Title: Connecting
Author: Lisea
Pairing: R/L, S/J
Rating: PG-15-ish, me thinks.
Feedback: Give me feedback, and I'll write more. Explain to me how that's a good thing.
Summary: Rogue runs away to find Logan, but surprisingly nothing goes as it should.
Notes: American geography isn't one of my strong points.
More notes: You know those little green gnomes that live under your bed and put ideas in your head that just won't leave you alone? The fact that a started writing is *their* fault. Then I gave the first ten paragraphs for my beta to read. The fact that I finished this is *her* fault. I can't be held responsible for what my head tells me to do. That qualifies as a disclaimer too, right?

***

"Rogue, are you paying attention?"

"Yes, Mr. Summers."

"What was I saying?"

"I... have no idea, Mr. Summers. I'm sorry."

Scott sighed, but turned to another student. It had been three months since Logan left. He hadn't bothered to let anyone know what he was doing, except the professor. He called him up on leads now and then, but the rest of them never heard from him, including Rogue. And that's what worried Scott.

"Rogue, could you please go see the professor in his office" Scott said after class, when Rogue was gathering her books. Everytime she got called to the professor's office she knew she was in trouble. Now, however, she couldn't think what she'd done wrong. Not paying attention in class wasn't exactly a detention offence.

"Please come in" she heard the professor say in her head when she approached his office. She sat down in a chair by the professor's huge desk. She remembered reading from somewhere that people who got huge furniture wanted to make people feel really small. And hey, it was working.

"Your teachers tell me that you've been quite distracted in class lately. Is there anything we should know?"

"No. I'm guess I'm just a little tired."

"Should I ask Jean to take a look at you?"

"That's not necessary. I'm just tired."

"Very well. I'll let you have tomorrow off, and I'll ask Scott and Storm to tutor you this weekend, if you're feeling better. In return, I want you to rest so you can start paying attention in class again."

"Okay. I'll try" Rogue said, and stood up to leave.

"If you're worrying about Logan, he's fine. He's in Canada at the moment."

"Why hasn't he called me?

"He probably didn't want you to worry. I'll tell him you wish to speak to him the next time he calls."

"Thank you, sir."

***

"Didn't want me to worry, my ass!" she cried when she got to her room. She laid down on the bed and pulled out her -- Logan's -- dog tags. He had promised to come back for them. She stared at the dog tags until someone knocked on her door. It was Storm.

"Rogue, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"Nothing. Did you need something?" Rogue wasn't really in the mood for talking to her. Storm's calmness and serenity sometimes got on her nerves.

"Actually, I did. I'm already late for a meeting and I wondered if you could give out the student's mail. The SUV broke down and I had to wait for Scott to come pick me and the kids up" she said, holding the mail bag.

"Storm? Late? Will wonders never cease? What's next, Cyclops gets bright green hair and dumps Jean for Sabretooth? And we have arrived to a scary visual place...

"Sure, I'll do it."

***

"Pops, Flamey, mail!"she shouted through the closed door.

"My favorite mail-man! Whatcha have for me?" Bobby asked, almost diving into the mail bag before he had barely opened the door.

"Well, the professor intercepted your Penthouse, but I think I've got your Donald Duck still in here somewhere. That is, if Mr. Summers hasn't seen it yet."

Bobby just blinked. "You're scaring me."

She moved down the hall, grabbing some more letters. One of them was addressed to the professor. She froze when she saw the hand-written address on it. She'd know Logan's hand-writing anywhere. After just staring at it for a few minutes, she shoved the letter in her pocket and moved down the hall, grabbing some more letters.

***

After delivering all the letters, except for the one in her pocket. She headed outside, to a secluded park bench near the lake. Impatiently she ripped open the envelope and unfolded the piece of paper inside, starting to read:

Chuck,

Your lead was no good. Got anything else?
I'll be staying put for a few weeks, so send whatever you find to the address below.

Logan


Would it had hurt if he'd ask how she was doing?

