AN: firbird01: Okay everybody, take a deep breath and try not to cry. This will be the last chapter of Continuing From Where We Left Off.

Marie: WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jean: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cassie: NO! I'M NOT GOING BACK INTO THE BASEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Characters begin to riot, tipping things over and...um...doing...rioty stuff, I guess.

firebird01: Hey! Wait a minute guys! (Narrowly dodges a flying piece of concrete.) Guys! Please! Calm down! EVERYBODY FREEZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone stops and stares.

firebird01: Okay...no one is going back into the basement. I just thought that I had a lot of chapters on this story, so I'm going to write another story picking up from the end of this chapter. Got that? A sequel!

Characters are very quiet. They then begin to riot in joy over the thought of a sequel.

firebird01: Oh no, WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!! (Loud crash is heard) ...That was very expensive...Okay, you guys read the next chapter, I gotta get control over this riot.

firebird01 enters a closet, then comes out with enough guns to make Rambo jealous. She faces the rioting crowd with a sawwed-off shotgun in each hand.

firebird01: Alright then, BRING IT ON BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 35

"...How long has she..."

"Scared me to death..."

"...Mild concussion..."

"...What happened..."

"Hey! I think she's waking up!"

Marie groaned as her head throbbed in pain. She slowly opened her eyes, trying to adjust them to the bright light of what she guessed was the infirmary. When she finally managed to clear the cobwebs, she saw that she was surrounded by people. Logan, Scott, Jean, Cassie, Ororo, Hank, Sara, Kitty, Piotr, Charles and various students were all crowded around the table that she was laying on.

"Marie, are you okay?" Jean asked worridly. Marie smiled at her, assuring her that she was fine.

"I'm good, but man I had the wierdest dream. You were there, and so was Cassie." She pointed at an amused Cassie as she said her name. "And the wierd part was, you told me that you were pregnant!" Marie said as she turned her attention back to Jean, who could only offer her a sad smile.

"Uhhhh, Marie..." Jean trailed off. Marie's eyes widened when she realised that she hadn't been dreaming.

"Oh...you're really gonna have a baby, aren't you?" Marie whispered as she looked into Jean's emerald eyes. Logan cleared his throat, nudging Scott with his elbow.

"Okay everybody!" Scott said, quickly getting the hint. "I think it's about time we gave these two ladies some privacy!" Everyone groaned and whined.

"But Marie has a concussion from hitting her head. I need to check her skull for any serious fractures." Hank said.

"And I need to make sure that there was no mental damage." Charles offered.

"And this looks like a scene from a soap opera." Cassie added.

As everyone began to complain about why they absolutely needed to stay, Marie shot a helpless look at Scott and Logan. Scott looked as helpless as Marie felt, but Logan looked as though he had an idea. He gently took Scott's hand and pulled him around the table until they were standing just inside the metal doors of the infirmary.

"HEY EVERYBODY!" Logan called, getting everyone's attention. "WATCH THIS!!!"

He grabbed Scott's face and pulled him into a deep kiss. Scott instinctively kissed back. Everyone stared as Logan's tongue entered Scott's mouth and Scott ran his fingers lovingly through the shorter man's hair. Finally, when all had been silent for at least a minute, the two men reluctantly broke the kiss.

"Oh my GOD!"

"When did this happen?!"

"Is this why you're going with Scott to Muir Island?"

The two men ran out of the infirmary, closely followed by everyone except Jean and Marie. When the infirmary got quiet again, the two women turned their attention back to each other. Jean smiled at Marie and twirled one of her white streaks around her finger.

"Yes sweetie, I'm really gonna have a baby." Jean whispered to a stunned Marie, who soon broke into a grin.

"Oh my God...WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!" She exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. She immediately regretted it, though, when her pounding headache intensified and sent her back onto the metal table.

"Owwwwwwwww..." She moaned as she sat back down. "Jean, tell the little bastard in my head to turn off his jackhammer." She whined as Jean gently lowered her back down onto her back.

"Oh, my baby's hurting." Jean cooed as she reached for a wet washcloth. She dabbed the wet cloth on Marie's forehead, earning a few appreciative moans from her lover.

"God my head hurts. Did I hit it when I fainted?" Jean nodded, gently kissing Marie's forehead. She lowered her mouth to Marie's ear.

"Marie?" She whispered, tickling Marie's ear and earning a giggle from the normally reserved mutant.

"Yes Jean?"

"I love you." Marie grinned broadly, temporarily forgetting her headache.

"I love you too, and I promise that I'm going to take care of both you and this baby. I'm gonna be the kind of parent that people only hear about in their most wonderful dreams. I'm gonna devote everything in me to meeting the needs of both you and this baby. I'm gonna make sure that, above everything else, you and our baby will be taken care of, no matter what's happening with the rest of the world. I love you both so much, and I'm gonna spend the rest of my days proving it in every action, every deed, and most of all, every word." Marie looked Jean in the eyes throughout her speech, trying to convey all of her love and devotion in her chocolate eyes. Jean felt her heartstrings being expertly plucked by every sincere word that passed through Marie's soft lips. Jean sighed in an adoring manner.

