Xmen: Friends of Humanity

by Stormkpr

The first book in my trilogy. FOH are taking over earth and the X-men must fight back. WARNING - contains some disturbing scenes; not suitable for children. COMPLETED

9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A little while later, we sat around the table in the infirmary. Even though we'd only been on the planet for a month, it seemed like it had been ages since we'd had a meeting in the sterile, white walled room. I looked around at my teammates, seeing my own uncertainty and worries reflected in their eyes.

"I still do not understand how our readings were so far off," Hank said, shaking his head.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Beast," the Professor said. "We all should have realized it. We just need to note that next time a window of three hours is simply not enough. We need to allow for more time, next time."

"If there is a next time," Rogue muttered.

"What is the status of the engines?" the Professor asked. Rogue, Cyclops and Storm had been working on engine repair.

"Not very good," Cyclops said. His tone frightened me. I already knew from what I'd been hearing that the news was not going to be uplifting though. "They sustained heavy damage. To be honest, I just don't know how to fix them."

"None of us on board this ship do," Storm said. "The computer was able to walk us through some basic things we can do. But in order to repair such sophisticated machinery…..it would require an engineer. Someone who has experience with this."

Cyclops made an analogy, "It's like if you buy a new computer program. The 'help' menu will assist you in using the program. But if the entire computer were to break, you wouldn't be able to use the on-line help to fix it; you'd need a programmer. Or a repairman."

"But the entire ship isn't…um, broken, is it?" Jubilee asked. "I mean, the food replicators seem to be on-line, the computers are working, we have lights…."

"All of the basic ship functions are indeed working," Storm said. "With the major exception of the engines. The storm directly hit them. I just don't know what to do to fix them."

"Well, there is no reason to give up," the Professor said. "We have some brilliant minds on this ship." I noticed his gaze was in Hank's direction. "We can learn engineering. The computer might not be able to tell us how to become engineers but it can direct us to sources that can. Beast, would you select a team of 2 or 3, lead the team, learn what you can."

"Become engineers," Hank finished for him. "I would be glad to." I looked over at my best friend. He was about to become one busy man, given this project and the midwife duties he already had. "And I agree with you, Professor, that there is no reason to give up." He paused, "However, we do need to accept the fact that we might be here for a while. It could be a matter of months. However…if we cannot figure out how to repair the engines, or if the engines are beyond repair, it could be much longer." He didn't say it but I bet everyone else thought it. It could be *forever.*

The group then discussed who else should serve on the team along with Hank. We inferred that those with strong mathematical skills and analytical minds would be the best candidates. Right away the Professor suggested Cyclops, and Scott agreed. Storm offered to be on the team and the others agreed she'd be a good addition. "I'll also work on the team," the Professor said. "And then I think four people is more than enough."

I actually had been considering volunteering. I've always been good at math despite having no college degree. Before I was a computer programmer, I was an accountant. (I left the banking industry because it was so homophobic. The computer industry was much better.) But on the other hand, I didn't really * want* to do it (engineering doesn't interest me a great deal), and Storm and the Professor offered beforehand. Four people were more than enough for the team.

Once the engineering team had been decided upon, the conversation turned to our immediate surroundings. "We're on a different continent than the one we had been vacationing on," the Professor said. "Whereas it had been summer on the other side of the planet, it is now late autumn here. Average temperatures the last few weeks have been in the low 50's and 40's during the day and dropping to the 30's and 20's at night. This area has severe winters."

"Worse than New York?" Jean asked.

"Worse than Moscow?" Colossus asked.

The Professor smiled and shrugged. "On a par with either one. We'll want to make sure our heat continues to work." His tone turned more serious. "We are in an area proximate to humanoids though."

I gasped and a few others looked surprised. He continued, "Our sensors show that groups of humanoids are not far from the ship. And…because of the damage done to the engines, our cloaking device doesn't work anymore either."

We had a lengthy discussion of what to do when certain situations might arise with the humanoids. We talked for quite some time and I don't remember all the details, but here is basically what we decided. If we're approached by humanoids and they appear unfriendly and/or they attack us, we will retreat to the ship. We knew that the people on this planet would not have weaponry advanced enough to break through the ship's shields. And if, for some reason, they did, we had a number of different means to protect the ship that wouldn't harm anyone. Jean or the Professor could enclose the ship in a bubble, they also could use their minds to get the people to leave us alone, Jubilee could flash bright lights at the humanoids, Storm could create weather conditions that would force them to run for cover, etc, etc.

Of course we hoped not to have to do any of those things. And mainly, we hoped to avoid contact with the inhabitants. Our being here had huge potential to mess with their natural evolution. Having any contact with us, even seeing our starship, could create massive changes in their history. It sounds like something out of some science fiction show, but they could see us with our starship and surmise that we are gods. (Which wouldn't exactly be a bad change of pace, given how we were treated on earth.) Deciding to worship us would be a massive change in their history. But even if our presence didn't cause such a major disruption as that, we would still be a disturbance and I really felt bad at the thought of that. We didn't choose to be stranded here, but still.

We discussed what to do in the event that the natives were friendly. Of course we knew they would speak a language different than ours, but the Professor and Jean's minds would allow us to communicate. Plus, body language would indicate how they felt about us. If they started throwing stones at us we could surmise they were hostile. But what if they had no desire to harm us? Would communication be appropriate then? We had much discussion around this. We decided that if the inhabitant spot us and do nothing to indicate hostility, we would be pleasant but try to avoid contact.

We knew that was a very idealistic plan. There was a good chance that they would be curious and want to know more about us; avoiding contact might not be possible. We didn't quite settle on what we would do on that event. Should we retreat to the ship and use our non-violent avoidance techniques? Would doing so just create a bigger disruption in their natural evolution then if we did not try to avoid them? There just weren't an easy answers.

Our discussion lasted for many hours. I think everyone was just glad we had survived the crash. Our reactions to other things differed considerably. A few people expressed negativity at the thought of being stuck here (as opposed to at the beautiful campground) for months on end while we tried to figure out how to repair our engines. Others were glad to still be on the planet's surface, even if this area was not as scenic or temperate as the area we left.

I'm not sure how I felt. I hadn't exactly been looking forward to the long journey back towards earth but the thought of it hadn't bothered me in the least, either. I liked the outdoors well enough, and even if this area wasn't as idyllic as the one we left, it would be nice to still be able to get fresh air.

Speaking of fresh air, by the time we finished our discussion, it was evening on the area of planet we were now stranded on. Wolverine announced his intention to sleep outside again.

"I wouldn't advise it, Logan," the Professor said. "It's supposed to get down to 20 degrees tonight."

"I can handle it," Wolverine muttered.

"Don't be ridiculous," Hank said. "Despite your healing factor, I cannot imagine it would be the least bit comfortable outside tonight."

"Does the air in here bother you that much, sugar?" Rogue asked, with a smile.

Storm got an idea, "Logan, I could use my powers to make it warmer out-" she stopped herself. "Of course, what am I saying? Using my powers to influence the weather here would be interference, and would not be appropriate for a reason such as this."

"I can handle cold," Wolverine said flatly. Man, he looked to be in a foul mood. I wasn't sure if he was angry at being taken away from our vacation spot or if this was just his general grumpiness. Always hard to tell with him if he's just being his normal crabby self or if something is really making him upset.

Cyclops shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea for anyone to sleep outside tonight. This area is new to us and we don't know what's out there. Our sensors do show some large animals in the vicinity." Wolverine opened his mouth to speak but Cyclops cut him off, "Yeah, we know you can handle any large animal, but again that would be interference."

The Professor said, with finality, "Logan, please just stay inside this first night with everyone until we get a better handle on the situation."

Wolverine crossed his arms over his chest, looking none too pleased. "Alright," he grumbled.

So that was it for our meeting.

---

Hank and I spent some time talking that evening in his room. He said we would just have to see what happens, both with getting the engines repaired as well as with any contact with the natives.

"I know you're dying to learn more about the natives," I said.

"I am," he confessed. "I would love to study them, their culture, their ways. The scientist in me is abuzz with the thought of learning about these people. But as much as I want that, I hope and pray we do not have any contact with them. It is not right to disrupt their evolution."

"I know," I said. "But we might not have a choice if they come find us. It's pretty darn unlikely that they're going to stumble upon our starship, and just shrug and walk off."

Hank nodded. "True. Although one never knows. Our minds have been influenced by science fiction. But perhaps they are xenophobes and have no desire to make any contact with others. Perhaps they will see our starship and be completely uninterested."

"You never know. Hey, you are going to be one busy guy between being appointed chief engineer-in-training, given that you're already the village midwife."

Hank smiled. "Better too busy than not busy enough. Jubilee is due in just over four weeks"

That night, I went to bed as normal but couldn't sleep. There wasn't anything in particular bothering me; I just get this way sometimes and sleep fails me. I've done a lot of tossing and turning in bed over the years. I'm not totally sure why. I think maybe it's because I'm not the calmest person and getting to a relaxed state of mind isn't my thing. Hank says I should try meditation. I know he's right but I tried it a few times and couldn't get into it.

