Chapter 11: Nothing Wrong With A Little Dancing

After all of the excitement at the end of the year, it was a relief when the new year started out slow and didn't seem to be in any rush to bring anything awful with it. No one heard from Azazel, no one heard from anything or anyone that would have the X-Men out on more missions than going to meet new students for the different schools as they got their powers.

And since there was no imminent war, no big hunt, Jubilee and Storm had put their heads together for a Valentine's Day bash, inviting all three schools' staff and students to join in the festivities.

The beachside LA school was decorated with reds and pinks, with crowds of teenage students taking advantage of the excuse for PDA — not to mention the staff members.

It was almost guaranteed at this point that Noh would be DJ-ing the party and that Jubilee would come up with all sorts of excuses to come up and join him or pull him onto the dance floor for kisses. Kitty wasn't too far along in her pregnancy for dancing, though Quill insisted on carrying her off the dance floor the second she got tired. Kurt offered to do the same for Kate, who gave him a look that had him laughing.

And the adults were switching out in shifts watching out for the little kids — everyone under the age of ten — who were playing board games, painting, eating popcorn, watching movies… everything that kids their age could do while everyone else was dancing.

Though not all of the kids were satisfied with this setup.

"I wanna dance too," Chance was arguing with Remy. "I know how! I'm not little."

Remy couldn't help but laugh at the determined little boy. "You sho' do," he said, shaking his head. "But you gon' put all de older boys to shame dancin' better'n dem. You bes' wait 'til you older so dey have a chance to get pretty girls too."

"It's not my fault they don't know how," Chance argued.

Remy grinned wider and looked over at Marie, who started to laugh. "Oh, go ahead," she said through her laughter. "I'll be fine here."

Both Remy and Chance broke into wide grins at that as Remy steered the little boy down the hallway to where the main dance was — and Chance grinned that much wider when he saw the party going on. He looked around the room until he saw a few girls that were standing in a group and talking with each other and nodded to himself.

"I'm gonna dance with one of them, because they're not dancing, and they look like they want to," Chance told Remy with nothing but confidence.

"No way to know fo' sho' unless you ask 'em," Remy said, pushing Chance forward slightly with one hand, though he really didn't have to, since Chance was already headed over to the group of girls — who seemed to be totally thrilled with the little boy.

Remy grinned as he watched Chance lead one of the girls out for a dance. He could absolutely see K's dance class training in there, with the way he offered his hand and was incredibly polite about the whole thing.

"You seen Chance work his magic, Stormy?" he asked as he made his way over to where Storm was by the punch bowl, grinning as he made sure to snap several pictures on his phone of the little flirt.

"Yes, it seems as though he has better luck than the boys twice his age," she replied with a laugh.

"He fulla confidence," Remy laughed. "Jus' walk right up to de girls, sayin' de look like dey wanna dance. Like lookin' in a mirror, he dat smooth."

"If that's true, then we're all in for a long time of watching him dance and never go anywhere," she laughed.

Remy raised an eyebrow at her. "Hey now. Dat ain't fair to wish on dat sweet lil boy."

"So it's just bad luck, then?" Storm asked.

Remy gestured to the dance floor. "Wouldn't say he got bad luck, would you, lil Miss Stormy?" he teased.

"I wasn't talking about him, you old swamp rat," she said, shaking her head.

Remy shrugged openly. "Den I don' know whatchu talkin' 'bout," he said.

"I'm talking about the fact that you've been 'dating' the same girl exclusively for five years." Storm shrugged one shoulder up. "Either the two of you aren't that interested or someone would rather be elsewhere."

"Now, dat ain't nice either," Remy said with a little frown. "Ain't a ting wrong between me an' Marie, an' you know it."

"No, I really don't," Storm replied. "And before you get all worked up, I just want to know that you're with someone who wants you to be happy."

Remy laughed at that and threw an arm around Storm for a little side hug. "Stormy," he said, shaking his head, "you gotta know ol' Remy happier den he ever been. Got a pretty sneak tief, a lil tiny Stormy to play wit, and a beautiful view."

"Then you should seek to make it permanent," Storm said.

Remy shrugged. "Mebbe one day."

Storm let out a laugh. "Is that your way of saying that the divorce with Bella Donna wasn't as official as you'd like to say?"

"What?" Remy turned to face her and then shook his head. "You talkin' nonsense now, Stormy."

"If you say so," Storm replied airily.

