Title: Save Me

Author: Tasa-chan

Email: chibi_soap@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: I own Kaylee...... But that's it ^^;;

Feedback: Pretty please??

Rating: PG-13, may change later.

Warnings: language, descriptive (slightly) deaths...

Note: This is /before/ the lab ^ ^; so yeah (no metal skeleton, and not the distant dark Logan we all know ^ ^;)


Save Me 2

"Confess what you crave
A life without pain
You'd kill for the taste
But the hurt still remains"

-----------------------

He regarded her slowly as he sat down in the stool beside her. She had a hand woven into her hair in what seemed like frustration. On the counter top in front of her was an old, wrinkled map, and in her left hand, a slightly crumpled sheet of paper, that had been folded and re-folded many times by the look of it. He took a long sip of his coffee, and continued to watch her. A small, sad sigh escaped her lips and she pulled her right hand from her hair. She sat up straight and leaned back a bit. The girl picked up a mug and looked into it, frowning.

"Hot Chocolate went cold..." he heard her mutter. She shrugged and quickly gulped it down. She picked up her map and stole a glance in his direction. She looked back at her map and chewed her lip.


"Excuse me, sir?" She said nervously, turning around on her stool. He put his coffee down and looked at her.

"Yeah?"

"Um. Well... I was just wondering... could you do me a really small favour?" He blinked a few times.

"Excuse me?" He asked, not sure if he'd heard right or not.

"Um. Well you see... I'm looking for this place." She said, handing him the sheet of paper. It was folded so the address was the only part visible. "And... well, I can't find that place on my map..." She said, motioning to the map on the counter. He pulled the map closer and scanned the area.

"Well, your first problem is, this is a map of Ontario"

"Yeah..." She said, raising an eyebrow.

"This place you want is way out in Saskatchewan." He told her, handing the sheet back.

"It is?" She asked softly, her eyes started to squint a bit. She looked away from him and he heard her sniff a bit.

"Why, what's so important about this place?" He asked, picking up the paper again. She tried to snatch it out of his hands, but he turned his back to her and opened it up.

"No, please, give it back!" She exclaimed, tugging at his shoulder.

His eyebrows rose a bit as he read it, and read it again. He then looked at the address. So /that's/ why she was so desperate to get there, and for him not to read it....

He turned in his chair and held out the paper. She grabbed it back hastily and re-folded it.

"Well. I ought to be going now." She said, shoving the map into a beat-up backpack. He watched her sling it over her shoulder and quickly walk to the door.

"Hey!" He called after her, getting up and following the girl outside. He saw her pushing her way through crowds of people walking down the sidewalk.

"Hey!" He called out again. He picked up the pace and chased after her.


~


She ran into a park, and stumbled through the trees to the playground. Surely he would lose her among all the parents and their kids, she thought. Kaylee came to a stop and looked behind her. Satisfied, she flopped down on a bench and closed her eyes. Phew. That was close. She knew all too well how normal people thought about mutants. She slowly opened her eyes and surveyed the area. She watched a little girl being chased around by her dog , and then collapse into a fit of giggles when it jumped on her and started licking her face. Kaylee smiled a bit and looked around again.


"Hey, kid." She heard a voice behind her, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

"Hey..." she replied, a little quietly. She watched him sit down on the bench beside her. They were both silent for a bit. She turned to say something and saw him, really saw him, for the first time. His hair was brown, a nice length. Not too long, but not too short either. His eyes were also brown. His clothes were several layers of shirts, and a simple pair of jeans, despite the warm June weather. He looked down at his hands for a few seconds, then rubbed the back of his neck.

"Why are you going there, anyways?" He finally asked. She studied him for a moment. He didn't seem afraid of her, or repulsed either.

"Well..." she frowned, "I just, being a mutant..... it's..." She paused, trying to think of what to say.

"It's hard." He said, looking away. "Of course it is. But its hard being a normal person too, I suppose. We can't go through life without problems... it'd be too easy."

She blinked and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you saying...?" She asked, leaning towards him a bit.

"You have to appreciate your gifts." He answered, "they may be trouble, but they're worth it, you know what I mean?" He questioned her.

"Not really. All my.. 'gift' has done for me is cause me, and those around me, pain. I hate being this way." He nodded slowly, thinking about her words.

"So, you still want to go there?" He asked, getting up.

"Yes."

"Well, how're you planning on getting there anyways? You look a little young to be driving." He stated, looking her up and down. "I mean, how old are ya anyways? Fifteen?"

