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Ororo walked through the infirmary doors the next morning. She was wondering if there had been a change in Jean's condition, when she saw Logan sitting on a table opposite Jean, watching the red-head intently. This concerned Storm a little. It'd been almost a full day since she and Logan had found Jean, and Logan probably hadn't slept yet. Too late to turn back now, though; she knew Logan would've heard the doors, and, for some reason, she was just as concerned about him as she was for Jean. "Has there been any change?"

Logan looked her direction. "No," he replied, shaking his head. He looked tired.

"Have you slept at all, Logan?"

"No. I have to stay awake. In case she wakes up."

Storm sighed. Same old Logan, she thought. She looked at her watch. "I have to go to class. I'll... I'll stop by a little later." As she made her way out, she stopped by the door, and turned toward him. "You should get some rest." She held up her hands defensively, before he could say anything, but said softly, "just a friendly suggestion."

XXX

About an hour later, Storm stopped by the infirmary again. This time, she had food with her. Logan looked up as she placed the small bag by him. "Figured you hadn't eaten, so I brought you something."

"Thanks," he said, not really sure how to respond to that.

"How's it going down here?"

"About the same as it's been since we brought her here. Chuck comes in once in awhile to work on his psychic voodoo or whatever it is he does-"

"I meant how you were doing," Storm interrupted him gently.

"About the same as usual," he said. He could tell that she was feeling slightly awkward about this. Truth be told, he was too. After a moment of awkward silence, Logan broke it. "Thanks for comin' down, 'Ro," he said, covering her hand with his. "I'm sure Jean appreciates it."

Storm shrugged and gave a small smile. "She's my friend too. Can't let you have all the fun in watching her."

Logan laughed a little.

Storm slid her hand out from under his, and pulled back a strand of her hair behind her ear- despite how short it was. "I should go back upstairs," she said after a moment. "Plants. Let me know if there's any change, okay?"

"Sure."

With that she left him.

XXX

Logan hadn't left the infirmary since they'd brought her Jean home. He watched her with his senses intently as the machines did with theirs, and probably came away with as accurate an assessment of her condition. When Xavier came in to perform his own examination, plus whatever else he did to her in the way of his personal psychic voodoo, Logan stepped aside, staying close enough to intervene if needed but otherwise deferring to the professor. He also took each opportunity to keep tabs on Xavier as attentively as he did on Jean. The couple of times Ororo had visited, she was actually as concerned for Logan as her best friend. Logan wasn't used to that, wasn't sure how to deal with it.

Occasionally, he'd talk to Jean, as though they were sitting in a saloon or bar, having a normal conversation, telling her of all that transpired with the school and the world since she'd gone. Mostly, he just sat, with the infinite patience that was one of his hallmarks. He watched, and he listened. When she needed him, he'd be there, he'd be ready.

He saw that a few wires seemed to be tangled and, on impulse, he reached over to smooth them out...

...and she grabbed him by the hand.

XXX

Hawk jumped at the sudden movement. In the air vents, she had less chance of being detected, and, as Jean sat up, to make sure it stayed that way, Hawk kept her thoughts to herself.

XXX

She looked up at him with that same long lazy smile he remembered and yet, something was new, something... more. He couldn't help returning the smile in kind.

"Welcome back," he said softly, unable to hide his relieved smile.

"Back where we first met," she said dreamily. "Only I was in your place and you were in mine."

He couldn't help thinking, you're wearin' a lot more clothes than I was, darlin', which made her blush and grin wider. So there was nothing wrong with her telepathy, he observed, although she was keeping her own thoughts to herself. He half-expected to hear her from the professor, who Logan was assumed was monitoring his thoughts or Jean's at this very moment. Thus far, though, they had complete privacy.

She swallowed, mouth dry, and he held out a glass of water for her to sip from its straw.

"How long was I...?" she tried again.

"Too flamin' long," he told her more gruffly than he'd intended, not from anger, but because seeing her awake and all right made him suddenly admit to himself just how much he'd missed her.

"You feeling okay, Jeannie?"

