You see the look that's on my face

You might think I'm out of place

I'm not lost, no, no, just undiscovered

Undiscovered – James Morrison

Over two weeks had passed since Logan had left the cabin in fury over his connection with Victor Creed and Emma had started to miss him immensely. She had been startled when it dawned on her just how big part of her life Logan really was. Without him in her life, everything seemed a bit bland, as if all the colours in the world had disappeared the night he left.

Routine was a strange thing, she had gotten so used to going out with Logan on Friday evenings and when he was gone she felt terribly alone. Emma knew she only had herself to blame, the others of the mansion seemed so bland compared to her gruff friend, he had attracted her like a moth to a flame and when he had disappeared, she was bored to death.

Friday nights were a sweet suffering to her, even though she knew that Logan was doing what was best for him. Answers, he needed so many answers and besides Emma, the only person who could give him those answers was Victor Creed. They had been companions for so long, centuries where Victor and Logan had stuck together. Emma just could not help worrying about the two brothers meeting and the resulting bloodbath that was bound to happen. Logan had a volatile temper but Victor was much worse, a creature completely controlled by his instincts, a wild beast above everything else.

Ororo, Scott and the others wanted her to socialize more when Logan left, but Emma always refused to do anything on Fridays. In her mind those evenings were reserved for her friend and he was not easily replaced, not even by her friends at the mansion who had her best interest at heart.

"What are you talking about so heatedly?" Scott asked at dinner the third Friday after Logan had left. He enjoyed the quietness of the mansion since Logan had gone. It was as if all the stress in the world had left him when the hairy mutant had run away. Xavier's official version was that Logan was on a special mission, but everyone who knew Logan well, knew that he had simply disappeared.

"I was trying to get Emma to come with us to the club but she's stubborn as a mule and won't budge," Ororo complained unhappily after having spent the last half hour on trying to change Emma's mind on the matter. It surprised Ororo how wilful the sweet looking Brit was. On the outside Emma was nothing but smiles, shyness and blushes but underneath she was pure steel when it came down to something she didn't want to do. That evening she had made it very clear that she would not being going anywhere, no matter how much she liked her fellow co-workers at the mansion.

"Still waiting on Logan?" Scott asked Emma shocked at Ororo's words.

He had thought Emma to be smarter than to mope around because of Logan. He had seen too many hearts shattered by the mansion's Casanova, including Jean's. Brushing his mind over the memory of his late fiancée caused him immense pain; it was too soon for him to be thinking of her, he wasn't ready yet.

"Yes she is," Ororo agreed fully before Emma had the chance to say anything. Emma glared at Ororo with unveiled irritation. There was no need to push Scott to hate Logan more than he did; the animosity was quite obvious without anyone helping to fan the flames.

"A leopard won't change its spots and Logan won't stop being an asshole. That's just how life is," Scott said cockily to Emma and was surprised to see how he had managed to rile her up.

He hadn't realized just how close the friendship between the British woman and Logan had been growing; it was a tactical error as he always tried to keep an eye on what was going on in the hairy mutant's life. It was a habit that he had formed when Jean had been very much alive, habit he could not seem to break.

Emma took a deep, steadying breath. Scott was provoking her and still she couldn't seem to back down from defending her friend. She was walking into an open trap, very un-Slytherin of her.

"Tell me Scooter..." Emma said knowing full well how much Scott hated the nick name that Logan had picked for him so many years ago.

"Not a good start, sweet cheeks," Scott grumbled annoyed at her.

It was infuriating to him that she was teasing him, mentioning the nickname that Logan had used for so long to rile him up. Emma used it on purpose; it was a nickname that was connected to a time when Logan was chasing Jean like a prize. A bastard trick, but she was not above using such tricks in defence of Logan.

"...You don't know anything about Logan, his life or what he's been through. Until you get you facts straight you should mind your own business or ..."

"Or what, honey?" Scott said teasingly knowing that nicknames annoyed her a lot. If there was one thing that Emma seemed to hate above all else, it was to be objectified. He had managed to anger her, that much was evident by her face that was set in a frown and the livid, challenging glare she sent him.

