Dr. Claire Richards was fascinated to finally witness one of her patient's flashbacks. He was really trapped in his past, unaware of the true identities of the people around him. It was an extremely dangerous situation for a man who could kill in seconds to not be able to identify friend or foe. Still, when encouraged and given time to think, he could snap himself back to reality.

"Dr. Richards, how did you get down here?" an annoyed and worried Scott Summers asked her as they stood in the hallway outside that amazing room. The "danger room" if she remembered correctly what Jubilee had called it.

"I followed Logan. He was running through the mansion like a freight train, and I figured it would be wise to see what he was up to."

"You shouldn't be down here."

Claire saw Logan exit the room down the hall, Jubilee-less now. He turned to the elevator and left.

"Could we talk about this later, Scott?"

"No, we'll talk about this now. This is a serious breach of the school's security and..."

"Scott, Charles asked me to stay here to help Logan, and I'm going to do my job. We'll discuss this later," she said in an authoritative tone and left Scott standing in the hallway.

She caught sight of Logan through the windows when she made it to the first floor. He was heading out to the woods. Good, he might be more willing to talk in a less restraining environment. She followed.

Soon, she was deep in the thick of the woods, not knowing when Logan had gone, and not that sure she'd be able to find her way back either. Turning around, to try and get her bearings, she heard a voice above her.

"The mansion is back that way."

Logan was perched in the branches of a tree above her. Craning her head to look at him, she asked, "Are you ready to talk about what happened today and last night?"

"Nope."

"Too bad. I am," she replied.

Claire Richards looked around and found a patch of grass she could comfortably sit on. Logan seemed happy with his position in the tree, so maybe he would stay there. That was fine with her, as long as he was staying around, she had a chance to make him talk.

He didn't say another word, probably studying her from his higher position. Claire let him take time to relax and, hopefully, feel confident with her. It wasn't hard for her to understand that this environment was way more suitable for her patient than her own, professional office.

It wasn't hard for her to realize that this guy was stubborn and wouldn't open up willingly, either. Yes, he was stubborn, and so were she. Twenty minutes had passed in silence. That was enough.

"That is a very... interesting gym Charles has down there," she stated nonchalantly, looking at the forest around her, but not at him.

Silence.

"I know you're a mutant."

"How d'you know?" came the low voice. Logan never liked being recognized as a mutant. Not that he was ashamed about it, but being unnoticeable had often proved quite useful.

"Well, you flashed your claws in our first session. I thought they were a mutation, but they could've been knives or another kind of weapon. Today, I was in that room above the gym, and saw you again." she explained.

Silence again.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" she asked.

"Try me."

"Were you born with these... uh..."

"Claws. No."

Silence. This time, she didn't reply. She had given him a few things to think about. Now, all she had to do was wait and listen. Something, she was sure, would come out of him.

But fifteen minutes later, the sun set and he hadn't spoken another word. Claire wondered if there was a word to describe a person being this ultra stubborn. She tighted her jacket around her, almost defeated. She hated that. She could make a photograph talk; she could make a rock cry. No patient had ever resisted her. They all finally opened up to her, sooner or later, but none had ever lasted this long.

She looked up at the sky, in the opposite direction from Logan, and watched the stars. She had no more choices now. She had to take the bull by the horns and live with the aftershocks.

"They grafted them into you. Having people abusing you.... That must have been horrible," she tried.

Logan had been patient... really patient. He felt quite proud of himself for not running away from that shrink, something he could have done easily. But now, she was invading territory he usually kept to himself, and she would not go further in. He had told her all the gory details in their first session, trying to scare her away, but he had never revealed the feelings that went along with the experience: the pain, the fear, the helplessness, and the hate.

In a split second, he was on her. Literally. Claws unsheathed slowly, although not menacingly. He, instead, held them up, making her see them quite closely. She wanted to know? Damnit, she would!

"Horrible?! Who d'you think you are to talk about it? No one knows!" he shouted to her face.

"So, tell me, Logan," she invited. She tried to stay calm, but she also knew that at any moment, he could experience one of these flashbacks. Which meant she wasn't quite safe right now. She tried her best to stay calm, even as he kept staring at her with those fierce eyes.

"No one knows how it was... how it is to..." Amazingly, he couldn't say the words. To him, they were emotions so strong, he never bothered to put a name to them. He just hated feeling them.

"To what, Logan? To feel helpless, hopeless, abused..." she added "violated?" in a quiet voice.

"You shrinks!" he pushed her against the ground, covering her so she couldn't move. "Ye're all the same. Ye think you understand everythin', but you don't! Ye're playin' with my head," he snarled.

"I understand what you're feeling, Logan," she whispered.

"How could you?!! You've never..." he started yelling at her face.

"Yes, Logan. I do. I know what being violated is like," she cut him off.

He stared at her, as realization dawned on him.

"What? When?"

"This isn't a contest, Logan. I'm not going to share my problems with you so we can decide who's suffered more. This is about you. Until you face what they did to you, allow yourself to feel something other than hate and anger, you'll never recover. You have to allow yourself to mourn.

"They took control of your life. You think you escaped them when you ran away, but you didn't. Until you allow yourself to face what happened to you, to finally feel everything you've bottled up inside, you're still their prisoner. They stole your past, but unless you take action, they will steal your future as well."

Silence. Logan just stared at her, absorbing what she'd told him. Leaning back and retracting his claws, he sat down in front of her, staring at the tree roots before him.

They stayed there, Claire looking at Logan, Logan looking at the ground, for quite some time before he spoke.

"I don't know how."

"How to what, Logan?"

"How to stop feeling like I do. Do you think I like the nightmares, the rages, the fear I'll hurt someone I care about?"

"It's the way you've been coping with what happened to you for as long as you can remember. It will be difficult to change, but you have friends willing to help you."

"They think I'm nuts."

"No they don't, Logan. Everyone has problems, mutants more so. I think Xavier's school alone has financed my house, my car, my trip to the Bahamas, well, you get the point. They understand."

Logan nodded.

"Are you ready try?"

Logan nodded again.

They didn't return to the mansion until well into the next morning.

One year later...

"Cannonball!"

Marie and Jubilee were splashed by a massive wave as they sunbathed next to the pool.

"Logan!" "Wolvie!" they screamed in unison.

Logan climbed out of the pool with a cheeky grin, and leaned over the two girls, shaking his head like a dog to spray the water from his hair onto them.

"Jubilee, you should've never taught him how to swim."

"Hey, it's all Hank's fault. He invented those arm floaters that help him stay above water."

Logan just smiled and jumped back into the pool splashing them again before he started his laps.

"I don't know how to thank you for what you've done for Logan, Claire."

"I did my job, Charles, like I do for all of my patients."

"You must admit that he was a more difficult case than you usually see."

"Everyone is unique, Charles, and I can't take credit for Logan's recovery. He did the work."

"Still, with all the help you've given us over the years, I can't help but think that our school needs a full-time psychiatrist. And since you already know all our secrets..."

"I'll think about it Charles, thank you." Claire said, and then turned to see Logan enjoying himself with his friends. Unshackled from his demons, his future was bright and limitless.