Part Nine

"Jubes, it's Logan..." the short, beast-man leaned over the bed to his little protegee and patted her hand to get her to open her eyes. She wasn't sleeping, but she refused to face the eyes of either Hank or himself. "Open yer eyes fer one minute, darlin'."

Her dull, aching blue eyes cracked open slowly and she looked at Logan through the thick lashes. "Please...leave me alone."

Tears started to streak down her face, wetting the dry skin. The purple and red bruise on her cheek seemed to brighten as the salt water hit it. "Hank's gonna give ya some sleeping pills to help ya 'til we get ya t' my room and then you'll wake up in there..."

"Please leave me alone." she stated more clearly. She sobbed and coughed at the sudden, sharp intake of breath in her lungs. "I don't ... want to be ... with anyone. Please..."

"Hank..." Logan watched the younger beast slip his paws under Jubilee's head and sit her up so she could take two of the small white pills and help her swallow some water. She bit her lip at a sudden pinch in her throat, but she swallowed and lay back. Turning his attentions back to her, he smiled and brushed a stray tear away. "You did good darlin' ... I know more than anyone that tellin' yer secrets is hard, but we know yer okay now, 'cause Hank could check ya out properly..."

Tears started again and she let her eyes close to wait for the waves of sleep that threatened to swallow her. Hank waited for a moment and then motioned for Logan to join him in the hallway.

"My friend, she is in a terrible state. She is healing on the outside, and I now encourage outdoor walks in a wheelchair, but she is mentally unstable and unable to cope with telling anyone what has happened during Operation: Zero Tolerance..."

"Can ya really blame her Hank?" Logan asked, rubbing his face as he thought. The bruises and pains from the night before were gone as they should have been, but he felt the difference as he thought of the way it had gone. The fight hadn't been good bar fun the way it usually was. It really never would be the same.

Sighing, he went to open the door and Hank stopped him. "Kitty is in great pain too Logan..."

"What happened to her?" he asked, spinning around to face the man again. He searched his face. It couldn't be happening; both of his little girls couldn't be hurt.

"Jubilee happened to her. Kitty told me the other day about how she was feeling when I asked her. She is angry Logan, and scared and confused. I suggest you go and have a talk with her sometime today."

"I can't. She'll have to come up while..."

"Get Remy or Bobby to watch Jubilee so you can go and have a talk with Kitty." Hank said, sending a steady glare at Logan as he fidgeted. Hank saw he'd have to make more excuses for Logan to leave Jubilee's side. Having him in the room with his guilt and anger wasn't good for Jubilee and to have someone who loved her just as much and made her laugh might help more.

* * * *

Kitty sighed and turned around to the pond again as Jean floated away, tears brimming in her eyes. Turning to the house, she watched the tall, fiery woman gracefully open the back door and walk inside. Katherine now felt more than alone. Sighing again for the second time in as many minutes, she headed back to the pond and sat at the edge again. Looking out at the sun as it glistened through the trees, she rubbed at her eyes, threatening herself as they were about to overflow. She played slowly at phasing herself through rocks near the dock and finally stretched out on the wooden planks, eyes closed.

Why did she hate Jubilee? Why had Logan left her? Why had Pete left her? Why had she left all of them? Kitty wondered about these questions as she watched a baby toad jump across the grass nearby. Kitty crossed her legs and sat up, leaning over the water's edge.

"Because I'm too jealous." she whispered to the goldfish below.

* * * *

Remy watched Kitty quietly moving out on the dock. He'd never actually met the girl before his return to the X-Men. She'd joined the European team called Excalibur while he was still a freelance thief. But, lighting up a cigarette, Remy watched her.

She was obviously upset by the way she moved and kept rubbing at her face, but Remy didn't feel she needed a hug or a talk from a perfect stranger. Sighing himself, he looked at the mansion and saw Jean watching the girl from the kitchen window. This part of the pond was the closest to the mansion, and really not the swimming spot, but people from the X-Men came here to boat, which is why there was a dock. However, it was not the ideal place to be sulking if you didn't want to be talked to.

(Written by Nova Zion)

* * * *

There was a light rapping on the door to Logan's room, and the faint rustling of the wood against the carpet as Bobby entered, uninvited, but grinning nonetheless.

