Logan stumbled into Cerebro with one hand against the wall, trying to keep his balance. What day was this again? Had they had really been gone three days? He ran his fingers over his chin, just to be pricked by untamed stubble. Yeah, it had been three days. Three days since he had slept. Three days since he had barely even caught sight of the school. At first, Xavier had merely suggested that he might want to come home, start over with a good meal and a few hours sleep. When that didn't work, he resorted to threats.

"Okay, I'm here...what?" He yelled at the suited man in front of him.

Xavier sighed and removed his helmet connection to the super- computer before turning to give his former student a reproachful look. "Logan, I understand that you feel responsible for this. But in case you have forgotten, you are human like the rest of us. You need sleep and food...and a shower. I dare say that if you came up across a team of FOH soldiers you might fall asleep before you could fight them."

Logan snorted and tried to stand a little straighter. "Don't bet on it." He was tired. But damned if he was going to admit it. In the past 72 hours, he had been to every known FOH headquarters and meeting place, 'interrogated' every supporter he could find, followed every cold lead, and had practically driven the rims of his bike, stopping only for gas. And he had done it all on adrenaline. But so far he had turned up nothing. Not even a Cajun cigarette butt, nor an unnecessary cloud in the sky. Wherever the FOH had them hiding, it was somewhere not many people knew of, and damn if it wasn't pissing Logan off.

Truthfully, although he would never admit it, he was scared. Scared that if he didn't find them, two people, two of his friends and teammates, two people he cared about, would be dead. And a third that he had never even met. A third that could possibly be his only biological child.

"If you're done lecturin' me, dad, then I've got things to do." He turned, stifling a yawn, to go.

"Logan, you are not going anywhere." Charles starred hardly more than a second, and froze the man instantly. "I have the entire team out, with the exception of Hank and Bobby, looking for them. I have notified X-Factor, as well as all of our other allies to aid us in the search. I even have Betsy's brother, Captain Britain, and his team using their connections, just in case they are overseas. We will find them, my friend. But you will do yourself, nor anyone else, any good as you are. If you do not agree to take a few hours off, then I will be forced to incapacitate you."

Logan snarled, struggling slightly in his nearly suspended animation to protest. But he knew the man was right. If half the flamin' country was looking for them, then surely they could find two people. The icy blue eyes met his mentor's darker ones, and Xavier released his hold on the man. "Alright, Chuck. You win. I'll stay here and monitor Cerebro for awhile. But if we ain't heard from them by tonight, I'm going back out. Get me?"

Xavier nodded, and spun his chair around to leave. "Thank you, Logan. Although I doubt you will have much luck. Someone has been blocking my power of contacting them telepathically. Unless they are dead, I should be able to speak to them telepathically anywhere on the planet."

Logan froze and felt a shudder race down his spine. "Are they dead, then?"

"No...they are not. I am certain of it. It is...a presence is all I can describe it as. Someone we have faced before. But different. I cannot explain it any better. Perhaps it is I who needs some sleep. When I am rested and at my strongest, maybe I can break through this...whatever it is."

"Yeah," Logan said. "Get some sleep, Chuck. I got everything under control."

"We are going to have a talk about how you addressing me some time, Wolverine." Xavier told him as his hoverchair slowly made its way toward the master suite.

Logan grinned watching him, before sealing off the door and plopping down in one of the leather chairs facing the computer. After making sure all possible channels, however distant and unlikely were on and active, he laid his head against the cold metal, and tried to block out all the lingering doubts. He had hardly sat five minutes before he saw a flashing light, indicating someone was trying to contact them via their communicator.

He sighed, and swore under his breath that if it was Cyclops calling him to bitch about something, he was going to knock the man's skull in. Part of him thought to just ignore it, but just in case it really was something important, he stabbed blindly at the control, not turning his attention away from resting his heavy eyelids. "Yeah, what?" he grumbled.

His usual surly attitude was rewarded with a high pitched squealing sound, followed by a loud blast of static. Logan cringed and covered his ears with his hands. Never had having a super-sense of hearing been so damn painful. It felt like his ear drums had exploded.

In a second, the static was gone, and Logan stared blankly at Cerebro trying to figure out what had just happened. He wasn't sure he wanted to activate it again, especially if it was going to result in more ear-piercing noise. Hesitantly, he touched the button again, and said, "Hey, is anybody there?" The reply was sort of muffled, but with his hearing, he thought he might have recognized it. "Cajun?" he said skeptically. "Is that you?"

