JUNE

I stayed in control as I drove my mate back to our nesting ground. I wanted her close, but I needed to stay focused on checking for any humans following us and remembering how to drive. The human had figured it out by himself after we lost most of our memory, and my muscles automatically did most of the work for me, shifting gears and adjusting the speed. I recognized the signs and hanging lights as important, but I couldn't remember what for. It was late enough at night and the human settlement was small enough that we were the only ones on the road, so I just ignored them. I stopped the human's truck in front of the entrance to our nesting ground and got out. I waited at the doorway, but my mate didn't follow.

She's waiting for you to open her door, jackass.

I growled in annoyance. I didn't have time for stupid human customs, but I would humor my mate. She at least looked a little sheepish when I opened her damn door for her. I opened the other door for her too, pulling her close to me and kicking it shut once we were inside. I hadn't smelt any major pain coming off of her while I drove, but I still patted my mate down to be sure. She looked surprised, but kept still and compliant while I checked her over. Her left side seemed tender, but none of her ribs were broken. She also had a large bruise forming over her cheekbone, but other than that, I couldn't find any other serious injuries. I wanted to strip her down and rub my scent all over her, but we didn't have time for that. She wasn't hurt, and that was the most important thing, so I could wait to do that later. I did rub my cheek against her head just to scent mark her a little, then sat on the bed while she got a pair of pliers out of her bag.

I took a long swig of the whiskey she'd snatched me. "Make it quick, we're leaving in twenty, kit."

She turned around and glared at me. "That's not even enough time to get all the lead out!"

"Then get started."

She let out an angry huff, looking so cute and upset. It amused me until I remembered the way she fought back at the bar. My innocent little kitling had been fucking vicious. I might not even have to go back and kill the other female, she could be dead of a concussion already. My Marie-mate might look all flustered now, but she was worthy of being my mate for a damn good reason. I swallowed hard and tried to push down the ever present urge to claim her as she stomped over to me. She bent slightly and examined my chest, so I lowered my arm and straightened my shoulders, showing off my muscles for her. I knew the sight of my bare chest had an effect on women, but even I wasn't expecting it when she started to kneel in front of me. Her eyes flickered back up to mine with shy innocence, and I almost choked on my own spit.

Quit drooling over her, you bastard!

She changed her mind and straightened. Damn shame too. But my disappointment didn't last when she placed one knee on the bed and tried to push my shoulder back.

"Lay down." She ordered.

Fuck, was this even real or had I passed out? It seemed too close to what I had imagined back at the bar, letting my little mate try out being dominant. But it was pure innocence that shone in her eyes.

"Please?"

Shy and innocent, hesitantly gripping my shoulder instead of trying to push me down again. And damn if that didn't make it even harder not to just roll her over and take her. I slowly laid down instead, mainly just to see what she planned on doing. Which turned out to be straddling me. And then crawling up my body. Shit, how certain was I this wasn't a dream?

"Ah'm gonna have to sit on yah for a bit. That alrah-ght?" She asked, placing a hand on my side.

I felt myself nodding slowly, and I gripped the sheets in an effort to keep myself perfectly still. My mate would be the fucking death of me, and I would go without complaint. She lowered herself down on me and straddled my stomach. Just a little lower there, kitling...

"Yah mind, Wolvie?"

I looked at her upraised hands and tried to concentrate on something other than the feel of her pert ass pressed so fucking close to—

"What?"

"Ah gotta take mah gloves off for this, an' mah skin—"

"S'beautiful." I muttered without thinking.

She stared at me. "What?"

Her face was the perfect picture of confusion, like she really didn't know what all that smooth, creamy skin did to me. Little flashes of how it looked wet and soapy in the shower burst in my mind, and my jeans started to feel tight. I cleared my throat and tried to talk right, but my voice still came out rough with lust.

"Nothin' wrong with yer skin, kit. S'beautiful, and I trust ya."

She blushed and smiled shyly, and goddamn I hated that the human always wore such tight jeans. My mate probably couldn't feel it with that damn belt buckle in the way, but my cock was pressing painfully into the zipper. I didn't have that problem for long though, once she grabbed the pliers and started in on my chest. The pain made it a helluva lot easier to get my dick under control. The first big piece hurt like hell, but the second was a real motherfucker. It felt like it was fucking welded to my bones, and she had to brace a hand on my shoulder for leverage in order to yank it out. Even I couldn't stay calm during that, and I snarled past my clenched teeth. Sure, I'd gone through worse, but that didn't mean this didn't hurt like a bitch.

