Author's note: Guys, you can still wish for something you'd like to see happening in the Epilogue! I already added two wishes in this chapter and the third I received will be in the last chapter. So, let me know!
Changes Chapter 40 (2nd version)
They all couldn't help but stare at the flat line the monitor projected, which was accompanied by a long, monotonous sounding beep. Besides this, no other sound could be heard, as suddenly, Lily started crying aloud, while Storm and Rogue began to sob heavily. Moira only shook her head. She kept on looking to and fro between the monitor and the body next to her. She couldn't believe that they've failed. That they broke the promise they had made to each other, when they'd sworn that no one of them would die today. That they wouldn't let it happen. Especially he had said it… Icemen did his best to calm his shaking girlfriend who tried to soothe Lily, while Cyclops held Storm tight, whose sobs were accompanied by painful hisses. He himself only stared. Giving the Professor a short glance, he saw in the eyes of his mentor a deep sadness rising. He knew he blamed himself for not being able to help him. And he also knew who else he was thinking about…
"Scott! Come over here!" Moira suddenly said aloud and very urgent. He looked up and watched her running to the corner of a room, searching through some small bottles. "Come on! What are you waiting for, hurry!"
Slowly, Cyclops got up and walked over to her, followed by the looks of the others. He didn't know what she wanted, how he could be of help and how she intended or believed that she could change anything… "What do you want me to do?" he therefore asked sounding pretty confused.
"Do CPR, while I ran over to the infirmary. I don't have the stuff here I need, damn it," she cursed and ran off. "Just keep his heart beating!"
Shaking his head, he bent forward to begin with a cardiac massage. He would do what she wanted, even if he didn't believe that it would change anything. Touching his comrades chest, the monitor suddenly began to beep in an irregular slow rhythm.
"What the…!" Cyclops said and looked at the others, who just raised their heads and had the same odd expression on their faces. "But I didn't do anything…" he added in confusion and looked down on Logan, just to stare at the monitor in the next second. Rogue only stared down on the suddenly completely calm Lily.
"Might be his healing factor," the Professor's voice suddenly sounded and the man raised his head a bit, grimacing in pain shortly, since he had a skull breaking headache. "It wants to keep him alive by all means."
"Yeah, but it won't be of any help," Mystique commented in a sarcastic voice and walked over to a trey with bandages and other medical equipment. She had seen what the others hadn't so far.
"Why?", Cyclops asked her confused and watched her beginning to dress Logan's several wounds.
"Because his bleeding to death, you idiot!" she hissed and could only roll her eyes about his stupidity. She actually thought this was obvious, since the blood kept on flowing out of the wounds onto the table. She watched how a large wound on the abdomen began to reopen. She didn't have to ask, she knew who had caused it and narrowed her eyes hated. She really hoped that he had killed them…
"It's useless," Cyclops cursed and shook his head, while pressing a cloth on the large wound. "We can't stop it!"
"We have to keep on working until she's back, haven't we? So go on with it!"
He stared into her merciless and angry yellow eyes, while she ignored him and kept on treating the wounds as good as possible. "You're not our guest here, don't forget that!"
Hearing someone heavily breathing, they all looked up as Moira came back, holding some equipment in her hand. "You made it?", she asked surprised and stared at the monitor.
"Actually," Cyclops answered. "No, it started on its own again."
She cocked an eyebrow at him and shook her head, before she laid everything on the table next to them. "God, this is worse than I thought…," she said more to herself when she saw all the blood. "Okay, step back. I need to do a surgery. Otherwise even his healing factor can't help him anymore." She bent over Logan's body and examined the wounds quickly, before she grabbed something from the pile she had just brought with her. Beginning to stitch the large wounds, she looked up from time to time and gave the still irregular heartbeat a worried look. She new she had to do this very quickly and even if she managed it to stop the bleeding, they couldn't be sure… "Try to get Jean, I need her help here!"
"Are you crazy?" Cyclops asked her shocked. "If Jean only sees…"
"If I see what?"
Turning around, they all stared at the red head in shock who sent Colossus, whose wounds were already treated, telekinetically to a bed. Cyclops swallowed hard and gave the Professor a worried look. He didn't know how to start or what to say. "Jean, look…"
"If I see what!" she asked again and stepped forward; seeing the fear in the eyes of the others, which had immediately caused her heart to contract before it had began to beat triple rhythms. Something was terribly wrong. She knew it… Coming closer, her eyes drifted off to a black torn uniform which looked like as if it had been sent through a shredder. Some parts had yellow lines on it like her had red ones. Yellow lines…, she thought and her eyes widened. Instantly she knew what was wrong. "No!" she gasped and pushed Cyclops out of the way who could only bit her lip and watched her standing like frozen in front of the table. Her hand covered her mouth as she started to pant in shock and she completely forgot about her surroundings. She only had eyes for him…
"Jean, I need your help here, do you hear me?" Moira asked her in an urgent voice. "Jean!"
Looking at her with completely confused eyes, which told everyone immediately that she was totally lost and couldn't think straight, the red head seemed to stare through her opposite. "You need to help me!" the woman in front of her tried again and met her eyes. She had to help her getting over the shock. She couldn't do it alone. "Logan needs you, Jean!"
Blinking, Jean looked down again, closing her eyes for a brief moment, before she heaved a deep sigh. "What do you want me to do?" she asked barely audible.
"We need to stop the bleeding. He already lost too much blood," Moira explained quickly and handed over a needle. "I'll take care of the wounds here. You treat the rest." She saw how Jean's eyes stared at the monitor. "Don't look at it! Just concentrate on your work here. We need to help him, do you understand me?" The other woman nodded and desperately tried to think professional when she began to start working; not thinking about that it was him…
Cyclops had looked at Colossus in the meanwhile. He noticed that he couldn't be of any help here. Jean had already done her job and he could tell by the look of the man in front of him that she had very likely transported him to the infirmary to treat the wounds. Still, he could only shake his head. They had taken more damage than they could cause themselves. Their strongest fighters were badly wounded, only the kids were still fighting. And Nightcrawler of course. He walked over to the Professor and bent down a bit. What he had to say was only for the ears of his mentor. "We have to do a retreat," he told him mentally and gave him a serious look. "There are far too many casualties here and Magneto still has mutants left who can fight. We can't risk that the rest of us gets killed…"
"I know what you mean," Charles answered. "I already told Angel and Nightcrawler to get the others and come back." Sadly he looked at the two doctors who were still fighting with the wounds. "It's worse than I have ever imagined it, Scott. Far worse…"
His opposite followed his look. "Yeah, it truly is…"
Mystique, who had leant against a table and had watched Jean and Moira working on Logan came closer and tapped him on the shoulder. "What did the mutant look like who Logan fought with?"
Confused, Cyclops thought about her question briefly. "Silver arms, blue dress, mean face…"
He watched how her chin dropped and her eyes switched towards Logan. "Why? Do you know him?"
Without answering him, Mystique walked over to the two women. "He's poisoned!"
"What?" Moira asked her and looked up briefly. "How do you want to know?"
"The mutant who attacked him is called Cyber. His claws contain strong neurotoxins and hallucinogens."
"He can't be poisoned. His healing factor would fight the substances immediately," Jean gave back stressed. "He's immune to substances like that."
Mystique gave her a cold glare. "Well, not if those toxins were specifically designed to affect Wolverine, right?" she shot back and both women looked up. "And they were! There are a lot of people out there who would like to see him dead, just in case you don't know. But does Weapon X ring a bell by you!" She looked down on the body in front of her. "And if you haven't noticed, he shaking all over and sweating." With that she turned around to retire to her corner again.
Jean immediately bent forward as she was finished with her part of the wounds and laid a hand on his cheek. "Oh God…"
Moira looked up when she heard her gasp. "What is it?"
"He's burning up with fever. His skin is like on flames…"
Her opposite briefly touched Logan's arm. "You're right," she said and looked up, as the monitor began to beep warningly. Moira shook her head panicky. "His system is completely overloaded. He can't deal with everything at once…"
"But there must be something you can do," Rogue suddenly nearly yelled. "Please! Help him!" She looked at them through wet eyes, her expression completely despaired. She'd never been so scared in her life before. Not even when Magneto had forced her to absorb his powers. Watching a friend, her best friend, die without being able to help him was the most painful thing she had ever gone through. Sobbing, she shook her head and buried it in her hands. "Please, help him…"
Bampf. Shrieking, the students backed off as Nightcrawler suddenly appeared in front of them. Cyclops and some others watched him coming closer with a frightened look on his face. "She's dying," he said and looked down on Wolfsbane's limb body in his arms. "Multiple Man and Juggernaut attacked her. I was too late." Sadly he closed his eyes.
"It's not your fault, Kurt," Charles tried to soothe him. "Lay her down there."
Beast had moved a bit and grimaced in pain. "If someone helps me, I can treat her."
"No, if you don't stop moving you're wound will reopen," Moira warned him and shook her head. "I can't use you to bleed to death, too. So don't even dare to move an inch!"
"But you can't do this all alone. Both need you help," he replied weakly and looked at her in despair.
"Do you know how to treat wounds properly?", the woman suddenly asked and all eyes turned to Mystique.
"Mostly," the blue woman replied chilly.
"Try to help her until we are finished her, will you?"
Shrugging, Mystique walked over to the girl and grabbed some bandages from the tray. She didn't care a bit about the others watching her suspiciously. Beast suddenly grabbed Nightcrawler's arm. "In my lab," he said tiredly. "There is a cupboard with pills and medicine. I put the vial with Logan's healing factor in it too. It's a light blue liquid and there must be still three of them. Can you get them from there?" His opposite nodded and disappeared immediately.
"It will take too long until it takes effect," Cyclops commented his idea. "It took almost five weeks until Jean was fine again and they don't have this time."
"I think it took so long with her because Phoenix was fighting it," Beast replied with half closed eyes. "We have to try it. It's their only chance." He watched how the women began to put cold cloths on Logan's body. Sadly, he closed his eyes and shook his head.
"If his temperature goes over 108 F we'll be in trouble. He can go into convulsive seizures or shock…," Moira said while Jean waited for the thermometer to finish its job. Under her hands, she felt his muscles tense violently. "I think he has heavy pains…" She looked at the red head who still waited for a result to appear on the display before her gaze switched to the monitors. "Logan can't take this… His heart-valve timing is fluctuating!"
"No, wonder," Jean said frightened. "It's over 108 F…"
"Damn it!" Moira cursed and dipped the cloths in cold water again. "We have to give him…"
Bampf. All of a sudden, Nightcrawler reappeared, holding a vial in his hands. "Only one?", the woman asked him confused.
"Only one left. The others were destroyed," he replied and looked at the others. "The room was a whole mess…"
"We need at least two if we want to get both through," she said panicky. "What now?"
Jean watched her filling an injection. "What is this?" she asked her and gave her an odd look.
"Anti-fever drug," Moira replied confused.
"You can't give it to him," the red head immediately said and shook her head. "Everything that's not natural to his body is regarded as a threat. His body will fight it and you will only make it worse."
"His healing factor is apparently not working right now," Moira replied and wanted to get past her, but Jean grabbed her hand. "Jean, we have to give him something or else his body is quitting again. And I doubt that he'll survive this!"
"His healing factor works on his heart to keep it beating," her opposite hissed. "You're not giving him other drugs, you understand me?"
Cyclops stepped forward. "Jean," he said calmly and grabbed her shoulder. "She's right. He won't make it without medicine."
