I moved this story over to the M group because things are going to start getting graphic fairly soon; in a very delicious way I hope.

Enjoy, and drop a review if you have the time; good or bad.

Part 12

The call was nothing they hadn't heard before, it wasn't shrill, but it was startling given that they were absorbed in each other.

"There's been a perimeter breach in the south east quadrant." The tone had some urgency to it, but the responses were well practiced. Jean was already on her way to the point of the breach. Storm and Bobby were to head out to the exact opposite quadrant and work their way in on the perimeter. Kurt and Scott would pick right and left midpoints and work their way to Jean, and Kitty was to co-ordinate from the control room in the mansion with Xavier.

Kurt and Storm looked at each other, for the split second it took to compose themselves and slide, effortlessly into the X personas. But the look in her eyes was deeply sad, Kurt thought to himself.

"Go Oro, I will see you soon." She could think of nothing to say in the short time she had, and felt only a sickness in her stomach that the threat might be real, and that suddenly, she had so much more to loose. Kurt was already opening her window, the fastest point of egress for them both. He stood aside, as she leapt for the sill; her eyes now white, and flew gracefully through into the night. Then he threw himself through the window, rolling as he fell, teleporting to the ground and rematerializing running. He couldn't think about her, not now, he had to think about all of them, if he was going to be at all effective. The anger and panic of the first attack began to return to him, and he focused on that, reaching the edge of the property in moments, and beginning his run and inspection in the darkened night at the edge of the forest.

He scanned left and right as he ran, listening for movement, watching for anything out of the ordinary. But there was nothing, and he was approaching Jean, who was kneeling over a supine form in the short grass at the edge of the woods; far too close to the burned out spot of the spring, too close to be a coincidence? He asked himself.

Scott was coming from the other side, he also had found nothing, and the two joined Jean.

"He's human." She spoke out loud. "The safety systems must have jolted him when he tried to cross." The system was sophisticated, it could recognize human vs. mutant vs. inanimate object or animal, and it tried to react accordingly. Not that it could neutralize any and all mutants who tried to cross, but it certainly packed a larger punch for them.

The men crowed around the figure. He looked to be about 24 or so, dressed as any other 24 year old university student might be, jeans, a white t shirt, leather bomber jacket, and completely out cold on the grass. There was nothing distinct about him, except that he was unconscious. Kurt knelt to check his pulse, and could easily smell the alcohol on his breath, as he breathed steadily, as if asleep.

"He's just stunned Kurt." Jean offered, "He should come around in a few more minutes."

"Good." Kurt muttered.

"What was he doing here Jean?" Scott asked.

"His unconscious mind isn't showing much, just images of some type of party."

"Do you believe he could have just gotten drunk and stumbled into the perimeter defenses?" Kurt inquired.

"That may be a good assumption Kurt." He recognized the voice, and instinctively looked skyward as Storm came to a gentle landing on the grass beside him. Her face was all business, which he thought was good, he had no desire to explain anything to the others right now; the fact that he was shirtless was likely going to cause a few questions anyways.

"Storm?" Scott was taking charge of the situation.

"There is a vehicle about a hundred yards from here, on the back road. There appear to be two men in it."

Jean focused her attention in the direction that Storm pointed out, just as Bobby was coming upon them; he also had nothing to report. It would seem the breach had been isolated to this one human.

"They are getting out of the car now." Jean reported, and as if on cue, voices could be heard.

"Jason? Where the hell are you man?"

"He's f***kin' gotten lost hasn't he?"

"I don't know, this dare was your stupid idea."

"No, it was yours."

"I didn't want to come down here, this place is f***kin' creepy."

Bobby had shifted back to his normal looking form and gone to stand behind Jean.

"Maybe we should give this guy back to his friends?"

Scott nodded, and Jean and Bobby hoisted him up, one limp arm over each shoulder, and trudged Jason back to his friends.

Jean did all the talking as they met up with the other two men, stumbling around in the dark.

"I believe your friend has had an accident." She told them as they stared at her and Bobby. "He'll be all right, but he must have fallen and passed out."

"Jason always did drink too much." One responded, edging close enough to take Jason's arm from Jean. "We'll take him home."

"Just remember this is private property, who knows what might have happened to your friend if we hadn't found him first." She added, perhaps with more mental force than necessary, "You would be well advised to leave your little pranks and dares for your campus, and not return here again."

