Chapter 18: A Time To Mourn

Just before the funeral for Cody was set to start, Logan and K made a point to take seats next to Annie and Scott. The surviving Summers kids were sitting behind their parents, and the two older ferals were determined to be right there for both of them. Scott and Annie were grasping each other's hands and staring at the grass in front of them, avoiding looking at the coffin and the flowers.

It was too familiar a scene with the team, but far more hard-hitting than any of the other deaths in the past if no other reason than the simple fact that Cody was only sixteen, and most of them had watched him grow into a formidable and sweet young man with a promising future from the day he was born.

When Logan sat down, he put one hand on Annie's shoulder nearest him - just to let her know he was there - and K took Scott's arm and gave him a little squeeze before Kurt could get started.

The rest of the Hale family had shown up in force and were in their own degrees of shock and mourning. Annie's parents were shocked to the point of silent tears, while her sisters were doing their best to try and stop themselves from bawling - though they were losing that battle. Leslie Ann was an utter wreck. She almost hadn't come at all, but ultimately, she knew that she needed to be there. Even if the guilt of being part of Apocalypse's Horsemen was sending her deeper into a spiral, she would have felt worse if she hadn't come to pay her respects.

Charlie was less of a wreck than she could have been - though that was largely because she had latched onto Nate and was unashamedly using him as an anchor. Not that Nate was going to stop her. He had one arm around her as he kept half an eye on Scott in front of him. Rachel and Bobby were behind them with their kids, neither of whom could quite believe that Uncle Cody was gone.

Elin had taken her place with Chance, but his attention was torn, since John had decided that Chance needed a snuggle. It was one of the long-term variety that included lots of pats from John as he curled into Chance's shoulder - soothing him as best a small baby of his age could do.

It was always a hard thing for Kurt to speak for the team after a loss, though he was eloquent as he spoke about Cody's place in Heaven, even if those that were left behind felt that it had been too soon. However, he didn't quite make it all the way through the service before Annie let out a little sound that she couldn't quite stop and then buried her face into Scott's shoulder and stayed there until it was his turn to say something, though he couldn't quite find words.

"Cody…" He swallowed hard, wavered, and tried again. "...he…" He swallowed again, unable to finish - or even begin. So, he closed his eyes, with tears staining his collar, nodded once, and returned to his place beside Annie, leaving an empty quiet in his wake.

The silence spoke for him, for the immense loss and immense love of a father saying goodbye to his youngest son.

The gathered group waited for the Summers family first to throw a handful of dirt down before they quickly stepped back, and Scott wrapped Annie up tightly, hiding her face from everyone else so she could cry without worrying about anyone seeing her - not that she cared who saw her when she was mourning her son.

The rest of the group let the Summers family stay alone as long as they needed, heading back to where Tony had already arranged for everything to be taken care of so that the rest of the group could come together for a memorial. It was abundantly clear that Cody's parents and siblings couldn't pull themselves together - and couldn't be expected to - enough to be around people. They needed time and space.

Eventually, the Summerses made their way to the memorial, with Scott and Annie taking up the rear, though Nate had stayed with them so he could take care of pushing Scott so Annie didn't have to worry about that either.

John had continued to snuggle Chance, though when Charlie sat down beside her brother for a moment, he held his hands out to her and squirmed until he was falling toward her. She had no choice but to pick him up so he could snuggle her and give her little baby kisses. She couldn't stop the smile for him and snuggled him right back, kissing the side of his head as he patted her neck and babbled to her.

"Looks like someone's stealing my job," Gerry said as he came up beside Charlie. He made a move to put his arms around her, and when he leaned over, John started to paff him away much like he'd hit his Aunt Lisbet, clearly staking his claim. Charlie let out a small sort of laugh when she saw the look of territorial insistence on John's face and the total shock and amusement on Gerry's.

Hope laughed too as she leaned forward from behind where Charlie and Gerry were seated. "That's right, John. He should step up his game," she said with a twinkle in her eyes that had Gerry looking even more affronted and earned another little laugh out of Charlie.

