Chapter Four: Feral Tendencies Show

Since Steve had brought K's motorcycle back from the frozen north, Logan and Kurt were spending a lot more time in the garage - working on the fine tune of the bike. Or more appropriately, Logan was, and Kurt was keeping him company and just enjoying having a project to work with him on.

And on occasion, the mechanic's harmony was broken up when one of them would come in for their classes - or to work with K in the Danger Room.

The two of them were playing in one of Kurt's favorite simulations - and not one bit of it was something that they were likely to come across … pirates that roamed the seas in the Era of Blackbeard were not … very common. Even by X-Men standards, but it was a good change of pace from the usual business with governmental creeps and Weapon X goons.

K had shimmied up the foremast when as was programmed in - Sabretooth came up from below decks. On instinct, Kurt startled and ended up on the boom of the main mast, simply to give K a look that read exactly how much he wasn't expecting that little twist so far out to sea when she gave him a little smile.

"Aren't you up on how to get bilge rats off your boat, Dread Pirate Bluetail?" K teased, which of course, got a grin from Kurt.

"Oh, of course," Kurt replied before teleporting away - to a higher point on her mast - where he cut away a section of rope and swung down - legs extended in front of him to bash Creed backward and into the railing.

She dropped from the mast, and sunk her claws into his head and chest before he could raise his arm, earning a cheer from Kurt before she lost her balance on the pitching and rolling boat. She slipped and fell sideways, taking a hard hit as she landed, but by that time, the program had really run it's course and there wasn't anything more that they could do - except for Kurt to get her upright again.

"You do know our credo is that we do not kill, ja?" Kurt asked as she steadied herself.

"Well. I'm not officially an X-Man, so I have a little wiggle room," K pointed out, though that had Kurt grinning a little wider.

"Then I hope it's a loophole you'll get to take advantage of," he replied. "And I'd be happy to assist. That was a fairly good team-up, I think."

"Not as good as your usual one," K argued.

"No, but … you have a different style, süße," Kurt replied.

"Der Schönredner," K replied, taking his arm while he chuckled at her. As the two of them stepped out of the Danger Room, they very nearly walked into what seemed to be an almost heated argument between Kitty and Piotr. Of course, as soon as the hall was no longer empty, even the quiet disagreement fell into silence.

"Is everything alright, Kätzchen?" Kurt asked, coming to a stop, and K stuck next to him, watching the two young X-Men carefully.

"Of course," Kitty replied, though in an instant, K was watching her closer - the lie was blatant enough, even without her senses tipping her off. "Just a little disagreement on … dinner tonight. It's Bobby's night and I'm really not up for another pizza." The second half of the lie was much less obvious since, it was at least half true.

"Storm and I were talking about heading down to Harry's," Kurt offered. "Perhaps you could join us?"

"Greasy barbecue and cheap beer?" Kitty asked, wrinkling her nose. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"That is the idea, of course," Kurt replied with a grin.

Kitty glanced over at Piotr, who really didn't look like he was going to take a stand one way or the other on Kurt's offer.

"K and Logan are going, isn't that right?" Kurt said, putting his arm around K's shoulders and pulling her closer.

"You'd really have to ask Logan," K answered, though she put her arm around Kurt's back. "But I don't have any set plans …"

"Nonsense, he's your husband you can tell him where to be," Kurt said, which honestly got a grin out of Kitty that she couldn't quite hold back. "So, it's settled." Kurt gave K an affectionate little shake. "We'll see you at seven."

Kitty grinned and nodded, and in spite of his best efforts, Piotr couldn't help but join her. And as soon as the two of them headed off down the hall, Kurt turned to K. "What was that nonsense?" he asked with a frown.

"What are you talking about?" K asked, "I don't know what his plans are."

"You can make plans for the two of you as well," Kurt told her before he grinned her way and the two of them disappeared in a plume of smoke - only to reappear a few paces away from Logan as he worked on her motorcycle. "Your bride has plans tonight," Kurt informed him. "And you'll be joining her."

"What are we doing?" Logan asked, shaking his head to himself since Kurt still had one arm around K.

"Harry's with a few friends," Kurt answered, and naturally, Logan simply nodded his agreement.

