The New Teacher

by MizDenton

A non-mutant teacher accepts a teaching job at The Xavier School for Extraordinary Youngsters.

2. Part 2, Chs 9 through 15

Chapter Nine

"Thank you so much for coming, Dr. Ralston. I know how much your appearance tonight meant to Professor Xavier, not to mention myself and the rest of the faculty." Jean said to a portly gentleman who stood in the front hallway of the mansion buttoning up his coat.

"It was my pleasure. I look forward to Charles' Christmas Party every year." Dr. Ralston replied. He eyed the blowing snow outside the front door and wrapped a scarf around his neck. "Now, if he could just do something about the weather. Good night, Jean. Merry Christmas."

"Good night, Dr. Ralston." She held the front door open enough for him to walk out and was about to shut it when she heard him say 'Hmm, looks like I'm not the only one still here.' She peered around the door and saw Kate's SUV. Frowning, she closed the door and leaned against it. Why was the Durango still there? She hadn't seen Kate in over an hour and had assumed, wrongly it appeared, that she had left already and simply hadn't said good-bye.

"You are looking entirely too thoughtful." Storm said to Jean as she came down the hallway towards the other woman.

Jean frowned again. "Kate's SUV is still here and I don't know why."

"Perhaps she went off with Gordon. Is his car still here?" Storm asked.

"No."

Storm grinned and said "They're probably enjoying each others company right now. I'm heading off to bed. The kids are drifting back to their rooms, they should all be in their rooms in the next half-hour." She waved at Jean and continued down the hall.

Jean wanted to share Storm's positive notion but simply couldn't. Try as she might, she just knew that Gordon and Kate were not together, which left a very big question in her mind.

Where was Kate?

***************

The weather was not getting any better and Kate knew it, the longer she remained at the school, the greater the chance she stood of being stranded there. Not that she really cared at the moment. She pushed her rolling chair back and put her feet up on her desk or put her feet up as far as her dress would let her. She stared out the window at the falling snow and wondered why she had even bothered to come.

She had enjoyed seeing her students dressed up and enjoyed the conversations with other adults. She had especially enjoyed dancing with Gordon and the kiss they shared. Then, everything went right in the toilet. After Gordon's abrupt departure, she hadn't felt like going back to the party, so, she went to her classroom instead. That had been an hour ago. The wind howled past the classroom windows and Kate felt like joining it.

What did I do wrong? What is it with me? More to the point, what is it with Gordon?

She cast another look out the window, sighed and dropped her feet to the floor. No sense in hanging around the school any longer, there was nothing for her here. Now, what did she do with her coat?

***************

Jean's hunch was right. There were only so many places Kate could hide in, her classroom being at the top of the list. Just as Jean turned the corner on the classroom hallway, she spied Kate coming out of her classroom.

"Kate? Where have you been?" Jean said, walking down the hallway to meet her.

"Was I missed?" Kate asked.

Jean eyed her and said "Yes, you were missed. You're part of this family now, whether you believe it or not."

Kate flushed.

"The party too much for you?"

"Yes. I did enjoy myself but after a while..." Kate looked down at the floor, then up at Jean. "Do you understand men at all? I don't."

Jean laughed and said "You want to talk about it or should I say him?"

Kate shook her head and said "I really need to head for home, my dog will be waiting."

"Uh, well, your dog's going to be waiting a bit a longer. Route 153 was just closed by the State Police due to blizzard conditions."

"What?" Kate sputtered, "how am I....who's going to....what am I....oh, man..."

"We've got plenty of room here and we'll find you something to wear for tomorrow. Is there someone who will take care of your dog?"

"My neighbor. I guess I need to call and tell her." Kate shoulder's slumped.

"Come to my office, I'll get you a phone and then we can talk."

********************

"Would you like something to drink? I've got water, some tea, I might be able to scrounge up a soda." Jean asked, settling Kate on a loveseat and handing her a cordless phone.

"Water would be nice. My throat's really dry."

"Winter will do that to you."

Jean handed Kate a glass of water then stepped away to give Kate some privacy on the phone. A few minutes later, Kate hung up the phone and cleared her throat. Jean turned back to her and said "Everything squared away?"

Kate nodded.

Jean came back and sat down in a leather armchair opposite the loveseat and stretched. "I like to dress up and wear nice things but honestly, whoever invented high heels should be drug out into the street and shot, the same goes for person who invented panty hose."

Kate smiled in sympathy, her own feet aching.

"You are free to take off your shoes, I already have."

Kate did, wiggling her toes as she did. It felt heavenly.

"So, what happened? I saw you two leave and then..."

"I don't know what happened. We were talking, he leans over and kisses me and then he completely panics, mutters something about how sorry he is, gets up and leaves!" Kate set the glass down on the table in front of her with a thunk. "What's he afraid of? Is it me? Does he think I'm going to morph into some creature? Or that...." Kate did not finish her sentence. She flopped back against the loveseat, then sat up again. "Can I ask a personal question?" "Depends on the question." Jean replied.

"Are all men impossible or do I just find the ones that are?"

Jean laughed. When she was done, she said "I don't think so. People think I'm impossible but they haven't met the champion, Scott Summers."

Kate smiled. "When did you know?"

"About?"

"You and Scott."

"When I first laid eyes on him." Jean smiled at the memory.

"And?" Kate prompted.

"And it took a while. Neither of us had been in a relationship worth remembering so...let's just say that life was real interesting for a while."

"What does your family think of Scott?"

Jean said, cooly "My family does not care for Scott."

Kate figured from that one sentence that any further questions about Jean's family would be unwise. She drank her water and was quiet, for a few minutes anyway.

"I think Gordon left because he's afraid of himself not you." Jean said.

"What do you mean?"

"This is going to sound very odd but being a mutant is like being extremely rich, you never know if people are around you because you're you or because you're a mutant."

Kate nodded but said "If he's that afraid, then why did he kiss me?"

Jean shook her head and said "I don't know. If I could figure out the male mind, I'd write a book and make a several fortunes."

"And I could write the companion book on the female mind. I thought I heard you down here." Scott said from the doorway. "You walked Dr. Ralston to the door, then poof you disappear. Have you been taking lessons from Kurt?" He walked into the room and looked down at Jean.

Jean looked up guiltily and smiled at him. "No, I saw Kate's car in the parking lot and went looking for her."

"It's a good thing she found me too." Kate chimed in. "I didn't know that the roads were closed. That's what I get for sneaking off."

Scott eyed his wife first, then Kate and decided that whatever had gone on between the two women was none of his business, at least, not at the moment.

"You're not the only one. There are quite a few people stuck here. Good thing the mansion is so large. Anyone expecting you at home?"

Kate shook her head and said "I've already called."

Scott turned his attention back to Jean. "If I leave you here, do you promise to come to bed within in the hour?"

Jean shoot him a dazzling smile and said "Of course. Would I lie to you?"

"Yes." Scott replied, smiling. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "We'll talk about this later." he whispered into her ear.

"Of course, dear." Jean replied.

Scott smiled in return, said his good-nights to both women and left the room.

"I haven't gotten you in trouble, have I?" Kate asked.

"No more than usual. Anything else you want to bounce off me?"

"What's it like to be able to read minds? I'd love to be able to read Gordon's."

Jean considered Kate's question for a long moment, then, slowly said "It's not as easy

as people like to think. Unless I put up some kind of mental shields, I hear the thoughts from every last person I walk past. It's like being in a room with a thousand people and they're all talking at once and all at you. It's a babble of voices. I'm still learning how to block them out."

Kate nodded, quite happy that she couldn't read minds.

"I wouldn't give up being a telepath but it can be a tremendous burden."

Kate chewed on her lip, unsure if she should ask the next question percolating in her mind. "Can a person tell if you're reading their mind? I'd like to know in case one of my students decides to try something."

"If it's done well, no. If the person is a new telepath, you might lose your train of thought for a moment. There's really no way to tell. Of course, you shouldn't have to worry about having your mind read. It's considered rude to do so without asking permission first."

Kate smiled and said "Is there an etiquette book for mutants?"

Jean laughed and said "No, but that's a good idea. I'll have to keep it in mind. Any other deep burning questions you just have to ask?"

"Not at the moment but give me time."

"All right. Let's go find you a room. Follow me." Jean said, standing up.

"I seem to be saying this a lot but thanks for talking with me." Kate replied, joining her. "It really helps."

Chapter Ten

Midnight at The Xavier School Kate thought, glass in hand. Sounds like the title of a murder-mystery. She was quite pleased with herself, having found the kitchen all by herself without getting lost. Now, all she had to do was repeat the trick and find her bedroom again. She turned left down one hallway, then right. Man, oh, man, how do people keep from getting lost in this place?

She reviewed the mental landmarks she had made and decided that she was going in the right direction. All this for a glass of water.

She continued down the hallway, turned right again and breathed a sigh of relief, she was almost there. Two doors from her bedroom, Kurt popped out of nowhere right in front of her and Kate shrieked, throwing the glass in the air. Water spattered everywhere, the glass landing with a thump in the hallway.

"Kurt! Can't you warn people when you're about to appear? You scared the life out of me." Kate hissed at him. She leaned against the wall and put her hand on her heart.

"Guten abend, Kate. My apologies for startling you, I'm on patrol and this is the quickest way to see what's happening on each floor. Are you lost?" He asked her, his blue skin and dark hair camouflaging him in the dark hallway.

Before Kate could answer, a door opened down the hallway and Jean poked her head out. "Kate? Was that you?"

"Yeah. Kurt popped out in front of me."

Jean eyed Kurt who simply grinned.

"Nothing's wrong. Go on back to bed." Kate told her.

Jean did not need to be told twice, she withdrew into her room and shut the door.

"Sorry for screaming. You startled me, that's all." Kate said to Kurt.

Again, Kurt smiled and said "Yours is one of the more...tame reactions. Are you sure you're not lost?"

Kate nodded.

"Then have a pleasant night's sleep." He vanished in a puff of blue smoke.

A line from The Wizard of Oz popped into Kate's head after Kurt left. My, people come and go so quickly around here. She shook her head, picked up the glass and went into her room.

The sound of a jet engine close by woke Kate up just before dawn. She sat up, blinked and looked around the bedroom, momentarily confused, then remembered and flopped back down. Whatever she had heard was probably just the mansion settling. She yawned and rolled on her side but just before falling back asleep, it occurred to her that a settling house and jet engine could never sound the same.

************

Three hours later , Kate awoke to the sound of knocking on the bedroom door. Half-awake, she slid out of bed, an involuntary shudder racing up her spine when her feet hit the cool wooden floor, and opened the door, finding Storm on the other side. Kate blinked and it occurred to her that Storm looked about the way she felt, half-asleep.

"Good morning. This is your wake-up call. Breakfast will be served in half-an-hour." Storm said to Kate.

Kate stifled a yawn and said "Good morning. Has it stopped snowing?"

"It's slowed considerably. The police should be opening the roads shortly. Sleep well?"

Kate nodded. "How about you?"

A look passed over Storm's face but then she shook her head. "It was one of those nights."

Kate remembered the early morning jet engine sounds and debated on whether to tell Storm. She decided not to. All she needed was for them to think she'd lost her grip on reality.

"I'll see you in the dinning room." Storm said to Kate and went on to the next room.

Kate withdrew, tried not to goggle at the furnishings, which she hadn't really gotten a good look at last night, took a shower, got dressed and headed for the dinning room. She saw nary a soul in the hallway until she rounded a corner and ran smack into Scott. She put her hand on Scott's chest to keep from falling over and, to her surprise, felt bandages under his shirt. She looked up in time to see him wince and turn white as a sheet.

"Are you all right?" she asked, alarmed. Scott looked ready to keel over in the hallway at any minute.

"I'm fine." he replied.

That was a lie and they both knew it.

"Are you sure? You don't look fine."

"I'm fine." he repeated. "I'll see you in the dinning room." He stepped around Kate and continued down the hall. She turned to watch. Oh, yes, he was fine. Men normally favored their right side when they walked.

Kate shook her head. Whatever the problem was, it was obviously none of her business. Now, which way was the dinning room again? She turned to ask Scott but he was gone.

Nuts. Breakfast will be over by the time I find it.

In the end, Kate followed her nose and arrived in plenty of time. After filling her plate with an assortment of fruit, pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausages, she made the decision to get up an extra hour early during the school year so she could have breakfast like it every day.

She made her way to the 'adults' table and took a seat. Storm was already there, as was the Professor, Kurt and Jean, along with two benefactors from the night before. Scott arrived shortly after, looking like death warmed over but determined to carry on like nothing was wrong. Kate watched covertly as Jean did her best not to fuss over Scott too much.

