Terri's Peep Hut ~~ Fiction Archive

Winter In Banff (Part 2)

It didn't take long to find the source of the scents - seven humans littered the lobby, two of them trying to start a fire indoors, like idiots. They were using sticks to rub together but had no rock to make a spark, making Logan revise his estimate downward from idiots to complete morons. He'd definitely have the drop on them if he shot first - they looked fairly drunk in addition to being so obviously stupid - but there was a problem. It wasn't just humans. A large, blue, furry person-shaped lump was lying near the fire. A mutie, definitely. A smaller blue person-like form was tied to a long stick and was squirming. Little mutie. If Logan just peppered the place with bullets, they could get hit. Cursing his bad luck and seeing if he could convince himself that the big one was probably dead already, he hesitated.

"Hey, Joe," one of the humans slurred, "They got some, uh, you know - whatchacallit? They got a gift thingie here. A store, a gift shop."

"Yeah? So?" That was presumably Joe - the one trying to start a fire with the twigs. Logan smirked. If Joe was the leader and brain-trust of this bunch, a quick, surprise annihilation of them all might not be the only possibility for victory.

"Matches, dude! Don't they got matches in those places? Or even a lighter." Joe's eyes lit up at the thought, and Logan made his decision. Leveling the rifle on his shoulder and taking aim, he let out the first shot.

It was accurate, felling Joe in his tracks. Before the 'genius' of the group could respond, the one who'd suggested matches to start the fire, Logan took him out with shot number two. The rest were dispatched nearly as efficiently; only one got off a shot, and it missed Logan by a mile. Sniffing around for others and smelling none, Logan cautiously advanced on the muties.

The smaller one was crying earnestly now. It looked like a small boy, probably a toddler. The man next to it must've been its father. The man was lying in a pool of blood and the boy was trussed up and gagged, bound tightly to the stick. Logan's eyebrows knit in confusion for a moment, but then he got it - it was a spit. They'd been about to roast the child over a fire. Only, they'd been too stupid to figure out how to start one. Lucky for the kid, Logan thought, as he bent over to begin untying him.

"Oh!" Logan whirled at the exclamation and was a split-second away from shooting, when he realized it had come from Marie, who had entered the lobby.

"Marie! I toldya to stay put!"

"I know, I know, but I heard shots and then nothing and I got worried when you didn't come out right away." Her touching concern for him cut through Logan's anger, and he settled for a scowl instead of a rebuke. "What's - what's that?"

"Muties. You wanna check the big one? I can hear a low heartbeat and some breathin' from up close but he's in bad shape."

Marie didn't move. "I've never seen mutants like that. I - I didn't know there were ones that looked - looked like *that*. I never knew there were ones that didn't look like people." She suddenly turned stricken eyes on Logan. "Oh my God, how would they ever hide from the humans? Everyone would know they were mutants right off."

"Yep," Logan concurred, nodding with his head toward the larger mutant. That got Marie moving, finally, to check on him. "Dunno how they hid. Musta been damn good hiders to survive this fuckin' long lookin' like that." Logan took another look at the knots binding the child, whose bright yellow eyes were wide with mindless panic, and decided that cutting was a better option than untying. "Stay still, kid. I'm gonna getcha outta this." He let out one of the claws, just a few inches.

"Logan, he's got a wound on his leg, a bad one, and I can't tell if there are bruises because of all the fur, but - oh!" Marie's abrupt shock wasn't at the man's wounds, but at the sight of Logan's claw.

"Fuck," he cursed in frustration, putting it back in. "Sorry. Shoulda mentioned that."

"You - that looked metal," Marie said in awe, her erstwhile patient forgotten for the moment.

"It is. Got 'em put in me, in a lab, probably like the one you were in. Got six of 'em, three in both hands. Metal all over my skeleton too." He caught her eyes and said in a low, earnest tone, "I won't hurt ya with 'em. I only let 'em out when I hafta fight. Or, uh, to cut things, like now." At that moment, he felt every bit as idiotic as he'd judged the humans to be. Yes, Marie, I happened to have six lethal metal claws I didn't mention, but don't worry, I'll only use them to cut things. Great. "I mean - "

"When you let them out, does it hurt?"

"Every time." Their eyes locked and he had an almost irrepressible urge to go over there, throw her to the floor and make her his, wounded muties and dead humans notwithstanding. A muffled cry from the child broke the spell - Logan let out the claw again and began cutting him free. "What were you sayin' 'bout his leg?"

"Um, I think that that's where all the blood is coming from. I can't really feel anything that's going on inside him because of the fur - no skin to touch. But I think that's the worst wound. He's a little beat up everywhere else though, so I'm not sure if there are internal injuries or not."

"Waaaaahhhh!" Logan winced at the boy's loud, full-bodied cry with the removal of his gag and the final tie to the stick. The child darted immediately for his father, throwing himself over his chest. "Dada!!"

"It's OK," Marie soothed, rubbing his back. "We're going to take care of him." Logan raised an eyebrow at that, but Marie was consumed with comforting the child. "It's OK now, we won't hurt you."

Logan huffed a little, but headed off to the gift shop to look for something to bandage the mutant's leg with. Marie tried to gently pry the child from his father, but he was unexpectedly strong for his small size. "Honey, you have to let him go. He's hurt. He needs help."

Marie's nose crinkled and she tried another tactic. "What's your dada's name, honey? Can you tell me his name?"

"Dada," the child answered logically, still not looking at her but somewhat less frantic. Marie had actually expected that response. It gave her an opening for another question.

"And what's your name?"

The child now raised his head to look at Marie. She gave him a warm, encouraging smile. It was working; she had his attention. "Jules."

"Very good," Marie complimented. "Nice to meet you, Jules, I'm - " She'd been about to say 'Rogue' but that somehow didn't feel right in this situation. "I'm Marie. The man with me is Logan. He went to get some things to help your dad with. It's going to be OK." Jules was still just looking at her with wide eyes, so she pressed on. "Are you OK? Did you get hurt?"

