Logan snarled, and paced angrily across the floor of the Professor's study. Gambit was leaning forward in his chair, red eyes burning with intensity as he stared at Xavier.

"I am sorry, but I cannot allow you three to go."

"Pro'fessor, you heard the news reports, same as Gambit. A thousand people died."

"And Annie felt them all. She felt every damn life as it was snuffed out—didn't matter if it was a plant, human or animal." Logan rasped angrily, exposing his claws and retracting them.

"I agree that the ordeal must have been terrible, but I simply cannot condone—"

"What are ya' gonna say, Chuck? That ya' don't want us runnin' after the mutant that killed a thousand people and who put Annie into a state of shock?"

"You cannot be sure it is a mutant's fault—" he began weakly, but was interrupted once more, this time by Gambit.

"Yeah, but what if it is? Gambit say, 'let's not take de chance". Besides, we know dis eruption unnatural. Chere says so, even if de scientists don' know."

Catching his train of thought, Logan continued. "I see it several ways, Professor. One," he released a claw. "We've got a sadistic new mutant on our hands who likes blowin' volcanoes up and God knows what else. Two," *snikt* "We have a new mutant, whose powers backfired. If that's the case, he'll need trainin'. Three," *snikt* "There's a crazy group o' scientists out there who like playin' with Nature and don't care much about the results."

Gambit spread out his hands in supplication. "Gambit think that dis be a job for de X-Men."

Xavier remained silent, studying the men before him for a long moment.

"You have known Anne for less than a week, and yet I can see—have seen—that both of you would do anything for her. Why? Of all my X-Men, you two have been the hardest to reach, and yet she has managed to step inside of your hearts as though she had lived there for your entire lives."

Gambit managed to look uncomfortable as he fingered his playing cards.

"Gambit don't know how to explain it," he said finally. "But it's like Anne is family. Seems natural to think of her like dat."

"I'm with the Cajun." Logan muttered. "Can't explain it, and I don't wanna." He put his fists on Xavier's desk and leaned forward. "I don't have many friends, Chuck. But Annie's one o' 'em, and if I can help her, I will."

Xavier sat back his chair, eyes closed. "Why must you make life so difficult for me?"

Gambit wasn't sure if he was asking a deity or talking to them. Logan seemed to think it was the latter.

"'Cause Chuck—that's what we do best."

Anne left the mansion as soon as Beast declared her fit to walk. She hurriedly changed into blue jeans and a white tank top, throwing on the soft red flannel shirt that Logan had bought her in Eversted.

She was out the front door and into the forest surrounding the Mansion before anyone could stop her. Gambit and Logan were in a meeting with Professor Xavier, trying to convince him to let the three of them go find the one who had caused the unnatural eruption of the volcano.

She did not eavesdrop like she knew she could. In fact, she did not need to. Barely stretching her mind beyond the confines of her shields, she could feel the frustration and anger of her two friends. Not good, she decided, though she did not want to join the meeting to add her voice.

Anne knew that she should be there with them, stating her case and argument for the mission. It was for her that they were arguing. But she could not bring herself to go. Not yet. Despite the fact (and it still amazed her) that she counted Gambit and Logan as her best friends, and though every courtesy had been extended to her, she did not feel like she was part of the X-Men. She could not imagine that she was in any position to make demands of Professor Xavier.

Anne shook her head and moved deeper into the forest, letting her fingers trace bark and leaf, allowing the trees to know that she heard their whispered stories and dreams.

Of course, the trees here had already heard of her. Which of the earth's eyes and ears had not felt the essence of the one human who spoke their tongues? She had seen bits of the old memories and knew that there had been others like her in the past—many of them. But now, there was only her.

She greeted the trees on the estate, letting her shield mingle with their own, letting information cross through the brief psi-links. Yes, they had felt the back lash of the eruption, and thank you, she was fine.

