A/N:Thanks again to all who reviewed and are following this story. I am really sorry about the slow updates, I'm presently reviewing for my board exams. Advance apologies for the chappy being a little more serious than the previous ones, and for not including little Rachel in it... believe me I had no idea how to write her in this chappy don't know if it would have worked with her in it anyway.
I almost felt guilty at the idea of pulling apart Jean and Scott after Ranko's review (btw are you a Jott shipper? I'd really like to know... kinda got that impression from your review. Not that I'd come after ya with a pitchfork or anything of the sort hehehe). Of course, almost being the operative word...
For those who are following A Place Called Home, I am also sorry about the delay in updates for that story. For some reason my muse has chosen to come up with blanks for scenes in that one... but it hasn't been abandoned. Now might be a good time to ask if any of you would like to be my beta...
Chapter 3
It was a good thing Elizabeth 'Betsy' Braddock, codename Psylocke borrowed Rachel for her opinion in dresses for her date with Warren later that evening. The last thing Jean wanted was for Rachel to think that it's acceptable to misbehave around Logan just because Scott has issues with the feral mutant.
Of course Scott waited until Logan and the junior team left for dinner before he started. He couldn't afford to let Logan's hyper senses pick up on the fact he was the source of their little "talk".
After six years of agreeing to never go to bed angry with each other, Logan would most probably prove to be the deal breaker. Logan's habit of breaking the rules was beginning to rub off them in more ways than one, Jean thought sourly.
"If I hadn't walked in I'm sure he'd have his hands on your ass." Scott was pacing across the bedroom of their suite in the Mansion.
"It wasn't like that. He wanted to clear the air between us." Jean was getting a headache from watching her husband's movements as she sat on the edge of their king sized bed.
"That's the other thing why are you determined to let him be a part of our family, its not like he gave a damn for six years. Not a call, a letter – nothing. And as soon as he walks in you welcome him like a long lost relative."
Oh please, as if Logan's absenteeism really upset you...
"What did you want me to do? Tell him he isn't welcome or that he isn't allowed to talk to Rachel?"
"Reminding him that you're married and to keep his paws to himself would have sufficed."
"I told you..." She sighed in frustration, she was repeating herself. She knew Scott was not even listening to her explanation because he's set his mind on one scenario alone. And if her words were not going to fit with his conclusion they was going to go around in circles till it finally did.
She tried another approach. "Scott where's all this coming from?"
"I don't trust him."
Jean couldn't help but snort. "You've never trusted him but this is the first time you're acting like this."
"I'm glad to see you think I'm being ridiculous about this." He stopped pacing and glared at her. She could feel his eyes boring into her from behind the ruby visors. "I never understood why you always felt the need to defend him. Even now."
"Are you jealous?"
She immediately felt his mental shields go up.
"No," he said his voice taking on a tense tone. "I told you. I don't trust him, with you or my daughter."
He simply had to call Rachel his daughter as if she were property. This was so unlike him, even for his occasional lapses into insanity.
"For someone who is so tolerant of the hatred of strangers, it still amazes me you can't extend that same tolerance towards someone you know, a team mate none-the-less."
"Former team mate." Scott corrected. "And the reason that I don't tolerate him is because I do know him. I know his kind, and he's not to be trusted. Jean, you of all people should know that."
She flinched. He isn't going to bring that up is he?
"You're not upset because he was holding my hand, you're upset because Logan and I reconciled."
She could see Scott's jaw tighten at her words, his nostrils flared. And she knew, despite the raised mental shields that she was right.
But why wouldn't he want that?
"Scott is it so terrible for all of us to get along? Don't you think its about time to start with a clean slate and forget the past? If I can make peace with it why can't you?"
Scott strode towards the nightstand, and he picked up the brown folder on it. Warren had earlier given Scott two folders both containing copies of Logan's list. The second copy was Scott's to do as he pleased.
"Look," he said his voice cold. "You do what you want, but don't expect me to make nice with him. And if I don't like the way he looks at you, don't blame me for blasting him out on the lawn. Grass needs fertilizing anyway."
"Where are you going?" She stood up from the edge of the bed as he turned away from her.
But he was already shutting the door to their room, a few seconds later she heard the door to their suite open and then close.
Scott was angry, that was a given. But she caught something else on his way out. Something he was trying to hide from her.
It was fear.
XxX
Sneaking around at four in the morning was not something Scott Summers was proud of. And he knew without a trace of doubt that what he had been doing for the past hour would most likely earn his wife's wrath. A distant voice in his head buzzed that he should be worried.
He was trying to re-establish a video link with the Maker, the mutant inventor otherwise known as Forge. Scott stared at the computer screen in his office, fascinated by the animated bar that burned a semi-permanent image in the back of his skull flashing the message 'trying to reconnect'.
The first time the message appeared he was hopeful. By the fifth time it appeared, he accused the computer of being a sadistic liar. By the eighth time the message appeared, he could barely control his fingers from flying to his visor and blasting the damnable machine out of the window. By the tenth time he was hypnotized by the animated bar, hoping that there was indeed truth to its promise of 'trying to reconnect', even if it obviously was not 'trying' hard enough...
Scott concluded that he abhorred dial-up connections. His initial worry of the ten page data taking half a day to download from Forge's end might not be so far fetched after all. Thank god for old fashioned reliable fax.
