I suck at fight/battle scenes, so please do forgive me!
Marie had just gotten dressed after getting out of the shower when Victor came into her room, "How long have you been on your feet?"
"I just showered."
He relaxed just slightly and glared, "Get back in bed."
Marie was obedient, but angered as she sat back down in bed and ran a hand through her damp hair. He sat on the edge, "Have you given any thought to our talk from last night?"
"Yes, and I don't want to talk about it."
"Well, unfortunately for you, I don't really care what you want right now unless it has something to do with the well being of my child."
Marie could have spit at him, but instead, she just kept quiet and looked down at her hands before murmuring, "I hate you..."
"You'll get used to it."
Victor watched her as she laid down and turned her back to him. He spooned up behind her and grabbed her shoulders to still her squirming, "Calm. Down."
She let out a frustrated groan as he reached around and cupped her belly, "Do you have to do this?"
"Shut up the damn complaining. You're gonna be bowing to this child the same as we all are. It's important that you learn how to show him the respect he deserves as the future leader of our world."
Marie rolled her eyes and stared straight ahead as he stroked her stomach and continued to drone on and on about all of the things they have to do in preparation for the arrival of their son. Sometime during his Brethren pitch, she fell asleep, with him leaving soon after.
She didn't know how long she'd been asleep when she heard gun shots, hurried footsteps and shouting just outside her window.
Victor and Emma suddenly burst into the room, "Get your shoes on!"
Marie jumped and did what she was told. She had no idea if she was actually in danger or possibly being rescued.
Emma narrowed her eyes and touched her temple, "There's a telepath with them...she's..."
Emma's voice cut off as she suddenly grabbed her head with both of her hands. The telepaths were engaging in an epic fight within their minds. Victor picked Marie up and started rushing out of the room, abandoning Emma as she crumpled to the floor, locked in a battle with Jean, who must've been nearby.
He rushed down a dark stairway that led to a secret passageway. They entered a dark corridor, that smelled of the ocean and seemed more like a cave than anything else. The stone walls were lined with torches and the floor was nothing more than a plush layer of dark sand.
The sounds of commotion were far behind them as he set her down, grabbed a torch and took her hand to pull her down the cave toward the mouth, which, so far, was not in sight, "We have to move quick before the tide comes in."
The sudden roar of a voice stopped them, "VICTOOOR!"
Marie snatched out of Victor's grasp and turned to face the direction the voice came from, "Logan? Logan! Log-"
Victor's large hand covered her mouth and began pulling her backwards through the wet sand as she struggled against him, he whispered urgently, "Don't struggle! You're hurt the baby!"
Luckily, her struggles had slowed she and Victor's movement down substantially and Logan had heard her calls. The tell tale *snikt* of his claws were heard somewhere in the distance as Victor growled and snatched Marie behind him.
He stood, waiting for the angered feral to emerge from the darkness. There was a long moment of silence...too long.
Suddenly, Logan leapt from the dark and tackled Victor, impaling him with all six claws directly in the chest. A strangled roar escaped Victor's throat as he hit the ground underneath Logan.
Victor growled as Logan removed one set of claws and aimed them at his throat as he coughed and laughed, "So...you're alive."
"Unfortunately for you."
"It doesn't matter...you're too late...she's already carrying my son."
Logan's face flinched as he glanced up at Marie, who stood against the wall with widened eyes that were full of fear, yet hope that she might be rescued from the nightmare she'd been living for over three months.
Victor took advantage of Logan's brief distraction by using his lower body strength to catapult Logan off of him, knocking him on his ass just a few feet from where Marie stood.
Logan hopped back to his feet just in time to field a brutal, slashing attack from Victor that caught him directly in the face. Logan retaliated by thrusting his fist forward and stabbing Victor directly in the gut.
Marie was so engulfed in watching the fight, she barely noticed when the water that recently entered the cave rose above her ankles. Logan had just slammed Victor against the cave wall when they finally noticed the water rising.
Logan took note of the situation and quickly shouted, "Marie! Get out! Go!"
She wasn't sure what she would do once she got "out", but she trusted Logan, so she began wading further into the water, which was soon up to her waist.
