Leigh's Fanfiction Archive Stormkeeper's Fanfiction Freedom Chapter 18
Freedom
By Stormkeeper
Chapter 18
The X-men wasted little time in getting back down to business. The day after their return to An'zhina, all X-men held a meeting several hours prior to dinner. Beforehand, the Professor had asked Storm and Cyclops to basically run the meeting; he had said he would contribute little. Cyclops had looked confused, but Storm merely touched his shoulder and told him that Charles was very tired.
The meeting began with a brief update from Cyclops on the status of An'zhina. "I have very little to report," he said. "Nothing much has changed. We are seeing a lot of progress from the mutants here, both in terms of mastering their powers and recovering from the ordeals they underwent at the camps."
Banshee nodded. "Though now I see that we will have 126 new people to attend to."
Rogue grimly told him, "And it won't be easy. A lot of em are in pretty bad shape, emotionally. We did our best to help them durin' the trip back here. But it seems FOH is gettin' worse, treating them a lot worse."
"I do not know if that is truly the case or only our perception of the truth," Storm said. "I think the mutants we rescued from the first two camps have suffered comparably."
"I dunno Storm. I've heard some horror stories. An' I'd thought I'd reached a point where nothing could surprise me again….but some of what these new ones tell me shocked me right good again."
Moira spoke. "We will take good care of them here. Thank you for everything you've done to get them on the path towards rehabilitation."
"Any news from Marina?" Wolverine asked. "She askin' anything more from us?" He asked the question, feeling extremely rankled though he couldn't quite say why.
"No," Cyclops said. "She has not contacted us since….before you left." Scott answered the question, leaving one piece out. Marina had contacted both Scott and Jean one evening, asking again that Scott grace her bed sometime. She offered or demanded nothing in return but said that she just had to make her request again. A disgusted Scott declined again.
"We havena had any contact from her other advisors either," Banshee added. "Except for one quick message. They've given vidcams to anyone who wants them." Upon seeing the quizzical looks, Banshee went on to explain, "A vidcam is like a television. It only shows a wee selection of Endarian films though and does not have programming at all hours."
"Some of the films they show are actually quite good," Moira added. "Though I've never seen more than five different films offered, and one children's-type movie."
"You can also set it to play music," Jubilee piped up. She loved the vidcams. "Kinda like a radio or a music station but with music only. We were told to give them to anyone who wanted one, and there are sign-up sheets in the rec room."
Jean listened to the discussions, stifling a yawn. She had been up far too late the night before, much later than she was used to. And as much as she wanted to catch up with the other X-men now, she really wanted to get back to her family. The Greys had spent all of the day up until this point together. They had so many lost years to cover. And John and Elaine could barely keep their hands off their younger granddaughter and grandson, and were gladly babysitting them---as well as Jubilee's daughter too --- during the meeting.
Jean took a glance in the direction of Storm. Earlier in the day, Jean had broken away from her family for a bit in an attempt to talk to Storm, but the Wind Rider had politely brushed her off. Jean had to respect her privacy and desire for solitude.
"So can you tell us what we missed?" Jubilee was asking. She'd heard a few informal versions from some of the X-men but wanted to know more.
"I will start with the good news," Storm said. "As you know, we successfully rescued 126 people from an FOH camp in Canada. Three of the people we rescued have already begun training as X-men." Storm went on to tell the group a little about Cannonball, Wraith and Moonstar. The trio were not present at this meeting. "I will, however, ensure that those of you who haven't met them get a chance to soon. I think all three show great potential."
"I just hope they don't fall in love with An'zhina and decide to forget about the difficult life of an X-man," Angel added.
"What about the ones already livin' here?" Wolverine asked. "Any of em talking about wanting to be an X-man?"
Cyclops and Banshee looked at each other. "No," Cyclops said. "We train them on how to use their powers and some basic self-defense, for those who don't have strong powers. But no one has said anything about wanting to join the X-men."
