A deep, feminine growl was the first thing that he was aware of as he fought his way to consciousness. It was low and resonating, filling him with a complete sense of calm. The comforting sound kept his agitation at much lower levels than it should have been when he woke up in a strange place.
“Oh mah Gawd, Jean! Ah swear Ah didn’t mean t’ do that! It just kinda slipped! Ah thought Ah was all finished growlin’ like that!”
“Don’t worry about it, Rogue. It’s only to be expected that you retrain some of Logan’s traits longer than others.”
It was Marie that had growled. That meant she had survived the events on the Statue of Liberty. And, apparently, so had he.
“But Ah feel so awful growlin’ at ya like that. There was no reason fer me ta do it.”
“It’s all right, Rogue. No harm done. So you just go back to watching Logan while I go over some test result in the lab.”
Footsteps echoed in the room as Jean turned and left. It was deathly silent, the only sound being the faint breathing of the two people in the room. The comforting aura began to fade as Marie’s uneasiness increased. Obviously, she was upset about the growling incident and was shooting her emotions off in waves.
Wanting to gain her attention, Logan let out a low growl of his own. It was much more pathetic, resembling a whine rather than one of Logan’s trademark growls, but it had the desired effect. Logan heard her gasp and the rustling of clothes as she rushed towards him.
“Logan?” Marie questioned, her gloved hand wrapping around his. “That you, sugah?”
“I think so,” Logan groaned, opening his eyes a crack. “Damn, I hurt. It feels like I got hit by a mac truck or somethin’.”
“Nah, ya just got the patented Rogue whammy,” Marie said with a hesitant grin.
Logan shifted slightly, but kept his eyes locked on Marie’s face. “You all right, kid?”
“Ya can’t be serious!” The way her eyes widened was almost comical. Had he not known how completely serious she was, Logan might have laughed. “Logan, how can ya worry ‘bout me when yer the one’s who’s been in a coma fer the past week?!”
“But you’re all right?” Logan pressed.
“Aside from the fact that Ah’ve been cravin’ cigars all week an’ hittin’ on Jean whenever Scott’s round then Ah’m fine,” Marie told him, giving him a lopsided grin.
This time Logan did laugh, a rumbling sound that reverberated deep from his chest. “Sorry ‘bout that, kid. Though I would have liked to see the look on ol’ One Eye’s face when you started hitting on his woman.”
“Speakin’ o’ Jean, Ah should prob’ly go get her so she can make sure yer still in one piece,” Marie said as she turned to leave the room.
Logan could tell right away that something was bothering her. He could smell it. Holding tight to her hand, Logan refused to let her go. He waited till she turned around and hoisted himself up on his elbows. With Marie’s help, he was able to sit up completely and swung his legs around the side of the bed.
“That’s better. I don’t much care for lying around like an invalid,” Logan grumbled, twisting the kinks out of his neck. He stared at Marie’s bowed head. “You gonna tell me what’s got you so outta sorts or do I gotta guess?”
“What makes ya think somethin’ is botherin’ me?” Marie countered, her eyes trained on the black glove that covered her delicate fingers.
Logan wanted to tilt her chin up so that he could look at her face. That would have required touching her skin, though, and Logan couldn’t do that. He hated that he had to be careful around Marie but didn’t want to put Marie through the trauma of having him in her head again. So instead, Logan placed a hand on her head and lightly ran his fingers through her hair. The effect was the same as though he had touched her. Marie’s head jerked up, meeting his eyes instantly. There was shock in those brown depths, as though she couldn’t believe that he would let himself get so closed to her.
“You’re practically shaking, kid. That’s why I think something’s bothering you,” Logan to her, his eyes never leaving hers. “Now if something’s wrong with you, I wanna know about it. Is it one of the geeks? Please tell me that it’s Scooter. I’ll enjoy slappin’ him around if it is.”
“Ah know ya would,” Marie said with a slight grin. “It has nothing to do with Scott, though, so don’t even think o’ using that as an excuse ta go after him.”
Logan had to give her credit. The kid was as good as him at avoiding conversations she didn’t want to have. “You sure know how to ruin a guy’s fun, kid.”
