The Animal Unleashed Part 1: Life

Jean felt the exhilaration of the hunt and panted with the feeling of victory through the psylink. But underneath it all she felt a feeling of the real Logan, pleading for her to help him, and to forgive him. Jean gathered all of the active X-Men, that could still walk, in the ready room, spurned on by that feeling. “Okay listen, I know that you all think that Logan has gone off the deep end, and he has…sort of. The thing is that Logan is not in control of his own mind,” she said looking around the room. “What is in control is a sort of feral, primitive personality. Logan is trapped inside by it. I think that this personality formed because Logan is regaining some of his memories again, and those memories are so painful that this mind took over to block out all of that pain.” Jean looked at their faces noticing various scrapes and bruises on three of them, inflicted by Logan.

“Look, Scott wants to kill him, and I don’t. I believe if we capture him, I and the Professor can bring him back,” she said. The others looked at each other in a mixture of dubious doubt, and glimmers of hope, yet still hesitant to believe her. Jean felt like crying. They weren’t listening to her, they would do what Scott said unless they had more compelling proof or the Professor said differently even if they did not want to do it. “Please, I’m begging you. All of you. You know that Logan has saved our lives numerous times. Think,” she said almost hysterical, “would Logan abandon you in your time of need?” “Quite right Jean,” Professor Xavier said rolling into the room. Behind him limped Scott, and he looked pissed.

Xavier rolled to a stop in the front room. “Jean is right. Logan is a vital part of this team, as are all of you. Not only is he a good fighter but he is a good friend to all of us. Jean and I made him a promise I intend to keep. We will help him.” The others had relieved looks on their faces except for Scott. The look on his face was so cold that Jean, sadly, realized that she made the right decision in divorcing him. “Here is the plan,” Xavier said, “we will search in pairs of two, with Scott and myself here at base. Jean and Storm are team one. You’ll search by the river on the far side of the property. Archangel and Beast will search around the old chapel as team two. Team three will consist of Iceman and Cannonball, and you will search the woods on the roadside of the property. Rogue, Gambit, you are team four. You will search the woods and the cliff near the river.” They all nodded in unison.

“Alright leting ing our friend home.” As they filed out of the door, Scott grabbed Jean by the shoulder and pulled her roughly aside. “What do you think you are doing?” he asked bitterly. “I’m helping a friend. Something you obviously know nothing about Scott,” she snapped back. Scott stared at her through his ruby quartz glasses and said, “If you want to bring that cold blooded killer back here, then you go right ahead. What I can’t believe is that you convinced Professor Xavier that he was unwilling to do what he did.” “She didn’t Scott,” Xavier said as he rolled up. “I already felt the same way she did. Logan was not responsible in what happened. He was under another’s control. He needs our help to find his way back. Now more than ever. Now please Scott either help out in the control room or go back to the infirmary.” Scott looked from Jean to Xavier and back
Rage radiated off of him as he turned and went down the hall, to the infirmary. As he walked Jean realized that the psylink between her and Scott was completely gone. Xavier shook his head at Scott’s back and began to roll away when Jean put a hand on his shoulder. “Professor something has happened. The psylink is gone!” Xavier turned to her in surprise, “Has anything happened to Logan?” he asked. “No,” Jean replied, “the psylink with Scott is gone. All I can feel is the normal feelings radiating off of him. Not his thoughts.” “Hmm… well we will talk about this later, now lets get Logan and bring him home.”

Jean nodded and ran to the women’s locker room. She donned her uniform with Storm and Rogue, then they took the elevator up to the ground floor and outside, meeting up with the rest of the team. They split up into their individual pairs and headed off to their respective search areas. Storm and Jean headed towards the river through the forest path. The path was created long ago by one of the students, possibly by Wolverine himself. The path was clear and actually quite nice. As she walked Jean thought to herself that, “I wish I had known about this path earlier it is beautiful out here.”

As they walked slowly, searching the tree line for any sign of Logan, they came upon a cleared . It. It was devoid of trees that had been felled years ago. In the center of the clearing was something that gave them a clue as to who had cleared the area and possibly the path as well. A fairly large and very beautiful Shinto shrine stood in the clearing. Storm and Jean gasped in awe as they came up to it through a large red wooden gate. The shrine was not an American made reproduction, it was one that had come from Japan and it appeared to be fairly old. In front of the building proper were two Stone statues that looked like a mixture of a dog and a lion on either side of the entrance. In front of the lion-dogs was a stone fountain with a wooden ladle. “What do you think that is for? Storm asked Jean breathlessly. “I don’t know, to wash your hands before entering maybe?”

All of the statues had Japanese writing written with an immaculate hand and were almost artistic in nature. In front of the shrine was an incense pot. The burnt wooden sticks of previously used incense were still standing in the sand of the pot. The entire shrine was covered in a red and gold painted pagoda with a roof of thatched cypress. Hanging from the eves of the pagoda were small wooden blocks with paintings of misshapen people, their faces distorted to look like animals. “What do you think these are?” Storm asked. Jean looked at them and the Japanese writing of the same hand on the backs and said, “Gods I think.” They stepped inside the pagoda onto a beautiful tan oak floor. There were benches and kneeling boards made out of Japanese cherry here and there in the small room. There was a small box with hooks to the right of the benches. Hanging off of the hooks were slips of paper with wishes written, in Japanese, on them.

“Jean,” Storm said amazed at the small shrine’s beauty, “can you believe this thing? I had no idea that this was on the grounds. I wondeo mao made it.” Jean, tears forming in her eyes from the pureness of the place, turned to Storm and said, “Orroro can’t you tell? Logan built this,” she said waving her hand to include the entire pagoda, “the shrine and the statues, they are no copies. They must have come from Japan.” Storm looked at her friend unbelievingly, “How do you know Logan built this?” she asked. Jean thought for a moment and the little voice of Logan in the back of her head, from the psylink, felt at home here. She looked at Storm and said, “I just know.” Storm looked around the pagoda again and said, “But maybe Sunfire…?” Jean shook her head before Storm could finish, and said, “Sunfire is Daoist, this is Shinto, warrior caste. And look there is one of Logan’s katanas and a cross. Shinto is usually combined with Christianity or Buddhism.” Storm looked at the symbols and noticed food and various kinds of liquor in offering in the hazy light. “Hey, that is the twenty year old wine I gave Logan for Christmas last year!” she exclaimed with a hurt voice. “Storm don’t be hurt be honored, he offered it to the Gods. That is one of the best things you can do in Japanese culture, offer valuable things to the Gods. See there is some of his forty year old bourbon in offering too,” Jean said trying to set ruffled feathers. “Oh, well…okay,” Storm said, sounding less hurt.

