Special Notice: Everyone can thank theNightEnchantress for stepping up and being my first new reviewer to this story! Now, i know it LOOKS like this isn't early, but it is...but about 8 hours:) Enjoy!

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Interlude: Washington D.C.

Senator Robert Kelly was deeply disturbed by the information he'd gathered over the past few days. The new president had activated something called "Project Wideawake", yet another brainchild of the late William Stryker. However, not trusting such a delicate thing to electronic medium, he'd had all the information regarding the project pulled from every computer that held even a mention of it. Even more disturbing was the outsourcing of the most important part to a private contractor in Australia. The president assured the senator that this was for security reasons, that the project had been underway for months now and was ready to go online. In fact, the destruction of that so-called "safe house" near Des Moines had been a test of the Sentinels. No one could have foreseen the collateral damage that occurred. But the president was confident that these problems would be solved soon enough. Just a few glitches in the programming to work out and these Sentinels would be ready to do their job: kill mutants.

The senator's protests fell on deaf ears. It wasn't until three days after the initial meeting that the project fell through completely, a problem with the reactor in something called the Master Mold, which had gone critical and taken out all of the currently built Sentinels and big chunk of the Outback along with it. No matter, there was another Master Mold being built in a secret location elsewhere. There would be plenty of Sentinels soon enough.

Senator Kelly ducked down a little used hallway in the White House and after making certain he was alone, he changed. In a matter of seconds, a nondescript white male of average height, weight and coloring emerged from the hallway and exited with a tour group. Once clear, this person rushed to the nearest train station and bought a ticket for New York City. Several hours later, he disembarked and caught a taxi to the airport in Newark, New Jersey, where he bought a ticket and boarded a plane for Arizona. Eventually, he landed at the airport in Phoenix and called a friend to come pick him up.

Once in the back seat of the car, the man changed again, this time morphing into the woman known as Mystique. She looked at the other person sitting back there with a worried expression. "Erik, there's a problem." She quickly outlined everything she had discovered for her mentor, who listened with growing agitation. When she finished her recitation, he sat back with a frown.

"I suspect that this 'Master Mold' didn't go critical on its own." He said thoughtfully. "I would wager that the X-Men had something to do with it."

"I agree. But there's another one being built right now. Erik, what are we going to do?"

"The president has already shown his hand. It's time we show ours. My dear, we are now at war. Let us fire the first volley and show these humans that we are not to be trifled with."

The smile she gave would have chilled the blood of a lesser man.

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Chapter 18.

(Logan)

They say "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". Whoever said that didn't know shit. Scorned women have nothing on Angela when she's bored.

After a week of forced bed rest, she was ready to take someone's head off. The only time she'd been permitted to get out of bed for any length of time was for Havok's funeral, which took place on school grounds anyway. I hadn't known that he'd actually had a will and that he'd requested to be cremated, the ashes scattered over the woods that bordered the school. Chuck still had a marker made and it was installed next to the one for Jean that was near the back of the garden. However, once that was over, it was back to bed for her and she was most unhappy about that.

Xavier was kind enough to provide her with a television, laptop computer and anything else she could have wanted, except the one thing she wanted the most: her freedom. If I didn't love her more than my own life, I would have moved out of that room and slept on the sofa in the study for those weeks. Maybe I'm just a masochist, but I stayed with her for the duration. As far as I'm concerned, I should be nominated for sainthood because of it.

It started exactly one week after the doctors confined her to bed. "Logan, I can rest just as well in the lounge as I can in here." She said. "Better, in fact, since I won't be cooped up in here all by myself all the time."

"Hank said no to that yesterday an' the day before that darlin'. You ain't gettin' outta this."

"Come on! What kind of mischief can I get up to just sitting in the lounge?"

"Hmm, lemme think." I tapped my lip thoughtfully. "First off, you'll have kids climbin' all over you, tryin' to get you to help 'em with their summer projects. You'll have kids from Gamma team tryin' to convince you they should be on Delta. An' you'll have Delta and Beta team tryin' to get you to finish the strategy and tactics stuff that you had to put on hold for now." I crossed my arms and scowled at her. "Then there's the temptation of all that outdoors, right on the other side o' those big windows an' next thing I know, you'll be wanderin' around the grounds. So the answer is no, you are not goin' to the lounge."

