Through The Eyes Of A Mother.
Chapter I: Discovery.
Thousands and thousands of minds poured their thoughts into his own through Cerebro, but Professor Xavier was searching only for those which belonged to young mutants in need for help and advice. It was a long and slow process and it could not be interrupted, unless there was an emergency. If he didn't handle it carefully, it could take a very long time until he found the same person for the second time and, by then, it could already be too late to help them.
The Professor almost never searched for someone in particular because, luckily, he knew the location of all the mutants he was acquainted with. Some of them were friends; others were enemies. But he thought every one of them should be given the chance to accept and embrace their gifts, especially when that chance was asked for. That was another reason to use Cerebro: to find mutants who had lost their way and needed guidance.
Today was one of those days in which he had no positive results; there was not a single mutant ready to be found and days like this were discouraging for Charles Xavier. When he was about to give up, he sensed the energy of a person he had been searching for years but had never even met. In fact, he had had less and less hope of finding this person as time went by and, now, the quest had ended.
Taking the helmet of Cerebro off, Professor Xavier exited the chamber with only one thought in mind: to find Jean Grey. She had been the one to ask him to never stop searching, even though he had never thought he could bring her peace of mind. But today he had found a source of energy very similar to Jean's and, for the first time in his life, the Professor didn't know exactly what words he would use to inform her. He had known her since she was a child and had never seen her act irrationally but once. Now, he could be about to witness a second time if he hadn't the right words prepared for her. Charles had always blamed himself for not realizing Jean's mistake earlier. Today was the day that blame died.
He found her sitting in her office, reading. Jean looked at him as she became aware of his presence. There was only silence in the room and in their minds before the Professor decided to finally speak.
"I've found her, Jean", he stated, knowing there was no way to prepare her to hear the news. The red-haired woman did not move or speak and it almost seemed she wasn't breathing while she looked at her mentor. She had dreamt of that day for the last fifteen years, but had never imagined it realistically. Now, Jean's dream had come true and her body didn't know how to react.
"K-Karah?", she stuttered when her emotions started taking over her.
"Yes, I've found Karah", Charles replied with a smile; he had witnessed her regret and suffering through the years and it was about to end. But his smile soon faded as that last thought lingered inside his head. "Jean…"
"I have to see her", she interrupted him, standing up from her chair with tears in her eyes. "I have to bring her home".
"You must think before you act, Jean. Be patient", the Professor advised, apprehensive as he felt the dangerous turmoil of barely controlled emotions in her mind. "Besides, you need to talk to Scott first, don't you think?"
"Right", was her answer when she quickly returned from the fantasy in her head. "He needs to know", she continued, worried and confused. Charles decided to leave her alone to her thoughts; it was not the time to give her more advice yet.
Once she realized she was the only person in the office again, Jean Grey finally freed her tears. She recalled the day she had made a terrible mistake and the day she had started to regret it, which came soon after. A few minutes later, she managed to control herself and started to think about how she would tell Scott. Even though she loved him very much and trusted him completely, the powerful mutant had never had the courage to share her deepest and most painful secret with her husband. But, now, it would no longer be a secret and she knew she would be glad once she had taken that weight off of her shoulders.
Jean sighed and, gathering the papers on the desk nervously, walked out of her office to find Scott. She tried not to think about the very real possibility of him not accepting it, but failed: the headmistress of the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters knew it could ruin her marriage forever. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of their relationship coming to an end, but it didn't change anything. Now, there was something far more important than Scott, even though she felt guilty for admitting it to herself.
She found herself standing outside their bedroom sooner than she had expected and felt all the planned words in her head being washed away by fear: this could and would change her life forever. Jean sighed and, opening the door, she found Scott inside the room; she had almost wished him not to be there. He looked at his wife and noticed she had been crying. Something was not right.
"What's wrong?", Scott asked, concerned, as he approached her and caressed her cheek. Jean couldn't answer right away; how could she tell him? Revealing her hidden past would completely destroy his trust on her, but it was a dead end: there was no way to escape.
"I… I have something to tell you", she said after her long silence and walked a few feet away from him. Scott turned around to face her again, frowning as he waited for whatever she had to say.
Jean fell into her personal lake of silence again as everything ran through her head and all she could focus on was what she wanted the most. But there was something standing between her and what she wanted, so not telling Scott was not an option. Even though she knew him well, she couldn't imagine how he would react to such an important fact, which she had kept from him since the beginning of their relationship.
"I never said anything all these years because I feared I would never find anything to give me peace and redeem me from what I've done", Jean spoke again, incapable of facing Scott. "But, today, everything has changed and I have hope again…"
"What are you talking about?", was Scott's confused question. She had never spoken like that and he had absolutely no idea of what was going through her mind. Jean finally felt her courage returning and looked at her husband, knowing it was now or never.
"Scott… I have a daughter"