Title-On Your Doorstep
Chapter-02
~~~~~~
After making her way downstairs in record time, Elsie skidded to a halt on the kitchen's wood floor. "Helloooooo mom."
Her mother cocked her head to the side at her daughter and placed a few grocery bags on the counter. She gave her daughter an odd look. It wasn't because of the strange behavior, Elsie usually did act strange, it was that she noticed a solid frozen glass of soda on the kitchen table.
Elsie didn't notice what her mother was looking at until she had already grabbed it. "Oh mom, I was-"
Her mother gave her a warning glance then brought the glass over to the sink. "You've been trying to make slushies again? I told you, the glasses will break if you leave them in the freezer."
Elsie nearly sighed in relief, but she thought that might be a little suspicious. "Sorry ma." She shrugged and started going back to her room when she walked into Logan, literally. "Oof!" Her eyes widened. 'Oh, not now!' She started pushing him back into the dining room. "What the hell are you doing?!" Elsie whispered, making sure her mother was still busy putting groceries away.
Logan backed into the other room slowly. "I thought I heard somethin'."
"Well duh! My mom came in the door!"
Logan just shook his head. "Wasn't that, I though I heard another voice, a guy's voice. Is yer dad home too?"
By now Elsie had forgotten to check if her mother was looking. "No, my dad's out at sea, he's a navy pilot on a carrier."
Before Logan could say anything else, Elsie's mother saw him and walked into the dining room.
"El, who's this?" She crossed her arms and stared at this strange man who was talking to her daughter.
Logan looked at her and his jaw dropped. "Uh.."
Elsie quickly covered their tracks. "Um, mom! This is...Lieutenant Logan, he's um..one of dad's shipmates, another pilot."
Her mother's brows furrowed. "On the same ship? But Thomas isn't due back for another few months."
Elsie bit her lip for a second, not allowing Logan to speak. "Yeah, he used ta be. He got transferred to a different ship."
"Oh, well, it's very nice to meet you Lieutenant, but you must know that Tom isn't here if you wanted to see him. My name's Grace by the way." She reached out her hand and smiled.
Logan tentatively shook her hand. "I know he's not here, I uh.."
Elsie had to cover quickly again. "Oh damn! Mom, I totally forgot!"
"What is it El?"
She scratched the back of her head nervously, quickly fabricating a believable story. "Dad called from the ship while you were at work last week and he wanted ta ask you if it'd be alright if his friend, the Lieutenant here, could stay with us for a few days this week. He didn't know when he'd be able ta call again and I uh...I said you wouldn't care...but I forgot ta tell ya." Elsie made a face. "I'm really sorry ma."
Grace sighed, then smiled at Logan. "That's alright, the Lieutenant can stay. It's fine with me if he doesn't mind. Is Logan your first or last name?"
He scratched the back of his neck. "First. It's uh..Lieutenant...Xavier, but you can call me Logan. Thanks fer uh..lettin' me stay ma'am."
"You can just call me Grace."
Elsie sighed, grabbing Logan's arm. "I already brought his stuff up in the spare room, I'll um..just take him up ta get settled."
Her mother nodded. "I'll call you down when supper's ready!" She called after the two as Logan was dragged away by Elsie.
~~~~~~
As they started up the stairs Elsie glared at Logan. "That was sooo close! What the hell were you thinking?!"
Logan grunted. "Hey watch yer mouth kid. I came down 'coz I heard somethin'. Don't yell at me now, yer the one who got us in a bigger mess."
"What?! How did *I* get us in a bigger mess?" Elsie stopped at the top of the stairs as the other X-Men came out to listen to what was going on.
"Now yer ma thinks I know yer dad! What if she asks me somethin' I ain't got the answer to?!" Logan growled.
"What did you do?!" Kitty butted in.
Elsie groaned. "Alright, everyone into the spare room, c'mon." She ushered everyone in the room across from hers. "Ok, listen. My mom only knows that Logan's here, and she thinks he's a navy pilot buddy of my dads that's stayin' for awhile. Now the rest of you..." She pointed at the others. "I have no idea how we're s'posed to get you back, or how long it'll take. So for now, Logan, Bobby, and Kurt can sleep in the spare room, and Kitty and Rogue can stay in my room."
Bobby frowned, looking from Logan to Kurt. "So who gets the bed?"
