Author's Note: This story takes place right after my last installment, The Torque Wrench. This story does have a direct reference to Duncan Matthews who appeared briefly in my stories The Girl From Tomorrow and Wait For Me. But you shouldn't be confused if you haven't read them. The story below is inspired by an episode of Full House titled "I've Got A Secret".

Summary: Scott gets jealous when he finds out that Jean has kept a t-shirt gifted to her by an ex. An argument ensues, and Scott and Jean pettily make a list of their ex-lovers.

The List

November 6th, 2004

The Boathouse

"Oh no! I'm sorry!" little Nate Summers cried just as he spilled his milk.

"It's okay, sweetie, accidents happen," Jean said, smiling at her youngest child, wanting to put him at ease.

"No worries, buddy. That's an easy clean-up. Rach, could you grab something to wipe this up?" Scott said.

"Sure, dad," Rachel said, grabbing one of the folded rags in the cupboard. "Catch!"

Scott easily snatched the rag in mid air. He got down on his knees and was about to start wiping up the mess when – "Oh my god, Scott! Don't you dare use that to wipe the floor! That's my Queen t-shirt. Rach, where'd you get that?" Jean asked as she took the t-shirt back from her husband.

"It was in the rag pile, mom," Rachel replied.

"How'd my t-shirt get there?" Jean asked.

"I put it there," Scott said.

"Why?" Jean asked.

Before Scott could answer, Rachel interrupted. "Nate and I need to get ready. Grandma and grandpa will be here soon to take us to the mall."

"Right, sweetie, thanks for reminding me. Nate, I'll be up in a few minutes to help you get ready," Jean said, as she continued to inspect her t-shirt. Rachel and Nate ran up the stairs leaving their parents alone.

"I'm sorry, Jean. I was cleaning up our closet and I've never really seen you wear that shirt before. And I didn't think you were a Queen fan," Scott said.

"I'm not. It was a gift," Jean said as she folded the shirt back up.

"A gift?" Scott said, raising his eyebrow. "What was his name?"

Jean crossed her arms over her chest and tried to act indignant. "Why do you always assume it's a man?"

"Because this isn't a gift your mother or Ororo would give you… nor Jubilee for that matter… And they're pretty much the only non-males that give you gifts," Scott said sardonically.

Jean just rolled her eyes. "So, who was it?" Scott asked again.

Jean sighed. "It was from Duncan."

"Matthews?!" Scott practically roared. "I can't believe it! You've lost practically every item of clothing I ever gifted you, and you've kept his shirt for the last sixteen years?!"

"It's fifteen. And I haven't lost any of the clothing you've gotten for me," Jean said. "I only pretended to."

"What? Why?" Scott asked sputtering.

"Well… I loved the thought behind the gifts, honey. I really did. It's just that, the colors were atrocious – which is not your fault at all – but they didn't really go with anything I had," Jean said sheepishly.

"Oh, and that Queen shirt did?" Scott said.

"It's just a souvenir. It was the first time someone ever took me to a concert," Jean said.

"This guy was obviously very special to you," Scott muttered. At first, her husband's dejected look made Jean feel bad. Then it annoyed her because she had a feeling he did it exactly for that reason.

"If he was special to me then we'd have gone through with getting married," Jean said, suddenly feeling the need to needle her husband.

"WHAT?!" Scott exclaimed. "You were engaged to him?!"

Hmm… Perhaps not a good idea. "No… Not like you and I were engaged… Duncan and I were fooling around, and in the heat of the moment he asked me to marry him and I didn't exactly say 'no'," Jean said tentatively.

"Fooling around?! I thought I was your first, Jean! Or were you just pretending that first night?" Scott asked angrily.

"I never slept with him Scott! But we did date for several months. You can't possibly be that naïve to think we only ever held hands," Jean said rolling her eyes. She just got an angry glare from her husband.

"Scott, don't pick a fight, please," Jean said.

"I'm not the one who kept an old flame's shirt for over a decade," Scott mumbled.

"How can you possibly be jealous, Scott?" Jean asked. "I broke his heart to be with you, for god's sake! The only reason I ever even went out with him was because you were doing your very best to avoid me!"

