DISCLAIMER: X-MEN AND ALL RELATED CHARACTERS ARE PROPERTY OF MARVEL.

The wind was cool as it rustled through the trees around the small farmhouse. There weren't many areas like this in New York. The expanse of green grass and brown fields stretched out around the tall silos of the farm. It was quiet and peaceful. Perfect for a man trying to rebuild his life . . . among other things.

Deep in the basement of the farmhouse, Dr. Kroker was stone-faced as he worked to repair the large robotic arm on the table in front of him. The rest of its three-story body was tucked safely away in the silo, waiting to be refitted with its new arm. It was only a prototype, but for now it was all he could afford. Every little bit counted.

It had been a miracle that Kroker had been able to retrieve the arm at all, after it had been left at the Mutant Registration Center. Luckily, the guards had scattered after the attack by the X-Men and they still hadn't regrouped by the next day when Kroker's men returned for the part. Dr. Kroker sighed. That night had been more trouble than he'd anticipated.

His only goal in the first place was to give his Sentinel a practice run. It was a simple information gathering procedure aimed at retrieving files from the Mutant Registration Center's storage facility. Kroker had hoped to find files on the two mutants he blamed for his ruin. The two mutants who had been caught on tape breaking into his laboratories the night before the disaster that had ended his career. The woman with the white streak in her hair and the man with the metal claws. Kroker gritted his teeth. Rogue and Wolverine.

Even though the files had been destroyed before Kroker could get to them, it was irrelevant. His prototype Sentinel's memory disc was unharmed and he had clear footage of the X-Men who had attacked. Among them had been his two enemies. Now he had their names and he was ready to track them down.

Kroker's mouth stretched into an angry line as his mind replayed his downfall. After his precious laboratory subjects had been released, Pharm-Tech had been exposed for its experiments performed on mutants. By all rights, he knew the government should have overlooked it, most people hated mutants and certainly wouldn't care if they were used in Kroker's research. Unfortunately, the timing had been terrible. With Professor Xavier there, the lead voice in the fight for mutant rights, the press had gone wild. There was no way the government could ignore it. And so they had shut him down.

An electric blue light cast an eerie glow on Kroker's face as he worked silently to rebuild his Sentinel. Rogue and Wolverine had cleverly managed to avoid being taped by most of the laboratory's security cameras, but they had obviously not know about the mini-spy cam in the corner of the hall. He knew from that one hidden security camera that the mutants know as Rogue and Wolverine were responsible for everything. It had taken him weeks to discover their names to put with their faces, but he still had a few connections to call upon. He grunted as another wire was repaired. They would pay for what they had cost him. They would both pay.

Kroker's thoughts were abruptly cut off as the phone rang, jarring him out of his mental rambling. Putting his tools down, he walked over to the phone and raised the receiver to his ear.

"Yes?"

"I hear you want to talk to LeBeau."

Kroker froze momentarily. The voice on the other end of the line was undeniably Cajun, the accent as thick as gumbo. Finally, he thought.

"Is this Remy LeBeau?" he asked steadily.

There was a moment's silence on the other end.

"I hear you want to talk to LeBeau," it repeated.

Kroker rolled his eyes. He had dealt with people from the other side of the law before, but he never ceased to be irritated at their sometimes overdone secrecy.

"Yes," he said finally.

"Why?" the voice asked.

"It seems that certain funds, which I feel should be available to me, are in the wrong account," Kroker said in a light voice. "I would switch them myself, but I seem to have locked my computer in someone else's house. This particular account can only be reached from that particular computer."

The other end of the line seemed to consider this for a minute.

"And what would my motivation be for helping you out wit your . . . situation?" the voice asked casually.

"Five hundred thousand dollars," Kroker responded.

The voice snorted.

"Five hundred thousand don' exactly send LeBeau runnin'."

Kroker smiled. He had expected that response.

"Yes, but I suspect the satisfaction will more than make up for the difference."

"Satisfaction?" The voice sounded amused.

"Why yes," Kroker said, feigning surprise. "I would think Mr. LeBeau would be most satisfied to help me in my endeavors against . . . Wolverine." There was a hiss of breath on the other end of the line and Kroker continued. "I seem to recall an incident in London years ago involving a string of murders. One of the victims was a young lady by the name of—"

"Alexandra Davies," whispered the voice.

Kroker's smile widened. He had him now.

"I will be home all day tomorrow," he said. "I trust you will be able to find me."

