Thanks for the request, Sandy!
Jean crept to Anna's room and opened the door slightly. She peered inside and watched the girl sleep. Yesterday still felt like a nightmare, and the guilt never left her. She closed the door quietly and returned to bed.
"You spying on her again?" Logan asked her, watching the ceiling.
"It's not spying," Jean said, lying down beside him and watching the same ceiling. "I'm a mom, Logan. Moms don't spy, they look first, recognize the danger, approach it and put a stop it. I read that in a blog."
"I thought you were gonna stop wasting your time on those things," he said with a grumble.
"They make me feel like I'm not a failure," she explained, turning on her side so she could face him while she talked. "Maybe every mom out there is struggling right now. If that's true, then I'm not alone in this."
Logan closed his eyes to sleep. "They make that shit up before they post it, Jean."
"There was a blog post today that caught my attention, it covered past lives and sounded really strange at first. Maybe you were a poet in your last life, or an art tutor," she teased him with a smile.
"Couldn't think of anything worse," he answered with a snort and pulled her into his arms.
Jean smiled and felt as though she could get used to this. "An adult movie star, then. Happy now?"
"Yeah, I could get used to that label," he said with a gruff nod and a teasing wink. He was surprised when she made the first move and kissed him. That surprise hit the ceiling when she straddled him. He looked up at her, his hands resting loosely on her hips. "I could get used to this."
"So could I," she admitted honestly, gazing down at him.
#
A crash woke them up the next morning and Jean patted Logan's hand. "It's okay, I'll deal with it," she said, reaching for one of the dressing gowns the hotel had provided for them.
Logan grunted at her and turned on his side. "You sure?"
She tied the dressing gown belt round her waist and leaned across the bed to kiss him. "I'm sure. I think you really need your sleep; I'm worried I wore you out last night," she said with concern.
He grunted again and his tired eyes closed. Jean had a point; he was already asleep before she reached the door.
Jean stepped outside the room, took one look at the lounge, and frowned. "What happened?"
Anna crawled out from under the dining room table. "Ah was a fish, then a frog, then a mermaid, then a dog, then a swimmer, and now Ah'm Indiana Jones."
"But what happened to the room?" she asked Anna, gesturing to the mess. "It looks like we've hosted a hurricane."
Wandering over to the TV, Anna turned the volume up. "Can Ah use your dressing gown belt?" she asked, reaching for it.
Jean glanced at the TV screen. Indiana Jones had just used his whip to swing across a dangerous drop. Her gaze snapped to the open balcony doors, and she looked at Anna. "You weren't, were you?"
The girl shrugged and pulled at the dressing gown belt. "Ah was still thinkin' about it."
Slapping at Anna's hands, she pulled her dressing gown tight again. She picked up the keys to the balcony door and locked them. "Where did you find these?" she said, jingling the keys at the girl.
"Ah saw Daddy hide them in the plant pot," she answered with a grin.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, go to your room, nine, ten," Jean said, crossing to the kitchenette and levitating the keys on top of the highest cupboard. "Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen. Anna, I told you to go to your room."
"Ah was waitin' to see if ya were serious," Anna said, doing as she was told.
"Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen," Jean continued to count, checking her phone, and searching her favorite parenting blog to see if it covered anything like this. "Damn it!" she said when she didn't find what she needed. Putting her phone on the counter and levitating the keys into her palm again. She unlocked the doors and stepped out onto the balcony. Looking down at the sharp drop to the pool made her queasy. She considered waking Logan, but he deserved to sleep. She had seen him stuff the ear plugs in, anyway. He deserved to sleep.
She walked inside, locked the balcony doors, hid the keys on top of the kitchen cabinet and levitated the hairbrush to rest in her dominant hand. She switched the TV off and pulled the cable out the wall. There would be no more unsupervised TV time for Anna.
"I can't believe she was going to try that," Jean said, feeling sick at the thought. The terror she felt surprised her. She really felt like a mom. "One, two, three, four, five, six," she said, counting until she felt as calm as she could be under the circumstances.
#
Anna opened her door a little and peeked through the crack. She spotted her mama counting and considered it a bad sign. Maybe her mama wasn't a fan of Indiana Jones. It was okay, she was going to promise not to go out on the balcony again. She watched her mama walk over to her door and she quickly jumped on her bed.
