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Changes Sequel – II. Covenant Part 34

In his sleep Logan could tell that he was being watched. His subconscious was on alert and he slipped slowly back into being conscious again, even if his body still demanded sleep. He rolled onto his back and heaved a deep breath before he began to blink rapidly. "Hey, pumkin…," he mumbled sleepily and ran his right hand over his face. "What's wrong?" Logan looked at his eldest with a frown, since Jack rather looked close to start crying. The man guessed that he was told to leave him alone, that he was sick and needed rest, so he moved aside a bit and nodded at the empty space next to him. "C'mere." He waited for Jack to climb up and pulled him close with his good arm when the boy held onto his shirt and began to sob into his chest. "What's wrong, kiddo?"

"They're mean to me…"

"Who?"

"Everyone," the boy complained. "They keep on calling me names and bully me and I get punished. And mommy never listens to me. She doesn't care…"

"'f course she does," Logan grunted and stroked through his son's messy hair, tried to pay attention despite that he was tired as hell. "Who bullies ya?"

"The boys in my classes," Jack sniffed and mumbled everything into his father's shirt. "They hate me…"

"Again because of your height?" his father asked, knowing that it was because of it. A nod was answer enough. "Look,…they're just jealous coz ya were able t'skip classes and you're smarter than them. I told ya before that just because you're not as tall as they're that this doesn't mean they're better than ya or that it's gonna stay that way, 'kay?" he said and received a weak nod and another sniff. "And you're friends and family love ya for what ya are. I also told ya before not t'give a damn about what others say."

"You also told me to fight back and I got detention because of it!" Jack complained and gave him an accusing look through red eyes.

"Ya don't have t'go and I don't give a damn about what grandpa thinks about it," Logan grunted and wiped his sons tears away. "And mommy was probably too busy… A lot's been goin' on lately. She does care for ya!"

"She threw away the shirt you gave me!"

"Which one?" Logan asked tiredly.

"The one with the wolf… She ruined it with bleach," Jack sulked.

"It was an accident," his father soothed him. "We get a new one, 'kay?" He waited for another nod before his eyes began to close automatically. "I'm tired, Jack…"

"Can I stay here?" the boy asked carefully. "I won't bother you…"

"Sure," Logan said and pulled his son close with his good arm after he had cuddled up to him.

It was later, how much he couldn't tell, that someone shook him again and his sleep was interrupted once more. "Logan?" he heard Jean's voice calling him from somewhere and gave a dismissive grunt, not liking that his sleep was interrupted again.

"What?" Logan mumbled drowsily and annoyed, cracked one eye open a bit. A pressure on his arm told him that Jack had fallen asleep and was still cuddled up to him.

"You have an appointment with Hank," the redhead said, kept her voice calm and reached out to pull her son carefully away.

"I wanna sleep…"

"He needs to check on you. You know that he said at least twice a week," she replied and watched how Jack stretched with a loud sigh and cuddled up to his father's pillow instead after turning around. "You need to move too. Your body needs to get used to the weight of the adamantium again. Come on." Jean helped him up and wrapped an arm around his waist for support, while also her powers worked on him to keep him up. She alone wouldn't, even if he lost weight and muscle mass, be able to keep a man, who still weight at least 300 to 350 lbs, up by herself. "Think you can manage the stairs?" she asked and closed the door to their rooms with her powers. The look she received was answer enough and they used the elevator to head to the first floor, where they began to walk down the corridor slowly. "Scott tells the others about you while Hank checks on you…"

"They…don't know?" Logan asked, panting due to the exhaustion.

"No," Jean replied and pushed the button to the elevator, gave him time to lean against the wall for a moment. "We kept it a secret and wanted to wait until you feet a bit better… Everyone was…pretty devastated after you died. Especially the students, Kitty, Rogue and Jubilee. And John of course. But Peter…" She supported him again when the doors went open. "He blamed himself for your death. Kitty and he are in a real crisis because of it."

"Why?"

Jean looked at him frowning. "Why what?"

"Why the blame?"

"You don't remember?" she asked surprised and earned a questioning look from him. They walked down the corridor in the basement toward the infirmary and lab, entered it and found Hank already waiting behind his desk.

"There you are," he greeted them and gave Jean a sign to take Logan over to a bed, while he got the chart and equipment. "Your heart rate is really high…," Hank said after checking on it.

"Oh really?" Logan mocked grunting. "I walked here, remember?"

"Hm…," the furry mutant made and drew some blood, which he put aside to analyze it later. "How's your arm?"

"Numb…"

"Still?" Hank asked and stopped checking on eyes and ears to turn his attention towards Logan's shoulder and arm. After he had helped his friend to pull the shirt over his head, he gave the still visible huge scars, which were the result of Apocalypse's attack, on Logan's shoulder, back and chest a critical look. His eyes instantly searched Jean's before he reached out to examine the shoulder. A touch was enough to make his patient wince. "It hurt?"

"No! It felt great!" Logan snapped growling, but felt too tired to add a glare.

"It shouldn't hurt when you say that your arm feels numb…" Hank scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry, my boy, but I have to do some more tests on it…"

"Yay!" the feral mutant made and clenched his eyes shut tightly as the furry mutant began to move his arm into every direction…

After Jack had woken up and figured that he was completely alone in the bedroom, he went downstairs to the kitchen where everyone was already gathered for dinner. With his hand on the doorframe his eyes began to search the room, but couldn't find what he was looking for.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Kitty asked, since she had noticed the look in the boy's hazel eyes.

"Where's daddy?" he asked and wondered why the room fell silent at once and why everyone either exchanged odd looks or directed them at him.

"Jack,…what are you talking about?" Jubilee asked, frowning. "Is this some kind of sick joke?!"