Curiouser and curiouser as Alice in Wonderland would say. Kate thought, wondering what happened to Scott between the time Scott and Jean had shown her to her bedroom the night before and that morning. Did Scott's injuries have anything to do with the jet engine she had also heard earlier? And what about Storm looking like she hadn't slept at all? Was she some how connected to Scott and Jean?

Kate shook her head and closed her eyes. That's it. No more History Channel before bed. I'm starting to see conspiracies where there are none.

"Something wrong?" Professor Xavier asked Kate.

"No, sir. Nothing's wrong. The food is wonderful."

"Thank you. I'll pass your compliments along to Cook. I also have some good news. The state police called this morning. Route 152 is open again."

Kate smiled and heaved a huge sigh of relief, echoed by the other stranded people at the table. She could go home at long last. Scott's problems, whatever they were, could wait for another time.

**************

Kate was never so happy to see her townhome as she was that afternoon when she pulled into her parking spot. The mansion was gorgeous and very comfortable but it wasn't home. The frigid air slapped her face when she climbed from her SUV. She needed to collect her mail and Midge, in that order and then, she could just curl up on the couch and do nothing.

"Kate!" Brenda shouted when she opened her front door. "When did you make it back?"

"Just a few minutes ago. Thank you so much keeping Midge. I felt a whole lot better knowing she was with you." Kate replied.

"Not a problem, she was a perfect lady. Come on in, we'll talk."

Kate stamped her boots and walked in. Midge, as she soon discovered, was fast asleep on the couch. Kate looked at Brenda, who shrugged.

"Not my dog." Brenda said.

Kate shook her head.

"Sit, sit, tell me, what's it like to spend the night in a mansion?"

"Kinda like spending the night in the mansion from Clue. I swear, it's that big and that mysterious. I got lost twice, once last night and once this morning."

Brenda snickered and said "Tell me about the dance."

Kate did, up to and including Gordon's kiss.

"He kisses you, then leaves? Men." Brenda said, shaking her head.

Midge woke up at that moment. She yawned and jumped down from the couch before walking over to Kate and staring at her.

"Oh, Lord. What's the phrase? In the doghouse?" Kate asked, reaching down to scratch Midge's head.

Brenda laughed and said "Don't let her guilt you, we had a lovely time last night."

"Thanks again for taking care of Midge again. I'm ready to just collapse."

"I bet. If you want to someone to talk to, you know where I am."

Kate hugged Brenda. "I can't thank you enough."

Brenda showed them to the door, then Kate and Midge were out in the frigid air, headed home.

*************

Christmas Eve snuck up on Kate and found her in a present wrapping frenzy with the help of Midge and Brenda. Midge helped by running off with the ribbons, then the cards, then the tape and finally, some of the wrapping paper, which earned her a banishment to Kate's bedroom. Not to be forgotten in the midst of such excitement, she sat on the other side of the door and whined. Both Kate and Brenda did a stellar job of ignoring her.

"Just like a child, complains when she's not the center of attention." Brenda said, with a grin. She leaned past Kate and plucked a ribbon from a bag on the floor near her.

"Now don't be too harsh on poor Midge, she did want to help, she just got in the way." Kate replied. She concentrated on taping the wrapping paper to the box in front of her and completely missed the look on Brenda's face.

"Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"Want something to drink? My legs could use a stretch."

"Sure. I think I've got some soda in the frig. You could also make some coffee if you want."

Brenda stood, stretched and walked into the kitchen. She took the remains of dinner, pizza again, and dumped it down the disposal. No sense in leaving something out that would attract bugs. She opened the refrigerator door and peered inside. A carton of milk, a loaf of bread, some dog food and a six pack of soda were all she saw. She shut the door and shook her head.

"At least your dog isn't going to starve." Brenda said over the counter dividing the kitchen from the living room.

"Hey, it's a pain to have to cook for just one person and by the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is cook." Kate replied. She finished taping the box in front of her and joined Brenda. "Thanks for coming over. I never get around to wrapping my Christmas presents before Christmas Eve."

Brenda rolled her eyes. "Well, you wouldn't have had any real problems if you hadn't decided to buy something for each kid and adult at that school of yours."

"Hey, without that job, Midge and I would be out on the streets. Or would you like a permanent roommate?" Kate asked.

Brenda shook her head and started looking around the kitchen. "Where did you hide the tea kettle? It's too cold for soda."

Kate produced the tea kettle and set about making the tea. Brenda held off asking any other questions while Kate was doing so, no sense in distracting her and causing an accident. When the tea was ready, Kate handed one cup to Brenda and waved at the kitchen table.

"Have a seat. Sugar, milk?" she asked.

"No, thanks. I like it how I like my men, hot and bitter." Brenda said, with a totally straight face.

Kate snorted but managed to keep from choking on her tea. "You read waaaaaay too many romance novels."

"And your point is? Speaking of men, heard from Gordon lately?"

"Not since the Christmas party. I do wish I knew what the problem was. He's such a nice guy. I hate to see him that unhappy or think that I was the cause of it." Kate fell silent and sipped her tea.

"If men were understandable, we wouldn't have nearly as many problems with them as we do." Brenda said.

"They could probably say the same about us. You think I should call him? See what the deal is?"

Brenda shrugged, finished her tea and stood up. "My work here is done. Were I you, I'd wait until after Christmas, maybe even after New Year's to call. He's probably up to his ears in relatives right now and I bet he had all *his* Christmas presents wrapped weeks ago."

"Keep it up and Midge'll have one more box to chew on." Kate told her. She walked Brenda to the door and gasped when she opened it. "No matter how long I live up here, winter is always a surprise."

Brenda laughed. She turned to go but stopped, peering out into the darkness instead.

"What is it?" Kate asked, cold beyond words.

"I think there's someone over by your car but I can't tell." Brenda said in a low tone.

"They're probably visiting friends and parked next to me." Kate said but she looked past Brenda anyway and sure enough, she could just make out someone crouched next to her Durango. Both women watched for a moment, thinking perhaps that the person would collect their keys or whatever had made them bend over and be on their way. When that did not happen, Kate pulled Brenda back inside and shut the door.

"Now, what?" she asked.

"Call the cops." Brenda said. "Some guy's lurking by your car. That'd be enough to make me call."

"I'm not bothering the police with something minor like this."

"And when your Durango is stolen...I'll call. If you've got binoculars, look out the front window and see if you can't get a decent description."

But Kate didn't have any binoculars. So, she made do with her own two eyes and squinted out her front window. This is one of those times when being a mutant would help. I might be able to see what that guy is doing. She thought.

"Anything?" Brenda asked at her elbow, making Kate jump.

"Are the police coming?"

"Of course. Can you see anything at all?"

If Kate looked very hard, she could just make out a set of broad shoulders and a hat stuck on top of the shoulders. "It's a man."

Before the police could arrive, shouting could be heard from the parking lot and Kate opened the door to see why. Her next door neighbor, a retired forest ranger, was yelling at the man standing next to her Durango. He came down the walkway towards the man with a baseball bat, yelling at the man to go away.

The man did, allowing Kate to see what he looked like. He was an older man, taller than Gordon but not as tall as Scott. He looked over his shoulder at the Durango, then at Kate's townhouse before disappearing into the darkness.

"Kate, I'd have my car looked at tomorrow if I were you." Kate's neighbor said, when he came back up the walk. "There's no telling what that guy was up to."

She nodded. "Thanks for scaring him away, Keith."

"You're welcome. I'm sorry I didn't get a real good look at him but I tell the police what I saw. Here they are now." Keith headed back down the walk and waved down the police.

"He's right, you know. Maybe someone at your school could look at it and see if there's anything weird." Brenda said.

"Whatever happened to the Christmas spirit?" Kate grumbled.

Chapter Eleven

Christmas Day dawned clear and bright and Kate greeted it with a smile, mainly because she hadn't been up till all hours wrapping Christmas presents, thanks to Brenda. It was good to have friends. After a shower, breakfast and Midge's morning constitutional, she still had plenty of time to load up the car, stop at The Xavier School and still make it to her parents house by 2 p.m. If she wasn't at her parents by two, she would hear about it all next year, along with her marital status and lack of direction for her life.

She remembered both Keith's words and Brenda's from the night before when she put the first load of presents in her SUV. In the cold light of day, she didn't see the need to have someone crawling around under her car. The man she saw last night couldn't possibly have been able to do anything to the Durango, he was simply too old; but to make both of them happy, Kate said she'd have the SUV looked at. She shook her head and went to collect the last of presents. Sabotaging her car made no sense. Of course, sabotaging anyone's car made no sense.

She put the unpleasant thought from her mind and concentrated on the task ahead. Between the school and her family, she now resembled Mrs. Claus more than Ms. Renard but she enjoyed giving of herself and this year, she could actually afford to do so. She was blessed in the fact that she had a family, as odd as they may be. She had something that most of her students never would.

She scratched Midge behind the ears, told her to behave and left. She had toyed with idea of taking Midge along but decided against it. Midge was not fond of the Durango and Kate was not in the mood to clean up after her.

*********

She made it up the school's front steps, hands full, without slipping and rang the doorbell. It was close to 11 a.m. so, someone had to be up. Someone was, he just wasn't dressed for company. Gordon answered the door and Kate tried her best not to stare. She had never seen him in anything other than business clothes and now, here he was, dressed in plaid flannel pj bottoms, a charcoal colored henley and house shoes. He looked as surprised as she was.

"Kate, what brings you out here?" Gordon said. "Why aren't you with your family?" He winced and wished he could take back that last sentence.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Gordon. Santa left me a few packages to deliver and here I am." Kate held up the overstuffed shopping bags as evidence.

Gordon's eyes widened. "Boy, the kids must've been real good this year."

"They were. May I come in?" Kate asked. It was just above freezing outside and the cold was starting to seep into Kate's bones.

"Oh, of course." Gordon said. He opened the door wider and allowed Kate to walk past, shutting the door behind her. "We're in the living room. Let me take those bags."

She gratefully handed over the shopping bags and followed Gordon down the hall. Unlike a regular school day, silence lay thick about the house and it was weird not to hear the incessant giggling and talking of the students. She looked at Gordon as she walked and wondered why he was there.

Was he that surprised to see her? He seemed to be. She could always ask but wouldn't that be rude?

"I've always spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning here." Gordon said, answering her unspoken question. "The Xavier School is my family more than my biological family is."

She simply nodded.

The chatter Kate had been missing could be heard the closer they got to the living room. It never failed to amaze her at how cozy the inside of the mansion could be, compared with how vast and massive the mansion was on the outside. They walked into the living room and she was swept away by the controlled chaos going on before her. The giant Christmas tree that had been down in the solarium had been moved to its current position smack in the middle of the living room. (Either that or this was a second tree, which she didn't put past the good professor) All around the tree, in loose groups, standing and sitting were groups of adults and children laughing, talking, showing off their Christmas presents. Not a single person, save the Professor was dressed for company.

"Good morning, Ms. Renard! Merry Christmas!" Professor Xavier boomed a greeting to Kate as he wheeled his way over to her. "I did wonder who would be out on Christmas morning."

"Merry Christmas, Professor Xavier. I was asked by Santa to bring some presents over for the children." Kate replied.

"Wonderful! They'll be delighted to have more to open." The Professor turned and beckoned to several of the older children. Gordon relinquished the bags and melted back into the background. Soon, the air was filled with the sounds of ripping paper and then, exclamations like 'cool', 'wow' and 'neat' followed it. Kate smiled at the children's joy. Oh, to be a child again, when life was a little easier.

Professor Xavier cleared his throat and said "Children?"

"Thank you, Ms. Renard." The students said, almost as one. Kate spied a couple of her students enjoying their surprise presents, even if they felt they were too old to say so. Satisfied that her job was done, Kate edged toward the hallway. If she timed it right, no one would know she was gone.

She hadn't considered Professor Xavier.

"Oh, surely, you're not leaving just yet. You've just arrived." he told her.

"As much as I would love to stay, my parents are waiting for me. If I'm not there by 2 p.m., I will have to listen to a 15 minute lecture on punctuality."

Professor Xavier chuckled and said "Far be it from me to keep anyone from their familiar obligations. But are you sure you won't stay just a few more minutes? We so rarely have an opportunity to just...goof off."

Kate stared, a chuckle of her own rising to her lips. If Professor Xavier was relaxed enough to use slang, maybe she should stick around a while longer and see what else might happen. At look at her watch settled it. It wasn't even Noon and her parents were only an hour away from the school. She had timed it once. If she left by one, she'd be fine.

