The Mark

Logan walked towards the infirmary, down the wide hallway. He stopped just before he reached the door. He looked at the bundle of white roses in his hand, and sighed. He looked up at the door, and walked into the room. He saw Elizabeth sitting up slightly, carefully reaching for a cup sitting on the stand on the right side of her bed. "Betts! Let me get that for you!" Logan said, rushing to the cup.

Elizabeth sat back, slowly and carefully, and looked at him, as he handed her the cup. Logan sat in the seat at her bedside. She drank out of the cup, and she looked at the stand that the cup had sat on. Logan grabbed the cup from her hands, and placed it on the top of the oak stand next to her bed. He settled, and looked at her. Her exotic almond shaped brown eyes stared at him. Her long, thick black hair was un-brushed, and fell plainly around her face, reaching to her waist. She lifted her right hand, and curled the thick strands of black hair, behind her ear. She looked up at him, noticing his dark brown eyes looking at her with concern. He ran his hand through his thick black hair, pushing the wisps of hair out of his face as well. He nervously cleared his throat, breaking the silence between them. He handed her the bundle of roses, "These are for you. I didn't know what your favorite flowers were, so I thought these would do." He nervously said.

A smile formed on her lips, as she held the roses to her nose. She smelt their aroma, loving the fresh smell of the velvet like petals brushing against the tip of her nose. She moaned with satisfaction, as she placed the roses on her lap. "Thank you, Logan." She smiled at him.

Logan sheepishly looked at her. His face then sobered, "Remember, this whole thing's not going to make up for the stunt you pulled, Miss Ninja!" He sternly reminded.

Elizabeth smiled more at his comment, "Of course, sir."

She knew he didn't mean that. He had fun that night, and she knew it. She felt that Logan would be a marvelous fighting partner. Someone who could fight alongside of her; nothing would be able to stop them. She then looked at him, with a puzzled look on her face. She had been asking about him for the past two days. He had not come to see her since she had opened her eyes. She finally spoke, "Logan, Dr. McCoy told me what you'd done for me."

Logan looked up at her. He would have come to anyone's aid that lived within these walls. But, with her, there was a soft spot he had in his heart for her. He didn't know what to say; he had hoped she didn't violate a trust, and probe his mind. He cleared his sudden dry throat, "Well, I would have done the same for anyone else. I'm just doin' my job, Betts." He said.

Elizabeth's head tilted upright, as she solemnly looked at him. "Well, thank you," She paused, thinking about why he had not come to see her, "Logan, where have you been for the past two days?" She asked.

Logan looked at her, almost shocked at her question. He didn't know what to tell her. His feelings towards her were brand new to him; he didn't know what it was that he felt towards her. He sighed, not knowing how to answer her. He didn't want to say anything of how he felt towards her; she belonged with someone else. Not him. He finally answered, as she looked at him, her eyes wide with question. "Betts, I felt you needed time to spend with your brother." He lied.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrow with suspicion, "Logan, is there something you would like to tell me?" She asked, her voice becoming thick with emotion.

Logan looked at her, his heart aching as he saw the tears welling in her eyes. He looked away from her, and hesitantly shook his head, "No, Betts."

Elizabeth let the tears fall down the side of her face, "Well, Logan, I want you to know that after this whole ordeal, you will always have a place in my heart." She sighed.

She knew what he felt towards her. She didn't even need to probe his mind; she could tell by the way he acted towards her. His nervousness, his hesitation; they were signs that he had a secret hiding from her. She cleared her mind of the thoughts of possibilities of them becoming a couple. He was a very handsome man; a rugged look she had never really seen before. His large brown eyes looked at her, with concern. She admired how thick his black hair was, the wisps commonly falling around his eyes, reaching to his high cheekbones. He had the muscular build of a warrior; and most importantly, the love of hand to hand combat. "Well, I have some things I gotta work on around the mansion, so I'll check up on you later Betts." Logan abruptly said, standing up.

Elizabeth looked up at him. She picked up the roses off of her lap, and carefully turned towards the stand on her right side. Logan attempted to reach for them, to help her, but she stopped him, "Logan, I can do it. I'll be fine." She coldly said.

Logan held his hands up defensively. "Alright Betts. I'll see you." He sighed.

He walked towards the door, but stopped as he heard Elizabeth speak to him, "Wildflowers and Snapdragons." She said, just as he reached the door.

He turned around, confused. "What?" He asked her.

"My favorite flowers are Wildflowers and Snapdragons. Just for future reference, sir." She coyly smiled at him.

Logan's face eased, and a smile played his lips, as he looked at her. "Get well, Betts." He smiled, before leaving the room.

