I'm so glad you all are liking this! It's been fun to read what I'd written so long ago and clean it up to look a little better for y'all. There are some things I could change, make the story better, but I won't. I like how it is. I like seeing my style back then. Enjoy!

Lunch was delicious. But Spencer found that he enjoyed the company more than he was enjoying the food. Once it was all done, everyone served up their food and Remy had dragged him out to the back patio to eat, bringing Jubilee, Kurt, Bobby, and even managing to get Rogue to come out too. They were joined after a bit by Betsy and Kitty. The group sprawled out at the tables together and Spencer, for the first time in his life, found himself surrounded by people his own age that not only enjoyed his company, but actually wanted him there. It was different than hanging out with his friends at home. With them, talk inevitably turned towards work, or something connected with work, and though he loved the people on his team very dearly, he was never able to fully be himself around them. Not through any fault of theirs, but because he always had to be careful even outside of work that no one outside the team would find out he was a mutant.

Here, it didn't matter. No one said anything about Spencer's pure white eyes—he hadn't worn his contacts once since being here. No one commented on it if he got a little swept up in emotion, or when he accidentally commented on something Jubilee thought, not said. She hadn't even been bothered. She'd just grinned at him and concentrated hard enough that he easily caught the thought she wanted him to hear, which had made him laugh. Hell, at one point Betsy had even started a telepathic conversation with him that they carried on underneath the rest of the conversation, a quiet teasing that had Spencer trying not to laugh.

Everyone used their powers so openly here. It was a heady feeling to be around people who weren't afraid of who they were and who didn't hide it. When Bobby said something sarcastic to Jubilee, she sent one of her 'pafs' at him. Kurt teleported himself away and back again when Bobby tried to fling some ice at him. When Remy lit his cigarette, he did so with his charge in an absent way that showed just how common it was for him.

Spencer watched them all and he found himself relaxing in ways he hadn't even known he could. There was a feeling here, one of comfort, that he hadn't even known could exist. It was as he was relaxing that he felt someone 'knock' at the edge of his shields. He recognized Jean's touch and opened up to let her speak. /Hey, sweetie. Logan asked me to let you know that he'll be right back. We've got something to handle here in the city, but it should only take about an hour, no more than that/ Jean sent to him.

/Okay, thanks Jean. Tell him to be safe for me, please?/

/Of course/

Her touch faded away and Spencer relaxed himself a little again. Whatever Logan was going to handle would be X-Men business, he knew. He didn't let himself worry about it. Logan was one of the strongest people that he knew. The man would be okay. He always ended up okay.

While the others were talking loudly—arguing, really—about the best action flick, Remy took advantage of the moment to lean over towards Spencer. He tapped his head and gave Spencer a look that was easy to decipher. It was surprising, too. Spencer had heard quickly around here just how little Remy liked telepaths. So Spence was a bit cautious when he went out a cautious /Yes?/

Remy's reply came quickly and easily. /Hey, cher. Jus' wanted to take a moment and see how y'r feeling. Overloading like y' did yesterday aint easy. Y' feeling better?/

/Better. Logan helped square me away. I…I didn't mean to make such a scene. I don't often get overloaded anymore, but I was just a little shaky/ His conversations with Scott and the Professor and with Jean had left him shaky. He looked over at Remy now, worried that his friend would start with the questions, too. Was Remy going to ask him about it? He didn't know if he could put him off as easily as he could the others.

He should've known better, though. Not once had Remy ever pushed him to talk about anything that obviously upset him. He slanted a look over at Spencer and smiled even as he sent a burst of reassurance to him. /Glad y'r feeling better, den/ he sent. Out loud, he suddenly broke into the conversation around them by calling out "Let's play a game."

That caught everyone's interest. Kitty looked up rather eagerly from where she'd been in a heated debate with Bobby. "A game?"

Betsy was a little more cautious. "What game?" She asked carefully.

A broad, roguish grin stretched Remy's face. "Get y'r mind outta de gutter, cher." He teased her, making the others laugh. "I was t'inking somet'ing simple. We could play Two Truths and a Lie. Or Would Y' Rather."

"Oooh! Would You Rather!" Jubilee said excitedly. The others agreed with her rather quickly.

Spencer didn't get a chance to ask what the hell this game was, or how to play it. Before he could do it a thought was extended from Betsy to him, telling him /Don't worry, Spencer, it's easy enough. Someone says two scenarios and you pick which one you'd rather do. It's not a real game with any rules or points or anything, it's just a fun way to laugh and get to know each other a little/

Well that sounded simple enough. All he had to do was say which of two scenarios he'd rather do? It seemed simple enough.

