The next morning, being Sunday, was a pretty lax day for the X-Men. They were all lounging around the house. Some of them were in the rec room watching television. The professor was locked up in his study and Hank was locked up in the med lab; which is where they usually were. Retley was walking around the outside of the house, when she came upon the garage. Or rather, garages. There were enough vehicles to open up a car lot, a very expensive car lot. There was a good number of normal vehicles, but also a nice collection of fancy cars, even some motorcycles.

She was walking in between two vehicles, a fancy sports car and a jeep with the hood up, when she tripped over something. She caught herself before she fell, then heard a, "Hey! Watch it Cajun, or I just might hafta fix you!" She turned to see a pair of legs sticking out from under a jeep. Before she could apologize to who she had stepped on, someone walked around the other side of the jeep. "That not Gambit, mon ami." He gave Retley a mischievous smile. "Dat was a prettier set o' feet that kicked you." At her surprised expression he added, "Don't worry petite, you not gon' hurt Wolverine."

She looked back down to find a grease-covered Logan coming out from under the jeep. "Look Gumbo—" But he stopped when he saw who his assailant was. It was Retley, and she was giving him an apologetic smile.

"Told you it wasn't Gambit." Gambit was standing behind her He playfully added to Retley, "You better be careful, petite, you don' wanna be 'round when Wolverine lose his temper."

She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Gambit, noticing he was holding a piece from the engine in his hand. She grabbed his hand and brought it up so she could examine the piece. She gave him a questioning look. "We tryin' to fix da engine," he provided. Retley replied with a mischievous smile similar to the one Gambit flashed earlier.

Retley dragged Gambit over to the hood. Gambit raised his eyebrows and looked over to Logan, who was currently still scowling.

The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon fixing Logan's jeep.

"Where you learn dat, chere?" Gambit was impressed with how much she knew about the underside of the hood of a car. She gave an innocent shrug as the three of them went into the house.

Logan was impressed too; she was quite a mystery to him. They had spent the whole afternoon together, and even though she hadn't spoken a word, her company was surprisingly pleasant. She didn't seem to need words; a look was all it took to express what was on her mind. Her silence was warm, and somewhat comforting. He had to admit, it wasn't a hardship to look at her either. Her inability to talk and her petite size were misleading. She was tough and confident. And if she were able to speak, he was sure she'd always say what was on her mind.

The three of them made their way to the kitchen. Jean was there, rummaging through the cupboards, getting the items she needed to make supper.

"What have you three been up to?" She asked, even though she had a pretty good idea. Not only was the grease on them a dead give away, but she also lightly scanned their thoughts.

"Workin' on Wolverine's jeep. You shoulda' seen petite here, she was showin' us a thing o' two 'bout fixing it." Gambit patted Retley on the back. She gave a modest shrug and blushed slightly.

"Well out you three, I'm about to start dinner." She began to swat them out with a kitchen towel. Retley turned to Jean, 'You need any help, Jean?'

"Sure, I can always use some help. But first you better get cleaned up. We don't want grease in the food. I hear it leaves an awful aftertaste."

So Retley went upstairs, took a quick shower, then went down to help Jean with dinner.

Jean was chopping vegetable, she had Retley washing them. 'Where did you learn to work on engines, Retley?'

'One of teachers had a beat up old jeep once. Every day after class I would go and help him work on it.'

'So you've always gone to that school?'

Retley nodded, 'Yep, and now I teach there. It's been pretty much my whole world.'

'I'm glad you're getting along with everyone here. I hear Logan is teaching you defense moves.'

'Yeah, it's actually a lot of fun. Logan's pretty funny.' Retley was grinning.

'Logan? Funny? I've rarely heard anyone use that word to describe him.'

'He acts all tough, but really he's a softy. That's what's so funny about him.'

The two of them chatted throughout the rest of the meal preparation.

The days became pretty routine for Retley after that. The professor still wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know. The team still didn't know who had killed Dr. Treager, and the police were stumped too.

Every morning after the team workout Logan would train her for awhile. She was getting to be pretty good at defending herself. They even moved on to offensive moves. She was beginning to really like him. He had a personality no one could match. Often the two of them would sit by the lake; Retley reading and Logan with his cigar. She enjoyed his company. They didn't need conversation. There was often silence, but a companionable one, not that uncomfortable kind that seems to stretch on forever.

Logan was beginning to like her too. More than he thought he should. She was so young and innocent. He was the complete opposite. She had obviously led a very sheltered life in that school of hers. Whereas he had seen and done enough that would drive many men crazy. But there was something about her that put him at peace, and at the same time putting him on edge. His growing attraction to her was the cause of the latter.

The annual charity theatre show was tonight, which only put him more on edge. It was the one time of the year that he was forced to wear a suit and tie. He pulled at the collar, feeling like he was being choked. The way it worked out, Retley was pretty much his date. There was Scott and Jean, Rogue and Gambit, Storm and Hank, so that left him with Retley. Not that he minded.

The guys were all waiting downstairs for the girls to come down.

"They've been getting ready all afternoon," Scott complained. "Why does it take them so long to get ready?"

"Calm down, mon ami. It always worth da wait, no?" Gambit said, with a wicked look on his face.

Just then, the four ladies made their way down the stairs. Storm was first. Dressed in a silvery gown, she looked very much like a queen. Hank slightly bowed and offered her his arm. "My dear, you look absolutely stunning. You put the stars to shame." He was wearing what Jean had called his "image inducer". It was small devise, when activated, caused a false image of Hank to appear. So instead of being blue and furry, he looked like an average guy.

