She muffled her groan into a squeak of some sort when she forced herself to roll away from the warmness and comfort of Logan's body. She was desperate for any amount of sleep at this point, having tire of staring out at the beautiful night sky through her skylight. Her mind was racing and her thoughts were scattered. After Hank had notified her of Forge's return and she had sought Logan out to tell him the news, he had suggested they leave the mansion for a while. She knew that they had both needed to be away from the mansion and had readily agreed to his suggestion. They had ended up in Vermont, where they enjoyed a few intimate hours together in a motel room and then an unhealthy dinner of burgers and fries. They had returned roughly about two hours ago and had gone straight to bed.

She turned to look at his sleeping form, smiling softly. He looked so calm lying beside her. He was such a joy to her and she was incredibly happy that she had chosen to pursue a relationship with him. For the life of her, she couldn't fathom how anyone could think badly of this man. Sure, Logan was irascible and if she was honest, downright merciless at times, but underneath that gruff exterior, beat the heart of an honorable, gentle warrior. He was the man she was head over heels in love with.

There were no doubts in her mind that her heart and loyalties belonged to the Wolverine, but she couldn't help but wonder why in the Goddess' name Forge thought he had any chance of rekindling a romance with her. She was shocked when Henry had told her the Professor's suspicions, but then her shock had turned into outrage. How dare he assumed that she was willing to give him another chance? How dare he came back into her life as if nothing ever happened? What was he trying to prove by coming back? Forge's audacity truly had no bounds as evidenced by his assumptions that she didn't move on with her life and was awaiting his return to get back together. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she shouldn't have been surprised as the man had always possessed a level of arrogance that had surpassed that of anyone else's. However, if he or anyone else think that she was going to give up Logan, they had another thing coming.

She sighed. Just when she had finally decided to give love another chance and had finally arrived at that place in her life where she was experiencing genuine love and happiness, here was Forge. Why now? Why couldn't she have this without obstacles or something popping up to outshine her happiness? The things in life that were worthwhile never came easy. She was used to that. It was the story of her life, but she'll be damned if she allowed Forge or Jean or anyone else to take away this happiness she had finally captured. She smiled when Logan gave a soft growl in his sleep and was reminded of what was at stake as she maneuvered her way through the obstacles that seemed to pop up daily.

As quietly as possible, she eased herself out of bed, floating over to the balcony, where she welcomed the cool night air caressing her nude body. The feelings and thoughts that had plagued her after her disastrous relationship with the mutant inventor were attempting to bombard her. But she harshly pressed them down, refusing to give credence to them. She refused to let that self-doubt and uncertainty that took over her life after Forge left her, to tarnish what she had and was attempting to build with Logan.

As she gazed up at the countless bright stars that scattered across the cloudless night sky, she couldn't help but think about how far she had come since that fateful day things went south for her and Forge. Goddess! Has it been eight years already? It seemed like such a lifetime since she had emerged from that dark period in her life. Goddess! How naïve and young she was to fall for his garbage. But at the time, it wasn't garbage, it was more like a fairy tale come to life for her. Together, she, Forge, Scott, Jean and Hank were amongst the very first students at Charles Xavier's school. After a while everyone around her was pairing off, Jean and Scott, Hank and Cecilia and others. She was used to her unique appearance intimidating men, keeping them away from her. So she was ecstatic, on cloud nine when the debonair, well spoken, intelligent and charming Forge approached her. In him she saw an opportunity to have the love and happiness that the other couples were showcasing. Before long, she was deeply in love. Or so she thought. Overtime, as she took off the rose-colored glasses, she came to realize that in his eyes, she was only a notch on his belt, attaining the unattainable he had even boasted. He wasn't in love with her, not the way she desired. Her realizations came to fruition when not a day after proposing marriage to her, he had taken it back and had turned against her. He lashed out at her, telling her that she was lucky to have him pay any attention to her, that their entire relationship was a grave mistake and he had come to regret it. But the mortal wound he dealt to her was when he told her that marriage to her would be his death sentence. The downward spiral she had found herself in afterwards was devastating, as she had questioned and doubted everything she had believed in and stood for.

Subsequently, she materialized from the ordeal a new person. Gone was the carefree gullible Ororo who craved love. She buried her every desire for a fulfilling life in the deepest part of her being. That is, until Logan's arrival two years ago. He brought her to life once again, infusing her with hope. But his apparent interest in Jean forced her to keep him at arms' length, to dismiss any and all belief that it was possible that he was interested in her.