I felt a small hand cup the back of my neck and lift my head up. Cool glass pressed against my lips and whiskey flowed into my mouth. I got the picture and gulped down nearly half the bottle. My sweet Marie-mate eased my head back down and brushed the hair and sweat off my forehead. I closed my eyes again and leaned into her touch. I'd never felt anything like it before. Some women had helped fix the human up before, but not even they had been this gentle. And I sure as hell didn't get any of that treatment. The human only let me out when the killing started and then locked me back up again right after. This soft touching while I was hurt was completely new to me, and it felt damn good. So good I didn't even care about my chest anymore. Hell, I was tempted to get myself hurt on a regular basis if it meant she'd touch and worry over me like this every time.

Then she leaned forward to put the bottle on the nightstand, pressing her chest briefly against my face. If I hadn't been so out of it with pain, I probably would have taken the opportunity to get a quick lick in, but her little breasts were gone again before I could. It was damn good for my morale though. Fucking loved those cute little titties of hers.

She went back to work though, and that just ruined all my fun. I hated being shot. I could handle being stabbed or punched or run over, but getting shot was just such a fucking pain in the ass. She didn't work for long though before she sat up again.

"Alrah-ght, hold on a sec, Wolvie." She told me.

I lifted my head slightly to get a good view of her and see what was the matter. She slid down my hips to sit on my thighs again, and my heart almost stopped for a second. It damn well did when she started messing with my belt buckle.

Fuck, Marie! What are you doing?

"Whatcha doin' there, kit?" I growled.

I'd told the human and myself that I'd wait until she was older and ready before I took her, but if she kept messing around like this, I wouldn't be responsible for what I did.

"Yeh belt buckle keeps digging into meh. Yah don't mind if I take yeh belt off, do yah?" She asked in a perfect little girl voice.

Oh hell YES, she could take it off. Take off my damn jeans too. Hell, I'd even help her with her clothes. We could just get naked. I'm sure my chest would feel a lot better after a real good fuck.

"Yes." I blurted out, nodding eagerly.

But she paused and lifted her hand. "Oh. Yah do mind?"

"No..." Wait, what? I wanted this to happen! "...yes!"

Shit, what was I even saying?! My Marie-mate didn't understand either, because she cocked her head and looked at me like I wasn't even speaking English. A wave of annoyance passed over me. I'd never gotten so fucking bothered over a female before. The few times the human did let me out with women, I was confident and domineering. Not stumbling over myself like a fucking pup.

"I...yes, ya can...if it's hurtin' ya..." I muttered, trying to sound like I was just concerned for her. It sounded stupid even to me, and I felt my face get hot. What the fuck was that?! The Wolverine did not blush!

Apparently you do, bub.

Shut the fuck up.

Her fingers fumbled on the buckle, brushing against the zipper. My cock started to come back to life as she tugged on the belt, and it twitched in my jeans when she gave the belt a hash tug. I groaned, and her head came up to shook me a worried glance.

"Did Ah hurt yah?" She asked.

I quickly shook my head. "No, I..." Shit! "...my chest. Lotta pain, kit."

I tried to look like I was in more pain than just from the strain in my jeans. She gave me a sympathetic look and went even slower, drawing out the process. I didn't fucking complain.

You're a dirty fucking animal.

Like ya ain't enjoyin' this jest as much.

She finally got the belt off and laid it next to her gloves, then slid back up. I barely resisted the urge to thrust against her, and I groaned again when she stopped short and sat just above my hip bones.

"Yah alrah-ght?"

I breathed out slow and nodded at her.

"Is yeh chest...?" Her voice trailed off and she stared at me with real concern.

She knows it ain't that bad, so what now, jackass?

"It's my uh...healing. It does...stuff...to the lead. Tries to um, absorb it or something." I gave her a deep, soulful look. "...it's real bad, kit."

You stupid, fucking—

Like you haven't given that same "I'm broken inside, fix me with your cunt" look to every bar fly in the country.