"You don't understand!" she shot back. "He is already drugged! It will cause more damage than good to him! We can't give him the cure either, because we don't know if the substance was changed by those scientists or if his body can deal with it. Give it to her, he would want it that way." He saw her fear and despair in her eyes and knew she would do anything to keep them away from him. "We have to get the drugs out of him. Before that his healing factor won't kick in completely." Turning she watched how Moira was close to inject the drug into him. With an easy movement of her hand, she sent her backwards a bit. "You do as I say!" she hissed and her eyes glowed fiery for a brief moment on what the others gave her shocked looks.
"Jean," Charles said calmly and raised his head a bit. "I know that you are scared, but Moira only wants to help him."
"The life systems are spiking, Jean!" Moira shrieked and gave her a dark look. "We've got to do something now!"
"What about the liquid?" Cyclops asked and looked to and fro between the women. "Wolfsbane is barely breathing anymore!" He had done his best to treat her with Mystique's help before while Beast had given them instructions.
"Can't you split it?" Storm asked weakly and still had her eyes on Logan who was shaking all over in fever and pain. "So that you can help both of them?"
Moira shook her head while drawing a bit blood from him. "I doubt it. It wouldn't be enough to kick in maybe. I'll go and analyze the blood quickly. In that way we know what toxins are in his body."
Jean sighed and closed her eyes while supporting herself against the table. She could only lower her head and shake it. It was a nightmare for her. The worst she could ever imagine. Neither did she know what to do, nor what could possibly help him. She looked at the monitors emotionless which were still spiking violently. She had to do something…
"Jean," Cyclops said reassuringly and laid his hands on her shoulders supporting. "You're doing everything you can. Don't blame yourself… It's only up to him now. And he's fighting, you know that…"
"What happened to him?" she asked and turned around with tears in her eyes. It hurt him seeing her being so lost and despaired.
"I don't know," he answered honestly while looking down on Logan for a brief second. "He laid on the ground and couldn't move. Then he had trouble breathing and blacked out. When I Moira finally hooked him up to the machines, he had already gone into cardiac arrest and then his heart started on its own again," he told her calmly, still not believing everything was real. "Magneto must have sent his most powerful mutants against him. You know that he can easily take care of himself. I think he was trying to run away from them. Logan would have never come back to the house with them following him, if it wasn't for his life. He would have never endangered us…"
Surprised over his words and that he was talking in a positive way over her fiancé for the first time ever as far as she could remember, Jean gave him a sad look, before she turned around again, when Moira reappeared. "We've got to think about something quickly!" she told Jean with fear in her voice. "Look at this!" She handed her a piece of paper.
Cyclops bent forward and frowned since he didn't understand a word which was written down on it. "What does this mean?"
Moira checked the monitors once more before she noticed that Logan's tissues were regressing. She could only shake her head. "He's full of life-threatening poisons," she told him bluntly. "Toxic alkaloids, Lophophora Williamsii, dozen different organic poisons, traces of hallucinogenic alkaloids… Pick one!"
"Do we have a dialysis?" Jean suddenly asked her without looking at her. She still had her eyes fixed on the monitors and watched the irregular lines.
Moira cocked an eyebrow. "He's too weak for it…"
"That wasn't my question!" the red head shot back. "Do we, yes or no?"
"Yes, in the lab."
Without thinking twice, Jean turned around to Nightcrawler. "Can you get it from there?" Nodding, he disappeared.
"Jean…," Moira tried again, but her opposite shook her head; showing her clearly that she didn't want to hear anything from her. "He lost too much blood… He won't make it!"
"He would never give up on us, so don't you dare giving up on him!" Jean hissed and gave her a cold glare, while her eyes burned fiery once more. "We need to get the poison out of him first. And it's the only way to do it." Without looking at the other woman, who only stared at her in respect because of this sudden change in her personality, she turned around. "Bobby!"
"Yeah," he replied carefully and a bit scared of her.
"I need you to cool his body. We have to lower the fever."
"Ehm,…okay!" Iceman got up and walked over to the table, not really knowing what exactly she wanted him to do. "But how?"
Jean thought about it briefly. She hadn't thought about the how, only about the necessity. "Can you," she began and wrinkled her brows in thought. "Can you affect the air around him? I mean not really freezing it, just getting it cooler than it is now?"
Iceman gave her a confused look. He had never tried something like that. "I…I don't know. I never did it."
"Try it!" she only said and turned as another noise sounded right behind her. "You got it?"
"Yes," Nightcrawler replied even if he had just grabbed something of which he thought that this was what they called a dialysis. "Is this right?"
Jean nodded and helped him to carry it over to the table. Moira still stood opposite her and only shook her head. She hadn't had a good feeling about it. Nevertheless, she also didn't want to fight with the red head. Especially not after she'd seen what the woman was capable of. "Do you want to just stare or be of help?" Jean suddenly asked her harshly, the anger completely visible in her voice.
Cyclops could only shake his head and turned while they hooked Logan up to the machine. He walked over to the students and watched them, before he heard footsteps in the tunnel. "Kurt!" he said aloud and pointed towards it and the blue mutant understood. "We're not letting them through if it's the enemy." Waiting they kept their eyes on the tunnel, being ready to strike and fight if necessary. Relieved they calmed down when they noticed a feathered white wing. "It's only them," Cyclops said and stepped forward.
Angel, Magma, Sunfire and Karma stopped right in front of him. "Sorry that it took so long to come back," the young man said. "But they are retreating for a group discussion or something like that and we couldn't get through first."
"It's okay," Cyclops replied and studied them closely. "Is anyone of you hurt?" They shook their heads.
"Only a few scratches," Magma said and Karma nodded, while they looked at the mess in shock.
"Good." He turned to Angel, who switched from Moira and Jean to him again. "How many of them are left?"
The boy thought about it briefly, before he shook his head. "I don't know. They were 30 or something and now… At least," he tried to remember how many of them he'd seen. "…around 15 or more."
"Damn," Cyclops cursed and clenched his fist. "We only have seven left. The others are too badly wounded." Worried, he turned around and looked at his comrades. He knew a second attack would be devastating for them. They were running out of time and had to make plans. "Okay, everyone who's still healthy gets over here. We have to make a plan!" He waited until everyone was gathered around him, before he frowned. "Hey, where's Jean?" he asked in confusion and gave Moira a look, but she hadn't noticed the absence first either. Mystique on the contrary had seen it and had managed to sneak out of the room, too, following the red head to the upper level.
XXX
"Have you found the child?" Magneto asked and turned towards Emma who looked rather bored and shook her head. "And where are Shadow King and Unus?" He looked into the sixteen men strong group.
"Don't know. I got bored and looked for some other stuff to play with," the light haired woman. "They kept on torturing the almighty Phoenix."
"Don't underestimate her!" Magneto snapped and gave her a cold look. "If they aren't here she has probably killed them, you stupid girl!"
"I highly doubt that!" She replied arrogantly. "She couldn't even defend herself. Only begged us to stop. And when I left her eyes went all black."
The master of magnetism crossed his arms in front of his chest thinking. "So, she turned into her counterpart then…," he thought aloud and looked over towards the mansion, before he had to smirk. "Well, that could become interesting."
"What about me?" Pyro asked and held up his frozen hands. "Can anyone get rid off this stuff? I wanna fight!"
"Can you?" Magneto asked Emma who only snorted before she went over to the young man.
Their leader only shook his head in annoyance. His blue eyes switched over to the mansion again and he smiled. He would win, this was for sure. His Brotherhood still outnumbered the X-Men and with Phoenix inside, he was definitely the winner.
"Eric!"
Magneto sighed and looked at the helmet in his hand. "What do you want Charles?" he asked uninterested.
"Stop this! It leads to nothing but pain and death. It doesn't have to end like this!"
"Wrong, it will end like this!" he shot back and put his helmet back on his head. "You and your X-Men should have thought about it before, old friend. It will end tonight, but your X-Men can still surrender and no one will get hurt anymore."
"You know that they will never do it! But most of them are only children, Eric! Doesn't this mean anything to you?"
"Honestly, no!" Magneto shot back and turned towards his Brotherhood who only waited to attack, even if most of the 16 were hurt. "Good-bye, old friend!" He watched how Pyro moved his hands slowly and tried to use his powers. Satisfied he saw as a small flame shot out of his hand.
"Ready!" Pyro smiled devilishly.
"Where's Mystique?" Magneto asked them and looked to and fro. He hadn't seen her the whole time through as far as he could remember.
"Here!" she suddenly said right behind him and stepped forward, while he watched her suspiciously. "How do we proceed?"
"What's the situation in there?" he asked her instead. "I miss Sabretooth, Cyber, Bloodscream and Wendigo."
"They are dead," she replied coldly. "He killed them."
Clenching his fists, Magneto cursed briefly. "I hope they killed him too?"
But she only shook her head. "No, they didn't."
"Doesn't matter," he said through clenched teeth and turned to the whole group. "My brothers! This will be our last attack and if I say last, I mean it! We will take them down by no means, my friends. We will destroy their last stand and finally wipe them out!"
"Look, who's coming!" Emma suddenly said and smirked; arms crossed in front of his chest.
Frowning, Magneto turned around as all of a sudden, a satisfied smile appeared on his face. "My dear, I am glad that you have found your way back to us!" Stepping forward, he crashed against a tree in the next second. Confused he looked up. "What are you all waiting for?" he barked. "Attack her!"
Looking at each other, they waited before Juggernaut sprinted forward, aiming his helmet at Jean who stood all alone in the middle of the half destroyed garden; eyes angrily fixed on them directly. Running at her right behind him, they watched how she rose into the air, arms spread. Furiously, Pyro shot his flames at her, while the teleporter vanished, just to reappear right behind her. Narrowing her eyes, Jean glared at them. Her eyes burned up with fire, before it began to cover her whole body within an instant. Watching her, Magneto looked at Mystique who still stood right next to him. "What are you waiting for?" She only smiled at him, before she turned and kicked him to the ground. First, he gave her a surprised look, before his eyes narrowed in anger. "So you are the spy. I am very disappointed, my dear!"
"Save your breath old man!" she hissed and grabbed him. "You're gonna pay!"
"For what?" he asked her arrogantly and got up from the ground. "For leaving a homo sapient behind? What do you think are they gonna do with you, huh? Do you think they welcome you to their school? After everything you've done?"
Mystique glared at him, while a giant explosion and a loud shriek echoed through the scenery, causing the ground to vibrate heavily. Blinded by a dazzling light, they had to cover their eyes for a brief moment; not being able to see anything at all. "I don't expect them to," she shot back and made sidesteps after he began to move. "But I'll never forgive you for what you've done!"
"Really?" he asked her sarcastically. "I don't care about traitors like you!"
"You're the only traitor to his own kind here!" Mystique replied and pounced on him.
The Brotherhood members stared into the sky in astonishment and fear as a giant firebird began to rise above Phoenix. Her glowing eyes were glaring at them, were so full of hate and thirst for revenge. She would make them pay for what they've done to her friends and family. Raising her arms even higher, the bird shrieked aloud and spread its wings proudly, sending devastating waves into every direction. Some mutants underneath her ran away screaming as fast as they could, while few others still kept on attacking her, even if it was useless. Her corona blocked every attack they came up with and she could only smile.
