The Longest Night: Part Seven

by Kerri

"I doan know where he is," Remy said, "but she doan need him now. I go wi' you."

Jean gave him a hard look. "Nathan said Logan, so I'm taking Logan."

They'd been over this more than once during the last 4 hours waiting for Logan to return. Remy insisted they just go back without him.

Jean was getting tired of telling him no.

"Damn well not takin' ya, Gumbo," Logan said from behind them, Domino with him. It had been pretty easy to track him down, she'd simply gone into town to his apartment. Dragging him back had been the hard part until he decided he wanted to go, then the hard part was keeping up.

"Jean's been waitin' hours," Remy answered angrily, "if you're so worried, how come you're not wi' Jubilee?"

"Get over yourselves," Dom interrupted. "If we're going, let's go."

"Nathan just said Logan," Jean tried again.

"Since when is Cable callin' de shots?" Remy asked, still glaring at Logan.

Jean's temper snapped. "Since he was the only one sober enough to help her when she needed it."

The silence was deafening. Scott hid a snicker behind his hand.

"Both of you blew this one," she continued heatedly. "It was your own fault and I don't want to hear another word from either of you."

"Jean-"

"Chere-"

"One word and I'll knock you both out right now!"

The seconds ticked by as she waited, *hoped,* one of them would cross the line.

They weren't going to do it. The look in her eyes warned them she was serious, and they'd better get serious as well.

"It's my opinion she could use all the support she can get right now. Get ready and be back here in 15 minutes."

The two men continued to stare at her.

"Now!"

Domino watched them leave, then shook her head. "That was good," she told Jean.

"They make me so mad sometimes."

"I'll be going with you."

Jean took a deep breath. "Okay."

"No argument?" Dom was surprised.

"There's no need to fuss with you. You can be reasonable, and Nathan could use a friend right now." The story he'd told her was still fresh in her mind. He needed his own support to help him through this mad dash down Memory Lane.

"How's he holding up?"

"Fine. He's tired, though. We'll probably find him sitting over a pot of coffee cursing at us for taking so long. I should've been back hours ago."

The four of them arrived in the gate room, the men still angry at each other, and themselves, if the truth be known.

The kitchen was empty, the half empty coffee pot and dirty cups still where they were when Jean left earlier. The house was dim and quiet.

"So, where are they?" Dom asked, looking around.

"We put her in the bedroom," Jean said.

Remy reached the doorway first, his body blocking the view for the others. He turned to keep them from entering, but Logan pushed past him into the darkened room.

The two were entwined under the quilts, Nathan's bare shoulders just visible above the covers. All that could be seen of Charlotte was the flow of hair over the pillow. They were both sleeping deeply, Charlotte pressed up against and nearly covered by Nathan, his utter exhaustion etched on his face.

Logan made a move towards the bed, but Remy grabbed his arm and shook his head, gesturing him back out.

<Let them sleep,> Jean told him.

<They can sleep in separate beds.> Logan shook Remy's hand off and reached for Charlotte's shoulder, intending to get her out of that bed.

Nathan's hand shot up from around her and fastened onto the other man's wrist in a bruising grip. His eye flashed a warning.

Dom felt Nathan's disorientation through their link. He hadn't realized yet who they were or what was happening. They really were only sleeping, she thought in surprise.

Logan's face curled into a growl.

Charlotte moaned softly and tried to burrow deeper into Nathan's shoulder, her face against his neck.

Logan reacted as though he'd been struck. He jerked out of Nathan's grip, his claws snicked out. Jean was at the other side of the bed in an instant, holding him in a TK vise. <Stop this!>

Nathan opened both eyes, reality intruding on what had been a dead sleep. The first real sleep he'd had in 2 days, and Wolverine had to ruin it.

He looked around, taking roll of their company. Not only Logan, but Gambit and Domino. Could this get any better? He threw back the covers and untangled himself from the still sleeping woman, who seemed oblivious to all the psi-talk flying around the room. Where ever Charlotte was, she didn't want to come back.

He envied that right now.

"What do ya think yer doin' in bed wi' her," Logan rumbled, still unable to move. He saw Charlotte was naked in the pile of quilts and snarled a warning at the Cajun for looking at her.

"What do you mean, what am I doing in bed with her? What do you think I'm doing? Trying to seduce her? Who would be aroused by someone that cold?"

Domino was the first. She tried hard to stifle her chuckles; failing that she left the room. They could hear her laughing all the way to the front of the house.

Nathan angrily yanked on his clothes, his mouth thinned in a tight line. He hadn't meant to say that, exactly. It was bad enough getting caught in a compromising situation, but the implied accusation of taking advantage of a woman made him furious. He glared at Logan and stomped his way out of the bedroom.

Remy leaned over the sleeping woman and tucked the blankets back around her, his fingertips stroking the hair from her face. "He's right, homme, she's cold."

"You're going to apologize to him," Jean said tightly to Logan. She released him, her eyes flashing her extreme displeasure with his behavior.

"The hell I will!" He pushed Remy away from her. "Get outta here." He backed them both through the door and closed it, locking it behind them. Locking it didn't mean anything, anyone of them could have had it open in a heartbeat.

He pulled off his own clothes and climbed in, wrapping his arms around her. Charlotte nestled against him, his name on her lips.

Logan didn't smile, but he let out a long sigh. Finally, he'd found some control in this nightmare. He wasn't going to give it up again.

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