A/N: I've been meaning to write this story for... years? Pretty much any time I rewatch the original X-Men trilogy of films, I consider it, and then, I just don't write it. Well, now it's happening, and after all this, I'm probably the only one who cares, but I figured I may as well share, just in case ;) It's only going to be a short story, say, five chapters, but I think it'll be worth it in the end :)

(Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Marvel, Fox, Stan Lee, and other folks who aren't me.)

Chapter 1

She wasn't exactly sure that she was supposed to be there. As far as Rogue could tell, there were a lot of parts of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters that were strictly off-limits to students. Of course, she didn't really count herself as just another member of the alumnus. Maybe she should, but she didn't.

After all, she wasn't brought to the school by her parents and she didn't show up there on her own accord. It was a real strange set of circumstances that landed her at the school, and a large part of the journey had started with the man she had crept down to the medical bay to see.

Add to that the fact that her very particular powers had caused her to be kidnapped by Magneto and ultimately saved by the so-called X-Men, and no, Rogue really couldn't put herself into the same category as all the regular students of the school. Not that any of them were regular, she supposed, but there were none quite like her among their number.

She was different. Rogue had always known she was, in some way or other, though it had taken a while for the truth of her 'gift' to really reveal itself. When it finally had, she wasn't really sure what to do, except run and keep on running. Her family didn't understand, she couldn't expect them to, and then she met a man who understood exactly.

It was as awful as she expected to see that same man lying on a metal table as he was now, bandages everywhere, and all wired up to machines. To know she was the reason why he was suffering made it that much harder to bear, but Rogue was determined, she had to face up to this, even if it was tough.

Twice now she had been the root cause of Logan's injuries. The first time, he hadn't been in the medical bay long enough for her to come visit, and anyway, she had chosen to run again instead of stick around and be blamed and punished for what she did.

Sure, technically, Logan had started it. Rogue shuddered at the memory of being run through by the metal talons that shot out from his hand when she had startled him for what had to be a nightmare. It had been a kind of shock and pain that she had never known before, it completely took her over. She had reached out to Logan as much for balance as anything else, maybe also through some kind of instinct to keep herself alive.

Of course, it worked. Her unique power wicked away a little of Logan's own. His ability to heal passed over and sealed up the wounds in Rogue's chest and back as if they were never there. Unfortunately, it was hard for her to stop once the process started, sapping Logan's life force until he collapsed unconscious to the ground.

Thankfully, he had recovered much more easily than the first boy she had done that to. That poor sucker had been in a coma for three weeks, but he was just an ordinary guy. There was no way that Rogue could say the same about the man they called The Wolverine.

"Hello, Logan," she said softly, stepping up close to the bed at last.

With her gloves firmly on, she was safe to touch him, though looking at him lying there, stripped to the waist, and covered in bloody bandages, she almost didn't dare. When Rogue actually thought about it and reached out one hand, she realised she was shaking. Taking a deep breath, she tried to be calm, let her gloved hand come to rest gently on his arm.

"I just... I wanted you to know I'm so grateful for what you did for me," she told him softly. "I'm sorry that you're sufferin' so much for it, but you'll be just fine, right?"

It wasn't as if she expected him to answer or anything, but she just felt like she had to say it. Maybe he could hear her. Sometimes, unconscious people could, at least that was what she thought she heard or maybe read somewhere. She really hoped Logan knew she was there for him. After all, it was the only place she ever wanted to be.

Still, Rogue could hardly keep from wincing on realising Logan barely seemed to be breathing at all. Without the oxygen tube and such, maybe he wouldn't be. What if she took too much of his powers this time? What if he was too badly hurt? He could've just been sleeping, eyes closed, body still, but Rogue knew better. She almost killed him, twice now, and though neither time had been deliberate, she felt sick to her stomach just from thinking about it. To think that none of this would ever have happened to him if he never met her.

"It's all my fault," she said, a shake in her voice that she couldn't seem to control. "If I never climbed in the back of your truck and..." she stopped when the emotion thick in her throat made her voice crack.

Swallowing hard, she swiped at her eyes with her free hand and tried to be as strong as he always was. She had to try harder, for his sake, as well as her own.

"Logan... please be okay," she urged him, her gloved hand moving towards his face then, but not quite making contact before someone else spoke from behind her.

"Try not to worry too much," said Jean, smiling kindly when Rogue turned to look at her. "He's doing better already," she insisted, "and I promise I'm going to take good care of him."

Rogue was pretty sure Jean's smile was real, that her kind touch was genuine and her promises could be trusted. Unfortunately, none of it really made Rogue feel any better. She had seen how Logan and Jean looked at each other, saw how the pretty doctor was looking at him even now as he slept on. Those were feelings she well understood herself, though she wished she didn't in that moment.

"I should probably go," she said, looking to the door. "Probably not supposed to be down here in the first place, right?"

"Not exactly," Jean considered, "but these are exceptional circumstances, so I won't tell," she said definitely, with another of those winning smiles that Rogue wanted to hate but couldn't quite manage to.

With one last glance at Logan, she then headed for the door, without looking back again. She just couldn't bear to. It hurt too much.

It was dark, too dark. Logan thought there was no kind of blackness that he hadn't already been through or couldn't bear to endure, but suddenly he needed to get out of whatever this dark abyss was. He had to run towards the light, fight to get his eyes open, because someone was waiting for him, someone important.

