Disclaimer in Part One
Update list: autumnfic@yahoogroups.com
A/N: Heaven's Peak and Crystal Lake are both features of the 'real' Glacier park, and there probably is a Black Bear Trail, I've just never been on it; )
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And I'm not ready for this sort of thing
September swept into Apgar after a magnificent thunderstorm in the last week of August. The six mutants had watched the sky crack open and deliver massive lightening bolts to various parts of the park. It had reminded the ex-members of the X-Men of their fellow mutant Ororo who's power involved controlling the weather, unfortunately none of them knew if she was now alive or dead. Uncertainty had been hard to accept, but they had no choice and had for the most part learned to either assume the worst, or press on with hope.
It had been especially difficult for Scott Summers to adapt to an existence that he couldn't control and was full of chaos. The birth of his son had calmed him down somewhat, but in typical fashion, Scott had devoured every piece of knowledge about the area they now lived in. He had insisted on raiding the public library in Great Falls for information on Glacier Park. And now he wished to hit the local ranger's cabin and to take all the books, pamphlets and videos about the surrounding wildlife, climate, and geography of Glacier Park and the Rocky Mountain region. To assist him in the theft, he brought along Andrew who when questioned had asked, "are we going to shoplift again?" with an enthusiasm that would have been quite worrisome in a different universe.
Father and son hiked along a path that had been named 'Black Bear Trail' which allowed the hikers a majestic view of Heaven's Peak on one side and Crystal Lake on the other. Andrew however was oblivious to the natural beauty that had captivated Scott, and was more interested in the tracks he'd found on the ground. "Dad, what're these?"
Snapping to attention, Scott hunched down on the ground and took a peek at the clear markings on the ground. Racking his brain for the recently digested information he came to the realization that it was most likely the track of a brown bear, which he told his son. "Then he's on the wrong road." The five year old said simply and continued down the trail.
Scott chuckled at the comment and stood up again. He wasn't an expert at tracking-yet but he didn't like the fresh look it had to it. He scanned the area slowly, but didn't see anything stirring in the immediate vicinity so he let it go, and went back to ogling the views. He'd never been much of an outdoorsy type, but Scott found himself with the urge to begin mountain climbing. Heaven's Peak screamed at him to climb it one day, and he made the decision that come next summer, it would go on his 'To Do' list.
Kitty had come to Marie's cabin three times in the past few days attempting to get the younger woman to talk, but Marie had remained quiet the entire time. Logan had become a somewhat permanent fixture at her house and had consulted Kitty about Marie.
"She won't cry about it. He was her dad, shouldn't she do something?"
"People grieve in different ways, but we can't make her cry. It'll happen I guess." Kitty said.
"It's good of you to he here for her. She won't let any of us in. I'm glad she trusts you Logan."
"Thanks." He said uncomfortable, praise always made him a little nervous for reasons he couldn't fathom.
"It's good to see you again. I didn't really expect too," Kitty said.
A frown creased Logan's face. He'd met the X-Men a few days after his arrival in the village and had been met with incredible resistance. It hadn't been a big shock to him, self-preservation was a basic instinct and any outsider could be construed as a threat. He knew that Scott and Jubilee had spoken to Marie about him, and that there had been a fight, but she hadn't told him the specifics of it. Kitty's comment however was enigmatic to him, she knew he was staying in a cabin here, or had she expected him to be thrown out? When he'd met Marie she had essentially guaranteed him a place without mentioning consulting her fellow group members.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked, pinning her with an intense stare.
"Logan-you really don't remember us do you?" Kitty asked, surprise evident in her voice.
"I've never seen any of you before. Leave. If Marie wants to see you she will." Logan growled out at her.
"I'll see you later." Kitty said, not wishing to press Logan and being on the receiving end of his anger.
Logan watched her retreat, and his claws slid out without his knowledge. He looked down at them and scowled. He paced in front of the cabin and waited for the feeling to subside. He wondered if he'd been like that before, if he'd always had that short a temper. Maybe it was linked to the claws, he just didn't know. And it frustrated him that he couldn't remember who he was and felt uncertain that he'd never seen Kitty, Scott of Jubilee before. In reality, he had no idea who he'd known and what kind of life he had before.
"He didn't recognize me Jubes. Something's changed in him."
"I know, it just doesn't make any sense. And tell me, what are the odds of running into him here of all places!" The pregnant woman groaned.
"Yeah. Do you think we should try again? To tell her I mean?"
"No. No way Kitty. Marie just lost her father. We can't do this too her."
"Yeah, but I think Scott was right. He's dangerous. Do you realize that none of us have seen Vic since Logan's been here?" Kitty said slowly.
"Oh my God you're right."
"I told him it was good to see him again, but he didn't look like he knew what I meant." The brunette said shifting the subject again.