When an insomniac night happens, I generally reach a point where I know I'm not getting back to sleep anytime soon. Sometimes I feel like getting up. So that's what happened to me that night. The bed may've been more comfortable than the sleeping bag I'd used the for the past month but it wasn't helping either.

I sat up in bed and tried to decide what to do with the rest of the night. I got the idea that I wanted some hot tea, so I made my way to the infirmary to get at the replicator. At night, we shut off the lights on the ship, so I carried a flashlight to help me reach sick bay. The narrow beam of light cast by the flashlight didn't penetrate the darkness well. Sometimes I have an overactive imagination and I did feel a bit creeped out. I don't have the mental powers of some of my other X-men, but I sensed I was not alone. I fought to remain calm and keep breathing as I walked to sick bay. Maybe I wasn't alone. That would be ok. I can always use my powers against an enemy.

As I turned the hallway corner that would take me from the sleeping quarters to sick bay, I glimpsed the reflection of another light. I continued to walk down the hall. As I got closer to the infirmary, I realized that the light was coming from sick bay itself. I breathed a sigh of relief. One of my fellow X-men obviously was also having a sleepless night. I pressed a button, sliding the door to sick bay away.

"Bobby!" Rogue turned around, looking like the deer caught in the headlights.

"Hi, Rogue," I said. I glanced around. She was standing in front of the replicator, almost as if trying to block it from my view. Her eyes were wide and I detected a faint blush on her cheeks.

"I'm having trouble sleeping so I came in here to get some tea," I explained.

"Oh," she said. You don't often see Rogue at a loss for words. "Uh, I'll be outta here in a just a few minutes." She paused. "Maybe I can just come get you when I'm done here."

I had to smile. What was she hiding? If she hadn't looked so guilty about something I wouldn't have pursued this but at this point I had to know. "What are you doing up?" I said, keeping my tone light.

"Oh, I'm just, um…..Getting myself a snack."

"What are you going to snack on?" I asked, craning my head around, trying to see the replicator that Rogue's body was obviously attempting to block.

"Nuthin'" she said, coyly.

"Oh, come on," I probed.

"What's with that look on your face? Wouldya git outta here and give a girl some privacy?"

"I would, Rogue," I grinned, "`Cept you look so darn guilty I really want to know what you're replicating!"

"Git outta here, Drake! None of your business."

"Hmmmmm," I said thoughtfully. "You know, we're only supposed to replicate * necessary* supplies now, since we're conserving dilithium. You wouldn't happen to be replicating something you're not supposed to, would you, Rogue?"

"Fuck you, Drake," she said, this time not being able to resist smiling herself. She added, "We now got enough dilithium for 7 years. In fact, it'll be a lot more than 7 years depending on how long we're stuck here, since we ain't usin the cloaking device or travelin' through space! So we're allowed to be more lax now."

"Where didja hear that? I could swear I heard Cyclops say at the meeting today that we still need to conserve dilithium, even though we have a lot of it."

Rogue threw her hands up in the air though she was still smiling. "Okay. You caught me! I'm disobeying orders. Turn me in, if you want to! I'll get a stern talking-to from the Professor or maybe they'll write me up."

"Actually, I'm really dying to know what you're being so secretive about. You let me in on it and I promise I won't make a peep about this." I was still smiling and I made sure I didn't sound threatening. I just had to know!

"Okay," she said. "It's underwear. I'm replicating myself some underwear. Okay?"

"My gut tells me you're not replicating just any underwear."

"Fuck you," she said, laughing as she threw the pattern at me. (Whenever you're going to make something that he replicator has not before created, you need to feed a pattern to it. Apparently Rogue had printed up her pattern and that's what she whipped at me.)

I looked at the pattern. "Whoa! You're going to catch the death of cold in that!" I teased, as I looked at the alluring lingerie pattern. "Gambit will like this."

"Don't you know it, sugar!" she said, proudly. "Now promise you won't tell?" she asked, her voice switching to a tone sweet as spun sugar.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," I said. We laughed together a bit more and I forgot about the tea I'd come for.

---

The days passed slowly. The Professor, Hank, Cyclops and Storm spent huge chunks of time learning about engineering. They approached the project as if it were their full time job and worked 8-10 hours every day on it. They met regularly, sitting around the computer in sick bay, discussing their findings and trying to learn engineering inside out. I was glad I hadn't been picked for the team because Hank told me it was dull and dry work, even for people who loved to learn and were good at math. He told me he much preferred his "midwife" job.

One day I was sitting next to Storm during lunch and I casually asked her how it was going. She smiled and said, "About as well as can be expected. Just keep in mind that people study for years under experienced teachers to become engineers. And our teacher is only a computer, which does not help the situation, no matter how user-friendly the computer is."

"If you had to take a wild guess…." I began.

She knew what I was asking and shook her head. "Not any time soon, Bobby. We could be here for many months. Even a year is not an unreasonable estimate. At this point, we still do not even know if we have—or can replicate-everything we need to make the repairs."

I nodded. "It ain't so bad here. Things could always be worse."

Busy as they were, the engineering team did make time to cautiously explore the outdoors, as did the rest of us. What can I say about our surroundings? They weren't bad. But they sure weren't on a par with that paradise we just left. The days were nippy, but if you bundled yourself up in a jacket, gloves and hat, you were ok. Nights, however, were very cold and there was no talk of sleeping outdoors again, not even from Wolverine. Rain was fairly frequent as were occasional storms. As always, our Storm was reluctant to "fix" the weather. Aside from the fact that she was indoors working for the better part of the day, changing the weather would still be unnecessary interference with the planet.

Our ship had landed on (or, more accurately, been floated to) a sandy beach. Looking at the rhythmic waves crashing, I mused that this would make a beautiful respite during the summer. The beach led off into what I would call a forest. Most of the greenery, however, had lost its leaves; most of the trees and bushes were bare. Lots of trees and other shrubbery clustered together densely; the forest was wide and immense. A few times we tried to walk around it but couldn't. It stretched for miles and miles in each direction. One day, perhaps just a couple days after our "arrival", Rogue expressed a desire to do some exploration via flying.

"No, Rogue," Jean said softly and slowly. "It's too dangerous. There are too many people."

"Really? Lotsa people? Near here?" Rogue asked, her curiosity piqued. (Mine was too.)

"I think so. I'd ask the Professor what he sensed, but he's been working so much that I hate to disturb him. But I sense that there are many, many people. And they are not that far from here. They're sure to see you if you fly."

"Maybe dey will jus think she some kinda exotic bird," Gambit joked. Rogue threw him a sour look.

Jean didn't even try to smile. Actually, she looked concerned. "I hope we can avoid contact with them. I hope they don't come our way. I hate the thought of us crashing in here and messing up some species' natural process. It's just not right."

"You look worried," I said.

"I fear that we might not be able to avoid contact, especially given that it doesn't look like we're leaving any time soon."

Her words left me with an ominous sense of dread.

Not long after this conversation, a few members of the group had an adventure in the forest which could have turned deadly. Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit and Colossus had decided to explore the forest, something I was not eager to do. Their accounts of the situation varied a little bit but apparently a few large animals decided to attack them! They described the animals as perhaps akin to tigers, and said there had been 4 or 5 of them. Fortunately the group got away basically unscathed. The animals charged, but with Wolverine's claws, Colossus's indestructibility, Rogue's strength and Gambit's ability to create small explosions, the group was never in any real danger. Colossus and Wolverine had born the brunt of the animals' charging. Colossus can't be harmed by hardly anything when he changes into his metal form, so he was undamaged. Wolverine had been scraped by some of the animals' claws, but his healing power repaired him before he even reached camp.

Jean, Jubilee and I were all bit scared when we listened to their description of the confrontation, but the four kept reassuring us that they were fine and not to worry. We hoped these animals would stay in the forest. Whenever I took walks along the beach now, I was extra alert. Storm suggested that no one ever go off by themselves, so the group then followed the "buddy system." In some way, I guess it was silly of me to worry. My powers were strong; I could freeze any predators inside blocks of ice in a matter of seconds. But if there were dozens of attackers or if I was taken by surprise….it would not be so easy.

---

One evening after dinner, the X-men held a baby shower for Jubilee. Although their need to conserve energy was no longer as pressing, they rarely replicated junk food. An exception was made this time, and slices of cake and ice cream were passed around.

The baby shower took place in the X-men's new rec room. Iceman and Jean had simply turned the meeting room into a recreation room one day. The group had decided that they needed a lounge, as there was nowhere on the ship to just "hang out." The mansion used to have a rec room. People tended to congregate in the infirmary or sometimes the gym, but those places had no comfortable chairs for people to relax in. Iceman had located two sofas and five recliners from elsewhere on the ship, and Jean used her powers to float the comfortable furniture into the new rec room. The meeting room's table was moved to the side and another one of the food replicators was installed there. The group unanimously liked their new lounge.

