Note: The lyrics in this chapter are from 'Everyone' by Socialburn.
2nd Note: Wow, I didn't know you guys would like Jethro so much. Haha. lol. Because of that, you'll find out what happened to him later on..Don'tcha worry now! *grins*

Institutionalized: Chapter 10-I Never Said...



How was I to know you'd ever leave
How was I to know you cared for me
When every time I looked at you
You acted like I was a fool
How was I to know the truth

With all the times you ran away
I never thought that you would say
I'm the one who's lonely now
And all the times I never said I love you
Now you're in the bed with somebody and everyone else


*****

With Logan back at the mansion now, things had considerably gotten somewhat less tense. That is, except around Scott and Jean. In that grey area things had been a little more tense.

It was early morning and Jean had spent all her time back in the med lab. She'd treated Logan for most of his burns that hadn't yet healed, but the scrapes on his back he'd received had gone away already, only leaving light pink scars behind that would eventually go away too. Jean had hooked him up to plenty of IV fluids that would replenish his system and kick up his healing factor again. Now she just sat there beside his bed, staring and trying to organize her thoughts.

Ororo elegantly walked into the med lab, approaching Jean quietly and laying a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "Jean, are you alright?"

"Huh?" shaking her head and looking up to the side, Jean smiled wanly and nodded. "Yes Ororo, I'm fine. Thank you."

Changing the subject, the Weather Goddess pulled her hand away and announced why she had come down to the infirmary in the first place. "Charles told me you could use someone who knew how to pick locks. I can." she stated plainly with a smile.

Jean's delicate eyebrows furrowed in surprise. "Really?" a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"Yes." Ororo nodded with a wry smile. Her lock-picking skills was something she had pretty much never mentioned, even to close friends such as Jean. "Now what is it that requires my attention?"

Frowning slowly, Jean stood next to Logan's bed, gently lifting one of his metal-cuffed hands. "I need to get these off so I can treat the burns on his hands."

Without questioning the strange metal closings over Logan's knuckles, Ororo raised an eyebrow and then walked toward a drawer, digging through for medical equipment she could use to pick the locks. She smiled upon finding the right instruments, then turned to Jean. "Why don't you get yourself something to eat while I take care of this."

Jean sighed, reluctantly walking towards the med lab door. "Alright, thanks 'Ro." pausing for a moment as she remembered something, Jean turned back to Ororo. "Oh, if Logan wakes up, just be careful because he might not realize where he is. He still doesn't quite remember everything that's happened before he left."

Ororo nodded with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll contact you or Charles if anything happens."

Jean returned the smile and slowly, somewhat nervously, left the med lab. She was hungry and really needed a break from the infirmary, but what Jean didn't want was to run into Scott right now. She was having mixed emotions at the moment and didn't feel like being badgered about her decisions about the mission and everything.



*****

The recreation room was fairly quiet this early in the morning, the only two occupants in there being Bobby and Rogue.

Snuggling closer to her boyfriend on the couch, Rogue smiled contently, gently holding Bobby's hand in her gloved one. "Didja miss me?" she asked teasingly.

Bobby half smiled. "What do you think?" he smirked. He hadn't slept since Rogue left to go rescue Logan with Jean, and upon her arrival back to the mansion he'd jumped at the chance to spend more time with her and immediately met her in the rec room.

Getting serious, Bobby tilted his head, craning his neck so he could look into Rogue's calming murky green eyes. "So, what's goin' on...I mean, now that you've got Logan back here?"

Rogue's eyebrows knit together as she focused on his icey blue eyes. "What do you mean?" she paused, waiting for an answer, then after a moment spoke before Bobby had the chance, finding the answer herself. "Oh," Rogue laughed a little, smiling. "Everythin's fine Bobby, I love you ya goof."

Bobby sighed in a relieved sort of way, but then grinned and rolled his eyes. "I know...it's just that you were acting all different when Logan wasn't here."

"I'm sorry." she said in a quiet whisper, her eyes casting downwards. "I jus' worry 'bout him sometimes. He can get himself in prety big messes and I jus' want him ta know that there're people that care 'bout him. Sometimes he don't know that." she paused, seeing her boyfriend frown a little. "Logan's my friend Bobby, I love him that way; like a brother even. But I'll never love him the way I love you. That's diff'rent." Rogue smiled, her eyes meeting his again.

Bobby grinned, wrapping his arms tighter around her and gently resting his cheek against the top of her head, very well aware that if he accidently touched a part of his girlfriend's skin it would most definetly cause him harm. "I love you too, Rogue."



