Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution. I do own Lorelai LeBeau, Monica and Joey Summers, Cindy Drake and Liam Alvers.


Chapter Fifty Two – All's Fair in Love and War

September 9th 1999

The next morning, the kitchen at the Institute was silent but for the sound of frying bacon. Having been woken up by an insistent Lorelai – upon hearing Pietro's plan, she insisted on hanging on to the baby monitor so they could have a lie-in – Amanda had made her way downstairs and begun cooking breakfast. She set Lorelai up in her highchair and gave her a small piece of bread to keep her quiet while she sorted out the rest of breakfast.

While she broke eggs into a large bowl, Amanda glanced at the calendar, which had a large red star on the square marked September 23rd, the day the others would be returning home. A smaller star two days later on September 25th marked Kitty's original due date. Searching for a whisk in one of the drawers, she chatted to Lorelai as she worked, occasionally getting a gurgle in response.

"Now we need to be quiet, Lorie, because Auntie Kitty's probably still asleep." Amanda told her. "But Auntie Lexa and Uncle Pietro will be down soon, and they can play with you. That'll be fun, won't it?"

Lorelai began giggling uncontrollably.

"Well, I'm glad one of us finds this funny." Amanda sniggered, her head now inside one of the counter cupboards as she searched. "You know, Lorie, if you really want to talk, you could tell me where they keep the whisks in this place."

"Top drawer; two cabinets to the right."

"Thank you." Amanda moved along and pulled the whisk out. She'd just begun to whisk the eggs and milk together when she realised that an eleven-month-old probably shouldn't be quite so eloquent and spun around to see that the source of Lorelai's giggling was her father, who had plucked her out of her chair and it was Anna who had spoken. "Hey! You're home early."

"Amanda!" There was a bamf of smoke and Kurt was in front of her, hugging her tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Making breakfast." Amanda answered.

"No, I mean what are you doing here?" Kurt elaborated.

"Well, I'd look a bit of an idiot making breakfast in the living room, wouldn't I?" Amanda pointed out.

"I think what my brother means," Anna rolled her eyes, "is 'why are you making breakfast here rather than at home?'"

"Well, my parents kinda kicked me out." Amanda explained. "I told them to make choices and … here I am. If that's okay …"

"Of course it's okay." Ororo told her, embracing her in welcome. "You've always been welcome here, Amanda." She glanced behind her. "Now where'd Logan disappear to?"

Amanda paled. "Oh dear."


As the blanket of sleep slowly lifted, Lexa felt the sunlight filter through her closed eyes and groaned, rolling over to bury her face in Pietro's – fully clothed – chest. As his arms wrapped around her and she breathed in deeply, taking in the scent that was so uniquely him, she never noticed the extra familiar scent on the wind.

That is, until the door burst open.

"What the hell is goin' on?"

Lexa sat bolt upright. "Hey! You're early; what happened?"

"Don't change the subject!" Logan snarled. "What …?"

"Okay, before you get mad," Lexa began, climbing out of bed, "I would just like to point out that we are both fully dressed and nothing inappropriate went on."

"Nothing inappropriate, my ass." Logan scowled. "You're wearing his shirt."

Lexa looked down and winced. "So? By all accounts, Kitty's been sleeping in Lance's shirt since she got here, which, if I'm right, was two years before they even started dating. I borrowed this a couple days ago; the baby spit up on my tank-top. Yes, we've been dating since January, but nothing happened, Wolverine; you know I'm not lying, we can both smell that."

"Alright." Logan conceded, folding his arms. "Go on."

Sensing that he wasn't about to get mauled if he drew attention to himself, Pietro stepped forwards. "I'm not messing around here, Wolverine; Lexa means the world to me. I asked her to marry me last night."

"Please don't kill him." Lexa added, with as close to a pout as she would allow herself to get.

Logan sighed wearily. "Alright. But if you hurt her …"

"I'd die before I did." Pietro interrupted firmly.

Logan fixed him with a stare. "I don't doubt that. Now … wait a second." He narrowed his eyes. "What baby? Lorelai's past the spitting up stage, isn't she?"