“But you just saw that, how did you know that Logan built this, did Logan tell you?” she asked Jean. “No, I just…can tell,” Jean replied turning away. “Ororo?” Jean said. “Yes Jean?” Ororo said as she looked at the various statues somewhat hidden in the back of the pagoda. “Could you not tell anyone about the shrine? Please?” Jean asked hesitantly. Ororo, turning her back to her friend said, “Yes, Logan’s secret is safe with us.” They stepped out of the pagoda as the wind began to blow slightly. Soft tinkling sounds came from the back of the pagoda. Jean and Storm walked around toward the sound, and came upon a Japanese wind chime and a garden of Bonsai trees. The small, delicate trees were studiously manicured, not one blemish, or one dead leaf was on them.

In the middle of the small garden was and even smaller lily pond with Lotus flowers beginning to bloom on them. Beside the small pond was a conical granite stone with both Japanese and English writing engraved on it. Jean gingerly stepped on a flagstone in the garden near the stone and knelt. On the stone she read the English writing. It said one word, “Mariko.” Jean, in tears yet again, stood up quickly and retreated from the garden back to Storms side. “Jean what is it?” Ororo asked worriedly, “What did it say?” Jean sniffed back some tears and said, “Mariko,” in a hoard whisper. Ororo put her hand on her mouth and gasped. Jean needed to sit down from the anguish she felt, both from herself and from the small piece of Logan in her head. She walked back to the front of the shrine and sat on the steps. “Ororo,” Jean said with a weird feeling in her head, “go on with the search around the river. I’m going to stay here for a few minutes to get myself back together.”

Ororo looked at Jean quizzically and said, “What if Logan comes back here and finds you? You don’t know what he will do in his current state of mind.” Jean nodded and said, “I know he won’t do anything to me, except scare the shit out of me. But I’ll keep in contact with you over the comlink, and mentally. It is only a few minutes anyway,” she said. Ororo didn’t want to leave Jean all alone out here for any amount of time, and she surely didn’t want to be alone with Logan out of control as he is, out here either. But she figured they could fly away before he could attack. “Okay but only a few minutes. I’ll scout ahead,” Ororo replied. Jean hugged Ororo in thanks, then the beautiful weather goddess flew up e the the trees riding a gust of wind, and was away in an instant.

Jean turned and went to the stone fountain to wash her hands and rinse out her mouth under a strange compulsion that she knew was Logan telling her how to enter the shrine in the correct way. She walked up the two stairs and took a seat on one of the cherry wood benches and began to weep. So many conflicting emotions overwhelmed her. The pain and anger that she felt from Logan mixed with her own anger at Scott for wil willingness to murder one of their own friends. The fathomless sadness at her marriage ending contrasted with the odd feelings she had for Logan. She recognized the attraction between them and wanted so much to act on it, especially now that she was a divorcee. She also felt horror and sadness for Logan and what he was going through, and all that he had lost.

When Jean had seen the remembrance stone for Mariko, she instantly knew why Logan had told her that Scott was the man for her…he was protecting himself as well as her from the past, and the possibility of losing one another. Logan would kill, and be killed for her. Even while she was married this was true. But what if he lost her when she was finally his? There was no telling what would happen to Logan, or what he would do in his anguish. And now, she didn’t know what she would do if they couldn’t get him back. For some reason that she could not possibly begin to understand now that she was divorcing Scott, she was desperate to talk to Logan, to just be near him. Jean was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear the scrape of four hundred pounds of dead bear being dragged through the forest just outside the shrine.

The feral that had taken over Logan’s body and mind heard sniffling with his supersensitive ears. It put the carcass down, now gutted clean of all internal organs and ready for field dressing before being devoured completely. The feral had feasted on the arm it had severed in the fight. The feral crept toward the sound coming from the clearing that held the shrine that Logan built. Logan, trapped inside the subconscious’s of his own body struggled against the primitive mind trying to regain control. He redoubled his efforts when he noticed the shrine that his body was creeping up to silent as a cat. The feral sniffed the air, and got two familiar scents. One that had for some reason had attacked him the other day and now was growing faint as it got older. The other quickened the feral’s and Logan’s blood. “NO! JEANIE! JEAN RUN!!!” Logan desperately howled to lungs and voice box that no longer heeded his commands. The feral followed the scent of his female to the front of the shrine. She was sitting there crying and looking around trying to understand the warning and getting up slowly. The feral growled lightly but loud enough to further startle Jean who had heard Logan’s warning too late.

Logan raged at his mental cage, trying to get the feral to leave her alone. She shot to her feet completely and turned to stare at the feral Logan. His hair was full of dead leaves and dirt from when he had first escaped the mansion. He had rolled in a dirt patch to luxuriate in his freedom. On his chest was drying blood from the bear as well as his own that had come from the healing slash that had come from the bear’s paw. His appearance almost made her laugh except for the look on his face. It was the look of pure and unadulterated lust, and it radiated out of every pore. The same look came out of his eyes and overwhelmed her like a tidal wave from the psylink.
It was a very frightful expression, but in some way Jean was not only flattered by it, but she was reacting to the hunched over animalistic beast that the quiet brooding man she knew had become. It had been a long time sense a man had looked at her like that. But because of the psylink she knew that Logan would have, if he wouldn’t have stopped himself from doing so. The feral growled low and deep in his chest, making a rumble that she felt. She tried to keep some part of the small shrine between her and Logan.

He sniffed the air tasting her fear, and a small growing arousal. The feral curled his lip in a smile that was frightening and yet attractive. Jean managed to circle around to the outside of the door to the shrine and stumbled down the steps. The feral growled in a warning tone, his way of telling her not to run from him. Jean caught the malice in the tone and, through the psylink, felt the war inside of Logan’s mind. Howls of rage and desperation fought over what to do with her. One side said mate, procreate the species in a purely primitive act, that was, in a way quite erotic. The other said let her go.

“Logan,” Jean said shaking, “please, I came to help you. Please, just calm down.” The feral had a glazed look in its eyes as the war inside raged on. “Jean! Run!” she heard through the psylink. “It was Logan!” she thought. “Logan! Fight harder. You can win and come back to us…to me!” The glazed look went away and he stalked toward her Jean turned to run and got only a few steps before one hundred and ninety-five pounds of adamantium laced Logan landed on her with a vicious growl. Jean screamed as her arms were pulled behind her and she was rolled over on top of them. The feral had a new glazed look in his eyes, one of lust. He smelled her face and hair loving the scent of his female. “Jean I’m sorry,” came through the psylink with a wave of utter sadness as the feral licked her cheek. He grabbed the collar of her and ripped it down. The tough, padded leather only ripped along her shoulder and arm. The feral gave a growl of anger. “Logan!!! NO!!!” Jean yelled at him through words and the psylink.

The glazed lolearleared from his eyes once again and for the first time in two days he spoke. “I’m sorry,” he said in a hoarse whisper as he started to get up. He grabbed his head in pain when a blast of wind threw him into the woods. A huge thud sounded out and a tree four feet around broke in two and fell down. Ororo landed beside Jean and asked, “Are you alright?” “Yes, thank you Ororo,” Jean said shaken. Ororo took off her cape and wrapped it around Jean. “Let’s go see if we captured our Wolverine,” Ororo said not quite understanding what had happened.