"Thanks for the heads up, sweetheart," he said dryly, which really only got a dry look from Kurt before he kissed K's cheek and teleported over to knock Logan's hat off with the tip of his tail. "Don't be so dramatic, Elf."

"That's like asking me to stop breathing," Kurt countered. "Seven o'clock. If you're not down at Harry's I'll teleport the both of you onto the pool table regardless of your state of undress."

"Got it," Logan said, nodding. "Free show at Harry's … what … quarter after seven?"

"Seven on the dot," Kurt countered. He glared Logan's way for just an instant before he disappeared again with an echoing bamf!

K took a seat on the spare crawler and slid next to Logan simply to steal a kiss. "I wasn't aware that your minister/best man was going to dictate so much."

"Ya live, ya learn," Logan chuckled, pulling her a little closer with one arm before he started to tell her about the adjustments he'd been slaving over.

Of course, come seven o'clock, Logan insisted on being hard to find. He fully intended to go down to the bar with his wife, but he simply couldn't resist being a pain to see what Kurt would do. And after Kurt teleported around the mansion in search of him, he let out a frustrated sort of growl and disappeared to head back to the bar.

"You love picking on him a little too much," K told him from the other side of Kurt's door where the two of them had ducked in to hide.

"He asks for it," Logan told her with a grin before the two of them headed down to the jeep and took their time getting down to Harry's Hideaway. And of course, the moment they showed up, Kurt let out a breath and simply ordered more drinks for the group.

Whatever trouble Kitty and Piotr seemed to be having earlier was completely non existent while they were out with the group, and it wasn't long before there was a full on pool tournament going and the X-Men in attendance were joking around and having a blast between beers and many mixed up games.

The only thing that threw K off was the fact that Kurt was in an inducer, and honestly … hearing his voice coming from a blonde haired blue eyed gentleman was a bit jarring. "You haven't been able to take your eyes off of me all night," Kurt teased. "Is there something I should know about?"

K gave him a wry smile as she shook her head. "Just not used to seeing you …"

"You prefer the blue as much as Logan does."

"It … is easier to just see you. Instead of …" she waved at him with one hand and her nose scrunched up. "... whatever this is."

He grinned delightedly, but before he could retort, there was a scuffle across the room as some half drunk idiot started up something he most definitely should not have with Kitty.

From K's vantage point, it looked like the guy had taken offense to her being with Piotr … and there was a solid square off started already between the massive biker and the tall, broad Russian young man. "Take my Jeep and get Kitty and Storm outta here," Logan said over K's shoulder as he slipped the keys to her.

"Is that supposed to be a joke?"

"No. Get the girls and get out," Logan said as he and Kurt headed toward the mess.

"Oh, come on," K replied as Ororo joined her. "It's not like we can't help."

"Just go, please," Kurt requested, sounding far more reasonable than Logan's hard line.

"It's no reflection on us," Ororo promised. "It's more to be sure someone can bail them out if it goes entirely south."

"Which it probably will," Kitty said, bright red cheeks as she watched the biker throw the first punch at Piotr - and immediately the entire bar went up in a flurry of action that the girls didn't really get to see as Ororo and Kitty both took a hold of K's arms and pulled her out of the bar - with Kitty phasing them straight through the wall. "You don't have an official record, remember?"

"If you're arrested, there will be phone calls made to all the wrong people," Ororo clarified. "Which you most definitely do not need."

"Fine," K muttered as the three of them left the sound of crashing and shouts behind and climbed into the jeep. "Where to?"

"Just … down the road and out of sight," Ororo directed. "Logan's been in enough trouble with the police that they'll assume the worst if they see his car."

"Well that's just peachy," K grumbled, pulling out of the lot and heading down the road. They'd barely pulled into a scenic outlook when three police cars went past headed toward the bar.

"And now, we wait," Kitty said, relaxing as best she was able in the backseat until the police cars headed off, at which point, K started up the Jeep and headed back toward the bar to see if the boys needed a lift. Of course, they were only there for a few minutes before Kitty's phone rang, and of course, it was the guys … all three of them calling for bail.

But K just sat there for a moment in the lot, weighing it out. "Okay. We'll go down there?" she said finally, looking to the other two. "But I vote they can sit there for a few hours. They've earned it."

