Taming a Beast

The next day, I ran down to the hospital wing first thing, nearly running into Hank, who was trying to exit.

“Can I see Logan?” I said without a regulatory greeting. Hank looked a bit surprised by my sudden appearance and my quick tone of voice, and he looked a bit confused at first, probably trying to figure out which was an appropriate answer.

“I’m sorry, Shiloh, but not right now. We’re still running a few tests on him,” Hank said.

“Is there something wrong with him?” I asked urgently, my eyebrows knitting together in worry. Hank was quick to shake his head, his eyes going wide a bit.

“No, no, no, I’m sorry if it sounded like something was wrong with him. In fact, he’s in stellar condition. It’s just... he’s got a very interesting physique, you see, and it’s not everyday that we can pin Logan to a test table and not have him trying to rip out of it. As far as he knows, we’re taking the tests because his health still isn’t perfect,” Hank said with a chuckle. I let out a huge breath, some tension relieving from my body.

“When do you think I’ll be able to see him?” I asked him as we made our way down the hallway. Some students passing by us looked on eagerly, knowing we were talking about Logan. No matter how much the kids annoyed Logan and no matter how scared of him they were, they did care about his well being, especially because if he was defeated, that meant that there was something seriously wrong and seriously dangerous out there.

“Possibly after morning classes are finished,” Hank said, grabbing me and turning me in the hallway. He met my eyes firmly, squeezing my arms as he said, “Shiloh, you mustn’t worry about Wolverine. He’s perfectly fine, and he will be perfectly fine for now. Just go to your morning classes and teach as you normally would, then come back to the hospital during lunch break. If Logan isn’t here, it will be because he has already been dispatched. Now please, do yourself a favor and just focus on your teaching right now, because those kids need a teacher.”

I just stared at Hank, then hugged him tight. “Thank you, Hank. I needed that.”

“Anytime,” he said as the warning bell rang. He gave me a gentle push and said, “Now, go! The teacher mustn’t be late!”

I raced down the hallway to my classroom, nodding to students who greeted me. When I entered the classroom, at least three conversations going on in the room fell silent or changed subjects abruptly. I wasn’t stupid; I knew they were talking about how indestructible Logan was in the hospital after the two of us went off the charts. I saw two boys near the back of the room pushing each other, presumably telling the other to ask what had happened. Finally, one of them gave up and asked, “Miss Shiloh?”

“Yes, Teddy?” I asked him, unpacking my bag into my desk. When he didn’t automatically answer the question, I looked up and met his eyes. He was giving a nervous look to his friend, who looked entertained. “What is it, Teddy?”

The bell rang, signaling the official start of class. One last girl rushed through the door, taking her normal seat at the front. I could hear Teddy swallow from the front of the room before he asked, “Could you possibly tell us what happened on Sunday? And why Wolverine’s in the hospital?”

All the students who had been whispering to their friends and stirring their seats fell silent and froze. Teddy looked like he wanted to swallow his words immediately after speaking them. I sighed and rounded my desk, standing in front of it as I said, “Very well.”

Teddy looked surprised, then gave a self-satisfied smile to his friend who had been too weak to ask me. I leant against the desk and thought about how to word it in a way that wouldn’t alarm the kids. My youngest student was fourteen, so they could, for the most part, handle the truth, but I didn’t want to be chastised by Xavier later for telling them.

“All of you know that Wolverine and I are a couple,” I said, to which some of the students responded with either giggles or nods. “Well, the last few days, we X-Men have been a bit stressed out just because of some small things that have been happening, nothing for you all to worry about. So Wolverine decided we needed some time to ourselves and we just went up to a cabin and spent the night.”

The boys in the class began whistling, either getting hit by or looks from the girls in the class. I smiled-- typical teenagers.

“But both Wolverine and I are being hunted by the Brotherhood, because they want to use me as a weapon and think they can persuade me to do so by taking or hurting the people that I love, which probably would work in the end,” I admitted. Now the kids looked uneasy and worried. I shook my head and continued with the story.

