Author's Note: Well it's been a while hasn't it? But I am finally back…

Disclaimer: Don't own the x-men but I will stake my claim on the uber-cuteness of Jinx and Tommy and Abi if they pop up!

Sleeping With the Enemy

Chapter 37

Ororo blinked rapidly at Brendon's blunt response but she pulled a calm expression onto her face and turned to Maggie and Jake.

"Will you be requiring transportation home?" she asked politely. Jake shook his head with a small smile.

"Thanks for the offer but no. My brother is on his way to pick us up, he should be here in about half an hour or so."

"Come on then Brendon," Maggie took her son's arm. "Let's go get you ready."

Ororo rolled her eyes as Maggie, Jake and Brendon walked off down the corridor. Hank smiled wryly.

"You're gonna miss her aren't you?"

"Don't know how I'll cope," Ororo muttered in return, frowning slightly as she watched the three disappear. "Where on earth has Jamie gone?"

"I don't know," Hank shrugged helplessly. "When I checked on him last night he had just spoken to Brendon and he seemed quite happy."

Ororo let out a quiet sigh, turning back to Pietro.

"Are you ok?" she asked softly. The Russian turned to look at her with a faint frown before quickly nodding.

"Fine," he replied quickly, arching an eyebrow as he found Kitty standing next to them. How long had she been there? "Hi Kitty."

The petite female snapped her attention away from Piotr to Ororo.

"There's police here. A lot of police. They want to see whoever's in charge."

Ororo exchanged a quick, concerned look with Hank before quickly setting off down the corridor, the Doctor right behind her. Kitty turned to Piotr but found that he had already disappeared. Pursing her lips the female turned on her heels. So Jamie had done a vanishing act? She had to go and find Marie…

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

Ororo quickly made her way out to the main door, blinking in surprise as she found a whole squad of police cars and vans parked in the driveway. With Hank by her side she walked over to the man who appeared to be in charge.

"I am Ororo Munro, I run this school," she forced a smile as she held out a hand politely. "This is Ambassador McCoy. How may we be of assistance?"

"Danny Shore," the officer replied, shaking Ororo's hand and giving Hank a nod of greeting. "I am sorry to intrude but we have had a report that a James Madrox is staying in this establishment. He is an escaped prisoner from a high security holding and also an AWOL mental patient."

"James Madrox?" Ororo arched an eyebrow. "I am familiar with the name but I can assure you, he is not here."

"Then you would not mind us searching this facility?" he handed over a sheet of headed paper. "We have the warrant."

Ororo frowned slightly.

"This is a school. My pupils are getting ready for class," she looked at the man pointedly. "But we have nothing to hide. You may search, although may I ask that you disturb the kids as little as possible."

"Of course," Danny gave a nod, gesturing to the officers behind him. Quickly and efficiently the large group behind them split into smaller groups, each with it's own team leader, the men disappearing into the mansion, leaving a handful in the driveway. Ororo took a deep breath and turned to Hank, the male giving a subtle nod in return. Here's hoping the rest of the faculty could keep quiet…

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

It did not take the large team long to search through the mansion, each team returning to inform the man in charge that they had found no sign of the elusive James Madrox. Piotr had joined them soon after the search had began, followed not long after by Bobby, Marie, Kitty and Warren, the four newest arrivals having the sense to hold off the questions about Jamie's disappearance they were obviously desperate to ask. A few minutes earlier an SUV had pulled up in the driveway, the driver easily being identified as Jake's brother going by his likeness. Hank had introduced himself, informing the man that his brother and his family would not be long.

As the last search team exited the mansion, Danny Shore made his way over to Ororo.

"We are sorry for the intrusion, Miss Munro," he offered an apologetic smile, extending his hand again. Ororo returned a smile, shaking the hand politely.

"You're just doing your job," she replied. The man backed away slightly, looking over his shoulder to see Jake, Maggie and Brendon walking out of the mansion, his eyes widening slightly as his gaze settled on the youngest of the three.

"Who's that?"

