Title: Going Home
Author: Bani
Email: banime78@...
Series: Cutting Loose # 3
Summary: Scott and Rogue arrive at her Parents but
are they Welcome there.
Rating: PG-15? for violence
Genre: S/R
Author's Note: I know I titled this series Cutting
Loose and it's supposed to be Scott and Rogue
having fun but well it isn't turning out that way. Oh
well, maybe next chapter huh.
Archive: Just ask and I will say yes.
Disclaimer: Marvel and Fox own all recognizable
characters. But I own the idea for this story and they
can't have it (maniacal laughter).
Feedback: Is much appreciated by my Muse and
me.



     Rogue was having the most wonderful
dream. It featured her and Scott getting down and
dirty in her old bedroom. She was just starting to
get to a good part; Scott was unzipping his pants
and she was gonna see him in all his naked glory,
when she was rudely woken up.

     "Uh, wha.." She mumbled sleepily.

     "We're here Marie. It's 9:00 o'clock is that
to late to pay your parents a visit?" Scott asked.

     "Um, no. They'd be mad if Ah waited until
morning to see them." She replied still trying to
wake all the way up.

     "Well you have to give me directions honey.
Otherwise we're going to just have to sit here."
Here turned out to be the side of the road in front of
a big sign that read Welcome to Meridian,
Mississippi/ Pop.456.

     She was kinda surprised to see they hadn't
fixed the Population number. The Mayor was
usually right on top of things like that. Being such a
small town everybody knew everyone else. So when
somebody left the Pop. Number was usually fixed
the same day.

     Well, someone could have moved to town
after she left. But that was doubtful since no one
had ever moved there in all the years she had been
here. You never knew though, stranger things had
happened. Like her being taken in by a bunch of
leather clad Super Heroes.

     Was a bunch even the correct way to group
them, or were they a flock, or maybe a pack. She
giggled at her silly thoughts. Scott cleared his throat
and she remembered she had not answered him.

     "It's not that hard ta find. Ya just go up
Main Street here and take a left at the second
stoplight. Mah house is the third one on the right."
She refrained from saying 'ya can't miss it' that was
to cliché.

     Scott restarted the car and pulled back on to
the road. He followed her directions exactly and as
they drew closer to her house, she could feel her
heart beat speed up. She was suddenly very
nervous. What was she going to say to her parents?
'Gee Mom and Dad so sorry Ah didn't let ya know
Ah was o.k. and alive all this time. But hey here Ah
am now.'

     Oh yeah that would go down real well with
her parents. Especially her Father. She wasn't at all
sure how he would react to seeing her again. After
her mutation had manifested things had become
strained between them.

     It didn't help that her Father had been an
avid supporter of the Mutant Registration Act. She
guessed having a mutant for a daughter had kinda
thrown him for a loop. Not to mention he'd been
more than a little freaked over what had happened
with David. Not that she could blame him. If he had
been the one to put someone in a coma for three
weeks with a simple kiss, she would probably have
been afraid of him also.

     But weren't parents supposed to love you no
matter what? She was pulled away from her
thoughts when Scott stopped the car and she saw
they were finally there. The house looked the same
as when she had left it. She didn't know why she
thought it would have changed. It was kinda
egotistical of her to assume things would change
just because she was no longer around.

     Scott put his hand on her shoulder startling
her. "Are you okay Marie?" He asked her, voice full
of concern.

     "Yeah sugah, Ah'm okay just a little
nervous about seeing mah parents after so long."
She put her hand over his on her shoulder squeezing
lightly.

     "It's perfectly natural to be nervous. But you
look more than nervous Marie. You look almost
scared. Is there any reason for you to be scared?"
Scott asked in his fearless leader tone.

     Sighing she answered. "There are some
things Ah didn't tell ya about why Ah ran away. Ya
see the thing is this here town is full of FOH'rs and
racists. Ah was the first mutant this town had ever
seen. And the fact that Ah put the star quarterback
in a coma on top of mah being a mutant, well lets
just say it didn't win me any friends." Pausing she
looked at him trying to gauge his reaction.

     He had his perfect listener face on so she
continued. "Mah Father was a strong supporter of
the MRA. So when Ah manifested and he realized
what Ah had done ta David, he called the police,
and Ah was thrown in jail." She had to stop then or
else she was going to start crying. Scott pulled her
into a hug and she buried her face in his shoulder.

     "That's awful Marie. How could he do that
to his own daughter? Are you sure you even want to
see him after he did that to you?" He sounded like
he would've liked to pound her Father, which made
her feel a little better.

     Pulling away from him a bit, she gave him a
small weak smile. "It's okay Scott. Really, it's just
the way he is. He was raised that way Ah don't hold
it against him." She gave him a quick peck on the
cheek, which made him smile.

     Then she continued with her explanation.
"Ah was only in jail for one day before mah
Momma talked my Father into getting me out. But
when Ah got home that's when the real trouble
started. Mah father's friends didn't take kindly ta
him getting me outta jail like that. We started
getting threatening phone calls and some teenagers
spray painted 'Mutie Lovers' on the house. It was
just to much for mah Father ta take he stopped
talking ta me and he just ignored me like Ah wasn't
even there." She sobbed then. Brushing away the
angry tears that flooded her eyes. Scott tried to hug
her again but she stopped him.

     "No, Ah'm alright." She told him so as to
not hurt his feelings. "But that wasn't the worst of
it. The worst came the day David woke up. He
couldn't remember who he was Scott. He couldn't
even remember how ta talk or eat. For God's sake
Scott he didn't even know how ta go ta the
bathroom by himself. Ah did that to him. Ah took
away everything that was him and left an empty
shell." She swiped angrily at her eyes as more tears
streamed from them.

     "It wasn't your fault Marie. There is no way
to tell when someone is going to manifest. What
happened to David is unfortunate but you did not do
it on purpose." Scott tried to console her.

     "It doesn't matter if it was mah fault or not
Scott. Ah was still the one who hurt him. Ah'll
never be able to forget that. Ah just wish that Ah
could turn back time and make it so it never
happened. But Ah can't and even if Ah could it
wouldn't change the fact that Ah had to leave." She
finished with a frustrated exhalation of breath.
Trying to remember where she had left off.

     "You were saying it got worse when David
woke up." Scott reminded her gently.

     Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Yeah
that seemed ta be the spark that lit the fuse for
everyone. When they found out that David had
brain damage, they just went crazy. They trashed
mah Fathers car and started throwing stuff at mah
momma when she went ta the store. They did other
stuff too but that was the worst until the night
before Ah ran away. That's when everything
seemed ta come to a head." She stopped then, as she
was suddenly flooded with memories of that night.

     "A bunch of the town's folk started
gathering on our lawn and chanting 'The Mutie has
ta go'. There was only a couple at first and mah
Father went out and told 'em ta leave. But they
didn't and the police wouldn't make 'em. The
crowd grew and as it did, they got bolder. They
started throwing things at the house and then they
started breaking windows. And suddenly all hell
broke loose." She shivered in remembrance.

     "Someone went around back and lit the back
porch on fire. Only we didn't know it until the
smoke began ta pour in the back door. Papa was
able to put the fire out thank God but that was the
last straw for him Ah guess. Because he started
yelling at me, he raised his hand, and Ah thought he
was gonna hit me but he just stormed out of the
house. Momma tried ta tell me he didn't mean the
things he said but Ah knew Ah had to leave." She
paused to take another breath before continuing.

     "Ah went up to mah room packed my bag,
then waited for everyone ta leave and momma ta go
ta sleep. Ah didn't even leave 'em a note Ah just
left. Ya pretty much know the rest." She finished
with another sigh.

     Scott was silent for a moment before he
spoke. "After all that was done to you here why
would you want to come back?" He sounded
confused.

     "Ah guess Ah just need some closure ya
know. Like Ah said Ah didn't leave them a note
saying Ah was leaving. And Ah haven't tried to
make contact with them in all the time Ah've been
gone. So Ah need ta see them and like Ah said
before Ah would like ta tell them that Ah'm okay
and happy." She gave him a watery smile.

     "Are you sure you want to do this Marie?
We could just leave now. You do not need to put
yourself through hell like this just to get closure."
Scott tried to persuade her.

     "Yes, Ah'm sure sugah. It's not all that bad.
It was just remembering all that stuff made me a
little emotional. It'll be okay really. It's real sweet
of ya trying to protect me from getting hurt like that
but Ah need ta do this."

     She looked over at her old house then and
saw the porch light had come on. So they know
someone's here she thought. Turning back towards
Scott she started to tell him they had better go in
before they drew any more attention to themselves,
but was interrupted by his mouth as he kissed her. It
was a quick hard kiss not even long enough for her
skin to react but she was left breathless.

     Opening eyes she hadn't even realized she
had closed she was treated to one of Scott's rare
grins. "We'd better go in before we draw anymore
attention to ourselves." He said echoing her
thoughts exactly. Which made her grin back at him.

     Scott got out of the car and made his way to
her side. He opened up her door for her bowing
deeply like some later day Sir Galahad. It made her
giggle. She knew he was just trying to lighten her
mood and make this all easier for her and she loved
him even more for that.

     He held out his hand to her and she took it
gladly. After he shut the door, he wrapped his arm
around her waist and walked her to the door. Her
palms started sweating and she felt as if her heart
would explode from her chest any moment. As they
approached, the door was thrown open and in the
light she could see her momma standing there her
hands covering her mouth. Breaking away from
Scott, she ran forward and was enveloped in her
mother's arms.

     "Oh Marie honey ya shouldn't have come
back here." Her Momma said her voice choked with
tears.

     Rogue pulled back from her momma and
looked at the familiar plump face she had always
loved. However, the face was not exactly as she
remembered there were new wrinkles and there was
a tiredness that set on her face like a mask. Had she
done that to her momma Marie wondered.

     "Come in ta the house before someone sees
ya and makes trouble." She motioned to Scott
letting him know he was included in the invitation,
before she went back inside. Rogue took Scott's
hand before following her momma inside. Scott
closed the door behind them.

     They found her momma in the living room
twisting a corner of her robe around in her fingers.
She looked up as they came in and she looked
scared. It was then that Rogue realized her momma
was shivering even though it was near 80 degrees
outside.

     "Why shouldn't Ah have come back
momma? Aren't ya glad ta see me." Rogue asked,
as she and Scott sat on the couch.

     "Marie honey it's not that Ah'm not glad
yah here. But things were just starting to settle
down. If anyone finds out yah here it's all gonna
start over." She sounded so tired. It tore at Rogue's
heart to hear her momma sound like that.

     "Ah just came back to let ya know that
Ah'm okay and that Ah found somewhere were
Ah'm welcome and happy." Tears burned at the
backs of her eyes but she refused to shed them in
front of her momma. "Ah wanted to come and tell
ya in person so ya could see for yahself. And so's
Ah could see ya again." She swallowed hard when
she saw the tears in her momma's eyes.

     "Oh Marie. Ah knew ya was alright honey.
A smart girl like ya knows how to stay out of
trouble. 'Sides Ah'm yah momma and Ah knew in
mah heart ya was okay. Ah'm real happy ya found
somewhere ya fit and even happier to hear that yah
happy there. Now are ya gonna introduce me ta this
gentleman ya have with ya or are ya gonna continue
being rude." Rogue couldn't contain the laugh that
welled up at her momma's comment.

     "Momma Ah'd like ya ta meet Scott. Scott
this here's my momma Anna Beth." Rogue made
the introductions and watched as Scott got up and
extended his hand to her momma.

     "It's a pleasure to meet you mame." Scott
said as he kissed her momma's hand.

     Her momma blushed prettily. "Oh ya are
quite the charmer aren't ya." Scott just grinned.

     "Where's Daddy? He asleep still?" Marie
asked.

     "No, honey. Yah Daddy is at the bar getting
hisself drunk. He does that a lot lately." She sighed.

     "Daddy never used to drink. Is it 'cause of
me?" Rogue questioned her momma.

     "It's not entirely 'cause of ya honey. It's got
a lot ta do with those damn men he's been
associating with. They're those Friends of
Humanity idiots. They've got ya Daddy thinking
that yah an abomination. Ah ain't gonna get inta it.
And Ah don't think it would be wise for ya ta stay
much longer honey. If'n they catch ya here Ah
don't know what they'd do." She looked at the door
as if expecting someone to barge in any minute.

     "Momma are ya trying to tell me
something?" Rogue had barely asked the question
when they heard the squealing of tires outside. Scott
jumped to his feet and looked out the window by
the door.

     "Momma what's going on?" Rogue was not
sure she wanted to know but asked anyway. Scott
turned back from the window and he had his 'The
Bad Guys are here and I'm going to protect you'
face on.

     Rogue got up from the couch and rounded
the coffee table. "Momma what have ya done?"
When her momma just started crying Rogue knew.

     "Ya called them didn't ya. Why'd ya do it
momma? Were ya just talking ta us ta keep us
here?" Rogue felt as if she might be sick.

     "Marie we have to go now." Scott said.

     Rogue looked down at her Mother and
realized that the woman was no longer her momma.
Because her momma would never have done this to
her.

     "Ah hope ya 'kin live with yahself knowing
that yah hurting yah own flesh and blood." Rogue
turned to lead Scott to the back door when her
mother answered her.

     "Ah had to Marie. Ya don't know what they
would have done ta me if Ah hadn't let them know
ya was here. If'n they found out later that ya was
here Ah would have been punished." She sounded
so alone that Rogue felt sorry for her.

     "Ya could come with us." Rogue said.

     "Mah place is here with yah Father. It
always has been. Ah can't leave." She'd barely
finished talking when the people outside started
pounding on the door demanding that they open up.

     "Good-bye Momma." Her momma reached
out for her but Rogue just grabbed Scott's hand and
ran for the back door.

     They had just gotten out the door when two
men rounded the corner of the house. "Hey you
Mutie stop right there. Ain't now way yer gettin'
away from us this time." One of them shouted.

     Scott shoved her behind him and reached for
his glasses. "Scott no!" She shouted but was to late.
He lifted his glasses and let out an uncontrolled
burst of energy. He had aimed for a place just to the
left of the two men. That was what she had been
afraid of.

     "Down now!" She shouted. Just as the
energy burst hit the now visible propane tank. Scott
only had time to turn around and grab her before the
explosion sent them both flying. He rolled in midair
so that when they hit the ground he was underneath
her. The impact was enough to drive the breath
from her lungs.

     "Scott!" She screamed her ears ringing from
the blast. "Oh please answer me sugah. Are ya
alright?" She ran her hands over him frantically
trying to see if he was injured.

     "I don't think this is the time or place for
you to be groping me babe." Scott said coughing.
"And as much as I like our current position, I think
it might be better if we were to get up and run away
while they're still recovering." Rogue punched his
shoulder causing him to wince.

     "Ya idiot. Ah thought ya were hurt. But if ya
can crack jokes ya must be alright." She got up off
him and helped him get up. "Are ya really alright?"
She asked anxiously.

     "Yes. Now let's go before they catch us."
He grabbed her hand and dragged her behind him as
he ran around the other side of the house. They
could hear the sound of the fire truck sirens in the
distance. And as they came back around to the front
of the house, they heard the shouting of the men as
they tried to put out the fire.

     They snuck to the car and were getting in
when the men saw them. "Hey, there they are stop
them!" Rogue barely had time to shut her door
before Scott peeled out.

     The others followed them but as soon as
they got on the highway Scott left them in his dust.
After several minutes of tense silence in which they
both watched their side view mirrors, Scott spoke.
"I'm sorry that things turned out the way they did. I
don't know what to say. I'm just sorry."

     "Ya don't need ta be sorry sugah. It was
stupid ta go back. Ah should've known that it would
just cause trouble. It was stupid of me ta think that
things had blown over." She stared out her window
watching as the tree's sped by.

     "You said yourself that you needed closure.
It wasn't stupid to want to see your parents again.
And there was no way for you to know that things
would go down like they did." He reached over and
squeezed her knee.

     "What did Ah do right ta deserve such a
great guy like ya?" Rogue asked.

     "You're just lucky I guess." Scott said
grinning.

     They both laughed as they speed off into the
night. All their dark thoughts chased away by their
happiness in just being alive and together.

*****************************************


     The next part I'm hoping to get in some fun
stuff. After all they still have six days of vacation
left. I know this part was probably confusing in the
extreme so if you have questions just ask. I don't bite..
much.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

TITLE: When You Wish Upon A Star
SUMMERY: The school has to get a human teacher from the outside.  See what
happens
PAIRING: Nothing is shown thusfar, but I'm going to have two pairings.
Kathryn/Logan.  You'll see the next couple emerge in the next chapter or so.
**evil grin**
AUTHOR: Crystal (CRSunrise@...)
RATING: Not sure yet, so far G, but it might get higher
ARCHIVING: Please ask!
DISCLAIMER: No one belongs to me...drats...no wait!!  So far Kathryn,
Snowball and Dr. James belongs to me.  Everyone else, belongs to our beloved
people--Marvel Comics.
Notes:  Thanks all the people who betaed this for me, and are going to be
hearing from me for quite an indefinite amount of time  hehe
FEEDBACK:  PLEASE!!  I'm the Feedback monster.  Give me feedback  lol

******************************************************************************

************
When You Wish Upon A Star
***this happens about six months after Logan left for Canada***

Chapter One

     Summer was coming to a close, but the days were still long and heat still
filled the air.  Young people were enjoying the final days of summer before
the grind of homework and classes overtook their freedom.  It didn't matter
who the person was, young or old, no one really wanted to relinquish their
independence to go back to the daily routine of papers, pop quizzes, and
field trips.

     At Xavier's School for the Gifted in Westchester, this feeling was
mutual.  It was the weekend before school started and the students were
already arriving in droves to settle in for the new year.  It seemed like it
was going to be normal as possible for a school for mutants, but that was
going to change very quickly.

***Xavier's office***

     Professor Charles Xavier had just finished reading his recently arrived
letter when there was a solid knock at the door.  Placing the letter back
onto his desk, he watched as his three teachers, who were also his first
three students, Dr. Jean Grey, Scott Summers and Ororo Monroe enter the room.

     Dr. Jean Grey, her dark red tresses hanging loosely down her back, was
dressed in black slacks, a school T-shirt in royal blue, and her white lab
coat, obviously just coming from the underground lab.  As she entered the
room, she took off her glasses, folded them and placed them in the front
pocket of her coat.

     "You wanted to see us, Professor?" Dr. Grey asked as they all sat down in
the hardback chairs, which sat before his desk.  They watched as he picked up
the letter in front of him and handed it to her.

     Scott Summers was sitting next to Jean, his fiancée.  Scott was a tall
young man with brown hair, which gently brushed over his forehead.  He was
wearing blue jeans and a school tank top.  Over his eyes, he was wearing his
ruby quartz glasses he usually wore.

     "This letter just arrived special delivery from Hank McCoy at the
Massachusetts School," Xavier confirmed as she skimmed over the letter, then
handed it over to Scott, who in turn, after studying it himself, passed it to
Ororo.

     "So what is the situation?" Ororo wondered as she placed the letter back
into Professor Xavier's hand and he folded it back up, placing it in the
front pocket of his jacket. She was dressed in a soft rose-colored one-piece
bathing suit, which was covered with a dark blue cover-up, tied at her waist,
and a dark blue towel draped over her arm.  Her waist length white hair was
neatly tied in a single braid.  When Xavier had called them to come to his
office, she'd been on her way to the pool.

     "As you know, the Massachusetts School, which is our sister school, is
where the students are sent to continue their education once we've gone as
far as we can with them." They all nodded in agreement and he continued on.
"One of the students, while helping clean the school for the start of the
year, lost control of his ability and destroyed the entire west wing, which
was the housing for all the students," he explained to them.  "With all the
damage, it will be unlivable for the students to stay there during
reconstruction.  So while the facilities are being rebuilt, the students are
going to be staying here," he concluded, waiting for questions from his
former students.

     "How many students should we be planning for?" Jean inquired once he was
finished with his explanation.

     "There will be thirty students coming," Professor Xavier answered her.
"which will consist of fifteen boys and fifteen girls."

     "Professor," Scott spoke up for the first time.  "With all due respect,
how are we going to handle thirty more students?  It is sometimes a handful
to keep track of the ones who are already here."

     "That's one thing I wanted to discuss with you," Professor Xavier
confessed as he broached the other reason for the meeting.  Opening one of
his side drawers, he ruffled through some folders until he found the folder
he was looking for.  Pulling out a small packet of papers, he shut the drawer
and put the papers on his desk.  "We're going to need another teacher to help
us with the arriving students."

     "How are we going to do that?" Ororo wondered as she situated her towel
onto her lap.  "Not too many students become teachers once they've left the
school."

     "An associate of mine, Dr. Michelle James, has mentioned a student of
hers is looking for a teaching job.  She just graduated from the university
with a degree in American Literature."

     "Who is she?" Jean wondered, clearly intrigued.

     "Her name is Kathryn Spidel," he clarified, handing the packet of papers
to her.  "She has no immediate family...both her parents and only sister died
in a car crash about two years ago.  Her only living family member is her
aunt on her mother's side."

     "Are you sure Professor?" Ororo asked, not quite sure if she was
questioning his judgment.  "We've never had a human teacher before."

     "Would it be safe to have her here?" Jean asked, looking up from the
papers she'd been reading from, and finally passed them over to Scott.
"She's obviously very qualified to teach at any school, but would it be safe
for us, and for her, to teach here?

     "How much does Ms. Spidel have to know about what goes on here?" Scott
inquired as he accepted the paper from Jean and started to read them himself.

     "To answer all your questions," Professor Xavier spoke, as soon as they
had thrown out their concerns.  "First, I'm definitely sure.  Ms. Spidel has
an excellent reputation with the faculty and students at the university.  She
has no prejudices whatsoever.  Secondly, it'll safe for everyone.  She'll
have to know about the students she'd be teaching, but that would be same
anywhere.  And third, she'll know about the school, and what goes on at the
top levels, but the rest will be kept out of her knowledge."

     Pausing for a moment, he waited to see if his teachers had any more
objections.  When none did arise, he concluded with, "I feel she'll make an
excellent addition to the teaching staff."

***Outside an apartment complex***

     A yellow taxicab stopped in front of a drab brown brick apartment
building.  The back door opened and a tall young woman in a long gray coat
stepped out, carrying a briefcase and a carryall bag.  Kathryn Spidel paid
the driver, and then stepped onto the sidewalk.  Pausing she looked up at her
apartment complex and sighed at the sight.  I can't wait to get out of here.
This place is such a dump.  Readjusting the strap on her shoulder and she
walked up the front steps to the entrance of her building.