"Hey now." Remy shook his head. "Dat… dat is a low blow."

She leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Enjoy your evening. Maybe you should try finding a dance partner." She started to walk away, smiling to herself at the expression on his face and fiddling with the deck of cards she now held in front of her.

Remy looked down and reached into his pocket, bursting into a laugh when he realized that Storm had pickpocketed him. "Sneaky," he muttered to himself, glancing over to where Chance was still dancing with a girl at least four years older than him. He snapped one more picture and then shook his head before he headed back to where the rest of the kids were with Marie.

He slid over to her with a little grin and flipped out his phone. "Dat boy gon' be a heartbreaker when he grown," he told Marie as he showed her the pictures of Chance and the girls.

"You love it," Marie teased, smiling widely.

"Hey, he know what he wants, cher," Remy pointed out. "Jus' gotta help him get dere."

"That and you are a pushover," Marie laughed. "Espec-i-ally for the leetle ones."

Remy shrugged openly. "Mebbe dat's true," he admitted before he pocketed his phone and let Marie get back to her game of "Go Fish" with some of the younger kids.

"He's gonna be so annoying when we go home," Charlie told Remy with a totally unamused look.

Remy grinned as he sat down next to Charlie. "Nah," he said, shaking his head. "Be worse if he stuck here all night."

Charlie pursed her lips at him and then went back to her book — one of her mom's, The Scarlet Pimpernell. "If you say so."

Remy laughed. "You don' wanna dance? You de oldest," he pointed out.

"I don't want to dance," Charlie said. "I don't like being that close to strangers 'cause I can tell what they're feeling, and it's weird if I don't know 'em." She leaned forward. "And boys are weird."

Remy couldn't help chuckling at that as he leaned back. "You been workin' wit Rachel, right?"

"Yeah," she said, almost scuffing her feet on the floor. "But she uses bigger words than she needs to."

Remy laughed outright at that. "Well, how 'bout you come an' work wit' ol' Remy for a lil bit?" he offered. "Rachel real good wit' people's thoughts, but she ain't an empath like you an' me." He leaned forward. "She try hard, though."

She wrinkled her nose a little at that. "I don't know that would work," she said.

"Why not?" he asked with a little frown.

"Well," Charlie said, tipping her head to the side and crossing her arms. "You're all the way here, and I'm all the way over there."

"Dat ain't too hard to get past," Remy said. "We got friends wit' teleportin' powers, speed fast 'nuff to getchu home for dinner, not to mention we got de fastest planes dat ever been seen."

She leaned forward. "You need to ask my Daddy," she said.

"Don't tink I won't," he teased. "You tink you gon' be okay comin' out to all dis paradise on de beach a couplea times?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, it'll be okay." But then she frowned and gave him a little look. "Who are you worried about?"

Remy raised both eyebrows and then smiled. "You got real talent, petit," he told her. "Don' you worry 'bout it. Just tinkin' 'bout how your daddy gon' be havin' a fit over how grown up his twins got."

"He already has fits," she said rolling her eyes. "And he gets sad for no reason."

"Just 'cause you gettin' so big," Remy said, ruffling her hair. "And he worry 'bout you gettin' big and dealin' wit' the great big world." He leaned forward with a little grin. "Dere boys out dere like your brother who gon' be heartbreakers, you know. You gotta be careful."

"He doesn't need to worry about them," she said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, you said you tink boys're weird," he chuckled. "You right, you know."

At that, Charlie shrugged with a muttered, "I know," before she went back to her book.

Across the way, Elin was playing quietly with Oliver Hudson. This was the first time that anyone from the Canadian school had come down to mingle, and she was taking it as seriously as she could. The little guy really didn't know any of the kids outside of the Howletts, and he was exceedingly shy around everyone. But she made a point to keep him close and show him around, even leading him by the hand to wherever they were headed next.

Krissy, of course, had been very sweet with him, and the little boy had warmed up to her enough that by the time Remy went to check on them, little Ollie was wedged between Elin and Krissy watching Charlie Brown and nibbling on popcorn.

"Hi, Remy!" Krissy said, waving at him when he peeked into the TV room.

"You all lookin' nice an' cozy in here," Remy said with a little smile.

"It was too loud out there," Elin said, scrunching her nose up a little bit.

"Well, it look nice and peaceful here," Remy said. "You t'ree want anymore popcorn, or you jus' gone hold hands when you run out?" he teased.

"Why would we wait until we run out?" Elin asked, straight-faced.

