A/N: Hey, as promised here's the next chapter. Get ready for some angst. This chapter incorporates one of Lyss's early premonitions so look for that. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please R&R!
Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men.
Chapter 53: Heartbreak:
Charles sat outside Jean's holding cell watching her as she in turn stared at him. Those fiery eyes had not wavered from there position on him. If he were a lesser man he would have gave in to the creepy feeling she was giving him and had left long ago. But he had to remind himself that Jean was in there still. The woman he thought of as a daughter was trapped inside her mind, being held hostage by a part of herself. He had to free her.
But so far all his efforts had been stopped by the Phoenix. She was shielding her mind against him. The Phoenix knew if he could get past her shields and through to Jean it was only a matter of time until he and Jean had her blocked off once again.
"Professor?"
Charles turned around to see Scott looking at Jean warily.
"Scott?" Charles said in some surprise. He knew the sight of Jean was a lot to take in.
"Have you… have you made any progress?" Scott questioned.
Charles shook his head. "Her mind is strong… I'm trying, but she's shielding me."
Scott nodded grimly. He turned to go, seemingly getting what he came for.
"Scott," Charles forged on, knowing what he was about to ask of him was risky. "Why'd you come?"
He let out a sigh and turned back around.
"Rogue," Scott started. "She told me… she says Jean's still in there… but all I see…" He gestured towards Jean. "That's not her. That's not Jean."
Charles knew Rogue had gotten a glimpse inside Jean's mind. She was right, Jean was still inside. They just had to get through to her. Somehow they needed to get to Jean Charles had a suspicion that Rogue knew this as well, hence her sending Scott to him.
"Scott," Charles began. "I need you to do something for me."
"Yes…" he replied tentatively.
"Talk to her, Scott," Charles implored. "Talk to Jean."
"I already tried that, remember, it didn't work," Scott scoffed.
Charles shook his head. "This time I'm going to try to use my powers at the same time. Together we may just be able to reach her."
Scott still looked dubious, but he was never one to deny him much. "All right."
"Good," Charles said, he turned back to Jean and placed his fingertips at his temples, concentrating, closing his eyes. "Now… begin."
"Jean?" Scott started cautiously. "It's me, Scott."
Charles was probing her mind, looking for a way in, for any crack that might let him inside.
"More Scott," he prodded his mutant leader.
"Jean, I need you to remember all those times we spent together…" Scott continued, slowly. "Remember… remember when we went to Coney Island? We went on all those rides together. Then we bought ice cream. I remember… you took a lick of yours and came up with a dot of chocolate ice cream on your nose…"
It was working, there was a spot, one opening… he pushed his mind through.
Scott laughed. "We laughed together. You looked like the cat that got caught with its nose in the cream…"
Scott seemed to be getting into it and Charles needed him to keep going. He was inside Jean's mind now; his astral projection was traversing her psychic plane. Now he needed to find Jean.
"When I used a napkin to wipe the ice cream away you leaned into me and gave me a kiss…"
There. He saw her. He could see Jean… but she was fighting someone… Getting closer, he could see she was fighting a form of herself. She was fighting the Phoenix.
"That was… that was the first time I knew I loved you…."
"Scott!" they heard Jean's voice shout.
Charles could see Jean still engaged in battle, but he knew Scott saw something entirely different.
"Scott, I'm here, I'm fighting to get back to you…" she shouted. "I love you!"
"Jean," Charles called to get her attention. "I'm here, I'm here to help."
"No!" the Phoenix screamed.
Caught off guard, the Phoenix version of Jean charged at him. She hit him with a blast of psychic power that had his mind flying out of Jean's, back into his own body.
He panted for breath, opening his eyes; he saw Jean's body up fighting against the shackles.
"No! Stay out of my mind," she screamed.
It was the Phoenix, taken over once again.
"Professor…" Scott said, voice unsteady, eyes glued to the woman in front of them. "For a second… for a second I saw her… it was Jean."
Charles nodded grimly. "Yes Scott, she's still there. You must not give up hope on her."
He knew he was asking a lot of his star pupil. After all, he had already given up hope on her and moved on with Rogue. But Charles feared that if Jean knew that she would not fight as hard. He would need Scott's help. He also surmised that he'd need another's help as well. Emma Frost.