"...or you will answer to me," Emma said finally, her voice low and full of determination that made Scott laugh heartedly at her words. His young colleague spoke like she was some kind of a super hero and not an ungifted human in a house filled with mutants who could do unspeakable things.

"So now you are his protector? I don't know what power bad boys have over you females but this is ridiculous. My bet is that he won't be back, that he's running somewhere far away, with his tail between his legs."

"You are willing to bet on that?" Emma asked curiously, feeling her anger disappear quickly. It was not in her nature to be angry for long unless something unforgivable happened.

"Yes I am. I bet you 100 dollars that your caveman won't be back," Scott said optimistically, wishing his prediction to be true. How he wished he had gotten rid of that brute forever. He was even willing to forget about his bike, anything for some peace and quiet at the mansion.

"I take that bet and say he will be back," Emma said determined and held out her hand for Scott to shake it.

"Ever the optimist Emma, I hope you won't be too hurt when you lose," Scott said gleefully.

"Or you my friend, when you lose," Emma said determined not to lose the bet.

Yet another week had passed and the nightmares that once had tortured her for years, returned at full force. Emma woke from a tormenting nightmare that left her shivering in fright. As she laid gasping for breath, she could feel tears sliding down her cheeks. Some were from the pain of the old memories but a large part was from the sorrow of missing her friend.

She sniffed loudly, rubbing her tears away with the back of her hand. There was no way she would be falling asleep again so she decided to get up to make tea; the hot drink was a comfort from home that never seemed to fail.

"Welcome back," Emma said wryly biting her lip in thought as she observed Logan sitting in the kitchen at his usual spot as if he had never left in the first place. No one had been notified of his imminent arrival.

"Hey kid," Logan said cautiously as if he expected Emma to blow up at him. She looked tired, as if she hadn't been sleeping well for a while. One whiff of her scent was enough to tell him that she had been crying very recently and Logan looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"Kid?" she asked mockingly, "did you demote me while you were away?"

"Nah I didn't just thought you would be pissed off at me for leaving like that."

"I wasn't actually. Did you go looking for Victor? You were gone a while," she noted quietly trying her best to not sound too needy or clingy. Her friendship with the trio was completely different; they had known each other since they were children. Keeping up a newly blossomed friendship with a full-grown man was poles apart from the connection she had with her childhood friends.

"Three weeks, felt like three years," Logan grumbled, not wanting to admit how much he had really missed her and how much those feelings had freaked him out.

"Three weeks where I drove over several states and entered Canada."

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Emma asked curiously, sitting as close as she dared next to Logan, so close that their thighs brushed against each other.

"Nope, Creed was nowhere to be seen. Met other mutants that said he was working out of the country and should return this spring."

"So no one could pinpoint his location down for you?"

"No, I even interrogated Mystique and got nothing out of her. Dunno if she was lying or not," he said tiredly ruffling his hair with his hand.

"Would have been good to read minds like you can darlin'," he said gruffly, realizing how much he had begun to adjust to her talent, it certainly was comfortable to have a witch around the house.

"Not sure I would want to read her mind, thank you," Emma said warily in case he had any ideas. The times she did it for Logan were done out of friendship but she didn't want to be used as a tool for interrogation. Especially not on one as rotten as Mystique, the stories of her were notorious around the mansion.

"No that's true. You have enough with the shit you see through me," he said tiredly as he looked at her with sad eyes. He had known deep down that his past wasn't pretty but the brutality of it shocked even him. The look of horror on Emma's face after some of the sessions still haunted him and probably would forever. At times he forgot how young she really was, compared to him she was practically an infant.

"Why do you do this for me? It's not good for anyone to see my past, especially not one as young as you are."

Emma gazed at him for a split second, studying his face before replying stubbornly, "you are my friend, I said I would help you and I will. Stop trying to talk me out of something that is helping you."

"I would still be your friend even if you didn't do that. You don't have to go through that to keep me as a friend you know."

Emma snorted with humourless mirth, "You really think that no one should care about you? Or is it that you don't want any strings attached so you can come and go as you please?"