"Logan?" Came the reply. It was Gambit. Even though unlike the others, he hadn't really thought anything had happened to the man, Logan was still a little surprised to hear his voice. It was like hearing a ghost from the very recent past.

"Where are you? Is Ro with you? Are you guys okay?" Logan knew that he was asking too many questions, but he wanted answers.

"We're fine," Remy said, followed by another burst of static. "But we have a little...uh...situation here. Get Hank for me, now."

Logan frowned. "Why? What's goin' on, kid?"

"Jesus, Logan, just do it, now!"

As much as he hated taking orders, he knew enough to know when someone wasn't fooling around. He could take it out on him later for ordering him around. "Alright, just chill out, Gumbo, I'm getting' 'em."

Meanwhile

Remy was not known for losing his head, or freaking out, but right at the moment, he was as close as he had ever been before. Sitting there in that cave, while Storm tried to breath through the pain, he had never felt so...helpless. He liked to have control of the situation. Hell, even in the F.O.H compound, being strapped to a metal board while pain coursed through his entire body at the hands of a madman it felt like he had more control of the situation then now. He could not, and especially did not, want to deliver this baby.

"Remy," Storm panted, "I hate to ruin your...moment of zen, shall we say, but as much as you don't want to admit it, you are going to have to deliver the baby."

That was exactly what he did not want to hear. "You just hang on, chere," he replied. The cavalry's on the way."

"And what if they don't get here in time?"

"I don't wanna think 'bout that."

Finally, after what seemed like hours, (although it was actually a few minutes), Remy's com link flashed. "Thank God," he said, jumping to his feet. "Hank? You there?"

"Yes, I am here," Hank's amicable voice came. "Logan told me that you have, what he referred to as a 'situation' there. May I ask what the problem is?"

Storm let out a scream. "Hank, I am having the baby! That's what the situation is! I need you, right now!"

"Oh, dear," Hank said. "A most unfortunate turn of events."

"Yeah, no shit, bete."

Logan broke in, "We're already in the Blackbird, Ro. Just hang on, darlin'. Me and fuzzball are comin' to get ya. Havin' a little trouble locatin' yer signal, though. Where the hell are you? A hole?"

Storm screamed again, before he could answer. "Remy! Quit avoiding me, and get over here! You're delivering this baby whether you like it or not!"

He swallowed nervously. "Merde. Hank, help." He whined.

"Logan and I are on the way, my friend. Do not worry. In the mean time, in case I do not get there in time, perhaps you should see to Ororo."

"But..." he protested.

"It's alright," Hank assured him. "Delivering a baby is not as hard as you think. I will walk you through it."

Remy squatted in front of his friend, and cringed. "I can't do this, bete. What if I screw up? What if I break something?"

"Break something?" Hank asked, confused. Shaking his head, he replied, "Remy, I'm afraid you really do not have a choice here. Now, get down there and tell me how far apart the contractions are."

"How would I know? I ain't looked down there, and I ain't got nothing to measure with."

Chris laughed. "You dumbass! A contraction isn't a body part, it's the muscle contractions during labor that make the baby come out."

"Remy, is someone else there with you?" Hank asked upon hearing the other voice.

"Yeah," he said. "Kinda a long story. Chris Vasquez, meet the voice of Hank McCoy."

"Yeah, okay, well, if you're a doctor, I've been timing the contractions," Chris continued, not really knowing who he was talking to. "They're about three minutes apart."

Remy stared at him blankly. "How do you know 'bout things like that?"

He shrugged. "My sister, Aquiel, went into labor on the way to the hospital when she had my niece, and I was with her. Luckily, someone stopped to help us."

"Ah, well, then," Hank broke in. "You, Mr. Vasquez, can act as Ororo's coach."

"Hank," Remy moaned. "I can't do this. I don't know nothin' 'bout delivering a baby!"

"Calm down," Hank said. "I am a doctor, and your friend, and I am quite familiar with Ororo's condition. I will assist you. All you need do is follow my instructions exactly. Now, I need to know how many centimeters she is dilated."

"You mean I have to..."

"Yes," Hank replied firmly.

