The men dropped their collective jaws when Cadie came into the dining room. Absolute silence was in effect as they struggled with her appearance.

For no longer was she the girl they had become accustomed to, in her grunge jeans and t-shirts. She and Jean had finally decided on a simple black blouse, with sheer sleeves that reached to the wrist and a sheer, lacy yoke covering the top of the low-cut garment. Combined with a pair of tight black slacks and low, black, elf boots.

Gambit was, typically, the first to find his voice. "Mon Dieu, chere, where y' get somet'in like dat, hehn? Gambit be beatin de boys off wit' a stick now fo' sure," he said with a shake of his head.

Sam was unable to do more than stare, and even Bishop didn't seem to be immune to the picture she presented. Rogue, Ororo, and Jean exchanged amused glances when Scott rose to help her with her chair and Wolverine warned him off with a growl. Then he got up and moved behind her chair to do the honors, whispering something in her ear that made her blush beet red.

"Now we're even, darlin," he said as he returned to his seat. She simply smiled at him, and then they began to eat.

She remained uncharacteristically silent during the meal, watching Wolverine through her lashes, trying to conceal the fact that she was watching him. Across the table he was doing the same.

Neither of them could have said what they'd eaten by the time the meal was finished. Cadie was helping clear, and about to volunteer to wash up, when he touched her arm and turned her to face him. Softly, so only she could hear, he whispered, "Girl, I hope you know what yer gettin into with me." He kept his eyes locked with hers as he raised his voice to carry into the kitchen. "We're goin out fer a while. Don't wait up."

"So where we goin, Logan?" she asked reasonably as she mounted the Harley behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her cheek against his back.

"Just one of my hangouts. Thought maybe you'd like to get out of the house," he answered over his shoulder.

She punched his shoulder in mock horror. "Tell me it ain' dat dive I pull y' an Gumbo out of, mon amour," she giggled. "Don' t'ink dey wanted us t' come back."

"Nah," he said as they pulled up outside a seedy-looking establishment on the wrong side of town. He turned and grinned at her as he lifted her from the bike. "This place is worse."

"I did want t' get out o' de house, but are y' sure dis be de right place fo' me, mon amour?" she said as they threaded their way through the crowd to a table in the back. "Almos' feel overdressed, non?" She waved a hand at one of the women leaning over a pool table. "She wearin next t' not'in, non?"

He laughed. "Darlin, thought ya knew all about places like this. Or did Gumbo manage to keep you a little bit more honest than you'd like us to believe?" His mocking smile was meant as a challenge, and she rose to the bait.

"Guess i'll jus make m'self more comf't'ble, den." She slipped first one, then the other sleeve off and tossed them on the table, followed quickly by the lacy yoke, leaving only an almost indecently low-cut body suit. No straps. Wolverine laughed again.

"Remind me never to play poker with you, darlin," he chuckled as he settled her into her chair. "Yer too quick at callin my bluff. What're ya drinkin?"

"Jus a beer, please. Y' want t' shoot some pool? Y' can help me learn t' play a better game den I do now." Leaning close, she whispered conspiratorially, "Remy may t'ink he know how t' shoot pool, but he ain' really no good at it, compris?" She leaned back and laughed.

He smiled again. "Sure thing, darlin. Lemme get us a table." He rose and moved over toward the pool section, looking for a table, and she sipped at her beer.

She was lost in thought when a big man took the seat opposite her. "Now what's a pretty little thing like you doing all alone in here?" he asked as he reached for her hand.

She drew back from him, her gaze icy. "Cadie ain' alone, mon ami," she said tightly. "Go 'way."

"You aren't actually gonna stay with that runt you came in with, now, are you? I bet I can make you feel things he never has." He reached again for her hand.

She rose and startedtoward the poolroom and the man grabbed her arm. She shrugged him off and he grabbed her again, harder. "Don' make me lose m' temper, homme," she said softly as she glared at him. "I said I wasn't int'rested."

"You will be, once you get hold of a real man, and not some shrimp," the man hissed at her.

She brought up the arm he wasn't holding and rammed her palm hard against his chin, driving his jaws together with an audible snap. Followed by a swift kick in the shin, and a fist in the face when he leaned over to grasp the bruised leg. He went down hard, and no one had even noticed the fuss.

She intercepted Logan on his way back to get her and linked her arm through his. "Just comin to get ya, darlin. Got us a table, let's go shoot some pool, eh?" He took note of the body on the floor. "Any problems?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Non, not'in I couldn't handle, mon amour," she purred back as she touched his face. "De big one, he jus a little too persistant fo' his own good, neh?" She laughed and they went into the pool room to their table.