Kitty stared at her for a moment, open mouthed while Ororo simply started to laugh. "Oh, come on," Kitty said, starting to get it. "You can't just …"

"It would serve them right," K defended. "We're not their bail out. This was a dumb idea - letting that creep get the better of them. Come on."

The three women shared a look. "So, what do you suggest we do in the meantime?" Ororo asked.

K shrugged and stared out the window for a few moments. "Well. There's a new action flick out, isn't there? That … thing the guys were talking about wanting to go see."

"You think we should watch a movie before we go bail them out?" Kitty asked with a laugh, but Ororo was already calling Scott to warn him.

"They still have two calls left between them," Ororo said to Scott, who K could hear was laughing to himself. "We'll deal with them when we're done with the film."

When the movie was over, the three women headed down to the police station at a leisurely pace, though Kitty was picking up speed the closer they got, sure that they'd pushed their luck.

Ororo pulled her back though, and the three of them seemed totally at ease by the time K reminded her of why they were there - to deal with idiocy.

The cops, of course, were a little surprised at how slowly they'd responded. "They called hours ago," he said as he raised an eyebrow at the trio of women.

"Yeah, well. We figured they could sit here for a little while," K said with a shrug, getting a genuine grin out of the cop.

"They tried to call someone else not too long ago," he told her as he checked their ID and led the way back to the holding cell where the guys were sitting - and not looking amused in the least at being locked up. Logan in particular was glaring at the three of them as they took their time walking in.

Kitty pointed out Piotr immediately, and Ororo tipped her head Kurt's way with an amused smirk on her face. K walked right up to the bars though and couldn't help but grin. "Yeah. That one's mine."

"You're hilarious," Logan muttered as he stood up and then immediately frowned when he got close to the door. The frown quickly morphed to a look of sheer disbelief as he took her in. "Did you … go to the movies?"

"Well. You wanted to have all the fun without us," K defended, watching him stare back at her. "So … let me tell you all about the movie."

"K, that is so mean," Kitty said, looking scandalized as the cops took the three men to take them through the paperwork to release them to the ladies.

The moment they were outside, Kurt grabbed a hold of Piotr and Kitty and disappeared in a plume of smoke, while Ororo simply laughed as she lifted off into the dark night sky leaving the couple alone for their drive home.

"I can't believe it," Logan muttered, shaking his head.

"I love you, but you totally had it coming," K replied.

"I didn't even fight," Logan said with a laugh. "I got picked up because I was with him when the cops showed up. There was no charge."

"Then I don't know what you're mad about," K said as she took his arm. "Besides … you got extra man to man time with Piotr, and I got a little time with Ororo and Kitty - who both needed the break."

When they got back to the mansion, Scott was still smirking, though when Logan gave him a glare, he couldn't help but start to snicker, though he didn't stick around, and when Logan turned to K, it was with a little growl that served as a warning for her to get moving … though he didn't give her much time to consider doing so before he simply scooped her up and swatted her hard on the backside after he'd settled her over his shoulder.

"Hey, now," K said with a surprised flinch when he got her. He chuckled to himself, carrying her to the stairs before she growled right back and slapped him hard - in exactly the same manner, and startling him almost into dropping her.

"Oh. It's on," he growled out - kicking off a little competition between the two of them all the way up the stairs and into their room that had the rest of the residents glad for the thick walls.

A few days after Scott had finally stopped laughing every time he saw the 'convicts', a new student arrived with a horse - one of the few enrolled at Xavier's that knew going in what they were getting into - and one of the fewer still with supportive parents that were backing them up wholeheartedly.

As K's position at the school was almost entirely wrapped around the stables, she was the one to greet the family with Scott, and to take the horse in for evaluation. They'd warned her that 'Princess' was a little high spirited, and that she could be hard to settle out, but K simply listened to what they claimed the animal knew, and settled her out to take to a small paddock to settle in.

By the time the parents had left their precious daughter and her mare behind, K was already started on the horse's evaluation … and even though the mare knew some basic ground work, the moment that K cinched up the saddle, the mare blew - with no prior warning. She was up on her rear feet, and struck out as K tried to get a hold of the rope that was attached to her halter, shushing her and speaking calmly - all the way up until the mare started to pull and then bolted forward. Her halter was wrapped around her nose tightly, and the mare was wild eyed as K tried to get her to calm down enough to free her.

