Hey! I know, I finally uploaded chapter 3, but my beta was busy and I was busy with classes. And i'm still not done writting chapter four. I plan on working on it the rest of this weekend and Monday since I don't have any class that day, and will hopefully be turning it into my beta by Tuesday at the latest.

Now enjoy!

Logan was free falling into a pitch black nothing, a sense of panic-stricken doom escalated as he fell nearer and nearer to…to it. The feeling clawed and scratched his nerves, pumping his heart faster and faster until it's pounding rang through his eardrums.

He's had this feeling before, he aware of what was happening. He was going to have a nightmare. He always knew when he was going to have a nightmare; problem was he couldn't stop it. Never could.

And then the abyss closed in on him.

There was water everywhere, and noises. Noises—was it beeping? It was getting so loud and there was pain, god, so much pain! Needles and scalpels—they were in his body! Hisbody! The beeping was getting worse and—

Burn!

The pain was burning, he was burning, was too much pain to concentrate, but what was he concentrating on?

Red hair. Soft.

Girl? Yes, a girl, and she was—

Gone.. She was gone and he—

Anger. He was angry and that's why he had to—

God it hurt! Why him? It hurt so much he wanted it to stop!

The beeping was so loud! He couldn't hear anything but the goddamn beeping!

It needed to stop, everything needed to stop.…stop. Stop. Stop! STOP!

"AAAARRRRGGGHHH!"

Logan shot straight up, his claws extended to meet the threat from his dream, a ravenous growl escaping his throat, ready to attack. But he woke only to find that the enemy hadn't followed him here, the nightmare was over.

But there was someone standing in front of him, silver claws inches away from their freckled cheeks, as cloudy-blue eyes stared at him; watching.

Logan instinctively retracted the weapons, his breath coming out in gasps, his fear from earlier progressively waning at the loss of danger. It returned when he realized how close Sean had been to it. Enough to the point that if the kid had been an inch closer, he would have been dead. The imp didn't seem to realize it though.

"Whatddaya doin' up, kid?" Logan breathed a little testily, anger pooling in his stomach at how close he'd come to killing the poor boy. "Yer suppose' to be in bed."

Sean cocked his head slightly to the left, his gaze studying Logan a moment. There was a look of uncertainty before he quickly set himself in the other's lap and wrapped his arms around the elder's waist, laying his head on Logan's chest. "I had a nightmare too," he stated softly. No accusations, no fear or anger, just simple fact. As if it were the most normal thing in the world.

An emotion Logan couldn't name completely washed over him, the aftershock from his nightmare evaporating instantly. Without even thinking, Logan wrapped one of his large arms around the tiny body and gave a gentle squeeze, using his free hand to gingerly run through the mop of red curls on the boys head. Logan has never held a child before, never comforted one, never been comforted by one, but what they were doing seemed to come to them like it was second nature—instinct.

No words were shared between them. The two just sat on the floor holding onto one another, the other's presence casting away the demons from their dreams. Minutes passed this way. There were no sounds, just their silent thoughts, mellowed breathing, and the soft thump, thump of the mutant's heart beating against Sean's ear, quietly lulling him to sleep.

Logan sat with his head laid against the foot of the bed, his fingers listlessly stroking through the child's hair, and his body relaxed with an embracive calm that had settled over him. The boy seemed to be a human balm for him, smoothing his constant surge of emotions, letting him just breath.

How long had it been since he had done that?

He's had a few moments here and there, the experience something that only came to him sparingly due to his turbulent lifestyle. A trip through the woods, a quiet evening alone, the few quiet moments of tender kisses after sharing a bed with a partner…

But there was something different about it this time.

The others were short lived. They were tranquil, a sense of fulfillment that settled an agitated soul, a break from the rest of life. A pause if you will, recuperation for the mind before the problems that you were trying to escape returned. The next moment, it was all gone, and the feeling only lived in the past, memories.

But This.

This would never go away.

The world could evaporate into nothing and Logan would still have this moment. The feeling would swell and completely envelop him in that moment. Not in his memory, but in that moment—in that present. Like he could go anywhere and the sense would never leave. It felt like, like...

Like home.

