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26. Past Revisited

“Hey darlin’” “Miss me?”

“Ororo wake up….wake up darlin’” the soft gruff voice called out to her.
“Hmm” Ororo smiled, her eyes closed. It was a dream, a very sweet dream. Logan had never left, he was still with her, he was not standing in front……..

“Goddess” Her eyes snapped open as everything came back to her. Clutching her pounding head, she sat up to find the concerned face of Logan looking at her from the other side of the porch door.
“’Roro darlin’ are ya Ok” Logan asked, his voice filled with concern. He hadn’t expected this to happen. He had expected joy, tears, even anger, but not this. Not her seeing him, and falling unconscious on the spot.

Ororo merely nodded her head, causing it to throb with pain as a bump formed on its right side, where it had struck floor.

Standing up slowly, she straightened her dress, before looking down at the man in front of her. The man who had given her such beautiful dreams and then had left, leaving her all alone to live in the ruins of the same dreams. The man she had once loved but had *forced* herself to stop loving him. She had moved on, without him, so why was he here? After all this time.

“Logan” Her voice was cold, just like she had felt the after he had left her all alone – cold and lonely. After promising her that he’d never leave, he’d left in the dead of the night.
“’Roro” Logan said expectedly. She looked just as beautiful as ever, even more so. There was a glow about her. ‘She’d looked so happy a few minutes ago’ he thought, looking down, unable to meet the hard look she was giving him.

They stood there, separated by a few feet and a thin mesh door. Finally, Ororo raised her hand and unlocked the door for him to enter. Turning away, she walked inside, not waiting for him to enter. One part of her hoped that he would just walk away, while another wanted him to enter, pull her into his arms and hold her like he used to.

Logan opened the door slowly and followed her. It was good that she had gone ahead. He didn’t want her to see the slight limp in his still recovering left leg. Not just yet. He didn’t want her pity. He wanted her love. That is if she would still give it to him.

Walking through the house, he looked at the large number of pictures on the walls. There was an enlarged copy of the single photo she had of her parents, a few of her time at the institute and a couple of Warren. ‘But none of him’, that thought caused his chest to tighten. Perhaps he had made a wrong decision in coming here. He should have left from the outside. Even now, he could just turn back and walk away. However, that thought went out the door at Ororo’s melodious voice.
“In here.”

Following her voice, he entered into what looked like the a study cum’ library of sorts, Logan found Ororo sitting behind the desk, trying to put as much distance between the both of them as possible. Her hands were crossed under the table, her posture defensive but the cold fire in her eyes told him an entirely different story.

Taking a seat across from her, he gently sat down, her eyes never leaving him.

“Nice place ya got here” Logan said, trying to start a conversation.
“Yes” “Thank you” came the curt reply.

“Been long since we saw each other” he tried again.
“Yes”

“I missed ya” he tried for a third time.
“I didn’t” Logan cringed as if he had been slapped across the face.

They sat like that, silently, she staring right at him and him looking down at his hands, unable to meet her gaze.

“Why are you here Logan?” she asked quietly.
“Fer you” he answered, daring a look at her.

“Well, you are late” she answered, her voice rising. “Two and a half years late.”
“I am sorry ‘Roro” he apologized.

“Sorry” she laughed a humorless laugh. “Sorry...you are sorry.”
“Is that all you have to say….SORRY.” her hand slamming on the desk. “You run away leaving me all alone and now you just expect me to forgive and forget everything, just because you ‘said’ you are sorry.”
“I am SORRY Logan, but that doesn’t cut it anymore” she ended, her voice becoming even again.

“Do you know what’s it like to have someone promise you that they’ll never leave you, and wake up the next day to find them gone. And then to have everyone around you give you pitiful looks and to hear them talk about you and your sorry state behind closed doors. Do you? No you don’t? Because you didn’t have to go through all that…..I did.” “I had to look at the pity in Jean’s eyes, the anger and ‘told you so’ look in Scott’s and the lame sorrow in the others. Day in and day out, I had to bear that, until it became too much.”

“You left and I was left standing all alone, with a note in my hand saying that you would be back in a week. I waited and waited but that week never ended.” “Finally I decided to end the week” she added calmly.

“Everyone said that you had died? But I didn’t believe that, nor did Jubilee. None of us understood why you would just leave? And I still don’t? To this day, I don’t? Is it because you had your fill of the school, of her…..of me.”
“No darlin’…..never” Logan said, his head jacking up to finally meet her tear filled eyes.

“I am not sure I even believe your definition of ‘never’. Maybe Scott was correct. You had your fill of me and decided to leave me like a …..”

“NO” thundered Logan, cutting her off. “Never” he said simply. “….Never”
“Then why? Why did you leave?”
“I’ll tell ya” “Ya have a right to know what happened”

Taking a deep breath, Logan began describing the past events.

//Flashback//

Logan was roused by the insistent ringing of the cell phone. He had tried ignoring it, but this was the fourth time. Slowly freeing himself from Ororo’s embrace he tip-toed downstairs, the wooden stairs creaking under his feet. Once downstairs he was onto the phone in two long steps.

Squinting to check the number, he found that there was none – completely blank. That could mean only one thing. Flipping the cover, he brought to his ear.

