Thank you to everyone who reviewed my story! You are all lovely!!! *Big hugs*. I know I keep saying I'll update quicker, but things keep getting on top of me. I absolutely hated writing this chapter, I've no idea why. I just couldn't get it right, so if it's sucky, I apologize (but am not surprised)!

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Kurt looked at the sun, high over his head. He figured it was about one o'clock. But, for possibly the first time in his life, he didn't want to stop and eat lunch. He and the rest of the team were in the forest surrounding the crash site, searching for Ellie.

So far they hadn't made a lot of headway. Logan got Ellie's scent and followed it to the road, but then lost it again. Which meant she had got into a car. No one liked the sound of this and had started to think of all manner of horrible things.

What had made it worse, was that the professor couldn't get a reading on her. This either meant that she had lost her memory or was dead. Either way without Ellie using her powers, they couldn't find her.

Logan was saying something about people finding her, and taking her for medical attention, until Scott reminded him that all of the hospitals and doctors surgeries within a fifty miles radius had been notified that Ellie was missing. If anyone took her to one, they would call the police.

Kitty and Rogue were looking at a map, and suddenly Kitty cried, "Hey! There's a small town nearby, about ten miles or so. It looks like there's only about twenty houses, but they might know something, or have a doctor. Maybe someone was driving up there and found her. This road is the most direct route to it."

Ororo looked at Logan and said, "Couldn't hurt to try." He nodded and said, "Load up, Team."

The teenagers climbed back into the jet, and took their seats. The jets engines fired to life.

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Ellie sat down and dangled her legs over the small creek, that ran by the cabin. She watched the sun sparkle on the water's surface and the fish swimming to the surface to catch midges. Tony sat down next to her and handed her a can of coke.

As she swung her legs out Tony noticed a long thin scar on her calf. He pointed it out.

"That looks like it was nasty."

"Oh, I fell off of some monkey bars when I was eleven." Said Ellie, off- handily, as she raised the can to her mouth. She realised what she had just said and slowly lowered the can and looked at Tony.

"I remembered something! Oh my god!" She cried. She stood up and put her hands to her mouth. She could see the monkey bars in her minds eye, remember the pain and the ice cream her mum gave her afterwards. Elated, she span round in a circle, screaming.

Tony jumped up and Ellie grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. As he hugged her back, Tony suddenly noticed her hair smelt of coconut. He became uncomfortable and pulled away slightly.

"Can you remember anything else?" He asked, excitedly. Ellie closed her eyes and screwed up her face in determination. Tony noticed how cute her nose was when she thought.

'I've got to stop thinking about her. I can't have a crush on a girl who doesn't even know who she is.' He reasoned with himself. But that didn't explain why he had lain awake the night before thinking about her.

"No! Nothing else." Ellie said after a few moments. She looked crestfallen for a minute then said, "But, I remembered that! Without any kind of effort. Maybe we just have to be patient."

Tony nodded, "Forcing it probably isn't a good idea. Want to go for a walk? I can spring questions on you. Maybe it'll jolt something."

"Yeah, why not! I want to go up there though." Ellie pointed to the mountains surrounding the cabin, "Not too far though. I don't want to have to carry oxygen!"

"We'll have to be careful though, there are mountain lions up there." Said Tony as they started towards the base of the first hill.

Ellie, filled with happiness from her memory, let her laughter bubble over. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the big, bad world!!"

"You'll be the one who needs protecting!" Smiled Tony, as he started to chase her.

Ellie screamed playfully and ran up the hill and into the boulders at the top. She hid behind one and waited to jump out at him, when she felt someone pick her up from behind and spin her round.

"You pig! That's cheating." Cried Ellie. Tony put her down and grinned at her. Ellie looked into his eyes and couldn't move. She felt a sensation in her stomach that was oddly familiar, though she couldn't figure why.

Tony looked at Ellie's brown eyes and he felt his lips brushed against hers. He put his arms around her and kissed her harder. Ellie responded, then suddenly he pulled away. Ellie was looking at him with a confused expression.

"What's the matter? Don't you like me?" She asked. He could feel the hurt in her voice.

"It's not that, Kelly. It's just ... I ah, that I can't do this to you. It's not fair. You have enough to deal with." Tony replied.

Ellie studied him, and knew what he said was right. She opened her mouth to say she agreed, when she saw Tony stiffen, he was looking over her shoulder at something.

