Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel characters or any of the X-men. The same can be said of the wonderful world of J.K. Rowling. I am not making any profit, but simply having fun. I did however create Emma Winter.
Emma hurried to Hank's room and pounded on the door. When her friend didn't answer right away the witch knocked again with urgency. The door finally opened, and a very sleepy looking Hank peered out of the dark bedroom.
"Can you please come with me, I need to show you something," Emma said at once to Hank who looked exhausted after a difficult night.
"Did Logan pass away?" Hank asked surprised not to see a hint of grief from the young woman.
The witch looked at him stunned before hissing at the tall doctor, "What? No! Can you just get dressed and come with me! I have something to show you!"
The mutant nodded and closed the door to get dressed. On his way out he murmured to Ororo, "Emma wants me to take a look at Logan. I shouldn't be long."
The goddess of weather mumbled something in her sleep but didn't wake up. Hank smiled affectionately before giving her a warm kiss on the top of her head. Then he went into the hallway where Emma was anxiously pacing back and forth.
The two friends walked hurriedly to the elevator that was waiting for them. Hank pressed his fingerprint onto a scanner and then pressed on the button for the lowest floor where the infirmary was.
When the elevator started moving Emma burst out talking, "Logan is getting better, I'm no doctor of course, but his situation seems to be stabilizing."
"But that's impossible," Hank said startled looking at the young woman as if she had grown an extra head. When he had left the infirmary hours earlier, it had been done to give Emma private time to say goodbye to her husband who had been passing.
"Just see for yourself," Emma said enthusiastically as they walked into the infirmary, "I will try to explain it to you after that."
Hank walked quickly over to where Logan was laying to check his vitals. The feral looked as if he was resting peacefully, the grey hue of death had left his skin and instead he looked refreshed as if nothing had happened to him.
"What did you do?" Hank asked stunned and Emma fidgeted at his question as if she had done something wrong. The witch wasn't quite certain if Xavier would have approved of having Snape occupy the infirmary even though it was for a noble purpose. It was for that reason that Emma had cast a Muggle-Repellent Charm over the lower level of the mansion while the potions master worked to save her husband. Emma knew that Snape would not have reacted well to others coming into the infirmary to see what he was doing. Secrecy had always been of the utmost importance to the head of Slytherin.
"I didn't do anything myself, but I called in a big favour," Emma admitted and saw that Hank looked at her wide-eyed in shock wondering what she had done.
"You called in a favour?" Hank asked stunned and wondered what possible favours could anyone could owe the young woman.
"What happened here? As Logan's physician, I need to know exactly what happened. Was it some kind of hocus pocus?" Hank asked in a hushed tone his tone embarrassed to mention her magic ability in such a way. The mutant had never seen just what Emma could do, but he suspected her power was far more complex than he would ever be able to witness. If the witch had called in someone of greater power to save her husband, it showed just how close Logan had been to passing.
"I contacted the most qualified potion master in England. He came here, identified the potion and brewed an antidote that was administrated to Logan an hour ago. Almost instantly he started to look better," Emma answered more theoretically than she felt. She had wanted to jump with joy and had gotten Hank to share the joyous news.
"What was the poison?" Hank asked curiously not understanding how this potion master could identify the poison when the computers at Xavier's had struggled to figure out the source of Logan's illness.
"Poison dart frog from South America, that's what Snape identified it as."
"How on earth could this person identify the poison so quickly?" Hank asked startled wondering just how powerful magical folk were and how common they were. Wizards and witches could clearly teleport without any problem, and Emma had done so to get help for Logan.
Emma brushed her hair unconsciously from her face, the thick hair was constantly getting into her eyes and blocking her view of the shocked mutant that was staring at her as if she had grown an extra head. After standing over the fumes of the cauldron most of the night, her hair had frizzed into wild curls.
"The wizard I contacted is the best of the best. He might not be the friendliest person I have ever met, but he knows what he's doing. Usually, it's best to point him in the direction of a problem, then stand back and let him work his magic."
"So Logan got an antidote and what are these vials here on the side table?" Hank said pointing towards the vials that Snape had left behind before he left.