The mutant looked down at the imp asleep in his lap, and a sigh of content fell from his mouth. So that's what it felt like. He's never really had a good impression of what home was exactly. At first, during the first few week he'd woken up, he thought home meant the place you eat and slept in, but then he'd heard people saying "home is where the heart is" and he had understood the implications then, but now he knew.

His gnarled hand moved to the boy's back, tenderly massaging Sean's spine.

Too bad he'd have to give it up soon. That's okay, Logan thought, sleep nipping at his consciousness. At least I had it. There was a pinch of regret attached to the thought, but Logan shrugged in off. Not much he could otherwise, he's lived his life in solitude and probably will continue do so during its course.

The mutant then settled into his spot on the floor, his eyes steadily closing as his breath evened out, and he too succumbed to sleep.

Logan woke the next morning to sunlight peeking through the drawn curtain, nudging at his eyelids to open. Upon doing so, the mutant sat up and stretched to find he had a slightly sore back; god bless his heal factor because it could have been worse judging by the odd position he'd awoke in. Logan looked down at his lap, having noticed a considerable lack of heaviness down there, and did not find the boy that should have been there.

Getting to his feet, Logan surveyed the room in search of Sean. His eyes spotted the bathroom door open just as said boy came out, the sound of loud flushing marking his exit.

Sean looked up at Logan wide awake. "Morning."

"Morin'." Logan placed his hands on hips. "How long ya been up, imp?"

The boy scratched the back of his neck while giving a small shrug. "…A few minutes." Sean's hand moved up from his neck to his twisty, red curls, giving a good scratch.

Logan raised an eyebrow concerned. "Itchy?"

Sean nodded as his free hand disappeared into his hair to assist the other one, his fingers scraping vigorously.

Logan walked over to him to check over his hair. There were a lot of dirt spots, and sore marks from where he had been previously scratching. The dirt ran down his neck and disappeared down his shirt, random spots of black caked on his body, and the odd assortment of bruises and cuts that covered his form. The boy was filthy and possibly infected.

Yeah, Logan mentally assessed, it's bout time fer that bath.

"How 'bout I give ya a bath? It'll help the itching'."

Sean gave a slow, unsure, nod. It been a while since he'd bathed.

"Good, I'll go run the water." The mutant entered the bathroom and began to get the boy's bath started. After getting the tub filled to a decent height and pouring in a little soap to give the kid some bubbles, a thought struck him. The imp didn't have any clean clothes to wear and the ones he already had on were too old and worn to consider washing. Hmm…he'd have to let the kid wear one of his shirts till he could go shopping for him, which he decided he'd do promptly after the boy was clean and dressed.

Logan left the bathroom to go retrieve the boy and found him sitting on the wood chair by the desk. Recalling last night and how "pleasing" the seat had been, Logan ushered him off.

"Don't sit in that thing kid it'll take your bum off, sit on the bed next time." His eyes moved over to the bed in indication, where he noted that the bed was slightly helter-skelter. Someone had evidently tried to make it up and failed miserably.

The mutant raised another eyebrow in slight amusment. "You do realize that the pillows go at the head of the bed and not the middle, right?"

Sean, who seemed to visibly shrink when Logan started talking about the bed, now looked like he was going to cry, fresh unshed tears pricking his eyes.

A choked "I'm sorry," escaped his mouth.

Logan's brow furrowed in confusion. "Whatcha talkin' 'bout? You didn't do anything wrong."

Sean shook his head vigorously in disagreement, tears beginning to fall down his face. "Yes, I did."

Thoroughly confused, Logan looked between the boy and the bed a couple of times before heading over to the latter, Sean made an attempt to graps the others arms to derail him, but Logan was too quick. He removed the sheets and pillows; the bed was a haphazard mess. There was feathers thrown all over, tears and scratches ran rampant over the mattress, in its center there was an unmistakably huge, gaping hole. The bed was marginally bent inwards from both ends, barely standing on its foundation.

Well that explained the pillows.

Logan turned to ask him when and how this happened when something quickly flashed through his mind, a memory from last night.

"I had a nightmare too."

Sean had said that last night after almost nearly being sliced to pieces. His evident disregard for his life had angered Logan that he hadn't noticed that Sean had been scared, just not the way Logan thought he should have been.

The man turned his head back towards Sean. The boy had started to sob after Logan removed the sheets from the bed and had now curled himself into a ball on the wooden seat, his head in his knees.