"Brendon Jordison and his parents. A potential student but it didn't work out," Ororo tilted her head to the side. "The resemblance is uncanny," she turned her attention back to Danny. "Maybe someone saw Brendon here and perhaps mistook him for James? I'm sure it would be an easy mistake – especially from a distance."

"Perhaps…" for a moment the man looked unconvinced as he watched the teenager skulk off to the car, offering his uncle a somewhat lacklustre greeting. With a small shake of the head however the man finally nodded in agreement. "Again, apologies for the intrusion."

Seemingly in the blink of an eye the cars and vans started disappearing down the driveway. Ororo breathed a sigh of relief, turning her attention back to Brendon, returning a warm smile to the meek wave the teenager gave her. Quickly the family climbed into the car, Jake giving Ororo a grateful wave.

"I can't believe Jamie just left," Marie commented as the car drew slowly down the driveway. "The poor kid looks crushed."

"It's not that surprising," Kitty scoffed. "This is Multiple Man we're talking about."

"You think it would have been better for him to stay and get arrested?" Piotr rolled his eyes. "Yeah, cause that would have made Brendon so happy."

Kitty turned to look at the Russian, screwing up her face slightly.

"Look Pete, I know that you wanna think the best of him but…"

"Jamie is at the apartment in town with Piotr," a chuckle escaped the tall Russian's lips as everyone turned to look at him in surprise, but it was a silvery, feminine laugh. Golden eyes sparkled as Piotr's skin peeled back to reveal a slender blue, scaly body. "You think I was just going to leave Multiple Man here without keeping an eye on you all? Couldn't trust any of you not to hand him over, let alone that stupid meat-sack who gave birth to his son," Mystique's lip curled up. "She had called the cops before she even went to see him this morning to offer him a chance to walk away. Your big friendly Russian and Pyro took Multiple Man to an apartment we have in town," the shapeshifter pulled a cell phone out of… somewhere… giving the flabbergasted X-Men a small wave as she turned elegantly on her heel. "Until next time."

Ororo was the first to regain her composure as Mystique sauntered off, dialling a number on the speed dial as she made her way toward the garage.

"Well. That explains that," she gestured back toward the mansion. "Come on. We have a school to run."

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

"JESUS! Fucking… damning… buggering… fuck…"

"Sorry," Piotr stepped back tentatively as Jamie collapsed onto the sofa, clutching his side. The multiplying mutant waved a hand dismissively although he kept his eyes closed, quiet but vicious curses still slipping from his lips. The Russian exhaled quietly, turning to walk away but John suddenly grabbed his wrist, the smaller mutant guiding him toward the nearby seat with surprising ease. The pyrokinetic arched an eyebrow pointedly before turning back to Jamie. Piotr took another deep breath, fidgeting apprehensively with his t-shirt, pulling it down over his chest. He frowned slightly at the fact the tight shirt would not sit right. It was an old shirt – not one he would have normally worn but he had just barely stepped out of the shower when John had told him he needed him to help get Jamie out of the mansion. And it was a good thing he had come for help – there was no way that the fire mutant would have managed to get Jamie up all the stairs to the apartment…

The sudden sound of a ringtone tore Piotr's attention away from his rambling thoughts. He looked up to find John delving into his pocket for his cell phone, turning away from the two slightly.

"Hey boss. Yeah, we just got here. The stairs weren't fun. He's swearing but he seems fine. Ok. Sure. Right. Bye," John hung up the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket. "That was Mystique. The police have been and gone and Brendon's on his way home."

Jamie opened his eyes, giving the fire mutant a tired nod. With a heavy sigh he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Well that was nice while it lasted," he muttered, closing his eyes again. John delved into his other pocket, tossing Jamie's cell phone down next to the multiplying mutant.

"Brendon left his cell phone in his room while he was in the danger room. His number's saved in your contacts," he returned a genuine, warm smile as Jamie blinked up at him in surprise. "Now. You two can do whatever the hell you want but the good doctor did say to take it easy. I'm going to go and find Pietro," he gave Jamie a nod before giving Piotr a quick wave. "See you later big guy."