It was a delicate situation that K had to handle very carefully, and by some miracle, she finally got the horse out of her predicament. With one hand, she loosened the saddle cinch and tried to get her to settle. And it looked and felt like she had … the mare's head dropped, her ears relaxed, and she let out a quiet breath of air as K talked to her soothingly. But before K could urge her to take a step forward the mare reared up again - and this time, she struck K hard, knocking her out cold and letting the mare run free in the arena.

When she woke up again, she was in the lab … and Hank was frowning deeply at her. "How long have you been slow to heal?" he asked.

"I swear to God, Hank. If you start in with Kurt saying that I'm glowing or something stupid like that, I'm just not going to be able to talk to you."

He smirked lightly. "No, my dear, if that were the case, I'd be able to tell you quickly enough," he said, laughing. "My nose is nearly as sharp as yours and Logan's and I'm sure I'd catch the hormone shift."

She frowned and leaned back, relaxing again. "Well. Good."

"I just have a few scans I'd like to do … non-magnetic machinery, of course."

"Oh, of course," she replied, though she didn't seem to excited about the prospect.

Hank paused and rested his hand over her wrist. "My dear … there's no reason for you to have laid out there in the arena until Scott found you. A simply head injury should have been merely a blip. I need to know if you're slipping."

"That … is so not the most reassuring thing I've ever heard, Henry."

He gave her a warm smile and patted her wrist before he simply went back to work. Hank worked quickly, pulling more blood than he thought necessary before starting the scans on her.

Partway through the scan he paused and frowned deeply before he called for Kitty. "I believe I may have found at least a contributing factor," Hank said.

K let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding then sat up and waited for Hank and Kitty to come over. When they did, Hank showed both women the scans.

"It appears as though there is an extremely fine micro-filament cable running through your body. It is wrapped around your spine, and extends to your arms and legs, with extensions around the housings of your claws. I believe the center of it is here," Hank said, pointing to a bright spot on the screen. "It appears to be some sort of biometric control system. To try to remove it manually would be incredibly difficult and nearly impossible while fighting your healing ability, so Kitty here is going to try and remove it by making it intangible. There will still be some tugging that you will feel as her powers do not work entirely right where adamantium is involved."

"Where the hell did it come from?" K asked, frowning deeply.

"That's what I'd like to know," Hank admitted. "You didn't have it after your brush with Weapon X, or I would have seen it then. I don't know if it's the source of your concerns, but it isn't natural, and we will remove it. I will need to make one incision, however, to give Kitty easier access. Will that be alright with you?"

Kitty looked nervous as she watched K stare at the screen. The only other time she'd been even partly unconscious was onboard the helicarrier.

"I guess so," K replied before she followed Hanks' lead to a surgical table.

"Don't move, K. I don't want to tie you down if I don't have to," Hank told her as he numbed the area he meant to cut into. Without wasting any time, he held her head still as he cut into the flesh at the base of her skull, exposing a small device that was free floating near the hollow where her spine met her head. Kitty carefully reached in and got a solid hold of it, concentrating hard on rendering the entire device and its extensions intangible.

Kitty let out a little 'ha!' of triumph once she had a solid hold of exactly how long this metallic device was, but it was a fight removing the bits that were entwined in her adamantium spine and the bits that they realized extended into her skull.

Hank had Kitty set it on a different table for examination before having K return for a second scan to ensure that it had all been removed. All they found this time was a tiny tracking device that looked like something that SHIELD had implanted when she was in their care, which Hank removed quickly.

But K felt woozy when it was over, a side effect of Kitty's powers, the girl promised. K quietly thanked them both for their trouble and decided to call it a day. Hoping things would even out for her.

She was in bed half asleep with what felt like a migraine when Logan slipped into the room and began rubbing her shoulders. Scott had told him about the horse and the device they'd removed, and he was understandably on alert.

"You alright, darlin'?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Half out of it she replied earnestly and unfiltered. "Yeah, right as rain, I'm sure," she said sleepily. "Nothing but the eye in the sky to worry about."

Logan's brow creased. What the hell is she talking about? He thought to himself. "I don't know what you mean, honey. Do you want me to stay with you?"