The boy nodded slowly, but instead of indicating to Marie where he was injured, he intoned in a small voice, "Burn me. Eat me." Marie frowned, not knowing how to respond. What they'd been about to do to the child was horribly brutal and his understanding of their intentions made it all somehow even worse. Sensing Marie's empathy but loss for words on some level, Jules finally let go of his father and went to stand before her kneeling form. "Me got oweee. Here." He extended both arms, which had matted and torn fur and a little blood from where they'd tied him with the rope. Marie carefully examined his wounds. "Dada fix it. Dada doctoo."

"Your father is a doctor?" The boy nodded enthusiastically and with more than a little pride. Apparently, he was old enough to understand that this was a good thing. That prompted another question from Marie. "Jules, do you know how old you are?" He proudly held up three fingers for her inspection. "Three? You're three?" More enthusiastic nodding.

"Three and a half," she smiled. "You're a big boy." That brought the most nodding yet.

"Hey, Marie," Logan announced as he returned. "Got some stuff. Why dontcha lemme fix him up? We're gonna hafta stop that bleedin' and I can do a pretty good field dressin'. Kid OK?"

"Mostly," Marie replied, taking Jules with her as she backed away from the larger man's body. Logan set to work, cleaning and mending the wound as best he could. He gave it a healthy dose of gift-shop Neosporin before beginning to bandage it up. Marie occupied herself with keeping Jules talking. "How long have you been here?"

"Dunno. Me came with Dada. Dada big. Dada smart. We hide here, Dada says."

"That was kind of our idea too," Marie confided. "Logan and I thought this would be a good place to live too."

"You live wif Dada and me?"

"Um," Marie exchanged an unsteady look with Logan. "I don't think so. But, uh, we'll hang out for a while. After he's all done fixing up your dad, Logan can take a look at your oweees."

"Dada wake up?" Marie looked to Logan before answering and he gave a gruff nod while he tied off the last of the bandages.

"I think he will, in a little while." Marie tried to make her voice steady and reassuring. "Here comes Logan now. Why don't you show him your arms?" Jules did so, but backed up into Marie's embrace even as he extended his appendages for Logan's inspection. "It's OK," Marie whispered, "He won't hurt you, I promise." Her eyes caught Logan's as she said it and they were filled with such warmth and certainty that Logan couldn't help smiling a little.

"Let's see whatcha got, kid." Logan gently examined his arms, then the rest of him. Seeing no major wounds, he decided on putting some antibiotic cream on the child's arms and bandaging them up. "I'm gonna put some of this stuff on ya, then give ya a bandage, got it, kid?"

Jules nodded, then asked, "Me bandoooge like Dada?"

"Uh-huh," Logan replied as he smeared the antibiotic across Jules' wounds. "Just like your dad over there." After Logan finished, he gave Jules another small smile. "There ya go. All patched up." Jules trotted out of Marie's embrace and headed back to his dad, giving Logan and Marie a chance to talk a bit. Logan wanted to tell her that the guy would make it, and that they should probably start looking for another place to live, when Marie surprised him with a kiss to his cheek. "What was that for? Not that I'm complainin'."

"For saving Jules and his dad. He's going to make it, right?"

"He's lost a lotta blood, but he looks like a big strong guy and as long as there's not a lotta internal damage, he should be OK. Didn't seem like he had broken bones or anythin'. Look, we oughta get goin'. We can't live here if they're livin' here and this place is probably just gonna attract people anyhow."

Marie nodded, but said, "I think maybe we should stay with them a while, to make sure they're OK. I don't think Jules is old enough to take care of himself yet and someone should keep watch over his father. I think you're right, I don't think we should live here, but I don't feel right leaving them alone here."

Logan scowled. He'd actually kind of expected this from Marie. She seemed to be taking to the kid quite a bit. "So, what then? You wanna stick around here until he's conscious or somethin'?" Marie nodded, doing a more subdued version of Jules' usual response. "Aw, shit, I don't wanna get involved with people, Marie. We helped 'em along some, and we got our own things to do."

Seeing her expression melt into a ponderous one, Logan tried to marshal more arguments for leaving the boy and his father but could think of none that would be persuasive to Marie. She seemed to finish whatever she'd been thinking on rather quickly, though, and she spoke. "It's your decision. If we leave them, I'm not sure they'll be OK, either one of them. I think I'm going to stay until they're back on their feet. But if you want to go, it's your decision."

Logan frowned at that. "I toldya before that I'm not that kinda guy, Marie. I'm not the kinda guy that goes around helpin' people out."

"I know what you told me," she returned levelly. "But I felt you and I know that's not the truth. Well, not the whole truth anyway." Logan scowled again, but didn't contest her words. "It's your decision," she repeated.

"Fine," he grunted brusquely. "But if we're stayin', I ain't stayin' here, in the lobby. I'll go find one of the rooms for him and the kid and another one for us. Gotta get rid of the bodies too, before they start to - " He was cut off by a very enthusiastic hug and another cheek-kiss, expressing Marie's gratitude and delight at his decision. He hugged back, but whispered, "Just 'cause you're stayin', got it? These people ain't nothin' to me, and I'm gonna keep it that way. Once they're better, we're outta here."

"OK," Marie agreed, kissing him again, soundly and on the lips this time. "Thank you." Logan finally relaxed the perma-scowl and gave her a small smile. How could he not when she was looking at him that way? She hugged him again before he set off in search of accommodations, and he tried for his usual grumpy mood but found himself lightened by Marie's approval and her affection. He could get used to being on the receiving end of both, he thought as he began the trek up the hotel stairway, he could get very used to that indeed.

By the time night fell, Logan had situated them all in a second-floor suite. The man was slowly regaining consciousness and had moaned a bit as Logan carried him up. The boy seemed completely taken with Marie - he held her hand as they ascended the stairs and chattered to her incessantly as Logan got them all settled in. After he finished disposing of the bodies, he wasn't surprised to return to find Jules seated in Marie's lap, dozing off as she told him a fairy tale story. She caught Logan's eye but finished the story and rocked the child a bit before laying him down on the small couch across from his father's bed.

