Chapter Thirteen: Things Start to Catch Up To Her

"Do you have time for a word?" Charles asked when K and Logan finally emerged from the lab.

"Not tonight, Chuck," Logan said, his arm draped around K's shoulders.

"It's not necessary that you attend, Wolverine," Erik said with a glint in his eyes that somehow managed to match the smile on his face. "I'm afraid I can't stick around indefinitely."

Logan looked up with a little growl. "Not gonna leave you to talk to her alone," Logan warned, but K reached up to rest a hand on Logan's chest.

"I'm really very tired," K said to Erik. "I know you wanted to talk to me - Scott said as much. Maybe next time?" She looked worn enough that Erik had the sense not to argue too hard.

"The next time I come for chess then," Erik said. "You'll be able to join Charles and I, won't you?"

Before Logan or even Charles could tell her any different, she gave him a warm smile. "Of course. I'd love to join you." Erik's smile widened and for an instant, Charles looked uncomfortable, but it passed nearly as quickly as it showed up before he bid them both a good night.

When K and Logan finally got through the mansion and down to the boat house again, both of them were exhausted. She immediately made her way to the shower, cranking up the hot water before she began to help him deal with the tattered remains of his uniform. He was moving stiffly, and wincing still, and though he probably could have managed on his own, she wasn't about to let him be the only one to fuss.

She couldn't remember ever having been beaten anywhere nearly as bad as he was but she could remember being close and she knew how sore he had to be. She gave him a few minutes to soak under the hot water and then stripped off her still clean sweats to slip in behind him, intent on showing him the proper way to make a fuss. When she was done, he returned the favor, making sure to help her wash the blood out of her hair.

Logan was more than willing to work out the the best way to ravage her, in spite of his own aches and pains … but all of those scenarios were tossed when he caught her yawning widely as she towel dried her hair. A least for now. It had been a long day, and if he got his mind out of the gutter for a minute, he was pretty sore. He slipped into bed, already relaxing before she joined him. His eyes were heavy as his healing factor demanded he rest. He managed to stay awake enough for her to kiss him as she pulled the covers up over them and snuggled up next to him.

She woke up the next morning to Logan nipping at her ear from behind, and his hand drifted into the no fly zone, startling her to fully awake. She could feel him smile against her neck when she jumped.

"Good morning to you too, frisky," she said laughing a little as she turned to look at him pulling her close, then kissing her as she looked over her shoulder. They spent the morning in bed just soaking up the quiet, both of them feeling as if they'd deserved a little time to each other. But they didn't make it to noon before Logan was starving. He'd done a lot of healing and needed to refuel badly.

A large part of the group that met them when they got up to the mansion looked wary. Though Jean was not among their number. In spite of her insistence that the rumors were wrong, word was out that the couple hadn't talked on the flight back, and no one had seen them since. So naturally the rumor mill picked it up in entirely the wrong way.

Jubilee in particular, looked anxious as K took a seat next to Jean, who greeted her with a warm smile and looked positively contented to be with the little feral woman. The two of them weren't far from Jubilee as they chatted quietly and Logan grabbed a few things for he and K to share. He sat down across from K, and started to crack open a beer when K reached over and snatched it from him.

"Oh no. If I have to give it up, so do you," she said, light flashing in her eyes.

The kitchen went silent, though Jean had to cover her mouth with one hand to keep from laughing at the look on his face. No one – no one messed with his beer. He stared back at her for a long moment. Her request really wasn't entirely unreasonable, but he didn't like the idea of having to forgo. He'd started to open his mouth to say something snarky when Jubilee cut him off.

"Why can't you just have one too?" Jubilee asked, her eyes narrowed as K clenched the can a little tighter and bit the inside of her cheek.

K frowned as her gaze flicked to Logan, who had tightened his mouth and was weighing his options. It was easy enough to see him trying to ignore the question. "Well, go on. Ya told everyone else," K said with her arms crossed - still irritated in how he'd tried to weasel her off the mission.

Logan had to smirk to himself. She was right, it had been a dirty trick. But, how Jubilee didn't know with the whole of the team whispering about it was beyond him. He reached over the table, and took the beer back from K then tossed it to Bobby. "Fine. I'll try it your way." he said. "At least in front of ya. If I head out with the boys, I'm not makin' any promises."

K smiled in a much more relaxed manner. "Thank you," she replied. "But in that same spirit, I won't go on any missions with you, but if something comes up and you're not around – I'm not making any promises."