Remy laughed. "You smart, petit," he said, though he laughed even harder when Krissy caught his eye and held up both of her hands to show that she wasn't in on the hand-holding. "You makin' friends, Oliver?"

Oliver glanced up at Remy then looked almost straight down, blushing fiercely and clearly hoping to sink into the couch they were all sitting on. "Yes," he said quietly, and Elin let out a sigh as she gave Remy a look, shaking her head.

"Can we watch Mythbusters when Charlie Brown is over?" Elin asked, pulling her feet up under her.

"Sho' nuff," Remy said with a little laugh. "You wanna blanket too?"

"Yes, please," she called back. "Where is Sying? He loves Mythbusters."

"He playin' wit' his sisters," Remy said. "But I kin tell him 'bout your show."

"Would you please?" Elin asked sweetly as Krissy gave her friend a look.

Remy laughed at that. "'Course I can," he promised, already headed to go find the little half-Kree and making sure to send the little boy on his way as soon as he did.

He went out to where the rest of the dance was after that — since, after all, it was Storm and Forge's turn to be watching the kids anyway — and made sure to keep an eye out for little Chance the whole time he was spinning Marie out on the dance floor. Chance was still dancing, and it looked like some of the girls were actively making sure to keep dancing with him, too, totally enamored with the little boy.

But eventually, Chance did get tired — toward the end of the night — and Scott made sure to steer him back toward where the other kids were. He was pretty worn out from all the dancing, so he just wanted to curl up and watch a movie, though Chance's big grin from all the dancing faltered when he saw that the four kids who had been watching Mythbusters had wound up all curled up together and had fallen asleep that way.

Sying had his head on Krissy's shoulder, and she had her head on top of his, but Elin and Oliver were much more curled up, with Oliver leaning into Elin with his arm around her middle and Elin's head tilted back slightly underneath his.

"Nobody said …" Chance said, then stuck out his lower lip.

"They didn't want to go dancing, remember?" Scott pointed out. "You got to have a good time dancing all night, and they watched movies. It looks like you all got to have fun, right?"

Chance frowned at that and then let out a breath. "Maybe."

Heather and Mac stepped in not long after Scott and Chance, and she positively had to cover her mouth to stop from giggling. "Oh my God, that's so precious," she said at just over a whisper.

Scott smirked her way. "We just found them like this."

Heather took her phone out and snapped a picture with a grin. "This should make it easier to get Logan to take the kids north for the summer," she said, elbowing Scott just slightly.

Scott rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'm sure the other kids would love to have Oliver down for the summer."

"Oh, sure," she said, waving his way. "Maybe for a week or two. But they never get to come up to stay."

"Well, I'm sure you know it's busy running a school. This is the first time we've gotten to see you two in the States since you started yours up," Scott said, perfectly straight-faced.

"Yeah," Mac agreed as he arrived too. "It is busy. But maybe now would be a good time to bring up the possibility of exchanging a little? Some of our kids would probably jump at the chance to come down your way for a semester."

Scott tipped his head to the side as he thought about it. "Yeah, it's not a bad idea for kids that age to get out in the world and see more than just the schools they're in. They should know they have options — some of them are too young to know there are more people out there like them." He shrugged. "You'd be better off talking to Kitty and Storm, though."

"Oh?" Mac said, looking openly let down. "No room for trades in Westchester?"

"The kids that come to Westchester applied to be there from the other schools. They already know they want to be heroes," Scott explained.

"Huh," Mac said, frowning slightly. "Then it wouldn't hurt to ask Logan if the kids would want to come up for a semester. Unless the pressure's on already to stay where they are."

"Logan doesn't run the school — I do," Scott said with a small glare.

"No, I'm talking about his kids," Mac said, holding up both hands.

"Why don't you wait until we know what their mutations are — and when they're getting them," Scott pointed out. "There's no guarantees, and I've already been through it once with Chance dealing with not getting his powers."

"Elin has claws," Mac replied. "That has to count for something."

"And Krissy has a tail. That doesn't guarantee they'll have their full powers their parents do," Scott said. He turned toward Mac. "They're kids. Stop trying to stake a claim until they get their feet and their powers underneath them. And for the love of God, wait until they're old enough to choose whether they want to spend that long apart from their friends and family."

Mac gave Scott a friendly smile and put his hand on Scott's shoulder. "Which is why we were talking about something over the summer first. Shorter stretch. No pressure."