"I do that anyway darlin'. I leave when I must, only to come home again when my business is done. You knew I would come back right?" Logan asked needing verification that she knew him more than most, that she hadn't thought he had done a runner. He needed to know that she had been certain he would be back to Xavier's, back to her.

"Yes, I knew you would be back," Emma smiled softly at him and stroked one of his whiskered cheeks affectionately, while Logan gave her a teasing grin.

"I might go back in the summer to look for Victor. Not anytime soon, don't want all of you to carry the burden of my job. It ain't fair on any of you."

"Xavier was certain too you would come back even though he was not happy to get no notice from you. Hank, Ororo and I covered your classes. Scott was otherwise indisposed," Emma replied sarcastically noticing a humorous smile creeping over Logan's face at the mention of Scott, his archrival.

Logan raised an eyebrow in question, "I'm sure Scott didn't think I would come back. He has been hoping I'd get fired since I started here."

The witch laughed readily at that and then replied smugly, her eyes twinkling with delight, "I think he hoped you didn't. We made a bet you see. I just won one hundred American dollars by your arrival."

Logan chuckled at that before saying sarcastically, "so you two made a bet if I would come back? Thanks for the confidence darlin'. Good money you got there."

"No worries, I'll buy you a dinner after next session."

"That's a deal, it's good to have Scooter pay for it," he said smiling wickedly at Emma who laughed quietly. She had missed her partner in crime. Life had just not been the same without Logan around.

"Well, perhaps would have been better to tell Charles that you were headed out. I do not think he was very impressed with you."

"I know darlin', my temper got the best of me. I was gone before I knew what had happened," he admitted sincerely, his large fingers playing with a rebel curl that had broken away from her long braid.

"Yes, it was a surprise to me as well," Emma admitted quietly trying to push her feelings of rejection down. Logan leaving after their last session was not about her, it was about him trying to get his life back on track.

"I'm sorry darlin', it won't happen again," he said solemnly realizing he had never promised anyone that he wouldn't leave without a word. Not even to Rogue.

"Don't make promises you can't keep Logan. Just let me know in advance. I missed your cigar filled presence with whiskey scent and the growling," she said smiling timidly at him.

"And the hugs, I missed the big bear hugs I had gotten used to from you," Emma murmured as an afterthought, immediately feeling her face burn bright with embarrassment. Who would have thought that Logan would break down her walls so easily, walls she had thought were impenetrable.

"Seems you can't live without me," Logan chuckled teasingly, feeling his heart flutter at her words and the way her face shone bright red with embarrassment.

"I'm glad to hear it, coz I missed you a lot," he said putting his large arms around Emma, squeezing her tightly to his chest, before sticking his nose into her hair for that delicious cinnamon smell.

Home.

Emma smelled like home to him.

Finally it was Friday again and the two friends were sitting at the cabin after grabbing something to eat. There was comfortable silence as the two sat out on the veranda, enjoying the crisp winter air. Logan was smoking a cigar, drinking a bottle of beer and seemed miles away, lost in thought.

Emma was sitting not far away from her friend, wrapped in a thick blanket as she stared into the dark night sky. Her mind busy mulling over things long since passed. There would be a legimens memory session that evening and she wondered if her control would be strong enough to hide things from Logan that she did not want him to see. There were some things that were too personal to be shared, even with Logan. Intimate things that happened in her marriage that she had never told anyone and she did not want her friend to see.

She definitely didn't want to tell Logan about the time she had been with the Order of the Phoenix, drinking herself into a stupor with some of its members. It was far from her proudest moment. She had been celebrating her birthday with a few close friends and hadn't realized how late it was until the first rays of the morning sun started to shine through the pub windows.

That evening she had gotten home in one piece, a little miracle in itself, after using a portkey that Snape had given her as a wedding present. It was a simple gold band that when put on would transfer her straight into their shared quarters at Hogwarts.

As she took the ring off, after arriving, an equally drunk Snape had loomed over her like a vulture, his black eyes unreadable in the light of the fireplace.

"So lady Snape finally decides to grace her husband with her presence," he drawled sticking his face close to hers as a way to intimidate her.