"Do you ever talk to em about it?"
"Yes," Cyclops replied, trying to keep irritation and defensiveness
out of his voice. How could Wolverine think that they didn't do such
things? "We do bring it up, without trying to sound like we're
recruiting. We talk about what it means to be an X-man and all the things
we've done over the years. We offer to work closely with anyone who wants to
join the team." Scott silently added a thought that Wolverine probably just
wanted to use this as a chance to bash the self-esteem building work they did
with the mutants. It's such important work; they need confidence in order to
live their lives and get beyond the self-loathing they've been taught. Leave
it to Wolverine to think everything needs to be taught through fighting.'
Scott shook his head. Teaching the rescuees self-esteem had actually done
wonders for his own.
"They simply havena been very interested, Logan," Banshee added.
Wolverine once again found himself biting his tongue—not something that came naturally to him at all. Hard to believe that out of all three of the camps they'd liberated and the 320-plus mutants who had been brought here, there had been no more than a grand total of five new recruits. And one of them, Marrow, had deserted the group so she could zoom around the galaxy, reenacting what was done to her. As of yet, only Panda had really proven herself an X-man. As Storm continued the meeting, Wolverine felt his anger rising. None of them wanted to help their fellow mutant. Not to mention that the couple hundred mutants who lived here, in the lap of luxury watching their "vidcams", were a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands who were being tortured continuously in FOH camps on earth. How the hell were the X-men going to rescue all the thousands who needed it?
Storm saw both Cyclops's and Wolverine's bubbling anger out of the corner of her eyes. Do they have to start fighting again already? For the Goddesses' sake, Wolverine just got back here yesterday. I'm so tired of them playing who's-is-bigger.' Storm resolved to continue the meeting, on the positive track it had been on. She went on to tell the team that she had more good news to share. "As most of you know already, Hank and Panda are engaged to be married."
Jean startled when she heard Storm say the words. Because she had scarcely spent a waking hour away from her family, she had not known of the engagement. She had barely said "hi" to Hank or any of those who had been on the mission! Scott had found out earlier in the morning and meant to tell her, but it had slipped his mind. Jean resolved to properly congratulate Hank and Panda, and to be sure to "check in" with the other X-men as well.
"We are also expectant parents," Hank said. He was smiling and beaming. Jean looked at him, thinking that he had never looked quite so happy in his life.
"That's wonderful!" Jubilee exclaimed. Like many in the room, it had never occurred to her that the pregnancy was unintended. She never thought Hank or Panda would miscue like that. "More playmates for Rory, Charlotte, and Chris!" As she said the words, Jubilee missed her daughter and looked forward to the meeting ending so she could retrieve Rory from the Greys.
"Congratulations," Scott said. "When will the wedding be?"
"We are not yet certain," Hank said. "It will depend on how long we X-men are to remain here on An'zhina."
Storm smiled and then went on, "Also, the mission had more successes. Jean Grey's family was rescued from FOH and are here with us now."
Jean smiled from ear to ear. She then said, "I apologize if I've not been as attentive to all of you since you returned last night. My family and I have a lot to catch up on. In some ways I never thought I'd see my parents, my sister, my niece and nephew again, but here they are." Sitting next to Jean, Scott also beamed, feeling Jean's joy as his own.
Storm returned her smile. "We certainly understand."
Wolverine listened to the small talk taking place and continued to get impatient. Why the heck was Storm going through all the good things that happened, like she was some media spin doctor or Mary Poppins?? And why the hell was everyone sitting around and smiling, as if Colossus hadn't died, as if the X-men hadn't nearly all gotten killed?? Feeling restless and fenced in inside the tidy conference room, Wolverine simply got up and walked out.
Cyclops watched him leave, his happiness turning to incredulity. What the hell was wrong with Logan that he couldn't be happy for Jean---who he'd professed to love---being reunited with her family? Or for Hank---who was supposed to be one of his closest friends---getting engaged and on his way to fatherhood? If I live to be an old man, I'll never understand him,' Scott sighed to himself.
