Disclaimer: I do not own X-men. All I own is Oracle and Cassa.
---------------------------------------------------------- "The life of every man is a diary in which he meant to write one story, and writes another." -Sir J.M Barrie
Rogue sat in shock, staring at her friend Oracle, a mutant who also attended Xavier's school.
"What?" she choked out, not believing what the other girl was saying.
"I told you already." Oracle snapped, tears rolling down her olive face.
Rogue was still flabbergasted, though. "But. Oracle. you and John-"
"Shut up, you knew."
"Yeah, but I had no clue it was that serious."
"Oh, come on." the girl with the Mediterranean features sneered. "You and Bobby would do it if you could."
Rogue shrugged. Most likely that was a true statement, but she wouldn't know for sure unless she was given the opportunity, and there was no chance of that. So she did all that she could do- she just nodded, agreeing with Oracle.
"Are you sure?" Rogue asked again, the information still not clicking in her mind. "You can't be one-hundred percent-"
"I'm seven weeks pregnant, Rogue. I asked Jean before. before she left if she could run some tests to make sure. I was going to tell him when you guys came back but-" she choked on her tears, unable to finish her thoughts.
"So much for powers of precognition." Rogue muttered to herself as she settled herself on the bed beside Oracle.
"Shuddup, you know it doesn't work that way." All Oracle's premonitions were, most of the time, only bad feelings- well, a little more than that. Even at their most powerful they weren't exactly clear. If they were, then the future could be changed or avoided and then, well, it would no longer be the future.
"God." Oracle muttered, squeezing her eyes shut and turning her face towards the ceiling, quiet for a second. "I've heard car fumes are the easiest way to do it."
"Do what?" Rogue snapped, then realization hit her. "Oh, Oracle, no way, you can't-"
"Why not?" the other girl asked, now completely calm.
"Because you can't kill yourself."
"Why not."
"'Cause it's not good." Rogue pressed.
Oracle sighed, looking out into space. Rogue was quiet as her friend thought, eyes fixed on air. "Not now. Maybe later."
"No." Rogue snapped. "Not ever."
Tears once again flowed from Oracle's eyes. "What am I going to do, Rogue?" she asked, collapsing onto her bed, bawling.
Rogue shrugged. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I don't know."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Four months later, Oracle moved slowly from her seat in her class with Professor Xavier. She was almost out the door when she realized she had left her book, and she turned back to get it, only to see Professor Xavier roll up, hand outstretched with her Physics text. "Thanks, Professor." She mumbled, turning away.
"You know, if there's anything you want to tell me, Oracle, now's the time." The Professor said in his calm voice.
Oracle froze momentarily, then shrugged. "No, there's nothing."
"How far along are you?" he asked- most likely knowing but wanting her to answer. She stopped in her path and turned to look at him once more.
"Nearly six months, but you already know that, don't you?"
The professor nodded. "Yes, but other teachers have noticed a difference, also. Scott thinks you may be sick-" he paused to smile briefly. "But Ororo suspects the truth. You should speak to her one day soon."
Oracle shrugged. "I didn't intend for this to happen."
"Rarely do girls your age intend for this." The professor agreed. "Go talk to Ororo."
Oracle moved to leave, then turned back cautiously. "Have you heard anything? From John?"
The professor shook his head. "Nothing you'd be interested in." he said gently. "But I know that Pyro is prospering in his new surroundings, though."
Oracle just nodded. "Alright."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Two months later, Ororo Monroe aka Storm walked up to Oracle, who was grooming a large chestnut horse in the stables.
"Are you sure you should be hanging around here? Especially since-"
"Shhh." Oracle cut her off, holding a finger to her lips as she looked around the stable.
"Sorry." Storm said softly.
"I can't stand it anymore, Storm." Oracle muttered softly, brushing the flank of the gelding in front of her. "I despise this with all the essence of my being."
Storm laughed gently. "Maybe you should have thought of that before?" she smiled softly.
"It's not funny." Oracle snapped, antsy from the pregnancy, then she softened. "I'm sorry, Storm. Ever since I got knocked up and John left, I've been a world class bitch, haven't I? It's amazing anyone even talks to me anymore."
"We're all worried about you." Storm said, white hair blowing in a breeze that made it way though the open stable doors.
"I don't deserve any sympathies lately." Oracle muttered.
There was silence for a while. "I considered getting rid of the baby a long time ago but. But I don't know, I just couldn't. The way it seems, this thing-" she patted her stomach, "-is all I have left of him."
She laughed. "If I was human and still with my parents, if they found out, they would kill me."