"I'm eighteen." She stated, surprised that he had thought her so young. Christ! Fifteen? Jeez! "But, I never got my license. I guess I'll have to hitch a ride with a few truckers or something. Maybe take a train."

"You got the money for a train ticket, kid?" Probably not, he guessed. She looked like she didn't even have enough money to buy proper food.

Kaylee hesitated. "Well, not really."

They sat quietly for a moment before he spoke up,

"How about, I take you there?" He offered, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I mean, It's on my way to where I'm headed, so it wouldn't bother me..."

She jumped up and smiled. "Really?! You'd take me there?!" He nodded and smiled a little bit.

"Us mutants gotta stick together." She froze for a few seconds.

"You're... you're a mutant, too?" She watched him frown a little bit.

"Yeah. Sure am." They were both silent for a few seconds.

"Well, my name is Katherine." She said, sticking out her hand. He took it and shook it a little bit.

"Logan." Kaylee smiled at him.

"But I'm Kaylee. If you ever call me Katherine, I might just have to hurt you." She joked. He grinned at that. "So, when we heading out, captain?" she asked, picking up her bag.

"Tomorrow sound good?"

"Alright. Well, I'm through with coffee, how about some lunch instead?" she offered, heading off to the chain of restaurants and stores.

"Sounds good to me." He replied, following her.


-----------------------


Kaylee pulled her sheets up higher and shifted slightly. She opened her eyes half way and looked at the fading stars above her. The air was pleasantly warm, and growing even more so. She smiled and closed her eyes again.

That man, Logan, had offered her the choice to sleep in the truck or outside in the back half. She'd chosen the back half only because she was afraid that she'd roll off the seat and hurt herself in the cab. He'd helped her arrange a comfortable pile of blankets to snuggle into. She'd thanked him for everything and drifted into a nice, peaceful sleep.

She was almost asleep again when she heard the truck door open and then shut. A whispered, 'hey kid, you awake?' made her open her eyes again.

"Yeah. Sorta," she mumbled, trying to roll over and go back to sleep.

"Well, you certainly can't stay in the trunk the whole way up." He said, leaning on the side. "You can sleep in the cab if you want,but we should be leavin' soon." Kaylee moaned a reply and tiredly sat up. She really, /really/ was not a morning person. She grabbed the blankets around her, bunched them up and slid out of the open back, carrying them into the passenger side.

"All set?" Logan asked, climbing back into the drivers seat.

"Yep," she smiled and settled down into her blankets. Logan backed out of the parking lot and headed out towards the highway.


-----------------------


The radio played an old rock song quietly, as he drove down the highway. Sparing a glance in his direction, she smiled a little. One of Kaylee's hand wove around the circle pendant around her neck. "Logan?"

He glanced in her direction and looked back at the road. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Kaylee shifted in her blanket pile and closed her eyes again.


"How long do you suppose it will take to get there?" She asked, watching the trees fly past outside.

"Couple days. Maybe about five at the most."

"Okay." That made her happy. Who knows how long it would have taken her to hop rides on transport trucks and walk all the way? Especially considering how lost she was before he pointed out she had the wrong map. Kaylee looked outside again. She felt her stomach grumble, and she rubbed it, hoping he hadn't heard.

"You hungry?" Gah! This guy must have super ears or something!!

"Uh. Yeah, a little." She admitted, fiddling with her necklace again. She watched him look in the review mirror, then ahead again. He pulled the truck over onto the side of the road and got out. Kaylee sat up in her seat and tried to see where he went. She spotted him pushing back the tarp over the back of the truck and pull out a medium-sized, red cooler. Yes! Food! He closed the tarp and she sat back down in her seat.

"Here ya go. Eat whatever you like." He told her, as he climbed back into the truck and handed the cooler to her. Kaylee opened it and peered in. She grabbed the first thing she saw, which ended up being a pack of beef jerky.

"Mmmm," she said, carefully opening it then pulling out a few slices. She munched on them then looked over at him.

"You want some?" He nodded and she handed him a few pieces.


-----------------------


"Right." He said, switching the truck into park. "We camp here tonight, and we can make it to your lab before lunch tomorrow."

"Its not a lab." She retorted, smiling.

"Right. And I'm the king of Iceland." He said, rummaging around in the back.

"Is there a king of Iceland?" she asked, climbing outside and stretching.

"There is now." Logan replied with a chuckle.


Logan arranged a fire while Kaylee tidied up the back. It had gone fast, the four days. Sure, she had spent a good part of it sleeping, but still. Even now, she had no clue as to what his mutation was, and he didn't know hers. She wasn't very comfortable saying anything about herself, so he didn't pry, and vice versa.



