Healing

Chapter 6

It had been a long day and Logan was tired. His hair stuck out at all angles and his mind cried out for sleep. He had been up since the very early hours, as nightmares had disturbed his sleep. He had asked the professor if he could have another room, elsewhere. Mainly because he had heard one or two students complaining that loud noises kept them up, and he had a feeling he was the one making the noises.

He had then had several classes, and had had to sit through Scott's classes instead of having his free periods. The man had not turned up for anything today, but they had found stacks of maths tests on his desk, a sticky label detailing which classes got which stack. Logan couldn't help finding it amusing that Scott couldn't go off and be even mildly irresponsible.

"So, the Professor thinks he went to Alkali Lake again..."

He was sat with 'Ro in the dining hall. They had finished eating and were watching the remaining students eat their evening meal. She had spent all of her spare time with the Professor. He was unsure what they had been discussing for so long, and he wasn't too interested. If it affected him they would let him know.

"Again?"

"Yeah... he's been there once or twice since... the dam burst." She couldn't bring herself to say it.

"I know that." He did, Scott had told him he'd gotten everything sorted out up there though. There was no need to return. "I'm gonna turn in."

"Okay. Good night Logan."

He bade her good night and left for his room. Once there, he lay awake. He was bothered by Scott, he had apparently left early in the morning, and now it was very late. It was a fair drive, but Scott had taken his motorcycle. It shouldn't be that long a journey.

He made up his mind quickly. He stood and dressed, pulling on his jacket. He stopped by Scott's room (He'd quickly memorised the kid's key code) to pick up car keys. No one bothered him, most people were in bed. He sat in the driver's seat and took off. Destination: Alkali Lake.


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He found Scott sat with his back against a tree; sobs racking his body. He went over and sat next to the kid.

"It's not her... she's like her, but it's not her." – Over and over again under his breath.

"Hey, Scott. Scott? Come on kid, talk to me. What's going on?"

"She spoke to me, all the time. It was easy to ignore when I was occupied, and when I was with you then I didn't think about her at all. But then she is over there. Not dead. But she is dead. I saw her die, I felt her die. She died and it hurt!"

"Scott? You aren't making any sense." Tearless sobs continued to shake him, and Logan wrapped his arms around the man. Scott clung to him.

"She's dead, yes?"

"Yeah...?"

"But she isn't. I saw her. She's been in my head for so long, and recently I've felt something in my head, so like her. Sometimes, exactly like her. But nearly always something is just off. Ok?"

"She's... in your head?"

"We had a telepathic bond."

"Oh." He had a feeling that it was more complex than that, because the professor always insisted telepathy was complex.

"It's like her, but it isn't. And I saw her by the Lake. It was like her, but not quite. Her face was sort of ...wrong. I nearly stayed, when she called out. But I couldn't. I have so many other things to be responsible for. I have the kids, and the school. I have the X men, and my friends. And I have you. She was talking and all I could think about... was you... guys."

Scott was frowning, even with his face buried in Logan's neck it was obvious. His voice and his posture gave it away. Logan didn't move. Jean was alive? Or... not Jean, but something like her. Not an imposter as such. The professor explained that when he was talking about Mystique. She could look like others, but like the scent of a person, she couldn't imitate their thought waves. Telepaths weren't fooled easily.

He stood up, his arms still tightly around Scott's body, and they moved towards Scott's car that Logan had borrowed. He sat Scott in the front passenger seat and strapped him in.

"Don't leave me." he whispered.

"I won't be long." Logan softly replied. Scott nodded his head, taking a deep breath to centre himself. Logan shut the door and jogged back to the lake.

The lakeside was beautiful, the snow had diminished noticeably and the water glistened in the sun. However, no one was there. He could see no sign of anyone at all, never mind Jean. If she had been there, she was gone now. He turned and jogged back to Scott.


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Logan was pacing impatiently. He was waiting for Wheels to finish interrogating Scott. They had been in there over an hour. It was very early in the morning, but they had both slept very little. A few times, he'd thought Scott may have dozed off as they drove back. But he was awake, his breathing a little too frantic to re-assure him. They had packed his bike into the back. (Not exactly packed... putting it back together would be interesting. But he hadn't yet mentioned it to Scott)

From what he could hear, they were discussing Jean, something to do with telepathy and barriers in minds. He'd given up trying to understand, figuring it was a bit of a specialist subject.

