Archive: Please ask. It's usually okay. I just want to know where it is.
Setting: This story takes place nine years after the movie.

 Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for Anna and Helen, but they're so stubborn, I'm not even sure I own them. See Stan Lee, Fox, Brian Singer, etc. if you want the real deal.

Part One

 Marie looked up from the picnic she'd arranged by the lake to see the man she'd been waiting for walking across the expansive lawn. Of course, as soon as Anna saw him, she was off and running as fast as her little, three-year old legs could carry her. Marie followed more slowly, the picnic forgotten. She watched as Anna collided with his leg with her customary thump and held on as he continued to walk, taking her along for the ride.

Even Anna's giggles couldn't bring a smile to her face, though, as Marie took in her husband's attire. He was dressed in his uniform, ready for battle.

"Who is it this time?" she asked.

"Magneto." was his gruff reply.

"Dammit, Logan. I'm going with you."

He chuckled low. "No you're not darlin'. Don't want you risking injury now. Besides," he added, pointing to her slightly rounded belly, "you wouldn't be able to zip up the uniform."

Marie hated feeling this powerless. She loved being pregnant, but she worried terribly whenever Logan went on a mission without her. It had been hard at 23 with Anna, and it was even harder now. He thought he was indestructible. Her skin had proven on more than one occasion how wrong that assumption was.

"Just promise me you'll stay away from Magneto. Play with Sabretooth and Mystique all you like, but don't take him on."

"You know I can't promise that, darlin'. What if someone gets hurt or needs help?"

"Ok, just don't go looking for trouble. Don't fight him unless you have to." She let the worry creep into her voice as she started to cry. Damn, she hated these blasted hormones. She was starting to cry at the slightest provocation. It made her feel weak.

At her mother's tears, Anna looked up, confused. Thinking something must be the matter, she started to cry too. Logan picked her up, giving her a quick hug and settling her on his shoulders. Then, he leaned forward and hugged Marie. "I promise, darlin'. Sabretooth'll probably keep me plenty busy."

Grabbing her gloved hand in his, he said, "C'mon. Walk me back to the mansion."

Marie nodded and leaned against him. Anna started to pull on his hair. She loved being on her daddy's shoulders. She always clung to the two small points in his hair like handle bars, tugging his head right and left to point him where she wanted to go. Logan indulged her for a few minutes, weaving crazily across the lawn, then he heard the growl of a motorcycle quickly approaching.

"That'll be Scooter. He was in town when the call came. That's why I had a chance to say goodb..."

Marie put a hand over his mouth, cutting off his sentence. She hated it when he said goodbye before a mission. She knew it was superstitious of her, but she couldn't help it.

"I'll see you tonight," she said, reaching out to take Anna from his arms, then pulling her scarf across her face, she rose on her tip-toes and kissed him.

"Tonight," Logan answered, then ran off. Scott finally arrived a minute later, running after Logan. Minutes later, Marie watched as the Blackbird took off, praying that everyone would be safe. She set Anna down and they returned to their picnic spot, eating lunch by themselves.

Marie was startled awake by the knock on her door. She hadn't meant to fall asleep. She'd wanted to stay up and wait for Logan, but the pregnancy was making her more tired than usual. Rising from the chair and shutting off the TV, which was now displaying static, she stumbled through the darkened room to the door. Who could be up at this hour?, her sleep clogged mind tried to figure out. It couldn't be Logan; he wouldn't knock.

She opened the door to see the tear-streaked face of her best friend. Jubilee's uniform was torn and bloody in places, and she slumped, as if bearing some burden too heavy for her to hold.

Marie stepped back as if she'd been punched. Her heart froze. Her tightened throat would only allow her to whisper, "No."

Noticing Marie's reaction, Jubilee held out her hands, "No, no, no, Rogue. He's not dead. He's just... you have to come to the Med Lab."

Marie was relieved and struck with terror within a second of each other. He wasn't dead, but he wasn't hunky dory either. Jubilee wouldn't be acting this way unless it was really, really bad.

Surprised at her presence of mind, Marie asked, "Anna?"

"I'll watch her, Rogue. You've got to go to the Med Lab, now."

Marie hurried down the hall on shaky legs, using the elevator ride to try to calm her nerves. No matter how bad it was, this was Logan. He'll be all right. He always is.

Exiting the elevator, she saw the blood. It wasn't just a few drops here and there. This was an unbroken trail of blood poured along the floor from the hangar bay to the med lab. She froze, unable to take another step. There couldn't be that much blood in the human body. How could someone lose that much and still be alive?

"Rogue." Scott's voice took her by surprise. She hadn't even noticed him standing there, in the hallway outside the med lab. In fact, almost the whole team was standing there, besides Jean, Hank, and Logan. "Rogue, he's asking for you. It's... it's bad Rogue."

