Emmaline woke, startled, to a few brisk knocks on her door. "Emmaline? Breakfast time," Logan said.
Realizing she was without a shield, Emmaline quickly summoned it and yelled, "I'm up." She threw her covers off and shuffled to the door in her thick socks. She opened the door to find both men still sitting in their respective chairs where she had left them. "Were you really up all night?" Emmaline asked, feeling relieved they had actually stayed. She was feeling jittery remembering all those hours she had slept so vulnerably.
"Nah, we went to bed right after you. We woke up five minutes ago so we could be here when you woke up," Scott said, a yawn breaking up and disproving his statement. He was pale and drawn and, though his eyes were covered by his sunglasses, she was sure he was on the verge of sleeping right there.
"Liar," Emmaline said good-naturedly. "I'm okay now—go get yourselves some coffee or sleep."
Logan grinned, seemingly unfazed by the lack of sleep except his facial hair was more distinguished, enhancing his rugged appearance. "Coffee sounds great."
Scott yawned again. "Sleep," he said. "I've got a class at one…" He nodded to himself and turned to leave.
"You'd better be up here upgrading her room," Logan called after him. "Unless you want guard duty forever!"
Scott turned around, smiling. "Was that you volunteering your time to help me set it up? Excellent. Meet me up here at three—we can work until dinner." In his tired stumbling away he missed the impolite gesture Logan shot at his back.
Logan rolled his shoulders. "Ready to head to breakfast?" he asked.
Emmaline looked down at herself; her pajama set was a silky tank top and a pair of worn cotton shorts. "Shower, clothes, and then breakfast. I'd recommend you do the same routine." He was dressed in a crumpled wife beater and black sweatpants, an attractively devil-may-care look accented by his grown facial hair.
"Hey," he protested, looking down at himself. "I don't need new clothes. I look good."
Emmaline had to agree, but would never tell him that. "Keep telling yourself that," Emmaline winked, closing the door on his face.
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"Emmy?" The voice was small, but Emmaline turned to it immediately. Jamie stood in the entrance to a doorway, obviously waiting for her. A range of emotions rose in Emmaline, each so strong and different that she couldn't decide how to react. She wanted to turn on her heel, she wanted to hug him and tell him she forgave him, but she stood frozen in place. "Can I talk to you?"
Emmaline looked around, glad Drew had left the dining hall separately. "All right," she said, entering the classroom and closing the door behind her. She forced herself to keep her shield to herself. "Yeah?"
"Are you okay?" he asked immediately.
"No thanks to you," she said coolly. The only way she could keep from reacting extremely in either direction was to maintain her distance.
Jamie swallowed. "I'm sorry," he whispered. His eyes fell to the floor. "Storm told me you might die if I didn't do it."
"You could have asked me," Emmaline said, keeping her voice level.
"No I couldn't!" Jamie argued. "If I had told you what I was going to do, you wouldn't have let me do it."
"Duh," Emmaline said, the condescension in her voice surprising even her. "Storm exaggerated wildly. I keep my shield up for a reason, as you might remember."
"Storm asked Drew to do it first. He wouldn't—he said he'd warn you and run away if they tried anything. She said it was up to me to save you. I'm mad you couldn't just let me be normal here, but I didn't want you to die." His voice cracked and Emmaline realized he was crying.
Instantly she was by his side, protecting him with her shield and hugging him, despite her decision to remain distant. "It's okay. I'm okay," she murmured.
"I love you," he said brokenly. "You're always there… there for me and then I deserted you and betrayed you and—"
"It's okay," Emmaline said. "Don't worry about it… just don't do it again. You'll just have to trust me. I've always tried to make the right decisions for us." Jamie nodded and pulled back, wiping a sleeve over his red eyes. "I agreed to start sleeping when they want me to," she told him. "I'm healthy, I promise."
Jamie's smile wavered. "Just stay that way," he said. "I can't lose you."
"I wouldn't worry about it. With Storm, Scott, and Logan looking after me, I don't think I'm physically able to be lost," Emmaline said, shrugging.
Jamie narrowed his eyes at Emmaline, trying to suppress his smile. "Do you like him?"
"Like who?" Emmaline asked warily.
"Logan. You said his name like you say Brad Pitt," Jamie said, eyebrows raised.
"We're in this together," she reminded him.