Renting out the only beach side villa in Cape Town, South Africa with a dial-up connection was the brainchild of Jean and Ororo. And as Scott discovered the villa was outside the coverage range of cellulars when he tried to reach Forge's number earlier. This exercise in isolation couldn't have been better planned if Forge and Ororo paddled themselves halfway to Antarctica.
God knows both he and Forge, argued to Jean and Ororo that should an emergency come up, dial-up was not the medium either of them wanted to communicate through.
In response, Jean and Ororo looked at each other, and without missing a heart beat, Jean flipped open her cell phone and reserved the villa right there and then. It only confirmed what he had always suspected about his wife and her best friend, that they did not trust their significant others to go on a vacation without succumbing to the overwhelming urge to check up on the Mansion.
Okay so maybe, last year on his vacation he had been a little too concerned with Forge's modifications on the Blackbird. In his defense, he was only online with Forge during the evenings, when Jean was supposed to be asleep. Forge obligingly gave him detailed accounts of the modifications, which they discussed at great lengths - it was the Blackbird after all.
The downside of course, he wanted to sleep during the day because their discussions ran well into the wee hours of the morning. He's certain that it's the memory of that vacation that inspired Jean to warn him – no, threaten him. He was not to disturb either Ororo or Forge during their vacation under pain of death.
The eleventh attempt to reconnect was the charm.
"You realize this favor qualifies as work don't you?" Forge said as soon as their video conference resumed.
"I am. I was going to ask for your expertise in this matter anyway. Just thought it was better to have this conversation when it was more convenient for you."
It was almost noon in Cape Town according to the world clock he'd goggled.
Forge nodded in silent agreement. "I guess its a good thing that 'Ro and I decided to have lunch back here instead of going out."
"How is 'Ro?"
Forge's head suddenly turned to his left, and he answered. "You can ask her yourself."
Scott's forehead furrowed in concern, he hoped 'Ro's control of the weather – or lightning – didn't span over continents.
Ororo beamed as her face appeared on the screen. "Hello Scott. How is everyone back there in the Mansion?"
Thank god, she sounded genuinely glad to find him online.
"Pretty much the same since you left. By the way, Logan's back."
"Goddess be blessed, that's wonderful news has he come back for good?"
"He hasn't said anything definite."
"Are Jean and Logan finally speaking to each other?"
Scott pursed his lips in a thin hard line. He felt white heat burning in his chest, as the memory of Logan holding Jean's hand in the kitchen rushed to the fore.
Speaking to each other?
He's certain Logan's definition of 'speaking' boiled down to several of rounds of tonsil hockey with Jean. Does he have to put a power drill through Logan's thick adamantium skull to make him understand that Jean already made her choice?
Couldn't he have the common sense to just move on, and prey on some random, younger woman after six years? There couldn't possibly be a shortage of auburn haired, available women in the world. Or the unavailable ones for that matter.
He began to itch for a reason to blast Logan's sorry carcass back to what ever decade he hailed from.
"And why wouldn't they be talking to each other?"
Ororo cheeks visibly reddened, and her blue eyes blinked with obvious surprise.
Scott mentally berated himself, 'Ro didn't deserve to have her head bitten off like that. Is it always going to be like this every time Logan comes crashing back into their lives?
"Well, it would be a shame if I missed him due to my vacation. I do hope he will still be there when we get back." Ororo's voice remained polite and without heat.
Before Scott could apologize for his outburst, Forge spoke.
"What exactly am I looking for in this list Scott?"
"I was hoping you'd tell me. Does anything there stand out as unusual or strange? It's the list Logan asked Warren to put together."
"Who is this Logan?"
And it was the wind rider who provided the answer. He could see Forge listening intently as he took in a brief history of who Logan was. Scott couldn't hear all that the weather goddess said, but he caught a few words.
"Did Logan say why he needed this list?" Forge returned to Scott.
"We haven't really discussed anything as of now. He only said he was trying to locate someone, in relation with technology theft over the past three years. Though I doubt all of the thefts on that list are the work of one person."
"You can say that again, some of the items here are actually obsolete, I have a hard time imagining it would be of much use to anyone. I pity the newbie who went through the trouble of stealing them in the first place. The poor sucker probably didn't know the first thing about technology or espionage."
"Anything else?"
"Well, there are at least two things here that could be used in nuclear warfare."
"Maybe sold to terrorists?" Scott offered.
"Yeah, it could swing that way. Might even be worth a bidding war. Is this the whole list?"
"No, I'm still trying to fax you the rest. It's ten pages, by the way."
He caught Forge's look of distaste, even the fax machine was acting up. For the last hour, Forge managed to receive five pages, the rest of the documents insisted on coming out as garbled junk. The slow connection and the temperamental fax was grinding Forges' patience to nil.
"So far that's all I got, I'll try calling you back after I get a good look at this."
Scott smiled. "Thanks Forge, really means a lot to me you're doing this."
"No rest for the wicked."
"'Ro enjoy the rest of your vacation. By the way, do you want to leave a message for anyone back here?"
"I think it's in your best interest I do not leave one..." And she laughed.
The memory of Jean's warning echoed in his head - I'll skin you alive Slim.
"Right. I'll talk to you later then Forge."
"Bye."
