Sirens Song

Title: Sirens’ Song
Author: Sinayah
Email: Sinayah@hotmail.com
Distribution: Ask and ye shall receive.
Rating: At FF.net, rated R. Any other site, NC17
Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters from Buffy, Angel, or Xmen. They belong to very rich people who don’t appreciate them as we fanfic writers do.
Disclaimer 2: The Chapter Title and Lyrics belong to Gloria Estefan. The song I Need You belongs to LeAnn Rimes, and Cowboy Take Me Away is by the Dixie Chicks.
Authors Note: Many heartfelt thanks to my muse Zenura, without her I wouldn’t have had the guts to write. If you like this story please review or send me an email, I’d really appreciate hearing what you think. Enjoy!
Authors Note 2: I just want to say thanks to everyone who’s reviewed Sirens Song, all the encouragement you’ve offered gives me the warm fuzzies ins inspired me to write more. This particular chapter has been difficult, and might not have been as good without your support. Please keep reviewing, I love hearing from you all!

Chapter 17: Coming Out of the Dark
“coming out of the dark, I know the love that saved me; you're sharing with me…”

“It’s been four days Professor, isn’t there something we can do? She’s going to end up in the bed beside him if this goes on much longer.” Scott asked, worry clear in his tone. The mansions occupants, including the new arrivals and half the Brotherhood were gathered in the rec room; trying to figure out a way to bring two of their friends back to them.

“I don’t know Scott; I’m just as worried as the rest of you. As Dr. Harding said, there is nothing we can do about Logans’ condition. However, we must find a way to get through to Serena. Frankly, her rapid decline frightens me. I have tried to speak to her, both aloud and telepathically, but she doesn’t hear me. Her attention is focused solely on Logan.” The professor replied, his frustration evident.

Over the last four days, the group had tried everything in their power to help their friend and been wholly unsuccessful. After the doctor had finished speaking, Serena had gone into the hospital style room and taken up a position at her loves’ bed side. She ’t l’t left that position for more than a few minutes at a time since then.

The first day no one had showed much concern for the womans constant vigil. They had all come in to sit with the pair and check on Logan, and no one had thought anything of Serenas’ silent, withdrawn demeanour; passing her behaviour off as merely worry for the man she adored.

The second day, when they noticed that the hypnotist hadn’t come upstairs even to change clothing or eat, those closest to her had begun to worry. Kurt had come down with Willow and tried to talk to Serena, but the woman wouldn’t make comments, and would answer questions only with a great deal of prodding. Spike had forced her to eat something, and then talked to her for hours with no more success than the blue teen. In his frustration he’d even phoned Drusilla in South America and had the vampiress try to talk some sense into her.

On the third day, when she still hadn’t moved, taking her rest in the chair next to the bed, the othersame ame concerned. She wouldn’t speak at all, didn’t even acknowledge the presence of her friends. When Lance and the brotherhood boys had visited they’d noticed how sickly looking Serena had become. Pietro had spoken to all the Xmen about her appearance, particularly about how her uniquely beautiful amber eyes were now sunken and muddy looking.

Now, after four days, the group was seriously frightened for their friend. Something had to be done before the woman slipped into a coma herself. Xander listened to the conversation quietly, discarding everyone’s ideas in his mind moments after they were spoken. The dark haired boy noticed Faith doine sae same thing and caught the slayers eye. Understanding passed between the two and they stood, leaving the room without anyone’s notice.

Downstairs, they entered the hospital room and found the scene they’d expected. Serena was in her rocking chair, which Spike had brought down for her comfort after it became apparent that the woman wasn’t leaving the room except to use the adjoining bathroom occasionally. They approached the bed and Xander knelt beside the catatonic woman while Faith placed a hand on the comatose mans shoulder.

“We could almost be them ya know Faith? I was in her position once, when Angels’ minions put Willow in a coma. Up until a few days ago you were where Logan is now. We’ve got to get through to one of them, or we might lose both.” The dark haired boy said as he gazed at the older couple.

Faith too looked closely at the pair, fear for these people she didn’t know welling up in her heart. “Yeah, but how? I remember things from when I was in that coma. I could hear the doctors and nurses when they came in; sometimes they talked to me. But she won’t talk, she just sits there looking at him and holding his hand.”

Xander threaded his fingers through the slightly greasy, tangled mass of Serenas’ hair and pushed a forelock behind her ear. “I guess all we can do is talk to her, and hope she’s not too far gone to hear us. Maybe if we tell her about the things that happened to us, she’ll come back and bring him with her.”

Faith nodded, it was better than any of the ideas she’d heard upstairs. She liked these people, but none of them really understood what these two were going through. She cast a glance at Xander, the boy she’d once tried to kill. He was smarter than anyone gave him credit for, she realized, especially when it came to understanding people. “I’m sorry you know, for what I did to you. I can’t take it back, or make excuses, but I am sorry.”

“I know, it took me a while, but I realized you aren’t that girl anymore. I can forgive you for the things you did, to me and the others. We’re all starting over here, and I’d for for us to start as friends.” The dark haired man said, offering his hand across the space that separated him from the brunette slayer.

The young woman took his offered hand and squeezed it tightly. “Friends. I think I’d like that. Well friend, let’s see if we can get these two back on the right track. I think they’ll be good friends to have, friends worth saving.” When Xander nodded in agreement Faith turned her attention to Logan.

She squeezed the mans shoulder and studied his strong, handsome features. Her voice was soft when she spoke to the older man, but loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. “Hey Logan, how’re you doing in there? I know you can hear me, kinda been there and done that if you know what I mean. I don’t think anyone told you that up until the day we met I’d been in a coma, like you are now. I got there in almost the same way too, stabbed through the gut.”

A soft hiss of remembered pain issued from her full lips before she continued, “There’s only two differences I can see in our situations. First is that I deserved what I got and you didn’t. I’m no innocent, like those kids upstairs. Before I got hurt I’d done some pretty nasty things, including murder and betrayal. In fact the reason I got stabbed was because I’d shot Angel with a poisoned arrow and mine or Buffy’s blood was the only cure.” The brunette explained.

“That leads me to the second difference. When I went into that coma, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t celebrate and wish I’d died instead. You’re lucky there Logan, you’ve got a house full of people who want you to wake up; and a powerful little woman who’s making herself sick sitting here day after day, waiting for any sign that you’re getting better. What she doesn’t realize is that you can’t give her that sign. You can hear her if she talks, you can smell her scent and feel her touch, but you can’t work up the energy to climb out of that place. It took an act of God to make me wake up; I hope it takes a lot less for you.” When she’d finished speaking Faith bent down and pressed a kiss of friendship to the big mans’ brow.