Jubilee got up from her seat and went after Logan. She exited the conference room and headed down the hallway, seeing Wolverine's retreating form at the other end. "Wait up, Wolvie!" she called. She jogged a bit to catch up to her old mentor.
Wolverine slowed down his pace, allowing Jubilee to catch up. He had no desire to talk to her or anyone. But he also didn't want to hurt her feelings…and she was one of the few people who he didn't feel inexplicably angry at. "Darlin', don't ask me to talk 'cause I don't wanna," he said, when Jubilee had reached his side.
"Okay," she said simply. "Let's do something else then! You wanna play basketball---even though you'll kick my butt? Or what about a karate lesson?"
Wolverine took a breath and rested a hand on her shoulder. Given that Jubilee knew he was so pissed off, she marveled at the gentleness and warmth she felt from that hand. "Look, I ain't in the mood for company right now. Even yours, darlin.' I wanna be alone. But some other time, okay? I wanna catch up with you an' Rory. Jus' not now."
Jubilee nodded. This was about as good a reply as one could hope for from Logan when he was in such a mood. She simply planted a quick kiss on his cheek, turned back towards the meeting and called out, "See ya later then."
As Jubilee reentered the meeting, Storm was talking about Colossus. Her voice remained steady and calm. Jubilee took her seat and heard the words, still disbelieving. Jean had told her over a week ago, ever since her telepathic hook-up with the Professor, that Peter was gone. It hadn't yet sunk in for Jubilee. "We need to start making preparations for his funeral," Storm was saying. "I have spoken with Elena. She says that she wants to take the lead on this. She asks that anyone who wishes to speak at the funeral contact her. I asked her when she'd like us to have the funeral and she's been very vague. But she seemed okay with my suggestion that we have the funeral in a couple of weeks."
"Does she need any help?" Jean asked, incredulous that Elena might want to do this alone.
"She says that she does not. However….it might not hurt to ask her again."
"Can you tell us about your mission?" Jean asked. "Do we know exactly what went wrong? And how did you get free?" She looked around the room. "I apologize if most of you know this already. I heard a bit from my family last night but it was sort of sketchy. I would like to hear all about your capture and escape."
As Jean looked at her teammates, her eyes met the Professor's. For a second, their minds touched and she felt his weariness. It was a bit of a jolt from the unbridled euphoria she'd been feeling from the reunion with her family. Jean then resolved to speak with the Professor. What a lot of sadness in this room,' she mused, sensing and feeling it in her bones.
Storm went on to relay what had happened. She spoke at length, giving quite a bit of detail though she conspicuously left out the fact that FOH had raped her. Storm spoke of the run-ins the X-men had with Marrow and Psylocke, both when the X-men were rescued by them as well as a few weeks later on the route back to An'zhina. She answered many questions from the others, and the X-men spent the better part of an hour discussing this and attempting to determine what had gone wrong so that it could be prevented next time.
"I think," Shaman said, "that we should have another healing ceremony. Whether we do it in conjunction with Colossus's funeral or not, we have been traumatized and we need to come together and heal as a group."
"I think that's a wonderful idea," Jean said. "The last healing ceremony you led for us years ago was very effective."
Rogue nodded. "Your healin' ceremony was….really special, Shaman. You had a magic way of bringin' us all together after the worst thing we ever went through."
"I will be glad to do it again," Shaman said. "For all of our sakes, we need to heal together."
Moira looked around the room. "Speaking of healing and your capture and all….where is Northstar?"
She asked the question because Bobby was sitting on her left--- a very morose and gloomy Bobby who had not said one word during the meeting and in fact often looked down at the table in front of him, staring. At that moment, Moira was not the only one who turned and took a look at Bobby, with his unkempt hair and dark circles under his eyes.