Looking up arrogantly as ever, Emma crossed her arms in front of her chest. She didn't even bother to start an attack. She was intelligent enough to see that the furious woman above her was stronger than her. Shrugging, she ran to the safest part of the garden and stopped there, just to be thrown to the ground by a giant energy wave, which Phoenix radiated constantly every few seconds. Raising her head a bit, her eyes widened as the firebird grew higher and higher until it covered half of the mansion. Holding her ears while her eyes were tightly closed in pain, she had to scream in pain as the bird let out another loud but also shrill shriek once more. Without thinking twice, she turned around and ran away as fast as she could.
XXX
"What was that?" Cyclops asked frightened as a loud explosion caused the walls to shake.
He looked at the Professor who had closed his eyes and concentrated; ignoring his still painful headache. "It's Jean."
"What? She's outside?" he asked him and stepped forward. "Is she crazy? They are gonna kill her!"
"I'd rather say she's going to kill them," Charles replied calmly, but also scared. "She's furious and so strong… I'm afraid that she might lose it."
"I'll go upstairs!"
"No, Scott!" Storm said and shook her head weakly. "You have no idea what she's like if Phoenix takes over."
He saw the fear and concern in her eyes. "But we can't let that happen!"
"We have to trust her, Scott!" Charles said as calmly as possible despite his inner turmoil. "We can't do much more than that. Logan taught her everything he knows to keep the beast within her under control. So we have to wait and hope that she won't act irrationally. No one of us can stop her anyway…"
The students shrieked as another muffled sounding explosion caused the hiding place to vibrate violently again. Worriedly, the others looked up.
XXX
Screaming in fear, the other mutants began to run towards the woods as the firebird did a nosedive and went after them; beak wide opened and eyes narrowed. Cutting of their escape route by a large whirlwind which began to surround them, they stopped and watched with widened eyes how the bird came quickly closer and closer. Saw how things began to float through the cool air. Spreading its wings, it was ready to swallow and burn them to ashes all at once, as it suddenly stopped…
One arm raised, Phoenix glowing eyes met Magneto's who had managed to knock Mystique out with an iron bar. She saw how he raised his hands and gathered every metallic object he could find above his head to a large cannonball and narrowed her eyes, which began to glow even more. "Take your men and retreat!" she hissed in a low and very dark sounding voice.
"Never!" he shot back and turned the cannonball above his head. "Why do you stick with them, my dear? After all they've done to you?"
"Don't even try to manipulate me, Magneto!" Phoenix warned him menacingly and the flamed around her began to flicker violently. "Take them and leave! Or no one of you will survive today!"
"Manipulating you?" He gave a derisive laugh. "I only try to save you, Jean! Wasn't it your precious Wolverine who killed you in the end? Weren't it your friends who showed you the cold shoulder? Oh, don't look like that, my dear! I know what you've been gone through. You don't belong with such traitors." He gave her a smile, knowing that he would win her back. "Take your kid and come back to us, Jean."
"You're not gonna touch them!" she hissed and the firebird shrieked aloud in rage.
"Them?" Magneto asked and frowned before it hit him. "I see. So you and this runt have twins… Well, that's news as I might say."
"Leave my family alone," she hissed and the fire began to cover her whole body; swallowing her from head to toe and making her appear more like a flaming, living torch. "Take them and leave, it's my last warning!"
"Your decision," he replied with a pitiful undertone. "But I'll get your powerful offspring anyway, you know that, my dear!" Seeing her gritting her teeth in fury, he quickly raised his hand and shot the giant cannonball at her, just to widen his eyes as it exploded in his elements all of a sudden. He felt the ground starting to shake and the strong wind of the whirlwind in front of him. He had to admit that he was scared to death.
"We should go!" Pyro said next to him and Magneto gave him, Juggernaut, Multiple Man and two others a weird look. "She's going to kill them and no offence, but I don't want to be burned to ashes. That's actually my job!" Helping him up, they ran into the woods as the bird shrieked once more and mixed its furious scream with those of the mutants who couldn't run away anymore. They were trapped and the bird already had started its final attack…
XXX
"Can you feel anything?" Rogue asked and Charles sighed in frustration.
"Magneto and few others escaped. But Jean's fury doesn't wear off…" Suddenly he frowned.
"What?" Cyclops immediately asked and bent forward, supporting himself against the table. "What is it?"
"Everything's quiet all of a sudden. I…I don't feel anything anymore." Worriedly, he looked up.
"What does that mean?" the man in front him asked frightened. "Is she alive?"
The Professor could only shake his head. "I don't know…"
Turning around after a moment, Cyclops headed for the door. "No matter what you think, I go and look!"
Abruptly, he stopped and his eyes widened. "Jean…"
Raising their heads, Charles, Storm and Beast looked at the red head who sent Mystique telekinetically to another free table without saying anything. Frowning, they looked at each other in confusion.
"Jean, what happened up there? What did you do?" Cyclops asked her while she began to dress the wound on Mystique's head carefully.
"What do you think?" she hissed coldly.
"You killed them?"
"Most of them," she replied barely audible and stared down, concentrating on her work hard, while he stared at her in shock. When she was done, she walked over to Logan again; completely ignoring the looks of the others. She knew what they were thinking, but she didn't care. It had happened and she couldn't stop herself from doing it. She had enough to do to cope with the guilt she felt and with her inner fear which kept on eating her up from within. She couldn't lose him. Not now…
Cyclops had looked down for several minutes before he was able to think straight again. Somehow he kept on telling himself that she hadn't killed them in blind rage. He wanted to believe that she at least had given them the chance to flee… Shaking his head and heaving a deep sigh, he turned his head. "What now?"
Charles had already sat down in his wheelchair again, which Nightcrawler had gotten him from Cerebro. "Since they are really gone, we should go out and look at the damage the fight has caused. If the dormitories are still intact, the students can return to their rooms. They are pretty much exhausted."
"Everyone except Logan can be brought to the infirmary. It's too risky to move him," Moira said and looked at the weak lines on the monitors. "At least I hope that not everything in there was destroyed…"
"No, the infirmary was intact, but the lab took damage," Nightcrawler told her and joined the Professor and Cyclops. Together they left.
Jean hadn't moved an inch. She just stood there, eyes closed and held his hands while her heart was racing within her.
XXX
"That will be a lot of work…," Cyclops commented while staring at the large gap in the west wing of the mansion. "This was the sport where Juggernaut hit Colossus. We can't use the upper level here or the wall collapses completely."
Charles nodded. "Ororo can take care of the garden when she feels better, but you're right. It will take quiet some time before we can use this part again." His eyes scanned the rest of the backside, which was dipped into orange-red light by the rising sun. The fight had lasted the whole night through, he thought. "I will call a construction firm later," he said and moved over to the backdoor. "They can take care of it. Now let's see what else needs to be done."
"Has she really killed them?" Cyclops suddenly asked and Xavier closed his eyes as if a pain just had jolted through his body. He had only waited for him to ask this. The question was bothering Scott the whole time through. Charles had felt it.
"Yes. I'm afraid she has," he replied calmly and Nightcrawler looked down.
"But why?" Cyclops asked despaired. "I mean… If it was Logan who did it, okay. I know that he's capable of something like that, but Jean…"
"Scott," the Professor said and turned around, giving the young man a serious look. "You have never seen what she is capable of. I only know it, because Ororo was so kind to let me see it. Jean is a powerful mutant. The only class five mutant I know. Her powers are limitless and she can do anything she wants. No one can stop her if she unleashes her full power."
"But I thought Logan worked with her on it," he gave back and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I thought as long as her is there it can't happen to her again."
"That's the point," his opposite replied calmly. "Logan wasn't there. She has seen the damage the Brotherhood has caused. Not only on him, but on every one of us and she got angry. And anger immediately goes over in revengeful. She wanted to protect us. And what I have caught of some minds, she even gave them the chance to leave and never come back, but Eric…" He shook his head. "It's in Jean's nature, Scott. The Phoenix and the Wolverine are very similar to each other. Both are uncontrollable if they get to the surface. Both want to punish in order to protect their family. You can't blame Jean for it. She already feels bad enough."
Cyclops sighed and gave Nightcrawler a brief glance. "It's just… Sometimes I think I don't even know her. I…I don't recognize the Jean I knew before."
"I know," his opposite said and moved again towards the mansion with them following him. "I keep on asking myself if I hadn't put those barriers into her head would she be different today? Would she have been the same Jean as she is now? Would she have been able to control her powers from the beginning? There are so many questions on which we will never have an answer. But the fact is she knows what she has done and it is hard for her to deal with it. Especially with Logan being at death's door." He gave both men a short look. "We have to be there for her and help her. But there's nothing else we can do." Nodding, they knew what he meant and followed him silently into the building again.
XXX
After the wounded X-Men were brought to the infirmary and the students had returned to their bedrooms, Jean was still at Logan's side, while the twins were sleeping on the empty bed next to her. Holding his hand, her sad and despaired green eyes stared at him and waited for the dialysis to do its job. Frightened, she watched how he still shook in pain and fever and felt completely helpless and lost. He was covered all over with bandages, far more than back after Liberty Island. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, she laid her head into her free hand and sighed, before shaking her head. What could she do? How could she help him? Could she even help him! Turning her head only a bit, she looked at him once more with an indefinable expression on her face. She wanted to be strong for him, to help him with her own strengths as he always did for her. But she'd never realized how hard, if not impossible for her, it actually was. Hearing the monotonous sound of his irregular heartbeat, she bit her lip hard, while she was still holding his right hand tightly.
"You know," Jean began barely audible and looked down. "…this is one of those moments again, Logan. When I come to you being a complete mess and all girly-like…and have nothing better to do than starting to cry because of something I can't cope with which was in fact nothing you would even worry about…" She blinked and took a deep breath trying desperately to calm herself. "I killed them, Logan… Not all of them but many. I don't even know why I did it," she shook her head and bit her lip had, while her muscles tensed violently. Her trembling lips caused her voice to shake in between. "But then again, I know I wanted to do it. I wanted to make them feel the pain. To feel the sorrow and pain they left you with…" Jean looked up again. The despair and anguish was written down on her face, was visible in her eyes, which were steadily getting wetter. "And I know what you would do just now," biting her lip once more, she swallowed hard since her voice wavered. She needed to be strong for him now. She wanted to. "You would shake your head and just hold me without replying anything. But it's enough for me to feel good again. And you know it. You always do." Heaving a loud sigh her lips began to tremble even harder. "You always protect me…and I always fail to do the same for you. Every time you have to suffer because of me. I always cause you suffering and pain just because I am too damn insecure and weak. And I don't know why… I keep on asking myself it…why I'm not able to protect you only once. Only one damn time." Staring down on her hands she shook her head again. She couldn't continue while her heart was nearly breaking in her chest. She needed a break. "I don't know what to do anymore. I can blast a damn planet at once but I can't help you… How strange is that! And you know what?" she asked and smirked cynically. "I can't even keep up my strength for you… I'm trying but I just can't… It's really one of those moments, Logan," Jean shook her head in despair and fought to hold back her tears by heaving another deep sigh. "I really need you to take me into your arms and tell me that everything's going to be alright again." Her voice broke immediately when she looked at him again and realized the whole situation once more. Loudly she began to cry and bent forward to bury her face on his shoulder as she always did in such a situation. Sitting like this for a moment, she closed her eyes briefly. "Please don't leave me. I need you so much…," she said calmly during several sobs and took his hand again. "You still owe me a trip to Canada and a suite, remember? You promised me," she added and pulled a face before another sob left her throat. "And you always keep them…so don't start breaking them now!"