Xander gave the slayer a bright smile, one that grew to a grin when she returned the gesture. The boy then turned his attention to Serena, and he noticed a tear slipping down her sunken cheek. ‘So you did hear her. I knew you weren’t that far gone.’ He thought as one large hand came up to wipe the wetness away. He took the womans chin between his thumb and index finger and used firm pressure to turn her head until his coffee brown eyes met the whiskey coloured orbs that seemed to have lost all the sparkle that made them beautiful.

“Hey ‘Rena. I know you can hear me; you haven’t disconnected that far yet. We’re all worried about you, you know. Your friends are upstairs right now trying to figure out how to bring you back to us. You might as well come back, because you’re not doing Logan any good with this vigil. You heard Faith, she’s been where he is now and she remembers the things that happened around her. It’s been four days ‘Rena, he’s probably taking some comfort in you holding his hand, but I doubt he’s enjoying the smell anymore, you’re getting a little rank.”

The small woman winced a tiny bit at his half joke and Xander knew he was getting through to her, so he kept pressing. “You’re also not doing the one thing that might give him the will to come back. That voice of yours has been a curse for ten years, why don’t you turn it into a blessing now? Use it, talk to him, make him want to come back to you.”

“Did you hear what I said earlier? I’ve sat where you’re sitting ‘Rena. When those vamps put Willow in a coma I was right there beside her through the whole thing. They had to set my broken arm while I held her hand with my good one. I talked to her all that night, told her everything I should’ve said while she was awake.” Xander closed his eyes and remembered how terrible he’d felt that night, holding Willows pale, bruised hand and babbling worse than she’d ever done, hoping that something would make her wake up.

“You know what finally brought her back? I told her that I loved her. She’d loved me in secret for years and when I finally realized how much she meant to me and told her, she woke up. Too bad for me the first thing she did was call for her boyfriend, she thought it was him talking. I doubt Logan will do that to you though, he’ll probably wake up growling for you to bring him a steak or something.” Xander smiled at the thought of the big, gruff man opening his eyes and growling for his dinner.

He saw Serenas’ lips twitch and a brief twinkle in her eyes. “Ah ha, I saw that. So bad jokes are the way to get through to you huh? Well then, this man walked into a doctor’s office…No, I’m kidding, I won’t torture any of you with my frightening sense of humour. Faith and I will leave you two alone; I think you might have a few things to say to each other.”

Xander stood and placed a kiss on Serenas’ hair before holding a hand out to Faith. The brunette came forward and swatted at the appendage, telling the boy that his girlfriend would rip her to shreds if she happened to see them holding hands. The two friends walked out the swinging doors and their laughter echoed through the sterile room where Logan lay sleeping and Serena still sat in silence, holding his large hand. But the sparkle was coming back to her eyes, and a tiny smile tilted the corners of her mouth up.

When she heard the elevator at the end of the hall start up, Serena pressed her lips to Logan’nd. nd. “Is what they said true Wolvie? Can you hear me, wherever you are? I hope you can; Xander’s right, I do have a few things to say to you. But first, I think a shower is in order, otherwise I’ll never know if it was my words or my stench that got through to you. I’ll be back soon.”

With renewed hope in her heart, Serena walked out of the hospital room quickly, intent on having herself a shower and changing into some clean clothing. In the elevator, she heard and felt her stomach complaining. ‘Maybe I’ll stop by the kitchen and get something to eat too.’ She mused.

Logan was floating, or so it felt to his mind. He was in a dark place, not the nightmarish dark of his worst dreams; this dark was warm and comfortable. As Faith had described, he still had some of his senses; he could hear his friends talking, and feel when they touched him. When he inhaled, he could detect the scents of those around him. But he couldn’t see or move and it angered him. He’d tried, so many times, to squeeze his Chatterbox’s hand, to give her some sign that he was there with her.

Through his remaining senses, he’d known the small woman was always near, and he’d heard the people who visited the room talking about how she was making herself sick with worry for him. That knowledge had made him fight the undetectable, but rock solid barrier that held him captive. The problem was energy; he couldn’t find enough will power to break out of the cage in his mind.

He didn’t know how much time passed between Serena leaving and her reappearance, but he could feel the difference in her by the pressure of her hand. She took his limp hand in hers and climbed up beside him on the bed. Her free hand traced the contours of his face, smoothed the whiskers at his jaw line, tickled across his closed eyelids, and her lips pressed gently against his.

“Hey there Wolvie, told you I wouldn’t be gone long. I did some thinking while I cleaned myself up. I wonder, did you feel anything after you were stabbed? I felt that you know, your pain hit me like, well like a skewer through the gut. I started screaming like a banshee, it scared the hell out of poor Kurt and Lance. I put everything I had into that sound, and I sent it straight to you. I heard third hand that it might have gotten to you, but I don’t know for sure.” She started, exningning things she didn’t quite understand herself.

With a sigh, Serena leaned in close, and her amber eyes focused on his face. “So here’s what I’m going to do. Everything I feel, everything I want you to know, I’m going to sing. Right here, right now, I’m going to throw myself out there and hope what I have to say will bring you back home to me. So you listen Logan, and you hold on to these words, they aren’t easy for me to say.”

“I don't need a lot of things,
I can get by with nothing
Of all the blessings life can bring,
I've always needed something
But I've got all I want
When it comes to loving you
You're my only reason,
You're my only truth…”

In Logan’s darkness, Serenas’ voice was like a bolt of lightning. Her words of love cut a path through the blackness and when the light reached his consciousness, he grabbed onto it like a lifeline.

“I need you like water
Like breath, like rain
I need you like mercy
From Heaven's gate
There's a freedom in your arms
That carries me through
I need you…”

Once again, Serena opened her mind and heart and poured everything she had into the words she sang. She felt the connection with her love and increased the volume of her song, putting as much pure energy into the sound as possible. She felt it leave her body, using her voice its method of transportation. With it she sent all the love she had in her heart for the one she was singing to.

“You're the hope that moves me
To courage again
You're the love that rescues me
When the cold winds rage
And it's so amazing
'Cause that's just how you are
And I can't turn back now
'Cause you've brought me too far…”

Upstairs in the common room where the large group was still discussing Serenas’ declining physical and mental state, several people jumped in surprise when the amazing voice of their friend came to them, singing words of love and need that they knew instantly were meant for Logan. Professor Xavier reached with his mind, thinking to make contact with the shields she kept around her thoughts.

He was surprised to find the barriers down, though he could only hear an echo of her thoughts; it seemed to him that she was purposely directing her message to someone, and from the words and images, the telepath knew it was his old friend. He pulled his powerful mind back, not willing to invade her privacy more than he already had.

Sitting across the room from each other, Xanand and Faith shared a smile. At the very least, the young people were glad that they’d brought one friend back with their words, and they hoped that the beautiful song she was singing would bring the other home.

