Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in X-Men Evolution; they are the property of Marvel and the WB and are used without the permission of various scary lawyer-men. I am not making any money off of this endeavor and if I was, I'd probably blow it all on footwear.

(Somewhat lengthy) Author's Notes: Thanks to those who've offered feedback! (Morwen, I ADORE your work!) You have no idea how happy it makes me… I was starting to think there was a conspiracy on ff.net among all the Mary Sue authors to snub anyone who didn't conform to their standards. So I'll answer a few questions before proceeding to the fic…

To batE: Concerning Jubilee's parents… In this timeline they were never killed. The reason for this is that Evo Jubes seems a LOT less rebellious and cynical than her comic counterpart. A lot of comic-J's attitude came from the time she spent in juvie hall and squatting in the mall. Since a lot of her chutzpah seems to have been leeched from Evo-Jubilee, Kitten and I took it to mean that these events had not occurred. So her parents are wealthy Chinese immigrants and very much alive and well. Or at least, they WERE… As for Roberto's parents… I'll admit I have virtually no knowledge of the original Sunspot. I just sort of went "Well, you can't go home Roberto, even tho I don't like you much and wouldn't mind writing you out of the story." His daddy's rich, eh? Revisions may be in order then. Thanks for letting me know!

Now, without further ado…

Home Sweet Home
Chapter Two
By N

There were few things more ridiculous, Amara Aquilla decided, than trying to wash long hair in the bathroom sink of a 7-Eleven. Jubilee was browsing the store so it wouldn't look quite so bizarre that Amara had headed straight for the washroom, carrying a backpack with shampoo and a towel hidden inside. Of course, neither girl could hide the fact that they both exited the washroom with damp hair… Tabitha said she occasionally stuck her head under the blower meant for drying people's hands, something that explained her bizarre hairstyle, but both Jubilee and Amara had too much hair for that little trick to work well.

As she tried her best to rinse the lather from her scalp, twisting her head at a very uncomfortable angle in order to try and get it under the faucet, Amara reflected that all in all they weren't holding up too badly. They'd been living in their new home for a week now, at first living off the food Tabitha had stored in the cupboards. After that they'd pooled their money and put it in an empty coffee can on top of the kitchen table. Anyone could use the money as long as it was for something everyone could share. It hadn't run empty yet, a fact that Bobby seemed amazed at but reluctant to discuss, as though it were a miracle that would fade if questioned.

Amara knew the truth; it was Tabitha. The other girl would go out on 'walks' in the evenings and Amara had been quick to deduce that she was in fact going out to steal money from parking meters, vending machines and the like. She'd confronted Tabitha about it just the other night in the backyard as the blonde had come sauntering up towards the house. Everyone else was inside, trying to get to sleep.

"But stealing is wrong, Tabby," Amara had protested once Tabitha had admitted to her nocturnal thefts.

"Not if you really need to do it," Tabitha had countered. "I mean it's not like we're stealing to buy crack or something. It's survival. You know, like how in nature animals steal from each other to live and stuff."

Amara had nodded, understanding the comparison but still not convinced of the morality. "I just feel bad about it. And you can't keep doing it forever; somebody's bound to try and stop you from trashing the meters."

Tabitha had looked away at the diseased elm tree, her face solemn. "I know. And it's not enough… I was thinking of exploding some ATMs but I'm afraid I'll wreck the money. Plus, there's cameras on those things." She looked back up, meeting Amara's gaze. "I don't know if you've had the chance to read the papers at the store lately, but…"

Amara nodded. "I know. Bobby pointed it out to Sam, Ray, Jubilee and I. He said not to talk about it much because it'll scare Jamie, and he thinks Rahne too."

"Yeah. So getting caught on FILM using my powers would be a bad thing."

They stood facing each other for a minute in silence, identical expressions of slowly-numbing dread on their faces. Then Tabitha had stepped forward and wrapped Amara in a tight embrace. "I'm scared, Tabby," Amara had admitted against the warm flesh of Tabitha's shoulder.

"Me too."

Amara toweled off her hair and combed it out quickly. The face watching her from the mirror above the sink was tired but in-control. She stuffed her towel and comb back into her backpack and unlocked the washroom door, peeking out before exiting nonchalantly.

"Hey Amara," Jubilee hailed her from over by the magazine rack. She held a copy of YM in her hands. "Who do YOU think is cuter… Vin Diesel or Landon Donovan?"

Amara shook her head. "I don't know…" She peered at the glossy pictures. "Uh, who's who?"

"The bald guy is Vin. He's an actor. The other guy is some sports dude. See? Personally, I think he looks kinda wussy. Vin's got this weird growly sex-appeal…"

Amara stopped listening. Her eyes had drifted to the newsstand and were glued to the front page of the New York Times. "Amara?" Jubilee asked. Amara pointed, her mouth dry.