     Upon entering the building, she climbed up two flights of steep, dark
stairs and then walked down the hallway to her apartment.  Fumbling in her
pocket, she located her key, inserted and turned it, giving her entrance to
her apartment.  Walking in, she shut the door and stripped herself of her
coat.

     Kathryn was twenty-three, had soft, shoulder length, brown hair and
chocolate brown eyes.  There was a slight smile on her face as she hung up
her coat and slipped off her shoes.  Dropping her briefcase and her bag onto
a nearby table, she wandered into the kitchen, calling out, "Snowball!  Here
kitty, kitty!"

     As Kathryn searched through her cupboards for a can of cat food, a fluffy
white Persian bounded into the room and hopped onto the countertops.  Running
over to her, the kitty purred excitedly for Kathryn to stand up with the can.
  As she opened the can, the cat nudged her hand for her to hurry.  She was
hungry.  Once the can was open, Snowball practically pounced on it.  Kathryn
smiled, petted her lovingly and walked into the living room.

     The living room was a small, but intimate room, decorated to the best of
the Kathryn's abilities.  There were a few pictures on the walls and some
miscellaneous flowers spattered here and there.  Mismatched furniture
crisscrossed the room.  By looking at the room, you could tell comfort was
more important than style to Kathryn.  Besides, Kathryn couldn't afford style
at this point.

     Flopping down onto the couch, she sighed, ruffling through her hair as
she stretched fully.  It had been a long day of going to teaching interviews
and she was all tensed into knots.  It was from the discouragement that she
might get turned down for yet another position, and all because she lacked
the experience.

     "Well, how am I supposed to get experience if no one'll give me a chance
to get any?" she asked tersely to open air before her.  It just frustrated
her to no end that no one would get her a chance to prove herself.

     Reaching across a small endtable, she punched the small black button on
her answering machine to start playing that day's messages.  Most of them
were the same nonsensical messages:  her aunt asking her if she'd come over
for supper, a friend asking her to come over and help her with a paper she
was writing, etc.  The one that peaked her interest was from her professor,
Dr. Michelle James.

Hey, Kathryn...I received something from an associate that I thought you'd be
interested in.  It's about a possible job position if you're interested.
Please call me as soon as you can at my office.

Is that for real? Kathryn thought, not hearing the rest of the messages.
Here I am, getting frustrated over not getting a chance, and here I might be
getting one.

     Grabbing the phone off the cradle, she quickly entered her professor's
number.  While it was ringing, she noticed what time it was, and hoped that
she was still there.  She was about to give up when she heard a rushed
'Hello' come across the line.

"Dr. James?"

"Kathryn?"

"Yeah, it's me.  I just got your message, and didn't realize the time until
after I'd called," Kathryn explained, biting her lip slightly.  "Did I
interrupt something?"

     "No, I was just on my way out, but I'm glad you caught me," Dr. James
reassured, sounding less breathless.  "I have a possible position if you're
interested."

     "Oh, I'm interested.  What is it?" Kathryn asserted, sounding a little
excited.

She heard a slight ruffling over the phone, and a minute after heard the
professor inquiring, "Can you come in tomorrow at two o'clock?"

"Oh, yes.  I can come in at that time," Kathryn affirmed.

"Great," the woman sounding pleased.  "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes.  Tomorrow."

They said their goodbyes, and each hung up their extensions.  Once Kathryn
had laid down her end, a sudden burst of energy came over her.  Jumping off
the couch, she started dancing around the room.  This was the greatest
opportunity for her.

As she danced, Kathryn picked up Snowball, who had come into the room while
Kathryn had been talking on the phone.  Cuddling her up to her chest, Kathryn
twirled around the room, humming silently.  The cat was purring contently,
enjoying the attention.

Moments passed and Snowball decided this was getting old.  Meowing to be let
down, she jumped out of Kathryn's arms and tiptoed over to the windowsill.
Lying down, while basking in the late afternoon sun, she fell asleep.

During this, Kathryn was able to calm down enough to start fixing herself
some supper.  However, even thought she appeared so calm, she was excited
about her possible oncoming adventure.  This could be one of the best things
to ever happen to her.

Before she started making her supper, she walked over to a nearby window, she
twisting a small sliver latch, and firmly pushing the frame up.  Once the
window was open, the soft evening breeze brushed over her face, and made her
smile.  Breathing in deeply, she smelled the last bits of the summertime
winds.

Gazing up into the sky, she noticed that the stars were starting to peek out
of the evening sky.  Following her weekly ritual, she picked out the
brightest star she could find, and made a wish:

I wish that I am able to get this job.  I would like to make a difference in
the lives of everyone around me.  Helping others is the greatest comfort I
can give anyone, even if I wasn't able to help save the lives of others.

***The Next Day***

Kathryn arrived early at Dr. James's office because she wanted to calm down
before her appointment.  Standing before the office, she gazed up at it
wondering what fate she would find in there.  Would it be failure?  Or would
fate prevail and give her the chance she'd been waiting for?  All her
questions would be answered once she walked through the front doors.
Tightening the sash around her waist, she climbed the short flight of stairs
that led into the building.

Arriving at the office a few minutes later, she told the secretary whom she
was there to see and took a seat in a nearby satin green chair.  Sighing
softly, she waited until she was called on.

A moment later, Kathryn saw Dr. James stroll through a nearby door.  Placing
a lock of her soft, golden blonde hair, Dr. James smiled warmly as she held
out her hand to greet Kathryn.  "Thanks for coming in, and especially on such
short notice."

"It was no trouble," Kathryn reassured her as she took the outstretched hand
and shook it firmly.  Upon releasing her hand, Kathryn stated, "Thanks for
giving me the consideration.  I appreciate it."

"Let's see how you appreciate it when you hear the proposal," the woman
smiled gently.  Motioning towards the door she'd just exited, she suggested,
"Why don't we talk about this in my office?  We can talk better back there."
Kathryn nodded and they walked down the hallway.

Dr. James led Kathryn through a small maze of hallways until they finally
reached her office.  Signaling for Kathryn to take a seat in the chair
opposite her desk, Dr. James circled around the desk and sat in her own
chair.

Scooting up close to the desk, she settled her elbows on the desktop.
Resting her chin onto her hands, she looked at Kathryn and asked, "Kathryn,
what kind of experience do you have working with special students?"

"Special students?" Kathryn repeated.  Thinking about it a second, she
answered, "Really none, I guess."

"Then you have no preconceived notions," Dr. James suggested as she opened
her briefcase and pulled out a manila envelope and opened the seal.

"I guess you can say that," Kathryn agreed, cupping her hands tightly so the
trembling wouldn't be noticeable.  She was worried that her lack of
experience would be her downfall again.  "I tried to give everyone the chance
they deserved, regardless of their color, race, sex, whatever."

Nodding at Kathryn's answer, Dr. James pulled out some paper from the
envelope and set them before her on the desk.

"Kathryn, I'm offering you this position because I know you're qualified
enough for it, and I know you'll do an excellent job," Dr. James explained
carefully.  "Now, you'll still need to get the full approval from my
associate, Professor Xavier, but I don't see how there will be any problem."

"I'll do my best," Kathryn offered, hoping this would be enough and that she
could do even that.

"I must tell you though," Dr. James conceded as she picked up the papers
she'd just pulled out of the manila envelope.  "This job is only temporary."

"Temporary?"

"Yes," the woman answered, then handed the papers towards Kathryn.  "This
letter should explain what you need to know."

Nodding, Kathryn gripped the letter and started reading it.  It read:

Dear Ms. Spidel

     My name is Professor Charles Xavier.  I'm the founder, as well as the
administrator, of the Xavier's School for the Gifted, which is located in
Westchester, New York, as well as the sister school in Massachusetts.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we have had to temporarily close
down the sister school.  This resulted in all of the student body, and a few
of the faculty to be transferred to the Westchester location.

With the increase of students, we are required to add another teacher to our
staff.  I'm asking if you would consider coming here and looking over the
facilities.  If everything meets with your approval, I would like to offer
you a position here at the school.  Attached to this letter are the
particulars about what you would need to know.

I await your answer, whether the answer is positive or negative.

Respectively yours
Professor Charles Xavier
Xavier's School for the Gifted
Westchester, New York

Flipping the page, Kathryn read over the attached page.

"What about my apartment and my possessions?"  She questioned a few minutes
later.  "This says that I'm going to be living at the school for an uncertain
amount of time."

"That's only because they aren't for certain how long they will be needing
you," Dr. James explained, hoping this would make some sense.  "It just
depends on how long it takes to reopen the sister school."

Nodding, Kathryn went back to skimming over the letter.  It mentioned things
like salary, benefits and such-pretty much everything that would be in a
standard letter of proposal.  The only unusual thing was the request to tour
the school before agreeing to the job.

"How soon would I have to leave?" Kathryn wondered as she set the letter on
the desktop in front of her.

"As soon as possible," the doctor answered.  "Professor Xavier will need you
there before school is in session."

"All right," Kathryn stated, a small smile growing on her face.  "I would
like to give this a try.  I'll leave whenever you tell me."

"Wonderful.  I believe you can leave as soon as tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight.  Is that to soon?" Dr. James inquired, a questioning look on
her face.  "You're able to leave tomorrow afternoon."

"That's fine," Kathryn decided, after thinking about it for a minute or so.
Licking her suddenly dry lips.  "I can leave tonight.  That will be no
problem."



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone! click your browser here to see our new home!
Sorry it took my a while, my computer has been going nuts!

http://betareaders.homestead.com/homepage.html

Okay, Here's a teaser chapter for a new storyline line I'm contemplating.  It
doesn't start out Logan/Marie, but it will be.

Title:  The Jailbait Is Not A Job Benefit

Author: Karen

Email: kittenrescue@...

Rating: R

Disclaimer:  The characters aren't mine - only the ideas for the naughty things
I make them do.

Archive Rights: Mutual Admiration, League Of Their Own and any site with
automatic rights.

Category: Drama

Feedback: Would be greatly appreciated.

Summary: Hmm, this is hard to summarize without giving away too much. This
chapter is about Logan meeting a mysterious blonde with a hidden agenda.



The collection of ramshackle buildings looked like a tornado had blown through
and the residents were too lazy to rebuild. The place that had the audacity to
call itself Laughlin City would never be in any danger of being the object of a
campaign by the Department of Tourism.

The classy looking blonde cursed under her breath as she stepped in something
she didn't want to identify.  Her information better be correct about the
Wolverine, and he was actually here, or she'd just trashed her favorite pair of
Manolo Blahnik's for nothing.  Walking into the smoky dive called the Lion's
Den, she made her way to the bar and perched herself on one of the tacky vinyl
barstools.

"I don't suppose you serve champagne?" She asked the grizzled bartender.

"I can piss in a glass and add some seltzer - it'd be about the same thing." He
offered.

"Charming.  Just give me a shot of your least watered down stuff."

The bartender slammed the shot glass down in front of her and she placed a
ten-dollar bill on the bar. He didn't give her any change. The jerk must've
figured her for a big tipper.

She turned her attention to the steel cage that dominated the place.  A tall,
devastatingly handsome man with the physique of a Greek god stood bare chested
in the center of the cage, rolling his broad shoulders, as the man lying
unconscious on the floor was dragged out by his ankles.

The man known on the fight circuit as Wolverine was in top form this evening,
effortlessly dispatching one drunken challenger after another. He wasn't even 
breaking a sweat anymore, it was so ridiculously easy.  The leggy blonde in the
indecently short skirt and clingy top at the bar eyed him appreciatively, as did
every other woman in the place under a hundred. The cage-fighting groupies were
the most vocal in their appreciation of their *hero*.  Between matches,
Wolverine accepted the shots of whiskey offered by his *fans*, as they jockeyed
for his attention.  He was well known for taking a lucky girl or two back to his
motel for a night of unforgettable copulation.  The man's sexual prowess in the
sack was as legendary as his fighting skills, and every woman past puberty
wanted to be next.  Wolverine watched the blonde intently, as he jerked his head
sharply to the right, and effortlessly knocked out the latest moron stupid
enough to think he had a shot at taking him down. The blonde parted her legs
enough for Logan to discover that she hadn't bothered putting on any panties.
How convenient.

"Tonight's winner and still King of the Cage - the Wolverine." The announcer
said, as Wolverine stepped out of the metal cage, and pushing past the fawning
groupies, sauntered over to the bar.  Pulling a black T-shirt over his head as
he sat down on a stool just three away from the blonde, Wolverine ordered a
beer.

Glancing her way as he lit his cigar, he noticed her looking back. In fact, she
was very obviously giving him the once over.

"Like what you see?" He asked her, as the beer was put in front of him and he
downed it quickly.

"Do you?" She replied, wondering if he was as good in bed as his reputation
suggested. A girl could have an orgasm just looking at him, so she could only
imagine what actually rubbing up against him naked could do.

Looking at her up close, she reminded him of one of those models that graced the
Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Yeah, she was a looker all right.  He
dragged on the cigar and blew out lazy smoke rings.

"Not bad." He informed her nonchalantly, skimming his eyes over her, before
settling on one particular area of interest. He wondered if they were real or
courtesy of a skilled surgeon, and if he would have the opportunity to find out.

"Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer." She said, noticing exactly
where his stare was focused.

"So, are they real?" He asked rudely.

"Yes, and they're magnificent." She replied, without a trace of embarrassment.

"Prove it." He challenged.

"Even if this dump was a strip club and tonight was amateur night, I'm not in
the habit of showing my tits in public."  She replied, calmly.

"I gotta room."  He offered, piercing her with challenging eyes that even in the
dim light of the bar, she could see were a mixture of green and brown with
flecks of gold, and totally hypnotizing.  The man was simply stunning and the
blonde caught her breath.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go."  She finally answered, standing
up and sliding off the stool. Time to see if his reputation was well earned, she
thought, as the anticipation made her quiver.

Oh, yeah, he thought, he was gonna get laid - as if there was any doubt.

Wolverine followed her out of the bar, much to the disappointment of the other
women he'd passed over. Once outside, he walked over to his camper and got in on
the driver's side. The blonde stood for a minute before realizing he wasn't
going to open the passenger door for her. Oh, well, was she expecting him to be
a gentleman?

Sliding into the passenger seat, the blonde wrinkled her nose distastefully at
the rolling wreck that constituted the Wolverine's transportation.

"What was this thing in its former life, a garbage truck?" She sniffed.

"Hey, if you'd prefer the road." He said, insulted.

"No. It looks fine. It looks.. cozy." She replied, trying to appease him and
hoping to stop him from dumping her on the side of the road.

Wolverine glared at her, his hazel eyes blazing. She'd better be a good fuck
after all this aggravation, he thought.

"You don't have anything to eat do you? That cheap ass bar didn't even have any
peanuts."  She hadn't eaten anything since that pitiful excuse for a salad at
lunchtime - stupid diet.

Logan reached over to the glove compartment, pulled out a bag of beef jerky and
handed it to her.

"Ugh. The caviar of rednecks everywhere." She complained, as she returned the
package to the glove box, preferring to starve to death if necessary, rather
than struggle to gnaw through dried-up chewy cow parts.

"So don't fucking eat it, your highness."  Wolverine snapped, contemplating if
she was gonna be worth the effort after all.  Hell, she was probably just gonna
lay there and let him do all the work, anyway.

Luckily for her, they'd already reached the motel and Wolverine was too lazy to
go back to the bar and pick up someone else.

Sensing his hostility and wanting very much to experience this magnificent male
specimen, the blonde promised him, "It'll be worth it - you'll see."

"Yeah, I hope so, or no Egg McMuffin for you in the morning."

Once inside the room, the cool frosty society princess act quickly melted and
she turned into a consummate slut with lots of energy. Wolverine screwed her
seven ways to Sunday, finally collapsing hours later  -- exhausted, even for
him.

"You're a hellava fuck, darlin'." He informed her.

"I know." She said confidently,  "I told you it would be worth it, and by the
way, the name's Mystique."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So, what do you think so far?



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello.
        My name is darkstar and I'm a fan-fic addict. Did I come to the right
place for
the twelve step program? Probably not, judging from the list name, but
rehab's boring anyway. Actually I'll bet you guys could supply a girl with
some really good fixes.

        A little about me would me in order, I suppose.
        I first saw the X-men movie Christmas of 2000. To be honest, I rented
it without expecting anything incredible, just a good movie to kill time over
the holiday. Ha.
I was blown away by the complexity of the characterizations and the
fascinating relationship between Logan and Rogue. After watching the movie
several more times
(four times in two days, I believe) I decided to try my hand at fan fiction.
Should have known that would lock me into the obsession. I have been writing
fan fiction prose and poetry since January. Most of my writing falls on the
darker side...blame it on my fascination with post-Mutant Registration
fiction.  I still have a lot to learn, but I'm sure that this list will be
the place to find it out.

        My favorite characters to write are (obviously) Logan and Rogue but I
am also a
strong Scott-Jean relationshipper. I enjoying writing Scott more than Jean,
probably because I identify him with the Luke Skywalker crush I had in fifth
grade and have never completely gotten over. ::sigh::

        My favorite stories are A Place by Arcthalia, The Eighteen Series by
Terri, and
Jus Ad Bellum by Jenn. Look them up sometime, if you get a chance...they're
truly
inspiring.

        I've heard good things about this list, and am excited to be a part of
it. Please excuse if this has sounded rather insane....I've just finished
studying for a speech
test. Studying always leaves me semi-incoherent. It's an allergy, I think.

        darkstar

PS
        I'm not entirely sure that this is the proper procedure for an
introduction, so feel free to send me to my room if I've done it wrong. Or
better yet, let Logan send me to his room  :)




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Summary:  Logan meets Mystique's daughter.
Author's note: The Marie in this storyline is a very young seventeen year old -
as in, naive and innocent.


"Mystique, huh?" Logan repeated.

"Yes, it means an aura of mystery or mystical power." Mystique replied.

"So what other *powers* do you have, besides being able to make a man come 'till
he screams?"

Mystique morphed into a petite brunette with large chocolate brown eyes, as
Logan's hazel eyes widened. She was absolutely breathtaking. Logan heard his own
heartbeat pound in his ears as his jeans tightened.

"Interesting mutation, darlin'." He responded, appreciating the sight of the
tantalizing image before him.

Sauntering up to him, still in the form of the stunning brunette, Mystique
wrapped herself around him.

"With me, you could be with someone different every night and never be bored."
She said seductively, as she caressed his cheek.

"You didn't seduce me just to offer yourself as my concubine, so what do ya
really want, Mystique?" He asked.

Unwrapping herself, she stepped back and smiled cunningly.

"I have a proposition from my employer.  He'd like to offer you a position with
our organization."

"So who's your employer and what does this *organization* do exactly?" Logan
asked, just a little intrigued.

  "We protect the welfare of others like us."  Mystique replied.

  "Kinda like those do-gooders the X-Men? Sorry, babe, not interested."

  "Oh, not like the X-Men - no, not at all. They're hopeless dreamers.
Envisioning a utopia in which mutants and humans can co-exist peacefully. What a
crock.  Erik has a much more realistic approach to the situation."

  "What? Bite them first, before they bite you?"

  "Something like that." She answered and then continued,  "Anyway, he could use
a man of your considerable *talents* and he'll pay you ten times what you earn
kicking the crap out of drunken rednecks."

"You're being a little vague here, darlin'. You care to explain a bit more, so I
know exactly what I'm getting into."

"Erik can explain it better than I can. But I can tell you that aligning
yourself with Erik has many advantages."

"So what are you? A job benefit?"

Morphing back into the form of the blonde, Mystique stepped closer to Logan.

"I could be." She said, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed up
into his face.

"Okay. I'll meet with your boss, but no promises. If the deal looks too wacky,
I'm outta there." Logan informed her.

"You're under no obligation." Mystique assured him.

"Great, but before we leave, there's one more thing I wanna do." Logan said.

"Oh. What would that be?" Mystique asked, puzzled.

"This." Logan replied, as he picked her up, tossed her on the bed and climbed
onto her.



A few hours later Logan found himself face to face with the great Erik Lehnsherr
also known as Magneto. The man looked harmless enough, Logan thought, until he
flung Logan's metal-laced body across the room effortlessly in a demonstration
of his gift. Not so harmless after all, Logan realized.  Logan was also
introduced to a short man with green-tinged skin aptly named Toad and a large
behemoth of man named Sabretooth, who looked liked his parents had been a
football player and a lioness.  Toad didn't appear to be able to inflict much
damage, but Sabretooth seemed able to disembowel an elephant without breaking a
sweat.

"This your army?" Logan chortled.

"I'm always looking to recruit new *talent*, but for now the four of us
constitute the Brotherhood. And of course, Mystique's daughter is in training."
Erik announced.

Mystique had a daughter?  Logan wondered if she'd inherited her mother's shape
shifting abilities and was intrigued by the possibilities.

"Ahh, and here she is now.  Wolverine, meet Rogue." Erik said, indicating behind
Logan.

  Logan turned to greet the most stunningly beautiful vision he'd ever seen in
the entire fifteen years his memory went back.  It was the petite brunette that
Mystique had temporarily morphed into back at the motel.  As when Mystique had
impersonated her, Logan felt his breath hitch, his heartbeat faster and his
groin tighten.

"Nice ta meet ya, Mr. Wolverine."  She drawled, in the sexiest voice he'd ever
heard.

"Rogue, my dear, why don't you show Wolverine to one of the guest rooms." Erik
suggested, noting Wolverine's reaction to the young girl.

"Certainly, Uncle Erik. This way Mr. Wolverine." She beckoned, and then turned
to walk out of the room.

Logan followed, watching the gentle sway of her hips as she sashayed ahead him.

"Uncle Erik?" He questioned as they walked toward the bedroom wing of the
complex.

"Well, he's not really mah uncle. Ah've just been around him practically mah
whole life, so ah call him uncle." Rogue answered.

"What about the rest of his band of merry men? Are they all your uncles, too?"

"Well, Victor, that's Sabretooth, thinks he's mah daddy. But ah think momma just
told him that so he'd keep his grubby little paws off me."

"He doesn't seem like the type that would let a little immoral thing like incest
stop him." Logan noted.

"Well, so far it's worked and ah'm not complaining. Beside mah mutation keeps
him in check." Rogue chuckled.

"And what exactly is your mutation?" Logan asked, apparently it wasn't
shape-shifting like her mother's.

"It's mah skin. If anyone comes into contact with me, it can be fatal. Uncle
Erik's teaching me ta control it, but ah still have accidents."

Logan's mind suddenly twisted around all the possible ways to overcome that
particular obstacle. He'd always been known as a creative man, after all.

Just then Rogue noticed the dog tags hanging around Logan's neck.

"Were ya in the army?" She said indicating the tags, "Doesn't that mean ya were
in the army?"