She nodded, forcing herself to move down the hallway, one step and then another. When she reached the med lab, she triggered the door and stepped inside. She had thought the hallway was bad. There was even more blood in here, splashed on the floor, spattered on Hank and Jean, covering the body on the operating table. The body, for that's all it could be, glistened with blood. There wasn't an inch of undamaged skin in sight.

Hank was frantically pulling out drawers, opening cupboards, and collecting and preparing the surgical instruments. Jean was leaning over the body, whispering something about how they didn't have time and they couldn't wait.

When the soaked head turned and the pain-filled hazel eyes looked into hers, she knew, and the tears poured from her eyes, blurring her vision. It was Logan lying there, horribly injured.

"Marie," he whispered, holding out a hand weakly.

She ran to him, wanting to touch him, to comfort him, but it wasn't only her deadly skin that stood in her way now. She didn't want to hurt him.

"Oh, Logan," she said through her sobs.

"I had to, Marie... I love you."

Marie's grief and pain turned immediately to anger. "Oh no you don't. Don't say that like you mean goodbye. You're not getting away from me that easy, Mister. I'm not close to being done with you yet, so you let Jean and Hank do their jobs and you hold on, you hear me? You hold on. You promised, remember? You promised you wouldn't leave me again."

"I'll... try, darlin'."

"No, don't try, just do it."

"Rogue," Jean interrupted. "We have to start the operation."

"Jean, why isn't he healing?"

"The damage is so extensive his healing factor's been overloaded. It doesn't seem to be working right now... Rogue, I can explain this later. For now, you really have to go."

Marie nodded and started to back away. "I'll be right outside, sugah, ok?"

The last thing she saw was Logan nodding and closing his eyes, then the med lab door shut in her face.

Part Two

 Marie turned from the closed door to look upon the faces of her friends and teammates. Finding the weary face of the team leader, she asked, "How, Scott? How did it happen?"

Cyclops walked over, joining her at the door. He slouched against the wall, the weight of command obviously pressing on him more than usual today. He pursed his lips, and she could tell he was trying to decide how much to tell her.

"I need to know, Scott," she said, trying to hold back the tears to convince him she could handle it.

He sighed and began. "Magneto was trying to steal some plutonium. We still don't know what he wanted with it, but we had to stop him.

"When we arrived at the installation, we ran into Sabretooth almost immediately. Logan attacked, of course, yelling at us to go on without him. He'd fought Sabretooth before, and we all figured he could handle it, so we continued our search for the reactor, splitting into three groups.

"My group found the reactor first. We also found Magneto. As we entered the reactor room, St. John's flamethrower flew out of his hands and my visor was yanked off. I was able to close my eyes in time, but that took us out of the action.

"Jean called for backup, but the rest of the Brotherhood were keeping our other teams busy. Jean tried to telekinetically freeze Magneto while Jubilee fired her paffs, but even though he couldn't move, he started willing metal pieces off the walls of the reactor room and attacking us with them.

"The whirlwind of metal shards forced us back into another room, and while we were pinned down, he started to shake the ceiling, trying to bring it down on us. We were trapped, Rogue. Magneto wasn't playing around. He was going to kill us.

"I don't know where Logan came from. He must've heard Jean's distress call. Anyway, Magneto's attack suddenly stopped, and we made it out of there right before the ceiling crashed down.

"When Jean gave me back my visor, I could see six metal points poking from Magneto's chest. Logan sheathed his claws, allowing Magneto to drop. It was obvious that the man was mortally wounded, but with the last of his powers, he turned on Logan.

"It was so fast, Rogue. If I'd known what he was going to do, I would've blasted him, but it was just too fast. One second, Logan's walking towards us, the next he's writhing on the floor, metal and blood pouring from his body. I fired at Magneto but it was already too late.

"Logan doesn't have the adamantium anymore. Magneto ripped it out of him."

Scott bowed his head like a confessed sinner awaiting punishment. Marie knew that he was waiting for her to say something, but she couldn't, feeling the tears welling up. It was worse than she could have possibly imagined. She knew the damage that Magneto's powers could do. How could Logan possibly survive something like that?

Hours passed. A chair appeared and someone urged her to sit. A mop and bucket were produced and someone cleaned the red-streaked floor to a metal shine. People touched her shoulder, squeezed her hands, whispered cliched expressions in sympathetic voices. Marie took hardly any notice of it. Instead she focused on praying to whoever was out there that Logan would be spared. She promised to give up everything she had if only he was ok.

Three hours into the operation, Jean appeared, rushing out of the Med Lab, tubing and IV equipment in hand. Silently, she looked at Kitty. Kitty nodded and followed her into the map room.

Marie jumped from her chair, running after them, desperate to get any news from Jean on Logan's condition, but the door was locked.

"What's going on?" she yelled at the barrier.

"Rogue," Scott's voice behind her, his hand on her shoulder turning her around. "They're running out of Logan's blood type. Jean's taking volunteers. Some of the students will be coming down soon, too."

"My blood..." she started.

"Isn't the right type."

