Raven and Rogue sat on a porch swing on the mansion's back deck, listening to the crickets chirping to each other through the darkness. Two tall glasses of lemonade sat on the table, drops of condensation sliding slowly down the outside until they reached the table's surface, where they pooled around the bottom of the glasses.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Rogue finally asked, pulling her legs up on the swing. Her eyes were full of concern, and Raven wanted to tell her she knew just how she felt. Instead, she nodded.

"Logan and Storm are taking good care of him. He'll be fine. Well, except for the broken kneecap."

Rogue smiled at that, but then grew serious again.

"Do you guys have any idea of what's going on here?"

Raven almost shook her head, but she realized that Rogue deserved the truth, especially after what she'd been through. She nodded hesitantly.

"Maybe. The same kind of thing has happened to Logan a few times."

"So why is it happening? What is it?"

Raven shrugged. "Don't know. But we think it has something to do with The Brotherhood."

Rogue seemed confused. "Why's that?"

"Because. I used to work for them." At Rogue's shocked expression, Raven assured her, "Don't worry. I only did it to destroy them. Y'know, from the inside."

"Like a spy. No, like a double agent, right?"

"Right."

They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the warm night, until they glimpsed Logan through the kitchen's sliding glass door. He was wiping his hands on a rag, seemingly lost in thought, at least until his gaze found Raven's. Tossing the rag down on the countertop, he opened the sliding door and came outside to join them. He leaned up against one of the immense pillars that held up the porch roof.

"Well," he rumbled, "he's gonna be laid up for a while, but I think that'll be the worst of it."

"What was wrong with him?" Rogue asked, and he gazed at her with the same fatherly look that he'd had earlier that day.

"As far as I can tell, his hormones were all out of whack. His testosterone was nearly off the chart, and his adrenaline wasn't far behind."

"But why?" Raven asked, confused. Logan merely shrugged.

"Storm's running a few more tests. Maybe we'll find out after they come back."

Rogue stood and picked up her glass of lemonade, and started to go inside.

"Where you goin'?" Logan asked her.

"To go see him," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh no, you're not."

Rogue narrowed her eyes, then crossed her arms, ready to defy him at a word. Logan knew her game, however. She wasn't going to win this round, not by a long shot.

"He's got an extremely high fever," he explained, "not to mention that we still don't know what's causing this. It could be something airborne…"

She gave in, though Logan could tell she was struggling with herself.

"Fine. I'm going to bed, then."

Logan exchanged a knowing glance with Raven, who just happened to "choose" that moment to go check on Sonya and some of the other kids. She chastely kissed Logan's cheek, then slipped into the house and disappeared around a corner.

"Hey," Logan said as he used his shoulder to push himself away from the pillar. He sat down on the porch swing and patted the seat beside him. "C'mere."

Rogue sat beside him and set her lemonade back down. She stared into his eyes, waiting.

"I know you love him, and you're worried about him. But you can't put yourself in danger for it. Bobby wouldn't want that."

"I know," she agreed, and lay her head on his shoulder. His mind automatically flashed back to the time she'd run away, when he'd found her on the train and promised to always take care of her.

"You know," he began, "you've grown up quite a bit since I found you hiding in the back of my trailer."

"Thanks. And thanks for bringing that up again." She stuck her tongue out at him, and he grinned.

"I'm just saying that I'm really proud of you, that's all. If I ever had a daughter, I'd want her to be like you."

Rogue was stunned silent for a few moments. She'd never gotten such a compliment before, and wasn't quite sure how to reply.

"Wow," she finally remarked, "I never knew you were so deep, Logan."

Anyone else would've been hurt by her remark, but he actually chuckled.

"Yeah, well, don't tell anyone, especially Raven. Gotta keep my 'image'."

"What image is that? Old and grouchy?"

"Watch it, kid. I'm not…grouchy," he finished with a wink. "Well, you'd better get off to bed, Miss Marie. It's late."

Rogue stood up and yawned. "Yeah. Good night, Logan."

"G'night, Kid."

Logan sat outside for an hour after Rogue had gone in, trying to understand the past few days' events. He even ran back through his memory – however much he had, anyway – to see if he could recall any vital piece of information, but he came up empty. Logan growled impatiently at himself. He'd much rather find something out later, and not be able to stop something from happening, than know he could possibly have the key, but not be able to remember where it was.

"Something wrong?"

Logan turned toward the stairs that led down into the gardens. Raven stood there, her hair braided neatly down her back. The memory of the dark-haired, laughing woman swam into his vision, only to fade as quickly as it had come.

"I like your hair," Logan said lamely, and mentally kicked himself for being such an idiot. His comment, however, brought a genuine smile to Raven's lips, and he couldn't help but grin as well. She reached back and touched the braid, then continued up the stairs.

"Thanks," she said, "Sonya insisted that she had to practice on me."

At the mention of the girl's name, Logan's smile became a firm line.

"How is she? What'd she say?" He asked, and Raven grinned sympathetically.

"She's fine, and she'll help as long as you are the only other one there." Before he could open his mouth, she hurriedly added, "I didn't ask and she didn't say."

"Okay."

They stood facing each other for a full three minutes before Logan finally got restless and began to pace around the porch.

"Logan," Raven said as she jumped up onto the wide railing that surrounded the patio, "what's bothering you?"

At first, he didn't reply. Then, slowly, he sighed and said, "I don't understand why you're still here."

