A/N : For PocketRamblr - thank you again for your support and feedback. Enjoy!

1

It was sort of fun, being the oldest for once. With so many older brothers to compete with, Flick had never experienced the joys of being the de facto head of a household of children, and was looking forward to exerting what little authority she had that evening, grinning at Angela's fuss and worry and mentally dismissing it as her being a concerned parent.

"And don't forget Ruth needs to take her allergy medicine if she gets near the cats, or she'll come up in hives – oh and where's Ted Bear? Rachael won't settle without Ted Bear, have you –"

"Angie," Flick interrupted kindly, "It's cool, I'll find it. You guys just go have a good time for once. You deserve it"

Her mentor had materialised beside his wife, laid a comforting hand on her shoulder and given her one of those sweet looks he was so good at, one which said stop it, everything's fine, before he'd bent to give Flick a kiss on the cheek and a fond hug

"Thanks so much for this, Lil' Rocket, I hope they won't be too much trouble"

"I'm sure they won't Boss," she grinned, squeezed him tightly, "how much trouble can two little girls possibly be?"

Angela hesitated, considered it, and gave Flick a warm but apologetic look

"I'll remind you of that question in the morning" she said, gave the younger girl a wink. Flick grinned back at her, accepted the tight hug she bent to give her, and waved them out of the door before Angela found something new to worry about. It was about time her adopted guardians got out and had a little fun for once, the twins were such a handful that neither had had much time to do anything but eat, sleep, go to work, and deal with the two demanding girls for the past few years. Ushering them off to the class reunion taking place at the Academy seemed the perfect way for them to unwind and relax for a while. Besides – this wasn't the first time she'd looked after the twins, just the first time since they'd started walking and talking.

Right on cue, Ruth had bounded into the lounge trailing a long green tail behind her, roaring ferociously and pursued by her sister, clad in tinfoil armour and brandishing a toy sword. Before Flick could say anything, Rachael had jumped on her twin and knocked her hard to the floor, the two wrestling, screaming, roaring and shouting at the top of their surprisingly loud voices, almost toppling a coffee table and looking like they genuinely were trying to kill one another. When the hair-pulling had started she'd drawn the line, dropped to her knees and forcibly separated the two.

"Hey, hey!" she warned, "Not so rough! You'll hurt each other"

Rachael gave her a look that radiated pity for her stupidity

"But I gotta slay the dragon" she said patiently, "And rescue the Princess"

"Who's the Princess?"

"You are!" Ruth roared, wriggled out from under Flick's restraining hand and flung herself upon her, little teeth snapping perilously close to her face, "and I'm gonna EAT you up!"

"Fear not fair Princess, I'll save you!"

Rachael joined the fray, jumped on and caught Flick a glancing blow on the cheek with her pointed little elbow, all three of them in a heap on the floor until Flick had had enough and flung the two off perhaps a touch harder then she needed to, over in the corner of the room in a flash.

"It's late" she said firmly, "You should be getting ready for bed. Your father said –"

"Dad's not here" Rachael interrupted, grinned in a devilish fashion that she had undoubtedly inherited from Peter, "You'll have to catch us first"

"You do know I'm just as fast as him, right?"

With a look between them that spoke volumes, the two girls had split, one running through to the kitchen and the other galloping upstairs. Flick had to wonder if they weren't showing some minor speedster tendencies – they certainly had a full dose of Maximoff Mischief. Unable to decide between the two, she had instead stood rather stupidly in the lounge and given both time to hide. This was going to be a long evening.

By the time the girls had finally played themselves tired enough to sit still on the sofa, they had led Flick a merry dance around the house, crawling into hiding places too small for her to follow, pouncing on her unexpectedly and frightening her out of her wits, tripping her, and even setting rudimentary traps for her to speed into. At last, the two had been bored of their games, and crawled up onto the sofa one either side of her to dip into her bowl of popcorn and snuggle close.

"You finished being monsters now?" she asked wearily, "Seriously I've never met kids so naughty"

"Dad lets us" Rachael mumbled around a mouthful

"And what about Mom?"

"Mom can't catch us" Ruth replied, "Can we watch the movie with you?"

Flick thought about refusing and insisting the two went to bed like good children, considered the fact she didn't have the energy to go chasing after them again, and nodded, hugged both to her. Before the credits had even finished both had sprawled out under her arms and were breathing gently in peaceful sleep. Flick breathed a sigh of relief, ruffled the heads of coppery red hair, and smiled to herself. They were cute when they were asleep.

Strange to think that she spent so little time looking after the twins, when they were living so close to her school (in the grounds of the Academy no less,) and when they were, in a manner of speaking, her sisters. She was around them plenty, often coming home with Peter on his extended lunchbreaks, hanging out in the evenings before the school curfew came around – though Xavier was very lenient on her in that respect, knowing she was safe with the little family – and regularly joining them for the all-important Sabbath dinner on Friday nights, despite her being raised Catholic. Their parents were always around then, though, and the two girls seemed a lot more under control when they were with their father, seeming to know that whatever mischief they got into he could do ten times worse and not feeling the need to compete with him on that. Angela was such a protective mother, rarely leaving them and spending the majority of her time at home, seeming happiest and most content when she was with her two baby girls. Flick could see she lived and breathed for those children, had most definitely found her niche as Momma Bear.

Sixteen now, more independent, less of a danger to herself after seven years training with her mentor, Flick didn't mind that her guardians were so focussed on their own children now. They still didn't neglect her, would welcome her fondly into their home as another daughter to be coddled and spoiled to the same extent as their two natural offspring. Peter was still more attentive to her needs than anyone in her birth family had ever been, still treated her with that gentle respect and protective love that he had always done – though thankfully, he'd so far not given her too many 'Dad Talks'. He'd tried, making them both squirm with discomfort, until Flick had suggested he let his own father do it and Peter had agreed immediately. Peter was more like the older brother she wished she'd had – not the violent, selfish boys she'd been raised with until the age of nine, but a sweet and kind soul who wouldn't see her hurt for the world yet encouraged her to take the risks she needed to grow up. Held her hand through everything until she hadn't needed him to any more, but had always been there to offer it when she wanted even after that. Just the way a real family should be.

Though she thought of them sometimes, the ones whose blood ran in her veins and whose name she had kept because it was her own and she needed to remember, she did not miss them. Looked on her childhood, frightened and alone even in such a full house, as another life that was over the moment that Peter had first held out his hand and asked her to come run with him. Now, instead of the runt of the litter, the weird one, she was the older sibling who was special and could do marvellous things. She tried hard to be someone Ruth and Rachael could look up to, and be the good example of a happy thriving Mutant that she had lacked at their age. Took on the role with relish and determination, and just now and again she would catch Angie and Peter watching her with their girls and smiling with such fond approval that it made her blush, feeling like she was succeeding.

Now, if only she could succeed at getting them into bed. The girls knew they could push it with her, despite her best efforts, knew that she wouldn't discipline them like their parents would. She scooped the two up carefully, little dead weights in her arms. Whizzed them upstairs and tucked them carefully into their twin beds, wiggled Ted Bear into Rachael's sleep-limp arms. He'd been on her bed all along – Flick suspected he might have been stealthily hidden to bother their mother. She snuggled him in close to her, making Flick grin with joy at the little dimples that appeared in her cheeks, just like her father. Kissed the two gently goodnight and returned downstairs to stretch out on the sofa until Peter and Angie returned from their reunion.