Finally twelve hours after the surgery had begun, Dr. Jean Summers emerged from the Med Lab, her surgical scrubs rumpled and bloody. Marie immediately rose from her chair.

"He's still alive, Rogue, but he's badly injured. The next 24 hours are crucial."

"I want to see him."

"We're not done bandaging him. Give us time to get him settled and clean up, then..."

"I want to see him," Rogue interrupted, pushing past the exhausted woman.

The smell of blood assaulted her senses as she entered the room. Blood was puddled on the floor and bloody sponges and instruments were strewn on the tables. Logan lay in the midst of the chaos, wrapped like a mummy in white gauze, but at least he wasn't covered in blood anymore.

Hank was bent over Logan's newly shaved head and face, starting to bandage the stitched wounds revealed there. If Logan's head was any indication, the damage wasn't as extensive as she'd initially thought. The ugly wounds still covered a good portion of the surface, but there were a several unaffected patches. The blood had lead her to believe that his skin was so badly damaged it couldn't be stitched back together.

Marie walked to the head of the table, watching Hank start his bandaging, when she noticed something odd about Logan's appearance.

"Hank, why is the right side of Logan's face drooping like that?"

Jean came up behind her and started to explain. "He lost a lot of blood, Rogue. We tried to stop it, and we were eventually successful, but we had to give him a lot of transfusions. Part of Logan's healing factor is in the platelets and white blood cells in his blood. The new blood didn't have those special properties, and any healing he had been doing stopped all together."

"Jean, that doesn't explain..." Marie started to say, but Jean held up a hand and continued her speech.

"When the blood clotted, a clot broke off and was swept into his blood stream. This clot..."

Exasperated and more and more anxious every second, Marie interrupted. "Give me the Reader's Digest version."

Jean sighed and said. "He's had a stroke, Rogue... a pretty bad one."

Part Three

 Marie collapsed to her suddenly weak knees. Logan'd had a stroke. No, Jean had to be wrong. That didn't happen to vital men like Logan. It happened to old men in nursing homes who had lived their lives. Men who didn't have a wife, young daughter, and new son on the way.

 Grandpa Morgan'd had a stroke when Marie was just seven. Momma had taken her to visit a couple of times, but he'd acted different and walked with a funny limp. A couple of times, he'd forgotten that they were even there. That couldn't happen to Logan!

 "Rogue," that was Jean's voice. She felt Hank's strong hands lifting her up and helping her into a chair. All she could do was stare at Logan's still form on the bed before her as Hank returned to wrapping his wounded face and head. This couldn't be happening.

 "Marie," Jean said.

 That caught her attention. No one called her Marie but Logan. To everyone else, she had always been Rogue. She turned to look at the other woman's weary face.

 "I won't lie to you," Jean continued. "This is a serious complication."

 Jean looked so grim, but Marie felt a whisper of hope. "What about his healing factor? It's slowed down, but when it comes back, he'll be as good as new, right?"

 "I honestly don't know. Normal humans are born with a set amount of brain cells. Once those cells die, they can't regenerate."

 "But Logan's a mutant. He heals."

 "I don't want to give you false hope, Rogue. We can't be certain that he can heal brain damage. You have to be prepared for the worst."

 "I don't want to. I want to hope for the best."

 "We all do, but Logan is going to need your help. You have to be prepared."

 Marie nodded, trying to prepare herself to hear some harsh realities. "What do I need to know?"

 "Logan has had a left-hemisphere stroke. He is exhibiting right hemiplegia, or paralysis on the right side of the body, because of it. You already noticed signs of that on his face, the way the right side seems to droop."

 Marie was crying now, and Jean paused, walking to the supply cabinet to get her some tissues. Marie could tell she was uncertain if she should continue, "Don't stop, Jean. I have to know."

 "Ok... He might have memory problems, especially with his short term memory. Also, he will probably develop aphasia, since the left side of the brain controls speech and language. This problem can be highly specific, affecting one or more language skills. His ability to talk might be impaired, but he might still be able to write, read, or understand speech. There is no way of knowing what's affected until he wakes up."

 "He won't be able to talk?" Marie asked in a small voice. It was unimaginable. Logan was always so strong, so healthy. This couldn't be happening to him, to them. "When will he wake up?"

 "He's still under sedation from the surgery, and his body will be demanding sleep to start his recovery. He probably won't wake up until late tonight or tomorrow morning. You should go get some sleep now, while he's resting."

 The idea was ludicrous. "I can't sleep. I can't leave him."

 Jean sighed, and looked around, obviously wanting to shoo Marie out of the Med Lab, if only for a little while. "What about Anna? Maybe you could go see her?"

 'Anna!' Marie thought. "What time is it?" she asked.

 Jean looked at her watch. "Almost noon."

 In her worry over Logan, she hadn't noticed how much time had passed. Anna needed her. Logan would want her to go.

