Papa ch 21
XXX
Time stood still.
As Abigail, screamed her heart out, thrashing around on the bed, Logan stood frozen in his spot, feeling a colossal wave of fear wash over his entire body.
For the first time in a long time, Logan was scared.
He was panicked, he was frightened, he was worried and he didn't know what to do.
He panicked when he got the phone call, he panicked on the drive to the daycare and he panicked when he entered the building and heard her cries of discomfort; but nothing could compare to the panic and fear he got when he saw Abigail bleeding and screaming, and he was helpless to stop it.
What could have caused this?
What could have caused her pain and her sweating, her convulsions and her tears? She was nowhere near in this much nor any type of pain this morning so, where did it all come from, and more importantly, how and when was it going to end?
"Logan" Jessica's voice was blurred in his haze of panic. "Logan" she said again; she was determined to snap him back into reality. "Logan"
Three times was a charm and Logan breathed back into reality; Abigail was still screaming.
"Logan c'mon, you're the only one who can pick her up with her claws ejecting like that, we need to get her back to the mansion and to the infirmary"
"Right" she said softly and absentmindedly, quickly joining Abigail's side and kneeling down to her.
Less than two feet away from her, Abigail's screaming did severe damage to his ears and he winced at the ringing that it brought but ignored it.
"Abbs" he began, trying to soothe her enough to at least stop her flailing arms and legs so her could pick her up. "Abby"
She continued to scream, tears pouring down her cheeks as her chest made one profound leap.
It pained Logan to see her go through this but he continued, leaning in closer to her ears so she could hear him.
"Abby it's me" he said. "It's me Logan…..it's your Papa"
"Papa!!" she wailed. "Papa! Papa! I want my Papa!"
"I'm right here, Abby, look at me." He soothed. "I'm right here"
Hearing the now gentle and soft tone of his voice pacifying her ear, Abigail calmed down a few notches, reducing her screaming down to loud whimpers and moans of pain, and continuing to cry.
"It's ok Abigail" he continued, stroking her hair. "It's ok"
He took one of her hands in his, careful to avoid the sharp claws that were extending and retracting viciously, and began rubbing it gently, just as he did when he first met her, to ease the hard metal back into her skin.
It took a bit of doing and a bit more words of comfort and reassurance, but when he finally got her to stop screaming and he gently massaged the other hand as well, her claws finally retracted for good with an audible pop, earning a whimper from the four year old.
"It's alright" Logan continued to soothe, gathering her in his arms. "It's ok Abby, I'm here. Your Papa's here."
She clutched tightly onto his shirt as he cradled her close to his jacket, just like the day he brought her to the mansion. "Let's get you back home"
XXX
Whatever pain she was experiencing before retuned while on the drive home and again, Abigail began screaming and battering around as much as she could while in the arms of Logan.
Her claws began to follow the same pattern they did while she was in the daycare, and consequentially, since he was holding her, Logan felt that he had a good portion of his body stabbed into and ripped out but he didn't care; he just let the wounds heal and continued to hold on.
The pain seemed to come and go in spells, causing her to thrash and scream and cry for a few minutes, then pant, cough and whimper in the next. During the interims, Abigail panted like she just finished racing a marathon and took to gagging and vomiting a few times, sweating profusely and crying and clutching hard to her Papa.
Logan was scared; Logan was scared, Jessica was scared, hell the whole bus was scared and Scott tried to drive as fast as he could to get her to the infirmary but nothing seemed fast enough when they saw poor Abby suffering in the way that she was.
All Logan could do was hold her tightly. Hold her when she screamed, hold her when she cried, soothe her as her stomach lurched, and hold her when she involuntarily stabbed him in his sides.
He was scared to death. He was scared panicked and frightened to see her in a state such as this and he felt as though he was watching her die, right here in his arms. And from what he didn't know.
He had never seen anyone go through something like this before. Never seen any one suffer as much as Abigail was now and from an unidentified source at that. The only time he could recall anything close to mirroring what Abby might be feeling right now would be—
He froze again.