Prior to the shower, the Professor had given the group some guidelines. They wanted to give Jubilee a nice shower and all the supplies she would need, but conserving dilithium still was a priority. Jubilee understood this and knew the gifts would not be extravagant. However, a play pen had been replicated and it was placed in the rec room, as Scott and Jean's baby would certainly use it too. Several well-made toys and rattles were presented to Jubilee as well.

"Oh, I love this! I think this will be really useful," Jubilee enthused. Jean had created a baby carrier, which would hold the infant against Jubilee's chest or back.

"See," Jean said excitedly, "your hands will be free, so you can move around ok with the baby. And this is neat too, because it will hold her close to your body so you can share warmth."

"Is this a hint, Jean, on what you're going to want soon?" Bobby teased. Jean was now "showing"; anyone who looked closely enough at the small bulge in her midsection could tell that she was expecting.

Rogue replicated a few different baby outfits. "Look at the pattern on this jumper!" Jubilee said. "It's so cute. This is some really nice work, Rogue."

"Why thank you, ma'am," Rogue said.

Bobby added, "Rogue is quite good at replicating interesting articles of clothing." He winked at Gambit as he said it. Gambit stifled a giggle, as Rogue kicked Bobby under the table.

The mood at the shower was perhaps not as festive as it had been, say, at their Christmas celebration. The Professor, Cyclops, Storm and Beast were tired and a bit frustrated from their many hours at work and miniscule progress. A few members of the group were more shaken by Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, and Colossus's encounter in the woods than they wanted to admit. The drab weather wasn't helping either. And Beast took another glance at Jubilee's form. Her birth plan was ready to go; everyone who would be assisting in it understood their roles. But he kept going back to Jubilee's tiny frame. The birth could be quite an ordeal.

---

"So what you tink about all dis baby stuff, chere?" Gambit asked Rogue. The couple sat on the bridge one evening, Rogue in Remy's lap. They came to the bridge for some privacy as half the group was relaxing together in the rec room. Their hands were leisurely playing with each other's hands, fingers, arms, elbows as they talked. "You ever think of havin' one yourself?"

"I dunno, Remy. I never thought before that I'd be able to touch anybody." She paused, "And we were lucky `cause those first few times we didn't use any protection and I totally forgot that I could get pregnant."

"I forgot too, chere." For an instant, Gambit's mind went to the condoms that he kept in his pocket. He carried them with him since he and Rogue never knew when the mood would strike.

"I sure wasn't used to it since what we used to do before I could never get pregnant from. But anyway. We're outta the frying pan now." Rogue had menstruated since those first passionate days with Gambit, and she was thankful for that. She turned her attention to Gambit's hair and began playing with it, twirling it in her fingers. "You know, I wonder if I even * can* have children though. We can touch because of this collar. But what about having a baby? Is it gonna even be able to grow inside me or will my absorption powers….?" She let her voice trail off.

"Dat is a question we should ask Hank, chere. Dat is…if we ever do wanna have children."

Rogue smiled. "Well I don't know yet if I even want them, but if I do, Mister….I want a weddin' ring on my finger first!" She hadn't meant to come on so strong. She had no immediate desire to marry, so she switched to a lighter tone of voice. "But so…what do you think of this whole baby thing yourself, Cajun?"

"Gambit likes children. He thinks he gonna want some of his own, but he not dying to have them now."

Rogue shrugged. "I guess that's pretty much how I feel, too. I wouldn't mind havin' one someday, but not anytime soon. Besides," her voice became pensive, "I mean, I'm always gonna worry too. What if I can get pregnant but my powers make me have a miscarriage each time?" She looked out through the big picture window of the bridge. The window faced towards the sea the X-men's ship had narrowly escaped being thrown into. Rogue looked at the endless expanse of blue water meeting blue sky.

"Chere, don't worry about it till we decide is time dat we want children. And then who knows what Hank say? Maybe it is possible. I hope it is dough."

"If it ain't, we could always adopt," she said, turning her head back to look at Gambit again. She laced her fingers through his.

"`Dough not if we stuck here on dis planet the rest of our lives," Gambit grumbled.

"Don't even say such a thing, Swamp Rat! We won't be stuck here forever. But….if we ever do go back to earth, I don't see anyone letting two mutants adopt children, either."

"Maybe we allowed to adopt mutant children," Gambit suggested. "Ole Cyke and Jubilee never got adopted. And Cyke told us dat when he went back to visit his old orphanage, it was the mutant kids who were the last ones to get adopted."

Rogue nodded grimly. "Yeah, but if FOH is still in power when we get back to earth, we ain't gonna be allowed to adopt anyone, mutant or not."

"Shit, we'll be lucky if we ain't rounded up into camps and taken away!" Gambit paused, "Chere, let's not talk of dis stuff anymore. It jus' make us depressed."

"You're right. Well….let's think of something happy. Like…." it popped into her head, "like the last time we went to Mardi Gras!"

Gambit leaned his head back and sighed with happiness. "Dat last one was one of de best," he reminisced. "Hotter `en hell, unlike dis freezing place. I can still smell the fried catfish and hear the music…."

"And see all those cool costumes!" Rogue mused. She stroked Remy's face, his stubbly chin. "And I like that we had a week together in that hotel room. No interruptions, no Magneto, no FOH, none of that shit."

"Gambit `specially liked the nights in dat hotel room, chere," he murmured, reaching for one of Rogue's exploring fingers and kissing it. "We used a lot of satin and a lot of latex gloves during dat vacation. `Dough what we got now even better."

"I never dreamed it could be like this," Rogue said. She broke off their embrace for a second to reach into her tote bag for the collar she carried with her when she and Gambit went off like this. Gambit smiled, sensing he would indeed be using one of the condoms he carried with him that evening.

---

I had been playing cards in the rec room with Gambit and Jubilee on a cold day when it happened. We heard Rogue and Colossus running up the entrance to the ship and making a ruckus. The three of us exchanged looks with each other and got up to investigate what was going on. The others joined us too until we all met in the hallway.

"We saw people!" Colossus exclaimed.

"There were people out there!" Rogue added.

We got them to calm down, and the group assembled in the lounge to hear their story. Basically, Rogue and Colossus told us that they'd been getting some fresh air outside when they heard a sound. They noticed, off in the distance, about 3 or 4 humanoids looking at them from behind some bushes. They could hear the natives talking with each other in a strange tongue, pointing to Rogue and Colossus and pointing to the starship.

"I know we're supposta avoid contact," Rogue said. "We probably should've right away turned back to the ship and all. But I wanted to get a better look. I took a few steps towards them but they ran off."

Rogue and Colossus did what they could to describe the people. "We only see them for a few seconds," Colossus explained. "And they were far off, and my eyesight not so good for long distances." They said that the people appeared to be short and stocky, though it was hard to tell how stocky because they were bundled in layers of clothing on this cold day. They were holding items in their arms but Rogue and Colossus did not know what those items were.

"I couldn't tell if they were men or women," Rogue said. "Like he said, we only saw `em for a few seconds and they were wearing lots of layers of clothes, and things like hats and scarves. But that's the description from what I could see."

"It is also difficult to say if they scared or fascinated by us," Colossus added.

We talked this over and the group decided to try to stay indoors the next few days. The people might come back with others to investigate. Of course we knew that even if we remained indoors, most likely the natives would want to check out our ship since it obviously was such a foreign object to them.

Our alternatives were limited. The cloaking device was still not repaired, and it did not look as if it would be fixed anytime soon. Jean and the Professor could always use their mental powers to turn the natives away or make them think that they saw nothing out of the ordinary. The two had much discussion over which would be a worse type of interference in their development, but they agreed that attempting to disrupt their minds in this way was a bigger sin. Indeed, they did not even know if their powers would work on these humanoids. It was not inconceivable that they wouldn't work, given that Storm could not control the atmospheric storms.

Speaking of Storm, she proposed creating a thick mist around the ship, and we discussed that at length too. But a mist could cause just as much wonder and speculation among the natives as the sight of our ship. Besides, the mist would not prevent adventurous ones from exploring and still running into (literally) the ship. Every option that came up amounted to interference, and we never knew which would be the lesser evil. "That's the bottom line," Cyclops summed up. "We just don't know which choice is going to turn out to be better or worse for the natives."

Strangely, after all this discussion that afternoon, no humanoids returned during the next few days. We dutifully remained indoors but nothing happened. Forbidding ourselves to go outside wasn't so bad, as the temperature fell to the mid 20's anyway. We had set up one monitor in the rec room to allow us to view the area surrounding our ship, and we spent many hours looking at, well, nothing.

After more days passed, we decided to allow ourselves to go outside as we wanted, on the condition that we traveled in groups of two or more. Cold as it was outside, we did look forward to fresh air. The sun came out that day as well. After breakfast, Wolverine, Jubilee, Jean and I decided to take a walk. The others just warned us to be careful, and we departed the ship down the exit ramp.