"Marie, everyday you remind me just why I fell in love with your beautiful soul." She whispered as she met Marie's sweet lips with her own.

One week later, on Christmas Day...

"Merry Christmas Marie!!!!!!" Cassie said enthusiastically as Marie dragged herself into the kitchen. She gave Cassie a glare that clearly said, "Fuck off!" as she reached for the coffee pot. She poured herself a cup and took a swig, closing her eyes and allowing the precious caffeine to stimulate her senses. When she opened her eyes, she was like a whole new person.

"Merry Christmas Cassie!!!!!!" She said with equal enthusiasm. Cassie laughed and watched Marie sit across from her at the kitchen bar.

"Of course, I forgot that you need your caffeine fix before you become a morning person." Cassie joked as Marie nodded and took another swig of her coffee.

"So, just what are you doing up this early? Did you forget to get a gift for Ororo?" Marie teased, earning a shake of the head from Cassie.

"Nope, I got my gift for Ro taken care of." Cassie assured.

"Then what are you doing up so early?" Marie countered.

"Well, it's Christmas." Cassie said simply, as if the answer were as plain as the nose on her face. Marie thought for a moment before shrugging.

"Okay, fair enough." She said before drinking some more coffee. She noticed that her precious fuel was running low, so she telekinetically summoned the coffee pot to her hand.

"Y'know, TK is really spoiling you." Cassie commented as she watched Marie pour herself another cup. Marie offered the pot to her, which she happily took.

"Well, apparently it's spoiling you too." Marie said with a smirk as Cassie refilled her own cup. Cassie took a long sip of her drink before returning her attention to Marie with a very serious face.

"Speaking of spoiling, how's the baby doing?" She asked. Marie smiled blissfully as her thoughts drifted to the little life inside of her fiancée.

"As far as we know, the baby's developing like it should. It's still pretty early though, so we'll just have to wait a while to be sure."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Cassie asked immediately. Marie snorted in laughter.

"Cassie, Jean's not even a month along! It's too early to tell! Besides, we want it to be a surprise." Marie explained.

"Have you thought about names?"

"No."

"How about rooming?"

"Nope."

"Insurance?"

"Nu-uh."

"Well, for God's sake Marie, what HAVE you thought about?!" Cassie said with a sigh. Marie gave her a very serious look.

"Cassie, we want you and Ororo to be the baby's godparents." Marie whispered, causing Cassie to stop her rant in its tracks.

"..." Cassie sat silently, mouth slightly agape. Marie grinned from ear to ear.

"HEY GUYS, COME HERE! CASSIE'S SPEECHLESS! YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!!!!!!!!!" She yelled, making Cassie blush and lightly punch her in the shoulder. Cassie fought to control her blush as Marie wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.

"To answer your question Marie, yes. I'll make sure that Ro's cool with it, but I'd be honored to be your baby's godmother." Cassie said as she looked at her best friend's hopeful expression. Marie smiled and took Cassie's hand from across the table.

"Thanks Cassie." She said honestly, making Cassie release the grin she had been fighting to contain.

"No problem." She said.

The two friends sat in a comfortable silence that seemed to last forever. Finally, Marie had to ask something that was on her mind for the past week.

"Cassie?"

"Yo." Marie hesitated, before finally asking her question.

"Am I the father or the mother of this baby?"

"WHAT?!"

Later that day...

The students all had somewhere to be for the holidays, so the teachers had the mansion to themselves this Christmas. After a day of hot chocolate, snowball fights, and big feasts, the presents were finally opened. Normally, presents were the first thing that happened every Christmas morning. This year, however, the rest of the staff couldn't pass up the opportunity to torture Cassie, who desperately wanted to get to the presents. Finally, everyone agreed that it was time to open the presents. The look of pure relief and excitement on Cassie's face was enough to send everyone into fits of laughter.

Some time later, after various presents and "thank-you"'s were exchanged, everyone relaxed into various comfortable positions. Logan and Scott were curled together on the rug in front of the fireplace. Marie was stretched out on a recliner with Jean laying on top of her. Charles was, of course, in his wheelchair with Hank sitting in another recliner beside of him. Kitty and Piotr lay in the love seat, wrapped in ech other's arms. Cassie was laying on the couch, back against one armrest, with Ororo using her as a pillow. After kissing the top of Ororo's head, Cassie glanced at Charles, giving him the signal.

"Alright everyone." He then said after clearing his throat. "Has everyone recieved all of their presents?"

Marie immediately knew that this was her cue. She turned to Ororo with a convincing look of innocence and curiosity.

"Ororo, did you get a present from Cassie?" She asked. Ororo turned a bit to look at Cassie with a raised eyebrow.