His operation.
Now as he thought about it, he vaguely remembered having similar symptoms that Abby was having now when he was first introduced to his claws.
At fist he was unable to control them and they sheathed and unsheathed brutally, not giving his skin and chance to heal and causing massive bleeding from his body. He screamed after he was injected with the metal, and he remembered attacking the scientists who did the operation and running away with each step feeling heavier than the next.
Later on after exiting in the cold snow, despite the frigid temperatures he sweat vigorously as the scorching metal cooled onto his skeletal structure and his stomach rejected the mass amounts of iron by forcing him to regurgitate repeatedly until he was used to the imbalanced amount.
Yes he remembered vaguely yet fondly at the same time, matching all of his symptoms to that of the ones Abigail had now.
But he didn't understand; if that was what was wrong with her, why was she experiencing the pain now and not months back when she initially got the operation?
Did something go screwy and she walked out of the examining room all hunky dory? Or was something going haywire now and it was hurting her?
He didn't know; and it frightened him that he was unaware and he was helpless to stop it. All he could do was hold her and watch her go trough the pain, and pray that she'd be ok.
XXXXX
Jean didn't let him in the examining room.
They had rushed Abby inside, still a screaming mess and Hank and Jean quickly got to work, injecting her with anesthesia so their job could be done easier, and ushering everyone out of the examining room; Logan included.
He strongly protested at first. Yelling a few choice words at Hank who paid him no mind and wasted no time poking and prodding and stripping little Abby down to her undergarments so he could have a better look. But the Wolverine was calmed by Jean and his girlfriend together, assuring him that everything was going to be ok, and that Hank and Jean were going to take care of it all. It took a lot of quick work and a bit of coaxing at the end but the two finally managed to get Logan to leave, allowing a reassuring rub to Abigail's hand and a kiss on her for head, before he made his departure outside the examining room.
He waited restlessly; strumming his hands and feet together in an uneven beat and pacing back and forth anxiously in front of the examining.
He hoped this wasn't happening; he prayed this wasn't happening; dear God he prayed and begged with all his life that this wasn't happening.
Logan turned to the examining room where Hank, Jean and Abigail lay behind the heavy doors.
Yep, still happening.
How could he be so stupid?
How could he drop her off at daycare instead of keeping her with him for the day to monitor her more closely? They were on summer vacation now, they didn't have anything to do; he definitely had more than enough time to keep an eye on her.
Maybe if he had kept her with him instead of dropping her off at daycare this wouldn't have happened. Maybe if he had a chance to watch over her, she could have napped off whatever it was she was feeling and been fine. Or maybe he could have given her some cold medicine and a couple of painkillers and whatever she had would have worn off.
Logan mentally slapped himself for not thinking of this before.
Now because of his foolish actions, Abigail was suffering, and he couldn't feel guiltier.
Just as he was about to divulge further into his guilty rant, a soft hand graced itself on his shoulder.
He whipped around to find Jessica, looking up at him with a small, sad smile.
Logan couldn't help but weakly return it; it amazed him that no matter what, she was always there for him when he was feeling his worst.
"Hey" she began, now pulling herself closer to him and embracing the Wolverine in a gentle hug. "It's not your fault ok?"
Logan gruffed, looking down at the floor. "Ya right" he snorted.
"No really" Jessica said. "It's not your fault Logan; you did all you could do"
"No I didn't Jess. If I did all I could do, she wouldn't be the way she is now"
"We don't know why she is the way she is now Logan. That's what Jean and Hank are trying to find out." He sighed. "But don't let any of that discourage you from the parent you are and the parent you've always been; you're amazing."
Logan smiled full on this time. Once again just like magic, Jessica knew the perfect things to say and the perfect moments to say them. In a sense she was right; he did do all he could do and he always did all he could do for Abigail; she was his world. But it didn't stop him from feeling guilty. Every parent felt guilty when they're child wasn't well, and they're forced to sit back and watch helplessly as doctor's try and find a solution. Every parent always thinks that there was something, sometime or some way that they could have approached the situation differently or dome something more to prevent it, but all in all, Logan did his best when it came to raising Abigail; and now he just had to deal with this milestone she was experiencing and hope for the best.
