Logan sauntered down the stairs with his hands shoved into his pockets. He walked down the long hall toward the courtyard in the back. If he knew Rebecca like he did, she would be at the lake with her knees pulled to her chest as she sat at the end of the dock trying to process her thoughts. He wanted to go and find her. She would be hurting after seeing Warren. He wanted to make sure she knew he was there for her. He wanted to hold her and keep the pain away if only for a moment.

He stopped however when he reached the doors to the back acres. Warren walked past him with red puffy eyes. The two men stopped and looked at one another. Logan had half a mind to hit him, but he retrained himself. Warren glared at Logan.

"Congratulations, she chose you," he said, his voice no more than a choking wheeze. Logan was shocked. He felt like he'd been in this situation before, but from what he could remember he was usually on the other side of this conversation. Logan watched Warren walk past, unable to speak. As Warren disappeared out of sight, Logan felt a sense of urgency to find Rebecca and see if she was finally going to be his, completely and without guilt.

He stepped outside and was once again stopped in his tracks, only this time by another sight. He snarled.

"I though I killed you," Logan growled to the Cajun standing on the other side of the door. Gambit turned to Logan and grinned.

"So you are as dumb as you look," Gambit goaded. Logan shot his claws out and stepped forward. Gambit retrieved the deck of cards from his pocket and tossed his trench coat to the side.

"Hey!" Storm yelled as she jogged up the stairs. She forced herself between the two men, placing a hand on each of their chests and pushing them apart. "Not here, there are still students on campus. Ease up on the testosterone please." She said angrily. "We have too much to deal with right now; we don't need you two killing one another again."

"Only one of us is going to die…" Logan started. Storm pressed both hands on his chest pushing him back.

"Logan, no stop it!" she shouted. "Gambit, the Professor wants to see you in his office. I suggest you go now before I decided to join in the fight." Gambit assessed the situation and decided a fight against an invincible man and a weather witch wasn't the best idea. He grabbed his coat and walked inside the mansion.

"You should have let me kill him. This time I'll make sure he stays dead." Storm stood back from him and raised her hands.

"Fine, if you want to do that to Rebecca again then go ahead." Logan sighed in frustration and retracted his claws. "I need to find her. We need to talk."

"I was just on my way to look for her." Storm shook her head. "What? Now I can't even talk to her?"

"Logan, I know how you feel about her. It's pretty damn obvious, but there are certain things you need to understand and that's when to back off. She just broke up with Warren. You need to give her time. As much as that kills you, she needs a woman to talk to right now. If you go and find her she'll probably fall right into your arms a hopeless mess begging for you to pick up the pieces."

"Not seeing the problem in that…" Logan said trailing off. Storm rolled her eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It wouldn't be right. She's vulnerable. Give her time to regain that strength you first fell in love with. Don't take her when she can't think clearly. All women want to know that they're worth fighting for, you've proven that. Now let her learn to fight for herself again. Let her mend her broken heart before you try being the temporary tape." Logan wasn't entirely sure what she was saying, he would never fully understand women, but he knew that he didn't want Rebecca on the rebound. He wanted to love her entirely, and have her return that love with more than blind ambition in hopes of mending her hurting heart.

"Alright," Logan said after a tense moment. "Go talk with her. But I am going to find her later. I can't handle not being with her when I know she's hurting." Storm smiled and kissed Logan on the cheek.

"You're a good man." She whispered before walking toward the lake in search of her redheaded friend.

X

True to her nature Rebecca was sitting at the edge of the dock tracing invisible patterns on the surface of the water with her fingertips. Every so often a tiny droplet would fall from her eye and land on the water causing small ripples to disturb the otherwise placid lake.

"I'm not sure how easily I can handle this," she said as Storm sat next to her. "So many years spent alone in a cottage and now I'm the center of attention. It's quite the one-eighty." Storm chuckled and wrapped her arm around Rebecca's shoulders.

"I think the lime light has taken its toll on you. How did things go with Warren?" she asked gently.

"I think we have the new world record for worst break-up…ever. I hated doing it to him, but I had to. I'm not the one for him and he's not the one for me. God I hate this," she said breaking into fresh tears. "I loved him, Storm. No matter how imperfect we are for each other, I love him. He taught me that there are good men out there. If it weren't for him…I didn't know what it was like to be in love until I met him. I'll always love him for that. Is that wrong?"

"No, no it's not wrong at all. Warren was your first love, Rebecca. No one can replace that position. But don't make the mistake in thinking Warren is the only man you'll ever love."

"I know…I know you mean Logan." Rebecca said quietly. She closed her eyes and hot tears leaked from the corners. "I would give him my heart…but I can't. After Warren…it's too painful. I can't risk it. I can't risk falling for him. It's too scary thinking of falling so blindly wondering if I'll end up crying over him next."

"I understand, you're in pain. Just don't make the mistake I did when I feared something…don't hate love Rebecca. Hate isn't going to d anything except hurt you more. Give it some time. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and I promise it isn't a train." Rebecca couldn't help but laugh, but as soon as she heard her own voice fresh tears came into her eyes. "Come on; let's go get something to eat."

"I think I'll stay here for a little while longer…" Storm nodded, and stood. She turned to leave, but stopped.

"He loves you…Logan I mean." Storm heard her sharp intake of breath and wondered if she should have gone that far. It was too late to think of that, so she simply began the long walk back to the mansion. Rebecca stood and slipped her shoes on once she was sure Storm was gone. She began walking swiftly toward the small stable not far from the lake, and once inside, located her long lost friend.

