"I said, 'No!'!" Logan stood in the middle of the room in his underwear. His hands on his hips as he glared at Jean and the Professor. "Just what the hell do you think I'll be doing in there?"

"That isn't the question, Logan. The latex has to cover all of your body evenly so that it will adhere correctly." Jean tried a reasonible tone. "It took months to get the mixture just right and another three to find all the componants we needed. The process is slow. I don't want to waste a years worth of work because you are shy."

"Then we don't do it." He said succinctly.

"I don't know what your-" Jean started her patience wearing thin. She stopped and then taking a deep breath turned to Xavier. "But-"

"It will be alright Jean." Charles assured her.

"Fine." she said as she lifted a hand and a metal cilinder flew across the room. If Logan hadn't duct it would have taken his head off.

"Hey! Just because I let you get my shirt off again doesn't mean I'm going to let you in my pants sweetheart. No matter what you throw at me."

She narrowed her eyes on the obnoxious man before her. Slidding googles over her face she set the gages. "Arms up fingers extended. And close your damn eyes." Without so much as a second passing she shot him in the chest with to cold liquid.

"Fuck! That is cold." he screeched. His body jumping in reaction.

"I'd shut up and grin and bear it!" She said as she flipped the little hose and doused his face. Hiding a smile of amusement at the big strong man's reaction.

The whole process was taking to long, Logan thought. Oh, the covering had only taken ten minutes. It was the drying part that was getting under his skin. Not to mention this damn covering was starting to feel like-"

"A giant prophylactic!" Exclaimed the man as he entered the automatic doors. Scott Winter's tried as hard as he could to hold his laughter in but he couldn't. The sight of the other man's torment went far in evening the score that had been set when Logan stole his bike.

"Grrrrrr!" Logan grumbled. This wasn't good. He hated to be anyone's joke on a good day, but this wasn't a good day. And he also liked it better with his cloths on. "Jean seems to enjoy getting me out of my cloths. You should try playing hard to get. Make her work for it." he said half heartedly.

Weather or not he had been trying the smile left Scott's face. His feature's tense. Logan wasn't in the mood for this. His mind was locked in the past. He just needed to take out his frustration and Scott had walked right into that one.

Forestalling a situation he wasn't in the mood to handle he bit out, "Listen, Scott, you know and I know that this isn't about Jean. It has to be about Marie." Logan unconsciously used Rogue's given name.

What he said was true the antaganism between them was more comic relief than any real hostility. They were releasing tention. Scott bowed his head in understanding. When he looked back at the bigger man his brows were furrowed.

"Logan-" he said. "I heard about everything. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I wish I could understand what you were going through-"

"No," Logan said quietly his eyes straight ahead. "No, you don't want to understand this. You can't." turning to look right into the younger man's glasses. "You can't understand because you've never had the woman you love wheeled into a room on a gurney because she killed herself. Never seen your newborn baby lying lifeless in his mother's equally lifeless arms. While you were strapped to a table and powerless to have stopped it." He gave the man a small smile. "She needed me. I promised to protect her. So far I have failed her. Three times! In a big way. I won't fail her again."

Shaken to his very core and with the picture's Logan spoke of in his head Scott nodded. He had imagined Jean and himself in place of Logan and Rogue. It wasn't something he would forget anytime soon.

"You're right man. I don't want to understand." He turned and started for the door then he turned around. "Jean said you should be done. You can get dressed now." Then he smiled. "Man, did you get her riled. It was almost enough to make a man jeolous."

"Were you jeolous?"

"No, 'cause if I had to be jeolous over every muscle bound neanderthal that got her riled she wouldn't be my girl." They both laughed.

Logan moved to pick up his pant's his face contorting, "Damn, I don't think my underwear will ever be the same."

"Yeah, Jean said you were embaressed to bare it all in front of her."

"Not embaressed I just figured once she had a gander at a real man she might be ruined for you lessor mortal's." he lifted his hand and unsheathed his claws. "After all you know what they say about a man with big hands." He said a wicked glint in his eyes.

Scott laughed and turned to leave tossing over his shoulder, "Yeah, that he can't find a pair of gloves that fit for shit."

Logan was once again standing in front of the white room. Xavier was giving him last minute instruction's that he wasn't listening to and Jean was prattling on and on about what he could do in this giant rubber suit he was wearing. He was also ignoring her. Much to her agrivation. It seemed everyone had advice for him.

"I'm a hundred and four years old. Do you think you can cut the apron strings?" He growled. Both Xavier and Jean closed their mouths. Moving to the panal that opened her room he placed his hand on it and a scanning lazer swept over his left eye. "Thank you, Logan Woolf." a computer replied. His head pulled back and he turned to Xavier who just shrugged and motioned him to go on in. Taking a step toward the door triggered the automaton and it slid open.

His body tense he stepped into the room. She was sitting against the far wall her head on her knees. As though she sensed him she looked up her face lighting up as though someone had lite a candle inside.