He placed a soft kiss on Jessica's lips. "I'm not the only one who's amazing" he said and she smiled bashfully.
"Why is it you always know what to say and when to say it?" he asked and her smile broadened.
"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times darling. It's the empath in me" she explained. "Over the years I've really become in tune with my ability."
He smiled.
"And I've become in tune with you too" she admitted. "Logan you're about as predicable as a newspaper on a doorstep every morning"
He playfully frowned and she giggled, wrapping her arms around him in a comforting hug.
"Oh I'm just kidding you big lug. Just try not to worry so hard." She said, as she placed her head on his shoulder.
Logan pulled her in closer.
"I'm sure Abigail will be fine."
"I sure hope so Jess; I sure hope so."
XXX
Hours had passed and it was around ten in the evening now.
Jessica had long since fell asleep in the Wolverine's arms and although he refused to at first, tiredness overcame his body and he fell asleep as well, holding onto Jessica and sitting on the bench outside the examining room.
It wasn't until he felt a tap on his shoulder and a gentle, "Logan" caressing his ear, did he wake up; and he awoke to find Jessica smiling down at him, drawing him out of his slumber.
Snapping out of it, Logan quickly checked his arms. Holy crap when did she wake up?
He groggily stood up and rubbed his eyes to find Jessica in front of him and Scott, Ororo, Hank, Jean and the professor behind her.
When did they get here?
"Logan c'mon" Jessica said, waking him up further. "We can see Abigail now"
A bit of guilt washed over him for falling asleep and letting himself get distracted from Abigail but he brightened when he heard that whatever tests Jean and Hank were running were over and he could finally see her.
"She's alright?" he asked half-tiredly. He was still waking himself up but was brightening as the seconds passed on and he was one step closer to checking on his Abby.
"Well……….she's progressing" Jean answered for Jessica and Logan turned in the doctor's direction.
Progressing? That didn't sound good. It meant that she wasn't particularly dying, but she wasn't exactly healthy either.
"What do you mean progressing?" the Wolverine asked and Jean sighed.
"Come take a look for yourself."
Walking behind the doctor and alongside Jessica, Logan watched as Jean pressed in the pass code into the examining room and Logan alongside the party behind him, followed in.
Logan figured if the whole X-team was gathered here it must have been one of two things; either Hank and Jean had made an outbreak in a mutant discovery or they had really cared for the well being of the little girl. Or it could have been a little of both.
Once they entered the room, once again, Logan was stunned at the condition in which Abigail was.
She was lying in the middle of the room, on a large bed with plastic tubes and wires in a maze across her body and hooked up to machines everywhere. There was a tube stringed across her nose and hooked up to a ventilator, slowly contracting and retracting up and down to aid her breathing, while an IV connected to her tiny hand dripped a vitamin containing solution into her veins.
She was unconscious; or at least Logan thought she was, as she lay there still with the heart monitor beeping away second by second and the breathing of the ventilator matching almost in unison with it.
It was a sad sight to see. A small helpless four-year-old, damn near in a coma from an unknown cause, and a cause to which Logan felt helpless.
The sight of her this way left him speechless.
He didn't know what to say, what to ask, how to approach her, or what the right thing to do was. He was just so stunned by her almost lifeless figure that he could only stand there, not knowing what to do.
"It's ok Logan" Jessica said, once again knowing when and where to add her words of comfort. "She's fine" she said, ushering him in the room and closer to the little girl.
Logan slowly approached her, taking a seat in the chair situated next to the bed.
He could feel his heart breaking as he took one of her pale, lifeless arms into his own; she looked like she was dead.
"Jean?" he began, looking up at the doctor pitifully.
