Author: Airedowen
Summary: Life after Jean is pretty much the same when Scott and Logan start to set their sights on someone they haven't taken notice of until she returned.
Ship: Scott / Marie / Logan (Cyclops / Rogue / Wolverine)
Rating: PG13 (might go up as the story goes because I write along the way. I don't really pre-plot as much anymore.)
Author's Note: - Lame title. Any suggestions for something better, just mention it in the review :) Please review every chance you get :) Alerts and faves will be greatly appreciated as well :) Constructive criticism is also welcome. Flames are not. - Do tell me what you all think. I love hearing what people have to say, be it CONSTRUCTIVE crticism or a praise. Flames are out of the question. - My 1st X-Men fic. Be gentle :)
Warning: ALTERNATE UNIVERSE Scott doesn't go to Alkali Lake. Jean doesn't get protect by a telekinetic cocoon. She really dies. Sorry to the Jean-lovers. I don't hate her. Just did this to pull my plot through :D Hope ya'll understand :D And Charles Xavier is alive. Blah blah blah...
CHAPTER ONE
"Don't tell me," Scott said placing his lunch try down beside Storms. "I know that look. Logan's going for some alone time again, isn't he?"
"No," Storm said glancing over at Logan who ignored Scott's comment. "He's just going to pick up a new mutant. She was found in the woods a few days ago by some really nice people. They found her half dead and bleeding to death. She woke up the next day only to make the roof of the house she was placed in fly off."
"Know her name?" Logan asked without looking up.
"Cari Gibbins," Storm said. "She's just sixteen. Looks like we have a class four according to Charles."
"Class four, eh?" Scott said. "What's so special about her? Have you identified her capabilites yet?"
"Isn't that why we're taking her in? To find out what she's capable of?" Logan growled.
"We're also going to help her out. She could even be part of the team, you know," Scott said.
"Don't rush things, she's just a kid," Logan said.
"Professor X's calling us," Storm said standing up. After one last bite, Logan followed Scott and Ororo out of the cafeteria.
"Logan, you have to leave for the girl now. She's going to run off again," Charles said as soon as the three stepped in the room. Logan nodded and dashed off to find the girl while Scott and Ororo remained in the office. "Ororo, how's Warren putting up? That fall in the danger room looked like it hit him pretty hard," Charles said.
"I sent him back up to his room last night," Ororo said. "Look's like he won't be flying for another week."
"His wings look like they're healing pretty quickly. Go check on him and change his bandages. From the looks of it, he could start flying sooner than a week," Charles said.
"Yes, professor," Ororo replied leaving the room.
"As for you, Scott," Charles began. "I'd like to know how you're doing."
"I'm fine," Scott replied with false confidence.
"I don't need to read your mind to know how hard Jean's death has hit you," Charles said. "How do you really feel?"
"Numb," Scott muttered. "Just numb."
Charles remained silent, allowing Scott to speak. Scott on the other hand, took a seat across Professor X who was watching Scott's facial expressions intently. Scott breathed in sharply before finally finding the words he wanted to say to Professor X.
"I know that Jean, without question, would do absolutely anything for all of us," Scott said. "I just never thought that she'd give herself up this soon." With that Scott placed his head in his hands, holding back what felt like a waterfall.
"We all took Jean's death harshly," Professor X said soothingly. "But even without being able to read your mind, I know that her death affected you most." Charles closed his eyes momentarily and said, "When we lose someone, the only thing left for us to do is to try to pull it together for their sake. I know, without a doubt, that Jean wouldn't want to see you falling apart because of her death. In some way or form, the passing of a loved one will somehow serve as a source of strength for others. The last thing I would do is to force you to pull it together and move on. We all have different levels of understanding and we all have different views on how quickly we should handle our grievances, that's why I want you to take a break. I'm giving you as much time as you need to resurface. In the meantime, I'll have Ororo and Logan take care of everything. When you're ready to teach again and when you think you're prepared to handle the students, you know that you're welcome back anytime."
Scott lifted his head and briefly shut his eyes before standing up to thank the Professor.
"But remember, don't take too long," Charles smiled. "Logan's not the best at handling your subjects. We don't want the results of our exams to be in the Danger Room, or worse, the clinic."
"Thank you, Professor," Scott said before exiting the room.
Maybe he really should take a break from teaching for a while. The last thing he needed right now was the pressure of paperwork and checking homework. Then he remembered how he and Jean would do all those things together in the library every night. He remembered the late night chats they had that lasted long enough for them to forget about the work they had to do. Now everything will just be different. From now on he'd be checking homework and doing paperwork on his own. He'd be less enthusiastic in his classes. Not to mention how slow time will pass in his classes without having Jean interrupt him in mid-lecture to borrow chalk or a textbook she had left in the classroom from working with Scott the night before. It all seemed like his world stopped completely, leaving him in an awkward and uncomfortable position, one that he knew might take time for him to get used to. He knew life was full of surprises and he thought that his career had prepared him for all of it. He was wrong, it hadn't prepared him for this one.