They slowly walked to the fallen tree. On guard, they jumped at every noise. When they reached the tree there was nothing there. “Let’s head back to the mansion Jean. It’s starting to get dark,” Ororo said. Jean nodded and turned to look at her friend, “for a moment before you attacked, I was getting through to him. He spoke to me,” she said hopefully. “But Jean,” Ororo said hastily, “he was attacking you. Maybe even have…” she trailed off. Jean picked up where she left off, “Raped me? No he wouldn’t have. Trust me ‘Ro he was regaining control. He apologized to me.” Ororo looked at her and said, “If you say so, but we have to report it.” Jean nodded, “Of course we do. It means I’m getting through to him.”

Jean had decided that no matter what would have happened, it would not have been rape. But the after effects of the incident left her feeling odd. She was certainly not happy with what happened, but not frightened of him either. She felt…reassured that she could bring Logan back, and then, who knows what could happen. They lifted off the ground and Jean mentally mapped out the area. She would be back here, soon, very soon. When they reached the mansion the rest of the team was already there.

Professor Xavier mentally called them to the ready room and asked, “Your debrigs pgs please?” Jean leaned over to Ororo and said, “You are mostly wrong in what you though Logan was doing to me.” “Mostly? What do you mean mostly?” Ororo asked. “Well at first the did attack me, but he wasn’t going to do anything to me he acted like he was trying to recognize me before I reached him and he talked to me,” Jean said half lying. “But why didn’t he hit you like he did us?” Ororo asked. “I’m the only one he trusts,” Jean said bluntly.

Archangel was telling the Professor that his team found nothing, just like the first two teams. Then it was time for Jean to stand up and tell what happened. “Well,” she started, “we found him, I found him. I had sent Ororo to scout ahead from a clearing when Logan…jumped me. He came from behind, but he didn’t necessarily attack me,” she added as the alerted faces grew angryw diw did your uniform get ripped then?” Cannonball asked. “Well that is the strange part. He had growled at me, then sniffed the air, trying to recognize me I guess. Then his eyes glazed over and I felt the urge to run. I turned and he tackled me, ripping the uniform. He smelled me again and his eyes cleared. I yelled at him to come back to the mansion and he spoke. He said ‘I’m sorry…’” Ororo interrupted and said, “That’s when I came back and blew him off of Jean. I’m sorry but I thought it was an attack.” Ororo now understood what happhappened.

But that was what Jean said what happened, she left out the lust that she saw in his eyes, and the need he conjured up in her. She needed to get him back to explore her feelings and understand what was happening with her, and between them. Xavier stared at Jean sensing again that something else was happening. She was confused and excited about something. He turned to them all and said, “Okay, for tonight we will redouble the security watch, and activate the security system to the low level. The mansion will be closed off tonight so inform the students that it is a drill and all students have a ten o’clock curfew. We don’t want to harm Logan so there will be no weapons activated, but I want a firm watch set. Any volunteers?”

Cannonball volunteered for the early shift, Hank took the middle shift, and Jean, hatching a plan, took the early morning one. The Professor dismissed them, but before Jean could leave, he asked her to stay for a moment. “So,” he said, looking into her eyes, “did anything else happen before Ororo got to the shrine?” Jean’s eyes popped out of her head in shock as she asked, “How did you know about the shrine? Ororo and I just found it today?” “Jean, Logan took me out there when he finished it. He told me about it and asked if he could be buried there if he ever died on a mission. I said that he could have any plot on the grounds he wanted. It was our secret.” Jean shook the tears from her eyes. “Nothing else happened during the incident, but I felt the war in his mind. He spoke to me through the psylink, but I don’t think he knows that I can hear him. He told me to run. I think it had something to do with the shrine. It helped him fight the primitive mind in control.”

Xavier thought for a moment while looking at Jean. “I think it is possible that the shrine had something to do with it. You said that you yelled at him right before he spoke?” he asked. “Yes, I yelled for him to stop and come back to the mansion, back to us. nod nodded and asked, “Did you yell through the psylink as well?” Jean’s brow furrowed and she said, “I think I did Professor. Why?” “I think that had a little more to do with his momentary control. Like I said before, you are the key to this. You and Ororo will continue to search there in the morning and the others will search along the river as backup. I think the shrine draws him though, and you draw him as well. Now go get some sleep before your watch.” Jean nodded and went to her room to prepare.

The feral had staggered away from the tree that Storm had blasted him into with the wind gust. When he reached the bear carcass he was fully healed. He backtracked himself and watched in anger as the females flew away. He had scarred his female with his advances, but he knew that she wanted to mate with him, he could smell it. But the white hared one stopped him again. Nothing would stop him from taking what was his again. The feral stalked back to his kill and cut a piece off to eat. This place comforted him. He did not go out into the cleared area again in case something else came to attack him. He was not so foolish to leave himself out in the open, especially sense it appeared that the familiar people who attacked him were now hunting him. Rage flared up as he chewed on the oily meat. The temperature began to drop and the feral skinned the meat from the pelt, putting leaves on the blood soaked hide to help dry it. The weather didn’t bother him but he felt the urge to take two stones and smack them together over a pile of dead leaves and twigs in a pit he, for some reason, dug with his claws. The sparks from the stones hit the leaves and soon the feral had a fire in front of it. He put more wood on it to keep it going, slightly amazed by the fire, but accepting it as a normal facet of life.

It was still amazed by the heat radiating from it, and he, unconsciously put stones around and in the fire and placed the meat on top of them. He also moved the bear hide closer to the fire to allow the heat to help dry it. By now it was reaching midnight and the feral laid itself down by the fire to sleep.

An hour later, Hank was at the controls of the mansions security system, watching the tree line with an infrared camera. He was in his second hour of his watch when he heard the door of the control room open. He knew who it was by the scent of roses and baby powder wafting in front of her. “Good morning Jean. Or is it night? I can never tell,” Hank said softly. “I think it’s morning Hank. It’s after midnight,” she replied. Hank nodded and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?” he asked. “No I can’t,” she answered. “I want everyone to understand what he is going through, but I feel like no one will listen to me after what Scott said.” Hank nodded thoughtfully, “I’ll listen. Logan is a good friend, and I feel for him. Can you tell me what happened?” Jean turned to him with sadness in he eyes and started.

“Well the best way to explain it is that a second consciousness has awakened inside of him. It is fighting the Logan we know for control, and right now it is winning the war for his mind. The reason he is attacking everyone is because it is a primitive mind and to it, we are trying to cage it and kill it. You know how Logan feels about small places? Well multiply that by a thousand fold,” she said at his nod. “Wow,” Hank said, “so it sees us as a threat and or its’ captors?” “Yes, and it is the real Logan that is keeping it from using deadly force against us,” she said. “But what happened when it ran into Piotr? A few inches the other way and he would have killed him,” Hank replied.