Storm leaned against the stable door, listening to the young woman who seemed relieved to have a silent audience. "You know, I can't even go to the hospital when I have this thing? I have to have it here, in the basement, can you believe that? I know, we have a really really nice basement, but still! Professor X is getting a doctor friend of his to come here when it's time."
Oracle grew angry suddenly. "My life bites." She snapped, and threw her brush into a metal bucket, and it rang loudly.
She saw it before it happened. The noise from the bucket making the gelding edgy and scaring the cat asleep in the rafters. The cat jumped from the rafters and landed in front of the gelding, which shied, then kicked out, catching Oracle in the stomach.
She snapped back to the moment as the hoof came flying towards her. She froze, then cried out in pain as the hoof connected with her stomach. Her world went black as she heard Ororo call out her name.
~*~*~*~*~`Flashback~*~*~*~*~*~
John slid into the seat next to her in History class.
"'Ey, Oracle."
"Not now, John." She hissed, furiously scribbling down notes.
"Orraacllleee." He whined, grinning widely.
"What?" she asked, giving in and putting down her pencil.
"What are you doing?"
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I'm taking notes."
"No, you dork, I mean after class."
"Going to science class."
He rolled his eyes, grinning all the while. "No, I mean-"
"John, Oracle." Storm said from the front of the room, stopping her speech about the World War II. "If you have something more important to say, please, go ahead."
Oracle shook her head, but John nodded and stood, grinning insanely. "I was just going to ask Oracle here if she wanted to watch a movie with me tonight after class."
"Woo!" Oracle could hear Bobby's voice cheering and Rogue's laughing among the rest of the class, even Storm was smiling as Oracle turned a brilliant shade of red.
"Didn't know a human could turn that color." She heard Piotr Rasputin, or Colossus, whisper in his amused, thick Russian accent to Kitty Pryde, who laughed in response.
"Alright, alright, class, calm down." Storm called them all to order, sparing Oracle more humiliation. The girl had to admit, though, this was the way to be humiliated.
When the bell rang at the end of the period, John picked up her books, holding them out of her reach. "Well?"
"Well what?" she smiled innocently.
"Well, what movie do you want to watch?"
She laughed, her gray eyes dancing. "What, preytell, makes you think that I want to watch a movie with a pyromaniac?"
"Well," he said, grinning and walking out the door alongside her. "One- it's always interesting 'watching a movie with a pyromaniac', Two- we've watched movies together before-"
"With Bobby and Rogue along with us." She pointed out.
"Three-" he said, putting an emphasis on the word, then grinning. "You like me."
Her mouth dropped open as an amused look crossed her face. "Who says I like you?"
"I do." He said as they walked into their next classroom, where Jean Gray taught science.
"Really? Are you sure?" She asked, grinning impishly, as she took her books from his arms and putting them on the desk next to Rogue. "Or are you just painting fantasies in your head?"
"All my fantasies involve you, sweetheart." He grinned as Bobby snickered, Rogue choked on her laugher, and Oracle turned red once more.
"John, leave the poor girl alone before her face turns so hot it melts off."
They looked at Piotr who shrugged, and sat down. "That's a pleasant image, Colossus." John grinned.
The large boy shrugged. "I do what I can."
"Class, please sit down." Jean interrupted. The class complied immediately.
"You're going to go, right?" Rogue whispered to Oracle.
The olive-skinned girl shrugged. "I dunno."
"We all know you're going to, so don't bother to play around." Rogue chuckled to herself as Oracle stared at her.
"What? Why would I go with John?"
"Because you want to hold him and kiss him and run your hands through his hair." Rogue drawled.
"Wh-!" she stopped herself at a look from Jean. "What?" she hissed.
"I read it in your diary, word for word." The brown-haired girl grinned as she played with a streak of her white hair.
"I did not write that in my diary!" she exclaimed, forgetting where she was for the moment.
"Ladies!" Jean said, in her soft, disappointed voice.
"Sorry." They both muttered.
"I don't even have a diary." Oracle hissed when Jean's back was turned once more. Rogue just sniggered, and motioned for her to talk to John.
Oracle sighed, defeated even though she didn't put up much of a fight. She leaned over her desk and poked Pyro's shoulder with her pencil tip.
"Ow." He said, turning and rubbing his shoulder.
"Sorry." She whispered. "What time do you want me to meet you tonight?"
John grinned.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ororo- Ororo what's happening?" Oracle gasped as she awakened to see bight hospital lights bearing down on her.
"You were kicked- you're bleeding internally. They're going to have to perform surgery." Storm answered from the bedside.
"Don't. don't let the baby die. please, Ororo, promise me." she gasped as darkness closed in once more.
