Jean woke up surprised to see her stitches remained intact. Good, now she wouldn't have to explain anything to Hank. She then looked beside her and couldn't help but smile. It was beautiful to see Logan, such a passionate, temperamental man sleeping so peacefully next to her. She touched his face gently, and trailed her fingers down to his neck and shoulder, and every spectacular muscle on his incredibly large arm. Jean sighed thinking about how she trembled in his magnificent arms last night.
Logan quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her on top of him.
"Did I startle ya?" he said softly as he took a strand of Jean's hair in his fingers. Her hair was messy and voluminous, the result of last night. And he loved it that way.
"You didn't," she said sleepily.
"Good mornin', Red," he put a strand of Jean's hair behind her ear, and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Good morning, Logan," she yawned.
"Tired from last night?" he winked at her.
"Yeah...we didn't exactly sleep all that much, and I don't have your healing ability. But I wouldn't trade THAT for sleep anyway," she winked back.
There was a knock on the door.
"Jean, you'll be late for history class!" they heard Ororo's voice outside Jean's room.
"Oh God..." Jean got out of bed, fully awake now.
"You said that a lot last night..." Logan teased.
Jean laughed and hit him with a pillow playfully.
"Come on, Jean, everybody's already there!" Ororo said.
"Can't believe this, I'm never late..." Jean said as she reached for the first pair of jeans and a shirt she could find.
"So how d'ya wanna do this?" Logan said.
"What do you mean?" she said while getting dressed.
"Should I wait here till after you leave or..."
"Why would you do that?" Jean chuckled.
"Well, if she sees us, she'll tell everyone..."
"They're all already talking anyway. Besides, I don't mind," she put one knee on the bed, bent down, and reached for his face, "Do you mind?"
"Do I mind gettin' caught with a beautiful woman, are ya kidding?" he took her hand and kissed it.
"Then get dressed and let's go!" she picked up his shirt from the floor and threw it at him.
"What took you so long?!" Ororo said when Jean opened the door, "You're gonna make me late..." she stopped mid sentence as she saw Logan behind her, "oh..."
"I'm sorry," Jean said, "this usually doesn't happen to me."
"Good mornin' Storm," Logan said nonchalantly.
"Good morning, indeed," Ororo said smiling at both of them.
Jean spent half the class trying to brush her messy hair with her fingers, and ignoring Storm's questions about last night.
Even though she hasn't slept much, she somehow felt refreshed, recharged. Maybe Logan's healing ability rubbed off on her. Then she thought of how her and Logan were going to be the hot topic around the school for a while. "So what," she thought, "I'm not ashamed of my feelings for Logan." But Scott was going to find out as well. He still wasn't over her, she knew that. And he already got into a fight with Logan.
"What's wrong?" Ororo whispered when she saw Jean's expression change from happy to concerned.
"Scott..." was all she needed to say to make Ororo understand.
"I better be lightning fast next time..." Ororo thought.
Logan thought about spending time in the danger room training while Jean was taking classes. Maybe there was someone foolish enough to spar with him.
"Wolverine!" Kurt called out when Logan walked in the danger room.
"This one just might be," Logan mumbled.
"Pardon me?" Kurt looked at him confused.
"Nightcrawler! Shouldn't ya be in class?" Logan asked.
"Not for another 30 minutes. How are you, by the way? I heard what happened..."
Logan knew it was going to spread fast, but this fast?
"Heard about..." Logan said.
"You and Scott fighting."
"Oh that! Yeah."
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking."
"Someone told him 'bout Jean and I spendin' time in the danger room when no one's here. Guess it pissed him off. Ya wouldn't happen to know who told him, would ya?" Logan asked thinking it was Kurt. He told Logan what Scott said about him, maybe he told Scott about him and Jean.
"No, I have no idea..."
Logan squinted his eyes suspiciously.
"Really, I don't know," Kurt raised his hands in the air.
"Logan, please, come into my office as soon as you can." Logan heard Charles' voice.
"Did ya hear that?" Logan asked.
"Heard what?" Kurt turned his head in different directions to see if he could pick something up, "I don't think I hear anything."
"Professor just sent me a message. I'm gonna go talk to him," Logan said.
"Okay," Kurt said relieved this conversation was over, "tell him I said hi!"
"Sure will."
Logan picked up his pace to get to the office faster. "Saved by the bell," he thought about Nightcrawler.
What could Charles possibly want? Was this about Jean?
Logan was about to knock on the professor's door when Charles said, "Come in!"
"Of course," Logan thought, "he already knows what I'll do before I do it."
"Logan, thank you for coming here so quickly. Take a seat!"
"Thanks. So what's this 'bout?"
"I received a message from an old friend. If what he says is true, we're all in a big trouble."
"Who is this old friend?"
Professor wasn't answering. Logan would surely not consider him a friend right now.
"Just tell me," Logan said.
"It's Magneto."
Logan took a deep breath. Yeah, definitely not a friend right now.
"What does he want?" Logan asked.
"He wanted to warn me. Us. He said there is a man named Henry Gyrich, does it ring a bell?" Charles hoped that maybe Logan knew him from the other timeline.
"No," Logan shook his head.
"Well, he continued Trask's research. He made new and improved sentinels. They're even deadlier now."
Logan couldn't imagine how they could possibly get any deadlier than they already were.
"What does he want with 'em? Humans are fine with us now, the government ain't gonna approve."
"They were fine with us for a while. That was before Apocalypse showed up. Gyrich manipulated the people in order to test his new toy. A newer version of Trask's toy."
"But THIS was not supposed to happen. We changed history." Logan said disappointed, "How do we even know it's true? Ya trust Eric now?"
"I don't see why he would lie about it, and he helped us defeat Apocalypse," Charles said.
"Yeah, but he was on his side before that. And he nearly drowned me once."
"Eric did some horrible things, but he helped us as well, and he's trying to help us now," Charles defended his old frenemy.
"I thought we changed the future and this was never gonna happen..." Logan's voice faded. Was it all for nothing?
"We did. But we have to change it again. Logan, if things are as bad as Eric says, we may need...oh, you're not going to like this," Charles said.
"'Cause I liked everythin' ya said so far," Logan said sarcastically.
"We may need Jean to..." Charles said.
"She ain't ready, Charles," Logan said sadly.
"She'll have to be ready in a very short time then," Charles said as a matter of fact.
"You gotta be kidding me!"
"It's the only chance we've got. Jean will understand..."
"There ya go, makin' decisions for other people again..." Logan said angrily.
"Let's ask Jean and have her decide."
"It won't be no decision, the minute ya ask her to do something, she'll do it. You know she'll do anythin' for ya, she always did everythin' for us," sadness filled Logan's voice.
"She already controlled it once when we fought Apocalypse, she can do it again," Charles was trying to persuade himself as much as Logan.
"Once! And not ever since." Logan had to use all his will power not to shout. He felt like Charles was ready to gamble with Jean's life.
"Logan," professor said reaching for his hand, "do you think I would want her to do it if I saw another way? If she doesn't do it, we all die anyway."
He hated to admit it, but Charles had a point. And Jean was able to control it enough once. Could she do it again?
Logan thought of all the hardship they went through when the war broke out in the old timeline, and the struggle he endured to change history. All the effort now appeared useless, for they were on a brink of another war. But he'd gladly go through it all again, and more if it meant that Jean didn't get consumed by her powers, if they could save her. "It will be worth it. It HAS to be," Logan thought.