A Logical Progression Title: A Logical Progression Author: Terri E-mail: xgrrl26@yahoo.com Rating: PG-13 Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. Poo. Archive: WRFA, Mutual Admiration, Dolphin Haven Peep Hut - anyone else, please ask and I'll happily provide :) Feedback: Please? With a cherry on top? Good, bad, and ugly welcome. Summary: What if Logan and Marie kept a cool head, open communication lines, and just a pinch of optimism about their relationship? Comments: I like a good angsty story (OK, usually one with a happy ending) as much as the next girl, but I started to wonder why these two *had* to be dysfunctional most of the time. Heck, they seemed to have the makings of a pretty open and straightforward relationship in the movie - couldn't they try to work out the issues between them in a pretty direct manner? I was in a rare cheerful mood and in the mood for a story where they did work things out, despite some pretty big obstacles. Then, Lateo flung a bunny about an unpretty Rogue, one that doesn't clean up into a beauty queen with a little bit of soap and elbow grease, one that would make people wonder why Logan was with her. That, plus the urge to write an AU story, turned into this little fic :) ---------------------------------------------------------- They picked her up on a routine mission. She'd been in the lab for almost five years by the time they found her. That meant that she was seventeen, and it also meant that she'd probably seen every horrible thing that one person could do to another by now. By the looks of her - burned cheek, scarred back, hacked up legs - she'd had a lot of those horrible things done to her too. They took her back to Xavier's, back to the mansion, as an act of pity. There was no way she could fight as an x-man and she had no valuable skills. In fact, most of the team wanted to leave her to the local authorities and hope for a foster placement, as they had with the majority of the other underage mutants found there, but Logan insisted on taking her to Xavier's. He was the one who'd found her, strapped naked to an examination table, and he was in charge of this particular mission, so his wishes were followed. For the most part, Marie stayed in the room they'd assigned to her, the one next to Logan's. She had a room to herself due to her severe mutation, which she welcomed. The other kids at the mansion looked upon her with disgust or pity or both, a reaction which most of the adults had as well. The exception was Logan, who she saw as her hero, her savior, and who seemed to see her as something worthwhile, something good. He'd burst into that lab, killed the men hurting her, and freed her. Even now, he watched over her, checking in once each day, asking how she was doing, how she was feeling, and if she needed anything. Most of the kids made fun of her attachment to him. Most of Logan's teammates scolded him for paying her too much attention, for leading a poor, horribly disfigured girl on by letting her think he harbored an interest in her. Logan usually told his teammates to stay out of his business, and Marie adopted the same response after a while. She herself had no delusions. Logan had plenty of female company in and out of his room, and Marie knew he could have any woman or girl, and probably any of the men, if he wanted them. She knew he wouldn't want her when there was any other option available, let alone the abundance of options Logan had before him. But she relished in the fact that it was her he chose for companionship. He only came to talk to her, he only wanted to watch hockey games with her, he sought out only her company at the end of each evening. He delighted in teaching her things, especially self-defense, his specialty and area of instruction at the school. It wasn't a lot, and Marie knew that somewhere in her objective mind, but it was more than she'd had in a very long time and it felt a lot like everything she could ever hope for. She was content with their relationship as it was, and if she sometimes found herself wishing she was whole, unblemished, and attractive in his eyes, she only let those wishes have a hold over her for a moment, thoroughly disciplining herself to think more practical thoughts in short order. Everything went along well for the better part of a year. Then, one day, Logan didn't come and check on her at the end of the evening. Marie waited until almost midnight, but he did not appear. She cried herself to sleep that night, salty tears winding their way down her mottled cheek. Finally, after three days and nights, Scott came to her door to see if she was all right. She said she was fine and Scott complimented her on handling Logan's absence well. It wasn't until Scott said he was very sorry that Logan had been taken during the mission and that he hoped they would be able to find him soon, that she broke down. She should've known, she scolded herself, that Logan wouldn't miss a day. She should've known something was wrong right away. Scott only said that they were trying their best to find him, and that maybe one day they would. Marie didn't want to wait for 'one day.' She began her own search. The x-men, she'd learned from Scott, had tried to locate Logan using Cerebro and had failed. They stopped right there, giving up any active search in favor of a wait-and-see-if-a-clue- comes-to-us approach. Marie hid her fury at that, surreptitiously searched the mansion files and computers for records of Logan's last mission, and found out all she could about illegal mutant experimentation labs. She was determined to find him. She had a hunch about where he might be after three months of digging. There was a lab, or at least rumors of one, hidden somewhere deep in the woods of British Columbia. Marie was playing a hunch - there was no firm information, no sure lead, but something in her gut told her that Logan was there. She gathered her nerve and her courage and went to the Professor, Scott and Jean. She told them all she'd found and where she thought Logan was. Scott said there just wasn't enough to go on. The Professor said he knew how much Marie must miss Logan. Jean said that Marie needed to let go and move on. Marie nodded, packed up the papers and maps she'd brought, thanked them for their time, and returned to her room. Logan had told her where he stashed money, guns, knives, explosives, and other helpful items, in case there was ever an attack on the mansion or an emergency. Marie took something from each category, the most immediately helpful item being the keys to a truck that Logan owned. Logan, not the Professor. They'd talked often about his need to keep things of his own, and Marie knew well the wisdom of that approach now. She left the mansion between 3 and 4 a.m., the time when most people were in deep sleep, the time that Logan had taught her was best for a getaway. It took her only three days to reach her target - 54 hours of actual driving time with brief stops for sleep along the way. She took another day to rest and survey the lab. Logan had always taught her that you should gather information first, then make decisions, then take action. She followed his advice very well. Her observations told her that infiltrating the lab would be very difficult. In fact, she thought, it would be easier to destroy than to sneak in and out of. She liked that idea. She liked it a lot. So, she spent one more day planning, and then, on the sixth day after leaving the mansion, she made her attack. She quickly and quietly planted explosives around the perimeter of the building, careful to stay out of sight of the exterior security cameras, then she retreated to a commanding vantage point, armed with a high-powered rifle. The lab was big on high-tech, mechanical and electronic security, and light on manpower. Marie estimated that, when the security teams cam running out