"Mmm, that smells great." She commented, walking towards the fire with the food cooking over it.

"Of course it does. It /is/ my cooking after all," he joked. Kaylee laughed and tossed her shoe in his direction. "Hey! Hey! No throwing things around the fire!" He warned.

She laughed as she retrieved her shoe and put it back on. "I'm hungry! Are you almost finished?" Kaylee whined. She was answered with a hamburger thrust in her direction. "Yippee!" She cried, grabbing it and hungrily taking a bite.

Logan chuckled and took a bite out of his hamburger. "If I didn't know better, I'd think your mutation made you half piranha."

Kaylee frowned a little.

"Hey, don't pull that face, I was only kiddin'," he exclaimed.

"I am /not/ a piranha!" She sulked. Logan looked at her for a while, watching her eat.

"What is your mutation anyways, Kaylee?" He sounded so curious. She really did want to tell him, but she couldn't. The last person she told about her mutation had... "Please? I'll show you mine." He said, knowing that she really hated mysteries, and that she itched to know what his was.

Kaylee chewed on her hamburger a little more and sighed.

"Fine. You go first."


Logan handed her his hamburger and lifted up his hands. She watched in amazement as three claws shot out of one hand.

"Wow..." She said. They were an eerie whiteish colour, like bone, she supposed.

"That's not all." He said quietly. Quicker than she could react, he flicked his wrist and a slash appeared on his arm. She stared, shocked.

"Oh my god! Logan!! I'll... I'll get you a towel.. or a-a napkin ...or.." "Hey... shh. watch." He said. The claws sucked back into his hand, and she watched the slash in his arm slowly start to move, closing up.

"Your... your arm.." She gasped. She reached out to touch where, just seconds ago, there was a gaping wound. Her fingers ran over the smooth skin, wiping the excess blood away. and she looked at him. "It... healed.." She stammered.

"Yeah. That's my mutation mostly. My senses are a little better than a normal human's too." He told her, watching her stare at his hand. She picked it up and gently touched the skin where his claws has come out from.

"When they come out..." she started, quietly, "does it.. hurt?" He was a little taken back from that.

"Yeah... every time." Kaylee sat quietly, examining his hand.

"I do believe that you were now supposed to show me your mutation, miss." He said, grinning a little. Kaylee nodded, and got up.

"You can heal, from anything, right?" She asked him nervously.

"Yeah. It's pretty hard to kill me, I figure." He said, a little confused by her question. He watched her open her backpack, resting on the other side of the fire.


"Alright. Get ready." She said, pulling out a bottle of water. Her hands shook as she twisted off the cap. She hadn't even had to pull it off all the way before the cap flew off and water shot out of the bottle, straight up. They both watched the contents hover in mid-air.

"That's-" He started, cut off by the blob exploding, sending water in all directions. Kaylee covered her head and ducked as water shot at her. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for it to stop.


Water splashed into the fire, sending sparks flying all over the place. Kaylee shrieked and jumped away. Logan watched, amazed by the sheer speed and strength of her power.

"Can't you control it?!" He exclaimed, jumping out of the way of an oncoming group of water droplets.

"No!" Kaylee cried.


A few minutes later, the water had soaked into the ground, or had evaporated in the fire. Kaylee slowly opened her eyes and looked over at Logan. He looked a little dazed.

"That... was scary," he admitted.

"Yeah," she whispered back. Her entire body was trembling. She collapsed to her knees and started shaking harder. Logan quietly made his way over to her and kneeled down beside her.

"Hey... don't cry... won't that make it start all over again or something?" He half-kidded. Kaylee sobbed a little and a pair of tears slid down her face. Logan watched them flutter to the ground, and he pulled her into a hug.

"Don't worry Kaylee. We'll get you to that lab by tomorrow. I promise." He told her, trying his best to calm her down.

"It's not a lab." She whispered again. She pushed her face into his chest and closed her eyes.


"What if they can't make me better Logan? All I want... is a normal life again... a life where I don't make everyone else hurt." Kaylee sobbed. Logan softly stroked her back and shushed her. "Don't worry, I promise that everything will be alright." He whispered into her ear, I'll protect you."


But not all promises can be kept forever.


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Lyrical quote: "Emerald" by The Tea Party.

Disclaimer: I own Kaylee, her family, and her friends! But I don't own X-Men. *sad look*


Please R&R!


~Tasa


p.s. Thanks for the reviews guys ^_^ (Galit, NightFaery, and Rogue Morgan^_^) I really appreciate them