Confused the boy looked back at them. "He was upstairs with me…"

"Is he going nuts or something?!" the young woman asked angered. It still hurt her to even hear Logan's name, no matter what the circumstances, and now that Jack was openly asking for his father…

"Your father is…," Kitty, who looked as hurt and Rogue and her friend, began, as Scott entered the room with Alex on his arm.

"He's downstairs, Jack," he quickly said and ignored the looks he was given now.

"Why are you telling him this?!" Jubilee asked after Jack had stormed off. "Did I miss something?!"

Scott sighed and put his son into the height chair next to Tommy and Jamie. Everyone was staring at him, only Ororo shared his secret. "Okay…," he finally said and crossed his arms. "The Professor and we agreed…"

"Who is we?" Bobby demanded to know.

"Scott, Hank, Moira, Jean, the Professor and I," Ororo replied and looked back at her husband as Kurt gave her a questioning look.

"Agreed on what?" Peter asked darkly and his eyes switched to and fro between the older mutants.

"That we keep it a secret that Logan's back to give him time to heal," Scott explained briefly. "He was in a terrible state when he came back and Hank hadn't been sure that he was going to make it…" He noticed the angry and shocked looks, scratched the back of his head. "We only wanted to spare you the pain of losing him again…"

"So…Logan was back and you didn't say one word?!" Rogue asked after a moment of silence, her voice monotone, like a machine that still had to understand. "You just kept it a secret?!"

"How could you do that?!" Jubilee asked angrily and got off her stool. "How could you NOT tell us?!"

"Because we still don't know why Logan returned!" Ororo gave back. "We don't know who brought him back, because his body was clearly not ready for it! We did it to protect him and you!"

"Think about how you would have reacted if he hadn't made it," Scott went on. "We didn't like the decision, but to protect you we had to do."

"So…he's…he's really alive?" Rogue asked with tears in her eyes, waited for a nod or any other reply that would give her the answer she wanted to hear.

"Yeah," he nodded. "But he's in no good condition. So please don't run over and hug him or anything. He can hardly stand let alone walk alone and is still incapable of using his left arm."

"That reminds me," Ororo said and looked at him, "does John know by now? He's still in Canada with Narya and Anna…"

"As far as I know Charles wanted to inform him," Scott shrugged and looked up when Peter just left the room wordlessly. "Kitty, would you tell him please that Logan doesn't blame him. He can't even remember what has happened…"

"If you had told him before, it wouldn't have come that far!" she accused him and glared daggers at him. "You knew how he felt!"

"Yes, and that's why we didn't tell him or you!" Ororo said. "What do you think it would have done to Peter, if Logan hadn't made it?! The result would have been worse than not knowing the truth!"

"Still you had no right!"

"What about the students and children?" Bobby asked them sourly. "Did the Professor mess with their minds again?"

"Bobby!" Scott warned.

"What? He's right!" Jubilee snapped. "You changed their children's minds so that they believed their father had died last year, now you changed their memory again… What's next?!"

"Would you cut it off?!" Scott asked angrily.

"No, she's right!" Bobby defended his fiancée. "You did something that we were taught was wrong and that is misusing your powers!"

"For the greater good!" Ororo said and turned her face away, anger already mirrored on her face by now.

"Remy understands dis…," the Cajun suddenly said and shrugged. "Remy dinks dat mon pètite would 'ave been trés triste, if da Wolverine…" He shrugged again. "J'entendre, non?"

"Ja," Kurt nodded in agreement. "It wasn't te right decision, but…" His yellow eyes fell on the door as their topic of discussion suddenly stood in it, supported by the redhead.

"I only want you to eat a bit, Logan," she said and wanted to help him to the stool where he usually sat.

"Wait, take mine!" Scott offered, since he noticed how done Logan obviously was and his stool was closer to the door. "What do you want to eat?"

"Nothin'…"

"You need to eat something!" Jean disagreed and was about to put some pancakes on a plate, as Rogue got up to wrap her arms around Logan's waist and began to cry heavily into his shoulder. The gesture was soon followed by Kitty and Jubilee.

"Watch the shoulder, darlin'," Logan said tiredly and used his good hand to wipe their tears away before he placed a kiss on their cheeks. "We talk later, 'kay?" he asked them after a moment, waited for a nod and got slowly up.

"Where are you going?" Jean asked and watched how he supported himself with his right arm on the counter.

"I need t'sleep, Jean," he replied, hating how much effort it took him to keep himself on both feet.

"You need to eat!"

"I'll throw up anyway," he waved off.

"Wait!" Scott said and put an arm around his teammate's waist, which earned him a cocked eyebrow. "I'll help you," Scott added without looking at him and walked him to the door to the West Wing. "You look terrible, Logan…," he said and watched his opposite leaning against the wall in the elevator. "What did Hank say?"

"That he wants me t'eat and t'move around," Logan grunted and closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them when Scott wrapped an arm around his waist once more and was glad that he could finally lie down in bed again, but wondered why the man sat down on the edge. "What?!"

"Do you need anything?"

"Why's everyone makin' such a fuss about me?"

Scott snorted with a smile and shook his head. "Because we missed you, Logan," he said. "Charles actually said that you would say that…"

"Say what?"

"Why are you making such a fuss about it? He said it on your funeral," Scott replied and looked down, his smile gone.

"Funeral?" the man next to him asked and cocked an eyebrow. "Don't tell me ya actually held one…"

"Of course," his teammate said with a look at him. "You'd be surprised how many people attended it. You've more people that care about you than you think, Logan. The students were devastated, Peter blamed himself so much for it that we had to keep an eye on him, Alpha Flight and the Avengers helped us to prepare the funeral and to keep the grounds safe… The Cap and this Fury guy even had a half Canadian-half US flag made and saluted for you," Scott told him and knew that Logan felt embarrassed.