"All right, you twisted my arm."

Professor Xavier rewarded her with another smile.

***********

"You wrapped all those presents by yourself? You must've been up all night." Jean asked Kate. From where they sat, near the tree, Jean had an up-close look at just how much Kate had brought.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said yes. My neighbor, Brenda, came over to help and Midge helped too." Kate replied. One look around the busy room made her reluctant to leave and trek over to her parents house. She was happy right where she was.

"Even so. How long did it take?"

"A couple of hours. We ordered pizza. Brenda would have stayed longer but her feet were going to sleep and so was she, so..." Kate stopped and bit her lip, her promise to have someone look at her SUV popping into her mind.

"Forget something?"

"No, remembered something. I feel kinda dumb about it but I did promise that I would ask."

Jean looked at Kate expectantly, so, Kate related the previous evenings events after the wrapping of the presents was done. The question wasn't even out of Kate's mouth before Jean got up and fetched Scott from the other side of the room. Clad in a mismatched pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, he looked about twelve and Kate had to work to suppress the giggle that rose to her lips.

"Tell Scott what you just told me." Jean instructed.

Kate repeated her story, then added "For everyone's piece of mind, could you look at my Durango and see if anyone's been messing with it?"

"Sure. Hand me the keys and I'll check it out." Scott replied.

"I don't mean to make you go out into the cold, you're not dressed." Kate protested.

Scott shrugged. "I've been through worse. Besides, I'm going to drive it into the garage before looking at it."

What could she say in response? She handed over the keys to the Durango and watched Scott leave.

"Don't worry about a thing. Scott's a pro. If there's something wrong with your SUV, he'll find it. He's been working on my car for years. It's never ran better" Jean reassured Kate.

Scott not finding anything wrong with the Durango was not what Kate was really worried about. It was the time it took to look. She snuck a look at her watch. It was almost one. If Scott wasn't quick in looking at her SUV, she'd be late and that just could not happen.

"What's this about Kate's SUV, did it die or something?" Gordon asked, walking up to the two women. He had been happy to see Kate and had finally worked up the courage to come over and talk to her.

"Some weirdo was lurking near my SUV last night and I promised a couple of my neighbors I'd have it looked at." Kate answered, feeling just a wee bit self-consciousness, not to mention a bit foolish. Scott would come back, after finding nothing, and she could add stupid to the list.

"What?" Gordon looked at Jean, who nodded. "You called the police and everything?"

Kate nodded. "Of course but the guy was gone by the time they showed. My neighbor chased him away." She grinned at the memory.

Gordon chewed on the inside of his cheek. He didn't want to alarm Kate any further than she might be already. It was probably nothing.

//Jean, what do you think?// Gordon asked telepathically.

//I don't know. It could be kids playing a prank or someone into tracking mutant supporters.// She replied.

Jean was far closer than she realized for at that moment, Scott appeared in the doorway and he did not look happy. He schooled his face into neutrality so as not to alarm the others but came directly over to where Kate, Gordon and Jean were.

He leaned down and said "If all of you could follow me, I've found something. Jean, could you get the Professor's attention?"

Jean nodded and Kate felt her stomach fall into the pit of her toes. What had he found? Why did he look so unhappy? Would she make it to her parent's house by two?

The four of them, with Professor Xavier following along, trooped down to the garage. Kate flanked on both sides by Jean and Gordon, felt oddly comforted. These people hardly knew her and, yet, they were willing and happy to help in any way possible. Too bad more people didn't follow such an example.

In the garage, Scott pulled over a rolling tray table used to hold to tools while a mechanic worked on a car. This time, there was only one item on the table, a small black box with wires sticking out of it. Scott picked it up and passed it around. When Professor Xavier received it, his eyebrows went up and he traded looks with Scott.

Kate watched the two men, the suspense killing her. When she could stand it no more, she asked "What is it? And what was it doing on my car?"

"It is a tracking device." Scott replied. He took the box back from Professor Xavier and pointed at the wires poking out of the box. "These wires, or what's left of them, are what sends the locating signal to whoever is listening."

Kate stared down at the small box in Scott's hand. "You mean like James Bond, Mission Impossible, that kinda thing?" she asked.

"More like On-Star." he said.

"Really? What's it doing on my SUV? I'm not a spy, I'm a school teacher."

"I don't know. Do you think the guy that you saw last night could have put it on?" Scott asked.

"Only if he was able to morph into someone a whole lot younger. He could barely walk. Where'd you find it?"

Scott pointed towards the back bumper. "It wouldn't take much to put it where I found it. Anyone could have done it."

"Oh, that's just great. I'm being tracked by some unknown weirdo. Why would anyone want to track where I go? I lead a pretty dull life. I go to work and I go home. How interesting can that be?"

"And you work where?" Gordon asked quietly.

"At a school for mu...tants." The color drained from Kate's face. "Oh, my God. Someone's tracking me because I work here?" Her voice came out in a squeak. She nearly sat down on the floor but Gordon grabbed her and Jean whisked the closest chair over for her to sit in.

"Man, this really sucks! What do they think I do here? And who, exactly, are 'They'?" Kate demanded. But no one had any answers for her.

She happened to glance at her watch then and saw it was just after one.

"Oh, this just gets better and better." she moaned. "I'm supposed to be at my parent's house an hour from now." She looked up at Scott. "I can drive the Durango, can't I?"

"Sure but if I found the tracking device, what else is there that shouldn't be?" he replied.

Her shoulders slumped. "Any suggestions on how I'm going to get from here to Westchester without my SUV?"

Professor Xavier cleared his throat and said "There are plenty of cars here at your disposal." His lips twitched in an attempt to curb a smile. "Some of the teachers have a fondness for automobiles. We can even provide you with a driver, if you'd like."

Kate looked at Scott and said "Guess I don't have much of a choice. Thank you, Professor Xavier."

***********

Christmas was always a big deal in Kate's family and she loved in every single minute of it, from the trimming of the tree to addressing Christmas cards. Even taking down the tree was an occasion in her family. She reveled in the Christmas sprit, always feeling love and acceptance, something that a lot of her students knew very little about.

Seated on the floor, Kate smiled as she watched her two nieces and two nephews rip the wrapping paper off their Christmas presents, her thoughts returning to the children at The Xavier School. So many of them had come from such ugly places that her nephews and nieces would never know about and yet, both groups of children, thanks to the adults in their lives, were able to enjoy something as simple as unwrapping a Christmas present.

She enjoyed being around children, that's why she had become a teacher but she quailed at the thought of having children of her own. She had no patience for small children, no money and, most importantly, no husband. And she was quite happy to remain that way thank you very much.

"Auntie Kate, come play with us." Six year-old Brian demanded of her.

"That's not how you ask for somethin', Brian. You say 'Please, come and play with us.'." Narissa, Brian's ten-year old sister corrected him.

"You're not the boss of me." Brian shot back.

"And I wouldn't want to be." Narissa replied, loftily.

On that note, Kate figured she'd better join the children before World War III started. She swept four year-old Kyle and five year-old Gloria into a bear hug before tickling them, their squeals of delight lifting her soul.

************

"Who's the guy that dropped you off? And why was he dropping you off?" David, Kate's eldest brother, asked her after dinner. He sat down next to her on the divan, holding two mugs. He handed her one.

"The Durango quit on me this morning and he is a friend." Kate replied. She took a sip from the mug and smiled. Spiced cider, her mother's specialty.

"What kind of friend?" David asked, looking as innocent as possible.

Kate stared at him. "Why do you want to know?"

"I am your big brother and I have to know these things. I have to know if he is acceptable for you."

"Defending my honor, huh?"

"Absolutely."

"His name is Gordon and you don't have to worry about defending me against him. He's the one who told me about the job I just got. He's sweet but...I don't know." Kate shook her head and sipped her cider.

David mulled that over for a few minutes, then said "I guess that'll do. He better behave himself or else."

"David, you don't do violent well, you know that?" Kate asked him.

He shrugged. "Like I care. Let's see, boyfriend asked about, check. Moving on to work."

"Oh, so, you're the inquisitor this year?" She eyed her brother over the rim of the mug.

"You'd have spotted Mom, sidestepped Dad, blown off Abby and ignored Joe. So it fell to me to dig into your personal and professional life, such as it is." In one sentence, he had neatly ticked off all the members of their family and nailed Kate with his descriptions.

She colored but did not reply.

"Believe it or not, this isn't fun for me either. But, frankly, between you and Mom, Mom wins." he grinned.

"Weenie." she replied.

"I've been called worse. Now, about work, Mom says you're working for a mutant rights activist."

Kate smiled and sipped at her cider. She loved needling David, he always took the bait.

Her brother's eyes grew wide and he repeated himself "You are working for a mutant rights activist."

"Charles Xavier is not an activist. He's an advocate for civil rights for all people. He's a very, very rich man..." Kate started to say.

"Who, out of the goodness of his heart is running a boarding school for teenagers?" David finished for her.

"What's wrong with that? Ever heard of the Milton Hershey School for Boys?" Kate replied.

"Must be nice to have that kind of money."

"Even if he is in favor of mutant rights, what's the big deal?"

David stared at Kate as if she'd just grown a second head.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Oh, what? People act like mutants are contagious. As far as I know, they're not. They're still human beings."

"Human beings that can throw other human beings without touching them. That's not a small thing."

"Okay, wrap your brain around this. According to what I've seen on tv, the gene for mutants skips around and doesn't activate until that person becomes a teenager. If that's the case, your children could become mutants. What would you do if Brian becomes one or Narissa? Would you throw them out or would you try to accept them for who they are?"

David did not reply. He could not reply.

"Look, I love to spend my time around children, that's why I'm a teacher. I don't like seeing them persecuted because of something they had no control over. It's like...it's like what Hitler did to the Jews during World War II. Was that right?" Kate asked him.

"Of course not." David replied, seeing his little sister in a whole new light. "Just promise me that you're not going to show up on tv waving some mutant rights placard. The rest of us will never hear the end of it from Mom."

"I'll stay out of the way of the camera." Kate replied, with a chuckle.

Chapter Twelve

Late in the afternoon, Gordon reappeared to shuttle Kate back to the school. He did not get out and come in, he simply waited in the car until the good-byes were said and the front door had closed, before climbing from the car and holding the passenger side door open for her.

"My family doesn't bite." Kate said as Gordon pulled the car out into traffic. "They would've been quite happy to meet you."

"I'm sure they would've." Gordon responded. "But, Kate, I don't even like dealing with my family, let alone someone else's."

She nodded and refrained from pointing out how he hadn't had a problem 'dealing with' the people at the mansion that morning.

"Shall I assume that Christmas did not go well with your family?" She asked, after a few minutes silence.

He shrugged. "Don't get me wrong. I love my family and they love me. They would do anything in the world for me. It's just that...we're not the emotional kind. And on top of that, there are always the questions. 'When are you going to get married?' 'When are we going to see some grandchildren?' 'What ever happened to that nice girl from...?' 'Mrs. Jensen's daughter is single, why don't you two go out?'." He stopped the car at a stop light and shot Kate a look. "But you wouldn't know about those kind of questions, would you?"

Kate snorted and said "You're joking, right? You think that just because I'm not a single man, I don't get the same round of questions? Whatever. This year, my mother sent my eldest brother over to give me the third degree."

The light turned green and Gordon eased the car through the intersection and into the left lane. "And?" he asked.

"And?" she repeated. "I told my mother a very long time ago that if she wanted grandchildren, she'd better talk to my brothers and sisters 'cause they weren't coming from me. My brother did want to know who that 'handsome guy' was that dropped me off this morning."

Gordon grinned and Kate grinned back.

"He's not going to 'call me out' or anything like that, is he?" Gordon asked.

"Only if you intend to besmirch my honor." Kate replied with straight face.

"Well, I guess I'll have to get a dictionary before I prepare for him." He stopped the car at another red light and looked at Kate again. "You don't want children?"

She looked at him. "Do you?"
"Depends." He replied, with a shrug. "If I had kids though, I'd want them to be non-mutant. Their lives would be easier."

The light turned green, Gordon put the car in gear and brought the conversation to an end.

**********

"How often do you regret being a mutant?" Kate asked, much, much later into the drive back to the school.

He glanced at her before responding. "I don't regret being a mutant. It's part of who I am, I can't change that. Do I wish that I wasn't? No more than a blind man wishes he could see."

She mulled over his response but didn't ask anything else. He had been nothing but honest with her and she felt certain that he would continue to be honest if she was to ask anything else but it felt weird to do so. She didn't want to pry into his private life even if she was bubbling with curiosity about it. There was so much she wanted to know about him and how he handled his mutation but she didn't want to rude and keep asking. She could read people fairly well but but she couldn't read Gordon at all. That left her at loss for what to say.

