Changes Sequel – I. Darkness Part 24

That night, Logan was deeply asleep and had a dreamless sleep. Unaware of what was happening in his surroundings he turned around onto his belly and clung to his pillow, while he noticed, deep in his unconscious state, that something wasn't quiet right. He never shook in his sleep, at least not since he was with Jean and hadn't had any nightmares anymore. He pulled a face when the shaking became heavier and finally opened his eyes groggily, just to reach out with his hand. The light went on and his eyes caught the sight of his watch on the bedside table. It was just 2:18 a.m. at night. Sighing, he turned his head to the other side, when again someone touched his shoulder. Meeting her eyes, he immediately knew something wasn't right. "Darlin', what's wrong?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep, but figured it out on his own. Sitting up a bit, he gave her a look. "You're shaking…"

"I'm not getting warmer…," Jean said heavily shaking and pulled the blanket even closer.

Logan sat up completely and reached out to touch her cheeks and forehead. "Be right back," he said and got up to make his way to the bathroom. Reaching it, he began to fill the bathtub with hot water and returned to the bedroom to help her out of bed. "Come on. You warm up and I'll change the sheets." Carefully, he led her to the bathroom, undressed her and helped her into the tub. "You wanna have a tea or something?" Logan asked while he tied up her hair so that it wouldn't get wet, but she shook head.

"Later…"

He sighed and kneeled down next to the tub, reaching out again after he stopped the water from running and touched her pale arm. In contrast to her flushed cheeks, her skin was cold and she was still shaking heavily. "Are ya in pain?" he asked worriedly and saw her nodding. "Where?"

Wrapping her arms around herself, Jean closed her eyes briefly. "Everything hurts… And it's so cold…," she said in a whisper.

"If this doesn't change within the next hour I'll get Hank and you'll take the stronger meds, got that?" Logan said warningly and got up to change the sheets. Afterwards, he returned with one of his sweatpants and sweatshirt with a hood. Laying both things on the ground, he took a towel into his hands and helped her out of the tub; quickly drying her body and dressing her into his larger and thicker clothes. Lifting her up, he helped her over to the bedroom again and wrapped her into two blankets, before he laid her down and tucked her into the sheets, too. "I'll go and make some tea, okay?" he said calmly and gave her a kiss on the forehead before he left.

A few minutes later, Logan came back with a large cup in his hands. Carefully, he sat down on the edge next to her and helped her up. "Here, drink it…" Watching her doing so, he gave her worried looks from time to time. He hated to see her like this, especially if he was completely helpless. Noticing that she had emptied the cup, he put it on the bedside table and tucked her into the sheets again. Moving onto his side of the bed, Logan laid down next to her and pulled her as close as possible to warm her still shaking form; feeling how she cuddled up to him. "Better?" he asked and pulled a strand out of her face.

"A bit…," Jean replied and rested her head against his chest. "Thanks…"

Kissing her forehead once more, he pulled her as close as possible when she slowly drifted off to sleep. Still, he couldn't find any for the rest of the night…

On the next morning, while the redhead was still asleep, he had woken his children and was on his way downstairs with them for breakfast. Reaching the crowded room, he was immediately greeted by a worried Ororo, who had taken noticed of his look.

"Jeez, what happened to you?" she asked clearly concerned while the kids sat down on their stools. "You look like…"

"…someone who hasn't slept?" he finished the sentence for her and she nodded. "Oh really?" he added cynically and began to make the breakfast for his children. "Where's the Furball?"

"Right here," Hank suddenly said and entered the room. "How's Jean?"

"Mommy's sick," Lily said and saw how the man nodded.

"Give her the stronger stuff!" Logan told him and put three plates in front of his children. "She'd shivering fits all night and now she's burning up again…"

Hank nodded and crossed his arms. "I'll get the meds right after breakfast, okay?" he said and saw the nod of his friend. He, too, noticed the condition of him. "You should sleep, Logan… You look like someone who…"

"Yeah, yeah…," Logan replied and waved off before he put the pancakes on each plate. "Eat and get your things for your classes, okay? And be quiet when you go upstairs." The twins and Rachel nodded and slowly began to eat as he sat down next to them and ran a hand through his tired face.

