Chapter 6

The Professor removed his fingers from my temples and sat back, puzzled and thoughtful.

"I don't detect anything unusual now, Brianna, but this phenomenon is definitely something we'll want to explore further." Professor Xavier moved silently into view at the side of the sofa and offered a hand to help me sit up. I felt strangely relaxed after our mental contact, like I had just had a really deep massage.

"I've always had good control over my empathy, never really had to think about it much," I mused. "Since I met Wolverine it seems like my power's gone haywire."

My befuddled expression brought a smile to the Professor's face. "Logan IS a rather...intense individual," he chuckled. I rolled my eyes and grinned in response. Xavier had quite the gift for understatement. "Now then," he continued, "Why don't you tell me about yourself, Brianna?"

"Didn't you find everything you wanted while you were bumping around in here?" I tapped my skull lightly.

The Professor shook his head. "It would be very easy to do so, but I believe in using your gifts responsibly. I don not pry into anyone's personal thoughts. Unless I am given permission, of course."

How much did I actually want to tell this guy? My memory had holes like Swiss cheese, dark places I was afraid to go to in my own mind. Plus I still wasn't completely convinced this whole scenario was on the up and up, and if being on the road for so long had taught me anything, it was mistrust. "Um, OK...what do you want to know?" I hedged, suddenly wary.

"Anything you are comfortable telling me," Xavier replied, "I will not pressure you into revealing more than you are willing."

I want to help you, Brianna. Trust me.

Startled, I realized I was hearing the Professor's voice in my head, and it was a very unique sensation, indeed. A direct telepathic communication is much more layered and complex than an empathic one. I could sense the meaning behind the words as well as the feelings. Professor Xavier held a very strong belief in helping all of mankind. He was a true humanitarian with a deep sense of honor and respect for all life, mutant or otherwise.

I allowed a seed of hopefulness to take root for the first time in years. Here was a place I might actually belong, with people that would accept me. Brianna Hastings could show her true face and not feel like a subhuman freak.

And maybe, just maybe, she could stop running from a past she could hardly remember.

I looked into the Professor's understanding eyes, and tears welled up, unbidden, in my own. The tough façade I wore as Vixen cracked and a desperate loneliness washed over me. "I...I just want to be safe!" I choked out, trying vainly to keep the sobs at bay. All the years of moving from town to town, never allowing people to get close, too afraid to trust anyone, had left me numb to real emotional contact, and I was unprepared for the onslaught of raw pain.

Suddenly, Logan's anger roared through my head, followed seconds later by the Wolverine himself bursting through the study doors, almost knocking them off the hinges. He strode quickly to the sofa and positioned himself between me and Professor Xavier, glowering down at the older man like a bird of prey ready to strike. "What the hell did you do?" Logan growled, ready to slice Xavier in half.

The Professor returned the threatening stare calmly, saying nothing. I clutched Logan's arm to get his attention.

"I'm fine, Wolverine. Really, I'm...fine." My voice wavered a bit as fresh tears rolled down my face.

Logan crouched to meet my eyes, searching for assurance that I wasn't injured, physically or otherwise. I gave him a mental thumbs-up and smiled as I felt his relief bloom in my mind, a wonderful comforting warmth. Logan settled his powerful bulk onto the sofa, draping a proprietary arm over my shoulders. He wasn't going to leave me alone again. Instinctively I drew closer, resting my head against his collarbone, my sobs dissipating as I was infused by Logan's strength and fierce protectiveness. The steady reassuring beat of his heart echoed under my ear, calming my raw nerves. I closed my eyes in gratitude and breathed in Logan's pervasive scent. God, I could stay here forever, I thought. I just wanted to burrow in under the solacing weight of his arm and be petted and soothed like a little kitten.

Like Logan was doing right now. His furry cheek was pressed against the top of my head, his large warm hand rhythmically smoothing my wayward curls behind my ear.

"If you start purring, I'm outta here." Logan's voice rumbled with amusement.

I gave a grunt of indignation and sat up quickly, but at the same time was grateful that the mood in the room had lightened somewhat. The professor watched the whole exchange with interest, observing first hand the puzzling empathic link that had developed between Logan and me.

"Brianna, I would like you to stay with us for a while. You'll be safe here while we find out what Magneto wants with you, and..." here Xavier cast a glance at Logan, "I believe you'll both find some of the answers you need."

The idea that Logan and I might have a common past had honestly never occurred to me. That might explain, in part at least, why we had become so close, so quickly. Another thought struck me, one that left me more than a little flushed. Had we been lovers in our previous lives? Was that vision of our passionate embrace a slice of a forgotten memory? Christ, you'd think I'd remember THAT, I chided myself silently. Stealing a quick glance at Logan, I knew he was just as surprised by the idea as I was, and just as intrigued.

*********

Logan stared intently at Brianna, trying vainly to summon up some shred of memory that linked him with this beguiling woman. He wanted nothing more than for her to stay at the mansion, where he could keep her safe and figure out why she was so important to him. On the other hand, it irritated him immensely that she got under his skin like she did, and that he (the WOLVERINE, for God's sake) had no control over his response to her presence. Logan felt her in his head constantly. Unlike Jean's purposeful telepathic communication, controlled and precise, Brianna's emotions streamed into his mind unbidden and erratic, but not entirely unwelcome.

A loner by nature, and often by necessity, it gave him an odd sense of fulfillment to be this intimately connected with someone else. Logan smiled at some of the things that had been running through both his and Brianna's mind since they met. This girl could really give me a run for my money, he mused.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" Brianna waved a hand in front of Logan's face, grinning.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." He was embarrassed that he had been caught gathering wool in front of the Professor. "What did you say?"

Brianna gave him such a brilliant smile, he felt his heart would burst. "I said, I think I'll stick around. This place is kind of growing on me." Logan looked into her sparkling hazel eyes, and knew HE was the reason she was staying.