Author's Note: Well thank you for the pick up in reviews – I had more within the first six hours for that last chapter than in almost a week for the one before. They just reassure me I'm still going in the right direction. Now – I am going to be away from my computer for…almost a week…but I will have a notebook with me so writing will hopefully continue! I will post as soon as I can. Enjoy this chapter!

A Little Complication

Chapter 38: Call Him

"Bwa, da, la, la, da…"

"Da…da?" Bobby tickled Abi's stomach, arching an eyebrow hopefully. "Say dada…"

Abi blinked rapidly, her little icy blue eyes transfixed on her father.

"Da…la…" Abi clapped happily. "Da, la, la, yaba, booo…"

Marie laughed softly.

"She'll get there," she smiled. Bobby nodded, an affectionate smile on his lips as he waved Abi's favourite teddy in her face.

"Oh…thank God it's Friday…" he sighed, collapsing onto the bed as Abi grabbed the teddy, holding it tightly to her chest, yammering away to herself. Marie smiled, sitting down on the bed next to Bobby.

"Tired?"

"A little…" Bobby closed his eyes. "I can still watch a movie though."

Marie grinned.

"Want popcorn?"

Bobby nodded.

"Sure."

"I'll be back soon then…"

x-x-x x-x-x x-x-x

Jinx tapped his fingers on the kitchen counter as he listened impatiently to the ringing coming through the cell phone. His breath caught optimistically as the ringing clicked off but it was the answer phone that greeted his ears. With a weary sigh he listened to Tommy's message and waited for the beep.

"Hey Toms, its Jinx. I was gonna catch a word with you after Mr Drake's class but I guess you got picked up early. I just…wanted to say sorry for being such a dick the other day and…well if you still wanna go see that movie we can maybe go when you get back? Have a good time at your parents and I'll see ya later. Bye…" Jinx exhaled heavily, hanging up the phone and shoving it in his pocket. Grabbing a soda from the fridge he turned towards the door.

"Hi Jinx!"

"Miss D'Ancanto," the younger mutant grumbled in return, making his way out into the corridor without looking up at Marie. Bowing his head he made his way down the hallway towards the stairs, pausing as he approached one of the larger rec. rooms, intrigued by the excited voices drifting out the room calling for drinks and popcorn. Jinx hovered in the doorway, watching as a number of his peers crammed onto the sofas and cushions on the floor, settling down to watch a film.

"Hey…is this guy in that new film?" one of the girls asked, turning the DVD box over in her hands. Carl leant over her shoulder.

"Yeah he's the scary dude."

"Apparently it's not that good a film," one of the boys on the sofa piped up. Carl shrugged.

"I liked it," he slumped down into a space on the sofa, his back to the door. "Tommy seemed to enjoy it although he did say they ruined the spiky haired guy…I can never remember his name…"

Jinx inhaled sharply, turning away from the doorway.

"Hey Jinx!" a female voice followed him out into the hallway – one of the triplets but Jinx had no idea which one.

"You wanna join us?" one of her sisters finished.

Jinx sighed heavily.

"No thanks," he muttered, turning away. "Not in the mood…"

x-x-x x-x-x x-x-x

Jamie arched an eyebrow dubiously at the television in front of him.

"They're making things awfully difficult for themselves," he commented. John rolled his eyes, taking a swig of his beer.

"Of course you could do it so much easier right?" the fire mutant smirked. "James Madrox – master thief."

Jamie nodded, feigning a serious expression.

"Damn right," his lips curled into a grin. "I did do it much easier."

John arched an eyebrow, turning to look at the older mutant.

"You robbed a casino?"

"Two," Jamie smirked before scowling slightly. "Well one and a half. I got arrested doing the second one."

John turned his whole body to face Jamie, closing the gap between them as he did so.

"So tell me – how did they catch the mighty Madrox?"

Jamie crossed his arms defensively although a smile pulled on his lips.

"It wasn't my fault! My so-called accomplice was too busy playing cards and landed me in it."

John laughed.

"Sorry…" he tried to pull a serious expression onto his face. "That must have sucked."

Jamie chuckled softly.

"It sucked a little," he smiled. John looked at him inquisitively, the film completely forgotten about.

"So…how many times have you been caught then?"

"Only two," Jamie replied, arching an eyebrow. "After that casino and then after my seven banks… But on the plus side I did get busted out the second time by some old guy, some naked blue chick and a scary little blonde kid," the multiplying mutant – sober enough to realise what he was doing but drunk enough not to realise it was a bad idea – reached out and brushed some loose hair from John's face. "Turned out the scary kid wasn't such a bad guy though."