"But mommy will get better again, won't she?" Lily asked her father after a while.

"'f course she will, pum'kin. Just let her rest, okay?"

"Then we build a snowman for her," Jack said and saw how his sisters nodded in agreement.

Chuckling, Logan nodded. "Yeah, but after your classes!" Getting up he prepared a tray with food and hot tea before he gave each of his children a kiss. "And behave!" he said warningly since he knew especially his son well. "See ya later!"

"What do you think about it if I help you with the snowman later, huh?" Ororo asked them smiling.

"But a huge one!" Jack said and the woman nodded.

"As long as I'm not covered with snow again while helping you…," she said teasingly and got up. "I'll see you in history then. Oh and Hank, when you see Jean tell her I hope she gets well soon!"

"Don't worry, I will!" he replied and smiled at her before he sipped on his coffee again. "Oh, you have to hurry up or you will be late for class!" he suddenly said when he caught the sight of the wall clock and the children turned around.

"Right…," Lily shrieked and jumped off her chair, followed by her brother and sister. "Bye Uncle Hank!"

"And think about what your daddy said and be quiet when you go upstairs!" Hank quickly said and shook his head in amusement since the kids where already gone. "And what about you TJ, huh? Don't you have classes today?"

"PE, but Uncle Bobby hasn't shown up, yet," the girl replied.

"Right, he stands in for Logan…," Hank mumbled and put the newspaper away, just as Bobby stormed into the kitchen, followed by Jubilee.

"Damn!" the young man cursed and quickly poured himself a cup of chocolate milk and began to eat a pancake.

"Overslept, huh?" Hank smirked and thought about what Logan heard the day before. "And Jubilee obviously, too…"

"Oh, Hank!" the woman cried and emptied her cup quickly. "Something like that can happen!"

"Jubes, it's not a secret anymore!" the blue mutant gave back laughing when the cheeks of her blushed and Bobby nearly let his cup fall to the ground. "Logan has heard you…"

"Oh, damn him!" Jubilee said and snorted. "I told you I've seen him in the garden!" Shrugging, Bobby emptied his second cup.

Shaking his head, Hank got up. "Hurry up! You've PE now and the little lady over there is already waiting for you!" Smirking, he left the kitchen to get the medicine from the infirmary.

"Yeah," TJ said and nodded. "You are late for your classes, Bobby!"

"I know, I know!" Bobby replied stressed. "I'll be right there, okay? Why don't you go ahead and tell the others?"

"What is that on your neck?" TJ suddenly asked him and pointed towards it.

"On my neck?" The girl nodded and watched how he gave Jubilee a glaring look, while the woman only shrugged. "Thanks, Jubes!"

"Did Aunt Jubilee bite you like you did with her in the garden yesterday?" TJ asked innocently and made Jubilee first blush, then laugh.

"Jeez, girl, you are too cute!"

Embarrassed, Bobby went over and pulled the girl into his arms. "Come on, we have work to do, you little spy!"

"I'm not a spy!" TJ pouted. "I was air riding with mommy and she said something like…," she said and tried to remember it. "…that if you went on like that you would bite each others tongues off… What does that mean?" Wincing when a cup shattered to pieces on the floor, Jubilee's cheeks became even redder and she exchanged a look with Bobby, who quickly left the kitchen with a confused TJ on his arms. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked.

"Hey can I talk to you for a moment?"

Turning around in surprise while he watched how his students had a snowball fight, Bobby gave Rogue a surprised look. "What are you doing here?" he asked and faced the students again who were laughing and cheering aloud.

Rogue walked over and stopped right next to him with a short glance at the fight before she sighed. "I'm sorry about the fight we had, Bobby…"

"Oh really?" he asked chilly and crossed his arms; not daring to look at her once. "What else did you expect when you told me that you would take my daughter away from me?"

"I'm not taking her away from you," she gave back angrily. "I'm here to tell you that Remy and I leave for France tomorrow. And before you explode, let me finish!" she quickly said since his face was a mask of anger again. "I talked with Isa after Logan visited us and she doesn't want to move to France. So…she stays here and goes here to school…"

Snorting in disbelief, Bobby shook his head. "What do you want there anyway?"

