Author's note: Here it is. The 2nd Sequel to Changes.
I won't be able to update frequently. I have 3 written exams and my B.A. exam coming up and especially for the last one I have to read 9 books and 10 short stories. YUK… So, as you can see, I'll be pretty busy until April 5th, but I want to write each Sunday as far as I can. Hope you understand that. ; )
"(…)" means: Japanese is spoken!!
Thanks to sammygirl!! She helped me a lot with this chapter!!!
Changes Sequel – II. Covenant Part 1
"Do you know what he wants?" Scott asked Hank and followed him down the corridor towards Charles' office, but the man could only shrug.
"As far as I know it is of importance," Hank replied and turned around the corner just to see Mystique waiting next to a more than pissed looking Storm. "Well, that finally explains the sudden change in weather…" Stopping in front of both women, he looked to and fro between them. "What's wrong? Why are you waiting here?"
"We waited for you," Mystique said and joined Scott's side.
"Why?" this one asked her with a questioning look on his face.
"You'll see," Ororo smiled cynically and crossed her arms. "Go ahead!" Nodding at the door, she waited for Hank to open it and both women followed the men with a short exchange of looks. It didn't take long and they heard hank snarling, while Scott let out a gasp. "Just wait for Logan to come down and we're in for a fight," she said and Mystique nodded.
"What is he doing here?" Scott asked aloud when Ororo closed the door behind her.
"Scott, would you please sit down first?" Charles asked and nodded at the empty sofa and chairs. "I'll explain as soon as everyone is gathered in this room…"
Smiling at them first until his eyes caught the sight of Mystique, Magneto's friendly look immediately faded. "So this is where you're still hiding, hm?" he asked and watched how she sat down next to Scott with a cold look in her yellow eyes. "I've see you've done quiet well for yourself, my dear...," he said sarcastically and received a deadly look from the woman next, before he turned around again. "You allowed her to stay here?"
"Mystique is part of the team now, Eric. She has proven that she wanted to be a part of the school and I am glad that she decided to stay," the Professor replied.
"If you say so…," the other older man nodded with a sarcastic smile on his lips.
"Can you finally tell us what he's doing here?" Ororo asked from the other side of the room, where everyone stood while Charles and Magneto occupied the opposite half of the office.
"Patience, my dear," Eric smiled and crossed her arms, ignoring the snarl of Hank. "I thought you were a diplomat…"
"Exceptions can be made," the mutant replied and glared at him. "Charles, I hope you are aware that the situation here will escalate as soon as Logan comes either down or catches his scent…"
"Oh right… How's the Wolverine doing?" Magneto smiled and turned a bit around. "It's a miracle to me how such an animal has two so nice looking children…"
"Leave them alone!" Ororo hissed and made a step forward as Kurt teleported into the office.
"Logan's not the animal here," Mystique added and made Eric chuckle.
"Of course this comes from you…," he nodded. "I knew he was the reason why you stayed here, my dear…"
"Shut up!" Scott said aloud and got up from the sofa.
Looking at him first and then at Mystique, Eric smiled. "I see… Can't have the one, take the other…"
"Eric, stop it!" the Professor demanded before he looked at his X-Men. "And you, too, please!"
"Easy for you to say. You didn't have to fight him back then," Ororo cursed and finally sat down next to Kurt. "Just wait until Logan's here and then tell him to…," she began as the door suddenly flew open. "Now have fun!" she smiled at Eric since one look was enough to tell her that the man, who'd just entered, was more than not happy with what he saw.
"Wolverine… Long time not seen," Magneto greeted him cynically and smiled when he heard a low growl emerging from deep within the man's throat. A familiar snikt echoed through the room next, when Logan made a step forward, just to freeze on the spot in the next second. "You really never learn, do you?" Eric asked with narrowed eyes and raised him into the air. Seeing it the Professor was about to say something when Logan suddenly fell down to the ground and Magneto crashed into the wall on his right.
"Actually, he does," a female voice hissed and Jean stepped into the room, holding Eric pinned to the wall. "What is he doing here?" she demanded to know with eyes full of hatred.
"Jean, please," Charles pleaded and gave his old friend, who gritted his teeth while the force pushed him violently into the wall.
"No, I want to know why he's in the school, Charles!" the woman said and heard how Logan got up from the floor again to approach their adversary with his claws still extracted. "Give me one good reason or he's history…," she added and her eyes began to glow fiery as she remembered what had happened during the fight years ago. She'd sworn back then that she would never forgive Magneto and she wouldn't start with it now.
"What does it feel like, bub?" Logan growled and touched Magneto's chest with one set of his claws. "Nice, eh? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't gut ya right here…"
"Sinister, maybe?" Eric managed to say and let out a hiss.
"He's not here as our enemy," the Professor added and looked at the couple on his left. "I asked him to come here. I told you I already made necessary calls…"
"Necessary calls?" Logan asked him with a cocked eyebrow. "That bastard is a necessary call?!"