"Hank said you and John took care of'em?" the feral mutant asked after a moment of silence.

Scott nodded.

"Thanks…"

"Sure…"

"Where's John?" Logan asked and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"He's in Canada since last week. Narya and he are trying to get Anna used to Narya's presence…"

"Somethin' serious, huh?" he mumbled and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, you can say that," Scott nodded. "She moved in after the funeral to help him." He patted Logan's good shoulder and got up to tuck him in. "You should sleep. We can talk later," he said and walked over to the door where he stopped, knowing that his teammate still watched him, even if it was through half closed lids. "Does that actually mean that I'm the alpha male at the moment?"

"Fuck ya, Scooter!" Logan mumbled into his pillow, but gave a weak smirk when Scott laughed.

"Sleep, Logan!" he heard him saying before the apartment was silent. But not for long…

The feral mutant had just dozed off a bit as a terrified Lily stormed into the room…

"You wanted to speak with me?" Jean asked and looked at Hank, who sat once more behind his desk in the lab.

"Yes, have a seat," he said and pointed at the stool in front of her. "I need to speak to you about Logan…"

"What about him?"

Sighing, he leant back in his chair and pulled off his glasses. "Something is seriously wrong with him, Jean…"

"Wrong in what way?" she asked frowning.

"In the way that his healing factor is active, but he doesn't seem to be healing at all," Hank explained and looked at the chart. "The only things that have healed, and that very slowly, were his eye and the wounds in his face. But his arm…" He shook his head. "It's not normal that his shoulder causes him so much pain, but his arm is completely numb. If the blood flow was somehow cut off, his arm shouldn't be warm but it is. So the blood flow works properly. Still he's not healing…"

"We aren't experts in vascular surgery, Hank," Jean said. "Maybe something went wrong and we hit a nerve or a nerve didn't connect properly…"

"I don't think so," he replied with a shake of his head. "What bothers me is how weak he is. He is still incapable of eating food and the fever he still has indicates that his body is healing something. But then again he isn't healing… It doesn't fit together. I made some tests and I can rule out adamantium poisoning. His fever is also not caused by John's donations…"

"So?" she asked.

"I analyzed his blood and Moira checked it too," Hank said. "We can't find anything. Nothing at all. But something must cause his current state. He shouldn't be in the condition he is in with an active healing factor. If you ask me, his healing factor is fighting against something in Logan's body and focuses on it. But I can't find the cause of it…"

Thinking about it, she remained silent for a while. "Maybe he just needs more time… He was dead for nearly a whole month, Hank… We can't expect him to be his old self just like that…"

"I know…" Frustrated, he threw the chart back onto the table. "But we have a problem… He needs rest and to eat, but also to move, which tires him very quickly, and then there's the problem of his incapability to digest any food… Without food his body isn't supplied with nutrition and he needs proteins for his healing factor to work properly, his muscles need movement to get used to the weight of his adamantium again and to rebuild…" Hank sighed and squeezed the back of his nose. "We can wait maybe two more days, but then we need to think about something." About to say something, Jean froze. "What's wrong?" he asked her concerned and was already about to grab his bag when she got up.

"Callie's having her cubs," she informed him and got up.

"You'll be fine?"

"Yes. Logan knows what to do."

"Yes, but," Hank began still looking concerned, "will he be fine…?"

"I'll let you know," Jean said and left the room, headed upstairs quickly, where she ran into Scott and Bobby who both tried to carry an angry Miloh away.

"Logan told us to keep him away," Scott panted and cursed when the wolf nearly broke free. He couldn't hide that he felt nervous carrying the growling animal, who wanted to be with his mate.

"Easy!" Bobby said and tightened his grip on the wolf's snout, which angered the animal even more.

"You'll be fine?" the redhead asked and disappeared behind the door after receiving a nod. Upstairs she entered Jamie's room where Logan was already sitting next to the husky at her box and tried to calm her by speaking to her. She knelt down next to him and noticed the scared looks of her daughters. "Is she okay?"

"Stressed…," he mumbled and stroked over the black and white fur gently when Callie began to whimper once more. "And in pain…"

"Will you be alright?" she asked and gave him a worried look, but he nodded.

"Is Callie going to die, mommy?" Rachel whined and looked to and fro between her mother and their dog.

"No, she's not," Logan replied before Jean could do.

"She's only having her babies, honey," the redhead added and stroked over her daughter's hair, noticing the look Logan gave her. "Go downstairs, okay?"

"I wanna stay here," Laura pouted.

"Callie's stressed, baby," Logan said tiredly. "Ya can see the babies as soon as they're here, okay?"

"Listen to, daddy," Jean added and watched how her daughters reluctantly left the room, before she closed the door with her powers. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" she asked, not liking the fact that he was sweating and shaking.

"Yeah…" He tried to evade her touch, but she was faster. Her warm hand felt burning hot on his skin.

"God, Logan, you're burning up with fever!" she said shocked, wanted to tell him to go back to bed as he suddenly bent forward and did something she couldn't see.

"Need a hand here," she heard him saying and had hardly pulled on the latex gloves as he already handed her a whimpering cub that she began to clean quickly. "My God…," Jean gasped and looked at the helpless creature in her hands. She had never before in her life seen such a small dog.

"You're doin' good, girl…," Logan spoke softly to his husky and caressed the panting dog. "Ya said four?"

"Yes, Hank saw four cubs," Jean replied and put the whimpering cub into a second box that stood right under an infrared heat lamp. "You did something similar before, didn't you?" she asked and received a nod, while they could both hear Miloh's howling from the outside. Concerned she gave the tiny cub a look. "He won't do anything to them, will he?"

"No…," Logan grunted and tried his best to support Callie. He sighed tiredly. "This might still take a while…"

"Then go to bed and let me do it."