And now Logan found himself in a predicament, because he is not suited for this. He is not cut out for this.

Logan shifted uneasily for a moment, putting his attention anywhere but on the kid. What to do, what to do, what to do? "Don't…don't cry."

The sobs continued. The mutant asked himself, not for the first time, how he got himself into this. He tried the boys attention again. "Sean."

Nothing. This was getting frustrating.

"Sean, look at me, kid."

The boy shook his head that was still placed in his lap.

Logan sighed and tried again a little more firmly, his tone inferring little patience. "Sean."

The child's shoulders visibly locked, but he gradually lifted his head. His eyes were red, already sore from tears. "…You hate me now."

The raven-haired man let out a snort of shock. Where had that come from?

Logan shook his head. "No, I don't. I just metcha."

Sean shook his head again, certain that Logan hated him. He parents most certainly had. "I broke the bed…" His head returned to his knees and Logan heard a muffled sniff. "…I was bad…"

Logan looked about before taking a tentative step closer to boy, too afraid to get too close and feeling too awkward to stay where he was. He let out a breath in uneasiness, seriously trying to find out what he was supposed to do here.

He figured starting with the truth wouldn't hurt. "Ya weren't bad, Sean, ya had n' accident. S'all right." Logan looked back at the bed then back to the boy. "But I would like to know what happened."

Sean brought his face up to stare at Logan's. "…You'll be angry at me…"

Logan slowly closed the distance between them; his lack of confidence penetrated the room as he got on eye level with Sean. He took a breath before looking the kid in the eye. "I won't be angry, imp, just tell me."

A small look of hope filtered through the Cassidy's eyes. "…P-Promise?" It sounded nearly desperate.

Logan gave a small hesitant smile. "Promise."

If it was possible, Sean pulled himself in closer and rested his chin on his knees, and a soft whisper tinged with fear and uncertainty fell from his cherub lips.

"…I screamed," he said, as if he just admitted to killing someone.

Logan had a sinking suspicion that his screaming was drastically more than your average child shrieking. He worded his next question delicately. "Is that why ya had that thing on yer face?"

Sean gave a meager nod.

"…So ya…couldn't scream."

Another small nod.

The Wolverine had guessed that the boy was a mutant, the mouthpiece having been a significant clue, though last night had confirmed it. Logan recalled that he had heard some noises in his dream, beeping of some sort, but now he was sure it had actually been the boy, distressed with his own nightmare. After waking up, the boy had checked on Logan to see if he was okay, which made sense since the mutant tended to make a few noises himself during his dreams. The kid was sweet, which begged the question.

Who would be sick enough to put that thing on his face?

Who knows how long he had been wearing it. If someone put it on him, what else did they do? It was damn wrong.

Pulling Sean from his spot in the chair, Logan swallowed him in a tight, compassionate embrace, his fingers threading through the boy's hair again; the protective instinct resurfacing. "I'm so sorry."

Sean didn't say anything. He just wrapped himself further into Logan's grip and sobbed.

That little boy cried his eyes out.

All the while Logan just rocked him, doing his best, which wasn't much considering his lack of experience, to sooth the small child as the tears fell. Thankfully it didn't go on for long, and Sean stopped whimpering. "Ya okay now?" The elder felt the boy nod in his chest. "Ya wanna take that bath now? Getcha cleaned up?"

"Yeah…" It was a broken reply, the voice raspy.

"Alright, I think the tub's still warm." Logan stood and headed to the bathroom, Sean still in his arms. After disrobing the boy and setting him in the tub, Logan began to wash him, making sure to clean the cuts and the gash on the side of the boy's head. The soap stung a bit, but Sean didn't complain much, only flinching when something hurt. Logan moving on to the boys hair, which wasn't seriously matted, but there were a few kinks that he carefully worked through using the shampoo that he brought with him since the Inn didn't seem to offer any. Sean flinched a lot during this process, likely due to the sores from scratching so hard, but there was nothing to be done about that; they would eventually heal.

Logan repeated the process three times before he deemed the boy's hair clean. When he was done, the older mutant dried the boy off and let the filthy, black water drain from the tub; it surprised him how filthy the kid had been. How long had he been living like that?