There was a little pause before she finally answered. "God, yes. You smell good," she said with a yawn.

He smiled a little as he wrapped himself around her and she snuggled into him as he did, holding his arms as they wrapped around her. "Much better with my jailbird," she mumbled just before she succumbed to sleep.

The next day K returned to Hank for more blood work. He wanted to compare before and after to make sure there was no long lasting effects after the device was removed. That afternoon, he bumped into her in the entry as she came in from chores and pulled her into Logan's empty office.

"The device we removed was an incomplete system. I believe it was to become a control device. I can find no other explanation that would make any valid sense. Otherwise, I am happy to report that there are no chemicals, drugs, nanobots, or hormones that don't belong in your system. If you are have any trouble, I'm afraid you'll have to come back." he told her.

She thanked him and with a sigh and watched him go before she tucked her deerskin workgloves in her back pocket and headed off for her session with Charles.

He was still diligently working with her to try and break her longstanding streak of fatalities in the Danger Room, though K wasn't the least bit positive about it.

Particularly since she was getting entirely irritated with the thread of rumors running rampant in the school - all of them speculating how long it would be before there were babies considering how amorous the newest married couple was.

It was bad enough that when Logan pulled her into a tight hold simply to kiss her neck from behind she twisted and pushed him away. "Oh, come on. You're not going to let them bug you are you?" Logan asked, and though K knew he was right to blow off the talk, she just ….

"I'm just a little sensitive about it, okay?" K defended. "I'm not … big on kids."

Logan paused and pulled her into his office, where at least the two of them could have a private conversation. "Not really surprised, considering the endless parade of shitty teenagers, but come on. Ours will be fine."

K stiffened and just stared at him. "What …"

"Don't tell me you're not interested … one day, anyhow. I'm in no rush," he said, resting his hand at her elbow and trying to smooth it over. But when she didn't move in the least, he found himself re-evaluating things. This was one area they hadn't discussed before the wedding. "Would that be so bad?"

"I don't know..."

"Just think about it, sweetheart - before you say 'no' to the concept. You don't have to tell me today,."

K paused for a long moment, clearly flustered - her heart racing at the thought. "That could be a while."

"Well. Just so you know," Logan said, looking entirely too cocky for K to just ignore. "You usually get flustered like this when it's something you want, and don't want to admit it." He gave her a lingering look that stopped only when K darted forward and started kissing him senseless, knocking off half of the things on his desk as she assaulted him.

She finally stopped when he took a hold of her by the shoulders and pushed her back to break the kisses. "I'm not sure what kind of a signal that is, sweetheart."

"Just … it's … shut up," she replied as he smiled crookedly. "I'm on board for you. I'm all in. But I'm … more than a little scared of having kids - are ya happy now? Had to hear the words?"

"Like I said," he replied, pulling her closer for another, much more gentle and restrained kiss. "No rush. You and I have all the time in the world."

She had to smile a little to herself when he put it that way. He wasn't wrong, at least - barring any disaster or freak occurrence.

As she left the office, she realized she needed to talk to someone about this … she just had no idea who. She couldn't talk to Jean about this – oh no. Jean was baby crazy herself. She could practically hear the woman's biological clock ticking from across the mansion.

And K didn't feel comfortable talking to Betsy – simply because the psychic rapport she had with him would most certainly end up being advice swayed in his favor. Most of the other women were either too busy or too much of a gossip, and there was no way in hell she was going to talk to a guy. They were worse than the women when it came to gossip. Especially this high caliber of gossip.

It was nearly the weekend, and it had been a long, tedious string of slow horse training, easy lessons, and frustrating sessions with Charles. K was in the barn, brushing out the new mare, who had already been improving by leaps and bounds when Kitty walked in looking and smelling distressed.

.

"Oh I didn't know you were here – I can come back." Kitty said, her face streaked with tears.

"Kitty, wait." K said, turning to her. "Don't go. I think we both could use a little friendly company."

Kitty looked at her shocked in spite of her own state of upset. "Why? Is there a problem with Logan?" she asked, instantly hitting the center of K's troubles.