XXX
A few days later, after she recovered from her injuries, Mystique stood in front of Professor X's desk and stared at him skeptically. From the outside, the noise of the construction workers could be heard, which were still fixing the damage on the mansion. Looking around in the office, her yellow eyes finally came to a rest on the kind looking man in front of her again. Charles bent forward a bit and smiled at her slightly. "I wanted to talk with you about how you intended to proceed," he said in his casual calm voice and watched her closely. Even if he tried hard, there was no visible emotion mirrored on her face. "You helped us a lot during the fight with Eric and as far as I know you have no place to go."
"So you want me to stay?" she asked in distrust and crossed her arms in front of her chest, while she eyed him suspiciously.
Charles leant back again. "It's up to you. If you decide to stay, you can stay here. If you want to leave, you are free to do so," he explained. "But if you decide to stay, you'll have to be aware of the fact that it will take time before the others will warm up with you. They haven't forgotten about what had happened before! You'll have to show them that you really want to be part of this school and also that you can be trusted."
She gave him a cold smile. "They'll never trust me! It's a waste of time."
He smiled again and shook his head briefly. "It was Logan who asked for help, wasn't it," Charles asked her knowingly in return. "You tried to abduct Jean when she was pregnant with his children, you turned us against him and I nearly expelled him out of this school, too. Still, he asked you for help. And if he can give you a chance, the others will take a leaf out of his book because they look up to him. They trust his judgment completely! And Logan would definitely have been the hardest to convince if you decided to stay." Looking down, but still not moving an inch, she thought about his words briefly. "We have some children here with the same gift than yours. You could help them dealing with it and teach them to handle their mutation."
Giving him a disgusted look she made a face. "You want me to teach children?" she asked in a voice which gave the impression she would start vomiting any minute.
The Professor shook his head. "I don't want you to do it! It's up to you, but no one of us does understand what they are going through as good as you," he explained calmly. "You don't have to make a decision now. You can use a room upstairs and think about my offer or you try it for let's say two weeks and make a final decision afterwards." Mystique looked at him skeptically again and was quiet for minutes. Finally she nodded in agreement. She knew she had no home anymore after betraying Magneto. And he would kill her for it. She was sure about that. He would look for her and make her pay. His opposite smiled at her kindly. "Good," Charles said and moved around the table towards the door. "I'll show you your room."
XXX
Footsteps echoed through the long tunnel and soon Moira came into view; glancing briefly at the chaos the first room still was, before she entered the second one. Pausing briefly, she took notice of Jean, who was sleeping with the on her right on a bed next to Logan's. Walking over to the monitors, which she quickly checked, she draw a bit blood from him and turned around to the computers. Jean didn't wake up, while she was working on it for about half an hour before she returned to Logan. Wrinkling her brows Moira studied the results of the blood test, before she gave him a confused look. Suddenly, Jean sat up. "It's only me!" the woman immediately said calmly.
Tiredly, Jean ran a hand through her face, before she looked at the sleeping babies. Turning her head once more, she noticed the paper in her opposite's hands. "You did a test?"
Moira nodded and handed it over to her. "The toxins are gone, so are the hallucinogens," she explained briefly. "But still he isn't healing. And this is what confuses me." She looked at the monitors again, which projected irregular lines. "The blood loss is already balanced. But why isn't he healing?"
Jean put the paper away. "It's overtaxed," she replied barely audible and sat up. "It had to keep him alive, fight the toxins and rebuilt blood. And without any food he hasn't much power left to give it enough energy for the healing process. It happened before when he saved Rogue and gave her his energy. It took weeks before he started to heal." Worriedly she looked at him.
Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Moira met her gaze. "But he's also not breathing on his own. And he should by now since the neurotoxins are gone."
Jean shrugged and shook her head. "If his lungs got injured…they probably might not be able to work properly. I mean look at the display. He barely keeps the oxygen repletion up."
"Yeah…" Moira nodded. "If this doesn't change soon he will take serious damage from it… I already hooked him up to new liquids. Do you think that's enough to help his healing factor?"
The red head shook her head. "No, he needs a lot of food after such an exertion. Liquids will help to keep him alive so that he's not starving and supply his body with nutrients, but it's not enough to give him enough energy."
Understanding, Moira nodded sadly and looked at him again. She really didn't know what to do. After endless minutes, she finally looked at Jean again. "You look tired. If you want, I'll stay and you can lay down upstairs."
"No, I'll stay here!" Jean immediately waved off. She wouldn't leave his side.
"Jean," her opposite said warningly and came closer. "You're not him. It's a complete different thing if he sits next to you day after day without sleeping and eating or if you do it. You need food and sleep!"
"The healing factor still works in me, remember?" she gave back more harshly than she intended to. "I'm not leaving his side!"
"Fine," Moira finally sighed. "What about the twins?"
Jean looked down on them. "I
fed them a few minutes ago. They're fine."
"Good. If
anything happens, call me!" The dark haired woman laid a hand on
her shoulder reassuringly, before she left her alone again. Heaving a
deep sigh, Jean buried her face in her hands and shook her head in
despair.
XXX
"She's not coming?" Scott asked after Moira entered the kitchen.
"No, she wants to stay with him," she replied and sat down on an empty chair. "The two of them are really the most stubborn people I have ever met."
Hank put his glass down. "That's why they fit together… Any changes?"
"No, his state is still critical." Lost in thoughts she stared at the water bottle. "And I don't know what to do…" An uncomfortable silence filled the room and everyone just stared into emptiness, following their own thoughts.
"He's a fighter," Ororo suddenly said barely audible. "If he wants to make it, he will. Logan doesn't give up."
Moira nodded. "I hope you're right…" She looked into the round and frowned suddenly. "Mystique's again not eating?"
"Well, I'd rather say she avoids us," Scott corrected her. "And she better does! I don't trust her and don't know what she's doing here."
"Well, you've heard Charles," Hank said and looked at him. "She helped us, whatever her reason might have been, but she did." He got up and walked towards the door. "I'll go and get her. She needs to eat."
Shaking his head, Scott reached over and got some bread from the basket. He sighed before he looked at Ororo who just stared down on the glass in her hands. He still hadn't gotten an answer what Sabretooth had really done to her. If he'd done what everyone was thinking. Her face was still covered with wounds and bruises, which were either stitched or taped. She also limped and it was painful for her to walk. But it was her eyes which worried him… "'Ro?" he asked her calmly and she looked up a bit. Hesitating for a moment, Scott tried to find the right words. He needed to know. "Did he… I mean did Sabretooth…you know…"
Looking down on her hands, she shook her head. "No," she replied in a whisper and bit her lip. "He tried but I attacked him. I used too much power and the bolt destroyed the whole room." She paused for a brief moment. "But I don't know what he did when I was unconscious…", she added barely audible and swallowed hard.
"He didn't touch you," Moira said quickly, since she had noticed the disturbed look on her face. "I checked it and there were no signs."
"Thank God," Scott said relived and leant back. "I wonder what happened to him…"
"I hope Logan killed him," Ororo hissed and her eyes immediately changed, while she grabbed the glass hard.
Before he was able to reply everyone turned their heads towards the door and watched Mystique who was standing next to Hank. The blue man made an inviting gesture. "You can sit down over there," he told her and led her to the empty stool, while the others followed her movements suspiciously. Mystique only met their eyes briefly, before she sat down. Sitting opposite to her, Hank reached over the bread basket and a clean glass. "Here you go."
Starting to eat slowly, Scott watched her suspiciously through his glasses, making a mental note that he had to talk to the Professor about it.
XXX
Going on with her routine, Jean spent most of her time in the hiding place watching over Logan, while the others alternately took care of the children. She barely knew about what was happening in the mansion in the meanwhile, that the damage was already fixed and every room could be occupied again. Not even that the leaves of the trees already changed their colors. Standing next to him, she held his hand, letting him know that she was there and only waited for him to wake up. Nevertheless, she barely had any hope left that it would happen. His wounds were all healed, no scratches were left on his skin…
Not hearing the approaching footsteps, she didn't take notice as Ororo suddenly stood right next to her. Worriedly, the other woman looked at Logan first, before she turned towards her friend. "How is he?", she asked carefully.
Jean only sighed and shook her head. "Unchanged…"
Ororo also looked down with a sad look on her face. She really couldn't believe it. "It's really not fair," she spat and became angry in an instant. "He saved so many of us and we can't help him." Jean only gave her a short tired look before her eyes were fixed on him again. "The students are asking. What am I supposed to tell them?" she asked the red head and laid a hand on her shoulder. "I mean…if he hadn't trained them so well…they'd be dead now. And they now that! They are worried about him."
Jean bit her lip briefly and didn't say anything for a while. She hadn't had an answer either… "He'll make it. It just takes so long because his healing factor was completely overloaded."
"Yeah but," Ororo replied and looked at him again. "…shouldn't he be breathing in his own by now?" she added carefully. Her blue eyes switched to Jean again who didn't reply anything first, but finally nodded sadly. Reassuringly, she laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it briefly. "You did everything you could, Jean. You should sleep a bit. Moira and Charles are taking care of the twins so that you can get some rest."
"I'll sleep here. Thanks."
"Okay," Ororo nodded and turned around to leave again, while Jean lowered her head in despair; still holding his hand tightly.
Hours later, she opened her eyes in confusion and realized that she must have fallen asleep. Blinking, she looked at the monitors again only to realize that they were still unchanged. Sighting loudly, she ran a hand through her face. Getting up to get some water to drink, she kept on asking himself how he managed to sit four weeks next to her without going crazy. She couldn't deal with it anymore; it was driving her nuts… Swallowing water, Jean rested against the wall and closed her eyes as suddenly a monitor began to beep violently. Opening her eyes rapidly, the glass fell to the ground when she looked at the heart rate. The line was spiking violently. Immediately she ran over to him and bent down, noticing that his muscles were tensed. He tried to breath panicky… Desperately trying to calm him mentally, Jean pulled the tube out of his throat and watched how Logan fought hard to get air into his lungs. Scared to death, Jean ignored her own heart rate which was nearly as much racing as his was and took his hand into hers, while he coughed and retched heavily. She was afraid he would suffer from a heart attack when the monitor began to beep even louder. Heavily breathing in shock, she could only stare. After a moment, which appeared to her as an eternity, Logan fell back panting as his lungs finally began to work slowly again.
Close to start crying, Jean held back her tears and could only stare at him. She couldn't believe what she actually saw. She didn't even realize that she was still heavily breathing. She watched how he blinked and slowly opened his eyes weakly a bit. Holding her breath, she stepped a bit closer, still holding his hand tightly. He tried to adjust to the unfamiliar bright light of the room and finally turned his head slowly till their eyes met.
"Hey," she said softly and bent down while she bit her lips. She swallowed hard and stroked his cheek gently before a single tear ran down her face. Smiling at him, she watched how he slowly closed his eyes tiredly again and fell asleep. Pulling a face, Jean began to sob calmly in relief and buried her face on his neck as she always did in such a situation. Sitting like this for a while, she heaved deep breaths and tried to calm herself again. Even if she had seen it, she still couldn't believe it was really true. Looking at him tiredly, she put the tube away and laid down next to him; clinging to him tightly. It didn't take her long to fall asleep while her hand rested on his chest holding his.