"He is and you know that, Logan." Sighing, since he had seen this coming, Charles folded his hands and looked at Jean. "Please let him down, Jean and listen…"
Exchanging a look with her husband, who only shrugged and retracted his claws again before he crossed his arms, Jean withdrew her powers and stepped back. "Five minutes to convince me," Logan grunted and joined his team mates on the other side of the room.
Cleaning his clothes with a dismissive look at the two mutants, Eric got up again and stepped behind Charles. Both men exchanged a brief look with each other before the Professor turned to his X-Men again. "I called Eric because I think that we can need his help in order to fight against Sinister." Hearing some of them giving a short derisive laugh or snort, he cleared his throat. "You've seen what had happened during your mission to Canada, haven't you? You have also seen and I think you remember it very well, what had happened in the past two years… How devastating their attacks had been. We need every help we can get since we still don't know if Apocalypse will come back or if Sinister works together with him. If they have an army…then we need every help we can get," he explained and watched how the group briefly looked at the man behind him.
"So you want us to work together with him?" Scott asked and shook his head. "I don't know if that is such a good idea. Just to remind you but he wanted to kill us the last time we met the Brotherhood…"
"And he wanted to steal my children," Jean added darkly and glared at Magneto.
Sighing, Charles leant back in his wheelchair. "We need to unite our groups…"
"And then what?" Logan asked while he leant against the wall next to Jean. "Do ya really think he's gonna take any orders? 'Cause I won't follow his!"
"Right," Mystique and Ororo said at the same time.
"I'm impressed," Eric said and crossed his arms. "Your great character already rubs off on them… Good work, Wolverine!"
"His name is Logan," Jean hissed and became even more furious when the man chuckled.
"Right, right… Heard that before!"
"Five minutes are over," Logan suddenly growled and opened the door next to him. "I ain't convinced, so piss off!"
"Is he suddenly leading this school?" Magneto asked Charles with a questioning look that was rather ironical than serious.
"Logan, please!" Charles tried it again, but the posture of his team leader already told him that he was done talking. "We need help… And what Sinister is about to do might have devastating effects on the whole mutant population…"
"Then let me make some phone calls and you'll get your help, but I won't work together with him, neither will they!" Logan gave back and nodded at his group, knowing that they shared his opinion totally in that moment.
Nodding, Magneto took his coat and hat. "We'll see… Thank you for the invitation and the tea, Charles. We should meet and play some chess again, don't you think?" he asked with a brief smile before he walked towards the door. Holding Logan's gaze he stopped briefly next to him. "I'm really curious to see, if your cute little offspring is as open minded as you, Logan," he sneered with a pejorative smirk and ignored the low growl of his opposite. Jean instantly stepped closer and laid her left hand on her husband shoulder. Seeing how the light was reflected on the two rings on her ring finger, Eric raised an unbelieving eyebrow, and turned his head in her direction. "Oh, please…," he said rather amused. "Of course, I knew that there was something between you two. Beasts know each other, right? But I would have never thought that you two would tame each other enough to play husband and wife..."
"What?" Logan asked sarcastically and cocked an eyebrow. "Ya can actually think?" Snorting in disgust, Magneto put on his hat and left the room just to see a small girl running towards him.
"Daddy!" the little red head called and made Logan, followed by Jean, step out of the room.
Stopping when she noticed the strange look the old man gave her, Rachel held his gaze and moved slowly around him.
"What's wrong, Ray?" Logan asked with a glare at Eric, since he could tell what the old man was thinking. "Move!" he therefore hissed at him before he kneeled down to take his daughter into his arms.
"Jamie's crying," the girl said and clung to her father, feeling uncomfortable by what she picked up from the strange looking old man in front of her, who was still eyeing her suspiciously.
"Right," Logan nodded and turned to his wife. "I'm upstairs. Make sure he's gone!" Nodding, Jean crossed her arms and waited for Magneto to move while Logan walked past him, but the man only smiled.
"How many times have the two of you already reproduced yourselves, hm?" Magneto sneered with a smirk at the girl. "Isn't it already enough that there are two animals in the world?"
Facing him with a growl, Logan gave him a glare but just walked past him. "Jean…," was all he grunted and the redhead came closer.
"Go!" she demanded with am angry look at their visitor, but Magneto only chuckled. Nevertheless, he walked towards the front door and opened it. "You know…," he said and turned around one last time to give her an amused look. "I never thought that a goddess like you would pick a worthless lower animal-like mutant such as him. He is a simple killing machine, by far not good enough for a unique goddess like you." With that he turned around and left, leaving Jean boiling with anger behind him. A satisfied smile appeared on his lips when he heard how the front door was slammed shut by a strong force from within.