"Drew doesn't think so anymore," Jamie said. "He hates me now."
"I'll talk to him," Emmaline promised. "Meet me in the kitchen before dinner when we're all out of class. I'll bring Drew and we can talk this through."
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Logan was as energized as usual during Emmaline's training session despite staying up all night to guard her room. Once again, he stayed outside her shield while she trained, giving her advice and teaching by example. Thanks to her sleep, her endurance and strength were up as she pummeled the punching bag so she could talk to him easily. "How much coffee did you drink?" she asked, referring to his high energy.
"You'd be surprised—just one cup. I don't need much sleep," he said. "Careful with those kicks. Up and then out," he reminded her. Emmaline adjusted accordingly. "I was working on your room before I came down here."
"How is it going?" Emmaline asked eagerly.
"Scott's a slave-driver, but that means it's going quickly," he shrugged. "He's the one who had to drink a few gallons of coffee. I was convinced that between the yawns and jittery hands he would set off the alarm before he even got the alarm into the door, but he got it."
"Like he said, the sooner it's installed, the sooner you get to sleep," Emmaline said. "Though I still don't see how keeping me here is worth the sacrifice. Especially to Scott—I thought he was going to just fall over snoring this morning."
"Well, he is a pansy," Logan said. "And to the other question… We think you're worth it for the team, and personally. It would be complete hypocrisy to make you leave because we can't accept your mutation." They were silent for little while, and then he asked, "How do you feel? More awake?"
"Much more awake," she said firmly.
"I wonder if your shield's stronger now," he said thoughtfully.
Emmaline suppressed anger at his continued obsession with her mutation and laughed. "Maybe you should make sure I don't sleep anymore then, to give you a fair chance."
"I don't there's such thing as a fair chance with your shield," he said, but his voice was teasing. "I'm starting to think I should give up."
Emmaline couldn't suppress a happy grin at the implied offer. "I don't want to take all the excitement out of your life," she shrugged. "Just don't hurt yourself."
He laughed. "Let's move on to the punches you'll never need in your protective bubble," he said.
By the end of the hour Emmaline was sweaty and panting but even more energized. "If anyone ever actually does get past that shield they're in for a big surprise. I'd like to see you in actual hand-to-hand," Logan said.
"I hope you don't get the chance," Emmaline admitted. "I won't shield you if you decide to start punching me the second you're in," she warned.
He held out his hand placating. "I wouldn't dream of it." There was a mischievous glint in his eye.
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"Is this a joke?" Drew asked, narrowing his eyes at Jamie sitting innocently at the kitchen counter with Emmaline when he walked in.
"I forgave him and I'm the one he drugged," Emmaline reminded him, pulling out the seat next to her for Drew to sit. "Why can't you just say sorry?"
"Me?" Drew asked disbelievingly, not moving from the doorway. "I have nothing to apologize for. Jamie betrayed you. I don't understand how you could forgive him."
"He didn't mean anything bad by it. Storm told him I would die if he didn't do it," Emmaline argued. "You're being unreasonable."
"It's amazing. If I didn't know better I'd think Jamie's the one who can convince people, not me… at least where you're concerned," Drew said, glaring at Jamie. "Did you agree to stay here just so you wouldn't have to leave Jamie? Well, newsflash—he drugged you. He doesn't care about you. These people here could tell him the sky was falling and the only way to save everyone was to kill you and he'd do it! They don't respect you here. If they're willing to invade your privacy to make you sleep, I can only imagine what other excuses they'll come up with. They don't like you having an advantage over them."
"I know that they might do it again—you think I don't? Well, I just think that there are things bigger than me at work here," Emmaline said.
"You mean you stayed so Jamie could have somebody to whine to," Drew said, lip curling in distaste.
"Why do we have to fight about this?" Emmaline asked. "Why do we always have to fight about this?"
Drew turned from Emmaline to Jamie. "You need to learn to make choices and deal with them. We're not going to be your family when you need help and then disappear when you get tired of us."
"You've made mistakes too," Jamie muttered.
"And we didn't throw you out when you came back," Emmaline added.
"That doesn't even compare," Drew said.
"Doesn't it?"
Drew stared at her silently for a minute, and then shook his head. "I thought we were past that," he said. "For Jamie you'll forgive anything, but me you'll hold a grudge against forever." He turned on his heel and stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Emmaline and Jamie standing alone in stunned silence.