"Uh..." Elsie shrugged. "Well, Logan get's the bed 'coz he's the adult, one of you guys can sleep in a sleepin bag on the floor, and the other can have the little couch."
Kurt and Bobby started arguing who gets what, then decided on rock, paper, scissor.
Kurt won, and chose the couch, but he told Bobby they could trade off if they had to stay more than one night.
Rogue turned to Elsie. "What about clothes?"
"You an' Kitty can borrow some o' my clothes, and the guys can borrow my dad's, but they might be kinda big for Kurt and Bobby." She shrugged. "It's better than nothin' right?"
Logan stepped back in the conversation. "Won't yer ma notice I'm wearin' yer dad's clothes?"
"Nah, you can wear his old stuff 'coz he's taller'n you anyway." Elsie smirked. "She doesn't pay *that* much attention to his clothes."
Suddenly they heard Grace's voice from downstairs. "Time for dinner! Come on down you two!"
Elsie and Logan headed back down the stairs, Logan turning back to the others. "Stay up here and be quiet. I'll bring ya up some food or somethin'."
Kurt, Bobby, Rogue, and Kitty all sighed, watching them leave again.
~~~~~~
After dinner, Elsie was helping her mother clean up the kitchen so that Logan could sneak food upstairs to the younger X-Men who were probably bored out of their minds.
"So El, Logan seems like a nice guy. You two appear to be getting along quite nice, have you met him before?" Grace asked, washing the dishes at the sink.
Elsie mentally laughed to herself. 'Sure I know him, from the cartoon!' She collected more dishes from the table. "Uh, yeah, I met him a while ago when I got ta visit dad's ship while they were in port. The three of us all hung out and Logan was really nice."
Grace nodded, taking the dishes from her daughter and putting them in the sink. "That's good." She furrowed her brows for a moment. "He um...his hair seems a bit...less than regulation though huh?" She half smiled.
Elsie's eyes widened for a brief second. 'Oh man, she knows somethin'...I'm busted!' She shrugged. "Well, dad says he was uh...allowed to be on leave for awhile 'coz...he's uh...been in a bad way ever since his..wife died?" She cringed. 'Hopeshebelievedthat,hopeshebelievedthat!'
Grace stopped washing the dishes. "Oh that's terrible..." Her voice was sympathetic. "You wouldn't know that by looking at the man."
Elsie shrugged, collecting more things from the table and passing them into the sink. "Hmm..guess he hides it good..." She paused and started to leave the kitchen. "I'm goin' on the computer ma."
Her mother nodded and Elsie rushed back upstairs. Luckily her mom didn't go up there very often, so there was a good chance Bobby, Kitty, Rogue, and Kurt could remain hidden.
~~~~~~
Meanwhile, the X-Men were lazing around, finishing up the food Logan had brought them; some of them thinking about going home, back to their universe, and a few were wondering what this one was like.
Kitty sat with Kurt and Bobby on the bed in the spare room which was proclaimed 'The Guys Room' for now.
"So, for however long we're here...do you like, think we'll get to check out of Elsie's house? I mean, think she'll take us somewhere maybe?" Kitty asked the boys.
"I dunno." Bobby leaned back against the pillows. "I don't wanna be cooped up here the whole time we're stuck in this universe though."
"Ya, me neither." Kurt sighed, sitting indian style on the bed and swishing his tail behind him. "Atleast my image inducer still works." He half smiled.
Rogue and Logan were sitting in Elsie's room, not doing anything besides stare at the t.v.
Rogue finally got restless and tried sparking a conversation with the feral. "So, what're we gonna do if Elsie's mom find's out she lied and yer not an' old navy buddy?"
Logan shrugged casually and crossed his arms. "Hopefully we don't gotta worry 'bout that."
Elsie tiredly walked into her room and flopped down on the bed near where Logan was sitting. She leaned back against the bed and sighed. "Man, I am gonna be sooooo dead."
Rogue half smiled at the girl. "Hey, don't worry, we'll keep quiet so yer ma doesn't find out. B'sides, what we really gottah worry 'bout is us gettin' home."
Logan let out a grunt, furrowing his brows and walking over towards the window.
Elsie sat up. "What is it?"
"Ya know how I said I heard a man's voice earlier?" He leaned against the window, glaring at the ground below.
"Yeah?" Elsie asked nervously as she and Rogue followed Logan to the window.
"There's someone outside." Logan growled.
"Uh oh." Rogue and Elsie said in unison.
