Epilogue

Well here it is, the FINAL chapter! I know I said that there would be at least one more before this, but it just didn't work with the rest of the story so I cut it! I still can't quite believe that I've finished it, I know I try to complete all of my stories but there was a time I doubted that I might because it was just soooooo long! But here you are! I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who stuck with this from the very beginning, especially those original readers back from it's original publication in 2007, before it was removed and revamped. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Now I have just one last favour to ask of you all, well two: first to enjoy what you read and make the most of it, and secondly to submit a REVIEW for one final time, and if you could find it in yourselves to check out some of my other stories I would love you all forever! Thank you!

Three weeks later Logan yet again found himself in the bowls of the mansion – only this time making his way in the direction of the Danger Room, which had been strictly out of bounds to him during the period of his recuperation. He was now feeling better than he'd felt in several months – following the surgery to drain the infected fluid away from the tissue surrounding the outside lining of his heart, the rate of his recovery had improved almost overnight, but it had still been a long and painful past three weeks during which it had seemed that any vaguely physically exerting activity had been off limits to him. Three uneventful weeks of nothing more than complete rest and relaxation.

Hank had explained that Logan had probably been ailing with the bacteria which had eventually caused his infection for quite some time. The nature of his mutation had masked many of the early symptoms, and had had the effect of preventing the pericardial effusion from developing too rapidly, but the continuous cycle of slowly succumbing to sickness only to only partially recover again had put a significant amount of strain on his healing abilities, weakening his body's natural ability to heal itself until it had ceased to function completely.

Even now he still bore some of the lingering effects of the sickness which had almost claimed his life – he tired easily, and was still on anti-inflammatorys to help with the lingering pain, and a pretty high dose of anti-biotics to combat any residual infection – but the drugs all had rather a few unfortunate side effects of their own, and he'd felt rather groggy for the first few days

As he entered the Danger Room, making his way slowly over to the main control panel, and making the relevant adjustments to his chosen session – a relatively low impact session compared to what he was used to – he heard the electronic door slide open behind him however, and turned to observe as Hank entered.

"Well I see that my services are no longer required." The blue mutant chuckled, smiling warmly as he approached. "I thought I might find you down here."

"I'm sorry Blue." Logan winced with the slight embarrassment at being caught out cheating with his advised recovery period – he was still supposed to be resting, but as his condition had continued to improve and he'd started to feel a little better, growing in strength as each day had passed, the restlessness had already started to set in. "I couldn't stand being cooped up a moment longer." He explained, but the kindly doctor simply smiled and nodded.

"You might not have to be." Hank sighed. "I suppose we must look upon this as a good sign – a few weeks ago you barely had strength enough to get out of bed, let alone even contemplate a session in the Danger Room – but you still need to take it easy, at this stage in your recovery even a minor injury or sign of sickness could put you right back at square one."

He produced a stethoscope, carefully concealed within the depths of his pocket, and held it up to Logan.

"Do you mind?" He asked.

Logan sighed, but didn't appear to object. Instead, he nodded, already stripping off his leather jacket and t-shirt in order for Hank to inspect his torso.

"I just want to make sure that you're not over exerting yourself too soon." The kindly doctor explained as he placed the tiny metal plate to Logan's chest – listening intently.

Logan took a few deep breaths in, releasing them again heavily upon Hank's instruction, shivering as the small, metal disk explored his warm torso and back thoroughly until the doctor finally withdrew the implement, appearing fairly satisfied with what he heard, and threw the stethoscope around his neck.

"Well," He smiled, "your lungs sound clear and relatively healthy all things considered, and there's no sign of any arrhythmia or tachycardia." He explained. "Your scars have healed nicely." He added, palpating the area of Logan's abdomen and chest with gentle fingers and watching him grimace slightly as the tender scar tissue throbbed painfully beneath his touch – but the doctor wasn't too concerned by this, he was likely to still feel sore for a good while yet, even after the initial injuries had long since healed.

"Just don't go overdoing it." He advised.

Logan looked at him and nodded, throwing his leather jacket, shirt and trousers into a corner, preparing to change into the trade mark all-in-one sports suit – as he did so Hank noticed him grimace and rub his still sore stomach gingerly however.

"Are you alright Logan?" He asked with a frown.

Logan nodded, but his gaze still appeared somewhat distant, and Hank could tell that he was contemplating something for a moment. Finally he turned back to face him, evidently having come to a conclusion.

"Maybe it's still a little too soon." He sighed heavily to himself – and the doctor could tell that although he was very much improved he was still in pain, and still had a long way to go. It made the fact that he had to leave soon all the more difficult – but knew that he would be leaving him in Jean's very capable hands, and his life was no longer in any immediate danger. "I don't think I'm quite ready for this after all."

"Only you will know when it's the right time for you to start resuming your life as normal again Logan." He nodded, with a sympathetic smile "But there's no hurry, take your time, and don't push yourself whilst it's still too soon."

"Thank you Hank." Logan smiled.

"I suppose you've heard that I'm leaving later on today?" He asked, and the other man nodded. "I'm afraid that I'm required to return to Government as soon as possible, but I'll still be keeping an eye on you… I've made arrangements to check in with Charles on a regular basis, so I'll know if anything's not right."

The two exchanged a mutual smile with this and Hank offered Logan a comforting and reassuring wink as the suffering mutant proceeded to retrieve his clothes from the corner of the room and change back into his shirt, trousers, and leather jacket.

"Just promise me one thing Logan," Hank asked, "you're not out of the woods yet, your body is still weak, and although you might be feeling better you still need time to fully recover. Promise me that you won't let anything like this happen again! You're not on your own anymore, you have friends here who care about you, a wonderful woman in Jean who loves you very much, if something's not right and you feel that there's something wrong in the future, don't keep it to yourself, tell someone, let somebody in! Promise me?"

"I promise." Logan smiled.

Hank nodded, finally content that his friend was telling the truth. He'd learnt a valuable lesson which would serve him well over the past few recent weeks, he was not invincible, and he's finally come to accept that there really were people who cared about him.

"Hey Blue," Logan hailed the doctor as he turned to leave, a pleasant smile curling the corners of his mouth as Hank turned back to face him, "I really am eternally grateful for what you've done. You saved my life! My past has been a troubled one, and I have quite a few demons that I need to work though, I know that, but I'll never forget what you've done for me! Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Hank smiled.