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Whenever feeling stressed or just needing to be alone, the roof had always been Ororo's retreat to relax and clear her mind. Occasionally, in their younger years, Jean had followed her up there but mostly she had it to herself.

Thus, when she used her powers to fly herself onto the roof only to find someone else already there, she was a bit surprised…and just a tad irritated to have her sanctuary invaded, however irrational she knew the feeling to be.

Kurt Wagner looked up as he felt the wind blowing. As before in the abandoned church, he raised his hand as if to hide himself, or even prepared to teleport away, but when he realized it was Ororo, he lowered his guard and watched out of the corner of his eye as Ororo settled beside him.

"I see I'm not the only one who likes to escape to the heights," Ororo smiled as she looked towards the sky and smiled at its beauty.

Kurt's smile was somewhere between shy and sly as he responded;

"Yes, I've always found it peaceful."

"Me too."

After that, they both stood in silence for a few minutes, just watching the sky as the soft wind blew through their hair. Finally, Ororo took a deep breath, still feeling the hardship of what had happened at Alkali Lake…and the fact that all of them were still not over it. Kurt noticed the sudden change in her posture.

"Are you alright?" He asked. "Would you like me to leave?"

Ororo quickly shook her head.

"No...it's not you. I'm just worried...about Scott."

"He still misses the one who died at the lake? Professor Grey?"

"We all do."

Another few moments of silence passed between the two before Kurt suddenly blurted out;

"So, did you grow up here?"

Ororo hid her surprise.

"No, I was born in Kenya. The Professor found me when the village I lived at was attacked and brought me back here."

"Ah, I myself was born in Munich. My parents gave me away after I was born."

Ororo couldn't say she was surprised by that, but still.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was for the best. I was left in Munich, and what you call…Gypsies raised me. They are not so afraid of difference in my apperance."

Ororo nodded.

"So, how did you end up here?"

At this question, Kurt turned his head to the side and looked away in shame.

"I rather not talk about it."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's okay…" he responded almost…sadly.

Reaching out, Ororo gently touched Kurt's arm.

"A lot of our students…and teachers for that matter, have things in their pasts they don't want to talk about. Don't worry about it."

Kurt smiled. It really was a charming smile, once one got past the teeth.

"Thank you, Ororo."

Ororo smiled back.

"Your welcome, Kurt."

Then abruptly, the smile fell off her face. What was she doing her here on the roof, chatting with Kurt? Jean was dead, and she needed to talk to the Professor and Scott about her funeral.

Kurt noticed her sudden change of expression.

"What is wrong?" he asked, not in a nosy way, but with genuine concern.

Ororo hesitated, unsure how much she should share with the newcomer, but in the last few days, she'd gathered that Kurt was now a part of this place, taken in by Xavier just as all of them had been once.

"This morning, I called Jean's parents and told them about her death. They want to have a funeral for her, but I haven't mentioned it to The Professor yet."

"It is good to have a funeral. Her soul must know that she is mourned and missed. And it will bring closure to her loved ones."

"I'm afraid our customs aren't the same as yours, and believe me if there is such a thing as soul and Jean is still around, she'd see how much we-"

Ororo stopped, her eyes filling and her hands beginning to shake, her features twisting as she tried to keep from sobbing.

Kurt reached out and took the coffee mug from her fingers, then just sat down beside her as Ororo began to cry.

"We miss her…I miss her…"

She did. Ororo tried not to think about it but she really did miss her as she knew everyone else did. Scott missed her and was now trying to bury himself in work in order to forget about it. The Professor was trying to keep the school in order but she knew he had to be hurting too.

And Logan...and the kids. She wondered if things would be the same again after this.

"It's alright," Kurt whispered, gently wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

As Kurt was comforting Ororo on the roof, Logan made his way though the mansion. He needed to get out of this place for a while, maybe find a bar in town.

As he made his way to the garage, his thoughts went back to Scott and the last conversation he had with him a few days ago.

"She did make a choice, it was you."

Logan hadn't meant anything cruel by that, it was only after the words were out of his mouth that he'd realized how stupid that had sounded. But Scott had already stalked off.

"Damn," he muttered as he reached his destination and sat down on one of the motorcycles, then wondered why he cared at all if he had hurt one-eye's feelings.

He damn sure wasn't sticking around for Scott's sake.

Finally, Logan turned the key in the ignition and drove out of the garage door, happy to finally be getting away from everyone else in the mansion.

He was alone, which was how he preferred it.