"Logan, I'm warning you. If I don't get out of this room, I'm going to go crazy. I can't guarantee you'll survive that experience intact."

"I'll heal. I always do."

"You sure about that?"

"Darlin', you ain't gonna take anythin' off of me that you might wanna use later. So I know I'm safe." She glared at me and threw herself back into the nest of pillows arranged around her. "Now, I gotta go. Me an' Rogue got Danger Room with Beta team. You behave yourself." She growled and threw a pillow at me, which I ducked easily and I left the room with a chuckle.

Now that we'd seen the Sentinels in action, we had a better idea of how they worked. Buzz had reprogrammed all of the Sentinel scenarios to reflect the new information, which was a good thing as far as I was concerned. The teams had other ideas about that, ranging from "most excellent" to "you have got to be fuckin' kiddin' me". Fortunately for Beta team, Inferno and Chasca had already seen them in action for real and were a big help to the others. I was glad that Chuck spared no expense when it came to toys for the teams, because Chasca was doing things with a new katana he got her that most people would never imagine. Good thing I'm not most people. Whatever that thing was made of, it cut through the Sentinel's armor like butter and never lost its edge. It wasn't adamantium, but it had to be damn close to it.

We'd also given Kyro a katana, because against a Sentinel his natural weaponry was useless. Not for the first time, I looked down at my own hands and the secrets they hid and wondered if I really was truly unique now that Deathstrike was dead. None of the other Weapon X files made mention of any of them having claws like ours and the thought gave me a twinge of panic. What if my child was cursed with these damn things? How do you explain to him that he's still human? For that matter, how did the X gene decide what mutation someone had in the first place? Would his mutations be active from birth or would they manifest at puberty like everyone else? So many questions I didn't have answers to. I made a mental note to ask Hank about it later.

I shook my head to clear it and returned my attention to Beta team. The Danger Room is no place to worry about the genetics of my unborn child. Kyro and Chasca were fighting back-to-back against a pair of the small Sentinels, while Bedlam and Inferno were working on one of the giant ones. Hellion and Multiple Man were going after the main objective, which was a safe house under attack. With the Des Moines incident still fresh in our memories, we wanted to make sure that there would never be a repeat of it, especially considering the fact that the Sentinel that had attacked it had also taken out several blocks of civilian housing in the same area. Whatever the glitch was in the programming, it was a big one and the new president would have his hands full trying to explain himself if it ever happened again.

This was one case where Jamie was invaluable to the team. Since he could make a seemingly infinite number of copies of himself, he could literally be everywhere at once. So Julian was providing cover with his telekinetic shields as best as he could while Jamie and his copies ushered the trapped mutants out of the safe house by another route. It wasn't long before they were all safe, the Sentinels disabled or destroyed and the scenario was at an end. The walls morphed back to their normal polished steel and Beta team collapsed on the floor where they stood. I chuckled and signaled to Rogue up in the booth to go ahead and leave. She'd promised Angela a nice long visit today and I hoped that a little "girl talk" would improve my woman's mood before I got back there.

"Ok team, get up and get to the showers." I said but all I got was a chorus of groans in response. Even Jamie was slow reabsorbing his copies, which were also lying on the floor. "C'mon, it wasn't that bad was it?"

"With all due respect Logan, fuck you." Julian replied even as Bedlam flipped me the bird. "What the hell did you have this set on? 'Near death experience' level?"

"Actually, it was only on level five. Just wait til I push it up to ten, then you'll really get a treat." I popped a cigar in my mouth and chewed on the end of it. "Look, ya got through this with flyin' colors. Can't think of anyone else I'd want goin' on a Sentinel hunt if it came to it."

"What about Alpha team?" Chasca asked, levering herself off the floor.

"Well, them too. But if we were all away doin' one thing, I know that the school is in good hands with you guys here. You should be proud." I know I was.

