Another Home:



 

As they strolled towards Logan’s jeep. Hayley was regretting decisions as she began to run towards the jeep.

She headed Rogue off at the passenger’s door. "You get the back". Rogue rolled her eyes and tumbled into the back of the car. Then looked at Logan who was carrying the keys. He shrugged and climbed in the driver’s seat.

"You’re driving?" Hayley asked sarcastically.

He smiled at her. "I remember YOUR driving." He teased her.

"Do you even remember where we live?" she snorted at him and pulled out her cigarettes.

He turned the key over and as the engine jumped to life, techno music poured out of the radio at full blast. He grabbed the dial and looked back at Rogue.

"You been taking this for joyrides or just trying to drain my battery so you can blast that stuff?" He looked at Rogue.

She looked away from his gaze.

He started the jeep down the road. "So, who is on baby detail?" he asked.

 

Ally and Alex were at the end of their rope with Imp, Jordan and Tyler. If one didn’t want something the other did. Tyler was howling and wouldn’t stop but at least Imp had a pacifier in Barney as she sat with Justin. The eight-year-old started to howl at his sister’s face, as she was totally engrossed with the purple dinosaur.

Justin laughed at her. "You like Barney!" he howled at her.

Tyler was still screaming.

"What does he want?" Alex screamed over the infant.

"I don’t know a car or something?" She shrugged at her sister. Screaming over the baby wasn’t working.

‘Oh, I have an idea, Alex’ he told her sister in her mind, as it had dawned on her.

Jordan’s toys took to the air and started to fly around Tyler as Ally kept control of the objects with her mind. The child was amused and started to laugh.

"Cool." Alex said relieved. "But, should you……?"

"I am fine." Ally said as she dismissed her sister’s worries. She smiled at the small infant.

Ally got up quickly; she got up too quickly and started to loose her balance. She giggled as she caught herself.

Alex looked a little worried. She knew Ally’s center of gravity was off.

"I will be right back. I want to check on the professor and Jean." She smiled at her sister.

Charles sat by his window in his office. He still couldn’t believe as child as young as Jordan could do so much damage. With her heritage, he should have known but who would have guessed she would get up in the middle of the night. She interfered and short wired everyone.

He had wanted to read Mystique. He sighed as he stirred the cup of tea he held in his hand.

There was a small knock at the door.

"Come in." he called. He didn’t want to probe who it was by using telepathy. Since the triplets and Justice’s arrival it seemed there was triple the telepathic ability flying about. Hayley used her gifts recklessly enough for all of them. She didn’t seem to care whose mind she hopped into. She was even intrusive for the most part.

"Hi," Ally called cheerfully as she opened the door. "How are you?"

He turned to look at her and smiled, "I have been better." He gave her a rueful smile. "How are you?" he gestured towards her belly.

"I am fine and so are they." She smiled at the thought of her babies.

"I hope I am not intruding." She tilted her head slightly.

"No, I was hoping to congratulate you about the wedding." He gave her a big smile. "I am happy for the both of you." He noticed her questioning look. "Logan stopped in to check on me as well and told me about the happy news." He failed to mention that Justice had also checked on him. "Logan has fought beside us and become a family member to us, I hope you will let us thank you by having your nuptials here."

"You want us to have it here?" she smiled. "Get Married at the X-mansion."

"After all Logan has done for us, I can’t think of anything I would like more." He sighed, "I truly hope you and your siblings will consider this a second home. We are on the same side and we hope we will continue to become closer friends."

"You are very generous."

Why was she so familiar to him?’ She wondered.

 

Rogue watched the road change to a steep driveway. Before them was a mansion as big as the X-mansion.

Logan sighed. It was as huge as he remembered it. It was where he last left it when he went after Professor Adams the morning he left Ally, that fateful morning.

"Wow!" Rogue whistled. She eyed the classic red corvette in the drive along with a BMW, a Mercedes and a big SUV. "Is this another school?" Rouge asked a little wide-eyed.

"No," Hayley scoffed "It’s our home." ‘Kids’ she thought.

Logan turned the motor off. "You need any help?"

"The quicker the better." Hayley said blankly as she hopped out of the jeep.

The manicured lawns welcomed them. Rogue's eyes were big taking everything in slowly. She heard Logan’s claws pop out. She looked ahead to where he was standing and followed his gaze. He was making his way towards the door. 'Did he smell something?' Rogue watched Hayley run past his careful walk towards the door.

"Hayley," he called after her. He looked over to his shoulder to Rogue, "Stay here." He ordered Rogue with a warning glare. Then he chased after Hayley.

He caught Hayley at the door before she flew into the air and grabbed her arm.

She spun around fast with her leg in a graceful spin kick. She almost connected with his head but Logan was much faster than she was. He blocked easily and she jumped back into a fighter’s stance ready for another hit.

"Whoa" he smiled. "It’s me."

"Why did you stop me?" she scowled

"The scent’s old. They are long gone."

She sighed and spied Rogue ducking around the door.

"Come on." She called. "It’s cool."

Rogue followed them in. It was a big house. She noticed it had leather couches and huge ceilings but seemed newer than the X-mansion.

Hayley was scribbling messages on a piece of paper from the answering machine.

Logan was wandering around looking at the evidence of the break in. "Funny, they broke in and took nothing."

"Nope, not funny at all" Hayley looked at him. "We seem to get bothered more than others." She gave him a wink.

He walked over to Hayley. It was evident to her that he was remembering things again. He lowered his voice, "Why didn’t she come get me sooner?"

She looked up again. "She was afraid you would get hurt and that you would never remember" She put her pen down on the table. "I guess she was afraid of who she would find." She turned and walked up the grand staircase that led upstairs, "but you are the same old jerk." She called over her shoulder.

