Author's note: Thank you to Torchwhovian, NotMarge, NicoleR85, partygirl98, StarlitStar, Sam0728, and babydops for your reviews. So much encouragement, it's wonderful!

Olivia's First Day

I pulled back, gasping for air, and moved away from Zoey like she was a firebrand that had burned me.

Bewilderment was quickly followed by dismay in her lovely features, and her eyes suddenly seemed over-bright, shining in the light of the full moon above us. Like she was about to cry.

No no no. Please don't cry-

Zoey's distress was truly abhorrent to me. I couldn't bear it. I shut my own eyes to block out her pain while I attempted to regain the shreds of my self-control. I would explain once I'd reined myself in.

That had been close. Too close.

Focus focus focus.

"Hank?"

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. I kept my eyes closed for a further ten seconds, until I was sure I wouldn't lose my mind. Then I opened them again and looked at her pleadingly. "I almost lost control."

She smiled, somehow managing to look shy and terribly sexy at the same time. All trace of tears were gone, thankfully. "You're doing wonders for my ego, just so you know," Zoey teased.

Thank God she's not angry. It sounds like I'm forgiven.

"Glad to be of service," I muttered dryly.

Zoey laughed, but quickly became more serious. "Was that terribly difficult for you?"

"Not until the end. I got a little carried away," I admitted sheepishly.

"So did I," she retorted, with another captivating smile that was somewhat incongruous to the blush blooming on her cheeks.

I needed to get away from her before I got tempted into completely losing it. And I could tell she wasn't even trying to be alluring. Zoey was just that irresistible to me.

"You make it hard to stop."

I snorted, a rather ungentlemanly thing to do. "You have no idea."

She giggled again and tentatively stepped a little closer. My body yearned towards her so much that it felt magnetic. It was a conscious effort not to reach over and pull her into my arms again. I didn't trust myself for that, though.

"See you Tuesday?"

"Yes," I agreed. "You will. And I promise I'll be there when Olivia gets dropped off tomorrow."

"Thank you. That means a lot."

Zoey paused, like she was suffering an internal debate. Then she stood on tiptoe to press her lips to mine, so quickly that it was over and she was out of my reach before my over-heated brain could register that I should grab her and kiss her harder.

That's ok, Zoey. You can steal kisses from me all day long.

"Good night, Hank," she said, smiling. "Drive safe."

"Night, Zoey. I will."

Nicholas and Chloe Grey dropped Olivia and her things off at Xavier's bright and early the next morning. The two adults looked as if something disgusting was under their noses when they saw me standing there to greet them with Charles.

Trust me, I'm not happy to see you either. But a promise is a promise.

Olivia was like a completely different child when around her parents, I noticed. She fidgeted and looked about ready to run away from them. Twice on their way from the car to the front step, where we were waiting, Olivia tried to take off and run towards us in her eagerness to greet us.

And twice her father yanked her back into place next to him. I shifted uneasily, disliking the harsh manner of his actions.

"Good morning," Charles said cheerfully when they reached us. "How are you this morning?"

They didn't deign to answer such a pleasant question.

How rude.

"Hi, Professor. Hi, Mr. Hank. Have you seen my auntie?" Olivia asked, before her mother tried to shush her.

She seemed to be almost vibrating with excitement at the prospect of going to school. And perhaps being away from her parents, for which I blamed her not a whit.

"I have," I replied, speaking only to the child. "I had dinner with her, Mr. Billy, and Ms. Marceline last night. She was very sad she couldn't be here today."

Nicholas Grey eyed me angrily, while Olivia nodded somberly in understanding.

I kept my face neutral as I sized the man up. With the knowledge I had now, I felt it would be a bad idea to underestimate his determination to get to Zoey's fortune. Grey was full of self-righteousness, and believed she had stolen what was rightfully his. He was the sort who blamed everyone else for his own failings, and felt that he himself could do no wrong. I wondered what it was like to have that kind of self-assurance?

Not that my perpetually-awkward self would know.