The pyrokinetic smiled, instinctively leaning closer. For a moment he just looked back up at the multiplying mutant, his breath catching as he gazed into those familiar bright blue eyes…

x-x-x x-x-x x-x-x

Bobby's eyes opened blearily, slowly adjusting to the light. A slight frown pulled on his brow as it occurred to him how bright and quiet it was. Usually he woke early to the sounds of Abi's soft gurgles drifting through the baby monitor by his bed. Slowly the ice mutant turned his eyes to said monitor, throwing back the covers as he found it switched off. The battery died? What if Abi had been crying and…

The crib was empty. Bobby's frown deepened. Running his hand through his hair he turned back to the main bedroom, his eyes widening slightly as he caught sight of the clock. It was almost lunch time…

He spun round sharply as the door creaked.

"Oh, you're up," Marie smiled as Abi gasped delightedly. "Sleep well?"

"Eh…I guess…" the ice mutant smiled sheepishly. "You should have woken me."

"Don't be silly," Marie sat down on the bed, laying Abi down in the middle amongst some cushions and her toys. "You never get to sleep in. Besides you seemed restless last night – I figured you could do with the chance to catch up."

Bobby inhaled sharply. He had thought Marie had been asleep when he had been tossing and turning and thinking about…

"Thanks," he forced a smile, gesturing towards the bathroom. "Well I'll just go have a shower."

"Ok," Marie grabbed up one of her nursing textbooks. "I'm just gonna do some reading while Abi has a nap."

Bobby glanced at the half-asleep baby on the bed fighting to keep her eyes open. With a quiet laugh and a small nod he turned and made his way to the bathroom. Only when the door was safely shut behind him did he let out his weary sigh. While the longer sleep had helped recharge his batteries it had also given him longer to dream about…

The ice mutant shook his head, quickly undressing and clambering into the shower. Closing his eyes, he sighed quietly as the hot water cascaded down onto his body, enveloping him in its warm embrace…

The ice mutant reached out quickly and turned the thermostat all the way down, turning the water icy cold but it didn't help. Still he thought of John. Still he thought of the fire mutant's warm body. Still he wondered if he was with…

Finally Bobby made his way back through to the bedroom, his gaze immediately drifting to the cell phone lying on his desk.

"I'm just going to call John," he said, grabbing up his phone before he could change his mind. Marie glanced up from her book and gave a small nod before returning her attention to her studies. The ice mutant took a deep breath and ducked into Abi's room. Marie looked up again as the door shut behind her boyfriend, her brow furrowing concernedly. Worrying her bottom lip she looked back down at her textbook, that familiar, nagging feeling eating away at her concentration…

x-x-x x-x-x x-x-x

John's eyes opened blearily, a reluctant groan escaping his lips as he pulled his covers over his head…his aching, bleary head…

"Want a painkiller?"

The fire mutant jumped slightly, throwing his covers back. Jamie laughed quietly.

"Hey…" he sat up slowly, frowning slightly as he found the multiplying mutant sitting at the foot of his bed. Jamie smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, I slept in my own bed last night," he said as John bowed his head, relief twinkling in his eyes. Jamie took a deep breath. "Nothing happened. Now – painkiller?"

"Please..." the fire mutant nodded. Jamie held out a glass of water and two tablets. John took the painkillers and smiled gratefully, popping them in his mouth. "Why do you never have a hangover?"

Jamie laughed.

"I cheat," he confessed. "I duplicate and spread the hangover out and then when I pull them back in it dilutes it."

John scowled although his eyes held a hint of amusement.

"That's so unfair…" he muttered, but a smile pulled at his lips. Jamie laughed and shrugged innocently.

"I quite agree," he smirked. John rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to comment further but he stopped abruptly as his cell phone started to ring. Jamie forced a smile. "Answer it," the multiplying mutant clambered to his feet. "I'll leave you in peace."

John just watched as Jamie left the room, shutting the door behind him. Taking a deep breath he answered the call before he could convince himself not to.

"Drake."

There was a short pause.

"Hi John."

"This you just realising we're gone?" the fire mutant scowled.

"Well I'd have realised sooner if you'd have told me," came the indignant reply.

"Well you didn't seem too fussed that I was there in the first place."

"I came to see you!" Bobby replied defensively.

"Once," John scoffed. The ice mutant took a deep, audible breath.

"I was busy," he replied quietly - genuinely. John sighed quietly.

"What do you want Bobby?" he asked, somewhat resignedly.

"I want to see you," Bobby replied simply. John closed his eyes.

"Not gonna happen."