“I need you like water
Like breath, like rain
I need you like mercy
From Heaven's gate
There's a freedom in your arms
That carries me through
I need you…”

Logan climbed; he could feel himself rising, following the line of light out of the dark void. His beautiful Sirens’ energy was pouring into him, giving him the strength he needed to reach her. As her voice faded on the last note, a sudden rush overcame him and he was pulled completely out of the dark. Sapphire blue eyes opened just in time to see tear filled gold ones closing as Serena collapsed in complete and utter exhaustion.

“Oh Darlin, I need you too. You brought me back Baby, sleep now.” The big man whispered hoarsely. Serena had fallen across his chest when she lost consciousness and he was able to wrap his arms around her sleeping form. He clasped her tightly to him and was pressing a kiss into her damp black curls when the first of his friends arrived.

The residents arrived in what was becoming an expected order. Kurt and Willow appeared first via teleportation and were almost knocked over by Pietro as the speedster bolted into the room. Spike was mere seconds behind the teens, having run down the stairs at top speed.

The blond vampire was the first to take in the situation. “Well, it looks like she’s done it again. Welcome back Wolf, been a bit boring around here without you.” Spike greeted as he came forward to clasp his friends shoulder. He gave the feral man one of his beatific smiles to indicate how pleased he was with the big mans recovery.

Kurt and Willow approached to make their own greetings before Logan could reply, “It’s good to see you awake mien friend. You have had us all worried about you. But what is wrong with Mama, she should be jumping for joy now.” The blue teen’s heavy accent belied his happiness, as well as his concern for Serena.

“I think she must have done the same thing she did in Sunnyhell. She gave all her energy to Logan so the lazy bloke would wake up. She just needs to sleep for a while now, get some strength back.” Spike replied, stroking a hand over the womans’ hair. He arched his scarred brow when Logan growled at him for touching the Nymph.

Before any more could be said, a large group of people came through the doors. They’d crowded into the elevator to come down and see their friends. Greetings were exchanged along with handshakes from the men and hugs or kisses from the ladies that made Logan growl at having too much affection showered on him.

Everyone expressed concern over Serenas’ unconsciousness, but were reassured when the professor probed her mind and explained, “She is just extremely tired, even her mental shields are down. I can sense her sleeping thoughts, so she is not comatose. She will wake up when she’s regained her strength. Come now; let’s leave Logan and Serena to rest a while.”

The group began to leave, but was halted a moment later by a vicious growl coming from the man on the bed. Spike had approached the couple, thinking that both of his friends would be more comfortable if he moved Serena to the bed a few feet away. Logan was now growling threateningly at the vampire, warning him to keep away from the sleeping woman. “Mine. She stays right here.” The big man informed his undead friend.

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist Logan, it was just an offer. If you want to keep her there it’s fine with me. We’ll come down and check on you later.” The blond placated. He could’ve kicked himself for not realizing that the feral man would be overly protective of Serena right now. Logan was acting mostly on instinct and had taken the vampires gesture as a threat to his woman.

Logan shook himself a little, regaining control of his emotions, and said, “Yeah, later. Sorry bout that Blondie.” Spike nodded understanding and left the room, shooing the spectators in front of him. As he entered the elevator with an arm around Rogues shoulder he mused, ‘So, the big brute’s going to lay claim to my Nymph huh? ‘Bout bloody time.’

Left alone in the large room again, Logan turned onto his side and cuddled the soft, warm, sleeping woman beside him. He leaned back after a moment to gaze at her lovely, delicate face. ‘She looks so damn young when she’s sleepin. Too young to be doin the things she does. Fightin to save the world, fightin harder to save her friends. The Elf called her Mama earlier; she’s a mama to every kid in this house.’ He reflected, memories coming forth at random.

He smoothed her hair back and placed his lips against her brow for a moment, “Not a mother to me though are ya Chatty? The animal inside me, that part is real specific about what you are. You’re mine, my mate. I’m not quite sure what the other side calls you. More than girlfriend, more than lover even though we haven’t got that far yet. Love will do I suppose; you are my love and damn near everythin else I can think of.”

“I’m not real good with words like you are. I don’t always know just what to say, and I sure as hell couldn’t sing it if I did. But I do love you Serena, and I need ya. You rest now, get back all that strength you gave me, and when you wake up I’ll tell ya again.” Logan closed his eyes and tightened his hold on the small beauty, breathing in her scent. A smile softened his chiseled features as he drifted off to sleep beside the woman who’d given her heart to bring him back.

* * * * * * * * * *

The mansion was suffused with happiness all evening. It banished the tension that had loomed over the house since the teams’ return. Homework was finished quickly so that the teens could gather in the rec room for activities that matched their exuberant moods. Kitty filled the room with music and an impromptu party got under way. Scott and Lance were in front of the television playing a video game in friendly competition. Jean was reading a book on the couch. Xander and Spike played pool with their girlfriends. Kurt, Evan, and Pietro were quite happy to dance with Willow, Kitty, and Faith. Todd and Freddy were expected to come over after they finished detention at six and join the fun.

Even Charles, Ororo, and Giles joined in when the loud music and sounds of laughter drew them to the rec room. It was quite a sight when Kitty took hold of the austere professors’ wheelchair and began dancing around the room with the telepath. Ororo was dragged onto the make shift dance floor by her nephew, protesting all the way. When Willow and Faith started glancing at Giles, the librarian quickly escaped to join Spike and Xander at the pool table.

At a quarter past six, the doorbell was heard, and Ororo excused herself to go answer it. A minute later she came back with Todd and Freddy. The two boys hadn’t been able to come to the meeting earlier, or even to the mansion since the mission. On Monday Mystique had found her car suspiciously dented and slimy, and the pair were given three days detention. They hadn’t met the Sunnydale group yet, and were looking forward to it since Pietro and Lance had had only good things to say about them. Once they were informed the crisis with Wolverine and Siren was over, they were in even better spirits.

Lance and Pietro took their team mates around the room and introduced Xander, Anya, and Faith. They were in the middle of greeting Giles when Todd absently flicked out his tongue to catch a fly that was buzzing above the bright red hair of a girl on the couch, who the boy assumed was Jean.

Willow was talking with her boyfriend and waiting to be introduced to the new boys when she saw the long, slimy tongue flick near her face. ‘FROG!!!’ her mind screamed as she jumped up off the couch and ran a few feet away. Mimicking her thoughts she squeaked, “Ack, Frog! Oh Goddess, Frog!”

“Naw, it’s Toad, yo. Or Todd; you must be the tree girl right? Willow?” The amphibian-esque teen replied, wondering what had startled the girl so bad. He took a few steps forward with a hand outstretched in greeting. Willow backed away from him in panic, her mind still taken over by the phobia everyone had forgotten.