Adam walked tentatively into the waiting room to see his family and Katie all slumped tiredly in their chairs. It was obvious that they'd spent the night there and none of them got more then an hour or two of sleep.
He continued to watch them as a memory from last night replayed in his mind.
"Uh… Adam… come in," Richard told him awkwardly.
Adam nodded, he could see that as Richard stood to the side to allow him to enter that he'd wanted to reach out a hand to guide him inside, but then pulled back.
"Thanks," Adam replied.
He was led to a cozy living room that Adam could feel was the room where the family spent all there time. Serena and Amy were plopped down on the floor playing a game and their mom, Lizzie, was sitting on the loveseat reading a book.
"Richard?" Lizzie said, puzzled that he'd brought the young man she'd just met inside.
The two little girls eyed him unabashedly. His little sisters, Adam had to remind himself.
"Lizzie… this is…" Richard began tentatively. "This is Adam."
"Adam?" Lizzie said, confused. And then he could see the recognition on her face. "Adam, oh… Girls, upstairs please; it's time to get ready for bed."
"Mom," they protested.
"Up," she said sternly.
They waited until the two little ones were on their way up before they addressed Adam once again.
"Adam," Lizzie approached him. "It's so good to finally meet you."
She stuck her hand out to shake and Adam took it tentatively. He was surprised; she seemed to know exactly who he was. He eyed his father strangely.
"Have a seat," she offered.
He did as told taking the lone arm chair. They all sat down, not really looking at each other, sneaking glances when the other wasn't looking. It was awkward and silent.
"So…" Richard began.
"So…" Adam echoed. He knew he needed to tell him why he was here. He knew he had to ask him the questions he needed answered. But his mouth was suddenly dry.
"I've been waiting for this day…" Richard said slowly.
"Yeah?" Adam said curiously. It was strange. He was calm. As much as he didn't like his brother's attitude when it came to their father, he still thought he'd be mad when he finally confronted his dad. But he was strangely composed.
"Yes," Richard replied. "Your mother wouldn't let me see you when you were growing up. But I knew one day you would finally find me. How is she?"
"She's… fine," he answered vaguely.
"And your brother, Jason?" Lizzie once again surprised him.
Richard had told her about his other family?
"He's all right, too," Adam assured.
"And… and your other sibling?" Richard asked, looking down ashamedly.
That was right; he had left before Lyss had been born. He didn't even know whether his unborn child was a boy or a girl.
"Lyss, Alyssa," Adam offered. "That's why I'm here… she's um… she's not doing so well…"
"What's wrong?" Richard asked concernedly.
"She's a mutant… her powers… they've wreaked havoc on her body…" Adam explained. "She's in a coma… We don't know… we don't know…"
Adam actually choked on his words. He couldn't believe he was about to break down in front of these strangers, essentially.
Lizzie came to sit next to him, patting him on the back. She didn't say anything but just offered the comforting gesture.
"I'd like you to come see her…" he said when he finally got a hold of his emotions. "Please, she's your daughter, too."
"Of course," Richard answered. "Of course, I'll come see her."
Katie spotted him first. She jumped up from her chair. "Oh my God, Adam," she came up to him, cupping his face in both hands. "You're here. I was so worried about you, are you all right?"
He couldn't resist, he engulfed his sister's best friend in a hug. He'd been resisting his feelings for her, because she was his sister's best friend. But he didn't have the energy to do that anymore.
"Adam!" she exclaimed in surprise, hugging him back.
"Adam Thomas Andrews!" he heard his mother exclaim. "Where have you been?"
Jason stood up looking at him guiltily. "I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean to be such a jackass."
He pulled away from Katie, keeping an arm around her shoulders. He gave his younger brother a small smile. "It's ok… How's Lyss?"
"Oh my God, Adam," Katie said happily. "She opened her eyes. She squeezed Logan's hand."
"She's awake?" Adam said hesitantly. He looked to his mom. She nodded. A wave of relief rushed through him. "Has she said anything?"
"So far, it's just her eyes, but this is good, Adam," Katie assured.
They all laughed happily, hugging each other, savouring the moment. They could feel the tension begin to melt away.