"He's exhausted," Marie commented as she finally turned her attention to Logan. "I bet he'll sleep like a log."

"Yeah," Logan returned uncomfortably. He'd been thinking as he cleaned out the humans from the lobby and he'd decided that he wanted another shot at talking to Marie about their situation. He knew they'd be here for a while, he'd agreed to that, and he honestly wouldn't mind staying here, even with the guy and his kid - as long as they kept to themselves. Winter was already beginning to settle over the mountains, and they needed to find a place of their own soon. He could stay somewhere in the park, not here, but it would have to be on his terms. He certainly wasn't going to spend his life playing nursemaid to the guy and his son.

"I want to do something for you." Those words certainly snapped Logan out of his thoughts. The look he gave Marie must've plainly conveyed what was on his mind at the moment. "I mean, uh, to say thank you for, you know, doing this. I meant something like cook a meal or something like that." She was blushing now, and looking at the floor. "Is there anything like that you'd like?"

"I'd like another kiss," he ventured. Seeing her shuffle her feet a bit and keep those eyes on the floor, he relented, "But I'd settle for you seein' what can be scrounged from the gift stores downstairs. They've been looted a bit, but there's still some useful stuff in there. Maybe tomorrow, in the mornin'?"

"OK." A half-smile quirked the corner of her mouth upward. Big brown eyes flitted up to catch his, just for a moment. Logan smiled back a little bit. "The kissing thing - I liked it." She looked just like a skittish doe at the moment - all big eyes and legs and ready to bolt any minute. A low, inaudible growl worked its way up from the center of Logan's chest in response. He wondered if she had any real idea how much she affected him. "But I have this theory that kisses should be, you know, free. Not as a payback. And I kissed you because I wanted to say thank you, because I appreciated you sticking around, but quid pro quo kisses don't seem right." The growl was growing; Logan was nearly vibrating with it as she took a hesitant step forward. "I know that must seem pretty silly, a pretty naïve thing to say, given everything that's happened, but - "

He couldn't hold back any more. She was within arms' reach and smelling like she wanted him and looking as desirable as any woman he'd ever seen, even the ones he'd only seen in movies or magazines. He grabbed her by the shoulders and cut her words off with a firm kiss, a lingering kiss. When it was over, he released her and took an unsteady step back. Marie was quite woozy herself; her eyes were blinking open and shut and she was licking her lips a bit. That wasn't helping Logan to control himself.

"Mmmm¼¼." At first, he thought the low moan had come from him or from Marie or possibly both, but when another deep, throaty one followed, he realized it was from the man on the bed. Marie seemed to be brought back to reality by the sound as well, and her head turned back to look at their patient. "J-Jules?"

"He's OK," Marie replied as they both moved to the injured man's side. "He's asleep on the couch."

"Wh-where? Where am I?" The big man struggled to sit up, but Marie gently pushed him back down.

"You're still in the hotel, in one of the rooms. Do you remember what happened?"

"Yes," the man answered slowly, clearly replaying the events in his mind. "We were attacked when we came in to get a few things. We - oh, Jules!"

"It's OK," Marie repeated.

"He's fine," Logan added gruffly. "We happened to come along before they could, uh, roast him." Marie gave him a wide-eyed look that told him he hadn't pulled that off with the utmost tact and grace. Logan scowled and pressed on. "He's got a few bad rope-burns on his arms, but he's OK."

"I must go to him." The man struggled to sit up once more, only to be pushed back down by Marie's gentle hands again. His eyes found Marie's and she could see the naked desperation there. "Please," he said in a frantic whisper.

"I'll get him," Marie volunteered. Logan loomed over the prone man as Marie went off to get the child.

"Kid said you were a doctor," Logan commented, drawing a nod from the man. "You had a nasty knife wound on that leg. Anythin' else damaged?" That got another nod.

"I believe a concussion has occurred. I was stricken with a cement planter from the entrance way. Is Jules - you mentioned the rope burns but was he otherwise injured? He is - he is only three and - "

"He's fine. We got here in time," Logan interrupted. "What's your name?"

"Henry Philip McCoy," the blue mutant answered in an exhausted sigh. "And I am forever in your debt. I cannot thank you enough for saving my son."

"Mph." Logan gave him a look that was the visual, expressive equivalent of the grunt that had preceded it. "I'm Logan. My woman's name is Marie. We're gonna help ya out a bit, Hank, but then we're outta here."

"Yes, thank - oh!" Hank's words were cut off by the sight of his son, cradled in Marie's arms, still asleep. "Oh thank heavens." Marie lay the child down next to his father and Jules instinctively cuddled into Hank's side a bit in his sleep. "Jules," Hank whispered in thankful awe as he awkwardly moved to drape an arm around his son.

"He's really tired," Marie supplied. "I couldn't wake him."

"He sleeps so soundly sometimes," Hank replied, still obviously overcome with emotion. "I - I cannot thank you enough. They said they were - were going to - " He stopped before the tears took over.

"It's OK now. We'll - we'll let you rest. We're in the next room. Just call out if you need anything." With that, Marie took Logan's hand and led him to their section of the suite. Logan caught the beatific smile on her face as she stole one last backwards glance at the reunited family. He knew how pleased she was that they'd helped them. That caused him to frown - mostly because he found himself feeling a little bit of that same emotion, which was exactly what he wanted to avoid. His concerns were quickly erased, however, when Marie pulled him to her for one of those all-too-fleeting kisses again. "I'm glad we did this," she said, remaining close to him.

"Yeah," Logan said, pulling her even closer by her waist. "You wanna go to bed? You tired?" He had a sudden desire to be curled around her again, just as he had been last night.

"A little. It's been kind of a long day." She didn't resist his embrace, and he found himself definitely liking that. "Can I tell you something?"

"I'm glad you picked me." The calm in her voice and the heat in her eyes rocked him. It wasn't just a thank-you, he knew that. She was saying that she was affirmatively glad to be with him, and him in particular. "I'm - I'm so sad about what happened, about my friends and I'm still - I guess I'm going to be grieving for them and praying for them for a long time. But you decided to help me, and I'm glad you did."

