Chapter 11

Logan glanced back in the rear view mirror at Ororo. She had been quiet since they started the four hour trek up to the Munroe mountain home. The weather, which was forecasted to be sunny, turned out to be gloomy and at times, rainy.

Logan had driven an hour before he decided to break the silence. "Are you comfortable?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," Ororo said sadly, never taking her eyes off the passing scenery.

"Need to stop for anything?"

"No."

"Want to listen to some music?" he said, determined to get more than an one word answer from her.

"No, I'm fine."

Patience, he told himself as he guided the SUV carefully through the slick streets, She will open up when she's ready.

Three hours later, they pulled up in front of the Munroe mountain house. The term house didn't really capture the opulence of the place. Logan, impressed by Sarge's city home, was awed by the grandeur of his mountain home. Expecting a large log cabin, Logan wasn't expecting what stood before him. A mini mansion, the house was framed on either side by woods, providing a natural privacy screen from neighbors.

Can't wait to see what it looks like on the inside, he thought as he got out the truck and opened the door for Ororo. He held out his hand for her and she thanked him as she stepped down. He watched as she took a few bags from the truck and headed up the walkway to the front door. Unlocking it and setting the bags down, Ororo returned and helped Logan unload the truck of their luggage and the many bags of grocery Ororo's mother had sent with them.

"There's enough food here to feed an army," Logan said, as they sat the bags on the counters in the state of the art kitchen. Wow, Logan thought subtly looking around, trying not to gawk at all of the kitchen gadgets. A closet foodie, he readily recognized some of the top of the line appliances that he wanted to have in the kitchen of his dreams.

"She likes to cook and tends to cook more than needed so she can share with neighbors and others. This is how she shops when we come up to the mountains. She's hoping that since I have time, I would do some cooking while here," Ororo told him with a sad smile on her face as they worked together to put up the items in the fridge and pantry.

Once they were done, Ororo gave him a tour of the house. The house featured a spacious living room, a formal dining room, five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a full basement which served as the entertainment room, with a large projection screen and theater seating. Ororo took him outside where she led him down the gently sloping carpet of green grass to the lake cove and gazebo. They stood there for a few minutes, enjoying the gentle breeze and view.

"Ready?" she asked him and he nodded, knowing he would return to the spot often while they were there.

She led him back up the slope and up the stairs to reach the upper level. Entering through the back door, they entered the kitchen which also included a breakfast nook. Logan was sure that mornings was the best time in this part of the house especially with the wall of glass that made one feel like they were sitting outside.

"Now that you've have the grand tour, feel free to make yourself at home. You can sleep in one of the guest rooms, there's one next to my room and the other one is next to my parent's room on the other side of the house. I'm not feeling well, so I'm going to lie down for a bit," she told him, giving him another sad smile, "Thanks again for coming to keep me company."

"No problem," Logan said to the closed door.

Several hours later, Logan knocked on Ororo's door to see if she wanted something to eat. Getting a faint "no", Logan figured he would try again tomorrow. Settling down for the night, Logan decided that it would be best to take the room next to Ororo, so that he could be nearby in case she needed anything.

Just when Logan had started to drift off to sleep, he heard the soft swish of a door opening and a click as it closed. When he didn't hear footsteps, Logan got up out of his bed and headed to the back of the house. He opened the back door in time to see Ororo flying up into the clouds. Logan's mouth dropped opened in disbelief. She's a mutant, he thought, shaking his head and heading down the stairs to the backyard.

Where in the hell did she, Logan thought just as a deafening clap of thunder sounded. Covering his ears, Logan headed down to the gazebo to take cover from the sudden thunderstorm. From the safety of the gazebo, Logan looked up and saw that the lightning was concentrated in the sky, moving from cloud to cloud. After another deafening clap of thunder, Logan looked up to see Ororo falling from the sky.

Yelling her name, Logan raced to the edge of the lake and waded out a bit before diving in. He swam as fast as he could to reach the place where she would land in the water. Not prepared for the icy water, Logan began to fatigue, his momentum slowing. Swimming in cold water with an adamantium skeleton wasn't a good idea, he thought as he tried to tread water. He struggled to keep his head above water and called out Ororo's name before he slipped beneath the water. He heard a muffled splash right before he blacked out.

Logan felt warm. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw a vaulted ceiling. He attempted to sit up but Ororo was there to stop him.

"No, just relax," she told him, tucking the covers closer to his body, "You need to stay put so that we can get your body temperature up."

"What…hap…pened?" Logan asked, his teeth chattering.

Ororo looked at him with tears in her eyes. "You were trying to save me from the water but the water was too cold. You called my name and went under. I pulled you out," she told him, sitting next to him with a steaming bowl of soup.

"You…pu..ll…ed..me…ou...out?" he said, wondering how a small woman like her could pull him from the water.

"Yes, Logan. I pulled you out," she told him, pulling the table closer to her, "I'm stronger than I look."

"Yeah, sure," Logan said, his healing factor kicking in now that the blood was flowing better, "You're a mutant too?"

"Yes. I'm surprised that my father didn't tell you," she replied, "Open up."

"What is it?" he said, taking a deep whiff of the aroma wafting from the bowl, "You're dad wouldn't tell anyone if you were a mutant. He always said that was your own story to tell."

"Speaking from experience?" Ororo asked, gently blowing on the steaming spoon and offering it to him, "Its peanut soup."

"Yeah, he's was one of the first and few people I told," he said, leaning in and sipping the soup from the spoon, "This is really good. You cooked this?"

"One of my many talents," she said, offering him another spoonful, "So tell me, Jimmy/Logan the mutant, what is your gift?"

Logan took the spoon from Ororo. He felt weird having her feed him. "Thanks for the soup," he said, taking another spoonful, "I have a healing factor that keeps me going, some claws that help clear things out of my path, and what I call my super senses."

"Not use to a woman feeding you, huh?" she asked, standing and going in the kitchen to get herself a bowl. She returned to her seat and continued the conversation. "So, my dad knows you are a mutant. Did he tell you anything else?"

Logan knew what she was getting at and figured since she saved him from a long recovery period, that he would be open with her.

"Yeah, he told me he was gifted. Since we were the only two gifted guys in the company that we knew of, we kept a low profile and used the excuse of me being a difficult cadet as a cover to spend time with him off the field," he replied, setting his empty bowl on the table, feeling the effects of the soup as it warmed him from the inside, "He didn't tell you about me?"

"Like you said, Daddy believed that if a person was gifted, they would share that information when they felt comfortable doing it," she told him, "Would you like some more?"

"No, thanks. That hit the spot. Now all I need is some sleep and I will be good to go," he said, preparing to get up.

"No sir. Sorry," Ororo told him, touching his arm to stop his movement.

"Why?"

"You were out for some time and I want to make sure that you are okay. So if you don't mind, I would like for you to sleep here tonight so I can keep an eye on you."