Sighing heavily, Emma turned to leave, not willing to spend yet another evening fighting with her estranged husband. All they seemed to do was fight, those few times they met it usually ended with one of them storming off after a heated argument.

"Do I repulse you so much that you can't even answer me?" he hissed grabbing her shoulders tighter than she had expected.

"No, you don't repulse me but I would appreciate you taking your hands off my person," she hissed, looking into his dark eyes and for the first time noticing the deep worry lines that were engraved on his face. With a start she realized that Snape had been worried about her and the trouble she might have met staying out until morning, when Death Eaters roamed freely in the magical world.

It was nice to know that someone cared, especially when Dumbledore was gone, even if that person was Severus Snape. On a moment of softness, she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. It didn't go quite as she planned when her husband, who never liked to be surprised, turned his head swiftly to investigate her unexpected movement towards him. The kiss that was supposed to be completely platonic ended as a soft kiss on his thin lips. Snape didn't respond but stood still in his tracks until she broke the kiss.

The two, husband and wife, stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Emma decided in her drunken mind to walk away, the kiss would be quickly forgotten if the two continued to ignore each other. That didn't happen as Severus grabbed her waist and crushed his lips to hers in a breathtaking kiss that she responded vigorously to.

Moments later, the two were in frenzy, clothes dropping on the floor around them.

Later that morning she left his bedroom utterly bewildered. Emma had lost her innocence to her husband, a man she thought she hated more than anything in the world.

The next morning they both behaved as if nothing happened, still Emma was aware of his heated glances as they lingered on her neck, where the marks of his passion were in stark contrast to her pale skin.

Nothing similar happened again between the two and they never discussed it. On the other hand the explosive fights ended, both were too concerned to get that night rammed in their face like a weapon. For a single night, master and madam Snape, gave into the loneliness they felt, the lust their shared and the bond that was between them.

It had meant something to the both of them that they did not care to think on. Something had shifted creating a bond between them that could not be broken even though they gladly would have wanted it. It was not love but it was not hate either, it was consideration for each other.

It was a difficult relationship that became even more complex the closer the wizarding world came to the final battle of Voldemort.

"So last session I ran out before I got to see yours. So now you owe me a memory," Logan said as he stood up to go close to the pensive that Emma had set on the table in the living room.

"I know, I picked out the memory a while back and the theme is betrayal," Emma said seriously as she pointed her wand against her forehead. A small slither of a wispy blue hue came from her forehead and she directed it to a bowl beside her, then the two friends put their faces into the liquid that was her memory.

Emma was heading towards Snape's headmaster office to have a word with him. The Gryffindors needed help; the spineless Weasley had left Harry and Hermione behind to fend for themselves. They had contacted her after desperately trying to contact Ron to see if he had made it home safely.

Emma was following her instinct by going to Snape and wanting to reveal their location; they were in a forest and needed some help. Severus might have been a bastard to everyone but she knew him enough to know that underneath it all, he meant well. It was obvious to Emma that he had done many things to help the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore. Ever the anti-hero, Snape, would never have admitted to such noble Gryffindor behaviour.

Emma and the trio were all so young, so lost and so over their head. All puppets in a game of grownups but their puppet master was lost to them, slain at the hands of her husband.

"Severus?" Emma called, as she entered the headmaster office that used to belong to Dumbledore. It had not changed at all since that time; Snape had clearly not been very interested in personalizing anything. However Emma did notice that the bowl of lemon drops was gone. Dumbledore always had it on hand to give to students, guests and faculty.

Snape was nowhere to be seen but that didn't really surprise her, he was hardly ever home after he had become a headmaster. Endless meetings with the Death Eaters or Voldemort kept Severus Snape as a very busy man.

Emma walked by his desk, her fingers tracing the old wood while she stared out of the window deep in thought. Her leg bumped into an open side drawer that she had never seen open before, being the nosy little git she was; Emma simply had to take a look. It was a magical drawer, so when closed no one but the owner would even know that it existed.

She looked around feeling guilty for snooping but something pushed her forward none the same. It was not often that anyone could snoop on anything connected to the guarded now headmaster. Emma knew he would be livid if he caught her in the act, and yet again, about to stick her nose where it was not wanted.

