Chapter 7: Discussions

                Ororo slipped quietly into the mansion from the back door in the kitchen and closed it gently, trying not to wake anyone.

                "Too late," came a dry voice from the kitchen table. "Some of us are still awake."

                She turned, to see Jean sitting at the kitchen table. "I made sure Evan got to bed," she said. "If he's not asleep right now I don't want to know about it. So how is Andi?"

                Ororo sighed. "Thank you, Jean. I completely forgot about him in my hurry. I will speak to him tomorrow, make sure he is not upset." She dropped into an empty kitchen chair. "Apparently Andi and another girl at the school have not been getting along. Andi's friend has been getting picked on terribly by this other girl Candace, and Andi has been quite upset with the bullying. Candace was expelled yesterday afternoon; she decided that Andi had 'told on her' and determined to make her pay. She lured Andi to Ryan's loft, where she was waiting for her with four male friends, and they beat her badly with belts. Andi will be out of the hospital tomorrow, but she will not be able to resume normal activity for a week. She is to stay in bed; I must see what I can arrange, to have someone with her at all times. She is going to be in terrible pain; and she sustained a nasty bump on the head as well. I wish it could be me; but as I have teaching duties here, as well as responsibility for my nephew, it will not be possible. I believe Emma has an apartment in the city; I will ask her if her affairs are in such a state as to allow her to spend a week with Andi."

                Jean's lips flattened into a thin line at the mention of Emma's name, and Ororo sighed. "I know you do not approve, Jean, but Emma cares for Andi, and she will not allow anything to happen to her." Ororo reached across the table and rested her hand on top of Jean's briefly. "I know infidelity can be a difficult thing to deal with, Jean, but it happened, and there is nothing that can be done about it now. Emma has not said anything, but I do believe she regrets what happened. Please try to forgive her for the…indiscretion, as you have forgiven Scott."

                Jean fidgeted nervously with her fingers. "I tried to, 'Ro," she said. "I took Charles to the courthouse for the trials, and I saw her there both times; but I can't forgive her, 'Ro, I just can't!"

                Ororo regarded her quietly for a minute. "Is it because of her indiscretion, or is it because you still think that perhaps she used her telepathic abilities to influence Scott?"

                Jean looked at Ororo, stunned. "How did you know that's what I was thinking?"

                Ororo just smiled. Jean sighed. "Okay, yes, the thought has crossed my mind," she sighed. "Just…well…give me some more time?"

                Ororo patted Jean's hand. "As much as you need," she said. "In the meantime, I shall try to get some sleep, and I will call Emma in the morning and ask her about her plans."

*                                                              *                                                              *

                Emma groaned as she heard the phone ringing. "Always!" she yelled in annoyance to the ceiling. "The phone always rings when I'm in the bath!" For a moment she considered not getting up, but as the phone rang again she hauled herself out, dripping, and walked nude from the bathroom down the hall to the kitchen. "Yes," she snapped irritably into the phone. "What is it?"

                Ororo's voice sounded slightly amused and slightly concerned. "Have I called at a bad time, Emma?"

                Emma grabbed her kitchen towel and rubbed at her hair. "Ororo? What's wrong?"

                "Is this a bad--"?

                "For you, never," Emma said. "What's wrong? Something at the school?"

                "Not here at Xavier's, no," Ororo said. "I was calling to see if you could take a week's vacation off from your work to keep an eye on Andi for me."

                "Huh?" Emma sat down in one of her kitchen chairs. "What happened to her?"

                "Andi has been having problems with a girl at Julliard. When the girl was expelled yesterday she got some of her friends together and they beat Andi badly. She spent last night in the hospital. The doctor says he can release her today, but she won't be able to return to school for a week, and she has to stay in bed during that time. Someone needs to be there to make sure she stays in bed, but I have classes here, and I cannot. I do not know of anyone else who might be able to. If you cannot, just tell me; I'll see if I can get a nurse for her--"

                "No, no, no," Emma said hastily. "I can do it; I'll be glad to! My god, as if her parents and Dr. Hebron weren't enough…" she trailed off. "How bad is it?"

                "They knocked her unconscious, stripped her, stretched her over a table, and beat her with belts, Emma. There were five of them. Andi has some extremely painful muscle bruising, cuts where the buckles dug into her skin, and a slight concussion from having had her head pushed into the wall to knock her out. Her friend Ryan and his uncle found her before her attackers could do…anything worse…to her…" Ororo's voice trailed off as she thought about what could have happened to her daughter.

                Emma stared off into space, stunned. "My God. By all means, bring her here. I'll be glad to let her stay here for a week." She hung up the phone, then picked up her cell phone and dialed her secretary's number. She told the guy to cancel or reschedule everything she had for the rest of the week, raising her eyebrow at the slightly exasperated tone of his voice, and then dialed up her maid service. She wrapped a towel around herself, opened the door for them when they came in, and sent them on the way to the spare room she sometimes used as a second bedroom. Then she returned to her bathroom and lowered herself into the bath, thankful that the tub was heated so she didn't have to take a cold one, and resumed her bath.

                By the time she got back out, the maids were gone. She took a quick peek into the spare bedroom on her way back to her own room, and nodded. The bed was set up and neatly made, and the room was clean, all ready for its occupant.

