Unhealthy

Disclaimers: I don't own X-Men, just a fan. Marvel contains rights. The only character in the story that DOES NOT belong to anyone but me, is Irivan. No harm intended, just fun.

It was just after a tragic mission losses were few but casualties were common. The first time Magneto's band of war-strung mutants and marauders fought alongside Xavier's X-men, yet they were triumphant by small degree. It was an isolated desert in Egypt where the battle took place against a long time but not forgotten foe, Apocalypse. Several fell and many were injured almost to the point of death.

Few of the X-Men had ranked among those injured. Jubilee had exhausted her plasma bursts and was then struck in an inadvertant attempt by Bishop to use the power of one Fabian Cortez against its owner. The next to fall was Storm as Plague had struck her amidst a tunnel of lightning and thunder clouds. Wolverine had a mild rampage with Death and had managed to overcome the obstacle in time to see Gambit back up into Famine. Gambit had charged a card and sent it flying upward as he stumbled back into the Horseman who had been waiting for him. The card exploded as it had reached a generous height, sending back a wave of wind strong enough to push its infected thrower to the ground.

Logan stood in shock; eyes wide, mouth slightly open and arms to his sides as it had taken a full minute to asess what happened. "No!" A shout that seemed to be in slow motion spilled out of him as he began to run over to where his fallen comrade lay. Throwing himself to his knees, Logan bent over the unconscious X-Man and repeated his name several times in attempt to wake him. Looking up, he scanned for other casualties and called over Jean as she and Beast examined and then picked up Jubilee, some 50 yards away. "Jean! The Cajun's been hurt! He needs to get back to the Mansion now!"

"What happened?" She called as she ran over to kneel on the other side of Gambit.

Logan stared at the serene face of Remy before looking up into her eyes. "Famine was waitin for him when he backed up. Dunno what knocked him out. Get him and the kid outta here." His claws had been sheathed but reannounced themselves as he stood up and began scanning for the certain Horseman. "It ain't gonna be pretty."

Jean had called Rogue over to help with placing Gambit into the Blackbird. "I'm sending Rogue and Beast back while I stay at the Mansion and run tests. Be careful, Logan." She stared calmly at him as he stopped his searching to glance back at her.

"Just get them well." A growl through his teeth before he ran past her and lunged, claws first, at the assailant who had taken his friend from him. Out of the corner of his eye he watched the jet take off and hoped his comrades were all right. He was surrounded now, and had very few options of getting out of the centre of things. The vulgarity of his nature had overtaken his senses and he began to slice through anything and everything daft enough to get in the way of his blades.

*******

Jean had just stepped into the corridor of the lower levels and turned to her left before abruptly meeting Logan. He looked very tense and it showed in more ways than just his expression. "Uh- Logan- I was just going to find you." Exhaustion in both the body and the mind had caused the shock of seeing him before telepathically knowing he was there. A white labcoat overtop of civilian clothes and her hair neatly pulled back into a loose bun. Thin reading glasses slid down the bridge of her nose to the tip in her startlement.

"How are they?" His gruff voice was devoid of emotion but not completely. He was worried about both of them but watching Remy's reaction to being touched by Famine had stuck in his mind as the most clear. He was clean and wearing his favourite brown jacket as if he were going to somewhere cold. Running a hand through his hair on the right side, he nodded to the door that had just slid closed before looking back to her. "Is the kid okay?" He moved past her a step but turned back as she grabbed his arm.

"Logan-" Jean started to turned around to face him as she finished her conclusion. "Jubilee is fine but Gambit, although up and getting more nervous in there, is.... um, not." She blinked as Logan turned around to meet her and toss her a foggy look. "I can't get him to let me examine him for the other variable that caused him to faint after Famine touched him. He is very persistant that he is perfectly fine. I've treated him for the induced illness but haven't been so lucky in finding out what's really wrong."

Breathing deep and taking in all that she had said, Logan focused on her mouth and her words that seemed to be said in slow motion. "Not co-operatin, huh?" Turning his head back to look at the door, he said under his breath. "We'll see about that." He turned again and opened the door before walking through it.

She had a feeling she should follow him and keep him from letting his pending anger get the better of him. Walking in about five steps behind him, Jean hung back to observe and intervine if things became rough. She leaned against the wall to the right of the door and crossed her arms loosely as she watched and listened to what Logan was telling the Cajun. Eventhough Logan handled his verbal anger well enough, she was still fighting a headache from his internal anger.

"She ain't gonna hurt ya, Gumbo. The lady just wants to see what the Hell made you collapse, yesterday. That's it." He stood with his back to Jean and talking to Remy, who sat on a table in only his jeans. Logan had brought down some clothes for the Cajun after his shower and debriefing from the mission. "Makin sure yer okay, ya know?" He paused to turn back to look at Jean. A thought occurred to him as he turned back to finish. "Or, are you hidin somethin an' you don't want anyone else to know?" Taking a step forward, he was stopped by a glare from the Acadian.

Remy's glare deepened before he pushed himself off of the table and stepped past the older man. "Ain't hidin nothin. Remy's fine an' dat's dat." He continued to walk away from Logan and glanced over at Jean as he headed for the door. "You gonna keep me here too, or am I free ta go?"

Jean only closed her eyes and nodded as he told her goodbye and left. When she opened them again, Logan had turned to face her and sighed inwardly before walking after Remy. She sighed in relief of the nonviolent argument but dreaded the rest of the night. Shaking her head and getting back to her work, she had finished her notes and left to check on Jubilee in the recovery room.

********

"Hey, I'm not done talkin to you." Logan called after Remy as he hurried to his room on the third floor. "LeBeau!" Logan only used Remy's last name when he was really mad at the Cajun, and he was mad. Almost running, he caught up to Remy and spun his around by the arm to talk to him. "What the Hell's gotten inta ya?"

The glare in Remy's eyes deepened even more and he yanked his arm away. With his shirt in hand, Remy thought of what to say as he slipped the material over his head and then his arms through their places. "Not a damn t'ing, mon ami! C'est Remy's business, and Remy's gonna deal wit' it." Turning the doorknob to his room and opening the door, he added angrily. "Don' worry 'bout it. Noneya damn business." Entering the dark room and slamming the door in Logan's face, he took a deep breath and held it there a moment before busying himself with something other than worry.

Logan sniffed the air around the door and sensed something misplaced in the scent Remy gave off. Figuring he shouldn't take it any further, his shoulders shrugged and his footsteps carried him back downstairs for a nightly unwind at Harry's. During the ride into town, he had kicked himself mentally over and over for not turning around and demanding the answer. So, he sat there on the stood and ordered bottle after bottle while avoiding eye contact with the female bartender. Though the drinks of amber liquid relaxed his body, they failed to relax his mind from the ominous scent that lingered around the Cajun.

"He'll be okay, cher." The woman behind the bar whispered as she leaned over the counter and patted his right hand as it held the brown bottle.

Logan had been too entranced in his thoughts to even begin to pay attention to anyone around him but shook himself loose long enough to look from his bottle to her dark blue eyes. "Hey kiddo, you back in town again, huh?"

Irivan smiled and set down another beer for him. "Yea, can't get away from this place. I think I might be teathered to somethin, ya know?" A short laugh but her eyes hadn't budged from his. "If this is about him, don't worry..... it'll all work out. Guess it has to sink into him before it sinks into you."

"Yea, but what......?" He hated it when she knew his troubles before he said something but, he was relieved that she hadn't needed to hear it from him to offer advice. He nodded and started telling her about the mission and what had happened to make Remy clam up on his problem. Logan was glad someone took the time to help him sort through it.


Next.....