Both men nodded, now having their friend held up between them, apologized, and fled back to their car, cursing all the way about 'whose stupid idea was this?' Jean and Bobby returned to the group.

"I think we can call this a false alarm everyone, just a drunken Halloween prank. But I'll stay out here with Scott for awhile longer, just to make certain."

Bobby, Kurt and Storm agreed with Jean's assessment, and drifted back to the mansion, leaving her and Scott alone.

"Do you really think it was nothing Jean?"

"I don't know for certain Scott, there wasn't much to pick up in any of their minds, but they all seemed so confused to find themselves here." She paused, "I suppose it could just be the alcohol, but I do want to make certain they leave, and don't return tonight."

"I'm happy to wait with you then darling." And Scott settled himself on the grass, back against one of the large tree trunks, he patted the ground beside him for Jean to come and sit. "We hardly get any time now a days to just sit out under the stars and watch the heavens."

Jean snuggled into his chest, the warm and familiar one that made her feel secure.

"You're right darling, we don't take enough time for ourselves anymore."

"Jean? Do you think something's up with Kurt?"

"No, why would you ask?"

"He looked a little 'untidy' tonight."

"I noticed his shirt was off, but he was probably just getting out of his costume when I called for everyone."

"I suppose. You know he and Storm went out for dinner this evening?"

"I didn't know that, but I think it's wonderful, it's nice when he can get away from the mansion. Ever since Logan left he's been keeping to himself far too much."

"He's a good instructor though," trust Scott to fix on the logical assessment.

"Yes he is, it was a good idea to bring him into the ranks." Jean sighed and looked up at the stars, casting her mind out once again. "Those boys are finally leaving, it looks like Jason threw up before they could get him into the car."

"College boys." Scott sighed; he had a great deal of difficulty understanding how they could be so irresponsible.

Bobby had gone on ahead on his own through the forest, leaving Kurt and Storm to linger behind, and in his absence Kurt had reached out for her hand. She had been only too happy to take his. The focus on a threat to the school was slowly fading from her mind, being replaced with the sensations she had been awash in as she had stood facing him in her room, as she had undone his shirt.

"Will you come back with me?" She asked very softly.

Kurt's mind was still playing over the dread which had exerted control over him as he had run the perimeter, and as he had arrived at the spot where he, Logan and Bobby had burned the troop carriers, medical transport, and bodies. Logic wanted to tell him it was coincidence due to the proximity of the access road, but logic had taken a back seat to pure emotion. Storm's hand was to ground him again, to bring him back beyond the anxiety and depression it had wrought.

"I should come back and pick I up my shirt." There was nearly no tone in his voice as he continued his struggle. Storm's heart sank, and she stopped walking, pulling against his grip with his next forward step before dropping his hand altogether.

"Stop Kurt." He did and turned to face her. "What has happened?"

He could see the hurt in her face; it killed him inside to have made her so unhappy.

"That was thoughtless of me." In truth it had been, a convenient answer to an inconvenient crisis of spirit.

"Is that what you want?"

"No Oro, it isn't."

"Then what?"

"It's so hard to explain, the fear and the loss, I could not stand to lose you Oro, and the possibility has filled me with terror."

"Kurt, it is who we are, that we feel this terror, both of us, all of us. We have only moments of lives that we can chose to live, or not. I cannot say for certain that any of us will see the sun tomorrow, or that we will live into old age, or that we will not have to see any more friends die, none of us can. It is our lot with our choice to be X-Men, and we have to take every moment of happiness we are offered, because to lose one could bring even greater grief and regret."

And there was the word that Kurt had been trying so hard to avoid, trying so hard to fight in his melancholy: regret. It crippled everything.

"Let me give you a memory of happiness to keep in your heart Kurt. Come with me." She now held out her hand to him, he took it and followed her silently to the edge of the woods. The light from her bedroom window was visible.

"You will still have me, despite my foolishness my Lady?" His voice nearly cracked as he spoke, more to the ground than to her.

"I will have every flawed part of you, if you will keep the same of me."

She dropped his hand and lifted off the ground, her gown swirling around her ankles.

He could do nothing else, as his heart was lost. He watched her hovering, still staring down at him, but moving further away. Another look at her window, and he leapt for her, the crack of the 'bamf' split the quiet night, as he reappeared sitting astride the sill, now holding his hand out to her. She took his hand again, and he drew her into the room, closing the window as he took her in his arms and kissed her with all the desire the fear had lit in him.