Hello all. This is a very late update considering I started at the beginning of the summer saying I wanted to finish this story before I finished any others under my belt, but...well..things have gotten a lot more chaotic since I decided that. My mom recently lost her battle against cancer. A particularly vicious and rare form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, or gbm. I know you all came here for lighthearted fanfiction, but im trying to get awareness up about this disease as much as I can. There have been very little developments in glioblastoma treatment in the past decade. With a disease like this, the hope is that the more people know, the more effort is put in to finding a cure. If you have a moment after reading this chapter, I'd really appreciate it if you could visit and share a website I've found called defeatGBM . Com. It's a website dedicated to finding better treatment for glioblastoma patients, as well as improving the survival rate. I couldnt help my mom, all I could do is be there for her, but maybe awareness can help some other family. It's my hope that after some time I can find it in me to write again, as it is this chapter has been pre written for months, it just hasnt been uploaded. Right now I have a lot on my plate, and a lot to recover from. But writing has always been therapeutic for me, maybe I'll find that spark again after some time. But for now i ask for your patience.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wolverine and the XMEN

There were a lot of things Kurt had spent a great amount of time imagining he could do if he'd been born 'normal'. He got a taste of it on genosha, going to a concert with Wanda, watching kids play in the park and just being able to walk in a public place and feel the sun on his face, not having to worry about the fellow townspeople sharpening their pitchforks and waving torches in his face.

Somewhere along the line, he was sure, he'd pictured taking a trip with his family or friends, just seeing where the road would take them, and the only real danger was not enough cold water in the cooler or bug bites when camping during the nights.

..He had a feeling this was one of those things that seemed like it would be a lot more fun, before they had been doing it 8 hours straight. He'd initially been grateful for the rest, just sitting in the car, but now he longed to just stretch his legs. His tail was cramped as well. He was beginning to feel claustrophobic in this tiny metal deathtrap they called a car and the sight of

the various dull greys of the road brought a somewhat bitter taste to his mouth.

Or perhaps that was because he was used to teleporting when he traveled, and it was just motion sickness…

Kurt didn't want to complain when it had been hard enough convincing his young companion to drive him in the first place, and they had been getting along so well, aside from the occasional shouting match about which exit to take.

He apparently didn't have much to worry about, because when he heard a groan come from Dani's side of the car, and he glanced towards it, it was obvious she was feeling his pain. Her chin was resting on the wheel, something that probably was in the driver's ED handbook's 10 things not to do, as well as steering halfheartedly. Not that she needed to, the road went straight for miles ahead.

"I'm so freakin sick of driving!" The girl exclaimed, head comically planting itself against the horn, when they were at a stoplight, the resounding honk making her pop back up in surprise.

Kurt chuckled, "I'll admit, I could use a break myself. And the cooler lookslike it could use some refilling.." He leaned back and pulled up the lid.

There was water left, half a sandwich, and a package of grapes. Everything else had been devoured throughout the day.

Dani made a negative 'mmmph.' Sound. "Grocery shopping's even more boring. I'll stop by a convenience store tomorrow. Urgh, there's gotta be SOMETHING we can do."

Kurt shrugged, giving her a guilty smile. Unfortunately their choices were limited with his appearance, to say the least.

There was a few more moments of silence, when Dani began to lean forward towards her windshield, and contemplative expression on her face.

Kurt was about to ask, when her mouth popped open and her eyes lit up with recognition.

"I've been here before!"

Kurt blinked, looking at the town they had entered since they left the highway, in search of something to break the dullness. It looked normal, nothing too special about it, sleepy and full of trees the loomed over the buildings as if the forest were saying 'Yeah, you can build as much as you want. But this is still OUR territory."

Kurt thought back to where they could be, There was a sign way back saying they were somewhere in Ohio.

"You have?"

"Yeah! Dad and I used to take cross country trips all the time during the summer. It's been a few years, but I know I've been here before!"

Kurt would have said more, when Dani started looking around excitedly, then turned sharply to the left, mumbling to herself

"I wonder if it's still here, let's see, it was a left there, then I think a slight right-YES!"

Kurt jumped, then followed her line of sight to see an old-fashioned tavern like building up ahead, log cabin structure and all, western writing saying Ellie May's country Bar and Grill.

When she noticed the raised eyebrow he was giving her, Dani shrugged sheepishly as she parked, "It's cheesy, but homey."

"Dani, have you forgotten I'm a mutant?" He asked, "I can't see people being so open, in light of everything that's happening in the world"

"What'm I? A duck?" She asked incredulously, hand instinctively going to her hip in the sassy way girls did sometimes. He sighed.

"Dani…."

The girl was already reaching in the back seat for the oversized hoodie he'd warn before, not bothering to gather her own disguise. She figured they were far enough away that no one would be looking for her. She handed it to him along with a pair of sweatpants and gloves.