Jubilee started them out. "Okay, okay, I get to ask first. All right. Would you rather…have ten million dollars, or true love?" She asked.

For a first question that seemed like a bit of a no brainer to Spencer. He was surprised to see the others didn't feel the same way. Betsy answered quickly enough, saying "True love", as did Kurt and Kitty, but Bobby and Rogue both took a moment to answer it. Eventually Rogue said "True love", but Bobby actually said "I'd take the ten million, man. Love will come around eventually, but money can get you a whole hell of a lot."

"Money's easy enough to come by." Remy said with a shrug of his shoulder. "I'd take amour, any day of de week."

"I'd take love, too." Jubilee said. She turned herself towards Spencer, who was sitting in the chair next to her. "What about you, Spencer?"

He looked around at them all and flushed ever so slightly. "Love. I've already got plenty enough money."

"You guys are all crazy." Bobby told them with a shake of his head. "Whatever, man. I'm giving the next question! Would you rather…"

So started one of the most interesting games that Spencer had ever played. The questions everyone asked ranged from hilarious to disgusting to thought-provoking. Some were simple, sort of easy questions, like "Would you rather be able to stop time, or fly?" while other questions were just slightly…strange. Like when Bobby asked "Would you rather give up cheese or oral sex?" All in all it was an afternoon unlike any he had ever spent. Spencer found himself caught up in it all and he was relaxing without even realizing it.

At one point Remy leaned over to tease him about something and flung an arm around his shoulders, laughing and giving him a squeeze. Neither man commented on the fact that he didn't let go. Not long after that, Jubilee kicked her feet up to rest on Spencer's knees. He shoved playfully at them, but he left them there, and she grinned at him.

Spencer didn't know how long they'd all been sitting out there. But he was quite content and relaxed when he felt the first stirring of something in his mind. A quick look inwards had him smiling. Jubilee caught his expression and she nudged at him with her foot. "What's up, Spencer?"

"Logan's back." Spencer smiled as he spoke. The smile suddenly wiped away, though, when the sensation in his mind got a little clearer. His entire body went still. Tuned to him, Remy turned, already braced for trouble. "What is it, cher?"

Spencer's eyes went distant for just a moment as he pulled inside of his mind and ran along one of the links there. "Pater." He whispered. Then, quick as a flash, he dumped Jubilee's feet off his lap and he was up and racing off to the mansion. He didn't even register anyone racing after him. Nothing else mattered to Spencer except getting to Logan.

By the time he reached the lower levels of the mansion, he was scanning the people that were with Logan, his body moving almost on autopilot. Because of how focused he was on his goal, he didn't notice the way everyone jumped when he burst into the holding cells. Instantly he started to move toward the room they held Logan inside of. Hands grabbed for him, but Spencer twisted away from them. "Spencer, no." Scott was saying to him. He tried to grab his arm again. "He's feral right now. You can't go in there."

Spencer jerked his arm free and went right up to the door. "Open the door."

"I can't, Spencer. I'm sorry."

"Open the damn door." He snarled at the crowd. When no one moved to do it, Spencer focused his mind on the controls and used his TK to press the appropriate button before anyone could stop him. Then he darted straight into the room.

The others tried to follow, to come and 'rescue' him from Logan in full feral mode. None of them understood. Spencer looked at the furious Wolverine and didn't even flinch. Sharp eyes locked on to him, pinning him in place while snarls dripped past his lips. Instead of backing away as voices behind him were hissing at him to do, Spencer took another step forward. He let a low whine build in the back of his throat that was soft and pitiful sounding.

Wolverine froze at the sound. His head lifted and he took a testing sniff of the air. Spencer whined again and tipped his chin up so that the long column of his throat was exposed to Wolverine. The growl Wolverine gave was warm and approving at the submissive gesture. His emotions shifted from rage to curiosity and worry. He was worrying about what had made the 'pup' in front of him whimper.

Reading his emotions and skimming over his thoughts, Spencer carefully judged his timing. He took a few steps forward and whimpered again, higher this time. He lifted his chin even more until his neck was stretched. This time Wolverine took a step forward. Gasps sounded behind them when he bent forward and pressed his nose against the side of Spencer's throat. He started to sniff Spencer in a gesture the young man knew was a search. He was trying to figure out what was wrong.

