A/N: Oh, yes... It seems I have forgotten something important. Disclaimer, of course! Not mine, as everyone already knows... :)

Chapter 2 - Secrets of Her Mind



Rogue struggled down the corridor, left arm outstretched, holding onto the wall, half supporting, half guiding herself in the shadows, desperately searching for the door, yearning for the safety and peace of her room. All through the evening people were coming to see her, to look through the glass panes of Med Lab towards her bed and ask Hank about her condition. Rogue pretended to be asleep, an easy, but hateful task, and the only way she knew of warding off inquisitive glances and tiring questions. She heard them all anyways. Even the whispered ones. Darkness still prevailed, yet the silence was broken.

She felt exhausted, distance from the lab to her room, distance which she usually covered in just few minutes, even after the most difficult sessions in the Danger Room, now seemed infinite. It felt like she was walking like this forever, groping in the dark, with only her labored breathing to break the quiet.

A sigh escaped her lips, and suddenly the darkness seemed blacker, heavier, pressing upon her chest with the weight of the mountain. She stumbled backwards, softly crying out, as ground seemed to shift beneath her feet, forcing her down, lower and lower into the abyss...

"Whoa, there, Stripes..." Rogue heard someone's hoarse whisper, as two strong arms locked themselves around her, preventing her from hitting the floor. She looked up, but soft mist seemed to have formed in front of her eyes, and no matter how hard she blinked, it was only getting denser.

Yet, she didn't need to see him to know him. The voice was enough. Rough, deep, but with the slightest trace of gentle worry. Logan. The Wolverine. Squinting at the shadowy silhouette, which just emerged from the mist, she asked, not bothering to hide her resentment, "Why are you following me?"

"The reason is obvious, isn't it?" Logan answered quietly, as he lifted her up, carrying her carefully, but quickly down the corridor, "You shouldn't be sneaking out of the Med Lab in the middle of the night..." He stopped short, then continued in softer voice, "You should rest, Rogue."

Those words made Rogue tremble with anger. Did they think she was going to drop dead if she got out of the bed? Or... were they afraid she was going to go into the possessed state again? Start destroying and killing? Phasing in and out of everyone she ever absorbed, using their power for destruction? That she couldn't control herself?

A grim smile appeared on her lips. That is what they all thought about her anyways. Last night she just proved them right. She couldn't control her powers, she wasn't strong enough, she wasn't worthy... Tears of anger and self-hate slid down her face, but she clenched her teeth, not letting a single sob escape her. It was enough she almost fainted, last thing she needed was for Logan to see her cry. Rogue choked down her tears, swallowed her pain, and said, in apparently unmoved voice, "You can let me down now. Ah'll be fine."

But, he did see her cry. Actually, it was more that he felt her cry. Sharp intake of breath, slight tensing of her slender body and the noiseless sliding of tears down her face. He saw them gleaming in the moonlight, just for a shortest of moments, before they disappeared behind her fingers. Logan despised crying. It was a sign of weakness, of soft will and feeble mind. Yet, this girl had a stubborn, rock-hard will... and her mind? It definitely wasn't feeble, Logan thought, but who knew just what went through that girl's mind? As it proved only recently, no one had any idea, and that almost became their undoing.

Her request passed unnoticed by Logan, as he contemplated the Professor's purpose in asking him to be there for her, he knew of no way to help her, and talking was definitely not his strongest suit. Only when she became restless in his arms did he notice that something was wrong. He looked down at her, but her face was turned forward, peering into the darkness. Logan followed her eyes, and, thanks to his acute vision, immediately saw what Rogue still struggled to perceive. At the end of the hallway, not too far from them, stood Jean and Scott, locked in the embrace, kissing softly.