"Please Kurt? I haven't had real food in forever and I'm on a major nostalgic kick," She quirked her lips in a hopeful and appeasing half smile, "Besides, I wanna show you a little taste of regular life putside of a car."

He would have pointed out that he'd had plenty experiences of regular life since joining the x-men (ok not really). But trying to tell Dani 'no' was about as easy as it was for him when he was looking at Kitty. He sighed, burying his head into the sweatshirt,

"Zis is a bad idea…"

That sentence repeated itself like a mantra when they both walked through the doors, him with Dani's baseball cap pulled so far down over his eyes it was in danger of falling off, and hood drawn up. He kept his head down and if someone even moved their head towards him, he would look the opposite way.

Dani rolled her eyes, whispering, "Would you relax, no one's even going t-"

"Dani?"

Both of them froze, and eyes wide like they'd stepped into a horror movie, they stiffly turned to where the voice had come from. There stood a robust looking woman, with curly red hair and a worn cream apron over her regular clothes and a tray of glasses balanced precariously on one hand.

She was staring at Dani with both surprise and delight.

"H-hey Nancy…" Dani stammered, clearly not expecting to be recognized here of all places.

The woman's smile stretched to a brilliant looking smile, one that probably earned her a lot of tips, Kurt mused. She set the tray on the bar counter, ignoring her customers giving her the stink eye, and ran up to both of them, hugging Dani so hard she lifted her petite form off the floor.

"Look at you! I don't think I've seen you since you were half your height now! How've you been honey?"

"Fine, it's good to see you Nancy." Dani patted the older woman on the back, shooting Kurt a nervous glance.

As if sensing this Nancy loosened her grip so she was just holding Dani by the shoulders, looking around her and frowning in confusion, "Where's your daddy? Aint he with you?"

Dani scrambled, "Uh, no, see I actually just wanted to go on a trip with my friends, and since we just got done with SAT's dad said it was okay, that I was old enough…"

The woman whistled, "SAT's, my my time flies. Alright honey, pick out a seat, I'll getcha something to munch on, your practically a stick," Nancy glanced in Kurt's direction, and he tried not to let his fur bristle in panic.

"And something for your friend?" She smiled warmly, probably used to putting people at ease. It didn't in whole work, but he took comfort in the fact that he was here and she wasn't screaming yet.

"Yes please" he answered quietly and she nodded.

"We got soda, water, milk…"

"Vater vould be fine, thank you."

Nancy's eyes glittered with interest, "A foreigner, now I always get some interesting characters in this place, but none too many of those. Welcome Mr…?

"Kurt. Kurt Wagner."

Nancy nodded and sauntered away, "Take a seat you two, chairs aint broken y'know."

Being who he was, Kurt was usually a pretty good judge of character. Even if she didn't know what and who he was, it didn't take long for him to figure out he liked Nancy.

"Your father knows huh?" He said dryly as they pulled out a few stools at a somewhat abandoned part of the bar, "Liar liar."

Dani shushed him and shot a glare, as Nancy was on her way back with their drinks. She handed Kurt his water, and didn't seem to mind his gloves, considering how warm it was for spring, then set a tall coke in front of Dani.

As Nancy tried to engage conversation between the two of them, either trying to pry what Dani was up to, or where Kurt was from, Both began to feel even more eyes on them.

As with any bar, there was a variety of people there. Shapes and sizes, occupations, didn't matter. You were welcome at Ellie Mays. And most who came there honored that way of thinking. But they also had a tendency of sticking their noses in where it wasn't wanted. Nancy would shoot a glare every now and then, before finally sighing, giving them an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about this, I'd better go get them their damn beer. That should at least pacify them." She rolled her eyes standing straight and brushing off her apron, "Like a bunch of dumb two year olds, the lot of them."

Dani giggled as she walked away, and turned towards Kurt, "I'd forgotten how awesome Nancy is."

They shared a smile, and both took the time to reacquaint themselves with the inside of the place. 'Place' was probably the only way to describe it accurately. It couldn't rightly be called a restaurant, because while there was food available, it wasn't presented on any type of menu. You just stated what you wanted and if they had the fixings, you'd get it, if they didn't, you picked something else, or left. There was greasy spoon style booths hardwood oak floors, and a square platform where people could dance if they wanted. Of course there was the bar. Soft blue light from underneath the counter illuminated the wall of liquor enticingly and clashing

in an oddly pleasing way with the rest of the warm yellow light in the building. People gathered around one or two pool tables, levels of drunk varying. And in the very corner, hooked up to a good set of speakers and other machines of the kind, was a retro jukebox.

"I remember this…"Dani muttered breathlessly, hopping off her stool and making a beeline for it, taking the long away around to avoid bumping into people.

