Until that very day, Rogue hadn't known whether Logan was still alive or not. Very little could kill her friend, it was true, but with the way the Sentinels had adapted, no one had been safe. But more than that now, she felt that she couldn't refer to the living, breathing Logan as her friend in the present tense because there was no guarantee that he still would be when she returned to her world. The new timeline might have made it so they never met, or that their meeting hadn't been as powerful a factor in their relationship. Perhaps they were only teacher and student, or little more than teammates. Or maybe they were still close, but... what if there already a Rogue in his life, someone who hadn't been broken by a war that no one else would remember? Depending on when she entered the new timeline, Logan might not even remember the war yet.

There were too many variables at play for her to safely assume that she knew what she was getting into. Until she did, it was easier to keep using the phrasing she'd adopted back in that lab. "He's the one who was sent back to change the timeline, because he'd be able to heal from any physical damage sustained. And because of the way he was sent back... he was the only viable option."

She felt them beginning to slow, which made sense as she counted up the doors they had already passed. The change was gradual and only really noticeable since she was depending upon him entirely as her guide.