Disclaimer: I own them..yep I really really do! Nah, I'm just playing with them, I promise to put them back where I found them. Satisfied Marvel?

A/N: If you haven't guessed who Dena is now.....I probably haven't left very good clues. This takes place 6 months after Dena leaving.

Text in *telepathic thoughts*

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-6 months later-

-Danger Room-

The jungle was sweltering, the heat hanging in the air like a thick fog making the sim even harder as Logan, Scott, Jean, and Jubilee moved through the trees. The game was one that they had played before, a sort of capture the flag free for all where the aim was to take out as many people as possible while still being the last one standing. Kurt, Paige, Sarah and Storm were already out and were watching the remaining four from the control room.

Sarah picked her teeth with a spare bone as she watched the game. "Five dollars says Wolverine wins."

Grinning Kurt shook her hand. "Fine, count me in. Jean's gonna whup all of their asses."

"I can't believe you're betting on this." Storm sniffed delicately, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "Besides Scott won last time, he's going to win again."

Kurt glanced at Paige who was frowning as she watched the game. "You in Paige?"

Waving her hand distractedly, Paige nodded. "Yeah, sure whatever. Five on Jubes."

The other three chuckled at her choice and she looked at them in surprise. "What?"

"It's just that Jubilee has rarely won these games. What makes you think she'll win today?"

Paige pointed to the four left, "Because today she actually wants to win. I think she's angry for some reason."

A huge swatch of forest was incinerated as Jubilee's plasma blast hit it, the power that once came in brightly colored balls and globules, now forming into a sheet of pure power. The occupants in the control room felt the walls under them shake as the explosive mass hit the titanium-lined walls. A few minutes later, Scott and Jean walked into the room, their uniforms charred and torn.

"Yes!" Sarah threw the bone at the floor and peered eagerly at the two left in the Danger Room.

Logan circled Jubilee warily, he had been aware that she was acting differently today and after seeing the way she had taken out Scott and Jean, was feeling slightly uneasy about taking her on. His wife just softly smiled and without changing expression, lashed out with her foot, having it connect painfully with his jaw. Wincing, Logan rolled forward and knocked her into the undergrowth. Getting nothing from their connection, he looked up at the booth and shrugged.

Scott nodded and clicked on the intercom. "And the winner of today's round is Wolverine. Well done. Now go see if Jubilee is all right."

Suddenly, Logan's vision was flooded with blue and he stood stock still as he realized his head was encircled with a bubble of plasma that could go off if he made any sudden moves.

"It's not over just yet." Jubilee smiled, jumping down from a tree branch, her feet landing gently on the charred earth. Her face was bruised and swollen, blood trickling from her mouth and nose, and she was limping slightly on her left leg that had been broken earlier that year. "One move Darlin, and you're dog food. Do you yield?"

"Yeah." Logan managed to grind out through barely moving lips.

"Scott?"

The fearless X-men leader was practically beaming with pride as he held out a thumbs up. "It's all yours Jubilee."

"Thank you." With a flick of her hand, the plasma re-entered her body. Raising an eyebrow at her husband, Jubilee kissed him lightly. "You all right Logan?"

"Just damn proud of ya that's all." Logan grinned and swept her up in a hug, burying his head in her hair smelling the sweet scent. "When did ya learn that trick?"

"I've just been practicing lately. I decided I needed to take it up a notch. I'm going to stay here and run a few laps, how about I meet you later and we can out to dinner?"

"Sounds good. Seven okay?"

Jubilee nodded and once she was sure the room and booth were empty, let her smile fade. "Computer lock doors, close off access to everyone."

Six months...six long months to the day...that her little girl had been away and it seemed like she was the only one that noticed that Dena was gone. "Computer show Dena."

*Specify please.*

"Show her as if she was here, 4 and half years old."

*Unable to process.*

Jubilee flung an angry blast at the wall. "Use the medical files to recreate a sim of Deanna, my daughter."

*Unable to process.*

"Shit!" Jubilee's fists clenched at her sides, and she drew a shuddering breath. "Can you at least run battle sim89?"

For the next hour, Jubilee lost herself in the methodical killing and destroying of the enemy, her body ducking under the rough terrain in order to avoid being hit by bullets. When the sim had finally played out, Jubilee was drenched in sweat, her body heaving with the effort to stand when the scene faded and Paige walked in.

"What...the hell..are you doing here..Hayseed?" Jubilee spat angrily.

"Being a best friend. You know, rumor has it that friends are good to talk to, and open up to. What are you trying to do to yourself?"

Breathing hard Jubilee ran a hand through her wet hair agitatedly. "It's been six months since I've seen my baby. You have no idea how much it hurts inside...it aches and the only time I feel anything less is when I sleep. And Logan..." The young woman shrugged dejectedly. "Logan has been perfect, great, I've never seen him more understanding."

"A little too perfect?" Paige had been watching the couple carefully for the past few months and that fact had bothered her as well. The man once known for his sheer anger and temperament had suddenly become...almost docile.

"I just wish he would say something about it, get angry, I don't know him any more."

"Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"Sure and you know what he says? He's processing."

