A/N: Last chapter!!! Then the sequel! Ack!
Once again, Sabere and Storm were losing magnificently to Bobby and Rogue at foosball. This had to be their sixth game today, and every single time the teens had beaten them. Logan wasn't helping, either – he just sat and laughed as Bobby put one past them again and again. She hadn't talked much with Logan over the three days since the news about Sabere's exposure, but she didn't really mind. The rest of the Institute seemed to understand what she was going through and knew when to talk and when to just be there.
The ball slid past Sabere's defenders once again, but this time she flung a telekinetic block in its path so the ball froze, teetering on the edge of the goal. Rogue stuck her hand around the goalie, trying to push the ball in herself, but Sabere's block held. Bobby laughed and suddenly Sabere felt her hands get extremely cold. Bobby had iced her hands to the handles, and as she lost concentration Rogue tapped the ball into the goal for yet another win.
Storm raised her hands in surrender. "I give up – you two play this so much I don't know why we offered to play in the first place."
Sabere shook her head in agreement, shaking her hands in an effort to return circulation. "I should have had a better game! Those reflexes shouldn't only show up in battle."
The briefest of awkward silences fell, broken almost immediately by Bobby offering to pop in his favorite movie. Sabere declined and made her way out of the room, ignoring Logan's concerned gaze. She found her way to the kitchen, searching the pantry for Kitty's secret cookie stash, hidden in a wall panel that even Xavier didn't know about. Kitty didn't mind sharing, but woe to the one who finished her box and didn't replace it. Smiling at the scolding Kitty had given Logan yesterday for committing that heinous crime, she sank down in a chair and gazed out the window. A pair of squirrels were racing around the trees, and Sabere watched them idly, letting her mind drift.
You will always have friends here, no matter where you go.
Leaving the Institute was out of the question now, unless she went to Canada or some rural town where people might not even know about mutants. And the more she thought about it, the less she really wanted to leave. After all the X-Men had done for her, she could at least try to give them something in return…even if that's getting one of their team members killed.
She pushed away from the table and walked towards the window as if she could walk away from the thought. It wasn't my fault…I would have done anything to save him, and they know that…
This was the exact circle of thought that had been haunting her since the failed rescue. More than one sleepless night had been spent wishing things could have happened differently, replaying over and over exactly what should have happened had she been fast enough.
A knock on the front door momentarily distracted her, and Logan strolled by the kitchen on his way to answer it. She leaned out the doorway and craned her neck to see around the massive front door.
"Fury? What do you want now?"
"That's no way to welcome back the man who pretty much saved your asses, Logan. Especially when you folks can't even tell when your asses need saving or not," came Fury's voice. Sabere talked cautiously down the hall, wondering if she should be listening in on this conversation. What was he talking about, anyway?
"What's that supposed to mean?" Logan demanded.
"I mean that you can't tell the difference between a dead guy and a live one. Get your healer lady out here, she'll want to see this."
Logan looked over his shoulder at Sabere, eyebrows raised in disbelief. She stopped cold in the hallway. The last thing she wanted was more false hope, but if Nick Fury had actually managed to revive Kurt…
She stood beside Logan in the doorway, peering warily out at the small convoy of Hummers that had positioned themselves defensively around the mansion's driveway with soldiers aiming outwards around the perimeter of the entire assemblage, pointing their weapons into the sunset. Others were standing alongside the nearest Hummer.
"Okay, let him out before he 'ports out and hurts himself," Fury called. Sabere's heart jumped and she froze, staring in shock and wondering why the hell these guys were making her believe that a dead man could come back…
One of the soldiers opened the Hummer door and, against all odds, out came Kurt Wagner, looking very much alive. He looked right at Sabere and shrugged sheepishly, as if apologizing for the entire incident.
Logan rubbed his eyes. "Okay, as great as it is that you're somehow not dead, how the hell…"
Sabere was still frozen, as a hundred emotions warred within her as Kurt came up the steps. Fury clapped him on the shoulder as he passed and Kurt winced a little.
"We think he survived because of his teleportation. The bullet did graze his heart, but since he was in the process of teleporting as he was hit, the bullet didn't do nearly as much damage as it could have. The shock of injury during teleportation was what made you think he was dead, but after you left, Stryker's creeps managed to bring him mostly around. We found him unconscious, strapped to an examination table."
"Getting me ready for testing, of course…must be healed before cutting me open again," Kurt said wryly, standing in front of Sabere. He smiled a little, seeming to be in perfect health, but the way he carried himself indicated that he was still in pain. Fury gave a signal and his men packed into the Hummers.
"I assume I've repaid whatever favors I owed, Logan," he said, looking at Sabere, who was still staring in disbelief at Kurt. "We delivered your man, and alive at that."
"I think we owe you now," Logan replied with surprising gravity. "Thanks, Fury."
Fury nodded, saluted, and got into one of the Hummers. The trio watched as the convoy roared down the driveway. Sabere felt Kurt's arm around her shoulders and she finally turned to embrace him. Kurt looked pointedly over her shoulder at Logan, who chuckled.
"I've interrupted you two often enough. Welcome back, elf-man." Logan went back into the mansion and closed the door behind him. Sabere watched him leave, still convinced that this was some twisted dream and she would wake up in the kitchen at any moment, but Kurt turned her face to his and all doubts faded.
He smiled a little and looked away. "I do not know what to say…I was so worried when I woke…I was afraid they had killed you." He looked back at her, eyes unusually sorrowful. "They told me you had. I suppose they were trying to break me."
She shook her head and actually laughed a little. "It doesn't matter now. I never expected to see you again." She suddenly remembered his rosary and removed it from around her neck, draping it over his. "I found it in your cell. It…made me remember your faith, and I hoped that maybe some of it would wear off…that maybe He'd actually hear me."
"Apparently He did." He pulled her close and she nearly cried as the past days' stress and worry fell away. The sun dipped below the trees and Sabere kissed him, utterly lost in amazement that fate had handed her back the life she thought was lost. For the first time in weeks, life could be considered perfect.
A/N: Guess who's back (back back) back again (gain gain) Kurt is back (back back) this story's over (over over) I don't like eminem that much, but hey, the story's done I can do whatever I want!!! Yes, Kurt's not dead, get over it. Don't complain (or at least not in a review). Please go read the sequel when it's up! Thanks for reviewing! I'm off!!!!! ~LA