When she awoke again hours later, someone was slowly stroking over her hair. Opening her eyes, Jean looked up a bit into still tired looking hazel pools. "Hey," she said barely audible and turned a bit to have a better look at him. "How are you?"
Logan swallowed hard after trying to reply. "Fantastic," he finally managed to say and sounded very hoarsely.
She smiled softly at him when she remembered that it was the same answer he'd given her after they had returned from Liberty Island. Back then, it had nearly cost him his life, too. "You scared the shit out of me, Logan," she barely managed to say when her voice broke and she began to cry heartrendingly. "I nearly lost you…"
"Sorry." He touched her cheek gently and watched her leaning into it. "How did we do?" She looked down embarrassed, not sure what to tell him. "Hey…," he said worriedly after noticing it and raised her head by touching her chin.
"Many
got wounded but not as badly as you…"
"And?" he asked
knowing that this wasn't all.
"Speaking in your terms," Jean replied and swallowed hard "…I went berserk… I attacked them after seeing you." Logan noticed that she didn't start crying because of it. "I killed a few of them."
He shook his head a bit and held her tight. "I'd have done the same. So don't blame yourself, darlin'!"
Jean noticed that his voice was still weak and it caused him a great effort to speak. Her hand touched his cheek gently and stroked over it lost in thoughts. "You should sleep a bit more…"
"How long was I knocked out?" he asked her instead, ignoring the dizziness he felt.
She sighed. "Nearly two months."
"What!" he asked aloud shocked and his voice broke; not used to it anymore. "Which date is today?" he added calmer after he found his voice again.
"October 5th, 3:15 a.m."
"Jesus…" He ran a hand through his face and couldn't believe it.
Jean pushed him back a bit. "Go back to sleep," she said soothingly and gave him a worried look. "We can talk later about everything, but you need to rest now, Logan. Your body is still weak and you look more than tired."
He nodded and returned the look she gave him. "What about you?"
"I'll stay," she assured him and laid down again, resting her head on his shoulder. "Are you still in pain or do you have trouble breathing?"
"Nope…only tired."
Looking up at him, Jean noticed that he was already asleep. Smiling slightly, she closed her eyes after taking his hand into hers again. It didn't take long and she, too, was asleep again.
XXX
The day after, Jean had awoken alone since he was gone. Frightened, she had run down the tunnel to the upper levels just to find his clothes in their room and the shower being used. Confused she had run down to the kitchen again but there, too, she couldn't find him. She was only greeted by Rogue and the others who had cheered at her that he was finally back. Still, they couldn't tell where he'd gone to. After searching nearly every room and even asking Mystique, who she had met on one corridor, she entered the library just to see him sitting on a table with lots of books in front of him. "There you are…," she said relieved and came closer while her eyes looked at the books briefly. "You shouldn't get up already, you know." Jean sat down on the armrest and frowned as she noticed that he'd made three piles with books in foreign languages on the table.
"I'm fine, Jeannie," Logan assured her even if his voice still sounded hoarse.
"You just woke up after two months, Logan. You're still not completely your old self again," she protested and laid a hand on his arm. "You should take it easy…" She looked at him worriedly, but he only chuckled.
"I can't overwork myself by reading books, darlin', can I?"
Jean had to smile while she cautiously wrapped her arms around his neck. "What are you doing here anyway?"
He laid the book he held in his hand on the left pile. "Following your advice."
"My advice?" she asked confused and gave him a questioning look.
"You wanted me to read through the foreign language section."
"Right," she nodded when she remembered it. "So, how are you doing with it? What about those three piles!"
"Can on the right, can't left, can a bit middle," Logan explained shortly and looked at the books in confusion.
Jean's eyes had widened when she looked at the right and middle pile. "So many!" she asked shock, but also surprised. "That's amazing…" She bent forward to look at them more closely, while he watched her amused. "French, Russian, German… How come you know so many?" she wanted to know while she kept on reading through them.
Logan shrugged. "Dunno. I'm surprised myself…" Suddenly, Jean frowned and grabbed a book from the right pile which title was written in characters. She turned it in her hands and cocked an eyebrow. Logan had noticed it. "Japanese," he answered her thoughts.
"Japanese!" she said and sounded as if he had just told her he had stripped for the girls while she was still asleep. "You speak Japanese!"
Logan took the book out of her hands and opened it. "Yeah…"
"How!"
"Dunno…," he replied and shook his head while he narrowed his eyes. "I mean…how come I remember the stuff here but not what happened before I woke up in that darn wood?"
"I don't know", Jean replied soothingly and pulled him closer again. "But I'm rather curious why you know so many languages…" Her eyes switched to the piles again. "Even Mandarin and Russian…"
Logan's eyes were watching her again. He could only smirk about her excitement. "Yeah, you're going to marry a real genius, darlin'…" he teased her.
"Idiot!" she cursed jokingly and slapped him softly.
Still smirking, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. "So, ya missed me?"
"I was worried like hell," Jean replied in whisper and broke eye contact, while she played with the book.
"No need to be, darlin'," Logan gave back reassuringly and stroked over her back.
"Logan, you nearly died!" Jean gave him a serious look and he saw the fear she had felt for him.
He took the book out of her hands and laid it down on the table. "Well, actually I did for a few minutes as far as I've heard."
"It's not funny," she said sadly.
"I know," he said and put his hand under her chin so that her eyes finally met again. "Look, I'm fine… Nothing's gonna happen to me."
Jean gave him a warning look. "I told you to stay in bed and now look where you are. Your healing factor doesn't need any distractions now…"
Logan shrugged playfully. "Well, if I'd gone back after using the shower you wouldn't have been there to nurse me. So I'd have gotten bored."
She smiled and shook her head. "I said no distractions, Logan!"
"Not even a bed-time story?" he teased her and cocked an eyebrow at her in disappointment.
Jean had to grin and got up. Telekinetically, she sent all book back into the shelves, except the Japanese one. She'd noticed that he was very interested in it. Taking his hand both walked back to their room in silence, while he studied the book more closely.
"What is it about?" she suddenly asked him since he couldn't take his eyes from it.
"History and legends of the samurai," he mumbled and put his free arm around her waist.
Curiously, she looked at a picture on a page. "How come you're so interested in it?"
Logan shrugged. "As I said…dunno."
"And what about Hank calling you our samurai!" she added since Ororo and Moira had told her that the blue man kept on doing it.
He laughed slightly. "So you wanna hear a bed-time story, eh? I thought no distractions…" he gave her a wolfish grin.
Jean returned this with a smile of hers. "Yeah, but I want to know!"
Logan smirked satisfied. "Well…if you're nice to you're patient," he cocked an eyebrow at her playfully. "…then I might show my appreciation."
She could only shake her head; not believing how fast he suddenly seemed to recover. All of a sudden he stopped. "What…?" Jean wanted to ask as she followed his look. He'd spotted Mystique at the end of the corridor.
"What's she still doing here?" he grunted and narrowed his eyes.
"Charles told her that she could either stay or leave. She helped us during the fight and even attacked Magneto."
He gave her an angry look. "And she tried to abduct you while you were pregnant!"
Jean looked down briefly. "Well, he did it because you asked her for help. He thought you wanted to give her a chance."
He gave a hoarse derisive laugh. "Did he?" Logan spat and shook his head. "I asked her for help because she was our joker in that fight. I ain't giving her a chance!" He looked down the corridor and watched Mystique approaching.
She took his hand into hers to calm him down again. "Moira told me that she is trying to be part of our school. Logan…," she swallowed and tried to find the right words. "I'm not happy with it either, but think about it. She has no place to go anymore. It was you who told her about what family means and she's really trying. As unbelievable it might is…"
His hazel pools looked at her suspiciously. He didn't trust her. Turning his head, he met Mystique's yellow eyes who were looking at him curiously. Nodding, she walked past them, while Jean noticed that Logan was following her movement as if she was his prey. "Stop!" he said and handed Jean the book, before he walked over to the blue woman and grabbed her arm roughly. The red head watched how he pulled her into the next room and closed the door behind them aloud. Sighing, she looked down on the book and opened it while she waited.
XXX
Mystique stood opposite a pissed looking Logan and waited. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and gave her a glare as if he was seizing her up for a coffin. "What is this?" he asked her menacing, ignoring his scratching throat.
"What is what?" she gave back and folded her arms, too.
"What are you still doing here?"
She cocked an eyebrow at him frowning. "I was given a choice. And I made one."
"Hm," he nodded playfully and stepped closer. "And you're staying here because of….what!"
Mystique narrowed her eyes. "I did what you asked for, didn't I?"
"Yeah, as far as I've heard you did." Still he looked at her menacingly. "But I have my doubts that you just switched sides so easily and be the good girl now…"
She narrowed her eyes. "So what? You throw me out?"
"No," he replied and stepped closer, looking at her even more threatening. "You want a chance, fine ya get one. But I warn you!" he continued in a low voice. "If you ever hurt someone here or even get close to my family…I'll kill ya, got that?" She nodded. "Good." Turning around he was on his way to the door again.
"You can't fool her, you know," Mystique suddenly said and made him stop.
"What!" he growled and met her eyes.
She stepped closer until they were only inches away. "You're not feeling well, I can see that. So can she. And she went through hell, don't forget that!" She said and touched the doorknob, while he growled.
"What is that now, eh?"
She opened the door and gave him one last look. "Just an advice!"
Watching her leave, Logan narrowed his eyes. "I'll keep my eyes on ya, girl. You bet on that!"
XXX
Circa two weeks later, Ororo, Jubilee and Kitty went shopping for the baby-party which Hank had planned for nearly four months now. While walking through the mall, they kept on looking for stuff like decoration and presents; already holding two shopping bags in each hand. They still needed something, something special. Nevertheless, they didn't exactly know what Jubilee meant with…special…
"Wait!" the girl suddenly said aloud and ran over to a shop which sold party decoration in different variations. Her eyes were fixed on garlands and balloons. "What about them?" she asked and pointed to something.
Ororo and Kitty followed her lead and looked at her object of desire. "Well,…come back with pink balloons with yellow ribbons and puppy-dog-eyed bears on it and Logan is faster on your throat than Kurt can disappear," Ororo replied skeptically.
Jubilee turned around with a big grin on her lips. "Precisely!"
Smiling, the white haired woman understood. "Okay, let's buy them!"
Kitty only shook her head and waited for them to come out again. In the meanwhile, she looked around and thought about what she could actually buy for the babies. She had already tried to make a mental list, but couldn't come up with something useful.
"That's gonna be a lot of fun," she heard Jubilee saying behind her and turned around again. "Hey, why are ya making such a face?"
"I still need gift," the girl replied and shrugged. "But I don't know what."
Ororo thought about it briefly. "What about some clothing?" she suggested. "Jean and Logan could use some for their twins when they get taller. And Marie…well, clothing is always good, I think."
Jubilee grabbed Kitty's hand and pulled her with her. "There's a store over there. Come on!"
They walked over to it and it was the same Jubilee went to before with Logan, Jean, Bobby and Rogue. Still knowing where the clothing was, she took the lead and quickly made her way through the store. Pointing to it grinning, she immediately began to search through the stuff. "What about that one here?" she asked after a while and held up a dazzling yellow suite.
"Jubes!" Kitty shrieked and shook her head. "I don't want to give the kids their shock of their lives!"
"Why? It's a nice color!"
Helplessly, Kitty looked towards Ororo who could only smile until her face suddenly changed. "Gosh, is that cute!" the woman gasped and Jubilee immediately looked around the corner. Her eyes scanned over the white fleecy suit with a hood. "What? You want them to look like little bears!" she asked and made a face.
