It had been two months since the texts started, a little under since Logan and I had first made love, and everything seemed to be falling into place. I started looking for a house in Salem Center, which was challenging considering my small budget. But I was hopeful. Something would turn up when the time was right, it always did.
"Marigold, how long have you been sick?" Hank asked me as I wiped my nose on a tissue from my purse. I had caught something, a cold, and it was putting up a pretty good fight.
"This is day three," I smiled at him, hoping I didn't have anything on my face. "It'll go away."
He didn't say anything save to peer at me curiously. He escorted me out of the house we were currently looking at. Victor and Logan were off on some mission thing for the X-Men, Roslyn and Maisy had gone down to New York for the week with the twins to school shop. So that left me and Hank without our respective mates.
"It's strange, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid I am not gifted like Charles, you will have to finish that thought out loud Marigold," Hank smiled down at me as we walked.
"Sorry, I have swamp brain today," I apologized. "Do you think it's strange that whenever one of our mates leave, we seem to sort of gravitate to one another. Victor and I, Roslyn and Logan, Maisy and Roslyn, you and I. Do you think there is something to that?"
"I suppose I had never thought of it that way before," his blue eyes looked thoughtful.
"Out of all the people around us at the school we always seem to find one another. It's like we are a pack."
He stopped walking and looked at me.
"In a way," he began and then stopped.
"I mean," I smiled and took his arm. "What's family but another word for pack, right?"
"Indeed," but he remained quiet for the rest of the walk to the car and even after we got inside and began to drive away.
I was almost about to speak when he began.
"Maisy cannot have children."
I turned to look at him so quickly a long strand of hair fell out of my bun.
"I'm so sorry," I apologized, for lack of anything better to say.
"Her eggs are viable, my sperm is normal. I have collected her eggs and fertilized them, but her body rejects them every time."
"How many times have you tried? Have you seen a specialist?"
"Seven now, and yes. We have seen four reproductive specialists and none of them know the reason why. I myself am unable to detect a single flaw with her uterus or surrounding anatomy."
"Okay," I nodded. "So what about a surrogate?"
He looked at me out of the corner of his eye.
"Marigold you are a beautiful soul," he smiled. "And if others thought the way you do the world would be better off for it. But there are no surrogates willing to carry a mutant child."
I realized how silly I was, for not seeing that. And it made another thought pop into my head.
"Hank, are you asking me to be a surrogate for you and Maisy?"
He swerved off the road and onto the shoulder, scaring the wits out of me as I grabbed the Holy Ghost handle and held on for dear life.
"Marigold, it was never my intention for it to come out that way. Please understand," he didn't get to finish because I shushed him with a look.
"My life has done a complete flip flop in the last few months. I lost my job, I moved to Salem Center, I'm a mate maybe. I possibly have a stalker. Having a child right now isn't right for me."
I watched his face carefully, gauging it. And that's when the idea that was forming started to cement itself in there. Become more than an idea.
"But that doesn't mean it isn't the right for you. Or Maisy."
I didn't know what I was going to say until it came out. His mouth open and closed several times as he blinked rapidly.
"Marigold are you," his voice was thick, and the tears were winning in that blinking contest of his.
"I'm young," I nodded with a smile. "I'm healthy as a horse, minus this bug. I don't know what Logan will think, and while it's important for him to be a part of this discussion because it effects us both, ultimately, it's my body and my choice. And if I can do this for you and Maisy, then I will."
Was I impulsive? Of course. Was I scared? All the way to my bones, but it felt right.
Logan sat across from me, his face unreadable at the moment. Maisy and Hank had just left the room.
"So let me get this straight," Logan rubbed his face a few times. "You want to have another man's baby? And you're asking if I am alright with that?"
"I can see you're upset," I began but he didn't let me finish.
"Upset!?" He got to his feet.
I watched him, waiting. I had two weeks to mull the idea around, to think it over. He would need time.
"What if it kills ya?" he stopped pacing and looked at me.