He entered his room, dragging his feet and feeling like a huge weight was placed on his shoulders. He looked around and remembered what had happened when he first moved in. He was seated on the foot of his bed when a feisty red headed girl barged in giggling, looking for a friend.
FLASHBACK
"Gabriella!" a voice cried out. "You can't use your powers! It's not fair!" the girl said before laughing along with another. Then with that, Scott nearly fell off the foot of his bed after a young girl around his age flung his dorm room door wide open.
"I'm sorry," she giggled. "I didn't mean to frighten you," she said. "I'm looking for my friend, Gabriella."
"She's about this high," the red head's companion said placing her hand on the level of her eyes. "She's got dark hair."
"No one's in here," Scott replied nonchalantly.
"That's what you think," the red head grinned.
"Gabriella, we know where you kept your poomie," the blonde companion said.
"Poomie?" Scott asked.
"It's what Gabriella calls the stuffed animal she's so eager to hide from everyone else," the red head said.
"She's not budging," the blonde told the red head, who winked and looked over at the empty chair across the room.
"Hope you don't mind me doing this," the red head told Scott.
"Doing what?" Scott asked.
"Just watch," the blonde said. With that, the red head stared at the empty chair across the room. Scott turned to see the chair levitating slowly from the ground.
"You can levitate things?" Scott asked.
"That's not all she could do," the blonde replied for the red head. Within seconds, the chair tipped over, dropping something heavy yet invisible.
"Ouch!" Another voice cried out as the form of a curled up girl started to appear on the floor. "You said no powers!"
"You used yours," the red head replied, letting the chair down slowly. "I was obligated to use mine."
"Fine, let's just do another round, this time outside so we could scare Prosfessor Hank again," the blonde giggled.
"Good idea!" the girl on the floor said before getting up and running out the door.
"Wait!" Scott said standing up and sticking his head out in the hallway. "What's your name?" he asked the red head, who blushed at the question.
"Haha," the blonde laughed. "Jean."
"Mandy!" Jean hit the blonde's arm before turning to Scott. "Jean Grey." she smiled. "Nice glasses, by the way." she said before disappearing into the corner with her friends.
END OF FLASHBACK
It was those small instances, the stolen glances, and the spontaneous run-ins in the hallways that made Scott want to know more about Jean. They spent hours together in the library chatting and they'd sneak up to each others' rooms at the peak of the night if they couldn't sleep, just so they'd have someone to talk to. Scott and Jean trusted each other with everything from secrets to desires to dreams. Nothing stood in between the two of them. They were inseperable. Unfortunately for them, married or not, one thing will always stand in the way of any relationship -- it's usually said as "til death do us part". Scott loved Jean to the point that she was more than just his better half -- she was everything he had lived for.
Now here he is on the foot of his bed, sulking and drowning in guilt with a mix of anger. He wanted her back more than anything, but as the Professor said, he needed to move on; he knew that only a miracle would be able to get him to move on.
---
"Professor Monroe!" a child squeaked from the front yard of the mansion. "Professor Monroe!"
"What is it, Billy?" Ororo asked looking over the balcony.
"Rogue's returned!" Billy exclaimed pointing at a girl in a dark coat making her way into the mansion with her belongings. Ororo smiled and rushed out of her classroom and to the front door of the mansion.
"Marie," Ororo grinned after opening the door wide open.
"Hey Storm," Marie smiled as she put her belongings down and hugged Ororo.
"It's so good to see you again," Ororo smiled tucking one of Marie's loose strands behind her ear. "What made you return? You've already taken the cure. I hope nothing's wrong." Ororo said worriedly.
"No, nothing's wrong," Marie said.
"Then what made you return?" Ororo asked curiously.
"Well, sumthin' happened back home," Marie began. "I was hoping I could stay here -- well at leas' til I can find mahself uh place, ya know."
"You're welcome anytime," Ororo smiled.
"Oh, have ya seen Bobby? I wanted to surprise him at the same time," Marie said.
"Bobby?" Ororo asked as Marie nodded. "He's not here anymore."
"Wha' not?" Marie asked worriedly. "Sumthin' bad happened?"
"In a way," Ororo replied. "He went back home to his family. He said something about how much he can't stand not being in good terms with them anymore since his mother passed away last week."
"Is he coming back?" Marie asked.
"I'm not so sure about that," Ororo replied. "That's all I was told. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Oh," Marie said looking down disappointedly.
"But first thing's first," Ororo said in a much cheerier voice. "You're here," she smiled. "So let's get you your old room back."
"Alright," Marie agreed taking her bags and following Ororo up the stairs.
