A series by November

Chapter 77: Imagining September

Rogue went limp with relief in Logan’s arms. “Her MRI was clear of any major problems like swelling or changes in the brain.”

“So she’s out of the woods?”

“Not necessarily. But there doesn’t appear to be any permanent damage. All we can do is continue to fight the fever.”

“How long do these things usually last?”

“Two to five days. If there are no complications. Her fever could break tonight. Or not until the weekend.”

“Can’t you just make the cold pads colder?” Logan asked.

“It would cause a risk of shock or frostbite.”

“Well, what about giving her more Tylenol?”

“Any more and we risk damaging her liver.” Marie got up and dashed to the bathroom. Logan heard her retch and winced.

“She is still womiting? She said she felt better last night.”

“She did.”

“Has she been able to hold down fluids?”

“Yeah, she kept lunch down just fine.”

“Does she always get like this when she’s upset?”

He thought of Marie in Laughlin City, at the Statue of Liberty. “Never.”

“Any chance she might be pregnant?”

Logan’s eyes bugged, then he thought. “Doubtful.” Marie religiously used her diaphragm. But the thought continued to pique Logan’s interest. He didn’t mention it to Marie.

That evening Leah, Rakim, Jubilee, and Carter visited. The nursing staff explained that they had to limit their time because Maggie was so sick. They brought flowers and toys.

That night they finally brought the promised cot and Logan slept on it while Marie slept with Maggie again.

When all three woke in the morning to the sound of Logan’s thunderous sneezing, Maggie’s temperature was below 100, and she was asking for water and food. After her `temp stayed down for three more hours Dr. Varma said that Maggie could have lunch. She ate ravenously. “Is she really out of the woods?” Marie asked.

“I’m gonna get one more set of labs on her in the morning. If they’re okay, and her vitals stay good, she can go home.”

The next day they were home, Maggie was good as new, but now Logan was feverish and sick. Jean examined him and said he had a mere flu. Rogue nursed him when she wasn’t in class, secretly finding the fact that he was such a big baby to be adorable.

She continued, however, to throw up several times a day.

After another day of it she went down to the Medlab. Hank was there hunched over his desk, tight white lab coat covering his enormous back.

“Hank? Can I see you sug?”

“Absolutely. What can I do for you?”

“I’ve been throwing up for a week.”

“My stars! A whole week?” He motioned for her to sit on an exam table.

“No, not the whole time, just sometimes during the day.”

He deftly slipped his stethoscope over her heart with a blue paw and listened to her heart and her lungs. She didn't notice when his nostrils flared subtly and he inhaled.

“When was your last menstrual period?”

Marie looked at him dumbly.

“You’ve gotta be shitting me, Hank.”

He handed her a calendar. “I shit you not, my friend."

“I dunno. With Maggie in the hospital I never thought - I guess...the twenty-third? I’m about ten days late? Oh my god, Hank, do you really think I might be pregnant?”

“As you know I have a heightened sense of smell. During my OBGyn rotation I learned to detect the smell of progesterone. I am nearly certain you are pregnant but we should check the levels of HGC in your urine confirm it.”

“Oh my god. No way. Logan’s gonna flip.”

“You don’t want to have children?”

“No, I do, we both do, but the plan was...not so soon. Oh my god.” It was slowly dawning on her and she smiled. “Well, give me a cup. I’ve gotta pee a million times a day anyway.”

“That also is a sign.”

She waited on the table, legs kicking, feet moving nervously. Pregnant? Was it possible? It would explain why her body had seemed to be possessed by aliens the last few days. In three minutes Hank came back with a poker face.

"Well?"

"You are pregnant indeed."

Marie picked up the med lab phone. “Logan? I’m down in the lab. Come down here. Just do it. Logan, fuckin’ do it, no one’s gonna make you have any tests! Get your hairy ass down here.” She hung up the phone.

A few minutes later, he emerged in his pajamas, bleary eyed, with a wad of tissues in his hand. “What the hell’s goin’ on?”

“Hank’s told me why I’ve been sick.”

“Why. What’s wrong?” He was overcome with complete and utter terror. He had almost lost Maggie, but the thought of losing Marie... But they were smiling.

“Nothing is wrong, my friend. You and your wife are pregnant.”

It took a second for that to sink in, then Logan gave out a hoarse yelp that was likely heard five floors up. Marie laughed with delight. Logan was actually doing a little happy dance in the medlab floor. He looked like a quarterback who had just run a touchdown. Marie started to giggle.

Jean heard the commotion and came running. Finding Logan not only fine but seeing all three of them in a state of ecstatic joy, she was confused. Then Logan's projections hit her. “You’re pregnant!” she yipped, and hugged Rogue.

“How did this happen, I mean we...”

“Diaphragms aren’t foolproof,” Hank admonished.

“Oh. Oh. Oh my god.”

After Hank gave her a brief exam and an order to take folic acid, she and Logan left. In the elevator it was just them, and they just looked at each other, smiling.

"We're gonna have a critter," she said.

"Damn" was all he could manage. He was grinning.

"Let's go tell Chuck."

"Okay."

Eloise was outside Xavier's office. "Hi Ellie. Is he in?"

"Yes." She got up and poked her head into the office, said something to Xavier, then nodded them in.

"Rogue, Logan. What can I do for you?"

"We have news."

After that the news spread throughout the school like wildfire. They called Mariah and Johnny and they took Maggie out to dinner to tell her.

That night in bed he spread his hand possessively on her belly. "Logan junior if it’s a boy?”

Logan Christensen Junior. “Well, fuck me.” He grinned. He had never dreamed he’d have a name of his own, let alone a legacy. “What if it’s twins?”

“That’s not even fucking funny.” Marie was overwhelmed at the idea of having one baby, let alone two. She flicked his nose with a finger.

“Oow!”

He rubbed his smarting nose and pouted.

“If it weren’t for this cold we’d have known this days ago.”

“I know. And that’s a blessing.” Their close call with Maggie was still fresh in their minds.

On Christmas Eve they lay in the warm light of the tree and murmured softly to each other about the baby. Silver icicles swayed in the air currents from the heating vent, shimmering, casting glowing patterns on the wall. He ran his fingers through her wet hair and she tucked her feet under his sturdy calves for warmth.

She knew, somehow, that it was a boy, though technically it was not anything yet. Still, she knew. She called him Little Logan and pressed her hand wonderingly to her belly, imagining September when he would be born. He held her and tried to comprehend that this woman he loved was carrying within her the seed of their child.