"The baby?"
He nodded.
"First, don't be painting the devil on the wall like that. Second, Hank is a doctor, a good one. And I would be carrying his and Maisy's child. Do you think he would let anything happen to either of us?"
He shook his head.
"It ain't supposed to be this way," and I could tell he was too angry. He was beyond listening and there was no point when he got like this.
"Just think it over, please," I asked him. "And we can talk about it again..."
"I don't need to think on it!" he roared. "No girl of mine is carrying another man's baby!" And he kicked the coffee table, breaking it in several places. I looked at him, feeling fear creep over me. I moved to the door quickly, not wanting to be alone with him and his anger any longer.
"Goldie," his voice was rough, deep and still very, very angry.
"You're scaring me," was all I replied as I left the room. Hank and Maisy were in the hall, flanked by Roslyn and Victor. I smiled at them, but I knew it wasn't very convincing, so I kept walking.
"You're my mate!" Logan's voice echoed off the walls of the hallway and I turned to look at him.
"And apparently that means that my feelings, my desires and wants come second, or not at all," I whipped around and leveled my eyes on him. I knew I was dangerously close to yelling, but I was so angry with him. "Do not mistake me talking to you to as asking for permission. I came to my boyfriend, my supposed mate, for support. For a conversation. To see how you felt about it and whether or not it was something you would be open to."
"I ain't," he growled out.
"Oh, you've made that very clear Logan," I spat back acidly.
"Maybe it's best we..." Hank tried for diplomacy.
"Fuck off," Logan snapped at him.
"Don't you talk to him like that! He is your friend, one of the few you have, and he doesn't deserve it."
"It's his..."
"No," I shook my head. "Neither he nor Maisy asked me, I volunteered, on the condition that I could speak to you first and see how you felt about it."
"It ain't happening."
"That's not your decision," I told him. "And to be perfectly honest, I don't think it's any of your concern anymore."
"Logan," Roslyn picked up on it immediately and tried to intervene. "Walk away. Now."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Do you really expect me to spend the rest of my life with someone who has so little regard for me and my feelings? "
"I..." Logan spoke but I stopped him.
"I'm done arguing. Come and talk to me when you can do it without being an ass," I told him and walked away, heading for my room. I cried most of the night, and when I woke in the morning, my cold was gone. I took a hot shower and met Hank down in the lab like we had discussed. He was a bit nervous and kept asking if I was sure.
"Hank, I want to do this," I told him as I hopped up on the exam table. I put my legs in the weird stirrup things and waited. He nodded once before washing his hands and putting on a pair of gloves.
He gave me a pelvic exam before doing an ultrasound of my uterus. He spoke very little the entire time.
"Hank," I looked at him. "What's the matter?"
"I desperately want this," he looked at me, his blue eyes set. "I want a child that Maisy and I created together. I want a family. And I want that all in spite of what it will do to your relationship with Logan. And that makes me feel terrible."
"You don't worry about that," I smiled at him. "This is about you, Maisy and me, creating life together. Logan will accept it or he won't. And whatever he decides is on him."
"Do you really believe that?"
"I suppose I did spring it on him quickly," I sighed. "And I know that he's upset. But to not even listen to me, to not ask why I wanted to do it...Maybe that just means we were meant to be."
"Why do you say that?" he asked, moving the wand around, watching the monitor.
"Because this feels right," I grabbed his hand, making him look at me. "Helping you and Maisy."
He nodded once, tears in his eyes.
"Everything looks...well perfect. Your uterine lining is thick, which helps with implantation, the shape is smooth and contoured."
"Hank, are you complimenting me on my nice uterus?"
"I believe I am," he smiled. And then we both laughed.
"I have your urine and a blood sample, I will run them to check for hormones and we will go from there."
I cleaned up and went about my day like normal. Logan was nowhere around and a part of me was disappointed. But another part, way back in my mind, told me I deserved it. That I should have been more patient, more understanding of the position I put him in.