"Oh, Hell."

Logan guided the Blackbird steadily through the sky, just above radar detection. The jet was equipped with stealth capabilities, but it wasn't necessary for him to activate them yet. Unfortunately, even with its incredible tracking capabilities, he was having a hard time finding them. Gambit's com link signal kept fading in and out, so Logan figured that it must be damaged. Hank was in the back of the plane, pacing back and forth nervously giving directions to the Cajun and some kid named Chris. He had to laugh at the fact that Gumbo was so freaked out about delivering the kid. He had seen the man single handedly battle a whole score of Sentenels, and what finally takes him down? A baby!

"Unless these instruments are totally screwed up 'cause of Gumbo's signal, I got our E.T.A. at thirty minutes, Hank." He called to the back of the plane.

Hank sighed dramatically. "That will be too late. I am afraid, Remy, that you will indeed have to deliver the baby."

"Great," Chris mumbled sarcastically, "that's just peachy. Why don't you just take a few years getting here and we can have the kid potty trained?"

"Hey," Logan said. "If you think it's so damn easy to find three people across thousands of miles of open wilderness then next time you can fly the plane, kid."

"Yeah, sorry." He mumbled.

"How are you doing, Ororo?" Hank asked.

"Well...I think...I've been better," she said panting. "I need to push."

"No," Hank said. "Not yet."

"Mon Dieu," Remy said. "I think I see the head!"

Now it was Hank's turn to cringe. "Oh, dear. I did not anticipate that so soon. I take it back, my dear. You may indeed push. Now, Remy, I need you to apply gentle pressure to the baby's head so that it does not pop out suddenly."

"Pop out! You mean like explode?"

"No!" Hank said, and sighed deeply. If only everyone had as much common sense as he. "Just push very gently against the head, and help to ease it out. Don't pull, though."

"Okay, okay, I got it," Remy mumbled. "Eew. This is gross. I had no idea that having a baby was so messy."

"I will gladly change places with you if you want, Gambit!" Ororo growled up at him. "You have the easy part, you know!"

"You are doing well, my dear," Hank said. "It won't be too much longer now. Mr. Vasquez, as the coach, it is your job to reassure her."

"Huh? Uh...okay. You're...um...doing good. Keep it up. OW!"

"What was that?" Hank exclaimed, his voice full of concern.

"She's...ow...braking my hand, man." Chris cringed in pain, but couldn't wrestle his hand free.

"Shut up!" She snapped at the boy, as if it were his fault. "I hate men! They're nothing but whining children." She turned to Remy. "I hate you, too! This is all your fault! If you hadn't gotten me drunk, then none of this would have happened!"

Chris cocked an eyebrow, temporarily forgetting about the pain in his hand. "Now that's a story I wanna hear sometime."

On the Blackbird, Logan laughed out loud. "Man, am I glad that I ain't there."

"I heard that, Logan," Storm said. "You just wait until you get here. You think you can really heal that fast? You just wait until I get a hold of you!"

Logan let out a low whistle. "Damn, I didn't know that Ro could be that mean. She must be really suffering there."

"It is fairly normal for women to experience waves of anger giving birth," Hank explained. "It is partly do to hormone fluctuations..."

"Shut up, Hank!" Storm yelled. "Just shut up and tell Remy what to do now! I think he's screwing up down here!"

"Hey, I'm not even doing anything! Oh, damn, bete. Stormy, keep pushin', chere. Here come the head."

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!" Storm screamed in a voice none of her friends even knew she had. Chris' ears literally rang for a second. "Please," he begged Remy. "Don't call her that again. First my hand, now my ears."

"Alright, Remy," Hank continued. "Now that the head is out, you need to stroke down its nose to expel any fluids that may be in its lungs, and then take the head in two hands, and push gently downward. Ororo, as he does that, you need to push as hard as you can in order to deliver the shoulders."

"Okay," Remy said, pushing gently. It wasn't as easy as it might seem. The head was bloody and slippery, and he was already covered in fluids. So was the floor, his shirt and everything else. "Okay," he said again, "push, Sto...I mean, 'Roro. C'mon push, here comes an arm. Push!"

"I AM PUSHING!" she screamed.

"What's happening, Remy?" Hank asked.