Logan and Rogue followed her up the stairs.

They saw Hayley disappear into a room. Rogue stared at her when she got to the door. She noticed male cologne and a pair of male loafers by the bed. There was a computer and piles of neatly stacked papers by the computer’s monitor.

Hayley want to the closet and grabbed clothes Justice had asked her to get for him. Then she went to his dresser and produced his wallet and extra cell phone.

"He left his wallet?" Logan almost laughed. Justice was very organized and kept his wallet with him. "Does Justice still have his own place?" he asked as he grabbed one of the bags Hayley was furiously stuffing clothes into.

"Yeah, but he has been here a lot recently." She left the bags for him to carry and went into the next room.

Rogue followed her curiosity leading her way after Hayley. The next room was virtually identical from the other but there was nothing out of place. There was only a photo of some people on a nightstand by the bed. Rogue picked it up and looked at the bald man and oriental woman in the photo. "He reminds me of the professor." She mumbled

Hayley looked over at her. "THAT would be father dearest." She scoffed.

Then she ran into the next room leaving two large bags on that bed.

Logan took the picture from Rogue and growled a little. The woman in picture was beautiful and Hayley looked the most like her with that raven dark hair.

"Who is she?" Rogue asked quietly.

"Their mother." He mumbled as he grabbed the bags. "She was half Japanese, I think."

"Was?" Rogue repeated.

Rogue followed them into the next room. She noticed Loan had stopped in his tracks.

This had to be Ally’s room. It was the same as the other’s but a little bigger and there was a bassinet in it with a mobile attached to it. By the computer there was a picture of Ally with Logan.

Logan walked in. Her room was a land mine for his memories. He saw a familiar shirt over the back of the chair by the computer. In the closet he saw a pair of boots identical to ones he had. Memories began to pour back and he sat down on the bed.

Then he noticed Rogue at the door. She looked mournful.

"You are going to move out and never come back are you? You and Allyson are going to move away with your babies." She stared accusingly at the bassinets and then she looked at him.

"Hey" he walked after her, "I don’t know what’s going to happen." He hugged her tight, "but I will always be there for you. I will never be far." He kissed her head.

She nodded but still looked upset.

Hayley called to him from Ally’s closet. "Hey, tiger you have some things in here."

"I will wait for Ally," he didn’t want to intrude. Then he saw some papers on her nightstand . They looked familiar.

Hayley caught his look and picked up the papers. "She will want these"

The last room had to be Hayley’s. It was by far the messiest. Make-up and perfume were tossed on the dresser. She had shoes on the floor as well as clothing and hers was the only bed that was unmade. It seemed to Rogue that the rooms gave away who lived in them. Hayley's room was messy, carefree like Hayley was. Ally's seemed to be centered on the baby or babies and Logan. Alex and Justice's room both seemed concentrated on their work, they both had piles of paper and computer work to do.

Hayley seemed to catch Rogue's vacant stare. She looked at her and smiled. "It will be nice to have something else to wear besides gray." She grabbed a cigarette and lit it and took a long drag. She noticed Logan who had just shown at the door. He must have had some memories return while he was in Ally's room. She put her bag together quickly. She had her bags together in record time; she found where everything was much quicker than in her sibling's rooms.

She picked up a large bag and threw it at Logan, "My brave knight," she teased him as she watched in amazement as he caught it in mid-air.

The three of them made their way down the staircase. Hayley gathered the triplet's purses. 'Funny they broke in and left our purses. We know who did this now.' She produced Ally's car keys and started towards the door.

She produced her sunglasses as they reached outside. She grabbed another cigarette and lit it off her hand. Rogue watched her in amusement and was amazed at her. She drank in everything Hayley seemed to do. Like a teenager would watch Howard Stern.

Logan touched her shoulder lightly and she turned to face him. "Can you give Rogue a ride back to the school?" He looked at Rogue quickly for any sign she was uncomfortable with this. She seemed fine but gave him a curious look. "I have to make a stop or two on the way back."

"Why?" Hayley challenged him and cocked her head at him while she rooted herself to her spot waiting for an answer. She held his shirt lightly to get answers. She knew he wouldn't try to break away very easily, last time he did that and she had his clothing, his clothing was singed. She decided reading him would be quicker. She knew she must look as surprised as she felt his mind and the answers she wanted. "You did not!" she raised her voice.

Her cigarette smoke encouraged him to light a cigar. "Did?" he cocked an eyebrow at her. "You reading my mind Hayley?" He hissed, then his expression softened. "Don't like what you find? Stay outta my head, Hayl."

She sighed and zipped up her purse. "Let's go already." She barked. Then she called at Rogue as she started towards Ally's BMW "C'mon kid."

Rouge eyed Logan and he shrugged at her. She was a lot like Logan. Did Logan or anybody else notice it? Everyone grabbed the bags piling them into the BMW's trunk. Logan stopped when he noticed something in the garden.

Hayley tried handing him a bag and he was looking elsewhere. She followed his gaze. 'He sees the Bonsai tree.' Hayley smiled.

"The bonsai tree? You remember it?" She looked at him measuredly. Wondering if he was doing all right with these memories and wishing she could have came with Justice. It would have gone so much faster with out a trip down memory lane.

Logan took a drag on his cigar. "Yeah, I gave it to Ally. She kept it inside though, in her room. She said she wouldn't plant it until there would be someone to explain to why it was there." He met Hayley's eyes. "She planted it for the babies?"

Hayley just nodded at him as she continued to put things in the trunk. She climbed into the driver's seat and put the top down and Logan snapped the trunk shut.

She pointed her cigarette at him accusingly; "I now know what you and Ally are planning, smiley."


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