Todd started to turn away in dejection when the girl kept acting afraid of him. He’d seen the reaction to his mutation many times, but it still hurt his feelings. He was stopped by Xanders hand coming down on his shoulder. “Just give her a minute Todd. No one told her about what your power is, so she wasn’t expecting that tongue of yours. She’s afraid of frogs, has been since we were little kids.”

The greenish skinned teen looked back at the redhead, who was beginning to calm down as her boyfriend hugged her. Kurt gestured for Todd to come over, and the boy obeyed, though he moved slowly so he wouldn’t accidentally scare the pretty girl again. “Willow, this is my friend Todd.” The dark haired teen said as his girlfriend pulled away to greet the boy.

“Umm, hi Todd, it’s nice to meet you. Sorry I wigged a minute ago, no one told me about your mutation. I kinda have frog fear, but don’t worry I won’t freak on you again.” The redhead said brightly, extending her hand and smiling at the boy. She reminded herself to do something nasty to the others for not warning her.

Todd took the offered hand in his and shrugged off the incident with a smile. “It’s ok yo. It happens sometimes. I only flicked my tongue out because I thought you were Jean, it grosses her out, and I love pissing her off. So you’re Blues’ girlfriend yo? You do know he’s got blue fur and stufder der that holo-thingy right?”

Willow nodded and lifted Kurts hand to turn off the image inducer, “Yeah I know, I think he’s cute.” She kissed a fuzzy cheek happily and watched the navy coloured fur darken as her boyfriend blushed. Past her fright now, the redheads’ cheerful personality came forward and before long she and Todd were chatting like old friends. When Freddy joined them and shyly introduced himself, the redhead had tilted her head as far back as she could to look at him and said, “I wish Serena would wake up, she’s must be the only person in this town who’s shorter than me!”

While the group was laughing at Todds’ story about the shortest resident having to be picked up to hug his super strong friend, the object of their humour was just awakening in the med bay. Serena opened bleary golden eyes and wondered where she was for a minute before remembering her attempts to wake Logan. She tried to push herself up, but settled again when a familiar, strong arm clutched at her waist.

An elfin face tilted upwards from its place against a muscular chest, and whiskey hued eyes met twinkling midnight blue. Logan had woken from his light sleep when his bed partner shifted and when his eyes took in her tired, disbelieving expression a deeply tanned, callused hand lifted to brush against the silken skin of her cheek. “Hey there Darlin, I was beginnin to wonder if ya were gonna sleep as long as I did.” He greeted, his rumbling voice like the sweetest music to the small woman.

A lone tear of happiness drifted down Serenas’ face to be caught on the big mans fingertip. He brought it to his lips and kissed the moisture away before pulling the stunned woman up onto his chest for a deep kiss. A soft sob was muffled against Logan’s lips as the small woman kissed him feverishly, small hands coming up to roam over his face and clutch as his wild black hair.

It was a long while before the lion eyed woman pulled back for breath. As she gasped in much needed oxygen her eyes traced his features, followed closely by gentle fingertips. “You’re alright. Thank the Gods, you’re alright.” She whispered in her native Ukrainian, too emotional to do the mental translation and speak English. She pressed light kisses over the roughly whiskered cheeks, over her loves forehead, nose, and eyes; before settling back on his lips in a kiss that was gentler than the last, but no less passionate.

When she released Logan to take another breath the big man chuckled, amused by her fierce welcome. He pulled himself into a sitting position and relocated Serena to his lap before wrapping her small frame in his arms and hugging her tightly. “Not the Gods Sweetheart, you. You were screechin too loud for me to stay asleep, had to wake up so you’d be quiet.”

“Screeching? You wait Wolvie, I’ll show you screeching. It would’ve served you right if I did.” She replied, laughing softly and smacking him gently on the back of the head. After holding him in her embrace for a long while she pulled herself back and met his eyes, “You scared me Logan, so badly. I don’t know how, or why, but I felt that piece of bone go through you. I could see, through your eyes, what had happened. I thought I was going to lose you. Don’t ever do that to me again Logan, don’t let me lose you.” The last sentences were choked out on a sob or remembered fear and pain.

Choking up himself, Logan drew her back into his embrace and held her tightly, almost too tightly. He rubbed her back as she cried out her fear into his shoulder, her tears soaking through the thin cotton hospital gown that covered him. He murmured reassurances in her ear, words about never letting go and always being by her side. When she quieted again he gripped her shoulders and pulled her back until he could gaze into the watery, bloodshot, amber eyes. “I mean it Chatty, I aint never lettin ya go. What was it you sang to me?”

He remembered the words and gave them back, “‘I need you like water, like breath, like rain. I need you like mercy from Heavens gate.’ It goes both ways Serena, I need you, and…I love you.” The raven haired, golden eyed, angel faced creature in his arms was the first in his memory to hear the declaration from his lips, and he swore that she’d be the only woman to hear it ever.

It took a great effort not to burst into tears again. Serena knew that Logan cared for her, but she hadn’t expected to hear the words before she’d given them herself. Her Wolvie guarded his thoughts and feelings like a dragon over his hoarded treasure, and now it appeared that the dragon was handing her the loveliest jewel in his trove. “I love you too Logan, so much.”

Suddenly she remembered a sheet of paper she’d been looking at before the hurried trip to California, and the name printed on it. She placed her small hands on his cheeks and stared into his eyes as she spoke clearly, “I love you, Logan Gabriel Chapman.”

The big man shuddered when he heard the name she’d given him along with her love. It settled into him with a warm sense of belonging. It was right, it fit on him like a favorite piece of clothing, shoved into a closet and forgotten for years, just waiting to be pulled out again. Just to be sure, he asked, “Is that my name Chatty? That vampire found it for you?”

Serena smiled brightly and nodded, “That’s your name. Logan Gabriel Chapman, I like it. There wasn’t much else to be found, at least not in the demon world. They had a long, detailed list of demons and famous vampires you’d killed, going from your sudden appearance in the northern untied states in ’44 to your ‘death’ at the hands of William thoodyoody in Canada in ’59. Fifteen years is a long career for a demon hunter, According to Raphael, several contacts he spoke with actually winced when they heard the name Hunter.”

Logan took in the information and mulled it over in his brain. He figured he could learn his history through the military, now that he had a name to search for besides Logan. Willow and Kitty wouldn’t have much trouble hacking into their records if he asked them to. But he wasn’t as exited as he’d always thought he’d be when he had his missing past back.

He realized that the past wasn’t as important as the present and future, which was cuddled in his lap and running around upstairs. He’d still have the girls work their computer magic, he’d searched too long to just let it lie now that he had the key, but his life was here with Serena and the Xmen, and he was quite happy to put the past to rest once it had been found.