It was only another 10 minutes till Scott walked out of the room. He glanced at Logan and paused slightly so the man could walk with him.

"I don't understand him. He says he always gives people a choice, but he takes it away when he sees fit."

"You ok, kid?"

"He wants me to read Hamlet... 29 years old and he's still giving me homework."

Logan smirked. That was the Professor he'd grown fond of.

"Want to go for a drink?" Scott clearly needed cheering up, and he knew a night out often ended with Scott in a care-free mood.

"Not out out. I plan to laze around and watch TV. Care to join me?"

"Sure." Logan followed Scott into the kitchen, where they grabbed snacks and some cokes.

"It's only 8am. Too early to start drinking, and Charles said I still have to do my classes this afternoon."

Logan settled next to Scott on the sofa and flicked the TV on. He hunted through the channels till he found Sherlock Holmes re-runs and then dropped the remote.


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The next 2 weeks went quickly. Scott and Logan quickly settled into their old routine of Thursday sparring and watching TV every night. Professor Xavier spent his time searching for the woman Scott had seen. A few times, he thought he'd seen Jean, but then he lost her. He explained that about 20 years ago, he had gone to a small suburban house and chatted to the worried parents of a 15 year old girl. She was telekinetic, and had little real control over her powers. Apparently she had been a sweet and loving child before they developed, but they had brought a selfishness that warped the girl beyond recognition.

The professor had put mental barriers in place, to contain the power, and it had returned the girl to her old self. She became the kind, loving and careful girl she had been. Scott had had no real idea about this. He said he'd always felt something in her mind that was uncomfortable, but had never guessed it was another personality. It had happened a good 5 years before they met, so her Phoenix half (As the Professor labelled it) was under tight control by then, deeply suppressed.

Professor Xavier was also trying to 'fix' Scott. His telepathic link had left a 'hole' in his barriers after Jean died. Wheels said that they'd formed a strong bond, so when it was broken it had serious consequences for Scott. Other telepaths could easily detect him, and those who knew how could attack him with no difficulty.

Other than that, lessons were taught and the adults acted normal. The students could be very quick to pick up any tension; they were determined to not be caught unaware again. Logan was fairly worried it was scarred many of them, and he found his survival classes were very popular. He had a lot of students signing up, and a few more had joined his self defence classes.

He couldn't help but feel confident that having survived the first attack, the school would be stronger than ever.


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It was a little over a month since Scott had visited Alkali Lake. Logan had spent the day with Kurt. 'Ro and Scott had gone off in the plane for some mission, so he and the prankster had been left to babysit. Most of the students with cancelled classes were told to go to the hall and have a study session. The 2 adults sat at the teachers table and watched as very few students studied, but most gossiped. Kurt was busy telling him about the circus, and how everyone had thought he was amazing. In exchange, Logan told Kurt what he could remember of his dreams. What he thought was real. Kurt was an unbiased ear who had not heard it before, so it was refreshing to tell him.

The mutant told him he should keep it written down, and he intended to do that. At some point. After this, he was going out with Marie and Bobby. She wanted to go shopping, and had volunteered him to take them to the town. He already planned to nick Cyclops's car for the expedition.

Logan couldn't help but look forward to it. He knew he'd be sat in a coffee shop drinking something caffeine filled, most likely on his own. But he didn't mind. To see the girl who he often compared to a kid sister, or even a daughter (When she wasn't being too annoying) enjoying herself so completely, he could managed a few hours in a crowded mall.

As the last of the students wandered outside to enjoy the good weather, Logan stood up. He excused himself from Kurt's company and went to his room to change into something more comfortable for driving in, and grab a cigar. Not that he would be smoking it in the car; it wasn't worth the inevitable lecture he'd get off Scott.