She sat up with surprising ease and grace for someone who'd been (a) dead and (b) flat on her back in the hospital. Jean was still smiling, radiating more happiness than he'd ever seen from her. But then, he realized, he'd hardly ever seen her truly happy- save for a couple of instances when he caught her by surprise, just off guard enough that he got that special smile of hers, the one that came without any filters of duty and responsibility that Xavier had layered on her. He wondered if things had been any better with Cyclops.

Logan had never felt this way; his heart was full to bursting brightness and best of emotions yet, at the same time, was on the verge of breaking, how can any moment seem so wonderful, and potentially terrible all at once?

XXX

Hawk flipped through her book, she wasn't interested in hearing their conversation, just making sure Logan didn't take things too far and risk hurting Storm. She secretly knew that Storm was in love with him, but still had no way to prove it. She suddenly picked up his thoughts, which sometimes happened when minds were in turmoil, or they were filled with too much emotion.

How can any moment seem so wonderful, and potentially terrible all at once? She picked up.

Uh, because you like Storm and just lust for Jean because she was the first woman you saw before Storm.

She quickly put up her blocks to keep him out, that was certainly one way to get caught by a powerful telepath. Luckily for her, Jean was too engrossed into taking off the sensors to notice her.

XXX

"Yeah. More than okay." She began pulling off the sensor leads. Logan thought to suggest she wait, but she gave him a look that said, Trust me. I'm the doctor here, bub, I know what I'm doing.

She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, even more stunning than before. He couldn't help staring.

"Logan, you're making me blush." Logan liked that, and all it implied, and she seemed to as well.

"You're reading my thoughts?"

"Can't help it."

"Sounds like one of Hawk's lines."

She took his face into his hands and pulled him close.

"It's okay," Jean whispered, both out loud and in his mind. "There's nothing wrong with what you want, Logan. It's what I've always wanted too."

XXX

"Ew!" She said inaudibly, covering her eyes as Logan and Jean started. And after all that time he spent getting over her and secretly having an eye out for Storm. Maybe she would just tell Storm what Logan had thought in the Danger Room and see how that turned out...

XXX

Her lips brushed against his, an invitation that didn't just send tingles through his body, but unleashed a lightning bolt that rocked him from his head to the tips of his toes. It as though he'd been plugged into an emotional supercharger, every sense kicked into overdrive, all of them centered on Jean. The sight of her eyes so close to his, the impossibly smooth touch of her skin, the scent of her hair, the sound of her voice, the very taste of her… All those things combined to fan his desire to white-hot incandescence.

The last time they'd kissed- a stolen interlude beneath the Blackbird- he'd been the aggressor, trying to stake his claim to her heart before it was too late. But she'd made her commitment to Scott, much as either of them wished differently. And he'd respected that.

Now, by contrast, there was no holding back. His lips crashed into hers and she moaned eagerly into his mouth as she wrapped a scalding hot arm around his neck, pulling him closer. Her legs tightened their hold around his waist and he used the opportunity to run his hand across the smooth flesh of her thighs. She tugged his shirt down, smoothing her hands over his broad shoulders. He grabbed her and lifted her with ease, laying her back down on the table and eagerly climbing on after her as he continued exploring her body. He settled his heavy weight on top of her, but she only let out a happy gasp and locked them together with her legs. Her grip was so tight, in fact, that he had to struggle to release his arms, which were pinned between her chest and his own.

She racked her nails down his shoulders, tearing the skin. He pulled away momentarily, groaning as he lost himself in the duality of pleasure and pain that coursed through his body and straight to his center. He returned his lips to hers, kissing her harder and breaking his arms away to feel every inch of her skin available. And a lot of it was available. She battled him for dominance, both of them knowing that it had nothing to do with who was on top.

XXX

Unseen by Logan, just for a flash, Jean's eyes flickered, and burned with a heat that had nothing to do with their wholly human passions that claimed the otherwise full attention.

Logan sensed heat radiating through Jean's body and into his, but chose not to notice, not to care.

Anyone walking on them now...

And then he remembered what had spun past him through the air at Alkali, a belt buckle forged in the shape of an X. The one Scott wore.

"Jean," he said, pulling away a little and finding it among the hardest things he'd ever done. "Wait!"