There was no answer. Just a click and then silence. Dr. Kroker hung up the phone. Whistling he went back to his work to wait.

* * *

"Ah can't believe you let me sleep so late! Ah told the Professor Ah would be in his office by ten o' clock!"

Wolverine grinned as he watched a frantic Rogue run around his room. She was desperately searching for a clean outfit amongst the piles on his floor and every time she bent down he caught a glimpse of her breasts under the flannel. He propped his head up on his elbow as he relaxed in the bed. This was heaven.

It had been weeks since Rogue started counseling with Xavier and it seemed like she got a little better every day, smiling a little more and crying a little less. Her nightmares were few and far between and Sabretooth had only taken over once since the first time. And even that hadn't been so bad.

Wolverine furrowed his eyebrows in thought. That had been an interesting night, waking up to find a feral Rogue straddling his waist, one hand raised up as if to strike him. He'd had to wrestle her down and hold her there until Jean and Cyclops came rushing into the room. Jean had hit Rogue with a blow to her mind and suddenly Sabretooth was gone and Rogue was back in control. Jean and Cyclops had left then, Jean with what Wolverine could only describe as a horny look in his direction as she tried to pretend she didn't notice his state of undress. He shook his head. Not to long ago, he may have taken advantage of her obvious desire for him.

Not now though. Now, for the first time in his life he found himself content with one woman. Content to lie in bed beside Rogue, in a pair of sweatpants and her in underwear and one of his flannels. She said it made her sleep better to be surrounded by him. He liked it.

Even though they hadn't had sex yet, Wolverine felt he'd been more intimate with Rogue in the past few weeks than he'd ever been with any other woman in his life. Well, at least the fifteen years he could remember. Still, as he watched her grasping at shirts and pants with the sunlight streaming through the window and lighting her white streaks, he couldn't imagine being any closer to a woman than he was with Rogue.

On a whim, he eased his body up off the bed and slid his jogging pant clad legs over the side. He watched carefully as Rogue lost herself in concentration digging through a particularly large pile of clothes. He slowly rose out of the bed and kneeled on the carpet. Keeping low to the floor, he sneaked up behind the unsuspecting Rogue.

At the last second Rogue's nose twitched and her head shot up as she started to turn, but it was too late. Wolverine tackled her, knocking her on to her back. Rogue grunted as she hit the floor. Wolverine caught himself with an arm on either side of her, to avoid crushing her and grinned down at her.

"Gotcha."

Rogue a deep breath and glared up at him.

"Ah'm gonna hurt you," she said in a low voice.

Wolverine couldn't stop grinning.

"Sounds fun to me," he teased.

Rogue's eyes narrowed. He was way too cocky for his own good. Reaching up quickly she grasped his broad shoulders and pulled him down to her. Heat raced through her as his half naked body pressed down on hers. Wolverine made a small sound of surprise as she lifted her face to his, then a groan of pleasure as her mouth opened below his and he slid his tongue in to take advantage of the invitation. His adrenaline burned through his system as he plundered her mouth.

Rogue's breathing grew heavy as her hands slid up making fists in his hair and she held his mouth to hers. He was demanding and she responded to his kiss with a fire of her own, matching him in intensity. She arched her body up seductively and moaned, knowing it would drive him crazy. She was right and Wolverine growled deep in his throat as he shifted his weight to one arm, freeing his other to roam roughly up and down her side. As his fingers brushed against the hem of the flannel, Rogue inhaled sharply. Tantalizingly, his hand moved over her flesh without straying under the shirt, a few inches of which lie between his hot caress and the wisp of panties she wore underneath. A part of her wanted to tell him not to stop, to slide his hand underneath her clothing. She wanted to feel his touch everywhere, unrestrained by clothing of any kind. Still, she had an appointment, and he had to pay for scaring her.

Suddenly, Wolverine ground his hips down on hers and Rogue could feel his erection hard against her thigh. She cried out softly into his mouth as an answering fire spread between her legs. Wolverine sensed her reaction and broke the kiss. Raising his head slightly to look down at her, he met her eyes. There was a dark passion reflected deep in his gaze as he seemed to be struggling with his own desire.

"Rogue," he said hoarsely. His hand rose up her side, maddeningly close to her breast. Rogue involuntarily squirmed to the side, trying to force his hand closer to where she desperately wanted it to be. Wolverine noticed and felt himself harden further. "Shit," he swore. "Darlin' you don't know what you're doin' to me."

