Hi, guys! It's been awhile since I updated, but my awesome beta a href=".net/u/3115641/Jeanniebird"Jeanniebird/a (who I've practically just met, BTW) has gotten me back on track. Hopefully she'll keep the updates coming :)

So, yeah. Read, enjoy, and throw me a review!


James had been hiding in the staff room for an unusually short time when Jean found him crouching on top of one of the cherrywood supply cabinets. He didn't move until she called his name, convinced that she wouldn't recognize him if he stood absolutely, completely still. Although he slid down to the floor with an oddly detached wariness, Jean could sense a good amount of surprise emanating from him. She couldn't tell what he was surprised at for sure - as per usual, she couldn't fully interpret the boy's thoughts - but she assumed that the stray emotion had something to do with her finding him at all.

"Hi, James," she said, and smiled. First impressions would be important with this boy...he didn't like doctors. She'd have to bring that little detail up at just the right time.

James hovered at the door, unsure. She seemed nice, and she hadn't brought Ororo along with her, but she was novel and unknown. He decided to wait and see what she would do. Jean took this as a good sign. "I'm Miss Grey," she said calmly; then, playing innocent, she added, "How long have you been here?"

He shifted towards her. "Just today."

She nodded and sat on the floor. "I see. It's a big place, isn't it?"

He gave her a short nod.

"Where's your room, on the second floor? Are you with your brother or someone else?"

"Someone else," he replied, seeming to relax into the short, unobtrusive questions she was asking him. "Haven't met 'im though. S'not good upstairs."

Jean raised her eyebrows in gentle curiosity. "Why not?"

James wrinkled his nose. "Smells. 'Sides, I haven't met the other one. Gotta share a room with 'im." Jean nodded in agreement, and the boy decided to continue. "I'd rather be outside. Too many people in here. I didn't notice it before." He frowned at some stray ghost of a concern, then stepped a little closer to Jean. The doctor sensed several things at once…severe longing, guilt, disbelief, and powerfully instinctive mistrust all tied together into one strong wave of emotion. She was now incredibly curious about what he was thinking about, but she couldn't afford to let him see her interest...not even in scent. She alerted the Professor about finding the boy, but also asked him to keep the others from looking in the staff room for a while, so she could talk to James in private. Having done that, she smiled at James. "It is a little stuffy in the school, isn't it?" she agreed. "There are a lot of people here. But they don't come in this room, it's only for the staff members. Us teachers really just use it to do our paperwork." She watched James hesitate, then sit down in front of her and eye her carefully.

"I killed Mr. Creed."

Jean was taken aback. Xavier had told none of the teachers about the feral brothers' past, insisting that it would be better for them to get that kind of information from the boys themselves, and adding that a new start was the best way to proceed anyway. Scott had wanted to know more - after all, he'd had to pick them up - and both Jean and Hank had agreed at the time. But now Jean knew that bringing this up at the meeting would have raised some safety-related questions that would probably have denied the Howlett boys their new home. Even now, especially now, Jean couldn't say she was happy that Charles had overlooked that particular conversation. She felt somewhat betrayed that Xavier would leave something this important out of a routine admissions panel; she hoped her irritation was crossing her constant telepathic link with the Professor.

"What happened?" was all she could think to say.

"He killed my father." He'd looked down at his feet now, which were bare, and he was picking at the stitching of his jeans. "I hate 'im. But not that much, it just happened. An' Victor won't leave it alone."

Jean was now truly worried for James. This was obviously current, otherwise the boys wouldn't be fighting over it, but she didn't understand why Victor would be bothering James about it. They were brothers, so why would he be so raucous as to tease the younger feral about killing his father? Wouldn't he be hurting, too? "What does Victor say to you?" she asked.

James looked at her again, and Jean met his eyes. "He notices all the stuff I do and picks on it. An' he rags on father." James narrowed his eyes. "He didn't care 'bout either one of 'em, but it's not my fault."

"Why did Mr. Creed kill your father?"

"Dunno. He was drunk."

Jean sat up a little straighter, understanding that there was more to this than she would probably ever know...more, in fact, than he would probably ever remember, or understand himself. Family details were not usually within the realm of young children's comprehension. But she could see that there was probably some sort of abuse involved here, and she knew for a fact that high stress could trigger mutation in people of all ages. It could certainly have caused the boys to grow into their genes. "Was that the night that strange things started happening to you? The healing, and the bones in your arms, those kinds of things?" She finished the last and final question she would allow herself to ask. He couldn't be suspicious of her...it seemed, at the moment, that she was the only person he trusted here.

James gave her another short nod.

She leaned over a bit then, just enough to get his attention without making him nervous again, and put one finger on his knee. He jumped at the touch but didn't get up, just watched her with wary golden eyes.

"This is not your fault," she said.

His eyes narrowed.

"James, listen to me. If Mr. Creed was being cruel to you, it does not make him right to have done it, just because you did something bad in return. It's not OK to do violent things to people, but it's not OK for them to be mean to you, either. You're a nice boy, I can tell just by talking to you. And if you couldn't help what happened, don't worry. The best thing to do in a situation like that is to not get involved." She gently rapped a knuckle on his knee, then stood up. He scrambled to his feet as well, unnaturally quick to get his balance, watching her with unsureness in his eyes. She could feel some sort of confusion growing in his thoughts, which confused her as well, as it made no sense whatsoever...unless she'd assumed the wrong thing about his family situation. But he was obviously still thinking about her words. She smiled. "Change is a good thing. Now c'mon, let's go meet your roommate."