 Pushing herself out of the chair, she shuffled over to his still body. She leaned over and kissed his bandaged brow, promising to return quickly, then she left the Med Lab to find their daughter.
 

"Anna-banana," Jubilee said in a teasing voice, "look who's here."

 "Mommy!" Anna squealed running to her mother's arms, her hazel eyes sparkling under the wavy, dark brown hair. Everyone said she had her father's coloring and her mother's features, but as she ran across the room, all Marie saw was the Logan in her. It made her want to cry all over again.

 "Hey, Anna," Marie said, giving her daughter a tight squeeze.

 "Mommy, you're squishing me."

 Marie half-smiled. "Sorry, sugah. I'm just real glad to see you."

 "Where have you been all day, Mommy? Where's Daddy?"

 "Daddy went on a mission, remember?" Anna nodded and Marie continued. "Well, Daddy got hurt, and Aunt Jean and Uncle Hank are making him better."

 "But that was yesterday. Daddy's all better today," Anna replied, knowing how quickly her father could heal.

 "No, sugah. Daddy got hurt real bad."

 "Did you kiss it better?" Anna asked, confused as to why her father wasn't all right. He'd been hurt before in her short three years, but he'd always recovered almost immediately.

 "Yeah, baby. But it's still gonna take some time to heal."

 "I'll draw him a picture."

 "I think that's a real good idea, honey. You draw him a picture, and I'll take it to him."

 Remy colored with Anna while Jubilee came over and sat by Marie. "Have you gotten any sleep, Rogue?"

 "I can't, Jubes. I close my eyes, and all I can see is the blood. He's hurt so bad, Jubes. Jean doesn't think he'll recover."

 "Then he'll get better just to prove her wrong. You know how Logan loves to do the unexpected."

 "I just can't help thinking that this time yesterday, he was fine, life was great. How can everything change so quickly?"

 "Life'll be good again. You'll make it through, Rogue."
 

"Daddy!"

 Marie was awakened by Anna's cries in the adjoining room. Even though she had checked on Logan throughout the rest of the day, taping Anna's picture to one of the IV trees, she had finally been persuaded to go to her own room to sleep that night. Hank, who had taken the night shift, assured her that he would contact her if Logan started to wake up, but that he probably wouldn't until the next morning.

 "Anna, what's wrong?" Marie asked, switching on the light.

 "Where's Daddy?" Anna whined.

 "He's hurt, sugah. I told you that."

 "But I need Daddy."

 Marie sat down on her daughter's bed, pulling her into a sideways hug and stroking her cheek with a bare hand. It had been a gift from God that Anna was immune to her deadly skin. She hadn't shown signs of any other mutation, but she had the mutant gene and would probably manifest in her teens.

 "Why do you need Daddy, honey? Can't I help?"

 "You can't growl," Anna replied.

 "What?"

 "When I have a bad dream, Daddy comes and growls all the monsters away."

 Marie couldn't help but laugh at that mental image, then she started to cry when she thought of Logan now.

 "What, Mommy?" Anna asked, noticing her mother's tears.

 "Mommy's just a little worried about Daddy, honey." Marie replied, wiping her eyes. Then in a stronger voice, she said, "But don't you worry. He'll be ok. Now, let's scare some monsters."

 "But you can't growl."

 "What makes you think your momma can't growl?" Marie said. Pulling up the faded remains of Logan's personality that she'd absorbed a couple of times over the years, she let out a deep, rumbling growl.

 Anna's face brightened with surprise and delight. "You can do it, Mommy!"

 "Yes, now, what does Daddy do first?"

 "Well, he sniffs around to find the monsters. They always hide in the closet first."

 Marie took some quick whiffs and said, "Yep, they're in there now. What does Daddy do when he finds them?"

 "He opens the door and growls and says, 'You better get outta there, monsters, 'cause I'm Anna's daddy, and I'll hurt you good if you don't.'"

 Marie was really laughing now. "And what do the monsters do?"

 "Then run and hide under the bed, 'cause Daddy can be real scary."

 Marie followed her daughter's instructions and then asked, "What does Daddy do now?"

 "Then he picks up the bed and drops it on 'em, and growls at 'em to go away before he gets really mad."

 So that's the thumping sound she'd heard those late nights when Logan'd got up to check on Anna. She didn't really want to attempt bed-lifting when she was four months pregnant.

 "Do you think Mommy could just growl at the monsters to scare them away?"

 Anna thought about it for a moment. "Only if you growl really scary."

 Marie tried and her efforts seemed to satisfy Anna. "Where do the monsters go after that?"

 "Well, then they run outside with all the other monsters. Daddy growls and says they better stay out there if they're smart, and he shuts the window."

 Marie completed the ritual and then tucked her daughter back into bed, kissing her forehead.

 "Mommy, can I see Daddy tomorrow?"

 "We'll see, sugah."
 

The ringing of the telephone woke her at 5 a.m. Still only half awake, she answered it.

