Rogue woke up the next morning with a smile on her face as she remembered what had happened that night and reached over to touch the man she so desperately adored. Her heart skipped a beat when her hand found only emptiness. For a moment she thought that she may have only dreamt the events of the previous night. Then turning over, she discovered a note on the pillow.

-I had to get to class and thought you'd need the sleep so I didn't bother waking you.

Meet me for lunch in the lounge at 11:00. I'm taking you out. Love you kid.-

-Logan -

Rogue giggled and looked over at the clock. It was 10:30. Gasping, she sat up quickly. Most days she arose at 8:00. Taking a shower and throwing on a simple white dress, she headed downstairs. As she rounded a corner, she bumped into Scott.

"Scott! I'm sorry." Scott looked embarrassed.

"No, it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention."

He quickly started walking away.

"Scott, is something wrong?"

Scott stopped but didn't turn around.

"Jean just broke up with me. She said there's someone else."

"Scott, I'm so sorry. Did she say who?"

He turned around and sneered.

"No, but I have my suspicions. She's been acting strangely since Logan came back. I think something's going on between them."

Rogue nodded with understanding.

"I can see why you would think that, but I know for a fact that there isn't anything between them, Scott."

Scott looked more closely at Rogue.

"How would you know that?"

Rogue smiled.

"Well actually, the thing is, Logan loves me. He told me last night. There's too much to go into now, but the short of it is, he pretended to like Jean to make me forget about him and I suspect he also did it to piss you off."

Scott had a confused look on his face.

"You and Logan?! But he's old enough to be your father! Are you sure this is the right thing? Logan's a wild man. How are you going to deal with the fact that he can't touch you?"

Rogue looked down.

"I don't know," she confessed, "but to answer your question, I am sure this is the right thing. I've been sure for the last two years. I love him, Scott. I love him so much it scares me."

Scott's face softened and he smiled sadly.

"I know what that's like."

Rogue looked at him with concern.

"Do you want me to talk to Jean? Maybe I can knock some sense into her."

Scott laughed lightly.

"No, Rogue, she's made her choice. The truth is, ever since you and Logan came two years ago, we've been drifting slowly apart. I knew that she had developed feelings for Logan, I just never realized that her feelings were this deep. I thought by asking her to marry me things would get better, but they've only gotten worse. I don't know why she even accepted my proposal. But after the break up today, I see that it's really over and nothing more can be done, and you know what? I think it's going to be okay. It's been slowly moving to this point for two years and I think I'm ready for it to be over. I'm exhausted, and I'm ready to move on."

Rogue smiled.

"Well, I'd better get going. My next class is about to start. I'm sorry for laying all that down on you. I just needed to get it out, I guess."

"Don't apologize, God knows I've laid enough on you in the past."

Scott laughed and hugged Rogue.

"Thanks, Rogue."

Rogue started for the lounge again, hoping Logan wouldn't be angry. She was just about to enter the room when suddenly Jean rushed past her with tears streaming down her face. She stopped when she saw Rogue and glared at her.

"Enjoy it while it lasts. He's going to leave you sooner or later."

Rogue didn't answer and walked into the lounge to find Logan standing across the room, gazing out a window. She couldn't see his face. She walked up to him and put her hand on his back. Logan turned around and gathered Rogue into his arms, breathing in her scent.

"I feel sorry for her," Rogue said.

Logan was surprised and pulled Rogue away.

"How can you feel sorry for her? She's treated you like shit and she's trying to take me from you."

Rogue smiled.

"She just broke up with Scott with total confidence that you'd take her and now you've rejected her. You have to admit it's sad."

"Well, yeah, but aren't you in the least bit worried that she'll succeed in getting me?"

Rogue hugged him and looked up into his face.

"No, I trust you."

Logan smiled and pulled her closer.

"Good, I don't want you to worry. I'm never going to leave you again."

It was about noon by the time they left to eat. He took her to an Italian restaurant and told her all about what he did while he was gone, and she in turn did the same. They had such a good time that they both forgot about the unpleasantness that had occurred before they left.

The next few weeks were the happiest Logan or Rogue could ever remember experiencing. They spent all their time together and Rogue even talked Logan into taking her to the Lamaze class she had planned to take with Scott. They worked around the fact that they couldn't touch and it became something they didn't really think about. They lived in their own world and were almost totally unaware of anyone else.

Jean became more and more withdrawn from everyone and, at last, with the professor's help, decided to leave New York for a while in order to heal. Jean's departure hit Scott harder than he would have expected, and he fell into a deep depression. Jubilee was the most concerned for him. Scott had always been sort of a big brother to her and had helped her out in her times of need. Over the years she had developed deep feelings for him. She'd never told anyone, not even Rogue, and when Scott and Jean broke up, though she was sad that Scott was in pain, she was also happy that Jean was finally out of his life. Jubilee helped him all she could during his depression. She would seek him out as much as she could and cheer him up. She insisted that he take her shopping and out to movies and even roller skating, claiming he was the only one with a car that she wanted to go with. He found himself having a good time despite himself. As the weeks went on, their time together became more serious. Scott found himself opening up to Jubilee, and with her encouragement, he began talking about everything that was troubling him. Jubilee listened patiently and gave him her advice and opinions. Through it all, Scott began to see Jubilee in a different light. She was no longer a rowdy teenager, but had finally grown up, and it was only in the last few weeks that he had begun to notice. He looked forward to seeing her every day and started to miss her when they were apart.