Meanwhile, in the mansion's main level, Emma was still locked in a telepathic battle with Jean. The Phoenix force within the red head had begun to rear its head, successfully overwhelming the lesser telepath. Scott, Storm, Jubilee and Hank fought their way through the mansion, disposing of bad guys left and right while Kitty and Bobby planted bombs in strategic areas throughout the property. They came upon Magneto and two of his henchwomen, who immediately recognized that the skill and power of the X Men was too much for them to handle.
They began retreating, and Scott made the executive decision not to go after them. They had bigger fish to fry at the moment...
The sounds of the fight behind Marie had been taken over by the rush of the water, whose strong current threatened to sweep her backwards the higher it got. She needed to get out of the cave before it filled with water and trapped her...
She moved as fast as she could, but the closer she got to the mouth of the cave, the higher the water was. There was barely a foot of clearance between the water level and the ceiling of the cave when she could just see the exit...
Marie screamed, "Logan!" just before being swallowed up by the tide. She swam as hard as she could against the current, which continued to rhythmically sweep her backwards, negating the few feet she had managed to swim forward.
She fought hard, but soon, her lungs felt as though they would burst. She blacked out just after she felt a pair of strong hands grab her and begin yanking her through the water, defying the current with a strength she didn't physically possess.
Logan had left Victor unconscious, floating face down in the rising water when he heard her scream. He would have loved to finish the job...but Marie was in danger. He hadn't come this far to let her drown in some goddamn cave.
As he dove into the water and swam toward the mouth of the cave, he could only hope that Victor drowned before regaining consciousness.
Luckily, he didn't have to swim far to find her.
She had fallen unconscious by the time he resurfaced just outside of the cave. By the time he climbed aboard the yacht, Hank and the rest of the team had already made it aboard. Logan immediately handed her off to Hank and Jean, who started performing CPR.
The sound of an explosion in the distance told him that Bobby and Kitty had done their job of planting the bombs.
She came to, coughing up water and gasping for air, then fell right back unconscious, only this time, her heart rate was normal and her breathing was steady.
He fell asleep at Marie's bedside, but awoke when Jean came in to came in to check on her.
She checked her pulse, then glanced at Logan, "Did you kill Victor?"
Logan ran a hand over his tired faced, "I hope so..."
She looked up, startled, "But...but..."
He sighed, "Time was kind of of the essence Jeanie." She bit her lip and nodded as she put her stethoscope away and began taking a closer look at the cuts and bruises hat riddled Marie's arms and neck. It was obviously something Logan hadn't had the opportunity to notice yet. He leaned forward a little, "What's wrong?"
She hesitated before motioning toward Marie's neck, "Um...she's got some bruising around her neck and cuts up and down her arms..."
Logan tensed, "Do you think Victor did this?"
Jean shook her head, "It's not likely he'd do anything to jeopardize the health of the baby..."
He looked down, "Is the baby OK?"
"At this point, there's no way to know for sure. I don't have the proper equipment to check the baby's heartbeat..." She paused and narrowed her eyes, "Do you think she'll want to keep it?"
Logan paled at the thought, "Let's deal with all that when we get back to New York."
Marie awoke feeling nauseated...which wasn't an uncommon thing recently, but the rocking she was feeling definitely wasn't helping.
Wait a minute...rocking?
She sat up with a start, only to feel a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Take it easy baby..."
Marie's eyes widened as she ignored his suggestion and instead, sat up and grabbed him into a desperate hug. Tears rolled down her cheek as she gripped him to her desperately, "I-I-thought you were dead...then I thought everything that happened was a dream..."
He quieted her with a gentle kiss, "It's OK...I'm here now."
"Where am I?"
"You're on a yacht...we're sailing to Ireland, then from there, we're gonna take black bird home."
She slowly sat up and put a hand on her stomach, "I guess you know I'm pregnant."
Logan nodded and looked down, "I'm really sorry about that...I should've gotten to you sooner."