“Ah’m sure ya’ll come up with some excuse ta pound Scott ‘fore ya leave.”
Logan gave her a quizzical look. “Just what makes you think that I’m leaving?”
With a sad smile on her face, Marie tapped her temple lightly. “Ah’ve got ya in mah head, Logan. Ah know ya don’t like stayin’ in one place very long. What makes this place any different than all the others?”
“Maybe I’ve got something here that’s worth staying for. Did you ever think of that?” Logan asked, cocking his head to the side.
“Ya mean there’s somethin’ that’ll keep the great Wolverine from boltin’? Will wonders never cease?” Marie taunted. Her tone of voice and mannerisms told Logan that something was still bothering her. What, he had no clue, but he was bound and determined to find out.
Logan had promised to take care of her, after all.
“Actually, there is,” Logan informed her, grinning at the shocked look on her face. “Something-- no, someone --very important.”
“Oh really? An’ just who’s that?” Marie inquired, pretending to be indifferent, but Logan could tell otherwise.
Flashing her a devilish grin, Logan hopped off the table, barely able to catch himself as his knees buckled under him. He heard a gasp from Marie and was instantly tense. Holding himself rigid, he allowed his claws to slide out, wincing slightly at the pain.
“Logan, will you put those away. There’s no need to scare the poor child. And put some clothes on while you’re at it,” Jean scolded as she walked into the room.
Glancing down, Logan saw the reason for Marie’s gasp. It seemed as though the good doctor had removed all his clothing while treating him. Retracting his claws, Logan grabbed the blanket that had been covering him and wrapped it around his waist. As soon as he was covered, the flustered look left Marie’s face and her breathing returned to normal.
“Rogue, if you will excuse us, I need to examine Logan,” Jean ordered as she walked over to the counter. She didn’t even bother checking to see if the younger woman had reacted before giving her next order. “On the table, Logan....”
Logan was very tempted to follow Marie as she left the room. He could tell that she was upset by Jean’s dismissal as well as whatever had been bothering her before. Marie had been through a lot in the past week and Logan was willing to do everything in his power to make sure that she was all right. Marie deserved a chance at happiness.
“Logan, are you listening to me?” Jean asked, interrupting his thoughts.
Jerking slightly, Logan turned to find the redhead standing right beside him. “What...?”
Rolling her eyes, Jean patted the table behind him. “Table. Get on it. I’d like to have you sitting still while I check you over.”
Logan did as she asked without thinking. The way he figured, the sooner she finished poking and prodding him, the sooner he could follow Marie and find out what was wrong with her.
“How’s Marie been?” Logan asked as Jean removed the bandages from his shoulders.
“She took on a few of your more charming personality traits for a while, but we lived through it,” Jean told him and Logan couldn’t help but chuckle.
Logan cracked his neck, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. “So she told me. Said that she kept hitting on you when Scooter was around. And I heard her growling earlier.” Suddenly, Logan’s face fell as he remembered something else that Marie could have absorbed from him “She didn’t.... She hasn’t been having my nightmares, has she?”
“Unfortunately she did,” Jean confirmed. “She’s been taking it rather well, I think. It’s a small price to pay for her life, after all.”
Logan growled menacingly and hopped off the bed. “That is not a small price to pay. You have no idea what you’re talking about Jean.”
Logan went straight for the door, towel around his waist. He was going to find Marie and nothing was going to stop him.
“Logan, come back here! I need to examine you!”
The only response that she got from Logan was an angry growl as he stalked through the door. Logan went straight to where he knew sweat suits were kept and grabbed one his size. Pulling on the pants, Logan didn’t waste any time putting the shirt on before he took off at a job towards the elevator. It was only when he was standing in the confines of the metal box that Logan slipped into the shirt.
When the doors opened on the first floor, Logan came face to face with Scott. The twit jumped backwards at his presence. letting out a startled yelp.
“You seen the kid?” Logan snarled, advancing on the younger man.
Before Scott could answer, Logan caught a whiff of Marie’s unmistakable scent and started towards the stairs.