Chapter Nineteen: Moving Forward Again

For almost a week, K tiptoed around Jean, and Jean seemed to be avoiding her just as much, though they were both so busy trying to give each other space that they seemed to simply be counting themselves lucky.

But that could only go on for so long.

It had been a long ten days, and it was clear that both women's anxiety levels were sneaking up on them. Abbey had still gotten time with Jean, but it was Logan playing go-between more often than not, and he was honestly uneasy with the way that the two of them were tiptoeing.

"You know she's gonna be happy for you," Logan said to K, who bit her lip and nodded, still dreading watching Jean try to be happy while her heart was so visibly breaking.

"I think it'd be best if you just didn't get in the middle of this," K advised with a frown as she pulled him into a long kiss. "For me. Just don't."

For a moment, he looked back at her in pure disbelief until she gave him another kiss. "I promise. I'll talk to her. Just let me try to do it on our terms- not yours."

"I just don't want you miserable for this one too," Logan admitted.

She gave him a sad smile. "Honestly, I'm getting used to the idea," she replied as she slipped her arms around his neck, which at least got him to relax his shoulders a bit. "I'll handle it. I promise."

It was only a couple of days after that when K came across Jean - and the redhead did her utmost to put on a happy face and be friendly. "I know that you know," K said as she sat down with a cup of tea.

She let the smile slip a little at that. "When are you letting people know?"

"I haven't decided yet, but I wanted to apologize for making you uncomfortable," K said. "And without knowing what the deal is with you two - and really … don't tell me unless you want to, I'm not digging - I know how hard it has to be for you, and I'm sorry."

Jean let her smile slip, and for a moment she seemed to be alright, but the tears welled up and she quickly closed her eyes and straightened up in an attempt to push it back - a move that K herself had done hundreds of times, just not for the same reasons. "Well. so far it seems like we're just … out of synch. I didn't think that was possible. Not for this long."

Instead of saying the usual 'it'll happen' or the 'just relax' that was inevitable, K simply nodded her head and let out a sigh. "Maybe this round of glitter will stick on you," she said finally, sounding almost small, but that only got Jean to come closer and wrap her arms around the little feral's shoulders and hug her tightly.

"I really am happy for you three, I am," Jean said, though her voice was strained. "Logan has wanted a family for so long … it's just ... "

"Hard to be happy when it's flaunted under your nose?" K guessed. "Especially when you know I wasn't looking for this." She turned her head to meet Jean's gaze. "Don't need to be a telepath to figure that out." She took Jean's hand in hers. "But I promise - I promise not to complain about it. It's just not fair, that's all."

Jean smiled her way, subdued for the time being, but K could see that she was just rallying to bring her enthusiasm back. "That … might actually make it a little easier."

The two of them were quiet for a long while before K closed her eyes and seemed to turn pale. She held up one hand and seemed to hold her breath for a long moment before she darted off into the bathroom with one hand over her mouth, leaving Jean with Abbey - who was staring after her mother with wide eyes, obviously concerned.

"Come on, sweetheart," Jean said as she picked up the little girl. "Your mom needs a minute."

Abbey stared up at her and then simply leaned forward to give Jean a long, sloppy baby kiss before she snuggled into her neck and just stayed there.

When K finally came back out, she was obviously shaky and looked as if she'd been crying, though she tried to stop Jean from saying anything by shaking her head and resting one hand over her heart as she sat down. "It's a lot worse this time," she said in a trembling voice. "I was just tired last time."

"You had trouble with scents too though," Jean pointed out, and K frowned and nodded to that.

"Yeah, but this is just …" she drew in a breath and shook her head. "Nope. Not going to complain."

Jean shook her head, but couldn't help but smile a little her way. "You idiot," she said. "You can complain about being sick."

K tried to smile and almost as quickly as she managed it - she lost it and ended up covering her face with one hand. "I know," she replied. "I'm just … I should take Abbey back to the boathouse."

Jean paused, watching her for a moment. "Are you sure you don't want me to keep her?"

"Jean, you know you can play with her whenever you want," K said, and Jean frowned at the tone in her voice - clearly shaky still.