"Marie."

He hardly realised he said her name aloud as his eyes opened wide to the too bright lights of the room. His brain processed the situation all too quickly. The medical bay, Xavier's school, the X-Men. The Statue of Liberty and Rogue.

"It's alright, Logan," said a voice, but he knew immediately it wasn't her.

"Jean?" he checked, focusing his eyes at last.

"That's right. How are you feeling?" she checked, even as she looked past him at a beeping machine, then pulled out a pen light and shone it in his left eye, followed by his right.

"Like I got cut up and thrown around a lot," he said sharply, immediately regretting his tone when he noticed Jean flinch. "Sorry. I'm just fine," he assured her, taking the opportunity of her not being in his personal space to move and sit himself up on the edge of the table, removing wires and tubes as he went.

He did feel fine, more or less. No more wounds, not even an ache in his muscles. His head was a little fuzzy, but after everything, Logan had to suppose that was normal. His mind wound back over the events on Liberty Island, the anger and the pain, sheer panic and heartbreak when he really thought Marie was lost forever. It had been agony when she came back, healed herself by taking the ability from him, but he couldn't blame her. Hell, when he had the choice, he proved he would gladly give up any amount of strength or power to save her.

"You had a visitor while you were out," Jean said then, tidying up around him. "Rogue was very worried about you."

"She okay?" Logan asked, noting the way his head suddenly ached more, and just knowing he was frowning.

It was strange, but there was more than just memories of the night on the statue when it came to Marie. Maybe he had been dreaming about her. Maybe it was like Jean said, she had come visiting and, somehow, he knew, but it was all too fuzzy to be sure.

"Physically, Rogue is just fine," said Jean, nodding her head, "but like I said, she was very worried about you. She'll probably feel better when she sees you're okay... much like the rest of us," she added with a smile.

Logan smiled back. He liked Jean a lot. She was a very attractive woman, and the fact his liking her put Cyclops' back up was no bad thing. Still, he didn't have much in the way of focus right now and what he did have was elsewhere for a while.

It was tough not to worry about Marie, to picture her up on that platform, so frail in his arms, apparently done for the world. He had tried to save her, lost hope that he could. In that moment, something had given way in the heart that The Wolverine would've sworn he didn't have anymore.

"Logan?" Jean's hand on his arm actually startled him from deep thought, but he barely looked at her, just pulled away and got to his feet.

He staggered a little, his head still gyroscoping some when he moved that fast. It wasn't the first time and wouldn't be the last, he was sure. Head stuff took longer than cuts and bruises, but he was built to be resilient. A couple of days, maybe less, he would be fully healed and then, well, then maybe it was best if he just got the hell out of Dodge, before he started down some stupid road that he really ought to keep away from.

"I don't want you to go."

She didn't really think that would be enough to make him stay. She would like to believe it was, but deep down, Rogue knew better. Logan had been a lone wolf too long to suddenly want to stick around for any other person's sake, even when that person was her.

He had talked to the professor the morning after he got out of the medical bay. Rogue heard tell he was headed to some place called Alkali Lake, in search of answers to questions he had held on to for too long. It wasn't that Rogue didn't want him to find what he was looking for, it was only that, selfishly, she wanted to be a part of some kind of new future he might decide to build when the past was finally laid to rest.

"It's not like I'm trying to leave you behind," he told her gruffly, "I just have to go, for a while," he said, reaching out with one finger to move the white streak in her hair out of her face.

"I kinda like it," she admitted with a smile.

His expression suggested maybe he liked it too, which made it all the better, in Rogue's opinion. Sure, she knew there was an age gap here, but she was old enough. At least, she thought so. Besides, just getting to be wherever Logan was, no particular strings attached, it would do for now.

"You know, if you have to go, you could take me with you."

"No," he said sharply.

Rogue felt herself recoil, though she hadn't meant to flinch so badly. The problem was, it really hurt, in a way that metal claws through the chest never could. Rejection always stung so bad.

"Look, kid, it's nothing personal." Logan sighed. "Or it is, but not how you think. Where I'm going, what I'm looking for... it's probably going to lead to nothing good," he explained. "I'm not gonna put you in harm's way. You already went through enough."

For Rogue, it was maybe the sweetest, most romantic thing he could've said, to. She was pretty sure she was wearing the dumbest smile on her face in that moment, but she couldn't mind at all.

He cared. Of course, she already knew that. He saved her life, that had to mean something, and yet, it was his words and the look on his face in this particular conversation that really proved it to her somehow.

"So, you'll come back, right?" she asked then. "After you find whatever you're lookin' for?"

There was a little hesitation in his eyes, she thought, something real uncertain. Then his hand went to his neck and he unfastened the chain that hung there. Reaching out to her, he placed his dog tags, chain and all, into her gloved hand and closed her fingers over them.

"I'll be back for those," he promised her with a smile.

Rogue nodded her head in understanding, sure she was blushing even as he let go of her hand and tipped her a wink before turning to the door and walking out. Sure, it was tough to know he was going, and might be gone a good long while, but here in her hand she had proof he would be back. Young as she was, Rogue was pretty sure she understood the true meaning of Logan's words. What he was really coming back for was her.

To Be Continued...