"What? John I'm sorry I didn't come to see you when you were here but…"

"This isn't about that Bobby," John sighed.

"Then…what's wrong?" there was another brief silence. "Is this about Jamie?"

John closed his eyes against the sickening knot tightening in his stomach.

"Why do we always come back to my fidelity?" the fire mutant snapped, his anger genuinely rising. "Would it make you feel better if I said I'd slept with Jamie? Would it make you feel less guilty about the fact that you are the one doing all the lying and cheating?"

"Of course not!" Bobby replied, horrified. "John I can't stand the thought of you being with him!"

"Well I have been," John replied quickly before he changed his mind. "We were together last night."

A deafening silence met the fire mutant's ears.

"What?" came the eventual reply. "You slept with him?"

"Twice" but the fire mutant's facial expression did not match his confident tone.

"But…we…"

"Oh come on! Don't tell me you haven't kept sleeping with Marie?"

"That's different!"

"No it's not!" John snapped. "You expect to have me all to yourself but I have to go to sleep every night knowing you're with her!"

"You know I'm just staying for Abi!"

"Keep telling yourself that Drake," the fire mutant muttered. "I don't care anymore."

Snapping his cell phone shut he threw it onto the bed next to him. Letting out a shaky breath he ran his hands through his hair, taking deep breaths to try and quell the nausea building up in him. It was all for the best…

x-x-x x-x-x x-x-x

Bobby threw his phone down next to him, collapsing into the only seat in Abi's room. Running his hands through his hair he sighed heavily, closing his eyes and burying his head in his hands. He screwed his eyes tighter shut as he heard his cell phone ring. After what felt like an eternity the ringing stopped…only to almost immediately start up again.

Finally the ringing stopped again and stayed stopped. There was a brief silence before there was a short tone, signalling the arrival of a text message. Taking a deep breath Bobby reached over and snatched up the phone.

I lied. Nothing happened last night or any night

Bobby exhaled sharply. For a moment he just stared at the message before a slightly shaky hand redialled John's number.

"Hey…" came the almost timid reply. Bobby frowned.

"What do you mean you lied?"

John sighed.

"I thought it would be easier if you thought I'd gone back to Jamie," there was a quiet, wry laugh. "I mean that's why you backed off when Jamie told you he was gonna win me back right?"

The ice mutant frowned slightly but didn't disagree. He took a deep, apprehensive breath.

"John – can we not meet up and talk about this?"

"No, I can't do this face to face Bobby – you won't let me!" John's voice cracked slightly. "You and your ice blocks and your hugs and smiles and…"

"Don't do this John…" Bobby pleaded. "Please meet me at the apartment. I'll get us another movie and we can…"

"We can what Bobby?" John interrupted. "Pretend that we're together until it's time for you to go back to your real life?" the pyrokinetic paused briefly. Bobby closed his eyes, wanting to argue but he couldn't. "I can't do it any more. I want what we had that last night all the time."

An ever so faint smile pulled on Bobby's lips.

"I want that too…" he said softly.

"Just not enough," John replied quietly. "You have two options here Bobby. You stay with Marie, spend all the time you want with Abi, your parents love you again, your brother loves you again, the kids at the mansion look up to you, your team trusts you and respects you…" the fire mutant took a deep breath. "Or you can tell Marie the truth and tell everyone you've been cheating and lying, lose the respect of the kids and the x-men and lose your family again. And let's face it – there's no guarantee we'll work. We've already almost fought to the death. What about the next big anti-mutant movement? What if we're on different sides again?"

"I wouldn't fight you John…" Bobby replied, his voice growing quieter still. "I couldn't."

"You might not have a choice," John pointed out, although his tone was gentle. Bobby shook his head helplessly.

"John please – don't do this. I can't do it without you."

"You can't do it with me," John replied exasperatedly. "It's been months Bobby. I gave up one of the greatest guys I have ever met, who loves me just the way I am and who understands me better than I do and…for what? To be your bit on the side."

"John…I…" Bobby's mouth opened but no further sound came out. There was an audible sigh.

"Time to choose Bobby," John said determinedly although there was the hint of a shake in his voice. "Me – or everything else," the fire mutant laughed dryly – resignedly. "I know what I'd choose."

Bobby closed his eyes, burying his head in his free hand, his elbow resting on his knees. His stomach was somersaulting and his chest felt tight. Taking a deep breath he merely exhaled heavily. He never noticed the little green light on Abi's baby monitor flicker on, signalling that the main monitor in the bedroom had just been turned on and was ready to transmit whatever the smaller monitor picked up…