"Brrrr…I forgot how cold it gets out here!" Jubilee exclaimed, pulling her red scarf around her face. We walked along the beach, which made for a very chilly walk but kept us from heading into the forest.

"But feel that sun," Wolverine said, tilting his head up. The sun was indeed bright and gave off some warmth despite the cold air. He took a deep breath. "It is good to be outdoors."

"The air here really is delicious," Jean said as we walked. "From what I remember, the air on earth is nowhere near as….pure."

"There definitely is a difference, darlin'. I can smell the chemicals and pollution crap in the air on earth. This air has almost none of that."

We continued to walk, keeping our pace a bit slower so Jubilee could keep up with us. "Sorry if I'm holding you up," Jubilee said.

"Don't worry about it, kid," Wolverine said.

"When I get bigger, I'm going to walk the same way you do," Jean said, smiling.

"You mean `waddle', not `walk'," Jubilee joked. I extended my hand and she took it. Her gloved hand felt warm against mine. She and I walked behind Wolverine and Jean. Holding her hand felt pleasant, natural.

We continued on for several minutes. Jean pointed upwards as several birds flew by, high above us. "I wonder what they are," she murmured. "From here they look not unlike seagulls."

"You know, I bet this place is kinda pretty in the summer," Jubilee said. "Maybe not like the other place we stayed at, but I bet this beach is nice when the sun's on the water and the temperature's warm."

"I bet you're right," I said, "but it would be nice if we could be outta here before the-" Jubilee and I literally bumped into Jean and Wolverine, as both of our older teammates had stopped in their tracks.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I sense others," Jean whispered.

"I can smell them," Wolverine added.

Jubilee and I were quiet. We darted our heads and eyes around but I didn't see anything. I looked at Jean and Wolverine. He was sniffing in the direction of the forest. Jean's eyes were closed, concentrating. After a few moments, she breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't sense any animus," she said quietly. "I sense….goodness."

"You never can be sure," Wolverine said in a low voice. "We need to be on our toes, Red." The four of us pretty much froze there, until Wolverine pointed in the direction of the forest. "There they are."

My eyesight is pretty strong. Off in the distance, I could see figures approaching us. It was hard to tell how many, but as they got closer I counted four.

Jean spoke, "I just told the Professor. He suggests we use our instincts on this."

"Y-You're sure they're not harmful?" Jubilee asked, her hands placed protectively on her abdomen.

"I sense only curiosity and no desire to hurt us."

"They could be shielding something from you, Jean," Wolverine said. "We don't know what their minds are capable of. Maybe they have some ability to fake you out." His body was tense and alert, ready to protect and defend.

The four people continued to approach us. They walked at a steady and consistent pace, neither hurrying nor sauntering.

"If they try something," Wolverine said quietly, "Bobby, you and I will hold `em off. Jean, you create a bubble around yourself and Jubilee, and get back to the ship."

"Okay," I said, getting prepared to turn into Iceman if I had to. Unless these four natives had some fantastic powers, they would not stand a chance against Wolverine's claws and my ice throwing.

"Okay, Logan," Jean said, "but I am now very certain that they will not attack us. And you will not hurt them, because there is no reason to."

Despite Jean's words, Wolverine looked ready to pounce. I hoped his appearance, clearly battle-ready, would not frighten the people off. As they made their way closer, I figured that any of the four of us might look strange and possibly quite scary, depending on what they were used to. I peered at the humanoids. I noticed that they were wrapped in wintry clothing. Two of them wore fur and the others had on something that looked akin to leather. Their heads were wrapped with the warm coverings which made it difficult to get a good look at them.

The closer they got, I noticed that they were short, as Rogue and Colossus had told us. Jubilee was about 5 feet tall, and I could tell that none of them were going to be taller than her. They continued to walk towards us, stopping when they were roughly 15 feet away from us. They looked at us, with wonder in their eyes.

One of the natives said something to us. Of course it was in a language we could not understand. The voice sounded female to me. She repeated whatever it was that she said, speaking rapidly and in a somewhat high pitched tongue.

Jean spoke to us, "I am going to use my mind to communicate that we are friendly and we come in peace," she said. Wolverine still looked ready to fight, but I found myself relaxing.

"They welcome us," Jean said, turning to us. She then turned back towards the natives and continued to talk to them telepathically.

"They want to know our names and where we come from," she added, facing us again, after a few moments. "They ask us if we need anything."

Jean turned back to the natives and said her name. "Jean," she repeated. She then gestured for us to do the same and we did so, each of us slowly saying their name. "Bobby….Jubilee….Wolverine." Wolverine didn't look too happy with the introductions, but he went along with it. I had no doubt, however, that he was still extremely alert and would be ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

The natives then attempted to repeat our names but stumbled over the syllables, especially `Wolverine' and `Jubilee.' They then gave their names. I didn't catch them, but they were one or two syllables each and, of course, very foreign sounding to me. After each had spoken, from their voices I thought that two were male and two female. It still was hard to tell judging from anything else since they were all dressed so similarly. The two who's voices had sounded female were slightly shorter than the other two. Seeing their faces under the hats and scarves was difficult though.

One of them pointed at Jubilee, and the other natives looked at her with interest. During that split second, I wondered why they might single her out. I thought I had the reason when I took another glance at their faces. Under those scarves and everything else they were bundled up in, it did appear as if their faces were Asian-looking. As I stared even closer, I thought their eyes resembled those of Asians'.

But then one of the people pointed at Jubilee's belly. Even under her heavy coat, she was obviously pregnant. The native stepped closer to her. I eyed Wolverine and he looked ready to charge. "Logan, it's ok," Jean whispered. Jubilee looked a bit nervous but fine.

The native, who was female, I think, placed her hand on Jubilee's belly. She said something to the others and then said something to Jean. One by one, her three companions went up to Jubilee and touched their hands to her belly for a few seconds each. Each said something to her.

"What, don't any of your people ever get pregnant?" Jubilee asked. She sounded annoyed, but she was smiling.

"It is a tradition of theirs," Jean explained after having an exchange with the natives, "whenever they see a pregnant woman, they welcome her in this fashion. They consider it a blessing on their people. Expectant mothers are a sign of a healthy people, a sign of good luck and favor from the gods."

"Well, whatever," Jubilee said, smiling.

The people said something to Jubilee. Jean, again, spoke into their minds and then translated for us. "They are asking you if you need anything in preparation for the baby. I told them that we have everything we need but we thank them for their kind offer."

Basically, the four natives continued to stare at us in awe and talk among themselves excitedly. Our appearances had to be so odd to them. Jubilee, of course, resembled them the most in facial features and body size, though Jubilee was usually slender and these people did appear stocky. The rest of us must've looked quite odd. Wolverine was short for a North American man, but he was tall compared to these people. His stocky build would fit right in, but I wonder what they made of his face. Jean and I must have looked stranger still, being taller and of fairly medium or slender shapes. Studying their faces, I thought of how mine really contrasted with theirs. I had the crease in my eyelids that they lacked, my nose stood out, my face oval-shaped, and skin pale. Their skin was darker, their faces mostly flat and round.

The four natives then repeated the blessing they'd given to Jubilee by also touching Jean's midsection in a similar way. "I told them that I'm pregnant too," she explained. More thoughts were exchanged between Jean and the people. "They're asking if we're from the same group as the two others they saw a few days ago are. They mean Rogue and Colossus, and I told them yes." The people continued to talk to Jean and she continued to read their minds. "Wow," Jean murmured. "Basically, they want to know everything about us. They want to meet everyone from our…tribe, or whatever you'd call it, and get to know us."

We four X-men exchanged looks. "I am going to update the Professor and see what he thinks," Jean said. She first communicated something to the natives. They then ceased speaking to her as she closed her eyes and "spoke" with the Professor. I continued to look at the people, and my eyes met one of the native's eyes. I smiled at him and he returned my smile. Jubilee was doing the same thing, smiling and looking pleasant. Wolverine didn't smile and still looked wary, though less so than he had. I could tell from the way the people looked at Wolverine that they were a bit afraid of him. I continued to smile and look as friendly as I could. My gut was telling me that Jean was right and these people were very nice. Besides, Jean's powers were always right.

Jean and the Professor continued their dialog for a few minutes. I wondered if they were having a disagreement. Jean finally turned to us. "He thinks we should decline their offer. His direction is to make up an excuse and return to the ship."

"I agree with him," Wolverine said. Jean's eyes told me she did not. It was clear as day that she wanted to get to know these people better. My mind thought back to Hank on board the ship and knew he'd be dying to hear all about this. I imagined the Professor was telling the others what was going on here, and bet Hank was wishing he had Nightcrawler's power to teleport right here, right now.