So fragile, they whispered.
...Be safe, little sister...
...To lose you would be painful...
...We have dreamt...
...of walking amongst men...
...you make that dream come true...

Anne closed her eyes, and sank to the ground at the base of a huge, gnarled oak. It welcomed her presence, enfolding her within its own shield. The oak let her bask in the essence of the collective consciousness of the trees, and she felt the gentle whispers caress the darkest corners of her mind. This connection had saved her when her parents died five years ago, victims of a car crash.

She let her memories of that night wash over her—waking up in the darkness of her apartment to the sound of the phone ringing. A strange woman on the other end of the line telling her that her parents were dead...Anne bowed her head. She had left immediately, but the truth had not changed when she returned home. Perry and Annabelle O'Hanrahan were dead.

For days after the burial she sat at the base of the old evergreen behind her home—sat there without eating or sleeping, lost in the soothing dreamscape of the earth and the trees. She had not wanted to leave the forest after that. Anne withdrew from Medical School, living on the ample funds her parents had left her. She ran wild in the woods and had thought she would never leave. Until the town began to grow hostile. Until she met Gambit and Logan.

The trees were tasting her memories, just as she savored their own. She felt them linger over the images of the two men, and the emotions those images produced.

This is new...
...Your heart welcomes them...
...they are a part of you...
...just as you are a part of them...

They lingered some more, trees from all over the state and across North America fading in and out to caress her mind. Anne felt amusement as they kept touching on her emotions concerning Gambit and Logan, turning them over and over.

...you feel free with them...
...safe...as though you are with us...
...one is closer to you than the other...

Logan. His name flashed through her head, and the trees latched on to it.

...your spirit is growing into his...
...and his into yours...
...like us...but slowly...

Anne felt herself start with surprise, but as she mulled over what they showed her, she could not deny the truth. Both men were her best friends, but Logan...Logan...he touched her heart in ways that Gambit did not.

Logan was like the oak that held her...gnarled and tough on the outside, but within...within, the spirit held great plains of tenderness and love. That man had more love in his heart than anyone she had ever met...though she knew most people would laugh themselves sick if they heard her say that. Yet he would die for his friends without hesitation— would risk everything for those he cared about. Anne did not know how she knew that about him, only that she was fiercely sure it was the truth.

Whatever happened between them though, Anne knew it would be a long time coming. The friendship with both men was still too new, still raw though they felt as though they had known each other forever. How had it happened?

She shook her head. Why try to understand the relationship? They were her friends, and they would protect each other...be a team.

She felt a brief sense of wonderment at the strength of her conviction. Anne knew that it was unlike her to base her life on people. She had always been the independent one, not caring what others thought. And she still didn't...but deep in her heart, she wanted to stay with the two men—she had been alone for so long and being with them was like finally having a family again.

Do they feel the same about me? she wondered. She knew she could probe their minds for the truth, but she found the idea distasteful. Besides, she realized suddenly, the trees had already given her the answer.

...they are a part of you...just as you are a part of them...

The trees could not lie to her. Feeling an unbidden smile part her lips, Anne leaned back against the oak and felt her heart dance.

Anne returned to the mansion well after dark. No one seemed worried about her, which she thought was strange, until she saw Logan lounging on one of the couches in the living room. There were pine needles in his hair, and she knew then that he had tracked her out to the oak. He must have come back and told everyone she was all right.

Anne walked over, and sat down beside him on the couch. She picked one of the pine needles out of his hair, and held it up to him.

"Thanks for not interrupting me earlier." Anne said softly.

Logan took the needle from her and tucked it into his front shirt pocket, an eccentric move, but one that Anne appreciated for some odd reason.

"No problem," he replied in a rough voice. "Seemed as though ya' were meditatin'—" he looked more closely at her tousled hair and clothes. "—or talkin'. Either way, I thought ya'd wanna be left alone."

Anne smiled, and kissed him gently on the cheek before rising to go to the kitchen. Logan watched her leave, unconsciously placing his fingertips on the place where her lips had touched his skin.