Jubilee pursed her lips and rubbed her belly. "Let's just get this baby into the world before worrying about weather Vic's still in it or not babe."
Kitty laughed, and the two women settled into far more pleasant chitchat, leaving Logan and Victor out of their conversation, but not out of their minds.
"You got everything there Andrew?" Scott asked.
"Yep." The boy said, swinging his Spiderman backpack side to side to illustrate his point.
"Alright, well what do you say we get back home and see if your mom's got a new brother or sister for you when we get home." Scott joked.
"Then she'll look normal again. And she won't waddle anymore huh?"
"Well, only when she runs." He conceded.
Andrew nodded wisely. "I knew she was part Penguin."
"Who told you that?"
"Aunt Marie." Andrew answered as he opened the door of the ranger's cabin and ambled in the direction home.
"Well, Aunt Marie's got a big mouth." Scott answered.
"She said you used to have a pole up your bottom. Is that true?" Andrew asked curiously.
"I, um, well-" He started.
"Mom said the same thing too. And Uncle Erik said that it was mom who got it out. That's gross." Andrew made a face.
At the mention of Erik, Scott watched his son's face carefully. He'd been extremely distressed to learn of the old man's passing, but had been a lot quieter about it in recent weeks. "I miss him dad. I wanted to tell that too Uncle Victor, but mom said she couldn't find him." The boy told him.
"Yeah, I miss him too."
"Is it true you two used to not like each other?"
Scott thought on what Andrew had said. It was true that he'd been on the other side of the fight than Erik had for years, and he hated the man's approach to things, but he couldn't in honesty say that he'd ever disliked the guy. "We just never really agreed on things son." Scott said truthfully.
" You'd 'gree that's a bear right?" Andrew said, pointing about 100 feet ahead of himself.
Scott's head shot up and his eyes widened under the visor as he caught sight of two brown bears. 'Shit, one's a baby, the other one's gotta be the mother' he thought to himself. "Andrew, get behind me." Scott ordered in the tone of voice he hadn't used in years.
The little boy obeyed and waited for his dad to make everything ok again. The warning growl that emerged from the bear's throat alerted Scott to the fact that the female had seen and smelt them. From the little Scott had read about the animals, he knew that mother bears with young offspring were the most dangerous to encounter. He had his own cub to protect and held his ground as the female snarled again and the cub hid behind her. The ranger cabin was too far away to make a run for it, and the plain around them offered nothing but open ground.
"Is it gone?" Andrew whispered.
"No. Andrew lay down on the ground. Don't move until I tell you it's safe." Scott ordered.
The boy lay flat as Scott put his hand to the side of the visor. The bear had a cub of her own to protect, but Scott thought only of his son as he let loose with a blast of red light at the charging female. He slowly walked up to the smoking carcass and when he was reassured that the bear was dead, he began to survey the area for the cub, but he found it must have fled the scene. Scott walked back to where Andrew was laying and picked him up. "I'm just going to carry you for awhile." He said softly and clutched the boy to his chest.
The two moved on in silence, not seeing the cub scramble out from behind a cluster of fallen trees and running toward its fallen mother. Andrew peeked over his father's shoulder and was greeted with the sight of the baby bear looking right at him. He looked sad to Andrew, who waved and made a face in an effort to cheer the little bear up. The bear sniffed the air, and identified the scent as the same one it had smelled earlier. Andrew watched the bear turn back to its mother before Scott set him back down on the ground. Andrew took his father's hand, sensing that he wanted to keep him close to him. Neither of them saw the little bear sniff the air again and trot off down the trail.
She felt numb. There was just no other way to explain it. Her father was dead, she knew that rationally, but her heart didn't seem to process the information. Every morning for the past three weeks she'd woken up and thought of things to mention to her dad before being hit with the icy realization that he wasn't there anymore.
It hurt too much to feel the loss of her father. It had been different when her mother had gone, because someone else knew how bad she was feeling. Now there was nobody and she felt empty inside. Emptiness was preferable to the raging storm of emotions that would come in a few days time, but for now she could feel somewhat stable in her shell. She just wished that everybody else would understand that and let her be.
Meanwhile Logan was dealing with his own inner demons and after battling with himself for hours, hesitantly voiced a question he thought would at least get some response from her.
"Marie, you've never seen me before have you?"
"No." She answered in a dull voice.
"Alright. Well dinner's on the table if you want it later. I'm gonna head out for a few hours."
"Fine."
Logan sighed, she barely said a thing and when she did it were usually single syllable words. He knew she was still in shock, but he wanted to see a change in her. He'd rather see her crying, or angry than hear her hollow voice, or see her blank expressions. Her friends were worried about her, and so was he. But deep down he knew she would deal with the loss in her own way. With a last look at her, he opened the door, to his surprise he saw a baby bear sitting on the small porch.