Diane woke, for about the fiftieth time, in her new bed in the mansion. She looked around in panic, then realized that Nightcrawler was in the room, on a chair. When he realized that she was awake, he sighed and got up.

"You're awake! That's good. I need some sleep. You've been sleeping for two days."

"Why couldn't you sleep?"

"But…whenever you woke up, you would scream because you were alone…Don't you remember?"

"No. That's funny. Two whole days? Vedwyd!"

"Where did you learn Old Celtic?" Nightcrawler asked, puzzled. "It sounds like you're casting a spell. At least, that's what Amanda sounded like…"

"That's because most old spells are in Celtic, you dolt." Diane began to hum. A song had come into her head because of the room in the opera house. The words had only been in a book, but Diane put them to a Celtic type melody.

"Don't leave me alone, a cry in the night.

Of anguish heart-striking, of soul killing fright,

Live for my living, or else I must die

Don't leave me alone, a world heard that cry…

Don't leave me alone, a dragon-heard cry

Of heart-breaking sadness, of un-heard of strife

If you're not living, no point to my life

Don't leave me alone, the dragons know why…"

Nightcrawler stared. "No one told me you had such a nice voice…"

Diane almost blushed. "Oh? You like it?" she asks, almost shyly. A Celtic tune from a long time ago burst from her lips, again haunting and sad.

"Hy gododin catann hue

Hud a lledrith mal wyddin

Guance ae bellawn wen cabri

Varigal don Fincayra

Dravia, dravia Fincayra."

Suddenly Diane lowered her eyes. The song was about a faraway island called Fincayra, and it was a place for sea-lost travelers to land. A safe land of song and beauty, the Celts believed this was where the people that were lost at sea rested safely. It was a haven for the lost, and a safe-hold for the drifters of the world. It reminded Gaea strongly of the mansion that she now called home.

"Well. You do have a very nice voice." Nightcrawler said gently. He could see that both songs had touched his friend. "By the way, what did you do to me after that robot knocked me out. Several people quite laughingly told me that whatever you did to me, you didn't do to my clothes." He turned red under his fur.

Diane's ears flame. "Wellllll…" She deliberated for a few moments. "I don't know. I all I do know is that I was so flaming mad when one of them was about to stab you…I just…willed you somewhere else. I guess I kind of…forgot…about your costume. But," she said briskly, "Now it really doesn't matter does it? You're alive. That's what counts." Her ears were still flaming, but it wasn't really noticeable under her thick blonde hair. She laid back on her bed, exhausted still. Nightcrawler edged over, a little worried. When he saw that she was just still tired, he grinned sheepishly. He pushed hair away from her face.

"You're cute when you're tired." he commented softly. "Not that you aren't cute other times." He considered kissing her, but wasn't completely sure. He thought that she'd only kissed him because she was so happy to see someone, anyone. Diane sighed contentedly. She fell asleep again with one hand on his. Nightcrawler decided that he really needed some sleep. He lay down next to her, and let her calm, steady breaths lull him to sleep.

Professor X was in his wheelchair, with the other X-men around him in a meeting, with the exception f Gaea, who was still resting from the ordeal, and Nightcrawler, who was taking care of her.

"It seems that there was something in the room that made Diane feel very lonely. " He murmurs, as much to himself, as to the other X-men. "Now she can't stand being alone. She'll always have to have someone near her, or in her mind. I can create a psionic rapport between her and Nightcrawler, and that should solve the problem if they get separated in a fight."

"What in the flamin' !$%#! did she do t' th' misfit?" Wolverine asked. He was rather intrigued. It could solve a lot of problems.

"Yes. You're right Wolverine. It is an interesting ability. I have been thinking it over since you got back and told your story. I think. And this may just be a hunch, that she just created him in another place. I think that she can also create doubles of herself, but they wouldn't have the personality of their twin. If she tried to create a complete and exact copy of someone, she couldn't, so it would only move that person. Recreating them in a different spot."