Rogue didn't answer. Instead she jerked his mouth back down to hers and took one of her hands out of his hair. Reaching down, she put his hand on her breast. Wolverine groaned loudly into the kiss and squeezed her breast in his hand. His thumb rubbed harshly over her nipple through the flannel before moving downwards. Rogue made a sound of disappointment as his hand left her breast, but soon turned to a moan of pleasure when his hand slid under the flannel.

The feel of his callused hand on her sensitive flesh made her ache with the need to get closer. Her hands slid over the broad expanse of his bare chest, the hair on his chest surprising soft under her touch. Then her hands slid over his shoulders to his back. Wolverine broke the kiss, dragging his mouth across her cheek to her neck. Rogue gasped as his mouth sucked at the sensitive skin. Her nails dug into his back and the slight pain seemed to excite Wolverine further. His chest rumbled in a deep growl as he trailed his mouth down Rogue's neck, drawing his tongue over the slight outline of her collarbone. Rogue moved her hands up to clutch his hair again, holding his head to her. She was vaguely aware of breathless words of encouragement streaming from her mouth as his hands slid lower, brushing her stomach. Waves of sensation rolled over her and her eyes were closed.

Suddenly, Rogue went still. Her sensitive hearing could make out a crowd of voices heading towards them. It sounded like a group of students.

"Wolverine," she said breathlessly.

Wolverine raised his mouth just enough to speak around her skin.

"Just kids." Then his mouth was back and Rogue had to take a deep breath before she could push him back. Wolverine looked up at her expectantly.

"Wolvie, they're comin' this way."

Wolverine was about to tell her, in no uncertain terms, that he didn't give a good goddamn whether they were coming this way, but then he stopped. Despite all the making out he and Rogue had done in their time here he'd never gone farther than touching her above her clothes. They'd already past that today, and he worried now that there might be a reason Rogue was concerned with the inconsequential arrival of people outside their room. It was possible she and Xavier hadn't reached a point in the therapy where Rogue could enjoy too much physical intimacy without flashing back to what Sabretooth had done to her. He cursed himself for being so insensitive. If there was one thing he didn't want to do, it was make Rogue relapse by pushing her too far, too fast. And here he was doing all of this when she was supposed to be in a therapy session.

Determinedly he calmed his raging hormones. Forcing himself to nod, he pulled away, feeling Rogue's body arch back towards him as he slid his hand out from under her shirt. She wanted him, he was sure of it.

Rogue tried to ignore the voice in her head that cried out as Wolverine took his hand away and sat up. Stifling her disappointment, she took a calming breath and stood up. Grabbing an outfit from the floor, she went into the bathroom to get dressed.

When she came out Wolverine was waiting for the shower. She smiled slightly and left. For the first time since she'd met him, Rogue felt uncomfortable. Part of her wanted to pick up where they'd left off, but part of her was afraid of that very thought.

Her head was still spinning with this line of conflicting thoughts when she opened the door to Xavier's office. She could still feel Wolverine's heated caresses and the thought of what might have happened if those kids hadn't come upstairs made her knees weak. If only she hadn't felt that slight touch of fear that seemed to chill her to the bone, that nervousness that had made her push him away.

Rogue tried to steady herself as she sat down and smiled apologetically at the Professor. He smiled back as he listened to whomever was on the telephone and signaled that he would only be a minute longer. Rogue nodded that she understood and sat quietly to wait. In her mind, she tried to put her finger on what is was that had frightened her in what should have been the safe circle of Wolverine's arms.

Xavier interrupted her thoughts as he said goodbye and hung up the phone. He turned to Rogue with his usual pleasant smile. Suddenly, Rogue wondered if she'd been projecting her thoughts loud enough for Xavier to pick up on them. She blushed at the possibility, then cursed herself as she realized blushing wasn't helping matters.

Xavier seemed to notice she was flustered and was kind enough to pretend he didn't notice.

"Rogue, I'm glad you made it. I'm sorry I was on the phone when you arrived, I had some business to discuss with a government friend of mine."

"That's all right, Professor. It's mah fault for being so late anyway," Rogue assured him.

Xavier smiled. "Is there anything specific you would like to discuss today?"

Rogue forced herself not to blush again. "Not really."