"Stay here," Emmaline told Jamie. Though she felt a twinge of regret when she pulled her shield from him, she did not pause in her rush after Drew.
She caught up with him by the stairs, the hallways luckily empty. "Drew," she called. He ignored her, starting up the stairs. "Please stop," she said, following behind him.
"All you have to do is grab me in that shield and refuse to let me leave," Drew snapped.
"I'm not going to do that."
Maybe it was her words or the broken tone of her voice, but he stopped and turned back to her. "What?" he said. "I can't think of what you can say. We obviously were never meant to be like a real family… Or maybe that's problem. We're too much like a real family."
"I try to protect Jamie because he needs protecting. You haven't actually needed me once since I met you," Emmaline said quietly. She wasn't speaking to convince him to stay or leave—she just needed him to understand her. "Jamie is always going to be that little kid I decided to protect, even when he's not anymore. And you're always going to be my friend. You don't need my protection, but I want your friendship. You're like my brother and… first mate. I've got to take care of Jamie, but you and me—we've got each other's backs. It is not that I love Jamie more than you." She looked up at him, standing above her on the stairs and watching her with a carefully blank face. "I need you, but Jamie needs me, so if it comes down to it, yes, I'd stay here with him. It's because I stopped doing things just for myself a long time ago."
They were quiet for a short time that seemed to last forever. "Is that true?" Drew asked, folding his arms.
Emmaline sighed. "Yes, of course. I will miss you if you leave, but you can take care of yourself so I'm not going to try to change your decision.
"Are you leaving?" she asked.
Drew looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. "I'll stay as long as you do," he said. He took a few steps down the stairs and knocked on her shield. "Can I come in?"
Beaming, she let him in and grabbed him in a hug. "I'm really glad," she said quietly.
As they walked back to the kitchen, at a more casual pace than they had left it, Drew asked, "Why did they back down on making you sleep?"
"Actually…" Emmaline said, shrugging.
"No way," Drew said, looking over at her. "You caved? Who are you and what did you do with Emmaline?" His voice was only half-joking.
"First I made Scott promise to make my room into the Fortress of Solitude, of course," Emmaline said. "I feel so awake! Sleeping is like drinking a whole gallon of coffee, without the jitteriness."
Drew laughed. "I think it's supposed to be the opposite," he told her. "So Storm was serious that it might have killed you? I assumed she was exaggerating to get us to help her."
"Oh, I'm pretty sure it was an exaggeration. Did I look like I was about to croak?" she asked as they entered the kitchen again. Jamie was still waiting at the kitchen counter, and was watching the door when they came in. Emmaline saw Scott standing by the refrigerator, filling a thermos with coffee. "Hey, Scott," Emmaline greeted.
Scott looked up at Emmaline and Drew. "Hey," he greeted. "Logan and I just finished working on your room for the day. It'll take at least another day, but it's coming along. Logan's not quite the monkey with a wrench as you'd except him to be."
"Did you get much sleep in before you started?" Emmaline asked Scott. She extended her shield to include Jamie at the counter as she spoke, and gestured to Drew to go talk to him.
"About four hours," Scott answered. "Plus another five in coffee."
"Maybe we can convince Dr. Reyes to let me keep my shield up just for one night. Surely I've gotten enough rest to stave off instantaneous death," Emmaline suggested.
Scott twisted the lid onto this coffee thermos, shaking his head. "She was very specific that you sleep from now on," he said. "I'll be fine." He yawned widely directed after speaking. At Emmaline's pointed look, he held up a hand to stop her argument. "You did it for, what, five years? I can handle another night or two."
"I wasn't completely asleep," Emmaline pointed out.
Scott sighed, and she was sure he was rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses. "You're sleeping tonight," he said firmly. "I'll see you at tonight's training session."
Emmaline nodded and moved out of the doorway so he could leave. She approached Drew and Jamie. "Well?" she asked them.
"We're good," Drew said.
"Good," Emmaline said, sighing in relief.
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"I've noticed that you only interfere to make fights fair," Scott said as they waited for Storm to set the simulation. "In real life, you'd need to make them more than fair. Make the odds so we'll win. It may hurt some egos to share a fight, but life is more important than ego, right?" Emmaline nodded. Scott patted her shield like he was patting her back. "Let's do it."