John gave her a little, subdued sort of smile before he shifted how he was snuggled and draped himself on Charlie's shoulder, melting right to the spot like a little rag doll - who would slap Gerry every single time he leaned closer.

Being the observant little elfling that he was, Kaleb had seen the instant cheering effect John had on Charlie, so he politely asked his mom if he could borrow Chelsea for a moment. Kate barely gave him more than a look and a kiss before handing her over, and in short time, Kaleb made his way over to where Chloe was sitting so he could try to do the same. Chelsea wasn't quite in the same snuggling mood that John was - but she was hilarious all the same as she leaned over to Chloe, perfectly wide-eyed and innocent, and then suddenly grabbed Chloe's nose.

"Nose!" she declared happily. "Na-Nose!"

Chloe was surprised into a laugh that had Kaleb grinning as he nodded at his little sister. "Oh yeah. You totally got her nose."

Chloe smiled at him as she pulled Chelsea into a hug and let the little girl squirm out of her lap so she could run off and go play with the bamfs - which was clearly the more interesting thing to do for her, not sitting and snuggling.

"You're really sweet, Kaleb," she said, reaching over to pull him into a hug that he returned much tighter than she had expected. He was so empathetic over the whole situation, he simply had to make sure that his favorite Summers was wrapped up and had someone to hold onto. Besides, he'd just been through a bamf funeral not that long ago, and while it wasn't the same as losing a brother, he could relate to the full-body grief.

It seemed like most of the group was of similar mindsets, making sure that none of the members of the Summers or Hale groups were alone as the evening wore on, especially as the conversation turned to remembering Cody and telling a few stories.

Annie was probably most surprised, though, by Peter Quill, who was an emotional wreck of his own going through a second service like this so soon after Kitty. He made his way over to her and simply wrapped her up in the longest, warmest hug she had ever received from him, and before she knew it, the two of them were crying together.

K made her way over to Scott when she saw that Annie was well taken care of with Peter, and when she approached, she rested her hand on his shoulder until he looked her way, and just a moment later, she leaned in and wrapped him up in a tight hug.

At first, he simply returned the hug the way he'd done for everyone else, giving her a light squeeze without really putting much into it. But when she held on and kept hugging him tighter, he returned the hug a little better pulling K around the shoulders until something finally broke loose and she could feel his shoulders start to shake when he switched from hugging her to hanging on to her shoulders.

She barely shifted how she was holding him, but she didn't try to stop him in the least, instead making sure that she had him in a good grip, leaning into him almost as much as he was leaning into her to let him just … get it out, if he could. She knew he wasn't dealing with the loss well - or at all - but she also knew he would try to be brave for everyone else's sake, and she couldn't let him work himself into yet another heart episode. Or worse. So if he needed a literal shoulder to cry on, that was what she'd be.

When Scott finally let go of her and left his forehead on her shoulder, it was clear he was done, though not quite ready to move as he tried to get a hold of himself once more. She still waited there until he finally nodded, and when he did, she rested her hand on the back of his head long enough to give him a kiss on the temple. "I know."

He nodded again and then slowly straightened up. "Thank you."

"That's what I'm here for," she said with a little smirk. "So, do you want to get a little farther out of the center of the action?"

"That would be nice," he said quietly.

K nodded and stepped around to move him off to a much quieter spot where he could watch the crowd if he wanted, but clearly, it was a bit hidden from the group. "I'll bring Annie once she gets through. And I'll be keeping an eye out for you."

Scott nodded, though before she could leave, he put a hand on her arm. "Are you alright?"

"For now? Yes," she said with a nod. "You know how it is. I have something to do while I wait to see if James is going to make it through as James."

He nodded at that. "We're going to start rebuilding soon."

"If you want to be close to supervise, Logan has a place not half an hour from there," K offered.

"I may just," Scott said. "I think Annie would like someplace private too."

"Well you know how he picks them," she said. "Private, quiet, and something nice to stare off at."