They shot a couple rounds of pool, Wolverine leaning over her back, his arms around her, guiding her shots. Cadie was beginning to feel the effects of all the beer they'd been drinking and getting a little giddy.

"You just wait right here, darlin," he said with a smile as he propped her up against the table. She giggled. "Think you've had enough. I'll go get you some coffee, you just wait right here."

"Oui, mon amour, I will wait here," she said between giggles. "T'ink Cadie a bit drunk, neh?"

"Think you're right, darlin. Now just wait here, and let me get you some coffee." He walked toward the bar, shaking his head.

An outraged shriek made him turn quickly, and he didn't like what he saw. The gorilla had grabbed her again. And this time, she was too drunk and uncoordinated to resist, although she was giving him a run for his money. A steady stream of vile sounding French was pouring from her mouth as she struggled. He had wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the floor and she couldn't find a purchase for her feet.

Wolverine's eyes narrowed as he felt a familiar rage building up. He saw red, and he vaulted over the intervening tables with a growl. In the back part of his mind, where he could still think rationally, there beat one thought. *Mine!*

The gorilla staggered under the ferocity of the attack, and he dropped Cadie, who, having recovered some semblance of sobriety, scurried under the nearest table. She'd seen that look on Wolverine's face before and she knew he wouldn't differentiate between friend and foe right away. She needed a chance to get her head just a little clearer before she jumped back in.

The gorilla was coming out on the losing end as Wolverine continued to press the attack. Then someone in the audience got smart and cracked a chair over Wolverine's head and he went down, groaning.

Cadie launched herself from her hiding place with a yowl and landed on his shoulders. That gave Wolverine a chance to regroup and wade back into the fray. He hit the big man hard, just under the kneecap, and he went down, groaning. Wolverine grabbed him by the hair as his head went by and forced him to look up. "When a lady says no, punk, that's what she means. Got it?" he growled right before he planted his fist in the punk's face. Then he turned to see how Cadie was faring.

The man hadn't been able to dislodge her and he was trying hard to protect his eyes from her nails. She was screaming curses at him and pummeling him hard with her tiny fists, kicking with her heels, and just in general giving him hell. Wolverine smiled. *That's my girl,* he thought fondly. Then he heard the sirens approaching and grabbed her arm.

"Playtime's over, shortstuff," he growled as he pulled her off. "We gotta git. Or do ya want ta explain ta Cyke why he's bailin us outta jail?"

She ran with him out to the bike and they were just a taillight on the road by the time the first cruiser pulled into the parking lot.

They pulled up in front of the mansion just as Scott stepped out onto the porch. "Where have you two been?" he stormed at them. "Do you have any idea how late it is?" He got two stares in reply, one of them slightly glassy-eyed. He stuck his head back in the door and yelled again. "Gambit, they're out here now!"

*Oh, merde. Dis all I need right now.* She looked over at Logan and he put his arm around her casually as Gambit came outside. The look on Gambit's face was not reassuring.

The Cajun's eyes widened when he noticed what she was wearing. *More like not wearin. Where she learn t' dress like dat?* "Petite, inside," he said with a jerk of his head toward the door. "Y' not dressed t' be out. Go put on a shirt."

"Non. I happen t' like dis outfit, frere, an I know Logan does too. So leave me 'lone bout it."

"Wolverine, what were you two doing out so late?" Scott asked angrily as they tried to brush past him into the mansion. "You're way past curfew, both of you. Wolverine, I expect that from you, but keeping Cadie out is just too much."

"Oui. She jus a petite femme, mon ami. Une enfant, non? She don' be needin t' learn dese kinda habits yet."

Wolverine growled, and both men immediately closed their mouths. "Now listen up, kids," he said slowly. "I'll make this easy." He began to tick points off on his fingers. "Number one, she's of legal age. Number two, she was with me, so you knew she'd be safe. Number three, she can take care of herself, I've seen her do it. Number four, being of legal age, she has the right to come and go as she pleases. Number five, being of legal age, she can dress any damn way she pleases." He held up his other hand as she giggled behind him. "Number six, we're going to go inside and I'm going to put this poor drunken legal woman to bed before she passes out where she stands. Then I am coming back downstairs and we can continue this discussion. If you have anything left that I haven't already covered."

Scott and Gambit looked at each other, and Gambit shrugged. They both stood aside as Wolverine and Cadie came up the stairs and into the house.

"Y' know, mon ami, Gambit t'ink we been bluffed," he said in an aside to Scott.

Scott turned to look at him, then let a small sigh escape. "I know we have, Remy, but do you want to call him on it?"

"Non. Dis Cajun plannin on a long life."

"Exactly. I couldn't call him on it either."

They went into the house.