Scott shook his head at Mac. "Yeah. I'm not stopping anyone on my team from vacationing wherever they want. But if I hear you're trying to pressure them into staying there, you're going to hear it from me. They're kids."

"I know, Scott; take it easy," Mac said with a little frown.

Scott crossed his arms. "I'm just telling you because I'm going through it right now with Chance and Charlie. These kids are going to have it hard enough when they do start getting powers. Charlie doesn't want to be a hero, Chance wants to have powers — there's going to be problems no matter how it happens. And when they first start? They need to be around their parents or people with similar powers. It's terrifying for a kid that age when that change starts up — they don't need you pressuring them to go across the border."

"We're following your model," Heather said gently. "And I can promise you: no one is going to try to screw with Logan's kids … ever."

Scott let out a sigh and turned her way. "I'm not saying that's what you're doing," he told her in a slightly quieter tone. "I'm just telling you that this is the first generation of kids growing up with parents who have any clue what being an X-Man or Avenger or even Alpha Flight is like. Our model is good for the kids outside that bubble, but these kids are different."

"And we're the only ones that know what it's like to be a human on a team full of mutants," Heather pointed out. "Let me know if you need any tips."

"Kate's been teaching Chance how to shoot," Scott said, almost defensively.

"That's fantastic," Mac said. "If he wants to keep going, and you want a suit for him, I'd love to make one for him."

"Will it make it hard for me to use karate and swords and stuff?" Chance asked from around Scott's side, totally undercutting his dad's protective streak without even realizing.

"Nope," Heather said. "And mine is bulletproof and lets me fly too."

Chance's eyes went wide as he looked up at her. "Like Iron Man?" he asked, his head tipped to the side. "Because that's kinda clunky."

"Not as bulky," Mac told him. "It's actually a force field, and it looks like most of the other uniforms."

Chance raised his eyebrows and was totally ignorant of the look on Scott's face as he stood up on his toes. "That does sound pretty cool," he admitted, then leaned forward. "I'm learning about karate and swords and shooting and horseback riding and lots of other stuff," he told Heather in a conspiratorial tone.

"It sounds like you're having a lot of fun, then, aren't you?" she asked with a smile.

He nodded. "I'm leaning from lots of people, too," he said. "Logan's teaching me karate and stuff, but my dad's showing me lots of things too!"

"Logan's a fun teacher, isn't he?" Heather said, smiling wider. "He showed me how to throw Mac over my head once."

"Uh-huh!" Chance bounced slightly. "I like learning with him and Elin."

"The kids are pretty close," Scott said, putting a hand on Chance's shoulder. "They usually take lessons together. They're hardly ever apart."

"Oh, I'd pay to see that," Heather laughed.

"Well, if you decide to come down and visit, you'll probably see a trail ride."

As Mac made his way over to pick up Oliver, the little redheaded, freckle-faced boy startled a little and then leaned over to give Elin a little kiss on the cheek as he quietly said goodbye and she drew in a deep breath and stretched out.

"Are we going home now?" Elin asked sleepily.

"Yeah, we're just getting everyone gathered up," Scott told her as he reached down to pick her up too.

"Good," she muttered, snuggling into his neck and drifting back to sleep.

Scott grinned at her and kissed the side of her head as Annie came to join the group and picked up Krissy as well, shaking her head at the whole conversation. "Don't be such strangers," she told Heather.

"Same to you!" Heather said with a grin. "We'd love to have you back, Scott. The kids talked about it for weeks last time."

"I'm sure you're getting along just fine," Scott said with a shrug.

"We're doing okay," she agreed. "But the opportunity to liven things up would never be turned down."

"You know where I am," Scott said, steering Chance ahead of him. "We should do more combined events — maybe let the kids mingle some more. Clearly, we need more events to give the different schools the chance to meet up that don't involve long-term travel," he added, pushing Chance forward as they headed out the door. "We'll talk later. I gotta get these two to bed."

When they got to the jet, Kitty had just set Sadie down, all tucked in with James, the two of them sharing a blanket together; the little boy was sure to pull his little sister close as they fell asleep. "You going to be okay, Fearless?" she asked as Scott came in with Elin.

Scott nodded her way. "Everyone's pretty well worn out," he told her. "You okay?" he added when he saw that she was a little emotional.

"Oh, yeah," she said, gesturing to herself. "I'm sure you remember how it can be. They're just getting so big."

"Yeah," Scott said with a little frown.

