Chapter Seven: Welcome Back

The evening after K and Logan returned from their vendetta quest, the little family was graced by a visit from a very anxious looking Kitty Pryde-Rasputin. She was unsettled and tense … and antsy.

Of course, K waved her in, concerned that she might be having trouble so close to her due date … or that the baby might be on its way a little sooner than Kitty was expecting. "What's goin' on, punkin'?" Logan asked as she made her way over to the couch and very carefully sat down.

"Oh… just really tired of being left behind."

"You do know you have to get the baby out first, right?" K teased.

"I know, I just … don't want to be at the house right now, okay?" Kitty frowned deeper for a moment - and that had both ferals sharing a look and Kitty's entire disposition seemed to be crumbling into more panic.

"Why aren't you with Hank?" Logan asked, much more alarmed as she tried desperately to calm herself down and he got close enough to get a decent whiff of her. It was quickly very clear that she was in the middle of a contraction by the way she was trying to squirm away from the pain in her back. When it passed she answered him as he tried to get her more comfortable, rubbing her back and working on a few pressure points.

"He's on a mission," Kitty said sounding more upset. "I didn't tell him I thought I was in labor … there's been so many false starts …"

"Yeah, you should have said something," Logan told her as he looked up at K, and she picked up the comm to talk to someone at the house.

"Celia's supposed to be on her way, but I don't know when she's supposed to be here," Kitty replied. There were tear tracks down her face and she was shaking, but there wasn't much they could do - and they were not going to try to make her move when she was in so much pain.

"Just relax if you can, punkin'," Logan said.

K was waiting for Hank to get back to her when Kitty's water broke."A couple hours out?" K said in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

"We're doing all we can to get back faster," Hank promised. "Kurt has been knocked unconscious, but honestly- Celia is supposed to be there soon."

K looked at Logan with a deadly serious expression. The kids were had been already put to sleep in their beds. "We have to get her up there."

"No – I can't. I can't walk that far," Kitty said as the next one hit - clearly stronger than the one before. "I've tried. I was out at the barn. No one's around really around … all on that mission." K could see that Kitty was worn already. And that was not a good sign.

"Why were you out here when you thought you might be in labor?" Logan asked with a frown as he tried to help her get comfortable.

"I was walking to try and get it rolling," Kitty defended looking more and more miserable. "Clearly that was a mistake!"

"Okay, come on. You're gonna try to get comfortable and rest until Celia shows, alright?" K told Kitty, simply stepping in to take charge of the situation as best she could. Kitty nodded and Logan helped her to their bedroom to lay down. Once she was in bed, Logan did what he could to make her more comfortable while K started the full court press on anyone with a medical degree.

"You oughta be a little more comfortable now," Logan said softly as he pulled a blanket over her. "Can't do much, but I'm here if you need me."

Kitty gave him a sheepish sort of smile before turning on her side. "Can you just … rub my back … please?" Of course, he simply nodded and did as she asked, pressing hard as she asked for it. But that only had him looking toward K with a clear 'where the hell are they' expression. There was no doubt his little pumpkin was in full labor now.

K shrugged when Kitty couldn't see it and called up to the house - moving to cell phones just to get direct lines. "Listen," K said quietly as she watched Kitty from the living room, "Kitty's in labor. Like full on she-is-having-this-baby-right-now labor. We can't move her, she's too far in it. Will you please send down everything Celia might need and tell her to light a damn fire and get here, please? We can try to keep her calm until then, but Jean … there's only so much we can do here without a pro."

"What?" Jean almost hissed, clearly upset. "Celia was supposed to be here over an hour ago! I'll find her. In the meantime, I'll send down Kurt with the supplies. I'll be there too as soon as I find Celia. Everyone else is still on the mission," Jean said. Her tone held a note of honest panic, but at the same time, she was more than a little angry. "I told Piotr he needed to stick around!"

"Yeah, well, just do me a favor and wake up Jubilee and the girls if they're not up already. If Celia doesn't get here in time we may need someone to sit with the kids, too," K said.

"Oh, Rachel and I will be down, too," Jean promised. "Just … I don't know. Try to keep her calm. I know you can't slow it down if she gets moving."