*****

Weary eyes opened slowly and unfocused to stare at a familiar looking environment. Logan sat up quickly, nervously as he tried to remember. At first glance he thought he was back at the institution, but a light, soothing voice assured him that he wasn't.

"Logan? It's okay, Rogue and I brought you back to the mansion." Jean coaxed as she slowly stepped back into the med lab, sensing his concern. On her way down there she had passed Ororo, who had told her she'd successfully removed the metal cuffs.

Logan grimaced, laying back on the bed when he realized he could be a little more at ease. His chest still stung, despite it being wrapped and treated for the burns, and his quick motions when he sat up in alarm didn't help.

Logan's hands twitched reflexively as he felt a weight had been lifted off. He raised them to his face and noticed the metal cuffs were gone. Despite wanting to release his claws just to feel them again, he didn't, knowing that it would just aggrivate the unhealed burns on his hands and cause him more pain.

Jean frowned, noticing as Logan examined his hands. She partially smiled at him as his gaze shifted to her and she focused on his dark hazel eyes. "Ororo was able to pick the locks on your knuckle cuffs." she told him, dragging her gaze from his eyes and looking to his hands.

"Mm." Logan nodded, staring at his hands again, then he looked up with a raised eyebrow as he tilted his head to the side. "'Ro?" he whispered hesitantly, his shortened form of the name 'Ororo' suddenly coming to him, though he couldn't quite grasp the memory of her.

"Do you remember?" Jean asked him quietly, descretely grabbing a stool that was on wheels, and sitting down beside the medical bed. She noticed Logan's unsure expression, his brows knitting together as his eyes glazed over, trying to pry deep into his mind and find the memory.

"Nnh..." he began to mumble, before focusing back on Jean's eyes. "Not...really." Logan admitted sadly.

An understanding smile spread over Jean's face as she stood and walked to a nearby drawer, pulling something out. "That's okay, I'm sure you'll remember it all in time."

Logan nodded, though he knew she meant he'd remember everything before the Mutant Psychiatric Institution and after Weapon-X. Suddenly he remembered Weapon-X, the experiment he'd ended up being the subject of. He knew that being there had made him loose all his memories before that. But why could he remember something that happened so long ago, but not remember arriving at this mansion with all these people, something that was more recent? It really was a funny thing, how the mind worked.

Jean picked up on Logan's surface thoughts, then gently called his name to make him snap out of his unfocused stare. "Logan." his eyes fixed on her again and she held up a small tube. "I need to put some of this burn ointment on your hands."

"Huh?" his eyes widened and he cocked his head to the side. "Oh." Logan moved his left hand that was closest to her, setting it carefully on the side of the bed to allow Jean easy access to it.

She smiled softly, then put some of the ointment on her fingertips before gently reaching forward and applying it to Logan's burns.

Logan winced a little at the touch to the raw skin, but the burning, tingling sensation was soon replaced with a nice cooling feeling, and a relieved sigh escaped his lips.

"Feels better, doesn't it?" Jean smiled at him, then stood and walked around the bed to get to his other hand.

"Yeh." Logan replied roughly with a half smile. He felt somewhat embarrassed by the way he'd left the mansion from what he remembered, but still, Logan knew Jean didn't know he remembered that part quite yet. He just wanted to be around her, no matter how arrogant and pig-headed he'd been when he left. Logan couldn't help but wonder if Jean was warming up to him, especially since he hadn't spotted the one-eye man he'd remembered as Scott, hanging around her. Though it was true he had only woken up a little while ago. He'd have to see how things went.

After applying burn ointment to both hands and wrapping them, Jean checked his IV tube, making sure Logan was getting all the fluids he needed. She realized that he must have been starving, and hesitantly began to leave the med lab. "I'll go get you something to eat." she smiled at his silent nod, then stepped out into the hall, the med lab doors whispering quietly as she left.

Jean was still worried about running into Scott, though she knew she'd have to face him eventually and make a decision for herself. Stay with Scott and mend things between them, or develop a relationship with Logan? The problem with that was, Jean didn't want to make it seem like she was taking advantage of the fact that Logan didn't remember everything yet. Of course she could help him with his recovery first (which she'd planned on anyway...as a friend), then maybe something would happen between them? 'Not now', Jean shook her head as she picked up her pace down the hall, figuring she would work everything out later. But still the question remained...Scott or Logan? Or was that neither?



*****