Paige frowned as she turned to look at Jubilee who nodded.

"Yep, processing. The Wolvie I know doesn't even have the word in his vocabulary let alone a need to do it."

The two women walked out of the room to the showers that were right across from the hall. Due to the insistence of all of the female members of the household, it had been made into a state of the art facility complete with eight showers, three bathtubs, one jacuzzi, a steam room, several lounge chairs, tanning beds, toilets, sinks and a well lighted mirror. (Rumor had it that the men's room contained all of a toilet and a shower with a cockroach colony left over from one of Beast's experiments.)

Raised up off the floor was a marble jacuzzi, big enough to fit six or seven people. Stripping off her workout uniform, Jubilee wrapped a towel around herself and while sneaking a furtive glance over her shoulder, she dumped a few cupfuls of bubble bath to the jacuzzi. A frothy wave of water splashed over the side onto the floor as she sank into the foaming mess of bubbles and hot water. "Mmmmmm."

Rolling her eyes, Paige joined her. "You realize that Storm flips out every time you do this?"

"Why do you think I do it?"

Paige blew a handful of bubbles at the younger girl. "Can I be blunt?"

"Aren't you always?"

"Fine, aren't you a telepath? Aren't you linked to him anyway?"

"............"

"Jubes?"

"After Dena left he pretty much cut off the connection, and when I asked him he was pretty evasive. I didn't want to pry and it just kept on getting worse and worse. We've been married all of what...four years and in that time I've managed to get myself almost killed twice, and have his only child sent away for her lifetime. How am I doing so far?"

Paige peered at her friend intently, her brow furrowed at the intense guilt she was getting from her. The woman's small frame was taut with tension and if something wasn't done soon she would break. Still looking at the young woman, Paige reached out to her husband who was sitting outside on the porch playing cards with Beast and Storm. *Jono?*

*Yes luv?*

*I think it's time someone had a talk with Logan.*

Jono's fervent mental no's made Paige smile. *Chicken?*

*'ell yeah.*

*Fine get Remy to do it, of anyone in the house he should have the most in common with Jubes.*

Getting up out of the warm water, Paige held out a towel to Jubilee. "Come on, I'll help you get ready for tonight."

-in-

Life, Remy pondered, was not the simplest. The last thing he had expected to ever do was talk to Logan about his wife, Remy winced, if he made it through the conversation alive he would be grateful to any and all gods that cared to listen.

"Whaddya want?" The darkening gloom hid Wolverine's hunched figure by the pond.

"I was out for a walk and felt the urge to watch the sunset. Tres jolie non?" Remy nonchalantly leaned against the tree watching the man intently through his glasses.

"Sunset was an hour ago, so what are you doing here?"

"Paige is worried about la petite, and figured that you might know why she's so upset."

Logan shifted slightly to look at the Cajun man. "Jubilee's upset?"

"Oui."

"Why?"

"Her baby is gone, and I think she feels guilty for everything. But you know this already non?"

Wolverine swore and kicked a rock into the water, watching it skip across the surface. "I guess we haven't' been the most open lately. She's just so vulnerable right now, I was afraid that mentioning Dena would make it worse. I wanted to protect her so badly and couldn't even manage to save our daughter."

Remy suppressed a sigh, it didn't look like he was getting a break. "Mebbe petite wants someone to talk about it non? From Remy's experiences the women like this kind of thing."

Wolverine eyed him hopefully. "Ya think?"

"Absolutement, your wife needs you right now."

The moon flickered slightly on the pond as a breeze rippled across, and Logan stood up with a grin whacking Remy across the back. "Thanks Cajun, I owe ya one."

Choking slightly from the force of an adamantium-laced man patting him on the back, Remy shook his head. "C'est rien ami, c'est rein." Watching the ageless man walk off, Remy smiled as he thought about how much the man had changed from  the time he first came to the mansion. Five years earlier Remy would have his throat torn out for the mere suggestion that something was wrong. It was amazing what a hundred pound slip of a girl could do to tame a beast.

-in-

"Ready?" Logan tapped lightly on the bathroom door that his wife had been busy in for the last half-hour.

"Yep." Pushing the door open, she walked out in a simple black dress and sandals, her hair clipped back by simple butterfly pins and a simple silver chain around her neck.

"Ya look gorgeous Darlin." Sweeping her up in an engulfing hug, he kissed her shoulder feeling the temperature rise on her cheeks as she put her arms around him.

"So do you." Stepping back, Jubilee grinned in appreciation at Logan's outfit. He was wearing tight black jeans and a snug shirt with a string tie and some new boots. "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing, just wanted to look special fer my gal, that's all."

Jubilee smiled sadly as a pain flickered across her face for an instant. Deliberately shrugging it off, she forced a grin and took his arm. "Let's go out and have some fun tonight."

-in-

Later that night the two sat over an isolated table in an Italian restaurant in the far side of town, talking over little non-important things. The restaurant was a hole in the wall that they had discovered right after they had gotten married, a perfect little place that served the best lasagna in the city. The two owners had taken an instant liking to the two, and always saved them a special table overlooking the river lights.