"I could see you watching me," Jean told her, sitting down next to Anna, and poking her on the back.
"That's because ya look pretty in that dressing gown," the girl said, hoping that helped as she sat up.
Jean frowned and shook Anna by the shoulders for a second. "What were you thinking?! If you tried to copy the scene in that movie you would have died!"
"That's why Ah decided not to try it," she answered, looking at her mama and the hairbrush.
"Don't lie to me, Anna. I know exactly what you're thinking," she warned the girl, pointing the hairbrush at her.
"Ya don't, ya just moody 'cause ya haven't finished your counting," Anna answered back.
Jean read Anna's mind. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I ruin your morning? Maybe I should have let you jump off the balcony like you planned. And no, you're not eating pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner."
Anna gasped. "How did ya do that?"
"Never you mind," she said, pulling Anna off the bed and gazing at her sternly "I need you to really listen to me, Anna Logan. If you ever do something like this again, or even consider going out on the balcony without me or Logan, I'm going to spank you every night for a week."
She gave a small nod because her mama sounded angry. "Okay, Ah won't. Can we have breakfast?"
"I haven't finished," Jean told her just as sternly. "This isn't a telling-off offense, Anna. You can't put your life in danger like it isn't important and then expect me to tell you off. You could have died."
"But Ah didn't die, Mama. Ah'm standing right here."
"Not for long," Jean warned, tugging the girl's pajama pants down. She guided the girl over her knee and ignored the pleas when the spanking began. She used her hand at first, her palm stinging by the sixth swat. She kept smacking until her arm grew tired.
Anna pleaded for the punishment to stop and kicked her feet until her socks flew off.
Jean picked up the hairbrush to finish the spanking. She landed the last five swats in quick succession and aimed to make a painful point. "Stay. Away. From. The. Balcony."
When she heard the sobbing start, Jean put the hairbrush down and gathered her into a hug. She stroked the crying girl's hair and rocked her gently. This time she didn't apologize. She waited for the apology instead.
"Ah'm sorry, Mama," Anna sniffled, full of tears.
Jean read the girl's thoughts to make sure. "I know, Anna. And I love you too," she said softly and continued to rock her.
#
"Why did we have to leave her there, Logan?" a worried Jean asked again. "This isn't right."
He steered the jeep out the parking lot. "I don't like it either, but they call the shots right now."
"Is this because I spanked her again?" she said, blaming herself. "Did someone from the hotel call child services?"
Logan looked at her for a second and tried to comfort her by resting his hand on her thigh. "What kind of call do you think they would have made if she'd fallen off the balcony?"
Jean's eyes widened in horror. "They did, didn't they? Someone phoned them!"
"Don't blame yourself, you went easy on her," he said with an added growl, patting her thigh. "I would have been tempted to throw her off that goddamn balcony." Jean frowned at him, and he sighed. "I weren't being serious."
"I'm not in the mood, Logan," she said, pushing his hand off her leg. "What if they keep her?"
"Then I'd have to use my claws," he answered with a snarl. "It's lucky we've got ourselves a mission to keep us busy."
"What kind of mission?" Jean said, still frowning at him.
#
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jean asked him for the thousandth time, missing Anna and gazing at the empty landscape.
Logan drove the jeep closer to their original camping location. He nodded to the shack up ahead. It had grown into a beautiful two-storied cottage with perfectly sloped roofs and flowers decorating the window boxes. "It don't look too shabby," he said.
She frowned, confused at first and then suspicious. "That can't be the same shack, Logan. Just admit your orientation skills are a little rusty."
He parked the jeep with the lights still running, got out and stalked toward the house. Jean called after him and when he didn't answer, she left the jeep and followed. He kicked his way through the picket-fenced gate and knocked on the door. "Open up," he ordered.
"You could have said please," Jean scolded him as she levitated the gate from her path.
The door opened and Logan scowled. "I know you," he snarled, grabbing the householder by the throat, and slamming him against the wall.
Jean gasped when she spotted the identity of the man Logan had half-choked. "If you're John Hargreaves, who did we leave Anna with?" John tried to answer but Logan's grip made it difficult for him to form any words. "Logan, stop strangling him."
Logan relented a little and loosened his grip. "You go right ahead and explain what the hell's going on."