Logan slips the tags under his flannel shirt.

"So what kinda name is Rogue?" Logan asked, changing the subject.

"Ah don't know. What kinda name is Wolverine?" She sassed back.

"Logan. My name's Logan."

"Marie."

They reached the bedroom wing and Marie showed Logan into a large, elegantly
appointed suite.

"So where's your room?" Logan asked.

"Just down the hall - across from my momma's."

Just then Mystique walked into the room, interrupting any further conversation. 
Marie excused herself and left her mother and the handsome stranger alone.

"I suppose you're gonna tell me to stay away from your daughter?"

"The jailbait is not a job benefit." Mystique responded tightly.

"But you still are, right?" Logan said, as he closed the gap between them.

Mystique began unbuttoning her blouse. "Of course." She said, wickedly.

Staying for a few days wouldn't kill him Logan thought as he reached for
Mystique.



At dinner that evening as Mystique played footsy with Logan under the marble
table, his attention was riveted on the little brunette seated across from him. 
He watched as she put each bite of food into her mouth, past pouty little lips
that he wondered what would feel like wrapped around his cock.  Noticing him
gazing at her, Marie blushed pink, which delighted Logan even more.  When the
milk she was drinking left her with a milk moustache, Logan had to restrain
himself from leaping across the table to lick it off.  During dessert, when
Mystique ran her hand over Logan's crotch, she probably assumed she'd caused his
hard on.

In his lust-crazed haze, it was difficult for Logan to concentrate on Erik's
tale of his treatment at the hands of the Nazi's.  Trying to appear sympathetic
was next to impossible with his dick being caressed by the mother, while the
daughter flashed him a cheeky little smile.

After dinner, Mystique, Toad, Sabretooth were in a meeting with Erik, that
didn't include Logan. So left to his own devices, he began to explore the
complex. Logan found Marie in the living room, sitting on the couch, wrapped in
a fleece blanket, wearing a pair of pink flannel pajamas with kittens on them
and watching, of all things, the Disney channel.

"What are watching?" Logan inquired, as he sunk down onto the couch next to her.

"Some lame movie about these cousins trying ta save their ranch." Marie replied
with a harrumph.

<< How the hell can she look like sin personified in those sweet little pj's? >>

"Does this thing pick up anything that isn't "G" rated?" Logan asked hopefully.

"Ah know what ya'll would like." Marie informed him, punching a couple of
numbers into remote.

The channel flipped from kids astride horses, to a naked bleached blonde with a
bad boob job, astride a naked brunette guy, who looked remarkably bored.  The
blonde on the screen rocked back and forth, emitting fake sounding moaning
noises, as the man fondled her breasts rather dispassionately.

"MARIE!" Logan growled.

"What? You asked. Ah didn't think you meant ya prefer ta watch a cooking show or
the Home Shopping Network." She responded mischievously.

The blonde on the screen continued rocking, and moments later acted out the
worst orgasm Logan had ever witnessed.

"She's faking." Marie announced.

"MARIE!" Logan shouted for the second time in the space of a few minutes.

"Well, come on. Even Meg Ryan faked a better one in "When Harry Met Sally" and
that was pretty lame in mah opinion."

"Do you even know what a real orgasm would look like?" Logan asked.

"Well, ah've never had the opportunity to actually see one." She informed him.
Then as she scooted closer to him, she added,  "The gym does have a mirrored
wall - care to show me?"

Logan's jaw fell to the ground and Marie just giggled.

"Ah'm just kidding, Logan. Don't look so panic stricken."   And with that, she
bounced out of the room, leaving Logan sitting there with a raging hard on and
wanting to jump up, chase after her and offer to put the gym's mirror to good
use.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Now that Logan's met Marie, the real fun begins.





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

hey people
follow up to unearthin Marie
hope u like
cheers
becky

Title; Chasing Logan
Author; Becky Lee
Rating; PG13
Summary; Rogue realises her mistake and goes after Logan
Disclaimer; I do not own the characters
Archive; whatever, just ask
Notes; A sequel to ‘Unearthing Marie’, carries on from where it left off. As
requested by ‘Rogue’ of Logan/Marie list, it's not a happy ending YET and
inspired by Muse’s song ‘Unintended, lyrics as follows. Oh, and thanks to
domino for the flattering queen remark!!!

You could be the one who listens
To my deepest inquisitions
You could be the one I’ll always love

I’ll be there as soon as I can
But I’m busy mending all the
Pieces of the life I had before

First there was the one who challenged
All my dreams and all my balance
She could never be as good as you

You could be my unintended
Choice to live my life extended
You could be the one I’ll always love

I’ll be there as soon as I can
But I’m busy mending all the
Pieces of the life I had before

Before you.

***
>Rogue crumpled to the floor, weeping. He had called her Rogue. He would
>leave. And she’d return to being all alone. Surrounded by people and all
>alone.

>Isolated again, but this time it was self-inflicted…

Rogue couldn’t believe what she’d just done. She had got what she wanted.
Succeeded in hurting him, rejecting him the way he had her, when she first
confessed her feelings for him. She thought revenge would be sweet, but she
was wrong. She knew all the things he had told her were true, that he did in
fact love her. Although he was wrong that she would chance anything and
everything on love. She would only chance anything and everything on HIS
love.

Rogue swallowed her tears, gulping for breath as she tried to focus on what
to do. She didn't want to get hurt again, but could she really walk away
from what could make her supremely happy? She realised long ago that she
couldn’t live without Logan, so on shaking legs she pulled herself up, off
the floor.

***

Logan strided into his room, grabbing his duffle bag and slinging clothes
into it. He had never known Marie to be so cruel, so distant. He thought
about the day she had told him of her love, revealed every hidden feeling
and bared herself, only to be met by his dismissal. He had been scared by
the truth then and had been hurt by the truth now. He couldn’t win no matter
what road he took. So he was taking the road out of there, away from the
spiteful memories and the woman he had loved and lost.

He scrawled a quick note to Xavier and left it on his bed. Picking up his
things and looking around the room he almost felt sad for leaving.

Almost.

He stalked down the barren corridor and out to the garage.

***

Rogue ran down the stairs and into the hall. As she past the window, she
slowed to a stop. She grabbed a pair of scissors from the hall's dresser
draw and went out into the rose garden. She knew he would see them as an
empty gesture, but to her at least, the roses were a token of admiration, a
peace offering to go along with her never-ending apology. Storm would be
furious of course, to wake up the next morning to find her velvet red roses
with severed heads, but Rogue was beyond caring what other people thought at
this point. This was about her and Logan and nothing else. Not about who
hurt who or all the unanswered questions swirling in her brain, but about
the fact that if two people truly love each other, then nothing should keep
them apart.

Holding the roses, Rogue made her way to Logan’s door. She took a deep
breath as she knocked and turned the knob. Her soul uttered a silent prayer
that she wasn’t too late. Her stomach did a back flip as she looked around.
It appeared God was too busy to be listening. His cigars and lighter were
missing from the bedside table and the closet and draws were left open and
empty. He was gone. She picked up the letter that lay on the bed and began
to read.

‘Xavier,
Things are too complicated here. I have to leave. I think I’ll take a train
out of town. I’ll call sometime and let you know I’m all right. Say goodbye
to everyone for me.
I don’t think I’m ever comin back.
Logan.’

The familiar sting of tears burnt in Rogues eyes as she crumpled the letter
in her hand, wringing it between her fingers, twisting it like her heart.
She bit her lip as the adrenaline immediately surged through her veins
again. Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe she could still catch him, he
couldn’t have got far. She flew out of the room, down the hall and out onto
the street.

***

Logan wandered to the garage, snarling at the huge lock Scott had placed on
both of the doors. He was kidding himself. If he crippled the lock it would
set off the alarms and even HE wasn’t prepared for that kind of noise, that
late at night. He wouldn’t be able to return the bike anyway, even if he
loved the idea of torturing Scott with its theft. He’d grab a cab to the
train station. Logan looked back at the house and to the only light on in
the vast house. Marie’s light. He exhaled unsteadily and turned to stroll
down the driveway.

***

Marie was getting more and more frustrated. This was New York for Christ
sake! Where were all the cabs? She stood on the curb outside the mansion for
a few panic-stricken seconds, but couldn’t stand waiting anymore. She’d used
what had God given her. Her legs. She’d run. The station wasn’t that far,
just six blocks. She squeezed the roses tight in her hands, the thorns
cutting into her flesh as she pelted down the street, her feet pounding on
the concrete. She had to stop him, she couldn’t lose him, she didn’t want to
be responsible for driving him from the only home he’d ever had and the only
family he’d ever known. She turned the corner in the cold night, her glossy
hair flying in the wind as she dashed through the streets to the station.

***

Logan stepped out into the street. He walked a little, dragging his feet as
he replayed the conversation with Marie over and over in his head. If only
he had played things differently. If only he hadn’t said Marie. He could be
lying in her arms right now. He turned onto a main street. At one in the
morning it was only slightly busier, but he managed to hail a passing cab.
He slid into the back seat, grimacing at the cheerfulness of the driver.

“The train station.”

Logan stared out of the window, watching the streets become more crowded as
the cab crawled through the city. A few minutes from the station, the road
seemed to clog with traffic. The cab came to a stop and a disgruntled Logan
sneered at the sight of total gridlock. It was definitely not his night.

“Looks like an accident. We could be here for hours, you may as well walk,
it’s only a few streets away,” apologised the cab driver as Logan handed him
the money and slipped out of the backseat, slamming the cab door behind him.
He waded through the cars, dodging the tight traffic and their beeping
horns. The street was well lit by neon signs and car headlights and the
water from the earlier rain reflected the light, making the road shimmer.
Logan edged and weaved in and out of cars to find the end of the street. The
wind was picking up and as he rounded the corner, his feet were met by a
cloud of red rose petals, playing in the breeze.

Looking at the chaotic situation before him, Logan instinctively surveyed
the scene. He stared at the car with the shattered windscreen, the shaking
driver repeating the phrase, "She just stepped out in front of me, I
couldn’t stop…" the crowd of people leaning over the victim, obscuring his
view.

And at the rose petals. What seemed like hundreds of them, scattered to the
wind. Trails of red like the darkest shades of blood and wine. Logan took a
step forward but stopped, feeling something hard under his boot. He looked
down, lifting his foot, to reveal what lay on the road. A pool of blood
cradling a chain and a set of dog tags.

Logan felt as if someone had just cut his throat. Robbing his lungs of air.
It couldn’t be. It couldn’t.

But it was.

He ran towards the crowd, pushing people aside. “No, God, no…” There on the
floor lay Marie, battered and bloodied, sprawled at her lover’s feet. Logan
took a step back at the horror that confronted him, his legs giving way and
forcing him to involuntarily kneel beside her. Her hair was covering part of
her face and her clothes and skin were smeared with blood. Her tiny body
looked so fragile.

Broken.

“Nobody touch her!” Logan yelled at the surrounding crowd. Being unconscious
and unable to obtain control, her powers would be in full force, evident
from the last person who had tried to help her, a man resting comatose on
the sidewalk. Logan took her face in his hands. Protected by her hair, he
gazed at her sweet face. He brushed the chocolate strands from her closed
eyes, the hair clutching at the thick lashes of her closed eyes. He would
prove now, beyond a shadow of a doubt how much she meant to him. He tried to
send a mental message to awaken Xavier, attempting to inform him of the
events that had taken place. But as he stared down at Marie, he knew they'd
never arrive in time and realised what he would have to do. While all the
people surrounding him looked on in awe, he bent down and gently kissed her.
The warmth of his mouth slowly heated her freezing lips, and he felt the
start of that memorable pull. That familiar feeling of being drawn into her,
drowning inside her body and mind. He swore he sensed a breath against his
lips before his vision began to fail. He fell back to the harsh and
unforgiving ground and everything around him went an ominous raven black…

*To be continued…



_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

Title: Sick of Dreaming in Black and You
Author: Sourspunk101, aka, Rebecca
Rating: G, cause all of my little ficlets are safe... so far.
Summary: Um, just read it.
Disclaimers: Story's mine, character's not. damn it.
Archive: Ask and ye shall receive.
Feedback: Of course!
Notes: I think i'll just stop trying to write stories all together,
and stick with short pieces like these. --not that these are any
better, but they're a whole lot easier to write, ya know? Especially
when you lack time (not to mention the talent) to write them. I'll
leave the actual plots and whatnot to the proffesionals. :)
AN2: again, sorry about the typos. I hate that I don't have the time
or energy to re-read this stuff and check over for mistakes. *shrugs*
Just, well,--sorry.





Seven nights ago, in a half awake, half asleep stupor, I think I
called out your name, because I was scared, and I was tired of being
chased around in my nightmares all night long. And it was a cry for
help, definitely, and I was half-awake, and I was half asleep, but my
mind said all of me was with you, and I would wake up completely, and
you would be there, holding me, kissing me on the forehead, telling
me everything is fine.

And I woke up shivering and sweating at the same time, the sheets
stuck to my thighs, and a breeze blowing through the open window. All
was silent except the hum of the electricity through the walls, and
the half-lit room by falsified light from the outside showed me that
it was just me here and only me, and that it had been me all along.

I'm not even sure if there were ghoulish things in the night chasing
me around my subconscious. Something tells me there wasn't, because
you weren't there again, and that's the real nightmare, and I feel
like I'm still in it.

I pulled my pillow tight against my chest and clenched my fist and
supressed a scream. 'I'm so sick of this earth-shattering emptiness'
is what I didn't scream. 'I hate myself for losing everything that
was important to me', I didn't scream. I didn't scream that I just
wanted a deliverance in the Creedish Death Cult since of the word.

I woke up again only six mornings ago. 5:45 and the sun was just
rising and my lips were still mouthing your name. I'm not sure how I
keep getting out of bed everyday. I sure as hell don't know why.

You told me how you were suffering through insomnia and it gave me
random flashbacks of when I was too --still am. Upset, sometimes
crying out of frustration, always unable to sleep, occasionally
curled in a ball wondering why my stomach always felt like an
erupting volcano -healing factor or no.

(And we've grown up so much since then, haven't we, you fucking
crybaby)

And I would just turn over and over and tangle myself in thoughts and
sheets --so much that you couldn't tell which was which any longer,
because they all just ended up tired and frustrated. And everything
was just clockwork in the most serious way. Watching digital numbers
gain a few bars, lose a few bars. Watching big hands move and being
eclipsed by small hands and moving on again, around and around. I
just couldn't feel anything during the day, because the day wouldn't
turn into tomorrow fast enough.

And five mornings ago, I was running through some trails in the woods
out behind the mansion, and there were flowers that smelled pretty,
and woods that creaked in the wind. There was a lake that would
correctly say your name if I rented a plane and wrote it in smoke,
backwards, across the cyan sky.

I watched the sun rise slowly, preparing myself to four more days of
missing you. That's the plan; and when you come back, and when I see
you, and hold you close, and pull out my notes detailing exactly why
you are the most beautiful, spectacular, perfect person in the entire
world; when I'm telling you how no one else will ever be you, could
ever be you; when I'm telling you that you are my forever factor in
500,000 words or less, I'll describe my perfect Alaskan Sunrises. How
beautiful they are, and how the sky is a million different colors
that even Crayola couldn't dream of.  You'll understand too, because
we understand each other. We compliment each other, and we complete
each other.

Three days until your return, and my only true regret in life is that
I never realized all of these things about you before. Maybe I was
blinded, blinded by all of the good, which you radiated off of
yourself like waves in my direction. Nothing like you, nothing this
pure and *perfect*, had ever crossed my path before. So I denied it,
choosing to block it all out in the fear that I would one day wake
up, and it'd all be gone. You'd be gone.

I took up with Jeanie, and that was the worst mistake of my life. And
I've made so many, and I know I don't deserve you, but I'm greedy, so
damn selfish. My eyes opened and I saw everything that had been
staring me in the face this whole time.

You weren't a dream, but you *could* disappear. Too bad I had to
learn that the hard way.

Two more days, and I have even taken to wearing a watch lately. Since
you left. And the clock seems to always go so extremely slow. Nothing
is ever fast enough waiting for you, and nothing is slow enough when
we are together.

You're back now. And nothing describes the way our lips congregate
and convene, a divinity unlike any other I have ever felt. Every time
our bodies entwine, pretzel in each other's warmth, I embark down a
road of enchanting wonder, my own Pilgrim Progress, if you will.
Certainly finding in you a beautiful unforeseen heaven, where the
streets aren't paved in gold, but laid in the harmony of our romance.
One so firm-rooted in love and need and commitment, one so devoid of
hurt, fear, or the lecherous fascination that creep within both, that
I reconsider my stance on a God, as no other could produce something
like my Marie.

Our conversations surely appear to be a lingual wall only we can
surpass in a natural understand. I would tell you, "I really believe
we are shedding boundaries," but you already know. You see the
crooked mold of almost youthful lust and the growing tree of a
forever love. You see the disintegrating stereotypes of an
unconceptualized ideal relationship and see us for what we truly are –
lost without one another.

We have sliced our hearts in half and traded pieces, sewing them to
our original ventricles and replacing the new creation back in our
respective ribcages. We hold and protect each other, give each other
life and renewal, hope and strength, and I love you more deeply than
I have ever loved anyone before to my knowledge of memory. This is
the incredible woman I'm going to spend an eternity and beyond with.
This is my forever factor. This, ladies and gentlemen, is my precious
and beautiful Marie.

And now I am back at the lake behind the mansion, near the edges of
the spirited woods. Inhaling the deep scents of flowers that remind
me of the sweet aroma of your gorgeously soft hair; I sit on a rock
and put my feet in the water and tell myself I'm never going to lose
something important to me again.


********************                 *********************
                           ~END~

********************                 *********************

Did this make any sense to you guys? Urgh. I REALLY need to get some
sleep, you guys. Haven't slept in over 60+ hours (hence the mention
of insomnia, maybe?). And the traveling bit isn't helping any. Here's
a bit of free information for you people, flying to 7 different
countries within a week and a half is no fun at all. Especially when
you have to lug around a pet monkey named Boomerang. *shakes head*
That's just a whole `nother can of tomatoes that I do NOT want to
open up right now….

Title: The Cracleberry Tales

Author: Auutmn

E-mail: eddievedderismylife@...

Category: Sillyfic!!!

Rating: AI for Absolute Insanity

Pairing: Rogue/Logan, kind of.

Summary:  Uh, Rogue and Jubilee talk out some of Rogue’s more creative
thoughts involving Logan.  Ah-hem, Mind.  Gutter. OUT!

	 Jubilee didn’t know what to do.  Her best friend had gotten what she
wanted, right?  “Dude, what’s the problemo, isn’t this what you always
wanted?”

	 “I think so, but Jubes, I had the weirdest like vision about this.....


	 Rogue and her baby were peacefully lying on the bed that she shares with
Logan.  All of a sudden said male burst through the door with a blonde woman
who is obviously a stripper.

“Logan?”

“Oh, hey babe.  Hey could you take the rugrat somewhere else for about 15
minutes?  I met Chrissy at a bar, and I’ve just gotta fuck her.”

“LOGAN!”  Don’t the wedding vows you took mean anything?

“Oh those things.  Uh, well you see Marie, it goes something like this.....

(Logan bursts into song)

When I said that I’d be faithful
When I promised I’d be true
When I swore that I could never
Be with anyone but you
When I told you that I loved you
With those tender words that I spoke
I was only kidding,
Now, can’t you take a joke?

	 “Okay chica, you really need to rest that overactive imagination of yours.”

	 “Kay, but that’s not even the only one I had!”
	 “Rogue, I know I’m going to regret this, but what were the other ones like?

	 “Well......................



	 Rogue is walking outside and she notices Logan, duffel bad in toe hopping
onto Scott’s bike.  He’s just about to kick it to life when,

	 “Ah Logan, ya going on a trip sweetie?”

	 “Oh yeah.  Look it’s been fun and all Marie, but I’m peelin’ out now.  See
ya.”

	 “Um okay, what the hell happened to what you told me last night?

	 Logan roles his eyes, “Look Marie”

When I said that I need you baby
When I told you that I really care
When I said that I can’t live without you
When I said I’d follow you anywhere
When I said you could always trust me
When I said I’d never leave you flat
Well guess what?  I was only kidding baby
I can’t believe you fell for that, you’re so gullible!

	 At this point, Remy, Hank, Scott, and Bobby come onto the scene dressed
like Logan, and start dancing in a freakish backstreet-boy from hell style.
Logan heads into the middle singing the lead vocals with the other four
backing him up.

(I was only kidding) I was only kidding
(I was only kidding) You thought that was for real?
(I was only kidding) I was only kidding
Now I’m sorry if you misunderstood, but the fact remains
(I was only kidding) I was only kidding
(I was only kidding) Baby baby, I was...
(I was only kidding)
Well I guess I got you pretty good!  Now listen......

	 “Okay, Rogue babe, that would never happen.  I mean Logan would NEVER say
‘peel out.’”

	 “Thanks Jubes.  I really gotta stop sniffing that airplane glue.”

	 “What?!”

	 “Huh?  Oh nevermind.”

	 Jubilee shot her friend a
my-God-I-am-only-humoring-you-because-I-know-you’re-insane look.  She kindly
gestured for her to continue.

	 “ Jubes, I don’t know what to do.  Every time I see Logan I run away
screaming because I think something horrible is going to happen.  Its
starting to really affect me, ya know?”

	 “Uh-huh, um there aren’t any more are there?”

	 “Oh, okay the one I had today was the most depressing one yet.”

	 “Oh, joy, the rest have been just peachy Rogue.”

	 “Shut up, just listen Jubes.  This one is about me and Logan getting
married.


	 Reverend Quacker stood at the altar and turned to address the couple before
him.

	 “Do you, Marie Angelica Gordon take Logan, uh yeah, to be your loftily
wedded husband?”

	 Turning to face him, Rogue’s radiant face beamed as she uttered the two
most sacred words known to man, “I do.”

	 “Cool.  Now do you Logan, take whats-her-face to be your wife?”

	 “Actually.  Marie, I have something to tell you.” Logan stated as he turned
to his bride-to-be, “hit it Scooter.”

	 Music suddenly filled the church, and Logan began singing:

	 When I said you ought to marry me
	 When I said that we should settle down
	 Well I was pullin’ your leg there honey
	 I was just foolin’ around
	 You see-I never meant to hurt anyone
	 I was only kidding baby
	 Why don’t you put that gun down?
	 Let’s talk this over

	 (I was only kidding) I was only kidding
	 (I was only kidding) I was only kidding
	 (I was only kidding) I was only kidding
	 (I was only kidding) I didn’t lie to you!
	 I was only kidding.. Yes indeed
	 (I was only kidding) Baby baby, you know
	 (I was only kidding) Hey!