Finding one of his plain white T-shirts, Logan pulled it over the boy's head. Sean looked like a white monk since the shirt worked like an oversized dress, draping over his feet and hands. Logan rolled the sleeves up and tied the bottom so the boy could use his legs; now the boy just looked homeless.

It would have to do.

"Logan?" Sean was looking up at him, his tiny fingers pulling at the shirt collar and trying to get it adjusted.

"Yeah, imp?"

"I'm hungry."

Logan mentally smacked himself.

"Okay, stay here fer a sec and I'll go n' see if this place serves breakfast."

Sean nodded in response, standing where he was. "Okay."

Logan quickly went to the front desk and was blessed to find that the Inn did serve breakfast, even though it was nearly over with. After getting direction on the location of the dining area, he speedily went through the few options left, consisting of some muffins, cereal, fruit, and a couple selections of fruit juices. Gathering the menial breakfast together and setting it on a tray, Logan hurried back to the kid.

Sean was seated on the bed near its head, trying to not make it cave in.

Right… He'd have to pay for that. He grimaced.

"Here ya go, kid." Logan set Sean up to eat at the desk. "Now when yer done just put everything on the tray and I'll clean it when I get back, 'kay, pal?"

Sean nodded before asking where he was going, he grey-blue eyes lighted with mirth, happy to be having food again so quickly. A childish grin tugged at the corners of his lips. The boy was darn cute.

"To get ya some clothes, be back soon." He ruffled the tyke's hair and kissed his forehead and then stopped.

…Did he just…?

He didn't even think, he just did it.

Kissing him goodbye seemed so right and natural—like he'd been doing this for years, but he hadn't. Never. He doesn't even think he had before he lost all his memories.

But it was so easy.

It wasn't supposed to be easy.

It should be strange for him to have this child sharing space with him, living with him after only meeting last night. It should be weird that it only took that night for him to start putting the abandoned orphan's needs above his own, was that even a conscious decision? He didn't know, but he does know that right now he needed food, which he had money for, but he was about to go spend it on clothes for the kid. It should bother him that he has to spend the money he was using for his manhunt on someone else, but it didn't—not even in the least. It should feel awkward to want to hold the child, comfort him, protect him….to—

He should not care so much this quickly—not after a single night. It shouldn't be that easy, but it was. And Sean would have to go. He couldn't keep him, and that fact definitely should not have bothered him at all.

Sean, on the other hand, didn't skip a beat. "Kay, miss you," was all he said before turning his attention on the quaint breakfast, promptly cutting everything into small pieces, and then consuming them slowly. There was obviously nothing amiss to him.

"Miss you too, imp."

How did he get attached so fast?

Using both his hands, Logan ruffled the red curls before heading out of the Inn.

As he left the building and headed down the road to the nearest clothing store, a nearby patch of grass shifted in the breeze, rustling…

The search took longer than necessary, but only because Logan—who is typically a god when it comes to finding his way around—was too stubborn to ask for directions. Call him a typical male, but it seriously took a shot at his pride when he had to ask where to find things. At any rate he found a clothing store, and without asking for directions thank you very much.

The store was quaint. It was located on the corner of a strip market, its size making it very easy to look over if not for the large multicolored logo atop the roof outside:

Tots N' Snot: Your one stop shop for all things toddlers

Unimpressed with the name, Logan strolled into the store, his eyes roaming over the interior. Clothes were lined from the back of the building to the front on short silver racks, and on the walls were an assortment of different shoes of several different styles. At the front were little isles with toys littered on them, while at the back the same isles were lined with necessities such as diapers, wipes, and sippy-cups. The store used all the space available for its products, but Logan would bet that if he could think of anything that a child would need he could find it here. It was quaint, and maybe slightly overwhelming, but nice.

Logan mentally did a run-through of what the kid would need, how much it would cost, and how much he had to spend. So far he gathered that he'd buy one decent outfit consisting of a shirt, pants, underwear, socks, and a pair of shoes. He didn't know how much that usually cost in American dollars, let alone in euros, but he had 287 of the latter sitting in his wallet. Surely it wouldn't cost too much.

Now, he faltered, where to start?

As if answering the silent question, a female clerk approached Logan. "Can I help ye?"

She was, in all honesty, very plain. Her looks amounted to a mousy brown bob, muddy brown eyes, and a square shaped forehead, although this fact was mostly hidden by the style she wore her hair in. The lady was short, maybe 5"5, but despite this her body was long and slender, and her skin was sheet white.

