The lake was beautiful this time of year. This early in the summer the water was almost warm and the sun never beat down quite so strongly. Still, for someone as fair as Jean, sunscreen was a must. She was slathering herself with it while she was sitting in the foyer waiting for everyone. The bathing suit she bought was a modest bikini, cherry red with a matching sarong. She had noticed while trying on swim suits that her body was in excellent condition. Not that it hadn't been acceptable before, but she looked like she remembered looking in college. So, she hadn't felt the least bit guilty about buying the two-piece. The last few years she had taken to buying one-piece suits, but she was feeling playful at the mall. Her and Storm had not had a good girls day out since forever ago. Not only did she get the swim suit (and Storm got one too), but they went for manicures, pedicures and got their hair trimmed. Jean felt like a million bucks. Then Logan walked into the room, and she felt like twenty million.
Jean had decided to wear her suit down to the lake, and had just thrown a pair of old shorts on over it, putting her sunglasses, sarong, and first aid kit in a small bag to carry with her. Logan looked approvingly at the bikini top. A little TOO approvingly, because Marie had to walk over and tell him to quit drooling all over the expensive rug.
Soon everyone was present and accounted for, and they headed out to the lake. It was just a short walking distance from the mansion; about a mile into the woods. Just as Jubilee was starting to complain, there it was. Jean had forgotten how large and still it was. There was an old dock, and a tree that hung over the lake far enough to warrant a swinging rope. As soon as the kids saw it, they ran towards it. The students had few opportunities to just be kids, so they were going to squeeze every ounce of fun out of this afternoon as possible.
Jean, Logan, Storm, Hank and Warren (who wasn't much for swimming because of his wings) set up camp on the shore a ways down from the dock and swing. After they laid out blankets, towels and lawn chairs, first thing Logan did was pull a six-pack out of the cooler he brought.
"That's quite an example for the younger generation, friend." said Hank. Logan ignored him. Jean and Storm only rolled their eyes. Logan would be Logan.
The women went to lay out in the sun by the little beach. Once they were out of earshot, Storm turned to Jean and giggled "That bikini is really working, isn't it?" Jean turned pink.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, 'Ro." Mumbled Jean, using her older nickname for Storm in hopes she would get sentimental and drop the subject.
"Oh, no you don't!" Storm responded, "I know that trick. And you most certainly DO know what I'm talking about! I've been watching you watch Logan watch you…"
"Huh?" Jean said, and then laughed.
"You know what I mean!" responded a flustered Storm. "He's been looking at you like a wolf looks at a deer. You also knew that he would the moment you bought that suit." She looked quite pleased with herself, but then Jean started tearing up.
"What? What is it, Jean? Look, I'm sorry! I was only teasing! Aw, Jean, sweetie I'm so sorry." Storm frantically apologized.
"No, no, it's no that." said the redhead, her voice thick with emotion. "It's just that, I feel so bad when I do this." She gestured vaguely at her swim suit.
"What? Honey it looks great! In fact, I'm kind of jealous…"
"No, I mean, when I play around with Logan like this." She paused and bit her lower lip, but her friend nodded for her to continue. "I still am missing Scott, and I feel guilty about being attracted to Logan. I flirt with him all the time and I know that he would gladly be with me, but I can't. It's too soon! And I feel like I'm leading him on by playing along and flirting and buying skimpy clothes…" she started crying in earnest now. She was embarrassed because this was not like her at all. She was never one to wallow in sadness or guilt, she had always been a person who would rather spend time coming up with a solution. She fleetingly thought it might be the grief affecting her. She had only really been through one other loss, and that was when she was still a child. They say that children are more resilient, that they bounce back quicker, right? Plus, she had had more problems to deal with than the death of her friend Annie; she also had to deal with her emerging mutation which had been brought about by the event.
Storm put her arm around Jean, offering silent comfort, since she didn't know what to say. After a few minutes she stopped crying. They sat there in the sun, each deep in their own thoughts. They were both startled as Logan plopped down next to Jean on the ground.
"Looks like you need this more than I do." he said as he handed Jean a beer. To everyone's surprise, she took it.
"Thanks."
"No problem, Red." He thought it best not to mention he had heard their entire conversation. Warren and Hank had been discussing politics, so they hadn't heard a thing. Logan was disappointed, but not discouraged. He could wait. For Jean, he could wait a very long time…
The kids had a blast that day. Bobby was flinging snowballs that he made out of lake water he froze, and everyone spent the day dodging them. To no one's surprise, Jubilee brought a squirt gun, and was not afraid to use it. Kitty and Peter, who had once been an item, swam curiously apart from the rest of the students. After the incident between her and Bobby, she had begun to reevaluate the benefits of an unattached man. Plus, Jubilee liked Peter. She was forever arguing with her roommate about boys. Jubilee had strongly disapproved of Kitty and Bobby, and had told her about it all the time.
Dinner was eaten over by the teachers. Linda had made sandwiches and potato salad, and packed Cokes and chips. After they ate, everyone was too tired to go out and swim any more. They all sat on the shore and watched the sunset quietly, for the most part. Nothing aside from larynx removal could shut Jubilee up for very long.
As they were packing up to head home, Logan made his way over to where Jean was putting a band-aid on the knee of a small girl he didn't remember the name of. She was still sniffling.
"It's ok Rayne, sweetheart, it's only a scrape. Just be more careful along the rocks next time, they're slippery." The girl nodded and walked away slowly in the direction of some other young students. Jean was packing up her first-aid kit in her bag, and didn't notice Logan right away.
"Not only are you a teacher an' a doctor, you're a mommy too, huh?" He teased. Jean spun around, startled.
"Oh! Logan." She laughed. "Yeah, I guess I'm a mother-figure for some of the little ones who never had a good mother of their own." She said, a little more seriously. He nodded. There was an awkward moment until Storm called to them both that they were leaving. Logan and Jean turned and started walking back to the mansion, acting as a rear guard so that none of the students got lost or left behind. They walked in silence for a while, until Jean stumbled. Logan's hand went out automatically to steady her. He held her arm while she regained her balance.
"Stupid roots…" she mumbled. Logan's hand began to slide away, but she grabbed it in her own. She didn't really know why. For all her talk of feeling guilty about Logan, somehow this didn't feel wrong. He looked surprised, but it turned into a smile. Jean was waiting for a smart-aleck comment, but it didn't come. So they walked back to the mansion that way; hand in hand, silently.