Literally fuming with anger, Jean stormed back into her mentors office, shoving the door open with such force, that it bounced off the wall again. "How could you ask him to come here?" Jean hissed, trying hard not to scream at the man in front of her. "I know he once was your friend, but you know damn well what he did to us. All of us!" The redhead placed her hands on Xavier's desk, staring him squarely in the face. She took a calming breath before continuing with her speech. "I also know that we are in desperate need for help, if we want to win this war, but there have to be others out there who are willing to fight for their world. We don't need him, Charles! We don't need Magneto to win!" In a voice not more then a whisper, she added, "You can be assured that I will do everything within my power, to prevent a failure." Her eyes glowing fiercely, she hoped he got her message. With those words spoken, she pushed away from the desk and walked out of the room, head held high, to rejoin her family.
"I think she's right," Scott nodded. "Magneto is at least the last one I'd ask for help."
Behind his desk, Charles folded his hands and bent forward with a serious look on his face. "Believe me, Scott," he said and shook his head. "We will need Eric's help in the end…"
When she reached their part of the mansion, she didn't hear Jamie crying, so Logan must have been able to calm him. Opening the door to the bedroom quietly, she saw Logan, with a sleeping Jamie in his arms, standing in front of the window. He turned around, when he heard her enter.
"He gone?" he asked and she nodded, the anger still clearly visible in her eyes.
"I can't believe the Professor asked him to come," she exclaimed softly, shaking her head in disbelieve. Not really expecting an answer, she stepped closer to her husband and youngest son, stretching out an arm to gently caress the baby's soft hair. She could feel Logan watching her intently, before she asked after a few moments of silence "Where are the twins and Ray?"
He sighed. "In the twins' room, playing the new PlayStation game, Aunt 'Ro bought them." He furrowed his brows slightly disgruntled. "I swear she's spoiling the kids even more than I do."
Jean laughed quietly. "Softy," she said, before she planted a quick kiss on his lips. "You told them not to play longer than an hour I hope?"
"'f course," he smirked and placed a soft kiss on Jamie's head before he carefully laid him back into the cradle. "Which color do ya want for his room?"
"I thought about a nice yellow," Jean mumbled and stroked over her baby's cheeks softly. "Do you want to go and buy it today?"
"Yeah." He nodded and got his wallet. "Anything else we still need?" Logan asked while he walked towards the door, but Jean shook her head.
"No, actually we still have anything we need for his room…"
"Good." Placing a kiss on her lips, Logan got the car keys. "See ya later then!"
"Did you feed him?" she asked quickly over her shoulder, while folding a few items of the laundry pile on the chair.
"Yeah. But he only took a few sips, before he fell asleep again," he answered, while seeming to ponder something. "I nearly got the impression that he felt something was wrong."
Jean's head shot up. "You don't think that...because of Magneto..."
Logan only shrugged. "Dunno. But it's possible, Jeannie." He gave her a meaningful look and she sighed heavily.
"I know. I'm just afraid for him, Logan. If he really is developing the first signs of telepathy already..." She didn't need to conclude the sentence. The implications were as clear as daylight.
"We talk about it later, 'kay?" he asked and she nodded, still with a thoughtful look on her face. Looking down briefly, Logan finally turned around and left, leaving Jean with a more than worried look on the cradle.
"Hey," Scott greeted Hank when this one stepped into the kitchen. Holding Alex on his arm while he fed him, the former team leader leant against the counter and waited for his son to finish sipping on the bottle.
"Do you know where Logan is?" Hank asked him, but Scott shook his head.
"No, but I heard a car…"
Nodding Hank poured himself some coffee. "I wanted to discuss with him what we will do with the girl. We can't keep her locked up in the basement and feed her like an animal."
"Here you are," Moira suddenly said and came closer with a smile on her lips. Smiling back, Hank put down his cup to give her a kiss. "I was looking for you."
"Is something wrong?" he asked worriedly but she shook her head.
"Not really. But the girl is in some kind of Logan-like berserker rage and already destroyed the bed," the woman explained with a smile at the baby. "We need to do something about her."
"Yes I know," the blue mutant nodded. "I just asked Scott if he knows where Logan is but obviously he has just left. So we have to wait until he comes back." Turning his head he watched how Scott put the empty bottle aside and began to pat his son's back. "I still have to congratulate you."
"Why?" Scott asked and furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Well you and Mystique finally managed to agree on Alex Logan after your son is finally 6 months old…," Hank smirked.
"Funny!" the other man grunted and shook his head.
"Don't be a sourpuss now, Scott!" Moira smiled and wrapped her arms around Hank while they watched Scott leaving. "He's in a pretty bad mood lately, don't you think?"
"Yes, but don't ask me what the reason is," Hank shrugged as all of a sudden five children stormed into the kitchen and barely managed to evade the two adults. "Woah, not so fast!"
"Sorry!" Lily said and followed her siblings and TJ and Isa out of the back door.
