Title: The Ring

Part Two

Rating: G

Continuance: This was when my personal fave X-Men lineup existed, the one that existed just before the AoA timeline, so quite a few of the X-Men make appearances in this one, including a rather disgruntled Psylocke. *g*

Notes: This turned out to be a bit longer than I'd expected, so I divided it into two different parts for easier reading. :)

Disclaimer: I'm not making any money off this, though I wish I was, so Marvel...guys, don't sue me. I'm broke anyway.

******

Storm walked with light, graceful steps through the plush, green grounds of the Xavier estate, inspecting the various small gardens set up around the house. While bending to tend to a malnourished rose, she noticed something gleaming on the sidewalk off to her side. Drawn to the metallic object with sunlight glinting off it, she picked the ring up and looked curiously at it.

"Such a beautiful ring," she mused quietly, taking careful note of the green ivy engraved along the band. "It must be Rogue's."

And off she took into the building to deliver her new finding.



"No, Ah don't think that's mine." Rogue turned the ring over for the umpteenth time, wishing with all her might she could tell Storm it was. The woman across from her frowned, a slight line appearing in her forehead.

"Perhaps Remy meant to give it to you and simply dropped it."

Rogue stopped turning the ring, looking down at it in interest. "Ya know, ya just may be right." She smiled, slipping the band onto her ring finger and holding it up to admire it. "It really is beautiful..." Storm nodded her silent agreement. "Well, that's had to have been it. Thanks!"



Jean yawned as she walked into the kitchen, looking around with bleary eyes at the sight that greeted her. Seemingly the entire Xavier mansion had already beaten her to the kitchen, some of them complimenting Betsy's cooking on fear for their lives, others complaining about it simply because they were insane. The woman in question stood there, hands on hips, with a deep scowl on her face.

"I've told you, Bobby, that if you think you can do any better, YOU come down here at five in the morning and cook!"

"Mmm?" Bobby asked, looking up with a mouthful of pancakes. Betsy turned back around in disgust, slamming the spatula repeatedly against the pan as she mixed the batter. Jean coughed and walked into the kitchen without another word, seating herself next to Rogue, who was currently going through an issue of Cosmopolitan and pouring syrup on a stack of pancakes that looked to be enough for three people.

"Better be careful, Rogue. Have to watch that girlish figure."

Rogue looked up, eyes narrowed as she pointed the syrup bottle at Bobby. "Another word, Drake, an' you're gettin' a meeting with Aunt Jemima!"

Bobby held up his hands, scooting closer to Beast just incase Rogue should happen to think again about nailing him. Hank looked up, a mug of coffee still at his mouth, and then looked down at Bobby.

"May I help you somehow, comrade mine?"

"You're my shield, Blue."

"Hardly. You know how hard maple syrup is to get out of fur. Leave. Go. Now."

Bobby sighed, scooting his chair back over and leaning dejectedly over his breakfast. Jean stifled a grin as she accepted the mug of coffee Warren poured for her just before seating himself beside her. Rogue turned then, showing off the glittering ring on her finger.

"Isn't it beautiful?" She bragged, sweeping a strand of auburn hair from her eyes. "Remy got it for me."

Warren raised his eyebrows. "Looks awfully familiar."

Jean's eyes widened at the sight, then immediately narrowed. "That's because it is! That's mine!"

"Huh?" Rogue was mystified at the statement until she took a closer look at the object, finding the words inscribed on the inside of it, reading them aloud. "Jean- all my love. Scott." She huffed. "That rat."

Jean promptly took her ring back and stood, coffee forgotten. "I think Remy and I are going to have to have a little chat."



Jean stood just outside Remy's door, knocking loudly to be heard over the CD playing inside. Was that...Nirvana? She shook her head, telling herself she cared nothing for her teammate's music interests. At last the door was open, and she stalked inside without waiting for an invitation.

"Would you like to explain this to me?" She asked angrily, holding up her ring. Remy stared at her, bewildered.

"Um...Non?"

"Don't play dumb with me."

"Who said I'm playin'?" He asked with a nervous grin, hoping with all his might that Jean wouldn't flip out and mind-wipe him. Her green eyes narrowed, causing him to back against the door. She walked towards him.

"Let's sort some things out, Remy. This is my wedding ring, which you so blatantly stole after sneaking into my house, to give to your girlfriend!" Remy's mouth opened to defend himself, but he was quickly silenced by the look on the woman's face. "I don't want to hear whatever excuse you might have. Just let it be known that if it happens again, we'll have another little talk, and I won't be quite so friendly." She stepped back, readjusted her ring, then walked from the room to leave a very confused Cajun in her midst.