"I think you need to rest," Jean told her carefully, and to her surprise, K didn't argue it at all.

"Yeah, thanks," K said before she took a moment to give Abbey a kiss and headed off. It wasn't her usual means of saying goodbye, and when Jean reached out telepathically to check on her she had to pull back when she saw - even for a few moments- how high strung K really was.

Time passed, and Jean watched K closer and closer as it went on. There was no mistaking it - the little feral was most definitely having a harder time of it this go around. With a fair bit of prompting, Jean got K to go down and see Hank, who looked a bit disappointed when she stepped into the lab.

"I see I wasn't expedient enough with my research," he said with a sigh.

"It's fine, Henry," K said wearily, though the tremor never really seemed to leave her voice.

"She's been sick for weeks," Jean prompted. "And honestly, I'm starting to be concerned."

"How long have you known?" Hank asked, looking between the two women.

"More or less as soon as I did," K admitted. "Within hours."

"She thinks she's about eight weeks in," Jean said, taking the seat next to K as Hank pulled out the ultrasound machine.

"Then we should be able to do more than just draw blood," Hank said - and even went so far as to do that part first, eager to see the heartbeat - which was chugging along - before he started the blood tests, and the IV that he insisted she use since she'd been so ill.

All things considered, she was worn out enough that once the IV got started well, she curled up on her side, pulled the sheet up and tried to fall asleep, leaving Jean to watch over her and hover over Hank's shoulder, waiting to see what he had to say about her test results.

"Nothing looks abnormal," Hank said quietly as K slept. "Likely she's simply over-stressed and deyhydrated."

Jean frowned at that but didn't do much more than give Hank's arm a squeeze. "I'll be on top of her this time," she swore, deciding then and there to watch over her even if she thought she didn't need it.

A week later, K jumped out of her chair in the kitchen - off schedule from her usual time and ran for the bathroom, retching and heaving. Most of the teachers were in class, but Logan was there and followed her, if nothing else, then to kneel down next to her and pull her hair back as she dry heaved for the next ten minutes, shaking with tears slipping down her cheeks.

It wasn't until just then that she realized exactly how much worse it really was this time around. "Why am I so goddamned sick?" she asked, staring at the water, and clenching her stomach, both cramping and vomiting. "I never got sick like this with Abbey."

Logan shook his head, knowing he was the last person she should be asking about this. He didn't know what to tell her, so instead he simply rubbed her back and stuck with her until she thought she had it under control. He helped her up and offered her a bottle of water when she seemed to have finally caught her breath, but it was no time at all before even that was coming right back up.

It was clear that something just wasn't right.

"I'll go get Hank," Logan offered as Jean stepped around the corner with Abbey on her hip with a frown.

But K shook her head as another cramp hit her, knocking her breath away. "No, it's just a little morning sickness. It'll go away." She had one hand pressing hard over her hip, grimacing with her eyes closed.

And though it was clear though that Logan was unconvinced, he knew better than to argue with her when he was trying to get her to relax, and instead of pressing, he simply picked her up and carried her over to the living room as she gave him a weary look.

"Hey. My fault, right?" he said when she rolled her eyes his way. "I'm the one that made you sick. I'll take care of you."

K couldn't help but smile at that and leaned her forehead against his until he gently set her down in the living room and kissed her cheek.

"I'll keep an eye on things," Jean promised. "And I'll let you know if there's trouble.

Logan looked to K, who nodded and with one last kiss, he finally stepped back from his wife. "Thanks, Jeannie," he said before he headed off with Abbey leaving the two women alone.

Jean waited a long while before she tried to approach K with a bottle of Coke and a package of crackers. "You're not even thinking," Jean said as K took the offerings.

"I know, I really can't," K agreed though she closed her eyes and leaned her head on her crossed arms. "I'm fine," K promised. "I'm not going anywhere. And I'm starting to feel a little better."

Jean frowned and simply sat with her for a long while before she saw for herself that K wasn't lying.

Hours later, when K and Jean were with Abbey, the heavy, hard cramps returned in force and by the time she staggered over to the bathroom, she was sure there was something very wrong.

