Logan felt sick to his stomach as he punched in the numbers for Kayla's phone. They'd both agreed to a cellular phone when he left and, although it had been expensive, he was still proud of the purchase, imagining that it was truly helping the woman he loved.
Now, standing at a payphone outside a gas station, he could just barely keep it together while he waited on her to pick up the phone. The wait felt like it was killing him. He hadn't seen Kayla for what felt like years. He'd told her she wouldn't hear from him: it would be too dangerous to communicate freely with a killer stalking them.
The result was he hadn't heard her voice for months, and ever extra second was excruciating. He knew Graydon hadn't gotten to him, so the delay couldn't be anything dangerous. He just needed to hear fro her as soon as possible.
Finally, she picked up.
"Hello?"
He put one hand on the pay phone, bowing his head in relief.
"It's Logan," he said.
At this point he half expected her to yell but, when she spoke, there was only relief in her voice.
"Logan?" she asked, "Are you alright?"
He chuckled.
"Yeah, I'm good," he said
"Is everything...taken care of?" she asked.
He sighed and cradled the phone underneath his chin.
"Yeah," he said.
"What was it?' she asked.
He paused, but he supposed there was no reason to hold anything back any more.
"My nephew grew up to be a psychotic mutant killer and he was trying to kill me and any other mutant who might know he was related to a mutant," Logan said.
On the other end of the phone, he heard Kayla breathe in sharply.
"Not...not quite what I was expecting you to say," she said.
"My family's kinda interesting," he said.
"I'll bet."
He paused.
"I wanted ta let ya know everything was okay," he said, "And I wanted ta tell ya I was comin back...if that's okay."
"Why wouldn't it be?"
He wished he could reach through the phone and pull her into his arms. Every time he thought she couldn't surprise him any more, she managed to find a way.
"Just thought that, well, after everything-"
"Logan, it's okay," Kayla said, "I mean, I'll admit, this did throw a wrench in my life, and in Emma's, but I understand why you did what you did. I appreciate it even, you caring enough about us to do what you did."
Some of the weight he'd been carrying around was lifted off his shoulders. No matter what, it looked like he'd be welcomed home when he got there. He cleared his throat, wondering how to phrase what he so desperately wanted to ask.
"Kayla, when I was out there...I heard...I mean...I thought," he stammered.
"Heard what?" she asked.
He swallowed again, hoping he was right for so many reasons.
"Are you pregnant?" he asked.
"Sorry?" Kayla spluttered.
He winced. Logan had never felt so embarrassed.
"I just, I was...are you?" he managed.
He'd expected an incredulous denial but, instead, he got a minute of silence. His heart soared and began to beat faster.
"Kayla?" he asked.
"How did you...I..." she said.
"You are?" asked Logan.
A few more seconds of silence passed, and then she sighed.
"Yes."
Logan laughed out loud, clutching the phone closely as though it would help him get closer to the woman he loved, the woman who was carrying his child.
"I was going to tell you, but-" she said.
"No, I understand," Logan said.
He ran a hand through his hair, laughter still shaking his voice. He realized the meter was beginning to run down though, and he was out of quarters.
"Look, we'll talk about this more when I get there," he said, "But I want ya to know, I've never been...this is a miracle ta me. I want ya to know that."
She gave a small laugh on the other end, either out of happiness or relief. He wasn't sure.
"Just wantcha ta know I love you," Logan said.
"I love you too Logan," said Kayla.
Kurt just looked at his uncle and mother.
"Vhat do you mean?" he asked.
His uncle folded his hands in his lap.
"Kurt, you were very clear when you first came here you were only going to be here for a little while," he said, "I don't know if tonight changed anything for you one way or the other. But I know, to you, this was a place where you could lie low and wait for Amanda.'
He nodded to her.
"She's here now and, while I'm not saying you'd have to leave immediately if you don't want to stay, I am simply saying that we need to know what it is you want to do next," Charles said.
Kurt looked over at Amanda. He already knew what he wanted to do. Over the past month he'd found a home in the Institute. Leaving it now seemed unthinkable to him, but he wouldn't stay there if Amanda didn't want to.
She caught his eye and shook her head.
"Kurt, the only person I have to factor into my decision is you," she said, "I need you to know that."
The news made him feel a little uneasy.
"Vhat about your mutter?" he asked.
Her eyes darkened and she shook her head.
"She's not a factor," she said.
Kurt couldn't help the hurt from welling up inside him. He'd always thought Margali wouldn't understand what had happened, but thinking it and hearing it were two different things. Margali had raised him, and now she had rejected him.
"I'm not stupid like her though," Amanda said.
She ran her fingers over his.
"I know that, sometimes, the truth can be unbearable," she said, "It doesn't give us a reason to ignore it."
Kurt nodded, although he could still feel the pain there, like a dull ache.