"No," Jean moaned. Her gaze flew down to the waist of his pants and his belt ripped off, colliding with the wall clear across the room and almost taking his pants with it.

He looked down in horror before hopping off completely and pulling his shirt back on. She sat up just as quickly, a fierce and frisky look in her eyes. Logan frowned, shaking his head. "Jeannie," he protested, "this isn't you!"

"Yes. Yes, it is me," she insisted.

He held her by the shoulders, finally able to put some distance between them, but caught in a fit of trembling as she stroked with telekinesis the parts of him he wouldn't let her reach with her hands.

"Stop it," he warned.

"Make me."

XXX

Hawk opened her eyes to see them talking. She heard Jean say "make me," and secretly thought, Hey, that's my line! Then Jean looked around in confusion. The electronics started going crazy, and Hawk wondered if this was a good time to scramble.

XXX

"Jean, you've been through hell. Maybe you ought to take it easy, eh? The professor said you might be…" The wild desire in her eyes disappeared at the very mention of the professor and she stopped everything she was doing to him, her expression suddenly a chilling calm; the kind of calm that a person radiated when they wanted to break something. And if Xavier had been right about her, she could break every adamantium bone in his body if she wanted to. Her blank stare raised the hairs on the back of his neck. "…different," he finished lamely.

Though her face was devoid of emotion, her voice dropped a few octaves. "Well, he would know, wouldn't he?" Logan pulled away from her, kicking his own ass for mentioning the professor. Perhaps Jean was aware of what had been done to her.

"What?" she demanded. "You think he's not inside your head too, making little adjustments here and there? Look at you, Logan." She shoved him away, disgust and accusation in her suddenly darker eyes. "He's tamed you," she hissed, her eyes darkening further until they were nearly black.

"Where is Scott?" He asked, taking out Scott's glasses.

She didn't answer.

"We traced the beacon on his bike to Alkali Lake. I found his glasses there." He chose not to mention the belt buckle, or the weird physical manifestations they'd encountered, and considered that she might pluck them from his thoughts regardless.

Still no response, so he called her name again. "Jean!"

She blinked, sniffed, shook her head, blinked again, as though waking from the deepest sleep, not comprehending why her eyes were filling with tears. "Where am I?" she asked suddenly, catching him by surprise. She meant it. She had no idea where she was. He took her by the hand, willing his strength into her slim frame, hoping that by taking it she'd be able to use him as an anchor against the chaos swirling inside her mind.

"You're in the mansion," he said in his calmest voice. Jean had control for the moment. All he had to do was make sure that he kept her calm so that she kept that control. "You need to tell me what happened to Scott." She huffed and looked away, and Logan then felt her confusion as though it were his own. Logan pulled Scott's glasses out of his back pocket, surprised that she hadn't pulverized them as much as she'd been crawling on him. "Jean, tell me what happened to him," he coaxed, holding the glasses up for her to inspect.

She looked down at the glasses blankly, as though they meant nothing to her. But Logan watched as recognition dawned in her eyes, as well as horror. An image of a whirlpool flashed before his eyes and he watched as Jean closed her eyes, close to tears. "Oh, God," she whispered.

Another image hit Logan, this time of Jean and Scott heatedly kissing and embracing. Logan looked around him and saw the machinery was falling apart, screws spun from their holes and shot through the air, cabinets opened and shut, tables trembled and moved around, and Scott's glasses broke, crumbling into nothing as tears began streaking down Jean's face. Everything began shaking and Logan suddenly felt Jean's panic as acutely as if it were his own.

He framed her face again, this time of his own free will. "Look at me," he commanded, shaking away the image of Scott's neon red eyes. "Jean, stay with me," he tried again. But the shaking in the room only got worse, and the images she pressed at him only came faster: Scott's red eyes fading into an ice blue. His shock. His wonder. His desperate kiss. His scream of terror as he tried to pull away. His furious struggling and fear as he realized that Jean was holding him with no trouble at all…

Logan shook it all away, knowing that it had to hurt Jean more than it hurt him. "Talk to me," he begged. "Look at me!"