"No…"

"Logan…"

"Ya don't know how t'reanimate'em, Jean," he said and heard her sighing in defeat.

"I'm worried that's all…," she mumbled and held out her hands as he placed the second cub into them…

"He goes nuts here!" Scott said and watched how the wolf kept on running back and forth and switched between howling and whimpering before he began to pace again.

"He's worried, that's all," Ororo mumbled and sipped on her juice as she gave the clock a look. "I'm more worried about Logan. He's awake for two hours in a row by now…"

"Right…" Scott nodded and rubbed his temples.

"Headache?"

"I don't know. I don't feel that good all of a sudden. I think I stood too long in the sun yesterday." Scott sighed. "Or I'm just getting too old. That's probably it…"

Ororo smiled and patted his shoulder. "You should sit down. You don't look that great either…" She was about to put her glass down as she watched out of the corner of her eyes how Scott began to sway. "Hey!" she said and grabbed the man quickly, helped him onto a stool and checked on his pulse. She didn't like at all how fast Scott's heart beat. "You should see Hank!"

"No, I'm fine. It's just this damn headache…," Scott said, his voice weak and ran a hand over his face. "Or maybe I should lie down… This usually helps."

"Wait!" Ororo said and supported him.

"Thanks."

"You sure you don't want to see Hank?" she asked when they reached Scott's room door and opened it to help the man inside.

"No, I'm fine, 'Ro. But thanks!" Scott waved off and let himself fall into his pillows with an exhausted sigh. "Maybe I'm coming down with something…"

"Then rest. I'll send Raven up," she said and closed the door, but not without giving her friend a worried look. To her his sudden illness had come very unexpectedly and it just felt wrong to her. In the end she went back downstairs on the search for Hank and Raven…

Upstairs, Jean watched with a smile how the exhausted Callie now lay in the second box and was feeding her four cubs, of which only one was snow-white like Miloh and his brother and two sisters looked like their mother. She made sure that the lamp was spreading its heat equally over all four cubs before she turned her head. Instantly her hand reached out and touched Logan's sweaty forehead, which made him open his eyes a bit while he still leant heavily against the wall. "You need to go to bed and that quickly," Jean said determined and used her powers to help him up, pulled him away from the wall he had leant against. Her heart skipped a beat in fear when he was hardly able to stand at all. "Hank needs to check on you," she added, was surprised that he didn't react to it and helped him to the bed. While she called out for Hank mentally she helped Logan out of the soaked clothes and went into the bathroom quickly. She returned with cold towels and wrapped them around his legs, used another one for his forehead and another to cool the rest of his body. Concern was clearly mirrored on her face, since he was shivering noticeably and seemed trapped between being conscious- and unconsciousness.

"What's wrong?" Hank asked stressed and entered the room.

"He's worse…" Jean looked up at him and frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"Scott's sick all of a sudden. He's come down with fever and spit blood," he explained while examining Logan quickly.

"Really?" she asked and received a brief nod. "That's strange…"

"How much did he drink today?"

"He slept most of the time… I don't know…"

"Because he's completely dehydrated," Hank cursed and rummaged in his bag. "I need to hook him up to some things… Do you have any anti-fever drugs here?" While Jean disappeared for a moment, he went on with his work. His eyes critically looked at the medicine she showed him, but he nodded his approval and put the blood he'd drawn aside. "Okay. Give him that three times tomorrow. I gave him some drugs just now and he should be sleeping at least the whole night through. I doubt his system is strong enough to fight off the drugs so soon," he said and put some things onto the bedside table. "Just exchange them when the others are empty." He checked once more on the pulse and temperature before he got up. "I'll go and analyze the blood once more. If something's wrong and you need help, let Moira or me know, okay?"

"Yeah…," Jean nodded with her eyes on Logan, felt how he briefly squeezed her shoulder and heard him stopping at the door.

"By the way," Hank added and met her eyes as she turned around, "I think the daddy wants to see his wife and children, don't you think?"

She slapped her forehead. "I've completely forgotten about him," she cursed and concentrated on the backdoor downstairs. It didn't take long and something white and furry ran past her and into the room where his mate had last been in. Jean followed him, concerned about the newborn cubs and watched from the door how Miloh began to sniff excitedly, before he gave his sleeping mate a quick lick over the head and settled in front of the box, watching her attentively. Satisfied for the moment the redhead gave the two dogs fresh water and food, checked briefly on the sleeping cubs that were cuddled up to each other and left the room again.

"Jean?" Ororo asked after entering the rooms and handed her the sleeping Jamie, who'd been watched by Raven up to now.

"How's Scott?"

"Not so good. Moira's with him," she replied and sighed. "How's Logan?"

"Not so good either," Jean replied and gave the bedroom door a worried look. "It has given his body the rest. It had shut down and he's completely exhausted."

Nodding, Ororo looked aside. "Hey…," she smiled when the children entered the apartment.

"Get ready for bed, okay?" the redhead told them.

"But we wanna see the babies!" Jack said.

"I know. Get ready for bed first, then you can see them," his mother said. "But calmly and no touching! The babies and Callie are sleeping." She adjusted Jamie on her hip.

"I go back and see if I can help Raven," Ororo said and received a nod. "Night!"

"Night…," Jean replied and went over to Rachel's and Laura's room, where her youngest was currently sleeping in, to carefully change Jamie's clothes and put him to bed after kissing him softly. She watched how the boy stirred briefly but rolled onto his side in the end and was fast asleep. She returned to the living room to give her children a sign to stay silent and waited for them to take a quick look on the cubs, while she kept an eye on Miloh, who was watching them closely. "Come on…," she said after a moment and waited for them to leave the room again, just to close the door a bit afterwards.

"Can we keep them?!" Lily instantly asked and tried the look on her that always worked on her father. "Please?!"