"Yeah, well … you need to be here then," K said. "I did surgery, remember? You're closer to an expert."

"Right," Jean said, and K could almost see her decisive nod. "Be right down."

As K hung up the phone, Kitty was doing her best to keep from screaming out as the next contraction hit her and Logan did his best to keep her calm, which was great, but still … not who Kitty was expecting to coach her through her first born. K turned away from Kitty as she worked through her pain, taking a moment to peek in on the sleeping little ones in the next room over before returning to Kitty.

"Take a look, please," Kitty said, trying to rearrange herself.

"I don't really …" K caught the expression on both of their faces and blew out her breath. "I've only done this for horses. And if I see hooves, we're going to have a serious talk."

Kitty let out a breath of a laugh. "That is the most sneaky way I've ever heard someone call Piotr a stubborn ass."

"Well if the horseshoe fits," K muttered as she picked up the blanket and took a peek.

"Katherine Anne, I don't know who you pissed off in your past life to deserve this, but you're having this baby right now. I can see the head," K told her - which only had Kitty starting to panic. "Jean is on her way down now … she knows more about this than I do, so just ...get wherever it's least painful and when you're ready, go for it. We're here for you."

Kitty had paled to nearly sheet white. "No – not yet, Piotr isn't here. I can't do this without him."

"That's a damn lie and you know it," Logan told her over her shoulder. "You're stronger than him on his best day." The words were right, but Logan was honestly glad that Kitty didn't see his expression because he incredibly anxious on her behalf. Of course, a bit of relief hit all of them as a soft 'bamf' could be heard just outside the front door. Logan gave Kitty's hand a squeeze, kissed her on the forehead and slipped out to let Kurt in letting K take his place.

She let Kitty lean against her as she caught her breath. "Hey, I know, it's scary. But that little one has decided now is the time, ready or not."

Jean stepped in as Kitty started to cry, and made her way over to help out. "You're looking great, Kitty," Jean said with an encouraging smile. "Just breathe, follow your body. I will help as much as I can, but … it looks like you're doing the hardest part already." Kitty was ready to argue when she had to push again, grasping at K who was steadying her.

Jubilee and the girls followed Kurt's dramatic arrival with Jean and quickly zipped into the kids' room while Logan and Kurt tried to keep out of the way as much as possible in the living room, ready to jump in if Kitty asked for them.

"Celia was caught behind a car accident. They wouldn't let her pass," Jean explained, taking Kitty's hand before she closed her eyes and psychically blocked some of the pain receptors for her. Kitty let out a breath of relief before she called for Logan to come in. He took up the spot opposite K and simply started to talk to her low and soft, stroking her hair and comforting her as only he did. When the next contraction hit, the psychic pain block held, and Kitty was all business, though Jean was focused on catching, nodding to herself as progress was made.

"You're doing great, Kitty. You're almost done. Take a breath. When you're ready just a couple more ought to do it," Jean said as Logan again leaned toward her to whisper something encouraging that was meant only for her to hear. And … tear streaked and sweaty, Kitty forced herself to catch her breath quickly before resuming her work, digging her nails into Logan's arm as she finished the job. Jean's pain blocking was more effective than she'd thought it would be, and Jean quickly wrapped the little one in a clean towel as an angry squeaky cry echoed the room. The two ferals helped Kitty to get a little more comfortable now that the worst was over and a massive sense of relief washed over the whole house as she leaned back.

Jean was crying herself as she handed Kitty the little one, cord still attached and Kitty's hands shaking as she met her son. Jean rearranged the blanket to cover her, leaving the room for a minute to get the kit that Kurt had brought down. Of course, Kurt was beaming, excited to meet the little one. Unlike Jubilee, Chloe, and Zoe - who all looked ill. When Jean returned to Kitty, she was smiling wearily.

Kitty had rearranged herself so she was again leaning on Logan, whose arm was around her as she cooed at her little boy. By the time Celia had arrived, the cord had been cut, and K and Jean had started the clean up.

"Oh, you have to be kidding me," Celia said looking more upset than what was reasonable. "Kitty, I'm so sorry, I rushed …"

"It's okay," Kitty told her, totally enraptured with her little boy before she handed him to Logan.

"Kurt can take us up now," Kitty said. "Once Logan and K both get to hold him."