Gordon bit the inside of his cheek and tried to keep a smile from his lips. It amused him to see Kate struggling with the decision to ask any more questions. It was refreshing to see that there was someone out there that didn't assume that his life as a mutant was an open book.

"I'm so happy that my silence amuses you." Kate said, breaking into Gordon thoughts.

"Perhaps it's you and not your silence that makes me smile." Gordon replied.

He flipped on the turn signal and turned the car onto Greymalkin Lane. They were almost to the school.

"You're a good person, Kate. You were exactly the right person for the job. I am proud to have recommended you to Professor Xavier."

Surprised at the unexpected praise, Kate blushed and her mind went blank. What could she say?

"Have I shocked you into the silence?" Gordon asked.

Kate shook her head and changed the subject. "What else do you think that Scott found on my car?"

"I honestly don't know. There are all kinds of weirdoes out there and those are the ones who do like mutants. Are you scared?"

"Not scared. Annoyed. Like I told Scott this morning, I'm not a spy. I'm a freakin' English teacher. Why pick on me?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't have an answer for that. Scott might. If he doesn't, the Professor will." He slowed the car, turned and drove through the gates of the mansion. "I trust the Professor implicitly. I hope you do too."

**********

"Well? What else did you find?" Kate asked Scott. They had walked down to the garage together and were standing in front of Kate's SUV.

"Absolutely nothing. I checked every inch of your car and there was absolutely nothing else on it." Scott replied.

Kate frowned and said "So, I didn't have to bother Gordon for a ride after all."

"You couldn't know that." Scott said. "What if...?"

"I know, I know...Man, what a pain in the butt. So, what was the deal with the tracking thingy?" Kate said.

Scott bit back a smile. "I'm thinking it was one of two things. 1. It was put there by some whiz kid neighbor of yours who decided that it would be cool to see if the tracking device he built really worked. 2. Someone, some group, sees you a threat but not enough of a threat to actually do anything more than keep track of your movements."

Kate suppressed a shudder and said "You know, that offers zero comfort."

Scott shrugged. "Sorry. But based on what I've learned, that's the best I can do, for the moment anyway."

"Can I drive it home?" She asked.

"Absolutely. I meant to mention this earlier but I forget. As an added bonus for working here, I'll be happy to do any and all maintenance on your car, free of charge." He replied.

"Really?" She asked.

He smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Scott. I'll take you up on that next month."

"Before you go, I've been asked to send you back to mansion so you can't leave without saying good-bye."

She quirked an eyebrow. "What are you? Working for my mother?"
"I'll never tell." Scott said.

She shrugged. "All right, I'll go peacefully. Can I give you a ride around to the front?"

"Sure. And, listen, just keep an eye out for any weirdness on or near your car. If you see anything..."

"Call you." She said.
"Excellent. Now if only I could get my students to answer that quickly."

"Hey, my parents always said I was a quick study." She replied.

**********

Kate did exactly as she was told but saw no one else lurking in or near her car the entire holiday season. New Year's Eve/Day came and went and, as in year's past, she watched the ball drop in Time's Square with Brenda and Midge. Gordon joined the two women that time and they all sat together on the floor with Midge sprawled in Gordon's lap and rang in the new year. Kate could not remember another time when she had seen Gordon more relaxed. She could hardly remember a time when she had seen him relaxed period. This was definitely something to remember.

Then, like the snapping of a set of fingers, Christmas Break was over and Kate was having to readjust herself to getting up early all over again. She had a bit of added incentive this semester, breakfast at the mansion. The beginning of a new semester was always exciting for Kate. It was a fresh start and a new beginning. It was a clean slate, to use an educational metaphor. She had prepared for the new semester with an updated list of student powers, Scott's lesson plans and a fresh sense of purpose, something she hadn't had in a very long time.

On the drive to school that morning, she realized that she had missed her students, truly missed them and that surprised her. She had never missed her students at The Crestwell School, she liked them but she had never missed them. She was excited about teaching again and that made all the difference in the world when the alarm went off in the morning.

It was with that new found excitement that she faced her young charges and prepared to shepherd them through the Spring Semester novel reading list. The list composed by the State of New York for the public school system was not required for private schools but was normally followed by the schools anyway. Thus, the 7th Grade was reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond and the 8th Grade was reading The Scarlet Letter. Both novels covering, coincidentally, the persecution of specific groups of people. To extend the ciriculum to another subject, Storm had agreed to do the Crusades and the Salem Witch Trials to cover persecution from the historical side.

"They'll be amazed that other people down through the ages have been singled out for abuse. Being teenagers, they figure they're the first and only ones to suffer." Storm told Kate before class began one day.

"The Scarlet Letter isn't going to be too much for 7th graders to hear, is it?" Kate asked.

"As long as the 8th graders don't object to hearing The Witch of Blackbird Pond again." Storm replied.

********

"I don't get what the big deal was." Anthony Toliver, 14, said to Kate during a class discussion the next week. "So she was doing the deed with someone she wasn't married to. Big deal. Why was she picked on? Why not the guy she was doin' it with?"

From her spot in front of the class, Kate cringed inwardly, certain that she had probably used some of the same terminology in front of her jr. high English teacher.

"Ah, but Anthony that is the point of the story. Hester Pryne was labeled as an adulterer but the man she slept with was not. Can someone tell me why?"

Hands shot in the air.

"Yes, Chantal. Why wasn't her lover labeled as an adulterer as well?"

"Because he was a man and he had a higher standing in the community. Men were allowed to get away with murder back then." Chantel, also 14, replied, glaring at Anthony.

"Excellent. Can you add anything else?"

"He could have stood up for her but he didn't and it got him in the end."

"Very good."

Chantal beamed.

"So, the point of the story is 'Judge not, less ye be judged.'" Kate said.

Anthony screwed up his face and said "You sound like Mr. Wagner."

"Vagner." Kate corrected him. "You pronounce the 'w' like a 'v' for German names. Do you see the point of the story now?"

"There's one set of rules for him and another set for her?"
"Yes."

"That sucks."

"Yes, it does."

"That's like now."

"Duh." Anthony's classmate, Grace, a mere 13, looked at him and said "That's why we're reading it. So, we can see that we're not the only people to ever get picked on."

Kate's eyebrows went up. Either Grace had been listening in on the teacher conversations or she was far sharper than anyone gave her credit for.

"How do you know that?" Anthony said.
"Because I pay attention, unlike you." Grace, replied in a superior tone.

"All right. I think you've made your point, Grace." Kate said. No sense in letting the students get too far off track.

"It's not my fault that he doesn't pay attention in class." Grace said.

"No, that's my fault and thank you for bringing it to my attention. Now, are there any other questions about The Scarlet Letter ?" Kate asked the students.

Silence.

"Okay, moving onto The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Any similarities between The Scarlet Letter and The Witch of Blackbird Pond ?"

Hands went up.

"Yes, Chantal."

"Same time period?"

"Um...not quite but you're close." Kate looked around the room and chose another student. "Yes, Brian?"

"Ugly people shouldn't be allowed to have kids." he said. A lanky 7th Grader, Brian hadn't yet developed the skill of censoring his thoughts before opening his mouth. It was a constant source of trouble for him.

Like now.

Kate quirked an eyebrow. "Can you phrase that differently?"

Brian frowned in thought then shook his head. "Nope."

"If that was the case, you wouldn't be here." Anthony said, turning around and looking at Brian.

"Oh, yeah?" Brian retorted. "I've seen your mama, she's no prize."

"At least, I've got a mother. What about you?" Anthony shot back.

"Okay, you two, enough." Kate said, the warning clear in her tone. She moved toward the boys. If she could get close enough without getting between them, she could end a fight before it started.

Brian stood up. "You take that back!" he shouted at Anthony.

"Make me." Anthony sneered.

Brian pointed his hand at Anthony, lifted him from his desk and flung him toward the chalkboard. Anthony collided with Kate and set both of them backwards, over Kate's desk and landing in a heap on the other side.

Papers flew, books flew and children scattered.

"What'cha got to say now?" Brian taunted Anthony.

Anthony moved to get up but Kate locked her hand on his ankle.

"Move and you're dead." she growled.

Anthony froze.

The classroom door flew open and Scott came running in with Logan hard on his heels.

"What on Earth is going on?" Scott demanded. "It sounded like World War III in here."

Ten sets of fingers pointed at Brian.

"It's not my fault." Brian whined. "Anthony started it."

"Where is Ms. Renard?" Scott asked, ignoring Brian's response for the moment.

"Over here." Kate waved a hand from behind the desk. She slowly climbed to her feet. Anthony joined her.

"Are you both all right?" he asked.

Both Kate and Anthony nodded and Kate noticed the look of...she couldn't quite say... on Scott's face. It wasn't annoyance or irritation but sort of a cross between the two.

"Someone want to tell me what was going on in here? This is an English class, not P.E." Scott told the students.

An abbreviated version of the fight was told to both Scott and Logan. When the story was finished, Scott looked first at Anthony then at Brian.

"It doesn't matter who started it, Brian, you shouldn't have continued it." Scott said to Brian. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "I am extremely disappointed in both of you. Logan, could you take these two down to Professor Xavier's office?"

"Sure. C'mon you two." Logan motioned to both boys.

With dragging feet and long faces, Brian and Anthony followed Logan from the classroom.

Scott eyed Kate critically from across the desk, turned and said "Katrina, go get Dr. Grey, please."

Katrina nodded and left the classroom.

"Guys," Scott continued, looking at the remaining children, "take your stuff and go next door. When I get there, I'd better see noses in books, understand?"

Eight heads nodded in unison, then, very quietly, the children packed up their school books and papers and left.

"See you guys tomorrow." Kate called after them. Never in all her years of teaching had she felt so powerless. No wonder the students looked to Scott, he was a born leader, unlike herself. She much preferred to follow.

"You didn't have to interrupt Jean's class. I'm fine." Kate said.

"Humor me, Kate." Scott replied. "Unless you and Anthony were already behind your desk when the fight broke out, both you and Anthony went over a wooden desk and landed on the floor. And Anthony is no light weight."

Not knowing what else to say, Kate simply nodded and sank into her chair. What a wild day it was turning out to be.

Jean breezed through the classroom door a few minutes later. She looked at Kate, she looked at the mess and then she looked at her husband.

"Kate will tell you what happened. I'm going back to my class so things don't get any more out of hand." Scott told her before leaving.

Jean looked at Kate for a long moment before she related the events of the past hour.

Jean shook her head and said "Wow, all this over The Scarlet Letter ? I'm going to have to reread that book. I don't remember it being that good."

"It's not" Kate replied. "I apparently made the clossal mistake of asking one too many questions, which, and I'm still trying to figure out how, caused the discussion to degenerate into a shouting match about someone's parentage."

Jean quirked an eyebrow. "I can almost see that happening with The Scarlet Letter but I don't know about the other one."

Kate shook her head. "The books were just the spark, someone was looking for a fight and they got one."

Jean nodded. "Okay, look up for me."

A few minutes a later the exam was over and Jean delivered her diagnosis. "You're going to be bruised from where you hit the desk but other than that. No serious damage. If you feel sore, take some aspirin." Her brow wrinkled for a moment then relaxed. "Professor Xavier wants you to come to his office. Don't worry, you're not in trouble."

"Thank God for small favors." Kate muttered. "I'm sorry that you were pulled away from your class. It was Scott's idea. I didn't want to bother you."

Jean waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. My students were more than happy to have a reprieve, however brief. Gives them one more chance to look at their notes before the test." She smiled a truly evil smile.

"Do your students know the enjoyment that you take from tormenting them?" Kate asked.

"Torment is such an ugly word. I prefer...I simply want them to remember and explain what's happened in class." Jean said, with another truly evil smile.

It wasn't until Kate was halfway to Professor Xavier's office that a light bulb came on and it occurred to her that the only reason Jean knew to tell her to come to the Professor's office was that Jean had received a telepathic message from the Professor smack in front of her and it hadn't freaked her out in the least.

It had to be a sure sign that she was finally settling into her new job.

She reached the Professor's office and knocked on the door. The door swung open and she walked in. Professor Xavier was facing her and her two students sat in front of his desk with their backs to Kate.

"Good morning, Ms. Renard." Professor Xavier said. "I was not expecting to see you again until Lunch. Do have a seat." He eyed both of the boys, who, instantly stood up.

"Thank you." Kate said, sitting down. "I wasn't expecting to see you until Lunch either."

"Brian and Anthony have something they want to say to you."