I pushed the human's voice back down, and she rubbed my side soothingly. I sighed and enjoyed the feel of her tiny hands rubbing over me without any of the worthless guilt that bothered the human so much.

"It's alrah-ght, Wolvie. Ah'll try to hurry." She said, obviously trying to reassure me.

I held in my disappointment. "Uh...yeah."

She waited for me to give her a nod before she continued. The first two were the worst, and the smaller pieces she dug out weren't nearly as bad. The wounds finally closed up and healed over though, and Marie pulled out a pocketknife. I wondered where the fuck that knife had been during her fight with the other female, but as strong as my mate could be, maybe she just didn't have it in her to stab someone. She cut off my thoughts when she started slicing through my skin and muscle to get to the remaining lead shards. She did a pretty good job at getting them out, never having to make more than two cuts. Finally, she smoothed her hands over my chest one last time, without any twinges from pressing against lead trapped beneath my skin.

"Alrah-ght, Ah think Ah'm done." She said.

I grunted at the news and sat up. She moved with me so that she sat in my lap, but I quickly rolled us over with her beneath me. The human tried to struggle back to the surface of my mind, but I kept him shoved down as I pressed my hands against her shoulders. I'd put this off long enough, and I had to make sure my mate really was okay. I brushed down her arms, so thin in comparison to mine, small enough that my fingers could touch each other around most of her forearm and wrist. She didn't seem to mind that I gripped her wrists and kept her hands pinned down, and stayed just as still as she had before. I reluctantly let go of her wrists to run my hands back up her arms, over her shoulders and slender neck, then cupped her jaw. I tilted her head to the side to check how bad the bruise on her face was. It was already darkening into a nasty color.

"She hurt you."

My little mate only shrugged and tried to look tough. "Nothing Ah can't handle."

She looked tiny and fragile, her entire face fitting in between my hands. The dark bruise looked so wrong against her perfect white skin, marking what that she-bitch had done to MY mate.

"I'll rip her lungs out." I growled.

But she shook her head. "No!"

"No?" I repeated.

"She got what was coming to her, and we're done now." She said.

I glared down at her. "She tried to shoot you."

"It wasn't exactly uncalled for...Ah broke a barstool over her head." She said, biting her lip and looking up at me nervously.

Her admission caught me off guard, and I blinked at her. I hadn't seen her do that, although I wish I had. That didn't change anything though. Anyone who hurt my mate would die.

"She hurt you." I said again.

"An' Ah hurt her back. So let's jus' call it even an' get outta here." She pouted with her wide doe eyes. "Please, Wolvie?"'

Shit. I'd consider it. Right now I just had to make sure she was okay and get us out of here before angry humans showed up, so there wasn't much I could do about it anyway. I went back to my inspection and brushed over her collar bones, down to her chest. She was so soft, where I was all metal and muscle. But I kept going, sweeping down until she squirmed slightly when I reached her sides. I checked her bruised one more carefully, but nothing felt broken. She would be sore for a week or so, but she would heal. I swept my hands across her stomach, over her hips, and down to her legs next. She winced slightly when I skimmed over her knees, which were probably scraped up, but her calves were fine. I still wanted to strip her down, I always did, but I'd wasted too much time letting her take out the lead. I'd just have to settle for my blood on her hands as a scent mark.

I helped her up when I stood and muttered, "Stayed here too long. Hurry and get your shit."

She threw her stuff in her bag, and I gathered up the human's stuff. Just a few clothes and the pillow our mate had gotten us. I looked over the room one last time and nodded at her when she came out of the bathroom. She followed me out to the truck, and we both got in and threw our bags in the back. I started the truck and pulled back onto the streets. I remembered more of how the humans' traveling system worked and the layout of the area we were in, and I took the less used roads out of the settlement. My mate wiped my blood off her hands with soft scraps of paper and put her gloves back on. I grabbed her arm and yanked her over onto my lap.

"Um...Wolvie?" My mate questioned, although she didn't struggle or try to pull away.

I let her sit sideways in my lap and lean her back against the door. She sat mostly on my thigh, and I kept on hand on the wheel and the other curled around her stomach.

"Ah'm sure this isn't legal. Yah don't even have yeh seatbelt on." She said.

I rubbed her good side. "Don't worry, kit. My arm's stronger than the seatbelt. I'll keep you safe if someone hits us."