"Remy found a job there for one year and I can work in a better position there, too. We come back after that year, so it's not forever," Rogue said calmer.

"And what does Isa say about her mom being gone for a year with her mob-head lover?"

"Stop calling him that!" she hissed. "She understands it… I already talked to the Professor and Logan about it… She can either live in your rooms if you're not too busy with Jubilee or move to Logan."

"Jubilee is my business, okay?" Bobby said a bit louder and gave her a glare. "And just for you again, you left me for mob-head! And I always thought you had a thing for Logan…"

"I do, but not as you think, Bobby!" she gave back. "Jeez, can't we talk once with each other without fighting?" Noticing that his eyes were fixed on the students again, she sighed. "So, is it okay for you or not?"

"Sure…," he hissed. "Have fun in France then…"

Shaking her head, Rogue swallowed hard to suppress her upcoming tears. "See you in a year then…," was all she said before she turned around to leave; not noticing that his fists were clenched tightly.

Inside, she ran into Logan, who was just on his way back upstairs. "Hey kid, still here?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Had a fight again?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Is that any news?" Rogue gave back bitterly. "I told him that Isa can stay with you, too, but… Don't ask me what's going on in his head."

Logan nodded. "So, ready to leave, huh?" She nodded. "You sure it's the right decision?"

Smiling slightly, she crossed her arms. "Who told me that he wouldn't hold me back?"

Chuckling he nodded. "Right. But I ain't holding you back, kid. I only asked if you really thought about it. A year can be long, ya know…"

"Well, if I don't like it, I'll come back," Rogue replied smiling and came closer to embrace him. "I'll miss you…"

"I'll miss ya, too, kid," Logan said calmly and pulled her close for a moment. "Watch your back, 'kay? And if somethin' happens…"

"I'll give you a call. I know," she said and he wiped away her tears before he kissed her forehead lightly. "See you and tell the others I said Hi…" He nodded and watched her turning around sighing. "Bye Logan!"

"Bye Rogue…"

Stopping briefly, she gave him a sad smile. "Marie…"

Smirking, he nodded. "Marie…" Watching how she left, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair before he finally went upstairs again.

Slowly and carefully, both mutants moved like shadows through the endless corridors of the hidden lab in Texas. Reaching a corner, Scott checked the corridor, but couldn't see anyone. "It can't be that no one's here…," he whispered and Kurt nodded.

"But so it seems," the blue mutant replied and checked another corridor to their right. "Logan would be of help here, nein?"

"Yeah…," Scott said and gave him a sign to move again. "Let's check the doors over there. There must be a room where we can find some useful information…"

Following him on all fours since he was more comfortable moving that way, Kurt looked back. "What about the mutants in those cages?"

"We can't free them," the other man replied. "We don't know what they did to them and if they're dangerous…" While walking noiselessly, he kept on looking through the small windows in each door and suddenly stopped. "Here… Damn, it's locked from the inside…," he cursed and saw Kurt smirking before a familiar bamf sounded through the corridor. It didn't take long and the door was opened. "Thanks!" Closing the door behind him, Scott used his flashlight to illuminate parts of the room. "I look through the stuff over there, you take the other side!"

"Okay," Kurt nodded and began to search through files on a table at the farthest corner, looked at boards on the walls before he turned to a filing cabinet.

In the meanwhile, Scott stood frowning in front of a board and looked at it deeply in thoughts. On it was a genetic procedure with dozens of formulas and two sentences which stood directly one below the other: A child is coming. The master will be reborn.

"Now what is that supposed to mean," he mumbled and took a closer look on the formulas. Looking around, he grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and began to copy what stood on the board. He couldn't tell why, but to him it appeared important.

"There are files of some of our students," Kurt suddenly said and both men looked at each other briefly. "And us…"

"I think Charles was right… That guy plans something," Scott said and put the paper into one of his pockets. "The question only is what and why…" Suddenly he heard Kurt gasping. "What? What's wrong?" Turning to him, Kurt held up a file. "What's wrong with it?" he asked and came closer with his flashlight when Kurt opened it; still with a shocked look on his face. Frowning, the other man bent forward to have a better look at it.