Rogue was sitting at the small breakfast table when Anne walked into the kitchen. Her hair was pulled back into a loose bun, the white streak gleaming beneath the lights of the room.

"Anne!" Rogue called her name as she walked in. "You had the boys worried there for a while. How're you feeling'?"

Anne smiled, grabbing sandwich materials from the refrigerator.

"Better than I have any right to be, considering the mess I was in yesterday." She shook her head. "I can shield myself from the strongest telepaths in the world, but I just can't block the planet. They told you what happened, right?"

Rogue nodded over her coffee, eyes sympathetic. "Gambit and Logan argued with the Professor for hours today after you woke up. He agreed that y'all could go look for the person that caused the eruption, though I think he's only doing it 'cause he doesn't want to hear them complain for the next three years."

Anne sat down across from Rogue, a thick ham and lettuce sandwich in hand. She took a bite of it before speaking. "I can't see why he would be reluctant to let us go. I found time to read descriptions of other missions, and he's sent teams out to scout on even less."

Rogue frowned. "You're right, sugah. I don't like to say it, but maybe it's the people askin' who have him reluctant to give the go ahead." Anne's face filled with confusion and Rogue rushed to explain.

"You see, Gambit and Logan are like the misfits of the X-Men. They don't always play with the team, 'specially Logan. The idea of them goin' off on some mission by themselves with the newest member we've got, might have him worried."

"I can take care of myself," Anne groused, "And Logan and Gambit are some of the best people I know. Just because they don't always play the same game as everyone else, doesn't mean they aren't responsible."

"Aw, I know that sugah, but the man is probably worried that they'll rub off on you." That made Rogue laugh. "Though it seems to be going the other way around." They both chuckled, and Rogue reached forward to lightly touch Anne on the hand with one of her gloved fingers.

"You've got to understand something, Anne. You may be one of the most powerful mutants in the mansion, maybe in the world. It's like Bobby said, you almost took down an entire team, and trust me, that isn't something that's easy to do."

"So, the Professor is going to treat me with kid gloves?"

"Nah, but he wants to make sure that he doesn't lose you. And that might happen if you go off on some mission with Gambit and Logan."

"I could be struck by lightening tomorrow, or choke on the last bite of this sandwich." A wry grin tugged at Anne's lips. "I might as well be out doing something useful if I leave this life, instead of twiddling my thumbs."

Rogue grinned. "Ah knew there was a reason Ah liked you." A shadow flickered across her face, gone so quickly that Anne thought it could have been her imagination.

"Rogue, is there something wrong?"

The woman frowned and shook her head, though her eyes remained troubled. Finally, she sighed.

"In the Danger Room, you made my powers drain away. How did you do that?"

Anne stirred uncomfortably in her seat. "I don't know. I suppose that I wrapped you in a 'sense deprivation' chamber of sorts—at least for your mutant abilities. I know I'll be able to duplicate what I did—I just can't tell you how it works. Why?"

Rogue looked discomfited. "I can't touch people, sugah. I drain their memories, their powers and their lives away. Remy and me...are close, but this," she held up a gloved hand and wriggled her fingers. "Is a sure nuff barrier if I ever knew one."

"But if you love each other..." Anne began.

"I want something more, Anne...I want a family...I want to be held and kissed and touched." Rogue's green eyes shone brightly with unshed tears. "Even though Ah'm surrounded by my friends, there are times when Ah feel so alone...and the horrible part is that Ah know it won't end until the day Ah die."

Anne grasped her hand, and held it firmly. "I think I can fix something up. Maybe I can extend a shield around your room that will inhibit your powers. I can make it permanent—I'll just anchor it into the ground so it'll stay up without me having to think about it."

Rogue swallowed heavily, wild hope burning in her gaze. "You can do that? And you don't mind?"

Anne smiled and rose from her seat, dragging Rogue with her. "Let's go fix it now."