Author's Note: Thanks to the few of you who actually gave me feedback on that last chapter. Most of you have been reading my stuff since the first chapter of "When the Stars Go Blue," and I thank you for following my writing and always encouraging me.You guys know who you are. Well, this is the last full chapter of this story. There may or may not be an epilogue. I was working on it but it's going slowly for me, so I'm still not sure. Also, I have an idea for another RoLo story (in no way related to this one), so if you guys would like to see more of this kind of writing from me, just let me know. But I digress. Enjoy the chapter.
xXx
Ororo woke to her name being called urgently and to a headache the intensity of which she'd never felt before. She tossed her head to the front and, as her eyes re-adjusted, she saw the professor standing over her, leaning on his cane. When she lifted her head and looked around the room, she found that she was leaning against the wall opposite of Logan's bed. It was apparent that she'd been thrown nearly six feet across the room.
"Wha…what happened?" she asked through the haze of pain that permeated every cell in her body. She lifted one hand to brush through her hair in that old gesture of anxiety and what she found stunned her. Her nerves worked to pull her hand away as her hair shocked her. Ororo turned to a mirror on the other end of the room, only to see that all of her hair was standing on end.
"This is amazing!" she heard Hank's voice exclaim.
"What is it?" the professor asked.
"Come and see this, Charles," Hank ordered, "His heart rate…its better than it's been in days. All of his vital signs…everything is normal…healthy. It's as though something's stimulated his entire body and mind back into a state of perfect health."
Both of the men turned to gaze at Ororo, who was still dazed from the encounter.
"But, he died," she said, "He was…he…" She held her hands in front of her face and saw the last remnants of electricity curling around her fingers.
"Well, I'll be damned," she said before passing out once again.
xXx
Hank carried Ororo up to her bedroom and tucked her in, pronouncing that, because she had been the source of the electric blast, she had not been severely injured by it, simply shaken up. He insisted that all that she needed was bed rest, but resolved to monitor her until she was better. The professor enlisted the aid of Rogue and Kitty, who eagerly agreed to be excused from their classes for the next few days in order to stay with Ororo and serve as her nurses.
In the meantime, Dr. McCoy continued to monitor Logan, who came out of his coma merely an hour after Ororo was removed from the room, but, because he was still in a weakened state, fell asleep after being conscious for only an hour. Still, he was doing better than he had been for the past two days, and Hank made the decision that he was well enough to be taken from the medical wing and allowed to continue his recovery in his own bed. Besides, the doctor felt that being close to Ororo would only hasten Logan's healing process.
For almost two more days, the two of them were nothing more than a slumbering mass of arms and legs, tangled up in each other, each drawing comfort and strength from the close proximity to the other. They woke only to take their meals and pay the occasional visit to the restroom. Otherwise, they were lost to the world, lost in each other's thoughts and dreams.
In the deepest hours of their third night after being re-united, Ororo awoke with her heart full of guilt, and shook the slumbering man next to her into consciousness. He groaned as his eyes opened, but the noise was muffled as a pair of lips rose up to bestow upon him a kiss filled with remorse and apology.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she whispered through the darkness.
"Don't tell me that you're sorry," he answered her, "Just tell me that you're here to stay, that you'll never leave me again."
"I am, and I won't. It was so hard without you, Logan. My heart wept for you even when my eyes were dried out," she replied without hesitation.
"I still don't see how you could have done it, 'Ro," he told her.
"It was a stupid thing to do. I wasn't myself; I didn't think," she said, "But I missed you, Logan. It was like a part of me was gone, and I learned that I can't live without you. I missed us, I missed this."
She buried her face in the thick, dark hair of his chest.
"I don't know what I would have done if I'd have lost you," she whispered, "I probably wouldn't have lasted for very long myself."
"I know," he said, "but now we don't have to worry about that." He kissed her forehead, and then bent to plant a kiss upon her lips.
"You know, I'm kind of grateful that all of this happened," she said, "Almost losing you, Logan, it put everything into perspective for me. But there's something that I still don't understand, and I know that Hank is wondering about it, too, because it's just so strange."
"What?" he asked.
"Your healing factor. I don't understand how you could have reached the point of near-death. Why didn't your healing factor kick in while you were fighting Magneto?" she inquired.
"Oh, that," Logan replied, "I guess I haven't been awake enough to tell anyone about what actually happened that day, but I should've figured that it'd be something that Hank would need to know."
"What?" asked Ororo.
"He used the cure on me, 'Ro," said Logan. She looked at him in horror, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open.
"Oh, jeez, 'Ro, it's not that bad," he said, "Magneto had this tiny syringe that was only about half full. I think all he wanted was to cripple me long enough to get a few really good swings, and then he ended up going crazy once he realized that I was too weak to even try to fight back."
"But, your powers…" she began, only to be cut off.
"My powers are gonna come back, 'Ro," he reassured her, "It's already been proven that the cure is temporary, and I didn't even get that much of it. Watch." He held up his hand, and she watched intently as his claws emerged. It was a slow process, one that took a great deal of thought on his part, whereas before he'd been able to unsheathe them at the drop of a pin.
"It's not all that impressive," he told her, "but it's a start." She nodded and smiled as he retracted his claws.
"We're gonna be okay this time, 'Ro," Logan said, taking her face in his hands, "and I'm not just saying that. I can feel it."
"I know. So can I. Logan, there's something else that I need to talk to you about," she said.
"What's that?" he asked.
"I did a lot of soul-searching while I was away from you, in Africa. I thought a great deal about…about us, and about the baby, and I decided something," she replied.
"And?" asked Logan, "What did you decide?"
"I realized that what I've wanted all along was for us to have a family together," she said, "Even after we lost the baby, I never truly gave up on that dream. It dawned on me that the only thing that kept us from having it was me, and my hesitation to let go of the past. Logan, I decided that, whenever you're well enough, whenever you're ready…I want us to try again."
"And you're sure of this, Ororo? You're absolutely positive that it's what you want?" he asked.
"Yes," she said, "Yes, I am."
"Well then," he kissed her again and cupped one of her breasts in his right hand, "I'm ready now." She giggled. "Oh, Logan," she said playfully.
"No," he growled, "I'm serious." He grabbed the bottom of her nightgown and lifted it away from her body, leaving her nude and glorious before him. As his lips and fingers roamed over every inch of her skin, she sighed in pleasure.
"I missed this," she whispered, "You don't know how much I missed it."
