Author's note: Dum dum dum...here it is, the last chapter of SWIB. I didn't think I would ever finish this thing! (LOL!) I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who gave me their wonderful feedback over the course of writing this story. Whenever I got bored, or the "real" world intruded in my life, it was the great feedback that kept me coming back, time after time and chapter after chapter. Thank you!!!!!
I also wanted to have a chance to offer a special thanks to the following folks: Barb, for creating Wolverine X-Fiction and introducing me to the world of X-Men fan fic; Tygerzeye, for being the first ever to read SWIB, and for archiving me on her site; Elektra, for keeping the WXF fires burning and continuing to archive this story even when it stretched past the original 15 chapters planned and turned into a fic monster; DJean, for being the first person to give me feedback, and making me feel like I wasn't the world's worst writer after all; Vaberella, for inviting me to the Ro/Lo egroup and making me feel like one of the family (and not getting too riled when I put Rogue in the story...grin!); and CRSunrise, for teaching me how to save in .html so I could post this damn thing on ff.net.
Also, a very, very special thanks to: Dr. Aceto, who helped me with Remy's Cajun profanity; my Dad, who gave me all the great inside info on automatic munitions, remote mines, and missile silos; Sean, for helping me with the hacker stuff, and not laughing too hard when it became obvious that I knew absolutely nothing about it; and my sister Mandy, who read every chapter as I wrote them and gave me the best encouragement in the world. I couldn't have written this without you.
And now, the last chapter of She Walks In Beauty. I hope you enjoyed the ride!
The damp ground was soft beneath his stomach, cool against his hands where he rested them against the loamy soil beneath the tangled bracken at the edge of the clearing. Logan slowed his breathing without really thinking about it, and he was pleased when he realized he could barely hear Marie's breathing either...she learned fast. Marie was very quiet, her small body stretched out beside his where they lay in the shade of the briars and undergrowth, their noses filled with the rich, intoxicating scent of old leaves and clean earth.
He leaned closer to her, whispering right against her ear so she would hear but the sound would not carry. "Be very quiet," he breathed...then he reached out and curled his fingers around the mat of branches that separated their view from the sunken stream bed just beyond the edge of the trees. Marie's brown eyes were wide with anticipation as she watched Logan slowly pull the branches aside...the dying twilight casting deeper shadows across the delicate, dirt-streaked profile of her small face...then the leaves gave way slightly and they both looked out into the clearing beyond their hiding place.
A quiet, clear stream chuckled its way through the clearing, bubbling over rounded river stones and disappearing into the close-hanging trees on either side. Standing on the far side of the bank from where Logan and Marie watched in breathless silence, a solitary deer stood poised gracefully, her tawny sides dappled with the fading sunlight that struggled valiantly through the close branches overhead. Logan smiled to himself, hearing the soft intake of Marie's breath beside him as she saw this new wonder...the deer stepped daintily to the edge of the water and lowered her head to drink, lapping at the stream with her tiny pink tongue, oblivious to her two silent watchers hidden in the shadows on the other side.
Marie turned and put her head very close to Logan's, whispering in his ear in perfect imitation of him. "She's so pretty, Daddy," she said softly, her breath sweet, like chocolate and childhood. "That's a mommy deer, right?"
Logan nodded. "They're called does."
Marie stifled a giggle in her hands. "Like the song...doe, a deer, a female deer..." she sang softly, her voice lilting.
"That's right." Logan grinned at her. "Now be quiet, before she hears you."
Too late...they looked back just as the doe lifted her head suddenly, sniffing the air...then in a flash she was gone, bounding through the brush on the far side of the stream, her white tail flicking once and then disappearing into the dusk...leaving only the undergrowth shivering in her wake. Marie made a disappointed sound and poked out her bottom lip.
"She heard me, didn't she?" she asked. "I scared her away."
"Don't worry about it, darlin'," Logan said. He chuckled as he pushed himself upright, standing and brushing the clinging dirt off his jeans and t-shirt. "She'll come back...she always does."
Marie scrambled up after him, watching him surreptiously as she tried to mimic the way he dusted himself off. Logan watched this for a moment with a grin, then he crouched down in front of her and pulled the little girl closer. "Let me look at you," he said. Marie stood obediently still as Logan brushed her tangled black hair away from her face, studying with a loving eye the delicate contours of her cheekbones, not quite hidden under the dirt of a day's play grimed into her face. "You're a mess," he laughed. "Your mom's gonna kill me."
Marie shrugged and grinned, her smile bright and missing her two front teeth. "Hey, you lost another one!" Logan said. "You're gonna break the tooth fairy's piggy bank."
"Yep. Lost it when I was eatin' breakfast," Marie said. They began to walk back through the trees, Logan carefully lifting and holding aside branches as they made their way back to the mansion. Marie's small hand slid confidently into his big one, and Logan squeezed her fingers affectionately.
"You didn't swallow it, did you?" he asked.
"Nope. I spit it into my cereal."
Logan laughed. "Please tell me your mother wasn't sitting there when you did that."
"Nope. Rogue was there."
"And what did she say?"
"Ewwww! Gross!"
Logan threw back his head and roared laughter at Marie's perfect imitation of Rogue's southern drawl, and Marie grinned and giggled with him. They cleared the last line of trees at the edge of the rolling lawn and began the gentle climb up the slope to the house, their linked hands swinging lazily between them as the lights from the house cast their shadows across the grass.
"Daddy?" Marie piped suddenly.
"Yeah?"
"Guess what Rogue told me today."
Logan glanced down at her and smiled. "What's that, pumpkin?"
"She said her name is Marie, too."
