Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. Damn. And just when I was feeling pretty good…

Auther's Note: Whew!!! I had a great weekend, if a bit tiring. Thought I'd post a bit more, though I'm a bit preoccupied with my other story, an X2 one. It's gonna be great, so y'all better read it when it comes out! And, if you're bored, you can go check out my website. This chapter is pretty much an interlude, but I've got some action in the next chapter. Until then, fellow fans!!

Dedication: I dedicate this chapter to my awesome friend, crazy4lordofring. Thank you so much for reading this story chica!! Luv ya and frika frika forever (does 'the wrist').

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Logan paced down the corridor, confused and lost in thought. He couldn't forget the look in Thorn's eyes when she'd seen the fire…it was like looking at a caged animal.

He stopped for a moment. Something had been bothering him since he had seen the scar on her neck…only now did he understand why.

Logan set off quickly for the Professor's office.

"These results are amazing!" Hank told his audience with all the eagerness of a scientist. "From my observations in the Danger Room and the data we collected, we can see that Thorn is in very good physical condition. She beat most of the obstacles the Danger Room created, doing most of it without using her powers!"

"Though, like Hank said, Thorn's fit, her body is low on most of the nutrients found in wheat, dairy, and meat products." Jean continued, with much more composure, consulting a clipboard as she spoke.

"Why?"

Jean looked up to answer Scott's question. "When she was homeless, she rarely interacted with humans, and ate mostly the foods she grew. Though she could catch animals to eat, she said she wouldn't cook them."

"She couldn't start a fire?" Ororo guessed.

"No, she could, she just wouldn't." Jean explained, settling the clipboard on her lap and gazing about at her companions. "Thorn has one of the most extreme cases of pyrophobia I've ever seen."

"Has she told you why?" Xavier asked, concerned.

"That's just it!" Jean said, exasperated. "Thorn has selective amnesia, meaning in this case, that she probably had a traumatic experience in her youth that she chose to forgot, in an attempt continue to live normally."

She glanced at Hank, who took up where she left off. "We even found what we believe to be evidence to add to this theory," He told them, picking up a remote control and pressing a button. The screen on the wall lit up to reveal pictures of the subject from several angles.

 "She has an immense amount of scarring all over her body that is mostly, from what we can determine, from the same incident." He gestured to a picture of her back. "If you notice, the scars on her back are thin scars that all follow a pattern, similar to laceration. It's almost as though something hit her here…" He pointed to the middle of her back, where the scars spiraled outward from," And broke into pieces."

He pressed another button and an x-ray of her left leg popped up. "And here…" Another gesture "We noticed that there is a deep scarring on her bone, most likely from a fracture she received at the same time that never fully healed."

"Lastly… " Hank said, and with another press of a button, a further picture clicked up. It was, oddly enough, a picture of her neck. "There are major burn scars on her neck."

"Wait, burn scars on her neck?!" Scott repeated, incredulous. "Wouldn't 'major' scarring be fatal?"

Hank shrugged helplessly "That is an inquiry to which we have not found an answer. Severe burns should've melted her windpipe, but she lived through it at the age of 13."

Jean stood and indicated the red area of Thorn's skin on the slide. "One of the strangest things about this burn is its shape." She hesitated, as though reluctant to tell them something outlandish.

"Well?"

"It's in the shape of a hand," A gruff voice said behind them. All those gathered, with the exception of Xavier, turned to see Logan leaning in the doorway. He didn't seem to notice them though, as he was staring at the slide.

"Are you certain?" Ororo asked in disbelief.

"Positive. I just saw it in the garden, though I didn't realize what it was right away." He explained, finding an empty chair, which happened to be Hank's, and seating himself. "She freaked out and had some kind of memory lapse when the kids set the garden on fire-"

"The kids set the garden on fire?!"

Logan continued, ignoring Scott's outburst. "She has a matchbox with a picture inside it of her parents. I smelled smoke on it."

Jean nodded and glanced at Hank. "The pieces are fitting together now…if I have your permission, Professor, to do a little research…?"

To their surprise, it was Storm who answered.

"No." They all looked at her in astonishment. "Thorn's past is her own concern. We should simply concern ourselves with her future." She caught a smile of approval from Xavier.

"Storm is right. Thorn doesn't need us prying her affairs uninvited," Xavier agreed. "If she wants our help, I'm sure she'll ask for it."

His former students each nodded complacently, but Logan was deep in thought.

_But what if she's too proud to ask?_

Thorn limped up the stairs into the school, cursing awkwardly with each step.

"Ouch…dammit…stupid…hell…die Wolverine…" She muttered heatedly, favoring her left leg. Her leg hadn't hurt this bad in over eight years…well, not counting that one bar fight in Manister…or that time she had jumped out of the train at Newark. Now that had been painful.

It was the day after Thorn and Wolverine's fight and Thorn was suffering from some severe soreness. While Logan, she knew, was probably friggin peachy.

_Oh yeah Thorn, great idea. Let's volunteer to fight the man with the healing factor._  She thought sarcastically.

Still muttering, she reached the dining hall. A moment before she entered, she paused and drew herself up to her full height, continuing on without a limp, despite the pain it caused her. Her pride had suffered enough already.

It didn't escape her notice either that several dozen eyes watched her as she entered the dining hall. _Wow…_ She thought _Word gets around fast here._

She made her way up to the teacher's table that stood in the very front of the hall, perpendicular to the students. She found a seat waiting for her, next to Ororo, who sat at Xavier's left, and on the other side of a man she didn't know. Thorn noticed Logan sitting a couple of seats down the table, by a few adults she didn't recognize.