"I think it's very cute," Kitty replied and looked at the suit a bit closer. "Do they have two of them?"
"Hold on a second," Ororo said and searched through the clothing once more.
"And what about those little round ears on the hood?" Jubilee asked and shook her head.
"It's cute!" Kitty protested and gave her a look.
"It's…," the black haired girl gesticulated in the air on her search for the right words. "Wolves-cubs-like."
Ororo smiled widely while handing over a second suite to Kitty. "Precisely!"
XXX
In the meanwhile, Charles and Moira sat in his office and drank tea while discussing several topics which they regarded as important. It hadn't taken long and Moira had begun to talk about the attack once more. She still couldn't forget the affects it had caused.
"We can be glad that no one of them has taken any serious and persistent damage from their injuries. But still…we were very lucky, Charles. Especially Logan!"
He nodded while putting his cup down. "I know. I never imagined that Eric would attack us so heavily. He never did this to other mutants before," he replied while narrowing his eyes a bit. "I guess I have been completely mistaken…"
"How come that he hates Logan so much anyway?" she asked curiously. "Has anything happened between the two of them in the past?"
"Hank told me that it was Logan's idea to cure Eric when he'd begun to attack everyone on Alcatraz," he told her and met her gaze. "But both of them never liked each other very much. There's always been a great hostility between them."
Moira nodded in understanding. "I see," she said and looked at the dark liquid in her cup in thoughts. "Well, Logan can call himself very lucky that he's still alive… It was a sure thing that he wouldn't survive it."
Charles slowly nodded sadly. "It would have been devastating for us if we had lost him. Not only for Jean and their children," he said and their eyes met again. "Logan has really become the soul and heart of our team. Something which I've never imagined before…"
"Why?", she asked surprised and frowned. "I mean okay, he's often grumpy, gruff, broody, stubborn and not a man of many words, but… He's also very caring and gently. Especially with his family. And he's also protective and responsible and has a great sense of honor. So why did you have doubts!"
The Professor smiled at her. "Better don't let him hear that you think about him in that way, Moira! Or he takes the first bus back to Canada," he replied and she had to smile; knowing what he meant. She knew Logan hated to show his more kind sides to others. "I wasn't sure that he would stay or even…call the school a home because," Xavier looked for the right words to explain it to her. She hadn't had the same knowledge than he had. "You have to know that Logan doesn't remember anything about his life from before he woke up in a wood in Canada. He didn't trust others when we found him. He hid his positive characteristics behind mistrust and rejection. I never expected him to stay here for very long or that he let someone actually touch his heart. I'm surprised that he changed so much. Above all that he agreed to lead the X-Men and hadn't left once since Alkali Lake. I've never expected that he would become so important for the team and school."
She nodded lost in thoughts. "But what do you think will happen if he regains his complete memory one day?"
"Honestly," Charles replied and shook his head. "I don't know…" Looking up as it suddenly knocked on the door, he smiled softly. "Come in, Jean."
The door opened slowly and the red head stepped inside with a piece of paper in her hand. "Oh, I didn't know…," she said as she noticed Moira. "I can come back later."
"No, you're not interrupting," Charles waved off and pointed towards an empty chair. "How can I help you? You look quiet confused…"
"Yeah, I really am." She came closer while she kept on looking at the paper.
"What's wrong, Jean?" he asked her worriedly since he felt her confusion mentally.
"I…I wondered if," she stuttered and shook her head.
"If?"
Jean sighed. "The few times you tried to read Logan's mind…," she began and looked at him. "Have you ever caught something from his past? Countries where he'd been to or something like that?"
Charles shook his head. "You know that his mind is fragile. It's impossible to read it properly. But why are you asking? What's bothering you so much?" He pointed again to the empty chair in front of him. "Sit down." She obeyed, not knowing where to start. "Jean?" Charles asked her completely concerned now. "Did something happen?"
"He doesn't show aftereffects from his injuries, does he?" Moira immediately asked frightened.
"No! No, it's just…it's nothing wrong with him. It's just…" Jean tried to explain but didn't know what to say. She looked at the others and sighed aloud. "When Kurt came back, Logan accidentally spoke German with him without even noticing it."
"Logan speaks German!" the other woman asked surprised and exchanged a short look with the Professor.
Jean nodded briefly. "I was shocked about it. I mean… He didn't even know himself that he had this knowledge. So I asked him to search through the foreign language section in the library."
"And? Did he do it?" Charles asked curiously and bent forward.
"Yes."
"What's the result? Does he know more?" Moira asked curiously and she, too, moved closer with her chair.
"Not only more," the red head told them and looked up. "After how much he actually understood, I made some research in the interne and also picked some rarely known languages like old Indian tribe ones.
"What's the result!" the other woman asked again completely excited. She wanted to know the answer and she wanted it fast.
Jean handed over the paper to Charles who read through it in astonishment. "That's…that's more than impressive…"
"What? How many does he know!"
The red head looked at her. "15 in total."
Her opposite's eyes widened. "What! That's impossible! No one could ever manage this!"
"I know, but it is true!" Jean shook her head. "He speaks five fluent, English included. Is also skilled in Mandarin, can translate bits of Afghan, is rusty in Cantonese, Tibetan and Vietnamese… He does even know Blackfoot and Siksika, but also Cuban, Spanish and Portuguese. I mean…," she ran a hand through her hair. "How is that possible? He must have been in nearly every country of this world…"
Charles nodded slowly. "I don't know, Jean. I can only say that I'm more than quiet impressed."
Impatiently, Moira took the paper out of his hands and read through it. "Fluent in German, French, Russian, English, of course, and…Japanese!" Impressed she cocked an eyebrow at Jean. "I don't know what to say…"
"Me neither…," Jean replied and looked down. "The thing is that Logan is confused now. He didn't know before that he was skilled in those languages. So it was some kind of shock for him, too. But he doesn't understand that this knowledge is all of a sudden back now that he found out about it."
"Well," Charles folded his hands on the table. "The knowledge was there before, I assume. He had only forgotten about it after he lost his memory."
"But that's the point!" Jean gave back and practically stared at him. "Why does he remember it just like that, but not even a bit of his past! Those skills are connected with it but he doesn't even know when or where he learnt them."
"Don't forget that he's way older than we think, Jean! He'd a lot of more time to learn then we do."
The red head nodded and broke eye contact. "I know, but still…" She didn't know what to say.
"It's a big surprise," Moira ended her sentence while she still looked at the paper.
"Precisely!" Jean answered and gave her a look.
XXX
Logan was outside working on a bike when he suddenly heard a car approaching. Cocking an eyebrow, he looked up and watched how Ororo stopped the car a few meters away from him and Jubilee getting out of it waving at him.
"Hey Wolvie!" she called and beckoned him to come over. "Come on, move your butt and help carrying the stuff inside!"
"Jubes!" Kitty shrieked and shook her head about her friend's behavior.
"He's till your teacher, girl! Don't forget that!" Ororo told her and handed over the bags.
"Well, then sexy butt if you prefer it that way…," the girl grinned.
Ororo sighed but had to smirk. "You're incorrigible, young lady!"
"Did you buy the whole mall?" Logan grunted and gave Jubilee a look since he'd of course heard what she'd said.
"Mostly," Jubilee nodded. "So, you gonna be of help or what!"
Logan only looked at the amount of bags and boxes with one hand in his pocket while the other scratched the back of his head. And Ororo wasn't even done unloading the car. "Girls…," he sighed and shook his head. Taking the boxes into his hands, he walked over to the front door. "Can't even walk past a store without buying up everything," he mumbled cocked an eyebrow.
"Look who's talking!" Ororo suddenly said next to him and smiled. "Do I have to remind you that it's you who still has to buy a suit for your wedding, mister?"
"Yeah, when do we go shopping?" Jubilee immediately cheered and looked at him hopefully.
"Forget it!" Logan grunted and shook his head while trying to open the front door with his foot.
Kitty frowned. "But you have to get one. You can't go in your casual stuff."
"She's right!" Ororo nodded. "Did you plan to wear your leather jacket?"
"No!" Jubilee immediately shrieked and placed her hand over the woman's mouth. "Don't!"
"Oh, right!" the white haired woman blushed and gave the girls her best sorry-look. "I mean you can't wear it, right… So, do you intend to wear…a woman beater?" she tried to save the situation.
Cocking an eyebrow at them, Logan shook his head. He didn't even want to think about it further. "Nope. But you're not coming!"
"Why?" Jubilee wanted to know and pouted.
"Ain't gonna go through that chick stuff and chattering."
"But you need someone to guide you," the girl protested and gave him her best begging smile. "Someone who comments on how you look, you know?"
He nodded and smirked at her devilishly. "Exactly that's why you're not coming!"
"That's mean!"
He gave Ororo a look. "Where do you want that stuff?"
"Oh, just drop it at the stairs!"
He put it carefully onto the ground and cracked his neck. "Anything else?" he asked sighing and hoped they would say no.
"No, thanks for helping!" Ororo waved off and gave him a smile.
He nodded and turned around, while Jubilee watched him heading for the elevator. "Still, you're mean, Wolvie!"
Kitty dropped the bags exhausted next to the boxes. "So, where do we start, girls?"
XXX
Logan dropped some boxes in the corner of the lab, creating a more or less stable pile with it. Cocking an eyebrow he slowly let go of it and waited for it to fall down, but obviously it wouldn't do him the favor. "Is that all?" he asked and turned around.
"Yeah," Jean nodded lost in thoughts and read through the list again, while checking the inventory.
"What's in those things anyway?"
"New medical equipment," she replied and he smirked since she was completely lost in her work. Testing her concentration, he stepped very close behind her and lowered his head so that she could feel his breath on her neck. "Hank will do the rest, so we're done here," she immediately said and shivered.
Smirking, he cocked an eyebrow at her and watched how she put away the list and pencil. "Lunch time anyhow…," he yawned and stretched a bit. Grabbing her hand he put out the light and they walked over to the elevator.
"I wonder what they've planned for tomorrow," Jean said and leant her head against his shoulder.
"Well, ya know'em," Logan shrugged. "Girly stuff with bright colors, lots of stuffed animals and many oh how cute's."
She had to laugh since he had tried to imitate Jubilee's voice. "It's gonna be fun, you'll see," she replied and smiled. "We can use a party after all the stuff that had happened."
Logan put an arm around her waist while they waited for the elevator. "As long as Jubes ain't gonna do any of her weird stuff again…" They entered it and Jean leant against the wall, straightening her short black skirt, while he pushed the button. First, Logan leant against the opposite wall, watching her, before he gave her a wolfish grin. "What?" Jean asked confused and looked up at him, while she took her hands away from the skirt.
Logan stepped closer and placed his hands on each side of her against the wall. "Just figures something out," he said in a husky voice and made her heart beat faster instantly. "Guess what elevators can do!"
"What?" she asked him barely audible and looked at him with widened eyes.
He smirked. "They can stop!" Quickly he pushed a button and the elevator came to a halt.
Jean looked at the display on the wall and gave him a look. "Logan! They're waiting with dinner…"
He shrugged and pulled her closer. "Let'em wait!" he whispered in her ear and sent chills down her spine. He caressed her neck softly. "Two weeks of no touching since I listened to your advice," he continued and stroked down her back. "And ya expect me not to react to your dress, eh?"