Raven didn't hide her hurt feelings this time. "Well, I thought you needed the information that's supposedly in my head – "

He cut her off with a raised hand. "No. I mean here, on this porch." After the words were out of his mouth, he realized how it sounded, and he moved to stand in front of her, effectively cutting off any retreat should he say anything more asinine.

"That's…that didn't come out right. What I meant was, how can you possibly trust me enough to be out here alone with me? Especially after what happened the other night?"

Raven gazed directly into his eyes. "I guess I just do, Logan." She hopped down from her perch and wrapped her arms around a nearby pillar. Her voice became softer, almost dreamy as she spoke. "My parents are both gone – they have been for years. I never really made a lot of friends, at least not human ones. But the birds outside my window, well, they were a different story. They're very untrusting, usually. But they soon discovered that if they wanted a piece of bread, they had to trust me. They had to believe that I wouldn't suddenly close my hand and crush them. What I didn't know was that when I tamed them, they'd come to anyone who called them.

"A neighbor who was sick of them eating his corn called to them, and they went. He killed all of them except a tiny goldfinch, and from then on, he would never come to me. He'd never trust a human again. For a while, I became like the birds when it came to trusting people. It took a while to earn my trust, and if you screwed me over, that was it. But then I realized that everyone messes up now and then, and I believed in people more. I learned to trust myself, to listen to my gut – as you'd put it – and now I can tell the people who will let me down from the ones who won't."

Her voice barely above a whisper now, she added, "You're one of the ones who won't, Logan."

Logan shook his head sadly. "How do you know?"

"I just do." She yawned suddenly, barely able to cover it in time. "We should get some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow."

"Yeah," Logan agreed. "I'll take the couch."

She spun around so fast that she felt dizzy afterward. "Oh no, you won't. I will not have you having nightmares –" she held up one of his hands to indicate his claws "– in the living room."

"I see your point. No pun intended. But what about our little problem?"

She shrugged and walked into the house. "Do what you did to Bobby."

"Kick myself in the knee?" He grinned, but she rolled her eyes at his sense of humor.

"Funny. Do you juggle, too?" she asked as he shut the glass door behind him. "No, I mean give yourself a dose of tranquilizer."

Logan considered it as he followed her up the long staircase. "Okay," he finally replied, "but you'll have to give it to me."

"Why?"

"I don't like needles."

Raven burst out laughing, and had to stop and press her hand against her mouth to keep from getting too loud. She didn't want to wake all the sleeping kids.

After she had settled down, she turned to glance at him. "The man who has faced Magneto and the Brotherhood, with nothing more than a set of metal claws, can't handle sticking a needle into his own arm?"

Logan pouted. "I don't see the irony, Raven. Yes, I have claws. But they come out of my skin; they don't go in. There's a difference."

"If you say so," she replied with a grin.

When they reached his room, Logan entered first, and wearily ran his hand through his brown hair. Raven could tell from that simple gesture that something else was on his mind, but she decided not to push it. She'd rather take the chance that he'd never voice his thoughts, than risk upsetting him again. At least, she thought, until this whole situation gets cleared up.

She pointed to the bed and said, "You get comfortable, and I'll be right back."

"Yes, Doctor," he said with a leering grin.

"Don't be such a creep, Logan," she countered, and left the room.

Logan sat on the edge of the bed, untied his boots, and peeled off his leather jacket and jeans, leaving him in only a tank shirt and boxers. He lay back on the fluffy pillows, lacing his fingers behind his head, and stared up at the empty ceiling. His mind wandered aimlessly, and he soon found himself thinking about Raven. About her hair, her smile, her…

Change the subject, Logan, he scolded himself. That train of thought was dangerous right now. As long as he had a choice, he wouldn't allow himself to lose control again. He couldn't let anything happen to Raven, especially not by his hand. He couldn't live with himself if he did, he was sure of that.

Logan heard her coming long before she even reached the bottom of his staircase, but he waited patiently for her to reach the top and enter the room.

"I've got it, Logan," she murmured. She was unable to see his face clearly in the light from the single bulb overhead, and wasn't sure he was still awake.

"Okay," he replied, sitting upright on the bed. "Let's get it over with."

Raven smiled and came to stand beside him. "I just hope I got enough."

"Don't worry. I'm so worn out, this is probably just an extra precaution."

He watched as she rubbed an alcohol pad over his upper arm, then removed the syringe's safety cap and held the needle above his arm.

"Ready?"

Logan simply nodded.

"Wait!" he said, just as she was about to administer the medicine. Raven sighed. He'd better not pull this all night, she thought.

He eyed the syringe and asked, "It's not horse tranquilizer, is it?"

"Nope. And before you ask, I'm sure it's not. Now, stop stalling."

"Sorry," he grumbled. A few moments later, he still hadn't felt the sting of the needle, so he turned to ask Raven what had happened. His vision swam as he turned his head, and his eyelids suddenly became very heavy.

"Why didn't you do it yet?" he asked her.

Her reply sounded far away, though he could see her pulling back the covers right beside him.

"I already did. Come on," she said, taking his arm and helping him into a comfortable position. When his head settled into the pillow, she lay down beside him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her toward him, struggling to keep his eyes open for one more minute. When she was close enough, he gently kissed her lips.

"I do love you, Raven. Just…afraid…" he whispered.

Raven frowned. "Afraid of what, Logan?"

His eyes closed, and he replied, "Losing you."

Any questions Raven had for him would have to wait.

Logan was fast asleep.