Author's note: Hopefully the server will work soon again. Here is the Epilogue. Have fun reading it. ; ) And yes, I know, I am mean and evil. LOL Please review!!!

BTW I just remember a review I once got in which one of you said I would never dare to kill Logan. I think I have proven with the last chapter that I can be that evil, right? ; )

This one was finished on last Wednesday, too. I hope the upload works now. Thanks to all reviewers so far: ) I hope you like the last bit, too. ; )

Love and Pain lie close together – Epilogue

One year later…

Miranda Stewart looked up into the blue, cloudless sky. It was a hot day, unusually hot for this time of the year, but who would mind? The sun stood high in the sky when she crossed the street to enter the shop she's come for. She gave the man behind the counter a short smile and nod of her head, before she proceeded with the shopping. With a list in her hand she walked through the shop and put the things she came for into the basket on her left arm. She gave the man a smile and waited patiently for him to add up the goods afterwards. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" he asked her with a warm smile and she turned her head from the window back to him.

"Oh, yes, it is," she smiled back and pulled a strand from her blonde hair behind her ear. "It really is…"

"And a new face, I see." He nodded at the stroller in front of her, before he put the goods into her basket and told her the price. "Who is the young mate?" he added with a smile at the boy, who looked curiously back at him.

Miranda put the money onto the counter. "Oh, his name's Johnny," she replied and gave the boy a smile when this one turned his head.

"G'Day, mate," the old man greeted him. "You're watching over him?"

Her smile weakened. "No, he lived with my mother and me. He's an orphan," she replied with a look at the boy. "He stays with us until a new family's found for him."

"Poor, mate…," he said with a sad look on his face. "So young and already such a great loss. Do you know what happened to his parents?"

She took her basket again. "They said they died in an accident a year ago."

"Poor boy." He leant a bit over the counter when the boy looked up again. "Then let's hope they find a nice family for you, mate."

"Yes," she nodded and nodded thankfully as he held the door open for her. "Thanks. G'day!" With the bus she went back to the coast and walked the rest of the way to the few white houses with small gardens in front of them. She passed some, greeted ifs he met a familiar face and noticed again how hot it actually was. She couldn't wait to get back home and drink something very, very cold. She stopped in front of one white house, which had a dark blue roof and pushed the stroller up the entrance. Miranda smiled down on the boy and couldn't help but feel sad again. She felt sorry for the boy and wondered once more who his parents had been. If she was superstitious, she would believe that this one tragic incident could only mean more bad luck. She hoped he would soon come into a nice family with parents who would love him and provide him with a happy life. Thinking about it made her sad, since she was aware that she wouldn't see him again if this was the case. She wished she was old enough already to adopt him on her own…

After she'd finally found the key in the basket, she opened the heavy white door and entered the friendly looking house. "Someone home?" Miranda called up the stairs and waited for a reply. "Not as it seems…" She took the basket and walked down the small corridor with the light parquet towards the huge white kitchen. With one hand she opened the silver fridge and began to fill it again, as she suddenly heard a weak, scratching noise. It didn't take long and she felt something hairy on her legs. "Hey, Cap," she greeted the husky and patted his head, while the dog wagged its tail happily and hoped she'd brought something with her that was for him and for him only. "Sorry, mate. Nothing that you like," she smiled with a shrug and Cap tilted his head, hoping that she joked and would throw a nice looking beef into his direction next. "…or better said, you like but I won't give it to you, mate." As an answer he barked and disappeared. It was then that she noticed she wasn't as alone as she's thought. "Oh, I thought you were still at work," Miranda said and closed the fridge. "You're home early. I got everything that was on the list."

"Thanks. Did he behave?"

She smiled at the boy and took the basket from the counter again. "Yes. He always is a darling."

"Good to hear that. There's an iced tea for ya in the fridge."

"It's really a hot day, isn't it?" Miranda asked and took a large gulp, releasing a satisfied sigh. "God, this saved my life…," she gasped and earned a smile. "Thank you."

"Thank you for watchin' him and fillin' the fridge."