 "Rogue," Hank said, "he's waking up."

 Marie dropped the phone and ran, stopping at Kitty's door on the way only long enough to ask her to watch Anna.

 She was running so fast, she almost ran into the doors of the med lab before they had a chance to detect her presence.

Hank looked up and said, "He's not awake yet, but he's starting to move around."

 Remembering what Jean had told her yesterday, she went to Logan's left side, and stroked one of the few small patches of undamaged skin she found there with a gloved hand.

 "Logan, open your eyes, sugah. Wake up and open your eyes for me."

 Logan moaned and she watched as his eyelids started to flutter. He finally managed to get both eyes open, but the right eyelid drooped, almost closed. When he focused on her face, recognition flashed in his eyes, and Marie could feel the tears forming in her own.

 "Welcome back, sugah. I missed you."

 "Mah... Mar..." he slurred, trying and failing to say her name.

Part Four

 "It's ok, sugah, I'm here," she said, stroking his arm. His speech was so garbled that she could barely recognize her name. Jean had predicted this, but Marie was far from prepared for facing the reality. She turned and rubbed at her eyes, not wanting him to see her cry.

Jean came rushing into the med lab hurrying up to stand next to Marie. Seeing his open eyes, she said, "Logan?"

"Whuuuh... haapnnnd?" he asked.

"Logan, you were injured on a mission," Jean said in a calm voice. "Do you remember?"

Logan took a moment to think and then shook his head no, wincing at the pain of the movement.

"Logan, you've been badly injured. Try not to move," Jean said, turning to adjust the controls on the IV stand. "There. I've adjusted your morphine drip. That should help take the edge off the pain."

"Wwwhhyyyy, ccaaa... caann..."

Marie watched Jean close her eyes, obviously using her telepathy to catch his meaning. "You can't speak very well because you've had a complication, Logan. During the surgery, you suffered a brain infarction, setting off an ischemic cascade. We were able to stop further damage from occurring by administering neuroprotective agents, but..."

Seeing his confusion and growing annoyance, Marie cut her off. "Logan, sugah, you had a... a... well, you had a stroke, but you're gonna get better. We'll work really hard and do everything we can. You will get better."

Marie saw the shock and disbelief in his face, an echo of her own expression the day before.

"Logan," Jean said, "as your doctor, I think you should know that there is a possibility you might not recover completely..."

"Don't tell him that!" Marie interrupted. "Logan, we're gonna get through this. It'll be ok. You'll see. You'll be back on your feet in no time."

"Rogue, I don't think you should be sugar-coating this. There are serious..."

"GGEEEEOOOU," Logan said in exasperation.

Both women turned to him, their argument forgotten for the moment.

"What did you say, sugah?" Marie asked, leaning closer.

Logan closed his eyes to concentrate and then slowly said, "Geeeeeet... ouuuut."

"You want us to leave?" Marie asked, incredulous.

"Logan," Jean began again, "we need to discuss your condition. It is imperative that we explore treatment options..."

As Jean prattled on, Marie looked into her husband's eyes. They were pleading to her to follow his wishes, and she suddenly understood. He needed some time alone to absorb what was going on. While he was unconscious she'd been able to mull over the implications, but the diagnosis was new to him.

"I'll be back in two hours," Marie said, leaning down to lightly kiss her husband's bandaged cheek. "Jean, let's go," Marie said, grabbing the other woman and pulling her out of the room.

"Rogue, I can't leave. Who will take care..."

"Hank can watch over him for another hour or two," Marie replied, turning to face the other woman in the hallway as the door to the Med Lab closed. "Having us arguing over him wasn't doing Logan any good. He needs time to think about what's going on."

"That's just the point, Rogue. We need to do tests to see how the stroke has affected his comprehension and memory."

"We were upsetting him, Jean. The tests can wait an hour."

"We were upsetting him because we were arguing. If we discuss treatment options and mutually decide on a strategy, we will be able to proceed much more efficiently."

"He wasn't ready, Jean."

"No one is ever ready when the news is this bad, Rogue. You just have to face it."

The door at the end of the hallway swished open and the two women turned to see the Professor exiting Cerebro.

"Ah, Rogue, Jean, how is Logan this morning?"

"He's awake," Marie said, trying to focus on the positive.

"He's already showing neural deficits," Jean added, in a quiet voice.

"I see... When is the last time either of you has eaten?"

Marie couldn't remember. She'd been offered food a couple of times during the surgery, but she'd had no interest in eating. She'd either been with Anna or Logan for the rest of the day yesterday.

Could it have been that long? That couldn't be good for the baby.

When the Professor asked, "Would you care to join me for breakfast?", she nodded and followed Jean and him to the elevator.

Minutes later, they were all seated at the small preparation table in the kitchen.

The professor looked up from his oatmeal to say, "Rogue, I want you to know that any treatment Logan needs, he will get. Whatever course of action you two decide to pursue, I will support you wholeheartedly."