	 “Rogue, chica two words.  Psycho.  Therapy.  And this time, not for Logan.”

	 “But Jubes, what the hell-“

	 “Hey Marie, wanna go on a ride?”

	 Rogue jumps up in terror.  “Oh God, no!  Just, you, just, you stay away
from me!  Just AHHHHHHHHH!!!” she bit out as she fled the scene leaving a
very puzzled Logan behind.

	 He turned an accusatory stare on Jubilee.  “What.  Did.  You.  Do?”

	 “Who there Kujo, I did nothing.  Just, um he-he.  Rogue listens to some
sort of subliminal-sleeping tape, and uh Kitty and I decided it would kinda
be funny to slip in a ‘Wierd Al’ tape in there, and uh just, um I really,
need to go now!” Jubilee, who valued her life immediately, took after her
friend.

	 Logan slumped in the chair to for a plan.  Part one: find out who the hell
Weird Al was, he had to be horrible if Marie was apparently mistaking Logan
for that guy.  Part two:  kill him.  It was a good plan, and Logan wasn’t
kidding.


____________________________________________________________

"You're fucking up my chi."-Stanely "Swordfish"

" There's a thin line between 'hoby' and 'mental illness.'-Dave Barry


"Your soul is like your appendix, I don't even use mine." -Kelso, That '70s
Show

" Damnit.  Gilligan screwed up.  Gilligan is always screwing up, they should
just kill him."
- Red Forman, That '70s Show









_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

quick last part to this weird little story, follows on from where i left off
in chasing logan
cheers
becky

Title; Awakenings
Author; Becky Lee
Rating; PG13
Summary; Can Logan and Marie finally be together? Hell yes!
Disclaimer; I do not own the characters
Archive; whatever, just ask
Notes; Wanna say thanks en masse to peeps who gave me some lovely feedback
and I’ve just been too damn butt-lazy to reply individually, so cheers to:
Bani, Domino, Karen, Terri, Rogue, Ally, Karen B, Jonas, Cat, Susan K, Beck,
Leah and Victoria. This last bit is the follow up to Chasing Logan, sorry it
took a while but things have been a little nuts lately and I’m sure they’re
bound to get a whole lot worse! Anyhow this part’s inspired by Jewel’s
‘Painters’, the lyrics being; “He said, Love, I love you, I wanna give the
mountains, the star shine, the sunset too. I just wanna give you a world as
beautiful as you, are to me”.

***

Logan tensed, once again in the darkness. His whole body ached as though
he’d just run a marathon.

“Logan… Logan?”

Logan attempted to open his eyes, the lids feeling unusually heavy. He
managed to open them a crack, taking in his surroundings. His was in his
room, in his bed and as far as he could tell…wearing only a sheet. As the
muffled voice drifted to his ears again, the events before he blacked out
came flooding back to him. His eyes snapped open and he sat up sharply,
wincing at the stiffness in his lower back.

“Logan, hold still. Do you want me to get Jean?”

Marie sat next to him, cross-legged on the edge of his bed in a miniscule
nightdress, a worried look on her face and a warm hand on his shoulder.
Relief washed over him in blissful waves. She was all right, she was fine
and safe and he was alive. It was everything he could wish for. Well, almost
everything.

“No, I’m fine, darlin. You?” He couldn’t stop the question exiting his
throat. He had to be absolutely sure he hadn’t caused her further pain.

“Perfect.” Rogue couldn’t stop her beaming smile. He called her darlin.
Maybe there WAS something there other than friendship. He’d saved her life
yet again, but she wasn’t entirely convinced he’d done it for any other
reason than because of his promise to take care of her. She hoped he had
done it out of love, that he’d give her another chance at making them both
happy. She wanted to tell him everything, about how much she wanted to with
him forever, apologise for being so frightened and cruel, but right now, all
she wanted to do was slide under that sheet and lie in his arms.

Logan shifted, sitting up, careful not to dislodge the paper-thin sheet, the
only thing covering him, from slipping from the bed. He looked Marie up and
down. She looked contented enough, but there was something else behind that.
She was fidgeting like crazy, like she wanted to say or do something, but
like she was heeled by apprehension. He knew one of them had to mention all
that had taken place in the run up to her accident, he understood that they
needed to talk.

“Marie, I-”

Before Logan could even continue the sentence, Marie leapt forward throwing
her arms around his neck and flattening her body to his, as she sent them
both hurtling backwards into the soft mattress. She clung onto his athletic
shoulders for dear life, as she rambled into his ear.

“Oh, Logan, I’m so sorry. I know I’ve been a complete moron and a heartless
bitch to you, but can you ever forgive me? I know I don’t deserve it, but if
you just let me make it up to you, I can show you how much I really do love
you… I was just scared of you hurting me, but I know you never would again,
I know you never meant to in the first place and I know now that sometimes,
you have to take a risk on love...I’m a total fool, I admit it, but if you
give me a chance, I’ll love you more deeply and more passionately than ever
before. I just know I can make you sublimely happy, just please…please don’t
leave me again, I couldn’t bear it!”

Logan had never experienced exquisite pleasure like this. He was grinning
like an idiot. He had the woman he’d always loved confessing her undying
affection and the woman he’d always wanted lying on top of his practically
naked body. He urged Marie into loosening her grip and brought her head up
in his hands so he could look into her eyes. She looked petrified, her eyes
glassy with tears, anticipating the words that would flow from his mouth.
Smiling smugly, he decided to put her out of her misery.

“Marie, there’s nothin’ to forgive, darlin. You had every reason to be
afraid and I ain’t gonna hold that against ya. I should have told ya how I
felt long ago, but it ain’t about that now. I love ya, baby, but how ‘bout
we just take it one day at a time, startin with this…”

Logan stopped talking as he leant up to kiss her, pressing her soft lips to
his. He ran his hands through her hair as he pulled her down towards him,
bringing her closer as he ravished her mouth with his thrusting tongue.
Marie ran her hands down Logan’s torso, resting her palms on his ribs and
pushing the length of her body up his, dragging skin across skin in a
delicious caress and forcing herself harder into his rough and passionate
mouth. Exhaling, Logan released her lips, nipping and licking the smooth,
white skin of her neck as Marie wriggled in delight on top of him, causing a
heated and electrifying friction between them. She smiled down at Logan and
gestured to the growing bulge under the sheet, “Is that a NEW nine inch
retractable claw or are you just pleased to see me?” She asked amid an array
of breathy giggles.

“Right, that’s it, screw the step at a time idea, come ‘ere you tease!”
Logan growled as he drew a chuckling Marie onto his lap and jerked the sheet
over their heads, leaving the pair once again in darkness.



The end.


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

Hi all,

Warning: This story is my first story which futures only Rogue and Logan. Also
this fic may seem sad, as my stories tend to reflect my mood.


You can also read this story here:

http://www.100megspop3.com/scottororo/fiction/OnTouchAndMortality.htm

Enjoy:


On Touch And Mortality
by Nadja Lee           05/09/01

English is not my native language. Please forgive me my mistakes.

Disclaimer: “X-men” and all the characters here belong to Marvel, 20 Century Fox
and I intend no infringement, this is a piece of amateur fan fiction, and I make
no money of it.

Only the original idea contained within this work is the property of the author.
Please do not copy this story to any website or archive without permission of
the author.

Timeline: Set in the movie universe. After the movie.

Universe: Set in the movie universe.

Romance: Rogue/Logan

Summary: Rogue can finally touch someone…

Archiving: Want, ASK, take,  have.

Feedback: Yes, please. My e-mail address is neh@....

Rating: PG

Sequel/series: None

Dedicated to Mie. I shall pray for you and hope to see you again in good health
. I’ll always love you.

*mmmm * is telepathically thoughts spoken in the mind. “ mmmmm ”  is spoken out
loud.



Part 1:

Life isn’t fair, life is never fair. I didn’t want to be a mutant; I didn’t want
to be the untouchable one. I never wished for this, I never wanted this feeling
of loneliness and isolation.

Why does this hurt me so much? Why does it feel like someone has cut my heart
out? Why do I cry so much?

“ Don’t cry, darlin`,” Logan whispers and pulls me close to him. We stand side
by side outside in the rain in the back of Xavier’s property. In front of us is
a small wooded cross. I cling to Logan as if he’s the only safe thing in an
insane world and he is. He gave me this gift; he saved me, gave me back a little
of what I’d lost. I want to ask him, bed him, demand of him that he brings her
back to me. Right now. I want her back! I need her back…

I’ve had her for 15 years, 15 wonderful years. Logan found her one day and
brought her to me. In his warm winter gloves he held her out to me, this little
wet and absolutely adorable silver kitten. She tried to touch me with her paws
and I almost fell backwards in my hurry to move away. Logan told me to stand
still and close my eyes. I did. I instantly tensed and when I felt a gently and
soft furry paw on my naked arm and jacked my arm away as if burned. But as I
opened my eyes she was all right; the kitten was all right. I couldn’t
understand how that could be; I had touched it, I should have killed it, my
touch always kills, I always bring death. Logan kissed the top of my head ever
so gently and told me that as there were mutated humans there were mutated
animals; the kitten was a mutant. And not just that; she was a mutant like me.
She too killed whatever she touched and that was why she could touch me; we
cancelled each other out.

It is indescribable to tell how happy I felt as I held my small kitten, Logi as
I called her after Logan, close to my heart. She was the first living creature I
had touched in 10 years; touched and not killed. From that day forth I took Logi
with me wherever I went; she even slept in my and Logan’s bed at night. Logi
wasn’t who I really wanted to be able to feel skin to skin; that was of cause
Logan but she was everything I had. She was all I’ll ever have and I love her
so. I’ll always love her. She brightened my days and made me smile. I can never
thank Logan enough for bringing her into my life. She eased my pain and my
loneliness.

She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t tell me her feelings but whenever I held her
she would purr and press close to me; besides her only Logan don’t fear my touch
and even though I can’t kill him I still have to be careful; very careful as I
don’t want to hurt him. Logan has always been there for me but when I cry he
can’t wipe my tears away with his bare hands; can’t put his naked arms around me
at night. I remember one day I cried and he picked Logi up and lifted her right
front paw and gently let her soft paw wipe away my tears.

I never saw Logi as a pet; she will always be a person to me. If I was sad it
was as if she knew it because she’ll come to me and purr, wanting to be picked
up. When I was happy she’d come to play. She was always there for me when I
needed touch.

How can someone so small as she come to mean so much to me? All my dreams, all
my hopes went into her. For so long, in so many ways, she was my only support.
She even came to me on Logan’s and my wedding day. When we were dancing our
wedding dance in the grand hall in the mansion she came and wanted to play with
my veil and made me smile and forget that Logan’s and my wedding night would be
a wedding night in name only because we can never touch and we will never be
able to.

All things dies; I know that better than most. All I touch; I kill. And Logan,
my protector, my love and my husband…he can practically live forever while I
grow older day by day. I believe in our love to be strong and last all my life
even when I’m old and grey but it is hard on both of us; hard to fade away, to
grow older and change and see him remain the same. I’m now 42 and though Logan
says I’m as beautiful to him today as I was on our wedding day I know my beauty
is fading. As a teenager it was fun with the white steak in my hair; now I
colour it as black as I can to cover the beginning grey. I want to stay forever
young and beautiful for Logan but I can’t. I want to touch him but I can’t. I
want to make love to him but I can’t. I want to bear his children but I can’t.

Every time I stand before a grave, every time I hear about someone dying, even
people I don’t know; I’m reminded of my own mortality and Logan’s almost
immortality. I never want to leave him alone again but I have to. My greatest
concern is that when I’m gone he’ll be all alone. I watched Highlander once as a
kid and found it very romantic how the Immortal loved his wife and stayed
faithful to her for 100ths of years; now the thought makes me cry for that
Immortal can be Logan and I…I’m the mortal he loved, I’m the woman who he’ll
hold in his arms when I’m grey and wrinkled while he stay the same as the first
time we met. Already our appearance is a problem, people begin to assume that
I’m Logan’s older sister or aunt and I know it’ll only get worse. When we walk
together when I’m 80 and he still look like he’s 30 something, people will
automatically assume I’m his mother. When people address me wrongly I tell Logan
that it really doesn’t matter though it hurts so much but he’ll hear none of it.
He’ll pop his claws and demand an apology from whoever called me his sister,
aunt or whatever. When we talked about this I said that if he always introduced
me as his wife people would begin to talk but he don’t care. He said that to him
I’ll always be beautiful for it is the inside that matters and he’ll always be
proud of me and be honoured to call me his wife; forever. When he talks like
that how can I refuse him anything when I love him so much? Though I at times
get really frustrated about it I’ve come to accept what we can and can’t do. I
wish we could grow old together, I wish we could share that now that we can’t
share touch; but we cannot and no matter how powerful my wishing is it’ll never
be enough.

I could touch Logi; I could feel skin against skin one more time. She would
always make me forget my worries with her loving and playful nature. Gods, how I
miss her. Tears run down my face and now none is there to wipe them away with a
soft paw. Logan reaches over and wipes my tears away with his gloved hand and
the feel of skin against clothes feels stronger now than ever before. I can’t
touch anything anymore. I am as I was; I’m untouchable again.

When Logi got ill I tried to deny it; I didn’t want it to be true. I visited 10
different doctors and all said the same; she was dying. That Logan threatened
them at claw point unfortunately didn’t change facts. I was loosing her. I went
into denial and Logan…Logan was frustrated beyond words. He recruited Scott or
rather dragged him with him and together they searched everywhere for another
cat like Logi; for any animal or human like Logi and me. But to no avail. We
have a rare mutation, Logi and I; there is no one else. Before at least I had
her and I didn’t feel so alone; now I’m the only one. The others want to
understand, wants to help me but only Logan has admitted that he can’t give me
everything I desire; he can’t give me skin to skin touch and he will never be
able to understand the loneliness I feel no matter how much he wants to or tries
to. None of us can ever fully understand what it feels like to have each other’s
mutations; I know this as do Logan. We have no illusions left of the world or
each other. Things are as they are and that’s the way it is…

But Gods, how I miss her. I’ll do anything to bring her back; anything at
all…but I have none to bargain with. I feel so lost and alone. So cold, so
utterly cold. A shiver runs through me.

“ Here, lov`, “ Logan says softly and puts his jacket around me.

“ Thanks,” I whisper and try to smile through tears. He nods and closes his arms
around me; pulling me into a warm and secure embrace. At least I still have
Logan with me, I still have his love and that is a gift I’m grateful for every
day.

I had known from the moment Logi entered my life that one day I’ll be without
touch again no matter how much I wished it otherwise but knowing doesn’t make it
any easier.

Maybe in time I can get used to no touch again, maybe in time I can learn to
forget her soft paws, her purring, the way her eyes followed me, how I could get
lost in her green eyes, the way she’ll come to me when I was sad and comfort
me…maybe in time I can forget all that. Maybe…



The End

Hi all,

Yeah, anyone who knows me knew this had to happen (I HATE one way discussions of
any kind *G*); the comparison piece to “On Touch And Mortality”

You can also read this story here:
http://www.100megspop3.com/scottororo/fiction/OnLossAndImmortality.htm

Warnings: This was written last night at 1 something after a hard day of work,
I’m having a bad case of the flu and a slight fever so if this makes no sense at
all you know why *G*
Oh, and this may be on the sad/angsty side...


I’ll love to hear what you make of this regardless...


Enjoy:

On Loss And Immortality
by Nadja Lee           07/09/01

English is not my native language. Please forgive me my mistakes.

Disclaimer: “X-men” and all the characters here belong to Marvel, 20 Century Fox
and I intend no infringement, this is a piece of amateur fan fiction, and I make
no money of it.

Only the original idea contained within this work is the property of the author.
Please do not copy this story to any website or archive without permission of
the author.

Timeline: Set in the movie universe. After the movie.

Universe: Set in the movie universe.

Romance: Rogue/Logan

Summary: Logan thinks about losses and his future…

Archiving: Want, ASK, take,  have.

Feedback: Yes, please. My e-mail address is neh@....

Rating: PG

Sequel/series: Comparison piece to “On Touch And Mortality”

Dedicated to Mie. I shall pray for you and hope to see you again in good heath.
I’ll always love you.

*mmmm * is telepathically thoughts spoken in the mind. “ mmmmm ”  is spoken out
loud.



Part 1:

I hate graves, I hate them. Yet here I stand before another one. It’s not so bad
though for Marie is by my side only she’s crying so much, so very very much. I
wish I could ease her pain, do something. I can take anything, anything, but her
tears. Every tear that falls breaks my heart in two.

“ Don’t cry, darlin`,” I whisper and pulls her close to me. We stand side by
side outside in back of the Mansion, a plain cross in front of us. I’ve always
thought it was ridiculous to put crosses on graves, in ancient Rome they were
used to torment people with then why use them as symbols for “eternal life”?

If it had been anyone but Marie I’ll have found it endlessly stupid to stand in
the rain before a grave made for a cat. But for my Marie I’ll do anything.

I had come back 5 months after I had left for Canada and she had been waiting
for me just like I had hoped she would. Though I left mostly to find my past it
was also because I needed to know my own feelings for Marie and hers for me. I
knew that if she waited for me...she felt the same. We were together for 12
years; we shared a room in the mansion and a bed where I’ll hold her clothed
body close to mine. We were married in anything but name. I had asked Marie to
marry me several times but she had kept avoiding the subject, saying I deserved
someone I could touch, someone who could bear my children. But I never wanted
anyone but her.

I noticed how sad she got when she by accident killed one of Ro´s plants and
though both her and Scooter told her it was alright, she was depressed for days
and nothing I did seemed to help. Of all of us she has the worst mutation and I
figured it was time I tried to ease that loneliness I knew she felt. So, I went
hunting. I stayed in the woods for days, looking for just the one thing, the one
living being that would brighten my love’s days. Scooter had made a fancy thing
for me; it would blink green if the living being had a mutation like Marie’s and
red if not. It reminded me of a pencil with a miniature lighthouse on top but it
worked. I knew Marie’s mutation is very rare as Scooter’s is, not like telepathy
and telekinesis, which are some of the most common mutations, but I still
searched for just one, just one, more living being with the power of my Rogue.
Finally I found her; a small, lost silver kitten. She looked half dead and fury
boiled in me as I knew some uncaring family had cast her away simply because
they had tired of her. Making sure my hands were covered I lifted the kitten up
and brought her home to Marie. Never have I seen her smile so much. When she
found she could touch Logi as Marie had called her, after me by the way which I
was rather proud of, she threw her arms around me and kissed me again and again
through her shawl.

It was incredible to see how Logi changed her; made her happier. She would
always have a smile on her lips and when an accident happened like one time in
bed she accidentally touched my skin, she could handle it. Before she’ll stay
away from me for weeks, afraid to come near me in fear she’ll hurt me again. My
Marie was happy so, so was I.

But everything ends, everything dies. I know this better than most. I’ve killed
more people than I care to remember and I’ve buried more people than any man
should. Over the years my memories have slowly begun to return and I now know
that the experiment done on me was sometime during WW2. I think the Nazis had
captured me, as I can’t see myself as the patriotic self-sacrificing person
who’ll volunteer for an experiment like what was done on me in any life or time.
It was only the time of my experiment, the why, how and who which I couldn’t
remember when I first met Marie. I’ve always been able to remember from 1944 and
forth. I remember I fought on D-day, I fought in Korea and finally in Vietnam.
That was the last war I was a part off; not only because it was getting harder
and harder to use false IDs but also because that war took away the last
illusions I’d had about people.

Love is no stranger to me though I’ve never known love like what I feel for
Marie. But I was married once before. Her name was Maria, a French resistance
fighter. I met her during the Invasion; she took care of me and I of her. I was
very confused and disorientated at that time, didn’t even know any of my names
at all. She helped me remember my name and the world and I protected her. It was
so easy to fall in love and I think we both needed it after what we had been
through. Maria’s parents had been shot as traitors to Hitler’s rule and the
Gestapo had once captured and tortured her; we both had great pain in our lives
but together we succeeded in easing it a little. I thought it would last forever
but it didn’t; nothing ever does. She died in 1954, only 9 years after we had
married and with her our 7 year old son; Pierre. We had been on a cruise sailing
from France to England. The ship wrecked and everybody drowned. I tried to get
to Marie and Pierre but we were separated by the panicked masses. The last I
ever saw of her was as she reached out a hand for me and called my name while
the masses pulled us apart. We all drowned that day; I did too only I didn’t
die, I never die. To loose a wife is terrible but to loose a child is the worst
thing in the world. A father shouldn’t outlive his children yet I did; I always
outlive them all.

In Marie I’ve found hope again; I’ve found love again. Our wedding day was the
happiest day of my life. But I know our time is limited or rather her time is
limited; I’m stuck here forever and without Marie I can imagine no greater Hell.

Things change, they always do; only I remain the same. Marie has grown older but
if it weren’t for the New Year celebrations I wouldn’t have noticed. She’s as
beautiful to me today as she was when I first saw her. She’s still a woman-child
by heart and I love her for it. She has seen the worst in men, she has seen the
best in men and through it all she has stayed true to herself; true to her heart
and that’s the part I love most about her; her heart, her mind; her personality.
She’s the only one who truly understands me; when I’m tired of all these battles
and the war that will never end, she makes sense of madness when my sanity hangs
in the balance. She always seem to understand even when I loose my way and with
the love I see in her eyes and hear in her words I know I must have done
something right to be allowed to hold a treasure such as her in my embrace at
night. Now and forever; my heart will always be hers…only she doesn’t have
forever and I dare not even think the thought of a life without her; so cold
it’ll be, so cold I’ll be. Cold and alone.

  Things have also changed at the Mansion. The professor died some years ago and
Scooter took over the school after him. Though Xavier and I were never close his
death reminded me of Marie’s mortality and my own immortality. Ro married
Scooter 2 years before I married Marie so their little baby girl was at our
wedding. Though she hid it well, I could see and sense Marie’s longing for
children of her own, especially as time goes by. The first time I saw her sad
because of the kids I wanted to kill the little buggers to make her happy again
but Marie didn’t like that idea. I went to find Logi for her instead and as
always when she felt Logi´s soft skin against her own she smiled again and
therefore so did I.

Life and death…all a part of nature. Or so it is said but if I could have Marie
with me forever I’ll gladly kill anyone to do so. No matter how much I don’t
want it to happen she is growing older and one day I’ll be forced to leave her.
I gave her a promise long ago; I promised I’ll always protect her and that I’ll
always be there for her. The day we wed I resaid that vow to myself; I will
never leave her. I’ll hold her in my arms, I’ll ease her pain and her suffering,
I’ll protect her with my life and love her forever…way beyond her death.