His face became stony as a low growl crept from the back of his throat. Though naturally, K ignored it as she turned to Jubilee. "You're going to be a big sister," she told her.

Jubilee's face went from shock to utter delight, before she jumped up and threw her arms around Logan's neck. "Wolvie! Are you kidding me right now?!" she shouted, stifling his growl as he reached up to return the hug. He didn't know what to say other than to confirm it, and as soon as she was done hugging him, she ran around the table to do the same to K, bouncing as she squeezed her. "Oh man! We get to go baby shopping! Ooh – when do you find out if it's a boy or a girl?" Jubilee asked, clearly excited and grinning broadly.

"No idea," K replied. "I just hope whatever we get has his eyes."

And just that fast, she'd defused Logan, making him temporarily forget her little jibe about sneaking off on missions. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and he had to let out a little breath. "Here's hopin' for a girl that looks like her mother," Logan said.

And across the table, Jean was serenely smiling along, reading the thoughts that the two of them were projecting. It was a bittersweet moment considering that she was sure that she and Scott would have had one on the way much sooner. But … for now, she simply sipped her tea and wondered when she'd be able to catch the baby's mental signature.

The weeks went by, and the school fell back into the closest version of normalcy they knew. K continued to teach her riding classes, even after the students heard the news from Jubilee and Bobby about their equine instructor's condition, and K was feeling much better about all of it as time went on.

The extreme fatigue weakened considerably by the time the next major check up with Celia came around. Logan met up with her, both of them bound and determined to find out what they were having. He was looking forward to some good news as she leaned back, her bump hard to miss now. Celia smiled at them both in greeting as she got the equipment ready.

"This isn't going to be like last time.. right?" K said, trying to relax, but ready to fight if she needed to. Celia smiled, and shook her head 'no' with a little chuckle. K raised an eyebrow at her as she leaned her head back and Logan kissed her forehead and held her hand while they waited for everything to get rolling.

Celia started the scan, and in no time at all, the baby's face popped up on the screen, and the heartbeat was just chugging along. She took measurements, checked the blood flow and the cord, pointed out which ovary was responsible – with K making a snarky comment under her breath about wanting to know which testicle was responsible, and wanting to remove it. Celia stopped her scans and held her breath for a moment before she asked if they wanted to know what they had on the way.

"You can tell for sure?" K asked, equal parts nervous and excited at getting to know ahead of time. Celia nodded with a smile and K looked to Logan who answered 'yes' for them. Celia smiled and moved the wand a little further down her belly to show them a bizarre blurry image on screen.

"There she is," Celia said, waiting for a reaction, then pointing out how she could tell the baby was a girl.

"Holy crap," K said, breathlessly as she glanced up at Logan. "You were right."

"It's known to happen now and again," he said, before he gave her a kiss around his smile as Celia went back to her tests.

It wasn't long after the news broke when various staff members began stopping by K's classes, just hanging out along the fence line, watching her work. She ignored it at first, knowing damn well what they were up to. But it was clear that the tension level was starting to rise among the staff, so K decided to see what exactly it was going to take to get someone to crack.

So far, no one had said a word to her, so she decided to switch from Western to the English saddle – though it wasn't entirely to see if she could irritate them. The truth was, she was just a touch nervous that the horn would cause her trouble if she had a sudden stop, or if the horse were to buck. It was Kurt that spoke up first, suggesting that maybe it was time for someone else to step in for her class.

"Are you saying I'm not doing my job right?" K asked as the class ended, having ignored him at the time that he'd said it.

"No, I'm just concerned about what could happen if you should fall." Kurt clarified, realizing he may have approached her wrong when K slowly lifted her chin more skyward.

"You don't like me riding like this?" K asked from uptop on the horse, walking a wide circle around him until he finally broke down and let out a sigh, nodding his head.

"It's not a crack at your skill," he swore. "It's more a concern with the unpredictability of the animal."

"Yeah, those animals can be so unpredictable," K agreed, mulling it over a moment. As irritating as everyone was getting, she knew it was their way of trying to protect her – which in itself was kind of an irritation, even if their hearts were in the right places.

"There aren't that many weeks left for class," K reasoned before she gave him a warm smile. "I don't need someone to take over on class, but … I suppose if it makes you feel better, I will not straddle a horse until the baby's born," K promised with a twinkle in her eye.