"Well," Xavier said thoughtfully. "We've already spent time discussing your powers, and you seem to have dealt very well with Sabretooth's presence in your mind." He looked at her for confirmation and Rogue nodded. She had finally managed to face Sabretooth in her mind, trapping him herself instead of allowing Wolverine to do it. It hadn't been easy, and she and Professor Xavier had talked about it for hours before and after, but she'd done it and it had been one of the greatest senses of accomplishment and empowerment she'd ever experienced. Now Xavier was visibly composing himself and Rogue held her breath. She'd been seeing him for therapy long enough to know that that look meant he was about to raise a sensitive topic.

"Rogue," he began carefully. "It is not unusual for victims of rape to have difficulties when it comes to sexual or romantic relationships." Rogue flinched slightly when he said the word rape. It was such an ugly word. Xavier continued. "Now, I do not presume to know anything about the relationship between you and Wolverine. However, I want you to be aware that it is possible you may experience feelings of discomfort or even fear in sexual situations and it is important that you realize that these feelings are not your fault."

Rogue looked down at the floor. It was as though the Professor was reading her mind. She narrowed her eyes and looked up at him suspiciously.

"It does not take a telepath to see that you and Wolverine have been growing closer, Rogue," the Professor said wryly. "Issues are bound to arise."

Rogue nodded finally. "Ah know, Professor." She sighed. "Professor, Ah want you to know that Ah respect you and Ah'm very grateful for all the help you've given me since Ah've been here. Ah'm just not comfortable talking to you about mah sex life."

Xavier smiled in understanding. "And I want you to know that that is perfectly all right. Still, I think it would behoove you to talk this through with someone, whomever you feel comfortable with. If you would like, I'm sure Storm or Jean would be more than willing."

Rogue shook her head, her eyes staring off into space.

"That's all right, Professor." She took a deep breath. "Ah think a know someone."

* * *

Wolverine roared as he launched himself at Sabretooth, deadly claws slicing through the other man's torso. Sabretooth snarled in pain, but didn't fall. Instead, he brought one of his massive hand down towards Wolverine. He dodged the blow and pulled his claws out of their sheath in Sabretooth's chest. Wolverine's eyes were wild with the light of battle, his teeth gritted in determination. There was nothing human in his fury as he doubled his attack. In a blur of motion, Wolverine struck out again and again, finally severing the head off of his hulking opponent. As Sabretooth's head hit the floor, the program ended and the hologram faded away. Wolverine breathed heavy as he stared at the robot that had looked like Sabretooth seconds before. For several minutes, Wolverine watched it, trying the whole time to calm down enough to leave the Danger Room. It was several minutes before he came back to himself, feeling the beast inside himself abate, leaving the rational man in charge again.

As Wolverine left the Danger Room he shrugged off the nagging thought that it was taking him longer and longer to fight back from his feral state. Ever since Rogue had begun therapy with Xavier, Wolverine had been going through some therapy of his own. While Rogue talked to Xavier, Wolverine took out his aggressions in the Danger Room. Sabretooth was his target, sometimes in the background of a bar cage and sometimes against the background of Wolverine's own cabin, where Sabretooth had committed the atrocity that drove Wolverine to punish him for every session.

Each session he seemed to recede further and further into his animalistic nature and Wolverine knew that if he wasn't careful, he may not make it back. Still, he felt alive during those sessions. If he were to be completely honest with himself, it also helped him to maintain an air of manliness, amidst all the lovey dovey emotion he seemed to be feeling towards Rogue lately.

Speaking of whom, she should be out of her session with Xavier by now. Wolverine wandered around the mansion looking for her, but she was no where to be found. Finally, Wolverine went up to the room they seemed to share. There, on the stand beside the bed, was a note. Intrigued, Wolverine picked up the note and began to read. Rogue's handwriting flowed across the small sheet of paper and Wolverine raised his eyebrows at what she had to say.

Wolverine,

Sometimes a girl just needs her mama. Back tonight.

Rogue

Wolverine grinned. Yeah, but who else needed their mama for extra ammunition?

* * *

"It's good to see you again, daughter."

Rogue smiled as Mystique nudged some blueprints of government installations out of the way to make room for the tea tray. She poured a cup of tea for Rogue, herself, and Mastermind and passed them around before taking a seat beside Rogue on the couch. Neither she nor Mastermind had said anything about her eyes yet, but Rogue knew they had both noticed and were simply waiting for her to explain.

"I agree, Rogue," Mastermind spoke up. "You know your mother and I miss you terribly."

