One-Way Ticket On A Runaway Train

A couple of hours later, both men limped out of the Danger Room. While Logan's injuries were already starting to heal, albeit slowly, Scott still looked like he'd had a run-in with an eighteen-wheeler semi truck....... and lost. As they staggered down the hallway to the medlab, they passed the Professor, who simply held up his hand before either man had a chance to speak.

"Let's just put this one down to, 'I do not want to know'," the Professor stated, and without pausing he continued down the hall.

Logan just shrugged at Scott.

"Do you think that before he was in a wheelchair, he'd ever been in a real honest-to-goodness-knock-down-drag-out-fight?" he asked Scott.

"No, I don't think so," Scott answered.

"Feels good, don't it?" Logan asked grinning.

"I'd like it even more, if an hour from now you still looked like hell, too."

"Well, thank God my healing factor protects this gorgeous face," Logan said rubbing his chin.

"Yeah, if your standard of beauty is something out of a horror movie, sure."

"Do ya wanna go back to the Danger Room, so I can finish humiliating you?"

Just then Hank came out of the medlab to greet them in the hall.

"Rogue, forewarned me that the two of you would be coveting my services. Let's step inside and assess the damage, shall we?"

An hour later, Hank had set the broken bones, stitched up the cuts and administered a painkiller to Scott for his injuries courtesy of Logan. While Logan's healing power had almost completely repaired the damage inflicted by Scott and he'd refused Hank's offer of 'pansy-ass painkillers'.

Only when Scott managed to hobble back to the privacy of his room, did he finally allow himself to collapse from the debilitation of the battle. When Jean returned later, as expected, he got no sympathy. She glanced over at him, rolled her eyes and went straight into the bathroom and slammed the door. Moments later Scott heard the shower running. He really had to make some changes to his current situation, he thought. Scott hated to admit it, but Logan was right - being alone was better than this. When Jean finally reemerged from the bathroom he decided to cut to the chase.

"We need to talk," he said.

"If you expect me to apologize for this morning, don't hold your breath," she informed him as she started patting her wet hair with a towel.

"I have no expectations of you apologizing for saying what's on your mind."

"Good. Then you won't be disappointed, will you?"

"You're absolutely right, Logan and I have never gotten along - never will."

"I take it that it turned physical after I left?" Jean asked, finally acknowledging his injuries.

"Danger Room session. We got a little carried away."

"Uh-huh. Really, Scott, all this macho posturing bullshit is such frat boy behavior. You're both grown men. Well, you're supposed to be, anyway."

"He's too possessive when it comes to Rogue. I mean - the baby," he quickly corrected himself.

"I think you had it right the first time, Scott. This jealousy of Logan isn't because of his place in the baby's life, because it's not even born yet. It's his place in Rogue's life that's got you seeing red - pardon the pun."

"That's ridiculous. This has nothing to do with Rogue. She's with Logan."

"Yes, she is. However, you'd prefer she was with you. Deny it all you want, Scott, but even without using telepathy, I can see how you really feel about her. I watch and I observe. I see how the muscles in your face contract, making you clench your jaw whenever you see Logan touch her or kiss her. You're jealous. If you won't admit it to me, at least admit it to yourself."

"She is carrying my child, of course I'm going to have feelings for her. That doesn't mean I want us to be together."

"If Logan hadn't been so accepting of this baby, who do you think she would have turned to for comfort? Bobby? St. John? Hank? Charles? No, Scott, she would have turned to you, and you would've welcomed her with open arms and right now it would be you playing family-to-be with her instead of Logan. So don't insult me by pretending that's not what you'd want, if things were different."

Scott contemplated that statement for a minute. Was that what he wanted on some subconscious level? Did he want Rogue AND the baby - in one package deal? Logan certainly didn't deserve anyone as special as Rogue, didn't deserve to have her love him with such complete devotion of heart, mind, spirit and body. Logan reminded him of those blasphemous people that sinned their whole lives, only to pray for forgiveness on their deathbeds and get into heaven anyway. And Logan already had his earthbound angel to boot. It just wasn't fair.