"Do exactly what I say. Stay very still." He hissed. Ellie suddenly felt very afraid.

She slowly glanced behind her and saw a mountain lion standing on a boulder about a hundred yards away, eyeing them with interest.

"Shit! What are we going to do?" She whispered.

"Run. NOW!" Tony grabbed Ellie's hand and they ran. Ellie glanced over her shoulder and saw the lion chasing them, almost lazily, but still shortening the distance between them.

Ellie felt Tony stumble and fall. He screamed in pain. She managed to stay upright and tried to pull him up. By now the lion was less than fifty yards from them and still coming. She thought she was going to pass out, she had never been so scared.

She glanced around and saw a large rock, she grabbed it and threw it at the big cat. It missed, but obviously made it think twice. It slowed to a walk, growling at her. Ellie stood in front of Tony.

"GET LOST!" She screamed the first, rather lame, thing that came to her head. She could now almost taste her fear. The lion continued to walk towards her.

"Kelly, just run, save yourself. I'll distract it." Shouted Tony.

"For God's sake, this is no time for chivalry, Tony." Cried Ellie, in disbelief. She had to admit she was panicking.

The lion took a run and leaped at her. Ellie screamed and, instinctively, threw her hands out in front of her face. Suddenly, she felt a blast come from her hands and flew backwards. She landed on her back and looked up. The lion was laid on the ground, stunned. She looked at her hands, which were tingling, and then at Tony.

His mouth was open, his pain forgotten as he took in what he had just seen. He saw the lion jump at Ellie, her shield her face with her arms. The next thing he saw was the lion being hit by something invisible, like a force field, and it and Ellie flying in opposite directions.

"What just happened? What did you do?" He asked.

"I . I don't know. I felt this blast in my arms and then I was on the floor." She stood up, and saw the lion. "We'd better get out of here. Before it wakes up. We can talk about this more later."

She helped Tony to his feet and, with him leaning on her shoulder, they made their way back to the cabin.

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Professor Xavier glanced up as a red light started to flash above a computer screen.

He typed in a few words and the computers screen changed. It showed a picture of Ellie and a location. He smiled and picked up the phone.

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Ororo nodded as she spoke into the mobile phone. The team watched her. So far all they had caught was "When?" "How far" and "Is she OK?". They knew she was talking about Ellie. If Cerebro had picked her up then she was well enough to use her powers.

Ororo closed the phone and looked at Logan, "The professor says Cerebro has located her. She's in the mountains about two miles from here."

Kurt sent a prayer heavenward, and closed his eyes. She was OK. He stood up, "Let's go." He was about to teleport, when Logan stopped him.

"Hang on, Elf. You and Storm can get there easy enough, but the rest of us hafta think more traditional."

Kurt frowned, "But, ve're so close. It could just be minutes until ve find her."

Jean placed a hand on his shoulder, "Kurt, I know how close you and Ellie are. And I know how this has affected you. We will find her soon. I promise."

They climbed back into the jet and Storm studied map and pointed to a small area.

"There's a clearing. We can land there."

Logan turned the jet and flew towards the clearing and Ellie.

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Meanwhile, Ellie was kneeling down, wrapping a bandage around Tony's ankle. He winced and she stopped, "Am I hurting you?"

"No, not really. It's just a bit sore." He said, grimacing.

"You're mum would be better doing this, but until they come back from the town, you're stuck with me." Said Ellie as she finished.

Tony looked at her. She caught his eye and looked at the ground. She knew what he was going to say, and didn't want to hear it. Plus her ankle was aching. She figured that she had jarred it when she fell, after blasting the lion.

"I know what you're thinking. You want to talk about what happened." She said, more to her shoes than to him.

"First, I want to say thank you. I don't know what you did, but I saved my life." Said Tony gently, then he continued, "It was pretty cool though!"

Ellie looked up and saw him smiling at her. "Want to stare at the clouds?" He shook his head, "I think I'm going to take a nap." Ellie helped him to the couch and wandered back towards the creek. She sat on the bank and looked at the sky.

Ellie was thinking about what had happened and what it meant she was, when she heard the sound of an engine. She turned, expecting to see Daphne and Bill, but instead something in the sky caught her attention. She watched in amazement as a large black jet soared over and proceeded to land behind some trees.

She stood up tried not to worry. 'I could be anyone, A military exercise or something.' She thought. She was about to walk back to the cabin, when she saw a tall coloured woman with a shock of long white hair walking towards her. Behind her was a group of teenagers and another adult, a man.