"My brother wants to be by himself," Jeanne-Marie said. "He is having a hard time with things. FOH….attacked him while we were prisoners. They left him in bad shape and we're lucky he's alive." Concerned as she was for her brother, Jeanne-Marie had to bite her tongue. And doesn't anyone care about me?' she wondered. 'I lost my son. FOH demanded I turn him over. They're probably raising him in one of their youth groups right now. Meanwhile look at Jean Grey sitting over there, with her handsome husband, two beautiful children, and now she's reunited with the rest of her family. My whole family is dead except for my brother and he's in such bad shape….my husband was killed and my son taken from me. I am so alone.' She felt a pressing desire to get out of that room, though she stayed. The sorrow and misery weighed down on her.
There was silence for a moment or two. Shaman spoke, "All the more reason why a healing ceremony is needed and would be beneficial."
"Is there anything else we need to discuss at this meeting?" Cyclops asked.
"I have a question," Moira said. "From what you said, Storm, we now have a former FOH soldier here with us." She paused. "What are we to do with him?"
Storm glanced at her timepiece. "May I make a suggestion? I see that this meeting has gone on for quite some time and we seem to be getting restless." Storm looked at Cyclops. "And discussion of this topic could go on for quite a while. Let's reconvene tomorrow or the next day. We have other things to discuss as well, including the timing of our next mission to earth." Cyclops nodded, and the meeting was adjourned.
Later that day, I felt better than I had in a long time. Jubilee and I went back to her room and drowned our sorrows in ice cream sundaes and booze.
Jubes left Aurora in the care of Gambit and Rogue, who were eager to spend some catch-up time with the kid. Jubilee and I made decadent sundaes, replete with whipped cream, hot fudge, caramel and cherries atop vanilla ice cream and moist chocolate brownies. I covertly replicated a variety of alcoholic beverages. Sitting on her bed, we got drunk together, Jubilee occasionally pouring her kahlua directly onto her ice cream. I drank my poison of choice straight out of the bottle. As we talked, ate and drank, we had one of the vidcams on in the background but neither of us watched it. I told her everything---how I hadn't had any contact with Jean-Paul for days now, our last being that sexual encounter which lacked most of the affection I was used to from him. Jubilee kept asking me to elaborate and I spared no detail. She then poured out her story of being dumped by this Lisman jerk for the bodacious blond Siryn (who actually looked like a red-head to me.)
"So….did you two do it?" I was drunk enough that I didn't think twice about asking the question, though I probably would've asked if sober too.
"Not exactly," she said, slurring half her words. "We didn't go all the way----but I was getting to where I was almost ready to. We'd do stuff like touch each other over our clothes and rub each other. I'd come just from that. I took off my shirt and let him play with my tits a few times. I hear that he and Siryn have progressed to all-out fucking now, though." She was giving me quite a few details but I had told her even more specifics of my own encounters before, even at times when I was not drunk.
The next morning I woke up wearing only my pants, shoes and socks as I lay in Jubilee's bed with a fierce hangover and pounding headache. A fully clothed Jubilee lay next to me. I could only imagine what Rogue and Gambit thought when they'd dropped Rory off the evening before. I honestly couldn't remember either.
The following day, late in the afternoon after Jubilee's hangover had worn off, she found herself with Wolverine. He had wanted to visit her and Rory.
Rory was having a field day with the return of one of her favorite Uncles, and she was greeting him in her own unique way. As Wolverine sat on a chair in Jubilee's room, Aurora went through the chest where each of her toys was kept. The very animated youngster would pick up a toy, present it to Logan by throwing it down at his feet, and then return to her toy chest and repeat the process with another plaything. All the while, she made joyful gibberish noises, her way of communicating.
"Careful with that one, honey," Jubilee said. "Uncle Logan made that one for you and you don't want to break it." Jubilee then turned to Wolverine and shrugged. "I really missed you too, but I wouldn't have thought of using her method to say hello."