"Potions to help Logan get back on his feet, I got directions on how to administer them to him," Emma said and as a second thought added, "I was told that it could take a while before Logan would regain consciousness. There is a certain uncertainty because Snape has never saved a mutant before and has no idea how regenerative powers work."
"I should contact the professor and inform him of your little miracle," Hank said warmly to the witch in front of him. A whole new world was opening to the mutant and the endless possibilities the magical community seemed to have. No wonder Emma had kept her origins a secret, magical folk could potentially be dangerous to the world due to their powers.
"You do that, I'll stay here," Emma said with resolve and at Hank's amused look she added in defence, "in case he wakes up. I don't want him to wake up alone."
"Alright," Hank said walking towards the door, "I won't be long."
Emma smiled at him before she turned towards Logan who hadn't stirred at all. Emma had never really seen how amazingly talented Severus Snape was and she had a newfound respect for the sour wizard. The potions master had a gift of healing even though he didn't like to be thanked for his assistance.
Emma looked around when she heard the infirmary door open, and the residential physician looked carefree as he walked into the infirmary before smiling happily at the witch. Hank knew that there was no way he could talk Emma would leave until Logan would regain consciousness but he hoped that the witch would at least try to rest a little.
"Charles will be back in a few hours to check on Logan," Hank explained to her before checking on Logan's vitals. Emma nodded in agreement and sat down tiredly into a chair by Logan's bed. The witch held his hand tightly and before long she had fallen asleep.
A few hours later Logan gained consciousness. He groggily sat up and put his hand on the IV needle to rip it out. Emma's voice said warmly, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Logan looked up and by struggling to focus he could see his wife sitting by his bed and smiling widely at him. At the end of the bed, Hank stood and stared curiously at the feral mutant.
"How are you feeling Logan?" Hank asked the confused mutant who looked extremely groggy.
"Like shit," Logan mumbled and was pushed back down on the bed by Hank's tremendously large hand.
Emma grinned down at her husband before leaning down and kissing gently his whiskered cheek. Logan sighed and stroked her curly hair affectionately, "You don't know how happy I am to see you darlin'".
"No happier than I am to see you, I assure you," Emma said before laughing happily as the mutant stroked her small bump with affection.
"My senses are off," Logan muttered, the only sense that was back was his scent and that wasn't his favourite, at least not when in an infirmary that was filled with a disinfectant that burned his nose.
"Side effect from the poisoning," Hank answered, he knew that Logan would need all the facts right away otherwise his confused senses would take over.
Logan's mind seemed to spin a bit at Hank's words before he asked groggily, "what poisoning?"
"Mystique. She shot you with a very rare poison that put you into a coma and was killing you."
"How long was I out?" Logan growled as he started to plot his vengeance on the blue fiend that had disturbed his life too much for his taste. The mutant had plans with his wife that were more important than anything else in his life.
"Twelve hours, not bad considering I had predicted you would be dead by now," Hank said gravelly hoping that Logan would understand the seriousness of his situation. He did and his hazel eyes snapped up at his face demanding explanations.
"What do you mean?" Logan asked with a surprise, his regenerative powers had helped him get through the direst of situations and he wondered what had been different about the poison. To his knowledge, nothing could kill him besides Rogue who could suck out people's life force.
"I mean that the poison worked faster than your regenerative power thus Mystique had found a way to kill you very effectively," Hank said quietly, and Logan stared at his friend with startled eyes. He was so used to relying on his powers that he hadn't realised that he could die from something as simple as poison.
"And why didn't I die?" Logan asked knowing there was some story Hank had to tell him. So often in the mansion there was some kind of a loophole that someone would find to change the course of life.
"Die you mean?" Hank asked and looked in question at Emma who looked away quickly. There was no doubt in her mind that her husband would not like the answer of who had been his saviour.
"Yeah. By your words, it sounds like I should have died. So why didn't I?"
"You can thank Emma's friend for that" Hank said smugly getting an annoyed glance from Logan. If there was one thing, he detested it was people that played games, either in words or actions.
"What friend?" Logan asked sceptically being quite certain that no one in the house could handle some poisons except perhaps the professor and Logan would never call Xavier a friend.
Hank studied him silently before answering simply, "Emma. She pulled some magic strings for a potions master to come here and save your ass."