"Investigation on 'Mutants' Continues - Public Demands to Have Potentially Dangerous Specimens Interred."

"Oh my god," Jubilee whispered. "What makes a 'potentially dangerous' specimen?"

"You girls seen any of them?"

Jubilee jumped and Amara uttered a little scream of surprise. It was just the store clerk, standing behind them and reading over their shoulders. He looked to be in his early twenties, with dark hair and hazel eyes that were meant for looking into over candlelit dinners, in Amara's opinion.

"Uh, no," Jubilee replied.

The clerk nodded. "Me neither. But they had footage on the news the other day… some guy throwing CARS at people, can you believe it?" He shook his head. "Freaks. They oughtta quarantine em all now before it gets out of hand."

"Yeah," Jubilee replied quietly. "Uhm… Amara, we should get going…"

* * *

"There you are!"

Sam Guthrie looked up at the figure silhouetted against the doorway for a minute before burying his head against his drawn-up knees again. "Go away," he replied. He was seated on the floor of one of the musty old tool sheds in the backyard.

Rahne Sinclair frowned. "'Go away?'" she repeated. "I dinnae think so." She came inside and sat down next to Sam, who turned his body away from her a little. "I'm your friend, Sam, and I know you're upset. Talk t'me."

"No."

Rahne rolled her eyes. "Ach…" she muttered. "Sam, please. What's bugging you? Is it your family?"

Sam nodded against his knees.

"Sam, I'm sure they're just fine."

"But we don't KNOW that, Rahnie!" Sam said, straightening up and facing her. "For all we know they could have been taken hostage, or... or… killed!" His Adam's apple worked convulsively in his throat as his fears were articulated. But he would not cry. His father would not have cried so neither would he…

Rahne put her arms around the gangling farmboy and drew him close, hating the way his body quivered with emotions barely held in-check. "Shhh…" she soothed.

"I want to go home," Sam whispered. "I'm worried about them, and if anything's happened to them just because of what I am…" He returned Rahne's embrace with more ferocity than she would have thought him capable.

"Sam," she said as they clung to each other. "I wish I could say somethin' that would make ye feel better but the truth is I cannae. All we can do is pray for the best and help each other be strong."

Sam nodded. "Thanks, Rahnie," he said after a moment.

Rahne hugged him tight and then relaxed her embrace. "I'll be there for you if yuir there for me, okay?"

Sam smiled. It was forced, but better than nothing, Rahne figured. "Deal."

* * *

Tabitha Smith was used to the hard life. When she was little she'd watched sitcoms on TV about happy, oddball families who despite their differences all managed to resolve their problems in the span of half an hour; she'd watched these perfect families and felt jealous and confused. Her family wasn't like that… Was it supposed to be?

"And here I am, on the lam again," Tabitha muttered. She was standing in the red bedroom, her elbows cupped in her hands, staring at the half-finished paint-job.

"Tabby?"

Tabitha turned, smiling. "Hey Amara."

"Can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, sure."

Amara shut the door behind her and stood fidgeting for a second. "Tabby," she said at last. "I don't want to sound… accusing, but… Well, okay. Have you been taking Jamie out with you on your 'walks'?"

"No, of course not!"

"Oh. Well, it's just… You ever notice that we ALWAYS have a box of Chocolate Sugar Bombs in the cupboard?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Tabby, we ALL eat that cereal. Jubilee nearly lives off of it, and it's Jamie's favourite." She played with a lock of her hair, which Tabby could tell was freshly washed. "The point is, yesterday we were almost out and now today I found Jamie standing on his tiptoes in the kitchen putting a fresh box in the cupboard."

Tabitha stared. "The kid's been stealing CEREAL?"

Amara nodded. "I asked him what he was doing and he fell over, going all multiple, and a bunch of apples fell out of his sweater sleeves, too."

Tabitha started laughing. After a second, Amara started to as well. Jamie had looked funny, his eyes wide and panicked as apples rolled all over the kitchen.

"Does anybody else know?" Tabitha asked once her laughter had died down.

"Nobody saw the apple incident," Amara replied with a giggle.

"You have to admit, the kid's perfect. Who would suspect a little 12 year old of stealing?" Tabitha suddenly stopped smiling.

"Tabitha? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing."

Amara tentatively placed a hand on Tabitha's shoulder. This must have something to do with her dad, she thought. "Tabitha?" she said. "Thank you. I don't know what we all would have done without your help." Amara gave the other girl a fierce hug and Tabitha laughed a little.

"Don't sweat it," she replied. They just stood there holding each other for what seemed like a very long time.

"Amara?" Tabitha whispered.

"Uh-huh?"

Tabitha moved a little so she could look at Amara's face. Then she leaned forward and softly brushed her lips against the other girl's. Amara blinked, then smiled. "Thanks, Tabby."

"Anytime."

* * *