When finally the laughter did die down it was only to be replaced by a sense of contentment. And then again he was asked where he'd gone to.
He looked at them, his family. Were they ready to hear that he'd gone to see the man that had abandoned them so long ago? Were they ready to meet him again? He had no idea, but he was about to find out.
"Richard," he called back into the hall.
The faces around him took on various looks of confusion just before the older man stepped into the room, Lizzie and the girls hovering behind him. They'd insisted on coming to provide support for Richard.
"Richard?" his mom said in disbelief.
"Dad?" Jason said in wonder.
He'd stayed the night at their house. And he'd gotten the entire story from his father. Essentially, it was a case of a man too young and immature to accept the giant responsibilities that were piling up on him. When he'd finally found out about his wife's third pregnancy something broke in him. He panicked and left them. He fully admitted to Adam that he'd been a moron.
A few years after he'd left them, he'd tried to get in touch with their mom. He said that he told her he wanted back in their lives, but their mother had said no. He'd even sent their mom cheques that she'd never cashed.
After awhile, he finally accepted that their mother wanted nothing to do with him, understandably, so he decided to move on. That's when he met Lizzie and he became content with moving on with her, having Serena and Amy. And Richard had told Lizzie about his first family, he hadn't kept them in the dark like a shameful secret. That earned points in Adam's eyes.
After spending the night at their house Adam had come to forgive him. Now, he only hoped the rest of his family would too.
"What are you doing here?" Mrs. Andrews asked harshly.
"I'd… uh… like to see Lyss," Richard posed.
Rogue was sitting outside in the institute's gardens. The leaves were changing color and some were beginning to fall. She sat there on the grass, back against her favourite tree, just taking in the sight of the last few days of fall, winter not too far away.
She took a deep breath; despite everything that happened and that was happening, she was so happy to be home. It'd been too long, her time parading around the Hellfire Club. And though she would always treasure that time as the time that had strengthened her relationship with Scott, she'd treasure the coming days with him even more.
She had encouraged him to see Jean the day before and today she knew he'd gone to see her. Rogue saw this as the beginning and the end. The beginning for Scott and Jean and the end for her and Scott. She wasn't bitter about it. She had no regrets at all. She just knew that Scott and Jean's love for each other was deep and powerful and she would not get in the middle of it. She would just take what he had to give her and be grateful for it.
Rogue, she heard in her mind.
Yes, Professor? she answered.
Please come inside, he asked of her. To the rec room, please.
She let him know she was on her way. All the while wondering what he needed of her. Once inside the mansion she found the rec room right away only to stare confused at its darkened entrance.
Professor? she thought. No answer.
She was about to turn to go when she heard a thump and then Scott's unmistakeable voice mutter, "Son of a …"
"Scott," she called out, slightly amused by his outburst, but slightly worried that he'd been sitting alone in the dark.
"Rogue," she heard him say surprised. The light flicked on, and she could see that he hadn't been sitting but pacing, in the dark.
Alarm bells sounded in her head.
"Scott, what's wrong?" she asked concernedly.
With two long strides he was standing in front of her. And then surprising the hell out of her, his lips were suddenly crashing down over hers in an intense, desperate, but passionate kiss.
She pulled away from him for a second but his arms were around her body holding her close so she couldn't get far.
"Scott?" she questioned.
"I tried to find you," he murmured, between kisses. "But I couldn't…"
He moved to kiss her again, but she put a hand over his lips. "Scott, you're scaring me."
He let out a long sigh and let go of her abruptly. The sudden loss of his arms around her had her stumbling to regain her balance.
She watched him pace the room once again. He ran a shaky hand through his already dishevelled hair. There was only one thing that could send him over the edge like this.
"Scott," she started tentatively. "What happened?"
"Nothing," he denied, but he was lying, she knew.
She stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "Scott, you're going to wear a hole through the floor if you continue like this. Stop, please."
Rogue held out her hands to him and he took them. She gave him a small smile as she led them to the couch. He sat facing forward, while she tucked her legs under her and faced him.
"Now," she started gently. She reached a hand to gently smooth down his hair.