It was a look that Jean had never seen from the hardcore man in her entire life. A look in which he dropped all his defenses and opened up his heart for the love and care of another person; a look that almost brought tears to her eyes as she felt so sorry for him, and pitied the way he felt.
"Jean" he asked again, stroking little Abigail's hand. "What happened to her?" he questioned sadly. "Is she going to be ok?"
Jean sighed hard. It pained her to see Abigail like this, and it pained her even more to see Logan's reaction. She didn't think she's ever seen Logan this upset or this worried before, other than that time Rogue caught mononucleosis but even then it wasn't this bad. She didn't think she could explain it to him so she turned to Hank for help.
Hank nodded in understanding and turned to Logan.
"She should be fine Logan" he said and the Wolverine turned to face him.
"What do you mean should" he asked. What's happened to her?"
"Ossification" he replied simply and an eyebrow crept up on Logan's face.
"Excuse me?" He hated when Hank spoke doctor lingo like everyone had a PH.D in medicine. "Ossifi-what?"
"Ossification" Hank repeated again. "It's the process of bone formation and development"
Logan's eyebrow reached further on his for head. Bone formation? What does that have to do with how sick Abby was?
"What does that have to do with anything Hank?" Logan asked. "Did you see her earlier? She was—"
"I know" Hank interrupted, sighing as he reached for the clipboard lying on the counter. "And sadly that, plus what Jean and myself found while conducting our tests, all tied into what Striker did to her when she was younger."
The mention of this caused a wave of rage to wash over the Wolverine and a wave of pity and sadness to wash over the others. It seems as though all the problems of Logan and Abigail seemed to be tied into their fateful days of the past.
"What happened?" Jessica asked.
Hank sighed, beginning to prepare himself to explain.
"Well now, like any other child her age, Abigail is going through a form of Endochondral Ossification; a process of bone development in which cartilage is replaced by bone to grow longer in proportion to the body getting taller."
"So, it's a growth spurt?" Scott asked in summary, and Hank nodded.
"Something like that" Hank said. "All children her age go through this process; it's a way for the body to grow and for the most part it's slow and relatively painless."
"But?" Logan asked. He knew there was a but, there had to be a but, because Abigail was definitely not going through this process, painlessly.
"But" Hank sighed again. "Unfortunately, Abigail isn't like most children; as a matter of fact, she isn't like most mutant children now that I think about it; her mutation has been altered."
"Stop beating around the bush fur ball" Logan demanded. "What did Striker do to her this time?" He was growing tired of the dramatic pauses and drawn out responses; he wanted to know what happened to her now.
Hank sighed again. "Abigail's operation was different from yours Logan. In your operation, Striker only inserted the adamantium in your skeleton system and let you be on your way, but in Abigail's he managed to alter it some how."
"How?" Storm asked, stroking the hair of the young girl in question.
"Take a look here" he said, pointing to the MRI scan of Abigail's skeletal system on the projector. "See how these spots of bone are darker than the others?" he asked, pointing out various spots on her body.
"Isn't that where cartilage is stored?" Scott asked. He wasn't a science major like his wife and hadn't remembered much about human anatomy, but he was pretty sure that's what it was.
"Exactly" Hank said. "During Endochondral Ossification, soft cartilage that's been produced during the infant stage is replaced by hard bone that aids the body in becoming longer so they body can grow taller. But, on an MRI scan, cartilage is supposed to appear lighter than the bones on the body, on Abigail's it's darker."
"And that's because of Striker?" Jessica asked and Hank nodded.
"When Jean and I first ran tests on Abigail, we knew she had a skeletal system similar to that of Logan's but we wondered if she grew like any other normal kid, how were her claws going to keep pace with her body."
"And the answer is in her cartilage" Jean finally said, pointing to the MRI scan once more.
"How?" Logan asked.
She sighed. "We don't know how he managed to pull something like this off, more or less make all the precise calculations necessary to do so but what we do know is that somehow, Striker has managed to insert equal proportions of undisturbed Adamantium into her body where not only cartilage is stored but bone marrow as well."