"Thank you, Professor. I just... I don't want to make the decision without Logan."

"How is Anna taking this?"

"I don't think she understands how bad things are. I tell her that Logan's injured, and she thinks he'll heal in a couple of hours."

"That's the way it's always been in the past. Perhaps if she went to visit Logan?"

"No. He just woke up, and with all the bandages. I don't think he'd want her to see him that way. Maybe in a when the stitches come out."

"Rogue," Jean said in a calm voice. She didn't want to upset her any more, but she felt she could help. "I've had some experience with this sort of thing in my residency. It's always easiest if the kids come sooner rather than later. Right now, he looks bad, but without the bandages, he'll look much worse. There will be a lot of scarring."

Marie started to sob, pulling her napkin up to her face to catch the tears. She hadn't considered that. Everything was moving so quickly. Logan was injured horrendously, then he had brain damage, now he'd be scarred for life?!?

"I'm just..." Jean continued, trying to comfort the other woman. "I'm just saying it might be easier if Anna knows about this sooner. Logan can't hide from her forever."

"Jean, do you think... the scarring... will it..." Marie hiccuped through her sobbing.

"When his healing factor comes back, it will take time, but the scarring will most likely disappear completely."

That statement caused Marie to cry even harder, this time in relief.

"I just..." Marie said when she regained control of herself. "I just can't take any more of this. Do you have any good news for me, Jean?"

"Yes," Jean said, surprising Marie with the quickness of her response. "His speech is better than I'd expected."

"What? I could barely make it out."

"Yes, but at least he was trying to form the correct words. Sometimes with aphasia, the patient will say completely understandable words, but will mix up their meanings, leading to incomprehensible speaking." Seeing Marie's confused expression she added, "Like if I were to say to you, 'Bicycle wings bread run get.' instead of saying 'Please pass me the milk.'"

"You mean it could've been that bad?"

"Yes. I won't know until we do further testing, but in Logan's case it seems that he just has problems moving the speech-related muscles to talk properly. That can be aided with physical therapy. Also, and most importantly, he seems to comprehend what we are saying to him. He can understand speech."

After breakfast, Marie took a walk outside around the lake. Dawn was just breaking when she reached the place that she and Anna had picnicked the other day. If only Logan had stayed with them instead of going out on that mission, he'd be fine now. She sat on the dew-damp grass for a few minutes, wishing that the day had gone the way they'd planned it.

She remembered Scott's description of the battle and figured that if Logan hadn't been there, Scott, Jean, St. John, and Jubilee would have died, maybe even the whole team. She didn't know what she felt about that. Deciding she didn't like thinking about it anymore, she got up and headed back to the mansion and their room.

Upon entering, she found Kitty burping little Bobby, Jr. in the rocking chair. Peeking into Anna's room, she saw her daughter was still blissfully asleep.

"Thanks for doing this, Kit. I know you've got your hands full with B.J. there, but your door was on the way, and I was so frantic."

"No prob, girl. We're all worried about Logan. How's he doing?"

"He's awake, but... it's just..." she sighed, "It's going to take a while.... Dammit, Kit, I feel so helpless."

Kitty rose, cradling B.J. in her left arm so she could hug Rogue with the right. Rogue clung to her friend, crying out all the rage and helplessness that had built up over the past couple of days, holding back nothing. She realized she was babbling between hitching breaths, but she didn't have the strength to stop herself anymore, just letting it all come out. Kitty for her part, patted her friend's back and made comforting noises, like you would to a crying baby.

Marie didn't know how much time had passed by the time the tears dried up and she was able to breathe normally again.

"I'm sorry to dump all of this on you, Kitty."

"It's ok, Rogue. Listen, I'll watch Anna. Why don't you go down and talk to Logan now that he's had some time to himself?"

Marie nodded and, after washing her tear-streaked face in the bathroom, headed back for the Med Lab. She was so preoccupied, she didn't notice the sound of a door opening and closing or the quick, light footsteps behind her.

"Nnnnnnnooooo."

"Logan, I know you don't want her to see you like this, but it's going to take time to heal. She's already asking for you. I can't keep her away forever."

"Duuunnnwaaaanneeerrseeeeelllliiiiiiiiisss."

"I didn't catch that, sugah."

"Nnnnno!"

Marie heard the Med Lab doors whoosh open and assumed that Jean had returned. She steeled herself to hear the more of the woman's therapy arguments. Couldn't she understand that she and Logan needed time to discuss it and decide together? Instead of Jean's voice, though, she heard a small, uncertain voice say, "Mommy?"

Rogue spun around to see her daughter, still in her Winnie-the-Pooh pajamas, standing at the entrance. When she'd turned, she'd moved her body back and it no longer blocked Logan's face.

She saw the shock register on her daughter's face as she gasped and whispered, "Daddy?"

Part Five

 "What are you doing here, sugah?"

That question must've come out harsher than she'd intended, because Anna flinched like she'd been struck.