"I promise." Storm muttered as Oracle lost consciousness once more.
---------------------------------------------------------- "The life of every man is a diary in which he meant to write one story, and writes another." -Sir J.M Barrie
Rogue sat in shock, staring at her friend Oracle, a mutant who also attended Xavier's school.
"What?" she choked out, not believing what the other girl was saying.
"I told you already." Oracle snapped, tears rolling down her olive face.
Rogue was still flabbergasted, though. "But. Oracle. you and John-"
"Shut up, you knew."
"Yeah, but I had no clue it was that serious."
"Oh, come on." the girl with the Mediterranean features sneered. "You and Bobby would do it if you could."
Rogue shrugged. Most likely that was a true statement, but she wouldn't know for sure unless she was given the opportunity, and there was no chance of that. So she did all that she could do- she just nodded, agreeing with Oracle.
"Are you sure?" Rogue asked again, the information still not clicking in her mind. "You can't be one-hundred percent-"
"I'm seven weeks pregnant, Rogue. I asked Jean before. before she left if she could run some tests to make sure. I was going to tell him when you guys came back but-" she choked on her tears, unable to finish her thoughts.
"So much for powers of precognition." Rogue muttered to herself as she settled herself on the bed beside Oracle.
"Shuddup, you know it doesn't work that way." All Oracle's premonitions were, most of the time, only bad feelings- well, a little more than that. Even at their most powerful they weren't exactly clear. If they were, then the future could be changed or avoided and then, well, it would no longer be the future.
"God." Oracle muttered, squeezing her eyes shut and turning her face towards the ceiling, quiet for a second. "I've heard car fumes are the easiest way to do it."
"Do what?" Rogue snapped, then realization hit her. "Oh, Oracle, no way, you can't-"
"Why not?" the other girl asked, now completely calm.
"Because you can't kill yourself."
"Why not."
"'Cause it's not good." Rogue pressed.
Oracle sighed, looking out into space. Rogue was quiet as her friend thought, eyes fixed on air. "Not now. Maybe later."
"No." Rogue snapped. "Not ever."
Tears once again flowed from Oracle's eyes. "What am I going to do, Rogue?" she asked, collapsing onto her bed, bawling.
Rogue shrugged. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I don't know."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Four months later, Oracle moved slowly from her seat in her class with Professor Xavier. She was almost out the door when she realized she had left her book, and she turned back to get it, only to see Professor Xavier roll up, hand outstretched with her Physics text. "Thanks, Professor." She mumbled, turning away.
"You know, if there's anything you want to tell me, Oracle, now's the time." The Professor said in his calm voice.
Oracle froze momentarily, then shrugged. "No, there's nothing."
"How far along are you?" he asked- most likely knowing but wanting her to answer. She stopped in her path and turned to look at him once more.
"Nearly six months, but you already know that, don't you?"
The professor nodded. "Yes, but other teachers have noticed a difference, also. Scott thinks you may be sick-" he paused to smile briefly. "But Ororo suspects the truth. You should speak to her one day soon."
Oracle shrugged. "I didn't intend for this to happen."
"Rarely do girls your age intend for this." The professor agreed. "Go talk to Ororo."
Oracle moved to leave, then turned back cautiously. "Have you heard anything? From John?"
The professor shook his head. "Nothing you'd be interested in." he said gently. "But I know that Pyro is prospering in his new surroundings, though."
Oracle just nodded. "Alright."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Two months later, Ororo Monroe aka Storm walked up to Oracle, who was grooming a large chestnut horse in the stables.
"Are you sure you should be hanging around here? Especially since-"
"Shhh." Oracle cut her off, holding a finger to her lips as she looked around the stable.
"Sorry." Storm said softly.
"I can't stand it anymore, Storm." Oracle muttered softly, brushing the flank of the gelding in front of her. "I despise this with all the essence of my being."
Storm laughed gently. "Maybe you should have thought of that before?" she smiled softly.
"It's not funny." Oracle snapped, antsy from the pregnancy, then she softened. "I'm sorry, Storm. Ever since I got knocked up and John left, I've been a world class bitch, haven't I? It's amazing anyone even talks to me anymore."
"We're all worried about you." Storm said, white hair blowing in a breeze that made it way though the open stable doors.
"I don't deserve any sympathies lately." Oracle muttered.
There was silence for a while. "I considered getting rid of the baby a long time ago but. But I don't know, I just couldn't. The way it seems, this thing-" she patted her stomach, "-is all I have left of him."
She laughed. "If I was human and still with my parents, if they found out, they would kill me."
