Home Sweet Home

Author's Note: Hey y'all! Jesus Christ almighty, I am SO UNBELIEVABELY SORRY that I took this long to put up this chapter! The family I was living with didn't have wireless Internet, and all my stories are on my laptop, so I couldn't post anything while in Australia. When I got back, my laptop just wouldn't turn on, so when I got a spare from my school, they couldn't transfer any of my data onto my new one, so I didn't have any of my chapters to work from. I just got back from China last week and my original laptop finally got back, so I finished this chapter. Once again, I am SO SORRY! It will not happen again, let me assure you of that.

I won't be traveling for a while, so I can get some more chapters up. Just a warning, I do have a lot of school work to catch up on, so it will take some time for the chapters to be put up, although not as much time as the last break. :P Hope you enjoy, and please, PLEASE review!

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"Romance fails us and so do friendships, but the relationship of parent and child, less noisy than all the others, remains indelible and indestructible; the strongest relationship on earth."

- Theodore Reik

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Once we settled down in the room, I glanced at myself in a small mirror hanging on the wall. It was true; I had received a large scrape on my chin and I could tell my cheekbone was already bruising. I brushed it softly and winced.

"You okay?" Logan asked, bending down over his bag full of clothes.

I looked at him for a moment through the reflection of the mirror and nodded. "Yeah, just grazed my chin and bruised my cheek. It'll heal soon enough."

"You… you want it to heal faster? So your parents don't ask too many questions?" Logan asked. At first I was confused, but then I realized that he wanted me to take some of his healing powers. I swiveled around and gave him an expression that was half-angry, half-taken aback.

"No!" I said with a slightly louder tone. I quickly lowered my voice and gave him a sympathetic gaze. "Logan, I know you want to help, but seriously, it's okay. And plus… you know I don't like using my mutations. I hate them. And you know it."

"Okay, I'm sorry. But if you ever want to, or need to…" He looked at me sincerely. "It's fine with me. I'll always be there to help." I nodded and turned to the beds.

I studied them for a moment before turning back to Logan.

"What are we going to do about... this?" I asked, gesturing awkwardly towards the double bed. He looked up from searching his bag and shrugged. He turned back to his small piece of luggage without saying anything. I sighed, shoulders sagging.

"Well," I began, speaking my thoughts. "The lady at the front said she could get us a cot or something." I leaped onto the bed, landing on my stomach, and grabbed the phone of its holder. "I'll just phone the front desk and see if they've got any." There was still no response from Logan. It rang three, four, then five times until it reached the voicemail for the Inn. I sighed and placed the phone back on its holder.

"Seems like no one's at the front desk." I stated, looking over at Logan who was still rummaging around in his bag. "You look like a squirrel." I said, smirking. He looked up at me over his shoulder, raising his eyebrow, then turned back. "What're you lookin' for anyways?" I asked, forehead creasing. There was another few silent seconds of digging through his small array of clothing until he looked up, his expression slightly annoyed.

"I…" He began, massaging his muttonchops before continuing with a sigh. "I don't have any…" The rest was lost in a mumble.

I waited. "You don't have any what…?" I asked.

"I don't have any… sleeping… garments."

I felt like laughing because I had never once heard Logan use the word 'garments' before. "What? Like, pajamas?" I asked, hiding my smile.

"Yeah," He said, running his fingers through his hair. "Pajamas."

"Wait a sec," I paused for a moment, sliding forward on my stomach to the edge of the bed. "Then what do you wear when you sleep?" I think I sounded slightly curious and cynical, because he too hesitated before speaking.

"S… Sometimes nothing." Wow. I think I've been the only person in the world who's seen Logan in discomfort.

I couldn't hold back my smile, as well as a slight blush. "You sleep… in the nude?"

"Sometimes… I used to." He stood up from his bag and rubbed his eyes, sighing tiredly. "Ever since I started to live in the mansion, I had to… wear stuff. Like boxers and shit." He continued to mumble and mutter things, but all I could make out was something along the lines of 'Xavier said to because of students and stuff'.

"Then wear boxers." He looked over at me and I held his gaze. "Do you think I care?"

"I'd think you'd care after what happened before." I knew he was referring to the nightmare incident where I had gone into his room and tried to wake him up. Final result? I got stabbed through the lung and almost killed Logan when I took his powers to save myself. Not a pleasant memory.

I huffed. "Whatever, we still have the problem of one bed, so it won't matter what the hell you wear."

He leaned against the wall and sighed, shaking his head. "You sleep in it. I'll take the floor."

"What?" I said, slightly bewildered. "But…"

"But what? We've got one bed and I don't get back pains or stiffness. There's another pillow and some blankets in the closet; I'll use those." He said, nodding towards the bed I was lying on. "Now get your adventurous little ass in bed. I'm wakin' you up early tomorrow so we can arrive at your folks' place by lunch time." Logan stripped his burgundy button-up shirt and threw it next to his bag, then pulled off his jeans.