"Sweety, they will become as tall as Callie," Jean replied and motioned them over to their rooms. "We don't have enough room for all of them."

"But we can't just give them away, mommy!" Rachel protested.

"They will be sad if you separate them from their parents!" Laura added and pouted.

"It's different with dogs than with humans, Laura…," Jean said and nearly bumped into Jack as the boy suddenly stopped.

"We still have to say night to daddy!"

"He's sleeping."

"We can still say night…," he replied.

"Jack, daddy's sleeping and not feeling well. Go to bed, please!" his mother said more sternly.

"But…"

"Please!" Holding her son's glare, she waited for him to obey and closed the doors behind her after she had brought them to bed. Back in the bedroom, Jean cooled the towels once more and got ready for bed too. Exhausted she lay down in bed and looked at Logan, who was sleeping restlessly, from aside. Reaching out, she touched his cheeks and forehead that were still burning hot and sweaty. "Do you know what's wrong with him?" she asked mentally and waited for a reply, but while one voice only snarled at her, the other chose to remain silent. "Thanks for the help…," Jean snapped and placed a chaste kiss on Logan's temple before she settled down to sleep…

"How long will the Professor stay in Europe?" Hank asked and looked at Ororo over his newspaper.

"I don't know. Neither Alex nor Lorna have said anything about it the last time they've called," she replied.

"What's he doing there anyway?" Bobby asked.

"Right! It's way too dangerous at the moment," Kitty agreed. "What if he's attacked? Or captured?"

"That's why Alex and Lorna are with him," Hank said and turned the page. "How's Scott?" he asked as Raven entered the room.

"Still sleeping," she replied and began to make some breakfast. "Do you think he can eat some scrambled eggs or will it make him sick?"

"You can try to give him some…"

"Why are you not eating?" Jubilee looked at her fiancé but Bobby shrugged. "You always eat like a glutton in the morning…"

"I'm not really hungry," he sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Where's Pete by the way?"

"Still sleeping," Kitty said and swallowed her pancakes, while she watched how Raven cooked breakfast.

Upstairs, Scott slowly awoke and raised his head a bit. A groan escaped his lips when a skull breaking headache set in and he sank slowly back into his pillows. Nevertheless, he felt sick. More than sick. Lying in bed didn't help at all and he had to get up. One hand held his stomach while he walked slowly over to the bathroom and sat down on the edge of the bathtub next to the toilette. His body felt like being on fire, his head hurt, his stomach and eyes were burning… Sighing, he ran a sweaty hand through his hot face and noticed the cold sweat. He definitely had a fever and chills…

"Mommy?" he heard Alex calling and looked briefly up.

"She's downstairs…," Scott called and tried to keep his voice steady. He heard how the room door was closed and was about to lower his head again as he suddenly had to throw up violently. His world began to spin when he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and noticed that it was covered with blood…

"What are you doing here?!" Jean asked as Logan, looking as bad as ever, stood in the door and leant against the frame heavily and tiredly. After putting her cup down, she walked over to him and gave him a worried look. "Why didn't you stay in bed?!" she asked, feeling how her heart skipped a beat. There was something odd in his eyes, something that looked almost scared. "What's wrong?" Jean asked in barely more than a whisper, noticed that he was shivering heavily and his eyes looked still feverish.

"Logan?" it was now for Ororo to ask and she came over; she too gave him a worried look. She watched how he gave her a look through heavy eyes. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"Need…Hank…," he mumbled and breathed heavily.

"Sit down," the redhead said and wanted to help him over to a stool but he just slumped to the floor and rested his head against the frame with closed eyes.

"I get Hank," the weather goddess said and left, while Jean began to examine Logan, aware of the stares of the others.

"Here."

She looked up when Rogue suddenly stood next to her and handed her a cool cloth. She too seemed to be more than worried for her friend, who was like a father to her. Jean gave her a brief smile and began to cool Logan's face, as he just dropped to the ground. "Logan!" she and Rogue said aloud at the same time in shock.

"Is he dead?" Kitty asked, fear echoing in her voice and got off her stool. She watched how the redhead searched quickly for a pulse and put him, with the help of her powers into the recovery position. "What's wrong with him?!" the young woman asked, didn't notice that she was breathing heavily.

"I don't know," Jean mumbled and pressed the cool cloth against Logan's forehead, while he lay unconsciously on the floor. Unconsciously, she ran a hand through his hair as Rogue suddenly shrieked.

"Blood!" the young woman shouted and pointed at something Jean couldn't see.

"Where?!"

"His mouth," Kitty said and took the cloth from the older woman to wipe it away. She looked up and into the face of her husband. "Where's Hank? Have you seen him?!"

Peter gave Logan an unreadable look. "He told me to carry him to the infirmary," he told them and knelt down.

"Where's he?" Rogue asked.

"Scott collapsed too," Ororo, who arrived out of breath, said and put a hand to her chest while she watched how Peter pulled Logan up. "And Bobby is suddenly not feeling well either…"

"Something's wrong here," Kitty said and looked at them. "Logan can't become sick and Scott and Bobby have both been fine." She watched how Jean followed Peter to the infirmary and bit her lip hard. It startled her when Rogue got up as if she had been stung by a bee. Nevertheless, she knew where her friend was going.

"Remy?" Rogue shouted upstairs and entered their room. "Remy?!" She already began to feel how fear spread in her stomach as the bathroom door opened and the Cajun appeared with a towel around his hip.

"Qu'est-ce qui se passé, mon petite?" he asked and brushed the wet hair out of his face.

"Are you alright?" she asked and walked over to touch his cheeks and forehead. "Do you feel weird or anything?"

"Ehm…non." He gave her a questioning look. "Somet'ing wrong, mon chère?" he asked and watched how she checked on their son next. "Did somet'ing 'appen?"