"Yeah." This time, it was Logan that swooped down for a kiss, but, unlike hers, his were of the deep, slow variety. He released her after taking his time, tasting her and exploring her fully. She rocked back in his arms a bit; he wasn't sure she'd hold her feet if he let go. That was fine - he wasn't about to let go anytime soon. He picked her up, and lay her in the bed, joining her quickly and drawing her to him. Breathing in the scent of her, he soon drifted off, following her into a sound sleep.

The morning was heralded by Jules' enthusiastic jumping onto Marie and Logan's bed. For a brief moment, Logan looked like he might claw the child, but Marie quickly stilled his jumps and shooed him out of their bed, promising to get up and get some breakfast together for all of them in a minute. Logan had been quite thoroughly wrapped around her until Jules' bed-jumping antics, and as soon as Jules had bounced back out of their room, he drew her back to the bed, giving her backside a generous caress and firm squeeze in the process. He felt her tense, but she didn't object, even when he nestled her so closely against him that she must've felt his erection.

"Too early to get up," he mumbled, spooning her back and letting his hands wander to her stomach, firmly stroking her there, grazing the underside of a breast with his thumb every now and then.

"Jules must be hungry," she replied, a little breathless at his attentions. Logan smirked a little at the effect he was having on her. "We should get him something to eat."

"Mmm-hmm." His actions contradicted his spoken response - one hand settled on her breast, just cupping it, not caressing it. Not yet. He gave her a moment or two to break away, or remove his hand, but she didn't. He pressed his now very insistent erection to her backside more tightly and gave her a gentle squeeze. That produced a moan which seemed to go directly to Logan's groin. "Marie¼¼."

"Logan, I - we, um, we need to¼¼to get up and¼."

"Grrrr¼¼." That time the growl was plenty audible and Logan didn't try to hide it. He buried his face in her neck and began moving his hips against her, seeking relief for his arousal. She did tense and try to disengage from him at that, but he quickly moved his hand from her breast and snaked it up beneath her nightshirt. Skin on skin contact passed his desire into her, and she stopped straining against him. "Can you feel me? Can you feel how much I want you, baby?"

"Y-yes¼.but - but I'm not ready. Logan¼¼.." Her breathy tone certainly didn't lend any weight to the words, but Logan did register them, and it gave him pause. He was swamping her with his own arousal through the touch; it wasn't really her reacting, or at least it wasn't solely her. Even though he knew he could have her, and that her body wouldn't follow her mind's protest, he didn't want it to be that way. He'd said he wouldn't force her and this skated uncomfortably close to that line for him. Slowly sliding his hand out of her shirt, he gave her a gentle kiss, then a less gentle bite, on the nape of her neck.

"I want you, Marie, bad. But if you're not ready, we'll wait." She turned to face him, still hazy with desire, but surfacing slowly. "I wantcha to do somethin' for me, though. I wantcha to watch me." At first, Marie's confused eyes told him she had no idea what he was suggesting, but when he stripped the covers off of them both and freed himself of his boxers, those same eyes widened in understanding. "Watch me," he urged again, taking his erection in his hand.

Marie blushed the brightest red he'd ever seen on her, and that only increased his excitement. As his hand began to move over his straining arousal, he kept his eyes on her, watching her shyly steal glances at his naked form. After a few moments, she was gazing at him more openly, only briefly looking away every few seconds. He snarled and pumped his hand much faster when her eyes locked on his for the first time. With just a few more strokes, he came, surprising himself with the force and intensity of it. He collapsed in a heap on the bed, panting and covered in his own excretions. Floating for a few blissful moments, he was so astonished to feel Marie's small hand on his stomach that he actually jumped at the contact.

"Logan? Are you OK?" He turned to see her face, and was glad that there was no fear or discomfort there - only curiosity, mixed with a little embarrassment.

"Fine, baby. Whew, I needed that."

"Because of me? You got that, ah, excited because of me?" A nod and a smile confirmed her guess. "Can I ask you a stupid question?" Another nod gave her permission. "When you put your - your - uh, yourself inside someone, does all that stuff come out?"

He almost laughed at her question, but she had a drop-dead earnest tone and expression. "Uh-huh."

"I guess I realized that - that semen comes out, but I never knew what it looked like or that there was that, ah, that *much* of it." Curiosity had overtaken any remaining embarrassment now. With a tilted head, she was eagerly peering at the fluid coating his hand and stomach.

"You can touch it if you wanna," he offered. "Or taste it." A flush bolted through her, and Logan smiled a little at her scandalized surprise at the suggestion. He could tell the curiosity was still in there, though, so he demonstrated his suggestion for her, swiping up a droplet of ejaculate with his finger and plopping it in his mouth. Marie gave him an appraising look, then reached out a tentative finger to his stomach, collecting a drop for herself. She pressed it between her fingers, then rubbed them together. Feeling his eyes upon her, she stopped her experiment, and unconsciously wiped the fluid on her leg. "Do you ever do that?"

"What? Touch myself?" Logan nodded. "I, um, did once. But my mom caught me and - and - and you know what? We should really get Jules' breakfast, we should really - "

"I'd like to watch you sometime," Logan said with unashamed and unhesitating directness. "I'd like that a lot. I think you'd look beautiful as hell doin' that. I could help you, show you things. I'd definitely like to taste you. If you'd like." He let the offer hang there in the silence, expecting her to blush and excuse herself to tend for the blue-furred toddler. She surprised him, though.

"I think I might be too shy. And a little bit - a little bit scared. I'm nervous."

Logan reached out and lay a hand on her bare arm. He wanted her to feel the truth of his words. "Don't be. There's nothin' wrong with it. I can make it real nice for you, Marie, trust me. You could - you could just lay back in bed and I'll be real gentle, or keep my distance and just watch if that's what you want. I know you get a lot from me in the touches, and you don't hafta worry 'bout that takin' over. You just let me know."

