Chapter 13

What a merry fuckin' Christmas this's been, Logan thought to himself with a mental growl. He'd just returned to the Institute, and he was tired and ornery. The mission the Professor had sent him on had been a total waste of time and effort, and Logan was frustrated by the lack of action – he was itching to rip into someone.

As he wandered up from the sub-basement to the mansion's main floor, he noticed the glow from the television in the common room. Curious, he poked his head around the corner; he quickly registered three things:

1. Jean was lying on the couch.

2. Scott was on top of her, kissing her.

3. Jean's shirt was completely unbuttoned, and Scott's hands were…busy.

Then all he knew was a white hot rage.

****

Jean heard the familiar *snikt* of Logan unsheathing his claws a fraction of a second before Scott did. Her eyes flew open and she heard Logan's growl as he charged into the room. In a flash Scott had rolled off the sofa and Jean had shoved him behind her and towards the wall, holding him there for his own protection. Knowing it was their best chance, she placed herself directly in Logan's path.

"Logan, stop" she said in a warning tone, walking backwards quickly to stay ahead of him. He ignored her.

"For godsake, Logan, stop it!" she repeated as he continued his charge, eyes wild.

"Logan, cut it out!" Jean finally shouted angrily, throwing up a TK shield. Logan ran into it and snarled.

"Logan, listen to me," she said, barely contained fury in her voice. She stood her ground, not moving an inch. "You've got to stop. You're over-reacting."

Logan glanced at her briefly, but quickly shifted his focus back to the young man she was protecting.

"Cover yerself up and get out of the way, Jeannie," he ordered in a low, dangerous voice.

"No! Logan, stop it! This is stupid!"

"Drop the goddamn shield, and get out of the way," he barked, causing Jean to flinch. Logan snarled and moved to shove her out of the way.

"Logan! Enough!" Jean shouted, unable to restrain her rage any longer. She concentrated her powers and used them to throw Logan across the room and into the far wall. He connected with such force that cracks in the plaster radiated out from where he hit.

Logan was momentarily dazed. He shook his head to clear it, then refocused his attention on the two teenagers. Jean stood her ground, staring at him. She clutched her shirt closed with one hand, the other still stretched towards Logan, her TK at the ready. In all his years he couldn't remember facing anyone as angry as the young woman before him now. Scott had taken up a spot at Jean's side, a protective – and calming – hand on her shoulder.

"Jeannie," Logan said in a choked voice, realizing for the first time what he'd been doing. "I…." he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

She stared at him, eyes cold in their fury. He tried to get to his feet, but found himself firmly pushed down again by an invisible hand. "Stay there," she ordered in a tone he'd never before heard her use.

"Christ, Jeannie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"C'mon, Jean, let's go," Scott said gently as he wrapped a protective arm around her and guided her from the room.

Alone in the common room, Logan began to tremble as the reality set in. He couldn't believe what he'd almost done. He'd been this close to hurting Jean, one of the – no, quite probably the most important person in his life. He didn't even want to consider what he'd wanted to do to Scott.

Logan and Jean had had their share of run-ins over the years. Her temper was fierce, and Logan loved to set her off. He knew what buttons to push to really make her angry, and he'd been on the receiving end of her temper more times than he could remember. It had never been anything like this, though. He leaned back against the wall and buried his face in his hands, wondering if she'd ever be able to forgive him.

Upstairs Scott ushered Jean into his bedroom, closing and locking the door behind them. She was shaking, so Scott sat her down on the edge of his bed and wrapped his duvet around her, holding it in place with his arm around her shoulders.

"Are you ok?" he asked gently.

She nodded mutely, not looking at him.

"Are you really?" he asked again, using his free hand to cup her chin and make her meet his eyes.

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Yeah, I'm ok," she told him, but the tremor in her voice gave her away. He hugged her tightly, and just held her for several long minutes. Finally her trembling subsided, and her anger faded.

"Promise me something," he said in a quiet but firm voice. "Don't ever do anything like that again. Don't try to protect me by putting yourself in danger. If anything ever happened to you…Jesus, Jean, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"I knew he wouldn't hurt me," she told him.

"But he almost did, and that's the point," Scott said, trying to keep the anger from his voice. "He was so out of control that he almost hurt you because you were in his way."

"He was only trying to protect me," Jean began, but Scott cut her off.

"Yeah, by disemboweling me!" Scott said, losing the battle against his anger. "Logan has become unpredictable and dangerous, and I'm really starting to question whether he belongs at the Institute."

"Scott, you don't mean that," Jean said, shocked. "I know you and Logan have never been the best of friends, but you've always gotten along. I thought you at least respected him."

"My respect for him disappeared when he stopped respecting me – when he refused to respect us. We're not kids anymore – you're not his little Jeannie, and I'm not the poor blind kid the Professor rescued. He'd better learn to accept that, sooner rather than later."

"But Scott, to him we are still kids – for all we know, he could be old enough to be our great-grand-father. Whether you want to admit it or not, he had an active role in raising us, so it's only natural that he'd have a hard time accepting the fact that we're growing up." Jean sighed and tried to collect her thoughts. After a long moment, she continued.