"Hey, Jubilee," he called softly, ignoring the sharp glare Wolverine sent him; he was used to sub-zero temperatures. He held up a small black bag, marked 'Hot Topics' and crossed the room to her. Her blue eyes stared up at him, void of all emotion, and her drawn face was wet, as if someone had just run a damp washcloth over it. A vivid blue and purple gash ran across her cheek, making the young man inwardly cringe, but he silently acknowledged that it looked better than it had the last time he had seen her. Sprawled out on the grass. Covered in blood. Draining of life.

Casting the thought aside, Drake grabbed the chair that had been sat in and pushed aside several times in the past few hours and spun it around, straddling the back. Resting one nicely-muscled arm across the back, he rested his chin on it, and with his other hand, set the bag on Jubilee's stomach, which rose and fell shallowly beneath the cotton sheet. He noted that she had lost much weight since the beginning of her stay at the mansion and now her form was slight, too weak to face a battle should the need arise.

"What is it?" she asked almost mechanically, never taking her eyes from him.

He shrugged. "You'll have to open it, won't you?"

The girl gave Logan a questioning look, and at his peripheral, Bobby saw the ancient man nod, squeezing her small hand slightly. He looked away as the Canadian bent to kiss her on the forehead, looking instead to the deceptively cool-looking shadow-bathed north lawn of the mansion and knowing that, should the window be opened, a blast of hot air would fill the room, along with the high, shrill hum of cicadas and the scent of dry, dead grass.

"Hank says I need t' spend more time out, J," the New York native heard Logan say softly. "So I'm gonna leave ya here with Bobby. He'll take real good care o' you, an' I'll be back b'fore ya know it, 'kay?"

Sparing a glance at the tiny creature that lay prone before him, Bobby saw Jubilee hesitate, giving him an evaluating glance before giving a small nod. "But ya gotta promise you'll be back in an hour. Swear it."

"I swear." Once again, Drake looked away, embarrassed to have been witness to the utter love in Logan's voice as he muttered the two, monosyllabic words. "Stay strong."

With another kiss on Jubilee's unscathed cheek, the Canadian stood and left the room. For a moment, all was silent as Bobby licked his lips and glanced around the cluttered room before his gaze finally met hers. She looked at him with the same blank expression, both hands resting at her sides like a tin soldier that had toppled over and been stepped on.

"Well," he prompted. "Open it."

"Help me sit up," she retorted, and he froze, unsure what to do. Swallowing, he reached out and grasped her shoulder, snapping his hand back as she gasped in pain.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry, Jubilee. I didn't mean to-"

"Try again," she cut him off. "By the arms." He complied, pulling her gently and seemingly painlessly to a sitting position, and she scooted back against the headboard, nodding in gratitude as he propped a pillow up behind her to lean on. "Thanks, bro. It's just these ribs're killin' me. Take it from me, Bobster, ya don't wanna break a rib, even slightly." He couldn't think of a response, and an awkward silence once again fell before she broke it. "I guess I should open it."

Bobby brightened. "Yeah. You'll love it."

Lifting the top lip of the bag, she peered inside, then pulled out a deck of cards encased in hard plastic. Their shiny, foil backs had pictures of six Japanese Anime girls, all dressed in white body suits and short skirts, with a sailor's collar and a big bow across the chest. 'Sailor Moon' was stamped in the bottom, right hand corner, along with a picture of a crescent moon. A small smile caressed the girl's lips as she opened the casing, spilling the cards across her lap, and she looked up. "Thanks, bro," she acknowledged.

"I figured you'd get kinda bored sitting in here with Logan all day with no TV or anything. And I remember Sam saying something about you and his sister almost getting into a fist fight over who on 'Sailor Moon' was the best-looking guy."

"Sapphire," she croaked, shuffling through the cards, looking at the different pictures on the front. Choosing one, she laid it down and pointed to a tall, pale, almost feminine-looking man with short, blueish hair in a blue uniform. "She thought Darien was best." She selected another card that depicted the same man, only this time with black hair, wearing a black turtleneck and olive green blazer. Bobby swallowed his, "But they look exactly the same" comment and continued on.