Jean thought a moment and said, “I think that Logan forced the ‘feral’ to stab him in the shoulder instead of the neck. He was fighting for control.” Hank looked a little unbelievingly at her and asked, “How do you know th Jea Jean took a breath and said, “I can feel it. I’m trying to focus on him right now, and I can feel the war raging inside of him. One side howls for blood and the hunt, while the other begs for forgiveness.” Hank nodded and thought about what she was saying. After a minute of silence he turned to Jean and said, “I believe you Jean. If you say that it was this ferind ind that was attacking us, and not Logan then I trust you. What do you need me to do to help you both out?” Jean smiled and hugged the huge blue Beast. “Right now? Go to bed, it’s my watch.” Hank stood up and saluted, saying, “Your wish is my command my lady.”

He smiled and walked out, heading to his room and the huge comfortable bed that was calling his name. Jean mentally followed him and waited until he fell asleep. She quickly lowered the security levels and turned off the alarms. Jean, new uniform already on, walked out the door of the greenhouse a few minutes later, carrying a flashlight. She was going back to the shrine. She felt through the psylink that Logan, tough not at peace with himself, was currently peaceful.

The shrine could have done that she figured. She walked along the path as quickly and quietly as she could until she began to see the clearing ahead. The odor of smoke reached her nose as she used her telekinesis to float above the ground. She turned off the flashlight and followed the smell of fire until she saw Logan sleeping in a fetal position next to the dying fire. “I wonder if he’s cold?” she thought. She closed her eyes and slowly opened the psylink between them. She had felt very little before, just a small feeling of peace as he slept. The primitive “feral” personality was slumbering, but the Logan part of him was still tiredly struggling against his mental prison.

Suddenly he felt Jean in his head, but how? Hope soared through the psylink. “Jean!” he yelled subconsciously, still not knowing how she was in his mind. Maybe he was going crazy. “Jean! Where are you!?” “I’m here Logan!” she said psychically to him. “Jean, you need to get away from me if you are as close as you sound. I don’t know what happened, but I can’t stop myself. It is like I’m watching a bad movie through my eyes and my body won’t listen to me,” he said, sounding, to Jean, slightly hysterical. She knew he didn’t like to be cooped up, especially not caged, but she had never seen Logan when he was cornered, and he sounded like he was on the verge of snapping.
Jean gave him a mental caress, feeling the tingle that came from both of them. Logan calmed down a little and said, “Jean what was that?” Logan did not have time to think how Jean was here in the first place, let alone the odd sensations coming from her. He felt something like them for her he knew, he was in love with her. He had been sense he met her, but wasn’t she with Scott? He knew that she loved him as a teammate and friend but, as far as he knew she had never let the attraction she had for him grow into love like he had. What had that stupid, stuck up, little prick done to her?

“I don’t know Logan, but we share the feeling,” she answered his unasked question. “What?” he asked. “What are you talking about Jean?” “Logan, we don’t have time to talk about this right now, there isn’t enough time. I promise we will talk when this is all over, but for now you’ve got to get back in control of your mind. I’ll help you. Now concentrate on forcing the feral back under your control,” she said. “Okay Jean, I’ll try.” Jean felt him struggle against his mental bonds, pushing against the psychological box he had been locked away in. Jean gave him strength through the psylink, supporting him, pushing with him, in unison attacking the bindings that held him trapped.

Finally one snapped and Logan had a little more control. ”Okay Logan, let’s test how much control you’ve regained. I can see your physical body now. Okay, scratch your nose,” she said. She opened her eyes and saw that his hand was slowly moving to his nose and he ran his fingers over it. “Great!!” she yelled through the psylink. “It worked! Okay now start pushing at the bindings of your mind again.” They pushed and pushed until Jean’s physical body grew tired along with her mental body. Then another binding snapped. “Jean, your tired I can feel it. You should go before I… my body wakes up. Remember I’ll smell you if you’re close, and there’s no telling what I’ll do,” Logan said, frightened for her, and for what he would do.

Jean was touched by the care and kindness in his thoughts, something that she now knew was absent in Scott. “Alright Logan, but first I want to see what else you can now do.” Jean opened her eyes again and floated forward until she was a few feet from his body. “Say my name Logan,” she thought to him. “Are you sure Jean?” “Yes.” “Okay here goes nuthin’,” Logan said. His body took a breath and exhaled. In a hoarse whisper, she could hear clearly, “Jean.”

“Yes!” she said out loud. The feral’s eyes snapped open at the sound. “JEAN! RUN!” Logan shouted through his mouth and the psylink. Jean turned to fly but was tackled in an instant. The heavy man pushed her to the ground. She struggled with him as he tried to straddle her. “Logan!” she screamed at him. “Jean,” he thought, “I can’t control him. I can’t stop him. Use your telekinesis and get out of here!” The feral grabbed her hands and ground his pelvis into her. Jean felt his erection and her body responded in kind. Something in her snapped. She wanted him.

“No Logan,” she said aloud, “we’re going to finish this.” “Are you crazy!?” he screamed through the psylink as his body began to rip at her uniform. He licked her face and sniffed hernt lnt like he was a drug addict. “My female doesn’t struggle anymore,” the feral thought. Suddenly he was thrown to the ground by Jean’s telekinetic force. The feral howled in rage at being overpowered and losing control. Jean, uniform top cut down the middle by a claw, used her telekinesis to hold his hands above his head, like he had done to her. She straddled his half-naked body and said, “Fight him Logan. Take control, this is not you.” She ran her hand down his chest and caressed his muscles. “What?” he thought. “You heard me, we both want this. But I want you, not this primitive,” Jean said, honey dripping from every word. Logan saw through his eyes, peering into hers, that she now had a glaze of lust in her eyes.

“Fight it Logan,” she ordered again. The feral howled in rage again. Logan began to struggle at the bonds of his mind again as Jean’s hand played along his stomach. “Grrr…what…are…you…doing…,” Logan growled out of his mouth. His fingers splayed and clenched into fists. “I am helping you take back control. Helping you take back your life. Right now you can start anew,” she said as she slid her hand down further over his crotch, “with me.” His body bucked up against her and growled, “Jean…” In his own mind he fighfighting for his very survival.

The feral mind was strong in its’ rage at being trapped by the female sitting on top of him, caressing him. At the same time it had to fight the thing growing more powerful every second. Logan struggled against his bonds as yet another broke. Suddenly the flashes of his past hit him. The two men and the woman became suddenly clear to him. She was his mother. The man who was shot was his father, and the man who shot him was the groundskeeper. He was having an affair with his mother, and Logan had killed him with his claws after he had cut down his father. His mother had killed herself as a young girl he still could not remember, who looked so much like Jean, had dragged him out of the mansion. They had left him alone with Rose at the age of twelve.

Then the flash of the Weapon X program hit. General Perdue was there, ordering the experimentation that had caused so much pain. Then he saw Silver Fox in front of the cabin they had once shared before Sabertooth killed her. He could smell the sent of sage on her. He then saw Mariko. She was at the original shrine that he had replicated mere feet away. He had rebuilt the outside exactly the same, and he brought the shrine itself from Japan to remember her. Then he saw Jean on the first day he met her. She was just as beautiful as she was today. He had instantly fallen in love with her that day.

