A/N: I really appreciate the reviews! A special thanks to AyaBethly and Zmonsta, who take their time to let me know what they think after every chapter! All my love to you guys!

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Chapter 7

"He's gone, Scott."

"Are you ready?"

"Do you have to ask? We assumed this cell had a mutagenic dampening field…"

"But the truth is more frightening, Jean… It's Stryfe who's been keeping our powers in check all along. If he's a powerful enough telekinetic to keep your teke abilities at bay… what can we do to stop him?

"Only one way to find out, man o' mine."

"The hard way?"

"And if that's the only road to take, there's no one I'd rather have at my side."

At some point of the night, Scott had given up trying to contact Jean and had fallen asleep. His last coherent thought had been about her, more specifically, if she would ever forgive him for being a jerk. He hoped she would.

When his cell phone rang at 6 a.m., he shot up in bed, startled. Realizing it was only the alarm clock and not news from his wife, he impulsively raised his night goggles and let an optic beam obliterate the treacherous device. Screw getting up early to save the world. For once, Cyclops' priority would be saving his own family.

He turned around to face his sleeping son, who hadn't stirred even after his outburst. Poor Nathan Christopher, deeply entangled in other people's messes since the day he was born. What he wouldn't give to rewind time and right his wrongs towards the boy… But God had given him freaking concussive beams, not time-travelling skills. He would need to make it right for his son right now, in the present.

He dozed off again. The next time he woke up, Jean was sitting on their bed next to Nate, her hand gently stroking his fine brown hair. She was wearing a dark tank top and a pair of jeans that he couldn't recognize.

"Hey," Scott voiced drowsily, sitting up on the bed. He felt his heart fluttering at the sight of his wife and couldn't tell if it was due to dread or relief. For the lack of better things to say, he asked, "What time is it?"

"Fifteen past ten," she whispered without glancing at him.

"Shit," the man cursed and quickly stood up. "I must've overslept."

The redhead purposely eyed the remains of what could only have been a cell phone on her husband's nightstand before finally looking at his face. "No kidding."

He felt like a ten-year-old caught stealing candy from a grocery shop. "I-I mean, I uh-"

Jean ignored him and gazed back at her son. "We should wake Nate and make sure he's alright."

Cyclops halted. "Can we just… talk first?"

He watched as his wife kissed Nathan's forehead and calmly stood up. "I'll be outside," she informed him.

Scott went into the bathroom to wash his face and change into fresh clothes. Two minutes later, he found Jean sitting on the small wooden deck that advanced towards the lakeshore in front of the boathouse. She was hugging her knees, green eyes lost in the beauty of the landscape, red hair sparkling like fire under the summer sunlight. She seemed sad but composed, quite different from the picture of the murderous psychic that Emma and Logan had presented to him last night. He hesitated. He could deal with ill-tempered Jean – had dealt with her for half of his life; but broken-hearted Jean was someone almost unfamiliar to him… she terrified him.

Scott sat beside her at last, one knee drawn up and his right forearm resting on it. His covered eyes gazed into the same direction as hers. "I know I've been saying this a lot lately, but I'm sorry," he began. "I'm sorry I fucked things up again. What I said to you yesterday, about Logan… it was out of line."

From the corner of his tinted visor Cyclops could notice the hurt on his wife's face. "It was," she said simply.

He took her laconic response as a cue to continue, this time staring at her beautiful face. "I'm not trying to make excuses, Jean… I'm really not. But since Apocalypse, I feel so… possessive… so angry… I can barely control myself. My blood boils from just seeing you talking with another guy, let alone thinking that you might… that you've turned to Logan."

Jean finally turned to look at her husband, the serene expression on her face opposing to the turmoil in her heart. "You do realize it was you who had an affair, Scott? Not me."

He lowered his head and nodded. "I know. God, I know, and there hasn't been one day since it started that I haven't regretted it."

The woman snorted. "You regretted being caught…"

"No. No, Jean, you're wrong. I knew from the moment Emma and I started the affair that it wouldn't last long… that it was a matter of time before you and I worked through our issues. I-I thought of Emma as just… I don't know… a shortcut, maybe… for me to straighten my head and find my way back to you. She was supposed to help me with that," he told Jean, earning another snort from her. He stared right into her eyes and went on. "It was never physical with Emma – I never touched her. I know that for you -for any telepath- mind and body, it's all the same. But it didn't feel real to me. You have to believe me."