"There's more. This is for while you're in here, but I got you something for when you're out." >From his back pocket, he pulled a small paperback, the cover declaring in large print, '1001 Practical Jokes for All Occasions.' "The way I figure, with you gone so long, that White Queen's getting it too easy. You'll have to rectify the situation upon your return."

The smile faded, and the girl looked away. "I'm not going back," she declared softly.

Bobby was startled. He hadn't heard this twist on the drama. "Oh. Well then, I'm sure Scott'll appreciate glue in his boxers, once you're up and running," he said finally. "Anyway, whatever. Do with these as you like. I just thought they'd cheer you up a little."

She met his gaze once more, and forced a smile. "Thanks, Bobby. I really mean it. I'm glad ya think of me."

* * * *

"Kitty."

Katherine looked up, startled by her mentor's sudden appearance. He moved with stealth and silence that could not be picked up, even by trained ears as hers, when he did not want to be heard. Sitting down beside her on the dock, just as Jean had done, hours earlier, he crossed his legs, Indian style, leaning against the dock post and gazing at her. The sun beat down on them both, and by this time, Kitty was so covered in sweat, she did not think it would make a difference in the amount of water her clothes held if she jumped into the lake. The only sign Logan showed of the heat, however, was a single trickle of sweat that ran from his dark sideburn down the right side of his face, making a trail toward his chin. Reaching out, she swiped it away with gentle fingertips, then turned back to the murky waters.

"Logan," she said quietly, her tone masked to show no emotion. This she had learned to do well, not from him, but because of him. Because his keen hearing could pick up any trace of what she felt in her voice, and there were times when this simply was not acceptable. Not for her.

"Hank says ya talked t' him."

"Yup." She now regretted she had.

"What's on yer mind, darlin'?"

"Glad to see you outta that room." Her hazel eyes met his blue, and they held for a moment with Kitty wishing he could read her mind. There was so much she couldn't say, especially about Jubilee. There were times when she wished the two of them got along better, for Logan's sake, but despite their best efforts; their resolved and re-resolved truces, they just could not. "How's Jubilation?"

He sighed. "We're still prayin'. But that ain't what I came out here t' talk 'bout, Kitty. How're *you*?"

"Hot." That was an understatement, and exactly not what he had meant, and she knew it. With a sigh at his chastising look, she plunged forward. "Embittered. Confused."

"Confused?"

She paused, looking at her hands, then out at the glassy waters of the lake. "Why do you blame yourself for what happened to her?" She knew he did; it was a truth neither of them could deny, and Kitty wondered if Jubilee knew it was so.

"I ... I shoulda been there. I know there was no way I coulda even known during the.. ordeal. But afterward. I shoulda stayed with her, listened..."

"Spent more time with her?"

He nodded, closing his eyes and remembering the words that Jubilee had spoken early that morning, before the sun's rays had kissed the sky, about expecting him to rescue her. And he had never shown. In fact, in the end, it had been she who had rescued him from that wretched place. "I told her I'd always be there. I'd always protect her. Jus' like I told you."

"Then how.." Kitty felt tears rising, and she pushed them away, dropping her tone to hardly above a whisper. "Then how is locking yourself away, up with her any different, to me? I'm still here. I need you. I know she..." The girl paused, looking skyward as she struggled with emotions that refused to obey. Tears added salt to her face, already damp and salty with sweat. "I know she needs you, to recover, a lot more than I do. But I do still need you, Logan. Don't you get it? If you give her your all, I have nothing. And ... and vice versa. I'm not asking much. Just... I dunno. Coffee in the morning. Just come down for half an hour and have coffee. Let me know you're alive. Make sure I'm still alive." She covered her face with her hands, nearly suffocating as she breathed the close air.

Shamefully, Logan looked away, then agreed, "Okay. I'm sorry, Kitty. I don' want ya t' end up like Jubilee. Coffee. What time d' you get up?"

Not bothering to look up or uncover her face, she replied softly, "Whenever you want."

* * * *

In the tree overhead, the leaves rustled, though the breeze had long since stopped, and, if one were paying attention, one would see a tall, lean Cajun jump from its branches, silently dropping to the ground and walking back to the mansion, cigarette in hand and satisfied grin on his face.

(Written by Dana Night)