Piotr returned the wave, watching quietly as the fire mutant briskly left the room before taking a deep breath and turning back to Jamie. The multiplying mutant however simply sat looking at the cell phone lying next to him. Piotr worried his bottom lip, trying to think of something to say but as usual he had no idea what would help…

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

Brendon opened his eyes tiredly, watching the scenery roll past lazily. He was vaguely aware of his parents talking to his uncle but he paid no attention to what they were actually saying. Closing his eyes again he tried to drift off to sleep. He had no idea how long they had been on the road nor did he know how long it would be until he arrived home…

The teenager jumped slightly as his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Wearily he pulled the phone out, expecting the message to be a reply from his friend he had earlier texted to say he was on his way home. The small screen however showed an unknown cell phone number, not his friend's name. With a slight frown, Brendon opened the message.

Hey its Jamie. Im sorry about leaving this morning without talking to you but couldnt stay with police comin. I meant what I said about getting to know each other though. If you want. You have my number. If not then well. Take care kid.

Brendon stared down at the message for a long moment, biting down on his bottom lip as a faint frown pulled on his brow.

"Who's that?" his mother's voice drifting from the seat next to him brought his attention back to the car. Pulling a more neutral expression onto his face he gave a small shrug.

"Just Taylor," he rolled his eyes slightly as Maggie scowled. She really did not approve of any of his friends – but the recently out football player was particularly low on her list. Her mouth opened to comment but a warning look from her husband kept her quiet. With a quiet huff Maggie turned her attention back to what her brother-in-law was saying, leaving Brendon to look back down at the message. The teenager took a deep breath, his finger hovering over the reply button. But what would he say? What did he want to say?

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

Jamie suppressed a sigh as he looked back down at his cell phone, knowing full well he had not received a reply from Brendon but unable to keep from looking anyway. It was either keep looking back down at his phone or look over at…

"Can I get a glass of water?" the multiplying mutant asked suddenly. Piotr climbed quickly to his feet.

"Sure…" he nodded, scurrying off toward the kitchen. Jamie pursed his lips thoughtfully, watching the Russian briefly before returning his attention back to his phone. He only had the energy to deal with one thing at a time…

Despite looking down at the cell phone he jumped slightly when it buzzed, signalling the arrival of Brendon's reply. Taking another deep breath the multiplying mutant flipped open the cell phone, pausing only briefly before opening the message.

Im home alone on thursdays if you wanna call. And maybe when your better we can meet up?

Jamie's lips curled quickly into a smile, a quiet, relieved laugh slipping from his throat. Exhaling heavily he twirled his cell phone round in his fingers, looking back up as Piotr appeared in front of him.

"Jesus Christ, I have a son," he said, arching an eyebrow as he took the glass of water the Russian offered him, taking a sip and continuing quickly. "I mean a real son – not just some kid I send money to every now and then. A real kid, with these ridiculously bright eyes that have a thousand questions that I just have no idea how to answer…" the multiplying mutant laughed nervously. "And I'm gonna blame the babbling on the painkillers that Mystique gave me."

Piotr smiled softly.

"You're not babbling," he replied quietly. "And you'll be fine with Brendon. He seems a great kid."

"Yeah, he liked you too," the multiplying mutant raised his glass back to his lips to hide the smile that pulled instinctively at his lips. He quickly placed the glass on the table next to him however as the Russian turned away again.

"I also seem to have acquired myself a boyfriend," he commented, arching an eyebrow as Piotr turned back again, giving a sheepish smile and a helpless shrug. "I don't know which one terrifies me more."

Despite himself Piotr's lips too curled up into a smile. Slowly he stepped forward, perching on the corner of the coffee table. Resting his elbows on his knees he leant forward, gesturing for Jamie to take it easy as the multiplying mutant tried to do the same. A wry smile pulled on his lips as Jamie lay back against the large sofa, obviously trying to hide a cringe.