Days turned into a week and still no sign of Logan. I called him once, leaving him a voicemail apologizing. But he never returned my call. It broke my heart. I had never loved anyone the way I loved him. I was mad and angry and hurt but at the same time I understood. I painted him into a tough corner.
So we went forward with the IVF surrogacy. They expected to do it several times before it stuck, but after a few weeks, I was confirmed pregnant. Now I was watched like a hawk. If it wasn't Hank himself, it was Maisy or Roslyn. Even Victor would trail along behind me occasionally as I did my cooking.
I was four months along before I started really showing.
"How are you feeling?" Hank asked, reaching out a hand to rub my belly.
"Well my breasts ache but that's about it," I told him.
"We never discussed it before, this all happened so quick. Are you willing to breast feed?"
"Of course. I actually thought that I could breastfeed and pump as well, so you and Maisy would be able to feed them as well."
He nodded, smiling. "Anything from Logan?"
I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Just making conversation."
"No, I haven't heard or seen him in almost five months. I have a feeling he'll come back, but only once I move out."
"You know I really encourage you to not add the stress of moving on top of pregnancy and everything that is going on with Logan."
"One, I have no stress in my life. Between you, Victor, Roslyn, Maisy and everyone else, I barely get to do anything. And two, Logan is no longer a part of my life. Three. My grandparents are passing through next week, so the house needs to be done. I can't wait for you to meet them."
"I'll admit I am nervous," he adjusted his glasses.
"Don't be. I've told them all about you. I think my grandfather is actually impressed with you. And he's a hard sell."
I bought an adorable cottage right on Peach Lake. It was old, but well maintained and had a fairy tale feel to it. With the help of well, everyone, it was cleaned up and I was moved in a few days before my grandparents were due.
"This feels so far away," Hank looked at me with worry.
"Everyone has a key," I explained to him. "I have the panic button that goes right to everyone. A landline and my cellphone. Plus the GPS tracker app on my phone that hooks to everyone's. I'll be alright."
"And we're right across the lake," Roslyn nodded, approving of my little cottage. The white porch, the fireplace, exposed high beam ceilings, it was romantic. And adorable. And the view. I could look out the large windows and see the waves lapping onto the shore. I even had a little boat house in the water, not that I had any use for it currently.
"Hank," Maisy smiled at me understanding. "Goldie needs her space."
"You do not understand," Hank ran a hand over his face. "I can smell us inside of her. She smells like..."
"She smells like both of you," Roslyn offered.
"You smell like their kid, so Hank thinks of you as his kid," Victor told me as he cracked open a beer.
I smiled at Hank and reached for his hand.
"You are welcome here anytime," and he shook his head but I reassured him. "I mean it. If it's the middle of the night and you are worried, come over. If you're driving by, stop in. If you just miss me or want to go swimming or just sleep with your head against my belly, my home is always open to all of you. For any reason."
They smiled at me and I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I wiped them away with a laugh.
"There are the hormones!" Roslyn laughed.
After a few hours I was blissfully alone. It wasn't that I didn't love being around others, far from it. But I enjoyed the silence. The quiet. I made myself some tea and looked around, still in shock that this little slice of heaven was mine. I made my way out to the porch that looked out over the lake and took a seat in the rocking chair I had bought in a second hand shop. I rubbed my belly absent mindedly as I drank my tea and looked over the lake.
My phone pinged and I picked it up, seeing a text from Megan. She was in the Bahamas with some of the other girls from the mansion. I sent her a picture of the lake and set my phone down again.
I traveled back and forth to the school and my cottage, enjoying the routine and the simplicity of it all. Until the day I pulled in and recognized the motorcycle parked out front. Logan was back. I was wearing a gray and white striped maternity dress with little white booties for the day and my hair was in low messy bun with some strands pulled out. I had started dressing nicer, now that I could afford it. And I was wearing makeup, keeping it natural but it made me feel better. Prettier.