"You were crying, Mommy." Anna answered in a higher pitched voice than she usually affected. "You woke me up, and I heard you were gonna see Daddy, and I wanted to see Daddy, too, so I followed you... Did I do bad?"

Marie glanced back at Logan, but he had closed his eyes and turned his head away.

"No, baby. It's just that Daddy's not feeling well right now." Marie said, walking over to her daughter and crouching down to give her a hug. "Daddy's really tired, and he's not well enough for visitors yet."

"Why is he in funny clothes?" Anna asked.

"Those are bandages, honey, like band-aids, only bigger."

"Like you put on my owwie?" Anna asked, holding up her index finger, which had a teddy-bear-patterned band-aid around it.

"Yes, just like that."

"Daddy has a lot of owwies."

"Yes, sweetheart, but he's getting better."

Anna looked around the Med Lab, and spotting a chair, made a bee-line towards it. Marie grasped her intentions right away as Anna started to push it towards the bed. She walked over and grabbed the chair.

"Anna, Daddy doesn't want to visit now."

"Is he mad at me?"

"No, of course not."

"Then why doesn't he want to talk to me?"

"He's not mad," Marie reassured her daughter. "He just can't talk very well right now."

Anna took a second to think about that. "Uncle Remy doesn't talk good, but he still does it."

Logan's barked laughter surprised both of them. "Aa-nna." he said, moving his left hand slightly to signal her to come to him.

Marie helped Anna push the chair up to his side, then Anna climbed up on it. She threw herself on him, giving him a big hug. Logan half-smiled, half-grimaced in pain at the sign of affection. Marie immediately tried to pull her back.

"Anna, you've got to be gentle with Daddy, ok?"

"Ok. Hi, Daddy."

"Hhhi."

Anna looked around at the tubes and wires attached to various places on his body. There was even a tube up his nose. "What is all this stuff?"

"It helps make Daddy better," Marie answered.

"Does it hurt?"

"Nnnno."

"Good." She looked around at the machines circling the bed, and saw her drawing taped to the IV tree. "My picture! Do you like it Daddy?"

Logan nodded, and Anna reached over to point out the different images. The drawing captured their immediate family smiling in front of the mansion. Anna had added smiling trees, birds, bushes, and sun to the snow covered scenery. "That's you, and that's Mommy. She's holding Mike. That's me, and that's my dog, Charley."

"Anna," Marie said, with a sigh. "We've already told you we haven't named the baby yet, and you're not getting a dog."

"Yeah, but that's not now," she said, indicating the drawing. "It's at Christmas. That's why Mike's not still in your tummy."

Marie rolled her eyes at Logan. Anna could be so stubborn when she wanted something.

"I'll draw you more pictures," Anna told Logan, her eyes bright with excitement. "Then you don't have to look at this stuff anymore," she said, indicating the drab machinery.

Logan nodded and Marie said, "That's a really good idea, sugah."

The Med Lab doors whooshed open and Kitty rushed in, still holding B.J. Seeing Anna at her father's bedside, she said, "I'm sorry, Rogue. I went to check on her after you left. She must've sneaked out."

"It's ok, Kit... Anna, why don't you go with Aunt Kitty and start on those drawings?"

"Ok." Anna started to lean over Logan.

"Careful, sweety," Marie warned.

Anna was careful not to touch his injuries more than necessary as she leaned over and planted a kiss on the tip of his nose, which was poking out amidst the bandages on his face.

"I love you, Daddy."

"Llluuvv oooo," Logan replied as his daughter climbed down and left.

As soon as they were alone, Marie apologized. "I'm so sorry, Logan. I didn't know she was awake. If I'd known she was following me, I would've sent her back."

"Iiiss o-kkaaay."

"Really?" Marie asked in surprise. When Logan nodded, she said, "Ok."

The worst part of every day was when she tried to sleep in their bed, alone. She missed the warmth of Logan's body beside her or spooned against her back. She'd tried to arrange pillows in the bed to simulate his presence, but it wasn't close to the same. Every night, she'd lie awake until the early hours of the morning, finally succumbing to sleep out of sheer exhaustion.

The best part of every day was taking Anna to see Logan. During their private visits, without Anna, he was more down. She tried to bring up the subject of therapy, but he either changed it or told her he didn't want to talk about it right then. He was always so upbeat during Anna's visits, though, and Marie loved to catch the occasional smile on his face. She limited their chats to about an hour since she didn't want to overtire Logan and since Anna's attention span would wane if they stayed longer, but that hour was wonderful.

The Med Lab equipment had been turned into an art gallery during that time. Almost every available inch was covered with one of Anna's masterpieces. Whenever Jean or Hank wanted to check the readouts, they had to move one or two pictures to do it.

One early afternoon, almost a week and a half after Logan's injury, when Marie had just brought Anna for a visit, Jean called her over.

"Rogue, the professor would like to talk with us."

"Umm, ok. Anna?"