"OK," she whispered. Logan could smell the nervousness coming off of her, but he was heartened at her assent. Well, heartened and aroused - again. If that kept up, he wouldn't be getting out of bed anytime soon. "We, um, we should - "

"Yeah, Jules. Breakfast. I know. Come on, let's get outta bed."

"So I selected Banff due not only to its remoteness, its natural resources, its plant and wildlife population, and its suitability of climate vis-à-vis our fur covering, but because it was my hope that we could spend a reasonably peaceful, secluded winter here without fear of attack by humans. With the first snow coming so late, the park was left accessible to humans, and we were surprised by their attack when we attempted to secure some supplies from the hotel." Hank was finishing up his explanation of how they'd come to be here while Jules sat next to him on the bed, finishing off a dry cereal breakfast.

"So you were thinkin' of havin' the whole park to yourself then?" Logan's tone and demeanor gave no doubt that he had a problem with that idea.

"Well, ah, certainly not the entire park. If you would wish to live here as well, I am certain that there is plenty of room for both of us."

"You live wif us," Jules put in. Logan raised an eyebrow at the kid, but more in teasing than true irritation. Marie wasn't the only one the kid was growing on.

"Where were you staying?" Marie queried. "You said you came to the hotel for supplies - you weren't living here?"

"No," Hank answered. "There are several small luxury cabins a few miles away. They do not have the spectacular view of the lake, but they do have a commanding view of the pass and they are quite defensible. I selected them in part because they would be difficult for humans to attack."

"How many cabins?" Logan asked, obviously with something in mind.

"Seven. Seven cabins spread out over perhaps a kilometer."

"Hmmm." Logan turned from Hank to Marie and Jules swung his head along too, copying Logan's actions. "We'll take one of them."

"Ah, all right," Hank quickly supplied, turning Logan's attention back to him. "It would be my pleasure to have you as a neighbor." He was eager to thank Logan for his help, Logan knew, and probably eager to have a neighbor capable of kicking a little human ass if need be. Logan had a little more than that in mind.

"Yeah. I was thinkin' - this place is big, and it has a lotta stuff. It's a good place. Hell, that's why I picked it. But it ain't big enough for humans and us. We'll take one of the cabins, and if other muties wander by, well, they can have a spot in the park if they wanna. I don't really give a shit 'bout that. It's a big park. But no humans. No humans. I ain't gonna hafta watch my back all the time in my own place." Logan leaned in toward the larger man a bit as he continued. "I dunno where you were in the war. I dunno if you were one of the ones that tried to make peace or one of the ones that went all out on day one. I'll tell ya this - I went Brotherhood, and that's how we're gonna play this. No makin' peace with those fuckers. No dreams of world fuckin' harmony or some shit. It's gonna be just muties in this place, and any humans who put a toe onta park property are gonna get it hacked off. I'm takin' one of those cabins, and that's how it's gonna be as long as I'm livin' here. Got it?" Hank paused, and appeared to be gathering his thoughts for a response. Logan wasn't patient enough to wait it out. "Jesus Christ, Hank, they were gonna - " Logan paused this time, trying to be at least a bit less tactless than he had been yesterday when he'd mentioned Jules' potential roasting. "They were gonna k-i-l-l your kid, and in a nasty-ass, tortuous way. Don't tell me you believe in all this 'let's live together' shit, not after three years of war, of genocide. Not after what happened to your kid yesterday."

Hank looked pained, but he finally gave an answer. "I can agree to your terms. I do not - I do not believe that all humans are evil, that they are all bad, or that living together is - is impossible. But neither can I endanger my child. Neither can I chance falling injured or deceased at their hands and leaving my son to fend for himself. And frankly, neither can I fight you on it and win, certainly not in my injured state. I agree to your terms." Logan sat back, satisfied. "But," Hank continued, "I have a few terms of my own, ones that are significant enough to me that I would be willing to risk leaving here to find another place with Jules if you cannot agree to them."

Hank sighed in relief. At least Logan was willing to hear him out. "Any mutant who comes here seeking shelter, seeking a home, shall be permitted to stay. We have a duty to help others, and especially others of our own kind. It is important to me, very important, to teach my son that principle. It is our only hope for a world any better than that which we have now. It is a very spacious park, thousands of square kilometers, and one must doubt that there are enough mutants left alive after the virus in all the world to make this place even remotely well populated, let alone crowded."

"Only problem with that, Hank, is that then you gotta live with other fuckin' people. And even muties can be a pain in the ass. I wouldn't let some of the muties I know within a thousand kilometers of this place. The war has fucked a lot of 'em up. I don't wanna worry 'bout Marie and I'm sure you don't wanna worry 'bout the kid here. We can't just let anybody come on in as long as they're a brother in the genes."

"Good point," Hank replied. "We shall have to take some measures to screen out those who are a danger to us or to others. I suppose you and I can - can figure that out," he ventured, hoping for a stake in the decision-making process.

"Fine. Shit, you probably can tell better than me who's fucked up. You're a doctor."

"Yes," Hank agreed. "I can identify signs of clinical mental illness."

"Good then. Anythin' else?"

"Yes. I must have your word that you will not seek to take things that are Jules and my own. The park has plenty of - "

"Don't worry 'bout that. I can get my own stuff."

"Ah," Hank sighed. "Then I believe we are agreed." Logan nodded at him, then turned to glance at Marie's expression. It looked a lot like pride, and that confused him for a moment, but then he worked it out - she was proud of his negotiation, proud that he hadn't threatened or frightened Hank into doing what he wanted. It was an odd experience. He usually prided himself on just those things - his physical prowess, his powers, and their attendant ability to easily induce fear and compliance in others. Maybe this is what civilization is, Logan thought distractedly, eyes focusing on Marie's full, red, smiling lips. Maybe civilization begins again this way - with negotiation instead of battle. Marie's smile widened.

"I'm so glad we'll be staying," she said to Hank, but her eyes stayed with Logan. "I think it'll be nice to have some company." Logan grumbled a little at that, but didn't contradict her. She caught it, and her eyes became playful. "Thanks for letting us join you."

"Of course," Hank replied courteously. Things were off to a good start.