A woman with a baby in her arms wandered out onto the doorstep and looked upset. "What are you doing to my husband?"
When Logan saw her, growled and released John. "You've still got some explaining to do," he snarled, shoving him inside the cottage and waiting for the others to follow.
#
"This is where we vacation every year" John explained with Logan still standing with his fists ready. "When we came last week and saw you here it disappointed my children. I'm afraid our eldest took it badly and placed a spell on the girl when she played on the rocks."
"You're to blame for what happened to Rogue?" Jean asked, slightly surprised yet not stunned.
"Not me exactly, but I should never had let the boys play out there unsupervised. They have a habit of finding trouble with their powers. I'm sure you understand," he said, smiling warmly.
Logan failed to crack a smile. "If you're the real John Hargreaves, who the hell did we leave Rogue with?"
"Oh, he's the other John Hargreaves," he replied. "There's no need to worry, he's actually the head of the Bayville Child Services. I'm just John Hargreaves the concerned parent who hoped his son hadn't harmed an innocent girl."
Growling, Logan stalked closer to John. "Why the hell didn't you introduce yourself last week before you launched an investigation against us?"
Holding up his hands, John nodded. "Perhaps I should have thought things through first, but it seemed rational at the time."
"Logan," Jean said softly, "We should be thanking him. He's given Rogue a second chance with a family and two loving parents."
Grumbling to himself, Logan stopped threatening John and took a step back. "Make sure it doesn't happen again," he warned, suddenly having a thought. "How come I couldn't smell you when we were here last week."
"Unless we feel threatened, our scents are undetectable," John replied. "And rest assured, we won't be using our powers to interfere with your family again. I could wake my son up, though, and he can change Rogue back?"
Logan and Jean shared a look. She didn't have to read his thoughts to know they agreed. "We're happy with our daughter, John," she said and sat beside the woman. She smiled as she watched the baby. "She's beautiful," she said. "How old is she?"
The woman looked proud and handed Jean the baby. "Three months," she replied "She's our youngest. Do you like babies, Jean?"
Nodding, Jean rocked the sleeping baby. "I've always liked babies, they're sweet and precious. Look how tiny and calm she is. My daughter's eight and hates to sleep. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to have a daughter this age."
After a while, the woman took her baby back and gave Jean a look of understanding. "There are times when wondering isn't enough," she said, gazing at Jean and whispering incantations only she understood. Confused by the woman's behavior, Jean smiled politely and left the comfortable chair by the fireside.
Logan looked at her. "You ready to leave?"
Jean walked to the door. "It was lovely to see you again," she told John.
"No, it wasn't," Logan grumbled, heading outside.
An embarrassed Jean said her goodbyes and climbed into the jeep. "Every time, Logan. Every time. Why do you always have to be rude when you leave a conversation."
#
John watched the jeep drive away and he glanced at his wife by the fireside. "You didn't, did you?" he asked, hoping he had imagined it.
"She agreed," his wife said in her own defense. "Didn't you hear her, she told me she wanted a baby."
"Elvira, she didn't ask for a baby. If Logan comes back a second time, I think he's going to kill me," he said, worried for his life.
"Even a gruff man like Logan with a heart as dark as his couldn't turn his back on his growing family," she said serenely, rocking their sleeping daughter. "He was happy with the new Rogue. Why do you think he's going to be upset with my spell?"
"Jesus Christ, Elvira," John said as he bolted the doors and windows closed.
Elvira placed their sleeping daughter into a floating crib and reached for her spell book. "You always were a worrier, John. They were perfectly happy to speak to us."
"Because we owed them an explanation after Edward turned that girl into a small child," he explained, highly irritated. "They didn't come here for IVF treatment! Sometimes I understand why mortals are seduced by divorce."
"John," she chided. "You were happy when our children were born, were you not?"
"Of course," he replied, checking on their sleeping daughter.
"It's only right we should thank them for being so understanding," she said. "I liked Jean; she had a kind soul and I think she and Logan make a cute couple. The spell will never take if they aren't destined to be together."
"She's engaged to someone else, Elvira."
"Oh, that's a shame. They would have created a wonderful baby," Elvira said in disappointment.
"You've been reading too many mortal romance novels," her husband complained, shifting back to his normal form and sitting in his armchair.