However the Slytherin in her welcomed a fresh turn of events, a new challenge to break out of the cage she had been thrown into months earlier.

Nobody would ever know. Emma tried to convince herself of that, as she opened the drawer more to be able to see what was in it. Within the drawer were handwritten letters and a vial filled with a bluish liquid that suggested that it was a stored memory, ready to be used in the pensive.

It had to be a memory from Snape, as Dumbledore had kept his memories out in the open. The old wizard had stored them in vials on a shelf, close to where Fawkes had rested up until Dumbledore's death.

Ever the curious one, Emma was intrigued, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and mischief. Severus wasn't at Hogwarts; he might not return for the rest of the night as so often happened when he was being torn between the school and Voldemort. They had been married now for a few months, they were not turtledoves or lovebirds. It was a very practical arrangement where neither one stepped on the other's toes more than necessary.

For his part, Snape had done what he had promised her; even at personal risk he had protected her from crazy pureblood wizards like Malfoy and his brood. She had gotten a little softer spot for him when he had arrived home one evening completely mangled after a rough meeting with Voldemort. He later had admitted that it had been because of her. Because Voldemort and the others thought he might be turning rogue after marrying daughter of traitors.

The young witch stared down at the vial unsure what to do, as she knew the repercussions if and when Snape would find out. He would go after her if it was a sensitive memory and she was quite certain it was.

Finally she grabbed the vial into her hand and walked steadfast to a small table at the end of the room where a bowl sat. It was a pensive bowl, made for sharing important memories. Wizards hardly ever stored away memories unless they were so important that it was of utmost importance that they would not get lost.

The bluish liquid glowed in the dark and she hesitantly pushed her face into the liquid.

A few moments later she came gasping and sobbing out of the pensive. Emma looked completely out of her mind as she stared wildly around the room as if to find something to break. Finally she took a shaky breath and ran out of the office without caring to put things back or hiding the trail from her husband.

At that moment she didn't care at all.

Before the vision ended, Logan turned to Emma who had stood silently beside him having watched herself from the past running out of the room.

"What did you see?" he asked curiously, his hazel eyes studying her every movement carefully, as if he was afraid she would run away from him.

Emma answered with a bitter voice, "I watched Snape murder my parents."

Logan looked startled when he noticed Emma looking towards the door looking for an escape route. Away from him and away from her memories that had ripped up an old wound that would never heal.

He watched her take a shaky breath before heading towards the front door. He tried to kick his mind into high gear, he had to say something to distract her before she would leave so broken.

"Kid, wanna drink?"He finally said desperate for something to say and unsure how to handle such heartache. A drink always helped him at his worst and he hoped it would numb some of the pain that he could see so clearly in her dark eyes.

She choked a sob, and bowed her head in defeat before turning towards him and grabbing the full glass of whiskey he held out for her. She gulped it down in a few sips feeling it burn her on the inside to the pit of the stomach. She coughed trying to catch her breath and gasped a few times. She almost jumped out of her skin when Logan's heavy hand started to slap her on the back trying to help her.

"Than..." she coughed even louder feeling her eyes water as she gasped for breath.

"Thank you," she finally managed to say looking grateful at Logan when she saw him pour them both another drink.

She sat quiet for hour on the veranda not moving but to lift a glass to her mouth or to light a cigarette. He didn't want to press her; she would talk when she needed. She always gave him time to think, to brood alone with his thoughts and never complained or disturbed him when he felt like that. The least he could do was to stay out of the way and just show her he was around if needed.

Later that evening the witch stood up and swayed dramatically almost falling down on her ass. Logan chuckled seeing her so drunk. Her hair was loose, like a curtain around her upper body and she was dressed more casually than usual.

His study stopped when she eventually did fall straight on her ass and his mirth quieted when the strong scent of her blood filled the air around them.

He stalked to her, grabbed her arms rougher than he should have and lifted her hurriedly up to her feet.

"You alright?" he asked troubled, looking her down, checking for any damage.

"I'm fine" she slurred, waiving him off as if he was a worried mother hen. She didn't notice the small cut on her palm from the glass she had broken. Logan noticed right away the stream of blood so close to his sensitive nose and he grabbed her hand to inspect the cut better.