She started playing with the dog tags again, squeezing them in her hand so hard that they broke the skin. He'd come back to Westchester someday, not for her, but for his dogtags. Unless of course she'd send them back to him, in which case he wouldn't have to bother coming all the way to Westchester.

***

She ran back into her room. Jubilee and Kitty weren't there, in fact, the whole student body was nowhere to be seen. Amazing what a movie night and Matrix II could do. She pulled her bag from under her bed and started packing. Since she hadn't been at the mansion for more than a few months, all she owned still went easily into the old duffel bag.

She went by the professor's office, and quietly slipped inside, knowing the professor would be in the den with the others. She went around the desk and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper.

Professor,
Logan called.
He hasn't found anything and asked for more leads.
Send them to this address...

The Professor would hate her for reading his personal letters, so a little lie here didn't hurt. And if Logan didn't hear from him soon, he'd call him and they'd figure out something was wrong. And all hell would break loose.

By that time, she'd hopefully be long gone.

***

Some time later, Scott and Jean walked in the Professor's office.

"Professor, what's wrong?" Jean asked as she sat down on the white couch near the professor's desk. Xavier held up the little yellow post-it note Rogue had written on.

"Logan called and Rogue was the one to pick up the phone? I didn't think it was like her to just leave a note, she should've said something to someone" Scott said.

"I agree. Even Jubilee and Kitty haven't even seen her. In fact," the professor sighed, "I can't sense her anywhere on the mansion grounds or in the close vicinity."

"Maybe she needs to be alone for a while" Jean offered.

"Maybe. Maybe it's something else entirely. Scott, here's Logan's address. I want you to go see him, since he doesn't have a phone. I'll look for Rogue with Cerebro.

"You think she's gone to find him?" Scott asked, taking the piece of paper Xavier was handing him.

"I think it's a very likely possibility. She's.. very closely connected to him, as you surely have noticed."

Both Jean and Scott nodded. "We'll leave right away, sir."

***

It was night when Rogue got to the motel Logan was staying. She knocked on the door and turned around, to see the stars and northern lights that were glowing bright green and purple on the sky.

Logan pulled the door open, and Rogue noticed his water-dripping hair and the towel around his waist. No doubt he'd been in the shower. The cold winter air rushed past him through the door, giving him goose-pimples, and erecting his nipples. Rogue sure as hell didn't mind.

Logan pulled her inside and closed the door. "Marie, what the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"You know what I'm doing here, Logan."

Logan stood still for a minute, then grabbed her and kissed her on the lips. Rogue wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

Okay, so you might think something'd be wrong with that.

They were getting way beyond kissing each other, until:

"Hey, kid, we're here."

"We're where?"

Waking someone up in the middle of the Best Dream You've Ever Had should be made illegal. She found herself staring at the truck driver that had picked her up near Westchester. "Oh."

"Not that I didn't enjoy your company, but you need to find yourself another ride. This is as far as I'll go."

"Thanks. Where are we?"

"We're a few hours from Chicago."

"Okay. Thanks for the ride."

She made her way to a fast-food restaurant when she felt a light tickle in the back of her head. Quickly she shielded herself from Cerebro with Magneto-who-was-still-inside-her-head's help. Last thing she wanted was the X-Men coming to get her home.

***

Jean took Scott's cell phone before he could reach it. "Professor. Anything yet?"

"I found something, but I couldn't tell where she was. Erik apparently is still in her head, so she knows how to shield herself temporarily. And if she's determined not to be found..."

"We'll find her, Professor. She'll be fine. Scott just landed the jet outside the town Logan's staying in, we should be at his motel in an hour or so. I'll call you if there's anything new."

"You do that. I'll try with Cerebro later, but I'm afraid at the time it would be more or less pointless."

"I understand. We'll be in touch."

"Nothing?" Scott asked, as Jean handed him the cell phone. Jean shook her head.

"I'm worried about her, Scott. We should have seen this coming."

