**Discoveries**

The open road was a pleasant change from the drab routine of school.  The students were great and all, but Logan was always a bit of a free spirit.  He'd been restless lately, and this mission was turning out to be just what he needed.  Everything was going great except for this new mutant, Dani.  She was untrusting, unreadable and annoying… attractive, sexy and damned appealing.  It was driving him crazy having her wrapped around him like this.  Her scent was like an aphrodisiac, and yet the mere fact that it was familiar made him suspicious of her.  They rode through Nevada and Utah all that day and finally stopped for the night in a small hotel in Rock Springs, Wyoming.  Dani had been a quiet passenger, and Logan was grateful.  He needed the time to collect his thoughts.  He had a few questions for his new traveling companion.

Logan checked them in as Mr. and Mrs. Smith and paid for their room.  They walked in silence up the stairs and down the balcony to their room.  It was plain, small, but had two double beds.  Logan threw his coat down on the one by the door and window.

"I'll take this one," he said.  "You want the bathroom first?"

Dani just nodded and disappeared into the bathroom.  Within minutes, Logan heard the sound of the shower, so he decided to give Chuck a call.

"Logan, how are things going with our new mutant?" Xavier asked.

"Her house burned down, her mother died, and she's stuck on the back of a motorcycle with a complete stranger.  How do you think things are going?" Logan asked sarcastically. 

"Just do the best you can, and get her here where we can keep her safe," Xavier said with a sigh.  Logan could be so melodramatic.

"Chuck, I'm not sure why or how, but she's familiar to me somehow," Logan said carefully.  "I can't really explain it, but I think I should know her."

"Does she seem to know you?"

"No," Logan said firmly.  "And she's a bit of a closed book right now."

"Well, keep your concerns to yourself.  Just try to get her to trust you and keep her out of trouble," Xavier said.

"Sure, no problem," Logan said in annoyance. 

He hung up and stared at the bathroom door.  The shower didn't sound right.  There was no splashing… it sounded like it was just running.  Shit!  Logan stormed over to the door and knocked loudly.

"Hey, you okay in there?" he asked.

Silence.

He opened the door, and the bathroom was empty.  Where the hell did she go?  He stared at the shower with sheer fury.  Now what?  Suddenly there was a brief flash of light, and Dani appeared right in front of him.  She gasped and blushed crimson.

"Where the hell have you been?" Logan demanded.

Dani held up a shopping bag and looked at the tile floor.  "I wanted to get some clean clothes," she said.  "I had a little money in my jacket pocket, so I just…"

"Popped into Old Navy for a new outfit?  What the hell were you thinking?" Logan demanded.  "You're not in the forest anymore.  Someone could have seen you!  Not to mention the Brotherhood is looking for you."

Dani suddenly got over her guilt and looked pissed.  "I didn't have any problems getting along before I met you, buster.  You said no obligations and no strings," she said angrily.

Logan forced himself to calm down.  He took a deep breath and stepped back into the doorway.  "All right, take your shower and change.  We'll talk when you're done."

Dani frowned at him, gave him a shove and slammed the door in his face.  Logan stifled an angry growl and turned back to their room.  It was small, but thank god there were two beds.  He plopped down on the bed and turned on the TV.  He did a scan of the channels and finally settled in on the local news.  He tried to tune out the sounds coming from the bathroom, but his hypersensitive ears missed nothing.  Faintly, hidden within the sound of running water, he could hear her crying.  He couldn't tune it out, and he couldn't ignore it. The sound of her quiet sobs was nearly ripping his heart out. 

Logan went back to the door and was about to knock, but changed his mind and just walked in.  He could see her leaning against the wall with her head under the water.  Her tiny frame trembled and shuddered with every sob.  Logan grabbed the biggest towel he could find and wordlessly pulled back the curtain.  Dani looked up at him questioningly. Logan never took his eyes from her face as he wrapped the towel around her.  He picked her up and carried her to her bed where he sat with her cradled in his lap and just held her.  His shirt was quickly drenched from her wet hair, but he couldn't care less.  She buried her face in his chest and cried.  Logan closed his eyes and inhaled her scent, clean and crisp, with a hint of hotel soap, and salty tears.  His mind raced back to his dream and one thought kept repeating itself in his head like a mantra, mine, mine, my mate, mine…  Logan mentally shook himself.  Where had that come from?  He had to get a handle on himself. 