All went well as winter intensified. By February, the four residents of the former national park had settled in to a workable living arrangement. Hank and Jules occupied one cabin, the easternmost one, while Logan and Marie occupied the westernmost one. Jules occasionally made the long walk to their place to play or to retrieve the cookies that Marie sometimes made for them, but for the most part, they lived separate lives, which was exactly as Logan liked it. There had also been promising developments with Marie. Tonight, she'd told him she'd like to make love with him. It would be their first time having 'sex-sex' as Marie called it. She'd asked with a shy blush and with her eyes on her feet the entire time, but she'd asked, she'd trusted him enough for that. Logan was beginning to think that this whole idea hadn't been such a bad thing. But just as he and Marie were getting comfortable, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Thinking it was Hank, needing something, Logan got up to answer it.

Luckily, he caught the scent of the visitor before he opened the door. It was a scent he recognized, but not Hank's. It was Sabretooth's.

"Shhh!" If he could smell Sabretooth, he could hear and smell them. A small, low chuckle sounding from the other side of the still-closed door seemed to confirm his concerns. "Dammit," Logan cursed under his breath. Looking over his shoulder and gesturing for Marie to get the gun they kept in the kitchen 'just in case', he addressed his former comrade. "Whaddya want?"

"Open up," Sabretooth replied, still with laughter in his voice.

"Fuck off. I'm busy." Logan could only smell Sabretooth, no others, at least not nearby. And Sabretooth smelled hurt - there was definitely blood on him, his own if Logan remembered the scent correctly. He wondered what that all meant - had he been in a fight, or attacked by an animal, and wandered up here by chance? Had he been looking for Logan, or worse yet, Marie?

"I said open up." There was no laughter in there this time. When Logan didn't comply after a second or two, a fist punctured the door.

"Oh!" Marie started, and jumped back away from the door.

Logan thought for a moment about telling her to make a run for it, to head for Hank's cabin. But the thought that Hank might've been the one who gave Sabretooth the fight and wound up on the losing end occurred to him. It left him with a sinking, cold feeling in his stomach. Another clawed punch that penetrated the heavy wood door brought him back to the here and now. "Steady, Marie," he instructed, backing up toward her. "He's gonna be hard to kill." Logan retrieved their other shotgun, the one that Marie didn't know about, the one that shot large caliber ammo. He loaded it, then grabbed a few more shells for good measure. "I'll shoot first, then you. When I reload, just keep shootin' at him." A third punch made a hole big enough to let Sabretooth see his hosts.

"Heh. Thought you'd still have her with ya." Logan scowled, sick with the knowledge that he'd been right - he had come after Marie. He leveled the shotgun and aimed it at his former second-in-command's head.

"You ain't takin' her. Now get out before I blast ya a new one."

'Don't think so, *brother*," he snarled, ripping down even more of the door. "Got gypped on those ones you left me with. The black chick didn't last long, and the red-head found some way of explodin' her own head almost as quick. Sure, don't mean we didn't have fun with what was left, but still - I like it when they scream. Heard from some humans that you were up here, that you still had yours with ya."

"Yep," Logan answered evenly, easing the safety aside with his thumb. "And she's stayin' with me." With that, he squeezed the trigger, catching Sabretooth square in the chest. It didn't slow him much. He was through the door before Logan could get off a second shot. After he had emptied both barrels, and still saw Sabretooth coming, he turned to tell Marie to fire even as his own fingers fumbled for more shells. With more than a little pride, he noticed that she was already taking aim and about to squeeze the trigger. Finally, with the fourth shot, Marie's last, Sabretooth faltered.

Logan finished reloading and tossed the fresh gun to Marie, then unleashed his claws and sprung upon Sabretooth. He thought he could take the beast - he had in the past. He hadn't counted on the fact that Sabretooth had had time to plan for this, to have a few weapons of his own at the ready. With a click, Logan felt the beast snap some sort of a collar on him - a suppression collar, he realized a split-second too late. "Shoot, Marie!"

She did, but both barrels barely stopped Sabretooth just an arms' reach away from her. Logan jumped on top of his now-prone form, but he was quickly flung off. Sabretooth's swipe launched him toward a forceful and painful collision with the far wall. Logan could only watch helplessly as the beast advanced on Marie in some sick re-enactment of their previous encounter, with different players cast in the roles. Trying to stand despite the dislocated hip and shoulder the collision had wrought, Logan vowed that he wouldn't just stand by and let Marie get hurt while there was still a breath in his body, no matter how futile or painful his efforts may be.

But just at that moment, just as Marie could back away no further, just as Sabretooth raised a claw poised to slice at her face, just as Logan felt a searing pain bolt through his hip joint as he tried to put weight on it, a blue blur burst through the door and set upon Sabretooth with a snarl. It took Logan a moment or two to process that it was Hank, coming to his rescue.

"What the - " Hank landed on Sabretooth's back, forcing him to the ground and quickly grabbed the man's head in both hands. In less than a second, Hank used his powerful muscles and bulk to wrench the beast's head around, snapping his neck.

"Quick," Logan gasped, "Get this offa me. He'll be back up in a second. Healin' mutation." Hank complied with all due speed and Marie rushed toward Logan as well, arriving just as Hank freed her lover.

"Logan!" She had to pull back at the last moment to restrain herself from embracing him - he was injured and her affections would've only done more damage.

"Grrrr......." Sabretooth's growl tore her attention away from Logan, and, not waiting for his healing powers to complete the repairs to his body, Logan once again sprung at him, claws extended.

This time, Sabretooth had no tricks up his sleeve and, although Logan was weaker, and injured, he was also pissed as hell. After a few minutes of intense, savage fighting that wrecked most of Logan and Marie's home, Logan dealt the decisive blow, decapitating Sabretooth with his claws. His head fell to the wooden floor with a stomach-churning splat, and his body soon followed.

Marie leaned into Hank breathing a sigh of relief. Hank too, eased and even smiled at bit. But when Logan turned toward them, his eyes were still afire and he let out the worst snarl they'd heard yet. "Logan, what's wrong?"