"What?" Logan growled dangerously, his face livid as he looked at his wife who had the decency to blush crimson at her husband's anger. There was only potions master that Emma knew and Logan was not happy at all that she had been in contact with that creep. Logan was not happy at all that Emma had had to contact the wizard on his behalf.
"Anything to keep you alive, I need you Logan. We need you," Emma murmured, her hand stroking his face to soothe the beast inside that burned with frustration. That his wife had to go to her ex-husband to beg for help bothered Logan more than he wanted to admit. Still, he understood that Emma had only worked for his best interest, even if it hurt his ego to admit it.
"Yes, Emma surprised me as well. Your wife is extremely resourceful," Hank said affectionately, his eyes twinkling with mirth. Only Logan would be annoyed at being saved, only the feral would be picky about who had saved him.
"Wait I printed out a few pictures from the security camera from the time they were working on you. That should answer some of your questions. They answered mine for sure," Hank said and handed Logan a few sheets of paper that he had printed out earlier. Emma groaned uncomfortably; it was certainly not something she wanted her husband to see as she knew Logan detested Snape after seeing her memories.
Logan looked down at the first picture that showed Emma sitting by Logan stroking his hair. It wouldn't have been so bad if a dark, scrawny man wouldn't have been looming over Logan and studying him closely. Logan snorted with annoyance and quickly checked the second photo where Emma was cutting something and looking extremely concentrated. The hooked nose wizard was standing by a cauldron stirring whatever was in it.
Looking at the last one made his skin crawl literally. The two had finished brewing and the cauldron was off the table. Emma was smiling widely at Snape who was looking at her with affection, too much affection for Logan's taste. The mutant had always suspected that the wizard had a soft spot for Emma but she stubbornly had refused to see it.
"Where is he now?" Logan grumbled annoyed. The mutant had never had a good feeling about that wizard, ever since he found out that the young witch had been forced to marry him. What kind of a monster married a young woman under the disguise of protecting her?
"Severus left after we administered the antidote. For some reason, he didn't want to wait for you to wake up. I wonder why?" Emma drawled sarcastically and her husband couldn't help grinning playfully at his wife who knew him far too well. Hank laughed as well; he understood the jealousy of his friend. When ferals had marked their mate, they tended to become jealous of other unattached men were around, that was especially true when their mates were pregnant as Emma was.
"How are you feeling?" Emma asked concerned and Logan sighed before closing his eyes for a second as if to evaluate his situation in depth before finally answering, "I feel okay, tired but okay."
"I think your regenerative mutation is finally kicking in. Tomorrow you should be back to your loving self," Hank said sarcastically laughing at Logan's disgusted face.
"Look doc, I'm not gonna wait here until tomorrow. Emma and I said we would leave on Friday and that's today right?"
"We can wait until tomorrow Logan. Severus said you should wait three days…" Emma managed to say before Logan snarled, "I am not waiting three days. We are leaving today."
"Very well," Hank said to calm the mutant that was getting more agitated by the moment, "What about you rest until noon when the farewell lunch will be and then you two can be off on your merry way?"
"Fine," Logan grumbled defeated, and Emma smiled widely at her husband. She had hoped he would feel better quickly, but his regenerative powers had kicked into overdrive after the antidote. Clearly, her husband would be fine in a few hours and then they could be off on their adventure.
Around noon Logan was up and ready when Hank arrived at the infirmary to check how his friend was doing. He shouldn't have worried, the mutant was busy kissing his wife heatedly, clearly not suffering in the slightest.
Hank coughed to get their attention and Emma grinned at their friend when the kiss broke. They had been too caught up in each other to notice that the door of the infirmary had opened.
"Hey bub," Logan greeted him, and the doctor looked amazed at the mutant who looked as if nothing had happened to him. Regenerative powers were clearly a blessing for those bestowed with them.
"I take it you feel better?" Hank asked teasingly and Logan nodded enthusiastically.
"I do and wanna get outta here," Logan rumbled and saw that Hank was about to protest "I've had enough of infirmaries to last me a lifetime."
"Seems your regenerative power has all but fixed you. I would like you to rest today and get some sleep, but I know you two are off after lunch. Even though you feel better it doesn't mean that your body isn't trying to adjust to the turmoil it has undergone lately."