Have to say is more like it. Kate thought.

First Brian, then Anthony, apologized for their behavior, then Brian added something else.

"I didn't mean for you to get tangled up with Anthony, you weren't supposed to." He glowered at Anthony.

"I understand." Kate replied. "And I appreciate your sincerity and your apologies, both of you. But what about the others you involved? Have you apologized to Mr. Summers? To Logan? To Dr. Grey or Professor Xavier? What about your classmates? You interrupted a lot of people this morning, as I'm sure Professor Xavier has told you."

Both boys nodded.

"All right, collect your belongings and return here immediately." Professor Xavier told the boys.

Kate watched them go, then asked "What happens now?"

"I have a group of study carrels set up next door. If the boys can not behave in a classroom, they will not be in a classroom." Professor Xavier said. "For the next week, they will sit in those carrels next door and work. They will take their meals in there, they will not be allowed to talk to their friends or even each other. Worst of all, they will be stuck with me." He smiled. "I can be quite the task master, if I so chose."

Kate grinned. She couldn't help it. She was seeing a whole new side of Professor Xavier and she liked it.

"Do you want to take a bit of time to gather your thoughts before your next class? Scott would be more than happy to watch the children."

Kate shook her head. "I'll go nuts, if I just sit."

Professor Xavier nodded. "I understand."

Kate thought for a moment and smiled, then said "My next class is going to be buzzing about this."

"As long as there are no more fisticuffs. I only have so much room next door." The Professor said with a smile.

As if on cue, Brian and Anthony appeared in the office doorway and Professor Xavier directed them next door.

"From your mouth to God's ears." Kate replied.

Chapter Thirteen

That evening, Kate arrived home tired, sore and in doubt, again, about her chosen profession. She let herself in, sprawled on the couch and kicked off her shoes. Midge came over, sniffed her foot and whined.

"I know, I know." Kate told her. "Gimme a minute."

She stared at the ceiling and let all the dark thoughts that had been bubbling all day come to the surface.

What kind of whack job am I to be working with mutant children? Why the hell couldn't I get a normal job in the normal world with a normal paycheck? What happens the next time one of the kids gets mad? I really hate my job sometimes.

The litany ran through her head again and again until Midge barked and Kate was forced to get up and walk her. Afterwards, Kate noticed she had new messages on her answering machine. She pushed 'play' on the answering machine, then went to hang up her coat and Midge's leash before going into the kitchen to start dinner, hers and Midge's. The messages were ordinary until the last one.

There was an intake of breath, then a male voice said "I know who you are and I know what you're doing, you mutant loving freak. If you value your life, find another job. It'd be a real shame for something to happen to you or that cute little dog of yours." There was a click and a beep signaling the end of the messages.

Kate stared at the machine, her mouth hanging open. She pressed the 'play' button again and listened to the message a second time just to make sure she wasn't hearing things. It was real and it scared the hell out of her. Then it made her mad. Just who did this person think he was? Did he actually expect her to quit? Quit the best paying job she'd ever had? Oh, yeah, sure!

The doorbell chimed breaking the silence and making her shriek and jump in the air. A knock followed the doorbell which was then followed by a voice.

"Kate? Are you all right? Did I come at a bad time?" Gordon's voice came through the door.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry but she did go answer the door, after making sure that it really was Gordon.

He took one look at her face and said "My God, was your day that bad?"

She had him follow her into the kitchen and played the message for him. This time, it was Gordon's mouth that was hanging open. He was quick to act, however. Before the message had even finished, he was on his cell phone.

"Who are you calling? The police?" she asked.

"Better. I'm calling Professor Xavier."

*******

Before Kate arrived the next morning, Professor Xavier gathered the adults together in his study to listen to the answering machine message and solicit suggestions from the others. He played the message twice.

After the second playing, Professor Xavier looked at the assembled group and said "As I'm sure you're aware Ms. Renard is not at all happy to be receiving such messages. She's not so much upset as she is irritated. She also wants this problem resolved as quickly as possible but I'm stating the obvious, am I not? She is well aware of the possible dangers the message might possibly bring but is reluctant to alter her schedule too much; she said as much to me on the phone last night. I did offer her and her dog a room here in the mansion but she turned down the offer. She doesn't want the people doing this to think that they influenced her in any way. Now, with all of that said, does anyone have any ideas on how to solve this problem?"

"How many people know that she works at a school for mutants?" Storm asked.

"Kate says no one. All she has told her friends and family is that she works at a private school now."

"What about her last job? Maybe one of the people there knows where she's working now and's insulted that she left there." Logan said.

"That is an excellent point. Could you investigate that further?" Professor Xavier asked him.

"Sure." Logan said, shrugging.

"How would Kate feel about having her phone line tapped?" Scott asked. "If the call could be traced, we might have our answer."

"That is an idea. What's the downside?" the Professor asked.

"The only real problem is that the trace only works as long as the phone call. Whoever it is may not talk long enough to get a fix on his position."

"Wouldn't it be easier to look at her phone bills?" Jean asked.

"Possibly." the Professor replied. "It is something to keep in mind. Anything else?"

"Not with what you said she doesn't want to do." Logan said.

"Logan, it is possible to help Ms. Renard and stay within the law." the Professor said to him.

"Maybe but it's not nearly as much fun." Logan replied with a grin.

Storm and Jean snickered, Kurt looked a bit lost and Scott just shook his head.

Professor Xavier ended the discussion for the moment by saying "Kate will be arriving soon, we will continue this discussion after school with her."

********

The school day started with a bit of a surprise for Kate. Brian and Anthony came into the classroom and each handed her a letter. Kate didn't have to open the envelopes to know what the letters were about.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday." Brian said to her. "It was ...was..."

"Inexcusable." Anthony whispered in Brian's ear.

"It was inexcusable and it will not happen again. Please accept my apologies." Brian finished and looked away. He avoided her gaze and the looks directed to him by his classmates.

Kate quirked an eyebrow. Professor Xavier must have had real words with the boys yesterday. Two apologies in two days. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation.

"I'm real sorry, Ms. Renard. I just got mad." Brian added.

Kate sighed and said "Your apology is accepted, Brian but please think next time. That will make life easier for everyone."

He nodded and stepped out of the way so Anthony could talk.

Anthony made the same apology as Brian but he didn't add anything to it. He also didn't look Kate in the face. He looked over her left shoulder. Kate accepted his apology as well then sent them back to Professor Xavier. The other students watched them go, then looked at Kate for an explanation that they didn't really need.

"Actually, I think I should be asking you what happened, not the other way around. This school has a grapevine that The National Enquirer would kill for." Kate told her students.

Laughter rolled through the classroom, then, one of the girls, Adriana, raised her hand.

"Ms. Renard? Why is the word 'grapevine' connected to gossip?"

"It comes from the phrase 'I heard through it through the grapevine'." Kate replied.

As she knew they would, several of her students started to hum the music to the 1960's hit song.

"All right, all right. Enough." Kate waved her hands. "This is not music class."

"It could be." Micah, age 14, piped up with. "Mr. Summers could help teach it. He can sing you know."

"Do tell." Kate replied. Scott as a singer simply boggled her mind. He just didn't seem to be the type. He was too serious, most of the time. "Okay, tell you what, we'll talk about where our slang comes from for the first part of class but the last part of class will be about your novels and you will have homework. You might even have more homework than normal. Deal?"

Eight heads nodded in unison.

"Great. Let's start by chewing on this word, etymology. What does it mean?"

Nicholas, age 13, held up his hand. "The study of bugs?"

Kate shook her head. "No, that's entomology. Think about it. What does etymology mean?"

Adriana held her hand up. "The study of words?"

"Excellent! Yes, you are right. Did you know or did you guess?" Kate asked her.

"I guessed. You were talking about words and phrases and sayings, then you asked about that word. They all had to be connected."

"Very good. You use context clues well. That's a good skill to have."

Adriana smiled and blushed.

"Okay, now that we know what to call the study of words and phrases, let's look at the phrase that started our discussion. Who can tell me where 'I heard it through the grapevine' from?"

Hands shot in the air but Kate chose someone who hadn't volunteered in class yet. She picked on Bradley, he was new to the school and seemed like he wanted to participate.

He looked at her, chewed on his lip, then said "Because grapevines run along the ground and spread everywhere and so does gossip?"

"Very good. I'm impressed."

Bradley smiled.

*********

In the hallway, Scott paused on his way back to his classroom to listen to Kate for a moment. Cocking his head, he picked up on Kate's lesson for the day. He grinned, then went on his way, humming quietly to himself. The study of words and their origins was not in the lesson plans but those plans were not carved in stone. Besides, if Kate could keep the kids attention for longer than five minutes, more power to her.

He sat down at his desk, his mind moving far ahead of the present moment. Kate was a good teacher. More than that, she was a good person and he would do whatever was necessary to protect her.

********

All of her years of sitting through endless faculty meetings, and actually getting something useful out of them, could not have prepared Kate for her most current faculty meeting. She hadn't even known there would be one that afternoon until Storm told her over lunch. But she should have known that that meeting would be totally different from any other meetings she would attend. Kurt and Logan were in attendance and they hardly ever were.

"Guten abend, Kate." Good day Kurt said to her when she came in.

"Guten tag, Kurt." Good day Kate replied. She hesitated for a moment then said "Wie geht es dir?" How are you?

Kurt's face lit up. "Sprechen sie Deutsch?" Do you speak German?

"No, I went to a German language website."

"That's all right. We will work on it. You'll be speaking German very, very soon." Kurt said, smiling at her.

Professor Xavier cleared his throat and the meeting began. "Before we begin in earnest, Ms. Renard," He said to Kate, "you should know we, all of us, discussed the problems you've been suffering through this morning and that this meeting now, is a continuation of this morning's discussion."

Kate stared at the Professor. She didn't quite know what to say. She had never been the subject of an entire meeting before. She was touched by his, and the school's, concern. They wanted to keep her safe. How...how...sweet.

"Um...what was the consensus?" she managed to say.

"That there a variety of options open but most of them you will most certainly not like and all of them are contingent upon your approval." Professor Xavier replied.

Kate chewed on her lip and let the silence build while she thought. She looked at the assembled group before her, took a breath and said "Thank you for your concern, all of you. I am more than willing to give my permission for whatever you deem necessary, Professor Xavier but after I've had time to review the options you've come up with."

Professor Xavier nodded.

"But I have to say that I'm willing only up to a point. I want, I need, as little disruption in my life as possible. I'm not discounting the threats I've received or the danger they may pose. I'm just not willing to hide behind a wall unless I absolutely have to."

"That is completely understandable. None of us want to force you to do anything you don't have to. The primary goal, as we see it, is to catch whoever is harassing you and hand him, her, whoever, over to the authorities, agreed?"

Kate nodded. While it would supremely satisfying to, say, let Logan have five minutes alone with the creep, she knew that wouldn't be the right solution.

"To that end, a tiny video camera can be installed in your SUV as well as slightly larger video cameras installed around your townhouse. The video would come back here and, if needed, Kurt could be dispatched to catch whoever it is."

The idea of Kurt as part of a security system made Kate smile. Wouldn't that creep have a story to tell the cops?

"You wouldn't mind?" Kate asked him.

"Not at all. As long as I can see where I'm going, I can go anywhere, distance does not matter." Kurt replied.

Wouldn't Midge have a fit if she saw Kurt? Kate thought.

"Where would the cameras be located?" Kate asked.

"There would be at least two on your house, one in the front and one in the back." Logan said.

Kate nodded and said "I like the idea but I'd like to hear the other suggestions first."

"Yer not gonna like them." Logan said.

"Why do you say that?" she asked, frowning at him.

"'Cause they involve stuff like moving here, havin' a bodyguard, gettin' someone to drive ya and you don't seem like the kind of person who'd go along with stuff like that."

You got that right. Kate thought.

She looked at Professor Xavier and asked "Where those all the options?"

The Professor nodded. "I did say you would not like most of them."

She sighed, looked at the concerned faces surrounding her and sighed again. Her life would have been so much easier if she had just stayed at The Crestwell School.

You can't go back, you can only go forward. The phrase came to her unbidden.

"I know I said I needed time to think and consider the options but I can see now that there is only one I could chose and still live with myself. The video cameras aren't going to be too intrusive?"

The Professor shook his head. "You won't even know they're there."

"All right. Do what you have to do."

After the meeting was over, Scott and Logan followed Kate back to her townhouse to install the cameras. Scott would install the camera in the Durango the next day. Brenda came over to watch the excitement and got her first glimpse of Kate's co-workers.