He grabbed her hand before she returned it to her lap. She watched as he brought it up to his lips and placed a kiss on her open palm. The kiss, combined with the intense, hungry look he was giving her, sent shivers up her spine and she was suddenly grateful that she'd gotten a hold of her powers.
"You're sweet," she murmured, momentarily distracted. But she shook her head of her sudden carnal thoughts. There was a reason for his sudden behaviour and she knew it had something to do with Jean. "Now," she tried again. "Tell me what happened when you went to see Jean."
He looked at her with a surprised look on his face. Like she didn't know that that's where he went. The whole household had heard that he'd gone there. Eventually, that tid-bit got to her. She wasn't mad. It was inevitable that he'd go. She was just not happy about the state it had left him in.
"The Professor was there…" he started tentatively. "He was trying… it didn't work."
He stopped. Rogue didn't say anything. She knew there was more.
"He asked for my help…" Scott said after inhaling a breath. "He told me to talk to her…"
"That's good," Rogue encouraged him.
"So, I did… I started talking to her about our day trip to Coney Island… we had a lot of fun that day," he said, looking at Rogue unsurely.
She smiled at him. It was ok for him to look back on fond memories. She would never begrudge him that.
"I don't know why I chose that memory…" he said shakily. "It was the first moment I knew I loved her."
Rogue suddenly felt like a fist hit her gut. She looked down to cover her reaction. But knowing that he'd chosen that memory to break through to her for some reason hurt, which was ridiculous… Scott reacquainting himself with his feelings for Jean was what she knew would happen. It's what she wanted, really. For him to be truly happy… she would be truly happy. So why did she suddenly feel like she'd gotten the air knocked out of her.
"It got through to her for a moment…" Scott trailed off, remembering. "Her eyes… her green eyes looked straight at me."
Rogue looked up at him with wide eyes. "She did?"
"Yeah, and you know what she said?" he asked, voice suddenly bitter.
"What?" Rogue asked, suddenly tentative.
"She said, she's fighting to come back to me, that she loves me," he scoffed.
Rogue's heart sank. She had been right; Jean was still in there and to her nothing had passed since she'd last seen Scott. To her they were still happily in love. Rogue suddenly realized she had no right to this man.
"What am I supposed to do? What do I tell her?" Scott said incredulously.
He was up off the couch again, pacing. Like he was trying to outrun his thoughts.
"What do you mean?" she asked, surprised by how devoid of emotion her voice was. Scott stopped to eye her strangely. "You need to do the only thing you can do. Be there for her, Scott."
He sat back down next to her, abruptly taking her hands in his. "No, Rogue. I can't, that's all in the past. I've moved on."
She took her hands back and stood up quickly. "But don't you see, we had no right to move on… she's alive, Scott. The woman that you loved is back."
"That's right, loved. I loved Jean. Things have changed, Rogue… I love you, now," Scott pleaded with her.
He stood up and took hold of her shoulders, but she shrugged out of his grasp.
It was inevitable. They were going to end eventually, might as well do it now. So much for their last few moments.
She shook her head. "We're not right, Scott. This between us... it's wrong. We can't do this, not anymore."
"Rogue, listen to me!" he said angrily.
Rogue wiped furiously at the tears that were suddenly there. "Go to her Scott," she said and then yelled, "Just go!"
Scott whirled her around to face him. He was angry; she could see she was breaking his heart, but she knew it was only temporary.
"Don't you understand? I want you! I don't want Jean," he was yelling. "I want what we have. I want this."
She shook her head. "I… I…" her voice breaking, along with her heart. "I… don't want this."
Scott backed away a step, stumbling. She held his gaze willing him to believe her. He must have because a moment later he was running out of the room like the hounds of hell were chasing him.
Rogue suddenly felt dizzy with the knowledge of what she'd done. She crashed to the couch, no longer being able to hold herself up and started to sob uncontrollably.
What had she done?
Well that's it for now. Next update should be up by next weekend at the latest. I hope you enjoyed this angst filled chapter. We are coming to a close, so happy endings are near. Hope that helps.
Thanks to my 4 reviewers! One would have made my day, 4 sent me to the moon: Recovering4Life; Ryromaniac; whynotwrite123; and xmen4life. Thanks again!