Whoever said they wanted to live forever is either a fool or drunk; probably
both. There is no greater curse than going through life alone. To have felt love
and see her fade away and die; to be so helpless, to be unable to stop her from
dying knowing this is one place where you can’t follow, where you can’t protect
her...

But I can; I can follow her. Jeannie is still studying biochemistry and stuff
like that in the basement, she never married and though I wouldn’t even wish
Scooter with that Ice Queen I do feel sad for the loneliness I’m sure she must
feel…somewhere. Jeannie examined my mutation along with the others of cause. She
found that Scooter’s eye beams was the only thing what could destroy the small
part of my metal claw I had given her to look at. In other words, Scooter could
kill me with a stare as the only person I know. His beams can destroy my
skeleton and burn away my flesh; even my healing factor won’t be able to heal
that.

As I heard that I vowed that if Scooter outlived Marie, I’ll do anything;
anything from asking to threatening Ro or his kids to get him mad or sympathetic
enough to kill me… for who wants to live forever…alone?

My thoughts return to the present and I see Marie shiver. I take off my jacket
and put it around her shoulders.

“ Here, lov`, “ I say softly.

“ Thanks,” she whispers and try to smile through tears. I nods and closes my
arms around her, pulling her close.

I wanted so badly to find another Logi for her to keep her happy but I couldn’t
find any and believe me; I searched everywhere. Logi was special, I guess, in
more ways than one.

In time…in time Marie will get used to no touching again but God how I wished
she didn’t have to get used to it. The hardest lesson I’ve ever had to learn is
that I can’t always protect her, no matter how badly I want to. Maybe in time
I’ll also learn to accept this…. maybe…though I doubt it.



The End

Title:  Walking on Gelatin

Author: Autumn

E-mail:  eddievedderismylife@...

Ratting: R

Disclaimer: I own not, therefor I’m poor.   The song is “Insect Kin” by
Bush.  It’s a strange piece, but I think it fits.

Distributions: Mutual Admiration, XMMFFC, WRFA, others just ask first please

Summary: The sequel to my “Stained” series.

Author’s Notes: One sentence is borrowed/stolen from a comment Karen made.
Also, as I don’t drink beer, I found that drinking three bottles of Canada
Dry ginger ale channels the inner-Logan quite nicely!

This is Logan and Rogue POV.

Iron lung I know you well
I deal with you like a bad spell
See the trail moon burns
A red stripe and vicadin

	 Logan’s changed.  A lot.  In fact, I’m still sitting down in a chair trying
to recover from the shock I received earlier-he’s coming home.  I knew he
would eventually, but he’s only been gone for three months.  That’s not what
was shocking.  Logan stopped drinking.
	 Logan is, or was a man with many vices and his biggest one was drinking,
okay it was sex, but drinking was a close second.  For Logan to stop
drinking for me is a tremendously touching thing.

You were the only one
You were the censor
You didn’t people me
I’m not defenseless

	 Marie told me about her mom.  The bitch used to beat her when she was stone
sober, and her father used to get on her case and attack her when he was
drunk. That left me with one choice; to stop drinking, or cause Marie more
pain.  Obviously I picked the smart choice.  So I’m heading back to
Westchester, I haven’t had sex since before Laughlin City, and I haven’t had
a drop of fuckin’ whiskey since last week.  And it’s all for Marie.  If that
makes me a pansy, fuck off bub.
	 I hope Marie never learns the full extent of her power over me.  If she
does, I don’t even want to consider the consequences.  So I’ll just focus on
my trip home.

In the afternoon as the light dims
Build a life out of all of this sentex
You’re the brightest one
You were the censor
The perfect opposite
Of what you asked for



	 Logan’s past is miserable.  His own government betrayed him!  The stupid
bastards make me want to dismember all of them slowly, and I’m a pacifist by
nature.  Though it did make me laugh when he told me that he was kicked out
of the army for insubordination.  How can Scott ever expect Logan to listen
to him now?
	 I’m constantly amazed by the effect Logan has on me.  Before him, I was a
silly little girl who dreamed of a suave, sophisticated, southern gentleman.
   Then somewhere between Canada and New York, things changed.  Logan is the
complete opposite of what I thought I wanted, and I wouldn’t have it any
other way.  That’ll be the first thing I say to him after he gets his ass
back here.

It’s not just one way
A negative factor
With all of these wasps out
I’d better take cover


	 Jean told me Marie had a crush on me.  She’s pretty stupid for a telepath
if she didn’t realize the attraction wasn’t one-way.  But that’s another
story for a different day.  The only reason I ever flirted with Jean was to
piss Scotty-boy off.  See; deep down I have respect for the guy, so of
course I have to give him a hard time.  After all someone has to keep the
little shit in line.
	 Anyway, Marie is the only person that knows I don’t really hate Scooter.
If she let it slip, ohhh the punishments I could come up with....  Damn,
suddenly my jeans aren’t as comfortable as they were just a few minutes ago.
   That woman drives me abso-fuckin-lutely crazy, and she doesn’t have a
clue.  I guess I’ll just have to inform her of that little detail....  FUCK!
   This fuckin’ motorcycle seat is really disturbing certain parts, forget
what I said earlier Scooter’s a dumbass.



Copper tongue beam me up
Lonely without my impediments
Start to save what we used to steal
Walking on gelatin


	 The fact that Logan and I WILL be together is disturbing to many people.
Scott surprisingly is in favor.  Hell, it’ll keep Logan’s attention focused
on me and he won’t have as much time to piss Scott off.  Jean, well Jean’s
being a bitch about it.  But then again, she’s Jean so I don’t really care
what she says about anything.  She actually took me aside and explained to
me that I would get tired of playing second fiddle after awhile!  Damn, she
really is a stupid hoe.  Jubes and Kitty don’t really understand why I’m in
love with Logan as opposed to Remey (ewww).  They think I’, just plain
crazy.  Bobby hates Logan, and is probably more upset than anyone else.  The
professor is reserving judgement and trusts me to live my own life.  I love
him, I really do.




I never noticed you
You were the brightest one
You were wide of my just like the English sun
You caught the light again
In a perfect way
The biggest threat of all is in the alleyway

	 I’m only fifteen miles from Westchester.  I have never been this nervous
and excited in my remembered existence.  I’ve never been in love before, but
I know that I am.  I only hope Marie feels the same way.  When I called her,
she seemed surprised, stunned even.  I only hope she didn’t sound like that
because she already has a boyfriend and is only trying to avoid an awkward
situation.  Damn, then I’d have to watch her hang around with that jackass
until she realized what a BOY she was dating when she needed a MAN.
	 I’m approaching the gates, adrenaline and fear coursing through my system.
I’m so close to Marie I can almost smell her; I’m finally home.



You’re the deamon seed you’re the factor
Feel better with a little bit of plaster
It’s not just one way
A negative factor
With all of these wasps out
Better take cover

	 Good God, it’s two in the morning, and I’ve been awake because I KNOW Logan
is coming home, right now.  He’ll probably be here soon.  I don’t know what
to do.  I’m scared and thrilled and damn near giddy.  I cannot wait to see
him.  I know how he feels about me, even if he thinks I don’t.  Poor guy, he
didn’t get a clear look into my head, but he can smell and sense my emotions
so we are definitely even in my book.
	 I can actually hear the motor of Scott’s powerful bike coming up the road.
My heart feels like it’s going to burst from so much excitement.  I have
this strange feeling of peace, and I know that my other half has finally
returned, for good.
______________________________________________

"You're fucking up my chi."-Stanely "Swordfish"

" There's a thin line between 'hoby' and 'mental illness.'-Dave Barry


"Your soul is like your appendix, I don't even use mine." -Kelso, That '70s
Show

" Damnit.  Gilligan screwed up.  Gilligan is always screwing up, they should
just kill him."
- Red Forman, That '70s Show









_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

Here's the long version of the updates; some of this may be redundant.
Beware that this is the beginning of the dwindling of updates since the
homework is going to start pouring in.

A. X-Men
      1) "Fatted Calf" is up in Writer's Block along with a separate section
for the rest of the stories in this arc *sigh* yes, the WriterMuse has
pressured me to write more. I'm am the definition of the Bad WRiter.
      2) Two pieces of fan-art, one Cyclops and one Gambit, is up in the
computer art part of Pawprints.

B. Gargoyles
      1) "Life," an Elisa&Goliath piece, is in Pawprints, cleaned up and
tweaked.

C. Highlander
     2) Beta'd version of "Doubled Edge" is up; joyjoyjoy!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Got anymore time to waste? Visit my world o' X-Men, Gargoyles and Highlander
fics & pics at http://xeno3kattz.tripod.com/index.htm

Rogue: What am I going to do with you, Remy LeBeau?
Remy: I have a list, but I left it in my other pants.
          ~Astonishing X-Men #1

Goliath: I never realized when you were human just how beautiful you were.
Elisa (with a smile): You mean you thought I was ugly?
Goliath: Uh... careful! Updraft!!
              ~Gargoyles: The Mirror

Methos: It's got such a nice ring to it. Yeah, no more fighting, no more
killing. Peace and harmony. Don't tell me you never fantasized about that?
Some young sucker's always gonna fall for it.
Duncan: Richie has.
Methos: Voilà.
                     Highlander the Series: The Messenger


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

.... I'd love to see ANYthing with Scott and Jean, that's *nice* to
them.  Pretty please with sugar on it and a cherry on top?  Jenn's
JUS AD BELLUM and Vic's Alter-Eighteen aside, everything since the
beginning of September (and even before) has been Logan/Rogue,
Gambit/Rogue, or other.  (If I missed a Scot story, PLEASE let me
know!)  We poor Scott and Jean lovers are starting to asphixiate.
<whimper, whimper>

--Min
(who is busy trying to write a novel at the moment, and can't write
more short Scott fic <g>)

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger
http://im.yahoo.com

Author: sourspunk101, or, better known as, Rebecca
Title: Mere Inchese (because I'm lazy, and I didn't feel like
thinking up a title for it. lol. oh well though)
Summary: This is really short. It's just about Marie having left to
go back to Mississippi, and now Logan is thinking about her. (a-hah?
See? Not so original, huh?)
Disclaimers: Story's mine. Characters aren't.
Rating: G, naturally. :)
Feedback: any feedback is much appreciated
Archive: Sure, just tell me where, k?
Author's Notes: Running close to four days now, without any sleep. So
I'm trying to put my insomnia to some good fanfic use.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


So I'm not in the greatest of moods right now. Actually, I feel like
going to my room, putting a pillow over my head, and sobbing
uncontrollably. But we're all adults here now, and adults don't do
that sort of stuff --right guys?

I'm looking at this map, and it's a picture of Mississippi, and we're
maybe a total of two and a half inches apart. How can two and a half
inches be so difficult? I can walk there on my fingers, or she could
walk here on her fingers, and we could meet and thumb wrestle
somewhere in between for Christ's sake.

The thing that's really bothering me. Oh yeah. I'm going to be
completely honest in my wide popular open feelings, because now I
don't even care, so just enjoy this brief glimpse into my head while
you can. We said we were worried about everything being perfect, and
I sort-of but sort-of not pretended I didn't want everything to be
perfect.

I could've been lying though.

She has this way with words. Whenever I read her letters, the words
don't just sit on the paper- they come *alive* and they dance and
they sing, no matter what mood they portray, they always appear to be
lovely, delicate, well-crafted words.

Whenever I talk to her on the phone, as seldom as that is, I sit
there and listen, maybe even grunt out a few of my own replies,
because she just has such interesting things to say. And sometimes,
when I come out with random questions like "Name five dead army
generals. Go," while sitting on the back porch steps, cradling the
receiver, she doesn't even care, and she'll proceed to name five,
dead army generals.

Her sense of humor is impeccable. It's the perfect balance of
seriousness and humorousness. And we're only two and a half inches
away. And I am having to say goodbye to the one chance to hang out
with my closest friend, my truest love in the entire world (though
she never knew it), and it's like a butterfly sitting on the
windowsill. I just wanted to hold it for a second, nourish the
thought and idea, and it floated away, effortlessly raising it's
wings and gliding into the future, never looking back, never.

She's gone back to her home now. Trying for a simple life. Parents,
who love her  --missed her while she was gone; college courses and a
part time job at the local plant nursery in downtown. She's finally
got everything she's ever wanted. A normal life. No more mutant do-
gooder teachers. No more mentally screwed older men with adamantium
skeleton bone structures always keeping an over protective eye out
for her. She's grown up. Doesn't need us anymore. And quite frankly,
that scares the hell out of me.

She's…she's so cool. Because she likes Jets To Brazil and hockey
games and kids; she likes people even though they've done nothing but
treat her like shit since her mutation manifested its ugly head.
She's the type of person you'd be willing to move to the dessert in
Australia with and watch dingo's fight along the barbwire fence while
sitting in lawn chairs and drinking cheap beer in the blazing hot
heat. Sunsets and accents and all that jazz.

And I hate good bye's. I really do, and good bye's before hello's
just make my heart ache even more than ever.

I know it's too much to even hope for, but I can only pray that this
truly isn't our last farewell. We'll see each other again. We have
to. I don't like being selfish when it comes to Marie, but if she
doesn't come back to me, then I may very well make a trip to the
sunny south myself.

She's my home. My family. My north star. And without her ---I'm lost
forever.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ END ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

or, well, to be more precise, not the end exactly. More like, the
first part of a continuation? I think I'll write a companion-piece to
this.
-BEcK

DISCLAIMERS REPOSTED IN PART 0

* * *

"Now try getting the other side."

Marie giggled.

"Nope, not quite. Keep smearing — your warpaint’s on crooked." Logan
wasn’t giggling, or even smiling, but Marie could see the amusement
lurking in his eyes.

The source of all this mirth attempted once more to summon the phenomenal
degree of hand-eye coordination required to eat a spoonful of strained
yams. So far he’d gotten orange mush all over his high chair, bib, hands,
and face, but very little had actually been eaten.

"At least you’re getting it up to your face. Now you just gotta find your
mouth..." Logan leaned his crossed arms on the table, watching as Max
took the spoon clutched in his sticky fist and stabbed it clumsily into
the sweet potato on his plate. "That’s the first part — keep going..."
Bringing the business end of the spoon to his mouth proved a bit trickier
— the more so since Max was holding it pointing downwards from his fist.
Gamely he attempted to bring it to his mouth, but succeeded only in
globbing more mush onto his chin. "So close..."

"He’s just smearing it all over the place. Maybe you should try feeding
him yourself?"

"Nah, the baby book said to let him try feeding himself when he wants to.
Otherwise we may still be spoonfeeding him when he’s two..." Indicating
his orange-bedaubed offspring with a tilt of his head, "Besides, isn’t
this entertaining?" Entertaining, but messy. Logan having learned his
lesson from the mouthful of smushed blueberries lovingly smeared across
the design on a Harley-Davidson shirt some months ago, removing his shirt
before uncapping the jars of baby food had become as much a part of the
routine as putting a bib on Max. A few random splatterings of orange on
his bare arms confirmed the wisdom of the habit.

Marie giggled again. Max, perhaps reacting to being found overly amusing,
flung down the spoon with a "Ba!" of annoyance. Eliminating the middleman
along with any semblance of table manners, he stuck both chubby hands
into the yams and brought them to his face. Aside from adding another
coating of potato to his cheeks, he managed to get a reasonable amount
actually into his mouth. Marie graduated from giggles to full scale
laughter.

"Okay, now *that’s* cheating. Time to bring in a pro..." Picking up the
used spoon from the floor and taking it to the sink, Logan found another
baby-sized spoon in the silverware drawer. Max quit sucking on his sticky
fingers and happily opened his mouth to accept another dollop of yam.

Marie propped her chin up on her hand and watched Logan expertly scraping
goo off the baby’s face and transferring it to his mouth. Fun and games
over, the laughter died away and the lingering smile gradually
disappeared.

Catching her face out of the corner of his eye and watching the humor
leave it, Logan asked, "Something wrong?" without turning away from his
son.

"Oh, just..." Marie shook her head. "It’s nothing. Not important."

"Important or not, you look like it’s bothering you."

"Well, it... It just... I was getting dressed this morning, and Remy
asked why I never wore the green sweater he gave me any more..."

"And?"

"And I don’t like wearing it because, well... It’s a stupid reason..."

"So?"

"So... It’s what I was wearing when... when I lost... the first time..."
She paused and swallowed.

Looking around from Max for the first time, Logan saw the overly-bright
look in her eyes. He nodded at her to show that he understood, and that
she didn’t have to finish.

Saved from having to refer to her first miscarriage too directly, she
took a deep breath and continued. "So after that, whenever I saw it
hanging in the closet, I’d remember... And I quit wearing it unless Remy
actually asked me about it — because he liked it, he liked the color on
me and it was a really nice sweater and all that. And then when I got
pregnant the second time, I didn’t want to wear it *ever* because,
well... Remy said I was being superstitious, but he didn’t make a big
deal about it. But this morning..." Another pause, followed abruptly by
an apparent change in subject. "You know we did everything different the
second time. We told everyone we were expecting the first one as soon as
we knew, we barely told anyone about the second one because we were
waiting for me to start showing. We were all excited picking out names
and planning the baby’s room the first time, we were waiting until later
on for the second one. Like we didn’t want to jinx it, you know? And Remy
was doing all that the same as I was — but this morning, he said that I
was being superstitious, cause it hadn’t done a bit of good helping me...
helping me keep the second one, so why didn’t I just see that it was a
nice sweater and put it on and quit treating it like a... ‘mark of ill
omen,’ I think he called it." An unhappy laugh. "Like he’s just been
humoring me about it all this time, but he’s sick of it now."

Logan gave her a compassionate look, actually going so far as to put the
spoon down. "But you still don’t want to wear it anymore."

"I know, I *know*, it *is* silly and superstitious and stupid, but..."

"But you can’t help feeling that way."

Marie silently shook her head.

"Ab! Daaa..." Max impatiently slapped the tray of his high chair,
demanding resumption of the potatoes.

Logan turned back to his son, but continued speaking to Marie. "I don’t
like doctors or labs or any of that shit. And I know that Hank and
Jeannie aren’t anything like the fuckers that had me before — even if
Hank *does* get a little in-your-face about some of his research
questions sometimes — and I know that I’m fine going down into the
Medlab." A pause while he scraped up another spoonful. "But that doesn’t
mean that I like it there. I don’t let it keep me out of there when I’ve
got a reason to go — but I don’t go wandering in for no good reason
either. And I keep watching my back whenever I’m there." Another
thoughtful pause. "Feelings don’t follow logic. You shouldn’t let them
get in the way when you wanna do something. But when it’s something
little — like not wanting to wear something because it reminds you of
something bad that happened once when you were wearing it — well, could
be you need to get past that and move on. But could be that it’s just a
sweater and if you don’t want to wear it anymore, then don’t. You’ve got
other clothes."

Marie sighed. "Too bad Remy doesn’t agree."

Logan looked like he was debating something with himself for a moment,
then said, "Everyone deals with grief their own way. He’s trying to get
past it, too — just not the same way you are."

She frowned. "Shouldn’t he let me deal my way while he deals his way?"

"Could be you keep reminding *him* of it the way you keep avoiding
stuff... Could be he wants you to get some *good* memories to do with
that sweater so you can start wearing it again and it turns into just
another sweater instead of bad news."

Resting her folded arms on the tabletop, Marie dropped her face onto them
for just a moment. "Could be he’s just being shallow again and can’t
stand seeing me not liking something that *he* gave me."

A short chuff of laughter, followed by another squeal from Max. Raising
her head, Marie saw Logan carting the plate and spoon to the sink before
returning with a washrag in an attempt to clear the worst of the goo off
his son. Resisting the scrubbing, Max kept trying to turn his face away.
"Gah! Daaa..."

"That was almost a, ‘Da,’ there — are you *sure* he isn’t starting to
talk yet?"

"Ah, he makes enough noise, *some* of it’s gonna sound like words."

"I don’t know, I think he’s edging up to a ‘Da-da’..."

Logan chuckled. "Aah, I think he can do better than that." Scooping Max
out of the chair, "How about it, kid? Gonna learn from your Uncle Hank,
start with something *hard*?"

"Antidisestablishmentarianism, Max! Antidisestablishmentarianism..."
Getting caught up in the spirit of things, Marie stood up to get closer
to the baby. "An... ti... dis... es... tab..." At such close range, she
had a good view of not only Max but his father, so she saw the exact
moment when the playful light in Logan’s eyes went out.

Breaking off her playful chant to ask what was wrong, she got her answer
before she even had the question asked, as Logan turned his head to the
kitchen door. And there was Cicely, just walking into the room — clearly
Logan had heard (or scented) her approach.

Marie caught her breath — Cissy was *not* a sight that should have taken
the joy from *any* man’s eyes, especially not her husband’s. Right now
she was obviously fresh from the shower, her damply-curling hair in a
naturally tousled style that many women paid good money to simulate with
perms and gels. Snug-fitting jeans and a white button-down blouse open at
the top showed off a figure that had clearly bounced back from
childbearing and then some. Knowing that Ciss had in fact just finished a
workout helped — but not much. At least Cicely had to put in a *little*
effort to look that good — but she was still starting off at an
advantage. Feeling small and drab by comparison, Marie wondered, [Why the
hell did I have to end up sharing a house with a bunch of frickin’ cover
girls and outright goddesses? Jean, Ro, Bets, Cissy — I might as well
shave my head and wear sackcloth, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference in
the amount of attention *I* get...]

Absorbed in feeling dowdy, Marie almost missed it when Ciss asked,
"Rogue, you wouldn’t happen to be free to watch Max for a few hours
tonight, would you? If it’s not too much trouble?"

Before Marie could reply, Logan answered, "S’okay, I’ll be home to watch
him. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere tonight."

Cicely frowned. "Actually I was thinking we could go out, get some
dinner. You know — a little time to ourselves?"

Logan forestalled Marie’s agreement again. "Nah, that’s okay. You go on
out — I think Jeannie and Betsy and Ro were driving into New York a
little bit later. Go along, make a chicks’ night out of it. I wasn’t
really wanting to go anywhere."

The frown wasn’t going away, but Ciss was considering. "Well, maybe we
could make a night of it right here at home, if we could just get someone
to watch Max for a little while..."

"Sure, no problem — " Marie began, but Logan ran right over the top of
her.

"No! You go on and have a good time — you haven’t done anything like that
for *months*. I go out all the time, I’ll just stay home tonight. Go.
Have fun."

Marie almost missed noticing Cicely’s glare, caught up in gazing
awestruck at the spectacle of a man noted for his raging and untamed
libido turning down guaranteed sex with a goddess. The faint trace of
Logan still lingering in her mind whispered to her that *something* had
to be up — there was no *way* he could have missed the fact that his wife
was trying to set up a romantic evening.

