An ethereal light burst floated in the sky far above the treeline behind the newly renamed School for Gifted Youngsters. In its grounds, Scott Summers rose to his feet, eyes drawn to the dazzling colours above. It was a fine day, people bustling around him, students attending classes outside. He was there to oversee things, Dr McCoy trying to give him purpose in ensuring the school always kept up the values it should to honour Jean Grey.
All of them ceased to exist as he watched the light swell, a colourful blaze flaring across his view before collapsing into a dense ball and plummeting towards the ground. He started to run, heading into the woods in the direction of the falling light. It looked like a meteor, but something told him otherwise; were those wings in the flames?
There was no way; surely it had been too long. Then he broke through the trees, spotted the crater in the ground, the earth smouldering just slightly. And in the centre, a female figure, hunched over, her red hair floating a little as it hung around her, and with her hands over her face he could see she was glowing under her skin.
"Jean." He pushed himself harder, reaching her side and falling to his knees in the dirt. "Jean, it's me." She was digging her fingers into her flesh, whispering something to herself which sounded like begging. "Listen to my voice. Look at me; you're home."
He reached for her hands, laying his own over them and then flinching away with a hiss, the heat radiating from her searing hot to his touch.
"Scott?" She lifted her head, the light within her easing off as he reached out again, cupping her face this time.
"Are you alright? You feel like you're burning up."
Jean looked at him then, finally seeming to see him, her eyes glistening with the fire from her gifts. "I think I did."
His brow furrowed, and a small part of him wished she could see his eyes and the tears that would make them shine. "That's what it looked like. I thought I'd lost you, for sure this time."
Though it was only slight, the smile that graced her lips soothed his aching heart. "I told you I'll always come back to you."
"And I should know better than to doubt you with all your power."
A moment later, her eyes drifted shut and then when her head started to lull, Scott slid his hand back to catch it, dropping the other to support her back.
"Jean?" Her eyes half opened, and he realised her skin had cooled to its normal temperature; was that good or bad? "Let me get you inside, get you to Hank."
Drawing her to him, he settled her head against his shoulder, watching her face. She was barely conscious, struggling to keep her eyes open. Of course she was tired; all that power that had surged through her, power so great it had burst out of her, appearing to tear her apart. Maybe that was exactly what it had done, before putting her back together.
"Scott?"
"I'm here." He pulled her into his arms so he could lift her.
"I love you."
"I know." As he started to make his way back towards the mansion, he peered down at her, wondering how much of this she was taking in, hoping she wasn't just saying it because she knew she was dying. "You saved me. And I love you, so stay with me."
Many hours later, Jean started to show signs of waking. As she stirred, she felt a hand settle on hers, the contact drawing her further into consciousness. She felt warm and realised whatever she was lying on now was comfortable, and then she heard his voice. "Jean, it's okay."
"Where am I?" She opened her eyes fully, lifting her gaze to find Scott sat by her side, looking down at her.
"In bed, back at the school. You're safe now."
She startled then, springing onto her hands and away from him. "I can't..."
"Take it easy." He laid his hand on her shoulder. "Hank says your readings are practically back to normal, you're back on the charts. You're not gonna hurt me."
Her expression softened and he smiled as this time she reached out to him, pulling herself towards him and resting her head on his stomach. Obliging, Scott wrapped his arms around her, letting her have a minute of peace, before breaking the silence again.
"How did you do it? How did you… make it back?"
"I don't know," she whispered. "The last thing I remember before the woods is fire burning; it was too hot, too much. I..." Jean tilted her head back to look up at him. Her features tensed but he just kept gazing back, didn't speak. "I just remember thinking 'please let me get back to him'."
His mouth fell open, and the redhead stared at his visor, wishing she could safely see behind it. It wasn't the first time it had crossed her mind how hard it often made it to read his face, and that was all the more frustrating when reading his mind was an option to her, but one she'd promised not to use without permission. It did mean they were always honest with each other, something she was sure made them so good together, and as much of an obstacle as their gifts could have been, they were what had brought them together.
"What?"
He shook his head, stroking some stray strands of hair away from her face. "You controlled it. The power was killing you, but you made it save you."