Jean peeked around the corner where K had disappeared, Abbey on her hip and half asleep. "K?" she called out gently, then sucked in a quick breath when she saw that K simply hadn't made it to the bathroom and was kneeling on the floor clutching her stomach.

Jean called for Scott and quickly handed off Abbey to him the moment he came around the corner before she grabbing a hold of K's shoulders and tried to get K to take a breath since it was clear she was holding her breath and in a great deal of pain with tears streaming down her cheeks. With a quick focus, Jean ordered K to sleep, then called for Logan and Kurt, in full control of the situation.

"What's going on?" Scott asked as he shushed Abbey, one hand on the back of her head as the little girl craned her neck to see her mother.

"I don't know, but it's not right," Jean told him a moment before Kurt appeared with Logan and the four of them headed to the lab in a swirl of purple smoke.

K woke up in a fog, to find herself in her bed with Logan by her side and Abby nowhere to be seen. Her head felt like it was floating, and her eyes were rolling in her skull. As she wiggled, she realized Logan's hand was across her stomach. She leaned forward just enough to see his hand, then covered it with her own.

He was watching her reactions carefully as she sleepily tried to wake up. "How you feelin'?" he asked quietly with a rich rumble.

She smiled his way sleepily and leaned into him to kiss him. "Where's Abbey?"

"Jean and Scott wanted to take her to the zoo today."

"Oh, that's nice," K mumbled before she laid her head back down and let out a big breath. "What happened?" she asked with a frown. She was having trouble putting it together, but she'd been hurting so badly earlier, and now, she kind of felt … floaty. She turned her head towards Logan,and when she realized that he was wide awake, she smiled maybe a little too widely and in her dopey haze tried to rest her hand on his face, only she ended up slapping him lightly and giggling.

"Oops," she said, though her entire arm felt somewhat detached as she laid it back down.

"Hank has you drugged, darlin'. Are you alright?" he asked. Clearly Hank hadn't properly prepared him for how out of it she was going to be.

"Oh yeah. I'm just peachy," she grinned, and she looked it – stoned out of her mind.

"Do you know what happened yesterday?" he asked, trying to gauge where she was mentally.

"Yesterday?" She frowned deeply then took a moment to look around the room and noted the bright light coming from the east side of the boathouse and faltered. "I ... " Again she closed her eyes and thought hard, and all she could remember was that she'd been so sick. "What happened?" she asked lightly. "I'm not … I don't feel sick." She frowned deeper as her heart ticked up a few paces and it all started to come together. She pushed herself a little more upright and glared down at her stomach. "Oh, come on."

As quickly as the realization hit her, she started to fall apart. Her features twisted and she couldn't take a breath properly as she tried to cover her face with her hands. Her shoulders curled forward and before the first tears could fall, Logan pulled her into him and wrapped himself halfway around her - not shushing her or trying to settle her out - just making a point to be there.

Hank's wonder drug continued to keep her out of it, but Logan felt awful. As far as he was concerned, it was all his fault. If he would have controlled himself, if he would have gotten her to the docs faster … if, if, if.

With no idea on how else to handle it, he simply settled in for the long haul as she let it go.

A few days later, the finals for the year were scheduled and K had to get started on her test for the riders. Logan's schedule was fairly busy, and K's was wide open. She had no inspiration on her obstacle course, and though physically she was feeling a lot better, there was no mistaking how depressed she was.

So the last thing she could do was to muster up anything she thought worthwhile for her class to do for their test. She was sitting on the fence, staring out at the animals alone when she finally gave up and started setting up rodeo panels. Alone.

Scott came down to help when Jean mentioned that K could use a hand, though the redhead hadn't bothered telling him what the plan was - and he was looking warily at what K was up to as she wrestled the panels into place.

"What are you planning on having them do? Where are all the obstacles?" he asked as he stepped forward and simply picked up the opposite end of the one she was fighting with.

"There is no obstacle course this year," K said dully. "I couldn't think of anything."

He frowned but nodded at that as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. "That's too bad, I know the students loved it last year," he said, careful to keep his expression as neutral as possible.