"Kind of like Star Trek! Yeah! Beam me up, Scotty!" Kitty finished. "That's what it looked like anyway…" she trailed off at a glare from the professor.

"Yes, Kitty, kind of like that." The professor assented. Then he sighed. "We really should have a session in the danger room with all of us. We need to figure out how to work together. However…" he said, reaching out with his mind. "They are both currently asleep. We shouldn't wake them. They're both bone tired, Gaea from power drainage, and Nightcrawler from worry." There were a few chuckles, and the X-men began to drift out. Wolverine, however didn't leave. He stood near the chair until everyone was gone.

"Been meanin' t' talk t' ya, Charlie."

"Yes, Wolverine?" the Professor asked a trifle impatiently.

"I was wondrin' if ya knew what was goin' on b'tween misfit and shorty."

"Wolverine…that is not the kind of question you ask people. I hope you haven't been asking or bothering either of them. It's rather…blunt."

"Look, Chuck. I'm a blunt kinda person. I'm jus' wondrin'. An' I think ya know."

"Yes Wolverine. It is rather hard to ignore the emotions from Diane. They are very strong. She's lonely, but you already knew that. She likes Nightcrawler, but you knew that too. There is a different level to their relationship because of the life-debt that Diane gave him. There is an ancient Shi'ar magic attached to the giving of a life-debt, it ties people together. Against their will if that is the case. Mostly, life-debts are given gender-to-gender because of the Shi'ar tradition, but I guess, if the genders are opposite…" Professor X shrugged.

Wolverine soaked all this with a wry grin. "Ah. I hear ya'. But shorty…her emotions are strong?"

"Yes. They are all the more powerful because she hides them. Certainly you didn't think she didn't have any? That's impossible for any human, mutant though they may be. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Diane awoke in a comfortable bed. She had a momentary panic when she thought she was alone, but she sighed and slumped in relief when her eyes found Nightcrawler across her large bed, sound asleep with his tail curled around her wrist.

When she opened her eyes again, she knew right away that there were others here. Professor X was there with Nightcrawler, who was watching her apprehensively. She blinked herself awake and looked him in the eyes. "What?" She asked. The professor wheeled around to the head of her bed, and Nightcrawler followed him.

"Diane." The professor said softly. "It's nice to see you awake. Now, if I'm correct, you…don't like to be alone." Diane nodded mutely, wondering what was coming next. "I can solve that, if you'll let me." Diane nodded again. "I think, that to solve that, someone doesn't really have to be there, you just have to feel them there. If I create a psionic rapport with you and once of the other X-men, you'll never be alone again. As you can see." He gestured at Nightcrawler. "We have a willing guinea pig right here. But I need your permission."

Diane's eyes widened a little. The first words out of her mouth were, "Does that mean he can read my thoughts?"

"Yes, unfortunately. You can learn to block his thoughts, and he yours, however. You can also talk mind to mind, which is useful in a fight."

Diane thought this over for several long minutes. She had known about the ancient ties in a life-debt when she had given hers, and yet she had till given in to the blue-skinned X-man. She didn't quite want him in on her thoughts, so she said, "You promise to learn to block it? And DO it?" Nightcrawler nodded. "Okay then, as long as it doesn't hurt."

The professor nodded, and put a gentle hand on each of his students' heads. A faint glow of psionic power built around his hands a flowed into both of them. When he took his hands away, Diane shook her head violently.

"It like Impression." she murmured. She sorted though the ambling thoughts of Nightcrawler's, the most predominant of which was !!!!!!!!!! She focused on a mental cue from the professor, and built a wall. So was Nightcrawler. She could feel him doing it. Wasn't that odd?

~*Nightcrawler?*~

**Diane?**

~*NIGHTCRAWLER! It worked. I'm not alone. I'll never be alone again!*~

The professor had quietly, and wisely wheeled out.