Wolverine smiled at Jubilee's comment, and after a while, Aurora found herself getting tired and out of toys to throw. She curled in Wolverine's arms.
"So who's this Lisman bastard?"
"Wolvie, I'm trying to not swear in front of her, remember??" Jubilee asked, gesturing towards Rory and feigning exasperation---though she still smiled. She couldn't help but to smile in Logan's presence.
"Sorry," he said. "But tell me what happened."
Jubilee shook her head. "Well, I'm again amazed at how fast gossip travels here." She then sobered up, seeing that Wolverine wasn't laughing. She went on to tell Logan the story, leaving out—of course—the more detailed information about her and Lisman's former love life which she had relayed to Bobby the evening prior.
"I should go kick his ass," Wolverine muttered. Jubilee glared at him, and Wolverine quickly amended his statement, "I mean kick his butt."
"But you wouldn't, of course," Jubilee said, wondering why she was rushing to defend Lisman. Part of her greatly liked the idea of her ex-boyfriend getting his just desserts much as she knew violence was wrong. "Lisman and Siryn are like this," she said, entwining two of her fingers. "Banshee would never forgive you if you roughed him up. At the rate he seems to be going with Siryn, Lisman might be Banshee's son-in-law someday." Jubilee shrugged. "It's okay. I'll get over him. Stuff happens." The attitude she displayed that afternoon was markedly different than the one she had displayed to Bobby the evening before.
"He wasn't good enough for you, darlin'."
Jubilee smiled and shook her head. "You probably don't even remember who Lisman is! I bet you'd say that about anyone."
"Maybe so. Maybe so," he repeated with some uncharacteristic softness. He suddenly sounded very far away.
"So, now it's my turn to ask for an update….Wolvie, what's this about you and Storm? And Jean's sister?"
Wolverine just grumbled, "We got nothin' else to do but gossip like a bunch o' old ladies." Jubilee hadn't expected him to share any information---and certainly none of his feelings---with her, and he didn't. They continued on talking about other things, and then Wolverine gave her a refresher lesson in karate. He found himself impressed –though not surprised--- that she'd diligently kept her skills up.
Rogue and Gambit were laying on a blanket deep inside one of the woody areas. The trees were a myriad of brilliant colors this time of year---yellows, reds, organges, greens, and several shades not generally seen on any trees on earth---such as lilac and cobalt blue.
"Dis so beautiful. I wish I could take a picture of all dis in my mind and never forget it," Gambit said.
"We're so spoiled livin' here. All we have to do is wait a few months and the trees will turn this color again." Rogue paused, and then said, "Hey, Remy. I feel happier than I ever been in my life and I feel guilty bout it."
Gambit nodded. He knew exactly how she felt and he was going through much of it himself.
"I mean, I'm married to you," Rogue went on. "When I first met you, I think I feel in love right away but I never thought it could be. Now we're together. And I'm finally goin' through what happened to me in my childhood, finally comin' to terms with it. We live in this beautiful place and we're with the rest of our family, helping to free other mutants. But….." she let her voice trail off.
"But, it be hard to feel so happy when everyone around us so miserable," Gambit finished for her.
"That's just it! We got Colossus dead, Storm is miserable an' she ain't talkin' to anyone bout it. Basically same with Bobby now too. He's down and depressed. So's poor Jubilee over that guy who dumped her. And the Professor looks like he needs 'bout a year's vacation."
Though laying down with one arm tucked beneath his neck, Gambit managed to shake his head. "Wonder what dat Canuck be t'inkin.' I dunno dat Jean's sister feel the same way Wolverine does----or t'ink he does."
"Thinkin' bout it just pisses me off. If Wolverine would let himself, he'd love Storm. What the hell is wrong with him??"
There was silence for a few moments. Gambit then said. "I feel bad for Bobby too. Don't look like Northstar's gettin' any better. I never see him."