to investigate the explosion, she could probably eliminate half of the force from the hillside. Indeed, she counted 22 soldiers felled with her rifle in the ensuing action. After they realized that they'd be picked off if they kept coming out, Marie set off the big explosive, the one that would compromise the structural integrity of the building, the one that would bring it down on everyone inside. It was a calculated risk. She knew that Logan could survive grievous injury, and he'd often regaled her with tales of his recovery from some gruesome, life-threatening wound. If he didn't survive, she tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that he would be better off that way than alive and in the hands of his torturers. When the dust slowly abated from the building's collapse, she drew her Smith and Wesson, attached the silencer, and made her way to the building. The people left alive mostly begged for help instead of offering resistance, but Marie shot any that she could identify as a soldier or doctor anyway. It took quite a bit of searching through the unstable structure, but she finally found Logan, crunched beneath a large concrete supporting pillar. He was breathing and his pulse was good, but he was not conscious, so he'd be of limited help to her. She'd planned for that contingency, bringing a long a sturdy but lightweight jack. She labored to move the pillar a few inches off of him, and finally had raised it enough to scoot him out when he began showing signs of consciousness. Bleary eyes looked toward her, then widened in fear. "It's OK. It's OK. I'm going to get you out of here." She half-carried, half-dragged Logan fully free from the rubble, then hauled him behind her as she crept through the collapsed structure. She got him well clear before planting the final set of explosives and reducing the once-fearsome lab to nothing more than a smoking hole in the ground. She dragged Logan the few hundred yards to his truck and placed him inside. She knew they had to clear the area before anyone could respond to any last-minute cries for help that might have come from the lab. She drove the truck off-road, into the forest, hoping that the cover of the trees would shield them from aerial surveillance. Marie hadn't planned much beyond that. She'd figured that by this point, Logan would either be healing and able to help her or he'd be dead and she would no longer much care what happened to her. She tried to bind his wounds a little with the old shirts of his she'd brought, and waited for him to heal. When his eyes first open to see a sleeping Marie beside him, he thought he must be hallucinating. He'd thought of her often while he was at the lab, wondering if she was all right there by herself, if the other people there were treating her OK, who she would find to talk to once he was gone. And he'd had no doubt that he would not return from the lab this time. He'd overheard the doctors saying something about extracting the adamantium from his body. He'd barely survived having it put in; he was certain he wouldn't survive having it taken out, not with anything resembling sanity left in him. But something had happened before they could figure out the best way to do it - yes, Logan remembered, someone attacked the lab. His first thought was that the x-men had come looking for him. But he quickly discarded that possibility. For one, they would never bring Marie along. If she'd tried to stow away with them on the plane or something, they'd have known, or at least Jean would've known. There was also The Policy - no high risk missions unless there is significant civilian casualty exposure. He was only one potential casualty and Chuck wouldn't risk a half-dozen of his expensively trained, hard-to-replace x-men to get back just one. No, Logan finally reasoned, Marie must've hired someone to do this and snuck away from the mansion somehow. As if she'd heard his thoughts and known he wanted some answers from her, she suddenly opened her eyes. "Logan? Are you all right?" He nodded. "Whew. I was worried." "What happened here, Marie? How'd you find me?" The doctors had told him that the lab was psi-shielded. She couldn't have hired a telepath to do it and even he would've had a hard time doing the manual tracking. "I looked. I knew one of these places somewhere must've had you, and I picked this one on a hunch. Are you sure you're OK?" "Yeah," Logan replied, sitting up a little. Marie mirrored his actions. "Where's everybody else?" "I don't think there were any other mutants in the lab with you. It looks like you were the only one there. Well, the only one there still alive." He was looking at her intently, and Marie suddenly realized that her bad side, the burned side of her face, was facing him. She tried to always sit with her good side to him, so he wouldn't have to look at the ugly parts of her, but now, she was stuck in the driver's seat. Maybe she could ask him to change places with her. "No, no, I mean - where's the other people? Whoever busted up the lab and got me out." "Um, it's just me." "You?" Logan asked in disbelief. There was no way that sweet little Marie could pull something like that off by herself. It just wasn't possible. Sure, he'd taken to teaching her a little about weapons, hand-to-hand, tracking, but this was something that would've been almost out of his league, let alone that of his sometime-student. "Holy hell, that was dangerous, Marie! What were ya thinkin'?" "I tried getting the x-men to go, but - but they wouldn't believe me that you were here. I didn't have any proof, just a feeling. I'm sorry." "I don't give a shit about that - you coulda gotten hurt. Wait - are you? Are you hurt?" "Just scrapes," she answered shyly, hoping that at least some of her hair would fall across her disfigured cheek as she tilted her head downward. "Lemme see." He reached out for her, but when she flinched away, he realized he wasn't wearing any gloves. "Shit. There's gotta be a pair in here somewhere. Yeah. There we go. Glove compartment. Knew I had some in there." He looked back to Marie to see her fidgeting, very nervous. He began to worry that she was hurt more than she was letting on. "Lemme see ya, kid." He gently tilted her chin up and noticed a small tickle of blood sliding down along her hairline. "Knock your head on somethin'?" "I- I don't remember. It's all kind of a blur. I was just thinking about getting you and getting out after the building fell." Logan paused in his examination and met her eyes. "Sorry." "Listen to me, Marie. Don't - don't do this ever again. No matter what. I don't wantcha riskin' your life to help me out. What would I have done if you'd gotten yourself killed, ever think of that?" He was trying to rein his temper in, but thoughts of a dead, broken Marie or Marie back in the hands of the 'doctors' weren't helping. "I don't wantcha to take those kinda risks, not for anybody." "I couldn't just leave you there with - with them." She spat out the last word and tears began to fill her eyes. "I don't want you to get killed either. You're - you're all I have, Logan." Logan sighed, his anger dissipating some with her words. "You have the x-men, Chuck. They'll always put ya up and take care of you. Why do ya think I brought you back there, huh? I wanted you to have a place that was safe and that you could stay at no matter what." Marie lowered her head and a few tears fell. They were equal parts in response to his kind words and in relief at the realization that he was really OK, OK enough to be chastising her. Logan took her in his arms for a careful hug. "Look, just talk to me, OK? You and me - we can always talk to each other, that's what you always say. Just talk to me now. What made ya come all the way out here lookin' for me, Marie?" "I told you. I couldn't leave you to those - those people. And I don't want - I don't