"Hank can watch her."

Marie strode back to Logan's bedside. "Anna, I'm going to go have a talk with Aunt Jean. You stay here with Hank and Daddy, ok? Tell Daddy what we did this morning."

"Ok!" Anna said, excited and already starting in on her play-by-play.

Once they were out of the Med Lab and walking down the hall, Marie asked, "What's up, Jean?"

"The professor's found a potential physical therapist for Logan. He wants you to meet her."

Marie stopped mid-stride. "Logan won't like this."

"He's not getting better on his own, Rogue. He needs this help."

"But he is getting better, Jean. His speech..."

"Is exactly the same. You're just used to hearing it now." Jean sighed, trying to find the words to make her understand. "He's falling into a depression, Rogue. He only speaks to you and Anna. He won't acknowledge Hank at all, and he makes me use my telepathy to understand what he wants. He refuses to see any of his friends and when you aren't there, he just lies around and stares at Anna's drawings or sleeps all the time."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I wasn't sure before. It's become apparent, though, that your visits are the only time he tries to do anything. I'm worried about him, Rogue. He needs professional help if he's going to progress."

Marie nodded. "Ok, I'll meet her."

"Rogue, allow me to introduce Helen Cooper."

Marie was surprised to say the least. She had always imagined physical therapists to be large, burly men. This blond woman was hardly taller than she was, and although she did have some muscle, she could hardly be expected to assist a man as big as Logan.

Helen, noticing Marie's appraising look, said, "It doesn't take a lot of strength to do physical therapy." Then in a softer voice, almost as if she was divulging a secret, she said, "I make the patients do all the work, anyway."

Marie was surprised to find that she immediately liked the woman. After her mutation had manifested and her experiences on the run, she was slow to warm up to anyone. In fact, the only other person she'd felt such an immediate kinship to was Logan.

Helen presented her credentials to the small group. She was a speech/language and physical therapist, and most of her experience was with brain damaged patients. She wasn't a mutant but said she had treated more than her fair share.

"Those vigilante mobs have given me more business than I care for," she'd confided. "Personally, I'd rather be out of work."

When the interview was over, the professor mentally conversed with Jean and Marie, while continuing small talk with Helen.

~She seems very proficient and experienced,~ Jean thought.

~I like her,~ Marie added. ~Logan won't take well to anyone, but he might warm up to her after a while.~

~Then it's settled.~ The professor thought, then aloud, he said, "Helen, we would like to hire you. Can you start tomorrow?"

"That's fine. Now, what can you tell me about Logan?"

"He's had a left-hemisphere stroke, leading to aphasia and right hemiplegia..." Jean began before she was interrupted by Helen.

"No offense, Dr. Summers, but I can get all of that from the medical file. What can you tell me about *him*?"

"Well," Jean thought for a moment. "He's a fighter. He's stubborn, difficult..."

Before Marie could jump in to defend her husband, Helen spoke up. "Those are wonderful traits for a person with the recovery he's facing. I'm sure we'll get along great."

The next morning, Helen entered the Med Lab alone. She had instructed everyone to stay away during their sessions, since that would help both of them focus and prevent Logan from becoming self-conscious.

Once Hank saw her, he excused himself and went to his office, shutting the door. Helen had worked with several mutants in her time, but it was still going to take a while to get used to the appearance of the blue-furred, hulking doctor. His demeanor was so gentle that she'd immediately liked him, but she was still doing double-takes when she saw him out of the corner of her eye.

She'd met the medical staff and most of Logan's friends yesterday, as the professor gave her a tour of the campus. This morning, she was finally meeting her partner. She didn't like to refer to them as patients. If they were going to succeed, they needed the teamwork only a partnership would provide.

She saw Logan turn to look at her when he heard the door open and then immediately turn away, trying to ignore her. 'So, we're playing that game,' she thought.

"Hello, Logan. I'm Helen. I'm here to help you get well."

Silence.

"I was thinking that we could work on speech therapy for now, and then add the physical therapy once the stitches come out and you have more movement."

Nothing.

Holding up a book in front of his face, she said, "I'd like you to read the top line of this page."

No response.

"Of course, I could just sit around reading magazines and eating chocolates all day, but I don't think the professor would pay me for that."

Not even a twitch.

Changing tactics, Helen said, "Who drew all these lovely pictures? I bet it was your daughter. I met her yesterday, you know. Lovely child. Too bad you won't get to see her today."

That got a response, all right. Logan had turned and was glaring at her now.

'Ah ha!' Helen thought. 'A motivator.'

"You know, while I'm in here, no one can come to visit. Just you and I, and I'm not leaving until we make some progress. It'd be sad if Anna had to miss a visit. She looks forward to them so much, you know."

Logan had started growling mid-way through her speech. Concentrating, he spat out, "Bit-ckk."

Helen smiled. "Good for a first attempt. We're going to have to work on your 'ch' sounds, though, won't we?"