Logan pushed his hand closer to his face and his eyes shot to hers as if he was asking her permission to take care of it. Emma looked boldly back, her eyes were darker than usual and curiosity filled her eyes as he lapped up the blood from inside her palm with his tongue.

It was the best way he knew of to cleanse wounds, something he learnt the hard way when he was a child, the only thing saving him had been his mutancy. His brother used to do it often to clean himself. Doing it to Emma was a clear sign of how Logan's feelings had grown for the young woman.

A feral would never clean the wounds of someone, unless they were a mate or part of their pack.

The witch stood completely still and transfixed on his tongue as it cleaned the small cut as if he were a giant cat. Small shivers were the only reaction he felt from her while he took in every drop of her blood, cleaning the wound the best way he could.

Finally Logan put her arm down when the bleeding stopped but stared at her intently, the taste of blood kicked awake the beast within him. He had no idea why he had done what he did but he usually didn't allow the beast such free reign when it came to Emma. He was always worried he would hurt her, but the wildness within wanted out when the witch was near.

Meeting his intense stare Emma's heartbeat started to speed up. He felt the heartbeat speed up in her chest making her even more delicious in his eyes.

Finally Emma took the first step as she put her hands on his chest and leaned in, smiling teasingly when his chest started to rumble with something close to a purr.

"You know, I have wondered how it would be..." she whispered as if she was telling him a big secret.

"How what would be darling?" he asked suggestively as he bent down closer to her face studying it intently and listening to her frantic pulse. His intimacy was rewarded with a drunken giggle from Emma as she tried to hide her shyness and it sounded eerily forward and out of character. Nothing like the usual reserved witch he had come to like.

Emma slapped him playfully on the arm before saying in a conspiracy tone; "how it would be to kiss you … to taste you even if just for a moment."

The witch looked up to his face with a goofy grin on her face signalling how drunk she really was.

Logan was so tempted, what he wanted the most was to kiss her senseless as a start. There were other more carnal things he would want to do after that but a kiss would be the sweet torture he had waited so long for. It was true what she said, he had often wondered how she tasted. The beast in him was dancing with joy at the witch's words but Logan suddenly stopped his musings, realizing he had to rein in the beast before it was too late.

After all this time he did not want their first kiss to be after she had just had a meltdown and drunk herself close to an alcohol poisoning. He needed her to want him as much as he wanted her; to ask him when she was sober, when her head was screwed on more or less the right way so he wouldn't feel like a predator stalking a wounded prey.

Silently he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the cot that was in the corner of the living room. He put her down and grumbled angrily, "Get to sleep," before stomping out and slamming the door after him. Logan was furious with himself for trying to be a gentleman and missing out on an opportunity that he had wanted for so long.

Emma passed out before her head touched the pillow, never remembering what she had said to Logan that evening.

Rouge had seen Logan take Emma, the history teacher, out every Friday since the early fall all the way up to when he left on a mission a few weeks earlier. What irked her even more was that she had seen Logan leave Emma's room on numerous occasions in the early morning. There were no rumours that they were an official couple, not yet anyway but Rouge was sure it wouldn't be long until the two would become official.

After a long consideration she decided to go to Ororo to ask for help since the goddess of weather was the most discreet member of the faculty when it came to students and their problems. Logan had been gone a while but she was used to it, he came and went as he pleased.

Rogue knew he would always return to the mansion, to her. He had promised her that when they first arrived at the mansion and so far he had not broken his promise.

She knocked on her door hesitantly, instantly regretting having decided to come to Ororo. What sounded like logic in her head, sounded less so when she faced having to say it aloud to another person.

"Hi Rogue please come in," Ororo said smiling, sitting behind her desk in her office. She had been grading papers for hours and longed for a break.

"Miss Munroe, I had to ask you something," Rogue said fidgeting with one of her gloves.

Ororo was interested; it was not often that the elusive Rogue felt the need to speak to a member of the staff. She had kept mostly to herself since coming to the mansion, the only exceptions being Logan and Bobby. Her roommates were friends, but Rogue never seemed to let them close to her. As if she was afraid of being hurt.