She was looking everywhere but at him, even going so far as to close her eyes. "No," she gasped. "I can't! He… I…"

"Focus, Jean!"

She was whispering, so softly he couldn't make out the words. He read her lips as they moved, and suddenly he didn't want to know what she was a saying. He gave her a rough shake and everything stopped. "Kill me," she breathed, making sure he heard this time.

Logan's heart stopped. "What?" He still didn't want to believe that he'd heard correctly.

Her eyes begged him. "Kill me before I kill someone else."

Logan numbly shook his head. "Don't say that," he said flatly.

"Please, I'm begging you! You're the only one who can…"

"Stop it!"

"Kill me!" The room began shaking again, everything rocking and breaking. Glass from the cabinets shattered and everything lurched towards them, as though Jean were drawing the objects to her for protection.

"Stop it! Look at me." She stopped crying momentarily, her eyes lifeless. "Jean, it'll be alright," he told her. "Look inside my head; deeper than I can go, likely deeper than Charley. You can see where I've been, can't you? I've lost it too, Jean. But you can climb out of that abyss. We can help you, okay?" She hiccuped and gave the tiniest of nods. "The professor can help, he can fix it."

Everything stopped moving and for a painful second the entire room was dead silent. Jean's eyes became black as night, her face twisting in a frightening rage that Logan had never seen.

She leaned in close to him and rubbed her nose delicately against his. "I can't go back to the way I was," she whispered gently. "I'm free now. I thought you, more than anyone else, would understand that and love me enough to let me go." She leaned in closer still, as though to kiss him. Their lips brushed almost tenderly, but her voice was suddenly as hard as steel. "I don't want to fix it!"

He felt a small pressure in his chest and his feet left the ground. He hardly knew what to think of it until he was hurtled into the wall with the full force of a Category Five hurricane. He was out before he could even register the pain.

XXX

Suddenly, Jean pushed Logan back- hard- against the wall, knocking him out cold. As Jean go up, Hawk covered her mouth to muffle her scream; but it was like Jean heard it, nonetheless. She looked up directly at Hawk. Hawk tried to scramble out of the air vents, but Jean caught her and pulled her down- hard, like Logan.

Hawk, however, managed to soften her landing, but Jean knocked her out cold in a motion too quick for Hawk to counter.

XXX

"Logan!" Storm said, rushing up to him. Logan groaned for a moment, the realized something.

"Jean!" he cried.

"What happened?" Storm asked.

"I think she killed Scott."

"What?" Storm said, not believing what she had just heard. "That's not possible."

"I warned you..." Professor X said, closing his eyes. "She's left the mansion, but she's trying to block my thoughts. She's so strong... I fear it may be too late."

Hawk moaned, and that was when they all noticed her. "Don't everyone come rushing up at once."

"Hawk," Storm said, "what're you doing here?"

"Whaddya think?" Hawk replied.

"You were spying on me?" Logan demanded.

"I got bored. Don't worry, I closed my eyes."

"Hawk, how did you get knocked out?" Storm asked.

"Same way Logan did. Except, she pulled me down from the air vents, and then saw that I was telekinetic so she knocked me out somehow. That parts a little fuzzy."

"Now do you understand why you shouldn't eavesdrop?"

"A little."

"How much do you know?" Professor X asked.

"Everything."

Professor X sighed. "Come with us, Hawk. You know too much as it is, might as well let you help out."

XXX

Hawk got out of the car with Storm, Logan, and Professor X. She'd never seen the Grey's house before, and was amazed at how old fashioned it was. "Wait for me here," Xavier said as they walked forward.

"What?" Logan asked.

"I need to see Jean alone."

"You were right, Charles," a familiar voice said. Hawk looked up to see Magneto there. She and Storm quickened their steps slightly. "This one is special."

"What the heck are you doing here?" Logan demanded. Hawk glared at him for his use of language- he used the severe version of "heck"- but he ignored her of course.

"The same thing as the Professor. Visiting an old friend."

"I don't want any trouble here," Charles said.

"Nor do I, Charles-"

"Why do I get the feeling you want to cause nothing but trouble," Hawk said, glaring at him. Storm shot her a look.