"Logan?" she drawled in her thick accent. "Is it really you?" before he knew what was happening she had thrust herself up and across the room to him. Her arms twined around his waist. "They said you wur dead. They told me you wur killed." Tears ran down her face. And he might have been surprised to learn they also slid from his own eyes.

"Yes, Maria. It's me." he caressed her cheek sweeping the tears from them. "They lied, Angel Face." He murmured and kissed her forehead.

"Our baby?", Hope shining in her face.

"No, Angel." he stroked her cheek as fresh tears overflowed. Glad now that he had submitted to the covering. "That was true. I'm sorry."

He held her as she cried for their lost child. He held her long after she slipped off to sleep. At some point he to went to sleep while he held her and stroked his fingers through her hair.

When Rogue opened her eyes she was confused. She lay on her side in a padded white room. How had she gotten here? "It's a really white room." she murmured. Where ever she was she felt warm and safe. It was a big improvement over the place she had been before. She didn't want to ever move again. It was the feel of a large hand sliding up her bare arm that got her moving she jerked away as though the gentle hand were a flame of fire.

"Easy, Angel Face." Came Logan's gruff and sleepy voice.

"Logan?" she stood staring at her arm where he had touched her. "You touched me." She brought astonished eyes up to meet his.

"Yeah, Jean covered my whole body in this latex covering." he said as he moved to stand his eyes on his feet. "That way I could be in here with you and not-" then as if realising something had changed. "Rogue?"

"Yes?" was all she said as she looked down at herself. "What happened to me?" she asked.

"You tried to-" he started but couldn't finish. "Your past self tried to kill herself."

"Wh-what?" her frightened eyes rose to meet his.

"While you were in your session with Regressor your remembered what-how your past self died." he explained. Closing her eyes she looked down and nodded. Letting the memories flood back into her brain.

"They said you were dead." Her hand went to her stomach. "They took our baby." Eyes that should have been only seventeen and ten months suddenly looked old. "How can that be?"

"It's a long story.", he said, "and once you've had some rest I'll tell it to you, but for right now we need to see The Professor and Jean." he stroked her face.

She closed her eyes. She savored the touch even if it wasn't actual flesh to flesh. "This feels wonderful." she burrowed deeper into his arms. "I wish-" she left it unsaid after all they both knew what she wished.

"We have a lot of work to do. We need to speak to the other's." He guided her to the door and it slid open revealing three happy X-men and their Founder.

"Rogue." Xavier said. "I'm so glad you're back with us."

"So am I Professor." She murmured.

"You must be tired." Jean said. "Why don't the two of you go to your room. and get some rest."

"Good Idea." Logan said as he steared her to the elevator. Before stopping to look back at Jean. He looked her in the eye and willed her to read his mind.

He knew he had succeeded when her eyes widened and she blushed bright red, before stammering, "Ye-Yes."

He winked at her and then stepped on the elevator pushing the button for the correct floor. The doors closed and left the three of them standing there. Then Jean and the Professor looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"What?" Scott demanded.

Jean tried to stop laughing but she couldn't. That had been priceless. "He said to tell you thanks for the idea." Then she turned and left him staring after her.

"Idea," he murmured.

MEAN WHILE...

Logan had debated with himself all the way up in the elevator and as they walked down the hall to the room. He was torn between the memories of over an hundred years and the fact that a lot had changed.

She wasn't his wife for one. She was still under age for another, and she might not feel the same way he did about her. All very good reason's to drop her off in her room and run like hell to the nearest bar.

When they reached the door. He turned her to face him and kissed her forehead, whispering, "sweet dreams." Giving her a slight push toward the door he turned and fled. Her voice stopped him.

"You runnin' again?" He flexed his hands at his sides not daring to look back at her.

"I have some things to take care of." he said.

"I would call you a dashing rogue." She murmured. His mind flashing to one instance. They had just finished making love. His body still inside hers. He watched her as she recovered from her climax. "You told me that you liked watching me loose control. That When I came I had a face like an angel." He closed his eyes as the memory of that moment in time flooded his mind. "Logan, you touched me earlier and it was wonderful, but if I thought that I would have to go the rest of my life remembering what it was like to have you inside me..." her voice rose heedless of weather or not they were alone in the hall. "without you beside me. I wouldn't make it."Tears rising up yet again. "Please stay with me."

Slowly he turned a fierce look in his eyes. In three strides he was at her side and had dragged her into the dimmily lit room. Kicking the door shut. He pulled her to him.

"I'm afraid that there are something's this latex isn't good for, but Jean says it is water resistant." he ran a hand from her cheek to her nape. "But, first." He placed his lips over hers. She felt his lips start to open.

"Mmmm. No!"

"It's okay. Just a little kiss." He murmured. "You have some scratches on your face."

"No, I want to get to that shower. And I won't get there if your in a coma for three weeks." She pulled away from him and walked backward to the door that led to the bathroom. "I have this awesome shower gel I want to try."

He watched her disappear into the bathroom and a slow smile spread across his face and wicked gleam entered his eyes.