The natives continued to look at us, and especially Jean. Their conversation with her began again, and she spoke with them for quite some time. As I watched the humanoids, I noted that they did not appear to have a leader, not as far as I could tell. One woman seemed to speak a bit more often than the others, but all four of them took part in the conversation. The four turned towards each other and seemed to be having their own discussion for a minute.

Jean then looked at us. "I made up an excuse," she said. "I told them that our leader would like us to return. They kept pressing me for a reason and they were a bit hurt that we declined their hospitality. I just kept telling them that we did not wish to be a burden on them and that the members of our tribe are all very shy and prefer to not be in contact with others. They didn't understand that at all but it was the best I could do." She paused, "So, come on," she said, turning back the way we had come. "I will tell them `goodbye.'" She did so, and the four said some words to us. "They're saying goodbye too." Jean then led us away.

The four of us walked back to the ship. Wolverine occasionally turned his head or sniffed the air, ensuring that we were not being followed. No need to say what we talked about on our way back to the ship, or what the other 7 members of our "tribe" wanted to hear about the second we returned to the ship.

"Their minds were so open and peaceful, it was incredible," Jean said. "It's like how the air on this planet is so much more pure and unpolluted than the air on earth. These people's minds were so clear. The thought of being hostile to-or afraid of-strangers was not even considered by them. The very idea of being wary of strangers was insane to them."

---

The 11 of us sat in the rec room. I smiled, thinking what a good idea I'd had to put this room together and how frequently it was now used. It just was so much cozier than the infirmary. Six of us sat on the two sofas; everyone else had a recliner to him- or herself. We'd arranged the furniture so that we were roughly in a circle. I thought of how most family living rooms had the furniture arranged facing the TV. We, of course, had no TV so the furniture formed a circle. A small round table and a few folding chairs had been moved into the lounge as well. I also had moved some of the seedlings I was tending to into the rec room to give it a homier feel. My goal would be to eventually, somehow get some sort of art work or something to brighten the walls.

And please, no jokes about gay stereotypes right now. : ) (Rogue and Gambit had teased me endlessly along those lines, calling me the ship's Interior Decorator. But I knew their teasing was meant in a very friendly way, so I didn't mind.)

Jean, Wolverine, Jubilee and I each told our version of the encounter to the group and answered everyone's questions as best as we could. People leaned forward in their seats, riveted to our words.

"I was really touched when they all put their hands on me," Jubilee said.

Hank piped up, clearly hanging on our every words, "That is wonderful. Fascinating. Did you know that if a pregnant woman gets into water with dolphins, they'll circulate around her belly and echolocate on it?"

"Uh, no I didn't know," I said. "And what the hell is `echolocate'?"

Jubilee ignored my comment and went on, "I was just surprised that they didn't react more to how weird we must look," Jubilee said.

Jean shook her head. "See, these people are so amazing. We do look very different from everyone in their tribe but the difference didn't scare them at all. They were curious about it, but not the least bit worried."

"Heck, we could use people with that attitude towards mutants back on earth," Rogue said.

"There was only one time when any of them communicated something that….gave me pause," Jean said. "One of them asked me, `You are not with those demons we heard of, are you?' I asked him what he had meant. He told me that their tribe had been hearing rumors from tribes far to the east that there were groups of demons-for lack of a better word-who were spreading violence and basically waging war on groups of people. He said he didn't know if it was true or not, and that violence and war were concepts that had not even known of before these rumors." She paused. "The odd thing was all I did was simply assure him we were not those demons and would not wage any war…..and he just believed me like that. The people are very naive, trusting, welcoming of strangers…." Jean went on.

She told the group what she had told Jubilee, Wolverine and I on our walk back to the ship. As she mentally conversed with the natives, she had entered their minds to learn a bit about their lives. Her powers allowed her to take a peak into their day to day activities and their feelings. "They live in a tribe of about 150-200 people. They are centered in a clearing inside the forest, and they live in caves and tents. Their society is very peaceful and gentle. They have no concept of war, and the only weapons they have, they use for hunting. Their tribe's leader is an elderly woman, though they also have a group of about 20 men and women who make some decisions for the group and solve disputes. I was so fascinated, I could have stayed in their minds for hours learning all about them. I wanted to, but it was hard to do that while communicating with them at the same time and speaking to the group too." She paused. "It was amazing how unphased they were by our appearance as well as my ability to speak into their minds. They didn't treat it as anything unusual."

"What about other peoples?" Hank asked. "Are there other tribes near here?" Hank was practically falling off the edge of his seat, he was so interested.

"I didn't ask them specifically about that, and I couldn't tell from bits I gleaned from going into their minds. But," she paused for a second, thinking back, "something one of them said implied that they do have friends in other…villages. Oh yes. When one of them asked us whether we were the demons they'd heard rumors of. As he was saying that, I saw a glimpse of a network-or whatever you want to call it-of villages who keep in contact. That is how they heard of the rumors about these demons to the east."

"I wonder what these demons are," Cyclops mused. "If they even exist."

Jean looked at the Professor. "It really pained me to have to say goodbye to them. They did not understand why we refused their hospitality."

The Professor took a breath. I suspected that my hunch may have been correct; the two of them had been having a mental disagreement when deciding what to do. "We have already interfered in their natural development. There is no need for further interference."

"But Professor, they were so unphased by us. They were extremely curious, but our being there didn't….freak them out in anyway. They wanted to learn. Like we do."

Hank said, "The contact we had today already made them aware of our existence. I wonder if it truly would harm them, should we visit their village and get to know them." He paused, "In fact, I wonder if ceasing contact with them now could present a greater disruption."

"How do you figure that?" Wolverine asked, sounding skeptical.

"If we cease contact now, they have many unanswered questions about us. But if we visit them, tell them a little about ourselves, answer some questions….and then explain why we think no contact is best, then we have some closure." Hank explained.

The Professor looked at Hank. I suspect he was just a bit displeased by the words of one of us favorite students. "Hank, I understand and share your wish to learn more about these people," he said slowly. "But any more interference would only make the situation worse. There can be no justification for further impacting their evolution, no matter how we might try to rationalize it." The Professor never sounded harsh, and he didn't this time but he made it clear that he thought Hank was trying to rationalize his desire to learn about the people. Hank looked as if he regretted his words.

"Besides," Wolverine said, "we don't know what they're hiding. Maybe they ain't so peace-loving."

Jean did not attempt to hide the exasperation with Wolverine in either her tone or facial expression. "I entered their minds. I saw their village. They have no concept of violence, no suspicion towards strangers. Unless you doubt my powers or something, we have nothing to fear from them."

I suspected this meeting could turn ugly.

It was Wolverine's turn now to look as if he regretted his words. He intently looked at Jean and said, "I never doubt your powers, Jean."

It seemed as though Rogue rushed to Wolverine's aid by saying, "For all we know, these people got some sorta super abilities and some way to mentally shield things from you, or mentally give you a false image. Logan's only concerned for everyone's safety, Jean."

Jean still did not look pleased. "I guess it is * conceivable* that they have those abilities, Rogue, but not very likely. And if they are somehow miraculously hiding some violent plan from us, I highly doubt they could dish out anything that we couldn't handle."

The Professor tried to look patient. He smiled and spread his hands, "Listen, everyone. This is an emotional moment for all of us. We're all very curious about these people. At the same time, we all want to remain safe and to not disrupt their natural evolution or drastically alter the course of their history."

The room was quiet for a moment, thinking over his words. He was right; we pretty much all could agree on those things. "Since we are in agreement on that," he continued, "we need to think of the best way to accomplish these objectives."

"You know, we already take dilithium from this planet," Colossus said. "Even though it was on different continent, we already interfered. So maybe is best to not interfere any more."

The group continued to discuss this. Jean argued passionately for having some contact with the natives, even if it was just one final visit. Jubilee and Cyclops expressed agreement with Jean. Rogue, Gambit and I all expressed some ambivalence; we saw both sides. Storm agreed with the Professor. She almost always does. Hank was silent. I knew he disagreed with the Professor, but he would not publicly cross him now.

At the end of the discussion, it was decided to not seek out the humanoids any more, and to avoid them should they attempt to contact us again. This was decided under the protests of Jean. She finally said, though, "Well, I guess I must accept this decision. If this is what the group feels is best, then I must go with it." I knew she would. So that was the end of the debate.

By then, it was lunchtime. We moved into the infirmary and lunch was prepared. Jean spoke more about the natives during our meal. She made it clear that she would follow the group's decision, but she continued to express wonder. "I sensed such amazing things from their minds," she enthused. "I knew that they had no concept of violence or of hurting another person. Like those things do not happen in their society."

"I wish we knew their child-rearing methods," Hank said. "And their religious or spiritual beliefs." He glanced at the Professor and assured the group he, too, would abide by the no-contact rule, before continuing on. "It would be fascinating to know how they learn and practice non-violence. And I wonder about their physiology. How similar are they to us? Or to non-mutant humans?"

I shrugged, "You know, from what we could see they were shorter and all but they sure didn't * look* much different."

