See part 1 for disclaimer.

Chapter 2

Restless, Logan stood up and headed for the door. He gathered Rogue with a glance and when she joined him at the door he told Xavier, "Give us a couple of days to think about it, Charles." Xavier nodded. Outside the door, Logan turned to Rogue. "Well, come on, kid, want to get some dinner with me? We got some stuff to talk about."

"Sure, I guess."

"Wear the leather." He felt like taking the bike.

A short while later, having ordered their food at a local steakhouse, they finally relaxed. Logan got out a cigar and squinted across the table at Rogue while he lighted it. "So… Rogue, the X-man," he said. "How do you feel?"

"Terrified," Rogue admitted with a smile. "How about Logan the X-man?"

"Doesn't scare me as much as 'Logan the teacher,'" he replied. He shook his head. "I dunno about this, kid. I think Xavier's trying to rush us both a little. Thinks we'll make snap decisions 'cause we're grievin'." He took a sip of his beer. "I don't like it."

"You gonna stick around?" Rogue asked. Logan's eyes widened and he almost choked on his mouthful of beer.

"What?" he snapped.

"I was just wondering how long you were gonna stick around this time," Rogue asked. "You don't usually stay in one place for too long. Why, what's the matter?"

"Jean…" Logan swallowed painfully. "I told Jean I could be a good guy for her, and she told me that the good guy sticks around."

Rogue reached across the table with her gloved hand and carefully placed it atop his. "Logan, I'm sorry. I know you loved her. I did too, in my way. But she had a pretty narrow view of what makes a good guy."

Logan clutched her fingers convulsively as she tried to withdraw them. "You think?" he asked hoarsely.

"No, I know."

"Tell me." He let go of her hand and she began to idly tracing circles in the water spots on the table.

"Jean's ideal of a good guy was Scott. She liked you because you were the opposite of Scott, but then she felt ashamed of liking you. She wasn't broad-minded enough to realize that there's more than one kind of good guy.

"Most mutants have problems, you know. Bobby's parents were pretty freaked, as you saw. Jones' parents didn't want him at home because his dad wanted to control the television, for heaven's sake. Hayley was abandoned at birth because she has fur. My family disowned me when I put my boyfriend into a coma, and I haven't heard from them since then. But Logan, at least I can remember my parents. You're a mutant with more baggage and problems than most, and you can't even remember most of them!"

"Thanks, kid. You're really makin' me feel better," Logan said drily.

Rogue impatiently waved aside his comment. "The point is, Logan, none of us can decide what another mutant's needs are. You can run off to your little cabin in Alberta to do your grieving by yourself, and still be a good guy. You've saved my life twice –"

"Nearly killed you once, though," Logan interjected.

Rogue brushed his comment aside and went on. "Yeah, so what. I've nearly killed you twice, and I still like to think of myself as a good guy. You've helped the team twice now. You can be a good guy and still do what you need to do, Logan."

There was a long silence, and then Logan asked, "So how'd you know about my cabin?"

Rogue grinned as the waitress appeared with their food, and tapped her temple. "Sugar, I know you better than anyone else in the world. Don't make me prove it, 'cause I can. Want me to name names?"

Logan grunted and said nothing, wisely deciding to concentrate on eating his steak. Rogue chuckled.

After a while, he said, "Well, even if I go off for a while, I'll still have to come back to supervise your combat training."

"Why, you don't think Scott can do it?" Rogue teased.

Logan twitched an eyebrow to express his contempt for Scott's combat ability. "He does okay for a boy scout, I guess," he conceded. "But Rogue, you're not gonna be fightin' boy scouts. You're gonna hafta learn how to kick ass, down and dirty."

Rogue nodded. It was something she had already thought about, asking Wolverine for combat training, for the very reason he mentioned. "It's true, I guess. My mutant power is only good for getting up close and personal with people. Not like Scott's or Storm's. I don't even heal that fast if they get in a good blow. Not like you do. I've been doing a little training already, but – "

Logan grinned. "Kid, when I'm finished teachin' ya, you won't have to worry about them getting in any blows. And remember, a fight is only as personal as you make it." He seemed antsy, ready to leap off the bench and demonstrate.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ease off, Logan. I'm not in the mood to do any training tonight. No beatings tonight, okay?"

He swallowed his last bite of steak and looked up with the steak knife still in his hand. "Too bad," he muttered. His expression was closed, and he looked around the steak house a little desperately.

Rogue sighed. Her inner Wolverine was telling her exactly what was going though her dinner companion's mind. "All right, come on," she said, getting to her feet. "We're leaving."