~*This is weird. Does it feel weird to you too? Wait, that was stupid. This is confusing.*~

**Yes, fraulin. It is strange. But think, this is what Professor X gets all the time.**

~*I like it.*~

**It certainly is interesting, leibling.**

Diane blushed a furious red ~something Nightcrawler had never seen her do, nor would he ever again~ when she finally caught what the word meant.

"Why do you call me that?" She asked aloud, breaking mental contact. The color had receded, but her cheeks were still a little rosy with embarrassment.

"That's what I call everyone, my dear. All females anyway." He sighed and put an arm around her, faking sadness. "What? Are you telling me you don't like it?"

"N-no." she stammered. She put her head on his shoulder. "Well." she said softly. "The professor really wrapped that up didn't he?" she said, not giving any indication of what her words mean. Nightcrawler looks inquisitive. "Oh. Well. There's kind of…an ancient magic attached to a life debt." she said quickly. "It brings the two together…" She hid her face so he couldn't see her cheeks get rosy again.

Nightcrawler shrugged. "I have no problem with that. I see what you mean though. By giving us a psionic rapport…"

**YOU don't have a problem with that do you?**

~*N-no…*~

**Well good.**

Then he kissed her, softly. She didn't really resist. Instead she brought her arms back around his neck and sighed, kissing him back.

~*If you insist.*~

**I do.**

~*As long as you don't…*~

**That's against Gott in Himmel. I wouldn't.**

~*Mmmmm…Watch your fangs.*~

The next kiss was longer, and the one after that longer still.

Nightcrawler was glad that he now shared a rapport with Diane. It was so much easier for him to understand her. There's so much that she doesn't SAY! Well, at least now he considered her like other people. Even though she didn't show it, he could fell the slightest traces of her emotions. He did have his block up, but as the Professor had once told him, that the more you hid your emotions, the stronger they became. He had categorized her emotions in colors. Mad was a blinding yellow, sad was a deep purple, lonely was white, happy was a light greenish blue, scared was orange, then there was something, something that he felt only when all the X-men were together. A deep, midnight blue that shone metallic. He couldn't quite place it. He had felt it once before, once, when he had kissed her. It had taken him a few days to ignore the stares from people, as they talked mind-to-mind. They obviously thought this was strange, and when he asked why, they only shrugged. "Its weird. Your eyes…you're just looking into space, unless you're doing something else." People didn't like that they'd sit at dinner and eat, not saying a word to anyone, yet obviously having lengthy conversations. Well, they had no idea that these conversations sometimes included the professor or one of the others that the professor had tapped so they could talk.

~*Good morning, sleepyhead.*~

**Good morning yourself, liebling.**

!*Good mornin' ya' two.*!

~*Wolverine?*~

!*That's right babe.*!

**Scheisse! LOGAN!**

~*That's a first.*~

** Evening, Fraulin.**

*-*This is new. I used to talk to Jean, but this is different.*-*

~*Storm! Hiya.*~

**Ororo?**

~*What's going on around here?*~

*!*Hey, Diane! Our lesson is in 20 minutes.*!*

~*Kitty!*~

**Katzchen…**

*!*Hey, your mind voices sound weird.*!*

*0*Anybody there?*0*

~*I'm beginning to feel a total lack of privacy here.*~

**You're not alone.**

*0*Hey, I can't read your thoughts you know. I can only talk to you.*0*

~*Cyclops…*~

**We really need to talk to mein herr about this…**

*=*Hey! What did he just do to me?*=*

**COLLOSSUS!?**

*=*Yes, comrad?*=*

~*Sigh*~

*=*I take it that I'm not exactly wanted.*=*

~*You get the drift.*~

**You're mean, fraulin.**

~*I know. You love it.*~

**I suppose I can't deny that…**

*=*How do I get out of this?*=*

~*Sigh…*~

Diane was happy. She was never alone, even when she was sleeping. She could tell some of the stronger emotions of Nightcrawler's. She had done the best to block it, but…she couldn't help but notice how much he cared about her. She knew he could tell her emotions as well, because he never made any comments anymore on how he couldn't understand how she hid her emotions. She had a sneaking fear of this, and she tried her best to make that wall between their minds strong. But something always held her back. She never made it so strong that he couldn't get traces of her emotions. She had mentally slapped herself several times for this, but it never really did her any good.

