Empathy's Echo
Epilogue
by
NYC
Disclaimer: All X-men and X-villians are Marvel's characters. Please don't sue me.
"Crazy," ~ By The Dave Matthews Band
Crazy how it feels tonight
Crazy how you make it all alright, love
You crush me with the things you do.
I do for you anything too
<sitting, smoking, feeling high>
In this moment it feels so right
Lovely lady, I am at your feet
God I want you so badly
I wonder this
Could tomorrow be
So wondrous as you there sleeping
<Let's go drive 'til the morning comes>
Watch the sunrise to fill our souls up
<Drink some wine 'til we get drunk>
It's crazy I'm thinking
Just knowing that the world is round
Here I'm dancing on the ground
Am I right side up or upside down?
Is this real or am I dreaming?
Lovely lady, let me drink you please
I won't spill a drop, I promise you
Lying under this spell you cast on me
Each moment the more I love you
Crush me, come on
It's crazy I'm thinking
Just knowing that the world is round
Here I'm dancing on the ground
Am I right side up or upside down?
Is it real or am I dreaming?
Lovely lady, I will treat you sweetly
Adore you, I mean
You crush me.
It's times like these
When my faith I feel and I know
How I love you, come on, Lady
It's crazy I'm thinking
Just as long as you're around
And here I'll be dancing on the ground
Am I right side up or upside down?
To each other we'll be facing
By love we'll beat back the pain we've found
You know, I mean to tell you all the things I've been thinking deep inside
My friend, with each moment
The more I love you
Crush me, come on.
Lady, so much you have given love
That I would give you back again and again
Meaning I'll hold you and please, let me always...
"Come on, Mel!" Rogue shouted, bursting through the door of the study. She would never have done so if Professor Xavier had been at his desk, but she knew who was on the other side.
Melody stood up towards the top of the ladder, one arm filled with books, the other one flipping through the pages of the one on the top. "In a few," she said. "My sister and her kids aren't here yet, are they?"
"No, but if you don't come down soon, I think Stevie is going to pop."
Melody sighed and shook her head. "That kid...tell him that if he doesn't control himself, he's not going to get to put the star on the top of the tree. Okay?"
"All right," Rogue said, reluctant. "But I don't think it's gonna work."
"I'll be there in a few minutes," Melody said, setting a few of the books back as she found what she was looking for. As Rogue withdrew, Melody shouted after her, "And tell Remy to take down that mistletoe from the archway!"
No response. She was going to get smooched again, she just knew it. Grinning to herself, Melody turned and perched on one of the stepladder's rungs. She turned and gazed out the window, lost in the beautiful snowfall that was rapidly covering the older mounds. They'd already had a foot of snow, what was a foot more, and just in time for Christmas, too.
It was the day for putting up the tree. Helena and her daughters, Genevive and Gabrielle, were on their way; Melody hoped they'd be able to get here in the snow. It turned out that they really liked West Chester, New York, and had moved out this way a few months back. Of course, Helena would not admit it, but she secretly worried that her daughters were going to start exhibiting mutant gifts, and she wanted them as close to their aunt/mutant/psychologist (well, soon to be, if soon meant three or four years) as possible.
She smiled, lost in thought. It had all gone so well, so far. Even her parents had been able to relocate just a town away, and they were going to come for Christmas. She smiled at the thought of her father's excitement over getting a real tour of the school. He had listened in wonder at the different stories the other X-Men had insisted on telling about her, the most compelling being her almost-death and subsequent resurrection. Of course, he had lots of theories about that. Her father was actually quite good at pondering mutant philosophies of power.
And her mother, thank the heavens, had finally calmed down enough to be able to take it all in and actually enjoy it. The others seemed to like her a lot. She was rather easy to like. Melody sometimes wished she could be more like her--sweeter, kinder, a good soul.
And of course, her father had not missed the chance to give her away at the wedding. Even though they weren't all that thrilled to find out she was getting married, they accepted it and even embraced it rather quickly, realizing, the same as Melody did, that she was not a child and she had a life of her own, and she had survived long enough that they could trust her.