Cicely obviously didn’t have a Inner Logan. Clearly she could have used
one. "Actually, I was thinking less in terms of getting out of the house,
and more of you and I getting some alone time."

"We see each other all the time. We *live* together."

"Yes, but I meant *alone* time. Without Max."

"Nothing wrong with Max being around. Is there, kid?" he asked,
attempting to defuse the situation by redirecting attention to the
ever-popular Maximilian.

[Oh, I am *not* believing he’s gotten *that* bored in bed — not with
*her*! That’s what she’s *good* at!] Marie thought to herself.

That little shadow of Logan murmured in its time-faded voice, [That’s not
it, that’s not it at all, it *can’t* be...]

"No, but sometimes it’d be nice just to get some *alone* time. Without
having to worry about him waking up at the wrong minute..."

Logan shrugged. "I’m sure he’ll be sleeping all night soon enough..."

Ciss actually gritted her teeth. "Not soon enough for me."

Logan gave her a brief, wary look before returning his outward attention
to his son. "No hurry, kid. I don’t mind."

Marie tried to disprove her growing suspicion. "It’s all right, I’d be
thrilled to take him for a while. Give you two some time to yourselves."

Standing almost directly between Cissy and Marie, Logan had the luxury of
being able to look at one without the other seeing his face. He took full
advantage, keeping the tone of his, "Don’t worry about it Marie — I’m
sure you have better things to do tonight," mild, while glaring at her
warningly.

[Something’s wrong,] Marie thought to herself, echoed by that spectral
Inner Logan. [Something’s *really* wrong. He doesn’t want to be alone
with his wife...] Responding less to the threatening glare and more to
the mute pleading she saw lurking beneath it in his eyes, she slowly
replied, "Well, if you’d rather I didn’t..."

"S’okay, he and I’ll be fine. Cissy, you go. Have a good time." Without
giving either woman a chance to reply further, he grabbed the shirt left
draped across his chairback and left the kitchen, Max still tucked in one
arm.

Ciss glared at her husband’s departing back, bewildered. "What? Is there
some kind of sporting event I don’t know about on tonight?"

Finding a puzzled expression extremely easy to assume under the
circumstances, Marie shrugged. "Ah, he must have had some heavy male
bonding on the schedule. Maybe he had something planned with Kurt..."

* * *

FyrDrakken
She Whose Quotations Are Both Exotic and Appropriate
Keeper of his Deadly Startle Reflexes, Guardian and Examiner of the
Adamantium-Revealing X-Rays, and Official Listener for the Occasional
Aussie Vowels

"You see, my real dad is an angel.  One of the really _important_ ones.
But I don't care.  I really don't.  Because I'm on the _devil's_ side.
Because he keeps promises.  And he has the most _amazing_ eyes."
   -- Elaine, LUCIFER #15, by Mike Carey
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

DISCLAIMERS REPOSTED IN PART 0

* * *

[Well, so much for sleeping through the night.] Max was actually
beginning to give his parents a break on the late-night wake-ups, and
Logan and Cicely were getting a bit caught up on all that lost sleep. Not
tonight, though — it was three AM and Max was awake.

As were both his parents — Cissy because he’d needed feeding, and Logan
because she refused to let her husband sleep through the night if *she*
had to be awakened. Given that breastfeeding wasn’t exactly a parental
duty that could be shared, she settled for sending Logan to go get Max
when he cried, and letting him be the one to get him back to sleep and in
his crib afterwards.

One might argue that this was selfish of her — that if she was so
insistent on Max not being a bottle baby, then she should go ahead and
deal with his feedings herself and let her husband sleep. Logan, being
awakened by the yowling in the wee hours regardless, could understand why
it would be intolerable to always be the one who had to deal with the
baby while one’s bedpartner put his head under a pillow and went back to
sleep.

Besides, he liked dealing with Max, even at three AM. *Especially* now
that the both of them had begun to be allowed to sometimes sleep through
the night again — because he could no longer be sure that Cissy would be
asleep by the time he had Max tucked back into his crib. Ciss had begun
to be alarmingly awake at night...

Having been handed Max to put back to bed, Logan took precautions.
"C’mon, kid — let’s go see what’s on downstairs..."

"You’re going to go down and watch TV? At this time of night?" Ciss
raised her head from the pillow.

"Yeah, he’s up, I’m up — might as well. Not gonna go back to sleep for a
while."

An annoyed sigh from the bed was his only answer.

Frankly, Logan didn’t hold much hope for there being much worth watching
at this hour, even on cable — but Max was already yawning, and he held
even less hope that the kid would stay awake longer than his mom would.
Claiming to be out of bed soothing the kid to sleep didn’t work if Cissy
could see that Max was already out for the count.

So he took his son and headed down to the kitchen to raid the fridge.

Turned out he wasn’t the only one with that idea.

Kurt tended to turn invisible in the shadows — one of the more convenient
quirks of his particular complement of mutant characteristics. To someone
with Logan’s night vision, perfectly capable of seeing normal beings in
the dark, it was surreal to see a person who was *only* invisible in
shadow — especially when he was *partially* illuminated, as by the light
from the open refrigerator door.

"Couldn’t sleep?"

Kurt almost dropped the milk — Logan had padded into the kitchen on
silent bare feet, and Kurt’s ears weren’t quite up to detecting breathing
and heartbeat from several yards off. Turning and spotting the pair, he
replied, "I thought Max was sleeping through the night?"

"Not always. Not tonight. So I figured I’d let his mom get back to sleep
while I was getting *him* back to sleep."

"Ah." Recovering from the surprise, Kurt poured milk into his cereal
before putting the jug back into the fridge.

Deciding to pass on the Lucky Charms, Logan went for a Molson’s instead.
It took a bit of care to bend down to the bottom of the fridge without
jostling Max, and by the time Logan straightened up Kurt had already
turned on the light over the table and seated himself.

"I sincerely hope you weren’t planning on sharing that with *him*,"
gesturing at the beer with a spoon.

Well accustomed to Kurt’s puckish sense of humor, Logan played along.
"Oh, I don’t know — probably be good for him. I think he’s good for right
now, though — he’s fed and he’s happy."

"He looks it." <Crunch crunch> "He looks asleep."

Logan glanced down, although the even breathing had already told its
tale. "Could be," not admitting anything. "Wakes up pretty easy when he’s
put back down, though," which was sometimes true.

"Hmm." <Crunch crunch crunch>

Logan studied the powder blue pajamas but decided to refrain from
comment. There are a lot of ways to deal with being scary-looking. Logan
tended to go with the flow, enhance the image. Kurt went the other way.

When you can’t do anything about being blue and furry — to say nothing of
having yellow eyes, pointed ears, sharp teeth, a tail, and only three
digits per hand and foot — it takes some work to look harmless.

Conversational material being thin on the ground at that hour, they
crunched and slurped for a while in relative silence. Finishing up, Kurt
went to the sink to rinse out his bowl. "I think he’s out for good. You
might be able to try going back to bed by now."

Logan considered. "Guess I could," he said reluctantly. He frankly
wouldn’t have minded crashing out on the couch in front of the TV, even
falling asleep there...

"Go on. I’m sure your wife misses you."

Logan couldn’t help the flinch. "Hope not." Kurt went very still. "Hope
she’s asleep by now," he attempted to cover.

"And would it be such a bad thing if she were still awake?" It was
phrased lightly, as though merely a bit of offhand conversation or mild
curiosity, but Logan recognized that rapid vibration of just the tip of
Kurt’s tail. It meant he was *paying attention* to what Logan said — and
didn’t say.

[Damn. Kurt thinks he’s stumbled across A Friend With a Problem. Just
what I did *not* need.] "Ah, not a big deal. I just think she could use
the chance to get some sleep, is all. And so could I — and since I think
Max is out for the count, I’m heading back up to bed now..."

He was escaping before the conversation went any farther into dangerous
territory. Judging by the reserved tone of the, "Gute Nacht. Sleep
well...," Kurt realized that Logan was being evasive, but was too polite
to be actively nosy. Not at this hour of the morning, anyway...

While climbing the stairs back up to his and Cissy’s quarters, Logan
considered the matter. Kurt could be both observant and persistent, and
convincing him that no problem existed might prove difficult. Logan was
entirely capable of telling a good friend to butt the hell out of his
private life — but he would very much prefer not to have to...

* * *

FyrDrakken
She Whose Quotations Are Both Exotic and Appropriate
Keeper of his Deadly Startle Reflexes, Guardian and Examiner of the
Adamantium-Revealing X-Rays, and Official Listener for the Occasional
Aussie Vowels

"You see, my real dad is an angel.  One of the really _important_ ones.
But I don't care.  I really don't.  Because I'm on the _devil's_ side.
Because he keeps promises.  And he has the most _amazing_ eyes."
   -- Elaine, LUCIFER #15, by Mike Carey
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

Given the complete and utter lack of response to the finale of "Summer's
End," I can only conclude that the lists have been waiting for me to quit
screwing around telling the stories I *feel* like telling and get back to
finishing the stories people *want* to read.  ;-)  So... more "Choices"
now, and more "Practice" when I get the smut written!

DISCLAIMERS REPOSTED IN PART 0

* * *

Most families find the addition of a baby — especially their first — to
the household to be a stressful time. The new concerns and reshuffling of
the former relationship dynamic — to say nothing of the lack of sleep
caused by late-night feedings and diaper changes in the wee hours — have
in fact caused ruptures in previously-contented couples.

For Logan and Cicely, by no means a contented couple, the change might
have been expected to in fact be the camel-breaking straw. But it wasn’t
so. That first few months with Maximilian (as he was rather flamboyantly
named by Cicely) were probably the happiest time of their entire
marriage.

Logan discovered — or perhaps rediscovered — to his vast surprise that he
enjoyed dealing with children. There was an initial uncomfortable period
of learning to cope with such unfamiliar territory as diapers, bottles,
baby baths, and attempting to sooth an infant back into sleep at three
AM, but Logan was a fast learner.

An unexpected side benefit became apparent in this period, giving an
additional motivation for learning the finer points of infant care.
Somewhere in that nebulous area of qualities and habits that were
associated in Cissy’s mind with "How a *Good* Husband Should Be," being a
good father ranked high on the list. Logan quickly noted that whenever
Ciss found him with Max — whether changing a diaper unasked, lulling him
to sleep or merely holding him and talking to him — the sharp expression
he had gotten so used to seeing on her face would soften, and her eyes
would hold more warmth in them than he was used to seeing since their
honeymoon.

So between the way it made Cicely easier to live with and his own
newly-developed paternal interests, he stuck around. Where he once might
have been tempted to leave Ciss to deal with the kid while he spent as
much time out and about as possible, instead he stayed home and helped
out. He even curtailed his usual bedhopping for the first few months.
(Granted, he was still running off occasionally — but maybe only once or
twice a week, if that often, and coming home well before dawn instead of
staying gone all night as he had before.)

He actually began to really enjoy the wake-up cries in the wee hours. Bad
dreams and a restlessly energetic nature left him with frequent insomnia.
Max turned out to be welcome company when the rest of the X-Mansion was
enjoying the sleep of the just, and the frequent interruptions to his
sleep helped ensure that Logan dropped off as soon as his head hit the
pillow during the hours he *did* manage to spend in bed.

It was a brief lull in their stormy union. To the rest of the X-Crew, any
difficulties the pair might have had in the early months seemed to have
been smoothed over. Probably Ciss had just been cranky from the changes
and stresses of pregnancy, Logan had been settled down by fatherhood, the
couple had needed to adjust from "dating" to actively living together.
Logan and Cissy — and Max — appeared to be a happy little family, and for
this short time that would almost have been the correct impression.

But of course, things changed.

* * *

FyrDrakken
She Whose Quotations Are Both Exotic and Appropriate
Keeper of his Deadly Startle Reflexes, Guardian and Examiner of the
Adamantium-Revealing X-Rays, and Official Listener for the Occasional
Aussie Vowels

"You see, my real dad is an angel.  One of the really _important_ ones.
But I don't care.  I really don't.  Because I'm on the _devil's_ side.
Because he keeps promises.  And he has the most _amazing_ eyes."
   -- Elaine, LUCIFER #15, by Mike Carey
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

Title: Career Choices
By: Lizzy
Disclaimer: Not mine. Someone else's. Except for Mike. He's mine.
Summary: A boy's parents have misunderstood the meaning for Xavier's
School for the Gifted.
Distribution: Reading is one thing, but actually wanting it.....?
Timeline: This takes place about six years before the movie
Feedback: I never give any, so I don't expect any.
Special thanks to Henrietta, who is my fantastic beta reader, altough
she's getting tired of hearing about the X-Men, especially Scott ;-)




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Hi.
I'm Mike.
I'm 17.
I'm in a car, driving with my parents to a place called "Xavier's
School for the Gifted". My dad just stopped the car at the gate to
this huge mansion ahead, and talking to someone in one of those
voice-box-thingies by the gate. My mom's sitting in the passenger's
seat, looking at some brochure. They're both determined to put me in
here, altough if anyone asked me, I'd be much happier in my old
school.

See, that's the funny thing with parents. They expect you to bring
home straight A's, do your homework, and be the captain of the
football team and all that stuff. Okay, I've done that. But they're
still convinced I could do better, and that I still need a better
education. Just once I wish they wouldn't expect anything from me and
that I could go surfing or playing volleyball with my friends. And my
family's loaded with money, so they'll stop at nothing to make me the
future rocket-scientist. Plus I'm the only child, and that makes me
the one they're putting all their energy on. Hey, caring for your
child is fine, but you can take it too far.

Anyhoo, the gate has opened and my dad's driving the car  up the road
to the entrance to the mansion. There's a man with red shades waiting
for us. When we were on the plane, my mom told dad we didn't need to
call first to let them know we were coming to visit. "It's a school,
not a lawyer's office, dear" she had said with that awful snob tone
of
voice I hate. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom, but she's as fake as
her acryl nails.

The man in the shades openes the car door for my mom. We have one of
those big, black cars that screams "I'm owned by very rich people". I
get out from the backseat and take a look around. The front yard's
huge, I can't even see the gate anymore. I turn to take a better look
at the mansion. Can I just say.....Wow.

"I'm Scott Summers. Can I help you, Mrs...?"

"Thorp. Julia Thorp, and this is my husband, Adam. We're here to see
Professor Xavier about our son" she turns to look at me, I take that
as a cue to stand by her side. "This is Michael, Michael, say hello
to
Mr. Summers."

I shake his hand. "Hey, Mr. Summers. And it's Mike" I don't need to
see to see my mom's face to know she's rolling her eyes. Mr. Summers
is smiling at me, though.

"Nice to meet you, Mike. You can call me Scott" then he turns back to
my mom and dad. "If you'll come with me, I'll show you to Professor
Xavier's office."

The mansion looks even more posh on the inside. I can see my mom's
trying to put pricetags on everything.

We finally reach the Professor's office. I assume the bald guy behind
the desk is the Professor. He seems like a nice guy. He smiles at me,
as if he knows me already. Sorta creepy.

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Thorp. How can I be of service?" he
asks, leaning a little against his desk.

"We'd like to enroll our son here. We're looking for a place for him
to complete his education that would better serve him. We are away on
business most of our time, so we have decided that Michael should go
to a private boarding school."

What? We? Who's we? Where was I?

I couldn't care less about going to a boarding school. I couldn't
care
less about going to school, period. I want to live my own life for a
change. But if there's a surfing school, sign me up.

The Professor is looking at me again. Like he knows what I'm thinking
or something. Hey, if you can really read my mind, would you mind
convincing my parents to give me some space? ...Now he smiles again
and nods discreetly. Did I mention this was starting to get really
creepy?

"Scott, would you mind giving young Mr. Thorp a small tour of the
mansion? I think I need to talk with his parents privately."

Scott nods and opens the door for me.

"Why do you wear those inside the house?" I ask Scott and point at
his
shades when we're walking in the hall.

"It's my mutation. The shades stop the beams that shoot out from my
eyes."

"You're a mutant? Cool!"

He stops and stares at me for a moment. "You're not?"

"No. Just an everyday human. It's so boring you wouldn't believe. I
wouldn't tell my parents that you're a mutant, though. My mom'd have
a
heart attack. Are there others?"

"Mutants? Everyone here is a mutant. That's what this school is all
about, we take in mutants and help them to control their powers. To
the outside world, this is just a normal boarding school for gifted
children."

"Oh. So, gifted, read: mutant. Well, I guess that's better for
everyone. The Friends of Humanity would probably be knocking on your
door if they'd know what kind of people live here."

"Yeah. We try to keep as low profile as possible."

"Well, don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

"Um... I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think the Professor will
enroll you to our school. That's probably the reason he wanted to
talk
to your parents alone" Scott says.

"I wasn't really looking forward to enrolling, anyway" I say, and
Scott gives me a look. "Don't get me wrong, this looks like a great
place and all, but I'm not interested in being a student of any kind
at the moment. I'd just like to be me for a while, hang out with my
friends and stuff."

"Your parents are giving you a hard time, aren't they?" he asks.

"That's an understatement. They don't seem to understand that A is as
high as the scale will go."

"I've been there, too."

"How'd you cope?"

"I became a mutant."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Then what?"

That caught him off-guard. "Huh?"

"Then what happened? After you became a mutant?"

"I ran away from home. I stayed on the streets for two months, afraid
to open my eyes because I was afraid I would kill someone. Then the
Professor came along, and here I am."

"He seems like a good guy."

"That he is. He's helped a lot of people."

So we're walking in the hall, talking about mutants and mutations and
how dorky that jack-ass Senator Kelly is (though he didn't use those
exact words), and then we come to a classroom. There are about 20
students there, and their teacher is a red-headed woman who's
teaching
them biology. When she sees Scott, she gives him this blushed
I've-been-away-from-you-for-more-than-15-minutes-and-I-can't-take-it-m
uch-longer smile. I notice a diamond ring on her left hand, and that
Scott is staring at her. Romance at Mutant High.

"Pretty. Yours?" I couldn't resist. Scott gives me a smug grin.

"Yeah. Stay away from my girl, mister."

I laugh. I couldn't really figure out why people were so freaked out
by mutants. These guys are fun.

And then we get to the not-so-fun people. My parents. They're just
coming out of Xavier's office, and my mom looks really pissed.

"Come on, Michael. We're leaving. They think you're not good enough
for them" mom says, rather loudly. Tact, mom. Look it up.

"I'm coming. It was nice to meet you, Scott. Good luck with your
girl"
I say.

"Thanks" he gives me a brochure, like the one mom was reading when we
came. "My email address is on the last page. Drop me a line sometime
to let me know how you're doing."

"I will. Thanks."

"Michael!"

"Coming!" sheesh. You think there might be a chance I'm adopted?

When I reach the car, I realize there's something I have to do before
I go. "I'll be right back. I left my jacket."

"Don't take too long" mom's really pissed. I don't think she ever had
anyone turn down her money. She didn't even notice I didn't take a
jacket at all.

So I go back inside and knock on Professor Xavier's door.

"Come in."

"Just wanted to thank you for turning me down. I'll be much better
off
in California."

"You're mother seems very..." I see the professor mentally groping
for
a word.

"She seems like she's overdosed on coffee, thinks she's the center of
the world, and that her money gets her everything she wants. And I
totally agree, someone should put her on Prozac."

"Not quite the words I'd use."

"But accurate. And sorry I called you creepy."

Xavier smiles. "Scott told you I was a telepath?"

"No, I figured it out on my own. You've got a great place here, I'm
starting to wish I was a mutant. And if for no other reason, than to
shock my mom a bit."

He laughs at that. "You're a very special young man, mutant or not. I
wish there were more people like you."

"There are, but they've probably got mom's like mine too. Anyway,
I've
got to go" I step up to his desk and shake his hand.

"It was very nice to meet you, Michael. I hope you choose something
more productive than a surfing school" he says, and smiles again.

"I'll give it some serious thought. It was very nice to meet you,
too."



Five years later, I'm standing at the front yard of Xavier's School
for the Gifted. I'm carrying a big bag with me.

No, I'm still not a mutant. But I am a teacher. I took Xavier's
advice
five years ago, and I now am the proud owner of a teaching
certificate. Scott told me the kids were probably going to give me a
hard time, given my lack of mutations. Let them try. I'm going to
teach these kids math even if it kills me. That's my stubborn streak.
Guess I'm not adopted. As I'm walking down the halls, I see a girl
running down the hall towards her dorm room. Then there's a boy,
chasing her. The girl goes right through her solid wood door.

"Katherine Pryde, you give me back that disk or I'll freeze your
N'Sync CD!"

"How you gonna get in here, Popsicle?"

"I've told you not to call me that!"

"And do I ever listen?"

"Come on, Kitty! I need that disk, it's got my homework on it!"

"I should know, I put them there!"

"And I'm forever grateful. Please give it back. I need it before the
new math teacher shows up."

"Did I hear someone calling for me?" I finally say. The boy looks at
me, shocked.

"I... Um... "

"You had the girl do your homework, huh? If you want a girl's
attention, there are easier ways. You could just ask her out" I hear
the girl snickering inside her room. "Okay, you do that homework by
tomorrow. Now you can show me to my room and then the classroom. I've
got some great quizzes for you guys."

They both groan, then the boy grabs my bag.

Oh, this job's gonna be fun.

hey all... sorry if this is just another e-mail to clutter your mail-boxes
with... but as the subject said, i've got a (few{two}) question(s) on my mind
that's been bothering... or plauging me for quite some time...

1) why do logan/rogue shippers like the couple together soooo much?

2) why do gambit/rogue shippers like the couple together soooo much?

i was just curious... (i know why i like rogue and gambit together...) but i
wanted to get other peoples perspectives.

and... i did intend to put the answers up on my page... unless you ask me not
to.

many thanks,
natalia M. vronsky



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Natalia - Hi.  Your question should be directed over to this list's
sister group, which was created for discussion of just this type:

xmenmoviefanficdisc@yahoogroups.com


This particular group, xmenmoviefanfic@yahoogroups.com, is solely for
the posting of fanfic, announcements about fic-related
sites/archives, and fic challenges/requests. :-)  (The list is just
too big to allow discussion.)


=====
Mitakuye oyasin,
--Min
The Medicine Wheel: X-Men Fanfic
http://www.geocities.com/minisinoo

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger
http://im.yahoo.com

"Choices"
By FyrDrakken <FyrDrakken@...>


Rating: R/NC17, for language, eventual smut, and nasty adult situations.