#
"It don't happen with every conversation," Logan argued with Jean, driving in the direction of Bayville.
"Yes, it does, and that's where Anna gets her rudeness from. It's your fault she's always rude, Logan. You're rude," Jean responded, taking her phone from her purse to answer Scott's text message.
He snorted at her. "That's the first time I've heard about it."
"People are too scared to tell you how rude you are," she snapped at him and paused to let Scott know she should be home later tonight. "Everyone at the mansion thinks you're rude."
"Are you gonna carry this on for the rest of the journey?" a nonplussed Logan asked.
"You're impossible," Jean replied, dropping the argument and her phone when she felt a sharp pain.
Logan glanced at her and scowled. "What's wrong?"
Jean reached down and brushed her hands across an alarmingly rounded stomach. Her eyes widened and she looked at Logan. Panicked, her mind ran a million miles a minute. Her breasts ached, her ankles felt swollen, and she gasped when another pain jolted through her entire body. Unsure how to break the news to Logan, she took the direct approach. "I think I'm in labor."
"That's one way to end an argument," he said, spotting the sign for the freeway.
"I'm not joking, Logan," she whimpered, gritting her teeth when she was rocked with another pain.
#
In the parking lot of Bayville Child Services, Logan stood next to the jeep and watched Jean. He still hadn't spoken since he had loudly cussed when he realized she was in labor. "You okay?" he finally asked her.
Jean gazed down at the newborn baby in her arms. She nodded and failed to find the words to describe how she felt at that moment. Eventually, she answered him. "It's a baby," she said tearfully, looking at him.
He stepped closer to get a better look at the scene in his jeep. "Yeah, it's a baby alright," he agreed, still in shock. "But where did it come from?"
Without breaking her eye contact with the new life in her arms, Jean answered him. "I think it's a gift from John's wife."
"I'm gonna kill him," Logan muttered angrily. "If they didn't want that baby of theirs, why didn't they take her to child services instead of dumping her with us?"
"Logan, I don't think this baby is theirs," Jean replied softly, gazing intently at the baby. "She has your eyes."
"That's impossible," he growled, leaning over to get a better look. He stared at the baby and started to scowl. "She has my eyes." He glanced at Jean. "And your nose."
Sharing a long look with Logan, Jean quickly did the math. "If I had fallen pregnant, I wouldn't give birth until nine months from now," she said in a whisper, not wanting to wake the baby.
"Are you saying you were pregnant with my kid?" Logan growled without lowering his voice.
"I don't know what I'm saying," Jean replied, shaking her head and desperate for an apple martini. "Are you sure she's not Scott's?"
Logan sniffed the baby and looked at Jean. "Yeah, I'm sure she's ours."
#
"Can you hurry this up, I have a family emergency out there in my jeep," Logan complained gruffly, standing at the desk in reception.
The woman behind the Perspex glass ignored him and continued to tap away at the keyboard of her computer.
He grumbled to himself and went to take a seat. Seconds later, he stood up again. He was too tense to take a seat for long. Starting to pace, he chomped on his unlit cigar and waited impatiently. He kept thinking of Jean and the baby.
"Daddy!" Anna yelled, running to him with a giant grin.
She knocked him out of his thoughts and Logan gave her a quick hug. He ruffled her hair. "You had a busy day?"
"Yeah, but they've done nothin' but keep askin' meh dumb questions," she complained and pointed to the approaching man. "Ah told him Mama's dressing gown belt was gonna be mah whip to swing on."
"Go wait by the exit," Logan ordered her and waited for her to run across the waiting room. He watched to see if she stopped by the doors and when he was satisfied she would stay there, he looked at John Hargreaves. "You about ready to drop this case?"
"Ready?" he said, frowning. "I haven't even started. There's something odd about your family Mr Logan, and the Bayville Child Services department will not rest until we discover the truth."
"Is that so?" Logan growled, stepping closer to him. He looked more intimidating under the harsh glare of the state department's blinding lights. "You come for my family, I'll come for you."
"It's unwise to threaten the head of the department in charge of your daughter's case, Mr Logan," he said.
Logan scowled at him and turned to walk away. "That's your one and only warning, Hargreaves."
#
Anna reached the jeep first and had a curious look on her face when she spotted her pale-looking mama. She climbed in the back and scooted forward until she could see what was in Jean's arms. "What's that?" she asked.
