Author's note: see ch 1 for disclaimer
Warnings: mentions of alcohol, mentions of spanking
"Oh good, you're back!" Debbie said as she and Philip walked into the suite. "Boys, come help us unload the car." They looked at Chris, who shook his head.
"I'll help, Mom. Scott and Gabe are being punished and they're not leaving the table until they've written their lines." Scott blushed and concentrated on his sentences.
"Surely they can take ten minutes to help-"
"No. I'll get Nate and Nathan." Scott heard the door open and shut, and then open again.
"Oooh! Dad's in troub- ow!" Scott looked and saw Nate rubbing his butt, frowning at Chris.
"Keep it up, Nathan Christopher Charles. There's plenty of pens and paper for you to write sentences as well."
"Sorry Grandpa."
"Apologize to your father."
"Sorry Dad." Scott waved him away and continued writing. He felt someone standing behind him and looked up again.
"Hey."
"Hey. You two forgot your communicators, Dad? Really?" Scott shrugged sheepishly at Nathan.
"I wasn't planning on going out and I left it in my room."
"Leave your father alone, Nathan. Let's go unload your grandma's car."
"Yes sir." The three left with Deborah and Scott sighed. Philip walked over to them and read their sentences.
"What communicators?"
"For the team," Scott told him. "Professor Xavier had Gabe and I looking into something and we didn't realize neither of us had a communicator to talk to Dad until we were far away."
"Weren't you in New York City?"
"Y-yes sir."
"Then that was damn foolish, don't you think? I remember when your father separated from us in Seattle. I gave him a hiding the minute I found him. Here you two are, just writing damn sentences."
"But Dad-" Scott shook his head at Gabriel and the two just continued to write. Soon, Alex, his parents, Chris, Nathan, Nate, and Deborah came back into the suite. Alex rushed to his brothers.
"Are you guys ok? What happened?"
"Alexander. Leave them alone unless you want to join them." Alex blushed and walked over to Chris.
"How was New York?"
"Great. Boys got to meet Spider-Man and Angel."
"Spider-Man?! Seriously?!"
"You've heard of him?"
"Everyone has. He's big in the city. He's all over the news and everything. Man! I wish I'd been there!"
"Scott kicked his butt," Gabriel told him.
"You didn't."
"He shot something at Gabe and I knocked him down. Wouldn't call that kicking his butt."
"Boys." Scott and Gabriel looked at their papers and kept writing. "Alex, I mean it. Your brothers are being punished right now-"
"Fat lot of good sentences are gonna do," Philip scoffed. Chris rubbed his temples.
"I need a drink."
"Sorry, Dad. House rules- no alcohol."
"Scott-"
"That's only while impressionable kids are here," Nathan said. "Come on. I'll show you where Logan keeps the good stuff."
"Andrew? Feel like a drink?" Andrew nodded and followed Chris and Nathan out of the suite. Scott rubbed his wrist for a minute, listening to Deborah and Joanna discuss Christmas dinner.
"Where's Mom?" He suddenly asked.
"With Maddie, dear. And I'd keep writing if I were you. I don't think your father would care to hear you were disobeying him." Scott scowled at the table, but went back to writing. He was almost done by the time Chris, Andrew, and Nathan came back up.
"Are you two finished yet?" Chris asked. Scott recoiled at the smell of the alcohol. He handed Chris his papers.
"I'm going to check on Maddie," he said as he left the suite.
"Scott. Scott!" Scott closed the door behind him and knocked on the door to the suite Madelyne had moved into. She opened it and Scott quickly went in.
"Hey. You ok?"
"Dad was drinking," he told her.
"Ok. Hepzibah, Carrie and I were about to watch a movie. You're welcome to join us." Scott nodded and made himself comfortable on the couch. Madelyne smiled and started the movie before curling up next to him, covering the two of them with a massive blanket. Scott began running his hand through her hair, enjoying relaxing with the women in his life.
*I love you,* he telepathically sent to her.
*I love you, too.* Scott placed his hand on Madelyne's lower abdomen and sighed. He heard a knock on the door that connected the suites and cuddled closer to Madelyne. Hepzibah got up and opened the door, allowing Chris inside.
"Scott? Can we talk?"
"I don't really feel like it right now," he told his father honestly.
"Ok. Charles wants to see you and Gabe." Scott kissed Madelyne's temple and got up, leaving from the suite's main door to Charles' office. He knocked and was quickly given permission to enter.
"Hello, Scott. How did it go?"
"About as expected, Professor. He said he wasn't exactly interested, but he took a card. I heard Dad talking to him, and he said he might give us a chance. We also met Spider-Man. Dad gave him a card as well, but something… Gabe couldn't mute his abilities, so he might be something other than a mutant."
"And how are you faring with the news?"
"Not well."
"Would you care to elaborate?"
"Not particularly, Professor."
"Alright then, son. You know I'm here for you, whatever you need."
"I appreciate it. If that's all, I'm going to keep watching a movie with Maddie and Carrie."
"Enjoy, Scott." Scott nodded and left the office, passing Gabriel. Scott knocked on Madelyne's suite and was quickly let in. He saw Chris sitting on the floor next to Hepzibah and he scowled.
*I'm going to the gym.*
*Are you sure?*
*I can't do the smell, Maddie.*
*Does he know?*
*It doesn't matter.*
*I'll bet if you tell him, he won't drink.* Scott ignored his fiancée and went to his room on the second floor to change. He was about to put on sweats when he heard a knock at his door. Scott let out an aggravated breath as he opened the door.
