33.
The Present
Chapter Theme Song: If I Could Turn Back Time - Cher
"You sure we can't persuade you to stay?"
Nathan shook his head. "Nope. Not a chance."
It felt surreal - he was actually going home. He was all packed up and ready to go - all he needed to do was turn the time-travel device and he would be-
Home.
Home, with Nina and Hope. Home. He couldn't believe it.
"Well, if we can't, then I think I know something that might..." Wade and Domino exchanged an amused glance.
"What are you two grinning about?"
"We left you a little present upstairs."
"Jesus..."
"Not sure what you're thinking, but my mind is running wild with possibilities!" Beneath his mask, Wade wore an amused grin. "Go on, go, go! Go see for yourself!"
Still unsure, Nathan slowly made his way up the grand staircase while Wade and Domino fist-bumped behind him.
From the top of the stairs he heard the voice of the professor down the hall. "It's so good to have you back."
"It's so good to be back. It's been far too long." A second voice – Nina's. This made him stop. But that made no sense, she had just left yesterday, she wouldn't be back this soon.
"What do you think?" Nina asked.
"I like it!" A little girl's voice answered, one he knew just as well.
"Your mother can give you the grand V.I.P. tour," Charles said.
"What's V.I.P.?" the girl asked, sounding adorably confused.
"Very Important Person."
"That's me?!"
"That's you!"
Nathan came around the corner then. Everything froze.
They were bathed in a warm wash of sunlight coming through the stained glass window at the end of the hall. The light made them appear angelic, and so Nathan wondered if he was just imagining things.
But then they turned and looked right at him, their expressions changing to shock and awe and disbelief to surely match his own.
Nina and Hope. His Nina and Hope. His wife and daughter.
There was a long, lingering moment of shocked silence before-
"DADDY!"
"Hope? Hope!"
It was Hope, his Hope, the one he remembered from his own timeline. His six-year-old daughter.
Next thing he knew she was sprinting down the hall. He knelt down just in time as she jumped into his open arms, her arms flying around his neck. She snuggled her face into his shoulder while he buried his face in her hair.
Could this really be happening? His daughter here in his arms?
"You're here too! I missed you so much!"
Nathan couldn't formulate any words, so he just held her tighter.
"Mummy!" Hope pulled away and called over her shoulder. "Look, look! Daddy's here too! We're all here!"
And his wife-
Nathan rose to his feet, staring down the hall. Nina stood next to Charles, gripping his shoulder tightly. She had begun to cry.
"Mummy, why are you crying? Aren't you happy?" Hope asked, now looking concerned.
"Yes!" Nina gave a mix between a laugh and a sob. "Oh, yes, of course I am. These are happy tears. I just can't believe it..." Her eyes didn't leave her husband. "N-Nate?" Her voice was barely a whisper, barely audible.
"Hey, Neen."
They stared at each other for a few long moments. Time slowed and then seemed to stop altogether.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?"
They chuckled as their words overlapped.
"Are you really here?" They were standing close enough now that he reached out and stroked her hair as though to check to see if she were real.
"Are you really here?" She placed her hands on his chest.
"Oh, my gawd! Yes! Just kiss already!" They were snapped from their trance by Wade's voice, making them jump. "We didn't reunite you two just so you could stand there and stare all moon-eyed at each other."
"You did this?" cried Nathan.
"Nina and I devised a plan before she left," Charles explained, wheeling himself over to them. "She would swap places with you, Nina, staying in the future while she works to control her newfound powers, while you and Hope could come here to this time and be with Nathan. Wade helped ensure everything - and everyone - was in place."
"I seem to recall you threatening me should I not clean up the mess I made," Wade reminded Nathan. "Naw, you did me a favour, so here's my thank you."
Nathan surprised everyone by pulling Wade close in a hug.
"Aww, I always knew you were a hugger!" Wade wrapped his arms around the super-soldier in return.
"Okay, that's enough." The hug didn't last long.
Nathan and Nina turned back to each other, beaming. She pressed her hands over her mouth to stifle another happy sob. "You're here."
"I'm here."
"You're really here."
"I am," he assured her.
"I just can't believe it!"
"Me neither!"
She burst into tears and cried into his shoulder. "I'm here, Baby, I'm here," he soothed, holding her tightly. She took his face in her hands, bringing it down to her own and kissing him deeply.
"That's gonna take some getting used to," Wade remarked to Doms as they watched the two snogging.
"Yeah," she agreed.
Hope gagged. "Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"
"I agree," said Wade.
Nina and Nathan only laughed.
Suddenly, Hope gasped. "Mr. Cuddles! There you are! Why did you have him?" she asked her dad.
Nathan removed the teddy bear from his belt and held it out to her. "I brought him along for good luck."
"Did it work?"
"Yes, it did. We're together again."
She grinned, hugging the bear.
"Yes, our family's back together again," Nina said. "For good."
Nina, Nathan, Wade, and Domino sat in the living room that evening. Hope was already in bed, exhausted after the exciting day.
Nina and Nathan sat close together on the couch, practically in each other's laps, smiling at each other lovingly.
"Are you two telepathically whispering dirty things to each other?" asked Wade.
"Maybe. Or maybe we're talking shit about you," Nina replied.
"Either way, I approve. Well, I think we should call it a night." He clapped his hands and stood. "It's been an exciting day! Besides, you two can barely keep your hands off each other." He nodded to the reunited couple, both who raised their hands in surrender. "Go on, go make up for lost time. Go on, shoo." He made a shooing gesture with his hand.
They didn't need any more encouragement. As soon as they were upstairs, they wasted no time in hurrying to Nathan's room and jumping into bed.
"Finally, we're alone," sighed Nathan. "I'm all yours."
She grinned back. "And I'm all yours."
He cupped her face in his metal hand. "I've missed every part of our life together."
"Oh, Nate – come here." She drew him close.
Just like Wade said, time to make up for lost time.
"Nate, I'm pregnant."
A few weeks later, Nina had some big news to share with her husband.
"Oh - wow..."
"Yeah..."
"Well, I guess it's really not that surprising," he said with a smirk, considering they had barely left their room.
"Not really." She chuckled. "I know it's very soon after everything, but we were discussing it before you left, having more kids."
"Yeah, no, you're right. I've felt so lost for so long without you both and now, by some miracle it seems, you're here again. I don't want to miss another moment."
"Everyone shut up! Wade Jr. is sleeping!" shushed Wade.
They welcomed their son nine months later. Hope was absolutely thrilled to be a big sister and to have a little brother.
"Never thought I'd be a grandparent in my thirties," remarked Scott.
"We can thank time-travel for that," agreed Jean.
"We've come up with a name for him..." The proud parents shared a smile. "Alex. Alex Summers Jr."
"What do you think?" Nathan asked Scott.
It was clear Scott was tearing up under his visor. "I think it's great."
"What?! Are you kidding me?! You decided to name him after some dude they killed off halfway through Apocalypse?!" Wade was not having any of it.
"It just seemed right."
There was a scoff from the masked merc. "Bullshit."
"Wade! Not in front of the baby!" cried Nina.
"Well we all know Wade Jr.'s first word would be a profanity, or multiple. First words."
"Aww, he fell right asleep," said Doms, who was currently holding baby Alex. "You've got luck on your side, young man."
"We've all got luck on our side," said Nina.
"We sure do." Nathan agreed. Husband and wife shared a long kiss.
Well, what did you think of the surprise? ;) Planned that a long time ago!
This chapter jumps around a little, but hopefully it's okay! So much time-jumping in this story!
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)