Startling playfully when the door went shut with a loud Bang, Hank sighed. "Can you imagine what life will be like when Jamie, Tommy and Alex join those troublemakers?"
Giggling, Moira let go of him and sipped on his coffee. "Probably loud and a lot more interesting as it already is," she concluded. "I go back down to the lab. You coming?" Smiling, Hank wrapped an arm around her shoulder and left with her. "Maybe we can manage to calm the girl until Logan is back. I still think it is strange that she is completely calm when he is around, don't you think?"
Entering the elevator he shrugged. "Must be the genes…"
Later the day, everyone was gathered in the kitchen for dinner when Logan entered the room, closely followed by the dark haired and still mean looking girl, who he had managed to calm again after his return. Pulling her up he helped her onto a stool and turned to get a plate and cup for her while the girl gave the other a mistrustful look and began to growl. "No!" he grunted and put both things in front of her. Looking at him with her hazel eyes she watched how he put food onto the plate and laid a fork next to it. "Eat!" Logan demanded and sat down next to her to intervene if she suddenly went into a rage.
"Any progress with her?" Scott asked and watched with a frown how the girl looked at the plate as if she had never seen one.
"No, not really…," Logan grunted and had his eyes on the girl, too. "Eat!"
"Why is she not eating?" Ororo asked him in confusion while she handed Kurt the bottle for his son.
Handing her the fork, Logan nodded at her plate. "Eat!" he said again but the girl only looked at the object in her hand, then at the plate and back at him. "Jeez, kiddo! I ain't gonna hand feed ya," he said and went on eating his food before it got cold.
"Does she understand us at all? I've never seen her reacting to anything," Jean asked him and looked down on Jamie who was sleeping in her arms. "Maybe she doesn't understand English. Why don't you try the languages you know?"
Sighing he held his fork up and looked at the girl. "Fork?" he asked but she only stared at him with big eyes. "Tenedor? Fourchette? Vork?" Logan went on but didn't get any reaction from her. Thinking for a moment while he was closely watched by the others, he briefly scratched the back of his head. "Garto? Forchetta?" Sighing, he finally gave up and shook his head.
"Maybe German?" Kurt suggested and shrugged when Logan coked an annoyed eyebrow at him.
"Gabel?" he asked the girl and gave his friend a look when the result was the same. "So much to German, Elf…"
"Go on, Wolvie," Jubilee grinned at him and wobbled her eyebrows while she sucked on her straw. "It's very entertaining."
"Funny, Jubes," he growled and sipped on his beer.
"Did you try Japanese already?" Jean asked him but he shook his head.
"Nope. The Japanese eat with chop sticks, not with a fork… At least not all of them."
"Yeah, but maybe she understands it," the redhead suggested with a shrug.
Looking for the word while he was slightly pissed since his food was nearly cold by now, Logan finally turned to the girl again. "Fooku?" he asked and cocked an eyebrow when she shook her head.
"Hashi!" she said and looked up into his blank face.
"You're kiddin' now, right?" he asked with a blank look on his face and put his fork down.
"What?" Ororo asked him in confusion and watched how he shook his head with a sigh. "What did she say?"
"She wants chop sticks…," he grunted and looked at the girl again to explain it to her in Japanese. ("We don't eat with chopsticks here, kid. Use the fork,") he said and earned a frowning look from the others.
"What?" Scott asked him and looked at Jean next. "What did he just say to her?"
"That you're a dick," Logan grunted and went on eating. "Can't be that she doesn't understand English at all…"
"Well, ask her…," the weather goddess suggested and hid her amused smile when he gave her a warning glare. Clearing her throat she turned to the girl and smiled at her. "Do you want to drink something?" she asked but received a frown only. "Okay, your turn, Logan! Ask her if she speaks English!" Hearing him sighing in frustration, she gave Jean a look. "Why is he such a moaner today?"
"I ain't," he grunted and turned to the girl, but not without rolling his eyes since his dinner was by now cold. "Eigo o hanasemasu ka?"
„Iie..," she replied and looked to and fro between the adults, who were all looking at her in a strange way.
"No, she doesn't," Logan grunted and pushed his plate away.
"Great…," Scott said. "Well, then have fun teaching her English, Logan!"
"Me? Why me?!"
"Because you're the only one who speaks Japanese here?" the other man replied in an ironical way but also by using his best lecturer tone. Hearing the annoyed groan from the team leader, he couldn't hide his smirk anymore.
Three days had passed in a rush for everyone. Everyone but Logan, that is. His mood had turned from bad to terrible in the span of time that had passed. And all because everyone seemed to insist on teaching his "female self" their common language. He wouldn't have had a problem with doing it usually – not that he shared that secret with anyone besides Jean, of course – but the absolute unwillingness to learn that the girl had adopted, drove him to the edge of his patience regularly. This progress resulted in nearly everyone in the household diving out of his way as soon as he was in sight. The glares he threw everyone's way were bad enough in itself. They didn't want to risk anything further.