"Well, it was real enough for Emma. She's in love with you," the redhead pointed out.

"I don't care," Cyclops replied, well aware that he sounded cruel. Perhaps before Nur he would have been more considerate of Emma's feelings, but now all he could think was that the White Queen had deceived him with her counseling shenanigans. "I only care for you, Jean."

He reached for her hand, but the telepath recoiled from his touch. "You have a funny way of showing that, Scott."

"I was only trying to protect you, honey… I told you. What is left of Apocalypse in my mind… it's dark. It's dangerous. I couldn't allow myself to get close to you, not until I had it all sorted out in my head."

Jean raised an eyebrow at him. "You think you had it sorted out yesterday in the kitchen?"

Scott sighed, unconsciously touching his sore chin. He had kept his distance for months so that he wouldn't hurt her, and hurting her was exactly what he had done the previous night. "I thought I had. Clearly, I was wrong."

"Clearly," the redhead agreed. It's not that she hadn't liked their little adventure against the table; she just hadn't expected her husband to ever use sex to try to control her.

"I hadn't planned for us to make love yesterday, if that's what you think. I would never use you like that, Jean."

"Wouldn't you?"

"No! Never!" Cyclops replied, offended. "Our psychic rapport came to life during our lovemaking. You must have felt how happy I was… how much I still love you!"

She had, of course. Jean was experienced enough as a telepath to distinguish the emotions going through other people's head when she was mind linked to them. She had sensed Scott's passion and love, and yet it had only taken one tactless thought from him to make her completely lose her temper.

She owed him an apology as well. "I'm sorry I hit you. That was out of line too."

"Well, I can't say I didn't ask for it," he said. Jean was finally coming out of her misery shell, and that had to be a good sign. A lopsided smile formed on Scott's face. "I'm glad it was not the real Cyclops in the Danger Room last night, though. I heard the bastard got what he deserved."

It was Jean's turn to look down, embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to put up a show and turn our fight into the School's latest gossip."

"Fuck the School," Scott retorted, to his wife's surprise.

Both stared at the lake again, letting the chirping of the birds and whistle of the wind fill their ears. After a long minute, Cyclops asked.

"So… what now?"

Jean had been waiting for that question. She took a deep breath. "Now… I only see two options for us, Scott. The first, we wake up Nate, tell him the whole truth about Redd and Slym and this timeline; then we call our lawyers and apply for a divorce with shared custody, because I'm not giving up my son."

"Jean, honey, I don't-"

She didn't let him finish. "The second option… you let me into your mind. You let me see what Apocalypse's done to you and you let me help you, Scott… because I swear to God, I'm not spending another night with that monster. It's either only you and me in this marriage, or no marriage at all. You pick it."

Cyclops sighed, not the least satisfied with either option. He studied his wife for a moment, realizing she'd never sounded so serious about anything before.

"What if you don't like what you see in here?" he asked, tapping his forehead.

"I already don't like what I see," she replied, receiving a shocked look in return. "But Warren made me realize I haven't been there for you like I should have… I haven't really helped you these past months. So, this is your chance, Scott… our chance," Jean found his eyes behind the red lens. "Pick it."

To Cyclops, there weren't really two options. Even though he was afraid his wife would stop loving him if she were ever to witness his darkest thoughts, the alternative -not being with her- was just unbearable. He had tried it for the past months and realized it had made him absolutely miserable. Plus, there was Nathan to consider now. Their time-displaced boy needed his parents together. After everything they had been through as teammates and as a couple, how could Jean even consider a divorce?

"I don't want to divorce you, Jean" Scott said, his voice choked. "I love you. Don't you love me anymore?"

"I do. I love you, Scott, with all my heart… but I loathe Apocalypse. I can't live with both of you," she told him, resolute.