"It's everything he looked for…," Kurt said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Everything he lost…" Looking up, Scott finally realized why his friend was so shocked and what the file, which Kurt still held in his hand, would mean. Nevertheless, they still couldn't understand the whole impact of it…

Finally, nearly two weeks later, Jean was completely fine again. While Scott and Kurt were still in Texas and kept the lab under surveillance, Mystique had woken up one morning in complete shock, since her skin was pale. After an examination by Hank and Moira, both had come to the conclusion that it must have something to do with her pregnancy and that it was very likely that she would be able to turn back into her mutant form again after the child was born. Deeply in thoughts, the redhead left the elevator behind and met Mystique, who just came from the infirmary, on the corridor. "Everything alright?" she asked her and the black haired woman nodded.

"Yeah, but I can't get used to clothes…"

Jean smiled. "What is it going to be? Do you already know?"

Laying a hand on her belly, the woman shrugged. "Moira says a girl, but I doubt it."

"Why?" the redhead asked amused and crossed her arms.

"Or better say, I hope not," Mystique corrected herself. "Because Scott will be pissed if he has a girl, too…"

Giggling, Jean nodded. "I see…"

"But I don't care as long as everything's fine with it."

"Right," the redhead nodded. "Well, I'm sorry, but I have an appointment with Moira. I'll see you later, okay?" Nodding, Mystique walked towards the elevator, while Jean became serious and entered the infirmary.

"There you are," Moira greeted her. "Lay down, we can start immediately."

Doing so, the woman heaved a deep breath when her heart kicked into high gear. She winced briefly when the cold gel touched her belly and heaved another deep breath when Moira looked at the screen. Hopefully, Jean looked at her closely from aside, ready to read any change in her features while the woman bent forward a bit to have a better look at the screen. When she turned her head and faced the redhead, Jean swallowed hard when she could see the sympathy in her eyes. Immediately, she turned her face away and clenched her fists hard. "I'm sorry…," Moira said barely audible and switched the ultrasound scanner of; not saying anything else, since she could tell how the woman felt. Grabbing two cloths, she quickly wiped the gel of her opposite's belly, before she watched how Jean got up and straightened her clothes. "You'll be alright?" she asked concerned and only saw a brief nod, before the redhead left the infirmary.

On her way back to her rooms, Jean ran into Logan without even noticing it. "Hey…," he said and grabbed her hand since she just wanted to walk past him; seeing, when she turned, how confused she was. "Darlin', what's wrong?" he asked worriedly and looked at her closely. Watching how she just stood there and looked at him, he tried to read anything in her eyes, when she suddenly bit her lip and began to pull a face. Stepping forward a bit, Jean wrapped her arms around him and cried into his chest, while he couldn't do more than pulling her close and being confused. "Jeannie, what's wrong?" Logan asked again when her sobs became heavier; his ears catching the sound of the elevator door, which opened. When he turned his head a bit, he saw Moira coming closer. One look was enough to understand what was wrong. He, too, saw the sympathy in her eyes. Sighing, he pulled the shaking woman in his arms closer and began to rock her slowly back and forth.

"Come on, let's go upstairs," Logan said calmly after a while, since they were standing in the middle of the corridor. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he led her to their rooms and into the bedroom; where he sat down next to her and pulled her close again. He didn't know what to think or do except holding her until she'd finally calm down again. Noticing that she moved until she straddled him, he heard her sighing on his neck when her sobs had finally stopped. With one hand he pulled her hair back to kiss the spot between her shoulder and neck softly. "You alright?" Logan asked calmly and she sat up a bit nodding. Raising his hand, he wiped her tears away with it and stroked over her cheeks gently, before he pulled her down so that she could rest against his chest.

It was later when he came into the kitchen to make something to eat for her, when Ororo had to frown by the sight of him. She knew him well enough by know to tell that something was wrong. Seeing that he began to prepare some food, she instantly thought that Jean was sick again and became worried. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked and he only gave her a short look.