“Wolverine” came the deep voice from the other end.
“Yes”
“We have a mission for you”
“I’m retired”
“We need you for this. You are the only one who can do this.”
“I’m retired” he repeated.
“We are ready to pay you three times your usual fee.”
“I said I’m retired” Logan answered, irritation clear in his voice. He was about to end the call, but the caller’s next words stilled his hand.

“It’s Nick Fury.”
“Fury….What about him? Did something happen ta him” inquired Logan, his complete attention on the call. Nick fury had been Logan’s squad leader and mentor at the time when he had first joined the army and later when he was selected for the secret-squad, Fury had been his team leader. Over the years, they had become friends, sharing the occasional story and beer in their free time.
“He’s been captured.”
“Captured?”
“We need you to take care of him.”

Logan knew what ‘take care’ meant. It was a do or die situation. Either Logan had to get Fury out or kill him before he gave out any secrets.
“Why me?” Logan asked.
“Because you are the best. And, because we have already lost two operatives.”

‘Two operatives’ thought Logan. Whoever it was, was real good, if they could get two of them.
“I’ll do it,” Logan agreed.
“We have your transport waiting for you outside the institute gates.”
Logan didn’t even bother to ask how they knew where he was.
“You have fifteen minutes.” With that, the line went dead.

Logan stood in the darkness, deciding what to do. ‘Ororo’ he thought. He didn’t want to leave her, especially in her present fragile state. But at the same time, he owed Fury a lot. His decision had been made the second he agreed to the mission.

Ten minutes later,

He stood by the bed, watching her sleep, her white hair spread over the pillow, her whole body glowing in the soft moonlight.

He hoped she would understand his sudden departure. He had left a note on the dining table telling her that something important came up and that he would be back within a week.

Bending down he kissed her lightly on the lips, while running his hand through her silver locks. She leaned into the caress, bringing a smile to his lips. He was so lucky to have found someone like her. Once he was back, he was going to make sure that she would be his forever. He was going to ask her to marry him.

Straightening up, he walked to the door, looking back one last time before walking away. Ten minutes later, he reached the mansion gates. A large black SUV was waiting for him.

//End Flashback//

Ororo had been silently listening to Logan. ‘He was going to ask me to marry him’ her heart *almost* flipped at the news. Reining herself, she slid the drawer open, looking at the photo lying inside it. She had slid it in before asking Logan to come to the room. She didn’t want to tell him just yet.

They were interrupted by a knock on the front door. Excusing herself, Ororo walked out.

Logan could hear female voices coming from the front door. They were followed by whimpers and moans of little kids. ‘The kids in the lawn’ Logan remembered.

Ten minutes later, Ororo reentered the room, a tray in her hand. Setting it on the side table, she poured Logan a cup of tea and one for herself. She then offered him homemade cookies and took one for herself, before setting it down on the desk, within reach for both of them.

“I run a day care center,” explained Ororo. “It allows me to work from home.”
Logan nodded his head as he took a sip of the hot Assam ‘chai’.

Taking another sip, he continued recounting his story.

//Flashback//

Nick Fury was being held in an old missile silo. Using his contacts, Logan soon found the brains behind the operation and the person responsible for the deaths of the last two operatives. ‘Victor Creed’

It seems that after the trashing from Logan, Creed had lost the use of his right hand. Even Lehnsherr had severed all ties with him, forcing Creed to look for other venues of *employment*. He had found it with an *upcoming* militant group. His first mission had been planning the capture and imprisonment of Nick Fury, who was at the time, the head of a secret ‘Global Security Agency’ funded by various nations of the world.

They had managed to infiltrate the agency and grab Fury en route to his office. They were holding him in a specially designed holding area and were planning to use him as a bargaining tool for money to finance their activities and then kill him as a show of power.

Tracking down their hideout took another day. Logan had to work alone, so as not to rouse the kidnappers and cause them to kill Fury. He had lain in watch for two full days, observing closely for any weakness in the security shield. On the third day, he decided to make his move on the next shift change.

Setting explosives at various points, he was able to gain entry undetected and reach Fury, who had been unconscious at the time. Donning gas masks, Logan gassed the entire place through the air vents and knocked everyone out. He then contacted the agency for a pickup.

While waiting for their pickup, they were attacked by Creed and his personal entourage. They had been contacted as soon as the explosions started. In the ensuing crossfire, both Logan and Fury had been shot. However, reinforcements arrived just in time and took care of the remaining kidnappers. Creed was killed fighting the soldiers. A grenade urst near him, killing him instantly.

Fortunately, for Fury, he had just one major leg wound, the second bullet just grazing his arm. However, Logan who had been carrying Fury at the time had been shot in five times, with one of the bullets barely missing his spinal cord.

As a result of his head injury, Logan had gone into a coma and had stayed that way for the next two years. Coming out of the coma, he realized that he had lost many of his memories, including almost all of his childhood ones. The doctor seemed hopeful that given time and the right conditions, most of them *may* return one day.

Within a month of waking up, he had started his physiotherapy to get the use of his legs back.

//End Flashback//

“And as soon as I could move around with the help of a stick, I checked outta the hospital and returned to the mansion.” said Logan, ending his story.

“But I *was* too late” he added, taking note of the ring on Ororo’s hand. ‘A wedding ring’





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