Storm leaned against the stable door, listening to the young woman who seemed relieved to have a silent audience. "You know, I can't even go to the hospital when I have this thing? I have to have it here, in the basement, can you believe that? I know, we have a really really nice basement, but still! Professor X is getting a doctor friend of his to come here when it's time."
Oracle grew angry suddenly. "My life bites." She snapped, and threw her brush into a metal bucket, and it rang loudly.
She saw it before it happened. The noise from the bucket making the gelding edgy and scaring the cat asleep in the rafters. The cat jumped from the rafters and landed in front of the gelding, which shied, then kicked out, catching Oracle in the stomach.
She snapped back to the moment as the hoof came flying towards her. She froze, then cried out in pain as the hoof connected with her stomach. Her world went black as she heard Ororo call out her name.
~*~*~*~*~`Flashback~*~*~*~*~*~
John slid into the seat next to her in History class.
"'Ey, Oracle."
"Not now, John." She hissed, furiously scribbling down notes.
"Orraacllleee." He whined, grinning widely.
"What?" she asked, giving in and putting down her pencil.
"What are you doing?"
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I'm taking notes."
"No, you dork, I mean after class."
"Going to science class."
He rolled his eyes, grinning all the while. "No, I mean-"
"John, Oracle." Storm said from the front of the room, stopping her speech about the World War II. "If you have something more important to say, please, go ahead."
Oracle shook her head, but John nodded and stood, grinning insanely. "I was just going to ask Oracle here if she wanted to watch a movie with me tonight after class."
"Woo!" Oracle could hear Bobby's voice cheering and Rogue's laughing among the rest of the class, even Storm was smiling as Oracle turned a brilliant shade of red.
"Didn't know a human could turn that color." She heard Piotr Rasputin, or Colossus, whisper in his amused, thick Russian accent to Kitty Pryde, who laughed in response.
"Alright, alright, class, calm down." Storm called them all to order, sparing Oracle more humiliation. The girl had to admit, though, this was the way to be humiliated.
When the bell rang at the end of the period, John picked up her books, holding them out of her reach. "Well?"
"Well what?" she smiled innocently.
"Well, what movie do you want to watch?"
She laughed, her gray eyes dancing. "What, preytell, makes you think that I want to watch a movie with a pyromaniac?"
"Well," he said, grinning and walking out the door alongside her. "One- it's always interesting 'watching a movie with a pyromaniac', Two- we've watched movies together before-"
"With Bobby and Rogue along with us." She pointed out.
"Three-" he said, putting an emphasis on the word, then grinning. "You like me."
Her mouth dropped open as an amused look crossed her face. "Who says I like you?"
"I do." He said as they walked into their next classroom, where Jean Gray taught science.
"Really? Are you sure?" She asked, grinning impishly, as she took her books from his arms and putting them on the desk next to Rogue. "Or are you just painting fantasies in your head?"
"All my fantasies involve you, sweetheart." He grinned as Bobby snickered, Rogue choked on her laugher, and Oracle turned red once more.
"John, leave the poor girl alone before her face turns so hot it melts off."
They looked at Piotr who shrugged, and sat down. "That's a pleasant image, Colossus." John grinned.
The large boy shrugged. "I do what I can."
"Class, please sit down." Jean interrupted. The class complied immediately.
"You're going to go, right?" Rogue whispered to Oracle.
The olive-skinned girl shrugged. "I dunno."
"We all know you're going to, so don't bother to play around." Rogue chuckled to herself as Oracle stared at her.
"What? Why would I go with John?"
"Because you want to hold him and kiss him and run your hands through his hair." Rogue drawled.
"Wh-!" she stopped herself at a look from Jean. "What?" she hissed.
"I read it in your diary, word for word." The brown-haired girl grinned as she played with a streak of her white hair.
"I did not write that in my diary!" she exclaimed, forgetting where she was for the moment.
"Ladies!" Jean said, in her soft, disappointed voice.
"Sorry." They both muttered.
"I don't even have a diary." Oracle hissed when Jean's back was turned once more. Rogue just sniggered, and motioned for her to talk to John.
Oracle sighed, defeated even though she didn't put up much of a fight. She leaned over her desk and poked Pyro's shoulder with her pencil tip.
"Ow." He said, turning and rubbing his shoulder.
"Sorry." She whispered. "What time do you want me to meet you tonight?"
John grinned.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ororo- Ororo what's happening?" Oracle gasped as she awakened to see bight hospital lights bearing down on her.
"You were kicked- you're bleeding internally. They're going to have to perform surgery." Storm answered from the bedside.
"Don't. don't let the baby die. please, Ororo, promise me." she gasped as darkness closed in once more.
"I promise." Storm muttered as Oracle lost consciousness once more.