"Man, when you said the math teacher was a hottie, you weren't kidding!" She said, watching Scott stretch his entire frame to measure a wall.

"Down, girl. He's already spoken for and his wife is the jealous type." Kate replied. Not to mention that she could toss you a thousand yards just by looking at you.

Brenda smiled and snapped her fingers. "The good ones are always taken. What's up with the sunglasses?"

"Eye problems." Kate lied easily. "He gets wicked migraines and the glasses help." She didn't like lying to Brenda but she didn't have a choice.

Not that it really mattered to Brenda, she simply switched her attention to Logan. He had finished installing the camera in the back and had come around to the front to help Scott finish. He stood next to the ladder Scott was on and handed him whatever part he needed.

"What's his story?" Brenda asked, nodding in Logan's direction. "What does he do at the school?"

"P.E. and sports. I know he looks really kinda scary but the kids love him." Kate replied.

"You know, if I could get my boss to pay for and install a home security system for me, I'd be a whole lot more willing to do whatever he wanted me to do. Does your school need an attorney?" Brenda asked.

Kate bit back a smile and shook her head.

"Story of my life." Brenda said with a sigh.

Scott came over to the two women and said "Okay, everything's hooked up. Let me borrow Kate for a few minutes so I can show her around."

"Go right ahead. Don't let me get in the way." Brenda replied.

Kate followed Scott over to her front door.

"There's not much to show," Scott said. "but I didn't want to alarm your neighbor. The camera's are hooked up and running. Remember that I'm installing the camera in your car tomorrow, so try to avoid mud puddles between now and then."

Kate snorted but nodded in response. Scott was such a serious person but lurking just below the surface was a wicked sense of humor that didn't come out that often. "Thank you, Scott. Thank Logan for me too."

"You got it. I'll see you tomorrow."

She waved good-bye to the two men, then chatted with Brenda for a few minutes before locking up and heading to the grocery store. If she didn't stock up on dog food, Midge would never let her back in the house.

*******

The second surprise of Kate's day came between the produce section and the dairy section of the grocery store.

"Kate? Kate Renard?" A familiar voice made Kate turn and look behind her.

"Natalie! Long time, no see! How are you?" Kate said to the tall, elegantly dressed, dark haired woman who walked up to her.

"Fine, fine. Crestwell just isn't the same without you." Natalie Schulumberg, a French teacher and former co-worker of Kate's, said. She cast a critical eye up and down Kate and said "You look good. How have you been?"

"Landed on my feet. I got a new teaching job a couple of days after leaving Crestwell."

"Really?"

"It's a tiny, tiny private school. I'm teaching English and English Composition. I like it. Believe it or not, it pays better than Crestwell."

"It does? Are they hiring?"

Kate shook her head. "No. Sorry."

"Darn." Natalie looked down at her watch and made a face. "Oh, nuts. I had no idea it was so late. I hate to end our conversation before we really started but the kids are waiting."

"I hear ya. Say 'hi' to everyone for me."

"You got it." Natalie turned to leave but something made her pause and turn back. "I knew I'd forget this."

"Forget what?" Kate asked, only half paying attention, her mind on her grocery list again.

"Your favorite student, Dylan Wells. He very nearly got tossed out of Crestwell and Daddy was not happy." Natalie said.

Kate's attention snapped back to Natalie, her groceries forgotten. "What happened?"

"Apparently, he blew out the power grid at the school a couple of weeks ago and was caught by the campus police trying to leave the scene of the crime." Natalie made air quotes around the words 'the scene of the crime'.

"Caught red-handed, huh?" Kate was all ears. Wouldn't it be the height of irony if Cliff Wells, mutant hater, had a mutant for a son?

"Yes and no. Yes, they caught him on campus after the explosion but he swears up and down he didn't have anything to do with the power loss." Natalie leaned in and lowered her voice. "There are rumors, you know, about how or why Dylan would do such a thing but nothing else beyond that." She straightened and looked at her watch again. "Man, I'm really going to be late now. Bye."

Kate watched Natalie leave, then looked down at her shopping list. She would have plenty of time to process this new bit of information while she finished her shopping.

Chapter Fourteen

She came out one morning the following week, checked under the Durango, then climbed in and headed off to work. The sullen sky overhead did not look promising and she could only hope and pray that whatever the sky was promising, it would hold off until she got to the mansion. She had already had enough fun driving in the snow to the school and any day she didn't have to drive in it, was a very good day.

Her prayer was answered, to some extent. The first fat drops of a cold rain fell on Kate as she walked up the front steps of the mansion. She made it inside just before the heavens opened up. She looked out a side window and sent up another prayer for the storm to finish before the school ended and not strand her at the mansion overnight, again. The mansion was nice but it wasn't home. That, and she didn't want to impose on Brenda any more than she had to.

She followed her nose down the hallway to the dinning room, a smile on her lips. If nothing else, her new job had excellent benefits. How many other teachers had their breakfast made to order each and every day at their school? She followed not only her nose but her ears as well; the chatter of the students spilling out into the hallway.

She enjoyed her students, really she did. Even the ones who made her life harder than it had to be and they were coming around to her point of view anyway. Her two fighters, from two weeks ago, had been allowed to return to class within the last week and she hadn't had a bit of trouble from them since. Slowly but surely the kids were beginning to accept her. It had only taken two months. It was down right speedy.

A flash of lightening followed by a rumble of thunder echoed overhead. In the brief silence that followed Kate heard Scott say "Remind me never to tick you off. Who was it this time?"

"A co-worker of mine." Kate heard Storm reply. "He doesn't seem to know how to leave well enough alone."

Kate walked into the dinning room just then. "Is Scott giving you a hard time again?" she asked Storm.

"Of course. You would think that his wife would have better control of him." Storm replied, grinning at Jean.

"Don't pull me into this." Jean said, putting down her coffee cup. "He knows better. Good morning, Kate."

"Good morning, Jean, Storm." Kate replied. She put her purse and bag down at an empty place between Scott and Jean and went to get breakfast.

"I am so glad that you feel free to talk about me like I'm not even here." Scott said.

"Did you hear something?" Storm asked Jean.

"I thought I did but I guess not." Jean replied.

Scott looked at Kate for help but she merely shrugged, her hands full. He wasn't about let her off so easily, though. He waited until she was seated and eating before saying "I'll get you, my pretty and your little dog too."

Kate started to laugh but choked on her orange juice.

"Scott!" Jean admonished him. "Are you all right, Kate?"

Kate nodded. When her vision cleared, she shot a look at Scott who was sitting there, totally innocent, his lips twitching in an effort to keep from smiling.

"I find the fact that you can quote The Wizard of Oz from memory strangely disturbing but oddly comforting." She replied.

Snickers from students and teachers alike greeted her statement.

"Just don't get him started on Star Wars." Jean told her.

And so began another normal day at The Xavier School.

Unfortunately, breakfast was as normal as it got that day. First, the rain turned to sleet, then snow. Then, there were two fights in each morning class. Only books were thrown though. Kate prayed for sanity and lunch came, with more quotations, from various movies, courtesy of Scott.

After lunch, the insanity returned. The older students amusing themselves by tossing books into the air without touching them. Kate was close to the breaking point when the coup d'grace was delivered.

The power went out. The lights flickered once, twice, then went out and stayed out. A mix of groans and cheers could be heard up and down the hallway. And Kate could have sworn she heard Storm say "I didn't do it."

"Don't anyone move." Kate told her students. She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out the flashlight that was kept there. She clicked on the light and swung the beam around the room. All she needed was some joker to think that now was the perfect time to pull something.

I should've stayed in bed. She thought. How am I ever going to get home in this?

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jon Alderyce, whose power was manipulation of fire, flick open a lighter and move the flame from the lighter to his hand. The flame cast a soft glow around himself and the students near him.

"Jon, you set anything on fire and I will not be held responsible for what I might do to you." she said.

"Okay." was his reply.

Now what? I can't teach like this.

Outside, the wind started to howl and Kate felt like joining in. The students started to talk to each other, the momentary fright of being without lights over, and Kate let them. She balanced the flashlight so that the beam was aimed at the ceiling for maximum illumination and sat down in her chair. Someone would be along soon.

That someone turned out to be Scott. Flashlight in hand, he looked around the room, looked at Kate and said "Okay, guys, class is dismissed. Take your stuff and go to the main living room. And be careful where you're going. Jon, put that out before you set something on fire."

Jon closed his hand over the flame and it disappeared. The students filed out into the hallway, their conversations rising above the wind. Kate collected her purse and briefcase, then put away the flashlight. She followed Scott out into the hallway and shut the door behind her.

"How'd the power go out?" She asked Scott. "I thought the mansion has buried power lines."

"It does." Scott replied. "But a lot of the surrounding area doesn't. A tree limb falls and takes out a transformer and our power goes to. We've got a generator though so, the lights should be back on momentarily."

No sooner had the words left his mouth, than the lights did come back on. Cheers from both adults and students alike could be heard from the main living room.

"Am I going to be able to get home tonight?" Kate asked.

"You might but I wouldn't count on it. This storm came out of nowhere and it's getting just plain ugly. In fact, you might want to move your car into the garage. I'll move it for you if you don't want to go outside."

Kate looked at Scott for a moment, then nodded and hand him her keys from her pants pocket. While she knew that Scott wasn't too fond of her, he had to like her some or else he wouldn't have offered to move her car in a messy snowstorm.

After Scott left, Kate dug her cell phone out of her purse and called Brenda. If Brenda wasn't there, if she had been stranded somewhere because of the storm, Kate would call Keith. He was getting along in years and Kate didn't really want to bother him but someone had to feed Midge.

Brenda answered on the third ring. "The county let us go a couple of hours ago and they never, ever do that. When they do, something's up, or down as the case may be. I figured that if you weren't home by the time I got home, you weren't coming. Midge is fast asleep on the couch."

Kate smiled and tried to remain calm. "Thanks, Brenda. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Find out if that hot math teacher of yours has any single brothers." Brenda replied.

"You want their address and phone number if he does?"

"You know it. Bleah, look at that snow coming down. Really, Kate, it's a good thing you didn't try and drive home in this mess. It took me twice as long to get home as it normally does."

"Yeah, I know. I still want to go home."

"I can't help you there. If I could make it stop snowing I would, really. Midge just woke up and is looking at me. She's saying 'feed me'."

"My dog is talking? Put her on."

"Ha, ha. You know what I mean. I have go now and feed your dog. Call if you need anything or just want to talk."

"Okay. Thanks again, Brenda."

"You're welcome."

Kate closed her cell-phone with a snap. Brenda's words coming back to haunt her. 'If I could make it stop snowing I would, really.' If only she knew how close to the truth she was. Storm could make it stop snowing but it would be the height of rudeness to ask. Besides, if she had to be stuck somewhere, why not a big, beautiful mansion?

Because it wasn't home, that's why. Her entire life, Kate had always had to share with everyone else in her family. Share a room, wear hand-me downs, share the family car. But her townhouse was hers and hers alone. She didn't have to share it with anyone, she could go there and be by herself and not have to talk to a single soul.

But not that night. It was enough to make her want to cry.

She sighed and headed for the main living room. She hadn't gone more than a dozen yards when she saw Storm coming in her direction and she had to squish a momentary surge of jealousy. She liked Storm, she really did. She was a pleasure to teach with and fun to be around but every once in a while, the green-eyed monster came out. Storm was everything that Kate wasn't. Tall, beautiful and graceful. Throw in the ability to control the weather and life just wasn't fair. Common sense quickly prevailed but for the half-second that took, Kate wanted to be Storm more than anything else in the world.

"Looking for me?" she asked.

Storm smiled and said "You read my mind. You get someone to feed your dog?"

"Yes. Thank you for asking. I'm going to have to bring Midge here one day so everyone can meet her."

"The children would love that. Come on, the Professor wants everyone in one place as soon as possible just in case the power goes out again."

Kate followed her down the hallway, then asked "Scott offered to move my car and he's not back yet. Is everything all right?"

Storm nodded. "He had to come back in and borrow a few people. The snow had already half-buried it."

Kate nodded then, without thinking, blurted out "Why don't you make it stop snowing?"

Storm stopped in mid-stride and looked at her with that same piercing stare she had used when Kate was being interviewed.

Kate swallowed, heat rushing to her face. Her next words tumbling out in a rush. "I'm sorry, I know I'm being incredibly rude but I can't stand it. You have the power to stop this and you don't. Why not?"

Storm did not answer right away, giving Kate plenty of time to wish that the ground would open up and swallow her whole. When Storm did finally speak, all she said was "Follow me."