"Logan, Bobby and Scott are sick," she explained and felt relieved that both of them seemed to be fine. "They just collapsed."

He looked back into her eyes and had already noticed the tears that she was trying to hide. Sighing, Remy went over and pulled her close against his chest. "Remy dinks dat 'ank will find out da cause…," he mumbled into her hair but heard her sniffing. "Ma chérie…"

"What if it's something serious?" Rogue asked sobbing and held onto his bare skin. "What if Hank, Moira or Jean can't find out the reason behind it? What if they'll die?" she went on, her voice breaking while she talked.

Pulling a face since he couldn't stand her crying, Remy pulled her closer and leant his head against hers. "T'ey'll be fine, chérie. Remy's sure of it…," he tried to soothe her. After giving her some time to calm down again, he wiped her tears away and chuckled. "Remy dinks dat mon petite needs a new s'irt!"

Rogue looked down on herself and smiled weakly. Her shirt was soaked since he had just gotten out of the shower before hugging her. "You're right…," she nodded and wiped new tears away. "I'm just worried that's all…"

"Remy knows dat de Wolverine's like a père to mon petite…," he said and caressed her cheek. It hurt him to see the look in her eyes. "'e'll be fine."

"I hope so…," she said and gave him a quick kiss before she turned to Jean-Luc, who was sleeping on their bed.

"Nothing!" Hank cursed and shook his head, angered. "There is nothing!"

"I don't see any abnormalities either," Moira confirmed and walked over to a computer. She gave the pictures she saw a disapproving look. "Jean?"

"No," the redhead said and wrote down their patients' statuses before she made sure everything was still completely attached to them.

"It must have a reason," Hank cursed again and ran a hand through his fur. "All three of them have the same symptoms. But I can't find anything in their blood…"

"Let's do a lumbar puncture," Moira suggested.

"Too risky!" Jean shook her head. "Not in their condition."

"It's the only way to find out what caused this."

"And I'm telling you it's too risky!" the redhead gave back with emphasis and crossed her arms. "You are not going to touch my husband with a needle, Moira, if I have a say in it!"

"Calm down, Jean, will you?"

"Hey!" Hank intervened and gave both of them a stern look over his reading glasses. "We don't have time for this! Moira is right it is the only way. We have to rule out any known diseases and it's the only way." He exchanged a look with both women and walked over to the door. "I let Ororo know that she needs to call Charles. It's better if he flies over to Canada and stays with Alpha Flight before he, Alex or Lorna become sick too." With that he left the room.

"How is he?" Raven asked and her light blue eyes met Hank's.

He was still not really used to her walking mostly around in her human form. "I don't know…," he replied and she lowered her gaze. "We can't find anything in their blood. The symptoms indicate that it must be a virus but we don't know what kind of virus…"

"So what will you do now?" Ororo asked him, concern clearly written in her face.

"I want you to call Charles. Tell him to fly to Alpha Flight Headquarters and stay with them. We can't risk that he gets sick too. Alex and Lorna should stay with him. Tell him that I'll let him know as soon as we found out anything."

"Okay." She nodded and left.

"What are you going to do about Scott and the others?" Raven asked as soon as the elevator was on its way up. She looked at her opposite while hugging herself.

"That's why I need to talk to you," Hank said and crossed his arms. "We need to do a lumbar puncture. But considering his condition and how high his fever is…" He heaved a deep breath and looked at her. "It can be risky…"

"But it will give the answers you need?" she asked after a moment.

"We can't tell for sure…"

"What can happen to him?" she demanded to know and listened to his explanation. Knowing that she had to make a decision, she nodded in the end. "Do it…"

"Fine…," Hank nodded in return and gave her a gentle pad on the shoulder. "I'll call you as soon as I know more."

"No, I'll wait here," she shook her head and sat back down on the ground.

"Okay…" With a last look at her he went back inside.

When Narya slowly awoke from her pleasant dreams she turned around in bed and a smile became visible on her face. Her subconsciousness took notice of the arm that lay heavily on her waist and the hand on her belly that pressed her against a warm body. She felt how the man behind her breathed evenly against her neck and cuddled up to her. Her hand reached out and turned the clock on the bedside table, noticed that it was time to get up. Sighing, the woman ran a hand over her face and turned in his grip. She smiled while she kissed him on the lips and wrapped her arms around his waist to rest against his chest a while longer. A squeal escaped her lips as he turned them around all of a sudden and the blonde began to laugh when lips attacked her neck. "That tickles!"

"So?" John growled playfully and sucked on it hard once before he settled on her chest and closed his eyes again. "I'm still tired like hell…," he mumbled and kissed her belly briefly while she stroked through his hair.

"Are you? How come?" Narya asked teasingly and earned a snort from him.

"Dunno. I guess it has something to do with some sexy blonde, who used my body the whole night through…"

"Ohhhh," she mocked and slapped his butt. "The poor man was used?" She felt how he nodded quickly. "How can I make up for it, hm?" she asked teasingly and he looked up.

"Hmm…," he growled deep in his chest and shrugged. "Think about something…"

Smiling at his wolfish grin, Narya pulled him into a kiss and wrapped her legs around him to pull him even closer. She realized that she had gotten lost in his kiss when he attacked her neck once more and pressed harder against her. "I thought you're tired?" she sighed and threw her head back to give him more skin to caress, which he gladly did. "Doesn't feel like it!" the blonde added giggling and he snorted.

"Can't help it," John mumbled against her neck and rubbed against her. "Do we have to get up now?"

"Not really…" Narya smiled and kissed him again, heard how he rummaged in the drawer of the bedside table.

"Damn, we used the last ones at night," John cursed and closed the drawer again. He was about to withdraw when she pulled him back down.

"It's okay," she said and kissed him again.

"No, it's not. It's too risky."