Kurt frowned slightly but nodded. "That … sounds like a good idea," he said with a sigh. K smiled back a little wider and stopped the horse where Kurt could take the reins easily. "Are you going to get upset with me if I offer to help you down?" Kurt asked with a smile starting to stretch over his features. He only blinked hard a couple of times when K slipped off and kissed his cheek.

"I think I can manage," she promised, though Kurt made it clear that he wasn't going to let her lead the horse up, insisting that he'd take care of it for her.

The next day, however, Logan ran to the arena, irritated when he saw that K's class was following the leader again, with K cheerfully leading the way. "I thought you weren't riding anymore!" he nearly growled out, frustrated – and K shot Kurt a dirty look as the muted bamf echoed the riding arena. She just knew Kurt was working recon for him.

"No, I said I wouldn't ride astride. I'm riding side saddle – see? Thought you'd appreciate that, old timer," K told him with a smirk as she turned the horse and continued on with her lesson in perfect form.

When the lesson was over, Logan was waiting, arms crossed over his chest and not looking the least bit amused.

But K was perfectly pleased with herself - and not at all from the angle that Logan thought she was taking. Her dismount was much easier today than it was the day before. If nothing else - instead of having to swing her leg over, she simply slipped her knee off the pommel, kicked her foot from the stirrup and slipped down. But Logan was ready to catch her as she did, and he was sure to pull her over as her feet touched the ground.

"Woman, you're going to give me a goddamned heart attack," he told her as she slid her hand across his chest.

"Oh, you like it. Want me to wear a skirt tomorrow?" she teased, eyes bright at the thought of picking on him.

"No. I want you to cool it before you fall," he said, as he rested his hands at her hip. One of the more mouthy students came up behind her, offering up his two cents and totally bombing her mood.

"Honestly, we're all a little worried that you might fall. None of us want to be the one to have to go get Dr. McCoy or … him," the young man said, nodding to Logan.

K turned to face him with a scowl. "Let's put it to a vote, then," she said, calling the class in, though she frowned when the vote came back overwhelmingly against her. "Well, crap," she muttered, but seeing as she was putting it to a vote, she went along with the class. "Alright. Logan is free today, so he can run you through your lessons for the rest of the term." She looked over at him, waiting for an objection, but he simply shrugged as the students in attendance groaned collectively.

"Whatever you say, sweetheart," Logan said before he pulled her into a kiss - though he didn't get away without a glare.

"Right. If it was whatever I said, I'd be keeping my class," she muttered against his mouth, getting a little chuckle out of him.

With class dismissed, K made her way up to the mansion, past Kurt, who was hanging upside down out of a tree. "I'm not even a little bit sorry," he called out to her with a grin.

"I didn't think you would be," she replied, though she stopped and tipped her chin up. "Trouble maker." He disappeared in a poof of violet only to reappear at her side.

"If you're looking for substitutes, I would be happy to round up a few likely candidates."

"You've been planning this for weeks, haven't you?" K accused, though Kurt didn't look the least bit apologetic before he disappeared again. With a sigh, K started looking for who was available for her other sessions. Within a matter of hours, she'd lined up someone for every session … all the way up to the Monday class. No other teachers were open, and she couldn't exactly just cancel outright. She was staring out the window, absently stirring her coffee when Jubilee came to sit near her, watching as she stared off at nothing.

"What's on your mind?" Jubilee asked, snapping K out of it as she realized her coffee was now cold. "Anything I can help with? I mean .. that is my job as big sister, right? To pitch in?"

K smiled her way and leaned over to rest her head on Jubilee's shoulder. "I need to figure out who can teach my Monday night class for me. None of the teachers are free," K told her.

Jubilee immediately sat up a bit straighter, dislodging K from her shoulder. "That's the beginners class right?" she asked. K nodded then rose to her feet to dump the stale coffee. "I'm free. I could do it." Jubilee offered, bright eyed.

K stared at her a moment, thinking it over. "You know what? You probably could," K said easily. "You know enough, and I know you can teach. You've helped others to get with it, and you absolutely helped me when I needed it …" K nodded to herself. "That would work. I'd still be there, I'm just not riding. You think Charles would go with it?" K honestly liked the idea the more she thought it over.

Jubilee shrugged."Can't hurt to ask, I suppose. Right?" Jubilee replied, nibbling on some pretzels.

Ten minutes later, the two of them were in Charles' office making their case. Of course, it was approved, and the roster was finalized for the remaining classes just so it was all official. But Charles wanted to see Jubilee in action. The teen was a bit nervous, but K promised that she would be watching Jubilee run things.

