Thanks to Foreststar of WindClan and bandeapix for reviewing! Doug and Laurie will not be reappearing and Scott will be home... well, in this chapter!


Professor Xavier had given Scott one week in Massachusetts. Scott always was a stickler for rules and worried that if he botched this he might not be allowed to visit Alex again for two years, until after his eighteenth birthday. That did not stop Scott and Hank from taking every offered second of that week.

About halfway through Connecticut, Scott asked, "Hank, it's pretty normal these days when you… for someone to, uh…" It wasn't that he didn't want to say it. He simply could not find the words.

"You mean being gay?"

Scott nodded. Since Hank had his eyes on the road, Scott managed a, "Yes. Being gay."

"Well, it is and it isn't. It certainly matters to an individual. Socially, we're not a perfect country, but we've made a lot of progress. The short answer is that most people don't care about someone else's sexual orientation."

Scott nodded again and looked out the window. They had been on highways for what felt like hours—and probably had literally been hours.

Before the left, they had taken Annie to school. They said good-bye to Daisy and Alex. Alex promised to visit New York soon, so Scott could see him without breaking the law—which Alex seemed to have enjoyed mentioning as much as possible. Scott had broken the law.

They were a few hours from home now. There wasn't much traffic in the middle of the day, and Hank's sensible five-below-the-speed-limit driving would have them back to New York in no time.

"Ororo's gay?"

Scott startled. "How did you—I didn't say that!"

Hank only shook his head in response.

"You said you'd keep it a secret, right?"

"Of course. You have to remember, Scott, people don't just become gay. Ororo's the same person you've always known."

"No—it's not like that. Actually, I've known for a while, since—I think she had a, a fling, with an alien girl we knew. Besides, my stepmom's a skunk, there's weirder stuff in my life. The part I wanted your advice on is that Ororo had feelings for Jean. I didn't know that."

"And she walked in on you and Jean?"

"Yes. Me and Ororo are okay and I think she's talking to Jean again, but I don't know what to do."

"Did you talk to Ororo about it?"

Scott nodded. "After it happened. She was upset. I think she felt a little better. She doesn't really let you know what she's feeling and when she gets hurts, I want to help but I don't know how."

"You've always been a good friend to Ororo."

He nodded again and sighed. "I just think she's still hurting and there's nothing I can do. Do you think it's okay for me to be with Jean? Like dating?"

Hank was quiet a moment. Scott appreciated that; it was part of why he had always valued Hank's advice. On a big issue, he did not just give his first impulsive thought.

"Ultimately it's up to you and Jean," he said, "but you know how easily Ororo is hurt when she feels excluded from things. You can be considerate of her feelings without having to forgo a relationship on the basis of them."

"You won't tell her I told you anything, will you?"

"I heard everything in complete confidence."

They reached home a few hours after that.

The conversation had turned since then, covering what Scott had been studying—what he had probably missed, being away for a week—and Hank's research—with Scott making his dearest attempts at understanding. They talked about movies and books and how great the Beatles were, although after enough car rides with Jean, Scott wasn't totally opposed to the Fray. They weren't the Beatles, but they were okay.

A few months ago, when Ororo and Scott walked along this road believing it was still the 1960s, he had felt relief at the thought of finally being home, yet conflicted, missing Chris and the Starjammers. It was the same now. Scott was happy to be home, more truly happy because he knew what his home was. Months ago, they knew the building but had been uncertain what sort of reception they would find there. He knew now, and although he would see Alex again soon, Scott already missed him.

Ororo and Jean weren't there.

"They're in town," Professor Xavier explained, "they won't be long."

"Ororo's skipped out on bail, has she?" Hank replied.

"She isn't grounded, Hank."

She had been grounded for a long time after the party. Scott remembered when the Professor threatened to ground him until he died. He had been such a gullible kid, a little part of him believed it.

"How was Connecticut? And Alex?"

"Alex is…" Scott began, and trailed off. It was the first time he saw his brother in years but the reunion had taken a backseat to Alex's loss. "He'll be okay," Scott said, truly believing it.

After a few minutes, Hank suggested that Scott might want to unpack. Scott looked from Hank to Professor Xavier, understanding that Hank really meant he wanted a private word.

"Sure," he agreed, reluctant but guardedly trusting.


There were factors besides legality to Charles's unwillingness to send Scott to Massachusetts. Scott wasn't the sort of boy who wanted to explore the world—no, he wanted to stay right at home normally, and that was fine with Charles. If Scott wasn't here, well, he worried. There was so much already done to him, so many ways he might still be hurt.

Charles worried more about Scott than the others. Jean knew this world. She was a savvy, modern kid and her judgment was generally sound. Ororo was tough. She was only now learning to protect herself and be open to her emotions at the same time, but she was scrappy and determined. They were capable, competent young women. It wasn't that Scott was incapable or incompetent, precisely. It was his instinct to run into fire instead of away.

In a way it reminded him of the other Scott Summers.

Charles knew him, of course. Alex had occasionally deposited his children at the mansion. July of 1991, Daisy was fifteen and had no interest in spending time with anyone who wasn't cool—though she would later look back on her puffy hair and flannel shirts with due embarrassment. "Cool" indeed! Scottie was eleven and only wanted to talk about one thing. He spent most of the summer lifting weights and running trenches into the lawn.

A fireman is like a soldier, that's what Dad says. He says you have to be a special kind of person to be a fireman, that you have to be willing to run into danger when everyone else is running away. He says I won't know until I get there. Do you think I'm that kind of person, Uncle Charles?

He had been that kind of person, in fact.

So was Scott. They would put themselves in danger to keep others safe.

There were very few people Charles would trust with Scott. Not that he would admit it, not to Scott certainly; it would be an insult to a boy his age. But while Charles trusted Scott to look after himself most of the time, he did not trust most people to protect him when he was vulnerable and guide him when he was lost.

Alex. Ruth. Hank.

Even when Scott was home safe, it wasn't quite over, not after the nightmare.

Charles mentally braced himself for bad news and was quite surprised by what Hank said next.

"The next morning, he was awake and ready to leave first thing so he could walk Annie to school. He's ready, Charles. I think it's time we open the basement."