark and dirty atmosphere.
"Oh my……………………"
"God" Jean finished for a speechless Storm as she stepped in and over a few things lying on the floor.
In the middle of the heaping mess, (which happened to be Logan's unmade bed) sat Rogue and Abigail, both of them watching some kids program on TV.
"Hi there" Rogue greeted, seemingly unfazed by the mess in his room. "She woke up about 10 minutes ago Logan" Marie informed. "I helped her brush her teeth and her hair" she said, watching as Abigail hopped off the bed, and latched onto Logan's legs. She didn't say Papa this time, but rather buried her face into his knees.
Logan nodded, picking the toddler up in his arms. "Thanks kid" he said to Marie, watching curiously as Abigail laid her little head on his large shoulder.
"Logan……………..whatever your last name is" Storm exclaimed, directing his attention back to his messy room.
He turned to look at her.
"Please, tell me that you just left this room, spick and span and some how some way, in the passed 15 minutes, some sort of bedroom demon came by and made this mess" she said, picking up a shirt off the floor and frowning when she realized she wasn't sure if it was clean or dirty, dropping it right back where it was.
"I could tell you that" he said. "But then I'd be lying"
Storm's eyes went wide. "Logan! You had her living in this?"
Logan frowned, exhaling again from his cigar. "What's wrong with it?" he asked. He didn't like people insulting his things.
"It's a sty that's what's wrong with it" she said, kicking a beer bottle out of her way.
"I'll say" Scott said with a whistle, surveying the room.
Logan glared. "Shut-up Scooter"
"Logan, I can't believe you've had her in this……...this………..mess, all this time" Jean scolded.
"Well it aint' like the kid had any problem with it; she's perfectly fine"
"Logan, you can't put a three year old in these types of living conditions, it's unsafe."
"What's so unsafe about it?" he asked. "It's just clutter"
"We'll let's just take a look around the room shall we?" Scott said sarcastically, walking in and showing him various items in his room like a game show host would to a fabulous contestant winner. "Clothes lying on the floor, hazardous to little feet" he pointed out, nodding his head for his own reassurance. "Beer and whiskey bottles, could be broken and be unsafe for toddler sensitive skin and could set bad imagery for young eyes" he added.
Logan rolled his eyes.
"Unmade bed, unsafe for………..well for…………ok well that's just gross" Scott continued, moving on to the next thing. "Cigar butts lying in an ashtray; hazardous to little lungs and to sensitive allergies." He said.
Again Logan rolled his eyes, only this time harder if at all possible.
"Which reminds me" he said, making his way back over to Logan and snatching the cigar from his mouth, finding some room in the ashtray and putting it out.
Logan full out glared now. "Hey!" he complained. "That came from a 200 dollar box of cigars bub"
Scott rolled his eyes now. "You can't smoke when you're around her Logan. That's' second hand smoke and you're putting her at risk for lung cancer."
"Do the words, healing capability mean anything to you."
Scott rolled his eyes. "She's a toddler Logan, it's still risky, mutation or not."
Logan sighed. "You're a real dip shit you know that Scooter"
"And last but not least, vulgar language, hazardous to young ears" he fired back.
Logan flipped him the bird with his middle claw.
"Oh grow up; that's getting old"
"Alright, alright, alright" Jean interrupted, before their squabble grew into something larger. The last thing she wanted was a repeat from yesterday. "Logan all in all, Scott is right and you can't let her sleep in this………….mess." she cautioned, choosing her words carefully. "It might have been comfortable for you but you've got someone else rooming with you now and you need to be a little considerate to their needs."
"Gee cause you know, she's done exactly the same for me since she's got here" he said and Jean glared.
"Cut the sarcasm and act serious for once Logan" she scolded. "She's a little girl, she can't be around dirty clothes, alcohol and cigars all the time"
Logan sighed. Jean did have a point; not that he'd admit it out loud but she was right. Little Abby couldn't be around his weird ways of living because it just wasn't healthy for her. And he wouldn't want her growing up to be a big emotional wreck because of his unstable environment; she'd have enough of that from her operation.
"Fine" he said, sighing to himself and taking one last look at the mess in his room. "I'll clean it up."
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Another day come and gone and Logan had spent the majority of it, fixing his room to make way for his new roommate.
The cleaning part had proven to be not so difficult as he had rid of all the bottles lying around, put all his clothes on the floor to wash, washed his sheets, got rid of the cigar buts and cleaned out the ashtray. Once Storm had opened up the curtains to let a little light in, it actually resembled a real bedroom.