Spencer let his chin drop down when Logan's sniffing moved, but he tipped his head forward, butting his forehead against Wolverine's shoulder. He projected a small sense of exhaustion, not enough to influence Wolverine but enough that it would change his own scent. The beast in Logan responded quickly to the change in one that he now recognized as his pup. With one arm, he scooped Spencer against his side, carrying him over to the single bed in the cell. There he laid Spencer down, pushing him flat onto the bed. When it looked like Logan was going to move away, Spencer curled his body a little and whined once more. He didn't dare use his telepathy—the Wolverine had astounding senses when it came to telepathy. No, he had to rely solely on his own knowledge and his empathy.

Wolverine turned back to him at the whining. He growled a warning for Spencer to settle down, putting a hand on his shoulder to keep him on the bed. Spencer bent his head to nuzzle at Wolverine's hand as he whined and growled together. Deliberately he let his body shiver. The Wolverine responded to the playfulness by cuffing the side of Spencer's head to get him to stop. But he stopped trying to leave and instead curled around his 'pup' to both warm him and to be able to protect him. That was what Spencer had wanted.

It wouldn't take long like this, he knew. Not long at all. This wasn't the first time that Spencer had ever done this for his father figure. He kept a light mental watch and he felt it as the shift from Wolverine back to Logan started to happen. The hold on him didn't change, nor did either one of them try to move right away. Spencer felt Logan give him a brief squeeze; a silent acknowledgement that he was back. In response, Spencer sent a shielded thought, making sure their conversation was kept private from anyone outside the room. /Back with me, Pater?/

/Back. Been a long time since I came back like this instead of locked up somewhere/

That made Spencer wince. /I'm sorry/

He felt Logan shrug just a bit behind him. /Not your fault. Now, come on, let's go deal with the shit storm that's about to hit/

Shit storm was an understatement. Spencer didn't think he could remember seeing Scott quite so furious in his time here. But the man was livid now, and it was all for Spencer. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" He demanded when Spencer and Logan stood in front of him, outside the cell. "You could've been hurt! He could've killed you!"

The idea of that had Spencer wanting to snort, a reaction quite unlike him. He settled for shaking his head. "No, he wouldn't have."

"You don't know that!" Scott fired back.

Spencer didn't let him continue. He cut in before the man could get going again. "Yes, I do know that. Never once has the Wolverine seriously hurt me. He's pinned me, pushed me into a wall, or held me down, even bit me once, but he has never intentionally hurt me. I know how to play submissive enough to keep him at ease until he can get my scent. Once he does, the Wolverine recognizes me. He labeled me as 'his pup' that first time that I met him."

"He's right." Logan said. He put his hand on Spencer's shoulder and stood at his side in firm support. "He's mine an every part of me knows that."

It wasn't hard to see just how difficult a time Scott was having with this. The others around them didn't look like they believed it either. Maybe it would be best to give them an example. "Once, when I was twelve, Logan got attacked when I was with him and he went completely feral. It was the first time I'd ever seen it. I had no idea what to do, no idea how to act, and I admit that I was scared. Wolverine turned to me and he was snarling, claws out, but he didn't charge." Spencer remembered how surprised he'd been there. How terrified. Looking back at it now made him smile in remembrance. "He started sniffing at me, checking me over, and then someone behind him moved and he spun around and I could tell he was protecting me. He ended up picking me up and carrying me out of there. He got me someplace safe and defensible, and we stayed there for the next twenty four hours until the Wolverine finally relaxed and Logan could come back. Not once did he hurt me. The only time he got growly was if I pushed too much. So long as I was the submissive pup, I was safe. I've remembered that every time since then and I've always been safe with him. That probably helps, too. My scent never says I'm afraid of him. I trust them both; Logan and Wolverine."

Scott looked back and forth between the two of them before shaking his head and giving them an exasperated look. "I swear, he's definitely yours, Logan. He's got that Wolverine stubborn streak in him."

Logan grinned proudly. "Yep." Smirking over at his boy, he gave Spencer a squeeze. "C'mon, brat. While you're down here we might as well go pick up those new vitamins Hank wants you to take."

Rolling his eyes, Spencer nonetheless let himself be tugged down in the direction of the med lab. Scott fell into step with them and Spencer paid little attention as he heard the two discussing the girl that they'd brought back from the city from whatever they'd gone to do. When they reached the lab, a look around showed that Hank was still busy with the girl. Scott headed that direction, telling them "I'll let him know you're out here."

That left Spencer and Logan standing there together. Not for long, though. Logan tugged him in close in a one-armed hug and then let go of him. "I'm gonna go take care of some things, brat. I was just about to start talking with Chuck when I got called out. You good here on your own?"