She smelled like roses and baby powder. Then he remembered the day Magneto ripped the admantium from his body pore by pore. The only thing that had broken through the pain was Jean. He loved her, he would die for her. The feral would hurt her. It was with that that the last bonds of the mental cage broke, freeing Logan’s mind of its’ t Log Logan and the feral vied for control and the war began in earnest. Each side attacked and counterattacked, but Logan, supported by the knowledge that Jean was there, was wearing the feral down, until finally Logan forced it back into a cage that he had been trapped in. But now Logan had the key to focus that rage and anger and use it against anyone or anything that would try to harm Jean, or any of the others.

When his eyes unglazed he felt the bonds that Jean had subdued him with were weakening, showing that her support of him had drained her somewhat. Logan shot into a sitting position, catching Jean before she fell off of him. Jean gave off a small eep of surprise as Logan wrapped his arms around her, “Logan! Fight it!” she yelled again. “No Jean, its part of me now. You’ll just have to fall in love with it too,” he said in a husky voice. Logan put his hands on the side of Jean’s face and kissed her. The amount of passion and love that flowed through the psylink and the kiss made Jean begin to cry and Logan breathless.

“Are you sure about this?” Logan asked, “What about Scott?” Jean looked up at Logan with tears in her eyes. “Logan, I’m divorcing Scott.” Logan shocked, “What happened?” he questioned. Jean, feeling his muscled body so close and his arousal pressing into her, had gotten that look back in her eyes. She grounded herself into him and said, “We’ll talk later Logan, I just want to enjoy your return to me…to us.” Jean kissed him then. Logan’s hands roamed her body over the slightly tattered uniform.

Their tongues met and intertwined in her mouth. Jean nipped at his bottom lip as Logan unzipped her padded outer uniform. Logan growled in arousal as Jean licked the bite marks on his lip. She feathered kisses lower on his neck and bit him again, causing another low rumble from his chest. Logan pushed the outer shirt down her shoulders and off of her arms. The lower half of the jumpsuit was tight and padded, but she could feel him grinding into her. Logan inhaled her scent from her hair as handhands made contact with her white tank top.

“To many damn clothes,” he murmured into her ear as he nipped it. Jean sighed as her hands grasped his muscular thighs. “Logan please…” she panted as his hands caressed her breasts. Logan sought out her mouth and gave her another passionate kiss as he picked her up. She moaned sadly into his mouth from the loss of contact. Logan stood up and pulled off the legs of her uniform jumpsuit and carried her to the now dried bearskin. Logan dropped to his knees as Jean wrapped her now naked legs around his waist.

Still locked in their kiss, Logan flipped the bearskin over so that the furred side was up. He gently laid Jean down on top of it and broke the kiss for air. Jean licked his jaw up to his ear and nipped the lobe. Logan growled lustfully again. Jean, now clad in the tank top and panties she wore under her uniform, ground up against the bulge in his boxer shorts again. “You’re pushing me Red,” Logan growled out in a feral voice. “Sounds like you are letting him out of his cage Logan,” Jean growled back in his ear.

Her hands grabbed his muscular butt as she ground against him again more desperately. She pushed his boxers down until they were around his calves. She hooked her toe into the waistband of them and then pushed them off with her foot. Logan growled and popped a claw. “Do it Logan, cut them off of me,” she purred as she felt the cold admantium claw slide under her tank top and between her breasts. She nipped his chin as she felt the slight pressure of the sharp claw against her shirt. Then she heard the slight rip as it cleanly cut it in two and felt the sides fall to the ground, still held on her by the sleeves alone.

Logan growled out a sound not unlike a moan as he looked at her perfect breasts. He kissed down her neck to the nape, pausing to suck in some of the flesh and taste her. He gave it a playful bite and continued on to the swell of her breast. Jean moaned as his mouth kissed her breast, then he licked her nipple. Jean sucked in a breath and moaned as he took her nipple into his mouth and sucked. He nipped it lightly, then licked the sharp, sensual pain away. All the while his fingers massaged her other nipple. Logan looked into her passion filled eyes and projected some thoughts to her that made her moan, in one of which he told her that her skin tasted of vanilla, and that he wanted to know if she tasted that way all over?

Jean blushed a deeper shade of red. Logan lavished attention to the other nipple until she groaned and clawed his back. She grabbed his hair and kissed him, darting her tongue into his mouth. Logan pulled back and kissed the valley between her breasts, then trailed kisses to her navel where his tongue darted in for a second and then down further to the waist of her silk panties. Jean ran her fingers through his wild hair, even more out of control sense he had been running through the woods for two days. Logan planted kisses and feather like licks where the waistband of her panties met her stomach.

She growled deep when Logan did and clenched her fists in his hair. He kissed lower, inhaling the scent of her sex, and licked her through her panties causing her to scream his name. He looked up at her with devious eyes and thought “Should I pull these down, or should I just cut off these expensive panties?” Jean pulled on his hair painfully and sat up, putting her face mere centimeters from his and, in a dangerously low growl, said, “Cut the fucking things off!!” The look in her eyes, while lust filled, were deadly serious.

The feral in Logan howled in pleasure as he growled in happiness. The claw popped out once again and in two quick strokes the expensive panties were trash. Logan leaned down and tasted her. His tongue flicking on her clitoris. She screamed unintelligibly at the pleasure it produced. “Scott never did this,” she thought in between waves of pleasure. They both knew she was near release. Logan smelled it and could sense it through the psylink, now wide open and no thought of ever closing it. Jean could not believe how much pleasure she was in as he licked her up and down, stopping at the nub of bunched nerves every time.

It was so intense to her that it almost hurt. She gasped as release came on and she saw stars. “Should I see stars?” she asked herself when she came down slightly for her orgasm. “You’ll see more than that Darlin’!” Logan thought to her as he crawled up her body, licking all the way. Logan kissed her again and she tasted herself on his lips. It was strangely erotic to her.

Jean used her telekinesis to stroke him and he growled in pleasure as they kissed. Jean broke the kiss and begged, “Now Logan! Please…Now!” Logan growled and shifted her legs around his waist. He pressed into her entrance and shivere the the combined pleasure of her silky inner folds, and in pain from the scratches from the nails that she drug down his back. The scratches brought blood from wounds that healed milliseconds later. Jean clawed his ass and she thrusted her hips up onto his slowly descending member.

Logan snarled and grabbed a handful of her auburn hair. “Logan…harder…” she panted. Logan bit her neck lightly and slammed into her hard. She rocked back with the impact of the thrust. “Yes!” she said breathlessly. Logan had gone still almost orgasming from the feel of being all the way inside of Jean, his love. Jean was amazed that he had gotten all of his length into her. He was nearly twice as long as Scott was, and bigger around too. Logan loved the feeling of pressing against her cervix, he kissed her neck and chin, wanting to saver the moment. Jean raised her hips up again and Logan, through the psylink, knew she wanted him to move.