After a few more minutes of complaining, they finally managed to get themselves in order and out of the Danger Room. I glanced at my watch and decided to go bug Hank about my genetics questions. He was in the lab portion of the infirmary, working on some experiment or another of his, so he didn't hear me when I came in. I cleared my throat to get his attention. "Logan! So good to see you." He said and cleared a chair for me. "How is everything? Is this about Angela?" His expression changed to a scowl. "She's not getting out of bed, is she?"

"No, she's still there, still complainin' and tryin' to get me to let her go to the lounge. I keep tellin' her no and she keeps throwin' things at me." I shook my head and took my cigar out of my mouth. "It's true love, I tell ya."

He laughed. "Well, this is going to be very difficult for her. She's not used to being inactive for any reason. But there's only a few weeks left before she can deliver safely, so just hang in there." He busied himself for a moment, entering notes into his computer before saving his work and turning back to me. "Still, I gather there was some concern that brought you here?"

"Yeah, you could say that." I explained my worries to him about the baby, since I'd never had to deal with it before. My other two children had only been half-mutant and neither one had shown any signs before I left for that last fateful mission. "So, there it is Blue. Anythin' in your research to help me with this? I know we talked a little 'bout this before, but..." I trailed off and looked down.

"Actually yes." He rifled through a stack of files and came up with a thick folder. "This is the latest research by Dr. Moira MacTaggart. According to her, mutations can be inherited from either or both parents. However, it is also not uncommon for children to exhibit mutations that are unrelated to either parent. Perhaps one in four births to mutant parents happen that way. And we already discussed the possibility that some mutations may skip a generation."

"So he could come out just like one of us?"

"Or he could come out completely different, or somewhere in between." He took his glasses off and looked at me intently. "Logan, what is this about, really?"

How could I tell him that I didn't want my child to have the same animalistic traits that Angela and I have? Sure, Stryker had done his best to bring our urges to hunt and kill to the forefront, pushing aside our human natures to make us into weapons. But how hard did he have to try, really? The memories I'd been getting back showed me that I always had a strong urge to hunt, even to the point of running with packs of wolves and being accepted as the alpha male by the pack. I couldn't imagine it was any different for Angela and she's been alive almost as long as I have. I took a deep breath and looked down. "I just don't want him to have to live the way we have." I held up my hand and slid out my claws. "Don't want him to have to live with these."

"Logan, your child is being born into age where much is known about mutation. Yes, the political climate is tense right now, but he'll be surrounded by people who love him and want to take care of him, not the least of which is you." He leaned forward and I looked up. "You have to stop worrying about these things. Believe me, Angela will be able to pick up on it and she can't afford any stress right now. If I had my way, I'd remove you from active duty."

"Now wait just a minute!" I exclaimed. "With everythin' goin' on out there, we need everyone we can spare. Christ only knows what's gonna happen next!"

"I know and that's the only reason I haven't suggested it to Charles, although he has considered it himself. I will tell you that your name has fallen to the bottom of the list of X-Men to send on a mission, no matter how simple it may seem."

I nodded and stuck my cigar back in my mouth. "Look Doc, I ain't gonna go nowhere unless there's no other choice. But if the best way to protect my woman and my child is go an' fight, then that's damn well what I'm gonna do!"

"I realize that and so does Charles. And so does Angela, even if she won't like it. I just hope that nothing happens in the next seven weeks that will require your particular talents."

"Me too, Doc. Me too."

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Another week went by and Angela was ready to climb the walls. She did her best not to take it out on me, but her frustration was getting the better of her and her temper was shorter than usual. It didn't help any that I still had Danger Room sessions and defense classes with the teams, which took me away from her for hours at a time. But the kids still went to visit her which helped a little and I still talked to her about the people on Gamma every day in an attempt to keep her included. The worst part for both of us was the whole no sex thing.

It should be obvious by now that Angela and I are pretty insatiable when it comes to that. It's hard to explain to anyone that isn't a feral mutant like we are, but the fact is that we're driven by our most primitive instincts, which are "hunt, kill, mate", not necessarily in that order. The first two we have under pretty good control, thanks to the Danger Room and the missions we go on as X-Men. Just try telling either one of us that we can't mate and that's where the trouble starts.