Now, she and Logan were embarking on something that promised to be exceptional and wonderful, but the obstacles in their way were unnerving. Jean, Forge and the Goddess knew who and what else were waiting in the wings for them. She knew that as a unit, she and Logan could weather any storms in their way, as they have done so separately and had the experience to back it up. She had no doubts that together they were strong, a force to be reckoned with.

She sighed as a gentle breeze stroked her skin and spread unusual warmth throughout her being. A slow smile ghosted her face as clarity filled her mind and the jumbled thoughts all but disappeared. She turned away from the balcony and strolled over to her bed and got back under the covers, after a sudden lethargy overcame her.

Logan immediately pulled her into his arms, letting her know that she was missed the moment she left the bed. Kissing her on the neck, he grumbled, "Ya work out what had yer mind in a mess, yet?

Ororo smiled. This man knew her so well. "Yes," she answered softly.

"Good. Now get some rest. We got a Danger Room session in the mornin'."

She burrowed down deeper into his warm body. "I love you," she whispered. Before long, the sleep that had eluded her overtook her body and she didn't deny its intention.


She stood at the cathedral windows in the third floor library, admiring the cloudless night sky, awaiting her visitor. Try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to relish the peacefulness of the night as she oft did. Seriously, how could she? When her mind was swirling with numerous thoughts, as it had been over the past two weeks. She didn't need any more complications in her life, but she wasn't surprised at the latest one, given her track record over the past couple of weeks. Forge was back. The fool had indeed returned in hopes of rekindling his relationship with Ororo. And it was only a matter of time before he blew her out the water, revealing to all her involvement in enticing him to come back. She was already skating on thin ice as it is and one more slip up and she knew she would be done. She and Scott were still at an impasse, as he took to shunning her at all costs and, so far, rejected all of her attempts at reconciliation. Ororo and Logan both avoided her like the plague, wanting nothing to with her and she knew she was persona non grata to the other residents of the mansion, if the recent conference she attended with Rogue and Warren was any indication. Only Xavier seemed to be the only one willing to extend an olive branch to her.

The satisfaction she had hoped to gain from hurting Ororo was not forthcoming and she doubted that it ever would come. Her previous blasé attitude about facing the consequences of her actions had completely disappeared and she found herself desperate to set things straight. She knew she had an uphill battle to fight in order to regain any modicum of respect or trust from everyone. She wasn't deluding herself into believing that things would go back to how they once were. Not even with the passage of time would things go back to being the same. But one thing was clear, she needed to put an end to the discord that was currently suffocating the residents of the mansion. The discord that she had no qualms about ushering in. She needed to somehow make amends and redeem herself because she didn't think that her heart could bear the burden of the betrayal and the havoc she had wreaked in her misguided moments of jealousy and envy.

How was she to begin carving her path to redemption? There were so many hurdles in her path right now, many she acknowledged were self-erected. She knew she needed help and she had already approached Charles on that front. She also needed to mend bridges with Ororo, settle things with Logan and repair her relationship with Scott, if there was still a minuscule chance for her to do so. But first things first, she needed to come clean about Forge. But before that, she was going to let him know that urging him to return was a mistake and that there was no hope of him rekindling anything with Ororo. So it was with dread that she had sent out the telepathic call for him to meet her on the third floor library, after everyone was asleep and she was sure they would be guaranteed privacy.

After that task was done, she was going to let Charles know of her role in facilitating Forge's return. Then, let the chips fall where they may. She will deal with consequences as they come. Besides, things couldn't get much worse for her anyway.

The faint click of the doorknob being turned lets her know that her visitor had arrived at their meeting place. She didn't bother looking over her shoulder from where she still stood at the window when she said, "Hello Forge."

"Jean," was the deep rumble of greeting. "I must say that I'm quite surprised that you wanted to meet here and at this time of the night." Nevertheless, he walked over to where she was standing and pulled her into an embrace.

Forge released Jean from his embrace, his eyes drifting over her stiff frame. Jean sighed. "Well, I needed to ensure our privacy for what I'm about to tell you."

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence before Forge said, "Alright. I'm all ears."

Jean hugged her arms around herself as she moved to stand in front of Forge. She needed his undivided attention for this. She tilted her head to the side, looking up at him. Blowing a harsh breath of air out, she began. "I want to speak with you about Ororo."