"Ellie!" Cried Kitty, overcome with emotion at seeing her friend alive. She ran to her and hugged her. Ellie pushed her off.

"Who are you?" Ellie demanded angrily.

"Don't you remember us?" Asked Kitty, hurt.

"No! I can't remember anything. I was in a car crash. I don't even know my name." Ellie was beginning to feel overwhelmed. She backed away. Her eyes scanned the whole group. There wasn't a familiar face and suddenly, she saw Kurt.

Her eyes widened. The creature from her dream wasn't just a nightmare. She screamed and ran towards the hills.

Everyone looked at Kurt. His mouth was hanging open in disbelief, but he managed to tap his holowatch and immediately changed into his 'normal' form. Pietro shook his head and ran after her. He caught her in seconds and picked her up easily.

Carrying her was another matter, Ellie struggled and twisted, all the time screaming.

Pietro dropped her unceremoniously on the floor in front of Logan and Ororo. As Ellie went to stand, the door to the cabin burst open and Tony, armed with a shot gun appeared.

"What's going on? Who are you people?" He shouted. Ellie took her chance at the momentary distraction and ran to the cabin. She stood behind Tony. Lance started forwards with his fists clenched, but Ororo stopped him.

"Kelly, you know these people?" He asked jerking his head towards the x- men. Ellie went to respond, but Logan spoke first;

"Kelly? Her name is Ellie Ronocco." He would have said more but at that moment Daphne and Bill returned.

"Anthony? Why do you have that gun? What's going on?" Asked his father, worriedly. He looked at Ellie, who was cowering behind Tony, The two adults, and the teenagers, all dressed in some kind of jumpsuits.

"Who are you?" He asked Logan.

Ororo stepped forward and her hand, "Good evening. My name is Ororo Munroe and this is Logan. We are from the Xavier institute in Bayville. Ellie is one of our students. She went missing after an accident. I guess you must have picked her up."

Daphne and Bill shook hands and looked at Ellie. Daphne looked oddly sad and said, to Ororo and Logan; "Come in. I think we have to discuss this." Ororo nodded at Jean as they walked towards the house.

Logan looked at the others. "Behave yourselves. This could take a while." And he shut the door behind them.

Lance looked at the others, "What do we do now? I should be allowed in there. She's my girlfriend." He said, angrily.

"She doesn't know that and I guess ve vait." Said Kurt, sitting on the porch swing.

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Ellie stared at the strangers. She was sat between Daphne and Bill, and felt safer, more confident.

"I don't remember any of you." She said bluntly. But she remembered her dream and seeing Kurt on the drive had been too much of a coincidence. She knew she knew them.

"You remember something, Ellie." Said Jean, gently. She could tell Ellie was hiding something.

"I had a dream about the creature with blue fur. He said something in German. It was the night I woke up screaming."

Daphne and Bill exchanged a look. They hadn't seen anything with blue fur outside. Before they could say anything Logan cut in.

"His name is Kurt, and before you and Lance had that crash, he was your best friend." He didn't mean it unkindly, but his words stung her.

Ororo explained about the institute and that Ellie was a mutant. Daphne smiled at the last part.

"I think you must have the wrong girl. Ellie hasn't displayed any mutant traits." She trailed off as she saw Tony exchange a look with Ellie.

"Yes, she has." He said. Ellie looked at him and shook her head, "Please, Tony."

"I owe her my life because of it. We were walking earlier and a mountain lion saw us. We tried to outrun it, but I fell. I told her to run, that I would distract it. She wouldn't. Then it tried to pounce on her, but she sort of blasted it from her hands. It knocked them both over."

Daphne looked horrified, "A mountain lion? You kids we so lucky you weren't killed. What were you thinking walking alone in those hills?"

Ellie looked absolutely terrified. Jean sat on the coffee table in front of her and smiled. "I can try and help you unlock your memory." She offered.

Ellie nodded, and Jean placed her hands on either side of the brunette's head. Images flashed in her mind. Falling from the monkey bars, her father coming home on one of his visits, her mum and James. Then it stopped.

Ellie gasped and Jean jerked her hands away. Ellie rubbed her eyes and looked at Jean.

"Oh, God. I can ... I can..." She burst into tears and Jean immediately put her arms around her.

"I think we'd better get the jet." Said Logan. He and Ororo left the cabin. Jean stood up. "I'll just be outside." She said and gave Ellie a minute to say her good-byes.