"Nothin'…," Logan grunted and took a bottle with juice out of the fridge; ignoring the looks Hank and Moira gave him. If he didn't want something then it was sympathy right now. Taking the tray into his hands he left, but Ororo sensed that there was more behind it. Quickly, she got off her stool and followed him down the corridor; making him stop at the door to his rooms. "Logan!"

"What?" he asked slightly annoyed and gave her a glare.

"What's wrong? Is Jean sick again?" she asked worriedly and tried to read something in his eyes, which was, as always, impossible.

"It's nothin'…," Logan said again when she grabbed his arm to make him stop.

"Moira and Hank are weird, too, and I've seen how they've looked at you…," she tried once more while she felt a pressure becoming stronger in her chest. "Is Jean seriously sick?"

Sighing, he shook his head without looking at her. "No…"

"But?"

Pausing for a moment, he finally gave in. "She lost our baby due to her sickness and meds…," he replied barely audible. "Satisfied?"

Staring at him in shock, her hand slowly pulled away. "No… Oh God, Logan, I'm so sorry…," Ororo said with tears in her eyes. "That's why you were so weird during the meeting with Charles…"

He shrugged. "Hank said the chances weren't good…"

Shaking her head, she ran a hand through her face. "Jeez, the two of you really have no luck this year, huh?"

Giving a short laugh, he opened the door with one hand. "I'm the last one to tell that life's a bitch, 'Ro!"

"But still…," she sighed. "How is she?"

Looking down, Logan shook his head and shrugged. "Dunno… She hasn't said a word so far…"

If you need help…," she began and he nodded.

"Yeah… Thanks," was all he said, before he went upstairs again. Watching him leaving, she slowly turned around to go back to the kitchen.

"You know?" Hank asked her and she nodded sighing.

"They really have one lucky year…," Moira cursed and put her glass down.

"Just what I just said…," Ororo nodded and walked towards the backdoor. "Well, TJ lost her necklace while playing on the outside. I promised her to find it, so…I'm somewhere on the outside if someone needs me," she said and left the two mutants alone.

Looking at Moira from aside, Hank suddenly became very nervous, when his hand reached into the pocket of his jacket. "Ehm, Moira?"

"Yes?" she asked and turned towards him with a smile on her lips.

"I know Christmas is in a bit more than three weeks, but… Well,…I wanted to give you this," he said and handed her a blue envelope, seeing that she blushed slightly.

"Thank you," she smiled and looked at it. "What's in it?"

Smiling, Hank shrugged. "Open it…"

Doing so impatiently, Moira suddenly shrieked and stared at the contents, while her mouth was covered with her hand. "Oh, Hank, this is wonderful! I always wanted to see it…," she gasped and looked at him. "How did you… Logan, right?" she asked knowingly and he nodded.

"Yes…"

Being completely happy, while her heart was racing, she smiled even wider and embraced him. "Thank you so, so much, Hank!" she said and gave him a kiss on the cheek; not seeing him blushing due to his fur. "I hope you'll join me that day?"

Nodding, he bowed slightly. "It would be my pleasure, Moira!"

On the outside, it was already getting dark, when Ororo still looked for her daughter's necklace. By now, she was walking along the entrance of the wood while her feet kept on pushing snow aside in hope to find the object somewhere. Sighing in frustration, she paused for a moment to look at her watch; realizing that it was almost time for dinner, when she was suddenly grabbed from behind roughly. Struggling, her shriek was muffled by a large hand and she heard a low growl behind her. Panting in fear, her heart was in her mouth when she realized that her powers didn't work because of whatever reason. Fighting and desperately trying to get free, her eyes widened when she was pulled into the wood, just to be thrown against a tree in the next second. Dazed, Ororo shook her head and slowly looked up, just to widen her eyes. "You still owe me a scream…," her opposite growled and the woman quickly raised her hand to summon lighting. Hearing a laugh, her eyes realized for the first time that her adversary was wearing the same uniform Logan had under Apocalypse influence. Her powers wouldn't work… Beginning to quiver in fear, she quickly got up and tried to get out of the wood in hope that one of her friends would see her. Just as she'd made the first step, Sabretooth leapt at her from behind and grabbed her throat firmly, choking her while a sadistic grin appeared on his face; showing his sharp fangs. With an easy movement, she crashed against another tree again, but didn't fall this time. Instead, she only saw a shadow moving when he began to hit her until her blood dripped into the snow. Narrowing her eyes, Ororo landed a punch and kick, which only made him smile wider. Growling, Sabretooth sent her to the ground with one blow and pinned her to it with one arm, holding her wrist and neck in an iron grip. Quickly, he'd pulled her up again and smashed her against the tree first, just to hit her with his fist into the face; seeing how blood left her nose and lip, which only made him chuckle in amusement. He watched for a moment how the woman kneeled dazed on the ground, her head lowered, while she fought against the upcoming blackness, which was caused by his heavy punches. "Let's see how strong you really are," he growled into her ear and extracted his claws with a devilish grin.