"Oh Dear Lord" Ororo gasped.
"But that's impossible." Logan proclaimed. "Once adamantium cools, that's it; it's permanent" he said.
"It is permanent" Hank confirmed. "Unless reheated again" he said.
"What?"
"Striker altered the growth hormone in her to not only trigger ossification and every other healthy growth process but to trigger a rise in internal temperature as well and heat the adamantium so it's malleable enough to follow out with the growth of her bones." The big blue man explained.
"In doing so, every time she grows, or has a growth spurt like she did today, the adamantium follows along with her, until she's reached her maximum height" Jean said. "When she's an adult"
A group gasp was emitted, along with a tidal wave of sorrow. Poor Abigail; she's been through and is going through so much, for no reason at all.
"But what about her symptoms?" Jessica asked. "And how is she able to survive something like this. Adamantium has to be pretty hot to be able to stretch doesn't it?"
"No" Hank said. "Adamantium has to be pretty hot for it be in a liquid state, but for it to be rubbery enough to stretch slightly, it doesn't have to reach such a great temperature."
"But still" Jessica protested. "If the body reaches a temperature greater than 103, than—"
"We know" Hank said. "Which is why we believe she was going through this in spells. We monitored her temperature and it seemed to increase rapidly for a few minutes, than decrease slightly before starting all over again. Then we measured her skeletal system while this occurred and surely enough, fraction my fraction we could see progression in where the admantium used to be situated, to where it is now, and the length her bones used to be compared to what it is now. The difference isn't a great one; probably about a centimeter, give or take a few millimeters, but it was noticeable."
"And her mutation helps her survive all this right?" Scott asked knowingly. A mutation like Abigail's and Logan's was the only reason anyone could survive such brutal and inhumane processes.
"Right" Hank answered. "Her mutation allowed her internal homeostasis to gain control and prevent things from getting to far out of hand to a point in which she collapsed completely. And as for her other symptoms well, the sweating was obviously due to high bodily temperatures, her claws ejecting and retracing were just a sign that they were expanding slightly and her body needed a bit of time to get used to them, and her vomiting was due to a slight case of led poisoning but other than that, she should be doing well"
Logan looked from Abigail to Hank. "Should be?" he asked. He didn't like the sound of should be. It meant that nothing had gone wrong yet, and for now she was doing fine; but there was always the possibility.
"Well keep in mind Logan this is all very new to us; all of us" he explained. "This is the first time we've ever come across a problem like this and it's hard for us to predict the outcomes."
Logan sighed.
"It's obvious she's been through this before as she has grown from the time she received the operation until the point where she is now." He continued. "But it's never been at such a degree as it is now." Hank said. "She's on the ventilator because during the process she lost control of normal breathing for awhile and she's on the heart monitor as well because her pulse and her heart rate were speeding while all of this was going on."
Another sigh emitted from Logan.
"Logan" Jean now began. "I'm sure all in all she'll be fine" she reassured. "She's under the proper care and as long as we monitor her closely and take care of all the side effects that come along with this thing than we can help her bounce back good as new."
That put a spot of light on his dark cloud. "So then there's no cure for this thing?" he asked. "She'll keep going through this until she's an adult?" he asked.
"I'm afraid so Logan" Jean sadly shrugged. "Unless we can find a way to remove the adamantium from her body without killing her; I'm just afraid so."
XXX
More hours passed by and as much as he didn't want to leave her, Logan's stomach was about to pop out and attack him head on if he didn't feed it. Running his fingers through her hair one final time, Logan got up and retreated out of the examining room, heading for the kitchen upstairs.
It was two-thirty in the morning now and so far, everyone had gone to bed while a few of the nurses stayed behind and worked the night shift.
Though greatly protested by Hank, Logan refused to leave Abigail alone and he most certainly refused to sit anywhere except beside her bed and though it took a bit of persuasion by Jean and Jessica, Hank allowed him to stay there as long as he didn't touch anything.