"From the day I arrived here, Logan's been looking out for me. Yes, it was the Professor who brought me out of my coma, but if it hadn't been for Logan, and to a lesser degree Ororo and Hank, I would have been lost. You remember how insecure I was when you first met me?" At Scott's nod, she continued. "Well, multiply that by about a hundred and you'll get an idea of how messed up I was at the beginning. I hated who I was, I hated what I was…I hated everything about myself." Scott's arms tightened almost painfully around her shoulder, and she rested her head against his chest.

"Logan got me through all that. He helped me to start liking myself, to build up my self-esteem. He and I have almost a father-daughter relationship, only not. Maybe he's more like a really overprotective older brother, or a favorite uncle, I don't know. But the point is, as much as I want to stay angry with him – and I can honestly say I've never been that furious before in my life – I just can't because I know his heart's in the right place."

Scott was silent for a long time, thinking about what she'd said. Jean had a point, but that didn't mean Scott had to like it.

"You need to get some sleep," Scott finally, wanting to end the discussion. He stood to help her up. "I'll walk you to your room."

"Wait," Jean said, reaching out to grasp his hand. "Can I stay here tonight? Please…I just really don't want to be alone right now, ok?"

He nodded and she smiled in relief. Scott found one of his t-shirts for her to wear, and Jean slipped into the ensuite bathroom to change. Scott changed into his flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt and slipped on his sleeping goggles, and waited for her to come back.

Scott was already in bed by the time Jean emerged from the bathroom. She climbed in next to him, her back to his front. He spooned up behind her, holding her tightly.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," he told her, his voice thick with emotion.

And they slept.  

****

Early the next afternoon, Jean went in search of Logan. She found him alone in the common room watching a hockey game, and she smiled in spite of herself, completely unsurprised at his choice of entertainment.

"Hey," she said softly as she stood in the doorway, hands clasped behind her back.

He glanced at her, trying to hide his surprise. He'd been sure she would avoid him like the plague for the next several days, and he was too ashamed to seek her out. Instead he'd made himself easy to find – just in case. "Hey yerself."

"You got a minute?" she asked hesitantly.

Logan sighed, but offered her a smile. "For you, darlin', anytime."

She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and entered the room. Perched on the arm of the sofa, her feet on the seat cushion, Jean regarded him warily. She squirmed uncomfortably, hating that she felt so apprehensive around him. She glanced down at her hands, unable to meet his eyes. "I wanted to talk to you....about me and Scott."

Logan tensed slightly, but only nodded for her to continue.

"I love him," she stated firmly.

Logan was silent for so long she was starting to wonder if he was ever going to respond.

"And he loves me," she finally added.

"Jeannie," he said her name slowly, searching for the next words. "I can't even tell ya how sorry I am 'bout last night. I lost control, I know." He sighed. "It's just that I look at ya and I still see the shy, scared kid ya were when ya first got here. I told ya I'd always look out for ya, and I plan on keepin' that promise."

"But Logan, I'm not that little girl anymore," she told him, sliding off her perch and onto the seat cushion. "I've grown up. You don't have to protect me for the rest of my life. I think I do a pretty good job of taking care of myself."

Logan chuckled at that and nodded, his gaze darting to the damaged wall where Jean had propelled him the night before.

"Besides, if I really need someone, I've got Scott watching out for me."

Logan flinched at her words, and she finally understood.

Logan didn't want to be replaced.

Unlike the other boys she'd gone on dates with, she and Scott had a bond that went beyond teenage hormones. He knew that this relationship was going to be serious, and that Scott would be a permanent part of her life.

She scooted over to where Logan sat and pushed his arm up so that he had no choice but to wrap it around her shoulders. She slipped her arms around his broad chest and hugged him fiercely. "I'll always want you in my life, Logan. I love you, you know that, right?"

She heard his breath catch in his throat. Logan's arm tightened around her, and felt him drop a quick kiss onto the crown of her head. She smiled into his chest.

"Love you too, darlin'," he said softly, bringing tears to her eyes. He was not the type to be open with his emotions, and it meant a lot to her to hear him say those words. She felt honored to know this side of him – the Logan no-one else saw.

The sound of someone clearing his throat got their attention. They looked over to see Scott standing in the doorway, arms crossed. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked dryly.

Jean smiled at him. "Logan and I were just talking."

Scott raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips. "Uh, sure. Anyway, Jean, I was going to run into town to drop off the videos, and maybe pick up some new ones. Do you want to come?"

"Sure," she told him, getting up from the couch after hugging Logan one last time. "Thanks," she said to the older man with a warm smile.

"Anytime, darlin'."

"Let me just go grab my coat," Jean said as she passed Scott, giving his hand a quick squeeze. *Play nice,* she ordered him telepathically.

Scott cautiously crossed the room to pick up the videos from beside the television set. He could feel Logan's eyes tracking him.

"Y'know yer not good enough for her," Logan said bluntly.

Scott didn't acknowledge the remark right away, but he finally nodded. "Nobody's good enough for Jean," he said in agreement.

"And y'know that if ya ever do anything to hurt her, you'll wish ya'd never been born."

"If I ever do anything to hurt her, I'll deserve anything you do to me," Scott stated simply.

Logan was silent, looking at Scott steadily. Finally he said, "Take good care of her."

Scott regarded the other man for a moment. Then he nodded and smiled.

~~

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