She sighed, her hand on her hip and she balanced the panel, staring at the ground. "You got any bright ideas? Be my guest. I can't think of anything that sounds worthwhile." She looked frustrated before she dropped her gaze and gestured around them. "I can't even think right."

Scott was quiet a moment. "K, I'm more than happy to help you pull this together. I'll work all night if that's what you need from me. But why don't we sit down and make a plan," he told her, as she looked ready to cry. Jean had filled him in and frankly, he'd been waiting for this to happen. Especially when Jean had told him that this time, even though it had taken some time, she'd been honestly looking forward to it.

She was quiet for a long while before she finally let go of the panel and headed over to the shade tree that was near the fence. "I think I'm going nuts, Scott," K said finally, and all the fight looked like it had drained out of her. He set the panel down and walked over to sit next to her, even draping his arm across her shoulders, and pulling her into him.

"You're not going nuts. You've been hurt," Scott said carefully. "Do I need to kick Logan's ass?" he tipped his head down to try to get her to look at him and he did his best to look perfectly serious when she glanced up at him.

She barked out a little half laugh, and a small smile started to creep onto her face, which only got Scott to grin at her and give her a little squeeze. "You just need a break. Take off with Logan when the test is over. Take a month if you need it. Just don't forget you're one of us now. And we always take care of each other."

She fought back the tears as she finally leaned into him a little heavier. "Thanks, Scott. Let me know when you want to kick Logan's ass – he doesn't really need it … he's been great. But I'll bring popcorn."

He gave her the time she needed to relax, and as soon as she seemed to have leveled out, They began to hash out a plan to finish the course. By Scott's suggestion, and for the sake of time, this year it would be only half of the test. The other half was a speed and fun show divided by age.

K used the test as something to focus on and she made her way from one teacher to the next to ask them to pitch in for prizes for each of the classes. Scott picked out who would judge the obstacles, and between them, they had a solid plan in place in no time. It took both of them a solid week to finish the course, but it was a lot more interesting than what either of them could manage on their own.

And of course, Jean was more than happy to babysit while Scott helped Logan to keep K's mind moving and not focused on what had happened.

The day of the test K had an inspired thought– the first she'd really had since her she'd lost the little one that was anything like herself. She was practically bouncing as she explained the plan to Logan, who grinned at her as she outlined it. For the first time in weeks, her enthusiasm was contagious, and he hadn't seen her really smile in what seemed like far too long. Abbey was even clapping as her mother got more animated. When she was through, she was waiting for his opinion when he slid his hand into her hair and simply kissed her.

"Anything you want, darlin'," he told her, as she bit her lip.

"Anything?" she asked, one eyebrow raised as her smile grew into a more troublemaking expression. He nodded, trying to keep the growl at bay that wanted to spring out at her saucy grin.

She kissed him again - much longer and more involved than he'd been treated to in a while, and he got just as lost in it as she did until the kiss broke and she leaned her forehead on his. "Be at the course ten minutes early," K said low. "You're going to be my special helper."

When he got to the course, he was surprised to see her other special helpers in attendance as well. She had five people in total, herself included for this 'special' assignment.

"OK," K said, her whole body language apparently back to pure confidence. "So, here's the deal, everyone gets a number … which – draw a number." She held out her cowboy hat and shook it lightly. Bobby and Kitty looked at each other with a frown before finally doing as she'd asked. K looked at everyone's numbers and wrote down the results. "Okay. Now put them back in the hat. The students are waiting at the start of the course, so … have a seat."

She took a few steps away then rushed back over to kiss the sense out of Logan before she headed out to where the students were gathered. She clapped her hands once to get their attention and dove right into it. "Alright kids – last test you have this year, and it's going to be a fun one. We have the obstacle course – it's numbered, so just follow numeric order. Last obstacle is being set up now – last minute change." She glanced over her shoulder and smiled to herself before she turned back to face them. "But - before you start the course, you must draw a number, one through five. This number will be who your partner for the course is." She turned to point to where Scott was setting up a half barrel flat part up. When your number is drawn, your partner will go stand on the barrel. We're doing a pick up race."