He said as much to Serena after he thanked her with a scorching kiss and tight hug. They spoke for a long while about it, and about the future. They were still talking quietly when the professor came to check on them two hours later. Charles gave his friends both a clean bill of health, though he suggested that they try to take it easy for a while, knowing they wouldn’t. As he left the room he invited them to come upstairs and join the impromptu celebration being held in their honor.

“What’cha say Chatty? Want to go up there and get mauled by the rug rats?” Logan asked as he threw back the thin blanket and stood, a bit shakily. He steadied himself and grinned, feeling content and happy with the world in general. He started toward the door when Serena nodded and stopped again when her laughter rang out. He turned around to face her and asked what she was laughing at.

A long, slender finger pointed at him while she tried to control her giggles. “You might…you might want et det dressed first Wolvie…Unless you’re feeling happy enough to give the kids a free show.” She started giggling again, imagining the fiercely blushing faces of their female charges should they happen to see Logan in his current state. The thin hospital gown did little to cover her boyfriends’ well formed, tightly muscled derriere.

Logan looked down at himself, felt the breeze of air conditioning on his rear, and started cursing. He’d been too preoccupied with thoughts of spending a pleasant evening with his friends that he hadn’t noticed his state of undress. “Where the hell’re my clothes and whose idea was it to put me in a damned dress?” he growled, reaching back to undo the ties on the garment before realizing that if he did he’d be standing there naked in front of his woman. After a split second pause he continued to untie the strings, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

Serena rooted around in the bedside dresser to find the clothes she vaguely remembered someone bringing down in anticipation of Logans’ awakening. She came up with a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt as well as boxers and socks. When she turned and held the items out to him, she gasped.

Logan was standing at the foot of the bed wearing nothing but an evil grin which widened at the sound. Serenas’ amber eyes darkened with lust as she openly stared at the nude man. No one would ever compare his form to that of a marble statue of one of the greek gods. ‘He’s too alive for a statue, and too rugged for a god. He’s an oak; living and breathing, needing sunlight and water and earth.’ She mused, making her own comparison and finding it much more appealing.

Her fingers itched to touch, to fondle and caress. She did so with her eyes instead; her gaze roaming slowly over each feature. The bold planes and angles of his face, roughly textured now with four days growth of beard. The deeply tanned skin stretched taut over clearly defined muscle in arms and shoulders. Soft black hair covered the sculpted barrel chest, half hiding the dusky peaks of flat, masculine nipples. Her eyes followed the hair down over the washboard stomach, narrowing only slightly in its journey past the navel.

When he felt the heat of Serenas’ gaze center on his groin, Logans’ smile slipped as he felt his cock start to fill and rise. He’d never imagined being so strongly affected by a womans open admiration of his body. He inhaled through his nostrils and caught the heady scent of Serenas’ arousal. ‘God she smells sweet, I could damn near get off on the scent alone.’ He thought as his body reacted to the pheromones she was giving off. His nipples tightened and his cock stood fully erect, nearly touching his belly button. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to control himself. The stark hospital room was no place for their first time together.

Swirling eyes, almost black now with desire, watched in rapt attention as Logans cock grew under her heated gaze. She felt the wetness pool between her legs and her inner walls spasmed with anticipation. She flicked her eyes back up to his face and saw the intense concentration on his features. She took a deep, calming breath and, not trusting herself to get any closer to all that bare flesh, threw the clothes at him.

Quick reflexes saved him from getting a face full of cloth and he hurriedly dressed, cursing silently that the jeans were uncomfortably tight. When he had the pants fastened he quickly threw the shirt on and walked stiffly to where Serena was sitting in her rocker, eyes tightly shut and breathing deeply to calm down. He crouched beside her and threaded his fingers into her hair, pulling her head down for a kiss that expressed all his love, lust, and anticipation which she returned whole heartedly.

“You’re evil Wolvie, the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen sure, but still evil. Luckily, I have a thing for evil, gorgeous men. Now, let’s get to that party before I give in and attack you.” Serena said once she’d caught her breath.

Logan chuckled at her, though he was sorely tempted to let her try. ‘Very sorely’ he mused when his cock twitched to add its opinion. Aloud he said, “Beautiful, my ass. Come on Chatty, let’s go up and see the brats.” He took her hand and led her toward the door.

Serena gave in to her own evil thoughts and pinched the previously mentioned rear, “That too.” When Logan growled and slung his arm around her shoulders she smiled happily and snuggled in, her arm coming to rest at his waist, a thumb hooked through one of his belt loops.

* * * * * * * * * *

It was just past ten when the four teenagers that comprised the Brotherhood of Mutants opened the front door of their boarding house. Lance Alvers, their leader, nearly punched the wall when the door fell off its hinges. “You know, I hate this place more and more every day. I should just shake it down and make Mystique find us somewhere else to live. This is worse than any of the damn foster homes I’ve lived in.” He grumbled, taking hold of the door to try and fix it for the third time in as many weeks.

His three friends could only agree with the sentiment. Todd had done the foster home circuit himself, Fred had lived with that travelling truck show, and Pietro had lived all over the world. None of them knew why Mystique had chosen to place them in an old boarding house that was literally falling down around their heads. “Maybe if she actually lived here with us it wouldn’t be so bad, but she never uses that room she keeps locked upstairs.” Fred intoned as he pounded the door back onto its hinges while Lance held it up.

“And it sucks having to ask her for shit all the time, yo. She won’t even give us grocery money until we ask for it and she laughed in our faces when we gave her that list of repairs for the place.” Todd said when they’d plopped down in their usual spots. Fred in the ratty recliner, Lance and Pietro sprawled on the lumpy couch and the greenish skinned teen crouching on a straight backed kitchen chair with a broken rail.

Again, the others nodded agreement. They’d been brought here, supposedly ‘taken in’ by Mystique, and each felt that the shape shifter should be caring for them, at least financially. Fred turned on the television and they stared blankly at some sitcom through the static.

Pietro flicked his blue grey eyes around the room at his friends. He wanted to bring up the subject of switching sides, becoming Xmen, but he didn’t want to upset any of the guys. It was harder each time for the snowy haired boy to leave the mansion after a training session or visit, to say casual goodbyes to the group, including his boyfriend. At least Serena never let any of them cross the threshold without a hug and kiss of farewell. The motherly affection did wonders for his friends’ moods, since none of them had really been given that kind of attention before.

If the boy had been gifted with telepathy rather than sonic speed, his fears about speaking against Mystique would’ve been greatly eased. Lance, Todd, and Freddy had the same thoughts of desertion in their minds. Lances’ foremost reason was Kitty, and running a close second was his new found friendship with Scott. Todd had the same type of friendship with Kurt and now Willow. He couldn’t remember having as much fun as he’d had with them earlier in a long time. For Freddy, it was the adults whose companionship he craved. He’d never felt as proud of himself as he did when Wolverine and Spike praised him for throwing them across the room in the last training session.