While he was there he definitely had a lot of time to reflect. Reflect on what was good, reflect on what was bad, and reflect on what he was thankful for.
He thanked the dear Lord in heaven that Abigail was alive. She was in bad shape, but she was alive. And according to Jean's midnight report, she was improving ever so slowly.
Sure it killed him to see her this way; and sure it pained him to know it'd be awhile before she was herself again, but at least she was getting better; and he couldn't be more thankful for that.
It was times like these that Logan realized how much he loved and cared for Abigail and how much of a daughter she was to him.
It was funny to think that a few months ago, he grimaced at the very thought of her. He couldn't stand to have her in close quarters with him, he hated that she followed him everywhere and he almost hurled her into a wall for calling him mama. And he certainly wouldn't have given a rat's ass if she were in the condition she was now because he didn't like her.
But now; boy now he's come such a long way.
Abigail was the light in his life, the joy in his heart and the kick fire in his spirit.
She brightened his day when he was in the worst of moods with her simple gestures of affection; her smile made him smile and her laugh made him chuckle. Her tears brought him sadness and her pain brought him rage.
It pained him to know that she was in the state she was now, helpless and in pain, with nothing but time to make her feel better. He wanted to resurrect Striker from the dead and re-murder him slowly for putting his Abby through so much pain but he knew it was unnecessary.
Not only was it impossible but what Abigail needed right now was not revenge; she needed someone to stay by her side and be there for her.
She needed someone to hold her when she was sad or sick, laugh with her when she was happy, and comfort her when she was mad.
She needed a family, needed a father, especially in times like these, and Logan was happy to give it to her.
X
Trudging into the kitchen upstairs, Logan failed to notice Marie already sitting in the kitchen, mindlessly sipping away on a glass of milk.
Not addressing her one bit, he nonchalantly opened up the fridge and pulled out a carton of apple juice, pouring himself a cup and making a grab for the box of pizza sitting there as well.
"No beer tonight?"
For once in his life, Logan jumped nearly teen feet in the air in startled fright, and whirled around to face Marie.
"Holy sweet mother of Jesus Marie, you scared the shit outta me!" he cried when he turned and noticed it was her sitting at the counter.
Rogue suppressed a smile.
"Sorry Logan, but ya' didn't notice me sittin' here, so ah, had ta' say something"
Logan relaxed. "Ya well, next time a simple, hi how are you, will suffice kid" he joked, placing the pizza box on the counter and opening it up. He pushed the box in her direction. "Hungry?"
Marie grabbed a slice and bit right into it, not bothering to place it in the microwave.
"Aren't ya gonna warm it up?" Logan asked, grabbing his own slice and sipping on his apple juice. "Tastes better that way"
"I like it cold" Rogue said, biting into the pizza again. "There's no need for these fancy things like microwaves in this world Logan" she said. "Sometimes a girl just has tah rough it"
Logan smiled raising his class in a toast. "Here, here" he said with a chuckle and she clanked his glass with his before taking a sip.
"So" Logan began, after taking a bit of his own pizza. "What are you doin' up so late kid?" he asked, chugging down some more apple juice. He checked his watch. "It's two-thirty in the morning"
"Hey, it's summer vacation, Ah can stay up late if Ah want ta"
Logan sent her a challenging stare and she returned it.
"Fine. You tell that to Scooter when I call his ass down here and he sees—"
"Ok, ok Logan" she said defeatedly and Logan grinned. "Ya called mah bluff"
"Works every time" He topped off his pizza and made a reach for another one. "But really?" he asked, taking the first bite. "You look like something's on your mind kid. What's up?"
Rogue suddenly stared at her pizza and fidgeted with her gloves. "Nothing" she said, suddenly embarrassed to be talking to the Wolverine. "I was just up thinkin' is all"
Logan noticed her shift in attitude and thought about it for a moment before he dropped his pizza and sheathed his claws.
Rogue jumped in her seat, startled by his actions.