It was way after midnight about two weeks after her forced bed rest when it really began. I was asleep and dreaming about making love to her that day in the Danger Room in Storm's African savannah. I could feel the warm breeze blowing over my body, the sun beating down on us as I moved within my woman. Naturally, my body was responding to the dream and I was suddenly awakened when Angela hit me with a pillow. "Logan, put that thing away right now. If I can't have any fun with it, neither can you."

"Uh, sorry 'bout that." I replied sleepily, rolling away from her. "Can't control the damn thing."

"I know. And that's the problem. It keeps poking me in the back and I have enough trouble sleeping as it is."

"Maybe I'll just go for a smoke. Or somethin'." I mumbled and rolled out of bed. I pulled on a pair of sweats and grabbed a cigar and a box of matches off the nightstand. I kissed her on the forehead before I left, "Be back in a little while darlin'." I whispered. She murmured something back to me, but I think she was already asleep by then. With a sigh, I left our room and went out to the patio.

The sky was crystal clear and the only sounds were night birds and insects with the faint drone of traffic on the roads surrounding the school. I stood there and savored the feeling of solitude for the first time since I found Angela. I immediately felt guilty for it, because I wouldn't trade what I had with her for anything in the entire world, but this situation was quickly becoming more than I thought I could handle. To be so close to something I loved so much and not be able to show her was killing me an inch at a time and I didn't like it one bit. The lone wolf in me was whispering that it would be better to go away until it was all over, until I could gather her in my arms and show her how much I loved her. God only knows I'm not the best with words, so I've always used actions to get my point across. And now, even that was taken away from me.

I heard a sound behind me and turned to see Remy of all people coming out to join me. I just nodded my head to acknowledge him before turning back to the night sky.

"Can't sleep, mon ami?" He said as he came up beside me.

"Somethin' like that." I grunted.

"Oui, Remy can't sleep either. Be tinkin' of Rogue too much."

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "And what, exactly, do you mean by that bub?" I asked.

He took a deep breath and looked me in the eye. "Remy is in love wit her, you see. But he also know what she mean to you. So Remy has what you call a dilemma."

"And that would be what?"

He took another breath, looked around the grounds for a second, then down at his feet before meeting my eyes again. "Remy would like to ask permission to court Rogue." He said in a rush.

I stared at him, mouth wide open. Of all the things he could have said to me, this was pretty low on the list. "I thought you two were already seein' each other. I ain't her father, I'm her friend."

"Oui, mon ami. But she tink of you as her family. Remy will do tings the right way or not at all. So, he ask for your permission to court her, please."

"Does she know you're doin' this?"

"Non! Dis is someting Remy do on his own."

I stood there in silence and finished my smoke, the dream that had brought me out here a hazy memory at best. I guess I should have expected it sooner or later and I know what he was asking me. He wanted to take their relationship to the next level. On the one hand, I didn't want to answer him. No matter what she meant to me, she wasn't my daughter, so the decision should be hers and hers alone. On the other, I felt as protective of her as I did Angela and my unborn child. But she'd lived for so long without the comfort of a simple touch and who was I to deny her the right to everything that goes with touching? I sighed and stubbed out my cigar before turning to him again. "Listen here, Cajun. You do anythin', ANYTHIN' to hurt her or break her heart an' you'll answer to me, got it?"

"Oui! Oui, mon ami!" He grabbed my hand and shook it enthusiastically. "Remy will never hurt her! Promise!" I shook my head as he went back inside, practically bouncing. Right when I think I've got someone figured out, they go and surprise me like that. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. I was still chuckling to myself when I made my way back to bed. I snuggled up to Angela and wrapped my arm around her middle so I could keep a hand over our baby. I kissed her lightly on the back of her neck and she stirred. "Mmm, feeling better?" She asked.

"Yeah, you could say that." I replied, still chuckling.

"What's so funny?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Go back to sleep, I'll tell ya in the mornin'."

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"He really did that?" She asked as we shared breakfast in bed the next day.

"Yep. Surprised the livin' hell outta me, that's for sure." I replied as I munched a piece of bacon. "An' they say romance is dead."

"Nah, just hiding. Or forced on bed rest." She grumbled. "Gods! I hate this! Are you absolutely certain I can't go lay on a chaise on the patio today? Please? Just for an hour or two? You can carry me."