Each boy knew he’d be welcomed to the Xmen team with open arms; all they had to do was knock on the door. They never pushed or tried to manipulate the teens into joining them, but the message came through clearly. Though they wanted to leave, they felt they owed Mystique and Magneto for the things they’d done for the boys. So they waited for something to happen, something that would decide their loyalties once and for all. They knew it wouldn’t be long before one of their leaders gave an order they weren’t willing to follow.

* * * * * * * * * *

The next two weeks seemed to fly by in a blur, no one having a spare moment. Professor Xavier had been called away to consult with the warden of his brothers penitentiary on different types of security measures and cells made specifically to house mutant criminals. Ororo was attending a conference for meteorologists to discuss the latest weather technology and the effects El Nino was having around the world. That left Logan, Serena, and Spike in charge of their rambunctious teenagers.

Someone had sabotaged the cars in their garage one night and Logan was in a fury. He spent all his time in the garage trying to repair the damage, starting just after breakfast and finishing when he was simply too tired to work any longer. Mystique and Magneto were the main suspects, but there was no proof, not even a scent that Logan could detect under the fumes of spilled engine fluids.

With Logan busy from sun up to sun down, it was up to Spike to put the teens through their daily training and make modifications to the Danger Room to prepare it for the weekend sessions. After school Rogue would join him there to give what help she could and just be in his company. The vampire also started doing post curfew patrols to stop any of the kids from going out. He’d caught Evan coming back in at two a.m. one morning and that added a week of early morning workouts with the boy to his list of duties.

Serena spent most of her days helping people move. Xander and Anya had quickly decided that while they enjoyed being around their young friends, living with them was not an option. The teens had agreed after three days of listening to the symphony of bangs, creaks, moans, and screams coming from the couples’ room. The raven haired woman had found them an apartment in the city, and Xander got a job with a local construction company. Serena had gone shopping more times than she could stand with Anya, who was ecstatic about decorating her new home.

Giles had also moved out of the mansion and settled into a small townhouse near the high school. With the professors recommendation added to his amazing credentials the British man once again found himself ensconced in a library. He’d been swept up by the city library and offered the position of head librarian. Once his books had arrived, courtesy of Angel, he’d settled into his new home quite comfortably. Serena had used her shopping trips with Anya to also help the older man decorate his townhouse.

Things had finally started to calm down by the Friday two weeks after the mini celebration two weeks earlier. At least Serena thought they had, until Evan approached her in her bedroom where she was working secretly on Rogues’ surprise. She had closed and locked hoor,oor, which was highly unusual since the teens were normally allowed to visit her there whenever they liked.

The door opened after a flurry of activity to hide the half made clothing, and Serena ushered the dark skinned boy in. “Hello Evan, come to ask me when I’m going to cook dinner?” she asked, smiling brightly. That was the boys’ usual question, if he hadn’t gotten the answer from Kurt. Her smile faded when he shook his blond head and his eyes met hers seriously.

“I think something is wrong over at Pietros’ house ‘Rena. He nearly fainted on me today at lunch, told me he skipped breakfast because he was running late and was just hungry. ‘Tro is never late, not with his powers. Scott and Kurt both mentioned that the other guys didn’t look right, and Kitty was running on about how Blob hadn’t eaten lunch today. That’s weird right; I’m not just over reacting am I?” Evan blurted out, wanting some reassurance that his boyfriend and the others were okay.

Serena pondered the information and asked, “Do you think Mystique is doing something to them that’s making them sick? If it was just one of them I’d pass it off, but with all four of them ill then I have to say that you’re not over reacting.” Her voice didn’t betray the anger she felt rising, though her whiskey shaded eyes began to whirl and darken at the thought of someone harming her friends.

Evan was quick to answer, “Man, I haven’t seen Ms. Darkholme at schoinceince the day after Logan woke up. I figured she was on vacation or something. Would she really do something to hurt ‘Tro and the guys?” Worried brown eyes met Serenas’ equally worried gaze.

“She hasn’t been to work in two weeks? That’s strange, and it worries me more than the boys’ health. I’ve got an idea what’s wrong with them and I’ll see it gets fixed right now. You did very good letting me know about this Evan, thank you. I’m going to check things out with Logan. You go down to Spikes’ room and tell him to order pizza for dinner, double our usual order. Don’t worry about Ptichka and the boLogaLogan and I will make sure they’re ok.” Serena replied, gathering her purse and stepping into a pair of shoes.

Evan gave her a confused but trusting glance as he went down the hall to follow her directions. He took notice of her inky black eyes and the gleam of fangs when she smiled at him. ‘Uh oh, she’s pissed. Man, I wouldn’t want to be Myst rig right now.’ He thought, also wondering what the woman knew that he didn’t.

* * * * * * * * * *

Logan had just finished washing the grease off his hands when a small bundle of anger stalked into the garage. He groaned as he took in his loves’ partially changed face and the tense, predatory movements. Without a word, she unlocked her van and tossed him the keys. He climbed behind the wheel and started the engine before asking, “Where are we goin and who’s gonna die when we get there Darlin?”

“The brotherhoods’ house; and Mystique if she’s stupid enough to be there.” Came the answer, hissed out through clenched teeth. Not known for being a voice of reason, or passing up a damn good idea, Logan pressed the accelerator and drove towards the boarding house.

When they were underway, Serena began to calm down. She recounted her conversation with Evan and then explained what she believed was going on. “Two weeks is a lot of time off for a principal, they take their vacations in the summer like the teachers and students. What Evan told me, combined with the destruction of our cars, makes me think she’s gone to join Magneto somewhere and abandoned the boys to fend for themselves until she needs them for something.”

The big man growled and gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. “What are you gonna do when we get there Chatty? Much as I’d like to we can’t just storm in and drag ‘em back to the mansion.”

Serena answered in a calm voice, “We’re going to knock on the door and go inside. Then I plan to walk through the house and take a look around. If I don’t like what I see I plan to give the boys twenty minutes to pack their things and get in the van. Then I’m going to tear it apart. Sound good to you?”

“I love your mind Darlin’, you think just like I do. I’m gonna have a lot of fun rippin that place apart.” He replied, his grin just as menacing as that of the woman beside him. As far as the big man was concerned, the time for passivity was over. They’d all tried hard not to pressure the four boys into joining their team, but if Mystique had abandoned them to survive as best they could he was fully prepared to take them back to the mansion kicking and screaming.

He stopped the van in the litter strewn driveway in front of the house. They walked up the steps and Logan fumed when he saw the door hanging half off its hinges. Serena knd ond on the door frame and they waited for one of the boys to come out. When Todd hopped down the stairs he was clearly shocked to see the adults standing there. No one ever came to the boarding house to visit them.