He began slowly, pulling out of her, almost pulling all the way out, and slowly pushed back into her causing her to moan gutturally in pleasure each time. Jean clawed his back and said, “Faster…Please Logan!” and growled at him. He took her command and increased his pace. Their bodies intertwined and the power of their bodies trusting together sounded like the clapping of hands. Jean decided that she wanted control.

She used her telekinesis to lift them up in the air and flipped them over. Logan whelped in surprise as he landed not so gently on his back with Jean on top of him, once again holding him down wit her powers. She ran her nails down his chest and stomach as she moved up and down on him. They were both shocked that, in this new position, he impaled her deeper than before. Logan growled at being held down, but was loving every minute of it.

Jean had never felt like this before, she felt more than she ever had with Scott. She felt every inch of Logan’s body, especially the part of him that was inside of her. But she also felt her own body as he felt her. The psylink let his hyper senses flood to her and she felt every touch hair, every drop of sweat that he felt, and she was overwhelmed. Jean slammed down on Logan and burst into the most intense orgasm of her life.

Stars burst in her vision and she tingled from sensory overload and she blacked out. Logan came at the same time that Jean did, feeling the overwhelming pleasure that Jean felt. He felt her blackout and caught her before she fell off of him. Logan wrapped her in his arms and rolled the bearskin around them both. He placed kisses on her head and brushed the hair from her face.

Jean came to a moment later and moaned at the feeling of satisfaction. She kissed his chest and began to cry. “Jean? What’s wrong?” Logan asked worriedly. “Nothing Logan. It’s just that I’ve never felt this way before. It’s like my body is on fire. You make me feel this way,” she said. Jean looked into Logan’s eyes and put her hand on his face. “I love you Logan,” she said. He was stunned, a smile spread across his face that made him look like a child in a toy store. “I love you too Jean. With all of my heart since the first day I met you,” he replied. Logan kissed her until they both fell asleep from exhaustion.

When they awoke the sun was coming over the horizon. “Oh no!” Jean exclaimed, running around for her jumpsuit. Logan, looking for his boxers said, “What’s up? Why’er ya running around with yer head cut off Red?” Jean found their clothes in a pile and threw Logan his boxers and said, “Because I was on watch when I came out here. If I’m not there when everyone wakes up they’ll come after you looking for me. We’ve got to get back to the mansion quick!”

Logan put on his boxers and picked up the bearskin and shook it out as he watched her pull on her leather jumpsuit. He had an amused look on his face as he returned to Jean. “What the hell are you grinning at?” she asked. She grinned, feeling the humor through the psylink. “Afraid that they’ll know you were making it with a wolverine?” he said, a laugh escaping his mouth. Jean laughed and walked up to him, pressing her body into him and said, “No, they’ll know soon enough. I just don’t want them to think that I’ve gone feral too when I defend you from them. If it came to that. She growled at him and nipped at his neck. He closed his eyes and growled back. Logan shook his head at tentaental images Jean was giving him through the psylink.

“Oh, Jeanie,” he said in a hoarhisphisper, “you’re a bad girl.” He laughed as he put the bearskin over her shoulders. “Hear this’ll keep you warm.” “Thanks lover,” Jean said, “Okay let’s go!” She turned to walk back to the path. “Jean, wait. I know a shortcut,” Logan said heading a different way. “Okay, you know this forest better than I do,” she said as she ran up to him and hooked her arm through his. Logan felt something smother her good attitude as they walked.

“Jean what’s wrong?” he asked. Jean sighed and said, “Scott is going to be so mad. Our divorce hasn’t even been started yet, and I’m starting a new life already.” Logan stopped and turned her to face him, “Jean, do you regret what happened?” he asked. Jean, eyes looking sad at him shook her head no. Logan felt sadness, not from what they did, but from the situation that caused her to realize that Logan, not Scott was the man that would make her happy, through the psylink. “Then don’t beat yourself up over it. You saved me. As far as Scott goes, we can keep this a secret until your divorce goes through, and even then if you want to go slow we can.” “Oh, I love you Logan!” she said leaning in for a passionate kiss. When they finally separated Logan growled out an, “I know.”

When they came out of the woods in front of the mansion the teams were being formed. Storm saw them first and called out a warning. “X-Men! Get ready for action!” Logan heard her and yelled back, “Do all ya want! You’ll never beat me!” Jean laughed at the puzzled look on her friends’ faces and said, “Stand down, Logan is back to normal!” A chorus of “What’s,” “How’s,” and “Huh’s” followed suit. “Jean brought me back,” Logan said simply when they reached the gathered mutants. “Well, good to have you back Logan. I want to hear all about it,” Xavier said coming out of the mansion. “But after you have cleaned up, yes? I suggest a, ahem, shower,” he said gently.
Logan nodded, looked at Jean with a barely hidden passion and winked, and walked inside through the small crowd of mutants. “Jean it looks like you need to freshen up as well,” Xavier said with a smile on his face. Jean said, “I think you’re right. This thing stinks.” “What is it?” Bobby Drake asked making a sour face from the pungent smell of dried blood. “It’s a bear pelt…I…uh…think. Logan killed it yesterday, before he got his mind back.” “I’ll take care of that my lady,” Hank said as he took the dirty bearskin from her. “Thanks,” she said as she walked through the crowd, with all their eyes on her. As she passed the professor his voice was in her mind saying, “Good job Jean. I knew you could do it.” “Thank you Professor, for everything,” she returned.

Jean got into the shower at the same time Logan did. She felt relaxation flow through the psylink. As she began to wash she felt his arousal begin to grow as the mental image of her showering came to her. Her auburn hair sticking to her wet body as she used soap to suds up her perfect breasts. He thought of the soapy water running down her heart shaped ass and down her long, shapely legs. She was getting aroused at the thought of Logan watching her shower. She moaned a little as she soaped up her breasts.

She felt a slight wave of surprise then felt Logan’s low chuckle. The mental image changed to a scene of them both in the shower together, but no washing was going on. Logan had Jean up against the wall of the shower with her legs wrapped around his waist, her ass in his hands. They were having sex in the shower, something she and Scott had never done, but she had always wanted to do. In the scene Logan was thrusting into her so hard she bounced up and down on the tiled wall, causing a squeaking noise as her wet skin slid on the shower tiles.

The image was too much for Jean and she slide one hand down her wet body to her vagina. She began to play with her clit while the other tweaked a nipple. She felt Logan’s satisfaction through the psylink and knew he was touching himself too. She pushed two fingers into herself while her thumb rubbed her clit roughly. The scene changed again and now she was standing up, but with her back to Logan, her hands pressed to the wall as she was bent over. Logan was thrusting into her from behind, one hand grasped her hips and the other was full of her hair. He was pulling her head back for a kiss. He pushed into her as hard as she was fingering herself. In the scene as well as life, they climaxed together.