So after getting his room to glow and shine, on came the difficult part of assembling all the furniture.
Logan mumbled and grumbled, and cursed up a storm, just like he did when he was in the clothing store, for he wanted to tear apart all the darn pieces, and bolts and screws, and rip up all the confusing instructions that came along with it. He swore if he had a dollar for every time the instructions said to insert part A into part b or insert part F into part H or whatever the case may be, he'd be rich enough to retire to Bora-Bora.
But they finally managed to put all the furniture together, setting the twin sized bed on the far side of his room and her little dresser next to his large one, and even installing a few closet and bathroom compartments for her things. Storm had added the few "homie touches" (which Logan despised) and placed little stenciled butterflies on the wall over her bed, covered said bed with pink and yellow decorated sheets, added a little white, butterfly decorated bookshelf with "my first reader books" next to Logan's unused one and put a little toy chest at the foot of Abigail's bed with all her toys. She smiled at how well the room came out and meanwhile Logan frowned, not liking the pink and butterflies in his room at all.
"I can't wait until the brat is old enough to move out" he thought to himself, surveying the frill and lace. "Yuck!"
"Well" Scott said, gathering up the last of the plastic and Styrofoam lying on the floor, placing it in a trash bag. "Looks like we're finally done here" he said, surveying the room as well. "And all in all, the room looks pretty good"
"Ya, it really does" Storm marveled.
"Sure, you know, considering the facts and all" Bobby interjected, he and Peter pointing and giggling at the pink and butterflies.
Logan glared at them. "Shut-it you two!" he warned.
"Oh Logan, don't be such a grouch, it looks nice" Jean said, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "You should be proud"
He grimaced, still hating the look of it. "Ya whatever, as long as the kid likes it, cause if she doesn't, I'm ripping it all down"
"I'm sure Abby loves it" the red head reassured. "Isn't that right Ab……………"
She turned to find said toddler, on top of Logan's bed again, fast asleep. Jean paused when she got a look at her, still clad in her little toddler pajamas and clutching Wilbur, the ugly platypus.
"Sleeping again?" she asked to finish her sentence, removing her arm from Logan's shoulder and heading towards the bed to get a closer look.
"Logan, is she ok? She's been sleeping an awful lot today" Storm pointed out, also looking at the young girl in concern.
Logan shrugged. "The hell if I know, she was fine last night, then this morning she wakes up late and she's been sleeping all day"
"You think she's sick?" Scott asked tying up the last of the bags and setting them in the hallway.
"She can't get sick; she's got a healin' factor like me, and I don't get sick" Logan replied.
"Ohhhh" Jean dragged out sadly, getting up from the bed and removing her hand from the young girls for head.
"Oh what?" Logan asked with a little panic in his voice, he did not like the sound of that oh. "What was the 'oh' for?"
"She's defiantly sick alright" the telepath replied, shaking the heat from her hand. "The poor think is burning like a match"
"What do you mean she's sick?" Logan asked. "I thought she couldn't get sick."
Jean shrugged. "A repercussion I guess" she replied.
"Repercussion? Jeannie, what the hell……….."
"Well all of our mutations have um'. And like Scott said earlier, she's a toddler and her mutation already manifested, she's still got a lot of growing to do and maybe it's going to take awhile before her body can adjust properly to it"
"And by adjust you mean………."
"I mean that in certain cases or certain situations, her mutation might work like an……………. Like an on and off switch if you will. In certain instances she's able to control it and in others she's not; just until her body adjusts."
"Well" Logan sighed. "Isn't this magical"
"But in the mean time she's sick alright" the Dr. concluded. "Fever, runny nose, cold sweat, drolly pillow. She probably got it from wondering around in the snow barefoot."
"Great, just freaking great!" Logan huffed. "We get three days off and I have to spend it setting up furniture and nursing a sick child like I'm some damn…………….did you say drolly pillow?" he suddenly stopped, dashing to the bed to check his linen.
"Oh, for fuck's sake kid!" he whined, leaning over and catching sight of his once clean pillow now filled with toddler drool. "I finally clean my freaking bed and you go and drool all over it! We assembled your bed for a freaking reason so sleep in it! Grrrr, now I have to get a new pillow case!" he yelled at the sleeping child.
Storm giggled from the corner. "Welcome to your first lesson in parenting Logan; a sick toddler."
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