Rogue followed Storm. She was dressed in a dark green dress. Even though it had a high neckline and was long sleeved, it only accented her nice figure. She gave Gambit one of her sultry smiles. "How do I look, sugar?"

"Chere, nothin' more beautiful dan you." He picked up her gloved hand and gave it a kiss.

Jean, dressed in a black gown had a hold of Retley's elbow and was currently trying to get her to go down the stairs.

Retley had never felt so uncomfortable. She felt practically naked wearing the silky dress. Her normal attire was oversized sweatshirts, jeans, and her cross trainers. She felt like she would fall flat on her face with these heels on.

When Logan saw her, he couldn't breath. He had never seen anything so gorgeous in his life. The dress matched her beautiful blue eyes. Her hair was swept up, with tiny tendrils escaping, hugging the base of her slender neck. When she reached him she put her arm in his and looked up at him with one of those warm smiles. He didn't say anything, couldn't say anything. But yet, he didn't have to. She could tell what he was thinking, even though he couldn't put it to words.

The show had been fantastic. There several different acts, some that had Retley crying with laughter, and some that just plain had her crying.

After the show they all went to this club. It was obvious they had been there before. The waiter immediately recognized them and they were ushered to what seemed to be the best table in the place.

A young woman came over to take orders for drinks. She addressed many of them by their names. When the waitress got to Retley she asked, "What can I get for you?" She had never been out for drinks before; she didn't know what to order. She only really wanted a coke. She looked questioningly at Logan. Jean, reading her thoughts, was about to answer when Logan spoke up. "She'll just have a coke." Jean gave Logan a puzzled look, but he didn't notice. He was too busy looking at Retley.

Rogue had already dragged Gambit out onto the dance floor. After the drinks arrived everyone else made their way out there too. Retley grabbed Logan and tried to pull him out. He wouldn't budge. She gave him a pleading look, which didn't work, then an impatient look. He finally gave in after Retley whacked him on the head. When they reached the floor the current song ended and a slow song came on. Logan took her hands and brought them up around his neck. He slid his hands down her sides, stopping at her waist and pulling her close. They started to dance to the music. She leaned toward him, taking in his scent. She loved his scent, wild and tamed at the same time, like barely controlled energy. The whole world seemed to fade away, as if they two were all that existed. She put her head on his shoulder, losing herself in the song, losing herself in his closeness.

They arrived back at the mansion pretty late. Logan walked Retley to her room. He looked down at her. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her face up. "Yer cut's doin' better." She gave an appreciative smile.

"Good night," he quickly growled out and turned to go. She touched his arm and he stopped. Retley walked around to face him. She looked up at him and mouthed "Thank you". She then leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, quickly pulling away and retreating to her room.

Logan stood there for a moment staring at her door. How could one little peck on the cheek affect him so? His chest felt tight. She was getting to him.

He had it bad.

The next morning Retley and Logan were doing their daily workout. Today they were working on offensive moves. Retley was attacking and Logan was blocking her blows.

All of a sudden Retley stopped. Logan looked at her. "What is it?" She smiled and shoved him in the shoulder. "What?" he repeated. She shoved him again, harder.

Suddenly understanding, he grinned back. "Oh no, darlin', you don't stand a chance."

She shoved him once again and this time he grabbed her wrist, spun her around, and pinned her arm behind her back. He was so close. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her back. "Don't start a fight ya know ya can't win," he whispered playfully in her ear.

Her answer was elbowing him in the gut with her free arm. She had caught him unaware and he let her go. "Now it's on, darlin'." He leaped at her and she ducked out of the way.

The fight mostly consisted of Logan trying to catch Retley. Every now and then Retley would get a hit off. Logan wasn't exactly fighting his hardest. If he had, he would've caught her by now.

When he could see was starting to wear down, he decided to end it. He knew she was going to fake left, then dodge right, so he waited and tackled her.

He grabbed her and twisted, so when they hit the ground he absorbed the impact. He then rolled so that she was on her back and he was on top of her, straddling her hips. She struggled to get free, but she was trapped, with him pinning her hands above her head. His face was mere inches from hers. He whispered mischievously, "What'd I tell ya darlin'?"

He was suddenly very conscious of the position they were in. Here he was, on top of her with their faces so close. He looked at her mouth, which was right there for the taking. Always a man to go with his impulses, he lightly brushed his mouth across hers.

Just then the door to the Danger Room opened and in walked Scott. Logan quickly rolled off Retley and stood. Retley just remained lying there. She eventually sat up, her back toward Scott.

Scott had entered the Danger Room reading a file the Professor had given him. When he looked up he saw Logan standing there, scowling at him, and Retley sitting on the floor facing the opposite wall. "Is everything okay?"

"Just working out," Logan growled. Retley turned and faced Scott, confident that her face hadn't turned too red with embarrassment.

"Oh. Well anyway, I came here to tell you something has come up. As you know the Professor and Hank left this morning to go to a medical conference."

"So."

Scott glared back at Logan. He pulled it off quite nicely, considering his glasses covered his eyes. "So," he replied impatiently, "something has come up and the team has to go to Colorado. We think some of the Friends of Humanity are up to no good and we need to check it out."

"When we goin'?"

"The rest of the team leaves this afternoon."

"What do ya mean, the rest?"

"You are to stay and watch over Retley. We should be back in a day or two."

Logan and Retley simply stared at Scott for a moment, then looked at each other. Scott, growing impatient with the silence spoke up. "Okay, I'm going to go talk with the Professor. We're leaving at four." Then he turned and left.