Ororo screamed aloud in pain when he slashed at her and left a deep wound on her left arm. Turning, she looked at him quivering while tears ran down her face. She had to get away from him, to reach the garden again so that she could call for help… But every time she made a move, he quickly blocked her way and looked at her with his pitch-black predator eyes. Never before had she felt so helpless in a fight. Her mind desperately tried to recall what Logan had taught them in his lessons. Too slow, she noticed his approaching fist that knocked her to the ground with a loud groan. Shaking her head, she rolled onto her belly to get up again, when he suddenly grabbed her wrists and pinned them to her back. Ororo gritted her teeth and tensed her muscles to the maximum but her strength was no match to his murderous one. Whimpering first in fear, she screamed aloud when he used his claws to slash at her backside; leaving a deep wound from her neck to her waist while her blood reddened the snow. Closing her eyes, she felt him moving on top of her when her heart gained speed all of a sudden and her eyes widened. Terribly scared she felt his arousal pressing against her from behind and heard another low chuckle. His heightened senses told him that she had taken notice of it. Fighting again, her mind cried out for help in hope she could reach Jean or Charles with it, when he made short work of her clothes. Unable to do anything else but uttering a loud scream, her head was jerked back. Disgusted, Ororo closed her eyes when Sabretooth licked on her neck and growled deep in his throat. "So sweet…," he purred and bit as hard as he could into it; ignoring her loud painful yelp.

"No! Please, no…," she begged crying and struggled again against his iron grip while he could only chuckle.

"You'll scream for me… Not only once…," he grunted and grabbed her hip hard with one hand; burying his sharp nails into her flesh. Satisfied, he watched how blood left the wounds while the woman only sobbed aloud. He enjoyed watching her like this. All helpless and at his mercy. Years ago, when he'd fought for Magneto against the X-Men in the garden, he had caught her off guard, too, but unfortunately, he'd been disturbed… This time, he knew, no one could stop him from what he wanted to do for years…

Crying in despair and fear, Ororo felt how his grip tightened on her wrist, which was still pinned on her back. Hearing a chuckle from him, she cried out in pain when he broke it with one swift move. Baring his fangs and panting, Sabretooth bent over her from behind, while she quivered heavily and kept on begging him to let her go. Of course he understood what she said under her heavy sobs, but he just didn't care. Pushing her arm up until she arched her back, he tightened his grip once more; making it impossible for her to move an inch with his arms and his heavy weight that crashed her to the ground. Hearing how he worked on his pants, Ororo's eyes widened and she screamed for help, just to hear him chuckle again. "No one will hear you this time…," he growled into her right ear and sent shivers down her spine. "Not even the runt…" He licked on her neck again, seeing that blood still dripped from his bite mark. "You're mine…"

Feeling how his skin touched hers, she let out a terrified shriek. "Please, don't!" Ororo cried in a whisper and sobbed even heavier. "I'm pregnant…" She lowered her head crying. "Please no…"

Sabretooth bared his fangs and made one rough and quick move which made her cry out in aloud. Bending forward to bury her underneath him, his heavy breath stroked her ear. "Think I don't know that, bitch?" he growled and began to move…

Okay, I'll leave it here. Actually I wanted to type the rest, too, but…a cliffie is nice, isn't it? ; ) I hurry up with typing the next chapter, I promise! ; )

Thanks to all reviewers again!!! And keep in mind: Number 200 can wish for something!! So, please review!!!