"Not if yeh flying out the window yah won't." She replied.

She took the belt and pulled it between us, locking it into place in a little plastic piece beside my hip. It was annoying, but it didn't get in my way too much and it made her feel safer, so I let her do it. I pulled her back into place when she was done, and she placed a hand on my side.

"Are yah okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine."

"Bullshit."

I looked down at her with raised eyebrows, and she stared back.

"Yah can tell me yeh mad or scared or happy, but don't tell meh yeh fine. No one is ever 'fine.'" She said.

"Ya could've...died...back there." My chest hurt worse thinking about it. "I just want you close for a while. That alright?"

I kept my eyes on the road and gripped the wheel harder while I waited for her response. I saw her nod out of the bottom of my peripheral, and she wrapped her arms around my neck to hug me. She squeezed me briefly, then rubbed her hand over my arm until I relaxed a little. But she still had some questions to answer about the fight she got in.

"Ya wanna tell me why ya didn't call fer help." My voice came out rough, and she winced.

"Sorry. Ah jus' didn't really have a chance to. Ah didn't even see her coming. One second Ah was sitting on my chair, an' the next, Ah was on the ground, an' she was trying to kick meh. Ah yanked her leg out from under her and when we were getting up, Ah told her to back off. Ah kinda jus' thought..." She paused and half-mumbled the last part. "...if she had a few seconds to think about how stupid it all was..."

"Humans are worthless and pathetic."

I'm sure she really appreciates that.

I tuned the human's voice out and rubbed her side. "Except you. You're mine."

She nodded and kept explaining. "Ah looked for yah rah-ght after Ah hit her with the barstool, but by the time Ah saw yah, she already had the gun an'—"

I couldn't hold in a snarl at the memory of my Marie-mate almost getting shot. She turned her face up and rubbed her cheek against my neck to appease me, and I calmed a little.

"Yah saved meh."

If I didn't have such good hearing, I would have missed it. I thought I had misunderstood her anyway, and I grunted out a, "Huh?"

"In mah head. Ah didn't know what the sound was, but yah did, an' yah told meh to get down." She explained.

"So you just dropped like that because I...?" I stopped and let her finish it just to be sure.

She shrugged. "Well, yah told meh to."

Satisfaction shot through me, and I pushed her head back up against my neck as I purred out my pleasure. My good little mate, following orders. It felt really fucking good to know she trusted me enough to hit the floor like that, no hesitation or questions. It probably saved her life, too.

"Good girl, kitling." I growled.

She burrowed her head deeper into the crook of my neck, and I could feel the shy smile on her lips against my skin. She smelled happy and proud, pleased that her Alpha had approved. I was just as pleased at her reaction. Her feisty nature made her impulsive sometimes, and she was still learning how to properly behave, but she was a fast learner and instinctively responded to me. I had never given any thought to the "higher power" humans blabbed about, but I was grateful she was my mate, out of everyone else in the world. The human and I had obviously gotten very lucky.

But there was still the issue of the knife. "I gotta ask though, kit. Why didn't you use your knife? That situation is why Logan told you to carry it on you."

"Honestly...Ah jus' didn't think about it. Yah wanted me to use it Ah guess or...attack her...somehow...once I'd pulled her down. But Ah didn't know how, an' Ah didn't really want to hurt her. Ah only hit her with the stool because Ah wanted her away from meh, not because Ah was trying to hurt her." She said, thankfully not getting upset or crying. The human made her cry all the fucking time.

She's emotional.

Yer an asshole.

The human didn't have a reply to that, so I thought over what she said. I didn't think she had it in her to stab someone, and I was right. Her safety came first, and I wanted her to be comfortable defending herself, but I didn't want to ruin her innocence just yet. She was still a kitling, and she should be worrying about the learning stuff the human got her, not stabbing people. Still, her safety came first. Shit.

"Next time you're in trouble, any kind at all, you yell for us." I compromised.

I had no fucking problem stabbing humans, and I would gladly do all the fighting for her. The only blood I wanted on her hands was mine from fixing me up. She nodded, but I kept going to make myself clear.

"Not when you think you have a chance. If someone attacks you, just start screaming."

"Ah will. Promise." She said. "But...can Ah ask yah something?"

"Sure, kit."

"Will yah teach meh how to fight?" She asked.