So on the evening of the third day, when everyone was in the kitchen eating dinner, Logan entered the room as well, a dark and gloomily look on his face and his ever present little shadow following behind him. "Already done?" Jean asked him surprised and wished instantly she hadn't said a word because of the look she received when he sat down on the stool next to her. "Forget that I asked!" she therefore quickly added and handed the bowl with potatoes.
Growling, Logan rolled his eyes and looked down when someone was pocking into his leg. "What the hell do ya want now?" he asked angrily and gave the girl a glare when she held up both arms.
"I assume she wants you to pull her up," Hank mumbled and sipped on his water.
"Forget it!" the other man grunted and put some meat onto his plate next before he handed Jack the bowl.
"I don't like her," the boy said and his sisters nodded in agreement. "She is mean…" Suddenly he yelped and jumped a bit, causing his parents to lock at him in surprise. "She hit me, daddy!" he whined and rubbed his burning left leg.
Sighing, Logan ran both hands through his face and gave his wife a pleading, but also helpless look. He definitely had enough from the girl for today. "What do you want me to do?" the redhead asked him shrugging. "She doesn't understand me, so I can't tell her to stop it, can I?"
"Daddy!" Jack shrieked again when the girl reached out once more.
Grabbing her arm roughly, Logan growled at her with narrowed eyes. "(Stop it!)" he said through clenched teeth and only let go when he felt that she opened her fist. "(Damn it, sit down on a free stool and try to stop goin' on my nerves for once today!") Pouting, she narrowed her eyes and glared at him with her hazel eyes. "(Sit…down!") Logan hissed once more and turned away again to go on eating his dinner. "She's a pain in the…"
"Ah, ah!" Jean quickly made and covered his mouth with her hand while she gave him a warning look. "May I remind you of the fact that your children are sitting right next to you and we said no swearing in front of them?"
"But she is a pain in the ass, mommy!" Lily said with a glare at the girl, being confused since Kitty and Jubilee had to giggle.
"Logan!" the redhead cursed but he only shrugged.
"Enhanced hearing, darlin'," he said with a smug grin and received a slap against his arm. "What? Blame their mutation for it!"
"No, I blame you for it, because I know perfectly well where they got this from!" she replied and narrowed her eyes warningly, still hearing the giggles around her. "They are seven and five and don't need to know such words!"
"Yes, she has a point there, Logan," Ororo nodded and put her glass down. "And I know what kinds of words you use when you swear for real."
"As far as I can remember, Storm, I heard you using the F-word two days ago in the kitchen and you, darlin' used the S-word upstairs while you cleaned the windows," he gave back with a look and crossed his arms, making both women blush. "And now ya gonna tell me I heard wrong, eh?"
"Up!" someone suddenly said and made everyone look down, just to see how the girl still held her arms up and looked at Logan.
"What?!" this one asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"Up!" she repeated and tilted her head a bit. "Please?"
Letting out a snort he couldn't hide his annoyed smirk. "I try to teach her somethin' for the whole past three dam," he began and received a hard nudge from his wife. "Days," he corrected himself quickly and rolled his eyes. "And all of a sudden she understands it?!"
Grinning, Scott exchanged an amused look with Bobby and Peter, who had trouble to hide their amused smiles from their team leader. "Do ya want to take the piss outta me or what?"
"Logan!" Jean warned him once more, but he got off his stool.
"I've enough! Good night!" he growled and slammed his fork onto the counter before he left.
"You better stay here!" Ororo quickly said and stopped the girl, who wanted to follow him. "Ouch!" she suddenly yelped and rubbed her hand with a painful hiss. With a dropped jaw she stared at the others after the girl had left. "She just slapped me…" Still not believing it, she could only shake her head and sat down again. "Was he the same when he was a child?!" Sipping on her coffee, Jean only shrugged.
It knocked on the door a few days later and Jean went over to open it. Surprised she looked at her visitor. "Hey," Scott greeted her with a smile and looked into her face.
"Hi…," the redhead greeted him back and gave him a confused look since she had no idea what he wanted.
"Ehm…can I come inside? I need to talk to you."
"Sure…" Still confused Jean stepped aside and closed the door behind him. She watched how he took a look around before he finally turned towards her. "Did something happen?" she asked and beckoned him to sit down on the sofa next to the door, but he shook his head after doing so.
"No… Not really," Scott replied and bent over a bit to rest his arms on his legs.
"But something's wrong. I can see that," she said and crossed her legs while she looked at him more closely. Sensing that he wanted to reply, she turned her head when she heard Jamie crying. "Oh, I'm sorry," Jean excused and get up to get the baby from the bedroom.
