Marie awoke with a start. Her heart was racing and she felt like she was going to be sick. Groggily she looked at the clock and tried to remember what dream it had been this time. All at once it came crashing back. Logan. This time the nightmare hadn't been about the Statue of Liberty or the lab with the laughing men and champagne. This time it had been much too real. He'd been with another woman. Marie squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her head. She could almost hear him as he made love to that horrible redhead right in the mansion. Suddenly a cold realization flooded over Marie. Slowly, she lowered her hands and opened her eyes. Every ounce of her being wanted it not to be true. But as the noise reached her ears she realized that it hadn't been a dream.
Ever since he had returned Logan had stayed in the room next to Marie. He was the only one who could comfort her after her nightmares, and she his. Now Marie wished she had any room in the mansion that wasn't next to his. The sounds of him with another woman filtered through the mansion walls, feeling like nails into her heart. Steeling herself, Marie got out of bed and slipped into the hall. Walking over to Logan's door, she pressed her hand to the door to steady it and gently eased it open, ever so slightly.
Confirming what she had already suspected she silently closed the door and returned to her room. Too devastated to even cry she fell into a restless sleep, images of the man she loved under the body of a beautiful redhead.
* * *
The next morning Logan woke up, and turned over. Seeing the crumpled bed sheets, his brain tried to tell him something wasn't right. All of a sudden the previous night came crashing down on his mind. The redhead. Logan sat up and looked around. He'd half expected her to still be here, forcing him to come up with a good excuse to kick her out. Instead he found she was gone.
Well there's one thing to be grateful for. Logan thought. He didn't know what had possessed him to bring her back to the mansion in the first place. He'd gone to the bar intending to get as drunk as his healing factor would allow and to play pool. He hadn't even been looking for a woman like he usually did. As his healing factor worked to repair the last vestiges of a hangover, Logan remembered seeing the redhead. She'd waltzed into the bar with a sense of purpose, drawing his drunken gaze away from his precious Canadian Gold. Twenty minutes and more alcohol later, she'd convinced him to take her back to the mansion. Logan winced. Xavier wouldn't be happy if he found out he was bringing women to the X-Men's home. Rolling out of bed Logan got dressed and headed downstairs.
* * *
When Robin dragged herself into the restaurant, she found Marie already at their table hunched under her familiar green cloak. Shaking off her drowsiness, Robin slid into the booth across from her and fixed Marie with her most empathetic look.
"Rogue, are you all right? You look terrible."
Marie lifted her gaze to Robin and Robin almost gasped. Marie's eyes seemed hollow and her look warned of easy provocation. With a disturbingly steady voice, Marie told Robin about the previous evening. Robin listened with feigned sympathy.
"Rogue, you need to forget him. You deserve more than what he can give you, you have to move on."
"And what is it Ah should do, Robin? Go out and get laid?" Marie responded sarcastically. "Logan was the only one who—"
"Dammit Rogue, I don't mean you need to find yourself another man, I mean you need to find yourself a new purpose! You don't need a man to have a life! Forget men, why don't you think about yourself for a change? It seems to me now is the ideal time for you to work on your powers."
Marie stared at Robin. For a moment it seemed as though she was going to argue. Robin could see that a part of Rogue wanted to defend Logan and had been looking for someone to help her convince herself things could still work between them. Then the moment passed and the flicker of light died in Rogue's eyes.
"You're right, Robin."
Robin's look softened and she got up to sit with Rogue on her side of the booth. "Rogue, why don't I come with you? We'll go talk to Xavier together." Marie nodded silently and they stood up to leave. As Marie led the way out of the restaurant, Robin took the opportunity to reach behind her ear to activate the tiny device that hung there.