"So this is my fault now?" she asked him flirtingly and he locks eyes with her.
"Yeah, you're fault that our poor friends have t'wait a bit longer. It was you who rejected me and kept on feeding me with soup only, remember?" He grabbed her neck and pulled her head quickly closer, tongue-kissing her passionately, while she wrapped her arms around his neck; just to force him to come even closer. Hearing him sigh in passion, she moaned softly into his mouth, enjoying his caressing of her body while her hands automatically began to work on his belt. Grinning satisfied, while he kept on kissing her passionately, he waited until she had wrapped her arms around his neck again. Pulling her up, Jean crossed her legs behind his back while he held her steady. Looking at each other with dazed eyes heavily breathing, Jean pulled him into another passionate kiss…
XXX
In the meanwhile the others sat in the kitchen and waited. "Did you get everything for the party?" Moira asked and put folded her hands on the table.
"Actually, yeah. At least we've enough deco-stuff," Kitty replied.
"Yeah, Wolvie will love it!" Jubilee grinned and even Ororo smiled.
"Why? Did you buy pink ribbons and teddy bears?" Scott asked them and put his glass down smirking. Jubilee and Kitty only grinned at him. "Kurt, I want that on tape!" the man said and looked over to the blue mutant who was talking to Ororo. "Hey, are you listening?"
"Ja," Kurt replied and smiled shyly at the white haired woman who smiled back at him.
"Gosh, where are the two of them?" Hank asked annoyed and shook his head while his stomach made a noise. "I thought Jean said we bring the boxes down quickly…"
"A similar sounding word as quickly might be the answer, guys!" Jubilee mumbled and played with the yellow straw in her glass. All heads immediately turned towards her.
"You're scaring me, girl!" Scott said and shook his head. "And I'm not talking about what the two of them might be doing right now!"
She only grinned. "Wanna bet I'm right?"
Hank nodded and laid a hand on Scott's shoulder. "Very scary indeed!"
Moira cleared her throat to change the subject again. "Another thing. Does anyone know when the wedding is?" she asked. "Did they say anything!"
"No, not as far as I know," Ororo said and shook her head.
"Well, but he gave at least the hint that no girl is going to shop with him for a suit," Jubilee added and winked at her.
Scott gave a derisive laugh. "Oh, he can be sure that I accompany him!"
"Yeah, me too!" Hank grinned and both men exchanged devilish glances.
Jubilee bent over to them. "Make a picture, will ya?"
Jean entered the kitchen with Logan on her hand, who had the other one in his pocket. Both had to frown when they noticed the strange looks the others gave them. "Did you leave a love bite?" Jean immediately asked him mentally and gave him a warning look. She knew that he loved to do it as a sign that she was his.
Logan smirked at her. "No, and even if…who cares!" he replied on the same way.
"I do…"
He led her over to a stool and both sat down. Logan glared at the others warningly, before he smirked at her again. "Ain't the only one who leaves marks, darlin'."
She gave him another look. "But they vanish on you instantly. Yours do not anymore, you know that," she gave back over their link.
He only chuckled. "Complaining now, huh?" he asked her mentally and cocked an eyebrow at her smirking. "Ya didn't a few minutes ago, gorgeous."
The others had watched them the whole time through, being aware that both had a conversation on their psychic link. "Done havening fun?" Jubilee asked them bluntly. "We're waiting, you know?" Logan only shrugged, while Jean blushed slightly. "See?" she said to Scott and grinned. "Look into his satisfied face. I'd have won!"
Scott shrugged, too. "I'm not betting with you, Jubes!"
"You bet!" Jean asked shocked and looked at him with widened eyes. She couldn't believe that they were already doing bets on them…
"No, we didn't. But Jubes wanted to," Scott tried to calm her down again.
Hank nodded. "Yeah, that girl is pretty scary!" His eyes switched over to Logan who was already eating his meal; obviously being happy that Jean finally let him eat real food again and not only soups. He was sick of it and didn't want to discuss his need for meat all over again. Because of her he had lost more weight instead of gaining some. "So, when are you going to buy the suit?"
Logan cocked an eyebrow at him while he froze in his movement and swallowed his food. "What do you guys have with a suit!"
"Well, you need one for the wedding…," Moira explained and looked up.
"Did we tell ya a specific date?" he growled and narrowed his eyes. "No, we didn't! So stop going on my nerves!"
Scott playfully backed off a little. "Woah, some one is in his moods again, huh?"
"Shut up, Cyke!" he grunted and glared at him.
"Hey!" Jean said and gave him a confused look. "What's gotten into you now!"
"Nothin'," Logan replied stressed. "I'm here to eat and not to discuss something which ain't happen so soon!"
She snorted. "Oh, it isn't!"
"Nope!"
Jubilee bent over to Hank and Scott who lowered their heads to her. "Here they go…"
"So when do you plan on marrying me then?" Jean asked him angrily and met his gaze.
Logan only shrugged. "Next five years maybe…"
She gave a derisive laugh and smiled cynically. "Next five years maybe!"
"Yeah, what's wrong about it?" he shot back getting angry.
"Nothing!" she spat through clenched teeth and turned around to look at her plate again.
"Then what's this kerfuffle about then?" he asked her growling.
Jean shrugged offended. "If you don't understand it, then I can't help you!" she shot back and grabbed a piece of break; pulling at each end violently until it tore in the middle.
Logan had watched her doing so and snorted while he shook his head. "Is that nonsense PMS or what?" Turning her head quickly, she glared at him menacingly, while the others kept on looking to and fro between them. For them, it was always the biggest entertainment if the two lovers began to bite their heads off. "When did you plan on doing it!" he added quickly before she would throw the bread at him.
"Actually May," she replied pissed.
"Fine, then May in three years. How about that?"
She shook her head snorting. "Next May, Logan."
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Next May! Are you out of your mind!" he asked her aloud in disbelief.
Jean slammed the bread onto the plate. "What's wrong with it?" she shot back not minder calmer than he was.
"That's too soon!"
"It's in 7 month! What's too soon about it!" she asked him angrily. "Do you need more time to reconsider your proposal, or what's your problem?"
"There's nothing to reconsider!" he gave back and shook his head, not knowing how she could even doubt that he really meant it back then…
"Then what! What's all this nagging about?" she asked him calmer, but still angry. "I thought we could celebrate it on May 10th with the twins' first birthday…"
"Yeah, so that he can't forget the wedding anniversary," Jubilee mumbled and chewed on her bread, as Logan quickly turned growling and glared at her warningly. She swallowed by the look he gave her. "Never mind! Go on biting your heads off!"
Jean waited while keeping her eyes on him. "Do I still get an answer from you today?"
"Hey…," Moira intervened soothingly. She couldn't understand how this couple could love and hate each other in the same moment so much. "…just try to calm down for a moment, okay?"
"Stay out of it!" Jean hissed and gave her a short look.
Logan shook his head. "As I said PMS!" Getting off the chair he walked towards the door, ignoring the look Jean shot at him.
"Oh, so we're running again now? You'll pretty good at it, you know?" she snorted and narrowed her eyes briefly, while her heart raced in anger.
Sighing, Logan stopped on the spot and turned around again; glaring at her in anger. Looking at each other for a few minutes, while the others only looked to and fro between them, Jean was about to say something again, as Logan made few steps and grabbed her head hard; forcing her into a kiss and cutting her off. "Fine, May 10th then," he grunted and let go off her just to walk towards the door again.
Jean looked at him in confusion and with blushed cheeks. "Where are you going now?"
"Lily's crying," he explained briefly. "And stop making that face!"
Jean frowns and turned around again after he had left. "Which face?" she mumbled aloud.
"This 'being caught in surprise and blushed' face," Kitty explained grinning slightly, but not as much as she wanted to. She knew the woman in front of her was still angry.
"I'm not making it!" Jean shot back and took the fork into her hand again.
"Yeah, you do," Hank replied without looking at her. Within he had to grin, too. The two of them always were quiet the show and he loved to see Logan being completely overtaxed with the furious red head.
"So, May 10th then?" Moira asked cautiously and Jean only shrugged. "Okay, May 10th."
Not being able to hold back his grin anymore, Hank raised his head. "Do you always end your fights like this?"
"Yeah, just as it became interesting…," Jubilee teased and pulled a face. She would have loved to see more of it.
Jean groaned as Scott suddenly nodded too and pointed with a fork to her. "We never fought like that!"
"Yeah sure!" Hank said aloud and laughed remembering Scott's outburst in the kitchen after coming back from Mystique's cell. "We've seen it lately, haven't we?"
"Okay, besides this single outburst back then…," the man corrected.
"Thank God this wasn't a real fight between the two of you," Moira added while smirking at Kurt and Ororo who didn't even noticed anything.
"What do you mean!" Jean asked her pissed and frowned.
"Well, I think she means that the two of you can heat each other so much up that…," Hank said as he was cut off by the red head who glared at him. "We would never hit each other!" she said outraged. "What makes you even think that?"
Jubilee swallowed her foot and shrugged. "Well, you can express your anger in other ways, you know…," she stated and caused Hank and Scott to look at her. "Ways in which the two of you are well-trained…" Snorting, Jean rolled her eyes and put the fork aside while she shook her head. This was really too much.
"Actually, I meant that I'm rather afraid of some rare objects being thrown around, Jubilee," Moira corrected her and gave her a look.
"Yeah, not them jumping their bones as you always think," Kitty added.
Jean got off her chair and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What makes you think we would throw things at each other? He would never throw something at me. So would I…" She really wanted to know what else they thought about them.
"Oh, he will! You only have to make him furious enough. Then he doesn't even care that you're head might be in the way," Ororo suddenly mumbled aloud, even if she didn't intended to. Realizing it, she looked up blushed. "Never mind!" she waved off and tried to ignore the looks the others gave her.
XXX
Around 2 p.m. after lunch and after they had managed to make friends with Jean again, Rogue, Ororo, Jubilee and Kitty stood in the kitchen and prepared the food for the party which was supposed to take place in two hours. The girls were happy that they'd managed to make Hank, Kurt and Scott decorating the huge dining room, even if they actually do not wanted to know what the boys had made out of it… Nevertheless, they thought it was better to deal with the food, since only Hank could cook very well. Jubilee and Kitty cut the veggies into pieces and handed them over to Ororo, who was cooking, while Rogue decorated the cake and plates.
"And?" Jubilee asked to break the silence. "What else did you guys plan for later? Sexy table dancers?" She smirked at them while Ororo had to laugh.
"No, no table dancers!" the woman replied and shook her head in amusement. "Maybe we can make some of the boys doing it, what do you think?"
"I wanna see it!" Kitty cheered and grinned. "Can you even imagine Scott dancing on a table!" She frowned when she saw the image in front of her eyes. "Nah…"
Jubilee bumped her softly into the side. "I'd rather like to see someone else doing it!" she smirked. "But without clothes on of course…"
"Don't let Jean hear that!" Ororo warned her and put checked on the soup; still she had to smile.
"Ah, come on! She would love to see him doing that!"
"Who knows," Kitty said. "Go ahead and ask him!"
"Believe me I will!" Jubilee replied and crossed her arms in front of her chest while she grinned devilishly.
Rogue could only shake her head in amusement. "You know what he'd say to you, don't you?" she asked and the girl looked at her.