NO!

Dammit, she—

I won't let you fucking touch her!

She's MY mate, too!

We wrestled for control, and I won, but just barely. I only kept the truck on the road through muscle memory, and I'd have to pull over soon if the human kept struggling. I'd won for now, but he'd get back in control soon, and if he really concentrated on keeping me locked up, it might be months before I could slip out again. And I couldn't be away from my mate for that long, she was my mate too, and he had no goddamn right to keep me from her.

"Can't."

I hated that it wasn't even my decision to make. I could slip free every now and then, but the human ultimately had control, and I was forced to practically beg for scraps. Little snatches of time with my mate after matches and the few times his bloodlust got high enough that I could take over. The adrenaline from getting shot, having the pieces pulled out, and generally worrying over our mate's near death experience was already running low, and I didn't have much time with her even now. We couldn't risk her getting hurt at a bar again while we were locked in a cage, so even I would agree she needed to stay at our chosen nesting ground while we fought. But that would take away even those brief moments I had with her.

She touched my cheek, rubbing a thumb over my stubble. "Yah jus' leave Logan to meh."

"He—"

"—needs to pull his head out of his ass." She declared with an angry glint in her eye.

The human started struggling again, pissed at that comment. He got just enough control to glare down at her, but she only glared back and waited it out until I shoved him back down.

"Yah would never hurt me." She continued, talking right over my growled protests. "Are yah gonna lose control and hit me for real? Is all hundred pounds really gonna scare yah that bad?"

Fuck no. I would never actually hit her, and there's no way she could ever challenge me enough to make me lose control like that. Even if she pissed me off, all I would do is pin her down until she stopped being all hormonal.

She kept going a bit more softly when I didn't answer. "Ah'm not asking yah to spar with meh or something. Ah jus' want yah to show meh the basics, like how to punch or disarm someone. We don't actually have to fight at all."

Don't trust you. If anyone shows her that, it'll be me!

Ya selfish motherfucker!

...I ain't trying to take her away from you, but not that. You aren't doing that.

"Logan could show you that." I finally said in a strained voice. Fucking compromising and begging for table scraps.

"Ah'm not asking him." She said, shaking her head. "Ah wanna spend time with yah too."

Her words burned through me. If she wanted me, she would damn well have me, the human be damned!

No!

Go fuck yourself. Our mate said she wanted me. Not you.

I pushed the human's voice down hard and held on tight to my mate. He wouldn't be down for long, and I'd just majorly pissed him off, so I would have to trust that my Marie-mate really could convince him, otherwise we wouldn't be seeing each other for a long while.

"...alright, kitling."

She hugged me again, and I breathed in her scent, savoring it while I still could. The human was already attempting to take his body back though, so I gave her hair a quick nuzzle.

"I gotta go, kit." I muttered.

She nuzzled against my neck in return. "Mmkay. Love yah."

I tensed up. "Logan ain't here yet."

"Ah know. Ah said Ah love you." She repeated, looking up at me with sincere eyes.

I had to pull over then. I couldn't concentrate on the road, could barely even breathe. Her words echoed in my mind, loud enough to drown out even the human. She'd said it to him, and the dumbass had nearly fucked it up, but she hadn't said it to me. I pushed her down to lay back against the seat, trying to be gentle, but my hands were shaking. No one said that to me. She laid back without resistance, and pulled me closer when I lay over her. My face immediately found her neck, and I nipped at the mark I'd given her just before the fight. No one even liked me, not any farther than my claws and my cock. She tilted her head to the side in submission and ran her hands over my back. It felt even better than at the nesting ground. No pain in my chest to distract me from the feeling of her. She felt so warm and soft, and smelled like sunshine and green apples, and she loved me, she loved me, she loved me.

"Love ya too, Marie." I finally choked out.

I had to give up and let the human take over then, but I almost didn't even care. My mate said she fucking loved me. Not the human, ME. That was my last smug thought before the human pushed me back into the corner of our mind.

The last thing I remembered clearly was grinning at Marie from the cage. Flashes of the fight, not hearing her scream, a gun pointed at her, pain pain pain. I sucked in a gasp of air, and her scent hit me, followed by the feeling of her body beneath my bare chest. I pushed myself up and looked her over, searching desperately for blood or bruises. The left side of her face was a mess, with a huge bruise across her cheek.

