Rogue left the room. Gambit sat down at the table and lit a cigerette.

"She okay?" Gambit asked.

"What do you mean?" Jesse asked.

"'Bout de chile and all?" He asked softly.

"She's handling it."

Gambit nodded, "How old is she?"

"Who, Katherine or the child?"

Gambit shrugged.

"Allison, the child, is about 4, 4 and half. Katherine is ... 20, almost 21."

"So young, eh, when she had de baby I mean."

Jesse nodded, "Yeah, but it made her grow up quicker then most." Jesse's hands clenched as he felt the anger return, as it did everytime he thought of that man, and of what he and his family had done and is doing to torment his poor Little Kat.

Katherine's hand drifted absently to Jesse's on the table, her eyes drifting away from Logan as well. She smiled at Jesse, "I'm okay now." She said to him forcefully, or as forcefull as she could ever get. "It's over, forget about it."

"Kat, how can you say that, it's not over, it never will be!" Jesse growled angrily, losing control of the rage that was so often hard for him to keep in check, especially when it came to her.

Gambit, not wanting to become a part of this, and feeling guilty for starting it, drifted out of the room. Logan became tense, leaning forward in his chair, ever so slightly.

"Jesse please." She whispered softly.

"Please what Katherine?!" He raged, standing up in his chair, "Forget about it, forget about everything? Can you?!"

Katherine shook her head, tears forming in her eyes as she relived that night.

"God Dammit Katherine, everytime I think about him on top of you like that, it just makes me insane!"

Katherine shook her head. She didn't want to think about it, she didn't want to remember, she couldn't, it wasn't safe, she could hurt people if she lost control like Jesse was. "Stop Jesse."

"I can't Katherine, Damn it! God Damn that bastard. I wish he was here so I could kill him again!" Jesse's hand flung out and he sent the chair he had been sitting in crashing across the floor. Katherine screamed and scurried back from him, knocking into Logan. She turned and clung to him. Her arms wrapping around his waste her face burried in his chest, she blocked Jesse from her mind, blocking everything from her mind, she tried to focus on one thing, anything; she couldn't let Jesse make her lose control. She closed her eyes and focused on the up and down movements of Logan's chest as he breathed. Up down, up down. Katherine was in her own little world.

Logan's arm wrapped around Katherine's small frame protectively.

Scott came running into the kitchen, Jean on his heels. "What's going on?"

Jesse's eyes were clenched and he stood in the middle of the room trying to regain control. The sound of Katherine's scream and her tears had snapped him back into reality, "I'm sorry." He said softly, opening his eyes to find Katherine wrapped around Logan and Scott glaring at him. Jean's gaze was sympathetic.

"It's all right Jesse." She said, walking over to him. "Calm down."

"What happened?" Scott asked, as Jean leaned over and righted the overthrown chair.

"I ... I lost control. I'm sorry." He said, looking back at Katherine who hadn't released Logan.

[ Katherine? ]

[ Up down, up down ] Her thoughts were soft, relaxing, hypnotic almost.

"Up down?" He asked out loud.

"Up down?" Jean asked, "What's up down?"

"Katherine. Her thoughts I mean, that's it. Up, down."

"I'm sorry Logan." Jesse apologized. Logan didn't hear him; he was lost in the feel of the small woman in his arms. It had been so long since he had held someone. It felt nice. To be needed, to protect. He rested his chin on top of her head. She fit perfectly. One of the few women he knew who were short enough to do that.

"Logan?"

"Huh? What?" Wolverine asked, startled out of his reverie by the fact that there were other people in the room. "Sorry. She has a calming effect," he said, realizing that what he said was an extreme understatement. He hadn't felt this relaxed, this calm in a while. "It must be her empathy. You okay now?"

Jesse nodded walking over to the chair and sitting down. He rubbed his face and sighed, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay Jesse. Really." Jean said, "Come on Scott, everything's fine now. I have to get back to Cerebro."

Scott nodded and followed his wife out of the kitchen with one last glance at the trio.

Logan sat back down, Katherine still clinging to him, not that he minded. He simply sat down, Katie cradled in his lap.

Jesse let out a long sigh and cupped his chin in his palm, "I wonder how long this one will last." Jesse said, staring at Katherine, his eyes full of remorse.

"What do you mean how long this one will last?"

Jesse glanced up into Logan's eyes, "This isn't the first time she's put herself in a trance to ignore outside complications."

"Complications?" Logan asked drowsily, he felt like he could fall asleep right there.

"Yeah, something that bothers her, or threatens to break her control. After she was ... raped, she went into a trance that lasted for four days. I was so scared. Her thoughts were something about dripping water. I realized that she was focused in on the dripping of the rain on the tin lid of a trash can. I thought that if I moved the lid she'd turn back to normal, but instead she started screaming and screaming. It wasn't until I put the lid back that she stopped."

"So If I were to hold my breath or something, she'd start screaming?" Logan asked curiously.

Jesse nodded, "Probably. God I'm sorry Logan. You'll probably have to sit like that with her for the next hour at least."

Logan glanced down at her and sighed, "I 'spose there's worse ways I could spend my afternoon. Of course, spending it in this hard-ass kitchen chair isn't going ta be very enjoyable."

Jesse shrugged, "Come on, let's move into the other room."

Logan stood up, Katherine cradled in his arms, and walked into a den-type room where he settled in a over-stuffed reclining chair. Jesse followed him and sat down on the couch.

Logan yawned and closed his eyes.

Jesse sighed, feeling guilty, and maybe even a little jealous at the sight of Logan being the one to hold and comfort Katherine, both of them looking so peaceful and comfortable. He stood up and left the room, planning on catching a nap for himself.