"Aye, haven't seen you 'round much lately." Eric said stepping from one of the stalls carrying a saddle.

"Ya…I went away for awhile. I'm back now though….at least for awhile." Rebecca said as she rubbed Aries' nose. He warmly greeted her by nuzzling her shoulder and stamping his foot.

"This one missed you a good deal. Don't suppose you'd want to take him for a ride?" Rebecca smiled and nodded. Eric was quick in saddling him and he lent his hand to help Rebecca saddle him. "Next time you go you'd best say goodbye to him or he might not forgive ya when you come back." Rebecca chuckled.

"Next time I leave, I'll just take him with me." Eric smiled and waved her off as she slowly rode from the stable. As soon as the sun met Aries face he took off into a gallop. Rebecca felt the freeing sensation of the wind in her hair. She pulled her jacket off and let it fall to the ground. She took off into a gallop again exploring every inch of the forty-nine acre landscape.

X

It was late in the night when Rebecca finally returned to the mansion. She quietly walked through the dimly lit courtyard along the reflecting pool. She sniffled and wiped her red nose. After spending hours on Aries, the wind had blown fiercely leaving her nose and cheeks red from the sting. Though the air was warm, Rebecca felt oddly cold.

A gentle breeze woke the surrounding trees as Rebecca placed her hand on the railing to the staircase leading to the back terrace. She slowly climbed each step, feeling the pain in her legs after riding for so long. A small gasp escaped her as her eyes met the shadowy figure of a person. They cautiously stepped down a stair, causing Rebecca to take a step backward. The figure came into the light provided by the crescent moon and Rebecca felt a wave of relief wash over her.

"Logan, you startled me." She said quietly. He took another step down and Rebecca did as well until she was down the stairs completely. "What are you doing here?" she asked feeling the need to put space between them.

"I could ask the same thing," he said callously but with a small grin. Rebecca folded her arms over her chest. "Cold?" Logan asked stepping forward. Rebecca shook her had no and felt a lock of hair slip from her ponytail. Logan watched as she tucked the strand behind her ear. He felt a churning in his stomach. He'd never seen her look so beautiful. Her hair was disheveled from the long ride. He'd found out from Eric, the stable keeper, that she had taken Aries. Her skin was rosy from the sting of the wind and her eyes were slightly swollen from the tears she had undoubtedly let fall. "Rebecca," he said when he realized she wasn't meeting his eyes.

"It's late; I'm going to go inside." She quickly walked past him and began jogging up the stairs. Logan turned in confusion. Why was she avoiding him?

"Rebecca!" he called and quickly caught up with her halfway up the stairs. He grabbed her hand, stopping her in her tracks. Rebecca didn't turn to face him though. He felt her hand shaking. "Look at me." He said standing on the stair just below her creating a more equal height. She finally turned to look at him, her eyes betraying her otherwise stoic countenance. She looked frightened. "What is it?" he asked reaching out to place a hand on her face. She flinched and turned away from his hand.

"Don't…please." She said in a small voice. Logan was wracked with confusion. Rebecca had acted so differently toward him only the day before. Now she was all but terrified of him.

"Talk to me…tell me what's wrong." She tried to pull her hand away from his, but he only held on tighter.

"Nothing," she said finally bringing her eyes to his. She had veiled her eyes. They no longer sparkled with emotion but were dim with deception.

"Don't do that," he said sternly. "Don't hide from me." Rebecca finally managed to pull her hand away from his. "Rebecca, don't make me find you again." He said as she turned away from him.

"Logan…I'm…grateful for all you've done for me. You brought me back from a place I might not have been able to escape." She took in a shaky breath. "You're a very good…friend." Logan winced at the stab she'd just delivered. "Goodnight, Logan." She swiftly walked up the rest of the stairs, leaving Logan baffled. He recovered quickly and caught her by the arm before she could reach the door.

"Wait a minute," he said spinning her around to face him; pressing their bodies together. "You don't just get to say something like that and walk away. What's changed? Why are you acting like this?"

"Logan…just let it be. It's not right. You and I...it's not going to work. Just let it be." She said, tears brimming in her eyes. Logan scowled. Feeling her so close to him, only to have her pull her heart away, was torturing him.

"No," he said firmly. "I'm not in the habit of letting you run away, I'm not about to start now." He brought his mouth down to hers, stopping any protest she was about to give. Rebecca's mind screamed at her to push him away, but her body betrayed her as she wrapped her arms around him. Her mind went blank and the only thing that registered was the feel of his strong arms wrapped around her back, the feel of his calloused fingers in her hair, and his gruff lips on hers. He finally pulled away, grinning as Rebecca took in a sharp breath. "I love you…" he whispered. Her heart pounded inside her chest.

"Logan…I need to think…" She wriggled out of his arms and turned to the door about to open it. She paused and looked over her shoulder as Logan stood in the moonlight. She lightly brushed her fingertips against his cheek. He kept his eyes locked onto hers, both were waiting for her to speak the words burning inside her mouth. But she didn't. She turned and opened the door, disappearing inside. Logan sighed and felt the need to be anywhere he couldn't sense her. As he left, a cigarette bud fell onto the patio where they had once been standing. Above them a shadowy figure pulled out another cigarette and lit it, hiding himself in the nicotine stick.