She waved off and walked back to the door. "No problem. It's holidays, so I've plenty of time." She opened the door and gasped as the hot air hit her. "Jesus…" Again she ran a hand through her face and blinked against the sun. "Oh, it was correct that I took the money from the counter before I left, right?" she asked as she remembered it.

"Yeah, the rest is for you."

"This isn't necessary," she protested but knew it was useless to do so. "Thank you." Blushing a bit she gave a shy smile and patted Cap's head, before she took the boy out of the stroller.

"G'day, kid."

She turned around as she's reached the end of the entrance and smiled. "G'day, Mr. Logan! See you on Friday then." Miranda smiled once more before she turned around and went back home across the street with the boy on her arms, not knowing that today was the last day she'd with him. She began to frown as she saw the unfamiliar car in front of her home and instantly knew what it meant. With a heavy heart she looked down on the blonde Johnny, who stared back up with his blue eyes…

"And? Had fun with your namesake?" Logan asked after closing the door and kissed his son on the cheek. Followed by Cap he walked back into the kitchen as Johnny gave a protesting sound and stretched his arms. "I know you're hungry, bub," he smirked and put him into the highchair at the window, before he began to prepare a bottle and something to eat. Logan leant against the large window while he watched him drinking and turned his head to look out of it. He could clearly hear the sound of the waves of the Pacific, saw some birds flying in the clear blue sky and some people taking a walk through the light sand of the beach. Hearing a bark, he reached out to open the backdoor and Cap took his chance to run off and into the cool water of the sea. Smirking weakly, Logan turned his head back to his son, who still sucked eagerly on his bottle. "Someone's not really thirsty, huh?" he asked and earned a look from the boy with the unruly dark hair and green eyes. Seeing them, he looked away to the sea again. Everyday he wished she could see this. He was convinced that she would have loved it. For his liking it was way too hot, especially since he was used to the cold Canadian mountains, but thinking about the other continent made him realize again how much he hated his old home. Never ever did he intend to return to it and if it was only for a minute. This chapter in his life had been closed the day he'd arrived in Madripoor. Logan still thanked his friends there that they'd taken care of his finances so well. It had made everything way easier to buy himself into his new home ad start a new life. For others it seemed as if he's always been here, if not his accent was sometimes coming through too much.

On the search for a new home, he'd thought about what she would have liked and had come to the conclusion that she'd have probably wanted to live on the coast with a good view on the Pacific. He wished she could see the sunset in the evening and sit with him in the sand to watch it. Finding work hadn't been very hard for him and with the help of Miranda, he could work for a few hours, three days a week in a garage not far from his house to earn a bit of money, even if he still had enough from his savings. Logan could honestly say that he loved his new life, if there wasn't this large and still painful gap he always felt when the night came. He couldn't express in words how much he missed her. That he waited every day for her to return. At least he hoped she would. Wanting to believe it, he'd also gotten a valid new ID for her. Without her, his new life, as good as it was, meant nothing to him. Sighing, Logan ran a hand through his face and whistled to call Cap back. It was still a miracle to him that the shop he'd walked past one day, had one husky only in the whole bunch of little puppies. But as soon as he'd seen him, he knew it was his. Cap reminded him of the wolves they had seen from time to time at the cabin and he knew she would have fallen instantly in love with the former little puppy, too.

"Ready, ya lil' ankle biter?" Logan asked as Johnny let out a loud satisfied sigh and dropped the bottle. Looking at it, his father cocked an eyebrow at him. "Empty?!" he asked and pulled the boy up. "Ya know, kiddo, what some gluttonous animals are called?" Leaning back against the window he gave him a look. "Wolverine's, bub. And if ya go on eatin' like that I can soon roll ya around." He placed a kiss on the boy's cheek and looked at Cap, who was finally running back through the sand. When Logan saw how pieces of it rose into the air just to fall down again, he asked himself what they'd done with her? He still remembered too well how Beast had pointed the weapon at him, his eyes full of regret and had promised to take care of the baby. Logan had knelt down next to her body and stared down on it, had waited for the man to just fire the weapon, as this one had suddenly knelt down next to him and had handed him the baby with the advise to run and hide for a few days. He'd said they would take care of everything. He still didn't know what they'd probably done, but in Madripoor he'd been told that he was now officially dead in America and Canada. He hoped they'd buried her, given her the last respect she'd deserved despite their previous hostility. Thinking about it, he was convinced they hadn't, but had made use of the acid to cover the traces to give him a chance to run away. He was sure that they'd burned her and at least one of the soldiers to fake his death, too.