"Yes?" He asked Chris.
"Wanna tell me what that was about up there?"
"No." Chris looked around Scott and saw the gym clothes.
"Going to go work off some anger?"
"Yep."
"Ok. I'll go with you."
"No."
"Scott. I'm concerned about you-"
"Yeah, I can tell. Got a great big whiff of the concern." Chris frowned.
"I had a finger of scotch, son. I'm not drunk."
"Could have fooled me. You smell like-"
"Logan boobey trapped his stash to keep nosy kids out. Cheap bourbon splashed on me." Scott looked away. "Hey. I'm not a drunk. Holidays are stressful, especially when overbearing parents are visiting. And after the panic I went through earlier, I just needed something to calm me down before I got laid into."
"I don't like alcohol."
"Noted. Won't happen again."
"You smell like a bar."
"Then I'll go change. If that's all that was bothering you, then I'd like for you to come be with your family. Your grandparents are leaving the day after Christmas and won't be back until the wedding."
"Grandpa is stressing me out."
"Me too, kid." Scott fidgeted with his fingers.
"What happened in Seattle?" Chris winced.
"He told you about that?" Scott nodded and Chris sighed. He came into Scott's room and closed the door, taking off his shirt to smell less like a bar for his son.
"Here," Scott said, handing him a hoodie. Chris pulled it on and sat on Scott's bed.
"I was a… rebellious kid. Anything your grandpa said, I'd do my best to do the opposite. I'm actually amazed there isn't an indentation of me in that table in his shed."
"Ouch."
"Very much so. This particular time, we were on vacation in Seattle. It was the summer before I started dating your mom. The Space Needle was beckoning me and I was told under no circumstances was I to go up. Well, the order came from your grandpa, so of course that meant 'go.' I waited for breakfast the next day, and I 'accidentally' got lost in the crowd. I made it to the top of the Needle, and that was when I fell in love with being in the air and decided to become a pilot myself. Unfortunately, my intentions for the Needle were known and before I could come down, I was found. Grandpa belted me then and there, and again when we got back to the hotel. I couldn't sit the rest of the trip."
"He did it in public?" Scott asked, sitting next to Chris.
"Oh, everyone was watching. Heard some lady tell her kid 'see? I told you you weren't too old to be spanked.' Was absolutely mortifying."
"If you had such a bad experience with it, why do it to us?" Chris ran a hand through his hair.
"It was what I knew. I think I've done a good job with you three. I don't think you're afraid to be in trouble. You just don't like it. There were times when I made an innocent mistake and was terrified to go home."
"Was that why you considered joining the Air Force early?" Chris nodded.
"I would have, too, had your mother not asked me to stay."
"Grandpa doesn't seem like he was that kind of parent."
"He has his moments. You have to understand, son, his generation is just… completely different from mine and yours. He was a good dad. He's a good grandpa. He just has different views on certain things. If I thought for a moment he was going to hurt you or your brothers, he wouldn't be welcomed back in our lives."
"He doesn't think you spanked us for earlier."
"Not his business."
"You… you promise you'll never spank us in public?"
"I do. I shouldn't have said that to you and Gabe earlier. I was… son, I thought you two were hurt. I was terrified I was going to see you dead and mangled on the ground."
"I'm sorry, Dad. We shouldn't have gone off like that. We definitely shouldn't have left the communicators." Chris sighed and put a hand on the back of Scott's neck, squeezing gently.
"It's over and done, Scott. Let's just not do it again, ok? I don't think my heart can handle seeing that."
"Another reason why you shouldn't be on the field," Scott smirked. Chris closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Next time you go out for anything X-Men related, you're taking Nate. Let's see how you are with him there."
"He's a kid."
"And you're my kid." Scott and Chris sat in silence for a little while before Scott sighed.
"I'm sorry for freaking out about the alcohol. It's just… Jack."
"I wish you'd told me before today. I never would have had a drink had I known. It's not like you're just against it because of the rules of the Institute. You have legitimate reasons to not want to be around it."
"It's not that I want you to stop drinking… I just don't want to know or be around you when it happens."
"I won't let it happen again, son. Now. Onto a new topic. You ready to head back up?" Scott frowned.
"Not really. I'm sorry. I don't think I can see or talk to Grandpa right now."
"Ok. I'll give you a little bit, but dinner is in half an hour. I expect you in the dining room by then."
"Yes sir." Chris nodded and stood up.
"Talk to me next time, son. Will save a hell of a lot of time." Scott blushed and nodded. Chris grabbed his shirt from the floor and walked out of Scott's room. Scott sighed and put his sweats back in his drawers. He started heading down to the game room to play pool to give him something to do that didn't require a lot of thought. He made it to the main level and was about to turn down a hall when he heard a knock at the door. Scott frowned, knowing the security system should have been up.
*Someone's at the door,* Scott sent to Nathan.
*I'm on my way. Don't answer it.* Scott went to the window and looked out. He saw a silhouette, but nothing distinguishable. Nathan came down and looked out with him.
"Anyone we know?"
"I don't know. It's definitely not Sinister, but that doesn't mean it's not one of his puppets." The knock came again, a little harder than before.
"Should we answer it?"
"You're the leader." Scott rolled his eyes and opened the door a little.