The fuck did you do?!

The Wolverine snarled back at me and refused to answer. More flashes of memory, Marie straddling us, more pain, her sitting in our lap and glaring at me.

"Are you okay?" I demanded.

"Ah'm a little sore, an' mah side hurts, but nothing serious."

I ran my hands over her sides before she even finished with her reply. She winced when I pressed against her left one, but nothing felt broken. She would be alright.

"Do yah remember that Ah was in a fight? The bar fly who came up to us earlier, she did this." She said.

I felt a sick wave of guilt. I knew damn well that bitch had only attacked my Marie out of spite and jealousy, and it made me feel like shit to know she'd gotten hurt over some floozy I'd fucked once.

"Just her?" I asked, watching her carefully. If I found out that bastard had...shit, I couldn't even think about it.

"Yes, Logan." She snapped with a scowl. "All Wolverine did was take me back to the motel and then get us out of town."

"What happened to that calendar bitch? I'll—"

"Ah already took care of it." She interrupted.

My Marie huddled on the ground in front of the bar, shoving through the crowd to get to her, pain pain pain, her holding the bitch by the hair and shooting me a triumphant snarl.

"Ah tackled her, hit her in the stomach with the gun, and smashed her face against the counter three or four times. Ah don't really remember, but she wasn't moving when Ah was done." Marie said.

Don't hurt my friend.

"The fuck you do that for?!" I growled.

She should have yelled sooner, she never should have had to fight on her own. She could have gotten hurt—she had gotten hurt. It was my job to protect her, but I'd just fucked things up again.

"She shot yah! But it's okay. Ah got all the lead out, we're out of town, an' we're both alrah-ght, so let's jus' move on, okay?" Marie asked with a hopeful look.

She was still laying beneath me, and I leaned back down to gently nuzzle at the mark the Wolverine had left on her neck. She wrapped her arms around me, and I just held on to her for a bit. More memories came back though, a few moments of near clarity as the Wolverine's hold had wavered. I frowned and concentrated harder. We had been fighting about something. It had been really important. I didn't trust him, and I thought Marie would get hurt...

I pushed back up and glared down at her when I remembered. "Did you ask him to teach you to fight?"

"Yes, Ah—"

"No."

I sat up completely, moving back over to the driver's side, and Marie sat up next to me.

"Ah'm not asking for him to fight with me, Ah'm asking him to teach me to defend mahself." She said.

I clenched and unclenched my jaw. "I can do that."

"Ah want him."

ME! Our doesn't want ya, she wants me!

I flinched.

"Ah know yah aren't gonna let meh go with yah to fights anymo—"

"Damn straight." I snarled.

"...Ah jus' wanna spend time with him too." She continued.

He forced memories of her asking to be taught how to punch and disarm someone. Even he wasn't entirely sure what had happened between her and the whore with the gun. I wanted so goddamn badly to be able to protect her all the time, from everything, but I couldn't always be literally at her side. If someone ever did pull a gun on her again, I wanted her to be able to at least disarm them and keep from getting shot until I could get to her.

She's my mate too, ya can't keep her from me, ya jest fuckin' can't!

I still hated that she'd asked for him and not me, but she was damn right about not getting to see him fight anymore. She needed to know how to defend herself, and I wouldn't be taking her back to any bars until she could. And up at the cabin I planned on taking her to would be the perfect place for us to have lots of warm, open space outdoors...goddammit.

"...fine." I admitted defeat with a mutter.

Marie made a high pitched noise of joy and threw herself back into my lap. I caught her and pulled her close, enjoying the hug at least.

She pulled back a bit after several moments. "But listen. There's something Ah should tell yah."

I swallowed hard and braced myself for whatever it was. Had he hurt her after all, did she have more injuries, was she mad at me about the whore?

"Ah get lonely sometimes." She said instead.

That wasn't what I expected at all, but I guess it was better. If she wanted some new toy or more online classes, I could just buy her that.

"Your school stuff and gameplay not keeping you busy?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not bored. Lonely. Ah wanted to go with yah to the fights so badly 'cause Ah jus'...wanted to do something with yah."

"We were gonna see a movie." I reminded her.

"Ah want to do something with yah outside of a hotel or this truck." She said, looking at me like I was missing something.