"Uh...one arm's out. No wait, here comes the other one. Damn, it's slippery. Keep pushin', chere. It almost over now. Here come the rest of it! Hank, it's here! I got it! It's out!" Remy watched in awe as the baby slipped into his arms, let out a choking gasp, and a struggling cry.

"Excellent!" Hank said. "You both did incredible! What is it?"

"Huh?" Remy asked.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Logan asked, shaking his head. What else could he have meant?

"Jesus, I didn't even look! It's...uh...It's a girl!" He replied proudly.

Both Hank and Logan let out a cheer, and they shook hands. "Congratulations!" Hank exclaimed. "Now, Remy, you need to wrap her up in something warm and dry immediately."

"Ah...okay, but what?" Remy said, looking around. His clothes were soaked.

"Here," Chris said, throwing him his jacket. "Take mine."

Remy wrapped up the squirmy little wet baby in Chris's jacket. He smiled at her, and for the first time, he noticed something. "Hank," he said. "The baby's purple."

"Purple?"

"Yeah," he said, grinning. "She got purple skin, and white hair. She's beautiful." "Remy, if at all possible, can you find something to cut the umbilical cord with?"

"Uh...wait a second" Carefully, he licked his lips, and sending the slightest of kinetic charges through one finger he separated Ororo from the baby.

Storm finally let go of Chris's hand and sat up slightly. "Let me see my baby," she said. Remy gently handed her over.

Logan lit up a celebratory cigar. "Hey, Gumbo, I think she must be yours. No purple skinned people in my family tree."

Remy laughed softly at that, but it was slightly sad. He watched as Ororo and Chris cooed over the baby, but he had to turn away. He was sure that she wasn't his. The minute he got a good look at her, he could tell. She had Logan's eyes. Although both Ororo and Logan had similar blue eyes, there was something about hers. That had the icy quality, yet softer somehow. He couldn't explain it, but he just knew. She was Logan's daughter.

"I gotta solid signal now," Logan's voice came on over the com link. "We'll be there in two minutes, Cajun."

"Great," Remy replied, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice. "We're waitin', mon ami."

"Remy," Ororo called. "Come here. Come here and meet your daughter."

He walked back over and sat down next to his best friend. "Chere, I..." He began, but stopped. He couldn't tell her, not yet. They would still have Hank perform the paternity test, and that would let her know. For a few minutes, anyway, he could pretend that this blue-eyed, white-haired, purple-skinned little bundle was indeed his daughter.

"I've never seen a purple baby before," Chris said wondrously. "That's the weirdest thing ever."

"There is not a thing 'weird' about her," Ororo informed him. "She is absolutely perfect. Isn't that right, Remy?"

"You said it, cherie." The baby let out a soft cry, and stared up at them. She seemed to be able to sense that they were talking about her.

"I think she like you, Chris," Remy said, smiling.

He had to grin. "Yeah, well, how could she resist?"

"By the way, I want to thank you," he added. Chris looked at him, slightly surprised.

"For what?" He asked.

"Saving our lives for one, and for helping with the baby."

Chris shrugged. "S'alright. I didn't really do anything."

"Oh, yes," Storm interjected. "You did do something. You gave me hope for the future. Lately, I have been wondering if having a baby was not an insane thing for me to be doing. But since I have met you, and I realized that if you can see the err of your ways, than there is hope for everyone else." She looked down at her daughter, who had fallen asleep, and stroked her cheek. "You have given me hope that she may not have to face the kind of prejudice that Remy, I and our friends had to growing up."

Chris looked speechless. His jaw dropped slightly. "I...I did that?"

Remy nodded. "That you did, mon ami. I'd like to shake your hand."

He stared at the man for a minute, again not sure what to say. He never imagined that a mutant would be asking to shake his hand. He hesitated for a few seconds, but finally, he grinned and shook Remy's hand.

"Well, isn't this touching," a voice came seemingly from nowhere. Remy, Ororo and Chris jerked up in surprise. Standing there, holding a gun pointed directly at them, was Lt. Michael Sanderson.

Chris shrank against the wall of the cave. "Oh, no," he whispered. "Oh, no..."

Hee-hee...I am evil Homer... Oh, and I should mention that you'll have to suspend disbelief in some parts of this. Having a baby, especially in a cave, wouldn't be that easy...but these are superheroes, so we'll just pretend.