K shook her head, trying to find the right thing to say. "Well, yes. No." She sighed heavily. "Sort of?" K finally said, both arms held out, palms up as she looked to a spot across the hall. It didn't matter at this point. Everyone knew something was up. And the animals weren't even helping her to clear her mind.

Kitty pulled up a bale next to where K was slipping down the wall. "What did he do?" Kitty asked, her eyebrows pulled together. She'd grown to truly like her adoptive step mother, quickly finding out that the little brunette had a way about her that made it easy to like her - if she wanted you to - and with Logan? Both of them seemed so – natural together. Kitty couldn't remember seeing him so happy, and she didn't want it to end for him for any reason that could be avoided.

"Nothing. He does everything right, I just – I'm a little confused right now," K admitted quietly.

Kitty thought about it for a moment, a slight frown on her features as she looked around the barn slowly."Is this about you two having kids?" K froze and stared back at her.

"How do you feel about it?" Kitty asked, trying to avoid undermining whatever Logan was trying to do.

"Scared to death," K answered quietly and just like that, understanding finally hit Kitty hard enough she had to bite back a groan. "What had you coming down here to hide anyhow?" K asked, desperate to change the subject.

Kitty hastily wiped her cheeks with the palm of her hand, not seeming to realize that the time to hide the tears was long past. "Oh nothing, it's stupid. Piotr and I had a fight. It'll be fine," she said.

K smiled up at her crookedly. "So ...what did he do?" she asked.

Kitty couldn't help but laugh. "He got mad because Bobby was flirting with me. But Bobby flirts with everyone. No one makes a big deal about it, but Piotr got mad."

K nodded her head. "So who needs their butt kicked?" K asked as Kitty laughed nervously.

"I don't even know," Kitty replied with an open shrug, which only got K smirking to herself.

"We should do something about this," K said before the two women got themselves back together. Kitty helped her to finish the chores and swept the barn as K closed up for the night. The two of them headed toward the house, arm in arm, and their heads almost together as they discussed options, though they ran into Piotr on the way in, who nodded to K and took Kitty's hand, apologizing profusely for his temper.

K stayed a few paces back to let them have some privacy, her attention diverted further when she caught a whiff of Logan on the breeze. As she turned slowly on her heel, nose into the wind, she decided to see what he was up to. She followed the scent out into an open field near the house. The grass was deep and thick and in the middle she could see a small herd of deer grazing.

She crouched down and followed his trail staying back a bit, unsure if he was hunting or observing.

Before long, she watched him creep into the clearing with the deer when a summer fawn came up to him, his spots nearly faded. Logan slowly reached up and petted the little baby as it's mother came near. Neither showed amy fear of him, and he gave her no reason, even as he reached up and stroked her neck as well. K had to smile to herself just watching him do his thing, but it wasn't long before the spell was rudely broken.

A door in the mansion slammed and the deer jumped a little, before they all went trotting out of the field their tails half flagging as they went. Logan just watched them go, sitting back on his heels. And K watched him until he finally stood up to go back to the house, almost belatedly spotting her as he turned.

"How long you been there, darlin'?" he asked.

She smiled in response and tackled him with a kiss when he was close enough, though the two were soon heading back up, hand in hand.

It was early Friday morning when Logan woke up alone with a note addressed to him on the nightstand. He was a little confused, but opened it before even sitting up. It was in K's neat script.

I'm sorry I snuck out like this, but I have to go check on my cottage. I was going to ask you to go, but Kitty really needed a break. I'll take you next time, if you want to go hide away in the woods with me.

XOXO Took your Jeep, Be home before you know it – Miss you already.

All my love,

K.

Logan sighed as he got out of bed. Not what he wanted to wake up to. On multiple counts. He knew she could be sneaky, but didn't realize that she could sneak past him while he was sleeping. Not to mention that she didn't actually say where she was going. All she'd ever done before was narrow it down to the west end of her freakin' peninsula. "Sure, just eight thousand square miles or so to hound dog it if I wanna look on my own," he grumbled. "Unless Cap's up for a road trip." He growled to himself as he got up and started to get ready for the day.

Guess I'll have to take a minute to grill Petey on why tha hell Kitten's upset, he thought to himself before he headed out to grab some coffee, already in a mood since he'd woken up alone.

Translations from German this time:

Süße - Sweetness

der Schönredner - Smooth talker