**WARNING**: This fic portrays an abusive relationship. Sensitive or
easily offended readers be advised.

Archive: Earlier parts of this story may be found on my fic archive site
at www.wolverineandrogue.com/fyrdrakken/ — also to the WR Fanfic Archive
and X-Men Movie Fanfic Archive when completed. Others just ask first and
permission will no doubt be given!

Classification: Angst, eventual smut. Logan/Marie, Marie/Remy,
Logan/female — in no particular order.

Series: Unrelated to anything else I’ve written or plan to write, and
once you get a few scenes into this you’ll be glad...

Disclaimer: Lots of corporations like Fox and Marvel, and people like
Bryan Singer and Hugh Jackman and Anna Paquin, hold more rights in the
characters and settings I'm playing with than I do. But I'm even more
broke than Marvel, so I'm not worth the time and trouble of suing... The
only "profit" I'm getting out of this is getting the demons out of my
head without resorting to my family's traditional substance abuse, serial
marriages and/or self-mutilation...

Feedback: Questions, comments and snide remarks directed to
<FyrDrakken@...> will receive guaranteed responses. Messages sent to
a list may go unnoticed indefinitely, me being on so many now that I've
had to go "no mail" on most of them. ;-) As an Elitist Fic Bitch in good
standing, I welcome constructive criticism — if there's a problem in
something I've written I *really* want to know about it so I can fix it!

Thanks: To all those whose feedback on my three prior stories (and
repeated requests and demands for sequels!) have given the incentive to
continue to lose sleep slaving over an overheating laptop! And again to
jenn for her betaing and AIM encouragement...

Soundtrack and quotations: To those who might be interested in such
things, I wrote part of the opening pages of this story while listening
to angry Swedish chicks (Drain S.T.H. — _Horror Wrestling_), part while
listening to the best of Enya (_Paint the Sky With Stars_), and part
while listening to Danzig. Betcha can’t tell where I switched CDs... ;-D
(I think I have proven to my own satisfaction that the music I’m hearing
while writing doesn’t do that much to affect the mood of the fic thus
produced.) With that being said, my quotes and lyrics collection was
still stuck on the hard drive of my defunct laptop for the beginning of
this story, so my early choices of mood-setting quotes were mostly
limited to two albums. Tool’s _Lateralus_ is beautifully layered with
haunting lyrics sung through clenched teeth, and Linkin Park’s _Hybrid
Theory_ is anger and pain yowled into the radio waves. They fit the story
lyrically, but don’t feel compelled to listen to either or both albums to
provide an actual "soundtrack" to this story. (Unless, of course, you’re
a nu-metal fan...)

Note:
[ ] = Thoughts
* * = Emphasis
/ / = Rogue reliving a bit of borrowed memory

* * *

FyrDrakken
She Whose Quotations Are Both Exotic and Appropriate
Keeper of his Deadly Startle Reflexes, Guardian and Examiner of the
Adamantium-Revealing X-Rays, and Official Listener for the Occasional
Aussie Vowels

"You see, my real dad is an angel.  One of the really _important_ ones.
But I don't care.  I really don't.  Because I'm on the _devil's_ side.
Because he keeps promises.  And he has the most _amazing_ eyes."
   -- Elaine, LUCIFER #15, by Mike Carey
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

Title: Male Bonding

Author: Autumn

E-mail: eddievedderismylife@...

Disclaimer:  I do not own Logan or Marie.  The song is “Closer” by Better
Than Ezra, and Tanner is my creation!

Distribution: Mutual Admiration, WRFA, XMMFC,  others just ask first please.

Rating: G.  Yes, from me, shocking I know. : )

Summary:  Logan refltects on a little change in his life.

Author’s Notes:  Go out and buy “Closer” by Better Than Ezra please, please
do.  You’ll be oh-so-happy you did, I promise.  On that note, I promise to
try and stop writing song-fickish things.  Really. Last one, I think.

********************************************************************************\
***

And the morning light was breaking
Slowly moving across the bed
He gets up without her waking
To the voices in his head

Through the shadows in the hallway
To the room they painted blue
And on the inside he is frightened
At a loss for what to do

             The man known as Logan rose from his bed in the early morning
light. Contrary to popular belief, Logan was the quintessential early bird;
it was his wife that liked to sleep in late.  Hearing stirring from the
other room, Logan kissed his wife on the top of her head and crossed the
small hallway to the nursery.
              The gruff man poaked his head over the handmade crib to look at
his son.  Even six months later, he was still amazed that he had had a part
in creating this little person.  Though he’d never admit it, Logan was
always a little afraid to pick him up for fear of hurting the infant.  The
outstretched arms were a clear indication that the child wanted to be picked
up, and he tentatively reached down to pick his son up.  Not wanting the
baby to start crying and wake Marie up, Logan strode over to the rocking
chair Marie always used when she was trying to put their child to sleep.



Until he opens up his eyes
And the angels all look down

Even closer than this life
Closer than your faith
Closer than the things that you hold dearly
And in vain
Closer than this life
Falling through again
Giving more than anything
That you could hope to win



                An amalgamation of peace, love, joy, pride, contentment and
protectiveness radiated from the connection between Logan and his son.  The
kid’s looks balanced equally between his parents.  He had Marie’s dark brown
hair and fair skin.  He got his hazel eyes and expressive facial features
from Logan.  Scott swore that the kid already had the raised eyebrow down
pat.
                 They’d decided on the name Tanner for their first child.  As
Tanner turned his curious gaze to his father their eyes locked, and Logan
was overwhelmed with sensation.  This child was everything to him.  Tanner
was everything pure, innocent and unaffected in the world.  He was the
creation of the deep connection between himself and Marie, and he was a
reflection of the love that Logan still couldn’t believe he’d been granted.
Tanner symbolized all the good in Logan’s life.  He was the karmic balance
for the lost years and memories.




And he knows his life is changing
It's never easy letting go
For the first time you are mortal
As the child before you grows
And he wonders at the sight
Of the joy that he has found

Even closer than this life
Closer than your faith
Closer than the things that you hold dearly
And in vain
Closer than this life
Falling through again
Giving more than anything
That you could hope to win


            When Marie had first announced her desire to start a family,
Logan was a little bit freaked.  Though he loved Marie and couldn’t imagine
ever wanting to leave, adding a baby to the equation really cemented his
attachment to Westchester.  It was the end of his life on the road, the end
of one chapter in his life, and the beginning of another.  Looking back now
it was kind of funny, the big, badass Wolverine was a little afraid at the
thought of a baby.
              God he was glad his wife was so smart, and caring, and stubborn
enough to withhold sex from him until he was ready to at least talk about
starting a family.  He’d cracked after all of 12 hours.  So the baby-making
had commenced, and as soon as he’d sensed her body chemistry changing to
accommodate another lifeform he had the profound sense that his life was
going to change.  Perhaps it was obvious, but it had been the strongest
feeling like that he’d ever had, including the night before he’d proposed to
Marie.



And what would you intend to find?
Solitude? Your peace of mind?
Holding out for something less
Than touching the hand of God?

Even closer than this life
Closer than this faith
Closer than the things that you hold dearly
And in vain
Closer than this life
Falling through again
Giving more than anything
That you could hope to win



              Tanner eventually yawned, and Logan unwilling to break the
imitate moment just yet, continued rocking his son gently in his arms.  The
child fell asleep with a peaceful expression that Marie had told him was an
exact replica of his father’s.  As the pink sky began to grow brighter,
Logan rose from the chair and strode back into the room he and Marie shared.
                He took a moment to admire the mother of his child, one of
his favorite pastimes. Her chocolate and white hair strewn across the pillow
eyes close, mouth slightly open and tiny frame curled up underneath the
blankets.  She shifted in her sleep, unconsciously seeking out Logan’s
warmth.  A slight frown creased her features as she failed to find her human
furnace.
                 Not wanting to deny her any longer, Logan carefully slipped
into bed with Tanner still in tow.  He gently pulled Marie too him, and
placed Tanner on his chest.  He breathed evenly, fully content.  He had
everything he loved, everything he could ever want or need lying right in
this bed.  Knowing that eventually they would have to get up and face the
world, Logan settled for enjoying the moment and keeping his family as close
to him as possible.


Closer than this life
Closer finally
Living for the only thing
You ever made complete
Oh, for the one thing
That you both did perfectly

____________________________________________________________

"You're fucking up my chi."-Stanely "Swordfish"

" There's a thin line between 'hoby' and 'mental illness.'-Dave Barry


"Your soul is like your appendix, I don't even use mine." -Kelso, That '70s
Show

" Damnit.  Gilligan screwed up.  Gilligan is always screwing up, they should
just kill him."
- Red Forman, That '70s Show









_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

<<1) why do logan/rogue shippers like the couple together soooo much? >>

        Oooo, I'm so glad you asked ::evil laugh::
        I was recently asked a question along those very lines and it made me
actually take the time to sit down and think out my obsession. And here's my
little
method for my madness...

        I could discuss the relationship between Logan and Rogue for hours,
but I will try to  be as concise as possible. I am also an X-files fan, and
the Mulder-Scully relationship fascinates me because it is based on a
spiritual, soul-mate connection than sheer physical attraction. After
watching the show for a while, I began to look for similar connections in
other couples that I saw in television or movies. It's not easy to find,
these days, but as soon as I saw Logan and Rogue together I knew I'd
scored a hit. I think of them as another example of a relationship where the
intangible, often unsaid, things are the most important. Physical attraction
is a part of it (Just look at the man...what red-blooded American gal
wouldn't be reduced to drool?) but it's not the main focus. What really draws
them together, in my mind, is that no one else would understand them in the
way they understand each other. He's the only one who can touch her skin and
live; she's the only one who can touch his soul, who knows what he's really
like beyond all the bluster. This sense of understanding and acceptance
creates an intense desire to protect the other and to
make life better for the other. They will do whatever is necessary. That's
definitely a mark of soulmates-- a sudden, strong attraction that grows into
a deep, almost spiritual love. There are aspects of their character that
never come out unless they are together. He gives her reasons to trust, she
gives him reasons to be human.
     It's a selfless love but it's also a selfish love. It consumes both of
them, but they are willing to be consumed. It demands things of one
another that they would never think of giving anyone else, but these
things are freely shared between them. That's what gives it texture-- the
many paradoxes in their relationship.
     I'm enthralled. I first saw the movie eight months ago and I'm still as
fascinated now as the first time I saw it. If you can find a soulmate
relationship in Hollywood, then there's hope that you can find it in real
life. But maybe that's just the idealism
of youth. ::grins::




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

My apologies to all...I forgot about the discussion rules for this
list. I'm gonna have to hurry and join the discussion list before my big
mouth gets me in trouble again.
        Excuse the newbie for her lack of etiquette. My brain isn't fully
functional this early Monday morning...

        darkstar


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Summary:  Marie tempts Logan a little more. This chapter is rated: NC-17


The next day Logan found himself alone again. Erik had taken his 'team' out on
some business and as Logan wasn't *officially* on the team yet, he wasn't
invited along.  Logan wandered outside to find Marie sunbathing. She was lying
on her stomach in a miniscule bikini. Logan's mouth watered at the expanse of
smooth creamy skin on display and he instantly went hard.  When his shadow fell
across her, Marie turned to look up at him, her hand shielding her eyes from the
glare of the sun.

"Oh, hey there." She said in a honeyed drawl.

"You're gonna burn." Logan said, indicating her back.

Marie shifted to look at her back. Logan was right, she was already starting to
color.

"Would you put some lotion on me?" She asked innocently,  "There's some latex
gloves and some lotion in the bag."

Reaching into the bag and locating the lotion and the gloves, Logan sat down on
the edge of her chaise lounge. Pulling on the ultra thin gloves, he squirted a
dollop of lotion into his palms and started to smear the creamy substance onto
her back, which did nothing to help his straining erection.  Even through the
gloves, Logan felt the softness of her skin as he spread the lotion in a
caressing manner.  His fingers trailed down the sides of her torso and onto the
sides of her breasts. Marie let out a soft moan and shifted slightly as Logan's
left hand slipped further onto her breast, almost cupping it. Removing it
slowly, he brushed a finger over her nipple, eliciting another moan from Marie. 
Logan closed his eyes for a second and said a silent "holy shit". He realized he
was getting into dangerous territory and concentrated on applying the lotion to
the back of Marie's legs.  He was doing fine until he reached the top of her
thighs, just below the curve of her sweet little rear end. The bikini bottom was
so tiny, that there was more of Marie exposed than there was covered. Justifying
that her delicate little bum needed protection, too, Logan ran his lotion
slicked hands over the rounded little cheeks.

"Why don't ya get out of those hot looking clothes and get some sun yourself?"
Marie suggested, noting the denim and flannel that constituted Logan's attire.

Logan didn't need to be asked twice if he wanted to spend the day half-naked
around an equally half-naked Marie.  Standing up, he informed her he'd be right
back and practically ran back to his room to change.  Returning quickly, in only
a pair of cut-off shorts, Logan discovered to his dismay that Marie had fallen
asleep. Damn, now he couldn't ask her to return the favor and lather him up with
lotion.  He settled himself onto the chaise lounge next to hers, and contented
himself with watching her sleep.  A short while later, Marie shifted onto her
back.  As the top of her bikini wasn't tied, it didn't come with her as she
rolled over.  Logan now had an unobstructed view of bare breasts that were
perfectly formed creamy mounds, topped off by the most delicious looking
pinkish-brown nipples he'd ever laid eyes on. Rationalizing that he didn't want
to wake her, Logan merely sat spellbound, fighting the urge to lean over and run
his tongue all over her.  The mixture of sex vixen and pure innocent that Marie
radiated confused and aroused Logan all at the same time. Part of him wanted to
ravish her and a part of him wanted to protect her from men like himself.

He was so engrossed in watching her that he failed to notice that her mother had
returned, and was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, decidedly
pissed off that Logan was leering at her daughter.

When he finally noticed Mystique glaring at him, he simply said without any
embarrassment,  "Hi, honey."

"Don't you "Hi, honey" me, you pig." Mystique snapped loudly, causing Marie's
eyes to snap open at the commotion.

Marie suddenly realized her state of exposure and crossed her arms over her bare
breasts, as she scrambled to her feet and reached for a towel to cover herself.

"It's not what ya think, momma."  She cried.

"I warned you, Wolverine, my daughter's off limits. Apparently, I didn't make
myself clear enough." Mystique said hotly.

It was then that Marie noticed Logan's state of undress and she swallowed hard
as she looked at his magnificent physique - the sculpted chest, six-pack abs and
nicely muscled thighs.  Who knew he was hiding *that* under all that flannel and
denim? No wonder her mother was jumping him every chance she got. Her cheeks
turned bright pink as a lewd thought flashed through her mind about the
possibilities of what could've happened if her mother hadn't come home when she
did. No, this was her mother's boyfriend she reminded herself - eyes and hands
off.  Not wanting to embarrass herself further with the possibility of actually
drooling, Marie excused herself and bolted back inside.

Mystique turned sharply on Logan, who was wearing a bemused grin.

"I'm not even remotely kidding about Marie. You keep away from her or I don't
care how badly Erik wants you on the team, I'll kick your ass outta here so
fast." She warned, her eyes blazing.

"Relax, momma bear. I'm not gonna lay a hand on your precious cub." Logan
stated.

"It's not your hands I'm worried about." Mystique snapped back and then
softening, added, "She's just a child, Wolverine, please leave her alone."

"How old is she, anyway?" Logan asked, curiously.

"She's seventeen, why?" Mystique answered.

"I believe the legal age of consent in New York is seventeen."

"Figures you'd know that bit of trivia. Not that it will do you any good. I mean
it - hands.... and all other body parts off of her, or I'll tell her daddy."
Mystique threatened.

"Sabretooth?" Logan chuckled, "Yeah, I'm really scared of that overgrown
pussycat."

"Victor will introduce you to a whole new kind of pain, if you touch Marie."

"Is he really her father?"

"No, but he thinks he is and it's kept her safe from him, so I don't correct
that particular error."

"Yeah, but I'm *not* her daddy." Logan reminded her.

"Wolvie, baby," Mystique said, suddenly changing her tone again, "I'll keep you
so busy, you won't have time to think about that inexperienced little girl."

"Well, right now I need either a cold shower or a good hard fuck. So what's it
gonna be?"

Mystique pulled him toward a chaise lounge, "Do you even have to ask?"

"What? Out here?" Logan asked, slightly stunned at Mystique's boldness.

"Don't tell me the big bad Wolverine has suddenly developed a case of shyness?"
Mystique purred, in a voice that was half teasing and half challenging.

Logan shrugged his shoulders, if Mystique wanted to be an exhibitionist, who was
he to argue. Logan dropped his shorts, pushed her down onto the chaise, hiked
her skirt up, ripped off her panties and climbed onto her. As he pounded into
her, his thoughts drifted to a certain cute little brunette. Meanwhile, Marie's
room faced the patio, so looking out the window, she was treated to a view of
Logan vigorously screwing her mother.  Picking up a bunny that was part of the
menagerie of stuffed animals on her bed, Marie flung it across the room
forcefully.  Seeing that it failed to do any real damage, she grabbed a teddy
bear next and ripped his little head off.  Marie decided to go the kitchen and
eat an entire pint of Haagen-Daz and to hell with spoiling her appetite for
dinner.

If she'd stayed and continued watching the little display on the patio, she
would've been treated to something very interesting.  Logan was thrusting into
Mystique, but was having a difficult time reaching climax and Mystique, having
already had her own orgasm, was getting impatient.

"Christ, Wolvie, I'm starting to chafe down there. You wanna finish this up
already?" She whined.

"Almost there. If you'd quit bitching at me and let me concentrate." Logan
complained.

Mystique rolled her eyes and then had an idea.  She morphed into Marie, which
apparently did the trick, because it immediately made Logan come.

"Yeah, thought that would do it." She snapped, morphing back into her blonde
form and pushing him off of her.

Logan rolled over onto his back, panting heavily, as he recovered. Mystique
stood up and adjusted her skirt.

"Next time you get horny, you can take matters into your own hand - if you know
what I mean."  She said, gesturing the jerking off motion. She then marched
inside, leaving Logan lying there naked.

Logan sat up and ran his fingers through his disheveled hair, contemplating his
next move. Obviously, he no longer wanted the mother - he wanted the daughter.



At dinner that evening, Mystique was noticeably frosty to Logan and Marie was
conspicuously absent from the table.  Apparently, Marie had eaten an entire pint
of ice cream and was now in her room nursing an ice cream headache and a
stomachache.  Erik took the opportunity of Logan not being distracted by either
his niece's presence or Mystique's pawing, to explain in depth about his plans
for the Brotherhood, but Logan was still only half paying attention, as his mind
wandered to a certain delectable brunette. Besides, Erik's grand plan sounded
like a dump truck load of crap, anyway. The sooner Logan got out of there, back
to minding his own business, and letting these morons fight their own battles,
the better. He wondered if he could convince Marie to leave with him.

Logan excused himself from the less than scintillating conversation and went in
search of the object of his desire.  As Logan entered the hallway to the bedroom
wing, he heard a soft moaning coming from the direction of Marie's room.  With
the stealth of ninja, Logan approached Marie's room. The door was slightly ajar,
so he peered in through the sliver of space.  Marie was lying on the bed, this
time in a pair of pale blue pajamas that had white clouds on them.  Her hand was
down the front of the bottoms and she was pleasuring herself.  But it was what
she said that shocked Logan the most.

"Logan, Oh, Logan." Marie moaned.

< Oh, my God, she's thinking about me! >

Logan instantly went hard. He pushed open the door and stepped into the room,
startling Marie, who jerked her hand out of her pj's, totally mortified.

"Logan!" She squealed.

Logan simply walked over to the bed, sat down, gathered her in his arms and
pressed a light kiss to her lips, pulling away before her skin had time to
react. Both breathing heavy, they were mere fractions of an inch apart, their
lips almost touching. Marie closed the tiny gap and pressed her mouth to his.
Expecting the pull to start, Logan was delighted when the only tingling
sensation he felt was the kind that usually accompanied such kisses. Running his
tongue over her plump lips, he pulled down on her chin with his thumb, parting
her lips slightly, giving him the opportunity to invade her mouth.  As he sunk
his tongue into her mouth, she threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled
his head toward her to deepen the kiss.

Finally breaking apart for air, Logan said, "I see those lessons are paying
off."

"Uncle Erik told me if ah wanted to do something bad enough, ah could do it. Ah
really wanted ta kiss ya just then, so ah guess he was right."

"What else do you want to do bad enough." Logan asked, his hands reaching for
the top button of the sweet little pajamas.

"What do ya think?" She asked in a husky voice.

Logan pressed a kiss to her neck and then worked his way down onto her
collarbone and then even lower, as he opened the buttons of the pajama top.  He
parted the fleecy fabric to reveal what he'd been dreaming about since the
incident on the patio.

"So beautiful. Such perfection." Logan moaned, as his eyes drank in the sight
before him.

He pressed heated kisses to one of the creamy mounds, licking at the areola
before taking the sweet little pebble of a nipple into his mouth. It tasted as
sweet as he'd imagined. Marie moaned and threw her head back as he suckled at
the one breast while massaging the other with his hand and then switching sides
and doing the same thing.  Her skin still wasn't reacting - so far, so good.

Marie was tugging on the bottom of his T-shirt, so taking the hint, Logan pulled
it off in one swift move. Running her hands over the tight corded muscles, Marie
let out a sigh as she pressed kisses to his pecs. Logan let her explore his
chest with her small hands and soft mouth.  Still not even a slight tingle. 
Logan pushed the pajama top off her shoulders, down her arms and then tossed it
behind him. Easing her backward down onto the bed, he reached for the silk cord
that held up the bottoms. Undoing the bow and parting the fabric, he slid the
fleece material off her hips and down her legs.  She wasn't wearing any panties
and so the triangle of hair at the junction of her legs was revealed to him. 
Logan ran his fingers through the soft curls. Parting her outer lips, he rubbed
her clit, causing Marie to lift her hips off the bed.

"Just relax, baby. This is gonna feel real good, I promise." He whispered, as he
continued the gentle massaging action.

Rubbing her clit with his fingers, it wasn't long before Marie shuddered, as the
orgasm washed over her.  She was still recovering when Logan dipped his head
down and licked at her in the same spot where his fingers had just been. Logan
ran his hands over her the curves of her lithe young body as he continued to
pleasure her with his tongue.  Marie writhed beneath the heated touch of his
mouth, pushing herself into him with each stroke of his tongue.  Her second
orgasm hit her with an even greater force than the first one and she pulled a
pillow over her face to muffle the scream.