Lexa pulled a face. "Well … About that …"


"Scott, are you sure you want to do this?" Jean asked, hurrying after him as he strode towards the infirmary.

Scott glanced over his shoulder at his wife. "Yes, Jean, I've never been so sure in my life."

Jean slipped her hand into his, forcing him to slow down. "But he's in a coma; he won't be able to hear you."

"I know." Scott grinned wryly. "Part of the reason why I'm doing this now."

"Oh, honestly …" Jean rolled her eyes as they reached the infirmary, but the couple stopped dead in the doorway.

Kitty was sitting at Lance's bedside, which wasn't unusual, but she was cradling a baby, which made no sense, since Jubilee hadn't collected Cindy yet.

The bundle shifted and Kitty smiled. "Hey, Liam." She whispered, her voice only just audible to the two onlookers. "Say hi to Daddy."

"Oh my God …" Jean murmured.

Kitty started slightly and twisted in her chair to face them, hushing the child. Her face relaxed into a smile. "You're early."

"Yeah." Jean waved it off. "Kitty, when … when?"

"September 5th." Kitty answered with a smile. "I found out Christmas day."

"You were early." Jean concluded, her eyes flickering to the monitor Lance was hooked up to as she approached. "How is he?"

"Two weeks early." Kitty confirmed. "They're both fine."

Jean smiled and sat down on the second chair that floated over to them. "What's his name?"

"Liam Daniel Alvers." Kitty answered, smiling down tenderly at her son.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Scott asked.

"Scott, the argument caused by telling you that Lance and I were still dating was enough to cause cramps." Kitty told him bluntly. "Bella basically told me that the emotional stress was more dangerous than the physical stress of the training sessions."

Scott shook of Jean's warning arm and knelt beside Kitty. "Kitty … I'm so sorry."

Kitty raised an eyebrow. "Who are you and what have you done with Scott?"

Scott sighed. "The last couple of months have been eye-opening."

"Sometimes, at night," Jean explained quietly, "we didn't know what would happen, so we didn't sleep. At first, it was when Lucie or Todd or Fred would take watch and the rest of the Brotherhood would stay up as well, just in case. They kept quiet, but then I'd stay up too and Anna … well, she used to be one of them, didn't she? And Jamie was just happy to be involved. Eventually, rather than having one person watch, we had one person sleep and rotated that instead."

"We talked about everything." Scott added. "And I mean everything. We never knew whether we were gonna round a corner the next day and get struck down like trees in a lightning storm."

Kitty pulled a face, adjusting Liam's blankets. "I think I could've come up with a better analogy. So you're admitting you acted like a total prat."

"Kitty, the baby!" Pietro protested from the doorway.

"He's four days old, Pietro; I think we're good." Kitty rolled her eyes. "Hey, do you and Lex know Wolverine's home early?"

"We do now." Pietro rolled his eyes, perching at the end of Lance's bed. "I thought he was going to slaughter me."

Kitty sniggered. "I'm surprised he didn't."

"Thank God for Lexa." Pietro grinned.

Kitty's smile faded. "Yeah, you can say that again."

"Oh no." Jean whispered. "What happened?"

Pietro shifted to wrap an arm around Kitty's shoulders and she leaned into him, silently asking him to answer. "There were … complications with Liam's birth." He explained quietly. "HYDRA faked an attack on the hospital and managed to get an undercover agent in here. Lexa had to take some drastic measures to keep Liam and Lorie safe."

"Pietro stayed with me." Kitty explained. "Ended up playing midwife; I had a small spot of internal bleeding …"

"Small spot?" Pietro repeated. "Kitty, I think you bled less after Apocalypse."

Kitty smiled weakly. "Either way, I owe you one. If you hadn't stayed as calm as you did, I definitely wouldn't have, and I'd probably still be out."

"Kitty, you don't owe me anything." Pietro told her quietly. "You're family. We look out for each other."

Kitty handed Liam to Jean so she could hug him properly. "Thank you. I couldn't have done this without you; you've been the older brother I never had."

"Come on, Kit-Kat." Pietro kissed her forehead. "You'll set me off at this rate."

Jean adjusted Liam in her arms. "Oh, Kitty, he's got Lance's eyes."