"I was only avoiding you because I was in love with you!" Scott said.

"Are you listening to yourself?" Jean asked wryly.

"Well, you should have just read my mind!" Scott argued.

Jean ignored that asinine comment from her husband. "Look, Scott. I chose you. If I wanted to be with Duncan, I'd be with Duncan! You're the father of my children for crying out loud!"

"Pfff, you sure about that? Rachel does not look a thing like me. I mean-" Scott stopped mid-sentence when he saw the look his wife gave him. If looks could kill, he'd be ashes.

"Scott, if you ever insinuate anything like that again…" Jean started.

Scott put his hands up, knowing he went too far. "I'm sorry. That was unacceptable. I crossed the line. I don't know what got into me."

"The green-eyed monster perhaps?" Jean said wryly.

"Perhaps…" Scott conceded.

"And have you conveniently forgotten that Rachel is immune to your optic blasts?" Jean asked sardonically.

"I said I was sorry!"

Jean sighed. "Look, Scott, didn't you have some girls in your past that I don't know about?"

Scott scoffed. "Yeah! A ton of 'em!"

"Really?" Jean asked skeptically.

"Yeah, gorgeous ones," Scott said. "I'll make a list for you."

Jean laughed. "Fine. And I'll make a list for you."

"Fine!" Scott said.

The next day

"Hey, Jean?" Ororo called out as she let herself into Scott and Jean's place. "You busy?"

"Not at all!" Jean said smiling at her closest friend. "I'm just making up a list of all the guys I ever went out with… And all the guys I wish I had gone out with… And a few guys I made up just to drive Scott crazy! What brings you over here?"

"I wanted to take the kids out for some ice-cream… And also, to talk to you," Ororo said.

"Of course, 'Ro! What's the matter?" Jean asked putting her list down.

"Well, first of all, you have me intrigued. Why are you making a list?" Ororo asked.

"Long story short, Scott got jealous when he found out I kept a gift Duncan gave me well over a decade ago. Now he's making a list of all the women he's ever been with, and so I'm doing the same," Jean said laughing.

Ororo laughed as well. "My friend, in fairness to Scott, I know you well enough that you'd have probably felt the same if the shoe was on the other foot."

Jean could only smile sheepishly. Her dear friend was right. She did her best not to show it, but she was quite possessive of her handsome husband. It was a good thing Scott didn't have a wandering eye.

"Anyway, you didn't answer my question. What's the matter?" Jean asked, wanting to put the focus back on her friend.

Ororo sighed. "Well, Forge and I have been broken up for several months now… Close to a year in fact. And well, I recently found out he's started dating someone else. And it's bothering me."

"Do you want to get back together with him?" Jean asked.

"No, I don't. But I don't want anyone else to have him either. Does that make me a terrible person?" Ororo asked.

"Not at all," Jean said, giving her friend a sympathetic smile. "It's very human. And we all handle jealousy in our own ways… Mine happens to be making up a phony list." Jean stopped to look around her living room for inspiration on names. "Hmmm… Couch! Let's see, how about Danny Couchman."

Ororo could only laugh at Jean's antics. "Oh, my friend. You have no idea how lucky you and Scott are. The unbreakable love and bond you two have is so rare… Although it's comforting to see that even you two aren't immune to pettiness."

Jean giggled. "Scott and I are competitive by nature. It's unavoidable."

"Anyway, would you mind calling the children telepathically for me, Jean? Tell them ice-cream with Aunt 'Ro."

And not two seconds later, the rumbling of children's footsteps echoed above stairs. "Aunt 'Ro!" Rachel and Nate yelled excitedly. "Are we going to Dairy Queen?" Rachel asked.

"If that's what you want," Ororo answered laughing. And with that, she and the two children headed out the door.

Jean bent down to continue working on her list when her husband waltzed into the living room. "What was all the commotion?" Scott asked.

"Ororo surprised the kids with a trip to Dairy Queen," Jean said, not looking up.

"I see… Well, hon, I've finished my list," Scott said.

