Disclaimer: Last seen a couple chapters ago...if you don't already know that I don't own Logan and that I find that to be a very unhappy thought, then you haven't been paying attention...:) However, I do own Angela, Buzz, Totem and a couple other odd characters here and there...hands off of them, they get irate when strangers try to play with them...

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Chapter 8.

(Logan)

Our new "friend" managed to behave himself after I went to sleep. He even helped us break camp and pack our gear, offering to take some of the burden off both of us. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth and I knew the going would be easier on Angela that way, so we fashioned a pack out of a couple blankets and he shouldered it without protest.

Halfway through the day, it started to snow. I'd smelled it for a couple hours, but it wasn't a heavy snow. Angela started to grumble almost immediately. "Fuck, this sucks. I hate snow."

"I know darlin'. But at least this time I have clothes on." I replied with a smirk.

"Oh you are the most incorrigible!" She replied, smacking me lightly on the shoulder. I just chuckled and lit a smoke.

We hiked until dark, the snow finally starting to stick to the ground. Without prompting, Totem cleared a patch and found enough deadfall to start a fire. I put up the tent and got our sleeping gear in place, which was when it occurred to me that we needed new sleeping arrangements. It would never do to have Totem alone in the tent with Angela, yet I couldn't bring myself to leave the guy out in the snow. He might have plans for my woman, but I'm not completely cruel. Not all the time, anyway.

I made my way back to the fire, where the two of them were sitting in an uneasy silence. She was doing her normal routine, putting together something for us to eat, while he just sat there, watching her every move. I tossed a scowl in his direction as I came up next to her. "You doin' ok?"

She nodded. "Yeah. He creeps me out with the staring. But at least it's not like he's watching me sleep or anything." She shuddered. "I hate that."

I looked down to hide my smirk. Yeah, there's one thing I'll never admit to her. "Umm, we might have a problem." I said looking back up.

"What's that?"

"Three of us, one tent. And I'm not leavin' you alone in there with him for any reason."

"Logan, we can't make him sleep outside!"

"I know, darlin'. And you can't sleep out here alone either."

"So what are you suggesting?"

I let out a long breath. "We'll just have to all go to sleep at the same time. And I'll put me in between the two of you, so he'll have to go through me to get to you."

"You do know he could go outside to take a piss, then walk over to the wall next to me and cut through it, right?"

"I would hear it and be on his ass so fast he won't have time to react."

She thought about it for a bit, then nodded again. "All right. I don't like it, but I don't see that we have a choice."

"Yeah, I know." I leaned over and kissed her and she managed a smile for me. I sat down by the fire, feeding a few more branches to the flames. I caught Totem's eye in the sudden flare and he was unable to mask his hatred for me before I caught it. I scowled again, a sudden feeling of dread coming over me. He seemed to be complacent, even cooperative, but I got the impression there was more going on behind those eyes that I hadn't figured out yet. I would, though. It was just a matter of time.

We passed the rest of the evening in wary silence, watching the fire as it burned down to mere embers. When it finally came time to sleep, Angela went into the tent alone to change. Totem rose as though to follow her, but I stopped him with a firm hand to his chest. "I don't recommend that, bub."

"Are we not going to sleep now?" He asked, seemingly confused.

"Yes, we are. But if you get past me and go in there before she's ready, she'll rip you apart. And I don't want to sleep in a pile of your guts, got it?"

He nodded and we waited outside for her to give us the all clear. Yet another reason to hate this guy. I'm used to helping her change for bed. Or something like that. A few minutes later she called out to us and I preceded him into the tent.

Angela was already curled up on the far side of the tent from the doorway. I moved in next to her, pausing just long enough to remove my boots before lying down next to her, wrapping myself around her protectively. Totem frowned at the display, but took to his bedroll without complaint. I closed my eyes and tried to relax enough to sleep, but his presence in the tent had me wound too tight for that to happen. Still, I could feign sleep long enough for both of them to pass out. If I couldn't sleep, I could at least keep watch.

Naturally, the night passed without incident. Once again, Totem made himself useful, but I still didn't trust this sudden complacence. I know what it's like to break out of one of Stryker's facilities. Brainwashing or conditioning or whatever aside, no one falls into comfort with people who wanted him dead two days prior this quickly. Hell, it took me a week with Angela and I was her damn partner.

It was on this second day of the hike back that I noticed the slight changes in Angela's behavior. She was starting to look at him with something like curiosity as opposed to the blatant hostility of the previous days. She was also starting to talk to him. Not like deep, meaningful conversation, but asking him to hand her things or help her with the fire. I didn't need an excuse to get close to her, but I gathered her into my arms several times so I had a reason to smell her. Her scent hadn't changed, so she wasn't developing attraction. But she was losing her mistrust and I didn't like it.

We did make it back to the Jeep without incident, with the exception that Angela was now being outwardly nice to Totem. She still didn't smell any different, but there was something going on here that I couldn't figure out. I wasn't looking forward to the long drive back, so as soon as we had our gear stowed and made space for Totem, I plugged the cell phone into the charger and called the mansion. Chuck picked up on the third ring. "Hey, it's Logan."

"Logan!" He said, sounding genuinely pleased. "I've been tracking your progress. I take it things have gone well since the initial contact was made?"

"Yeah, you could say that. Listen, can you send Storm with the jet? The weather's gettin' chancy up here and we ain't exactly near the roads right now."

"I wish I could, but she and Scott have gone to South America."