He watched her coming back and sitting down again with the boy leaning against her chest. "Is Logan not here?"
"No, he's outside with the kids. Jack wanted him to teach them baseball," the redhead replied with a smile since her children had practically forced their father to do it.
Smiling, too, Scott nodded. "I thought Logan was more the hockey kind of guy?"
"Yes that, too," she nodded. "So, what is it you wanted to talk with me about?"
Looking down he began to knead his hands nervously. "Actually…I came to apologize."
Hearing it, Jean had to frown. "For what?" she asked since she couldn't remember that he had done anything wrong in the past weeks. Still with her brows furrowed, she met his gaze when he looked up again.
"For being an ass…"
"I still don't understand, Scott!"
Leaning back in the sofa, he still kept his eyes lowered even if she couldn't see them anyway through his visor. "I've been wrong about Logan," he finally said calmly and noticed that he confused her even more.
"In what way?" Jean therefore asked and kept on stroking over her son's back while the baby was sucking on his fist.
"I always thought he was…not good enough for you. I'd have bet that he would leave you after he had some fun, you know. Especially after you got pregnant. But I was wrong…," he explained and saw her shaking her head with a look.
"And what made you change your mind all of a sudden? Because I am not adding told you so now…," she gave back and turned Jamie around in her arms so that she could look at him.
Scratching the back of his head Scott shrugged. "Well,…I heard and watched the two of you in the cabin…" Nodding, she stroked over the baby's cheek with a soft smile on her lips. "I just… Well, I've see what you meant by saying that you know his true self… I've seen how much you really mean to him," he went on and she cocked an eyebrow at him in disbelief.
"And you finally realize it after nearly 9 years and 5 children, hm?"
"Pretty late, huh?" Scott smiled with a blush and she nodded.
"And now he is not a dumb animal anymore?"
"No," he replied and shook his head. "After seeing that he'd voluntarily give his life for you…or for 'Ro if you want…I respect him. I realized that, well…I'd have been too afraid to just cut my artery open and risk bleeding to death. I mean…he just did it without thinking about it and only had saving you on his mind. I really respect him now… But still I'm skeptical about who he really is. Sometimes it's just as if we don't know him at all, you know." Looking up again he smiled when the boy yawned in his sleep.
"You can trust him, Scott," Jean assured him, being glad about what she had just heard of him.
"If you say so…," he shrugged with a smile. "You know there's something else that I've realized."
"What?"
"Seeing you in the cabin that night had made me realize something else. The two of us have never fit…," Scott said and immediately noticed the odd look she gave him. "Not as you might think now, Jean! I mean… We fit, but not as well as you and him. And I'm sorry for being such a pain in the ass…"
Smiling happily at him, she nodded. "It's okay, Scott…," the redhead said and paused for a brief moment. "What about you and Mystique? I never really see the two of you together."
Waving off, he let out a sigh. "Don't ask me!"
"The two of you share a room and have a child and you don't know what you have?" Jean asked him in complete confusion and saw him nodding once more.
"Yeah, ridiculous, huh?" I told her that I love her in the cabin, but she… Well, she hasn't said anything at all about it."
"Then ask her," she suggested and shifted her position in the chair to support the arm with which she held the baby.
"I know…," he replied when all of a sudden the door opened and Logan came back in.
"Jeez, what happened to you?" Jean asked her husband who was covered in mud and looked as if he'd fallen into a pool first and dirt next.
"What does it look like?" he grunted before he turned his head. "What's he doin' here?"
"I was about to go anyway," Scott said and got up. "See you later then."
"Yeah," she nodded and smiled at him, not seeing the look Logan gave her from aside. Turning, she couldn't help but sigh. "We only talked! And now tell me. What happened to you?"
"Let's say this happens when instead of 3 children suddenly Isa and TJ want to play too and you try to catch a ball while nearly all of them try it at the same time," he growled and got rid of his wet and dirty shirt, while she smiled in amusement. "Ya think that's funny again, eh?"
"Was it the pool or the pond?" she asked and went over to the bedroom to lay Jamie into the cradle again.
"Actually…both," he admitted and wiped his face clean with the shirt.
"Well, since you're already dirty, you could go on painting Jamie's room, don't you think?" Seeing his grin, the redhead cocked an eyebrow when he came slowly closer. "What?" she asked frowning.
"I am dirty?" Logan said huskily and grabbed her quickly before she could escape.
Groaning, she gave him a look. "Can you think about something else? You'd even think a potato was sexy, don't you?"
Kissing her neck while she desperately tried to keep her clothes from getting muddy, he chuckled. "If you eat it…yeah," he growled and made her squeal in the next moment. "You said I was dirty, darlin'…"
"And you are," Jean protested and pushed him away a bit. "Not only in your mind!"
"So are you now," he grinned and made his way to Jamie's room to go on painting with a satisfied chuckle.