“When we woke up the next morning and packed up the car, I was looking at the waves crashing to the shore when Logan honked the horn. I went around the corner and saw he was knocked unconscious, and something tackled me. It was huge and furry, but I overcame it and knocked it unconscious, then brought Logan into the car. Apparently, he had been stabbed by some chemical that was meant to kill him but because of his metabolism, if you will, he was only on the verge of death instead of completely there,” I said to the kids. They all stared at me, surprised that Wolverine had almost been killed.

“So, are you safe now?” One of the younger girls asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.

“When are we ever completely safe?” I asked her with a tired smile, going back around to the other side of my desk. “On a more important note, everybody please turn your books to page 254.”

By the time the bell rang for lunch break, I had to explain the story again to my second and third classes of the morning. I ran down the first chance I got to the hospital, but Hank told me Logan had been dispatched to his room. I pushed through the crowds of kids racing towards the kitchen, then broke off at the last minute as I slipped into Logan’s room.

When I entered, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He was staring intently on the ground, and I looked where his eyes were diverted, but saw nothing. That could only mean one thing-- he was focusing on something off in the corner of his mind.

“Logan,” I almost whispered. He looked over at me and smiled softly, but the corners of his mouth didn’t reach his eyes. I padded across the wooden floor and tucked my leg underneath me, sitting on the bed next to his body as he put his arm around my waist and looked up at me questioningly. I reached out and gently touched his face, asking him, “What’s wrong?”

He gave me another smile, this one, sad. “Just trying to remember.”

I sighed, lying down with him as I cuddled up to the side of his warm body. He pulled me in close and kissed the top of my head, rubbing my arm as I wrapped my arms around his waist. We sat there in silence for a second, as I thought of far-fetched ideas that could get Logan’s memories back.

Hey, we were mutants. That seems impossible to most, but here we are-- living proof.

I gasped and sat up quickly, and Logan unsheathed one of his hands and sat up with me. His eyes darted around the room as I smiled wide, grabbing his biceps of his arm that hadn’t bore its claws. I grinned and said to him, “I know how to get your memories back.”

“Really?” Logan asked me, his eyes shimmering with hope. “How?”

“We just have to find a mutant who can restore people’s memories!” I said. Logan’s face fell, and he shook his head, looking thoroughly disappointed. My eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

“Shy, I doubt there is a mutant with that power,” he said to me sadly. I stood up and looked at him, as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, patting the place next to him to invite me to come sit back down. “Shiloh, come on. Sit back down. It was a nice thought, but...”

“It’s still entirely possible,” I argued with him, putting my hands on my hips. Logan sighed and dragged himself off of the bed, putting his hands over mine. He tried to give me his stupid seductive smile, but I wasn’t buying it.

“I appreciate you thinking outside the box for my sake, I do,” Logan cooed, kissing me on the top of my head before pulling away again, “but some things are just unrealistic.”

“Not through my eyes,” I said defiantly. Logan chuckled, pushing back some of my hair and looking lovingly into my eyes even though I continued to glare up at him.

“Never through your eyes,” he admitted, a laugh in the back of his throat. He was laughing at my idea, which made me feel stupid. I pulled back from him and glared at him, as he looked at me confusedly. “Shiloh, what are you... ?”

“I’m going to prove you wrong, Logan. I’m going to show you that being positive can be a good thing every once in a while,” I said, giving him a defiant smirk as I turned on my heel. He grabbed me by the arm and turned me back around, locking my eyes in on his.

“I’m going with you,” he said. I pulled my arm out of his grip, and he looked surprised.

“I don’t need you weighing me down. I can do this on my own,” I said to him, almost spitting out the words. I shifted into Nightcrawler and heard Logan call out my name before I teleported to Xavier’s office, changing back to my natural state.

May the search begin.