"What about Ororo?" Forge hissed, panic overtaking him at the thought of something being wrong with the woman he desired more than life itself.

Jean moved to put some distance between them, but he grabbed her by the shoulders holding her immobile. "What about Ororo?" He repeated through gritted teeth.

"I was wrong about there being a chance for you and her," Jean retorted simply. "She doesn't want a reconciliation with you."

Forge stepped back from her as if being slapped. "What the hell are you talking about Jean?! You told me that she was here waiting for my return to give us a second chance."

"Yes, that is what I told you. But I was wrong."

"You were wrong?!" He thundered. "You led me to believe that I had a legitimate shot with Ororo."

"Well, that is why I wanted to see you before you made a fool of yourself," Jean replied unflinchingly, unperturbed by his outburst.

Forge raked a hand through his hair in frustration, refusing to believe what the redhead was telling him. "So you lured me here with false hopes?" He asked with a cocked brow for emphasis.

Jean ducked her head in guilt. "I'm sorry Forge. I had my own selfish reasons for doing what I did." She raised haunted eyes to his dark ones. "There is something else you should know."

He returned her gaze unblinking. Although he was miffed that she had lured him there under false pretenses, it didn't matter to him. What mattered was the fact that he was still intent on rekindling what he had with Ororo. "What?" He asked distractedly.

"She's involve with someone," Jean said softly.

The silence that followed her statement was deafening. When Forge's eyes narrowed, Jean quailed, desperately wanting to put some distance between them. She meandered back over to the window and went back to staring at the darkness of the night, bracing herself for his explosion she knew that was going to come.

Her entire body shook with a shiver when he instead erupted in laughter. For some reason, his laughter was more unnerving than his wrath. She turned to him, a perplexed expression on her face. Obviously she was missing something if he thought this was a joke. She spoke her thoughts out loud. "This isn't a joke, Forge."

Suddenly, all evidence of mirth disappeared from Forge's face. His eyes darkened with something that Jean couldn't place. It was enough to set her on edge. "Do you honestly believe that her being with someone else is going to stop me?"

Apparently, the mechanical man was crazy if he thought the Wolverine was going to give him an easy pass to get to Storm. Jean shook her head at the man's stupidity. "Well, you've been warned, Forge. I made a mistake in encouraging you to return and I willingly admit it. But what you choose to do from here on out is at your own risk. I won't be held responsible."

Jean turned to leave the room, satisfied that she had said her piece. It was one less burden she had to carry.

"Why did you encourage me to come back, Jean?" Forge asked quietly. "I mean, you practically begged me to come back."

Forge's question stopped her dead in her tracks. His question, although quietly spoken, held a hint of something else underneath that caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up. She slowly pivoted her head to look at him, her poker face firmly in place. "Like I said, it was mistake."

"Oh come off it Jean. There must have been something in it for you to stoop to the kind of boots licking you did to get me back here."

Boots licking? Jean glowered with indignation as she took offense to Forge's indication that she basically had to kiss his ass to get him to come back. She had never had to stoop that low in her life to get what she wanted. Manipulation, yes, but never kissing anyone's ass. "So what if there was? It's none of your business."

"None of my business you say?" Forge replied, glancing down to inspect his nails. "Trust me, I'll find out why you were so hell bent on getting me to come back to claim our lovely Ororo."

Jean didn't even flinch at his promise. If he wanted to find out, then so be it. The whole damn mansion already knew what the hell happened anyway. He wasn't going to get anything out of her. Not even the fact that he was more than likely signing his own death warrant by venturing on the Wolverine's turf.

Choosing to ignore the man, she decided that leaving was in her best interests. She did what she had set out to do in letting him know that Ororo was off limits. Tossing a simple "Good night" over her shoulder she left the handsome inventor to himself and his ill-advised thoughts.


A danger room session with the Wolverine always left its mark. And Goddess did this session with him this morning left its mark.

"I'm sorry, darlin'," Logan apologized for what must have been the hundredth time since the accident.

Ororo ran her fingers through the hair at his nape as he cradled her protectively to his chest, carrying her to the medical lab to get attention for the swollen ankle she was currently sporting. She tilted her head back a bit to peer into his eyes as he carried her the distance from the danger room to the lab. The guilt he was feeling was evident. She attempted to appease him. "These sort of things happen in training, Logan."