"You'll do fine," K promised that Monday as she took her seat to give Jubilee room to work. It wasn't a lie either. Within the first twenty minutes, Jubilee was doing very well with them. And when Charles came out to the arena, he was quick to find a spot near K, and he quickly settled in to watch the young woman handle things with the youngest students.

"You've taught her well," Charles told her, earning himself a half smile from her. "How are you feeling, K?" he asked, though K was looking to her feet resting on the railing.

"Useless and fat," she said honestly, with no tone of her feeling sorry for herself. Charles knew that he wasn't far off in his suspicions that she was becoming depressed. But in spite of that, he had to chuckle at her. She was nothing if not brutally honest.

"You're nearly halfway there, K. Though I'm afraid, that your teammates will only get more protective of you as you progress," he told her, resting his hand on hers.

K scoffed. "Right. Logan's going to lose his mind before this is over, isn't he?" she asked, as Charles started to chuckle outright.

"At the rate he's going now? I wouldn't be surprised," he smiled as they watched Jubilee take the kids through the mini-course seamlessly and the two of them fell into a companionable silence. When the class ended not long after, Jubilee took the class up to the rail where K and Charles were.

There was a long silence where the kids looked between K and Jubilee trying to see what was going to happen, before K shook her head and held up both hands. "Hey. It's your class. Finish up the way you think is best."

Jubilee grinned wider and turned to dismiss the group, then waited for them to leave the arena. She climbed off the horse calmly but then turned to the adults, bouncing in place. "How did I do?"

Both K and Charles smiled at her enthusiasm. "You did beautifully, Jubilee," K promised, though she had to cover her ears when the teen started dancing in place.

The rest of the classes were working similarly well, which only left K a little depressed by the end of the week. And after that first week, she only showed to Jubilee's class – as Charles had requested, and skipped the rest all together. She now officially had nothing to do but watch her belly grow. And in spite of the reason for it, the thought was depressing.

A few weeks later, Logan came in after his group was through, worried about her increasingly depressed state. He found her sleeping in bed, with the late afternoon sun making the room and her hair glow a warm coppery tone. He kicked off his boots and slipped in behind her, kissing her shoulder while his hand slid from her hip across to her hand that was resting on her belly. She snuggled into him then pulled her hand out from under his, to cover it then pull his hand where she wanted it, further up her belly, just under her ribcage. He scrunched his brow and picked up his head to look at her, realizing that her eyes were open. Just before he could ask her what she was doing, his hand was bumped.

"Did you feel that?" K asked quietly.

"Mmhmm," he murmured against her skin as he resumed kissing her shoulder, a smile on his face in spite of himself with a kick hitting him every now and again until he pulled away from her. He rolled her onto her back and lifted her shirt, kissing the spot that was getting kicked.

"Simmer down, girl," he rumbled low, his lips nearly touching the skin on her stomach before he kissed the spot reverently then went back to what he was doing moments before, working his way from her shoulder to her chin. It took a moment, but very suddenly, K realized that the baby seemed to follow her father's wishes.

K arched her back into the mattress and moaned her newest woe to the heavens. "No, baby you can't listen to him …. So. Not. Fair."

"At least one of ya will listen," Logan growled out, doing his level best to kiss the sense out of her, as she couldn't help but laugh at his thought process, rewarding him as she reciprocated his affections.

While the rest of the staff was in their classes, K was alone. She wanted to leave, but there was nothing for her to do if she did, aside from shopping, and she just wasn't into it. She stirred her cold coffee idly staring out the window as Hank made a rare appearance, watching her for a moment from across the kitchen. Although the baby was growing, K had not gained very much weight.

In fact, her face was looking a little hollow, he thought, and her collarbone was definitely more pronounced. It was that which spurred Henry into acting. He decided to try to have a civil word with her while it was just the two of them. Less pressure that way. "How are you feeling today, my dear?" he asked as he joined her with a cup of coffee.

She dropped her gaze to the cup in her hand, trying to force a smile as he sat with her. "No major complaints," she said quietly.

"How about some minor ones then?" he asked, finally getting a tiny smile from her as she shook her head.

"I'll live. How are you?" she asked, flicking her gaze up to meet his, her head still pointed towards the table.

"In fine feather as always," Hank smiled. "Perhaps you'd permit me to join you for lunch in a bit?" he asked, hoping to actually see her eat.