~~~~~~TBC...
Chapter-02
~~~~~~
After making her way downstairs in record time, Elsie skidded to a halt on the kitchen's wood floor. "Helloooooo mom."
Her mother cocked her head to the side at her daughter and placed a few grocery bags on the counter. She gave her daughter an odd look. It wasn't because of the strange behavior, Elsie usually did act strange, it was that she noticed a solid frozen glass of soda on the kitchen table.
Elsie didn't notice what her mother was looking at until she had already grabbed it. "Oh mom, I was-"
Her mother gave her a warning glance then brought the glass over to the sink. "You've been trying to make slushies again? I told you, the glasses will break if you leave them in the freezer."
Elsie nearly sighed in relief, but she thought that might be a little suspicious. "Sorry ma." She shrugged and started going back to her room when she walked into Logan, literally. "Oof!" Her eyes widened. 'Oh, not now!' She started pushing him back into the dining room. "What the hell are you doing?!" Elsie whispered, making sure her mother was still busy putting groceries away.
Logan backed into the other room slowly. "I thought I heard somethin'."
"Well duh! My mom came in the door!"
Logan just shook his head. "Wasn't that, I though I heard another voice, a guy's voice. Is yer dad home too?"
By now Elsie had forgotten to check if her mother was looking. "No, my dad's out at sea, he's a navy pilot on a carrier."
Before Logan could say anything else, Elsie's mother saw him and walked into the dining room.
"El, who's this?" She crossed her arms and stared at this strange man who was talking to her daughter.
Logan looked at her and his jaw dropped. "Uh.."
Elsie quickly covered their tracks. "Um, mom! This is...Lieutenant Logan, he's um..one of dad's shipmates, another pilot."
Her mother's brows furrowed. "On the same ship? But Thomas isn't due back for another few months."
Elsie bit her lip for a second, not allowing Logan to speak. "Yeah, he used ta be. He got transferred to a different ship."
"Oh, well, it's very nice to meet you Lieutenant, but you must know that Tom isn't here if you wanted to see him. My name's Grace by the way." She reached out her hand and smiled.
Logan tentatively shook her hand. "I know he's not here, I uh.."
Elsie had to cover quickly again. "Oh damn! Mom, I totally forgot!"
"What is it El?"
She scratched the back of her head nervously, quickly fabricating a believable story. "Dad called from the ship while you were at work last week and he wanted ta ask you if it'd be alright if his friend, the Lieutenant here, could stay with us for a few days this week. He didn't know when he'd be able ta call again and I uh...I said you wouldn't care...but I forgot ta tell ya." Elsie made a face. "I'm really sorry ma."
Grace sighed, then smiled at Logan. "That's alright, the Lieutenant can stay. It's fine with me if he doesn't mind. Is Logan your first or last name?"
He scratched the back of his neck. "First. It's uh..Lieutenant...Xavier, but you can call me Logan. Thanks fer uh..lettin' me stay ma'am."
"You can just call me Grace."
Elsie sighed, grabbing Logan's arm. "I already brought his stuff up in the spare room, I'll um..just take him up ta get settled."
Her mother nodded. "I'll call you down when supper's ready!" She called after the two as Logan was dragged away by Elsie.
~~~~~~
As they started up the stairs Elsie glared at Logan. "That was sooo close! What the hell were you thinking?!"
Logan grunted. "Hey watch yer mouth kid. I came down 'coz I heard somethin'. Don't yell at me now, yer the one who got us in a bigger mess."
"What?! How did *I* get us in a bigger mess?" Elsie stopped at the top of the stairs as the other X-Men came out to listen to what was going on.
"Now yer ma thinks I know yer dad! What if she asks me somethin' I ain't got the answer to?!" Logan growled.
"What did you do?!" Kitty butted in.
Elsie groaned. "Alright, everyone into the spare room, c'mon." She ushered everyone in the room across from hers. "Ok, listen. My mom only knows that Logan's here, and she thinks he's a navy pilot buddy of my dads that's stayin' for awhile. Now the rest of you..." She pointed at the others. "I have no idea how we're s'posed to get you back, or how long it'll take. So for now, Logan, Bobby, and Kurt can sleep in the spare room, and Kitty and Rogue can stay in my room."
Bobby frowned, looking from Logan to Kurt. "So who gets the bed?"
"Uh..." Elsie shrugged. "Well, Logan get's the bed 'coz he's the adult, one of you guys can sleep in a sleepin bag on the floor, and the other can have the little couch."