With all that being said, her bright smile seemed to complement everything about her, bringing all her flaws together into one seamless portrait and giving her an almost beauty kind of touch.

Logan placed his hand on his hips, something he found himself doing in awkward situations. "Um…yeah, I need to buy an outfit fer…fer a four-year-old." The mutant began to wonder if he could pull this off without sounding real suspicious.

"Oh how sweet! Are ye a da?" She asked, her smile beaming, the smell of peaked attraction drifting from her.

Logan was a humble guy, but he did know that his size, muscle, and rough looks seemed to have a certain appeal to women, something he quit questioning after a while. He was by no means a pretty boy, but handsome wasn't that far out of the equation either.

"Yeah, but I'm not too savvy with buyin' stuff fer the kid."

The woman laughed, her attraction rising at the idea of a clueless father. "Yes, I get many lads in here with the same problem. I can help."

"Thanks um…"Logan took a look at her nametag, "Fiona."

Her smile brightened. "It's no trouble, it's my job. Follow me this way." The sentenced was lightly sprinkled with unnecessary sweetness.

Logan followed as she led the way. They went down the third isle of clothes, which seemed to be designated for 3-4 year olds.

"I hope ye don't mind my asking but, are ye American?"

Logan nodded. "Yeah." As far as he knew anyway.

Fiona's pheromones spiked, her evident attraction growing by the second. Logan could only imagine what a foreign dad, lost on how to buy clothes for his child, did for little Irish woman.

"I thought so." She turned her attention to the line of shirts hovering above the ground. "These are some very nice ones if ye not picky 'bout prices, but if ye are these over here are pretty decent as well." Without hesitation, she began sifting through them. "What size is 'e?"

Logan paused trying to imagine the kid in his head, he had no clue. "Uh, not real sure."

Fiona gave a knowing smile. "Let me guess, 'is ma usually does the shoppin'."

Sure. That works.

"…Uh, yeah."

She nodded, her head still lost between the racks of clothes. "Where is she?"

Dammit!

"She…uh…." Logan sighed. How was he supposed to explain this? Without realizing it, his actions brought the lady to come to her own conclusion. A frown spread across her face, a look of compassion entering her eyes.

"She's gone isn't she?"

It took a moment before Logan understood what she deduced on her own. Not the first thing that would have come to his head, but it worked.

Logan gave a slight nod. "Yeah…" He even attempted to look sad.

"I'm so very sorry." Her voice petered on the verge of compassion and lust, no doubt a broken man taking care of a child all by himself sent her heart a flutter.

Logan waved her off, relieved the subject was drawing to a close. "Don't worry 'bout it."

She gave a shy nod then seemed to think something over, and she looked up to voice her question. "Why didn't ye bring the laddie? It would 'ave been easier to find a better fit for 'is clothes."

Because I didn't want the media on my ass?

"He's sick."

"Ah, poor lad. Well, a new outfit should cheer 'em up!"

And so the search began.

It took longer that the metallic mutant had been planning on, but he realized it would have taken much longer if Fiona hadn't been there to help. She was a sweet girl, adding in her opinion and helping him find the best prices she could with the budget he had. He did flirt with her a bit as the process went along, if only to make a potentially awkward situation bearable. It wasn't heavy flirting, just the light nudging interests that tend to appear during small conversation and a few jokes. He earned a chuckle from her a couple times. The lady had a good soul; Logan would consider dating her despite the lack of physical appeal, and she did have a pretty laugh.

"There, I believe ye 'ave one good complete outfit."

Logan's brown eyes surveyed their findings. He had a black and yellow striped shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, a bag of fresh, white socks, and equally white pair of sneakers, and a bag briefs since they were cheaper than boxers. Logan was satisfied. "Yeah, looks like it."

As he was checking the items Logan suddenly realized that he needed to buy the boy a coat. It was the beginning of December, so it was pretty cold outside, the kid would need some protection. As he was looking over the selections, something caught the corner of his eye. He looked to his right to see a small, plaid, blue teddy bear with button eyes and his tongue sticking out. Its head was a little too big for its body, indicated by the way it leaned sideways as its head was too heavy to support. Logan walked over to it and picked it up. The thing literally sat in the palm of his hand, it was very dopey looking.