After she'd apparently cried herself out, she looked up at him.  Logan had scarcely had a chance to get a good look into her eyes before now.  Even puffy from crying, they were remarkable.  They were not blue, but violet, rich deep violet.  For that moment when their eyes met, he felt a strong and deep connection with her.  But suddenly she looked away, and the feeling was gone.

"I'm sorry," she said softly as she carefully climbed off his lap.  She hugged herself, trying to maintain a small shred of her dignity and modesty as she stood there in a miniscule motel towel.  Her face turned three shades of crimson as she just said, "Um… excuse me," before disappearing in the bathroom again.

Logan sighed.  The feel of her in his arms was disturbingly tempting, and familiar.  It had taken quite a bit of willpower to keep his hands to himself.  He'd wanted to just rip that little towel off of her and… Damn!  His jeans were getting tight and needed a cold shower.

Dani finally emerged from the bathroom fully dressed.  "Okay, all yours," she said.

Logan cocked a brow and then realized she was talking about the bathroom.  He quickly brushed past her and locked himself in the bathroom.  He closed his eyes and all he could see was Dani standing in the shower.  She'd look at him with those big violet eyes and smile playfully.  'Wanna join me'? she'd ask him. Oh, god! He hoped a cold shower would help.

It was forty-five minutes later when Logan finally emerged from the bathroom.  There was a pizza on the table and Dani was in her bed the covers pulled up to her chin.  Logan smirked.  She was obviously embarrassed, and it was cute.  He lifted the lid on the pizza and smiled.  It was a half & half Garden and Meat lovers, with two slices of the garden side missing.

"Good choices," he said as he grabbed a slice of meat lovers.

"Thanks."

Logan glanced around for a drink.

"In the mini fridge," she said, anticipating his next request.

Logan opened the door and smiled.  There were two bottles of Evian, and a six pack of Bud.  He was really beginning to like this woman.  He grabbed a beer and sat on his bed.  He paused between bites and glanced over at her.  She was staring at the TV, trying not to look at him.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked quietly.

"No."

Well, he offered.  He finished his slice and downed the beer.  Dani was already asleep, and Logan noticed that most of her clothes were neatly folded on the floor.  He cringed, and grabbed the rest of that six pack out of the fridge.  How the hell was he going to sleep when all he could think about was what she was or wasn't wearing under the covers?

*****

Logan woke early, and was thankful when he saw Dani only half under the blankets.  She was wearing that skin tight white tank top again, and it was nearly see through.  He smiled approvingly but nearly choked when he heard her speak up.

"I thought you got a good enough look at my breasts last night," she said sleepily.  "Quit ogling and turn around so I can get up."

Logan cleared his throat and turned around.  He wasn't embarrassed for looking, but he felt bad that she thought he'd been looking last night.  That wasn't his motive, and he wanted her to know it.

"You're wrong about last night, Dani," Logan said. 

Dani zipped her jeans and looked at Logan's bare back.  Not bad… very sexy.  She frowned at herself for entertaining such thoughts about a near stranger.  He seemed alright, but she'd been fooled before.  She knew he wasn't trying to take advantage last night, but no matter how noble his intentions, she'd never been naked in front of a man before.  It was embarrassing.

"I know," she said softly.  "But the next time I cry in the shower, stay the hell away."

Logan refrained from comment.  He knew she'd needed comfort last night.  

They ate cold pizza in silence before packing up to leave.  Logan checked the street from the window, and then they left.  Logan sat on his bike, and when Dani climbed on behind him he glanced back at her.

"It's okay, you know," he said.

"What's okay?" she asked.

"It's okay to trust me," Logan said.  "I won't let anyone hurt you, including myself, I promise."

Danielle pondered his simple words a moment and realized he was making a very big promise.  She didn't know what to say.  He seemed like a real tough customer, but that wasn't how he'd acted in front of her.  She was suddenly very intrigued by him.  When she didn't immediately answer, Logan turned a little more to look into her eyes.  Dani stared into his hazel eyes and came to a decision.  She would throw caution to the wind, take a chance on this stranger and trust him.

"All right," she said.  "I'll trust you… at least until you give me a reason not to."

