To Love and to Cherish - Part Two

by Khaki


Marie assumed that she was dying as she watched her life flash before her eyes, but then she noticed something odd. Her life was running backwards, starting from the moment she had passed out on the operating table and running back to this morning and to then last night. That wasn't the only strange thing. She was seeing her life from a different perspective. Logan's!

It had been over four years since he had last touched her. Four years since she'd been shot next to the empty field that used to be her home. When Logan had touched her that time, the presence of the police officer she'd recently absorbed had kept her from assimilating most of his new memories. Now, his memories flooded her mind as his healing factor took over her body.

*FLASH*

Anna looking up at him as he shaved one morning.

"Can I do that, Daddy?"

"No, pun'kin, little girls don't shave."

"But I wanna!"

"Your mommy doesn't shave. Don't you wanna grow up to be beautiful like Mommy?"

"No. I wanna be like you."

"That'll be kinda difficult, darlin'," he said, with a laugh.

"You said I can be anything I want when I grow up," Anna replied with a pouty-lipped expression that made his heart melt. Where had she learned to do that so well? Marie, of course. He could never say "no" to Marie.

Wiping the excess shaving cream from his face and splashing on his aftershave, he glanced back at her. With a sigh, he slapped some on her face as well. She beamed and ran off, trailing the scent of Old Spice behind her.

*FLASH*

Pain! Mind-numbing, indescribable pain. In an instant, he had been reduced from a man to just a cluster of nerve endings burning in agony. His vision took on a red haze as blood flowed from everywhere. He wanted to give in to it, to surrender and leave the anguish behind, but he'd promised.

"I'll see you tonight," Marie had said as he left her and Anna behind, abandoning their picnic to go on this mission.

"Tonight," he'd promised. He had to hold on, if only to see her one last time, tonight.

*FLASH*

"Give your daddy a kiss," Marie said, handing Anna over to him.

She leaned against his face, giving him a slobbery, wet kiss against his muttonchops.

"Thank you," he said, grimacing as he rubbed at the saliva remaining on his cheek.

"Daddy, don't rub it off," Anna said, face turning down in a frown.

"Um… uh… I'm not rubbing it off, pun'kin. I'm… I'm rubbing it in. That way, it's with me all day."

*FLASH*

"Are you sure about this, Jean?" he heard Marie ask, worry and fear in her voice.

"The only way to tell is for you to touch her."

"Logan… you'll pull her away if anything…"

"I've got her, darlin', but nothing's gonna happen."

He followed Marie's gaze down to Anna, cradled in his arms, wearing nothing but a diaper. It was a frightening amount of exposed skin, but this was the only way.

'Please, if anyone's out there, if anyone can hear me,' he prayed, 'let her be able to touch Anna. I know I'm probably not high on your To Do list, but please just let Marie have this. I'll do anything… She needs it so much.'

He watched as her bare hand reached out and stopped, hovering an inch away from the delicate, vulnerable skin. Taking a deep breath, Marie closed her eyes and brushed against the warm, pink softness.

Nothing happened. No flash, no suddenly visible, bulging veins, just skin on skin. Marie's eyes shot open and she grabbed with both hands, pulling Anna into a warm embrace and kissing her cheeks, chin, hair, hands, everywhere.

"Ma ma," Anna said, squealing in delight at all the sudden attention.

The joy Logan felt was overwhelming, and he allowed the hot tears to roll down his face, knowing that Marie and Jean were too distracted to notice.

'Thank you,' he thought, gratitude filling his soul.

*FLASH*

A spine-rattling scream broke the silence of the night. Anna was up again. Five times this night alone, and it was only 4 a.m. This colic thing was going to kill them one way or another. He could hear Marie moan and shift beside him. He knew she'd hardly gotten any sleep tonight, and despite his own bone-weariness, he couldn't let her get up again.

"I'll get it, darlin'. You rest," Logan said, dragging the covers off and levering himself up to a standing position on the cold, wooden floor. Shuffling like a zombie, he made his way to the baby's room. Even with a healing factor, this month of 2 to 3 hours of sleep a night were running him down. He didn't know how Marie managed it.

After shutting the door, he turned on the light, flinching away from the jarring brightness like a vampire entering the sun. Anna's shrieking took on an even higher keening at the sudden illumination. With his sensitive hearing, the screaming was agonizing, and he felt that if he put his hands up to his ears right now, they'd almost assuredly come away bloody.

Trying to quiet her, he picked up his little daughter and held her to his chest. It had taken weeks before his worries that she would break when he picked her up had started to fade. Even now, he was still a little nervous, but he had her in a good hold.

Pacing the small room, adding a little bouncing to his walk, he tried to stop her crying. She screamed all the louder. Raising his voice to a falsetto and desperately hoping no one heard him, he tried to calm her with the baby talk he'd heard Marie use at times like this. No effect. He growled in frustration and then the room fell silent.

He looked down to see the baby's suddenly calm face. As he watched in wonder her features reddened again in preparation for another crying fit. He growled again and watched as the baby snuggled into his chest, comforted by the low sound and vibrations. Continuing to growl, he settled down into the rocking chair that Marie used, thankful for this reprieve and desperate to at least be off his feet. Minutes later, he fell into restful oblivion, Anna already peacefully asleep in his arms.

*FLASH*

The metal door, covered in slashes that he had inflicted over the past hour, finally slid open.

"You can come out now," Jean said, standing by the entrance.

Sniffing the air, he ran past her, following Marie's scent. Running down the hallway and rounding the last corner into a private room, he stopped, taking in the sight of Marie lying in bed and holding a pink bundle.