"Jean, you couldn't have known Logan hasn't stayed in touch with Rogue. And Rogue's a good girl, she can take care of herself till we find her."

"Yeah, you're right. Come on, let's go find Logan."

***

"So, what's your name, little girl?" the new truck driver said after about half an hour on the road.

"Rogue."

"Rogue? What kind of a name is that?" he laughed.

"I like it."

"Yeah, whatever. What's your real name?"

"None of your business" ...because only Logan had the right to use it, anyway.

"Hey, I'm just trying to making a conversation... Rogue" he smirked at the name. "So, what do you do?"

Rogue jumped in her seat, and looked at him, eyes wide. "What do you mean?"

"You working or something?"

Oh. Phew. "I go to school."

"A schoolgirl, huh?" He pulled over the truck and grabbed Rogue's arm. "Then let me show you something."

"No! Get the hell away from me!" she screamed, trying to hit him. He put his arm around her throat, touching her bare skin. After a split second, the driver started to twitch.

After a few moments, Rogue found herself walking away from the truck and the dead driver.

With no memory of where she was going.

***

"What the hell do you mean she's gone?!" Logan said, pacing across the small motel room.

"She left the mansion yesterday. She had left a note for the Professor that you had called" Scott said, leaning against the side of a table. Jean had sat down on one of the chairs next to it.

"I haven't called him. No phone, remember, One-Eye?"

"All right, fighting won't help us find her. Logan, the Professor's searching with Cerebro. Our best hope is that she'll come here."

"How would she know where to find me?"

"Storm let her distribute the mail today. Was there anything there that she could've got the address from?" Scott asked.

Logan thought for a few moments. "Yeah. I sent Chuck a letter earlier this week. This address was on it."

"Well, if everything's all right, she'll be here any moment. We can only hope the Professor finds something."

***

Rogue couldn't remember anything about what had led her there. She wandered pointlessly along the highway. Some cars slowed down near her, but started speeding away when she approached them. She looked at herself, and wondered how a huge bloodstain had got there. She vaguely remembered something punching through glass.

It had been raining wet snow for hours, and Rogue's started to feel wet. She noticed an old barn about a half a mile from the highway. She jumped over a gutter and started walking towards it.

***

The cell phone rang on the table where Scott had put it. Logan got to it first. "Did you find her?"

"I'm not sure, Logan. I found something near Chicago I'm sure is Rogue, but something is wrong with her" Xavier said.

"What do you mean something's wrong with her?" Logan growled impatiently.

"I can't tell exactly where she is. She probably don't know herself. It seems as if she has lost part of herself. That could mean only one thing."

"She's absorbed someone" Logan said, causing Jean to stand up. She had concentrated and melded with Logan, listening to the Professor.

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"She doesn't know where she is?"

"No. Could I talk to Jean, please?"

Logan handed Jean the cellphone. "Yes, Professor?"

"Do you know what could cause this kind of amnesia in her?"

"I'm not sure. She could have absorbed someone demented..." she paused to glance at Logan, "...or someone very strongly alcoholic."

As a reaction to Jean's words, Logan's claws popped out.

"We need to find her. Now!" Logan growled as he was going through the front door, grabbing the bike keys from the wooden desk.

"Where are you going?" Scott asked.

"Chicago. I'm gonna find her, whatever it takes."

***

It was getting colder. Very much colder. Rogue tried to pile up old, dried hay around her, but it wasn't helping much. She could barely feel her feet anymore, and tried to rub them together to warm them up. After walking for hours, she was slowly nodding off.

***

Logan made a mental note to thank (or something resembling) Scooter for the turbo drive in his bike. Riding for less an hour, he had gotten past Chicago and nearing the place where Xavier thought Rogue was. He was speeding along a highway, long gone past the truck and dead driver.

He suddenly stopped the bike and sniffed the air. Marie's scent. He looked around, and noticed a barn in the distance. He left his bike by the road and jumped over the gutter.

"Marie?" he yelled when he got in the barn. "Marie, you answer me right now or I'll come over there and kick your ass!"