But she predictably turned him down. "I'm not feeling much like eating yet. Don't worry though, I'll choke something down later," she promised, self consciously gripping her cold cup of coffee tighter.

"Have you eaten today yet?" he asked, realizing it was nearly noon already. She paused then came clean, shaking her head. His mouth tightened as he watched her. "Then I'm afraid I won't be leaving your side until you indulge me in a bit of sustenance."

Her shoulders slumped. She knew he was right, but she felt ill at the thought of eating more than a bite or two. And when he saw for himself that she couldn't eat without turning green, it was an eventuality that he insisted she join him in the lab for a once over. On her arrival, Celia looked concerned, and even left her work and rushed over to check on her. "What's the problem?" Celia asked Hank, as she started to examine the little feral once they'd guided her to the bed.

"She looks as though she's not eating well at all. I just want to check her out," Hank explained. "Double check any unfortunate things that could come to pass." The pair of doctors began checking her over, one pulling blood, but clearly having a bit of trouble doing so as K's blood pressure was very low. Which really only prompted Hank into changing tactics immediately. In a flash, he switched to finding a vein in her hand and putting in an IV.

"Hey, wait a minute," K started to protest before Hank cut her off.

"Have you been dizzy?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, yeah, but I thought -"

"Have you fainted recently?" he asked looking more serious.

"I don't think … so ...maybe," she admitted. "I didn't fall, I swear, but I can't remember a little bit from earlier."

Hank looked very irritated as Celia went into motion and pulled the ultrasound machine around again, while he double checked her blood pressure. K gave up fighting him and laid back while the two doctors fluttered around her. She had to close her eyes, since - as the IV hydrated her, the room began spinning and she was sure she was going to vomit. She raised a hand, and rested it on Celia's arm as sweat broke across her face. When she saw the expression on K's face she pushed Hank away and guided her onto her left side.

That seemed to do the trick though and within moments, the nausea slowly ebbed as K curled up into a fetal position, her eyes still closed and her hand on her forehead.

"You're staying here tonight, K." Celia told her, though K just nodded, feeling too ill to argue. After she'd gathered her wits and settled in, nearly asleep, Celia returned and started the ultrasound with K still on her side. The baby was fine, wriggling and sucking her thumb, though that broke through K's miserable mood and got a tired smile at least. Partway through the ultrasound, Logan came in with alarm written plainly on his features as K attempted to smile weakly at him.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, staring at K, looking for any kind of injury.

"Be nice to her. It's hard being pregnant," Celia said, not looking up at him. "She's dehydrated and needs to gain a little weight. The baby's taking it out of her faster than she can put it in."

"She just needs to eat a more," Hank said, looking at Logan as if he could force it to happen.

"Well, that's not going to happen if she's feeling ill, now is it?" Celia asked testily. "She's only gained about four pounds so far, which is nothing at this stage. The baby is measuring a little small as well. But her blood came back clean, so the adamantium isn't affecting her yet. She stays here tonight. I'll make sure she has some anti-nausea medications that will help her tomorrow."

Logan sat next to K, stroking her hair as she closed her eyes wondering to herself why the hell she couldn't seem to have one thing go easily for her. "You want me to bring you something?" Logan asked finally, but K shook her head no. She was down before, but now she was starting to feel like dirt. She couldn't speak for the lump in her throat. "How 'bout I just keep you company then?" Logan asked in a low, reassuring rumble, though the concern was still plain to see on his face.

But honestly, K didn't know how to answer. She felt like he shouldn't have to lose sleep just because she couldn't manage to take care of herself right. When she didn't answer fast enough, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, and cupped the back of her head with his free hand.

It would take an act of God to keep him away from her tonight, medical bay or no.

Of course, the news wasn't much better the next morning as Celia broke the news to the two of them. "I'm sorry, K but you have to stay longer. Even with the meds you can't keep down much. We have to get you leveled out before you can leave."

K couldn't argue with her either. For as better hydrated she was - and taking into consideration that Hank had been sure that she'd eaten well, K was dead tired and yes, her stomach was still off. After a full day in the lab, and a promise that she would come right back if she felt ill at all, Hank and Celia cut her loose to Logan - who was now more worried about her than before.

When days passed and her depression only deepened, Logan decided that she just needed a break. He made arrangements with Scott to take off for a while as soon as K was up to travel again, sure that all she really needed was a little space - and some time to get spoiled.