Marie took a deep breath and suddenly blurted out the words she'd been too afraid to even think for the past three and a half months, "The baby might be yours." She was so relieved when the words fell from her mouth. It was as if she'd finally exhaled after holding her breath for an hour.
Now, she could think it. Now, she could say it. Now, she could hope it. Now...she could believe it.
The baby might be his...the baby might be his...
She couldn't quite tell if he looked happy, surprised, sad, mad or all of the above at her revelation. He leaned in a little bit, "You think that there's a chance this baby is mine?"
Marie gave a single, pronounced nod.
He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her into a hug as he caressed the back of her head, "I hope...I really hope that the baby is mine."
Logan wished he could have given her a bigger reaction, but the fact that the baby might be his just wasn't good enough right now.
It didn't negate the fact that Victor had subjected her to his disgusting, unwanted attentions.
It didn't change the fact that she had suffered and been abused and exploited...it hadn't changed the fact that he failed to protect her.
Logan kissed her cheek and whispered, "I love you, Marie. Whatever happens...I promise...we'll make it work."
When they were finally on the jet, making their way home, the team took the time to debrief. Logan let Scott do the talking since he was busy keeping Marie calm.
"The Brethren's forces have been depleted...but they're still out there. The professor believes we should reconvene in Westchester, where Marie will be examined thoroughly. After that, a decision will be made regarding our next course of action."
As soon as they returned to the mansion, Marie was taken down to the med lab to get examined. Jean performed a pelvic examination before Hank drew blood and asked her questions about how she felt.
Logan stood by and watched as they poked and prodded, resisting the urge to growl when Marie hissed in pain as her blood was drawn. She gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm OK."
"Marie...have you thought of...um...terminating the pregnancy?" asked Jean quietly.
She glanced at Logan, then nodded sadly at Jean, "Everyday..."
Logan squeezed her hand reassuringly, silently letting her know that it was OK. He understood exactly why she'd think that. If the kid was Victor's and he turned out to be half as bad as the ancient documents described him to be, time out wouldn't be nearly enough to keep him in line.
Jean spoke slowly and cautiously, not really knowing the right words to say, "Uhm...just for the sake of-"
Logan held up a hand, cutting her off, "Marie and I were together right before Victor..." He sighed and gave up trying to tell the whole story, "...the baby might be mine."
Hank, who had been puttering around on the other side of the lab suddenly dropped a tray upon hearing the news. He profusely apologized and cleared his throat as Jean turned to look back at them, "OK...that complicates things."
Logan shifted his weight uneasily, "Isn't there some sort of test you can do?"
Jean nodded, "There are two tests...but both come with serious risks and shouldn't be performed without extenuating circumstances present."
"We're trying to figure out if she's carrying Damien. What can be more extenuating than that?"
Hank raised a brow, "Good point there."
"The first procedure is Chorionic Villus Sampling. That's when a sample of tissue is taken from the placenta. The sample could be tested against Logan's DNA...but I wouldn't go with that test. It's typically done during the end of the first trimester and comes with the risk of infection and miscarriage...but since you've already been through so much, the risks might be even greater."
Hank nodded, "I agree with Jean. In your case, I'd suggest we wait until your 16th or 17th week, then perform an amniocentesis. That's when a needle is inserted into the stomach and amniotic fluid is collected. We can use the DNA in the fluid to test against Logan's."
Marie bit her bottom lip. She didn't want to have to wait any longer to find out who the father of her baby was. Each passing moment of this pregnancy was making the bond with her unborn child stronger. She didn't know if she'd have the strength to "get rid" of the baby if she stayed pregnant for too long...even if it did turn out to be Victor's.
Despite the war inside of her head, she sighed, "Alright...I'll wait and do the amniocentesis."
Logan looked her in the eye, "You're sure?"
Marie nodded, "I'm sure."
REVIEW please! Thanks so much for all the kind words. Fell free to give feedback/constructive criticism if you see fit. You know how it is. If it's constructive and done is good taste, I'm all for it.
Coming up next...
A hitch is thrown in the DNA testing plans.
Marie and Logan find out the sex of her baby.
The team escorts Marie and Logan to a safe house.
Things go wrong...again.