"Tell us!" Ororo smiled and leant back against the counter watching how Rogue grabbed a carrot and used it as a cigar, before she put her hands to her hips and cocked an eyebrow at Jubilee. "You'd like to see that, girl, don't cha?" she grunted and tried to look as menacingly as possible. "But I ain't gonna show ya, kid! And I'm not sorry for that!" Ororo and Kitty had to laugh aloud, while Jubilee giggled.
"Oh, girl, that ain't right!"
Shrieking, the carrot fell to the ground and Rogue turned around quickly, just to see Logan leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed and cocking an eyebrow at her. "Hi…," she smiled carefully at him in embarrassment. "How're ya doing?" She hated that he could always sneak up on them so easily. She didn't even want to know how red her cheeks were; still she knew that he could definitely hear her strong heartbeat.
Logan shook his head and walked over to the cupboard getting two bottles from it; secretly amused by the small show he had just walked into. Nevertheless, he was good in teasing, too. "I never say don't cha, kid!" He prepared the bottles, while Ororo and the other two girls only grinned widely. Rogue cheeks even became redder when he turned and gave her a look, while shaking the bottles. "And I don't sound like a hoarsely grandma either!"
"I'm…I'm sorry…," she stuttered and looked down.
He waved off and walked over to the door hearing the other girls giggle, while Rogue was a picture of misery. "Never mind, but you're a bad actress!" He stopped briefly and gave Jubilee a look who laughed the hardest before winking at Rogue. "Ah, Rogue, ya shouldn't mock the poor old Wolvie! That's already my job, girl!" The women burst out in laughter when he imitated Jubilees voice, who only pouted.
"Ey! This ain't nice, Wolvie!" He laughed and quickly jumped out of the door when she threw a wet cloth at him. "You! I'll get ya for this!" she called after him before she turned to the others. "And you stop laughing!"
"Why? It was funny!" Kitty giggled and wiped away some tears.
"This wasn't even a bit like me!" the other girl protested and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Actually," Ororo said and she, too, had to wipe away the liquid under her eyes while she still smirked. "It was exactly like you."
Pouting, Jubilee went on with her work. "Since when is he a comedian anyway?" Rogue grinned and watched her cutting the vegetables violently. Nevertheless, she also noticed the slight blush on the girl's cheeks…
XXX
Standing at the other site of the room next to Moira and Charles, Logan watched smirking how nearly everyone went crazy about the three babies as if they were completely new to the mansion and no one had seen them before. Shaking his head, he sipped on his beer, before his eyes switched towards Jean who was talking with Ororo. As soon as their eyes met, she looked away. He knew she was still pissed at him… Cocking an eyebrow at Rogue who came over to him with her girl in her arms he put the bottle away. "Hey kid."
"You agreed, remember?" she asked him and he knew instantly what she was talking about. He had promised to take the role as a godfather if Jean got better. "Just wanted to ask if it's still okay for you?" she added insecurely.
"Sure," he shrugged and eyed the baby girl curiously. He hadn't had the chance to look at her more closely before.
Rogue smiled happily at him and handed Isabella over. "Then you're officially her godfather now. Congrats!" She looked over to Bobby who held up a huge stuffed bunny and made a smirking face. Since it was dazzling yellow, it could have only been a gift from Jubilee. Shaking her head, she turned towards Logan again who was still eyeing the small baby in his arms. "Thanks for the clothing by the way!"
"No problem, kid!" he replied and gave her a short smile. His eyes caught Hank who beckoned him to come over. "Hold her for a second, will ya?"
Rogue watched him walking over to the blue mutant. Smirking she waited for his outburst when he would finally noticed the balloons Jubilee had bought. Giving Charles and Moira a big grin, they watched how Hank handed over a package to him. Recognizing it immediately as Hank's and Kitty's present to Logan only, she had to laugh when she saw the big balloon which was connected to the package.
"Jubes!" Logan growled and cocked an eyebrow at the grinning girl, while he pointed at the balloon.
"Just for you, cutie!" she purred. "Hope ya like it!"
"Yeah, whatever!" he grunted and shook his head. "Why is it for me only?" he asked Hank and Kitty with a cocked eyebrow.
Hank smiled at him. "Well, actually…you should have gotten this way earlier, but…you know the story, right?" He hinted towards all the incidents which had happened between Logan's attempt to rescue Jean and now. "We thought you deserved it after everything you've done. Thank Kitty for it. She knew someone who could repair it."
Completely confused know, Logan frowned. "Repair it!" He tried to remember if he'd lost something which was broken… With one last skeptical look at them he began to open the package and suddenly began to smirk happily. "You said you buried it," he said to Hank and shot a look at him.
"Well, I thought you should be punished for taking off just like that, boy," Hank grinned and hugged him. "We know how much you love your leather jacket, so we thought that we should try to repair it."
"Thanks for that!" Logan said happily.
"Thank her. As I said she made it possible."
Kitty smiled at him and blushed slightly when Logan placed a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks, kid!"
"Ah, that's not fair, Wolvie!" Jubilee cried since she'd seen it. "I got those nice balloons for ya."
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, and you deserve a good kick in your butt for it!"
Pouting at him she crossed her arms in front of her chest while the others had to laugh.
Kitty in the meanwhile had gotten her package and handed it over to Jean who was still standing next to Ororo.
"So, everything's fine between the two of you again?" Hank asked him and watched the two women getting all excited over the two baby suits. "Well, no you can really call them cubs…"
Logan followed his gaze and smiled when he saw the two small dresses. "Give her time to calm down. Talking won't do before."
His opposite looked at him. "Well, I must say it wasn't really…nice of you to say it like that, you know."
"What else does she expect me to do?" Logan gave back. "We never talked about it before, had fights in between and then all of a sudden she tells me that she already made plans for the wedding."
"You know women. And come on!" Hank said and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I know if she had said tomorrow, you would have done it."
Logan smirked. "Right…"
"Just talk with her."
"Yeah, later."
Walking over to the table and his kids, Logan bent down and watched them closely. For him it still appeared as if they had changed a lot in those two months while he had been unconscious. Sitting down next to them, he looked at the gifts on the table. Scott had given them two books with bed time stories, Ororo and Kitty some clothing, the Professor had surprised them with a car which only belonged to them, while Moira had bought cuddly toys. Not to forget Jubilees surprisingly normal gift: two cuddly toys which looked like wolves. Of course she had to use a large blue and pink ribbon to indicate which wolf belonged to which kid. Rogue, Peter and Bobby on the other hand had bought some blankets and other toys for the twins when they got bigger.
Getting up, he looked across the room towards Jean once more who was still occupied by talking with the others. Switching towards Rogue, he watched her and Bobby unpacking some more gifts. They had already gotten clothing, cuddling toys, books and lot of other stuff for their child. He still couldn't believe that he could add godfather and soon husband to his titles… Burying his hands in his pockets, he watched how Scott came closer and stopped right in front of him.
"Can we talk?" he asked him seriously.
Logan shrugged. "Sure."
"Well…now that you finally got a date," his opposite began and crossed his arms in front of his chest, while Logan watched him skeptically. "Let me tell you one thing, Logan!" Cocking an eyebrow he waited, knowing what would come now. "If you ever hurt her, betray her or do anything else to upset her," Scott said in a low menacing voice ad stepped a bit closer. "I'll kill you. Got that!"
Meeting his opposite's eyes, Logan knew that he meant it. "I wouldn't expect otherwise from ya…"
"Good!" Scott said and buried his hands in his pockets, too. "She's offended. Fix this!"
Smirking, his opposite shook his head. "Thanks for the gifts."
"You're welcome!" Watching him leave, Logan saw how Mystique stood in a corner of the room and was watching the others. Not thinking about her anymore, he turned towards Charles when he cleared his throat to get the attention of the others.
"I was just told by Ororo that the dinner's ready," he told them smiling and took a glass into his hand, waiting for the others to do the same. "But first of all I want to congratulate our two couples for their children. We all wish the best for them and any luck of the world. Cheers!" He raised his glass and the others followed his lead, causing Rogue to blush slightly, while Logan smirked. It didn't take long and they walked over to the table with the food Ororo and the others had cooked…
XXX
Jean and Logan laid in bed after the party was over, still not talking to each other. She had her back to him, while he stared holes into it, knowing that she was still awake, too. Cocking an eyebrow, he grabbed her waist and pulled her close. He was sick of it…
"Why did you say it?" Jean asked him barely audible and starred at the wall.
Logan sighed. "It's okay now, isn't it?"
"No!" she protested and turned around to face him. "No, it's not!"
He supported his head with his free arm and gave her an odd look. "What else is there to discuss!"
"You!"
"Me!" he asked and shook his head questioning. "What's wrong with me!"
Jean sat up a bit and rested against the head of the bed. "Well, clearly you do not want to marry so soon… And I don't want you to do it for me. I want you to do it because you really want it…," she explained without looking at him. Still she knew that he was watching her closely. "You still have time to reconsider it, remember that!"
Growling, Logan let him fell back on the bed and starred at the ceiling. "I already said there's nothing to reconsider, damn it!"
She looked at him. "Then why did you say it! I don't get it!"
He sighed in frustration once more. "I thought you needed a bit more time. Because of the thing with Scott and 'Ro…"
"I thought we're over it…"
He coked an eyebrow at her. "Well, we never talked, did we? And I don't want this to stand between us."
Jean could only shake her head smiling and laid down again, while resting her head on his shoulder. "You could have just said it."
Logan shrugged. "Jean, if it comes to me, I would marry you on the spot if you wanted it," he told her calmly. "If you say tomorrow, it would be tomorrow…"
Still smiling, she stroked over his chest. "So, you still want to talk?"
"Do you?"
"I asked first!"
He pulled her close. "Let's just forget it."
"Fine," she nodded and closed her eyes briefly. "May 10th then?"
Logan bent down to kiss her tenderly. "May 10th then."
Happily smiling at him, before she rested her head on his chest again, she had to think about something. "Can I wish for something for the wedding?" she asked barely audible after a while.
"'f course you can," he replied sleepily and tried to stay awake a bit more. If she wanted something, she would get it. He wondered why she even bothered to ask…
"For everything?"
"Yeah…"
"And you'll definitely do it?"
"Yeah…"
"Promise?"
Logan sighed. "Promise," he said half asleep and hoped she would just ask.
Unseen of him, Jean smiled devilishly and bit her lip briefly. "Then I wish for a proper haircut and that you shave for the wedding!"
Immediately, Logan sat up and stared at her with widened eyes. "What!" was all he could say…
Okay, that was the last chapter of Changes. Only the Epilogue is following now. Pretty weird for me that only one chapter is left now. : ( Well, I have already written the beginning and ending of it. I only need to write the middle, but I promise: You will enjoy reading the first pages. ; ) They are a bit funnier especially from Logan's view. Thanks for your reviews again. I'm glad that you liked the Prologue. : ) Hope you enjoyed this monster chapter here too. LOL Sorry that it took me so long. I haven't read through everything, because I have to learn for an exam at college from tomorrow on. So, please forgive me if there are words missing like I noticed in chapter 39. blush Well, anyway, still waiting for your wishes. I hope those of you, whose wishes I added in this chapter.
AudreyLynne: I hope I wrote the imitating scene as you imagined it. ; )
adalyne: Just wait. ; ) You'll see what I mean.
Descena: Well, I made it before the end of September. And the Epilogue should be up until then, too.
Tamara: Thanks for your beta's. I couldn't fulfil your whole whish, so let's say (since I've already written the end of the sequel) I'll come back to it then, okay? ; )