When Jean and Logan both caught their breath, she felt a wave of love from him and returned it tenfold. Jean dressed in jeans and an orange sweater, then brushed her long auburn tresses. When she opened her door Logan was there and it startled her a bit, but when she looked into his eyes her quelling of fear became a shiver of lust. He stared at her with the hazy lust filled eyes that she had always loved on him. “Logan,” she purred, “you startled me.” Logan stepped into the room and closed the door. “You’ve been in my head Darlin’. How’d you do it?” he asked, sweeping her into his arms and kissing the place beneath her earlobe.

“I…I don’t know,” she said, her knees melting as his soap and musk aroma wafted around her. “What is it then Red?” He nipped her earlobe, then kissed down her jawbone, growling like a tiger. “It’s …a…a psylink…a bond between…oh,” she panted as his hands kneaded her ass, and his lips caressed her chin. He nipped her lower lip and ran his tongue over the trapped part of it. Jean growled back at him as she caressed his muscled back and ass.

“It’s a bond between what?” he growled as he licked the nape of her neck. “A… bond between…our minds,” she panted as he ran a hand to her breast. His palm rubbed her nipple and it hardened almost painfully under his attack. She moaned as his lips traced the way back up to her lips.
Before he could kiss her he pulled his head away and said, “So you can hear my thoughts huh?” gruffly, his own passion intense. She nodded her head and grabbed his ears and said, “And you can read mine, now #kiss me#!” she said and thought. Logan whimpered in submission and kissed her passionately. His tongue ran over her bottom lip before pushing into her mouth and tangling with hers. Their bodies ground together and she wanted to take off his clothes and do what he had shown her in the shower. She started to unbutton his flannel shirt when Professor Xavier’s voice broke into her head.

“Jean is everything alright? I feel desperation and anxiety coming from you,” he said. Jean broke the kiss and thought back, “Oh no, no, Professor, I’m fine. I’m just…watching this last part of a movie.” Xavier grinned and asked, “Then why do I feel Logan in the same state?” Jean looked shocked and thought, “We are both watching the movie. We’ll be down in your office in a moment.” She threw up her mental shields and said, “That was close Logan,” still wrapped in his arms. “I know Darlin’.” He put a finger under her chin and raised her face and looked into her eyes and thought, “I read your thoughts.” He smiled. She giggled like a schoolgirl and they finally, painfully broke their embrace and walked out the door.

They walked down the stairs to the first floor. As they walked Logan said, “Wait a minute, that wasn’t your room.” Jean turned to him and said, “I moved out of the room I shared with Scott. That was my old room. I like it, it’s not as big, but it is comforting,” she paused then looked at him again, ”how did you find me anyway.” Logan chuckled deep and put a finger on his nose. “I smelled you. You always smell like roses and baby powder. I love it,” he said. Jean blushed and sent him a mental image of her kissing him. Logan growled low in his chest at the thought. They came to Xavier’s door and squeezed each others hand before braking the contact. Logan opened the door for Jean and followed her in.

Inside were Xavier and Scott. Scott, still heavily bandaged apparently because of the shape beneath his shirt, giving Logan a look that made him remember the kick he had given Scott’s face and chest. It still felt good to that he did it, but with a little admonishment from Jean through the psylink, said, “Sorry about that Summers, I wasn’t me then,” apologetically. Scott, unbelieving and hate filled, gave a small insincere nod of acceptance and turned to the Professor. “Loganan, an, if you would please sit down. Scott will be here throughout our conversation because he is the team leader and needs to be briefed on the events of last night. Jean, if you would please start,” he said looking at Jean.

Jean nodded and began. “I went down to the security room at my allotted time for watch last night. I had figured out that I could get Logan back if I just had a chance to be alone with him. Everyone else had attacked him, and in his feral mental state, he saw all but me as an enemy.” “That was stupid Jean. He could have killed you!” Scott exploded.

Logan shot out of his chare and pointed a finger at Scott, “You listen here bub, she was dead right about me. I saw everything that I did, but I wasn’t in control. The animal inside was. But one thing that I know is that I would never hurt Jean, or anyone that wasn’t attacking me,” he said. Scott took a step forward and said, “What about Ororo, Remy, and me in the infirmary?” Logan smiled, “He was trapped. You ran into his ‘cage’ and began attacking,” he defended himself. “I had to fight it not to kill you.”

“See,” Scott said as he whirled to the Professor, “See! He’s nothing but a cold blooded killer.” “Scott! Enough!” Xavier shouted, slamming his hand down on the desk. “I have scanned Logan many times, and yes he has taken life before, but never willingly. Now calm yourself or please leave and send Ororo in to listen, since she is the co-leader, and apparently a cooler head than you.” Scott was fuming and stalked to the window in the room and stared out with his back to them all.

Xavier, flushed with anger, said, “Jean, please continue.” Jean looked at Scott’s back with a mixture of sadness and anger. She looked at Logan and love and trust flooded the psylink between them. “I went back to the place that I found,” she glanced to Logan to see if he was okay with her finding his private place. The look on his face was attentive and peaceful. “And I noticed that there was a fire nearby. I floated over so that I wouldn’t make noise. I saw Logan sleeping there and I tried to touch his mind. I found him trapped in the primitive part and helped him break free. I took, I don’t know, a few hours.” Xavier nodded eyeing the odd looks on their faces as they remembered what happened.

Xavier cleared his thoughts and asked, “Did anything else transpire?” “Not that I know of chuck,” Logan lied, barely able to keep a chuckle down. Xavier stared at Logan, trying to see anything that he did not scan from Logan or Jean’s minds about what, if anything, happened after Logan’s mind was set free, between the two of them.

“Alright, I will interview both of you separately about the process of what happened at a later time. For now I suggest that you both get some rest,” Xavier said, looking at Scott. Jean and Logan stood up, and once again Logan opened the door for Jean and followed her through, closing it behind him. They heard more yelling from the room they had just left as they went farther dohe hhe hall.an gan grabbed Jean’s hand and said, “Jeanie, I’m gonna go apologize to Remy, Sam, Ororo, and Piotr. I can’t wait any longer. Meet me later?” “Of course Logan,” she replied shocked at the sadness in his face. Logan gave her a kiss and turned down the hall to the elevators.

Logan stepped out of the elevator into the infirmary nervously. “What am I going to say to Piotr? ‘Sorry buddy, had ta stab ya in the shoulder so as I wouldn’t have cut off yer head to get outside?’ Ya that’ll work?” he thought. “Logan?” Hank asked as he noticed Logan frozen in front of the elevator. “Huh, oh ya Hank? What’s up?” Logan said shaking his head a little to clear his mind. “Oh, nothing. Just running tests on a genetically link between mutations and birth rates,” Hank said.

“Um…okay,” Logan replied. “Uh…is Piotr still in there?” Hank noticed the odd look on Logan’s face. Was he nervous? “Why yes he is Logan, and I must say he has been wanting to see since you came back. He was quite adamant about it. I had to give him a mild sedative to calm him down,” Hank said with a small, wicked smile on his face. What he said was true but in fact Piotr had been ecstatic that Logan was back. He had no anger about his wounding and in fact had been very angry at Scott’s recommendation, especially with him being used as an excuse to do it.