"Oh, damn you, Logan!" he heard her cursing after she looked down on herself.
A few hours later it knocked again and Jean hurried to the door with some papers in her hands. "Hi!"
"Hey, is Logan here?" Ororo asked and her opposite nodded.
"Yes he is. Come in!" the redhead said and stepped aside to make room and close the door afterwards again.
"Is he in a good mood today?" the weather goddess asked carefully and looked around the room, noticing that it was pretty calm in the apartment.
Laughing a bit, Jean gave her a look. "Why? Do you plan on making him moody?" she teased her friend and searched through some papers on the desk at the windows.
"Well, I need his help with something…" Leaning against the wall, she watched her best friend nodding at the door.
"He's on the sofa. I'll be right back." Walking over to it Ororo gave her a look since Logan was obviously deeply asleep. Stopping at the door, the redhead gave her a smile. "He'll wake up soon."
"How do you want to know?" the other woman asked her with a frown.
Smiling with a look on her husband Jean opened the door. "He twitched and sighed. That always means he'll wake up within five minutes. Be right back!"
Hearing how the door was closed, Ororo sat down in the chair opposite the white sofa and watched smiling how Jamie slept on his father's chest. In thoughts, she suddenly startled when she realized that he was staring at her. "Jeez…," she made and laid her hand on her chest.
"What are ya doin' here?" Logan asked her with a cocked eyebrow, his voice still thick with sleep.
"Jean told me to wait for you to wakeup," she explained after her heartbeat had slowed down again.
Running a hand through his face and hair, he suppressed a yawn. "'n why?" he demanded to know while he sat up and held his son tight to his chest.
"I wanted to ask you something," Ororo shrugged. "The next topic in my history class is the late 19th, early 20th century. Since you've your memory back and lived through it, I thought you could tell me something about it. How people lived, what life was like… It's a different thing to read about it or hear it from someone who knows what he's talking about."
"And since I'm the only one of two people who knows, ya decided to ask me, eh?"
"Well let's say it'd be nice if you could be of help," she said and gave him one of her best smiles, remembering how Jean had told her once that either pouting or smiling made him go soft on something.
Seeing it, Logan hadn't had to think very hard to figure why the woman was doing it. Shrugging, he leant back in the sofa. "Can do that."
"Thanks!" Ororo said and smiled even wider.
Hearing the baby yawning in his arms, the man's eyes softened immediately. "Sleepy head…" Pulling him up a bit, he placed a kiss on his son's forehead.
"Where are the twins and Rachel by the way? It's so calm in here?"
"Probably outside with Miloh," he shrugged.
Nodding, Ororo looked down for a brief moment. "Can I ask you something?"
"Again?" Logan teased her with a smirk. "Ya can ask me anythin', 'Ro, but I don't have t'answer."
"It's just… Well… Is it really true that…that he's your brother?" she finally managed to say and looked at him nervously.
Watching her for a moment, he only shrugged. "Would it change anythin' if he was?" he asked back.
"You mean, would I treat you differently if he was?" Ororo asked and he nodded. "No. Yours and his abilities might be the same, but… You couldn't be more different from your look and character. I don't believe him…"
Not saying anything at all for a while, Logan watched his son again and carefully stroked over the dark hair. "And when I tell ya that both my parents had blue eyes? Or that his father looked exactly like me?"
Hearing it, she looked up with widened eyes and her heart began to beat strongly. "So Sabretooth really is your brother?"
"Half brother," he corrected grimly. "And I don't give a shit. Brother or not, I'm gonna kill him one day." Smiling at his baby again, he nuzzled him gently. "Right, pum'kin?"
Watching him, Ororo felt how eyes got wet. "He's never your brother…," she said in a whisper and shook her head while her eyes were fixed on the baby. "He would never treat a child like you do…"
Sighing, Logan met her gaze. "'Ro…," he began, but she cut him off.
"No, honestly… He's not capable of feeling something like love or affection."
"Because he never learnt it!" he gave back. "His father drank and hit him constantly. I can't remember a day without seeing him with bruises."
Giving a short derisive laugh, she crossed her arms and looked away. "Doesn't excuse his behavior…"
"I'd be the same, 'Ro."
"No!"
"Yeah," Logan nodded and she noticed that he really meant what he said. "I suppress that side in me. He doesn't want to. But if I let loose, I'm exactly like him."
Looking down Ororo began to play on her blue shirt while her thoughts drifted off to the accident last year. "You'd never do to someone you know what he'd done to me… He knew I was pregnant with Tommy," she hissed bitterly and could tell that he was looking at her.
"Right. I'd probably killed ya immediately. First, because ya smell of another man, second, because ya was carrying another man's kid." Shaking his head when she finally raised her head a bit, he sighed. "It's instinct, 'Ro. You've no idea how hard it is to keep something strong like that down. But his instinct is sick and psychopathic. And he just doesn't give a shit anymore…"
Nodding, she ran a hand through her face, hoping to be able to forget about the memories again. "I've never thanked you for helping me…" Getting up she sat down next to him to have a better look at the sleeping boy.