Thorn sat with as much grace as she could muster and caught Xavier's eye. He smiled encouragingly at her. She smiled back, hesitantly, and greeted all the teachers, including Scott, who sat at Xavier's right, and Jean, who sat next to her fiancé.

After a few announcements, they all started eating. As usual, it was some of the best food Thorn had ever eaten, and she relished each bite, listening to her companions' conversations rather than joining in.

Thorn was just starting on her mashed potatoes when she felt someone elbow her in her side. A bit irritably, she turned to the offender, the blond man beside her. He was smoking a pipe and smiling widely.

"Sorry ta bother ye lass," He said in a thick Irish accent, "But I couldn't help but notice that tha Canuck has been starin' at ye."

"I'm sorry?" Thorn inquired, confused by the strange pronunciations.

"The Canadian runt." The man explained, gesturing to Logan with his pipe.

"Oh. Right. Him." Thorn said in a flat voice. She glanced down at the man in question and

 saw he wasn't even watching now; she was sure the Irish chap was mistaken.

The man laughed and Thorn found herself liking him already. "Sean Cassidy," He introduced, holding out a hand.

She shook it. "I'm Thorn." She answered, "I'm a bit new here."

Sean laughed again. "You'll get used to mansion life in no time," He assured her. "Though from what I've heard, ye've been takin' care of yourself."

Thorn made an exasperated noise "Has everyone here heard about that?" She asked him.

He winked "Lucky for you, ye had tha biggest mouth in the whole school in yer class."

"Who?" Thorn asked warily.

"Jubilation Lee."

Thorn groaned. "That explains a lot." She muttered stormily. The blond man laughed again and Thorn couldn't help but notice that, though he was nearing 50, he had a beautiful, rich voice.

Out of the corner of her eye, Thorn saw Logan watching her. Okay…that was a bit creepy.

"So Thorn, how has your stay been so far?" A polite voice inquired.

Thorn transferred her attention to Scott and answered his question, keeping her voice neutral despite her tumultuous thoughts.

"It's been great." _I think I'm becoming claustrophobic, surrounded by stone walls_

 "I feel better than I have in months." _I hurt like hell, people are staring at me constantly, and I think I'm being stalked by a very dangerous man_

"I've been enjoying myself a lot." _Does Scott have any idea how girly his voice is?_

Thorn started, wondering where that last thought had come from. Scott, of course, had no idea what she was thinking and smiled. "That's great!" He said kindly.

_Whoa… he does._

Xavier, meanwhile, looked a bit concerned. _Oops_ Thorn thought _Psychic eavesdropping._

"Thorn, I believe that all mutants all have a special role to play, something special to teach to others." The Professor told her, steepling his fingers. "That's why I ask all the adult mutants to become teachers."

Thorn stared at him, a look that clearly said 'what's this got to do with me?'

 "What I'm trying to say is that I want you to teach a class in our school."

Thorn was speechless. "I…I don't even have a full high school education! I can't teach anything!"

"On the contrary," Xavier said softly "I know something that you know more about than anyone else."

Thorn stared at him uncertainly "All I know about is plants," She told him in a soft voice.

"Exactly." He rewarded her with a smile. "I was hoping you would be willing to teach botany."

Another uncertain look. "Uh, sure?" She answered doubtfully.

I believe in you. I know you can do this.

Thorn jumped at the voice in her head. She glanced at Jean, who smiled encouragingly. Thorn took a deep breath and looked up at Xavier.

"Alright, I'll do it. On 2 conditions." She held up the respective fingers. "I can teach it in the old shed out on the grounds," Everyone knew what she was talking about. Unused, but large, and in good condition. She lowered one of the fingers before she continued. "And I can teach however I want."

"You have a deal." The Professor agreed. "Your classes start on the fifth."

Thorn considered this. _A week and a half. Easy enough._

"If you're sure," She shrugged, wondering if they knew what they were in for.

"Hey, no one gave me any warning," Logan protested mildly from his seat.

"That's 'cause no one likes ye," A woman with a broad Scottish accent commented dryly from her place beside Sean. Everyone laughed and Logan smiled grudgingly.

Sean wrapped an arm around the woman. "Harsh but true Moira."

Thorn returned to her role as the subtle observer, watching these new people with a certain, detached fondness. It had been so long since she had gotten close to any humans, it felt…well…good.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Logan, watching her with something like concern. Suddenly, it wasn't creepy, that look. She understood now that he was worried, about yesterday, both the garden and the fight.

_Why does he worry about me?_

'Cause that's what friends do.

The answer was a simple one, but left Thorn with an incredible, warm, fuzzy feeling.

Friends.

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Alrighty then, here goes my thank yous:

Maci Silverwulf: I read the book too, so Jean's, er, accident, came as a bit of a surprise. (Me: Hell no, that ain't right! What a minute here!)

Faith: LOL…thank you! And your story bloody well rocks too!

Lady Circe: Yes! I;m glad you liked those lines…they were two of my favorites in the chapter. I always say peachy friggin keen at school…drives my friends crazy. As for the weasel thing…did you know the wolverine is a member of the weasel family?

Dragon-denna: as always, you give me another interesting review, Bit demanding, aren't ye?

Rebecca: Thank you so much for the advice! I've been trying to fix my grammer and I appreciate the help. Please continue to read and send in constructive critisism (which I value above all else)

Crazy4lordofring: per-verse: persisting in error or fault; stubbornly contrary. In other words, she has a morbid, weird sende of humor. Like me.

Amy Potter 13: Where are you? The angel of Death is waiting! LOL…

That' all folks! Tune in next time as the Thorn saga continues with:   Nightmares in the Dark.