He knew Sean would love it.

"Like it?" Fiona came from behind him, an endearing smile on her face as she watched the bear in his hands.

Logan sighed. "Yeah, but I need the coat and I can't go spendin' money willy-nilly. I need to save most of it."

"I can make ye a deal. If ye purchase the coat and donate one euro to the children's hospital nearby, I'll throw in the bear."

Logan could tell this woman had a big heart. She had been nothing but help since he walked in. Granted it may have a little to do with her small crush, but he's pretty sure she works this hard helping people all the time. It seems like something she likes to do. He would definitely consider dating her.

"Ya got yerself a deal."

Soon he was out the store with a complete outfit, including a jacket and a toy for the kid.

He began his trek back to the inn. Logan looked at his watch; it has been a good hour and thirty minutes since he left. He needed to hurry up and return to the boy, worried the tyke might be wondering where he was, but before he could pick up the pace a strong odor caught his attention.

The scent.

Without even thinking he did a 180 and darted in the opposite direction, instinct entirely taking over.

That, and the memories.

They crashed through his skull in a barrage of images, all of them trying to grab the mutant's attention and force him focus on them only, but there were so many. Until once again, one image jumped out further than the rest.

He's not really sure where he is, but it looks like a lab of some sort. And his brother from before is there, and a woman—

That woman.

"Logan! You're not an animal."

"Oh, yes, yes you are. Do it. Finish it."

Logan then knocked his brother out.

The scene changed immediately afterwards. A log cabin, with him and the girl, sitting on a sofa…There was a picture on the wall, the details too fuzzy to make out.

"Do you know why the moon is so lonely?"

"Why?"

"Because she used to have a lover."

"You tell this to the kids?"

"No." Logan laughed

"His name was Kuekuatsu and they lived in the spirit world together."

"Oh, this is a true story."

"Mm-hm. And every night they would wander the skies together, but one of the other spirits was jealous. Trickster wanted the Moon for himself, so he told Kuekuatsu that the Moon had asked for flowers; he told him to come to our world and pick her some wild roses. But Kuekuatsu didn't know that once you leave the spirit world, you can never go back. And every night he looks up in the sky and sees the Moon and howls her name, but...he can never touch her again."

"Wow. Koo-koo-ka-choo got screwed."

And then The flashbacks ended abruptly. His breath was haggard and he had to shake his head to rid himself of clouded after-effects. He came to in time to see that same cloak from before disappear around the corner.

Still having a firm grip on his bags, Logan took off and followed it, meeting a dead end as soon as he turned at the streets edge. When he stopped he noticed the cloaked figure standing there alone in the small alleyway with his back turned to him. Logan extended his claws, his bag dropped to the ground.

This process needed to go quickly, he needed some damn answers. "Who are you?"

There was a long breath before the figure turned, the movements slow and deliberate until they were face to face.

The man had short brown hair and deep ebony eyes. His stature was smaller than that of Logan's and his muscles leaner. Rough fingers that had clearly seen a day's labor began to pull off the cloak draped around the stranger's shoulders before tossing it on the ground in front of him. It landed at Logan's feet.

"I'm not the one ye are looking for."

Logan growled unconvinced. "Then what's with the jacket?"

The brunette smiled, his body leaning in, indulging. "I needed to speak with ye."

Logan snorted, not one for folly. "How do I know yer not exactly who I'm looking for?"

The man nodded down at the coat lying at the mutant's feet. "That smell ye 'ave been chasin' is only comin' off that piece of clothin'. Sniff me, I don't match."

Logan's eyes hardened trying to see through the ruse, yet he didn't find one. He sniffed, there was no match.

"Ye sense o' smell doesn't lie, does it?"

The wolverine snorted, he really hated playing games. "Whaddaya want?"

"Like I said. I want to talk."

"Yeah? 'Bout what?" He spat each word. Quit beatin' round the damn bush.

The man grew a wicked smile, knowledge glinting in his eyes.

"Oh notin' much, just whoever ye bought those bags for."

Logan's stomach clenched real tight. The mutant balled his fist, a dangerous snarl etching itself on his face. "And who would that be?"

The other placed his hands in his pocket, unperturbed by the guarded stance.

"Sean Cassidy o' course."