Peter, one of the owners, smiled at the two of the them as he poured a red wine for Jubilee and popped open a beer for Logan. "Will you both be having the usual tonight?"

The couple nodded, barely glancing at the older man as they looked into each other's eyes, the look so intense that Peter could only watch them for a moment. Setting down the crusty bread and tomato spread, he returned to the island where his lover was arranging some flowers that would be put at each of the tables.

"How are they tonight?" Alex asked as he sniffed one of the daisies.

"I don't know, caro. They look like they are finding each other for the first time."

Logan brushed Jubilee's cheek with his hand, peering into her eyes. "Tell me what's wrong, how can I make it better."

Jubilee grasped his hand, stilling it from the soothing motion and brought it up to where a tear was beginning to fall. His rough fingers brushed the tear away and she lightly tasted the salty liquid with her tongue. "This, I want to know if you feel this." *And this* Jubilee gently re-established the connection and let him feel her hurt, her anger, her pain that she had felt ever since her daughter had left. *Do you feel this at all?*

"Oh I feel it Darlin, I feel it." Logan whispered, shook by the intensity of her pain. "I'm sorry that I didn't share it with ya, I was afraid of making it hurt worse for ya."

She smiled, the first genuine smile she could remember in months. "It hurts when you don't Logan." Their fingers intertwined as they kissed softly, once more in harmony with each other. *I missed this.*

*Me too. I love you Jubilation Lee Wise.*

*I love you too Logan Wise.*

The soft strains of a violin began to croon an alluring tune reminiscent of medieval England. Alex winked at Peter as he coaxed the melody from the strings, the song a favorite of theirs and one that they had played at their own commitment ceremony. Logan held out his hand and led Jubilee to the middle of the floor where she let him hold her as they swayed to the music. Jubilee buried her head into his shoulder, breathing in the stark scent of cigars, sweat and something that was just pure Logan.

Soon after they had finished their desert, Peter came up to Logan holding out a red box with a large gold ribbon on it. "Monsieur, the package you requested."

"Thanks." Taking the heavy looking box from the old man, Logan held it out to Jubilee with a grin. "Got ya a surprise Darlin."

Grinning, Jubilee lifted the lid to reveal an exuberantly happy puppy that couldn't have been more than a month old. It was a fluffy Husky dog, more of a puffball than anything else and had scampered across the table to lick Jubilee's face lovingly. Her hands went automatically around the dog, cradling it as it continued to nuzzle her face. "You got me a puppy? I…I…" she trailed off, speechless and went over to where her husband was sitting, trying to figure out if he had done the right thing or not. "I love it."

As they walked back to the mansion early that morning, Paige and Jono watched in satisfaction from one of the upper story windows. Jubilee and Logan were hand in hand, laughing with each other as every once in awhile Jubilee would pull Logan down for a kiss. In Jubilee's purse was the sleeping puppy that whimpered occasionally chasing rabbits in its dreams. Paige smiled as the two walked into the mansion and she leaned against Jono as he stroked her hair. "I think those two are going to be okay."

-in-

A week or so later

It was the middle of summer and the day had been unusually warm for the season, heading up into the hundreds causing most of the household to scatter to the cooler spots around the grounds. Logan and Scott were tinkering around with their bikes in the garage, drinking beers and for once getting along. Jean and the older X-women had gone shopping in the air-conditioned haven of the mall, and Paige and Jubilee had opted to sunbathe next to the lake, taking the puppy with them. The rest of the team was draped over the air conditioner in the house or in the pool in the back.

"this is nice." Paige murmured as she sipped a lemonade, the outside of the glass still frosted over from the freezer.

"Very nice."

"How are you and Wolverine getting along?"

A slight blush that had nothing to do with a sunburn crept up Jubilee's cheeks. "Very well. You and Jono?"

"Good."

The puppy panted as it flopped on Jubilee's stomach, curiously licking her stomach as it smelt the coconut based tanning lotion. "Poor baby, you're all hot aren't you? Why don't you go find Daddy? I bet it's cooler in the garage than out here."

Jubilee gave the dog a mental image of Logan and it scampered off across the lawn. Paige giggled and Jubilee looked at her curiously. "Does Logan know that he's Daddy to the puppy?"

She grinned. "I haven't brought it up yet, I think the fact that I decided to call the puppy Caro was enough of a blow to his manhood."

"I think "Beloved" is a great name for a dog. Especially for one that your husband gave you."

"Wolvie was hoping for something a little more king of the woods like Renegade or Wolfbane."

"Romulus?"

"Ringo?"

Both women snorted, giggling as they thought of the cute ball of fluff being named Rin Tin Tin. Suddenly a shadow fell over both of the women, causing them to glance up at the woman standing over them. The woman was about 5'8 and was pale with a black patch over her left eye.

Paige got up and held out her hand. "Hi, you must be Domino. The professor told me that you would be coming out here soon. And this is…" Paige turned to Jubilee who had stood, her eyes transfixed on the woman as her face drained of color. Domino stood motionless as she looked at Jubilee, both locked in each other's eyes and Paige stepped back, unsure of what to do.

Finally Jubilee reached out and touched the younger woman's face whispering, "Deanna?"

-fin-