Of course, they did have a hard time accepting the truth about Logan. But they were so happy to have her back, and they saw how happy he made her, that even her father had embraced Logan at the reception, strongly admonishing him to take care of his little girl, and to always watch her back.
Logan had had to resist the impulse to show the old man his claws and prove that he was quite capable of that job.
"Hey," came a soft voice at her feet. She looked down to see the object of her affections smiling up at her, still his rugged old self in his black T-shirt and jeans. She smiled back, smoothing the skirt she had worn for an interview at the local college, from where she was getting her degree credits.
"You going to come help trim the tree?" he asked.
She sighed, slapping the book shut. "They sent you, huh? I told Rogue I'd only be a few minutes."
"Yeah, fifteen minutes ago," Logan said with a sly grin.
She blushed a bit. "Sorry. Hang on a sec." She turned and went back up the ladder, putting away the rest of the books she didn't need. Logan tilted his head a bit as his eyes traveled up the short skirt, and gave her a pure wolf-grin.
"Nice view," he said. "I can think of another tree I'd rather trim."
She shot him a look over her shoulder, then smiled and spun and jumped. He threw his arms out and caught her as she fell. She wound her arms around his neck and giggled wickedly.
"Nice catch."
He pulled her in closer for a kiss.
"Careful," she said as their lips parted. "We have to go trim the tree, remember? You don't come back and they're gonna send the next wave after us, and I'd hate for them to walk in on us doing the nasty right here in the Professor's study."
"Place could probably use the ambiance," he growled, but let her slide to the floor, his hand grazing her thigh as he came back up. "A shame, though."
"Maybe. What's that saying about abstinence makes the heart grow fonder?"
"I don't think you've got that quite right," he said, but she shrugged and turned away, setting her book with the others she needed for her latest report. "So how's it going?" he asked. "I can't believe you're working this close to Christmas."
"University doesn't close until Friday," Melody murmured. "And I'm already on active duty, in case you haven't noticed."
"Yeah, they've really taken to you," Logan said, a note of jealousy in his voice. "Pretty soon I'm going to have to sleep down here if I want to see you at all."
She gave him a sloe-eyed look over her shoulder. "Aww, poor Logan. Life just sucks all over for the Wolverine, doesn't it?"
He chuckled. "That's it? That's all the sympathy I get? You're a friggin' empath!"
She turned, wiggling her hips arrogantly. "I'm your wife. Rules are different."
"Yeah, well, you'd better be careful, Mrs. Logan," he said coming closer to her, bracing one arm on the desk behind her, pinning her there.
"Or what?" she challenged. "You know you can't live without me." She went back to her book.
"Dammit, I guess you're right."
"And that's Dr. Logan to--" she stopped. No, she shouldn't have said that. She turned back, her apology coming strong through their bond. "I'm sorry," she said. "I hate that I can't say that..."
He shook his head. "Nothin' to be sorry for, darlin'," he murmured, drawing her closer. "That's the past, it's dead and gone. You want to be Dr. Logan, I think it'd be good. For both of us."
She nodded, swallowing. "I'm sorry..." but she didn't know quite what else to say. She was sorry that Andrew had disappeared from Magneto's lair and had never resurfaced. She was sorry that Logan was now finally beginning to fear the pain of never knowing his parents, his father, his mother, neither of which wanted to be found. At least, not at the present. But Andrew had promised her that he would see her again. Until then...
"You have me," she whispered, her hand drifting up to curl into his hair.
He lifted his eyes to her. They were filled with love. "Yeah, I do. It's more than I ever asked for."
She kissed him. "Now get back downstairs before things get outta hand," she admonished him. "I'll be down before you can pop both claws."
"All right." He turned and left, a bit reluctantly. Melody set down the book. She glanced out the window one more time. It could wait--tree trimmings only came once a year.
*My name is Melody Logan,* she thought to herself, *and I have one of the greatest mutant powers of all. I have the ability to make people happy.*
It just didn't get any better than that.
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