The students all seemed to have their own reactions - though most of them looked excited to try it.

"All riders have to run down and turn the barrel – where your partner will jump on the back of the horse with you," K explained as if they needed reminding. "Then, once your passenger is safely on board with you, you both then race back to the starting line. Got it?" The explanation was as much for the 'helpers' as it was the students, so she met their surprised gazes then turned back to the students.

"Alright, pay attention now. I'll run it so you can see how it works and that it CAN be done. OK? First up – draw a number. I got three." She turned around and grinned at Logan. "You're up, sweetheart." He shook his head and headed over to the barrel, taking a seat to wait for her to hit the second to last obstacle. K walked over and grabbed the first horse in the line, before hopping on and nodding to Scott to start the clock.

In short order, the students were howling as K ran the course, taking bets on what the story was on the last obstacle. When she got closer, Logan was ready and waiting. She dropped her arm nearest him and he grabbed on, then hopped on behind her and grabbed the mane in front of her as she kicked the horse on. Logan barely kept a solid hold as she pushed the horse forward, then skidded to a stop past the finish. Logan was laughing as he purposely slipped off the back, landed on his feet and offered to help her off the horse with a grin. K laughed along with him as she turned to the students.

"Any questions?" Logan was holding her up as she grinned, breathless, and more than happy to hold onto him for support.

Only Jubilee rose her hand. "So Wolvie's number three? That means if we pull three we have to pull his heavy butt up?" She looked pale as K turned to her husband with a grin.

"Well, the odds are stacked against you, honestly. I hold number four, so you'll be haulin' metal on two of us. Kitty, Bobby and Jean round out the group. Good luck! Who's first?" K shouted out, and despite the odds, the students were ready to go, lining up for their turn at the hat.

The consensus of course was that no one wanted Logan, their reasoning being that he'd just be too damn heavy to pull, though when Chloe drew him, it was apparent that he was a top choice. He did most of the work of hopping on and didn't pull on the rider at all, instead reaching for the mane to hold himself on. K ended up being the pick though, of course. She was just as good about staying on without affecting her rider, and simply having her on board got the horse to try harder.

Though they all had fun and all had their bonuses. Kitty and Jean were light enough that even if they did pull on the rider, it didn't matter. Bobby was by far the worst to pull though. He was enough a weight that if he didn't sit perfectly square, it was a sloppy ride, and on more than one run, the horse ended up bucking. When it was through, the students were again requesting the teachers run the course, dying to see them do the pickup race, ending the race with Logan riding it himself.

He didn't bother to draw, though, instead shouting toward his wife. "K, honey, get your ass on that barrel," which got grins and giggles from large sections of the students, and a grin from Jean when K simply smiled and jogged off to do as he'd asked.

Logan ran the race well, smirking obnoxiously as he rocketed towards K, who just barely made it on, one hand in mane, the other around his waist as he urged the horse to run. At the finish, the gelding he was riding tried so hard to stop he nearly sat down, skidding a good twenty feet beyond the finish. K laughed as she held onto him, and he joined her in the laughter with his hand resting over the one around his waist.

Scott was busy tallying up the scores while K called for a 20 minute break to give the horses a chance to get rested for the older kids' speed races.

At the end of the day, everyone had a good time, and Logan again helped K to pass out the awards for the obstacle course. The teachers that donated prizes for the rodeo got to hand out their donations as K announced them with Abbey on her hip, helping by waving at the students as they passed her. When it was all done, Scott announced there would be a cookout at the pool as an end of year celebration.

But K quietly slipped away from the crowd with Abbey, and Logan quickly caught up to her. "You sneakin' out, darlin'?" he asked, opening the door for her.

She smiled softly as she kissed their little girl, then laid her down with the little one half asleep, totally worn out from all the fun going on around her. As K stood up, Logan slipped his hand across her back, resting it on her hip as he stood behind her, both of them watching Abbey sigh as she slipped deeper into her slumber.

Finally, K turned to face him, sliding her hand into his hair and leaning in for a well-earned kiss. "I've had enough of the crowd today. It was fun, but I've got a limit," she said, pulling her arms around his neck. Though it wasn't long before she was turning the heat up on him.