And again this was something he hated. Without a grave, Logan couldn't go anywhere to be with her, talk to her or feel her presence. All he had was the memory of his time with her, the good and the bad, the very happy ones… But those were only memories, bodiless, not living, only movies that played within his head over and over again. At night he dreamed about her. How they'd met for the first time, their stolen kiss, how she'd died twice, her return and their time at the cabin. And especially the moment Johnny was born. He hadn't even pictures to look at, only his dead memories. Logan closed the backdoor and gave Cap a glare, since the dog had brought mud back within. "I just cleaned everythin', bub," he growled and turned back to the boy as the sun began to disappear on the horizon. "Time for lil' kiddos to go to bed, eh?" After pulling the boy close, who leant against his chest and held onto his blue shirt, Logan locked the backdoor, left the kitchen, did the same with the front door and switched the lights off, before he ascended the stairs. Upstairs, he entered Johnny's friendly looking, in blue and yellow painted room, to prepare him for bed. As usual he remained a little longer in the side of the white bed to look at him, still feeling the same as he'd done after the boy had been born. Logan still thought of him as gorgeous, his one and only and was as proud as a father could possibly be.

Touching the cheek of the now sleeping boy, he managed to give him a weak smile. "I wish mommy could see ya," he whispered before he shoved Cap out of the room to enter the bedroom and laid down in the dark with his arms crossed behind his hand. He knew what would follow now. First, he'd lay awake for endless hours, not able to think of anything else but her, then he would start blaming himself again for his failure to protect her, before he would finally find sleep for a few hours. But still then she haunted him and reminded him of their happy time together and what they'd actually planned for their future. Logan raised his left hand to look at the silver ring that he still wore, it's counterpart handing on a necklace around his neck, and began to wonder that if they'd made it out of there together, if they'd been married by now. He was convinced that they'd have married in the small church at the end of the street and couldn't help but imagining how beautiful she would have looked.

Sighing, Logan sat up and ran both hands through his face, knowing that he wouldn't find any sleep and left the house to take a walk in the dark on the beach. But even there, with the calming sound of the soft waves, his inner turmoil couldn't find any peace at all. After an hour he finally gave up and went back inside to go to bed again and wait for oblivion to catch up with him. Before he closed his eyes, he made sure that the door to his room was open for Cap and in case Johnny began to cry; knowing full well what kind of Hell Gate the dog could open if he couldn't get inside.

Turning around to sleep on his right side, Logan pulled the pillow closer and tried to find any rest at all. When the bed moved slightly and someone laid down at his feet, he let out a sigh. "You never learn, do ya?" he asked his dog sleepily and opened his eyes briefly again, just to close them with a peaceful and happy smile on his lips, as an arm wrapped around his waist from behind and a slim, warm body cuddled up to him. "Was about time…," Logan whispered and turned around to pull the smiling and crying redhead into a desperate and passionate kiss, before he held her as close as possible and finally found peace after a year of waiting…

That's it. I'm done. : ) I intended to lead you into a complete wrong way and hoped that I succeeded. Of course I have proven again that I could never kill Logan, so, well…I hope that I reached my aim to make you guys at least believe it. ; ) After some of you requested that I wrote more after posting the first chapter I have to admit that I came immediately up with this story of being on the run. Also the baby was planned from the beginning and that both would be caught. Also the faked death of Logan and the return of Jean. From the beginning I also had this picture of him laying in bed in mind when she suddenly laid down behind him.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed reading and that I can somehow come up with something good on Changes again, since the story really gives me a headache. : ( I also have the storyline for the Return to Weapon X sequel pre-written and the first three pages, but since I also have three other ideas, I am currently deciding on which one to work next.

It would be fun if you guys just told me what you would like to read from me, so that I can just type it. LOL Just let me know. ; ) Please review and I hope to see you guys on the next Changes chapter (which will hopefully be finished soon). See ya!!