"She loves Logan, not me," Scott said quietly.

"Yes, she does, but you wish that she loved you. That she'd come back to be with you."

"I don't know, Jean. Maybe my feelings for her are too tangled up with the baby right now and I can't straighten them out."

"Did you have feelings for her the night you were together? Feelings beyond just sexual ones?"

"Yes," he answered simply.

"And now she's having your baby. I'd imagine those feelings would've only intensified, not diminished. Scott, she's chosen Logan. You have to accept that. You also have to accept that I don't want to be the one you settle for, because you can't get what you really want."

"What are you saying, Jean?"

"I'm saying that you and I need to end this between us, before we inflict anymore unnecessary pain on each other. Our problems started a long time ago. That's why I ended it back in May. When we reconciled in June, I thought that's what we both wanted - a future together. Even before Rogue came back from Phoenix, it was obvious that we were kidding ourselves. Pretending things were the way they used to be - in the beginning. The truth is, we should have stayed finished."

"Yeah, I think you're right. I think we've both been holding onto the illusion a little too tightly. I care about you, Jean. I always will."

"That's just not good enough for me anymore, Scott, and it shouldn't be good enough for you, either. I need to be with someone who loves me with every fiber of their being, and that hasn't been you for a long time now. And you should be with someone who makes your heart skip a beat every time they walk into the room, and that isn't me anymore," Jean said sadly.

"I want us to still be friends," Scott said softly.

"Please, Scott, not the let's-be-friends-speech, that's so....... cliché. Let's just agree not to be sworn enemies for now, and see where that leads us."

"I think I should stay in a guest room tonight."

"And I think that would be a good idea," Jean agreed.

"You can have this room. I know you have a lot more junk, making it more of a chore for you to move. Whereas everything I own could probably be packed in one box."

"I appreciate that courtesy, Scott."

"Jean, I never meant for you to get hurt in all this, you know that don't you?"

"I never thought you did any of it with malice. I know you're not that kind of person. That's why I loved you so much. If my feelings for you were completely dead, it wouldn't hurt this badly."

Scott walked to the door of their suite and without turning around, said goodnight and left. After the door was firmly shut, Jean crumbled to the bed and burst into tears.

~*~*~*

Logan, meanwhile, was back in his own suite. Stripping off his shirt, he saw that his injuries were completely healed - visibly, at least. Now he was searching through the bathroom cabinets for something to relieve the dull aching throb all over his body that was the only reminder of the fight. Just then Rogue strolled into the bathroom.

"Ah see yer done pounding each other. Ah hope ya feel better."

"Oh, hey, babe. Where's the aspirin?"

"Top shelf of the medicine cabinet," she said, as she walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself into his back. His bare skin was hot to the touch as her hands went up to graze the sculpted muscles of his chest. As she rubbed against him, he could feel her breasts through the flimsy fabric of her blouse and he turned his head to give her a quick kiss.

"Aha! There you are. Come to Logan my precious little magic pills," he said, reaching for the bottle and attempting to pop the lid off - unsuccessfully. He fumbled with the bottle a few more moments, starting to get irritated.

Rogue took the bottle from him, twisted the cap to align the arrows and then popped the lid off effortlessly.

"Childproof cap," Rogue informed him.

"I was getting it. Anyway, a claw would've worked, too."

Rogue thought of all the items of her clothing that he'd shredded when his patience ran out too quickly and she smiled at each memory.

"Why didn't ya just get Hank ta give ya something while ya were in the medlab? He could've given ya something stronger than those," she said as she touched a kiss lightly to his right shoulder.

Logan gave her a look that was reflected in the mirrored wall above the sink, like she'd just said the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"Oh, ah get it. Ya didn't want Scott ta see ya admit ya were in pain, so ya'd rather suffer," she said as she kissed his left shoulder this time.

"Somethin' like that," Logan said and then gulped down two of the white tablets.