Diane rolled over. She'd been sleeping in her bed. It was morning, she could tell from the way the light slanted through her window. She could feel Kurt stirring in the other room. She got up and stretched wondering what would happen today. Then she changed into her new clothes that Kitty had helped her pick out. She liked them. They were all in bright colors that complimented her hair and skin well. As she walked out, she nudged Kurt with her mind to wake him up. He mentally grumbled at her about having a nice dream, then let her alone. When she entered the dining hall, she found the rest of the X-men there. She smiled and got her breakfast, sitting next to Kitty. Today she went with Kitty to Stevie's studio in the city. She was a little excited, and Kitty was positively bouncing. Diane kept a calm face, hoping to tone her friend's excitement down.

"Howcanyoubesocalm? Thisislikethebestthingeverdon'tyouknow?"

"Unless you haven't noticed, Kitty dear, I'm always calm."

**That isn't totally true you know.**

~*Oh, hush.*~

Diane grinned at him and then at Kitty. "So. What do we wear to this recital?" she said, pretending that she hadn't heard already…about 50 times.

"Don'tyoulistentoanythingIsay? We'llwearblackleotards,youcanborrowoneofmine."

"I know Kitty, I'm just teasing. The lesson is right before lunch, so we can eat lunch with Stevie. You don't have to tell me again."

"IhavetoremembertobringmyCDbecauseSteviedoesn'thaveone."

"Katzchen, somehow I doubt you could forget." Kurt grumbled. He was, at the moment, wondering how anyone could be so hyper so early in the morning.

~*Because its Kitty.*~ Diane told him. That would take some getting used to, her answering his relatively unasked questions. He rolled his eyes at her and grumbled something, picking a piece of bacon off her plate and receiving a swat.

~*Off my food, you!*~ Nightcrawler rolled his eyes again.

**You're not eating it. I DO believe your just as excited as Kitty.**

Nightcrawler, now that he was awake, could feel the same deep blue metallic shimmer that he always felt when she was around the X-men. He tried to shrug it off, but it settled over his mind like a cloak. It took him a couple minutes, but he realized - with a exclamation that made others turn their heads- that it was love. The deepest kind of love, like the blue that represented it. People also stared as Diane's face flamed. She stood up abruptly, pushing her plate at Nightcrawler, and stormed out.

Nightcrawler stared after her, blinking furiously as a wall slammed into his mind. This time it was as strong as Diane could make it, and now Kurt couldn't even feel the slightest traces of her emotions. Ignoring the startled exclamations, and worried questions, he teleported to her room. She was there, face-down on her bed. He could see that her ears were still red, so he stood back until she whirled around to face him.

"You know it!"

"Mein leib…" he began, but she cut him off.

"How?"

"You…" he started again.

"Me?" she shrieked. "ME?"

"Yes…"

"No." she refused to believe that it was her fault. She had made her walls as strong as…

"There is nothing wrong with loving the X-men." he said before she could start shrieking at him again. "I do myself." She couldn't deny that. She'd felt it herself. But she did deny that, because she was an X-man, he loved her too.

"No." She shook her head violently.

"Why are you so stubborn. No one cares!"

"I care."

"That's what I call selfish."

"It is not."

"It is too. You just stormed out of there and ruined everyone's meal because you cared."

Diane, again, couldn't argue with that. "Why does this happen to me?" she asked helplessly. "No one else freaks out."

"Mein leib, that's just the way you are. They all understand that. Why can't you? You seem to think that the only way you can be accepted is if you act the same. They understand that. They like you anyway. Can't you see that?"