"Hey, forget his eyes, that kid's gonna be the spitting image of his father." Pietro told her confidently, kissing Kitty's forehead as he released her. "So how far did you kick Apocalypse's butt this time?"

Scott sighed. "We didn't."

"You mean he's still out there?" Kitty demanded, fighting the urge to pull her son back into her arms.

"No, it was a false alarm." Jean explained, pulling faces at her nephew. "There were definitely signs of activity, but no sign of anyone, least of all him."

"Okay, now I'm getting scared." Kitty stated. "I guess this means more research then?"

"A lot more research." Scott confirmed wearily.

Jean started as Liam made a small noise. "What …?"

"He's hungry." Kitty cut her off.

"He never cries during the day." Pietro added.

"It's alright for some, isn't it?" Jean quipped, handing the child back to his mother.

"I'll get a bottle." Kitty decided. "It's probably easier, since I've got to tell everyone." She pulled one of the bottles out of the fridge and warmed it quickly in her hand. Testing it against her wrist, she persuaded Liam to take it, which didn't take long, and stood up, her son nestled in her arms. "Shall we?"

"We're right behind you, Kit-Kat." Pietro told her, opening the door. "Except, of course, I am currently in front of you."

Kitty chuckled and, to her surprise, so did Scott. Not wanting to jinx it, she didn't mention it. "I swear, Pietro, you don't think the same way the rest of us do."

"Well, of course not." Pietro agreed. "That would be boring."

"You know, it might help if you tried." Kitty told him as the elevator doors closed. "That way the rest of us might be able to follow your train of thought sometimes."

Jean laughed. "It's alright for you, Kitty; you do think the same way." She pushed open the door to the living room. "Hey, everybody! Generation X has a new member."

"What?" Several voices demanded at once.

Kitty smiled, almost giddily. "Yes, they do. Everybody, this is Liam Daniel Alvers."

"You were early?" Belladonna asked, standing up. "Right, I want you to turn right around and go back to the infirmary. I don't care where you gave birth; I want to check you over myself."

"Yes, ma'am." Kitty span on her heel and returned the way she came.

As the room erupted into whispers and murmurs, a sharp whistle tore through the air and everyone jumped, turning to face Lexa.

"Alright!" She announced. "I know it's a shock, people, but get over it. Yes, Kitty had a baby. Yes, it was a boy. Yes, there were a few complications, but they're both perfectly healthy. Did I cover everything?"

"Everything except the psychopath trying to kidnap him." Pietro confirmed.

"Oh yeah." Lexa sighed. "I'd forgotten about him."

"Where is he now?" Anna asked, hoisting Lorelai on to her hip.

"Six feet under." Pietro answered grimly. "Give or take."

Lexa flinched. "Look, it was either that or …" She trailed off, but couldn't prevent her eyes drifting to Lorelai.

"Oh, God." Anna whispered, holding her daughter closer. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Lexa assured her. "I stabbed him through the chest first."

"Thank God." Anna gave her a one-armed hug. "I'm so sorry you had to …"

"Just as long as she's safe." Lexa murmured. As she stepped back, Pietro slipped an arm around her waist and she leaned into him.

Jean couldn't help noticing that this was the first outward sign that they were together, but it was Lucie who asked, "So what's going on with you two?"

Pietro grinned at her and leaned down to kiss Lexa quickly. "Take a guess."

Lorna gasped. "You are dating! I knew it! I knew I wasn't crazy!" She swatted Alex's arm. "I told you they were dating!"

"I didn't argue!" Alex protested, rubbing his arm. "And that hurt!"

"Actually," Pietro said loudly, over the noise, "I asked Lexa to marry me last night."

The room erupted as every female present squealed loudly, causing the men to wince.

"Did you say yes?" Bobby asked, over the noise.

Jubilee rolled her eyes, hanging up the phone. "If she didn't, this is a horrible story."

"Of course I said yes." Lexa sniggered, as Wanda and Lorna hugged her tightly. "What happened out there?"

"Pretty much nothing." Jubilee sighed. "By the sounds of it, you had more excitement here. Mom's dropping Cindy off tomorrow." She added to Bobby.