"We are leaving now," Logan answered shortly before leaving the infirmary, there was no way he would have the patience to stay for lunch when he just wanted to leave with Emma. Logan wanted out and Emma seemed to be equally interested in starting the next chapter in their lives.
Hank hugged them both tightly and Emma murmured, "Until next time. Thank you for everything Hank."
"We will meet soon enough," Hank said and smiled, "say goodbye to the others, Ororo will be upset enough that you are not staying for lunch."
"We will," Emma said and followed her husband who had turned on his heel and gone to the elevator; the ride took only a few moments until they were inside the mansion.
The couple went to their room, Logan got dressed while Emma transported all their things to the car by magic. Finally, Emma put on her cloak, put her wand up in her sleeve and grabbed Logan's outstretched hand. They walked through the door for the last time and headed downstairs to say goodbye to their friends. The living room was filled with joyous chatter and Emma smiled fondly as the two of them walked closer.
"I see you are feeling better Logan?" Charles said smiling when Emma and Logan stepped into the living room where the students and faculty were eating together.
"I am. We are leaving," Logan said and Ororo looked shocked at Emma who smiled softly at them all. The day they had been looking forward so long was finally upon them. The witch looked over her friends; all of them had in some way helped the witch to heal after the trauma she had witnessed in the magical world, and they had gained an ally in her.
"Are you sure you don't want to have some lunch?" Ororo said and the couple shook their heads in denial.
"Farewells are bittersweet my friend, we would rather leave now knowing we will all see each other soon," Emma said, and Logan nodded in agreement, he was too restless to sit there when his instincts told him to leave with his mate.
They heard a gasp of shock before Rogue rushed off her chair and rushed towards Logan who embraced the young woman tightly. The young mutant had known for the longest while that Logan and Emma were leaving, but it didn't make it any easier to say goodbye to them.
"Be good kid," Logan murmured, and Rogue nodded hurriedly before pulling Emma into a hug with them. The couple held the young girl for the longest time before the witch said, "we will come to visit, and you can visit us whenever you want."
Rogue nodded in agreement and tried to stifle a sob. Logan squeezed her even harder before finally letting the girl go. The girl was growing up but the mutant hoped she understood just how deeply he cared about her and how he wished she would find happiness in her life.
Emma hugged everyone goodbye, the tears in her eyes blurring her vision. Saying farewell was always difficult, even if she knew that it was only temporary. The witch had made lifelong friends at the mansion and was beyond grateful for having had the chance to get to know them all.
Finally, Emma and Logan were in the pickup and the mutant drove the car slowly away from the mansion while the witch dried the tears off her cheeks. It had been more difficult than she thought to say goodbye to everyone and the witch wondered if the pregnancy hormones were making it even more difficult for her.
"You ok darlin´?" Logan asked warmly, his hand stroking softly over her tearstained cheek.
"With you, I will always be well," the witch said smiling at her husband who smiled like the sun at his pregnant wife.
A little while later Emma asked playfully, "are you ready?"
Logan chuckled, "let's do it."
A loud crack was heard as Emma disapparated them away to their land in Canada. The next chapter of their life had officially begun.
The next morning Emma woke up to birdsong and it took her a few moments to realize where in the world she was. The witch looked around, the sun had just risen and there were trees as far as the eye could see. Peace washed over the witch, Logan and her had spent the night in each other's arms celebrating life and love in the beautiful nature of the land that the feral had chosen for them. Logan had been right, the witch loved everything about their new home and couldn't wait for her husband to build a little log cottage for them to live in. The mutant wanted it made by hand and refused any magical help from the witch as he didn't want any shortcuts when it came to building a home for his mate. Emma had agreed, sometimes silly wand waving wasn't necessary to achieve one's goal in life.
The witch was snuggled into her husband's arms. Logan looked better than he had the day before, not that it was a fair measure since the day before he had been on death's door. Logan was sleeping deeply with a content smile on his face that made her heart flutter with happiness. The witch snuggled into Logan's arms, the mutant unconsciously tightened his hold on her, and the witch sighed contentedly.
At long last, Emma Winter had made peace with her past and felt hopeful for the future.