like it at Xavier's when you're not there." She relaxed a little now, burying her face in his shoulder. "You're all I have, Logan," she repeated. "OK. OK. But listen to me, kid. You've got your whole life ahead of you. I'll be - I'll be fine, no matter what happens, I'll heal. You won't." He didn't mean for that last part to come out harshly, but it had, and it caused Marie to pull away from him with a pained glance and then to turn herself away from him. Kicking himself for saying it when it was so very obvious that she didn't heal like he did, he tried to apologize, putting a hand on her back. "Sorry. I didn't mean it that way." "It's OK." Marie tucked her legs up beneath her and turned away form him a little more, belying her shaky-voiced words. Logan didn't quite know what else to do or how to make it up to her. Why don't you try using the brain for once, asshole, he thought sardonically. First, he had to find out if she was hurt, where, and how badly. Then, he had to find out where they were and who might be coming after them. Lastly, he had to figure out how to get somewhere where Marie would be safe. "I needta know if you're hurt," he ventured softly. She shook her head. He'd already seen the cut on her forehead, so he knew she was hurt at least there, at least a little. And she'd said 'scrapes', plural, so there were probably other wounds. He decided to try again. The thought that he'd never seemed interested in 'trying' before Marie passed through his mind. "I saw the little cut on your forehead. Lemme fix it, OK, Marie?" "It's OK. It stopped bleeding." "Lemme see," he asked, slowly turning her toward him by the shoulders. Her head was down, hair falling over her face. He swept one side of it up with his gloved hand to get a good look at the cut. "Don't look too bad." She was right - it had stopped bleeding and was starting to scab over. "Where else're you hurt, darlin'?" He knew she liked it when he called her that. It usually got at least a small smile, and this time was no exception. "I've got some - some scrapes on my knees, but they're not bad. There's some on my shoulder too. I think I'm OK. Just - just a little shaky." She turned her head so that she could see him a little better, but immediately turned back. For some reason, his heart tightened at that. "You wanna let me have a look, huh?" It wasn't really a question, it was an instruction. She nodded, turned away from him again, and began shrugging her jacket off while keeping her back to him. "Where are we anyhow?" "British Columbia. Way north. I drove about twelve kilometers into the forest, off-road. I haven't seen anybody coming, but - " She cut herself off with a sharp hiss of pain as she peeled her blood-soaked blouse from her wounded shoulder. "That one might be a little worse than I thought." "Grrr....." He'd always had a strong reaction to the smell of her blood, from the very first day he'd found her in that lab. Simultaneous urges to lick it all clean and to kill something weren't easy to cope with. "Is it bad?" Logan tried to shake himself out of his emotional reaction, and he gently probed her wound to come up with an answer for her question. It was a jagged tear that happened to hit a fairly large blood vessel. The bleeding looked to be slowing, but not stopping. She could slowly bleed to death from it over several hours, maybe a day, or it might heal on it's own given a little pressure and some bandaging. "It's bad." He'd asked her often to let him touch her, to see if she could borrow his powers and use them to heal her wounds. He knew how much they troubled her. This might be the perfect opportunity to try to talk her into it again. "I think - I think I should touch you." "No, Logan, no." She did turn to face him now, modestly holding her tattered shirt up to her chest to cover herself. "You need to heal. You're still - " "I'm just fine," he interrupted, already pulling off one glove. "Just relax, Marie. Everythin's gonna be OK. I'm just gonna touch you and fix this right up." "Logan..is it really that bad?" He'd never lied to her, and he wasn't going to start now, but that didn't mean that he couldn't try to convince her. "It ain't good. Somethin' hit a big blood vessel. It's a slow bleeder, but it could bleed ya to death." Marie shivered, and Logan felt a pang of remorse for painting such a harsh picture. "I'm not gonna let that happen, one way or another. It's your call, but I think yeah - I think I'd better touch ya." Marie squirmed a little. "I - I don't know what to do." "It's OK," he assured, "lemme take care of it." Receiving the barest of nods from her, he reached out for her unspoiled cheek and lay his hand on it. Immediately, the pull began. Logan fought to hang on to consciousness, and he kept his eyes fixed on her shoulder. He watched as the skin re-knit itself, watched her heal. Glancing to her face, he held on a moment longer, noticing that her burn scars were still as awful as they always had been. "Let go, Logan, let go!" She shoved him away from her, and he let the blackness take him for a few moments. Marie began to panic as she watched him twitch and thrash in the passenger seat. "Oh God.." After a few moments, though, he calmed, and in another few, he opened his eyes. "Whoa" "Logan? Are you all right?" Marie was leaning in close to him, looking at him with worried and teary eyes. "Logan?" "I'm fine." Dammit, he thought, nothing - nothing for the scars. They hadn't healed one bit. "I'm OK." Marie moved back, giving him space to sit up a little. "It didn't work, did it? Not - not on my face or any of the old scars. It didn't work." It dawned on him that she hadn't even taken a glance at the mirror to check - she'd been too busy worrying over him. She still wasn't looking to see for herself, she was waiting for his answer. If even a little of his disappointment showed on his face, she probably already had it. "I'm sorry." She shrugged, and tears began to fall in earnest. He took her hand in his. "I'm sorry, Marie." "I - I didn't think it would work. I'm sorry - they're so ugly and I just want them gone and I can't even get my stupid powers to do that, you still have to look at them and they're horrible and - and - " A huge, heaving sob cut her off. Logan began to worry that she'd hyperventilate if she couldn't calm herself. "Hey, take some deep breaths, OK? It's gonna be OK. Don't cry, Marie, it's - you're OK and I'm OK and I'm outta that lab, thanks to you. It's all gonna be OK." He sandwiched the hand he'd been holding in both of his. "Try to calm down. We gotta - we gotta move outta here pretty soon, OK? Can you - can you calm down a little and switch me places? I'll drive." She nodded at that and tried to regain her composure. He released her so that she could move out of the truck and around to the passenger side. Once they were both well-settled back in the vehicle, Logan paused before starting up the engine. "You doin' OK over there?" Marie tried to smile and nodded. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get all emotional." She smiled a little more and her burned cheek twitched in turn. "It's been kind of a busy day." That got a smile from Logan, as she had hoped. "We're gonna drive in a little further, find a place to camouflage the truck and hole up for the night. It's startin' to snow a little, so we gotta get a move on. Can't leave 'em tire tracks in the snow to follow. Too easy to spot from the air." Marie sniffled, and sat up a little straighter. "We'll just stay put here and then we'll figure out what we're gonna do next." "Aren't we - what about calling the x-men?" Logan frowned at that. "If they wouldn't come out to get me, they ain't comin' out to help us. Even if everybody back there is toast, I just - I don't think they'd do it, not now, not until the dust settles and they're sure it ain't a high-risk situation. Did you leave anythin' important back at the mansion?" "No. I used some of your money, but I have the rest of it here, your guns and things too. That duffel bag has your clothes." "No, darlin', I mean did you leave anythin' important of yours?" Marie shook her head no but shot him a confused look. "Good. We're not - we ain't goin' back right away. We're gonna wait for Chuck to contact us. He'll give us a heads up when and if everythin' is safe." "OK." Logan fixed his eyes ahead, and began weaving through the trees. They found a good spot, tucked into a natural recess in the hill. The snow was coming down quite a bit, and Logan retrieved their clothing from the truck bed. They put most of it on, to try to stay warm. Logan wanted to stay put until the storm was over and then, if there was still no word from Xavier, hunt something for food and start moving through the forest. Marie finished bundling herself up in the clothing, and reclined the seat to be more comfortable. Logan copied her actions, and they lay on their sides facing each other. Marie felt very comfortable that way - her damaged cheek was pressed to the seat, and all her other visible scars were covered by clothing. She felt almost normal. "The snow is pretty." "It'll actually keep us warmer, you know, once it builds up into a good coverin'. Keeps the wind out." "Are you feeling OK? Do you - do you want to talk about anything?" "You mean 'bout back there?" "Yeah." "No." "OK. I'm glad you're OK." She never pushed him to talk, and Logan appreciated that. It was probably why he found himself talking to her so often. There may even come a time when he would talk to her about this. "I've never been to Canada before, you know." "I like it up here. It's quieter, less people." "Easier on your senses?" He gave a gruff nod. "After you touched me, I could smell and hear everything really well there for a while. It was amazing, but I can see how it would be hard, especially in crowds." "Yeah. Are you - everythin's OK up in your head, right?" Marie nodded. She'd told him a little about how her powers affected her mind, but nothing in detail. "You were really hoping it would heal the scars. I can feel that in my head." That came out in a whisper, and Logan knew that it was a signal she wanted serious conversation. "Sorry that didn't work." "Me too. I wish you didn't have to look at them, I wish that somehow, they'd just go away. But I kind of knew the touching thing wouldn't work. That would just be too simple, you know, poof - scars gone. Things don't work that way." Logan reached out a hand to stroke her hair and scooted closer to her. He always had the urge to comfort her when she said things like that, but he'd learned early on that sometimes words didn't help. Little touches, small signs of affection, seemed to work much better. "They're permanent. I know that, deep down. To tell you the truth, I don't remember how I looked before, not really. I was twelve when they took me. I don't have any pictures or anything. I don't remember being without them, not much, not any more." "I don't remember bein' without the claws either. Those're permanent too, somethin' that was done to me." This was the kind of talking he'd never done with anyone else, the kind of talking he could never imagine doing with anyone but Marie. "I'm glad I killed all those fuckers who did that to you." "I killed all the people who were hurting you back there. There's no one left alive." Those words came out in a fierce little whisper. Marie's eyes burned with remembered anger and resolve. "They needed killin'," Logan responded, his hand tangling deeper into her hair and beginning to caress her scalp. "Just wish you hadnta been the one to do it. You don't need anymore shit in your life. I wantcha to stay in a safe spot from now on, got it, Marie?" "I've only ever feel safe when I'm with you." "Guess that means I'll hafta stick close to ya." Marie smiled at that. "You can keep me outta trouble, huh?" "I really missed you when you were gone. I cried the first night you didn't come over. I - nobody told me what happened, not until days later." Her expression stayed even, almost light, but her voice grew husky. "When I found out, I started looking. I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't found you. I felt - I felt so all alone without you. I know you're - you like to do your own thing, but when you came to see me every night, I really felt - " Her restraint broke, and a few tears spilled down. "I'm sorry." "It's OK." Logan's other hand found its way to Marie's stomach, and he almost unconsciously began stroking her there. "I did think about that when I was in there. I thought - what's Marie doin' now? I wondered who you found to talk to and who was lookin' in on ya when I wasn't there." "Nobody," she answered. That hadn't helped slow the tears. "I really meant it when I said you're all I have." Logan sighed. "Well, you've got me for the duration, Marie. I ain't goin' nowhere. Not voluntarily, anyway." They exchanged dark smiles at that. "You stick close to me too, OK? No more goin' off on your own and doin' stuff like this. You're - I don't even wanna think 'bout somethin' happenin' to ya." The truth was that she was the only thing important to him, the only thing without which he couldn't function well. In his own way, he relied on her every bit as much she did on him. The nightly visits, the talks, the feeling of having something that was his own, someone he connected with, someone it was safe to share things with, someone worth protecting - they all made him feel something he hadn't ever felt before. Much like Marie felt normal with him at times, he felt human with her. "Nothing will. I promise." Her full lips worked themselves into a smile. "This is - this is kind of nice, you know? I hate that you had to go through that, that you were hurt, but this - us having a little time alone together - it's nice." "Yeah," Logan replied absently. One of the urges he'd been feeling around Marie before he'd been taken surfaced again. He kept having an urge to hold her, maybe lay a gentle kiss in her hair too. He didn't really know what to make of them. He was fairly sure they weren't sexual urges, but they weren't exactly friendly urges either. If he'd thought about it very much, he'd have realized that they had been coming more frequently and with more intensity. He did know it was all part of the big *something* they had between them, whatever that would turn out to be. "Hey, Marie - you wanna move over?" That way, he could lay all the way back in the passenger seat and put her on top of him. That would work. That way, they'd both be warm, and he could hold her, and the urges would be satisfied. "Ummmm...." "There's not enough room for both of us on this side. Just scrunch over a little." He disentangled his hands from her and began shifting over. "You'll get my bad side. I - I was kind of liking being on this side." She couldn't meet his eyes now. "You don't have a bad side." He scooted over the center console. "Move over a little. I'm gonna - I'm gonna put ya on toppa me and throw that coat over us both. We'll be warmer that way." "OK," she said a little unsteadily, pressing herself up against the door until Logan got situated. "C'mere." He pulled her down to him, and noticed that she rested her scarred cheek against his chest. "You comfy?" He felt her nod and debated whether he should say what was on his mind or not. He didn't want to upset her, but she was always open with him, and he wanted to tell her. It was important, even if it didn't come out right. "Ya know, those scars on you - I don't mind lookin' at 'em. What you said before about you wishin' I didn't hafta look at 'em - that's not a problem. It's not like they're ugly or anythin'. They're just - just there." She was quiet for several long moments, but Logan could tell by her breathing