I smiled. "All right! I'll ask Blue if it's ok with him. But I ain't makin' you any promises. An' you'll have to promise not to get up til I come for you, got it?"

"Yes sir, Wolverine sir." She mocked with a little salute and everything. I laughed and leaned over to kiss her. "Logan, I know I'm a raging bitch right now, but I do love you."

"I know, tiger. I love you too. An' you are a right bitch these days. But I can handle it. Whatever it takes, I'm here for you til the end."

"Yeah, just remember you said that when I'm calling you every name in the book during the delivery."

"I've been called worse, darlin'. Ain't nothin' I can't handle." I looked at the clock and swore under my breath. "All right, I gotta go. Danger Room with Gamma today, me an' Storm."

"Just don't forget to ask Hank if I can go outside, all right?" Her eyes pleaded with me and I nodded. "Good."

I took our tray back to the kitchen and went down to the Danger Room. Gamma still had a long ways to go before they'd be ready to advance, except for Sarah and Peter. The two of them had been throwing themselves into the training since Havok's death and I know it was because they wanted to do whatever they could to prevent another situation like the one that led to his demise. Ninety minutes later, Storm and I excused all but the two of them. They stood there at military attention until I addressed them. "Ok you guys, at ease." I growled. "I know that shit's been drilled into ya until it's second nature, but we don't stand on that much protocol 'round here, all right?"

"Yes si…Logan." Peter said. "It's just a habit, you know?"

"Yeah, I do. Spent a good amount of time in the Canadian Special Forces myself. Thankfully, I forgot most of the bullshit and that includes standin' at attention."

They smiled and Storm stepped up. "Well, Logan and I can see no reason to keep you back on Gamma team anymore. There's not much we can teach you about fighting or your gifts anyway. But, to be fair, we can't advance you beyond Delta team for the time being."

"But don't think that means you won't see any action." I added. "For the most part, Delta is the team we leave behind to watch over the school if we have to go on a mission. But you guys are adults, so that means that you could be called on to assist Beta or even Alpha if there's a need for it."

"Whatever you think is best, si…Logan." Peter replied. "Damn! This is really gonna take some getting used to."

"Ah, don't sweat it. We only use code names on missions anyway, so you'll hafta get used to using those designations." I stuck out my hand and he shook it, followed by Sarah. "Congratulations, you're on Delta's schedule from now on."

They thanked us both profusely, then left to grab showers. I turned to Storm with a smirk. "Well, at least we know they'll fast track to Alpha."

"Oh, I've no doubt." She replied. "I felt bad enough holding them back on Gamma this long, but I had to be sure."

"Yeah, I know." We were both thinking of Havok again. He'd just been to the point where we were going to advance him anyway when the Outback incident occurred. I still cursed myself for not thinking about other troops that weren't in the actual staging area, something I should have considered. Maybe there was nothing I could have done to change things, but I'd never really know. Too many people had sacrificed themselves to save others and I never wanted that to happen again. "Look, we do the best we can with 'em. We teach 'em all that the mission is what matters and they all know that any one of 'em might have to pay the ultimate price for that."

"I know, Logan. But some of them, they're just children! They have their whole lives ahead of them and we're teaching them how to make war. They should be going to college, falling in love," she looked me in the eye, "having families. They shouldn't have to deal with all of this."

"I know, darlin', an' I wish to hell they didn't have to. But this is the world they were born into. Dontcha think I worry every day about the world my own child's gonna have to live in? He'll be here in a few weeks an' I don't know if he'll have a place in it. So, I'll just do what I can to make it a world he will be safe in."

"You know, if I was just a little less ethical, I'd do something about that man who calls himself the President myself." She spat bitterly. "I can't believe that we've come to this so quickly."

"But you are who you are an' that's a good thing. You just keep doin' things the way you do an' someday, they'll figure out we ain't so bad."

She nodded and gave me a little smile before leaving the Danger Room. I stayed behind for a few minutes, thinking about what she'd said. It was true; if that guy wasn't in the White House, none of this might be happening now. Sure, she was plenty ethical. But I knew of others who weren't and it chilled me to think that we might have to go protect that asshole from them someday. Talk about your thankless jobs.