"That's right." They were clearing the top of the rise now, and nearing the small copse of apple trees. A spring breeze blew past them, heavy with the fragrance of apple blossoms and rain.
"Did you name me after her?" Marie asked.
"Yep."
"Why?" she asked, her voice soft with curiosity.
"Well, if it hadn't been for Rogue, I might not have come here," Logan said. He looked down at his daughter, her eyes tipped trustingly up to his, and smiled. "And if I hadn't come here, I wouldn't have met your mother, and you wouldn't be here."
Marie pondered this with all seriousness as they walked on again in silence. "I'm glad you named me after Rogue, Daddy," she said finally, her little face lit up with a sweet smile. "I like her lots...she shares her doughnuts with me when we watch cartoons."
"I'm glad you approve," Logan said with amusement.
"Dere's ma petite!" a voice suddenly crowed. Logan looked up and grinned, watching as a tall, lean man jogged across the yard toward them. Marie giggled as the handsome young man approached, then she let go of Logan's hand and raced toward Remy LeBeau with a squeal of delight. Logan stopped, watching with a smile as Remy swept Marie up into his arms, hugging her tightly. "What is dis?" he said in mock-amazement, shifting Marie into the crook of his arm as he lifted her wild black hair and regarded her face. "Has your pere been rolling you in de mud again?"
Marie giggled. "Nooo..." she said. "Daddy took me to see a deer."
Remy mimed shock. "Did de deer roll you in de mud?!"
"Nooo!" Marie giggled harder. "You're so silly!"
Remy laughed. "Dat I am, chere. Want to come eat some popcorn wit' me? Me an' Rogue gon' watch a movie."
"Can I, Daddy?" Marie asked, turning her sweet little smile on Logan. For a brief moment Logan was surprised by how much she looked like her mother...especially when she batted her eyes and smiled like that. Christ...he was getting a headache already, thinking about the boys he was going to be beating away from the door once she reached puberty. Hmph...probably better not to think about that just yet.
"Sure, darlin'," Logan replied. Marie flashed that heart-stopping smile again, then wrapped her arms around Remy's neck as he carried her to the house. They were already chatting gaily to each other before they even reached the porch...Remy missed his calling, Logan mused with a grin. The Cajun could charm a rattlesnake...and his daughter adored him. Remy would have made a great day-care teacher.
Logan chuckled to himself, then began to retrace his steps slowly, his hands in his pockets as he regarded the brilliant colors of the sinking sun in the west. The shadows grew deeper as he walked along, lost in his thoughts, and soon he was wandering absently through the apple orchard, the evening breeze whispering through the branches above his head. He felt light...and happy, truly happy. This was something he had only just realized, within the past few months or so, but it was a feeling that he had owned for the past six years without even realizing that happiness was what it was. If you've never had anything to be happy about, it's hard to recognize the emotion once you have it...but he knew it now.
He leaned against one of the trunks, the smooth bark supporting him as he crossed his arms over his chest, regarding the red fire of the setting sun through the trees. Soft laughter drifted to him from the house...he glanced that way, smiling unconsciously as he watched the figures standing there in the warm light spilling from the French doors. Remy and Marie, her little arms still around his neck...and then a vision of beauty joined them. Ororo, soft and enticing, her hair loose and flowing down her back as she laughed and reached for their daughter. Remy put her down and Marie tumbled into her mother's embrace, giggling about something when Ororo spoke to her with a smile.
He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it didn't matter...that sharing of secrets between a mother and her daughter was a province of theirs alone. After a moment Ororo kissed her cheek, straightening up and watching as Marie skipped into the house after Remy...then Ororo turned and began coming slowly across the grass toward the deep shadow of the orchard.
Logan watched Ororo's head turn slightly away from his as she walked, her lovely profile turned into the evening wind as it blew her long hair away from her face. He stood perfectly still, only his eyes moving as he tracked her progress...and it wasn't until she was nearly upon him that her dark eyes suddenly focused on where he stood, hidden in the shadows.
"Hey there, beautiful," he said huskily.
"Hi." Ororo smiled and came closer, melting into the shadows herself as she pressed against his body and slipped her arms about his waist. "I almost didn't see you."
"How did you know I was here?"
"Marie told me," she laughed. She leaned her cheek against his chest, smiling to herself as his arms came up around her and held her close. The wind freshened, sighing through the branches overhead and sending pink and white flowers drifting lazily to the earth.
Ororo watched them fall with gentle wonder. "Did you see that?" she asked.
"Yeah." Logan's voice was soft, and his arms tightened around her. Ororo leaned back a little, her hands sliding free of his waist and slipping lightly down his arms, pulling them free as well so she could take his hands in hers.
"Do you remember what you told me that day?" she asked. Ororo dropped her gaze to his hands, smiling thoughtfully as she lightly rubbed her thumb over the wedding band he wore.
Logan smiled down at her, entwining his fingers with hers and pulling her close. "I said that you were beautiful," he told her. "But I also remember what I didn't tell you that day."
"And what was that?" she asked.
Logan released her hands, then sank his gently into the thick, lustrous waves of her hair, cradling her face between his palms as he turned it up to his. "I never told you that I loved you," he said softly. "And I did love you, even then. I really think I did."
He lowered his face to hers and kissed her tenderly, his mouth firm and strong where hers was full and soft. He could taste her...he could taste her soul, and everything that made her beautiful, and when her lips parted under his, her body soft and inviting in his arms, somehow that was beautiful too.
"Will you always love me?" Ororo whispered, so only he and the wind could hear.
"Forever, darlin'," he murmured, stealing another kiss. "Forever."
And that, he thought, was probably the most beautiful thing of all.
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