                Around eleven o'clock, there was a ring at the doorbell to her penthouse apartment. Emma opened it, to see Ororo supporting a still-very-groggy Andi by the elbow. She took Andi's other elbow, helped Ororo get the girl down the hall and into the spare bedroom, then let her fall into it. Andi went back to sleep almost immediately; Ororo pulled off her shoes and tucked her in, then dropped a kiss on Andi's forehead and tiptoed out of the room. An unnecessary precaution, Emma thought, since Andi didn't look like she was going to wake up anytime soon, but she tiptoed out after Ororo anyway and closed the door quietly.

                "Is she going to be like that the whole week?" Emma said quietly.

                Ororo shook her head. "The doctor gave her a fairly strong painkiller before she left the hospital. She will probably sleep most of the afternoon. Here." She dug into her purse and came up with two bottles of prescription pills. "I picked these up from the pharmacy on the way back. She's to take one of these every six hours. They're for the pain. And she's to stay in bed; except to use the bathroom." She walked into Emma's kitchen and put the pills on the table.

                "Here, have a cup of coffee," Emma said. "What about her homework?"

                Ororo sighed. "The school tells me Andi is considerably ahead of the other children in her studies, and is making good grades. She could do the makeup work when she gets back, or I can have Ryan drop off Andi's work and bring it over here."

                "Why not just have him bring the work here?"

                Ororo shook her head. "I saw his reaction to her in the hospital; it made me wonder what they have been doing at school. I do not think Andi is ready to enter into physical intimacy with a boy; so I am going to try to keep them apart until--" She stopped, because Emma was looking at her incredulously. "What?"

                Emma shook her head. "I was beginning to think Andi was going to turn into a nun," she said. "Good to know she has a healthy sexual appetite."

                Ororo stared at her in disbelief. "Andi is only nineteen. She should not be doing anything that brings up the question of 'sexual appetite'!"

                Emma laughed. "Oh come on, Ororo. Don't tell me you weren't interested in boys at nineteen."

                Ororo protested. 'What I was or was not thinking at nineteen is not the question here! With the abuse Andi has suffered she should not be engaging in such intimate activities! Her body needs time to heal!"

                Emma sighed. "If Andi wasn't ready for it, she wouldn't be thinking about it. Ororo, are you more upset that Andi might be endangering her health, or are you upset because you think she's not ready to have sex with a boy?"

                Ororo blinked. "Both, I guess," she said quietly.

                Emma leaned across the kitchen table. "Ororo, it doesn't really matter what you think. If her body wasn't healed from the abuse she's suffered it'll tell her so when they get into bed. I'm actually glad Andi's showing signs of returning to normal. She wouldn't be a normal teenager if she weren't feeling something for he boys around her. Let her experiment, Ororo. If she's not ready she wouldn't be doing it."

                Ororo's eyes widened. "Do you think she has already…slept with…Ryan?"

                Emma fudged. She'd ask Andi when the girl woke up, though she was fairly sure Andi already had. "I don't know. But even if she did, I'm pretty sure she took precautions. Andi's a sensible girl, and she knows about the birds and the bees."

                "Oh, dear," Ororo sighed. "Why are children so difficult?" Her eyes widened. "What about Evan? Do you think he has been having any feelings for any of the girls at the school?"

                Emma laughed. "I'm pretty sure he has, though he's just a bit young to have followed up on those impulses as of yet. It won't be long before he does, though. Don't worry, he probably knows what to do too." The worried wrinkle in Ororo's forehead didn't go away, though. Emma chuckled, and stood up. "Tell Ryan to bring Andi's work here. I'll keep an eye on them. The boy's so intimidated by me he won't try anything while I'm here."

                After the door closed behind Ororo she leaned against it and laughed. "Oh, my. Just like a mother." She grinned.

                She walked into Andi's room and put the bottles of pills on the table along with a glass of water, ready for her when she got up. AS she turned to leave, there was a stirring under the blankets, and Andi's voice said softly, "Emma?"

                She returned to the girl's bedside smiling cheerfully. "Well now. Awake?"

                Andi rolled over sleepily. "I heard…you and Mom," she said. "I haven't told her…Ryan and I are lovers."

                Emma grinned. "I figured as much."

                "I think Mom's mad."

                "No, she's not mad," Emma said thoughtfully. "She's doing what every mother does; worry. Andi, no mother's ever ready for her little girl to grow up. Especially when that growing up entails having adult relations with someone else."

                "But I'm…not her little girl," Andi said quietly.

                Emma sighed. "Andi, to her, you are. She loves you. She really, really loves you. You may not be her biological daughter, but you are her daughter nonetheless. Does that make sense?"

                Andi nodded. "I guess so," she said slowly. "Emma…"

                Emma patted her hand encouragingly as Andi paused. "Go on."

                "Umm… if I have questions about…well, stuff…will you answer them?"

                Emma looked puzzled. Andi fidgeted with the blankets. "Um…see, Mother and Father never really explained everything to me, I just sort of picked stuff up from having to watch them. But I don't…really know…about…" she broke off, blushing furiously.

                Emma smiled. "Wait a moment." She went down the hall to her room, unlocked her private bookcase, and took out a worn book. She took it back to Andi's bedroom. "Here," she said, holding it out to Andi. "Everything you need to know. It's not just the textbook definitions; it's literally everything you need to know. Read that, and if you have any questions after that let me know, okay?" She patted Andi's hand and stood. "Now, I know what hospital food tastes like, so I'm going to fix us some lunch. You need to eat before taking those pills, or you'll throw up." She left Andi engrossed in the book.