At one point in time the answer to that would've been no. Now, Spencer smiled at him reassuringly and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be okay. I'm just picking up vitamins, not having any tests or anything like that. Is everything okay, though?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Logan reached a hand out and ran it over Spencer's hair, more a pet than a caress. His expression gentled a bit. "I'm just going to let them know to back off their questions, that's all."

It took just a split second for Spencer to connect what he was talking about. When he did, his eyes went wide. "What?"

"Don't worry, brat. I aint after telling any stories. I'm just gonna clearly let him know that he needs to lay off the questions and let you be. I aint gonna tell him why. That's no one's business but yours."

Relief filled Spencer so strongly he closed his eyes. "Thank you."

Another pet to his hair, this time a little firmer, and it was followed by Logan cupping his neck and giving a small shake. Then the hand was gone and he heard the man leave the room. Love and gratitude welled up in Spencer in equal measures. Leave it to Logan to take something like that on. Spencer should've figured that his father figure would have some kind of solution for him after yesterday's events. He always found some way to take care of Spencer. With a childlike faith that Spencer had never had in anyone else, he trusted that Logan would be able to handle this, and he pushed the thoughts out of his mind.

While he waited for Hank to finish with his patient, Spencer wandered, looking at the books on the bookshelf against the wall. There were quite a few up there that looked interesting. I'll have to ask Henri if I can borrow them later. He imagined the kind doctor would have no problems loaning him the material. It would give them another topic to discuss when they got together. Those discussions with Hank were one of the things here that Spencer really enjoyed.

The slightly raised voice and concern from his friend drew Spencer's eyes to the exam room window. As soon as he did, he found himself drawn into what he saw there. The voices weren't clear, but the body language was practically screaming. A young woman sitting on the table; she had to be the one Scott had been talking about. What her power was, Spencer wasn't sure. But he knew she was twenty one and her background was whispered to not be that pleasant. He thought he remembered them saying her name was Traveler. Not original, but, it was what she gave them.

The machine the woman was hooked up to showed that her heartbeat was becoming rapid. Even through the window, Spencer could see the way she was sweating. One of her hands was over her chest and was trembling, her chest heaving under that hand as if she was having a hard time drawing in breath, looking for all intents and purposes as if she was having a heart attack. Spencer could see exactly what was happening. She was having a panic attack.

He didn't hesitate to make his way toward the exam room. When he entered, he didn't pay any attention to Scott against the far side of the room. Instead, he was focused on Traveler and on Hank, who was at her side. "Henri, step back." He called out to his friend.

Hank looked up for a split second before looking to his machines. "What is it?" He asked, not stepping away, not looking up, but still obviously listening. He'd come to respect Spencer and his quick mind enough to listen when he spoke.

As the woman gave another gasping breath, Spencer reached forward and took hold of Hank's arm, stopping him. "Step back." He said seriously. His eyes were locked on the woman's. "Traveler." Spencer kept his voice calm and steady as he called out her name. Her wide, panic filled eyes lifted to him, locking on him. He could feel the panic radiating off of her. "Traveler, I need to know. Is this the first time this has happened to you?"

She dropped one hand to grip the side of the table, continuing to gasp, sweating even more. She shook her head no.

That told Spencer even more. He stepped closer but made sure not to crowd her and not to touch her. Their eyes stayed connected. "I want you to try and breathe with me, Traveler. I want you to draw a breath in and hold it for two and then out for two. I'm going to count for you. Now…one…two." He watched her draw her air in and try to hold it. "That's it. Out, one, two." He repeated this a few times, getting her in the rhythm. "Okay, now to four. You can do this. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three four." After a few of those, he upped it to six. With each breath he helped her draw, she regained more and more control of her breathing. The panic was still there, though.

"Would you like a glass of water, now?" he offered.

She took another steady breath. "Please."

Spencer smiled and moved to the sink. He didn't realize that he was being watched by the others in the room. All his attention was focused on the girl on the table. When he brought her back the water, he watched her take a few sips. "Traveler, would you like to move to a different room? In the main part of the lab is a comfortable couch I can highly recommend." The gratitude in her eyes was answer enough. Spencer stepped up and offered his hands, bracing her as she stepped off the table. Then he assisted her out to the couch. Once there, he helped her sit and then took the opposite side.

After a moment of allowing her to calm further, Spencer posed his first question. "Have you ever been diagnosed?"

Traveler nodded at him. "I…I couldn't afford treatment." She admitted.