---
"It's the middle of the night, Scott," Warren said sitting on one side of his bed facing Scott who was leaning on the doorframe. "What would you possibly want to talk about? Especially with exams tomorrow?"
"Well, exams aren't really my concern anymore," Scott said.
"Yeah, I forgot," Warren rolled his eyes. "You're on 'break'."
"Hey, I need it," Scott said. "Besides, you already studied."
"Well yeah," Warren said. "But next time, try talking before the lights are out. Good night." Then with that, Warren leaned over and shut the door with one of his wings before going back to sleep.
Scott stood there in the hallway all alone for what seemed like forever before he walked leisurely to the kitchen just to hear a glass fall onto the tiled floor. He snapped back to reality and grew alert, looking out for anything out of the ordinary -- like this place wasn't busting with things out of the ordinary already. Next thing he knew, he was standing beside the counter, waiting for the 'glass-dropper' to get back on his feet.
"Scott?" said an all too familiar voice as a girl behing the counter stood up.
"Marie?" Scott said shifting his weight. "How'd you know it was me?"
"I got you those loafers last Christmas," Marie said. "I could recognize 'em anywhere. What are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Scott said arching an eyebrow.
"I needed a place to stay for a while, at least til I can get one of my own," Marie replied. "As for the kitchen, I missed dinner and needed a snack. What's your excuse?"
"Same as the latter," Scott said. "How long's it been since you left? Thought we'd never see you again."
"Oh, almost two months," Marie said.
"You do know that Bobby's moved out, right?"
"I was close to forgetting about that," Marie said looking down.
Scott bit his lower lip, then said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to--"
"Nah," Marie said. "It's alright. I'll forget about him eventually, even if he just left without saying anything."
An awkward silence grew between them until Scott broke it by hopping on a stool, but knocking over an almost-empty fruit tray.
Marie giggled and then said, "So, I wanna know how you're putting up," she grinned, placing a beer in front of Scott and a bowl of chips in the middle of the counter. "How's life been for ya since?"
"It could have been better," Scott said softly, but loud enough for Marie to hear.
"Wanna talk about it?" Marie asked as kindly as she could, hoping that she didn't sound like she was forcing him to tell her anything. She simply wanted to chat and hopefully catch up on life at the mansion.
"Professor X gave me a break," Scott said.
"Is that a good thing?" Marie asked.
"Yes and no," Scott replied sounding somewhat hesitant.
"Enlighten me?" Marie asked taking a sip from her drink and reaching for a chip.
Scott inhaled sharply before replying, "Yes it's a good thing, because I'm drained," he said reaching for a chip. "No, it sucks coz now I have enough time to mourn. I was counting on paperwork to keep my mind off things," he said.
"What if we talked about something else?" Marie suggested. "Maybe it'll lift the load a little bit."
Scott shrugged then took a sip of his beer. It would be nice to talk to someone as if nothing happened and as if there were no such things as problems. Maybe it'll help...just maybe.
--
"Charles, the girl got away. Looks like this'll be a hard chase," Logan snarled as he barged into Professor X's office. "I'm taking the jet and some reinforcements next time."
"Not to worry," Charles said nonchalantly. "She doesn't seem too ready. Maybe not now at least."
"Something's different," Logan said out of line. He sensed something was different but couldn't put his finger on it. "Someone was in here," Logan snarled. "Someone I know."
"You mean Marie?" Charles asked when snapped his head to look at Charles.
"When did she--"
"Yesterday," Charles interrupted.
"Where is--"
"In the library with Scott," Charles said.
"You left her with that sulking sissy?" Logan asked feeling somewhat heated with anger.
"She wanted to earn some extra money to pay for a place of her own," Charles said. "So when we gave Scott the break, she came on time and saved you from Scott's load by taking care of it herself."
"She's too youn--"
"She's certainly more efficient than you, Logan," Charles chuckled. "Don't take it too harshly. She's doing a good thing by helping Scott out. He pretty much needs it."
"That's not the point," Logan said inhaling sharply. "Marie's MY responsibility."
"If I'm not wrong, she earned her independence long before. I'd say that that was made official on her 19th birthday," Charles said. He had a point, but knowing Logan, no one made sense but himself.
---
You decide what'll happen next. Your vote counts :)
A) Logan thinks Marie's spending too much time with Scott and tries to pry them apart.
B) Logan forces his authority on Marie -- Marie purposely spends as much time as she can with Scott to piss Logan off.
C) Logan takes over Scott's classes to stop Marie from spending too much time being mentored by Scott.
D) Logan let's it cool and minds his own business.
E) You suggest what'll happen next :D
Pls. vote via review. The update will come in the next month :) Voting ends on the last day of every month :)
And tell me what you think at the same time :) It's my first X-Men fic.
--Airedowen--