"See you soon," Kitty said, wiping a tear away after Scott turned her way. She gave him a little smile and then wrapped him up in a very quick hug. "Are you sure you'll be okay when Logan and K come to Chicago for a little bit?"

"Yeah. They ran things at the end of the fall semester, so it's only fair we do the same while they're going out to help you," he pointed out. "Besides, we don't have as many students as you do."

She gave him a sideways grin. "I told Logan I was craving for him to give a lecture on World War II."

Scott gave her a dry look. "Yeah, I'm sure."

She giggled. "Well, he can't hold my hand the whole time he's there," she pointed out. "Might as well put him to work."

He shook his head at that. "Make sure you send pictures when she gets here," he told her.

"I don't know if I can stand to do that and miss the baby face," she countered, regaining some of her usual fire.

Scott smirked. "Not you too."

"I saw the pictures," she pointed out. "I've seen it in person. It's amazing, you big, giant marshmallow."

"Don't spread it around," Scott said, shaking his head at her.

"Yeah, no worries," she said. "Just tell K that I look forward to returning the favor."

Tommy Shepherd, meanwhile, had not been spending his Valentine's Day at any kind of dance or doing anything even halfway romantic. He had been spending it watching Billy and Teddy's twins, since of course the two most dramatically romantic people he knew in the world had decided to get married on a Valentine's Day.

He wasn't really mad at them, necessarily. He thought it was great that they were going out to see some cool alternate universes or whatever Billy had said that went flying over Tommy's head so fast it parted his hair. That was great. Really.

And he liked being the cool uncle to the twins, too. That was also great. Really.

It was just that… there was something else going on that needed his attention, and he was dying not being able to do anything about it.

Because the thing was, while everyone else had been gone having other-dimension anniversary trips or going to the dance or whatever else they were doing with their lives, Tommy had watched, with his own two eyes, as Erik put on his nicest shirt and went out. On a date. Which he had never, ever, ever done before.

In his nicest shirt.

"What the hell happened?" Logan asked shortly after he and K returned from their night out. The two ferals were watching him warily as he paced a path in the carpet.

Tommy glanced up at both of them wide-eyed. "You — you beat him back home?"

"We weren't doing the romantic rendezvous thing," K countered. "Yet. Too many people." She let out all of her breath as soon as she realized what it was that had him twisted and gave Logan a kiss before she headed toward the stairs. "He's fine."

"Ummm. No?" Tommy said, shaking his head. "No, no, I'm not. Have you… you didn't see…"

"I wasn't talking about you," K called over her shoulder. "Clearly, you need help."

"What's the problem?" Logan asked, heading toward the kitchen.

Tommy let out a long and dramatic sigh. "It's my grandfather," he said, shaking his head.

"What about him?"

"He…" Tommy shook his head. "He's on a date. Right now. Out there somewhere." He waved toward the door to indicate "out there."

"Oh," Logan said then shook his head as he headed to the freezer to pull out his bottle of whiskey and some ice. "With who?" He didn't look overly calm or upset as he poured himself a drink.

"Well, okay." Tommy let out all his breath. "You remember Peter's aunt? Came and stayed with us for a while — well, I mean, you were gone when that happened doing the Wolverine thing and—"

"And what? You think Petey's Aunt is gonna steal his virtue or somethin?" Logan asked, sure to keep his expression flat as he poured his drink.

Tommy dramatically recoiled. "AUGH."

Logan started to chuckle at that and took his whiskey to sit down. "Not sure I caught that. Is that a yes? Should I ream Petey out right now for his obviously ill-intentioned aunt going after poor, innocent Magneto?" He shook his head. "Got done takin' over Queens … now she's movin' on to Westchester."

"Why am I even talking to you right now," Tommy grumbled, not really asking as he dropped into a chair at the kitchen table and rested his chin on the counter.

"Probably 'cause the twins are passed out and K won't listen to your nonsense. Understands this meltdown less than I do."

"He's my grandfather," Tommy pointed out.

"And an ex-supervillain. He can handle himself just fine against a sweet old woman," Logan countered, pausing dramatically to fix Tommy with a concerned expression. "Unless you're afraid she's after his heart pills."

Tommy lifted his head up to glare Logan's way. "That's so not what I'm worried about," he said. "It's just weird."

"I don't want to know if he's got any other little pills," Logan said dryly, shivering a bit as he took his drink.

"Please stop."