Jubilee expressed some interest in their Asian appearances. We all speculated as to whether this planet had different races, as earth did. Hank then added that most anthropologists believe that race is an arbitrary concept.

Needless to say, the lunchtime conversation did not drag or have any gaps. We could talk of nothing but the inhabitants of this area.

---

Jean and Cyclops cuddled together in their room that evening. Scott felt a bit frustrated over having had such an unproductive day. After lunch, the four members of the engineering team had gone back to work as they did every day. However, as much as they tried to focus and as disciplined as they were, their minds were elsewhere. No progress was made on the engines that day.

"Don't be frustrated," Jean said. "You guys didn't have the most productive day. That happens sometimes. Tomorrow will be better."

"You're right, Jeanie," Scott said. He was sitting on the bed with Jean in between his legs, facing the same way as he. His arms were around her, hands resting on her expanding belly. Jean happily nestled against him, feeling the warmth of his chest against her back. "Sometimes I fear we'll be stuck here forever. At the rate we're going, at least."

"I'm almost ready to believe that we just need to let fate take it's course and let things unfold. Maybe there is a plan of some sort. Maybe we're meant to be here a while." She paused, "Of course, if that is the case, it makes no sense to cut ourselves off from the inhabitants."

"Jean," Scott said softly. "You understand the reasoning for avoidance."

"I do," she admitted, sighing. "I understand, but I just don't agree."

"I get the idea you've never been frustrated with the Professor like you are today."

"That is true, Scott. He's one of the last people in the world-in the galaxy, I guess-that I can imagine being mad at. Yet I am mad at him today." She smiled, "And what's worse is that he knows it; given our powers, there's no way he can not know it."

"I'm sure he also understands. And I bet part of him wants contact with the natives as much as you do. Sometimes people have differences of opinion and just can't agree. It happens, and I'm sure he understands." Scott lovingly stroked Jean's abdomen as he spoke. Aside from when it came to the group's current circumstances, he had been very contented lately. Watching the signs of his wife's pregnancy progressing were a large part of that.

"You're not as eager to learn about the people as I am," Jean said.

Scott nodded, "True. I mean, I would like to learn about them though, but a decision has been made and we must abide by it." He paused, "Though I really am fascinated by what you say. We probably could learn a lot from them. And if all people in this area live as they do, we surely have nothing to fear."

"That's good news if we are really going to be stranded here for a while."

"I think we could get used to it," Scott said.

"To what?"

"Being here for a while. Really. It's not so bad here. I just like the idea of a rest from wandering, a rest from fighting."

"Yes, I understand," Jean said. "I agree. We can raise our baby in peace."

"Maybe even have another one," Scott added. "Though I guess we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves."

"I would love to have two," Jean said. "My family was always my parents, my sister and myself. Two was a good number of children for my parents to have. My sister has two and she says that is the perfect number of kids to have too. Not too many, not too few. I would like to have two kids as well." They had discussed this before, but not recently. "What do you think?"

"Two sounds like a good number to me. God willing, I would love to have two. I defer to your judgement on family matters," Scott added, smiling. "Since you grew up with one."

Scott's lighthearted tone could not, of course, hide his feelings from the one who knew his mind best. Jean placed her hands over Scott's and gently squeezed them. "You're going to make a wonderful father," she said. "A loving and gentle father."

"You'll tell me if I'm being too strict or doing something wrong," Scott said, with a slight questioning tone.

"Trust your instincts and you won't be too strict. But of course I will tell you if I disagree with something you're doing. I know you'll be a good Dad though."

"It's hard for me to think my instincts are going to be any good, when I grew up in an orphanage." As Scott said those words, Jean felt a jolt of sadness from her husband. He spoke without self-pity, but she knew the pain of growing up without a family could never be fully erased from his psyche. She felt hurt just thinking of him moving through childhood and adolescence without a family to celebrate holidays with, sharing a room with a bunch of other children that no one wanted. Being taunted when his powers manifested themselves, and having no one to turn to until the Professor found him.

"I think you can trust your instincts," Jean said. "If you ever do get stuck, just ask yourself what the Professor would do." She might be displeased with him that day but she still loved Xavier as a second father.

Scott smiled. "You're right. It's so nice to see this side of him. I think he is as happy about the baby as we are."

"He would've made a wonderful father himself. Well, I guess he is a father to all of us, in everything but biology," Jean said. She added, "Of course biology isn't as important as love. And I have no doubt that he loves all of us."

Jean then suppressed a yawn. "It's been a long day. I'm ready for bed."

"Me too," Scott said. He noted that Jean's habit of taking a bath every evening was now gone. She now restrained herself to a morning shower, and her skin was accordingly less dry than it had been when she'd bathed twice a day.

They settled into a comfortable sleeping position. Scott's glasses required that he sleep on his back. Jean now slept on her side because of her pregnancy. She faced Scott, snuggling as close to him as her swelling abdomen allowed.

---

The next morning, those X-men who ate breakfast together decided it might be best to remain inside the ship that day.

Rogue and Gambit had missed breakfast-as they usually did-and wanted to take a walk together outside. The Professor okayed this, reminding them to avoid contact with anyone they might encounter. They promised to do as he said.

Just a few minutes after they departed the ship, the couple returned. "Look what we found!" Rogue said.

Apparently, someone had left a few objects next to the ship. Rogue handed them to the Professor, and the team gathered around to have a look. The objects were all baby supplies. There was a wooden rattle and a cloth doll. Three baby outfits were there, including one that looked particularly snug and cozy, perfect for winter. The final item was a baby carrier akin to something Jubilee had seen in a museum of Native American artifacts-a board that could be strapped to someone's back with a pouch for the baby to be placed in. It was an ironic gift, given the carrier Jubilee had received at her shower days before.

"This is so sweet," Jubilee said. "How nice of them."

"The craftsmanship on all of these is excellent," Beast marveled. He looked at Jubilee and then at Jean. "May I study these? If you don't mind.." He then looked at the Professor. "After our work on engineering today, of course."

As touched as many of the group were, they knew there was little they could do to return the favor. Gambit and Rogue cancelled their plans for an outside walk. Many of the X-men eyed the monitors that allowed them to see goings on outdoors.

Around mid-day, a group of 9 natives approached the ship. Three of them were in the group that had the exchange with the X-men the previous day. The people looked at the ship, touched it with their hands, even gently knocked on it. They talked among themselves, using very animated tones. They called out a few times.

"They're just curious," Jean said, reading their thoughts. "They have no intention to harm us. They are also excited."

The Professor nodded. "I sense the same thing. I also do sense their curiosity at our unwillingness to come out and talk. It truly puzzles them."

After perhaps an hour or two, the natives left the area, discouraged and disappointed. "Dey want us to come out an play, but we not going to," Gambit summed up.

The next morning, the X-men found a basket next to their ship. The basket was woven from some sort of wood. It contained apples, nuts and dried beans. Beast took the basket inside the ship.

Again, the X-men remained indoors and avoided contact with the people. Another group of natives, smaller than the one yesterday but containing some of the same people, approached the ship. Again they looked at it, touched it, and discussed it with each other. Again, they left after a few hours.

Beast studied the basket. Again, the craftsmanship was very solid. After determining the food to be safe, the group decided to eat it. No harm in accepting a gift, and rejecting it might appear rude. And if the food was safe to eat, why not use it? The apples and nuts were particularly delicious. "The real stuff really is better than the replicated stuff," Jubilee said, munching on an apple. "It's been so long that I forgot!"

---

These were strange days for all of us. We were always feeling like we were on the brink of something big or it was the calm before the storm. So much was going on and yet nothing was going on.

Jubilee was due any day now, and we all waited for her to go into labor. Hank, Storm and Rogue were going to be the main team helping with the delivery. Jean and I agreed to stand by as assistant nurses in case we were needed. They reviewed their roles with Jubilee over and over again, though nothing happened. Hank just reminded us that the due date was only an estimation, and the baby could arrive sooner or later.

And then there were the natives. We were all so curious; we wanted so badly to communicate with them. The decision to not make contact with them was understood by all, grudgingly accepted by some but still we were all fascinated and wanted to learn about them. So close and yet so far.

We stayed indoors all day, which really got to be frustrating. It's like when you're a kid and you're watching from your bedroom window as all the bigger kids get to play outside in the evening, when you have to go to bed early. At least the engineering team had something to occupy their minds. Poor Hank though. I know he wanted to spend all day communicating with the natives, or at least studying their gifts, as well as doing more to prepare for the birth of Jubilee's baby. Still, he was dedicated and hardworking; he didn't shirk his duty on the team at all.

One afternoon, I decided I had to do something to relieve the boredom, and I couldn't stomach another card game or another work-out session. Nor did I have any desire to use our swimming pool, and sitting in with the engineering team was the last thing I wanted to do. I asked for and received permission to turn on the life support for two hours to other parts of the ship.

"What are you gonna do, Bobby?" Rogue asked.