and heartbeat that she wasn't too upset. "I think they're ugly. They make me feel ugly." "There's not a single ugly thing 'bout you, kid. Believe me, I've seen every kinda ugly this world can throw atcha. You ain't it. Not even a little bit." "That's nice of you to say." Logan wrapped both arms around her and gave her a squeeze. "It's the truth. I don't wantcha to think that there's anythin' wrong with you, 'cause there ain't." "Can I tell you something, something a little hard?" "Sure." "Sometimes I wonder if you - if you would be attracted to me if I didn't have the scars, if you hadn't seen me so - so humiliated and defiled in that lab. If we'd met, just two normal people, you know, talking in a bar or something, I wonder if you would like me, you know, like a girl." "You want an honest answer?" Marie didn't respond. "I'd never have gotten to know ya. I'd have probably seen if I could getcha into bed, and then I'd have moved on. It's better this way." "Right. Right. You're right." Logan could tell that she was trying very hard not to cry. "Marie, you're not - you're not - " He stopped himself before he could say something that would come out wrong. As he cast about for the right words, Marie finished the thought for him. "Not someone you think about like that. I understand." "I was gonna say you're not some quick fuck, you're a person to me. I don't normally give a shit, you know, 'bout other people. But I did with you, and I did right off. There was somethin' 'bout you - I've always felt like you're mine, OK? I dunno what to compare that to. I guess I'm tryin' to say that things are the way they are and there are some good things comin' outta that. I got to know ya, and I like havin' ya close by. If you were just some random woman, you wouldn't be my Marie." "I know," she whispered, hugging him back a little. "I'm really grateful for all that, I am. But I just - sometimes I just wonder, that's all." Logan didn't respond, he just laid a gentle kiss on the top of her head. The truth was that he was beginning to wonder too - not about whether he would've been attracted to a different Marie, but about the strong attraction he felt to this Marie. He put those thoughts out of his head for now, and settled in for some sleep. They woke to the sound of fierce wind. The storm had picked up in intensity, causing the snow covering that had fallen on the truck to whistle away in the harsh winds. It was just before dawn. "Damn," Logan commented. "Haven't seen a storm like this in a long time." "I should've checked the weather reports." "Eh. Sometimes you they can't predict storms like this anyhow." Marie shifted a little against him. "You doin' OK?" "Yeah. I'm a little hungry. There's - in the bag on the driver's seat, there's some food. Nuts, beef jerky, hard candy." She just looked longingly at the bag, though, and didn't make a move for it. "Go on, then, help yourself." Logan wondered if she was waiting for him to eat first before taking what she needed. "I'm too comfy and warm to move." They both chuckled a little, before Marie finally did slither an arm out to grab the bag. Logan noticed that she made no move to get off of him. Marie retrieved some nuts and beef jerky and divided the food into two portions, then propped herself up on Logan's chest to hand him his half. "Here," she said simply, before laying back down and nibbling on her food. "Thanks." Logan noticed that the nuts were cashews - his favorites. "I'm pretty comfy here too. Might as well wait until this blows over. If they haven't come after us yet, they probably ain't gonna, especially in this weather." "Do you think the Professor will contact us soon?" "Knowin' him, he'll give it at least another day or so - if everythin' is calm. If not, could be longer. Don't worry, we'll get back to Westchester eventually, and I can keep us together for a while livin' out here. It's gonna be OK." "You know, I had a weird dream last night - I dreamt that we were living in this little cabin, high up in the mountains, juts you and me." That vision struck a chord in Logan. Isolated home, a life in the wilderness, Marie - it all seemed very appealing. "Weird, huh?" "What were we doin'?" He felt Marie fidget at that and he felt her body heat rise just a little. She was probably blushing at the moment. "Oh." "Sorry." "Not a problem." Jean had told him often that Marie had a crush on him, and to be very vigilant in discouraging those feelings. Logan had pretty much ignored Jean's advice. He liked being the object of Marie's affections, she seemed to like liking him, and he didn't analyze it much beyond that. His instincts told him that he belonged to her, and she to him. He knew that was true, he trusted it, he just wasn't sure what that should mean. Especially now, when she was still a teenager, still recovering from her ordeal, still gaining confidence in herself. It was a delicate juncture for her, and Logan had felt no rush to act. He'd taken to thinking that they would work it out together in time. They'd always been able to be open and honest with one another, and he had confidence that that would see them through this as well. His task now was protecting her, caring for her, helping her recover. That was it. Or, at least that had been it, up until she risked her life to rescue him from the labs, until the possibility that they didn't have as much time as he had assumed to work it all out suddenly seemed very real. "How about a total change of subject?" Marie offered, nervously. "OK. Whaddya wanna talk about?" "Um, I guess I could bring you up to date in what's happened at the mansion while you've been gone." "Anythin' interestin'?" "Scott and Jean set a date for the wedding. Next month on the 18th. They invited me, which was nice. Ororo's taking a vacation - I think she was supposed to go this week - she wanted to see the Grand Canyon. You know her - nature girl. The Professor and Jean were before Congress again last month. I don't think the mutant registration thing will pass this time either, there was a lot of debate when I watched on C-SPAN." "What about you? What have you been up to?" "Planning this, mostly." Logan frowned and tightened his grip on her. "What about that test? The GED thing?" "Oh! I did get the results. I passed. In fact, I got the highest score in the state for that sitting. It was kind of nice." "We'll hafta celebrate when we get back. Pizza and beer, huh?" "I'm not supposed to have beer." Her voice was warm now, teasing. He felt her nestle her head against his chest, apparently done eating. "One won't hurt ya. Plus, you'd be almost legal in Canada." "What does that have anything to do with?" There was laughter in her voice, and Logan found it creeping into his as well. "I'm from here. I go by my native beer rules." "Oh, I see. Well, then, pizza and beer it is." Logan felt small, warm hands move across his chest. He didn't think Marie realized she was doing it. "Can we not get anchovies, though? At least on half. They're icky." "They're fish. They're good for ya." He didn't say anything about her caresses, mostly because he was enjoying the feeling - it had been the first nice touch in a long time, and it was stirring something in him, something warm and comforting. "They're icky fish. And we can get vegetables on the pizza. Those are good for you too." "No onions." "Right. I remember you don't like those." Suddenly, Marie seemed to catch herself - Logan felt her tense and still the movements of her hands. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention." "It's OK." "You're really good to me, you know? About all that kind of stuff, you're - you're really very kind." "I don't mind it." Logan had a sudden inspiration. He wanted to ease her discomfort about the whole topic, and probe her feelings a bit, and he thought he may have hit on a way to do it. "Look, Marie, why don't you just lemme know what you'd like, OK? I mean, I know you have, uh, ideas about me, and this kinda stuff - bein' close, a little touchin', and that's fine by me. Why dontcha just tell me what you'd like in that department?" Maybe if she could come out and ask him for things like hugs and little touches, she'd feel better. If it was out in the open instead of something she felt she had to be embarrassed by, she'd probably feel a lot more comfortable, and this way, he'd know what she really wanted. After all, having a fantasy is one thing - acting on it is another. "Really?" "Really." She propped herself up to look at him, angling the scarred side of her face away from his gaze. "I like this. I liked being close to you like this a lot." He smiled a little to encourage her to go on. "I liked sleeping with you holding me. I'm not - we don't have to do that, you know, if you don't want to. But I liked that. If you don't mind too much. I mean, all of this is if you don't mind too much." "I don't mind at all. What else?" He was surprised to see her eyes fill rapidly with tears. "Marie?" "Nothing else. Nothing else. That's it." She lay her head back down, avoiding his eyes. "C'mon. I know it's kinda - kinda a touchy subject, but you can tell me." "Nothing else. Really. I mean, there's - there can't be anything else. Not for us. Not with me like this." "Like what?" "Ugly. Damaged." "Stop it. You're not. I toldya - " "I know you're always trying to make me feel better, Logan, I do, but the other things I might think about us doing together - they just can't be. I wouldn't feel right doing more than that knowing we won't ever be, well, together. Not that way. It would just feel really bad, I think, to do any more than that and then to know we won't be together." Logan pondered for a moment. He could feel her trembling, and he wanted what he said next to be the right thing. It had to be the right thing for Marie. "I know what you mean. Those other things you might be thinkin' about - I wouldn't wanna do 'em if we weren't gonna be together, be lovers, either. Not with you. I know I'm - I know you see women in and outta my room, but that's different. That's a one-time deal - I know it and they know it. I don't think it would be like that with us, if we decided to do that." He tightened his hold on her before saying the next part. He wasn't sure how she would react. "I know you kinda like me. It's OK. We've talked about it. I like you too. There's some kinda thing goin' on between us. I don't care that your face is a little hurt or about the other scars. That don't matter to me, and your mutation don't matter either. I'm a stubborn man, a hard-ass, Marie. When I want somethin', little things like that don't stand in my way. You know me. I just don't think we needta rush into anythin', though. Not now. We can take our time and you can tell me - you can point me in what direction you wanna go. We'll talk about it and figure it all out together. It doesn't hafta be this big, stressful thing in your life. I don't want it to be. Maybe we should start figurin' it out." "Are you saying - what are you saying?" Logan harrumphed. He *wasn't* good with words. It wasn't coming out right. "I'm sayin' that I know you like me. I like you too. There's somethin' there, I think we both know that. I'm sayin' for you to tell me what you wanna do. If you wanna do more stuff than me holdin' ya, OK, let's talk about it. If you wanna sleep with me from now on, OK, let's move your stuff over to my place when we get back and we'll figure out how that's all gonna go. I'm sayin', Marie, I don't wanna have you worryin' or sad 'bout this thing between us. It's a good thing. I just think we should, you know, take it nice and easy and not jump into bed together or somethin' 'cause I don't think either one of us is ready to do that and I don't think our relationship is there yet and the one thing I don't wanna do is fuck anythin' up between us, OK? You're important to me. I feel like we need to be careful here." "Logan, you could have anyone you wanted. You do - you do have anyone you want. You don't want to be stuck with me. I'm - I'm - " "I don't wanna hear one bad thing 'bout you comin' from those lips. I don't wanna hear it. Marie, all the things you think are wrong with you - they could be said 'bout me too. You wanna hear it? People could say - there's Logan, fuckin' experimented on, all cut up by doctors, had claws put in and his memories taken out. You wanna know the truth? Only difference is that my scars don't show, and I kick ass good. Frankly, so do you now - pullin' this one off like that. Not that I wantcha doin' that, not at all. My point here is - yeah, I'm good at gettin' women inta my bed, but did you see any one of 'em come lookin' for me? No. Just you." "You don't have to feel indebted to me for that. It's - you saved my life first and - " "And there's a reason for that." She still hadn't been looking at him, so now he gently lifted her head to see her eyes. When she began to turn her head to the side, hiding her scar, his grip on her jaw became firm, holding her in place. "I saw you and I felt somethin' for you. That's what I suck at, Marie - gettin' lotsa women to fuck me goes great, but gettin' one to talk to me, really give a shit about me, findin' one that I give a shit about - that doesn't. If we're gonna talk about this, if we're gonna give goin' ahead and gettin' closer a try, you gotta just trust me when I say that I ain't doin' things outta feelin' sorry for you, or grateful, and I ain't thinkin' of you as anythin' but good, beautiful. OK?" "That's going to be hard to do. I - I know it sounds weird, but - I think it's going to be hard to trust that, even with you." Paradoxically, he smiled at that and his grip on her jawline eased. "What?" "I know. It's not weird. I'll try to make it easier, but I understand what you're sayin'. But you're gonna give this a go, then?" Marie nodded. "Good. Good. But remember what I said about no rush - we can move you in and all, but you don't hafta feel like everythin's comin' atcha all at once. We'll go slow, but we'll get movin'." She nodded again, and he let her lay her head back down on his chest. He noticed her grip on him tighten considerably. He knew she was afraid. Bad things - they were both accustomed to dealing with some very bad things. It was familiar, if not pleasant. Good things were new, frightening. But Logan felt like it was worth a try with Marie. He felt like it was definitely worth a try. Xavier did eventually contact them, and they did return to Westchester. The first night, Marie simply stayed in Logan's room. No one noticed, but the following day, when they began moving her things over and Logan informed Xavier of the new arrangement, everyone noticed. None of it much bothered Logan - he had asked Chuck if he was going to make a fuss about it, though, making it clear that he would leave the mansion, and the team, for good, if Xavier had a problem with it. Many of the comments, though, bothered Marie. Whispered rumors about her made their rounds through the mansion. Most had her on the receiving end of Logan's charity, and most people felt sorry for her. Some, though, were darker, casting forth conjecture about her sexual abilities, things she might have picked up during her stay in the labs. Those were the ones she tried to keep from Logan and just endure. She knew well what his reaction to those kind of rumors might be. Marie didn't cry over any of it, though, until the day she happened upon Logan and Betsy, talking in the kitchen. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop but she heard her name and paused outside in the hall for just a moment. "No, really. Why Marie? You can tell me." "Let it go, Betts." "I mean, she's not your usual type." "That's right." Logan's voice was mostly even, but it held just a hint of anger. "We all feel sorry for her, of course, but, really, this is above and beyond the call of duty. You saved the poor thing's wretched little life, what more do you owe her?" "Why are you still talkin'?" Now the anger was front and center. Betsy only laughed, though. "Because someone's got to try to talk some sense into you. Sure, you've been through the entire female population of the mansion, the town, and probably the county, but there's no reason you can't have seconds. No need to resort to this kind of thing." "And what kind of thing would that be?" Marie couldn't see it, but Logan was gripping the can of beer he'd come down for tightly enough to cause the metal to strain. It looked like it might pop any second. "Oh my." Betsy's tone affected seriousness now. "Don't tell me you've actually convinced yourself you have feelings for the girl. That's possibly the one thing I can think of that's actually more pathetic than the charity fuck you must be - " Betsy was abruptly cut off, but Logan's gruff voice filled the brief silence. "I said, let it go. It's none of your damn business." Marie heard one of them draw in a deep breath and heard both of them moving. "I ain't interested in a second go-round with you, if that's what you're gettin' at. You were a mediocre fuck the first time around, and you're usin' the male population around here as some kinda consolation for the fact that you can't get that nasty little mouth of yours wrapped 'round Summers' dick. That what you wanted to hear, Betts?" "I seem to remember you enjoying our time together quite a bit," she hissed back. "And even a mediocre fuck would have to be better than looking at what's left of that girl. I don't know how you even get an erection." Logan issued a growl, but Betsy kept going. "And if you want to talk about the happy Summers couple, let's do that. How long have you been sniffing after Jean, hmm? Have you asked little what's-her- name to dye her hair red yet?" Marie's eyes widened at that and she heard a scuffle. Deciding that she'd better intervene before this got physically, not just verbally, ugly, she entered the kitchen, drawing the immediate attention of both occupants. Which was quite a feat, considering that Logan had a white-knuckle and undoubtedly painful grip on Betsy's shoulders and was pinning her to the refrigerator. The can of beer he'd held was rolling on the floor beneath them. They all stood there, seemingly suspended in time, for a few long moments before Marie spoke. "I was, ah, outside. Maybe - maybe you two could stop this?" She didn't quite know what to say, and Betsy was now casting her mocking looks. "I'm, uh, going to go back upstairs now." Logan let Betsy go, intending to follow Marie out of the kitchen. Betsy, however, chose that moment to let out a loud laugh. "Go on, my dear," she called, "after all, you make quite the *lovely* couple." Logan whirled back around at that, landing a punch square to Betsy's nose. He smiled when he heard it crack. He was ready to land another blow, when he felt Marie holding onto his arm as he swung it back. "Don't," she pled, "Just don't." "You son of a bitch!" Betsy was on her feet now, ready to counter attack. "I can't believe you hit me!" Logan only growled. "Um, just - just calm down, OK? Let me get Dr. Grey to - " "Shut up, you stupid little twit!" That prompted another growl from Logan and things might've gotten even uglier if Scott hadn't wandered into the kitchen at that particular moment. "What's going on here?" He quickly crossed the kitchen to Betsy's side. "Are you bleeding?" "He hit me! He broke my nose!" All of Betsy's previous bravado was gone. Now, she looked about as fragile as a china doll. She pressed herself to Scott's side and blinked up at him with big doe eyes. "Logan!" Before Scott could get any more admonitions out, Marie stepped in front of him and spoke. "They were arguing. She said - she said some very unpleasant things about me, and Logan got upset. He didn't just hit her for no reason." "I don't care what she said, there's no excuse for that!" Scott let go of Betsy to take a step toward Logan and Marie. "I want to see both of you in the Professor's office in ten minutes. I'm taking Betsy to the medlab, and I expect you to stay the hell away from her. We don't hit women around here, Logan, no matter what they say." Logan was about to say something, but Marie shushed him. Scott brushed past them, with an arm around Betsy, who gave them one last mocking glance over her shoulder before disappearing into the hallway. "I'm sorry," Marie said. "What the hell for? That wasn't your fault." "It kind of was because we live together now and - " "Hey - it ain't your fault. Fuckin' Betts was shootin' her mouth off." Logan took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Marie let him, staying quiet until she was sure he had his emotions in check. "Do you remember when I said it might be hard to trust that - that you don't see me like that, like Betsy talked about me?" Logan nodded, more than a little worried. "I think I understated." "Look, don't - don't listen to what she said. Betts - she just likes to stir up trouble." Marie only shrugged. "What?" "I think most people, they probably think a lot like she does. They wonder what you're doing with me when you could have someone a lot better. Did I tell you Jean came to talk to me today?" "No," Logan answered, instinctively taking a few steps closer to Marie. "What did she want?" "She, uh, wanted to tell me that you - you're a man with a strong sense of honor, and you would do whatever you felt I needed, even if it wasn't really what you wanted, you know, for your own life, and - " "She said that?" "Mmm-hmm. I mean, she was very - uh, well, she was somewhat subtle about it, but I get the message. I'm just in the way of you being with someone good. It's not really hard to figure out what she was getting at. And I don't know if - " "I know. I know. Listen, Marie, forget what Betts said, forget what Jean said. I don't care what they think, and you shouldn't either." "But I kind of do," Marie said softly. "They're your friends and teammates." "And I don't really give a good rat's ass about any of 'em." "Jean - " "Jean wasn't meant for me. You were. That's the way I like it." He fidgeted a little while she digested his words. He was heartened at the fact that she seemed to actually be very seriously considering what he'd said. "I'm gonna talk to the Professor, OK? You don't hafta do that. I was the one who broke her fuckin' nose, so I'll talk to Chuck. Why dontcha head on back upstairs, darlin'? I'll be up in a minute." "I'd rather go with you. Scott - Scott said both of us, and - and I'd really rather just hear what they have to say about me. I know you're trying to protect me, but I'd rather know. I can handle it." "OK. OK. But no bullshit. I'm not gonna listen to any crap about any of this. If Chuck don't want us here, that's fuckin' fine by me." At the moment, it seemed like an option far preferable to letting Marie face a barrage of insults of one variety or another. He held her eyes for a moment longer, then they headed for the Professor's office. They all sat in Xavier's office for more than an hour, listening to the Professor reprimand Logan for his actions and Betsy for her words. Marie was glad that Betsy didn't get off scot-free, and that the Professor didn't seem to place sole blame on Logan for what had happened. He did tell Logan, however, that if he hit another mansion resident again, no matter what the provocation or the extent of Logan's value to the team, he would not hesitate to evict Logan from the mansion for good. Logan grunted in response, but it was clear that the two men had an understanding. Betsy had been very quiet the entire time, saying almost nothing in reply to the Professor's comments to her or to Logan. After Charles