A bad-tempered Logan returned to the jeep and got in. "It's a baby," he answered.
"It's definitely a baby," Jean agreed quietly, glancing at Logan, and studying his face. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine," he lied, noticing Jean had already looked away. He started the engine and drove towards the exit. "I think it's best I drop you and the baby off at Xavier's. Hank can check you both over."
Jean gave a slow nod. She was still in shock. How could she explain this to Scott? Had she really given birth to Logan's baby? Would Scott find out she had slept with Logan multiple times? Would he end the relationship now she shared two children with another man?
Not bothered by the sudden introduction of a baby, Anna leaned forward again. "Can we get fried chicken?"
"Put your goddamn seatbelt on!" Logan roared, scowling over his shoulder at her.
#
"Ah wanted to hold the baby," Anna complained, climbing up front and sitting in her mama's chair.
Logan handed her the bucket of fried chicken. "You can hold that instead," he muttered, still worrying over Jean.
They had dropped Jean off at the mansion, and she had asked Logan not to come inside. Backing off, he had let her call the shots and told her he was taking Anna back to the hotel. If she needed space, he would give it to her. He drove back onto the freeway and heaved a heavy sigh.
Anna held the bucket of fried chicken tightly in her arms. "Where do babies come from?"
Logan thought about it for a second or two. "I don't know where that baby came from, Stripes. Jean was sitting right where you are, and she told me she was in labor. Then there was this flash of light, it felt like the goddamn jeep was flying, then it landed roughly back on the tarmac, and we bumped about a bit, and when I looked at her again, she was holding a baby."
"Ah'm eight, not four, Daddy," Anna huffed. "Ah'm not gonna believe a dumb story like that."
Logan grumbled to himself. Even when he told the truth he was the bad guy.
#
Jean stared at the opposite wall while Hank finished his tests. She was still in shock and couldn't believe what had happened to her in Logan's jeep. How could she be this irresponsible? She couldn't be a mom; she could barely keep herself in check. No wonder Anna always ran riot and caused trouble; she was a terrible role model. She couldn't be a mom.
"You're both healthy," Hank reassured her.
"Good," she said, gazing at him. "Is Scott back yet?"
He carried the baby across to the incubator and laid her down gently. "I'll check for you in a moment. She needs her temperature raised slightly but she's a healthy baby, Jean. Congratulations."
"Thanks," Jean replied without a smile. "I really need to talk to Scott."
A concerned Scott rushed into the room. "Are you okay?" he asked Jean. "When I heard the news, I drove as fast as I could. I even saw Logan's jeep stopping at the Fried Chicken Shack. I didn't have time to stop and thank him for helping you. How did this happen, Jean? You weren't even showing when you left."
"I'll leave you two alone," Hank told them.
Jean waited until he had left and glanced at Scott again. She watched him smiling down at the baby. Sighing, she worked up the courage to tell him the truth. "Scott, I'm a bad mom."
"Don't be silly," he told her. "She's beautiful. Look at her, Jean. Our daughter's beautiful."
"I'm not just a bad mom, I'm a bad fiancée and a bad person," she replied.
"You're still being silly. Rogue isn't your problem right now, we have a daughter to take care of," he pointed out. "Let Logan worry about Rogue so we can focus on our family."
Jean watched him cradle the baby. She tried to fight against the feeling of shame, and almost forced herself to continue the lie, but she couldn't stand it. She levitated the baby from his arms and placed her back in the incubator. "She needs to stay in there," she said firmly.
"What's gotten into you?" Scott asked her, walking over to her bedside.
"I don't like the way you talk about Anna," Jean told him, annoyed. "Rogue doesn't exist anymore, she's just Anna. She's eight-year-old Anna who believes me and Logan are her parents."
"You're going to have to tell her truth one day," Scott said, sitting on the side of her bed and holding her hand. "You can't keep secrets in this school, everyone gossips, Jean. Everybody gossiped when we first started dating. Remember when we wanted to keep it a secret?"
"I can't do this, Scott," she said, getting out the bed and walking towards the incubator.
He looked confused and stood up. "Don't you need rest?"
She stood by the incubator, glanced at the sleeping baby, then turned to face Scott. She exhaled sharply to calm her nerves. "I need to tell you the truth."