"You want to tell him he can't date?" Logan asked. "Or that he should wait for you to grow up before he starts?"

"No." Tommy still had his head on the edge of the table, glaring hard at the centerpiece.

"Then outside of you never havin' seen it — and I promise you, it's no less disturbing the third or fourth time around — what's the problem?" Logan crossed his arms and leaned against the table to watch Tommy stew. "As long as she doesn't trample his little heart and break it into a thousand pieces, he's better off this way." He tipped his head to the side as he reached over to pour himself another drink. "Now … if she does, I'll be moving out. And you probably oughta make sure your insurance is paid up, because that just gets ugly."

"Uh, yeah. That's a distinct possibility? Not… malicious intent," Tommy added quickly. "Just…" He let his shoulders slump slightly. "Well. You can count on one hand how many members of the family are left? So yeah. Yeah, I'm worried. Okay?"

"I think you're safe," Logan argued. "The worst that can happen in this scenario is that the two of 'em have a little fun for a while."

"It's weird."

"It's always weird at first," Logan told him. "You'll get used to it if it lasts."

Tommy shrugged slightly at that but stayed where he was. "You know I moved in to take care of him, right?" he said after a second.

"And he's doin' a lot better because of it," Logan said with a nod. "Doesn't mean he's a teenager that's gonna ditch you because he found something new and shiny."

Tommy nodded, still with his chin on the table.

"They drink tea together," Logan told him. "And fill up some of the time until either you or Petey comes by."

Tommy glanced up at him. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"Of course I did," Logan chuckled.

"Well, nobody told me about this!" Tommy said, sitting up at last and throwing his hands in the air. "I mean, some kinda warning would be nice. I'm still getting used to having a grandpa. How do you deal with a dating one?"

"All it would have taken was a little observation on your part. Not my fault you're slow."

"Hey." Tommy glared at him. "There is no reason to get nasty."

"Kid, this ain't anywhere near nasty," Logan pointed out. "They've been gettin' together for tea and whatever for weeks. Weeks."

"Okay, if you could never say 'tea and whatever' about my grandfather again, that would be really, really awesome."

Logan shook his head and chuckled low. "Well. I don't know what to call it. It's not just tea, and I'm pretty sure it's not that. But I wouldn't bank on it."

Tommy shook his head. "You know what? This didn't help. At all," he said as he stood up.

"What do you want me to tell you?" Logan asked.

"I dunno," Tommy admitted.

"Then how can I help you out?" he replied. "All joking aside, I can tell you that the older he gets, the less chances he's got for this kind of thing — and to spend time with you and the twins too. If he starts blowin' you off, let me know, but otherwise, it seems to me like he's just filling up his time with someone in a similar situation."

Tommy shrugged, though at least he wasn't freaking out nearly as badly as he was before. "Yeah," he said, almost sullenly. "I know. It's fine. It's just… not … what I thought was gonna happen when I moved in, y'know?"

"What did you think was gonna happen?" Logan asked, his tone a lot more sedate.

"Not this?" Tommy shrugged. "I was just set to, you know, take care of him 'til he goes?"

"Fair," Logan replied, nodding. "Pretty sure he'd still be lost without you, though. Won't shut the hell up about you half the time."

Tommy had one eye half closed and his face turned from Logan. "Really?"

"Are you kiddin'? As I understand it, most of what he and May talk about is the kids. You and Petey. Billy. The little ones. That's what they do. Compare and brag."

Tommy didn't do a good job of hiding his grin. "Yeah. Well. Alright then."

Logan got to his feet and picked up his bottle and glass. "You know, I'm told there comes a point where the lines move from 'Where ya from' to 'Look at all these grandkids'. They're at that point."

Tommy started to grin. "You mean they would be if Spidey stepped up his game."

"Yeah. And for now, they're usin' Sadie and the rest of mine as his stand-in kids," Logan said. "Try to relax."

Tommy nodded and headed for the door. "I gotta go check on the twins…"

"Yeah, I'm waitin' to catch the little ones when Scott comes in," he said. "Don't worry. I won't tell Erik you were frettin' over him. If he comes in tonight."

"I was not. I was… battling your stupid mental images, thanks."

"You're welcome. I'll make sure you get the shared text with Pete about broken hips and whatnot."

"I'm gonna need to change my phone number."

"I'll make sure America sends it, then," Logan called out.

Tommy made a face at him for that one, slipping out of the room before Logan could give him any other fuel for therapy.