"No, actually, I didn't. What did you get me Cassie?" Cassie smiled and handed Ororo a rectangular-shaped package that was beautifully wrapped in gold and silver.

"Open it and find out." She said with a sweet kiss on Ororo's lips. Ororo turned back around and ripped into the package.

"Oh, Cassie..." She whispered as she picked up a poetry book. Cassie smiled and kissed the back of her neck.

"I know how much you love romantic poetry, so I got you a book full of it." She explained. She then nudged Ororo gently. "Why don't you open it?"

Curious, Ororo opened the book to the first page. Instead of a printed page, Ororo was surprised to find a piece of notebook paper taped to the first page of the poetry book. There was a hand-written poem on the paper, and Ororo was fairly certain of the author's identity.

"Cassie, did you write this?" Ororo whispered in her shock. Cassie smiled sheepishly and nodded.

"Yeah, read it." She urged, bringing a smile to Ororo's face. The weather witch then returned her attention to the poem.

If I told you that I wouldn't mind

Holding you in my arms forever

Would you hold it against me?

If I told you that your laughter is a song

That plays over and over in this head of mine

Would you hold it against me?

If I told you that I need your smile

To help me make it through every day of my life

Would you hold it against me?

If I told you that I die a little inside

Each time you leave the room

Would you hold it against me?

If I told you that every fight that we have

Maims my heart like an angry mother bear

Would you hold it against me?

If I told you that I watch you from afar

And long to kiss you as I observe you

Would you hold it against me?

If I told you that you are the first thought of my mornings

And the last, blissful thought of my nights

Would you hold it against me?

If I told you that I am addicted to you

Your actions, your words, yourself

Would you hold it against me?

If I told you that everything you do

Fuels the inferno that rages deeply inside of my soul

Would you hold it against me?

If I told you that I want to hold you in my arms

And slowly learn the enigma that is your heart, mind and body

Would you hold it against me?

But most of all, the question that plagues my very soul

If I were to whisper dedications of love into your ear

Would you hold it against me, or could you possibly love me back?

"Oh...Cassie..." Ororo whispered through her tears. Cassie tried to calm her nerves as she whispered the next sentence into her lover's ear.

"Turn the page." Ororo obeyed her command, and jumped to her feet when she saw what was on the second page.

A small square had been cut out of the book, inside of the square was a beautiful and utterly flawless diamond ring. Above the ring was written this sentence:

If I asked you to do me the honor

Of giving me your flawless hand in marriage

Would you hold it against me?

Tears came to Ororo's eyes as she looked deep into the eyes of a now kneeling Cassie. Unable to speak, she flung herself into her love's gentle embrace. Cassie stood and held Ororo as she cried tears of joy.

"I wouldn't hold it against you, my love. In fact, I was just waiting on you to ask!" Ororo said as Cassie removed the ring from the book and slipped it onto Ororo's finger. Cassie smiled as a few stray tears escaped her own eyes.

"By the way, I bought two books, so you'll still get your love poems." Cassie said, causing Ororo to laugh.

"Sweetie, I don't need that book. Just pick up a journal and write me more poems like this one." The weather witch replied, making Cassie blush furiously.

"How about we just do both?" Cassie compromised.

"Deal." And they sealed the bargain with a loving kiss. By now, everyone else had broken out of the trance that Cassie's proposal had sent them into. No one knew about the proposal except for Marie and Charles, so they were very pleasantly surprised by this new development.

Marie smiled distantly as she watched everyone congradulate Cassie and Ororo. When things settled down and everyone returned to their previous comfort areas, Marie couldn't help but block out the conversations drifting around the room. As she thought back, she realized just how much had happened in the past year. New loves were created, old frendships were rekindled, powers were controlled, new friends were made, most importantly, everyone was more relaxed today than Marie had ever seen them.

She placed her hand over Jean's stomach as her lover talked to Logan about God knows what. She smiled at the energy that seemed to be radiating from Jean's womb.

Oh yeah, life was good.

AN: Characters tied up in the background.

firebird01: Well, I'm not totally in love with the ending. Then again, that is what sequels are for!

Marie: Thank God for sequels! I wanna get married!

firebird01: (Menacingly) WHO SAID THAT ANY OF YOU COULD TALK?!

Characters whimper and shy away.

firebird01: Also, the poem was one that I wrote myself! I admit, it's not the best in the world, but I like it. Anyway, the sequel will pick up somewhere between the new year and Jean and Marie's wedding. I want to make sure that Jean and Marie get to experience the "joys" of pregnancy! I don't know how long it will take to get that sequel up, but you all know that I'll be working my fingers to the bone getting it up! Until then, I welcome any ideas or suggestions that you guys have. For example, if you have a funny pregnancy story that you would like to happen to Marie and Jean, just let me know and your wish will be my command! If you want to see some funny scenarios, don't be afraid to write to me. Oh, just be sure to be specific about what you want to see. With that said, I gotta get going! I've got lots of work to do! C ya!