"Don't worry about that." The blonde stroked over his cheek and was about to pull him closer again when he shook his head. "What's wrong all of a sudden?!"

"I just don't want to risk it that's all," John replied, kissed her and got up. He heard how she gave a frustrated groan and looked at her. Looking at her, he couldn't help but smirk. "What?"

"Of course it's me who has to date one of the few reasonable men on this planet…"

"Yeah, so it seems," he nodded and pulled her out of bed, just to drag her to the bathroom next.

"I thought you're oh so tired," she mocked playfully and followed him under the shower.

"Mhm," he made and turned on the water.

Afterwards both got dressed and stopped briefly at another room door. Narya waited while John went inside. "Baby?" he asked gently and stroked over his daughter's head. "Sweetheart?"

"What…?" Anna mumbled into her pillow and cracked one eye open.

"Time to get up, come on," he said in a calm voice and placed a kiss on her cheek. He picked her up and chuckled since she buried her face on his neck and leant into him like dead weight. "Still tired, huh?" he asked and stroked over her back before he joined Narya again. Together they walked down the corridor and towards the kitchen.

"Morning!" Heather greeted them with her casual bright smile and looked back down on Taylor, who sucked eagerly on the bottle. "You're a glutton, baby," she commented and shook her head smiling. "Had a good night?" she asked the couple after a moment and smiled even wider when she saw the looks. "I guess that was a yes…"

"I could still sleep though…," John yawned and ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Well…," James grinned and reached for another piece of bread, "depending on the work-out you had…"

"Honey!" Heather warned with a look at Anna, but he only winked at her. Nevertheless, he had hardly bitten into the bread as a loud roar of a jet could be heard on the outside…

"What are you doing here?!" Hank roared when he saw how John exited the elevator, closely followed by Narya. The furry mutant was well aware of the fact that only a specific bald man or a weather goddess could have let the news slip. He had already reckoned with John arriving two weeks ago or a day after everything had started.

"Why didn't you tell us?!" the man asked angrily and looked inside of the infirmary. The room was crowded, all X-women running back and worth between the beds, of which some, as he guessed, stood also in the lab and ICU. He shook his head. "What the hell happened here?!"

"We don't know," Hank told him and began to walk over to the lab, followed by John and Narya.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" the woman asked and looked into the lab, the same chaos meeting them.

"That we just don't know," Hank said stressed and annoyed. "It must be a virus and it spread rapidly but we are unable to locate it in the blood samples. All we know is that it targets male mutants only since every woman in this house is fine." He gave John a disapproving look. "And you shouldn't be here either. We already have enough men lying in beds…"

"I'm not worried," John replied and earned another look. "If you are fine, I'll be fine too."

"What makes you think that?" Narya asked.

"Because he and I belong to the same family tree that's why," he said and crossed his arms.

"The virus started with Logan," Hank told him and shook his head. "If he was infected, it will most likely infect you too."

"No it won't."

"How can you be so sure of that?!" the blonde asked and gave him a worried look.

"From what Ororo told me Logan was sick before, right? She said that you said," he looked at Hank, "that his healing factor wasn't working properly, that it was most likely fighting against something. So he was weakened before and with his already weak healing factor fighting against his injuries and most likely the virus too, he was too weak to fight it off completely."

Hank held his stare and tilted his head a bit. "Do you have an MD?"

"Ehm…not that I know of…"

"In all that stress we never thought about that…," Hank said and ran a hand through his fur.

"Is really everyone sick?" Narya asked concerned and link arms with John, who gave her a brief look.

"Yes. It began with Logan and Scott, then Bobby. One day later Peter, Remy and Kurt just collapsed, then 6 students that remain here for the summer break," he explained and looked at his chart. "Angel is lucky that he decided to go home until his wings have grown back. I called him and told him to stay there."

"What about the children?" John asked him.

"Alex and Tommy got sick today. Jean-Luc yesterday…"

"What about Jack and Jamie?" Narya asked and stepped aside when Moira left the lab, handed her husband three charts and stormed off to the ICU next.

"They are fine… I don't know why, but they are fine…," Hank replied.

"Same reason you are fine and I'll be fine," John said and earned a questioning look from both mutants. He sighed. "The others are Homo sapiens superiors. Hank, Logan, Jack, Jamie, Nick and I are Lupus sapiens superiors."

"This is a theory Jean's father came up with. It is proven…"

"It is! Trust me. It's been proven a long time ago actually," John said. "No one made it official though… Every mutant with claws, fur, canines, a feral nature or animal-like senses and behavior are descendants of the ancient wolves and belong to their tribe. Everyone else is a descendant of the ape tribe. So the virus targets this tribe only as it seems… That is until it mutates…"

"How come you know all this?!" Hank asked suspiciously but his opposite smirked.

"My wife was interested in genetics and evolution. She hardly read anything else."

"I see…" Hank nodded and sighed. "Well, if you want to see Logan he's in the ICU with Scott and Kurt. Jean, Raven and 'Ro can tell you what to do." With a nod he turned and entered the lab while reading through the charts. He looked up as he heard someone sniffing and noticed that it was Rogue, who held Remy's hand while cooling her son's face. Knowing that he couldn't do more at the moment, he patted her shoulder and checked in his patients' vitals. He knew they had to find something soon, better today than tomorrow, since he didn't want to imagine what might happen if the virus mutated…

"Bobby's doing a bit better. His mutation helps to cool his body for the moment, but Kurt's worse," Moira informed him and ran a tired hand over her face. By now she didn't know what sleep felt like. Since the others have gotten sick, she, Hank and the rest were working around the clock and hardly slept at all. "Scott's not so well either…"

"We have to find out what kind of virus that is…," he replied and looked around the room, stepped aside when a half-dead looking Kitty went back over to her husband to cool his body with every wet fabric that was still available in the house. "John has a good theory…"

"Which one?" she asked and allowed him to pull her aside a bit. She listened to his explanation and thought about it for a moment. "But who would create a virus that targets normal mutants only? Why making that effort?"