"What is it child?"

"iwaswonderingifyouknowwhatsg oingonbetweenloganandmisswin ter?" she said gluing the words together to make one very long and incomprehensible word.

"What was that?" Ororo chuckled amused, not used to seeing Rouge so nervous.

"Logan and Miss Winter, is there something going on between them?" she asked feeling blush keep up her neck at the pitying look she was getting from Ororo.

"Now Rogue, you know I can't discuss private lives of the staff with students. Even though the faculty lives here at the mansion we have the right to have our private lives just that, private."

"But they aren't being private at all!" she hissed remembering the sick satisfaction that Bobby got from the fact that Logan's attention was almost solely on Miss Winter.

"Have you asked Logan? I'm sure he would tell you if you asked."

"He said they are just friends. That he doesn't know what will happen in the future," Rogue all but spat in anger. Logan's answer hadn't been one she wanted to hear, that he wanted to be with Miss Winter and it simply was a matter of time.

Ororo tried to hide her smirk from her seething student, she had thought for quite a long time that some feelings were stirring between Emma and Logan, Rogue's words seemed to support that theory, "why won't you believe that they are just friends?"

"Ever since Logan came back he has had hardly any time to hang out with me. Everything he thinks about these days is somehow in connection with Miss Winter and I'm sick of it," she snarled feeling her anger flare.

Jealousy, Ororo knew the young girl was jealous. She had to try to calm the storm in the young girl's mind. Teenager that felt scorned could become a surprisingly nasty enemy, especially when that teenager had Rogue's powers.

"Look child, I know he is like a father figure to you. You have Bobby who adores you and your friends. You think it's really so bad that Logan has some friends of his own?"

"They stay out together all night long, I have watched them returning in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon. Sometimes he goes into her room and stays there for hours!" Rogue blurted out. When she noticed the fuming look on Ororo's face she instantly regretted having indulged the last information.

"So you spy on the faculty? You have no business being in our wing in the first place," Ororo said trying to rein in her anger. It was completely unacceptable for Rogue or any other student to not respect the subtle boundaries of the mansion. There was only one way a school, let alone filled with mutants would work, by everyone respecting each other.

"But Logan was in there..."

"What Logan does with a consensual counterpart is simply none of your business. If he wants you to know what's going on, then he will tell you! Don't forget that we are your teachers and not your buddies."

Rouge looked down embarrassed; she had pushed the conversation too far and angered her usually stoic teacher. Ororo had a valid point however it didn't help much with the nagging pit at the bottom of her stomach, she felt as if Logan was slipping through her fingers because of Miss Winter.

"Ok Miss Munroe, I understand. Thank you," Rogue said putting on a brave face for her teacher who seemed genuinely concerned for her. The goddess of weather had never treated her anything but kindly even though giving advices about teenage love might be a stretch for her.

As Rogue walked away a gruff voice sounded deep inside her head, "If I'm not sleeping with her I'm doing my best to get into her pants. She's a looker."

Logan's personality had been absorbed by Rogue's mutation a few years earlier; one of the side effects was that Logan's traits and influence every so often popped up in her mind. Instead of being a voice of reason, as he often was in fights, he was freaking her out even more about the Miss Winter situation. A dirty, old man was not what she needed in her mind, especially not when she had feelings for said pervert.

"Shut up Logan," she mumbled under her breath hoping that no one would catch her talking to herself.

"Hey kid, I'm just keeping it real. You know how I am. It shouldn't come as such a surprise to you."

She had had more than enough of Logan in general after his adoration of the newest faculty member. Rogue put up a mental wall blocking the Logan that was in her head. He didn't help her anymore. The more he talked the more confused she got.

Meanwhile Ororo went to Xavier's office and told him about Rogue and her jealousy. Xavier asked Ororo to keep a watchful eye on Rogue in case she would decide to run away.

Emma kissed his lips softly, as if she was testing the water. She shyly put a hand on his chest while her lips ghosted over his. She withdrew and looked into Logan's eyes with question as if she wasn't sure he'd want her, surely he had to be mistaken when he had said he desired her.