"I loathe him too," he murmured. Apocalypse -that son of a bitch- had turned his best friend into a killing machine, kidnapped and infected his son, tried to use Nate Grey to submit the world to his will, and usurped his body and mind. On top of that, En Sabah Nur had made him hurt the woman he loved more times than he could count. It was time to put an end to him. "Okay. Do it. Dive into my mind, fight him, kill whatever's left of the bastard. Just… don't leave me, honey. Please."

Jean let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "I won't," she assured her husband. "But from now on, we need to be totally honest with each other, Scott. And you need to control your jealousy – it's nothing like you to freak out every time I'm around another man. Can you do that?"

"I can. I promise you, Jean, I will."

"I'll hold you to that. And since I can sense the question brewing in your mind, I'll show you where I've spent the night."

The telepath touched Cyclops' temple and images of her and Archangel fighting Apocalypse in the Danger Room invaded his mind. After the villain was defeated, he saw Jean leaving the mansion in Warren's arms and both flying to his penthouse in Manhattan. Archangel had left her there, alone, and had immediately disappeared into the sky. Jean had taken a bath and had spent most of the night meditating.

As she gently severed the telepathic link, Scott realized his wife and his best friend hadn't done anything inappropriate. He really didn't have a reason to be jealous, nor to doubt her word. "I guess that explains your clothes," he said.

"They're Betsy's," the redhead explained. "My dress and uniform were both destroyed after yesterday's… events."

Cyclops nodded and smiled. "Thanks for sharing your memories with me, Red. I promise you… we'll make this marriage work again."

Graciously, Jean stood up, smiling down at her husband and offering him her hand. "Come on, Slim. Let's check on our son."

Soon, Slym and Redd were waking up Nathan with a glass of milk and a plate of chocolate chip cookies he had recently elected as one of his favorite foods. Minutes before, while he was still asleep, Jean had probed his mind to ascertain that she hadn't injured him while erasing his memories of the battle against the Marauders. She concluded she hadn't – to hers and Scott's relief. Once fully awake, the boy gulped down his milk and told them about the awful nightmare he'd had. In the dream, their unit was back in Crestcoast and Slym and Redd kept fighting between themselves over who would stay with him. In the end, they had been defeated by Apocalypse's hordes and the tyrant had gotten him.

'Should we worry about this dream, Jean? Do you think it could be some inadvertent telepathic reminiscence of… of our disagreement?' Cyclops asked via telepathy.

'I doubt it,' she replied. 'Nathan was deeply asleep during our fight. He couldn't have sensed it.'

'But he's been noticing the distance between us, hon.'

'Then do something about it, hon.'

Slym grasped her left hand over the sheets and addressed his son. "We'll never let Apocalypse get you, kiddo. Redd and I will always be around to protect you."

Nathan's eyes moved from his adoptive father to his mother, silently asking her for confirmation. "We will," she assured him. He glanced at her hand, noticing that her fingers were entwined with Slym's. Maybe Westchester was not so different from Crestcoast after all.

"So, what should we do today?" Nate inquired, stretching his arms over his head and letting out a yawn.

"First, you're getting out of this bed and heading straight to shower, little mister," Redd told him, pointing to the bathroom door. "We can go to the playground after you're done."

"Sweet!" the boy answered excitedly, leaping out of bed and running to the bathroom.

"I guess spending time with Bobby has broadened Nate's knowledge of 'Old Englishe'," Jean commented.

Scott chuckled. "I guess it has. You know, sometimes I find it hard to believe that Nathan will become Cable. He looks so innocent now."

"I know," the redhead said almost sadly. "I really hope he can sta-" she stopped mid-sentence to receive a telepathic communication, and by the look on her face Cyclops knew it meant trouble.

"What is it?"

"It's Hank. He says they've found Sinister and the Marauders. They're hidden in a facility in Almagordo, New Mexico."

"Then we must go after them now," Cyclops stated and stood up. "Wait for Nate and meet me in the School hangar as soon as you can. I'll gather the rest of the team and get the Blackbird started in the meantime. We can't afford to lose track of Essex."

"All right," Jean nodded and stood up as well, but before she could move to the bathroom, Scott grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply.

"It's time to make everything right again, love," Cyclops said to Jean, meaning every word.