In reply to Marie's question, he sprung at them both, claws raised. As Hank hurriedly pulled Marie down and out of Logan's path, he realized that Logan was actually aiming himself slightly behind and to the left of them. There was another intruder.

Hank whirled around quickly to face the new threat. What he saw shocked and panicked him. Logan was about a hundred feet from the cabin, and had Jules in one hand, roughly grabbing him away from the intruder and flinging him in the general direction of his father, while his other hand sunk deeply into a man's stomach. It was an armed man, a human, judging by his tattered uniform. "Jules!" Hank leapt to his son.

The child landed with a bounce or two, kicking up the snow in his path along the way, and coming to a halt about halfway to the cabin. The human managed to produce a pistol and was now emptying the clip into Logan's chest and gut. Undaunted, Logan thrashed his claws through the man's midsection, slicing him in two. The separated halves squelched to the ground, making a sound just as unpleasant as Sabretooth's severed head had, but with the added visual effect of much more flying gore as the parts went their separate ways. Marie choked down the rising bile in her throat, and headed toward a panting, heaving, bleeding - but victorious - Logan.

"Jules! I told you to stay inside!" Hank had reached his son, and quickly scooped him up into his strong arms.

"Dada!" the child sobbed, burying his furry head in his father's shoulder.

Marie made her way past them, halting a foot or so from Logan. He was still snarling, feral, and she wasn't quite sure how to approach him. "Logan?"

"Hang on." He sniffed the air in every direction and, apparently satisfied that there was no one in the immediate vicinity, he turned hot eyes back to Marie. "GrrrrYou OK?"

"Y-yes," she stammered, staring at his blood-soaked torso. "Logan, you're - you're - "

"I'll heal," he interrupted concisely. "You see any more of 'em, Hank?"

"I did not see that one," Hank answered breathlessly, nodding at the two fallen halves of the human. "The larger one, the mutant, tore through my front door without warning. We fought, then he yanked me out and tossed me over the hillside. I had told Jules to hide and - and by the time I made my way back up, I only saw the tracks of one man headed to your cabin. I did not see the other man."

"Got me," Jules sobbed. "Went to look for you, Dada."

"I told you to stay in the cabin," Hank instructed, trying for an even tone. "It is important that you listen to me, Jules." The small boy nodded, and hugged himself to his father tightly. "Are you hurt?" A shaking head still buried against Hank's chest conveyed Jules' negative answer. "Oh, Jules......." A few tears could be seen in Hank's eyes and he began hugging Jules back.

"Hank - " Logan addressed him in a tone more commanding and gruff than anyone still living had ever heard from him. "Leave Jules with Marie and the shotgun. You and me are gonna search the perimeter. Could be more of 'em nearby." Hank nodded, and began prying Jules off of him. "And Hank - we find 'em, we kill 'em." His dark look gave no room for argument and frankly, the all-too-fresh vision of Jules in desperate trouble a second time had steeled Hank's resolve. He gave another nod, solemn this time. "You two sit tight. Shoot anythin' that ain't us, Marie, got it?"

"I will. Be careful." She gave him the long-restrained embrace now, adding a firm kiss for good measure. She could feel his resolve through the connection, his concern for her, and, surprisingly, his strong concern for Hank and Jules. She kissed him again, sensually this time, giving a promise of what he would return to.

"Take care of the kid. We'll be back."

"Be careful," Marie urged again, gathering Jules into her arms. As she headed back to the cabin, she tried to steady her nerves and brace herself for another sighting of Sabretooth's corpse.

"I'm sure they'll be back any minute," Marie soothed, keeping Jules turned away from the body and keeping his hands away from the rifle that she rested next to him in her lap. She tried not to think that she'd been saying that for the past twenty minutes or so.

"Me scawed." The child's shaking illustrated his words.

"It's going to be OK. Your dad and Logan are two big, strong, smart men. I'm sure it'll be OK."

"Me scawed," he repeated, unmoved by Marie's assurances. Probably because I don't sound all that sure myself, Marie reflected. Luckily for both of the scared charges, both of the big, strong men entered the cabin at that moment. "Dada!"

"Oh, thank God," Marie sighed, relaxing her white-knuckle grip on the rifle for the first time that evening. "Is everything OK?"

Logan gave a gruff nod. "Looks like it was just the two of 'em. Would bet that 'tooth got the human to show him the way and was plannin' on offin' him as soon as they got here. Human was probably plannin' on offin' 'tooth after he led 'em to even more muties. Both the fuckers got what they deserved." Logan cast a hateful glance down at the various Sabretooth parts littering his floor. "Gonna get this piece of shit outta here. Probably oughta burn both bodies, just to be sure." The smirk on his face said that, for Logan, there was more satisfaction in the idea than that of mere certainty.

"No!" Jules suddenly objected. "No burn me!"

Hank and Logan exchanged a look. Hank opened his mouth to speak, but, surprisingly, Logan beat him to it. Even more surprisingly, he spoke in a soft, gentle tone. "Nobody's gonna burn you, kid. We're gonna give the bad guys a toastin', that's it. You're safe now. Me and your dad took care of everythin'." Hank smiled his wordless, emotional gratitude. "C'mon, Hank, gimme a hand here."

After the funeral pyre had been taken care of, after Hank and Jules had gotten settled back into their own cabin (with Hank vowing to work on a radio communication system first thing in the morning the whole way back), Logan and Marie finally once again had an evening all to themselves, albeit a much different one than they had begun.

When he entered the cabin, she greeted him at the door, embracing him tenderly and holding him a long time. He was moved by that, and more so by her subsequent careful examination of his chest and stomach where he'd been shot. The wounds were well-healed over, of course, but she ran tiny, gentle fingers over every inch of him, feeling to be sure. "You fought for Jules," Marie whispered, the first words she'd said to him since he came through the door.

"I fought for you," he contradicted, placing his hands on her waist and drawing her to press against his body. "Always will, Marie."