"Marigold!" my morning helpers rushed out to greet me. My newest addition to the kitchen was a young man who was a very powerful empath. He was quiet and sullen, lacking in most social skills but he was coming along.
"Good morning everyone!" I smiled, making sure to greet them all.
"How are we today?" I listened as they regaled me with stories from the night before.
"And how are you today Eli?" I asked, putting my hand on his arm. He burst into tears, as he did sometimes. I gathered him to me the best I could with my growing belly. "It'll be alright, whatever it is."
He nodded took my hand as we walked into the school. He use to keep his head down, but after a few weeks of prompting he walked with it upright.
"You are nervous," he whispered. "Scared. Excited. Angry."
"Pregnancy comes with a lot of different emotions. And they all change so rapidly," I smiled at him. "Now let's go make pancakes."
"I like pancakes," he nodded, smiling back at me. His teeth were sharp, his skin so pale it was almost translucent, and his eyes were completely black, no pupil or color.
"Good!"
I got to work, letting the children whisk and flip, all of us laughing together when one would go a little to high or fly in a strange direction.
"Oh," I breathed, putting my hand on my stomach. The baby had kicked, hard.
"Are you alright Goldie?" Hera, the little girl with powers similar to Toad asked, her already large eyes looking positively massive in her small face.
"The baby kicked," I grinned.
"Can I feel?" she asked, excited.
"Sure!" I took her outreached hand hand placed it on my stomach. Soon there were other hands, Hans, Jacob and Kelly all trying to feel the baby. That's where Victor, Hank and Logan found me. Standing with our hands on my belly, laughing and smiling.
"Is it kicking?" Hank asked, coming over quickly.
"Like a mule!" I grinned, ignoring Logan for the moment. The children moved so Hank could put a hand on my stomach. I felt them kick again
"Take it easy on aunties bladder," I bemoaned to the child growing inside of me.
"Be kind to her little one," Hank's smile was beautiful. I steeled my resolve and looked up to see Logan. He hadn't changed a bit.
"Hi there," I nodded to him and then looked at Victor. He grinned at me but his eyes were dark. He was all mischief today.
"How'd you like the salmon?" he asked.
"I ate all of it in one sitting," I grinned at him.
"That was a two pound fillet," he sounded incredulous before laughing at me.
"It was delicious," the words died on my lips as I heard a hissing snarl. I turned to look at Eli. Only he made that dry, snake like hissing sound. He was looking at Logan.
"Eli," I pulled away from Hank and rushed to block his view. His dark hair had come alive, almost like little tentacles or maybe even little baby snakes. His lips were pulled back over his sharp teeth, and his mouth was open all the way to his ear.
"He is very angry," he hissed.
"Don't worry about him. Feel me," I told him reaching out and taking one his hands, careful of his elongated nails. "What do you feel now?"
"Peace," he sighed, his jaw knitted closed again slowly. "Love." And for a moment I thought I had him. But another snarl ripped through the room followed by the unmistakable sound of Logan's claws sliding out. At first I thought Logan was going to hurt Eli but when I turned, he was looking at Hank.
"Get them out," I told Eli and without questioning, he herded the four others and was gone.
"Marigold," Hank never took his eyes off of Logan as he spoke to me. "You should leave as well. I do not believe Logan is in the..." Logan began to move towards him and I rushed to get between them. Logan stopped so quick he fell to the ground to avoid crashing into me. He got to his feet quickly and I looked at Victor.
"Help would be very appreciated."
He just smirked.
"Move Goldie," Logan growled. "I'm gonna rip him apart."
"You will do no such thing," I told him. "What's this about?"
He looked down to my belly and then up to me as if to say, what do you think? I simply raised an eyebrow at him.
"He...and you!" was all he managed to get out.
"Wait for it," Victor grinned and I felt like I was missing something here. Victor would never knowingly put me in danger without a good reason, I was sure of that.
"Logan," Hank cleared his throat before speaking. "Are you aware of how a surrogacy works?"