finished, he dismissed Scott and Betsy but asked Logan and Marie to stay behind. "I wanted to speak to both of you privately for a moment. I would like to encourage either of you to approach me should you be subjected to any more comments like those you encountered from Betsy in the future. I shall take action to nip that kind of thing in the bud." Logan and Marie exchanged a look. They were a little taken aback - the Professor had never taken much of an interest in Marie and they both knew that he had some reservations about their relationship. "Uh, OK," Logan answered for both of them. "Is that it?" "No. I was wondering if you two might be more comfortable living out in the lodge. It would provide somedistance from the other residents, which I think both of you may enjoy." Marie knew what the words really meant - leave, for the sake of peace in the house. That was probably why he'd offered his assistance a moment ago as well. He didn't want dissention among the team. Marie felt bad that the Professor was trying to get Logan to leave because of trouble she'd had a hand in causing. "Fine by me. We'll move our stuff today." "You - you don't have to," Marie said. "I can move out and you could visit. You could visit me. You don't have to leave the mansion." "You go, I go," Logan calmly argued. "Besides, I could use somewhere a little quieter. Fewer people, fewer noises and scents. It'd be good for me to get out." "But - " "Look, Marie, I know it's been a hard day, but don't go gettin' all upset over this. Don't go blamin' yourself. It's a good idea. I'd like to move. You and me, just the two of us, with the whole house for ourselves - that sounds a lot better to me." "I just don't want to keep you from your teammates or make you any more separated from them than you already are because of me." Her eyes were cast downward, but her expression was even. She wasn't overreacting, she'd said it in a very matter-of-fact tone, but she did want Logan to know her thoughts. The Professor leaned forward with some interest. This wasn't how he'd expected their relationship to be. He'd envisioned Logan as wanting a subservient, younger, 'handicapped' partner so that his dominance would be unquestioned in the relationship. Actually, Charles had thought that *only* that kind of relationship would work for Logan. He'd pegged Logan as having more than a few control issues, and that, combined with his animal side, would naturally lead to a strong tendency toward dominance. However, watching them work their way through this now, Charles was struck by just how much real communication was taking place between the two, and even more so by Marie's seeming equal footing in the discussion. He was downright amazed that Logan was explaining his position and trying to use logical reasoning to convince Marie. He'd expected something more along the lines of - we're moving, Marie, and that's it. He'd also have expected Marie to be much quieter, much more emotional, much more unhinged by this whole incident than she apparently was. Interesting, Charles thought. "I ain't separate 'cause of you. It's 'cause of me. And I don't really take to movin' just 'cause we upset the apple cart either, but there's a lotta benefits for us in it. I say let's do it." "OK," Marie said slowly, after thinking it over a bit. "OK. Let's do it." Logan gave a clipped nod, then sat back in his chair. He noticed that Xavier was still watching him quite intently. "What?" "Nothing. Do you need any assistance in moving?" "Nope, we got it covered. Anythin' else?" Xavier shook his head, and watched the pair leave his office. Very interesting indeed, he thought. A few days later, they were settled into the lodge. Marie had taken to sprucing up the place a little, adding some minor decorative touches, making it their own. Logan worked on getting a fire going, in anticipation of their first dinner in their new home. Their domestic ministrations were interrupted by a knock on the front door. Logan went to answer it. No one had come to visit since they'd begun moving their things in. Frankly, he didn't want any interruptions. Tonight was the night he and Marie had talked about going a little further in their physical relationship, and he was not in the mood to have those plans disrupted. His mood spiraled even further downward when he opened the door to see Betsy standing there. "Hello." "Get the hell outta my house." She smirked at that, and cast a look over Logan's shoulder to see Marie headed their way. "I came over to apologize. If I said something upsetting to either of you, I'm very sorry." It was Logan's turn to smirk now. He could smell the insincerity rolling off her in waves, and didn't doubt that this little stunt was Xavier's idea of having her make amends. The Professor probably knew better than to try to get him to apologize to Betsy. He was probably hoping this would smooth things over. "Whatever. Get offa my porch." He swung the door shut, but Betsy stopped it with a hand. "Aren't you going to be polite and invite me in? I'd love to see what you've done with this old hunting shack." Marie came up right behind Logan, and placed a hand on his back before he could bite out a rude answer. "I'd really rather you not come in. We were just about to have dinner. Goodbye." Logan raised an eyebrow at Marie's words. She normally wasn't this assertive. "Oh, don't tell me you're holding a grudge, my dear. Let's all just try to get along, shall we?" Logan had turned to get a better look at Marie by the time she answered. Her expression was even, and he noticed that it was her 'good side' that was partially shielded from Betsy's view by his shoulder, not her 'bad side.' "I don't think that's what you'd really like. I think you should leave now." "Well, I'm very disappointed that you can't be civil, Marie. I'm sure the Professor would be disappointed to hear it as well." Marie only shrugged. "I've come bearing apologies, after all. What more can you want?" "Your apology don't mean shit to me, Betts. I'm gonna tell ya for the last time - get offa my porch." "If you insist on judging me so harshly and being so unforgiving, I suppose there's nothing more *I* can do about it." She affected a disappointed expression, and finally turned to go. "One more thing - " Logan called to her retreating form "- don't come back. You ain't wanted here." Betsy only huffed, feigning insult and surprise, then turned back toward the mansion. Logan shut the door harshly behind her. "I wasn't too mean, was I?" Marie asked from behind him. "No," he answered honestly. "You did good." She smiled broadly at that. "But hey - where'd all that come from? Not that I'm complainin'." "Oh, I just got to thinking about the things you keep telling me, you know, how I'm not all bad and how you kind of like being with me, and I thought - I'm a little bit OK. Why should I let her intimidate me? I'm not the one who should be ashamed of themselves, she should, for being so mean to us." "So some of that's actually sinkin' in, huh?" Logan pulled her to him by the waist. "Uh-huh. To be honest, I kind of like it. I like not worrying all the time about how I look and if you're happy with me or if I'm torturing your life. It's nice to just take your word for it that everything's OK once in a while. It's nice to have a few moments of just happiness sometimes." "Us - happiness? Damn, who'd have thought?" She smacked at his arm playfully, enjoying being teased. "Come on, let's get dinner on." "OK. Um, you know what we talked about maybe - maybe doing later on? We can get started on that after dinner if you want." She was blushing now. It didn't show up much on her scarred cheek, but Logan thought it made her look particularly adorable. "Sounds good. Let's get a move on." He gave one last look out the window in the direction of the mansion, then turned to follow her into the kitchen.