I made my way out of the Danger Room and down to the infirmary. A few of the younger kids had summer colds, so Hank was plenty busy dispensing meds and cough drops most days. He was just finishing up with another one when I walked in. "Logan, so good to see you!" He said cheerfully. "Just wait right there while I finish up."

I nodded and took a seat, watching as he did his thing. For a big blue furry guy, the kids sure loved him. He had a gentle way about him that was completely at odds with appearance. I know some of that was his way of controlling his own bestial nature, something I've never been able to grasp fully. But the kids still seemed to like me well enough, so I didn't worry about it too much. Finally, he sent the tyke on his way and turned back to me. "So, what can I do for you?" He asked.

"Well, it's about Angela." I said and he immediately looked concerned. "Oh no! She's all right, but I think she's gettin' ready to plot our deaths. So, she asked me to ask a favor of you."

"If it has to do with her walking anywhere, the answer is no and she knows that."

"Actually, she wanted to know if she could lay outside on one of the chaises for a coupla hours. An' she said I could carry her both ways."

"Hmm." He said, scratching his chin. "Well, I suppose as long as you carry her and she promises not to get up that there shouldn't be a problem. And we'll have to keep the children away from her, especially the sick ones. A cold shouldn't be a problem at this stage, but we can't be too careful."

"Don't worry, Doc. I'll sit with her an' keep 'em away." He smiled and I clapped his shoulder. "Thanks Blue. She'll be thrilled."

"Anytime. But we won't be making a habit of this!"

I nodded and went back upstairs to give Angela the good news. To say she was excited is a major understatement. She changed from her nightshirt to a pair of comfortable sweats and the maternity top that read "I'm fine, don't ask", ran a brush through her hair and finally declared that she was ready. I gently gathered her into my arms and carried her to the elevator. A few of the kids were giggling as we passed by, but they quickly quieted under the scowls we both gave them. We took the short trip down and I carried her out to the patio.

It was a beautiful day and I didn't blame her for wanting to be out in it. A few of the kids wanted to come over and say hello to her, but once I explained that Hank said it wasn't allowed, they left us alone. I sat in a chair near her and she just basked in the sun. I know how hard it was for her to be cooped up all the time, but it was for the best. It wasn't an easy situation for either of us, but we were doing what we could to make it less stressful.

"Mmm, this is SO much better!" She said, stretching out on the chaise. "I feel more relaxed already."

"Good, I'm glad." I replied and took her hand. "I just want the both of you to be ok."

"I know. But how anyone expects me to relax if I can't see the sky is beyond me. You'd think Hank would at least understand!"

"He does, darlin'. But your health an' the baby are his main concerns. An' mine too. I couldn't live if anythin' happened to either one of you."

She sighed. "Oh yeah, go ahead and do that making sense thing again why don't you."

I chuckled and we sat in silence for a long time, just watching the kids play. In a few short years, I'd be out there playing with my own child. I closed my eyes and tried to see what he'd be like, if he'd look like me or Angela, what he'd be when he grew up. I must have been more lost in my thoughts than I realized, because the next thing I knew, Rogue was running towards us. "Logan, the Professor wants to see us in the office. Somethin's happenin'."

"What? Is it Sentinels?" I asked as I leaned over to pick Angela up.

"No. It's Magneto. He's back."

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AN: All this and Magneto too?? Hehehehehe...can't have too many villains as far as i'm concerned...:) Special thanks to Zac and Turiel Tincdaniel, my truly amazing beta readers...Extra Special thanks to DBK(tm) for being my biggest fan and biggest pain in the ass...:) Super Special thanks to my readers, for obvious reasons...and Super Swanky Extra Special thanks to my reviewers, who were sela103, reeltreble1031, Ineluctability and especially to theNightEnchantress...:) sela: You can try...:) reeltreble: Sorry you had troubles...glad to see you back! Ineluctability: You rock too! (If the rest of you haven't checked out her stories, "Deviant Strain" and "Anomalous Vessel", you're missing out!) theNightEnchantress: No need to beg...:) I'm glad you enjoy my stories...thanks for the review!!

Now for the rest of you...the same bargain applies as before...if i get even one new reviewer, everyone gets an early update...:)