"Not sure we should be foolin' around," he told her as she raised an eyebrow his way.

"No?" she asked, leaning into him to kiss his neck.

Logan took a few steps backwards, sliding his hands to her wrists, stopping her progress on pulling at his shirt.

"No," he replied.

She wrinkled her brow wondering what she'd done wrong now, but he held her gaze while she ran the spectrum of emotions, settling on rejection.

"Oh," she said quietly before she tried to step back, waiting for him to release her hands.

He shook his head on seeing the look on her face. "I just want to make sure you're alright, sweetheart," he told her as her spirits fell.

"No, no. I get it. You don't have to explain. I'll just ... I'll just wash up real quick. Go to bed. You go ahead and do whatever you were planning on," she said quietly, wrapping her arms around her middle when she managed to pull her hands out of his.

"K," he said, trying to stop her before she slipped past him and closed the bathroom door behind her. This was not at all what he was trying to do, but she was just moving so fast, he couldn't follow her train of thought and he was getting whiplash even trying to.

When he heard the water start up, he scrubbed one hand over his face and dropped onto the bed, trying to figure out how to fix it and sure that he'd really screwed up this time.

K took her time and washed her hair slowly, reasonably sure that Logan would be onto other things when she got out. She knew that Abbey would sleep for a solid couple of hours, so there was no reason for him to stick around while she was asleep in her crib and knew that K was just washing up. He could lock the door on his way out and no one would bother them. When she stepped out of the shower though, she could hear Abbey laughing.

Well, at least the girl knows how to entertain herself, she thought as she wrapped the towel around herself tightly. When K opened the door, it was to find Abbey out of her crib, and K quickly headed out of the bedroom to see where her little girl had gone.

As it turned out, Abbey was in the living room pulling on Logan's sideburns while he made faces at her, getting her to laugh. He was on his back and she was laying on his chest laughing hysterically and squealing. He tipped his head back and looked up at K upside down with a smile with Abbey drooling on him as he greeted her

"Dinner's almost done. Kitty wanted to take Abbey for the night, I told her that'd be fine," Logan said.

K stared at him for a moment, but honestly didn't see the point in one on one time, since she thought he'd been pretty clear earlier about not wanting to play around. She tightened her mouth, nodded once, then retreated back to the bedroom to get dressed. She slipped on her oldest, rattiest, most unflattering flannel shirt and a pair of yoga pants, and her still wet hair hung over her shoulders when Kitty came in, grinning at the three of them.

"You're sure you don't mind Abbey spending the night with me?" Kitty asked as K kissed her daughter.

"No, she loves her big sister," K said "But if she fusses too much or gives you any trouble, just bring her right back, alright?"

Kitty grinned, stealing a glance Logan's way as she agreed, then took Abbey's bag and waved goodnight with Abbey to Logan and K. As soon as the little one was gone, Logan pulled her over to grab a bite to eat, though it was clear from the get go that he wasn't sure how to kick off anything even resembling a conversation.

As soon as they were done, K made a beeline for the bathroom again to brush her teeth and more on less ready to turn in. She climbed into bed and had just gotten comfortable when Logan asked her to join him in the living room. She rolled her eyes with a groan and pushed the covers back before she went out to where he was, somewhat irritated that he'd waited until she was comfy before calling for her. When she got to him, he had a new set of leathers waiting for her on the couch.

"What's this for?" she asked, arms crossed and frowning.

"Why don't you try 'em on, we can go for a ride," he offered.

She eyed him suspiciously before she simply started to strip on the spot then squeezed into the new leathers. She headed into the bedroom to find an appropriate shirt, and came out in a tight black tank top. Logan did a double take when he saw her realizing she how little else she was wearing when she pulled her hair into a braid. "Ready when you are," K said before she made her way over to slip her boots on.

They hopped on his bike, since Logan insisted on taking just the one bike out this time. They headed down the road, and K leaned into him like she had on their first ride together, but like that first ride, she was sure not to hold on as they rode. He took her all over the countryside, finally turning down that old dirt road that led to his hidden mossy cabin.