I must have been missing something, because I didn't get it.

"Like when yah took meh to see Canada's largest maple leaf an' let meh take pictures. Yah didn't even have to do anything, Ah jus' liked going someplace with yah. Ah jus'..." She paused and looked down at my chest. "...wanna spend time with yah."

"Thought you said you wanted to spend time with him." I tried not to sound too bitter about it, but the last word came out as a snarl.

"Ah want to spend time with both of yah." She insisted.

Well, if she wanted to go do something, then maybe she'd be happy about what I had planned for her.

"The July thing is a big American holiday, right?" I asked.

She stared blankly at me for a second. "Uhm...you mean the fourth of July?"

"Yeah, the one with the fireworks?"

"Uh huh."

"If you want to do something, I've been thinking about taking you back to the states, somewhere South and staying in a cabin in the woods where—"

Her scent suddenly filled with fear and panic, and I immediately shut up and touched her hair.

"Kid, you okay?"

She didn't say anything, but she didn't pull away either, so I used it to cup her cheek. Her eyes were wide and she trembled slightly.

"Yeah, Ah..." Her voice trailed off.

I rubbed my thumb over her cheek in short brushes. I could feel a slight tingling, but I made sure to pull away before the pain started. My thumb went a little numb, but the tingling lessened until it finally disappeared completely, and she turned her head against my hand without fear.

"What's wrong?" I whispered.

She tilted her head down and stared at her hands.

"Marie."

"Ah..." She almost looked up, but she tipped her head back down at the last second. "...it's stupid."

I growled, and she lifted her head with a sigh.

"For a second...Ah thought...yahweregonnatakemeback."

"Slower, kid." I ordered.

"Yah were gonna...take me back."

My chest tightened. "And what? Leave you there?"

She nodded shakily, and I pulled her back against me and cupped her head. Her nose rubbed against my shoulder and then up my neck while I petted her hair until she calmed down.

"That won't ever happen." I promised.

She gave another short nod.

"But if you still want to go on the trip...?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then. I know a guy in Arkansas who owes me. I was thinking we could stay for a week or two in a cabin he owns by this lake, maybe go hiking, set off some fireworks..." I looked down at her. "Any of that sound good?"

"Really?!" She bounced up in my lap. "Logan, that sounds great!"

I grinned at her. Crisis averted, and she hadn't even cried. "It'll take us a few days to get there, but we should make it a day or two before the fourth if we start now."

"Thank yah!" She shouted, hugging me again.

I let her hug me, then tipped her head back up. "He can show you some of the basics there."

"Tha—"

I didn't wait for her to finish. "But if anything happens...It's over. Understand?"

"Yes, understood." She immediately promised.

Understand?

...yeah.

The Wolverine retreated back to his corner and we went back to ignoring each other. I rolled my shoulders and forced myself to relax my muscles to ease some of the tension. Marie was still grinning widely, and I smiled back.

"Then let's get going, kid."

A/N: Look at how fucking long this chapter is! It's the second longest I've ever written for this fic. And oh my god, Wolverine. Poor, poor Wolvie. In so much pain, and yet he still let Marie sit on his crotch, take his belt off, and press her boobs into his face. He was just willing to make that sacrifice.

But seriously though, I could barely even write that scene I was laughing too hard. I could just imagine his face when he says he's hurt real bad, looking all pained and tortured. And innocent little Marie believing him! This is definitely one of my favorite chapters.

Quick question though. How do you like the transition between Logan and Wolverine? Is it really annoying reading everything in italics and the dialogue in print or do you think it's fine? Also, if you're interested in the tally of how the votes turned out, here it is: Wolverine got 17 votes and Logan got 10.

Edit: In the last chapter, Marie said, "The difference between yah and meh? He keeps his boots on when he's with meh." It should have been, "He takes his boots OFF" I completely messed that up, and helikesthemikey pointed that out to me. I went back and fixed it, but that was totally my bad. Sorry if anyone else was horribly confused by that!

Coming up next: Logan and Marie head down to Arkansas for some Fourth of July camping. Logan realizes he's not in Kansas anymore when the locals all assume Marie is his girlfriend (not his daughter), the Wolverine wants out to do a little "hunting," and he catches Marie skinny dipping!

LE GASP!