She walked over to a pair of wing chairs set in an alcove just down from where they stood. When they were seated, she looked at Kate and said "I know how badly you want to go home and I can pretty well guess how frustrating it must seem to have a possible solution within reach and not use it. But you and I both know that's not how it works."

Kate nodded.

"If I were to end the snowfall, just for you, then where would the requests end? It would always be too hot, too cold, too rainy, too dry. I would be terribly arrogant to make the weather bow to my whims and my whims only. And that's not the way I am. I couldn't live like that. I was given my powers for a reason but not that reason." She smiled and added "Into each life, some rain must fall. Or snow in this case."

"I'm sorry. I apologize for acting like this. I'm just frustrated." Kate replied, feeling about two inches tall.

Storm nodded and said, "I understand being frustrated and I accept your apology. I know you didn't mean what you said. Just watch what you say next time. The next person may not be as understanding."

***********

That night, after everyone else had gone to sleep, Kate lay awake in her bed. She hadn't yet accustomed herself to the creaks and groans of the mansion as it settled, so, every little noise grated on her nerves to the point where she gave up trying to sleep. She switched on the bedside lamp and climbed out of bed to go look out the window.

The storm had abated somewhat in the past twelve hours but a fierce wind still whipped around the mansion and the snow continued to fall. At the rate it was falling, there would be another three to six inches of new snow in the morning. She shook her head, happy that her SUV was parked in the mansion's voluminous garage. Digging her car out in the morning was one of her least favorite things to do.

She turned to go back to the warmth of her bed but a noise from outside made her turn back. She pressed her ear against the frigid window but all she got was a cold ear. She looked the window up and down, fought with her curiosity and lost. She took a deep breath, opened the window and stuck her head out. A gust of cold air slapped her in the face, making her gasp. In defiance, she stuck her head a little further and heard...the whine of a jet engine?

What? A jet engine? Out here? I gotta be hearing things. Kate pulled her head back, shut and locked the window. Obviously, the wind was carrying sounds from further away than usual. There weren't any jets at the school and there certainly weren't any in the surrounding area. The closest airport was twenty miles to the south.

She shook her head again. If nothing else, the cold had made her sleepy. She climbed back into bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

******

The next morning, the snow had stopped and the sun was struggling to come out from behind the clouds. With some luck, she might be able to get home that afternoon but she had to get through the day first. Breakfast that morning was a strange affair. Among the adults, only the Professor, Kurt and Logan were present. Marie (Rogue) and Bobby were also absent and the remaining students were more quiet than normal. Professor Xavier seemed preoccupied and Logan, if it was possible, seemed to be even more grouchy than normal. Only Kurt was his normal, charming self.

Something nasty must've gone down last night. I bet it had something to do with that jet I heard. I hope no one was hurt. Kate thought.

Towards the end of breakfast, Rogue and Bobby came in, looking a little 'chewed around the edges', to quote Kate's grandmother. But there was still no sign of the other adults. With half the staff missing, how was school supposed to go on? Kate was a good teacher, but she wasn't that good.

She needn't have worried. She saw Scott seated behind his desk when she walked past on her way to her classroom and then glimpsed Storm and Jean talking to each other across the hallway. Kate caught sight of Jean's face and, for a split second, she could have sworn she saw a look of utter weariness on the other's face but she blinked and the look was gone, if it had ever been there to begin with. She shook her head and went into her classroom. On a whim, she put down her belongings and went next door to speak with Scott. He was at the chalkboard writing down the assignments for the day.

"Scott? Are you all right? You look a little worn down." Kate said.

He turned and looked at Kate. His relationship with her was polite but not what Kate would call friendly. He sifted his weight from one leg to the other and bit his lip. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

"You weren't at breakfast this morning so I wondered. I didn't see Jean either or Storm." Kate continued on, certain she was treading somewhere she wasn't supposed to be.

"I was down here, getting ready. I do that sometimes. I think Jean and Storm were here too but I can't swear to it." Scott replied.

Kate nodded and didn't know what to say next. It was weird talking to a person whose eyes she couldn't see. "Okay. I was just wondering. I'll see you at lunch."

"Okay." Scott replied. He turned back to chalkboard and Kate went back to her classroom, no wiser than before.

Her first class was peaceful. Anthony and Brian, her two fighters, were now close to model students. Brian, in fact, made two very intelligent observations on their current novel for which Kate complimented him. It was the start of another normal day at The Xavier School. And yet, it wasn't. An undercurrent of uncertainty rippled through the students and it did not take mutant powers to pick up on it. It was at times like that, that Kate felt like an absolute outsider. Had she been a mutant, the students, some of them of anyway, might have confided in her.

Kate's next class, the 9th and 10th grade started quietly enough but shortly after class began, there was a knock on the classroom door. When she answered the door, she saw Storm and a teenager, maybe 13, standing there, both looking like they'd seen better days.

"Good morning, Ms. Munroe." Kate said, professional to the end.

"Good morning, Ms. Renard. I have a new student for you. His name is Terrance." Storm replied.

Terrance, all 5ft. 2in., scowled. His dark hair and olive colored skin giving him, oddly, a slightly sinister appearance. He was mad at the world and it showed.

Oh, goody, another ticked-off kid. Just what I need. Kate thought darkly.

Storm stepped forward and whispered in Kate's ear. "He hasn't shown what his ability is yet, so, be extremely careful."

Kate nodded. This just gets better and better.

"How old are you Terrance?" she asked him.

"What's it matter?" Terrance muttered.

"It matters because I would like to know where to seat you in the class." Kate told him.

Terrance looked at Storm, he looked at Kate, then he looked at the floor.

"Terrance?" Kate asked, gently. "Do you know how old you are?" He wouldn't be the first of her students not to know.

His head snapped up and he glared at Kate. "Yeah, I know how old I am. I'm NOT a dummy!"

"I never said you were." she replied. Belatedly, Kate realized that she hadn't shut the door behind herself and the entire class was watching.

"What're you lookin' at ?" Terrance snarled at one of the kids.

"Dude, chill. All she wants to know is how old you are." It was Danny speaking, if Kate wasn't mistaken.

Terrance considered that for a moment, then said "I'm 13."

Kate nodded and said "Welcome to the class, Terrance." She stood to the side and let Terrance walk past her. She waved 'good-bye' to Storm and shut the door.

It didn't occur to Kate until sometime after lunch that Terrance's appearance and the jet noises were probably connected.

Chapter Fifteen

January rolled into February and the harassment against her seemed to have stopped. But Kate was determined not to relax too much. It was just as Scott said, whoever was harassing her did it only when they had a chance. She hadn't seen anyone around her townhome since that man at Christmas Eve. And yet, she wasn't going to totally let down her guard. Every time she did, she regretted it.

One morning, in early February, she came out and found a note tucked under her windshield wipers. She sighed and pulled the note free. At least, whoever it was, had had to clean off the windshield to put the note there and that saved her the chore. She didn't even bother to read it. It couldn't be good nor could it be from anyone she would want to hear from. She stuffed it in her purse, brushed the rest of the snow from her SUV and headed off to work.

It wasn't until she was at the faculty meeting that afternoon that she remembered the note. Her hand brushed past it when she reached in her purse for a pen. She sighed, pulled it out and unfolded it.

'I know what you are.' The neatly-typed note said. She rolled her eyes and was about to stuff the note back into her purse when Storm stopped her.

"What do you have there?" she asked, "A love note?"

"I wish." Kate handed the note over. "It was stuck under my windshield wipers this morning."

Storm read the note and quirked an eyebrow. "'I know what you are'? That's not terribly original and besides what does he, or she, mean by that?"

"I have no idea. If whoever it is thinks I'm a mutant, they obviously haven't been paying enough attention to me. If they mean they know I'm a school teacher, then so what? It's just weird. You think I should show Scott or the Professor?"

"Show me what?" Scott said, walking up to the two women. He took a seat next to Storm and looked at Kate.

Storm handed the note to Scott without a word. He looked over the note, looked at Kate, then looked at the note again.

"Okay. When did this show up?" he asked.

"This morning, on my windshield." Kate replied.

"Well, if they're trying to scare you, I don't think they succeeded, did they?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"All I can suggest right now is that after the faculty meeting, we can go look at the videotapes from your security cameras." he said.

"Fine by me." she replied.

He handed the note back to Kate. "Don't worry, we'll get this solved."

"I won't. Thanks."

Scott usually gave blessedly short faculty meetings for which Kate was always thankful. After a day of riding herd on all kinds of teenagers, the last thing she wanted to do was sit through a long meeting. That day was no exception.

"Guess what guys, the auto show has just arrived in New York. It's time for a field trip." Scott said.

It was, quite possibly, the most animated that Kate had ever seen Scott.

"Ya know that New York City is..." Logan said, pausing in mid-sentence. "...dang cold in February."

"I do." Scott replied.

"Just how do you suggest that we keep up wit' all of the kids? There're only 5 of us." Logan continued.

Kate let her mind wander off and try to solve the same problem that Logan had just pointed out. Thirty-five students and four, possibly five, adults as chaperones. She frowned for a moment. It could be done but it would be a lot of work.

Storm tapped Kate on the shoulder, bringing her back to the present, where everyone was staring at her.

"Sorry." she said "My mind went off on its own."

Scott nodded. "So, Kate, what do you say? You want to come with us to New York City?"

Kate paused a moment. This is what she got for letting her thoughts wander. How would they keep the kids under control? Whatever, it didn't matter. She was one of the teachers and she was going.

"Yes, I'd love to go. It's been a while since I've been to New York City."

*********

When Kate said that she was certified and certifiable during her interview, she had been joking. But when the morning of the field trip dawned, she wasn't so sure.

I really do need to be committed. She thought. She peered out the window at the early morning cold and gloom as the bus headed toward New York City. Who in there right mind takes 35 teenagers in New York City? No, wait, 36 teenagers.

The school's newest student, Teenager 36, a girl of about 15, sat across from Kate and glared out the window. Her name was Stacy and, like the majority of the students, had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. As usual, there was almost no explanation as to where she had come from or how she had gotten to the school. She was just there. Also too, there was the sound of a jet engine last night that Kate usually heard when she spent the night at the school. One of these days, she would learn where the airport was. It had to be close by.

I wonder what Stacy can do. Kate mused. I bet she's a telepath. Telepathy seemed to be the dominant mutation at the school in Kate's humble opinion.

//What if I am? What's it to you?// A distinctly teenage voice spoke in Kate's head.

Kate eyed Stacy before thinking //For starters, get out of my head. That's rude. Secondly, you're my student and I'm concerned about your welfare.//

Stacy snorted. //I've been told about you. You're not a mutant.//

//Stacy, get out of my head NOW! If you want to talk, we can have a verbal conversation.//

Stacy smiled and mouthed the word 'no'.

Kate sighed and hauled herself to her feet. It was time to find Jean. Having her thoughts read was a new experience for her and she didn't like it. Her other telepathic students hadn't bothered. At least, she didn't think they had. Her life was far too dull to offer them much in the way of entertainment.

Jean was at the very front of the bus, seated directly behind Scott, her nose in a book.

Kate taped her on the shoulder. When she looked up, Kate said "My apologies for bothering you but Stacy has just demonstrated her abilities for me, or should I say, on me."

Jean's eyebrows went up.

"She took great glee in totally ignoring my requests to stay out of my mind."

Jean closed the book and stood up. "Trade places with me."

Kate did and Jean headed back to Kate's seat to deal with Stacy.

"How often do you take the kids on field trips?" Kate asked Scott, after sitting down.

"Depends. Sometimes we take three or four trips a month, sometimes we go four or five months without a trip. Is Jean handling something back there?" Scott asked.

"Yes." She said, then repeated to Scott what she had told Jean.

He shook his head. "Sometimes, it takes a long time for the new students to accept the fact that we're not the enemy."

Jean came back down the aisle with Stacy in tow. She sat Stacy down in the empty seat across the aisle. She looked at Kate and said "Problem solved. You can go back to your seat."

"Thanks." Kate said, standing.

"You're welcome. Us teachers have to stick together." Jean replied, taking her seat again.

Stacy glared at both adults but said nothing. She looked like she wanted to say something but got a look from Jean and kept her comments to herself.

Kate went back to her seat and amused herself by looking out the window.

"What'd Stacy do, Ms. Renard?" Danny asked, coming up to Kate's seat.

She looked around at Danny. "Let's just say that Stacy hasn't yet learned to follow the rules yet."

"Oh." Danny nodded knowingly. "She used her powers when she wasn't supposed to."

Kate bit back the grin that threatened to take over her face and shrugged.

