Logan walked into the hospital wing of the mansion, through the fancy automatic steel doors that wooshed at body proximity. Down the hallway, he saw Kitty asleep, sideways in three uncomfortably looking chairs outside Rogue's room. Bobby sat nearby. Wolverine stopped, noting the oddness of his position. He sniffed, a characteristically Logan sound of disapproval, before ducking into the room.

The sniff that came as he exited the room confirmed what his first whiff had suggested to him, unaware as he was. Rogue's scent was in the hallway, but no Rogue in the room. She'd flown away, whether figuratively or literally, the girl was gone.

Smashing his fist against the nearest intercom, he growled into it, enough to wake up the sleeping mini-Xers nearby.

"What?" Kitty looked up and around.

"Wolverine," Bobby said, sitting up.

Wolverine looked back to Kitty, wondering if she were sleeping of her own nature, or she her powers had been nipped from a skunky-stripped red-headed punk. His snarl came out barely under his breath. "Rogue."

But the others heard him. "Where is she?" they asked when looking in the window. "Where did she go?"

Logan didn't waste his breath on useless answers for stupid questions. Instead he made his way for the meeting room, hoping the two x-lings would catch on and be smart enough to follow.

***

"It isn't like Rogue to run from something of this magnitude," Scott said.

"But perhaps it is not Rogue with whom we are dealing." Jean flushed.

"Rogue doesn't run from fights."

"Well, she's not here is she?" Angel crossed his arms in front of him as he wings twitched in a bored and flustered manner behind him.

Logan opened his mouth to speak, but clamped it shut. What had stayed his body from simply going after the girl? He never felt the need to call the girl scouts in before. His eyes slid over to the Professor. He knew the answer before he placed the question. "I can go after her."

"No. I think it is best we let her sort herself out. If there are more voices in Rogue's head than hers, only she can untangle it."

"But, professor," Jubes started, but quickly dropped her question, as if her mouth were working faster than her brain. "Sorry."

The professor would not interfere because he could solve her problems for her, but they would simply come back again, and no doubt in force. Rogue had problems that she needed to solve on her own. It was her life and she had choices to make and needed to learn how to live it, and live with herself. And very possibly, live with the voices in her head.

The others remained quiet as all pondered the unsaid. Storm resisted the gathering storms in her and outside. Beast quietly sat with his hand folded before him. Gambit leaned against a back wall, unreadable as always, but no cards being shuffled in his hands. Betsy fiddled with her nails, resisting the urge to bite them. Others fidgeted or remained as calm as possible. None speaking for an unbearably long and rigid space.

"She'll be back," John looked around. "Right?"

***

Sorry it has been so long. will try to update soon. THX all, you rock!