"Thanks, K."

She gave him a little smile and squeezed his hand before she turned back to the crowd, almost bracing herself before she stepped back into them. Across the way, the crying wreck that was Peter and Annie was finally starting to work itself out. She was able to gently direct Annie on where to find her husband before she went to find her own and watch the rest of the group.

"I told Scott about the cabin around the way," K said as she leaned against Logan.

"Good. He'll probably be alright there," Logan agreed, though he was watching just as closely as she was. He looked over to where Elin was and almost let out a groan when he saw how John was working over Chance again - and the simple fact that in spite of everything going on, Chance was loving it.

"You can't kill him," K said without looking where Logan was watching Chance.

"I know. It'd drop his dad," Logan muttered back in almost a resentful tone. "Damnit."

But Chance clearly hadn't noticed that there was an audience to his obvious baby face, playing with John with that same huge grin as he tickled him and made faces and rubbed noses with him, getting huge belly laughs out of the little guy every time.

"You're spoiling him," Elin said, shaking her head at the two of them.

"Hey, you're supposed to spoil babies," Chance pointed out as he grinned at John and got a huge gummy grin in return.

Elin shook her head lightly and leaned back. "You're a hopeless case."

"Yeah, I am," Chance said. He tickled John once more until John patted his hand away and snuggled him instead, and Chance leaned back with the little guy, resting his hand on the back of his head. He seemed to think about it for a moment before he looked Elin's way. "I'm not - I'm not saying right now," he said slowly. "But later… we need a boy."

"That is so not up to me," Elin pointed out.

"I know, but… but I want to have a little boy," Chance said quietly. "And you can pick the middle or the first name, but one of them needs to be Cody."

She tipped her head to the side just slightly before she leaned over and gave him a kiss. "Okay."

"It doesn't have to be right now," he said. "I'm still fine waiting until you're ready."

"That's good," she agreed. "But you're sweet - and when it happens, I'm on board for a Cody."

He nodded at that and then leaned over to rest his head on her shoulder, making sure to angle himself so John was still snuggled into his opposite side as the little guy started to drift off - clearly tired after all the playing.

"We should let him lay down," Elin suggested quietly. "I think you still need to give your grandparents some love."

Chance nodded at that. "Grandpa still remembers you, you know. Not your name, just… that I'm married."

"You're full of it," Elin deadpanned.

"You wanna bet?" Chance asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Depends on the stakes, baby face."

"Winner gets a backrub," he said.

"Yeah right. Like I don't know where that leads," she chuckled. "But … I'm playing the numbers here so … okay. Let's bring John over to Mom and Dad, then. He's pretty serious about Dad snuggles right now, so you know."

"Hey, I feel you, little man," Chance said, smiling down at John for a moment. "Mine needs them pretty badly too." He shifted John and then headed over to Logan and K, gently handing over the little guy. "Worn out," he said with a smirk.

Logan reached out to take John, and for an instant, the little guy started to struggle until Logan let out a very low, soft growl, and almost like flipping a switch, John relaxed and snuggled into his father. "Thanks," Logan told him while John drifted off a moment or two later.

Chance couldn't help but grin before he took Elin's arm, and the two of them headed over to where Chance's grandparents were - though Chance told Elin to wait just out of sight as he went over to say hello.

"Hi, Grandpa," Chance said with a smile.

"Hello," Douglas said, matching Chance's smile for a moment. "Why don't you sit with me?"

Chance nodded as he sat down beside Douglas, though he wasn't surprised when Douglas seemed to be looking for someone.

"What happened to that girl of yours?" Douglas asked at last.

"Oh, she'll be around," Chance said with a small smirk.

Elin rolled her eyes and made her way over slowly, though she was sure to grab herself a bottle of water on the way before she stepped up and rested a hand on his shoulder, then kissed his cheek. "Not definitive enough," she whispered in his ear.

He smirked at her and turned to kiss her. "He asks about the pretty girl every time," he whispered low. "He remembers the wedding."