Magneto ignored her statement, and continued. "So, shall we go inside?" They started to walk away.

"Shouldn't we go with him?" Hawk asked. "He's just going to cause a rift between them."

Storm looked at her sadly. "No. Charles said he'd handle this. I trust his judgment."

Judgment Smudgement. Hawk thought. There was a huge mutant up ahead, he was probably the muscle in this mess. But she didn't know how or what to think of the others. She could just hope that the Professor knew what he was doing.

XXX

"I came to bring Jean home," Charles said. "Don't interfere Eric."

"Just like old times, huh?" Eric said.

"She needs help, Jean isn't well."

"Funny, you sound just like her parents." Eric stopped and turned to Juggernaut. "Nobody gets inside."

XXX

Hawk saw Magneto stop and murmur something to the larger mutant. She easily emerged herself into his thoughts. "Nobody gets inside."

Hawk almost started forward, but Storm held her back. "No."

"But what if the Professor needs help?" Hawk asked desperately. "I don't think they're gonna stand down for us."

"Hawk, I said no. This is one of those times when you're just going to have to listen and not find a loop hole."

Hawk turned and scowled. This was not going to be pretty.

XXX

Hawk saw the mailbox start to tremble, and winced as she felt Jean's outburst. "'Ro," she heard Logan say as he pointed at the mailbox. "I'm goin' in." Storm grabbed his wrist.

"The Professor said he'd handle this." Hawk knew she meant different. It was clear in her expression and her thoughts. She's my friend to; for longer than you've known her. Don't you dare screw this up.

Hawk was itching for a fight though, and so was Juggernaut. Logan noticed this, and extended his claws. One hand, three blades.

"I hear your claws can cut through anything," Juggernaut challenged. "Want to take a shot?"

"Don't tempt me, bub," Logan cautioned. To Storm's great relief though, and to Hawk's amazement, even though they both knew how close to the edge he was, Logan retracted his blades. Storm knew for dirtbags like this, there'd always be another time. What mattered now, all that mattered now, was Jean. Hawk agreed with this, but she also knew that if they didn't get in there fast, someone was going to get hurt- or, more likely, die. She shot Logan a dirty look, wondering why he didn't choose this one time to disobey Storm's orders.

XXX

Hawk sensed, then heard the explosion in the house. She grimaced this time. Jean's outbursts were getting worse and worse. Logan, having better hearing than most of them, heard it to. "That's it," he said, pausing as Storm called his name.

"Logan, wait for me."

Hawk was glad that they were finally going to fight. Juggernaut sensed the challenge and put on his helmet. As Logan charged, Storm went airborne. Hawk stayed where she was. Flames in either hand. The adults could handle the breaching, she would just rush in and get the Professor, and possibly take on Phoenix. Storm would probably kill her for the latter though; but, she didn't really care.

Juggernaut head-butted Logan in the chest, causing Wolverine to flip through the air and land hard on the pavement. He looked over his shoulder, and cursed under his breath. "Talking mushrooms, Logan," Hawk muttered.

Logan got up, and tried to slice through the Juggernaut's arm. They just went through. Juggernaut picked Logan up then, and threw him through the window.

Storm, on the other hand, held herself still in the heart of her vortex that she was creating; while intensifying the winds to the point where she generated a localized, but formidable, tornado. The mutants left outside, Kid Omega and Radian- although Hawk thought Porcupine, or even Quill, was a better name for the spiky mutant as he popped his spikes to shoot at Storm- didn't know which way to turn as the funnel descended, striking faster and more accurately than a cobra accompanied by a lightning strike, knocking them out.

Callisto got ready to fight, but Storm shot her lightning bolts, breaking the door down and knocking Callisto in. Hawk raced to the entrance.

XXX

Storm walked through the doorway. Callisto was on the floor, and Storm thought she would be smart enough to stay that way after those bolts. Instead, Callisto got up, and literally, in a split second was by the fireplace. She laughed. As Storm was trying to comprehend this, Callisto raced up and punched her in the face. That was when Hawk came in. "Storm," she cried as she saw the punch.