"Where is he?" he asked, the look on his face, ready to kill.
"Who?"
"The ice pop" Logan fired. "I swear I'll find out whatever he did to you by beating it out of him and then I'll rip him a new—"
"Logan" Marie said calmly, putting an end to his anger trip. "Calm down, Bobby aint do nothin' tah meh. He's hangin' out with John ta'night"
"Oh"
Now it was Logan's turn to feel embarrassed as he retracted his claws and picked up his pizza again. He took a moment to breath in and out calmly before reproaching Marie.
"Soooo, what is it then?" he dragged out, heading to the fridge for more apple juice.
"Nothing" Rogue said again.
Logan gave her a pointed stare before putting back the apple juice and reaching for a beer instead. He popped open the top. "So you were just up at two-thirty in the morning thinking about nothing?" he asked.
"Yeah" she admitted weakly. "Somethin' like that"
Logan leaned on the counter now, still staring at her, while taking a sip of his beer. "Rogue" he began and she looked up at him, picking a pepperoni off her pizza and stuffing it in her mouth.
"Huh?"
"You know that out of all the losers in this mansion I'm the one who would never believe that "I'm not thinking about anything crap" and you know that if something is on your mind you can tell me kid"
"Ah know Logan"
"Good; so what is it then?"
Marie sighed, setting down her pizza and reaching for a napkin to wipe her mouth clean. "Ah don't know Logan, Ah guess Ah was just thinkin'………..just thinkin' about how Ah miss yah?"
Logan gave her an inquisitive stare. "Miss me? I haven't gone anywhere kid"
"Ah know" she said again, still fidgeting with her gloves. "But it's just that…..you've been so busy lately. You've been takin' care of Abigail and spendin' time with Jessicah, and we don't spend the same amount of time together like we used to."
Logan paused.
"Then when Abigail got sick today and ya' spent all that time with her downstairs, it reminded meh how you used tah spend time with me downstairs in the infirmary when ah was sick and how I realized that you were more of a father tah meh than my own father. And now since you're doin' it tah Abigail, ah guess you're sorta' a father tah her too"
He took a swig of his beer and leaning over the counter.
"And that makes you upset?" he asked.
"No not upset, just…pensive ah guess." Marie confessed. "Ah always thought of ya' as my father Logan, and ah guess I was just never really prepared tah share ya"
Logan smiled setting down his beer and coming across the kitchen to embrace Marie in a hug.
"You know I'm no good at this sensitive crap Marie but since Abigail came, she's softened me up a little" he said and Marie smiled while in his arms.
"Listen" the Wolverine said, looking straight into her eyes. "You don't ever have to worry about sharing me with anyone kid, cause you'll always have a special place in my heart reserved for the one and only Marie."
Rogue smiled.
"You're the reason I ended up in this loony bin in the first place and without you I wouldn't have been able to not only clean up my act, but have a chance to experience what it really means to love and care for someone and the first person I ever got to experience that with is you."
Her smiled broadened.
"I love ya Marie. Like my very own daughter, and nobody who ever comes along is gonna change that alright?"
"Oh, Logan ya big softie" she gushed, squeezing him tighter. "I love ya too" she whispered in his chest.
Logan ran a hand through her hair. "You better." He joked, pulling out of the embrace. "Otherwise I'd have to gut you with my claws for making me bend backwards to take you to the mall today"
Marie grinned. "That wasn't my fault; you lied to us about the field trip" she said, smiling up at him.
"Lying-shmying; look it's not my fault you kids don't hear properly."
Marie stuck her tongue out at him. "Nah!"
Logan smiled. "Look I'll tell you what, as soon as Abigail gets better, I promise some alone time with ya; just you and me. We'll take my motorcycle, pay a visit to your favorite diner and catch up on things, what do ya' say?"
Rogue's face brightened. "Really, you mean it?"
"Of course I mean it kid. I'm not lying to you this time"
She grinned again. "Awesome Logan; it's a date."
XXXXX
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