I looked at Victor, who was on the verge of cracking up and then behind me to Hank. Wait. Wait.
"Did you think I had to sleep with Hank to carry his baby?" I asked him, and I heard Victor roaring out his laughter.
Logan's brows came down angrily.
"Fuck ya saying?" he snapped.
"IVF surrogacy, like what we used with Marigold, takes an egg from the mother, Maisy, and sperm from the father, me and we fertilize it in a lab before implanting it into the uterus of a surrogate, Marigold. There was was never anything untoward."
I shook my head before walking away. Logan thought I was asking him to sleep with Hank to carry a child for him and Maisy this whole time? What an absolute idiot. Victor's laughter followed me out of the kitchen, and through the dinning hall where the children and staff were eating. Charles followed after me, along with Scott.
"Want me to throw him out?" Scott asked, rubbing my back. I had become close with him over the months, he was a great friend.
"Get your hands off of her!" we all turned to see Logan coming my direction.
"Logan, do not place undue stress on Marigold. She is six months pregnant," Charles admonished.
"If you do anything to jeopardize the health and safety of either of my children so help me," Hank had come out of seemingly nowhere and had pinned him against the wall.
"You have been gone for some time Logan," Charles began. "There are more things here at work then appear to be."
Logan made an attempt to break away and Hank struck him, his claws ripping Logan's face to shreds as he fell from the impact.
"What the fuck Hank?" Logan got to his feet, his face healing rapidly.
"In the very beginning of my pregnancy, Hank started becoming very protective of me. And not just because I was carrying his little jumping bean here," I smiled and ran my hand over my stomach. "I guess I smell like both him and Maisy now."
"It is very hard to differentiate between Marigold and my child," Hank snapped, still snarling. "Even though I know she is not of me, her DNA is mixed with my child's. And my child's with hers. The smell is not discernible. I cannot tell one from the other, so I protect both as if they are mine. So God help me Logan, if you hurt my children I will kill you."
I smiled and put a hand on Hank's shoulder to try and calm him down. Maisy came running down the hallway, a worried look on her face.
"What's happening? Are you alright?" she asked, cupping my face. "Is the baby alright?" I nodded and she sighed heavily. Then her eyes landed on Logan.
"What are you doing here?"
"Leave him be," I told them all. "This is his home as much as any of us. He can come and go as he will."
"Well," Victor looked at all of us. "I'm hungry. You coming?" he looked at me. I could feel my stomach growl as he spoke.
"Yes! Where are we going?" I kissed Hank's cheek before hugging Maisy and Scott and smiling at Charles in goodbye.
"Somewhere with big portions," he teased.
"Be sweet Victor Creed," I admonished him.
"Not in my nature," he grumbled back.
"Fibber," I grinned at him as we headed for the front of the school. Lunch was pizza from town today, a rare treat, so I would be able to sneak out for an hour or so before serving time.
"What are ya gonna do about the runt?" he asked, casting his eyes at me as we walked down the front steps.
"What do you mean?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow at him. "He left me, we're over."
"He came back."
"He lives here, he was bound to at some point."
Victor opened the drivers side door of my bronco and got in, and as I walked around the front, Logan came jogging down the stairs towards us. I froze with my hand on the door handle as he came around to me.
"I'm hungry too," he offered, an almost sheepish look on his face. I opened the door and indicated for him to get in. He folded the seat forward and got it, snapping it back into place.
"I'm not gonna be able to do this in another month," I told them as I used the handle to help lift myself into the high seat.
"I told ya not to buy this piece of shit," Victor grumbled as he backed out. We were driving when the urge to pee hit me hard.
"Can we stop at my place real quick," I asked, breaking the awkward silence.
Victor nodded his head and Logan spoke up for the first time.
"Your place? You don't live at the mansion?"
"No, I bought this place a couple of months ago."