She walked downstairs and was about to exit through the main doors when Warren came up to her, eyes wild. "Um... Jean?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think sometime today, if you get the chance, you could talk to Betts? Something's bothering her, and she won't talk to me. I tried, and... well..." He gestured to the still-visible parts of dough in his hair. "She threw a half-made pancake at me."

"Ah. Well, I'll try later. Right now, I can see it's going to be one of those days. Rather than suffer through it, I've decided to go back to bed."

"Sounds like a good idea."

Jean nodded and patted Warren's arm sympathetically as she noticed Betsy trying to locate him. He whimpered, watching as Jean walked from the building and went back to the boathouse.



Scott stood just outside the door to his current home, hand rubbing his forehead. How was he supposed to go in there and face Jean and tell her he had lost her very-much treasured ring. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and walked inside, surprised to find his wife was still asleep on the bed. He moved to her side, smiling sadly down at her, since he was fairly certain he wouldn't live to see her later.

That was when he noticed the ring on the bedside table.

"I thought I put that in my pocket!" He exclaimed quietly, picking the ring up and inspecting it. Sure enough, it was the very same one. He smiled and tucked it safely away in the back pocket of his jeans, then bent to press a kiss to Jean's forehead. "See? I can do some things right. I didn't lose it," he whispered, turning and walking out of the building again.

An hour later, Jean rolled over and then sat up, stretching and yawning, glad to have gotten a decent amount of rest for once. The clock read 10:30, and she blinked, surprised she had slept in that late.

As she did every morning, she reached over to grab her wedding ring and slide it on her finger. It wasn't there. Again. Her eyes turned to cat-eye slits as she thought of where it could have been.



Scott whistled as he walked through the kitchen to get to the back door, proud that he had managed to get the ring in and out of the house without cause and hoping to make it back to the boathouse unnoticed. Unfortunately for him, Betsy was standing there with a pile of dishes around her and a pan full of uneaten pancakes.

"They insulted my cooking."

"Er... Sorry."

"I worked and slaved over these stupid things from five A.M. 'til they all started coming in, and did I get even *one* thank you? No! I didn't!" She picked one of the uneaten ones up and shoved it in a very shocked Scott's mouth. "There. Have a pancake."

Scott took a bite off it and chewed it, watching the ninja telepath with no small amount of nervousness as he did so. "Are those...blueberries?"

Betsy turned, eyes wide. "No! They're supposed to be chocolate chips!"

Scott coughed and smiled. "Oh, well, I knew that. See..." He never had a chance to finish his excuse, however, as he heard a loud thud upstairs, then someone that sounded suspiciously like Jean screaming at the top of her lungs. Sighing, he tossed the rest of the pancake in the garbage when Betsy wasn't watching, then headed upstairs to investigate.

Remy hung upside down, pinned against the wall and suspended in mid-air by an inpenetrable blue field, all of which was Jean's doing. She stared levelly at him, arms folded across her chest.

"I'll give you one more chance, Gambit. Tell me where my wedding ring is, or I'll pry the information out of you -- one limb at a time, if need be."

Remy gulped. "But I don' know where it is, Jeannie, honest!"

"I don't believe you."

Scott came through the door in that moment, watching the scene take place, holding the small velvet black box in his palm. Remy's eyes widened at the sight, but as soon as he tried to speak he was stopped yet again by Jean.

"Stop. Unless you're going to tell me where my ring is, I don't want to hear it."

"Hi, honey." Scott, though confused at the scene, beamed at the thought he had snuck the ring out from under Jean's nose. His wife didn't turn.

"Not now, Scott."

"But..."

"No. I'm trying to make our thieving teammate here tell me exactly what happened with my wedding ring."

"I feel dizzy," Remy whined quietly, watching the world spin and dip around him. Scott noticed how the Cajun's face had turned an interesting shade of purple, then tapped Jean's shoulder.

"Honey, maybe you should put him down?"

"He *will* tell me what happened to my ring, or at least who has it. I can promise you this much, though. Whoever stole it is going to have to deal with me. I don't take kindly to people stealing my belongings."

Scott gulped, then shrugged helplessly at Remy as he shoved the ring in his jacket pocket.

Jean finally released Remy, dropping him to the floor after his face had started to turn blue, then turned around to smile sweetly at her husband. "Did you want something, dear?"

"Um...I just wanted to see you," Scott offered a shaky smile. Jean kissed his cheek.

"That's sweet."

Scott nodded and backed out of the room, rushing down the hallway before either Jean or Remy killed him. When he got back to the boathouse, he set the ring down on Jean's bedside table, sighing a heavy breath of relief that he might still live to see another day.