Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men; I do own all OCs especially Samantha and Blaze. Ilehana Xavier belongs exclusively to Corrinth and is used with permission.

A/N: My brother, Knight of Avlee, told me the other day that I couldn't write an X-Men story without putting Blaze and Gambit in it. I've tried with this one, just coz I hate it when he's right, but I've failed. Never mind anyway, its like writing a story with nobody drinking alcohol in it (which again he's accused me of not being able to do!), its no fun without. So, sorry Knight of Avlee, but I'm not risking Blaze sulking at me in my head for the rest of ever if she didn't get some action! To the rest of you, enjoy!

Scene 05

Early morning sunlight splattered the rec. room as laughter filled the air. Bobby, returned briefly from his final year at university, sat enthroned on the sofa flanked on one side by Nightcrawler and on the other by the redheaded fire elemental Blaze. Ororo Munroe had a chair to herself, legs crossed and hands resting gracefully on her lap as she too joined in the laughter at Bobby's story.

"...And then the lecturer gets all flustered, and he's tryin' to explain himself again, but we all just get up and walk out!"

"Makes me glad I never taught you." Blaze, the Xavier School's languages teacher, smiled as Nightcrawler nodded in agreement.

"This lecturer should count himself lucky." Storm quipped, "At least he didn't have to try and teach from text books that were iced shut."

"Hey, that was an accident!" Bobby held up his hands in surrender as the black woman raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"And the wolf-whistles every time I turned my back on you for a month?"

"You should take that as a complement Cherie." Bobby's unexpected defender was Gambit, grinning slyly at Storm when she turned her gaze to where the Cajun was sat at a small table, deck of cards in his hand. "You know we'se all bin tempted..."

"Are we playing here or what Gambit?" The mutant named Vixen cut in before Storm could think of a suitably blunt reply to put Gambit in his place. The blonde haired Ilehana Xavier leant back comfortably in her seat, meeting the Cajun's unique red-on-black eyes with a coy smile. Logan, who was sat at the same table as his fellow card players, shot her a sharp glance; did she have to make it so easy for the Cajun to hit on her? Her telepathic response was tinted with feminine laughter. **Have a sense of humour, Logan. It's just a game. **

"You can play with Gambit all you want, Cherie." The Cajun replied true to form, dealing the cards out as he spoke. "All you have to do is ask...." He winked at her, and Ilehana grinned. Kneeling up and leaning on the back of the sofa, Blaze met Wolverine's eyes with a great deal of unexpected sympathy and shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe one day he'll grow up." Remy's long-time sidekick offered, but she didn't sound hopeful as she rested her chin on her hands, flicking long curls out of her face.

"I'd settle for him not cheatin' this round." Wolverine replied, putting his cigar back in his mouth and scooping his own cards up off the sticky table.

"Implyin' I was cheatin' last round." Remy retorted with a smile.

"Weren't you?" Kurt asked, intrigued.

"Course he was." Blaze answered for her friend with a grimace. "Don't think he even knows how to play a card game without cheating." Gambit shook his head, but didn't disagree.

"Gambit, Blaze?" Cyclops appeared at the door with a bluster of authority. He winced slightly as everyone in the rec. room turned to look at him at once. Had he grown an extra head or something? "The Professor wants to see you both right away."

"What have we done this time?" Blaze groaned as she accepted Bobby's hand to stand up on the sofa seat, before stepping athletically over the back to land on the floor. "We weren't that noisy when we got back last night, were we?"

"Oh no more than usual." Storm replied, "What was it you walked into this time Gambit, the side table?"

"Door frame." Gambit admitted sourly, rubbing his forehead. "I swear this Belle spikes my drinks." He ducked slightly as Blaze clipped him round the head for implying she'd do such a thing to him before they followed Cyclops to meet the Professor. Only when they'd gone did Bobby turn to Storm.

"I'm glad they're gettin' on again." He nodded towards the doorway, leaving no doubt who he was talking about. "Its too weird when they fight."

"You ain't the only one kid." Logan muttered, reaching to pick up Gambit's discarded playing cards and wincing at the man's luck. "You think it's been bad from where you are, you should try livin' with 'em for a while. An' still Blaze ain't sayin' nothin' about what happened to her in the first place. It just ain't natural..."

Professor Xavier was in the briefing room before them, squinting hard at a complex three-dimensional map on a large screen. He looked like he'd been awake half the night, and he had the hazy glint to his eye that all three X- Men recognised as a side effect to using Cerebro. It didn't take a great deal of intelligence to know that Xavier had a mission for them.

"You have all thought right." The telepathic Xavier turned his wheelchair to greet his protégés with a smile. "I had a telephone call last night from a friend of yours Blaze, one Matthew Cooper. I don't know if I told you that whilst you were away, he took you up on your offer of a visit to the school. He may only as yet be a political aide, but he is becoming a powerful ally for our cause."

"I'm glad." Blaze sounded genuinely impressed. "But why did he ring you?"

"A girl he knows has gone missing, a mutant who has recently developed her powers. He asked me to locate her using Cerebro." Blaze's impressed smile increased a notch, knowing that Matthew must have come a long way into the Professor's trust to know about that machine. Next to her Gambit scowled as Scott looked on impassively. It was plain to Xavier that not all the X-Men thought they needed the assistance of politicians.

"Have you found her?" Scott asked, to which Xavier nodded.

"And I want the three of you to go retrieve her, bring her back to the mansion. She's very afraid, and she'd be safest here."

"Why us?" Scott asked, blatantly meaning 'why them?' why Gambit and Blaze and not Storm or Kurt?

"Because without the, shall we say, unique skills that Gambit and Blaze profess, I feel you will have a few difficulties in getting anywhere near the child." Xavier cautioned Cyclops patiently. At his words, Scott frowned heavily, but Gambit's eyes began to sparkle. This sounded like his kinda mission...