Jean finally looked up and was shocked at the thick stack of paper her husband was holding. It was half an inch thick. "Is that your list?!" Jean practically squeaked.

"Yeah, I narrowed it down to a more manageable number. I only included the women I slept with as well as the women I had feelings for and cared about," Scott said.

Unable to hide the look of devastation on her face, Jean put down her own list. She then angrily took the stack of paper from her husband. The first sheet was completely blank, and so she discarded that one. Then underneath that, in her husband's cursive, she read, "Jean Grey, Jean Grey, Jean Grey, Jean Grey…" Jean flipped through the stack of paper and it was all the same. It was her name spelled out over and over again.

Just when she thought her husband couldn't surprise her anymore. She felt her heart melt. "Oh, Scott…"

"I lied. There wasn't a ton of them, Jean… There was only ever one. One woman I ever cared for. Only one woman I've ever loved. Will ever love. I met you when I was sixteen, Jean. And you ruined me for any other woman from that point on," Scott said, taking his wife's hands in his. "I'm sorry I overreacted about the shirt."

"I'm sorry too, Scott. I kinda goaded you. It's flattering for a girl to have someone be jealous over her. I probably would have reacted similarly if our positions were reversed. The truth is that I kept the shirt more for the fact that it was a souvenir of the first ever concert I attended. It had little to do with who actually gave it to me. I'll get rid of it," Jean said.

"No, no… It's fine, Jean. I just lost my head yesterday. Overreacted. Keep the shirt," Scott said.

"Why were you so upset? You have to know I don't have feelings for Duncan… Lord knows I never did…"

"You know when girls tell their girlfriends 'you can do so much better'? Well, Duncan is your 'so much better'. Does that make sense?" Scott asked.

Jean was taken aback by how much her husband actually believed those words. How could he even think that Duncan could hold a candle to him, let alone be so much better?! "Seriously, Scott?"

"He's perfect," Scott said miserably.

"Not for me," Jean said.

It was like Scott didn't even hear her. "He's wealthy beyond imagination. He's now the CEO of Nextek Pharmaceuticals. He's been on the top ten wealthiest and most eligible bachelors list on Business Insider for four years running now and-"

"First of all, did you Google Duncan?" Jean asked incredulously.

"Umm… Well, I…" Scott stuttered.

"And second of all, you're assuming those things even matter to me, Scott," Jean said.

"How could they not? If you'd have stayed with him, you'd probably own a private island somewhere by now," Scott said.

Jean scoffed. "I could never be content with that, let alone happy. In fact, just thinking about such a life right now is already boring me. Heaven help me if I had to live it! My point is that you've ruined me for any other man. I can't even imagine a life for myself that didn't have you or our children."

"You have no regrets?" Scott asked.

"Not one. Besides, as far as I'm concerned, I'm the richest woman in the world," Jean said.

"Really?"

"No one's truly rich until they have something money can't buy. And the family we created, the life we have… Well, no one can put a price on that," Jean said.

"Yeah, you're right," Scott said, smiling.

"How could you doubt my happiness, Scott? We share a psychic link," Jean said, a somewhat amused look on her face.

"It's not so much that. I just wish I could give you more."

"You've given me two beautiful children, a happy home, and more love than I can imagine. I don't need anything else," Jean said, kissing her husband.

As Jean kept her husband busy making out with him, she slowly tried hiding the list she made under the couch cushion. But her husband noticed and asked, "Jean, what are you doing? What are you trying to hide?"

"Nothing!" Jean quickly said, stuffing the note under the cushion.

"Is that your list?" Scott asked.

"No!" Jean said, too quickly.

"I want to see it!" Scott said.

"No! I changed my mind, I don't want you to see it!" Jean said.

"Not fair. You got to see mine," Scott said, as he quickly snatched up the list from behind Jean.

"Scott!" Jean protested.

"… Who the hell is Steven Firestone? And Danny Couchman? Jack Pencilson? Really, Jean?" Scott said, looking around the items in their living room. Then giving his wife an amused look. "This is beneath you, hon."

"Yeah well, I'm not the one who looked up your ex on Wikipedia," Jean said.

To be continued…