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A few hours... that had been the idea. They'd go out at 1pm, have a nice afternoon out and be back in time for dinner; except she wanted to stay out longer so they could catch a movie. He'd eventually given in, the girl was hard to deny. She was earnest and had a sweet smile, so Logan had ended up calling the School to see if it was alright. The young woman who answered the phone (Logan could remember her face, but not her name) had asked the Professor, and he simply said not too late, and he'd get some food put aside for them.

Logan had moved from the coffee shop to the bar in the cinema. He had no interest in going to sit through a girly film. He'd leave that to Marie and Bobby. He sniffed and grinned.

"I think you're following me."

"You've lost your Pup..."

"He's busy."

Victor sat himself down beside Logan, and ordered a soft drink.

"Not beer?"

"I don't always need to drink."

"You've learnt moderation..."

"Thought you didn't really remember me."

Logan frowned, trying to think if he did remember a time with Victor and an inability to stop himself. Not really, but he knew it had happened. Just like he couldn't remember everything he'd had for breakfast over the past few weeks, but he knew it had happened.

He just shrugged, and they sat quietly together. After a while, Logan left for the toilets. When he came back, Victor was still there. He had ordered Logan another beer.

"Hey, Victor..."

"Yeah?"

"How do you know Scott?"

"Your Pup? I met him a while ago. Probably about 14 ... 15 years ago? I was still working for Stryker. Still took him for a man of his word. I wasn't a good person. I took people and let him experiment on them."

"You... took Scott..."

"From some school, yeah."

"What changed?"

"You did. I lost my memory different to you. Stryker planned to shoot you with adamantium. I'd guess he did cos you forgot everything. I just struck my head real heard, I think. But yeah, you. I got my memory back, and I was angry at you. Even now, with no clue who you really are... you're still a better person. I was always stronger, when you had no adamantium, but you were always better. I've worked it out though. It's your humanity. It keeps you... grounded... in a way I never was."

The man sighed, and downed his drink. It was a strange answer. However, it stirred memories up, times where he had stopped Victor because it went against something he believed in. Times when the man had seemed to enjoy harming others too much.

"Later Jimmy."

The man left just as people started to pour out of the screening room. He stood up, pulled on his jacket and looked for Marie and Bobby.


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The night did not bring restful sleep for Logan. He tossed all night; scream's trying to push through his blocked throat. He watched as he stood helpless, unable to stop Victor from attacking a woman. He had thrown her to the grounded and taken her. It had been cold and merciless. It turned Logan's stomach/ he tried to shout, but found his voice blocked. He tried to move, but found his limbs stiff. A light enveloped him, something landed on his face. He panicked, and attacked.

It was a pillow, and the light was on. At the foot of his bed stood Scott Summers. He wore a pair of black jogging bottoms and his shades.

"You ok, Logan?"

He made a noise he hoped would reassure him. Still unable to find his voice. Scott walked to his bathroom, and came back with a glass of water, which Logan gulped down and set on his bedside table.

"Thanks."

"You ok?"

"Yeah... When'd you guys get back?"

"About half an hour ago. It was a bit of a nightmare."

Logan glanced at his clock, it was 4am. He should have figured they'd just got back. He had noticed Scott slept like the dead when he went over. There had been time Logan had practically carried the kid back to his bed.

"You ok, kid?"

"Yeah... Was it a nightmare? Wanna talk about it?"

Logan did, he decided. He started with meeting Victor that day, memories that had stirred up, and the emotions it had filled him with. Then he moved onto his nightmares, and his dreams. It'd been a while since he'd discussed them with Cyke, so there were a few new ones he didn't know about.

By the time he'd gotten through them all, Scott was out, his glasses askew and his breathing even. Logan placed his glasses on the table and got up to turn off the light. He knew he should take Scott back to his own room, especially as kids seemed to congregate in every corridor and may wonder about Scott leaving his room without a shirt. But he figured it was Scott's own fault for not thinking it through, or interrupting him. He was too tired to move him anyway. Seconds later, Logan lay beside Scott, his own breathing even and he got some decent sleep.


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Done. I hope you enjoyed it. I've finally decided on a direction for my plot web. (Still can't be called a line...) anyway, let me know how you liked it and any mistakes I've made :)

Oh, I don't know what you'd calling jogging bottoms... Sweats, is it? I'm not sure....