Todd blushed with embarrassment as he pulled the falling down door completely open. “Umm hey ‘Rena, Logan. Is something wrong, yo?” He asked, gesturing timidly for the pair to come in. Logan stepped inside first and stood against the wall, waiting to see what his companion would do.

Before Serena could reply Lance and Freddy appeared from different places in the house. Pietro bounded down the steps a second later and skidded to a halt when he realized the people were friends rather than the bill collectors he’d been half expecting. The four boys looked at each other, confused by the presence of their friends, and embarrassed to have the older couple see their home.

“I heard a rumour that some of my boys weren’t feeling well. I would’ve brought chicken soup, but I figured you might prefer pizza at the mansion instead.” Serena was smiling as she spoke but her eyes were darkening again. She came into the small foyer to bestow hugs and cheek kisses to the boys. “You know, I’ve never actually been in here before. Mind if I take a look around?”

Without waiting for permission, Serena wandered into the living room. She ton thn the dirty floor and broken furniture, saying nothing. When she walked backoss oss the hall to the kitchen, she found herself hard pressed not to voice her anger. The place was filthy; the open cabinet doors revealed empty shelves, a peek into the refrigerator confirmed her suspicion that the boys hadn’t been left with groceries or money to buy them. She waded through the garbage and tried to turn on the faucet in the sink, but nothing came out.

The boys could see the anger written clearly on her face when she came out of the kitchen. They didn’t know what to do or say to explain the situation. If it had just been one thing, they might have said Mystique was out having it fixed right now, but there were just too many things wrong. When she attempted to go upstairs Lance stood in her way, making noises about there being nothing up there and how about that pizza. She’d kissed his bright red cheek and gently pushed him out of her way.

Upstairs, Serena poked her head into each small bedroom. She found that these four were as messy with their things as most teenage boys, but the clutter was not what pissed her off. There were holes in the floor, water stains and mildew on the walls, and when she tried to turn on the lights she found that there was no electricity. At the end of the hall she found one door solidly locked and pulled out her leather pouch of lock picking tools to get it open.

The uncomfortable silence downstairs was broken when Serenas’ loud voiced, multilingual curses came down to their ears. Amongst the foreign sounds they clearly heard, “Logan, boys, get your asses up here NOW!” With frightened looks passed between them, the boys followed a growling Logan up the stairs.

They found Serena standing in the center of a huge, opulently decorated bedroom. Her black eyes focused on the boys and she said, “Explain to me this. You live in this house; it is falling down around you. You have no lights, no water, no food in sight. I pick a lock, and I find royal palace bedroom. You tell me now why you allow this. You tel whe where Mystique is, why she has left you in such conditions. You explain to me why four beautiful, intelligeoys oys let themselves be treated in such a way.”

Four sets of eyes gazed around Mystiques’ bedroom. They hadn’t known what was behind the locked door. The things they saw, the luxury of the huge room, the expensive decorations, made them as angry as Serena and Logan obviously were. When they finally met the small womans onyx eyes, they didn’t need to say anything.

“Get your things packed and your asses into that van.” Logan growled in a low voice. The order was closely followed by the *snickt* sound of his claws coming out. Four heads nodded agreement and before they turned to leave they saw Serena pick up one of the knick knacks from the bureau and heave it across the room to smash against the wall.

The sounds of destruction made excellent moving out music as the boys went into their rooms and gathered their clothes and pnal nal belongings. None of them had much and it didn’t take long for them to finish their packing and put their bags in the jeep and van. Though they were extremely curious to see what kind of damage the adults were doing around the house, they stayed outside and continued to listen.

Siren and Wolverine left the boarding house almost unrecognizable. Fists were put through walls, knickknacks were shattered and left in broken pieces, and mar marks from both were evident on the walls, s ans and in Mystiques mattress. Growls and hisses of satisfaction lingered even after the pair had left a room. Logan had etched a message for Mystique into the headboard of her bed, a large S and W to indicate that Siren and Wolverine were the ones to blame for the ruination. When they walked out of the house they wore twin smiles that sent shivers down the boys’ spines.

When the pair approached, Logan spoke to the boys. “You boys know what loyalty is, and that’s a good thing, but misplaced loyalty isn’t. You shoulda come to us when the blue bitch left ya on your own. You might think you owe her somethin for bringin ya here and puttin ya up, but you don’t. You don’t owe shit to a woman who’d bring you here and then leave ya to do whatever you had to, to survive.”

“You pay attention to him boys; and now you listen to me. You deserve to have a safe place to live, food to eat every day, and adults to love and care for you. We’ve tried to be patient and let you make your own decisions about where you wanted to be. The powers know how many times I’ve had to force myself not to hold onto you and make you stay with us at the mansion. What I saw in there was the last straw. You’re coming home with us now.” Serena stated, meeting each boys eyes. Love, friendship, and honesty were clear in her now golden gaze and left each of the four wondering why they hadn’t come to herlierlier.

Todd and Pietro climbed into the van with most of their belongings, while Freddy and Lance took the jeep. Logan and Serena took their original places, the petite woman happy to let her love drive them home so that she could talk quietly with the boys. She reassured them of their acceptance among the residents, and their worth on the Xmen team; doing her best to soothe their fears and Logan drove them away from the hell hole they’d called home.

* * * * * * * * * *

There had been a huge bustle of activity when Logan and Serena came home with the former Brotherhood boys. Wolverines’ loud roar for the Xmen to get their butts into the foyer had teenagers literally coming out of the woodwork. With a wide, cheeky grin on her face Serena had announced that Mama and Daddy had brought their new brothers home. Kurt had been the first to start laughing at her joke, closely followed by the rest of the group.

When Spike and Willow got back with tuge uge stack of pizza boxes a few minutes later, Logan dragged Serena away from the dining room where the teens were stuffing their faces and arguing good naturedly over who was eating all the best pizzas. He led the confused woman upstairs to their bedroom and shut the door behind her. “What’s wrong Wolvie? We should be celebrating down there with the kids.” Serena asked, curious as to her boyfriends’ odd behaviour.

“Nothin’s wrong Chatty. We’re just gonna do some celebratin alone tonight. We haven’t had any time alone together for two weeks and I’m gonna fix that right now. You put on one of those fancy dresses you never wear and do whatever it is women do that takes an hour to get prettied up. I’m takin you out for dinner and dancin.” The big man replied only after he’d lifted Serena off her feet and kissed her senseless.

Serena let out a happy sigh. She hadn’t been out on a date in ages, and never with Logan. Since she’d moved to Bayville and become the mansions house mother the only time she went out was to shop for groceries and other odds and ends that the kids needed. Dinner and dancing with Logan sounded better than a hot bubble bath and chocolates at the moment. “How fancy are we talking about Sweetie? Champagne and violins or whiskey and a jukebox?”