"What are you doing?" she asked over his shoulder.

He smiled to himself and didn't answer as he continued down the bumpy road, only stealing a glance over his shoulder when she leaned away from him. When they got to the end of the trail, she jumped off before he could turn it around or kill it. He followed quickly, and grabbed her hand to keep her from bolting on him.

"You trust me?" he asked, she just stared at him

"What kind of a stupid question is that?" she asked.

"That's not an answer. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do."

"Then walk with me, not ahead of me," he said as he laced their fingers together. He pulled her closer and stole a long kiss before he led her down the trail.

"Logan. You've brought me here before," she said as he chuckled.

"Humor me," he told her, taking her deeply into the woods. When she smelled the familiar scent of dust and moss, she knew they were there even before she could see it. He leaned forward, breathing on her neck, and kissing her every now and again, taking his time before they got to the cabin.

"Logan -" she started to say, ready to call him out on whatever this was, but he put a finger over her lips.

"Trust me," he said, letting his hands slide down her sides to her hips before moving her toward the cabin and kissing her all the way.

"I didn't think you wanted to fool around," she said finally, after she'd broken the kiss, though she couldn't help but smile when he growled in response and reasserted himself.

Things were shredded in the cabin shortly thereafter. The table was done for. The bed – well that needed replacing anyhow. He watched her as she dressed, deciding on the spot that K in leather pants was worth whatever price he'd have to pay to keep the smile on her face.

"Woman, I swear," he said, shaking his head, giving up completely on finding his shirt when she slid up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She slipped out of his grasp and left the little cabin, before Logan could get his boots on, purposely baiting him into chasing her in the forest.

It wasn't a long game though, and when he caught her, he pressed her against a tree as they started fooling around again. She was just about to shimmy out of her pants again when he froze, searching the cloaked forest.

She opened her mouth to say something, and held her breath when he put his hand over her mouth before she could speak. It was clear that he heard something out there. She watched him for a moment then her gaze snapped towards the same direction he was looking, scanning for movement.

Logan looked over his shoulder in time to watch the weak moonlight glimmer on her blades as she slowly and silently slid out her claws. He waited, far more comfortable simply letting them fly when the time was right. The two of them silently slid into a more familiar back to back position as they watched the woods around them. He felt her tense against his back then crouch, ready to spring at whatever was out there, though no scent foreign to the forest other than their own was in the air.

Then, almost too quiet to hear, they caught the sound of whatever or whoever it was slowly creeping away, when they heard it crest the hill to the south, Logan motioned for her to get moving, looking over his shoulder as they went.

When they reached the bike, they were both stunned. It was totally trashed. Forget undriveable, it was unsalvageable. Every single chrome detail was crushed, the engine block was even somehow torn apart, gasoline was soaked into the ground and the seats and tires slashed.

There was nothing left for him to try to fix.

Irritated, he kicked the crumpled fender and took her hand in his, already simply walking back to the road where maybe they could either catch a ride or call for one.

They were both on high alert. They didn't need to discuss it. It was clear that the mystery person in the woods had to be the one that trashed the bike, or at least was in cahoots with them. K was openly disappointed that the jackass in the woods hadn't bothered to engage them though.

They were halfway out when they were lit up with floodlights from all angles. Blinded by the sudden brightness, neither could see what was happening, back to back and claws out. Before they could make a move or adjust to the light, shots rang out. K looked to her leg to find darts in her thigh. She turned toward Logan, and realized that whoever it was had hit him with similar darts, and he was already shaking his head hard.

In a panic, she did the only thing she could think of and tried screaming out mentally for Jean, praying she might be able to hear them as another round of darts hit them both. Her vision went unfocused and suddenly, K's legs wobbled and gave way. She dropped to the ground, her claws retracted on their own, but Logan wasn't quite that far yet.

He turned to look at her as her head dipped forward. "No! Don't close your eyes – don't -" he fell silent as four more hit him in the neck and chest. He wavered, then fell next to her, leaning toward her, his claws in. When it was all said and done, they managed to crumple next to each other, nearly holding hands.