Anah jumped as her door thudded open. She turned to glance at who had walked in only to take a double take.

"What do you want?"

"I want to know why I haven't been insulted in three days. That's what I wanted to know."

"Well, that certainly wasn't the answer I expected."

"You know me always full of surprises. Now talk."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not in right now. Please leave a message after the beep, but in truth, I'm actually avoiding someone right now. If I don't call back, it's you."

"What no beep?"

"Don't be a smartass."

"Oh, so it's not me you're avoiding."

Anah screamed in frustration and threw her book at him narrowly missing his head. Tom picked up the book and ran his fingers over the title.

"Pride and Prejudice, a classic", Tom felt the spine of the book and found it worn, " you read it often?"

"It's one of my favorites." Anah sighed. "Tom, what do you want?"

Tom smiled and using his cane, prodded his way over to her bed to sit beside her. He slung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

"I just want to fight with you again. I feel so lonely without your horrid disposition and that awful accent that causes me to wake up in a cold sweat. Is that too much to ask?"

"I guess not. Now get the hell out of my room before you find yourself smelling like green apple in the morning."

"Yes, mam." Tom replied as he stood and began to walk out of the room.

"Anah?"

"Yes?"

"I hate you."

Anah smiled. "I hate you, too."

"YOU INSENSITIVE, EGOTISTICAL, BLIND BASTARD! GET BACK HERE! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!"

"OH BUT I AM SO DONE WITH YOU! MS. 'LOOK AT ME I NEED ATTENTION CONSTANTLY OR MY I.Q. DROP FIFTY POINTS AND I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH BRAIN CELLS TO RECOVER'!"

"THAT IS SO INACCURATE AND YOU KNOW IT YOU POMPUS ASS!"

"YOU MIDGET! GO BACK TO THE CIRCUS!"

"ONLY AFTER YOU FREAKSHOW!"

The slamming of a door alerted the rest of the mansion that the fight between Anah and Tom had finally ended. They had been at it all morning making up for 'lost time' they said when Scott tried to intervene.

Tom walked into the rec room with a huge smile on his face as he took a seat next to Ray on the couch.

"What are you so happy about?"

Tom turned toward Ray and fixed his sightless eyes on him.

"She's back."

"We noticed, and this makes you happy because?"

Tom shrugged not really sure how to answer the question.

"That's not an answer."

"I usually don't give answers to questions I don't have the answers to."

"Could you be anymore cryptic?"

"Yes."

"Not possible, man." Bobby said interrupting their conversation.

"I agree with Popsicle. You have to know the answer to that question."

Before Tom could reply, they were cut off by the sound of a girl's scream.

"OH MY…GUYS! GUYS, COME HERE!"

This particular scream belonged to none other than Kitty Pryde, who was currently being punished for sneaking out of the mansion and was designed laundry duty for a month, as she stared down at the limp brown thing.

A stampede sounded as the other students of the mansion rushed to their teammate's obvious distress.

"What is it, Kitty?" Rogue asked.

Kitty almost laughed. 'I guess in her hurry over here she forgot to put on make-up to cover up that hickey.'

"Look."

Rogue peered down at what Kitty was pointing at. Cautiously, she poked it. It didn't move.

"Well, whatever it is, it's dead."

"It smells like a rat."

Rogue turned to look at the other southern girl and nodded.

"What is all this yellin' about?" Logan demanded as he parted the sea of students before him.

Looking at what they were staring at, he rolled his eyes and picked it up.

Kitty let out a horrified gasp.

"Half-pint, it's a jacket."

Kitty's blush spread like wildfire over her face. "Oh."

"Is it brown leather?"

The group as one turned to look at Tom who was leaning on his cane.

"Yeah."

"It's mine."

"And now we know why it smells like a rat."

Tom glared at the direction from that Anah's voice had come from.

"You would know wouldn't you, you little parasite."

"Why you…"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Everyone jumped as Logan bellowed. He took a deep breath and began in a much softer but still stern voice, "I have had enough of you two runts squabbling. Next time you want to battle it out take it too the danger room so the rest of us don't have to hear your nonsense, got me?"

"Yes, sir." The teens replied in unison.

Logan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed a drink.

"What are all of you standin' here for? Half-pint, get back to work! The rest of you either get outta here or go to the danger room with me!"

The room cleared so fast you would have thought that a bomb had gone off.