"Ah know, Ah'm sorry Ah don't call often. It's just," Rogue took a deep breath. "So much has happened since Ah left."

As carefully and quickly as she could, Rogue told her mother and Mastermind about Sabretooth. An hour later, Mystique had run out of expletives and threats and was calming herself down amidst the wreck of broken glass that had once been a tea set. Mastermind remained calm, letting her lover vent her anger and frustration, and all the while trying to show a brave front to Rogue.

"Raven, I'm sure Rogue has a reason for being here," Mastermind said quietly.

Mystique was still visibly upset, but she sat back down on the couch. She took a deep calming breath and placed her hand on Rogue's knee.

"I apologize for my outburst, Rogue. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you." Her voice broke suddenly and Rogue reached out to cup Mystique's cheek in her bare palm. Both of the other women froze and stared in amazement at Rogue's skin against Mystique's.

"Rogue," Mastermind said in awe.

Mystique seemed in a trance as she raised her own bare hand and laid it on top of Rogue's.

"How?" she breathed.

"Wolverine helped me, Mama. He encouraged me to practice."

"I'll be he did," Mystique ground out. She was getting angry again and Mastermind stepped in.

"Raven, please." She turned to Rogue. "I had a chance to meet Wolverine some years ago in London. I admit at first I had my doubts, but I can say now that I have every confidence in Logan's honorability." In her mind Mastermind could still hear Wolverine's words when he spoke to her in the cage at Pharm-Tech. "You owe me for London."

"Rogue, please. You come to me now, weeks after your ordeal. Obviously, the Professor is helping you to deal with that and Wolverine has helped you to control your powers, I don't understand why you've come to me."

Rogue winced at the pain in Mystique's voice. It was true, she hadn't come to her mother to learn control over her powers, or for help dealing with her rape. She had just allowed Professor Xavier, a man Mystique considered her enemy, to counsel her through it all. She sighed. Sliding to her knees in front of Mystique, Rogue put her head in her lap.

"Mama, Ah never thought Ah'd be able to touch someone. Now all of a sudden, it's possible and Ah'm scared. We never talked about that stuff and now the only experience Ah have . . ."

Mystique made eye contact with Mastermind over Rogue's head. She brushed Rogue's hair behind her ear and sighed.

"Daughter, I can only imagine how you must feel. You're a grown woman, and I know you've seen the memories of enough people to know the basics of sex." She thought about it for a moment. "Of course, it goes without say that you will use protection. God only knows, Wolverine's been around—" She stopped as mastermind shook her head slightly. Mystique realized this may not be the time to bring up Wolverine's conquests.

"Rogue," Mastermind joined in. "How far have you and Wolverine gone, physically?"

Rogue flushed slightly. "Not very far. We kiss a lot and he's . . . touched me."

Mastermind smiled reassuringly. It was obvious this was embarrassing and hard for Rogue to talk about.

"Above or below the waist?" Mystique asked gently.

"Just above."

"All right," Mystique said. "Now, how did you feel the first time he touched you?"

Rogue lifted her head and moved to sit between Mastermind and Mystique.

"Excited. It felt good and it was something Ah'd never done—never thought Ah'd would. But then, all of a sudden Ah felt real nervous."

"Why did you feel nervous?" probed Mastermind.

Rogue thought about it.

"Ah guess," she said slowly. "Ah was afraid Ah'd have no control. When Sabretooth . . . it all happened so fast. Ah remember pain and fear, Ah had no control. Ah couldn't make him stop, Ah couldn't say what would happen and what wouldn't. It was intense and Ah felt like Ah lost mahself."

"Are you afraid wolverine will just have sex with you, and you won't have any say in what happens?" Mystique asked carefully.

"Well, why not? Ah've never done it before, how could Ah have any say in what we do? Ah wouldn't know where to start!"

"Rogue, listen to me. If you don't tell him what you want, you won't enjoy it so you may as well stay celibate." Mastermind started to interrupt her, to say Mystique was just worried, but Mystique plunged on. "Rogue, you have his memories, and the memories of who knows how many others. You have all the firsthand knowledge you need, and what you don't have you can get. Don't ever let anyone make you feel inferior, especially not when it comes to sex. Sex is give and take and if Wolverine gives a damn about you, which he obviously does, he'll respect that."

Mastermind and Rogue both looked at Mystique in pleasant surprise. The blue-skinned terrorist gave Rogue a hug and then sat back.

"So, is anyone hungry?"