"I don't know… I think I will call Charles and discuss that matter with him," he replied and squeezed her hand briefly. "And I think I will send John and Narya up. Someone has to take care of the children. We can't leave them alone most of the time…"

"You're right…" She nodded and gave him a tired smile before she went on with her work.

"Hey…," Narya said calmly as they entered the ICU and gave a weak smile when they were given surprised looks.

"You shouldn't be here!" Ororo addressed John worriedly and wiped her tears away before she hugged the blonde briefly and him a bit longer. "You'll get sick too."

"No, I won't," he waved off and used his thumb to wipe new tears away.

"How can you be so sure?" Jean asked and cooled a cloth before she put it back on Logan's forehead. She watched how he came closer and studied his brother with a worried look.

"Why did no one tell me that he was back?" he asked without taking his eyes off him.

"We wanted to keep it a secret until he felt better," Ororo explained tiredly. "He was in a really bad shape and…"

"…and you didn't think it was necessary?!"

"No! We just wanted to give him time to heal…"

John snorted and covered his brother's hand with his own.

"Where's Anna? Did she stay in Canada?" Jean asked him after a moment but he shook his head.

"She went upstairs to sleep," he replied and the redhead had hardly nodded as Scott, who lay in the bed behind John, suddenly began to throw up.

"Roll him onto his side! He's not conscious!" Jean ordered immediately and grabbed a bucket while her brother-in-law did as she said with the help of Raven and all three of them watched in horror how Scott spit a huge amount of blood. The redhead gave the machines a brief and worried look, wrote something on the chart and met Raven's eyes for a few seconds. She knew the woman understood her without words.

"He's going to die, isn't he?" Mystique asked with tears in her eyes, held Scott's right hand in hers while she looked at her son, who was sleeping restlessly.

"They all will if we don't find a cure," Moira suddenly said, alarmed by Jean's mental note, and checked on Scott's vitals. She shook her head and leant against the wall for a moment. "Hank asked if the two of you could take care of the children upstairs? They are mostly alone and are probably afraid and confused."

"Sure," Narya nodded. "But if you need help…"

"We'll let you know," Moira nodded and watched them leaving. She then went on with her work and could only shake her head instead of saying anything. "We need to find something…," she said after a while, "…and that soon…"

Upstairs the couple entered the West Wing and was instantly greeted by Jack, who jumped into his Uncle's arms. "Hey!" the man smiled and hugged his nephew, who buried his face on his neck. "Where are the others, huh?"

"Sleeping…," the boy mumbled and held onto him.

"Have you eaten anything at all today?" Narya asked and stroked through the dark hair but Jack nodded.

"You should go to bed too," John suggested and looked at the boy. "It's already late…"

"Will you stay?" Jack asked. "Mommy's always with daddy…"

"You can use our bed," Jean's voice echoed in the man's head and he gave his nephew a nod.

"Yes, we'll stay here. Get ready for bed, okay?" He placed a kiss on Jack's cheek and put him back down, watched how the boy went back into his room. "Maybe we should get the other children too and let them sleep in the bed…"

"Would be easier and in that way someone's with them and their parents doesn't have to worry about them too," Narya nodded and returned his weak smile.

Only a bit later they tugged in Isa and TJ in Jack's bed, the boy agreeing on sleeping in his sister's one and kept Anna and Nick with them in the bedroom. They too went to bed after making sure that the children were sleeping and that the dogs had their food. Narya supported her head on her arm and watched how John stroked through his daughter's hair absently. Knowing what he was probably thinking about, she reached out and covered his hand with hers. As she was about to say something the room door was opened slowly and Hank appeared.

"Did something happen?" John asked alarmed, but kept his voice low. Since the furry mutant beckoned him to come outside, he did so and looked at his opposite expectantly.

"Someone called…," Hank began, earning a questioning look from his opposite. "He said he has the cure…"

"And who is it?"

"I don't know… It was a man," Hank shrugged.

"What else did he say?" John asked and crossed his arms.

"Only that he has the cure and that if we want to have it, he wants us to meet him at the George Washington Bridge at the Hudson River within in 2 hours. That's all." He waited for a reply but there was none. "What do you think?"

"That it's probably a trap but our only chance," John said after a moment of silence. "I'd go…"

"Same here," Hank nodded. "They won't make it without a cure and we're running out of time. Kurt and Scott have both thrown up blood again and Logan should be the next… Trap or not, either it is the cure or they are going to die anyway. I don't have any hope left that we'll find out what kind of virus it is…"

Nodding, John began to walk backwards. "We meet at the garage."

Two hours later they were waiting at the river as Hank had been told and looked at the illuminated city. Both waited in utter silence and were occupied with their own thoughts. So much even that they didn't notice how a shadow came closer and stopped only few meters behind them…

"I knew you'd come…"

Startled, both men turned around in full alert and prepared themselves for any attack. It took a while for them to notice who stood in front of them, but as soon as they did surprised became visible on their faces.

"Daken…," John gasped and held the glare his nephew gave him…

First of all: Thanks again for the great respond to the last chapters. I'm really happy that so much of you still enjoy reading the story after over 2 years and that you take your time to leave a review. : ) I always like to know what the readers are thinking about the stuff I write. LOL And then: I know this chapter is short, but I'm writing a test tomorrow and on Wednesday and should be actually studying for it… Still I wanted to update this one here. It turned out way different than I had planned and I'm again not really satisfied with it, but next week is the last week for college, then I'm off until mid October and have more time to write.

I hope you still liked the chapter. Suggestions and wishes are always welcome. ; ) Please review!! See ya!