Pulling the pillow off her face, Logan leaned down and gave her a flicker of a
kiss. Marie bolted up and grabbing Logan, flipped him over onto his back and
straddled him.  For a tiny little thing, she was fairly strong, he thought, as
she perched her naked little derriere on his denim clad thighs. When she reached
for the button of his jeans, popped it open and slid the zipper down, Logan
realized what she was going to do.  Ten seconds later she'd freed his erection
and after the initial gasp, was studying it closely.  Logan let her explore the
thick member, as she ran curious fingers up and down the shaft and over the
swollen head.  He thought he was going to die from sheer ecstasy when her thumb
touched the slit at the top of the head.  Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to
the head, then her tongue repeated the earlier action of her thumb. Logan just
closed his eyes as she ran her tongue up and down the shaft and then licked at
the head as if it were a lollipop. Knowing she was an innocent, Logan was
shocked when she sucked his cock into her mouth and began giving him head in a
way that was too  expertly done for someone with her theoretically limited
experience.  He wondered for a brief moment exactly how *Uncle* Erik was
teaching her control, but banished the thought just as quickly.  Propping
himself up on his elbows, he watched her bobbing up and down in his lap. Seeing
her succulent lips wrapped around his cock was an even better vision than he'd
imagined. Moments later he was close to the edge, and not wanting to come in her
mouth, pulled her off him just in time.

"How. did .you..you.learn..to.do.that?" He gasped.

"Victor has quite a decent porno collection. Whenever they're all out, ah
entertain mahself."

"Oh." Was all Logan managed to get out, grateful for this one perversion of 
Sabretooth's.

Sliding his jeans off and tossing them to the floor, Logan turned to Marie and
gathered her to him.

"How's your control holding up?" He asked.

Marie scooted even closer, wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her legs
with his.

"So far, so good, sugar." She said, huskily.

"That's my girl." Logan replied, as he crushed his mouth to hers again.

Rolling them, so that she was underneath him, but careful not to crush her,
Logan began plying her supple young body with heated kisses, as she moaned with
each caress of his lips against her velvet skin.  Spreading her legs and
bringing them up to wrap around his waist, Logan positioned himself at entrance
when he remembered something important he needed to retrieve from his wallet.

"I need a condom, baby." He told her and was surprised when she shook her head
no.

"Ah wanna feel *you*, Logan, not some piece of latex. "

  "I just don't wanna leave a *souvenir* behind, if you know what I mean?"

  "It's okay. Ah know mah body and ah'm just at the beginning of mah cycle - so
ah'm okay."

  "Okay, baby, but one more thing. If you start to lose your grip on your
control, you push me off real quick, okay?"

Marie nodded her head in acknowledgment.  They both definitely wanted him to
survive this encounter. Logan smoothed the hair away from her face, leaned in to
kiss her, his tongue entering her mouth, as his cock entered her body.  A sharp
pain cut through her as Logan pierced her hymen and she arched sharply off the
bed. Logan stopped and gave her time for the pain to subside and to adjust to
the feel of having him inside her. He pushed in a little further, realizing that
his eight inch cock was probably not the most comfortable thing for a virgin to
experience.  Just then Marie began to wriggle beneath him and he moved again to
see how she'd react. When she gave a small thrust up, Logan pushed in even
further and started to move a little more, giving gentle little thrusts. 
Cupping her delicate little bottom, he gradually eased in as far as he could and
increased the pressure of his thrusts as she lifted her hips up to meet his
rhythm. He increased the pace of his thrusts the more she writhed beneath him.

"Oh God, Logan. Oh God."  She moaned and it was like music to his ears.

"So good, baby. You feel so good."  He complimented her.

"Yes..yes...harder, Logan..please."

"Come for me, Marie. Just surrender and let go, baby."

Marie's moaning grew louder, as her body quivered beneath him, and he knew she
was close.  He had been half gone when they started, and was fighting to hold
back, wanting to make sure she peaked before allowing himself to reach nirvana.

"So close, baby ..you're so close."  He said, as he felt her shudder.

"LOGAN!" She screamed, as she was engulfed in a firestorm of sheer pleasure.

Hearing her scream his name like that was all it took for Logan, and he fell
over the edge of the abyss into his own freefall, shooting hot liquid deep
inside her.

Just then the door was flung open, practically torn off its hinges and
Sabretooth's gigantic frame filled the doorway.

"I'm gonna kill you, runt, for defiling my little girl." He roared.

I think somebody's in trouble..............



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Everybody,

Darkstar's interview is completed and should be posted at the WRFA in
the next few days.  It is extremely interesting and enlightening.  Be
sure to check the archive and read it when you get the chance.

The next interview is with the prolific Jenn.  She is the author of
such stories as the ongoing "On Love & Lust at Mutant High", "A Year
and a Day", "A Little More Than Intimate", "An Unusual
Situation", "Exceptions", and many more. :)  All can be read at the
WRFA archive (www.wolverineandrogue.com/fic) or Jenn's site
(www.wolverineandrogue.com/seperis/)  Please send any questions you
have for Jenn to me at either address below by September 23rd.
They'll be compiled and sent to her that last week of September.

Thanks for your interest and participation.

Diane Hanscom

hanscomd@...  or  hanscomd@...

TITLE: She's Having a Baby...Maybe
AUTHOR: Mara Greengrass
AUTHOR'S E-MAIL: fishfolk@.... Feedback is better than
chocolate.
PERMISSION TO ARCHIVE: Yes, just let me know.
CATEGORY: Gen, romance, S/J
RATINGS/WARNINGS: PG-13, a little foul language, some brief mentions
of the concept of baby-making
SUMMARY: Scott and Jean and baby make three.
DISCLAIMER: The X-Men and the X-Men movieverse belong to Marvel and
Twentieth-Century Fox and other entities with expensive lawyers. I am
making no profit from this story.
NOTES/DEDICATION: This story is partly inspired by Minisinoo's "Sleepy
Dragon" and partly inspired by my life. It is dedicated to Avi, who
not only laughed when I quoted him in this story, but also provided
some helpful ideas. Thanks to Eiluned for the beta. As she knows, this
story's real purpose is to convert Scott-haters to the dark side.
Bwahahahaha!

I've added a few miscellaneous comic book X-Men in order to bulk up
the school staff, but you don't have to know the comics to read this.
(Could *you* run a school with so few teachers?)

**Telepathy**

*********************

--Now (August)--

"Are you pregnant yet?" Scott asked as he closed their bedroom door.
Jean didn't even look up as she telekinetically threw a down pillow at
his head.
"What?" he asked, trying to look innocent.

"You know, Scott, that line was funny the first thousand times, but it
seems to have lost its charm," Jean said, finally looking up from _The
Joy Luck Club_.

"Sorry," Scott said, but his apology was marred by his grin. "So, are
you?"

"Maybe. I don't think so. I keep telling you, it takes a few days to a
few weeks for a test to be accurate if you want to avoid false
readings."

"I know," Scott said, "I just like hearing you talk doctor, it's sexy.
So, are you re-reading _What to Expect When You're Expecting_?"

"No, I thought one evening not thinking about trying to have a baby
would be good for me. You are *not* helping."

"I'm not here to be helpful. I'm your husband." Scott flopped down
next to her and lay his head on her abdomen. "Anyone home?"

"No." Jean looked at Scott for a few moments. "I love you. Now go
away."

"You mean it's not..."

"No. Next week."

"But just in case, shouldn't we..."

"No. Not tonight. Go away."

Jean kept a straight face as he lay on the blue and green bedspread
and smiled at her. Finally he sighed in resignation and got up from
the bed.
Jean opened her book again.

"Well, since you won't play with me, I'll find someone else." Scott
tried to bait her as he opened the door.

"That's nice, dear," she said, "I think Warren was looking bored
earlier in the evening."

Scott laughed as he closed the door behind him. She stuck her tongue
out at his back and settled back with her book. But now she couldn't
concentrate.
Damn him for reminding her of what she was trying to forget.

Jean tried to read, but her mind kept drifting back to pregnancy. She
knew it was ridiculous to be worried this soon. They hadn't been
trying for very long and it could easily take a year or more. Why was
she worrying?

Jean gave up and tossed her book onto the bed. It had seemed so easy
months ago. They had agreed they were ready, and eager, to start a
family. True, their lives weren't as settled as they might wish, but
who knew when that would change?

So, Jean stopped taking birth control pills and started charting the
optimal days to have sex in order to coincide with ovulation. All very
scientific.

But they hadn't reckoned with the life of leather-clad superheroes, or
the vagaries that hit ordinary people. Put those two together...

********************

--The Previous January--

The wood-paneled hallway was quiet, in one of those brief respites
between students. The vases were still, instead of tilting
precariously, and the art hung straight on the wall.

Only two people stood in the hall, and they were too wrapped up in
each other to be any trouble.

Scott struggled not to grin. "Tomorrow?" He checked to be certain
nobody was nearby.

"Tomorrow through Thursday," Jean said, trying to smile back. But
something was off. She started to say so, when they were interrupted
by a horde of stampeding students.

"Time for lunch," Scott said, letting himself be pulled along. He
waved at her as she stepped back into the doorway of her classroom.

Then she sneezed. And sneezed again.

Just as she feared, when she woke up the next morning, her throat was
raw, her nose was stuffed, and her head felt like the entire
Brotherhood was running through it. She groaned, half from her
illness, and half from the realization of what this meant.

"Jean, what's wrong?" Scott was only half-awake, she could feel his
concern through their telepathic bond clearly as he tried to scan
their bedroom for possible threats.

"Noding, I mean," she sniffed a few times and then blew her nose
carefully, "nothing, just a cold."

"A cold."

Jean closed her eyes and tried not to move too much. "Yes, a cold. One
of thousands of related viral infections that will leave me tired,
feverish, cranky..."

"...and not in the mood for a little baby-making."

Jean felt Scott's cool hands gently stroke her forehead, and she
sighed with pleasure. Then he climbed out of bed.

Jean stifled another groan. As the doctor, it behooved her to behave
like an adult when she got sick.

"I'll bring you up a pitcher of orange juice and some toast. Tylenol
and Sudafed good?"

"Yes, but I should..." she tried to climb out of bed, but Scott pushed
her back.

"...you should stay in bed and get over this as quickly as possible."

"But my classes?" she hated how weak her voice sounded.

"Your classes will survive a few days. I'll send Logan in to terrorize
them.
I *know* you have emergency lesson plans. Rest. Get healthy."

Scott's voice was firm, and she sank gratefully back into the soft
pillows.
As she slid back to sleep, she said, "It's not really the classes. I
wanted to make a baby."

"I know. Me too."

*************************

--February--

The lab was cool and silent except for the clicking of the keyboard as
Jean updated student medical records.

She was just entering Bobby's second-degree burn and St. John's
frostbite (the result of a particularly enthusiastic basketball game)
when she felt Scott coming down the hall. She looked up as the lab
door whooshed open.

"Hey, sexy," he said.

"Sexy? An old married lady like me?" Jean gave the ritual response.

"Well, you're sexy to me." Scott picked her hands up off the keyboard,
hit save and closed the program before she could argue. "Now, if
you'll recall, we had an appointment."

Jean stared at her husband. "An appointment?" Then she blushed. "Oh.
Right."

"Yes, I even put it down in your appointment book, if you'll recall.
It says 'Have sex with your handsome husband.' So, if we could adjourn
to a more appropriate location, we can commence baby-making."

Jean smiled and sent a flurry of love/lust/happiness up their link, as
she remembered why she married him.

Minds entwined, they were halfway down the hall when alarms began to
ring.
Scott paused long enough to bang his head against the gray metallic
wall before taking off for the Situation Room.

Scott was already checking the monitors, Jean peering over his
shoulders, when the rest of the team streamed in.

"Damn," he said. "We've got to get out there. If this escalates, we
could have full-fledged anti-mutant riots."

The Professor rolled into the room, and Scott brought him up to date,
as everyone else scanned the screens. "Cyclops, who are you taking?"

Scott thought for a moment. "Storm, Wolverine, and Beast are with me.
Angel and Jean stay here to protect the school."

As everyone scattered, Jean grabbed Scott and kissed him.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said, his face set in the severe
lines of Cyclops.

"Just come back safely," she said, kissing him one more time.


*********************

--March-

Jean was looking at Ororo's flower garden, but she wasn't really
seeing it.
"I could cancel, Scott." She leaned back on the bench.

Scott didn't look up from the garden hose he was patching. "It's
important that you go. Important to you and important that you
represent the rational, scientific view of human mutation."

"Maybe someone else could go," she said. "Hank or the Professor." She
absently picked a sprig of mint and twirled it under her nose.

Scott put down the hose. "The Professor doesn't have your medical
background, and well, let's be blunt here. Hank is blue. And very
furry.
Whereas *you* are both beautiful *and* intelligent. A combination that
even the most hardened bigot cannot possibly resist."

"I'm sorry, this conference was scheduled long before we decided to
have a baby."

"I know," he said as he wiped his hands carefully on a rag and sat
beside her on the bench. "And somehow we will get through this."

"I wish there was some way you could come with me. If only everyone
*else* wasn't going to be gone at the same time."

"You know," Scott said, "this is beginning to feel like a conspiracy."

Jean laughed at the visions this conjured up. "It's Magneto's revenge.
Or maybe it's a new Friends of Humanity strategy. Perhaps they think
if mutants don't reproduce there won't be any more mutants."

"Our previous plans have all failed," Scott intoned, "so we will
implement Plan NB."

"What's Plan NB?" Jean asked, playing along.

"Plan No Baby will involve interfering with the routine of all
alpha-class mutants to be absolutely certain they get no quality time
with their spouses."

"It's a brilliant plan."

"And especially," he paused for dramatic effect, "especially no
nookie."

******************************************

--Now (August)--

Jean laughed again at the memory, but sobered as she remembered the
subsequent months. April was filled with prosaic interruptions,
students needing help with assignments, lab work, and late night teen
angst.

What happened in May? Was that when she and Hank spent a solid week
without more than a few hours sleep tending to injuries from a botched
rescue mission? No, that was June.

Ah yes, May was Congressional testimony. Yet another trip that Scott
couldn't join her on because of school duties. Final exams.

That brought her up to last month, when large portions of the mansion
were damaged in an attack and everyone had doubled up rooms for the
rest of the month.

She lay in the bed, remembering the months of frustration. Then she
had an idea. The idea morphed a bit and became a plan. Not, she
suspected, a plan Scott was going to like, but subtlety had failed. It
was time for direct action. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

**Professor?** she thought. His mind was the only one other than
Scott's she could reach over a distance.

**Yes, Jean?**

**Could you assemble the teachers in the library, please?**

**Certainly. Is this an emergency?** The Professor's mental voice was
calm, if a little surprised by this unusual request.

**No, but I'd like to get this over with quickly.**

Jean strode downstairs, determined to implement her plan before she
lost her nerve or Scott figured out what she was doing. She could feel
his confusion, but deliberately blocked him.

The library was perfect for Jean's plan. It was warm and cozy, the
teachers fit there comfortably, and alas, you were unlikely to find a
student there outside of school hours.

Jean heard the murmur of the other teachers as she entered the room,
but conversation ceased and all eyes turned to her. She stood next to
Scott, who loyally tried to pretend he knew what was happening.

She took a deep breath and Hank said, "I suppose you're wondering why
I've called you here tonight."

Jean stared him into silence and said, "I've called you together to
announce that Scott and I will be gone for a few days next week."

Scott's jaw dropped, and the rest of the crew stared for a few moments
in surprise. Jean jumped in before they could object.

"This is non-negotiable," she said. "Next Tuesday, we are going to go
away and no-one will disturb us until Friday morning. If Magneto
breaks out of prison, if Rogue absorbs Jubilee, if the Juggernaut runs
amok, we will not be disturbed."

"I am never one to stand between an esteemed colleague and a justly
deserved respite," Hank said, "but I am curious why you have
specifically chosen Tuesday."

"Because that's the best day for me to get pregnant this month," she
said.
Scott sat down rather abruptly. "And after seven months of being
interrupted, I'm sick of it."

Jean enjoyed the stunned deer expressions on her colleagues' faces
even more than she expected. "Any other questions?" she asked.

"No, I believe that covers it," Hank said. He winked at her and Warren
quietly wished her good luck, then they went back to debating football
scores. The Professor smiled at her and rolled out of the room after
sending telepathic good wishes. He had known already, she was sure.

"You have been trying to have a baby all this time and you did not
tell us?" Ororo sounded a little hurt. She and Scott moved off into a
corner of the room as Scott tried to explain their reasoning.

"Seven months, huh?"

Jean gritted her teeth before turning to face the remaining staff
member.
"Yes, Logan, seven months."

His lips twitched and he said, "Well, have you thought maybe it's
because he can't..."

"Stop." Logan stopped and so did every other conversation in the room.
"Do.
Not. Go. There. Finish that sentence and I'll remove the adamantium
from your skeleton with my bare hands." She left the room, everyone
staring after her in surprise again. She could feel Scott's alarm, but
she stifled her anger and told him to stay put.

Halfway down the hallway, she could hear Logan behind her. "Jeanie?
Jean, hang on." She stopped walking, but didn't turn around. "I'm
sorry, I didn't mean...shit, I'm no good at this."

Jean sighed and turned around. "Well, it wasn't a bad beginning." She
crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, watching the
unprecedented sight of the biggest badass in the land (or at least the
surrounding counties) try to formulate an apology.

"I was just kidding around. I didn't mean to hurt you. Hell, I didn't
even mean to hurt Scott's feelings."

"If he'd heard you...look, we're under enough stress as it is without
you restarting that pointless feud with Scott."

"I'm sorry." The words hung in the air and he waited, the silence
heavy with tension.

"Just try to lay off for a bit," Jean said finally. "Please?"

"I promise," Logan said, seeming to understand that he was forgiven.
He turned to head back to the library, then paused. "Hey, Jean, you
guys'll be good parents. Really."

Jean blinked back a few tears, and went to pack.

Rachel Summers was born a little over nine months later. Red-faced, 7
pounds and 2 ounces, she was the most beautiful thing Jean had ever
seen. Scott's tears kept leaking from behind his visor, but nobody
said anything.

I know this has been awhile coming.  But I am having problems typing this up.  I
normally type as I write but this time I handwrote it.  Which means as far as my
brain is concerned the story is done so I don't need to type.  I know...crazy
logic but I never claimed to be sane. *G*  Hopefully more to come.  The real
reason behind the delay is the start of a new job.  Yeah for me! Not!! Oh well,
on with the fic.



Title: And One Shall Fall 4/?
Author: Tanya Miller
Series: Gemini which can be found on my site X-Men Fan Fiction Keepers at
http://go.to/tanie
Rating: R for violence and very bad language
Summary: Sarah is mistaken for Rogue.....
Disclaimer: Not mine.  Not that lucky.  Fox and Marvel own everything famous.

~*~

Logan was driving Scott crazy with his latest nervous habit.  Shooting his claws
in and out of his hands repeatedly.  Finally, Scott had had enough and snapped.

"For Christ sake!  Logan would you stop doing that?!?!"

Logan's face showed his shock at seeing Mr.Cool lose his. "Sure.  No need to go
ape shit on me." he mocked.

Laughing, Scott shrugged. "Sorry.  I know that you are worried.  So am I.  I
don't like the idea of Rogue being out there alone.  I mean, I know she can
handle herself, it's just that right now she isn't thinking straight, what with
Sarah getting shot.  She could make a really stupid mistake right now."

"Gee thanks, One-Eye.  As if I wasn't worried enough already."  Logan growled.

"Sorry."

"No problem.  I know that you are just as worried about Rogue as I am."

Scott cleared his throat and attempted to change the subject to one not so
embarrassing as the fact that he and Logan were more alike then different. 
"We'll find her."  He said, not adding that he hoped that it would be in time. 
Who knew what could happen if Rogue and Mystique met face to face again.

~*~

Rogue watched as Mystique made her way to the entrance of the cave.  She
couldn't let her get away.  Using traces of Magneto's power, Rogue bent the
metal that made up the piping that lined the walls, to form a type of steel bar
door, turning the cave into a cell.  Mystique screamed and jumped back when she
saw the metal move.  A slow smile crossed her face.  "Erik?  Have you come back
to me?  Have you escaped?"

Rogue stepped forward and out of the shadows. "He didn't."

"You!" Mystique took a step back. "No!  The man told me he shot you....he KILLED
you!"

Rogue's rage increased at the reminder of why she was there.  "Your assasin
should have done his homework.  He shot my sister."

"Sister?  You have no sister!"  Mystique bravely challanged.

Rogue smiled, a smile devoid of any warmth.  "Oh but you're wrong.  I do have a
sister.  In fact, she is my twin."  Seeing comprehension dawn in Mystique's
eyes,  Rogue pressed on. "She is my exact double.  Even down to this." She said
as she fingered her streaks.

As the rage continued to build she started to step forward, walking toward
Mystique.  "You probably killed the one person who really understood me.  She
too, couldn't be touched.  That is until we were together.  We could touch
people when we were close to one another.  And you destroyed that."  Mystique
continued to back up until her back was against the bars.  She could hear a
plane landing close by.  But not close enough by the looks of the animal rage
that was in Rogue's eyes.  Inner-Logan was out, full power.

"Time for you to die, you blue bitch!"  Kicking a leg forward, she kicked
Mystique hard in the knee, causing it to break and Mystique to fall to her
knees.  In a feeble attempt to save her life she morphed into Logan.  "Rogue,
it's me, Logan.  Come on, you don't want to kill me."

"Nice try, but not good enough!"  Rogue spat venomously.  She reached down and
with her hand in Fake-Logan's hair, she pulled Mystique upright.  Hearing Logan
and Scott in the distance, Rogue released the hair and placed a hand on each
side of Fake-Logan's face.  "It's over.  I win.  This is for Sarah, you bitch!"
she said as she felt the link open and the drain begin.  Logan and Scott ran up
to the other side of the bars and tehy were screaming at her to let go.  But she
couldn't.  Mystique HAD to die.

She dimly heard Logan telling Scott to blast the bars.  She tapped into Magneto
again long enough to throw Logan away from the bars, making him hit Scott away
too.  She need more time.  Her mind was being flooded by memories. Mystique's
memories.  She was aware of Scott finally blasting the doors and Logan's gloved
hands trying to pull her hands away as Mystique screamed...or was that
her....but she held on.

Finally, she felt the link start to close and the screaming stopped.  Opening
her eyes, she looked into Logan's, her voice soft as she said, "Take me home."

And with those words, darkness decended and she fell into his arms.

~*~


http://go.to/tanie = My xmen site
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeelTheLove = My W/R List
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HereOnEarth = My Roswell List
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StakesandFangs = My Buffy List
"Sayin' "Ah tol' ya so" is beneath mah dignity, so instead, Ah'll say ....
  "Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah" - Rogue in Gambit #5


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]