"I don't know what I'm going to do with my life right now," Amanda said, "I had a job as an airline stewardess, but I think I'm fired. I'm not sure I can explain that the reason I didn't show up to work that day was because I got kidnapped by a mutant hate group."
"Vhat, zey don't haf a policy for zat?" asked Kurt.
She grinned and continued rubbing the back of his knuckles wit her fingers.
"But I think I can figure things out," she said.
"We have a good GED program if you want to work toward your degree," Charles said.
Her eyes lit up, and Kurt smiled. Amanda had always wanted to learn. It had hurt her when her schooling stopped at age fifteen. There had been nights when she'd told him of her dreams of one day going to college, of travelling, of learning what life was like outside of the circus.
Now, because of his uncle, she could have that opportunity.
"I thought the school was only for mutants," she said.
"I think we can make an exception every now and then," Charles said.
Amanda nodded, her eyes still ablaze. She looked back at Kurt.
"Kurt, the decision is yours," she said, "And I'll go wherever you are. That being said, I wouldn't mind staying here."
He squeezed her hand, and then looked back at his family. His eyes settled on his mother.
"Are you going to stay?" he asked.
Raven hesitated.
"Kurt, I'm not sure if that's a good idea," she said, "The past few years...I could attract a lot of unwelcome attention."
"It's nothing we couldn't deal with," Charles said.
"I just...Charles...I'm not sure if I'm that little girl who showed up in your kitchen any more," she confessed.
Kurt had no idea what that meant, but he could see it meant something to the two of them.
"I'm not the little boy you met then," he said, "I'm older, I'm a little bit more cynical, and I think I might have lost some of his optimism. But what type of person would we be if we never changed?"
"The type of person who avoided a lot of heartache," Raven said.
"And a lot of joy in the process too, I'm sure," said Charles.
His tone was firma and reassuring. Kurt knew he wanted Raven to stay just as much as Kurt did, maybe even more. Indecision flickered in his mother's eyes.
"It's...been a long time since I've been in this kind of setting," she said, "I...it's going to be difficult to deal with me at times. I mean...I don't...you'd have to be patient with me."
Kurt glanced at Amanda, who immediately started chuckling.
"What?" asked Raven irritably.
"Nothing," said Amanda, "It's just your son has an excellent memory and likes to quote things."
"And what does that mean?" asked Raven.
Kurt smiled and shook his head.
"Love is patient, love is kind," he said, "It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor ozzers, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."
His mother bit the inside of her lip, and Kurt could see the words were sinking in.
"Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices vith ze truth," Kurt said.
Kurt had seen far too much of love to doubt the words in one of Paul's many letters. He thought of Amanda, choosing to accept what her brother had done and come with Kurt. Love craved honesty, even if it was painful.
"It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres," he said.
His eyes locked with his uncle's, a man who had never stopped loving his sister even when she had left him. Amanda's love had pushed her to come halfway around the world to find and help them. His mother's love had been with him too, even after years and years of being apart, of not really understanding each other.
"Love never fails," he finished.
And that, that was something he could take away from this. Love hadn't made things easy for everyone in the room. Love had actually made things more difficult. Amanda had given up her home and her mother because she had other bonds of love and affection keeping her still. Charles had been forced to walk a lonely road, and Raven had been forced to give up her child.
But they had all come back, one way or another. They had all managed to climb their way out and, because of that, Kurt knew exactly what it was he wanted to do.
"I vant to stay here," he announced, "Vith mien family, vith ze voman I love. I vould like it very much if you vould stay here too mutter."
Raven swallowed, looking around. Her eyes finally met with Charles and, evidently, whatever she saw there gave her the strength to answer.
"I'll stay," she said, "At least for now."
Kurt smiled and he felt Amanda's hand grasp his tighter. He knew the road ahead of them was not going to be easy but he knew he could be patient. No matter what happened, he knew the could all make it.
After all, he knew the next part of the passage in the Bible by heart. He smiled to himself, the next words running through his mind.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Kurt knew he all three of those things. With so much in his corner, Kurt very much doubted he would lose.
A/N: And that's the end! Thank you all for reading! After DOFP I really wanted to do a Kurt-centric fic that explored some of his darker origins. While I changed certain elements of his flight from Germany, he really did find out his foster brother, Stefan, was murdering children and snapped his neck in the ensuing fight. It was a difficult situation, especially considering that Kurt was in love with Amanda, Stefan's sister.
I also like Graydon as a bad guy, just because he's so frothing-at-the-mouth insane. I couldn't make him Kurt's actual brother like he is in the comics though, because the math just didn't add up. I love the movies, but their timeline is still a little weird.
My thanks go out to everyone who read and reviewed. I want to give a special shout out to savedbygrace94, Christmas 95, Marvel-Tolkien Fangirl, feathered moon wings, and Kyre! Thank you all!