Emmaline felt sharper and quicker than ever as she hurried with the group down the city street. Seeing the robots ahead, illuminated by fired, she muttered, "Why is it always fire?"
She took Scott's tactical advice. First she shielded Bobby and Rogue in with one of the robots and they quickly deactivated it. They always fought well together because their relationship made them more in tune with each other's plans.
The only two Emmaline didn't help were Storm and Logan, who were both well-equipped to take on multiple robots at a time. Though Storm backed off for the sake of the practice, Emmaline knew that if she got in trouble she could electrocute any robot nearby. Tempered only by the idea of being the teacher, not the student, Logan ripped through robot after robot.
The fight was over quickly, each mutant fighting at their best. "Good job," Storm said once the simulation had faded. "We finished early. See you all tomorrow."
"That's what I was talking about," Scott said, approaching Emmaline. "Great work."
Emmaline grinned. "It was a good idea."
Logan brushed by, looking short-tempered. "We've got to be by her room at 11," Scott reminded him.
"Oh, I will be," he said. It sounded oddly like a threat.
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Smoke lined the ceiling and the room was lit only by the flickering orange of the creeping flames. She coughed, fighting for air. Her legs were made of concrete and she couldn't escape.
The smell of burning wood and hair clogged her head and made her sick. Screams echoed in her mind as she stumbled forward. She had to escape, but every scream added another ten pounds to her legs. She stumbled and fell.
Soot covered her hands and blinded her. She coughed and rubbed at her eyes in a panic. When her vision cleared, she saw the bodies.
"Emmaline! Emmaline, wake up!" a voice said loudly.
"It's just a dream," another voice said. The screams still were raw in her mind.
She was the one screaming. She sat up, looking around in a panic. Her bedroom was not full of fire and death. Scott and Logan were on each side of her bed, looking down at her with concerned expressions. "Emmaline?" Logan said gruffly, searching her face.
She swallowed shakily. Her face was wet with tears and her throat was sore from screaming. She tried to smother her hysterical sobbing. "Are you okay?" Scott asked softly.
"I—I'm fine," she muttered. She realized her pajamas were sticking to her skin from her sweat.
Scott nodded but Logan narrowed his eyes at her. "Bullshit," Logan said.
"What was your dream about?" Scott asked, sitting on the edge of her bed. Emmaline wondered vaguely how many other students he had similarly comforted. He seemed comfortable in the role of comforter. Logan, on the other, seemed on edge. He looked genuinely worried about her, and expressed it by analyzing her closely.
"I…There was…" Emmaline broke off, shivering.
"It's okay," Scott said, rubbing her back soothingly. "It was just a dream."
"It wasn't just a dream," she said softly. Suddenly, she realized her shield was still down and she brought it up so quickly it knocked Scott' hand hard against the backboard of the bed. Seeing Scott's hurt expression, she paused and then expanded the shield to include her two guards. She took a steadying breath. There was a difference between letting her two brothers close to her and letting in Scott and Logan. Logan especially. He was unpredictable and thrillingly unsafe.
"It wasn't a dream?" Logan repeated, meeting her eyes. He seemed to have no problems seeing her despite the darkness in the room. "Do you see the future?"
Emmaline shook her head. "A memory," she said. "Sort of."
"Have you dreamed it before?" Scott asked.
She sighed. "I haven't dreamed since it happened," she admitted. "I forgot how realistic dreams are." The image of the bodies flashed into her mind again and a tear escaped her eye.
"Dreams can suck," Logan nodded, eyes dark.
"What happened?" Scott asked.
Emmaline looked down at her hands knotted together over the covers. "There was a fire. I woke up and saw the smoke and flames. I… ran. Ran as far and fast as I could. I panicked. I didn't stop to think. By the time it really sunk in, I was across town." She swallowed. "My whole family died in the fire. If I had stayed, I could have shielded them—saved them. I didn't even think about it… just ran."
"How old were you?" Scott asked, voice barely audible.
She still didn't look up. "Seventeen. Old enough I should have kept a level head."
"That's what the Professor was talking about," Logan said suddenly. "You think it was your fault."
"It wasn't," Scott said firmly. "You reacted like anyone would. The middle of the night, fire everywhere… You aren't to blame. I mean, you didn't start the fire."
"No," Emmaline admitted wryly. "That was Jamie."
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