This was all while I was still lying on the bed, facing him. And getting a beautiful eyeful, I might add. But out of courtesy and respect (and maybe a bit of embarrassing self-insecurity) I averted my eyes and hurried into the bathroom with my own mauve, long-sleeved nightgown. I came back out, almost covered from head to toe, and glanced down to beside the bed where Logan was currently arranging a pile of pillows and blankets. He was still just in his boxers, so I guess he had taken my advice. I smiled as he tucked himself in, and I followed, slipping underneath the heavy blankets and reaching over towards the light on the stand.

"Marie?" Logan said, his eyes closed as he lay on his back. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his bare chest; he was rarely seen without anything on, but I had that certain privilege, and I was not about to pass the chance.

"Yeah?" I quickly answered back, almost forgetting to speak.

"If… if I have any nightmares, and you wake up…" He paused, then opened his eyes. He locked onto mine and he gave me a very serious stare. "Don't do anything. Leave me be. And if I wake up and don't seem… myself?" I nodded. "Stay in the bed, don't get out, don't come near me, okay? Don't even say anything to me. Just go straight back to bed and ignore anything I do." His gaze shifted slightly from seriousness to compassion. "Understood?"

I nodded again, swallowing. "Understood, Chief."

"Good." He closed his eyes and moved around in his sheets, lying on his side and facing his back to me. "'Night, kid."

"Night…" I muttered, sounding slightly absentminded. I was thinking over what Logan had just told me. I mean, I knew he suffered from nightmares; I had the same ones play through my mind as well when I had absorbed Logan's memories. I still got them, but it was rare now, since most of it had worn off. But waking up and not acting… normal? That didn't sound like Logan at all. I desperately wanted to ask him about it, but he never told anyone about his past or nightmares. That was a very private part of his life that no one but him knew.

I clicked the lamp off, covering the room in a blanket of darkness, and snuggled under the warm sheets. I fell asleep quickly and didn't wake up any time during the night, so hopefully nothing had happened with Logan.

I awoke to the smell of coffee, and I smiled, rolling over and opening my eyes. The nest where Logan had slept the night before was empty and from what I could see, the room itself was uninhabited except for me. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, then slipped out from under the covers, glancing in the bathroom. That as well was vacant. The coffee pot in there was filled with the dark brown liquid and I decided to pour myself a cup, since it was still hot at the time.

I added milk and a bit of sugar, then glanced at the door. There was a small not I had not noticed before that was stuck on with a small bit of tape. I walked over and snatched it off, scanning it quickly.

GETTING BREAKFAST. STARTED COFFEE IN THE BATHROOM. I'LL BE BACK AT AROUND 8:30.

There was no signature but it was clear to me that it was obviously Logan. His traditional, capitalized chicken scratch was a giveaway. I crumpled the note up and looked over my shoulder to the alarm clock on the bedside table. It read 8:15. I was surprised that I had woken up so early – well, early for my standards – but I realized that Logan most likely made the coffee to wake me up instead of setting an alarm or waking me up himself.

I sighed and took another sip of coffee, then rested it on the bathroom counter as I got changed. It hit me that today I would be seeing my parents, and I actually had to stop and take some deep breaths. I was getting nervous and asking myself questions that only worried me more. Like, would they welcome me back home? What if they didn't? What if they had moved? Where would I go next?

I finished tugging my green shirt on then slipped on some gloves, downing the rest of my coffee. Just as I walked out of the bathroom, the door opened and in walked Logan. He was clutching a plastic bag in one of his hands, and I could smell the fresh bread as it wafted into the room.

"Morning!" I welcomed him happily. He grunted in response. "What'cha get?" I asked, skipping over and hastily taking the bag from him. The smell of bread had made me realize how hungry I was.

"Fresh bagels and some buns." He answered, watching me tear into the packaging. "You mind if we eat in the car? Gotta get outta here if you wanna see your parents by noon."

I swallowed a large chunk of a buttered bagel and nodded. "Sure." I wrapped my bagel back up and then hurried towards my duffel bag. "Just let me pack up first."

It took not even a minute to shove the last of my things into my pack and we headed out the door, the lady at the front desk (wearing a bright fuchsia nail polish now) waving goodbye. We climbed into Logan's truck and off we went, once again on the road.

Every minute I knew I was that much closer to seeing my mom and my dad, but I also knew I was that much closer to an either make-it-or-break-it relationship too. I fiddled with the zipper on my coat, continuing to bite my lip until it became raw. My eyes were glued to the window, but I barely processed what I was seeing; it was just a colourful blur, and when Logan interrupted me from my thoughts, I almost jumped.

"What?" I asked, not hearing him the first time.

"I said, you okay?" He asked, glancing over at me periodically with concern evident in his eyes.

I shrugged, looking down at my hands, which I noticed were shaking. I tried speaking, found I couldn't, then cleared my throat and tried again. "Y-yeah, I think so." I sighed, the silence sounding like a buzz in my ear. "I guess… I guess I'm just nervous…" I muttered.