Logan looked down at his feet, yet another new expression from him, and it was oddly like what Jean did when thinkof aof a disdainful subject. Logan nodded and said, “Do you think I can see him?” Hank looked at Logan and said, “Uh, sure. Come on I’ll take you to him.” Hank led the way into a private room off of the infirmary. He knocked on the door and, while putting his big blue head inside, said, “Piotr, you have a visitor.”

Hank pushed open the door and stepped aside to allow Logan in. Logan stepped in and looked at Piotr. Piotr’s brow was furrowed in what looked like anger. Logan took another step in and said, “Piotr…” Before he knew it he was wrapped in big Russian arms with Hank yelling for Piotr to watch the stitches. “Logan my friend!! You are back with us! I thank the heavens for my comrade’s safe return! HA HA HA!” Piotr said in his heavy Ran aan accent. “Piotr…can’t…breathe!” Logan gasped out.

“OH! Sorry my friend! I am just so happy to see you as yourself again,” Piotr said as he set Logan down on the floor. Gasping for air, Logan said, “I don’t…understand…Piotr. Yer not mad at me?” Piotr gave a short laugh and slapped Logan on the back. “No, no. Not in the least. You had no control over yourself. How could you know what you were doing? No I don’t hate you, “he said, “Jean told me that you actually fought the feral and stopped it from killing me. How can I be angry for being saved?”

“But,” Logan said, “the stab wound?” “A mere flesh wound, see.” Piotr flexed and then grimaced, “Oh stings,” he said. “I told you not to flex Piotr. You could pop a stitch and aggravate the wound,” Hank admonished, then turned to Logan. “Logan,” he said, “it was not just a flesh wound as our Russian friend would have like you to believe. In fact it was a deep stab. However,” he added, “it missed anything vital and is healing fast. Now I am sorry Piotr but you need to rest. Logan and I will leave you now,” Hank said. Piotr picked Logan up into yet aer mer massive bear hug and slapped him on the back saying, “Visit me tomorrow comraAnd And don’t stab me anymore. HAHAHAHA!” Piotr laughed, as they walked out his laughter followed them. “The man is certifiable Logan, and I wouldn’t have him any other way,” Hank said as he walked Logan to the elevator.

Logan was in the greenhouse looking for Ororo to apologize. He stepped in and was hit with dozens of different scents from the flowers being grown there. He looked down the rows of budding flowers, small trees, and other plants in the greenhouse until he saw her. was was watering some Blue Bonnets that she had purchased seeds for the last time they were in Texas. He walked up to her, noticing that she was humming a tune while watering the beautiful blue flowers. Logan had to admit that, even though he hated frilly flowers, the Blue Bonnets and their cat claw appearance were quite strikingly pretty.

“They’re beautiful ‘Ro,” Logan said scarring her. Ororo jumped a foot in the air and turned on him. “Logan! You scared me, my goodness you are quiet. I didn’t even hear you enter,” she said, her hand over her pounding heart. “Sorry ‘bout that. Um…can we talk?” Logan asked sheepishly. Ororo smiled and said, “Of course Logan. What would you like to talk about? The Blue Bonnets? You are right, they are right they are beautiful. Did you know that in Texas they are illegal to pick without the owner of the property’s permission. They are also the Texas State flower,” she said excitedly.

“Well…actually. I wanted to apologize,” he said, stopping her lamentation on the flowers. “Apologize? For what?” Ororo asked. Logan looked at her and said, “For what I did the last couple of days.” “Oh,” she said, “don’t worry about it. It’s okay, as long as we have you back.” “But,” he stammered. “But nothing,” she interrupted, “what you did was not your fault. You were not yourself. Anyway you did not hurt me per say. I just got knocked out by Remy’s flying body. Now go, be at peace. I must get back to my plants. Oh and Logan,” she said with a smile as he turned to leave. “Yes?” he said. Ororo picked up a pot containing a Blue Bonnet and handed it to him. “Here, take this,” she said, “It needs lots of light and warmth. I’ll bring you a heating lamp for it later. Take care of it.” “Thank you,” Logan said, touched by Ororo’s forgiveness.

“Well two down, two to go,” he thought as he left the greenhouse in search of Remy and Sam. He found Remy where he thought he would, pestering Rogue. Well it wasn’t quite pestering, she loved all the attention he smothered her with. But it also depressed her that she couldn’t return the attention in the way they both wanted. It would kill him.

Logan knew the sorrow she felt not being able to touch those she loved without a barrier of cloth between them. Maybe he didn’t fell the same as she did to the same extent, but he felt that she was a kindred spirit in the same sense. But things had changed hadn’t they? Jean was finally his, perhaps for a few fleeting moments, but his alone for now.

They were at the pool, not swimming because it was still too cold to be in the water, but it was warm enough to get a tan. ”Rogue could give Jean a run for her money in that bathing suit,” Logan thought. Suddenly a vision in the pool came to him and he smiled. But just as suddenly the scene went away and was replaced by her kicking him in the nuts. Logan chuckled to himself and sent her an apologetic thought and an image of Jean in all her beauty standing beside Rogue who had a long nose and warts, the perfect witch. “Apology accepted Logan,” she said in his head. “That’ll take some getting used to, “ he thought.

He walked up to a quietly talking couple and cleared his throat, politely interrupting their conversation. “Logan! How ya doin’ Sugah?” Rogue asked happily. “I’m okay Darlin’. I was wonderin’ if I could talk to your boyfriend for a minute?” he asked. “Sure thing, Remy?” she said looking at the slightly bruised face of the man she wanted so dearly to touch, but never could. “Remy t’ink it be okay, as long as Ma Petit don’ be runnin’ away while Remy gone,” he said looking at Rogue’s supple body.

“Don’t worry Cajun, I’ll have you back in no time. I just wanna talk for a minute,” Logan said, trying to be patient. Remy got up and blew Rogue a kiss, “Alright Mon Amie, we go talk now.” They walked out of earshot and Logan turned to Remy. “Remy, I’m, uh, sorry for what happened the other day. I…I tried to stop myself but…I couldn’t. Not until Jean helped me.” Remy blew out a breath and said, “Oh Logan, Mon Ami, don’ worry ‘bout nuttin’. It be a shitty situation, dat fo’ sure. Remy take worse beatin’s from you in de Danger Room.

“An’ look, now Remy know not to get to close to you when you be crazy,” Remy said. “Anyway we all be crazy sometimes,” he continued, laying a hand on Logan’s shoulder, feeling the other man’s pain at hurting his friends, his family. “Why are you all forgivin’ me?” Logan asked in a low voice. “Ah, Mon Ami, dat question easy fo’ Remy ta answer. Dat what family do.” And with that Remy clapped Logan on the shoulder and walked back to the sunbathing Rogue. Over his shoulder he said, “An’ Logan, nice flower!” Logan heard Rogue giggle a little and smiled at them as small growl escaped his chest.