But then something changed. It was like watching a movie on a back-light projector, seeing the way Grey came to a conclusion I'd known was coming all along. If he couldn't get Zoey to date his obliging friends, maybe he could make friends with the man she had chosen? And then work to control her through that?

Keep dreaming, you miscreant.

Grey's face quickly rearranged itself into more welcoming lines, though clearly Chloe hadn't gotten the memo yet.

Charles shot me a look that spoke volumes, obviously warning me. I'd already done the math, though.

Hank-

Yes, I know. I've already been warned about him.

"Why don't we show you to Olivia's room?" Charles asked cheerfully, breaking the awkward silence between us all.

They agreed. I noticed Mrs. Grey giving her husband an odd look when his reply was less-than-surly. It was almost amusing, the look of betrayal on her face.

She was surprisingly complimentary when we arrived at Olivia's room, voicing approval over the small area. She even assisted in putting away her daughter's things, which thankfully didn't take long. It made me feel slightly relieved, seeing Chloe act the way a mother should.

"Now, it's time for Olivia to go to class. I will personally escort her there. Would you like to see her classroom?" Charles asked.

The Grey's shook their heads. I guess Chloe's enthusiasm could only go so far. And so much for the better anyway, so they wouldn't see some of the physical mutations of the children here. They were still unaware of the true nature of this school.

"Very well. Hank, if you could?"

I nodded. "Follow me, please."

Mr. Grey didn't wait long to employ his new tactic. "So, you're Zoey's new boyfriend?"

"Yes."

For some reason I didn't even like it when he said her name. Probably because I knew what ill intentions he had for her.

"Do you teach here?"

"No, I'm the school doctor," I replied.

"Oh. Well, would you like to come to dinner sometime?" Grey offered. I heard a soft intake of breath from his wife.

"Certainly. Name a day," I said mildly.

"Wednesday sound fine? Six o'clock?"

"Ok."

I pasted a sickly sweet smile on my face as I left them at the front door. I knew that Nicholas was expecting (and hoping) it to just be me at dinner that night, but he was in for a grand disappointment if I could help it. I knew him for what he was- even if Billy hadn't told me all of the horrible things Grey had done, I would never have trusted that man after watching him almost hit Zoey.

Do you think I have the memory of a goldfish?

At dinner that night I made a point of going to Olivia's table and kneeling down next to the little girl's seat.

"Hi, Mr. Hank!" she said brightly. Her megawatt smile reminded me of her aunt.

"Hello, Olivia. How did it go today?"

"It was really really good," Olivia replied, her feet swinging freely off the side of her chair. "Courtney and Mary let me color with them and the Professor is going to teach me to block people out of my head when I touch them and Mrs. Hopkins told me I did good because I can read and write and do multi- multipli-"

Wow. Was that all one sentence?

"Multiplication?" I supplied.

"Yeah, that. Auntie Zoey taught me how already," she announced proudly.

"Well that's nice. Do you like it here so far?"

Olivia nodded eagerly. "Very much."

"I'm happy to hear that," I replied, with a genuine smile.

Yes, I did the right thing. I was incredibly intrusive, but it still helped her so much...

"Dinner time!" Mrs. Taylor, the school's cook, called out.

"I better get going," I said.

I began to stand up, but Olivia stopped me by throwing her arms around my neck. To say it startled me would definitely be an understatement. But still, it was nice. The little girl trusted me, and I felt that was an honor.

"Thank you, Mr. Hank."

"Y-you're welcome, Livie."

She really is a sweet child, I thought as I headed back towards my own seat.

That night I called Zoey to let her know how Olivia's first day went and that her brother-in-law had invited me to dinner on Wednesday.

"What do you mean, he invited you to dinner?" Zoey asked, dumbfounded. "Like he wants to be your friend?"

"Yes. I think you know why," I said quietly.

"Yeah, I do. Too bad Billy got to you first and warned you about him."

"That doesn't even matter. I'll never forgive him for trying to hit you, Zoey," I told her seriously. "It seemed like he only wanted me to come, but..."

"Of course I'll come," Zoey agreed.

We both laughed. Nicholas Grey was in for a nasty surprise on Wednesday.