"Hey, how did Mom take Liam?" Jean asked.

Lexa gasped. "Oh my God, your mother!"

"Kitty phoned, right?" Pietro asked urgently.

Lexa stared at him, wide-eyed. "I don't think she even phoned her parents."

Despite her shock that Kitty would forget something like this, Jean chuckled. "Oh, this should be fun."


"I've never seen Sara cry like that." Scott shook his head. "And Kitty's parents both looked like they'd been punched. To be honest with you, I don't think they've accepted it yet. But that kid's as cute as hell; he can win anyone over. Even me." He paused. "Can you believe Jean locked me in here?"

Lance didn't answer.

For obvious reasons.

"Ask a silly question." Scott groaned. "I'm going mad. I mean, I know I promised her I'd do this and I know I've put it off for a month and, yeah, I joked about doing this while you were out, so you didn't hear me, but this is ridiculous! And we used to laugh at people who talked to gravestones. At least there's a chance the dead can hear us."

He chuckled. "We were right pricks as kids, weren't we? What happened? Of course, some might say we're still pricks." He amended, answering his own question. "But we were like brothers. And now look at us. We grew up together, man. How did we not recognise each other? I mean, I'd taken a blow to the head; I've got an excuse! But you thought I was dead, didn't you?"

His voice, which had risen, quietened again, leaving only an echo in the silent room.

"I guess Kitty wasn't the only one hiding." Scott murmured. "Sometimes I think you Brotherhood guys are the only ones being true to yourselves." He glared at the door. "I don't know what she thinks this is gonna accomplish. If you ask me, I think she's hoping I'll wake you up, but that's crazy! Unless you'd rather wake up for me than for Kitty and Liam."

Once again, there was no response.

"I didn't think so. Still …" Scott hesitated. "While you're here … and unconscious … I owe you an apology. When Kitty first got here, she was this quiet, almost scared, kid and … I guess that had something do with thinking she'd lost her best friend, but … she became like a little sister to me and … well, I became a bit neurotic about it and … she's started to resent me for it … Hell, Quicksilver's taken my place as big brother now and … that hurts, but … I guess it's no one's fault but my own. And even when all the evidence was on your side, I refused to see reason and … I'm sorry, Lance."

As he stood up to try the door again, this time fully prepared to pick the lock if he had to, Scott froze as he finally got a response.

"You know, Scott, one in every two people is a prat. So if you look around this room and you don't see one, you're it."

Scott turned back with a grin. "I didn't say I didn't see one, Alvers. Figures you'd wake up for that."

Lance sniggered weakly. "Hey, I'm never gonna get you to admit all that again in a million. What'd I miss?"

Scott laughed. "Oh, boy, that's a loaded question. For one …"

The door unlocked with a click and swung open. "Lance!"

Scott moved quickly out of the way as Kitty seemed to throw herself at Lance, who managed to pull himself into a sitting position quickly enough to catch her. "Okay, I don't need to see that."

"Stuff it, Cyke." Kitty stated bluntly, before kissing Lance softly. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine." Lance's hand rested on her stomach and he froze. "Kitty … what …?"

Kitty smiled apologetically. "You've been in a coma for the last three months, Lance, and I was two weeks early. I'll …"

"Don't worry, Kitty; I've got him." Jean interrupted, carrying Liam into the infirmary. She passed the child to his mother, who, in turn, passed him to his father.

Lance stared at Liam like he'd never seen a baby before and Kitty nestled into his side as touched his son's hand with a finger. Liam wriggled slightly and caught hold, squeezing tightly.

Jean sniffed lightly, snuggling into Scott's arms, feeling like she was intruding. You're not freaking out.

Scott shrugged mentally, feeling a traitorous lump in his throat. They look like a family.

Yeah, they do. Jean agreed. They are a family.

You know, if you'd told me we'd be standing here five years ago … Scott shook his head slowly … I'd never have believed it.

Well, you know what they say. Jean reached up to press a kiss against his jaw. All's fair in love and war.


AN: Cheesy ending, I know. 'Of Love and Life' will be up soon, once I've finished re-editing the first lot of chapters. Review please!