Kurt watched her jostle with the controls, scrolling through the list of music.

Finally the speakers spluttered to life, and he could hear the sound of a recorded guitar twanging in a content sort of way.

Dani grinned when it seemed everyone in the place paused to listen for a moment, searching through their minds one where they had heard this before. Toby Keith's voice drawled out, and his song 'I Love This Bar' began. People either cheered or nodded their improvement.

If he had to pick, Kurt wouldn't say country was his favorite type of music. Then again, he had rarely heard any, so he didn't have much for comparison. For some reason though, he couldn't picture anything else for this particular place. They just fit together like two perfect puzzle pieces.

In a matter of minutes, the atmosphere turned from suspicious to, like he observed before, content. People were already starting to sway together and hum along on the dance floor.

"How did you know that vould vork?" He asked

Dani shrugged, picking up her glass and rotating it so the bubbles would rise to the surface, "In its own way, Music's kinda its own mutant power, Kurt." She said quietly, "Depending what kind you listen to, it can have just as much control over your mood as your own brain. Like…heavy metal makes you feel wild and crazy, and in a scary way, free. And blues make you feel sad and contemplative."

She smiled, watching a group of people cheer around a pool table, someone had just won the game.

"Country may not be everyone's favorite, but it's got heart. And whether you admit it or not it touches the soul when you hear it. It makes you happy for the simple things and just want to reach out to the people around you and just enjoy life. While you've still got it."

Kurt cocked his head to the side, and took the time to listen. Something he didn't get to do very often. Pretty soon the lyrics were lost on him, and the overall feeling of the song had him lost in thought. He remembered the days at the x-men institute before the blast had happened. Those days where there were no enemies to be fought, and he and the rest of them were just people instead of a different species. It made him miss them, but the song was too lighthearted to let him dwell on it for too long. Instead, it promised that someday, those times would come again, so just relax.

He caught Dani's eye and she smiled knowingly, resting her head on her

arms,

"Told ya so."

Nancy brought them some a couple of burgers 'on the house', tossing a damp dish cloth in the face of one patron brave enough to whine, and they chatted idly while everyone else seemed to get over their curiosity of them gradually, turning their attention to whatever they had done before they came in.

Several truckers were languidly hanging around a TV hanging above the bar, watching whatever was on the news with some interest, but not too much. Kurt winced when he realized that the current report put mutants in a rather unflattering light. Most of the men either shook their head and kept their opinions to themselves, or just didn't have any. One however scoffed.

"Those damn muties aint caused enough of a ruckus already?"

"Put a sock in it Earl!" Nancy surprised them all by snapping, a fearsome look on her face, "We all know it wouldn't matter if you were sitting next to someone BLUE, for Christ's sake. You'd still drink your beer and yack his ear off like you do to this poor lot!"

Kurt blanched and Dani snorted so bad soda dripped from her nose, and started laughing, for completely different reasons everyone else was.

Earl grumbled into his beer with a flush, while Dani was choking, and trying to wipe away tears from both that and mirth. Kurt was embarrassed even if Dani was the only one who knew why, and discreetly poked her side with his tail.

"Hush up you." He mumbled, but couldn't fight a smile when she swatted at his hand good naturedly.

Nancy giggled and cleared their plates, before leaning on the counter with an expression like a cat that got the cream. Kurt was thankful it was pointed at Dani, and not him.

"Alright you two, you got your food and drinks, but I never said there wasn't a catch…"

Dani reached for her wallet, but Nancy stopped her with a hand, "Keep your money, I want something else I haven't been treated to in a long long time."

Dani stared at her uncomprehendingly until Nancy pointed towards the stereo systems again, where Kurt finally realized, tucked away, there was also a karaoke machine. Well this took an interesting turn.

Dani paled then flushed in embarrassment, hissing, "Nancy no, absolutely not"

"Oh come on, we couldn't get you off that thing when you were little."

"That's cuz I was young and stupid!"

Nancy rolled her eyes, "Drama queen. You had such a sweet little voice back then, I wanna hear it all grown up!"

Dani groaned, covering her face, "Nancyyyy," she whined.

But the older woman was having none of it. She walked around the bar and shooed her out of her seat towards it, "One song, that's all I ask. It'll be good for you! Off you go then!"

Dani looked to Kurt for help, and for a second it looked like he was contemplating it, then he shrugged. The same reaction she'd given him at the gas station with the kid earlier that day. He made similar shooing motions with his hands as Nancy was doing.

'You little..'

"I hate you! Both of you!" She exclaimed, stomping away towards the system.

Both adults chuckled, and Nancy leaned on the counter next to Kurt, "No she doesn't, don't worry. She's just nervous is all."

Kurt was careful to keep his head down and out of sight with the woman so close to him, but he was still curious.

"You say she was a lot more open about her talents when she was younger, what do you think happened?"