Ellie looked at Daphne and Bill and threw her arms around them, "Thank you so much. For all you have done for me."

Daphne pulled away, tears glistening in her eyes. Bill coughed and wiped his eyes.

"Just take care of yourself, honey. We're not too far away. We'll come and visit you sometime." He said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, please do! I'll miss you both, but at least I'll remember you!" Smiled Ellie.

Daphne glanced at Tony, who looked like he was experiencing every emotion under the sun. She pulled Bill's arm, "Come on. I could use some air." She said.

As they walked outside, Ellie looked at Tony. He wouldn't or couldn't look her in the eye. Ellie didn't know how to feel about him. He had betrayed her.

"Why did you do that?" She asked tightly.

He slowly met her gaze. She knew he was uncomfortable, she could feel it.

"I did it because you belong with them." He said, simply.

"You mean with those freaks?" She shot, angrily.

"No, calm down. You belong with them because they obviously care a lot about you. They came looking for you. And you're not different with them. They know you, and in your heart you know and love them." He stood up and looked directly into her eyes. "I'm sorry. You must go home."

He turned and walked to the stairs.

Ellie watched him leave. She didn't try to stop him. She could feel a memory trying to resurface. Something like this had happened before. If only she could remember.

She turned and walked out onto the porch and looked at the others. A tall, cute guy smiled widely at her and started forwards, when she felt a tap on the shoulder.

Ellie turned and saw Tony. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Ellie hugged him back and sighed. They broke away slightly and he smiled at her.

"I couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye. I didn't want you to leave mad at me." He said.

She looked up at him and replied, "You nearly did. I'll see you soon though. I'll phone. I promise."

"I know." Said Tony and he gently kissed her. The next thing he knew, he was being shoved against the door by a tall, brown haired boy.

"Get your hands off my girlfriend, you hick." Snarled Lance.

Ellie pulled him off, "Who the hell do you think you are? Why did you do that?" She screamed.

Logan started forwards, but Ororo shook her head. Ellie needed to do this.

Ellie turned to Tony, "I'll call you. Bye" She smiled and then gave Lance a withering glare and walked to the jet.

Lance scowled at Tony once more and then ran after her.

"I'm sorry. But, you are my girlfriend and I've been so worried. I couldn't stand him kissing you." He tried to explain.

Ellie looked at him. There was something familiar about him, and she knew he had some feelings for her, but she suspected it was more to do with him losing face with his friends than her kissing someone else.

"I do not remember you. So I guess that makes this relationship pretty one sided." She said.

Lance smiled, "I don't mind. I can help you remember." He grabbed her shoulders and kissed her. Ellie let him and when he finished she smiled at him.

"I have some memories of you, but it's all so vague."

Lance looked ecstatic, "That's fine. We can work through it together." He wrapped his arm around her and walked into the jet.

They sat next to each other and within minutes, Lance fell to sleep. Ellie looked at him and shook her head, "Some bloody boyfriend." She thought about what she remembered when he kissed her. Something to do with her screaming at him, something about his driving, then just blackness. She figured she'd have time to think about it later.

She looked around at everyone else, who was trying to keep it quiet as not to scare her. She watched a silver haired boy and a pretty brunette play fighting. She smiled, she wasn't sure of her power, but she could tell they loved each other.

She saw the red head who helped her remember, sitting with a guy with sunglasses, talking. There was another girl, with Goth makeup and a coloured boy with blond hair, sat together, but not saying anything.

Finally she saw a boy she didn't see before. He had blue-black hair and he was staring straight at her. She looked at him and smiled slightly. He smiled widely back at her and her stomach flipped. She went red and turned back to Lance, who had progressed to snoring.

She thought about the feeling she got when she looked at the black haired boy and risked another peep. He was still looking, and she whipped her head back round. Her stomach was fluttering.

'Must be the plane ride.' She thought.

Ororo stood up and announced that they would be back at the institute within five minutes. She would be home and could start rebuilding her life. She could also find out who that boy was.

She smiled despite herself, 'I have a boyfriend...' She thought looking at Lance, who's mouth was open and he was drooling gently on his shoulder. 'Lucky me!' She mentally added, rolling her eyes.

She didn't even think about the creature with blue fur at all.

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I'm really, really sorry this took so long. And I hope that it doesn't suck to much. Hopefully it should be updated at least once a week.

Please be gentle.