"You have rarely been without a pretty girl since you were twelve," she countered. "Nice try, though."

He tipped his head to the side. "Alright, fair. But you are the pretty girl."

"You can't prove it," she replied.

"He can't remember names, El - that's just not helpful."

"I know," she said with a grin. "Which is why that was a crappy, unwinnable bet."

He shook his head at her before he leaned over to steal a kiss. "Yeah, but I love you anyway."

"He's treating you right, ain't he?" Douglas said, leaning forward with a smile.

"Yes, sir," Elin replied with a little nod.

"Well, good." Douglas leaned back. "Never seen a prettier bride. You make him work for it, missy."

Elin had to smile at that before she got up to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Yes, sir, I will."

"Don't worry, Grandpa. I'm head over heels for her," Chance promised.

"Well, obviously," Douglas chuckled.

"Yeah, anyone can see it just looking at us," Chance agreed easily before he leaned over to steal a kiss from Elin and grinned crookedly just to get her to smirk at him.

"I should hope so," Elin said as she let him pull her closer and then leaned in when he put his arm around her back, watching the crowd as they milled about. "Or we're doing it all wrong."

Eventually, the crowd did break up, and everyone started to head their separate ways. There would be a push to rebuild the mansion the next day, but for now, they wanted to go somewhere safe, get some sleep, and start fresh in the morning. Having two funerals so close together was weighing on a lot of them, and that much was obvious in the quiet nature of the group as they all headed home.

While the group was breaking up, Peter Quill made it a point to go find the Howlett family before they could get too dispersed. "Hey, I - I wanted to talk to you guys," he said in a voice that was still shaky from having cried so much during the memorial. He had Nina and Jayce with him as well, who both rushed over to be with the kids their age while their parents talked.

"What's up?" K asked before she handed John to Charlie. "Something wrong - outside of everything?"

Peter shook his head lightly. "Not… wrong," he said, then looked toward the kids. "We're going back to space," he said at last. "Me and the kids. The Guardians said they'd love to get to know Nina and Jayce better, and I think…" He looked around the group and let out his breath. "I don't know how to go back to Chicago without her," he admitted quietly.

Logan nodded, though he didn't say anything as K let out a little 'oh' and then stepped over to wrap him up in a tight hug around the neck. "We'll miss you," she said. "Tell me you'll come back."

"Yeah, I'll make sure the kids get Christmases and stuff here," he promised as he hugged her back just as tightly. "Who knows? Maybe Jayce will be able to outfly your whole team if he decides to come back here."

"I get it," K said. "I do … I'm just going to hate to see you all so far away." She took his head in both of her hands and let out a sigh before she kissed his cheek.

He let out all his breath as well and then very quickly snagged her into an even tighter hug. "Yeah, love you too," he muttered.

K held on for a long time - letting him set the pace, as always - and when he finally let her go, she had to give him another quick kiss. "Don't be a stranger, space baby."

"Hey, could I possibly deprive my kids of Grammy K time?" he asked with a little smirk. "I'm not heartless."

"I hope not - but I also hope it's not just for the kids' sake. I want to see you, mister," K said.

"I'll come with them," he promised.

Before Peter could quite walk away from them, Logan took a hold of his arm. "Thank you. For taking such good care of Kitty."

Peter looked surprised for a minute before he nodded lightly. "She meant everything to me," he told Logan honestly.

"I know," Logan replied quietly.

Peter nodded again and then cleared his throat and looked toward his kids. "I'll - I'll be back later. Probably Christmas. Doubt Jayce will be ready to come back here for the fall, but… we'll see." He tugged on his jacket and then nodded to himself. "And, uh, Rachel said she'd step in for the Chicago school to run the place, so I guess that's that."

Logan nodded at that. "She'll be a good fit."

"Got it in her genes," Peter agreed with a small smirk before he paused, squeezing Logan's shoulder. With a grim nod, he headed off to get Jayce and Nina before he could get too caught up in things again, leaving Logan watching Kitty's family go.