"Are you ok? Is she ok?" Logan asked, worry filling his voice.

"We're fine," she said, and he could tell by her scent that she was all right. No more blood, no pain. Immediately, his panic faded, and calmer now, he took in her appearance. Tired, tousled hair, drugged half out of her mind, and full of joy, she'd never looked more beautiful.

"Hank's not so fine," Jean added to Marie's statement as she walked into the room, "but he'll recover."

"Yeah," Logan replied, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry. Seeing Marie like that..."

"I understand, but you might want to apologize when you see him next."

"Sounds like good advice," he agreed.

Looking up at him, Marie said in awe, "Oh, Logan, she has your hair."

Logan walked to her side for a better look, and sure enough, there was a tuft of dark brown hair poking out from under the cotton wrap. "Poor girl."

"Stop that! I love your hair."

"She's healthy, right? She's ok?"

Marie nodded, "Healthy, strong lungs (wait'll you hear her cry), ten fingers, ten toes, practically perfect in every way."

Logan couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly with her last assessment.

*FLASH*

He desperately needed a good, stiff drink. It had been so long. He'd settle for one of those piss-poor American beers. Hell, he'd settle for a wine cooler. He was desperate for alcohol, any kind of alcohol, but he couldn't indulge.

He knew how hard the pregnancy-long abstinence would be on Marie, what with his appetites still floating around in her head, and he had decided to go teetotaler with her. The only problem was that he couldn't take it anymore. What with her mood swings, strange cravings, and all the other things that went along with pregnancy, he needed a drink or twelve and a few good cigars to take the edge off before he went insane.

A knock on the door distracted him from his silent rant, and he yanked it open with a growl. Scooter was standing at the entrance.

"Hey, Logan. I'm looking for Rogue."

"She's taking a nap," he practically snarled.

"I'm up, Logan," Marie said from the doorway to their bedroom. "What's going on, Scott?"

"Um, I've been elected to give you this," he said, presenting her with several pages of paper.

"What's is it?" Marie asked, opening the pages and glancing at the list of names.

"Well... it's a petition. Everyone signed it: students, teachers, even the professor. Basically, um, we want Logan to start drinking again. He's driving everyone crazy... No offense, Logan."

Logan's face screwed up in a scowl at Fearless Leader, but when Marie nodded thoughtfully and told him to go visit Lily Page's Tavern, relief flowed through him, and he knew he owed Scott, big time.

*FLASH*

"Logan, you don't have to keep doing this," Marie protested as she was once again carried over a threshold.

"I wanna do it, darlin'. This is our first apartment. It's only fittin'."

"Yes, but you also did it on our honeymoon at every hotel we stayed at, at the mansion,..."

"What can I say, Marie?" Logan interrupted with a sly grin. "I love having you in my arms."

*FLASH*

Logan was overcome by sensations. The sight of Marie, floating down the aisle, accompanied by Xavier, made his heart skip a few beats. She was stunning, hair pulled back and up away from her face except for two white ringlets brushing her cheeks. Her dress was traditional white, simplistic but devastating in its beauty. Her smile was radiant and as their eyes met, his spirits soared. Then, she looked down at the professor and for a moment, just a moment, a frown clouded her features. Just as quickly, she recovered and again graced him with that gorgeous smile, but he knew something had happened there. He made a note to discuss it with her later.

Soon, she was by his side, and as he turned to face the minister, the smells surrounding him took precedence over the sights. Her perfume, the pure scent of her happiness and joy, and the scent of the roses in her bouquet. The scents were soon overpowered by the sound of her voice as she took the vows, but that was just as quickly overcome by the sensation of her hand on his, slipping a ring on his finger that he knew he would never take off.

The best sensation by far, though, was the taste of her lips on his as he kissed her through the veil. It didn't matter that they couldn't touch. It never would. He had Marie and he would spend the rest of his life loving her.

*FLASH*

The sounds of a baby crying brought her back to consciousness. Opening her eyes, she was forced to squint at the blinding light of the med lab.

"Logan?" she croaked.

"Rogue, you're awake." Jean said, appearing at her side with a glass of water. "Slowly," she advised as she put the straw in Marie's mouth.

After taking a few sips, Marie asked, "What happened? Logan? The baby?"

"You started hemorrhaging. Probably a placental defect we didn't detect on the ultrasound. Logan had to touch you."

"I know... Is he... will he be ok?"

"He's resting right now." Jean said in a calming voice. "Hank's with him. I think he'll wake up tonight or tomorrow, since he wasn't injured before he touched you."

"The baby? Logan thought there was a problem."

"He's fine. It took a bit of stimulation to start him breathing, but that's more common than people think with Caesarian babies. He's pinked up, and you can hear that his lungs are working wonderfully."

"I want to see them," Marie said, pulling herself up to a sitting position. The room started spinning, and she immediately swayed into Jean.

"Whoa, even with a healing factor. You've lost a lot of blood. It'll take a few more hours before you're completely healed. Lie back down."

"I want to see Michael and Logan now," Marie demanded.

It took some time, but Jean was finally coerced into letting her out of bed as long as she used a wheelchair. Sitting by Logan's bed, holding their sleeping son, she remembered all the things she had experienced through his eyes. Throughout all his memories ran one theme: his love for her and Anna. Every day in every way, he was saying, "I love you."

Reaching out and stroking his hair with one gloved hand as he slept, she whispered. "Right back at ya, sugah."

The End.


Feedback

Return to the Med Lab     Return to To Love and to Cherish Main Page     See 'Til Death Do Us Part