Danny grinned and scuttled back to his friends to give them the gossip. She watched and grinned anyway. It had been a little less than three months since his arrival at The Xavier School and the difference in him was nothing short of astounding. It was at times like this that made Kate even more proud of The Xavier School and her role in it.

She turned back to the window in just in time to catch her first glimpse of The Big Apple in years. She sent a prayer heavenward asking for a peaceful and productive day. It was a wish that would only be partially granted.

*******

"All right, everyone listen up because I am not repeating myself." Scott addressed the students over the bus' P.A. system. "You all know the rules. Even our new students know what's expected of them. So, I don't want to hear 'I didn't know.' because you'd be lying and we'd both know it. Also, the car show is not the only show going on at the Javitt's Center but it is the only one you'll be attending, clear?"

Thirty-five heads nodded in unison. Stacy merely glared.

"One of the other shows is a 'symposium' on The Mutant Registration Act. Can anyone tell me why I'm telling you this?" Scott asked.

"So we don't something dumb to try and show them how wrong they are." Bobby volunteered.

"Exactly. This is neither the time or the place to demonstrate anything. So, don't. Understand, Jon?" Scott said, looking directly at the number one troublemaker in Kate's classes.

Under Scott's stern gaze, Jon flushed and mumbled "Yes, sir."

"Good. Here's our schedule." Scott read off an itinerary that had them returning to the bus no later than 3 p.m.

The return time made Kate happy. If they really did leave New York City that early, she actually had a chance to get back to her home that evening.

"Any other questions?" Scott asked.

When silence answered the question, he opened the bus' doors and the field trip began.

******

That morning, Kate discovered that there were more cars than she had ever heard of in the first ten feet of the auto show and after the fifth car Scott took them past, her mind refused to process any more automotive information. She hung back, listened with half-an-ear and indulged in a favorite hobby of hers, people watching.

There was no lack of subjects to watch at the car show. Big, short, small, tall, every race, gender, ethnicity and nationality converged under the roof of the Jacob K. Javitts Convention Center. A babble of voices, car noises and the buildings P.A. system combined to produce a cacophony that would surely damage anyone's hearing if they stayed there long enough.

As she walked along, Kate picked up snatches of conversation from everyone she passed, making her wonder if the chorus of voices in the convention center was anything like being a telepath. If so, she had a whole new respect for Jean. She would go nuts if she had to listen to all those voices all the time and all at the same time.

"You just don't want to understand, do you?" a sharp, female voice said just behind Kate.

Curious, Kate angled a glance over her shoulder and spotted two women, both roughly her age, deep in a heated conversation. Scott had stopped the group for a moment, so she could shamelessly eavesdrop and not get separated from the students.

"I don't see what there is to understand. A freak is a freak." The second woman replied and Kate had the sinking feeling that she knew exactly what they were talking about.

"People used to say the same thing about gay people." The first woman said.

"That's different. Gays can't make more gays. Mutants can." The second woman said.

Kate's jaw very nearly dropped open. Were these two women really standing in the middle of a car show talking about mutants so casually?

"You know, I don't even know why I mentioned this to you. I guess I didn't know what you really thought about it until now." The first woman said.

"You can't be that surprised. You know how I feel about foreigners." The second woman said.

"But they're not foreigners. Not all of them anyway. If they're born here, they're U.S. citizens, just like you and me." The first woman said.

"No, they're not like you and me and that's the problem." The second woman said.

Kate didn't get a chance to hear the first woman's response because the students moved on and she had to keep up. She hurried to catch up, her ears ringing with the conversation she'd just heard. While she was not naïve enough to believe that the rest of the world believed as she did, she did like to think that most people would use a bit of common sense and discretion when discussing something like mutant rights. She was wrong, obviously.

'Common sense ain't all that common.' A quote from a teacher friend of hers surfaced in Kate's mind for a moment before disappearing back into her subconsciousness. How true that quote was.

"Nickel for your thoughts?" Storm said to Kate, joining her in the back of the group.

"A nickel?" Kate replied.

"Inflation."

Kate smiled and said "Just people watching."

There was no point in telling Storm about the conversation she'd heard. There wasn't anything that the other woman could do about it. So, why bother?
"When did you stop paying attention?" Storm asked Kate.

"I'll have you know that I have listened to every word Scott has said." Kate replied with a straight face.

Storm looked at her.

"The fifth or sixth car. You?" Kate asked.

"I've been here so many times that I could give the tour. Not much changes except the color of the cars but the kids love coming, so, does Scott."

"Yes, I noticed that."

Scott truly did look like a kid in a candy store. The same could not be said for Jean or Logan for that matter.

"I don't think that Logan is paying too much attention to the tour." Kate said.

"Don't be so sure. He's a very hard person to read." Storm replied.

Kate snuck a look at Logan and studied him for a moment. Storm was absolutely right. She had no idea what Logan was thinking at that moment. He looked like he didn't seem to care one way or another about the show going on around him. Was that all an act? A bit of gossip she had heard about Logan popped into her head while she looked at him. Supposedly, he had giant, metal claws embedded into his hands. The claws came out whenever he made a fist. The mental image was more than to satisfy her curiosity and she looked away.

"I've got a stupid question to ask." Kate said to Storm.

"And?" Storm replied, teasing her.

"Ha, ha. You're not funny. Seriously, is there an airport near the mansion?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"Just about every time I stay at the mansion, I hear the sound of a jet engine and it's not a far-away sound either. It sounds like a jet either taking off or landing and it's very close by. I know I'm not hearing things. I was just wondering."
Storm considered Kate's question for a long moment, then said "You know, sounds can travel longer distances than we normally think of, especially in clear air and at night. That's when you've heard the noises, at night, right?"

Kate nodded.

"Thought so. The atmosphere around the mansion is so clear at night, that, without cloud cover, you can pick up A.M. radio stations from as far away as Youngstown, Ohio."

"Really?"
Storm nodded. "I've done it. Well, I've done it with Jean and the kids as part of a science lesson that demonstrated how far radios waves travel. If it works for the radio, why not other sounds?"

"I guess." Kate said, slowly. She missed the look of concern that flitted across Storm's face. She missed it because Scott called her name and she directed her attention to him.

"If I may interrupt your train of thought, Ms. Renard?" he asked.

"Go right ahead, Mr. Summers." she replied.

"What kind of car are we standing in front of?"

She looked at the tiny car and the first thought to pop into her head was of a toddler's push car. She was quite certain that that wasn't what Scott was looking for but, tough, that's what he got for picking on her unannounced.

She opened her mouth to respond but, suddenly, she wasn't in quite the same spot she had been just seconds before. She blinked and looked around her. With the exception of Scott, who had his back to her now, everyone else in the group acted like nothing had happened. But something had, she just didn't know what. It occurred to her right then, that while she knew what the majority of her students and most of the adults could do, she had only the vaguest ideas of what Scott's mutation was. All she really knew was that it, the mutation, was controlled by those glasses he always wore.

"All right, guys. Time for lunch. You know what to do." Jean told the children. "You have one hour. Don't make me come looking for you."

A general nod swept through the children before they scattered. Kate watched them be swallowed up by the crowd before turning her attention back to the adults. Scott was facing her again, glasses firmly in place, his face completely unreadable, as usual.

She filed the bit of weirdness in the back of her mind before asking "So, what do we do for lunch?"

*******

After lunch is when the real learning began. The students were broken up into five groups with one teacher per group. The assignment was to look at the car show through the prisms of each subject taught at the school. Scott, Jean and Storm had a far easier task than Kate or Logan but Kate persevered and had each of her students pick a car, within their line of vision, and explain why they picked that car.

"This assignment is supposed to strengthen your persuasive writing skills. I do not care which car you pick or why you picked that car but I had better not see 'because it's cool' as a reason on your paper. Understand?" Kate asked the students.

Heads nodded and the assignment began.

She watched in absolute fascination as her students, the younger ones in particular, really get into and enjoy the assignment. They made notes, they asked their classmates questions, they took their time, in short, they did everything they had been taught to do.

Hallelujah. At least something sank in. she thought.

She kept one eye on her watch and the other on the kids, just in case one of them forgot the rules. As such, she did not see a man come up behind her.

"Just who do you think you are? Letting these freaks out in public?" He hissed in her ear.

Kate started at the sudden noise then turned around and looked at the man. He was tall and dressed in a business suit. He looked to be in his late 40's, possibly early 50's with graying hair. But it was his eyes that got Kate's attention. His eyes glittered with...she wasn't sure what but whatever it was, she wanted no part of it.

She took a step back and cast a glance around the general area. There were no kids within hearing range, which was good. But there were no adults to help out either, which was bad.

"Didn't you hear me?" the man snarled at her.

Kate took another step back and said "Are you talking to me?"
"Who else would I be talking to? I don't see anyone else hanging around these freak children."

"Excuse me?" Kate asked. Belatedly, it occurred to her that she should have just turned and walked away.

"You know what I'm talking about. These so-called children you've got here." He waved his hand in the general direction of her students. "They're nothing but a bunch of MUTANT FREAKS!" The man said the last part of the sentence loud enough for anyone standing nearby to hear. It worked. People stopped and stared at the man.

Kate was tongue-tied. She just stared at the man, not knowing what to say.

The man took Kate's silence for ignorance and said "Oh, come on, you've got to know who you're with. What are you, some kind of moron? Or are some of these little darlings controlling you?"

That last line snapped Kate back into reality. "Excuse me, sir. I would thank you to keep your opinions to yourself and to stop harassing my students and myself."

The man stared at her. "Students? You mean you're their teacher?" He started to laugh.

Kate turned, signaled for her students to follow her and walked away from the man. It was almost time to meet up with the others. Hopefully, someone else would be at the meeting point first and lend her a hand.

If she had hoped that the man would take the hint and leave her alone, it was a false hope for the man quickly caught up with her and harassed her every step of the way. What concerned Kate the most was, not herself but, her students. They had to listen to the man's rantings and that just wasn't right.

What really amazed Kate was that not a single person offered any help in getting rid of the man. People stared but no one helped.

Typical New Yorkers. she thought darkly.

Finally, the meeting place came into view and yes, someone else was there. It was Logan. Kate smiled, salvation was at hand. As the students and Kate neared him, Logan came strolling over to Kate.

The man, incessant in his tirade, stopped abruptly when he saw Logan.

"Is there a problem, Ms. Renard?" Logan asked.

Kate eyed the man, who had turned several shades paler, and said "Well, other than this man who seems to think that the children are 'mutant freaks' who don't belong in public, no problems."

Logan stared down at the man. "That right?"

Kate joined her students at that moment. She didn't need to hear what Logan would say, she already knew. Logan rejoined the group a few minutes later muttering unrepeatable comments about certain kinds of people.

"Thank you." Kate said to him.

*******

It wasn't until everyone was back on the bus and headed back to the school that the identity of her harrasser was revealed.

"Ms. Renard?" It was Danny. He had left his friends in the back of the bus and had come down the aisle to talk to Kate. He didn't look happy.

Kate turned from the window and said "What can I do for you, Danny?"

He fidgeted for a few moments before saying "I'm sorry about that guy today that was bugging you."

Kate smiled at him and said "You don't have to apologize for anything. That man is totally ignorant of what you're really like."

Danny shook his head. "You don't understand. That guy...he's my dad."

It took a moment for Kate to process that tidbit of information.

"Your dad?" she asked.

Danny nodded. He leaned over to Kate as far as he could and said "He's the reason I'm here."

Thinking back on the man's behavior, Kate wasn't at all surprised.

"Anyway, I just wanted you to know that and I'm sorry. It was a dumb idea." He turned and went back to his seat.

Dumb idea? What was a dumb idea? "Danny, wait a minute." Kate called after him. She stood up and started to go after him.

"Kate, sit down." Scott told her. "We're in heavy traffic."

She did as she was told but spent the rest of the time trying to get Danny's attention so she could get a better explanation.

She didn't succeed.

She knew that a lot of the kids had been abused both physically and mentally, before arriving at the mansion. She had seen the bruises, the casts on broken arms and legs and that was the damage that could be seen. Verbal or mental abuse did not leave physical marks behind but the damage was much worse and took far longer to heal, if it ever did.

She wondered now about Danny's relationship with his father. Had it been simply verbal abuse or had his father beaten him as well? No wonder he had been so angry when he had arrived at the school. She tried one last time to get Danny's attention just after the bus reached the school but he disappeared with his friends before she could stop him.

She headed to her SUV, frustrated and annoyed. She wanted to help Danny as much as she could but there was little she could do if he didn't let her.

Tomorrow was another day and perhaps a solution would reveal itself then. She put the Durango in gear and headed for home, her refuge from the world.