"You have every right to be." Logan said, although I'm not so sure it sounded all that reassuring. There was some more silence and he added, "Y'know, I'll be with you the whole way through, right? From beginning to end, right at your side."

I nodded fervently, seeing as I couldn't speak. Another couple of minutes passed when he spoke up again.

"You hungry?"

I shook my head 'no'. Not only was I not feeling hungry; I was feeling sick. I didn't know why I was so nervous about seeing them. They were probably the exact same and hadn't changed one bit. They'd welcome me back and we'd talk and… I guess I was just really nervous about if they didn't welcome me back, if they didn't take me back in. I wouldn't know how to act or how to deal with that type of rejection, especially after what had just happened with Bobby. I realized that I was on the brink of hyperventilating, so I took a few deep breaths, which seemed to calm me slightly.

"H-how long do you think? Until we get there?" I asked, twisting the hem of my t-shirt between my gloved fingers.

"I don't know." Logan said. "You tell me."

I blushed lightly and cleared my throat. "Oh, uh, yeah, right." I looked up and out of the window for the first time in a couple of hours and began to recognize some streets, landmarks, and other things like that. It was when we passed my old elementary school I began to guide Logan down certain streets. We got lost once, but it was only because a road had been taken out and another put in, leading down a completely different direction, but we were luckily able to get back on track and continue our journey to my house.

It was only a matter of another couple minutes before I spotted my house. It was just as I remembered it: blue sides, white roof, and large porch. I could tell that they had touched it up a bit with new paint and shingles, but other than that, it was exactly the same. Logan pulled over to the side of the road and shut the engine off, leaning back in his seat. I made no move to unbuckle myself; all I did was stare at my house, my heart racing in my chest.

"Well…?" Logan said after a minute of silence between us. His voice jolted me out of my thoughts and I even jumped slightly in my seat.

"I… I'll… Will you walk… up to the door with me?"

There was no pause from Logan. "Yeah."

"Okay." I said quietly, slowly reaching to undo my seatbelt. "Okay. Alright." I opened my door as Logan did and slowly stepped out onto the pavement, everything around me seeming completely surreal. I let out a slow breath as we walked up the driveway and onto my familiar wrap-around porch. We were now standing right in front of my door, and I raised my hand to ring the doorbell, but it was shaking badly. My whole body was shaking. And now I didn't want to do this anymore. Voices in the back of my mind sprouted up as soon as they sensed my hesitation and began to whisper regretful thoughts into my ear.

Why go back? They won't take you in. They never tried to look for you, they never called, they did absolutely nothing. Your parents don't care about you anymore. They disowned you after what you did to poor, innocent David. Everyone despises you. That's why you left. That's why you left and never looked back.

My hand fell and I felt a wave of dizziness overcome me. I stumbled back and clutched my forehead with my gloved hand. My breathing was fast and uneven. I think I was hyperventilating.

"Kid, you okay?" Logan's reassuring voice snapped me back to reality. The voices slowly disappeared back to their dark depths of my mind and I looked up at him with uncertain eyes. I swallowed.

"No, not really." I told him truthfully, regaining as much composure as I had left.

"Talk it out." He suggested, leaning on the white porch's railing. It protested loudly.

I wrung my hands together nervously as I tried to explain my thoughts in an ordered sentence that made sense.

"I…" I started, but bit the inside of my cheek. I chewed it for a moment before continuing. "I guess I'm… I think I'm overreacting." Logan was silent. I continued. "I just think that my parents won't want me back." I sighed heavily. "I'm afraid of rejection."

Logan looked like he was trying to come up with something to say, but he lifted himself off of the handrail and took a step up to stand next to me. I waited for his response, but instead he quickly reached out with his hand and rung the doorbell.

I stood there, shocked. I think my heart stopped for a second, but it restarted and started beating furiously. I guess my face must have been pretty amusing, because Logan tried to conceal his smirk as a muffled "Comin'!" came from behind the door.

"L-Logan! What the hell?!" I began, torn between who was about to open the door and wanting to rip his head off. "How could y—"

The door opened wide and there stood my mother, in a pale blue blouse and a flowy summer skirt. A stained white apron was tied loosely around her middle while a spoon with some sort of mixture at the end was clutched in one hand. Her once long, wavy dark brown hair was cut to shoulder-length but the rest of her looked exactly like I had remembered it.

It took her a moment to realize who I was, and when she did, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. Her whole body went rigid but the spoon grasped in her hand clattered to the floor.

"M… Marie?" She whispered, eyes glazing over.

"Yeah, Mama." I responded in a whisper, voice cracking with emotion. "It's me."

Half a second passed and for a moment I thought she was going to pass out, but she rushed forward instead to embrace me in a bone-shattering hug. I clasped onto her and let my body rack itself with tears.

"Oh mah God, Marie! Thank the Lord, you're safe!" She cried out, tears pouring down her face as well.

It was good to be home.