"Panic disorders grow worse without treatment. I'll see what I can do about getting you the help you need while you're staying here. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the best solution, but until that starts, there are medications that can be tried that might help you some."

"I was on Valium before, until I couldn't get any money together. They used to help."

Nodding, Spencer shifted a little toward her. "I'll discuss your case with Dr. McCoy and we'll see what we can do for you. I take it that something in the exam room was a trigger for you?"

"The table." She gave a soft little shiver, eyes closing. "I, I can't stand the tables. The stirrups. I just, I can't."

She seemed so embarrassed by what she'd said that Spencer couldn't help his response. "I have panic attacks that are triggered by cooking fish. Not all seafood. Specifically fish." He said. When she opened her eyes with surprise, he gave her his little half-grin. "Yes, I know that it sounds strange. But I cannot stand the smell of fish cooking in any way. I've become better about the panic, but it still can rear up at me and take me under if the scent catches me off guard. There's no reason to be ashamed of this, Traveler, or of what triggers it. Panic disorder is just that; a disorder. "

She offered him a tiny smile. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome." He smiled back at her. "Are you ready to go back and try this again? You don't have to sit on the table, I promise. Dr. McCoy won't make you do anything you're not comfortable with." He waited until she nodded at him and then he held his hand out once more. "Let's go, then."

Fifteen minutes later found Spencer, Scott and Hank all sitting inside Hank's office. It was where Hank usually took Spencer on the rare instances he was down here; he knew how little Spencer really liked the lab area. Like Remy, he was much more comfortable in the relaxed atmosphere of the office. Hank had noted it with both of them and found it rather telling. He said nothing on it, though. He wasn't the type of friend to pry.

Hank was grabbing water bottles from his mini fridge while Spencer and Scott each took to a chair. The field leader was looking at Spencer curiously. "That was quite impressive, Spencer." Scott told him honestly. He reached up and took the water that Hank handed him and then he looked back at Spencer, who was taking his water now. "You did really well with her."

Hank took a seat behind his desk, nodding his agreement. "Yes, you did. I was so caught up in the medical that I missed the obvious signs there. Thank you."

Slightly embarrassed, Spencer shrugged, sitting in his usual seat against the wall. Well comfortable in Hank's office now, he toed off his shoes and curled his legs up in the chair with him. "I'm a profiler. Reading body language is my job; we study human behavior. Not to mention that one of my BA's is in psychology. Though, I've been trying to do the work to bump it to a full doctorate. I think I'd like that."

Scott lifted one eyebrow. "One of them?"

At Spencer's blush, Hank started to laugh. "Yes. Our young friend does not advertise this, but he is quite intelligent."

Spencer shot Hank a look. "Intelligence cannot be accurately quantified." He stated, as he often did to people. When Hank rolled his eyes and shot him a look, Spencer sighed and gave up. If he didn't say it, Hank would. So he looked over to Scott and Charles and told them "I wasn't keeping it a secret. I just don't see the need to advertise it. I have an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and can read twenty thousand words a minute. I have three doctorates—mathematics, engineering and chemistry. And I have a BA in psychology and sociology and have almost completed one in philosophy. As I said before, I'm trying to turn the psychology to a full doctorate."

"If I don't convince you to pursue one in medicine first." Hank countered.

That wasn't the first time Hank had teasingly mentioned that. Spencer shook his head and smiled shyly at the man. "There's no real call for a medical degree in my line of work."

"Have you thought about other work?" Scott asked.

The question threw Spencer a little. "Other work?"

Scott nodded. He took a drink off his water and then balanced the bottle on his knee, held loosely with one hand while he tried to discreetly watch Spencer's face. "Yes. With a mind like yours, combined with your powers, you'd be quite an asset to anyone. I'd snatch you up in a heartbeat if the opportunity was there. You'd make a great asset to this team, Spencer."

Heat filled Spencer's cheeks and he automatically dropped his gaze down. The shy gesture had Hank smothering a smile. Scott didn't even try smothering his. He let it grow, grinning openly at him. "You can't be surprised there, Spencer." He said with amusement. "You have to be able to see the good that you could do here with us."

"I've never really thought about it before." Spencer said with a shrug of his shoulder. Why would he have? It didn't really make much sense. There was no reason that any of them would want him here. Besides, he'd come here to rest with Logan, to heal, not to find himself a new job. He didn't need a new job. He loved being a profiler. It was all he'd ever wanted to do.

Hank and Scott both saw the debate running across Spencer's face and they knew now wasn't the time to press. They'd planted the idea. For now, they'd step back and let that quick mind go.