Victor pulled down the long dirt road that lead to my cottage. It was heavily wooded and in some places the trees grew over the road to form a sort of tunnel. I loved the drive to my home. As we pulled into my driveway, I saw that my small woodshed was stocked. I turned to look at Victor.
"Don't cry," he pointed at me with a clawed finger.
"Thank you Victor," I did my best to hold in my tears, blinking them away rapidly. "Come over for dinner tonight and I'll cook you up a rare steak."
He nodded. Roslyn was out of town, working with Matt Murdock on a case. The twins were with Maisy and Hank. It left the two of us alone for the night, so we usually ended up eating together.
I slid out of my seat and nearly sprinted to the back door. I hustled inside and relieved myself. When I was done I opened the door to see Logan looking around.
"It's poor manners to enter someone's home without an invitation," I told him as I walked to the freezer and pulled out three steaks, placing them into the fridge to thaw.
"Yeah," he nodded and turned to look at me. "You look good Goldie."
"I'm six months pregnant, but I'll take the compliment. Thank you." A heavy silence fell between us and I smiled for lack of anything better to do. "How have you been?"
"I miss you," he locked those hazel eyes on me. "Been going out of my fucking mind without you."
"It's been months.." I began and he nodded, stuffing his hands into his dirty jean pockets.
"I know I screwed up," he never broke eye contact with me. "I hurt you."
"If you're here hoping for some kind of reconciliation, I don't think that's possible. You hurt me, but I hurt you as well and I think that might be the only kind of relationship we are capable of having together. We are just to different."
He surprised me by smiling. It changed his face, lighting it up somehow. It reminded me how handsome he was.
"I'd be a liar if I said I hadn't thought the same thing a hundred times since I left. And knowing that, knowing you were back here more than likely pregnant with another man's baby, I still missed ya. Still love ya. More than ever."
"That have something to do with your mutation and the mate business?" I asked him, absentmindedly running a hand over my stomach.
"Might," he shrugged. "All I know is every time I thought I had ya out of mind, I would see somethin' that reminded me of ya and I got to missin' ya all over again."
It was sweet, but the only sweet I wanted right now was smothered on a cinnamon roll.
"You haven't marked me," I told him. "You could have..."
"I ain't never gonna scar you up," he growled low in his throat. "I won't ever do that to you. But I know you're my mate. I can feel you, no matter how far away I went, you were still right here," and he used two fingers and tapped on his chest, over his heart.
"That was incredibly romantic," I smiled, trying to not cry. And this time it wasn't because of the hormones.
"I know I should have listened, let you explain," Logan put his hands back in his pockets and walked slowly over to the window. "When I get something in my mind," he shook his head. "I'm sorry Marigold."
I watched him, hands in his pockets, hazel eyes honest as he looked at me.
"I accept your apology," I smiled. "But I also need to apologize. For the things I said, for not fully explaining to you my intentions."
He held his hand up.
"You ain't gotta apologize," he smiled. "It's a good thing yer doing fer Hank and Maisy. Helping them start a family. You ain't said nothing that wasn't true."
"But it was unkind and I hurt you, and for that I am sorry."
"You two gonna fuck and makeup, or are we gonna eat?" Victor stuck his head in the back door, scaring a startled scream out of me.
"Victor Creed!" I gasped out. "You be sweet to me or I will..." I stopped when he moved quickly, suddenly standing before me, staring me down.
"Or you'll what?" his voice was low and for a moment, I was afraid. But then he grinned and I returned it.
"I'll stain your lovely claws pink."
He laughed, which made me laugh and the baby kicked hard.
"Oh, don't make me laugh. She kicks like a mule when I do."
"She?" Victor asked and I clammed up. Crap! I did not mean to say it.
"Slip of the tongue," I tried to lie and he lifted a brow.
"It's a surprise for Hank and Maisy," I confessed, going to the freezer and pulling out a box of Magnum double peanut butter ice cream bars. Inside, in a zip-lock bag was several ultrasound pictures of the baby. Victor took them and a small smile crept onto his face. "So not a word."