Logan turned back to the handlebars and started the bike. "Fair enough," he said.

They rode out of town and into the vast open countryside of the pastoral Midwest.  Logan was paying close attention to their surroundings.  It had been too quiet, and he figured they were overdue for a visit from the Brotherhood.  They crossed the border into Nebraska and Logan's sensitive nostrils were assaulted by the unpleasant smell of a hog farm.  He scowled and wrinkled his nose in annoyance.  The putrid ammonia smell suppressed any other scent, including possible signs of danger.  He didn't like being impaired.  He scanned the road ahead and sped up.  He wanted to hurry up and get past that farm.  There was a bend in the road, and Logan caught the barest hint of a familiar scent… Sabertooth.  Damn!  Logan hated being right all the time. 

"Hang on, I think we may have trouble ahead," Logan said over his shoulder.

"What kind of trouble?" Dani asked nervously. 

Logan didn't have to answer; the road ahead was blocked by a wall of fire.  He skidded to a halt and Dani gasped when she recognized the large hairy man from the cabin.  Beyond the flames was a young man who was obviously controlling the fire. 

Dani suddenly shrieked, "No!"  In a flash of white light, Logan and Dani vanished.

Scarcely more than the blink of an eye passed and Logan found himself, still seated on his bike with Dani, in a parking lot in front of some Ranger station in a forest.

"Where the hell are we?" Logan asked a little more roughly than he'd intended.

"Mt. Rushmore," she said shakily.  "My dad brought us here when I was little and I knew where it was…"

Logan considered that one.  That was several hundred miles from where they'd been.  "Dani, how far can you transport?"

"I never really thought about it," she said.  "I used to go to San Francisco for Chinese take out all the time…"

"From your cabin?" Logan interrupted.

"Sure," she said lightly.

Logan figured her transporting worked like Nightcrawler's, she couldn't go far, and had to see where she was going.  But that didn't seem to hold true.

"Just how do you do it?" he asked.

"I don't know, I just think about where I want to go, and I go there," she said.  "It helps if I have a map, or have been there before."

Logan sighed.

"Are you angry?" she asked.

"Damn, Dani!  Why would I be angry?  You just saved me from getting my claws dirty.  I'm just surprised, that's all.  Have you ever been to New York?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Pennsylvania," she said.  "You want to see the Liberty Bell?"

Logan turned to face her, and she was being completely serious.  "We can't be seen," he said.

"I know that," she said in annoyance as she rolled her eyes.  "Just give me a minute."

Logan cringed, but watched in fascination as she closed her eyes.  She seemed to be concentrating, and then she smiled and opened her eyes.  They were glowing violet, and suddenly the white light surrounded them, and they were in another parking lot.  Logan looked up and saw an old historic building.  They were in front of a Museum, in Philadelphia.  Logan cocked a brow and turned to look at her again.  She had a smug expression on her face, obviously pleased with herself, and damn if she didn't earn it.

"Well, we can be back at the mansion in time for dinner," Logan said.

Dani's expression turned uncertain and she looked away.  "I don't know if I should go with you," she said.  "I…"

Logan dropped the kickstand and got off the bike.  "Come here," he said, reaching a hand out for her.

She timidly took his hand and he pulled her into a hug.  "I promised you no strings.  Stay one night and meet some of my friends.  In the morning we can talk about what you think of the place," Logan said.  He pulled back and looked into her eyes again.  "Still trust me?"

Dani looked at him suspiciously a moment and then asked him a question he didn't expect.

"What's your mutation?" she asked.  "What do you do?"

Logan looked around, but it was just too public a location to show her.  "I heal fast," he said.  "And I have claws," he added with a hint of embarrassment.  They were a big part of who he was, and yet, explaining it to her made him uncomfortable. 

"Oh," she said, noticing his discomfort, "I didn't mean to pry.  Sorry."

"It was a fair question.  I'd show you, but not here.  Let's go," he said as he got back on his bike. 

Dani climbed on behind him and timidly wrapped her arms around his waist.  Logan placed his hands on hers, and pulled them tighter around himself.  When he let go, she didn't pull back, but hugged him tight.  He turned the key and they headed north.  It would only take a couple of hours to get to Westchester… three if he took his time.  He could feel her heart beating against his back and he smiled.  Maybe he could stretch it to three and a half hours.