"It feels like forever since we were here together," he commented quietly. Jamie arched an eyebrow, glancing around the room.

"The night Tommy was taken," he nodded. "Well. The day Tommy was taken," his voice grew quieter and almost… bitter? "Since I'd already taken him by the time I got here."

Piotr worried his bottom lip guiltily.

"I am so, so sorry Jamie," he said genuinely, looking up to try and catch the other mutant's eyes but upon finding Jamie looking down at his lap he too bowed his head. "I hated to think… I mean… there's no excuse but…"

"I'm sorry too," Jamie interrupted quietly. Piotr looked up startled, finally meeting Jamie's bright blue eyes. "I tricked you into thinking Tommy had been kidnapped – a kid I know you care a lot about. I then let you think he was dead," the multiplying mutant shook his head softly. "Of course it hurt that you thought I'd have any part in what you thought happened but… under the circumstances…" Jamie sighed quietly. "Well we did both know this was never gonna be easy."

Piotr nodded slowly.

"Yeah… it not easy…" he leant forward a little more, his fingertips almost brushing Jamie's knees. "But that doesn't mean we can't make it work."

Jamie arched an eyebrow.

"You're the one sitting on the coffee table," he shrugged casually but the gesture was negated by the hopeful glint in his eyes and faint curl of his lips. A quiet chuckle escaped Piotr's throat as he stood, crossing the small distance to the sofa, sitting down carefully as Jamie manoeuvred tentatively up so as to lean against the taller mutant. Carefully Piotr wrapped his arms around Jamie, savouring the hold for a moment before leaning forward and gently capturing Jamie's lips. He let out a soft moan as he felt Jamie's fingers drift over his arms, responding instinctively as Jamie deepened the kiss, the multiplying mutant pulling himself further onto the Russian's lap…

"Fuck!"

Piotr froze, his eyes widening slightly but a relieved sigh escaped his lips as Jamie gave an overly-exaggerated groan, dropping his head onto Piotr's shoulder, whimpering loudly.

"Are you ok?" the Russian asked quietly when the whimpering subsided a little.

"Fine…" Jamie groaned, turning his face into Piotr's neck, holding onto his shoulder tightly as if scared to move. "Ugh… so much for making up for lost time in bed tonight."

"Yeah, that might have to wait," Piotr replied softly, running a hand down Jamie's back. "You sure you're ok?"

The multiplying mutant slowly pulled away.

"I'm ok," he nodded. "It's just in the most annoying place – just about every way I move I feel it."

Piotr frowned sympathetically.

"Well in that case you'd better just stay still and let me look after you then," he smiled as Jamie scowled although the other mutant did settle back on the sofa.

"I like that T-shirt," he commented, running a hand over the tall Russian's chest. It was Piotr's turn to scowl but Jamie continued quickly. "Hey – don't knock the muscles. I probably wouldn't have given you a second look but for these muscles," his lips curled into a smile as his fingers traced down Piotr's bicep. "You know, back in the day when you were just the big, dumb muscle man I was gonna fuck a couple of times out of spite cause I was in the bad books with Mystique."

Piotr chuckled quietly.

"Ah, yeah… back in the day when you were just the arrogant, cocky, confident hot guy to distract me from my friends always wanting favours…" Piotr smiled. "Who'd have thought it would end up like this eh?"

Jamie shook his head.

"Not what I was expecting," his lips curled up into a wide, genuine smile. "But I'm not complaining."

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Author's Note: Eh… the end! I really hope you have enjoyed this story but I have ran out of ideas and am starting to run out of love for it which is not a position I like to be in and so… we are done. As usual the ending in my head and the ending on paper don't quite match up but I do hope you find it satisfying. Ending a long beast like this is never easy.

Next up – I think I might go back to Pyro/Iceman… eek. The story I've been threatening where Bobby is the one chasing John for a change (Ice Melts First). Then again – maybe not. See what the plot gremlins dream up shall we?

Farewell for now, and thanks again for reading.