Logan was smirking at her as he looked at the little boy. "Ya did good, half pint." When he handed him back to Kitty, he paused to kiss her on the cheek before Kurt took them up to the lab.

The house was suddenly overwhelmingly silent as the ferals, Jean, and the teenagers all stared at each other. None of them had thought this was how their evening was going to go. K sighed heavily as Logan put his arm around her. "Welcome home, sweetheart. Never a dull moment."

K couldn't help but to laugh in response. "Yeah. And in related news, we're going to need a new bed." And while Logan saw the humor in it, the three teenagers were still on the couch, pale faced and horrified they listened to the two ferals.

"Why did we have to come down here?" Chloe said finally trying to break up the couple as Logan nipped at K's neck. She gathered herself and turned in Logan's arms to face them.

"We needed someone here to keep an eye on the kids in case they woke up. Looks like they didn't – and, frankly, I thought it was a good idea for you girls to see, or hear at least, what labor was like. Don't want you getting any wild ideas any time soon," K teased as Logan continued to nuzzle her.

"Is it always that bad?" Jubilee asked, to which K and Logan shared a look and mildly nodded. "And you let him knock you up more than once? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Logan looked up at her with a frown. "Hey now. That's enough of that. Go on up to bed. We asked you to come keep an eye on the kids, not start a bash men session."

K couldn't help but start laughing at the look on his face as Jubilee got to her feet and stuck her tongue out at Logan, leading the girls up to the house

But Logan barely waited before returning his attention to K. "That's not a bad question. What the hell is wrong with you?" He was obviously entertained and had simply grabbed on to the opportunity to pick with both hands.

"Is it your intention to be a pain in my ass, or are you being serious?" K asked with a smirk as they half-wrapped around each other.

"It's a good question considerin' the hell you girls go through," he replied softy, though by actions, it was clear that he would have happily dropped the subject and moved on to more urgent matters. Matters that lined up with curling up and getting overly involved."

K let out a slow breath as she tried to find the right words to explain it. Particularly since before she'd been preparing for the twins, she wouldn't have considered a round two just based on her personal misery index. "Alright. So...something happens to you after they're actually born, but if it's just me and how I heal or if it's a more universal thing, I don't know. You forget about all the pain that's in the rear view. At least I do. Especially when he looks like his father. And you see little bits of yourself peeking up … and for me, I forgot everything bad that had happened during the pregnancy, because it doesn't matter anymore." Logan had stopped his crusade to steal kisses and was openly just. Watching her. "Besides, I know that if everything falls into place right that there wouldn't be much hesitation to do it again – for the man I love." She didn't get any further before he rushed the short distance to kids the sense out of her as the three little ones slept undisturbed in the next room over.


The mansion was a buzz when the Howlett clan made their way up to the mansion late the next morning. K and Logan had fallen asleep on the couch in each other's arms. And when Abbey woke up, she was thrilled to see them snuggled up so peacefully. Shealmost rushed to them, but knew they must be very tired, so instead, she simply climbed on the couch with them.

She was very careful to keep from disturbing them too much, though she didn't miss the little smirk her father was wearing in his sleep as she climbed up on his chest. She settled in easily, her hand on her mother's cheek. She cooed when Logan's hand rested on her back, holding her just a breath closer to him. And the trio stayed that way for another good hour or so until the twins woke up. With a kiss to Abbeys cheek, K slipped out of Logan's grasp as he held their oldest, who snuggled deeper into his arms while K got James and Rose changed and dressed.

The twins were happy to see her and doubly so when their father sat up holding Abbey. The little family took their time waking up before trekking up to the house after breakfast, too. They knew everyone had to be worn out after the events of the previous evening. Nothing would be going on today. And even if they could overlook the excitement with Kitty, it was still the day after a major mission, reports had to be done by all involved.

But with Kitty's new baby too? "Didn't catch the name, did you?" Logan asked as they approached the door.

"I think she was a little too shhok up to mention it, all things considered," K replied. "I'm sure she's dying to tell you."

