Personal ANs below. Hope everyone is adequately relieved. Hugs! sita:)

Resurrection

Xavier School of Gifted Youngsters

October 2, 2001 midnight

He'd made peace with Scott. He was surrounded by friends. Logan was prepared to die in his sleep. Well, he admitted to himself, as prepared as a man could be who had the ability to immediately recover from any wound, before his mate died which slowly drained away his strength and carved out pieces of his sanity.

And now he was mentally babbling. Frickin' great! Focus, Logan, he thought. You're about to meet your maker.

He'd been so long without Buffy that Mr. Gordo had virtually lost all trace of her scent. He'd wept at her gravesite for weeks, not caring if vampires and other demons fed on him, until he finished her shrine. He hoped that she was watching over him and would be there to guide him to where she was, be it heaven or hell.

Logan wanted to be buried in Buffy's casket with her, so she would never again have to be alone and he would never again have to stop touching her, but the funeral and cemetery people wouldn't allow it. Conservative, money grubbing, soul sucking bastards! Whose genius idea was it to bury lovers separately with two walls of wood and packed earth between them? Who were they to prolong his physical separation from Buffy? He wanted to be connected to her in all ways. Why was this so hard to understand? Anger had coursed through his body for the first time in weeks and all he could do about it was lie still and wait. Even his claws had abandoned him. So he had asked Xavier to find out if he could be buried along side her, with their caskets touching and a hole cut into the side of each, so her hand could be placed in his. The reply was what he expected. He wanted to buy a plot, a casket, a headstone, and would pay for a few extra services? That was definitely agreeable to all parties concerned.

At last he was ready to be reunited with her in the next life, except death never came for him.

When he woke in a cold sweat at 2AM with nightmarish visions of Buffy fighting her way out of a coffin, he thought that the final stage of his disintegration must be a complete mental breakdown. But something felt different. His body felt a little stronger. He stood up and padded softly over to the bathroom. How long had it been since walking was easy? Flicking on the light, he went to the sink and splashed cold water on his face from the basin. He still looked like hell. Dark circles rimmed his blood shot eyes as if someone had gotten in a series of lucky punches. Resigned once again to his fate, Logan laid back down and prayed for death.

At 4AM, his body stirred to life. An ache crept through him slowly, first in his organs, then in his bones, and finally in his muscles and tendons, inch by painstaking inch, until his skin felt like it was bathed in fire. All he could think about was the erotic smell of Buffy's arousal, the rise and fall of her chest and stomach against his, the taste of her soft sweet skin, and the little purring sound she made when he kissed her. As his fingers tightened and relaxed, a shiver ran through him and his claws extended and snapped back once reflexively.

Something was very wrong with him, and he struggled to find Xavier mentally. When no response came, he remembered the time. Testing his strength again, he stood and walked to the shower. He needed a cold shower to tame his body almost as much as he needed to rid his skin of the reek of illness. Under the cold spray, he realized that he had used his claws. Involuntarily, but they had worked. What the hell?

After his shower, Logan stood in front of the closet and pulled on a fresh pair of boxers and jeans, a white tshirt, socks, and his boots. While he was sick, he'd obviously lost some weight. His clothes were hanging loosely on him, not to the point of falling off, but he had plenty of room. It was clear he was no longer going to die, but what had happened? He understood that separation from Buffy had stunted his healing ability and he had contracted a common strain of pneumonia, but why was he suddenly well? Why had his strength returned almost fully in just a few short hours?

While Logan was in Sunnydale, Xavier had ensured that his room was repaired and new furniture was installed. It was fine, but suddenly Logan realized that the stench of the wood sealant was awful, so he walked over and opened a window. Although it gave the faculty security team and the property manager fits, Logan liked to keep his windows open year round. He didn't particularly care for the fabricated fragrance of the lemon and pine cleaners the staff used, and he was forever trying to air his room out. When he was weak, he couldn't have cared less, but now that he needed to make a place for Buffy... No wait, he corrected himself sadly, Buffy was dead. He'd almost forgotten.

Wasn't she?

At 5AM, Logan couldn't wait any longer. He made his way to Charles Xavier's room and banged on the door. But there was no answer. From inside he could hear Xavier finishing a phone call.

A few minutes later, Xavier opened the door and greeted him happily, "Logan, that was Rupert Giles on the phone. You'll never believe what has happened... by some miracle... and you're well so quickly?"

Nodding and sighing with relief, he confirmed what his body already told him, "Buffy is alive."

For a moment they were silent, each man in his own way comprehending and reflecting on the implications of Logan's swift return to health and Buffy's return from the dead.

Then Logan flashed Xavier his most charming, devilish grin, and said, "Is there anything good to eat downstairs? I'm starving."

(end chapter)

Divilish: Hey bebe! Re: Giles, yeah, he needs to get a love life of his own. If I were generous, I'd hook him up with Ororo, but I'm not… oh well. Hopefully the Scoobies will be able to stumble their way back into Buffy's good graces. I doubt Logan will be as forgiving:]

Ouatic7: I'm glad that you didn't cry too much:] Hopefully chapter 24 will make you feel better:]

Pay-day1999: Hey girl! I'm glad that I was able to surprise you. And don't worry, everything will be alright. Glad to see that you're hanging in there with this:]

Anna: Thanks bebe! I try. Also, re: Meltdown, don't feel too badly, I made myself cry when I wrote it. Hopefully you like the next chapter. More to come after the break:)

Prophetess of Hearts: Ah girl, you know I can't really put them together in complete bliss until Buffy's done in Sunnydale. The road to love is rough. But, we will have more happy bits soon:)

Alex97: Hey sweets! I thank you for your generous praise: -)

Queenfriz30: Nah darlin', just a little wayward Logan angst. This is a B/L fic, I promise:)