"I want to search for a painting or some kind of wall covering to hang up in here," I explained. We were in the rec room. "I'm not too optimistic about finding anything suitable. But you never know. Wanna join me?"

"No thanks, sugar. It's a nice idea though. These walls need somethin' to decorate them. But I doubt you're gonna find anything good on this ship."

I shrugged. "It's worth a try, at least."

It felt a little strange to walk down the abandoned halls of the areas of the ship we never used. The rooms that we slept in were auxiliary rooms; they had been unused by the crew. I decided to investigate the quarters that had been used by the deceased crew members. The rooms were quite spartan. Occasionally I saw an item that I took a second look at- a pair of eye glasses, a magazine, a letter. But I didn't want to linger in their rooms. Traumatic memories kept threatening to resurface. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I was safe. There was nothing to fear. I had my communicator on.

Room after room had no paintings or other such wall coverings. Of course not; this was a ship of soldiers on a mission of war. You could be fairly certain they disdained art. Everything on the ship was utilitarian, and nothing decorative.

I passed the cell that we had been held prisoner in. I walked faster, understanding why no one ever wanted to explore the rest of the ship. We'd never be totally rid of these memories. I then passed the room that the soldiers had planned to torture me in. I sped up the pace of my walking. Maybe I should not have done this alone. I glanced down the long hall. It was just an elevator ride and trip down a hall to get back to my friends. I would be alright.

I came to a room that I hadn't seen before, and glanced at the map of the ship's layout I held in my hands. This room was labeled "Captain's quarters." Oh yes. The blond guy with the mustache. As the door to his room slide aside, I reminded myself that he could do nothing to hurt us anymore. Rogue had seen to that.

The room was about four times the size of the quarters we slept in. My eyes first settled on the two wall decorations. One wall had a large poster of the exterior of this ship. Hmmm. It was a definite possibility, a lovely shot of the ship against the stars. Another wall had a poster which had the word MUTANT with the universal "no" slash through it. Lovely. Very imaginative too.

I don't know why, but I remained in his room to snoop. All I can say is that curiosity and boredom got the best of me. There were two pictures on the FOH leader's nightstand of himself with a woman, a young boy and young girl. His arm was around the woman, the children resembled them, and all four were smiling happily. The boy, who couldn't have been older than 10, wore a FOH uniform. I wonder if the guy's wife and kids knew the kind of things he was up to on these missions.

I looked through his closets, finding nothing much other than copies of his uniform and boots. His wardrobe was fairly limited. A gun rack in the corner of the room held different types of rifles.

A file cabinet stood against a wall, and I found stacks and stacks of the FOH newsletter inside. I guess it was some sort of morbid fascination that drew me towards it. Why do our minds do things like this to us? I remembered that during our captivity, he had given us back issues to read. I was drawn to read through some more.

When I first picked up a newsletter and flipped through it, I had to fight back the nausea and despair of those days we spent held captive in the cell. Once I got a hold of myself, though, I read through several of these newsletters.

It was the same old shit. Editorial after editorial (actually, they were more like "rants" than "editorials") describing attacks by mutants and how we needed to be suppressed. Some of these attacks were based on factual incidents, usually committed by the Sabertooths and Magnetos of the world. Some of them were completely fabricated, as they attributed things to the X-men that we would never do.

The newsletters also contained tips for convincing acquaintances that mutants were a real threat and needed to be squelched. They contained guidelines for forming a FOH chapter and making it active. Specifications for dealing with the media were included.

And then there were the porn sections. Again the morbid curiosity drew me to read them though I knew I shouldn't. In story after story, mutant women were uniformly portrayed as depraved nymphomaniacs, never getting enough sex. There were horrific, graphic descriptions of what various men then did to them. While the depiction of mutant women was uniform, mutant men on the other hand were characterized in a lot of different ways. One predominant theme was to depict them as animals-completely out of control, rampaging. In the FOH stories, they often rape mutant women (hmmm…I think FOH is doing a little projecting here.) Less often but still prevalent, you would see mutant men portrayed as bumbling idiots and dolts. In these lovely stories, mutant females are bored with them in bed so they go out and get raped by FOH members-and of course they end up enjoying it. And every now and then, you see stories depicting mutant men as effeminate, sissified, and gay. (What's up with this? Northstar and I are like the only 2 gay mutants I've ever heard of.) And, once again, the slutty mutant females go seek out "real" men (FOH soldiers, of course.) Ick. I wonder if maybe I should burn these newsletters.

I was disgusted with myself afterwards. I shouldn't have been reading this crap. I closed the newsletters and headed right back to the part of the ship we used.

"Find anything?" Rogue asked me, when I'd returned to the rec room.

"No," I said, not meeting her eyes. "Just a bunch of bad memories."

---

The next day, the natives left us no gifts. However the day after that, we were serenaded! A group of 11 natives stood outside the ship around lunchtime playing musical instruments. They had drums, numerous string instruments, bells, something resembling a harp and something that sure sounded like a flute. They played for quite some time. The music was lively and danceable. It had a steady beat and it sounded primal….yet at the same time, charming and light. We stared at the monitors with the sound turned up, exchanging looks with each other. I think we were speechless. "Their intent is still good," the Professor murmured. A few of us tapped our feet as the music played.

They left after a few songs. I must say that their performance was quite magical. I wanted to get out there and dance. But soon after the people left, we all disbursed and went back to our work. There was nothing left to say to each other; we knew we could not contact them. I reminded myself that the reasons for avoiding them were reasonable and this was all for the best. But part of me really, really wanted to get out there and make contact with them.

Their music sparked something else in me. I missed music and dance. * Entertainment.* We hadn't had any since we began our journey. I was never a big TV watcher, but I loved musicals, dances, and theater. Watching the natives play their music was almost like getting some entertainment and I think that's why we all sat transfixed in front of the monitors. I would need to look into the possibilities of replicating some CDs or videos.

The next two days we had no more serenades from the natives and no gifts were left either. However, Jubilee went into labor on the afternoon of that second day. She told Hank and Storm when her water broke before dinner. During dinner I think we all sat on the edge of our seats, sneaking looks at Jubilee. Hank told the group that labor usually starts a few hours after the waters break, and that labors for first pregnancies can go on for quite some time. "This could be a long night for me," Jubilee summarized. From all her meetings with Hank and the others, she knew all the different things she might expect.

After dinner, Hank examined Jubilee. (I noticed that prior to dinner, Hank had clipped all of his nails.) Apparently everything was basically as it was supposed to be. Jubilee and various others (including myself) took several walks around the ship that evening. She seemed a bit nervous but ok. She said her contractions all evening were far apart and not at all regular-but she said that was normal during the early stages of labor and for first pregnancies. Later, she and Hank decided that she should try to go to sleep as normal. Jean offered to spend the night with Jubilee, saying that Hank and the others should get their rest. (I was also about to offer to spend the night with Jubilee but once Jean said she wanted to, I thought it made sense for her to have another woman there instead of me.)

I got up hours earlier than I usually do and headed right for the infirmary. Wolverine, Cyclops and Storm were in there drinking coffee. "Do we have a baby yet?" I asked as soon as I entered the room.

"No," Storm said. "Jubilee and Hank are taking a walk now." When the two returned, they kindly asked the rest of us to clear sick bay. Jubilee told everyone that she appreciated their support but she preferred to have not too many people in the room.

So basically we all hung out in the rec room that morning. Hank and Storm attended to Jubilee, with one of them occasionally sticking their head in for updates. In between contractions, Jubilee herself visited us a couple of times to let us know that she was fine and getting impatient for the baby to arrive.

"Y'all just let me know when you need me," Rogue said to Storm after Storm stopped in one time to let us know that nothing had changed. "I'm eager to do my job like we talked `bout."

"We will let you know as soon as the time is right, Rogue. Your role will be very much appreciated," Storm said, before returning to the infirmary.

Colossus asked Rogue, "What is your role?"

"Well, Peter," Rogue said, "When Jubilee gets to the final stage of labor, I'm going to help hold her up. She's gonna be in this squatting position when she gives birth, and since I'm so strong I'm gonna be the one to support her like so. I won't get tired, either."

Jean added, "I did offer to help relieve Rogue if she ever does get tired."

After a couple more hours or so, Storm came by to let Rogue know that she was needed. It was time for Jubilee to push. Rogue followed her out of the room.

The morning passed slowly. We half-heartedly played cards, the whole time waiting for the slightest piece of news from sick bay. Jubilee had never discussed what she wanted to name the baby, so we all talked about the names that we liked and such. Even though the morning progressed slowly, it was cool to observe everyone. Scott, Jean and the Professor all looked excited. Wolverine's face was hard to read. He looked concerned, maybe a bit worried.

"I really wish I could be in there," Jean said, mainly to Scott but we all could hear.

"Honey, you know it's Jubilee's pregnancy and birth, and she's the one who decides who should be in there with her," Scott said. "She probably doesn't want it to feel like Grand Central Station in there, so she can just concentrate on her job."