He didn't get an answer. He looked around, and saw Rogue sitting in a corner, her head lying against the wall. He knelt by her side.

"Hey. Wake up, kid" Logan raised her head towards him. Her skin was white, and her lips were blue. "Oh, God, Marie. Come on, wake up."

Rogue moved a little, and opened her eyes. "Logan. What are you doing here?"

"I'm getting you home. You're in deep shit, missy."

Logan lifted her up, and noticed Rogue was again fast asleep. He was getting more than worried, and took out the cell phone Scott had given him.

"Jeannie, I've got her. You'd better hurry, she's freezing."

"We're almost there, it will take a minute. Is there a proper landing site near?" Jean asked. Logan heard a humming noise in the background, characteristic to the Blackbird's engines.

"Yeah, we're on a field. There's a highway nearby, but it's too quiet to become a problem. Just get over here."

***

"She has frost bites on her toes and fingers. I'm afraid I need to amputate them, unless you have a better offer" Jean said to Logan in the Blackbird. He had laid Rogue on a medical bed in the back of the jet.

"Damn straight I have a better offer" Logan growled. Just the thought of Marie without her toes and fingers made his skin crawl. He took off his gloves and put his hand on Rogue's forehead. It took a long time for anything to happen.

***

"Jeannie?" Rogue asked when she woke up on a bed in the med-lab.

"Welcome back. You scared the hell out of us."

"Is Logan here?"

"He's upstairs. He'll be back any moment. How are you feeling?" Jean fought the urge of checking her temperature by feeling her forehead.

"Never better."

"Good, then you won't mind doing your homework" Scott said. He was leaning against a table behind Jean.

"We'll now that you've mentioned it, I am feeling a lot more miserable" Rogue frowned. Scott smirked.

The door opened, and Logan strolled in with a cup.

"She's mine. Piss off, you two" Logan said, never taking his eyes off of Rogue. Scott and Jean left them alone in the medlab.

"Here, you might need this" Logan handed her the cup. Hot chocolate.

"Thanks, Logan. A beer would've been better, though."

"You ain't getting a beer. You're getting something warm, so you won't get sick" he said, sitting by her bed.

"Ain't getting sick. Got your healing factor, remember, sugar?"

"Ain't gonna be anything left of the healing factor when I'm done with you, 'sugar'."

"So, gonna kick my ass, huh?"

"Damn straight."

"You and what army?"

"Shut up and drink your chocolate, kid" Logan smirked.

"Gotcha" she took a sip, and gave the cup, then Logan a long look. "You know how to make hot chocolate? With mint?"

"Let's not go there, Marie."

She smiled and took another sip. Logan stood up and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Why'd you come find me?" Logan asked.

"I wanted to give you your tags back. So you wouldn't have to come all the way back for them."

"I thought you wanted me back?"

"I did want you back. But you didn't even call me. What was I supposed to think?"

"I'm sorry, Marie. I should've called. I just didn't want you to worry."

"And you figured if I didn't hear from you I wouldn't get worried. Tell me, Logan, does your healing factor make up for a head trauma?"

"All right, you won't nag about me not calling, and I won't yell at you for running away. Deal?" Logan sighed.

"It's a deal if you get me more of this stuff," Rogue said, handing him the empty mug, "and another pillow?"

"Coming up" Logan stood up to leave, took a few steps, and turned around. "I don't care about the tags, sweetheart. I care about you. I would've come back for you. I gave you a promise, and I'm keeping it" he said, and kissed her on her forehead, too fast for her skin to register. "You hear me, kid?"

"I hear you. Are you going back soon?"

"Yeah. You too. I'm gonna keep you somewhere I can keep an eye on you."

"You promise?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I promise" he got up again to head for upstairs. "Scooter said something about a lecture. You want him in here or you want me to scare him away?"

"Nah, he's all yours."

"Ok. I'll be right back" Logan said, and Rogue watched him disappear behind the huge sliding doors.

For the first time in months, she didn't have to doubt.

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