Callisto looked up and saw her. From the look on her face, Storm knew Callisto thought that this was going to be fun, beating up a little girl. She noticed Hawk wince again, like she did earlier when the mailbox started to shake. This obviously had something to do with Jean. Callisto took advantage of the moment, and tried to knock her out, but, instead ended up spinning as Hawk ducked.

Even though Storm knew what Hawk was capable of with her powers, she also knew that Hawk was terrible at fighting when she was in pain. Callisto must've figured that also, as Hawk ducked behind a couch, then turned back to Storm, rushing her into a head-but, and giving Storm a headache; then grabbed Storm and smashed her face into the glass table.

XXX

Hawk grabbed her head and tried to put up her blocks. The closer she got to Jean, the worse it got. Both Wolverine and Storm were getting their butts kicked out there, and here she was, cowering in pain. That made her angry, and she forced herself to concentrate harder...

XXX

Callisto slammed Storm into a wall, and Juggernaut threw Logan into the same wall from the outside. Then Callisto threw Storm against the floor, and Storm skidded to the other side of the room. Callisto went to attack Storm more as Juggernaut picked Logan up, and Logan tried to slice threw Juggernaut's arm; Juggernaut retaliated with a punch. Callisto threw Storm against some shelf, and that was the final straw; while Juggernaut continued his series of punches, Storm's eyes turned white and she threw a thunder micro-burst behind her- acting like a punch- then went for the face. Callisto was stunned for a moment, but after the second one, she deflected the third, causing it to hit and create a hole in the ceiling.

Logan stabbed the Juggernaut from behind. "Storm!" He cried, holding out his claws to her. She somehow managed to get Callisto's hands in some kind of lock, then shot a lightning bolt to Logan; electrocuting him and Juggernaut. After a few seconds, Logan retracted his claws, and the Juggernaut fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Hawk finally managed to get the blocks up and stop the pain. The warning signals of Phoenix's next move came by and Hawk was able to establish a telekinetic grip onto the ground, while everyone else was pinned to the roof. Hawk walked slowly- at a rate which she would later think was far too slow- to the study where Jean and the Professor were. Logan- not surprisingly- was crawling along the roof. When they reached the study, Logan didn't even notice her. He used his claws and opened the door.

Everything was floating in some sort of telekinetic vortex and Jean and the Professor seemed to be having a stare-down, with Xavier in the air. Hawk saw the skin starting to flake off of him. Logan started to scream. And then Magneto cried Xavier's name. Hawk looked at Jean, horrified as Xavier exploded. She screamed as she was knocked back, putting up a force-field to protect herself from the debris.

XXX

Logan helped Storm up. "You alright, 'Ro?"

"Fine, Logan," Storm replied, looking around fervently, as if she lost something. "Where's Hawk?"

A movement near a crashed wall got their attention, and they quickly found out where she was. Storm had never seen her look so scared in her life. Then, the thought about the Professor struck her. "Logan, where's Charles?"

Logan dashed off to the direction of the study; Storm on his heels. For once, Hawk wasn't so eager to follow. Logan stopped dead when they saw the Professor's chair and sank to his knees. Storm couldn't hold back her tears and joined him. Hawk stood back, hand covering her eyes, thinking that if she had just followed her instinct, and not held back, things might have been different.

After a few minutes of grief, all three headed to the car. Hawk in the back, Storm in shotgun, and Logan driving. Hawk was nervously nibbling at her nails; Logan noticed this. "What's gotten into you, kid?"

Storm looked up when Hawk didn't answer, and saw a slightly haunted look on Hawk's face through the rear view mirror. "Hawk?"

Hawk looked up at Storm's call. "What?"

"Logan asked you a question."

"Oh, nothing Logan. It's just... never mind. It's nothing."

Neither adult believed that for a second. "Come on, now," Logan said.

"Look," Hawk flared, "I said it was nothing. Just drop it."

Storm turned slightly, to face her. It was a shame she didn't have telepathy. If she knew Hawk, she would have her telepathic blocks up to prevent any conversation. Hawk looked up when she felt Storm looking at her. "What?"

Storm gave her a look that told her that they were going to talk about this later.





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