Chapter 10

Sorry about the wait. I actually struggled with this chapter. I wanted to capture everyone's emotions without dragging it out for too long. Not one of my best, but hope you enjoy it anyway.

Thanks once again for all the great reviews. You guys are great!

The Professor barely made it inside his office before Scott went off.

"Look Professor, we need to find this guy now. Were you able to get anything from Ororo?"

Charles shook his head "No, I was not. Ororo was not forthcoming with any information about him. In fact, bringing him up seemed to make her rather agitated." Charles said, his eyes filled with worry.

"Well then, we'll just have to get it from her some other way." Scott looked directly at the Professor.

It was Jean's turn to speak. "And just HOW are we supposed to do that?" Jean had a pretty good idea of what Scott was suggesting, and she didn't like it one bit.

Scott glared in her direction. "You're a telepath Jean…figure it out." Jean jumped up out of her seat to face him.

"You CANNOT be serious! Besides, Ororo has very strong psi blocks. It's almost impossible unless she allows someone access. The Professor already said she did not want to talk about it. There is no way she would agree to give either one of us access."

"So then we just take it! Hank can give her something, a light sedative or something to bring down her defenses. The Professor is stronger than you. He can go in, get the information, and she will be none the wiser."

"Have you lost your mind boy?" Asked Hank.

"I don't see what the problem is. I can take the information and…"

"And WHAT!" Jean interrupted. "You are hell bent on exacting revenge for someone who took advantage of your sister, but you want us to do the same thing. You want us to mentally force ourselves on her. How does that make us any better than him Scott?"

"Shut up! Just shut up! It's not the same. I…" Jean would not be silenced by his outburst.

"And what will you do when you find him huh? Kill him and then hide the body somewhere? Will that make it all better? Will it change anything? How do you think Ororo will feel when she discovers what you have done? You know how she feels about taking a life. And what about me? Don't you even care about how I feel about this?" Jean asked with tears in her eyes.

"Death is too good for him. Because of him, she's pregnant with that bastard's...bastard! She had her whole life ahead of her, and he took that away from her. A life for a life, Jean. I think it's a pretty fair exchange." Scott sneered.

Jean shook her head at him. "Scott, you're wrong. Ororo will not see it that way. When she thought she was losing the baby, she was distraught. She doesn't see this baby as ruining her life. She sees it as a chance to have a child she never thought she would have. Is she upset about how this all went down? Most definitely. Does she want you to kill this person to protect her precious honor? No. Ororo is focused on providing a happy, loving household for this baby. If you love her like I know you do, and want to support her like you say you do, you will abandon your quest for revenge and concentrate on being so involved in this baby's life, he will never miss his father." With that said Jean walked back to her seat.

Hank spoke up next.

"Scott, I have to say I agree with Jean. Instead of focusing on this miscreant, we should focus all of our energy on Ororo. It is obvious that she would like to put what has happened behind her and focus on her future. We should do the same. Remember Scott, by taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing over it, he is superior. Now, I must take my leave. I have a young lady to check on." Hank left and quietly closed the door behind him.

Scott started pacing the length of the office while Charles and Jean observed him.

He was confused by Jean and Hank's reactions. He was only trying to do what was best for her. Surly the Professor would understand. He turned to approach the Professor's desk and sat down.

"Professor, you agree with me, don't you?"

Charles looked at the young man he considered a son.

He understood Scott's motivation. Only Charles, Hank, Jean and Scott knew of the horrible things Ororo had endured during her childhood in Cairo. After the tragic death of her parents, Ororo was placed in an orphanage. After a few months she ran away, believing in her young mind nothing could be worse than the orphanage.

She was wrong.

She was taken in by a local merchant. He used physical and mental abuse to keep her under his control. He suspected that there may have been some sexual abuse as well, but Ororo would never admit to it.

It took 2 years from their first encounter to get her to trust him enough to come with him. He promised to take her away from that life. She would no longer have to steal. No more beatings. He would protect her from harm. Once she arrived at the mansion, she found another level of safety in Scott. He had lived up to all his promises. Only once had someone managed to cause her pain on his watch. He had reacted with his heart then, and that only made things worse before they got better.

He had thought that was the worst of it.

But now…

This situation was quickly getting out of control.

Scott's rage was threatening to consume him.

It was also slowly tearing him and Jean apart.

He knew if he did not proceed with caution, there would be more casualties. He could not act as Charles Xavier, the father whose daughter had been wronged.

He needed to act as Professor X, leader of the X-Men.

"Scott, we are all upset at what has befallen Ororo. Nothing would please me more than to eradicate this reprobate from the face of this earth. However, I am inclined to agree with Jean and Hank."

Scott gave the Professor an incredulous look. "Dad, how can you say that? Of all people I would have thought…" Charles raised a hand to stop him.

"Listen to me Son. Take a moment and look beyond the rage you are feeling. Think of Ororo and all that she has gone through and what is yet to come. Do not think for a moment that I am making light of this situation or your feelings. I make my decision with both you and Ororo in mind. I cannot focus on her well-being and that of the child if I have to go chasing after you and covering up whatever trouble you get yourself into. I will not invade Ororo's mind. It would be immoral, plain and simple." He looked to see if he was getting through to Scott.

"Jean, although I agree with you on not invading her mind, I must know who did this for various reasons. We need to find out about this person. Is he someone who would bring trouble to our doorstep? Is he human or mutant? This information will help us to deal with any repercussions that may occur"

Jean gave the Professor a skeptical look.

"How do you plan on finding him?"

"Well that all depends on Scott really." Charles said as Scott gave him a puzzled look.

"Ororo said she was at a bar. I doubt that she went very far. She has a very unique look, even with brown contacts in. No one could miss her long white hair." He looked pointedly at Scott.

"If you think you can practice control, I would like you to canvass some local bars. Ask around to see if anyone remembers her being there and if she was with anyone. Ororo told him about the baby, which means he is still around and may be a regular patron. If you are able to procure a name, I expect you to return promptly without any type of confrontation. If you do not think you can do it, then I will enlist Logan's help."

Scott's head shot up at that.

Logan.

No way was he going to let him handle this. Logan had been number one on Scott's list of assholes until this guy came on the scene.

"No, that won't be necessary. I'll do it. For her…" then he turned to look at Jean. "and you, I'll do it. I promise to just get a name, nothing more." He reached out to grab Jean's hand.

"Very well, son. I am not sure what time such establishments open, but I suspect it will be late in the evening. Be careful my boy."

Scott stood up, bringing Jean with him. "I will. I'll leave once I help Jean do bed checks."

"You two go and get some rest. It has been a long day for all of us. I am going to retire to my room for the evening if you need me." With that he left them alone in his office.

Scott took Jean into his warm embrace. "Jean, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was wrong. It's just…"

Jean pulled back to look into his eyes. "It's alright Scott. I know how much Ororo means to you. I just didn't want you to do something you would regret. I love you and we all need you here."

"I love you too Jean…more than you know." He leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips.

And as he held onto the love of his life, his mind wandered to his other love as he began to plot.

How was he going to defend her honor and honor his father without enduring their wrath?