Nancy took a moment to pause, rubbing the back of her neck and letting out an uncomfortable sigh, "Not really my place to say, sugar. But….last time me and her daddy spoke, shortly after Dani entered middle school she was getting picked on something fearsome. Never heard if it got any better as time went on.."

They both watched as Dani slowly reacquainted herself with the machine she was such good friends with years ago. Kurt was secretly thrown for a loop, you wouldn't think after spending some time with her Dani would be the type to let herself be bullied.

As if she read his mind, Nancy shook her head sadly, "Something like that...it can break you in the worst of ways, and it ain't always obvious to the naked eye."

That he could understand, perhaps better than anyone. A few of the puzzles pieces surrounding Dani were starting to slide into place. He nodded, "You're right."

Even if she was a little reluctant to admit it herself, Kurt still considered Dani a friend more than an acquaintance now. He could only wish in the time they had left together, she would open up to him and he'd get the whole story.

Dani finally had the system hooked up so it would show her the lyrics of whatever song she chose, which she was working on at the moment.

She huffed, blowing a piece of hair out of her face as she did a full loop through their choices.

'Of course anything but country isn't on here, what was I thinking' she thought sarcastically.

Now that she was being forced completely out of her comfort zone, she was making a tremendous effort not to freak out. That's all she needed, making a scene…well bigger a one than she was about to make.

'C'mon Dani," she tried to reason with herself, 'You sang for Kurt earlier and it wasn't so bad…well that's cuz I swore him to silence but…Ugh, Nancy, I'm gonna kill you.'

She was about to scroll through the song choices again, when she was blinded from the front with a loud click. Someone had switched on the spotlight.

She was about to make good on her previous thought, glaring in the direction of the bar, when she realized something.

Even though the spotlight succeeded in pointing her out like a Cactus in a Daisy garden, it also did a fabulous job of blinding her from any watching eyes. They just looked like grey shifting blobs from where she stood.

Just a little bit, that nervous kumquat of nervousness rolling around like a marble in her stomach shrank to a mere pit. It was still nerve-wracking, being on stage, putting herself out there like she was. But it was better at least,

'Thanks Nancy, ' she thought grudgingly, 'Alright…that's at least a bit of stage fright taken care of, now come on…singing's always been fun for you, and that shouldn't change now, no matter who's watching. So have fun.'

She kept glancing at the music, carefully, until one snagged something inher memory, and she nodded selecting it. Immediately the beginning instrumentals started up, and her stomach dropped.

'Easy now, you can do this. Remember, it's just you up here, doing what you love and having fun.' She bounced one of her heels on the floor in time to the beat, like she had seen Avril do when she played guitar or sang. It was helping her lose herself into the music before she had to open her mouth.

Kurt was nodding his head, watching her carefully, 'That's right Leibchen, no need to be afraid.'

There was a final, cheerful strumming of a guitar on the recorded track, then Dani took a deep breath

"Baby whaddya say we just get lost, leave this one horse town like two rebels without a cause,"

"Hell yeah! Jo Dee Messina!" Nancy cheered, clapping her hands in encouragement along with another few patrons. Kurt hurrying to do the same, as it was quite easy to see that for all her coping, Dani was about ready to fall over from nerves.

"I've got people in Boston, aint your daddy still in De Moines? We can pack up tomorrow, tonight lets flip a coin.."

Dani tapped the rhythm on her thigh with her hand, then instinctively reached up to cup the mike, mimicking as much as felt right from other singers she's seen on TV, "Heads Carolina, Tails California, somewhere greener somewhere warmer, up in the mountains, down by the ocean, where it don't matter as long as we're going." She nodded her head, finallyletting a tiny smile quirk tentatively to her lips, "Somewhere together, ive got a quarter, Heads Carolina, tails California!"

Kurt new she wouldn't believe him if he told her, (that and she'd probably threaten to hit him too) But she was a natural. True, sometimes she got so into the music that she jerked a little too much and made her voice sound shaky, but that was just inexperience. Just by listening you could tell the girl had raw, honest talent. He hoped his fangs didn't glow with how much he was grinning.

Dani, not really even thinking about it, searched the crowd of blobs when there was a break for instrumental again. As she had observed before, the spotlight did a good job of drowning out pretty much everyone from sight.

Except for a pair of golden yellow eyes, and a flashing white grin, who she could tell by the movement was clapping along with the rest of the crowd.

For the first time since she had gotten on the stage, Dani gave a real, sincere smile that she shared with her new friend.

"Boy we're bound to outrun the bad luck that's tailing us!"

"Heads Carolina, tails California, somewhere greener, somewhere warmer,

up in the mountains, down by the ocean, where it don't matter, as long as

we're goin somewhere together, ive got a quarter,"

"Heads Carolina, Tails California!"