Logan mistook her withdrawal for a no of some sorts and growled darkly in refusal at her pulling away. A surprised gasp came from her as Logan grabbed her shoulders and crushed her closer to his massive body before kissing her so deeply and passionately that she could feel her toes curl up with anticipation.

Emma had always secretly suspected Logan to be a good kisser by the passion that roared in his whole being. That being said nothing had prepared her for the onslaught of emotions that he awoke within her while exploring her lips and mouth as if his life depended on it. Emma felt herself losing control, the only thing that mattered was the man who laid beside her, kissing her with an inch of her life and holding tight to the woman who withered in his arms with pure lust that matched his own.

Logan growled in response to warm hands slipping under his shirt and eagerly exploring his toned stomach and chest. As Emma gasped for breath, Logan moved his musings down her throat continuing his road of fevered kisses until his face stopped by the obstruction that was her t-shirt. In true Logan fashion he fixed the problem and before Emma could understand what was happening, his claws came out and tore the shirt into pieces.

For a moment she froze staring at the huge metal blades that had been so close to her skin but a second later she put her hands into Logan's hair pulling his face to hers. The mutant was more than eager to comply, tossing the remains of the shirt out of the way before crushing her lips with his.

A loud banging sound was heard at the door and Logan murmured hotly into her ear, "don't answer."

He didn't have to say that to her as she had had no intentions on doing so. Instead she continued kissing and caressing the eager man that laid in her bed.

The knocking continued at an even louder level added by a man's voice calling, "Are you there Emma? It's important!"

Emma shot up in her bed and then looked in confusion around her, there was no Logan there nor any hint he had ever been there during the course of the night. Then it dawned on her that it had been a dream, a very steamy one but still a dream. Somehow that realization almost made her weep as she could still feel Dream-Logan's fevered kisses.

When Emma finally opened the door her face was fiery red from embarrassment of her dream and the physical reactions it had gotten out of her body.

A very impatient looking Scott was on the other side of the door. Only he, of all the X-men would have simply not barged into her room, at that moment she was happy that Scott was very much a man of principle.

"About time you answered, I thought you were dead," he barked at her in an unusually harsh way.

Emma leaned against the frame of the door trying to behave relaxed even though she wanted to snarl at Scott for ruining the best dream she had ever had.

"What's up Scott?" she asked uninterested, hoping he would go away so she could return to her dream.

"Xavier..." Scott said before getting quiet and staring at Emma in surprise, momentarily forgetting what he had come to say.

"What?" she asked defensively before looking down at herself.

With a groan she realized why the team leader was watching her chest with interest. The pyjama top looked as if it had been in a struggle. Every button from the collar down to her belly button had been torn off, as by a force. The top gaped half open and Emma blushed even more when she realized that she wasn't wearing any bra.

She quickly hugged her arms to her chest to hide from Scott who seemed to wake up from his daze.

"Xavier alerted the X-men to a mission. We have to leave immediately. You are in charge of the kids until we return," Scott said assertively, a true team leader even if a small blush was on his cheeks.

Xavier and she had discussed that Emma would take over at such times so she wasn't that surprised, even though she was not happy. Secret missions seemed to always happen late at night, never around noon when she was fully awake and functional.

"I will be out in a moment, I'm just going to get dressed," Emma said sweetly trying to hide her growing temper and the need to lash out at Scott for picking the worst moment ever to have knocked on her door.

"Hey darlin'," a rushed figure said as Logan stomped past Emma's door in nothing but worn jeans that didn't leave much for the imagination. Emma momentarily lost track of the conversation with Scott while she stared at the backside of her buddy with a starved look on her face.

Scott didn't notice anything out of the usual, he had never interested himself with staff romance; instead he finished the conversation and turned to leave. Emma closed the door behind her. The witch put her hands on her warm face and took a deep, shaky breath.

How could she ever talk to Logan again after her dream without being mortified for the physical reactions that the dream had gotten from her? The naïveté when it came to men was frustrating her and having risky dreams about Logan was not helping her to understand the male psyche at all.

The witch groaned loudly in frustration and heated embarrassment before heading to get dressed properly so the X-men could leave on their mission.