"I know," Jean said. "But I'd love to be in there and see first hand what it's like."

More time passed. Gambit visibly looked at his watch and shot a questioning look in the direction of the Professor. "Hank did say this could take a long time," the Professor said. "But I wonder how they are doing." I didn't need to look at the time; I knew from the rumblings in my stomach that lunchtime was approaching. The Professor added, "I am going to mentally ask Hank for an update." He shut his eyes, and after a short while reported back, "No change. It just is a long labor. Hank reminded me that is common for first pregnancies. He said Jubilee is tired but doing…alright."

His voice sounded calm and professional so I didn't worry. "How `alright' is she?" Wolverine asked.

"Logan, please do not worry. If there were something wrong, Hank would have said so. He simply said she is getting tired."

"She didn't sleep much last night," Jean said. "Who could blame her? Boy I wish I could be in there."

"We just need to trust that Hank, Storm and Rogue are a good support team. Hank is a wonderful doctor," the Professor said.

I didn't know if I was being paranoid or not, but he did sound just a bit as if he was trying to convince himself. We all then turned back to our cards and tried to get interested in the game, but even Gambit didn't seem into it. I noticed several people were checking their watches every few minutes.

After some more time had passed, a weary Storm entered the room. A split second before the door slide aside, both the Professor and Jean gasped and looked at each other.

"What?" Wolverine asked, just as the door opened and Storm entered.

"We have one healthy baby girl!" Storm reported. Storm looked fatigued and relieved. "A tiny little girl, 5lbs, 3 ounces."

"How's Jubilee?" Wolverine asked.

"She's exhausted. It was not an easy birth. But she's fine. Come on. She wants you all to see her daughter."

We scrambled out of our seats and down the hall, following Storm to the infirmary. I felt like pushing and shoving my way up front because I was so eager, but that would not have been polite. We gathered around Jubilee, who was laying down on the bed with a red, screaming infant cradled in her arms.

I'd almost never seen Jubilee looking so worn out. I glanced at Hank and he, too, looked exhausted. (Rogue looked pretty tired too.) But I knew Hank had to be glad-healthy mom, healthy baby and he obviously didn't need to do a C-section. It had to be considered a wonderful success.

"Congratulations, Jubilee," the Professor said. We each took our turns congratulating, hugging and kissing her. Jubilee limply returned our embraces. She was really drained.

"Thank you," Jubilee said quietly. "That was harder than I thought it would be." She didn't elaborate any further at that time.

"And congratulations to Hank," I said. "And Storm."

"I couldn't have done it without those two," Jubilee said. "Those two, and Rogue. Thank you all."

We took our turns hugging and congratulating Jubilee's birth team too. I then got a good look at the baby. She had stopped screaming for the time being and, despite all the commotion in the room, seemed to have fallen asleep. She was one ugly infant! But I heard they all are ugly so I guess that's normal. She was tiny, squirmy and red, and had a shock of black, straight hair. Later on I would get a good look at her, and Jubilee would express delight that the child resembled herself. The girl had Asian features-she had her mom's eyes, nose and shape of the face. It was really a blessing-apparently the girl didn't resemble her sperm donor, whoever he was.

Jubilee was alert enough to tell us what she planned to name the baby. "I want to name her in honor of Storm," she said.

Storm's eyes widened; she was clearly surprised. Jubilee continued, "Storm has done so much for me….during the last 9 months. I don't think I would have made it without her." She looked at Storm. "You've been an aunt to me. Your patience and wisdom has helped guide me, and I am so lucky to have you in my life." I thought I might've seen a tear in one of Storm's eyes. She bent down and kissed Jubilee on the forehead.

"So anyway," Jubilee continued, "I've been thinking during the last few months what I want to name the baby. And we all know Storm's real name is Ororo, though we all usually call her Storm. My thought is to name the baby Aurora." She spelled it out so we could clearly hear the difference. "Aurora sounds like `Ororo' but is not an exact copy, so it won't be confusing. But it is close enough that we'll know her name is in honor of Storm."

She looked up at Storm, and Storm smiled. "What a lovely tribute. I am honored. Thank you, Jubilee."

"What a beautiful name," the Professor mused. "There are many legends about the Aurora Borealis. They are said to be messages from other worlds. They are also said to be the spirits of fallen warriors."

"Are you going to give her a middle name?" Jean asked.

"Well, I'm thinking no," Jubilee answered, "because I don't have one myself and it's not like it's something you ever use. I think Aurora Lee is a good name by itself."

I nodded, "I agree. A simple name, but beautiful and clear. Aurora Lee. I love it."

So that's how Aurora Lee was born. Jubilee asked us to clear out and give her some time to sleep. Hank and Storm looked like they could use some rest too, so the rest of us volunteered for Uncle and Auntie duty so that Jubilee could get her rest. Cyclops and Jean remained in sick bay with the baby.

---

Not long afterwards, I found myself in Hank's bedroom. He had called me on my communicator, sounding exhausted. "I need a favor from you, my friend," he had said. "Anything," I answered. So I found myself brushing out Hank's pelt of blue fur as he lay face down on the bed. I straddled him.

Brushing Hank was never easy. His fur really does get matted and tending to it is always a job that requires some elbow grease. He says it is slightly painful when the tangles are brushed out but it feels good too, and he knows it's necessary. I enjoy doing it too. I'm glad to.

"So how do you feel, Dr. McCoy?" I asked. I sensed he hadn't asked me here just to comb his coat, especially since it wasn't nearly as tangled as it usually is when it gets to the point that he asks me for help with it. "You look wiped out."

"Bobby, that was one of the scariest moments of my life," he said.

"Really?"

"There were times when I feared we'd lose Jubilee or the baby….or both. I never was sure what to do. My gut told me she didn't need a C-section, though there was a point when I seriously regretted not performing one." He paused. "I could tell that Jubilee and Storm were scared too. I tried to mask my fear as much as possible. I think I'm exhausted from trying so hard to maintain the calm exterior."

"Well, it all turned out just fine! Right? I mean, you did it!" I kept my voice cheerful as I ran the comb through the fur on Hank's shoulders and neck. "And you can relax here and now."

"The four of us did it. Right now, I almost can't believe it. I would never have forgiven myself if we'd lost Jubilee….As a doctor, it is not good to think this way but I almost cannot help it, Bobby."

"Wow, Hank I've never seen you so frazzled over something."

"You should have seen me in the infirmary this morning. I cannot recall the last time I * felt* so frazzled."

"Do you feel more confident now, though? I mean, everything turned out fine. I'm sure Jean's will go well too."

"Oh, I don't even want to think about that now, my friend." He sighed. "That feels nice," he added, as I moved the comb to the backs of his arms. I continued to brush Hank out and stopped when he was sound asleep. He needed the rest so I left his room as quietly as possible.

I then headed for the infirmary to peek in on Jubilee and Aurora. Jubilee was sound asleep on the bed. The Professor sat in there, apparently keeping an eye on her.

I surmised that Cyclops and Jean had taken the baby out of the room, and I found the couple in the rec room. Cyke was holding the sleeping infant. He sat on the sofa, Jean next to him. Wolverine and Colossus were in the room too. As soon as I entered, Jean looked at me and put her finger to her lips, signaling for me to not wake the baby.

We spoke in whispers only. I had to ask, "So….what has the baby done these past few hours?"

Jean smiled, "Sleep, poop and cry. And eat. We had to wake Jubilee a little while ago to feed Aurora. As soon as she was done, Jubilee went right back to sleep."

"The kid is really exhausted," Wolverine said. I noticed him gazing at the baby…..was the look on his face affection? (I mean, I assume the affection was for the baby and not Cyclops.)

"Storm said it was very difficult birth," Colossus said. "We very lucky that Jubilee and baby are both alright."

I nodded, "Hank told me the same thing. He's wiped out too. But thank goodness everything turned out ok."

I slowly walked towards the sofa where Scott held the sleeping infant. Jean whispered to me, "You have to feel how soft she is. Her little hands and feet are just so smooth." I looked down at Aurora. You know, she didn't look as ugly as she did a few hours ago. I felt my heart warm to her.

"Scott, why not let Bobby have a turn holding her?" Jean suggested.

"Oooh, I'd love to," I said. Scott made room for me next to him on the sofa, and he slowly handed the infant over to me.

I held Aurora as if she were a piece of fine china. It made me a bit nervous to cradle the tiny bundle in my arms, but once I felt comfortable, I began cooing and making baby talk. I told the baby how precious she was and that I was her Uncle Bobby and that I loved her and that she was a cutie-pie, on and on. I have a little baby talk voice that I've used on friends' pets and it always provokes a few smiles.

I looked up and saw Colossus and Wolverine exchange a grin over my cooing. "She's adorable," I said. "I want one of my own!"

The others giggled. Actually, I didn't really want one of my own. But Aurora was adorable. And I went back to my cooing.

TO BE CONTINUED