"And ya don't have to," Logan replied.
"I do. You risked your life…," Ororo gave back and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, Logan."
Smirking, he shook his head. "Don't mention it."
Leaning forward a bit, she reached out to stroke over Jamie's cheeks carefully. "He really is a sleepy head, huh?" she remarked since she hadn't seen the boy being awake for once today.
"Yeah…"
"Like his daddy," she added giggling and nudged him gently.
"When do ya need the history stuff?" Logan asked and looked at her from aside.
Thinking she began to recall all topics that she still had to work through with her class. "Next week I think."
"What about this evening then?"
"Sure. As long as you're not sleeping again." Smiling, she watched how he gave her a cocked eyebrow.
"Nah, won't happen!" Logan replied self-assured, but had to smirk.
Nodding playfully, Ororo crossed her arms. "Someone's convinced, huh? You still look tired, mister!"
"His fault." He nodded at the baby. "He kept me up all night."
Turning her attention towards the boy again, she had to frown. "How come? Does he cry so much?" she asked worriedly, but he shook his head.
"No, but he doesn't sleep at night."
"Never?!" Ororo asked in surprise and her eyes grew even wider when he shook his head as an answer. "Why?"
Shrugging, Logan shifted his position a bit. "Dunno…"Lost in thoughts he stroked over the small back gently.
"That's strange…"
"Yeah, I know," he said and turned his head in surprise when Jean reappeared.
"You have to come down," she said and looked to and fro between them. "We have a meeting. Hank found something out and said it was important." Exchanging a confused look with each other, Logan and Ororo followed her to Charles Xavier's office where the others were already gathered. With his brows furrowed, Logan handed Jamie over to Jean, who said down on one of the sofas next to Scott, Kurt and Mystique, while Ororo took one of the chairs and Bobby, Jubilee, Kitty and Peter occupied the second sofa at the opposite wall. Taking his casual position at the window, Logan crossed his arms and exchanged a brief look with the Professor, who was behind his desk, while Hank was occupied with setting up a laptop and beamer. Moira in the meanwhile searched through some files and put a CD into the laptop just to step aside next to give her partner more room to work. It didn't take long and Hank cleared his throat. If the situation wasn't serious, he'd probably begin to laugh since the looks the others gave him were just too funny. Looking over his glasses at each of them, he finally stopped at Logan, who leant, arms crossed, impatiently against the wall and gave him a look that made immediately clear begin or you're dead. "Well, I analyzed the second Wolverine's blood," he began and pushed a button on the laptop. It didn't take long and some scientific texts and pictures were projected on the wall behind him. "I found some of his blood traces on your uniform and compared tem with yours."
"'n why?" Logan asked with a frown since he didn't understand anything from this stuff.
"I wanted to know if Sinister had made any genetic change during the cloning process."
"What was the result?" Jean demanded to know and had still her eyes fixed on the image on the wall.
"Well… He didn't make any changes to the genes, but we were wrong with the age. The second Wolverine isn't around 20 years old as we assumed, but around 40 years."
Frowning, Logan looked at the ground for a brief moment. "40?" he asked and Hank nodded. "I haven't been with Weapon X in the 70's, bub."
Nodding, Hank pulled his glasses up a bit. "I know…"
"But…he can't be a clone then," the redhead said and looked at the others first, then at Charles, who obviously tried to figure the problem out by himself.
Nodding again, Hank searched another file on the laptop. "That's the point, Jean!" he said and opened the genetic fingerprint of Logan which was projected behind him. "That picture shows Logan's DNA fingerprint, " he explained since the other still looked at him in confusion. "The smaller Wolverine we met isn't a clone," he continued and opened another file that had the title 2nd Wolverine genetic fingerprint and it appeared right next to Logan's on the wall.
"What is he then?" this one asked with a cocked eyebrow from the window and didn't even bother to look at the wall. He could try to translate a book which he tried to read by looking into a mirror while he jumped off of the Empire State Building. It would have the same effect. It was completely useless. But a look into Hank's face, which suddenly was completely serious, spoke volumes and he watched how the scientist typed in another command and both pictures began to melt with each other, showing both DNA fingerprints combined now.
Turning around Hank gave him a look. "He's your son, Logan," was all he said…
Guys, this chapter gave me the biggest headache possible. I never suffered from such a strong writers block and I really have to thank sammy-girl, who helped me out dozens of times. Thanks, girl!!! Anyway, this was the first chapter. I am not really satisfied with it, though. The last chapter of Sequel 1 was way better I think, but well… I blame the exams at college for it. Hope you guys liked it and I promise to come up with a better writing in the following chapters. Please review and let me know hat you think! See ya!