Logan bit back a groan at the mention of champagne and violins. He hated places like those with a passion, but if his woman wanted them, so be it. “Your choice Darlin’.” He hoped she wouldn’t choose the uptight classy place, but since she was a classy woman, he prepared himself to put on the monkey suit that was stored in his bedroom closet.

‘Hmm, proper behaviour, too much silverware, and waiters that look down their noses to gape at my tits; or relaxed manners, not enough silverware, and waitresses who are more interested in him than me. As the kids would say…No brainer.’ Serena mused before replying, “I’ll take the whiskey and a good honky tonk jukebox any day. Go on and get ready while I make myself pretty. I promise it won’t take an hour.”

The big man gave her a relieved kiss and patted her rear on his way out the door. “Wear somethin red Chatty, it looks good on ya. I’ll meet ya downstairs as soon as you’re ready.” He called over his shoulder.

He was sitting in the rec room with the teens half an hour later, freshly shaved and dressed in his favourite black jeans and red button down with the sleeves rolled up over his massive biceps, and his Stetson fitted comfortably on his head. He’d had just about enough ogling and teasing from his charges when a vision in red entered the room.

Serena waltzed into the rec room and gave a little spin for her gaping audience. She was no ones mother tonight, but a beautiful woman dressed up for a night on the town with her beau. Her glorious mane of raven black hair was left loose to curl and wave its wown own to her bare waist. She’d used a light hand with her makeup, and the natural beauty of her face shone like a beacon.

As ordered, she’d picked an outfit of scarlet red. The top was snug fitting and cropped to bare her midriff. Held together only by a knot between her generous breasts, it left an enticing amount of pale flesh visible between the bottom of the blouse and the top of the skirt. Long sleeves flared out at the elbow and covered the armband computer strapped to her forearm. When she whirled, the calf length, airy cotton skirt flared out and gave a mouth watering peek at curvaceous, lightly tanned, bare legs. Strappy leather sandals with four inch stiletto heels and a few pieces of gold jewellery completed the stunning ensemble.

She took the chorus of assorted ‘wow’, ‘damn’, and ‘holy cow’ expressions as the compliments they were meant to be and grinned widely when they were overshadowed by a “Mien Gott” from Kurt, a “Bloody gorgeous, Nymph” from Spike, and especially a “Christ on crutches!” from Logan as he stood and crossed the room to take her in his arms.

“See there, thirty minutes and I’m ready to go. I believe I was promised dinner and dancing?” Serena teased after pecking Logan’s cheek. The big man growled and pulled her close for a more passionate greeting.

When he finally removed his tongue from her mouth, Logan took a step back to get another look at her outfit. “I don’t think I want to take ya out anymore, I’m gonna end up kickin the ass of every man in the place. You’re just too damned beautiful Darlin.” He praised, grinning down at his striking girlfriend.

Before Serena could return the compliment Pietro was beside them and backing away with an arm around the womans waist. “Sounds good to me. Stay here and you can try to steal her back fro all all night.” He took Serenas’ hand and used the arm around her waist to spin her off into another pair of arms, “Catch Ev!”

It wasn’t long before a full fledged game of ‘keep away’ erupted in the rec room using Serena as the object to keep, and Logan as the one to keep her away from. The girls were laughing uproariously as their male friends spun the older woman around the room from boy to boy, trying to keep Logan from catching her.

The adults were having as much fun as the teens. Logan was caught between fits of laughter and mock growling at the boys while he chased the flash of crimson and black. Serenas tinkling laughter spread around the room as she was passed from one teen to another. She kept calling for Logan to hurry up and catch her, but cooperated with her young friends by spinning and running with them.

Eventually Logan caught his woman, but only because Todd misjudged a pass and spun Serena into a chair rather than Scotts’ waiting arms. Logan had pounced on the opportunity and had the laughing, dizzy woman over his shoulder and out the front door before she could be whisked away by yet another boy.

With their game ended, the boys sank back down into chairs or onto the floor in laughter. “Man that was fun! I didn’t know Logan could relax enough to play games, I thought he was gonna kill you ‘Tro.” Evan sighed from his place on the floor next to the snowy haired boy.

“So did I, but you know me. I couldn’t resist!” Pietro replied, grinning widely. The speedster was well known for playing practical jokes on people, especially people who didn’t normally take well to being played with. He’d been as surprised as the rest when Logan began laughing and gamely chasing Serena around.

Spike stood in the doorway and watched the teens settle down for a Friday night at home. On the couch, Kurt watched television with one arm and a tail curled around Willow, who was studying a book of protection spells. Beside the redhead was Faith, talking animatedly with Scott, who had an arm on the back of the couch and was toying with the slayers’ hair. Jean was watching the laser eyed boys’ actions from her place in the recliner, though she pretended to be reading every time someone tried to include her in the general conversation.

Todd and Freddy were playing ping pong at the other end of the room, and the vampire chuckled when the ball bounced off the larger teen’s chest and onto the pool table, ruining Lances shot. The rock tumbler was trying to teach Kitty how to play the game without much success since the little brunette was more interested in getting the boys’ arms around her. Pietro and Evan were lying on the floor, hands clasped behind the dark skinned teens’ back as they watched television.

Slender hands, freed from their usual covered state, pulled the vampires t-shirt out of his jeans and rubbed against the bare skin of his back. Spike turned slightly and pulled Rogue into his arms with a teasing smirk. “‘Ello Luv, where have you beeou mou missed the keep away game.”

“Keep away game Su I w I was upstairs finishing that essay for history class; I didn’t want to have to worry about it over the weekend. It looks like everyone’s staying in tonight, why don’t you and I go on outside and have a cigarette?” Her emerald eyes gazed upward into icy blue, and expanded the sentence to include some quiet make out time.

Spike answered with a low pitched laugh and led his little spitfire out of the mansion, calling back to the rest of the teens, “Behave yourselves happy meals! This place had better still be standing when I get back!” In a softer voice he told Rogue, “I can’t believe I just said that. If the demon world saw me now, I’d be a laughingstock until the day I turned to dust. William the Bloody, the Slayer of Slayers, babysitting a bunch of human teenagers and telling them to behave instead of teaching them how to take over the world.” He shook his blond head and gave a self depreciating smile to his girlfriend.

Rogue snuggled into the vampires’ chest and squeezed with the arm she had wrapped around his waist. “Are you really unhappy here Sugar? I know it isn’t the way you used to live, but it isn’t that bad is it?” Her pretty face turned up to meet the clear blue eyes, uncertainty written in her features.

Sighing unnecessarily, Spi