Rogue just chuckled and shook her head - men! Logan just stood there leaning against the vanity as Rogue peppered his back with gentle kisses as her hands roamed over his chest and down onto his stomach. He let out a low moan and placed his hands on the countertop to support himself, hanging his head down as she worked her mouth up between his shoulder blades and then stood on her tippy toes to reach the back of his neck.

"Mmmm, that feels good," he sighed, "You could kiss all my 'boo-boos' better."

"Well, thanks ta ya healing factor, ah can't even see 'em anymore," she said, as she continued plying him with whisper kisses across his muscular back.

"I could tell ya where they were," he suggested as he turned around to face her.

"Okay, Logan, not that ya really deserve it fer being such a nincompoop, but ah'll play 'nurse' and kiss it all better fer ya."

"Everywhere?" he asked suggestively.

Rogue brushed the side of his neck with her lips, kissed a path into the hollow of his throat and then trailed her mouth down onto his chest.

"Everywhere," she confirmed, "So go on and lie down on the bed and ah'll be right there."

Logan charged out of the bathroom, practically tripping over as he tugged his jeans off. Rogue went into the walk-in closet to change and reemerged moments later wrapped in her short green kimono. Logan loved the feel of the silk fabric of that robe caressing against his body almost as much as Rogue's bare skin.

Climbing onto the bed, she looked down at Logan's naked form and thoroughly surveyed him visually from head to toe. His fabulous physique showed no outer signs of the abuse it had suffered a mere few hours ago. All Rogue saw was utter perfection. No matter how often she'd seen Logan naked, it was always as intoxicating as seeing him for the very first time. She let out an audible sigh and he smiled knowingly.

"So. Where's does it hurt?" she asked sympathetically.

"Everywhere," he said, his voice a slight moan.

Rogue leaned down and kissed the soft skin behind his right ear.

"Even here?" she asked teasingly, "What about here?" she continued, as she kissed his earlobe.

"Uh-huh. And there," Logan said, pointing at his jaw. Rogue placed a soft kiss on his jaw.

"And there," Logan said, pointing at his cheek. Rogue placed another soft kiss on his cheek.

Logan pointed to his lips. "He punched me in the mouth," he said with a pout.

Rogue complied and pressed a tender kiss to his lips. She then proceeded to dust his entire face with feathery kisses.

Logan then continued pointing out various areas on his body as Rogue kissed each 'boo-boo', sighing with pleasure, as his body was lovingly caressed by the warmth of her lips and cool silk of her robe. As she straddled him, he reached over to the robe, unknotted the sash, parted the smooth fabric and slid it off her shoulders. Underneath she wore a pale green bra and panty set in the sheerest material he'd ever seen. It was transparent enough for him to clearly see her nipples and the little patch of hair between her legs and it turned him on more than if she'd been completely naked.

Running his hand over the little triangle of fabric between her legs, he grinned as he discovered she was wet. Slipping his fingers under the fabric, he stroked her delicately. Logan's free hand pushed aside the fabric of one side of the bra and cupped her breast in his palm, circling the nipple with his thumb until it peaked to a little point. Bracing her hands for support on the bed above his shoulders, Rogue leaned forward and Logan was able to draw the rosy peak into his mouth. He stroked the creamy smooth skin of her breast as he sipped on her nipple, while the fingers of his other hand massaged her clit. Moments later she cried out his name when the orgasm overcame her. Recovering, she resumed her ministrations to him, as he pointed out more areas that needed attention.

She was kissing his stomach, following the trail of dark hair down to just below his navel, when he pointed to the area between his legs.

"Yer not hurt there," Rogue said disbelievingly.

"Am so. He played dirty and kicked me in the nuts."

"Ouch!" she said as she skimmed her hand over his cock.

"He knows I take that personally."

"Poor baby. Did ya take one in the family jewels?" she joked as she moved lower and pressed a kiss to his balls.

"Yeah, and I felt the pain shoot all the way up my cock, too."

Rogue sat up and gave him a knowing grin. "Logan, if ya wanna blowjob, just say so."

"So," he answered mischievously.

Rogue laughed, bent down, and gave him the best damn blowjob he'd ever had.