Logan snorted as if to say yeah right. "Me intentionally hurtin' my mate don't just happen, 'Ro." He grimaced thinking back to their sparing when he executed a leg sweep on her, causing her foot to twist awkwardly before she fell down. Her shout of pain was like a shot straight through his heart.

"My love, it is alright. It was an accident."

He eyed her skeptically but didn't reply. Accident or not, he was never to hurt his mate. He felt sick inside knowing that he was responsible for her injury.

Logan used his shoulders to push the door to the medical lab opened as he called out to Hank while setting Ororo down gently on the bed. She looked up at him smilingly, lovingly.

Hank walked over to the unusual couple briskly, taking in the scene before him. "Oh my! What have we got here?"

"Can ya check ta see what's wrong wid her ankle. I checked and I don't think it's broken," Logan responded.

Hank moved to inspect Ororo's ankle. As his hand touched the swollen ankle, she flinched and hissed. Logan growled low. He gave Hank a sharp look.

"Ororo, my dear, I agree with Logan. I do not think that your ankle is broken but I do believe you have suffered either a sprain or a strain. The only way for me to appropriately diagnose your injury is to complete an MRI. Then I shall be able to charter a proper course for your recovery." Hank rambled.

Ororo frowned and she felt the onset of panic. Just the thought of entering the MRI tube was already setting off her claustrophobia. Logan took one look at her and knew it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to her fear.

"Uh…Blue. Can ya diagnose her without puttin' her in the tube?" Logan asked, his eyes trained on his mate.

Hank frowned, then his eyes widened when he remembered Ororo's fear…and his failure to elaborate about the new machine that was acquired for members who felt uncomfortable in the traditional MRI tube. "Oh yes, please pardon my failure to inform you of our new open upright MRI machine. It was acquired for patients just like you my dear." The doctor took a breath before going into more details about his new toy. "Our new open upright MRI scanner is a unique piece of technology and offers a whole new and incredible perspective on the MRI experience. It is unlike the traditional MRI scanner in that its front is completely open and it was specifically designed for patients who are claustrophobic, or simply cannot lie down due to pain, or whose size prevents them from being appraised in traditional scanners. It captures images of a patient's body…"

"Henry, can we please get on with it?" Ororo interrupted, knowing that if she didn't, then they were in for a long winded lecture about the more sophisticated intricacies of the machine.

"Yes, yes, of course," Hank replied, replacing his glasses on his face.

"How long will it take, Blue?" Logan asked.

"Approximately one hour to complete everything."

"Alright. I'm leavin' her in yer hands. Anythin' happens ta her, ya will answer ta me," Logan threatened, unsheathing his claws for emphasis.

Hank laughed good-naturedly, unruffled. "I will personally see to it that your mate is treated with the utmost respect and care." He bowed dramatically for effect.

Logan simply rolled his eyes before turning to Ororo. He leaned down and kissed her quickly. "I have ta get ta my class, darlin'. I'll be back fer ya when I'm done."

She watched him as he jogged out of the room before turning to Hank. "He is incredibly over protective," she murmured as an explanation for her mate's rudeness.

"Oh, my dear Ororo, I take no offense to the Wolverine and his behavior. As a feral, I completely understand his behavior and his desire to be protective of the one he loves. I will fight with my last breath to protect my Cecelia." He smiled at her, his gleaming canines visible. "To borrow a phrase from the great Wolverine himself, let us get this show on the road. Please remain seated while I prep the machine and fetch all that is needed."

Ororo rolled her eyes as she watch him exit the room. Where was she going to go on a swollen ankle? She tentatively stretched her injured leg out before lying back fully on the bed. She closed her eyes, hoping that her injury was much ado about nothing. The faint noise of the door opening told her that she was about to have company. Assuming it was Hank, she said, "Are you ready for me, Henry?"

When no answer was forthcoming, she swiveled her head towards the door and her jaw almost dropped at the sight of the man standing just inside the door with his eyes glued to her.

Had he whipped out one of those weapons he was famous for making and began shooting up the place, she couldn't have been more stunned. She felt all of her inner tranquility drained from her body to be replaced with tension. Speechless, she gingerly sat up, carefully swinging her legs off the bed and stared at him. Although she had known that it would only be a matter of time before they saw each other, he was the last person she had expected to walk into the room. As he stood tall and haughtily walked closer to her position on the bed, she knew it was going to take an unprecedented level of self control to face the man who had once left her brokenhearted, dejected and unsure of herself.