"You don't like me." she said firmly, trying to make herself believe it. She didn't want him to love her. She didn't want it. No. She didn't need it.

"Far more than that, leibling. I love you."

"You do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

For once, Nightcrawler wins the argument. Instead of saying anything, he kisses her.

"Will you believe that?"

"No."

"Oh, yes you do. I can tell." he kisses her again. She gives up, for the first time in her life, admitting defeat.

"Stop it. I have to go to Kitty's lesson."

"Not for another couple hours."

"No."

"Yes. Don't be contrary. It doesn't suit you." He kisses her again, much longer, but still she doesn't struggle. Her wall loosens, and he can feel the blue behind it. He wraps his tail around her waist, pulling her closer. He makes no comment, but knows that she's letting him back into her mind.

~*That tickles.*~

**You love it.**

~*Now, THAT is something I won't deny.*~

**Much better.**

Kitty came running down the hall, frantically calling for her friend. They had about thirty minutes, and she needed to help Diane make a bun of her long, long hair. The door was open a crack. Kitty phased her head through. Diane was awake, curled up against a sleeping Kurt, looking disoriented but happy.

"Oh! Kitty! Is it time to go! Just a moment." She disengaged from both tail and arm, to the sleepy protests of Kurt.

~*Oh, hush up, you lazy bum.*~

"Oh, hurryhurryhurry. We have to do your hair, and then you need to put on the leotard, then Ororo will drive us down there…"

Diane, a little nervous to have someone rating her dance after so long, follows a skipping bouncing, hopping Kitty. They came to a small door in the wall of a huge building. She followed Kitty up the stairs. Then they entered a huge studio. Diane felt much better. She was where she belonged, in a smooth-floored room with a huge mirror covering one whole wall. She slid onto the floor in her new jazz slippers that she and Kitty had bought.

A black woman in the corner with beaded and braided hair, turned around. "Ah! Kitty. You must be Diane. I certainly heard a lot about you on the phone from Kitty. She seems to think you're the best dancer in the world, with the exception of me." She smiled at Kitty. "At least, that's what she told me."

"Ah." Diane inclined her head politely. "Kitty can be…enthusiastic…"

Stevie frowned a little at this reaction. She'd expected a chuckle, or at least a smile. She shrugged it off, but Kitty grabbed her arm, seeing that Stevie had noticed.

"Don't mind her Stevie. She just doesn't show her emotions. She sure does feel them, though."

Diane smiled a tiny, imperceptible smile, and nodded to Kitty. "Yes. If it bothers you…I'm sorry. I am what I am."

Stevie nodded. That would take some getting used to, she told herself, but so far, she like this quiet and graceful woman. "So. Kitty tells me you danced for her, to a Britney Spears song, Stronger. She said you used moves she'd never seen. You must have gone to a sophisticated dance place, because I've taught Kitty as much as I know."

Diane nodded serenely. "Yes. I went to one of the best in the state…until…" she choked on her own words. Stevie nodded, understanding. She had lost her chance to be a star when she'd had her accident.

"Anyway. I was wondering if you could do the dance for me, so I could see them."

"Oh! Sure."

Kitty took the CD out and put in the player, finding the song and pressing play. She noticed that Diane looked very different in a leotard and on a smooth floor in a mirrored room. Much more professional. Diane danced. As always, she ceased to be Diane Fischer, and was Gaea, and the world was watching her. She came out of the daze to both Kitty and Stevie clapping. She bowed.

"That was very good. Kitty was right. You are very good. However, you need to stretch more and practice. You're a little out of it."

Kitty watched her friend anxiously. Diane nodded.

"I have been negligent. I knew I would dance again…It just…hurt…"

Stevie nodded too. "Yes. It was hard for me to start again. But you are amazing for someone who hasn't danced in three years."

"I would never forget the steps I was taught since I was five. That would hurt so much more than actual dancing." Stevie nodded again.

"Well, then lets see how well Kitty can dance this."…