So guys, here's the last chapter...It's fairly short but I don't have much else to say.

BTW, this chapter was inspired by RedJumpsuit Apparatus' "Your Guardian Angel" and Ella Fitzgerald's "E'vry Time We say Goodbye"
Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 18: The Last

"Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns,
It calls me on and on across the universe"~ Beatles

The pain digs deep as I limp as fast as I can. God, I can't even take three steps without pausing to catch my breath. It's a vicious cycle because every time I stop to breathe deep; the pain in my side is even worse than it was before I stopped.

I can't go any farther and collapse into a heap on the ground as the tears I've tried to keep inside aren't staying there; they trail down my cheeks in rivers until they plink onto my up turned hand. At first I blame the dust but it isn't true.

I don't think I can find Logan in all this mess, with my side like this. All I want is more time… More time, I plead to whatever deity will listen. More time please! Just a little more….

In the distance, I can make out a figure but a sudden wind kicks up the dust and shrouds it from view. A small hope pleads for it to be Victor so he can finish off the job. At least it'll be quick. But a bigger part of my heart, the one that doesn't belong to Emma, tries to tell me that it's Logan. That maybe not all is lost…not yet.

The figure that seemed so far out in the distance comes closer and closer still "Kayla?" the voice fills me with warmth and comfort…for once my reality is better than any dream.

I reach out until Logan is crouched there in front of me. He smiles briefly in relief; his arms already reach out to encircle me, no questions, and no reprimands for what I've done. The tears surge and fall even faster. I don't deserve it.

"Logan…" I sputter. "Please…" I shake my head. "I'm sorry."

He looks questioningly at me until I peel the protective hand away from my side. He smells the blood before he sees it, eyes going wide with fear.

"Kayla," he breathes as I pull him closer. It actually makes me feel a little better to hear him say my name out loud in the familiar rumbling tones. If I close my eyes and imagine, we could be back in Canmore about to go to bed.

"I love you," I whisper against his lips, finding the courage somewhere between his hands reaching for me and the blood spilling from mine. The realization strikes me; this may be the last time I can tell him so. "I'm so cold…"

"I'm going to get you out of here." He replies gruffly, his hands carefully going around my waist and under my knees. "Okay?"

I nod, keeping the tears at bay.

"Easy," he breathes as he lifts me slowly. I whimper as a little spasm cuts through me. "Easy….easy."

I grip so hard to him, I'm afraid to let go. If I let go, I won't make it. I need it; I need him to remind me what I'm fighting for.

He loves me, I tell myself over and over, as we make each step. We're going to be okay. In a flash I can see the plane waiting at the end of the dock. We'll get to a hospital and this pain will go away. Logan will sit with me the whole time. He'll growl at the doctor and the nurses when they suggest he go get a cup of coffee. He won't lose me again, he'll say. Never again.

At night, when they give me the morphine for the pain, he'll curl up next to me, holding me tight to this world. I won't float away. And I'll wake up the next morning and this whole ugly business will be nothing more than drug-induced dreams. We'll find Emma and go back to Canmore, where we belong and everything will be just like before because I'm not ready to give it up yet.

But that rosy future disappears when an evil gunshot rings out. Logan falls to his knees, the sudden movement jolting me and making me scream in pain and fear. Then, there is a second and Logan leaps up amid my cries of: "No, Logan! Don't!" He turns on his attacker, snarling and roaring like a cornered wolf. I know who's cornered him and I scream all the louder.

There are three more shots and then silence. Footsteps pick up again until they're next to me. They aren't Logan's.

The next thing I know, I'm looking up into the barrel of a revolver and Stryker's twisted livid face. There's an ominous click and then…I reach out and grab his ankle.

Stryker, struggling against the command I'm forcing with all my might, puts the gun to his throat.

"I should make you pull the trigger…." I breathe with effort. "But it wouldn't make us any better than you…Throw the gun away." He does. "Walk until your feet bleed." I grip harder, forcing him with every inch of determination. "And then, keep walking!"

I let go and Stryker follows my command without looking back.

I hitch in a deep breath as the pain encases my whole middle. I'd give anything to make it stop and yet…I glance over to see a dark figure lying not twenty feet from me, I don't want to leave him. I don't want to give him up again.

The tears leak freely now as the sun bathes me in the last sunrise I'll ever feel. I let the rays cover me completely, shrouding me in their warmth. Instantly, I'm reminded of being wrapped in Logan's arms on the night he told me that he loved me, his breath warm against my ear, his heartbeat steady and full of life.

I let out a deep breath and realize that I don't hurt so much. And I'm not so cold. Actually, it's as if I've been submerged in a warm bath. My clenched fists relax against the dirt and I exhale again.

There's a brief pain, from the top of my head down to my toes, but it's over before I know it. And quite suddenly, I can't feel the body I am supposed to have. I try hard to cling to my body, try to feel the pain again. I can't. I can't feel anything. No, no, no please! It's not fair! Please! Emma…I need her, she needs me…

Everything will be all right. There's a deep comforting voice in the dark. For a brief moment, I see her helping the others into a helicopter. She's safe. And she will remain so.

There isn't anything I can give you, I say.

I'm not asking for anything. Emma is safe. Is there something you want her to know?

Tell her…I breathe hard, try to make the thoughts coherent as I send all my love for her to this source. Tell her I will always love her. Always have. Always will. Nothing will ever change that.

Suddenly I'm alone. My hearing goes in and out a few times before I realize that the world is clouding over. But there's a new voice, familiar and sweet like the wind. It's time, it whispers, becoming more and more like my mother's voice. You'll see them again.

There isn't anything left for me here, nothing holding me back but a tug on my heartstrings for a man who loved me for the remainder of my life. I gave up my life twice for him and now I really will have to leave him.

I glance over to where my tough and tired Wolverine is still unconscious. And I wish I could go to him and wrap my arms around him, tell him that I love him, that I will love him forever. But somewhere in him, I realize, he already knows this.

I let out a deep breath and feel as though I'm a feather that's been dropped from some great height. I float back and forth, back and forth, weaving through the air. And I never hit the ground.

Okay guys... "NOT THE FACE!" and I hope you guys like it....remember I've got an epilogue to put up too! It should be up by late next week possibly early the next week.