Kurt and Bobby started arguing who gets what, then decided on rock, paper, scissor.
Kurt won, and chose the couch, but he told Bobby they could trade off if they had to stay more than one night.
Rogue turned to Elsie. "What about clothes?"
"You an' Kitty can borrow some o' my clothes, and the guys can borrow my dad's, but they might be kinda big for Kurt and Bobby." She shrugged. "It's better than nothin' right?"
Logan stepped back in the conversation. "Won't yer ma notice I'm wearin' yer dad's clothes?"
"Nah, you can wear his old stuff 'coz he's taller'n you anyway." Elsie smirked. "She doesn't pay *that* much attention to his clothes."
Suddenly they heard Grace's voice from downstairs. "Time for dinner! Come on down you two!"
Elsie and Logan headed back down the stairs, Logan turning back to the others. "Stay up here and be quiet. I'll bring ya up some food or somethin'."
Kurt, Bobby, Rogue, and Kitty all sighed, watching them leave again.
~~~~~~
After dinner, Elsie was helping her mother clean up the kitchen so that Logan could sneak food upstairs to the younger X-Men who were probably bored out of their minds.
"So El, Logan seems like a nice guy. You two appear to be getting along quite nice, have you met him before?" Grace asked, washing the dishes at the sink.
Elsie mentally laughed to herself. 'Sure I know him, from the cartoon!' She collected more dishes from the table. "Uh, yeah, I met him a while ago when I got ta visit dad's ship while they were in port. The three of us all hung out and Logan was really nice."
Grace nodded, taking the dishes from her daughter and putting them in the sink. "That's good." She furrowed her brows for a moment. "He um...his hair seems a bit...less than regulation though huh?" She half smiled.
Elsie's eyes widened for a brief second. 'Oh man, she knows somethin'...I'm busted!' She shrugged. "Well, dad says he was uh...allowed to be on leave for awhile 'coz...he's uh...been in a bad way ever since his..wife died?" She cringed. 'Hopeshebelievedthat,hopeshebelievedthat!'
Grace stopped washing the dishes. "Oh that's terrible..." Her voice was sympathetic. "You wouldn't know that by looking at the man."
Elsie shrugged, collecting more things from the table and passing them into the sink. "Hmm..guess he hides it good..." She paused and started to leave the kitchen. "I'm goin' on the computer ma."
Her mother nodded and Elsie rushed back upstairs. Luckily her mom didn't go up there very often, so there was a good chance Bobby, Kitty, Rogue, and Kurt could remain hidden.
~~~~~~
Meanwhile, the X-Men were lazing around, finishing up the food Logan had brought them; some of them thinking about going home, back to their universe, and a few were wondering what this one was like.
Kitty sat with Kurt and Bobby on the bed in the spare room which was proclaimed 'The Guys Room' for now.
"So, for however long we're here...do you like, think we'll get to check out of Elsie's house? I mean, think she'll take us somewhere maybe?" Kitty asked the boys.
"I dunno." Bobby leaned back against the pillows. "I don't wanna be cooped up here the whole time we're stuck in this universe though."
"Ya, me neither." Kurt sighed, sitting indian style on the bed and swishing his tail behind him. "Atleast my image inducer still works." He half smiled.
Rogue and Logan were sitting in Elsie's room, not doing anything besides stare at the t.v.
Rogue finally got restless and tried sparking a conversation with the feral. "So, what're we gonna do if Elsie's mom find's out she lied and yer not an' old navy buddy?"
Logan shrugged casually and crossed his arms. "Hopefully we don't gotta worry 'bout that."
Elsie tiredly walked into her room and flopped down on the bed near where Logan was sitting. She leaned back against the bed and sighed. "Man, I am gonna be sooooo dead."
Rogue half smiled at the girl. "Hey, don't worry, we'll keep quiet so yer ma doesn't find out. B'sides, what we really gottah worry 'bout is us gettin' home."
Logan let out a grunt, furrowing his brows and walking over towards the window.
Elsie sat up. "What is it?"
"Ya know how I said I heard a man's voice earlier?" He leaned against the window, glaring at the ground below.
"Yeah?" Elsie asked nervously as she and Rogue followed Logan to the window.
"There's someone outside." Logan growled.
"Uh oh." Rogue and Elsie said in unison.
~~~~~~TBC...