Elizabeth's smile slowly frowned, as she looked around her. She was alone; a feeling she had come to hate. All the other students were at school. She had a lengthy conversation with her mother a couple of hours earlier, her mother ranting about how worried she'd been. She looked at the clear glass vase sitting on top of the stand, to the left side of her bed. The vase was filled with roses, left by Jean on behalf of the students at the Institute. The roses were beginning to wilt, with a couple of the white petals on the stand, at the foot of the vase. Next to the vase, she saw the flowers that Peter had left. Colorful wildflowers and red Snapdragons stood in the crystal vase. She saw the card on the stand that came with the colorful arrangement. She smiled; remembering the concern on Peter's face, as she first opened her eyes. She had never met anyone with such persistence as he. She smiled, leaning her head back against her pillow, staring at the vase Peter had brought for her. She let out a soft laugh, careful not to initiate the familiar pain in her left side. "Oh, Peter. You never give up, do you?" She said aloud.

She knew he genuinely had feelings for her. She thought of how handsome Peter was; simply irresistible. He had the looks to envy any man that came across his path. His 6'6" muscular frame towered over her petite 5'7" toned frame. He always wore his short hair spiked with gel; but when she awoke; his hair was flat, combed forward on his head. The most unforgettable trait of him, were his eyes; the blue topaz color was embedded into her head. She thought of his charming smile, when he would grin from ear to ear; his lean, defined face creasing around the corners of his mouth, as he smiled. She wanted to be careful, not to be too vulnerable. She was too afraid of getting hurt by anyone.

Elizabeth's thoughts were interrupted, as her head suddenly ached. A dull pain shot through her head, as she placed her hand to her temple. She felt her heart rate rising, and the sides of her head pulsating. She cried out at the pain. She clenched her eyes shut, trying to ignore the pain in her head, but, the pain kept coming. Her hand frantically grabbed onto the call button pad, lying on her side, on the bed. She pressed the button, which lead to Charles' wheelchair com link. She slammed the pad onto her bed, and slammed both of her hands to the side of her head. "Elizabeth?" She heard over the intercom in the infirmary.

Elizabeth tried to speak, but, instead all she could do, was cry out at the pain. She suddenly became frightened, that her stitches would break on her wound. As she jerked her head back towards the pillow behind her, another pain shot through her side. She screamed, throwing her right hand down to her left sided wound. Hank rushed into the infirmary. Hank hurriedly placed the ear pieces of his stethoscope into his ears, and placed the scope itself on her chest. His eyebrows raised with concern. Charles soon entered the infirmary. "Professor, make the pain stop!" Elizabeth screamed.

Logan looked into the infirmary, and stared at Elizabeth, as she had a hand pressed against her temple. Charles closed his eyes, probing her mind. His mind's eye delved into her brain. He saw a vision of Sabertooth ripping at her side, as he clawed into her. The vision flashed immediately to her memory of her father's laboratory explosion. As he looked on, as if he were a third person, he saw Elizabeth running towards the laboratory door. She opened the door, after entering the combination to the lab; and screamed as a blaze of fire rushed towards her. She slammed the door, sobbing. The vision flashed again, to when her body was reformed. He saw the group of ninjas, clad in uniform, standing around two metal slabs. Suddenly, Charles' mind was thrown out of hers, as he felt a force throwing his mind's eye out of hers. Charles eyes shot open, and he stared at Elizabeth. "Charles, she's probably having massive migraines! What could be causing this?" Hank asked him.

Elizabeth placed both of her hands onto her temples, as she grunted continuously at the pain. Her eyes remained shut, and suddenly, before Charles could answer Hank's question, the mansion began to shake violently. Hank held onto the machinery around Elizabeth, to keep them from falling onto her. Charles looked at Elizabeth, as Logan ran towards him, shielding him for safety. Logan glanced at Elizabeth, but took another look at her face, as something caught his eye. She finally passed out, from exhaustion, and immediately, the shaking had stopped. Logan stood up straight, and looked closer at Elizabeth's face. "Chuck, take a look at this." Logan said, standing at Elizabeth's bedside.

Charles moved closer to Elizabeth. Hank hovered over her, and placed his hand under her chin. He gently moved her face towards him by her chin, and examined her. "What is that?" Logan asked.

Charles examined Elizabeth's face. There was a distinctive mark on the left side of her face; a thick red mark. At the top of the mark, there were two separated points, pointing towards the right side of her face. The mark started just below the top of her forehead, and covered down the left side, with a two inch width, over her eye, finally ending with a pointed tip, just next to the left side of the bottom of her nose. Charles and Hank looked up at each other, puzzled by the newly found mark on the injured student.