As they walked through the door, Piotr rushed over and picked up Logan in a spinning bear hug, only pausing for a moment to stop himself from doing the same to K- had she not been holding the twins. "Thank you, tovarich, for all you did for my precious katja. I don't know what she would have done without you," Piotr said, beaming. "Come, come and meet our son." He practically carried Logan down the hall with K smiling after them. Of course, Chloe and Jubilee were quick to step in and snatch up the babies as K passed.

"We have Rachel too," Zoe called out. "Have fun with the crazy Russian!"

"Oh sure," K called back. "Take the easy route!"

"I'm glad you're both here. We've chosen a name for him," Kitty said with a clear grin. Her chin was tipped up as she slid the baby into Logan's arms. "I know you saw him last night-and seriously. Thank you for all the help, but ...meet Michael Logan Rasputin." Kitty was beaming.

Logan of course smiled softly as he looked down at the little fella. "You're going to be a great mom."

Kitty couldn't have looked any prouder as the group around them began to buzz about who the baby looked like, and Kitty's choice of names. Suddenly Kitty looked at K who Piotr had his arm around while he was grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

"I don't think I could have done it without your help you guys, and I already cried all over Jean twice. Thanks for keeping me calm." She took a moment then turned toward K. "Do you want to hold him?"

But, K shook her head, her hands out in front of her. "No, no that's alright. You enjoy him." It didn't miss Jean's notice though of how almost scared of the little guy she looked.

"Why not?" Piotr asked before anyone else could. "You helped bring him into this world. You should hold him."

"Nope," K said. "Sweet lil thing is dripping baby glitter. I can smell his head from here – that's quite close enough. I already pushed my luck when she delivered him. NO. I will not be holding that baby for a while," K replied. "too risky."

Kitty grinned and laughed out loud. "You know that I'm going to do everything I can to get you to hold him now, right?" Kitty replied as K shook her head no.

"I'm leaving now. I'll be back when he's six months old. Feel free to leave him with Auntie Jeannie though. She wouldn't mind the glitter," K said, as Logan smirked, giving the baby back to Kitty then subtly taking K's hand to pull her closer.

"I absolutely will take that on," Jean said, holding one finger up.

Logan had pulled K closer until she was inches from him, practically forcing her to get closer to the little boy. And when it was clear he wasn't going to let her keep away from him, K let out a good natured grumble before, to Kitty's delight, K gently picked little Michael up. He was a big beautiful baby who favored his mother heavily, though he wore his father's frown. K softened as she held him, relaxing into Logan's arm around her back.

"He's perfect, Kitty you do good work…. and Piotr too, I suppose," she said, raising an eyebrow at the tall Russian. "But mostly Kitty." K smiled at her, eyes twinkling as she started to hand him back to her. But not without leaning in to give Kitty a kiss on the cheek as she handed Michael back. Logan's hands were at her hips, pulling her into him as she stood up again, simply enjoying having the wife he did to take care of his foster daughter.

Sweet family moments like that, though once rare, were quickly becoming more commonplace at Xaviers. And no one was happier about it than Charles himself.


"K, I'd like to chat with you a moment, if you don't mind," Charles said as the feral couple headed down the hallway. Both paused and Logan gave her a kiss then continued on without her, leaving K to talk with Charles. "Kitty will be needing to take some time to recover. I was hoping you might be able to help fill in for one of her classes," he told her.

Naturally, K looked taken aback. She hadn't considered herself as a real teacher – the fun stuff sure, but Kitty ran several classes that K would be of no use for. "I'd love to help you, but I don't know what I can do – I mean, she teaches an ethics class, right? And future history what is that?" K asked as Charles smiled.

"Actually, I think you'd be perfect for the ethics class. We'll have a guest teacher for Katherine's computer class, and future history will be taken over by Lucas Bishop," Charles replied.

K was more than a little surprised at his assertion. "How am I even in the running for ethics? I just got back from a murder spree. How is that ethical?"

"While that is technically and crudely true, I have been looking at it more like a mother bear trying to protect her cubs than I did 'murder spree'. Kitty had lesson plans made up for the entire time she expects to be out, you only need to follow them. I have total faith in you, my dear," Charles said as K grudgingly agreed to his proposal. "Class will meet at the same time as Logan's history class. I'm sure you'll do splendidly."

Obviously though, K wasn't so sure as she watched him enter his office.