"I know," she whispered with more than a little awe. "I want you to know that I will always fight for you too. We're - we're bonded. You were right, you know, that first night. You were right. I am yours. I do belong with you. I feel that so much right now." She took her eyes from his chest to lock them on his still-feral hazel ones. "But you fought for Jules too, you helped him too. And I love you for that, Logan." His eyes widened at her use of the l-word, the first time she'd said it straight out like that. "This war has changed everyone, but you *are* a good man. It didn't change that about you."

"No, Marie, that ain't it," he half-growled. "You changed me. I didn't start out with anythin' good, and the war only made me worse. You changed that. *You* did."

"I don't believe that," she whispered, drawing close for a kiss. "I could always feel good in you, always."

Logan gave up argument for a deep, slow, sensual kiss. He was still in the flush of battle a bit, still more than a little animal. That part of him felt a strong urge to reaffirm his claim to Marie, to complete their plans and make love as she'd asked. She seemed to sense that, judging by the passion with which she returned his kiss. Or maybe, Logan thought, she's just too overwhelmed by the touch, by my desire. He parted from her, needing not just her touch-influenced acquiescence, but her rational, independent, affirmative consent as well. His hands stayed on her waist, shielded from her skin by her nightgown. "I still wanna be together tonight, Marie. I need it. I wantcha to give that to me, if you can. If you're ready."

Her brown eyes sparkled and she smiled. Logan couldn't remember a time when she'd looked more beautiful, more radiant, more - "I'm ready." More his. He kissed her again, then guided her to the bed. Their bed, their home, his woman - the connection to it all, the desire for it all flooded through him and he reflected that those connections might not be so bad, might not be so awful. Now, he had things to call his own, to protect, to cherish. Although Marie was and would always be at the top of that list, maybe there was room for a few other entries. Maybe there was room for just a few. He lay them both down and set the animal aside for a while, determined to show her just how important she was, just how primary. Her welcoming smile and bright eyes seemed to reflect those same feelings back at him. Together, they made love until the dawn.

"Spring shall be upon us soon."

"Yep." Logan leaned back on Hank's makeshift sofa, constructed from a wooden bench and some large cushions.

"I suspect that we will be set upon with more than a few mutants. We have had seven during the winter, during the most difficult travel to the park."

"Yep." Logan took another sip of his beer and his eyes drifted to the kitchen, where Marie was engaged in cookie-making with Jules. She had batter in her hair, and so did the kid, but they both were smiling and laughing. They were having a good time.

"I think that we should establish a procedure for dealing with new arrivals. First, we will need to determine whether they are indeed mutants. I have already begun work on a devising a test using some of the medical equipment we have found. I hope to have something viable in the next few weeks. Second, if they are mutants, we will have to make some assessment as to whether they are a danger to the other inhabitants here." Jules let out a loud squeal as Marie smeared his nose with some cookie batter. More giggles from both followed. "I have a suggestion on that front."

"I am well-qualified as a doctor to distinguish signs of mental illness, yes, but I believe your senses may be useful in that regard as well. I gather that you can pick up the scent of nervousness, apprehension, deception, etcetera. Perhaps we should both meet with each new arrival and make a joint assessment." Hank leaned back, having gotten the hard part out. Logan was not a man much given to 'joint' anything, Hank knew. But in the long, quiet months of winter and through the two attacks he and Jules had suffered, Hank suspected that he had earned the man's trust and good humor to some degree, that sharing this kind of authority may be a possibility.

"Sounds fine." Logan sipped on his beer and kept his eyes on Marie, but his voice held just enough of an edge to tell Hank the response was anything but casual. "We'll see how that goes, huh? We can do somethin' different later on if that's not workin' out."

"Of course," Hank replied, sinking back into the sofa for the first time.

"I'll tell ya one thing," Logan ventured, "if we get people, they gotta find somewhere else to live. They can go on to the hotel with those other ones we got or go somewhere else, but the row of cabins - that's kinda just for us, our headquarters, you know?"

"Agreed," Hank nodded, "I quite like having you two as the only neighbors."

"Ditto." Marie and Jules were finishing up, and cleaning themselves up from the batter-smearing. Marie sauntered over, placing herself in Logan's lap. He took a mischievous lick at a stray lump of batter still plastering her cheek. "Tastes good, darlin'."

"Me or the cookies?" she inquired playfully.

"Both. You wanna stick 'round until they're done bakin'?"

She beamed down at him. "I'd like to. The wood-burning oven is kind of unpredictable."

"Hmm. Might as well stay for dinner then. I can go get some meat from our storehouse if ya like, Hank." Again, the words were casual but his tone was not. They'd never had dinner before, or really shared anything between them, and certainly not something as basic, as bonding as a meal. Hank was pleased. He still felt very indebted to Logan and Marie for saving both himself and his son. His slight delay of Sabretooth during the most recent fight did not seem like repayment enough, not by a long shot. Hank still had nightmares of Jules being spit-roasted alive in the hotel lobby. And then there was Marie - Hank was eternally grateful for her acceptance and affection toward Jules. She provided the boy with a positive female role model, something Hank had given up hope of providing for Jules after his wife, Jules' mother, had perished with the virus. Hank suspected that a thousand dinners wouldn't sum up to a fraction of what he owed the couple.

"Please, I-I would be happy to share the elk Jules and I got yesterday."

"Big one!" Jules put in.

"Yeah?" Logan inquired. "You help your dad hunt one?"

"Yeah!" Jules crawled from Hank's lap to scoot Marie over to make a place for himself on Logan's lap. "It was scawy. Big one. But Dada get it. We make stew."

"Stew sounds good, kid." Logan scooted him back towards Hank, gently. "You need us to help in the kitchen?"

"No, no, stay put. Jules and I shall begin dinner if you shall keep an eye on the cookies."

"Sure thing." Marie leaned back into Logan's embrace as she watched the other two head for the kitchen. "Dinner will be nice."

"Yeah. Might as well eat with 'em, you know, since you're doin' the cookies." Marie sensed his unease at this first venture into social territory, and she soothed him with some gentle strokes to his chest.

"I like spending time with them. They're good people." She leaned up to give him a light kiss on the cheek. "But I like spending time with you best. After dinner, I'll show you."