"Excuse me? What the hell for?"

"I discovered a mutant in a very dangerous situation. They've gone to retrieve her and bring her back."

I cursed under my breath. "All right, fine. We'll just drive in shifts and no stopping." I looked over my shoulder and lowered my voice. "Chuck, I don't trust this guy. There's something off about him."

"Just get him back here and I'll see what I can discover." He said goodbye and broke the connection. I cursed again and went back to the Jeep.

Angela was already in the driver's seat with Totem sitting next to her. "What the hell you doin'?" I asked them both.

"I'm driving." She said simply. "We had a deal."

"Yeah well, I think we'll be better off drivin' straight through. So you drive til you're tired then I'll take over." She opened her mouth to protest, but I silenced her with a finger on her lips. "Ah! I'll let you drive after you rest, I promise."

She glared at me. "You better."

I switched my focus to Totem. "And you. In the back. Now." To his credit, he moved without protest. I settled into the passenger seat and took Angela's right hand in my own. She smiled at me and squeezed it.

"Ready to go home lover?" She asked.

"Hell yes. I want a hot shower."

"And you called ME 'soft'." She said, chuckling. I smiled at her and she started the Jeep. The trip from the mansion to where we left the Jeep had taken a little less than a day, not counting our stop at the motel. We weren't going to make that stop this time, so I put our time of arrival at some time the following afternoon. Storm and One-Eye would be back by then with the new arrival and Totem would be safely installed in a room half a mansion away from us. Life was good.

I took over the wheel for Angela about seven hours later. We'd finally made it back to main roads a couple hour previous and we'd stopped to fuel both the Jeep and ourselves before continuing. When Angela started yawning, I offered to take over. When she almost went off the road, I made her let me take over. She protested the whole time, grumbling that she wasn't that sleepy, but less than fifteen minutes after striking out again, she was asleep in the passenger seat. I smiled and stroked her hair and she smiled a bit in her sleep. With luck, she'd stay out for a good long while and I could talk into letting me drive the rest of the way. Maybe.

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Interlude: Dreaming

(Angela)

A field of red stretches all around you, as far as your eyes can see. The sun shines brightly in a cloudless sky the precise shade of a robin's egg. You move forward through the field, pausing for a moment to reach down and touch the red. A wave sweeps across the red, shaping it into thousands upon thousands of wild roses. You prick your finger on a thorn and jerk your hand back. A drop of blood the precise same shade as the roses wells up on your fingertip and you marvel at it for a moment. Funny, you never noticed how red your blood is before. Usually, it's nighttime when you're bleeding, so your blood looks black. You casually suck the drop from your finger before continuing on.

You feel drawn to something across the field, but you can't say what it is. You walk for what seems like hours, yet you also seem to make no progress through the roses. You pause again to listen around you, to peer into the distance for some indication that you're going the right way. But the red field never ends, never changes. You start to panic, your breath coming in fearful gasps as you try to find something, anything to fix on as a goal. Might as well decide to stop at a rose, as they are the only things you see. Your feet begin moving again, slowly at first but speeding into a breakneck run. You kick off your shoes at some point and the thorns bite into the bottoms of your feet. Your blood mingles with the roses, lost, forgotten.

You lose your footing and tumble headlong into the ground, thorns scratching and biting your flesh as you roll to a stop. You lay there for a moment to catch your breath, your back afire with pain from the thorns embedded in the skin. You sit up slowly and as you do so, darkness washes over the field.

The roses are as black as the blood seeping from a thousand tiny wounds. A chill wind lashes your hair and you whip your head from side to side, looking for shelter. At first, you see nothing, but a sudden flare of golden light ahead of you draws your gaze. A fire, perhaps? It doesn't matter. You brush leaves and bruised rose petals from yourself and trot towards the light.

Yes, it is a fire, but no one is there. Still, you sit next to it, warming your hands and watching as the thorn pricks begin to heal. The process mesmerizes you as though seeing it for the first time. It holds your attention so closely, you don't hear as the two shadowed figures approach from either side.

One is tall and slender, the other tall and powerfully built. Both look upon you with desire. Your gaze is initially drawn to the powerful one, your eyes giving him form as you take him in. As the shadows melt away, you realize it's Logan and that you love him and he loves you. You know you are his forever.

However, your gaze is slowly pulled away from him to the slender figure, which you look upon with curiosity. The shadows flee from him quickly and you see Totem standing there. You stand slowly and consider the two men in front of you.

Logan holds out a hand. "Come to me, Angela. I love you. I will always love you. Trust me."

You stretch a hand to him, smiling, but Totem's voice interrupts you. "Hellcat, my love, my mate. We belong together. You cannot fight it. Father made sure of that. Come to me."

Your eyes are fixed on Logan, but your feet betray you and you move to Totem. Tears stream down your cheeks as you try to fight the compulsion and the look in Logan's eyes changes from love to fury. Just as your hand closes around Totem's, you hear a distinctive "snikt" sound and you scream in pain as the tips of three razor-sharp claws burst through your stomach. Another scream is torn from your throat as three more claw tips appear next to the first. Logan screams in rage, pain and loss as he pulls them out, catching your body as it falls.

"Why, Angela? Why did you make me do it?" He asks, tears streaming down his face.

"I…don't know. I can't…help myself." You bring your fingers to his lips and smile. "I love you, Logan."

He throws his head back and screams again as darkness enfolds you.

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AN: Ooh, what's going on here? Heh heh...keep reading and find out...:)