"I wonder what they did to him. I mean, he needed surgery afterwards? They must've…." Rogue let her voice trail off, deciding that she didn't really want to go down that route. "I don't know what it's gonna take for him to pull himself together." She paused. "I really do feel bad for Bobby too. Though sometimes I wonder if he and Northstar were such a good match."
"You don't t'ink so?" Gambit asked, quizzically. "Gambit t'ink dey good together. Bobby more quiet and gentle. Jean-Paul bit more…forward, more take-charge. I hope he get it back together again." He paused, and then said, "Oh well. Enough of dis sorta talk," Gambit sighed, bringing one hand to rest against Rogue's cheek. "Is true our friends be sad but we do what we can to comfort dem. In the meantime, we not be denying ourselves happiness, no?" He moved his hand to her thigh and started to stroke gently as he leaned over and began kissing and nuzzling the side of her face and neck. He loved the softness of her face. He brought another hand around to caress her fluffy hair.
"Not here, sugar," Rogue said, smiling both with love and with excitement at what was to follow. Making love with Gambit was always so exquisite. "There are people not far from here. Wanna fly up to one of the hills? I bet we get more privacy there."
Soon, the two rose from their blanket, and Rogue scooped Remy up into her arms. Off they flew.
One morning I was tending to the vegetable garden, growing increasingly more irritated. The An'zhinans had done a pitiful job maintaining it in my absence and I was pissed. I felt like backhanding the idiots who'd been neglecting it after they'd promised to take care of it. I guess it's just easier to let the food replicators do everything instead of getting outside and actually exerting yourself. I was startled out of my silent rant when I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked up to see Jeanne-Marie.
"Hi, Bobby," she said, sitting down next to me.
"Hi," I muttered. Being sought out by the elusive Jeanne-Marie was a rare occurrence. I wondered what she wanted.
We sat together in silence for a long time. I continued plucking weeds and she didn't offer to help; she just sat, quietly observing me. Finally, she said something. "I'll never see my son again. If I do, it might be in battle----I might be an old woman and he an FOH soldier."
"I'm sorry, Jeanne-Marie," I muttered. What the hell did she expect me to say? I'd expressed my condolences to her enough times. And I had my own problems. Besides, I had to wonder what the hell she and her husband did so wrong to raise such a little brat.
"There is much sadness and anger in this world."
"Uh-huh." I was tempted to make a sarcastic remark like, You've noticed?' but I held my tongue.
"Does Jean-Paul ever tell you much about his past?"
I paused in my weeding and sat back on my heels. It took me a few seconds to answer, and then I said, "You'd better make that past-tense, since he doesn't talk to me at all anymore."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jeanne-Marie tilt her head back. "My brother has gone through some changes in his life. He is so different than the man who joined Alpha Flight." She paused and then really began to talk. "I would say, up until a few years before we were captured by FOH, everyone hated him. My brother was an arrogant and rude loner. I used to say that if rudeness were an art form, Jean-Paul would be a maestro. I knew why he was like that, though. He didn't want anyone close to him, didn't want to go through losing anyone else since losing our parents and later, losing Raymonde." As Jean-Paul himself had once told me, Raymonde was the Uncle-like figure who had also been his gay role model. "I was the only person he allowed near," Jeanne-Marie continued. "He risked his life to save me on more than one occasion and I do owe him my life. He didn't even think twice about it.
"But," Jeanne-Marie continued, "Jean-Paul hit a realization one day. It happened a few weeks before he and I were to turn 30. We were planning how we wanted to celebrate, and Jean-Paul realized that while I had plenty of friends—as well as a husband and a baby----he had almost no one from his side to invite. Half of our Alpha Flight teammates he had quarreled with, the other half he had just never bothered to get to know. He'd never had a real romantic relationship either. His latest relationship had just ended after only two months----and by his standards, that was a long-term one. He'd never opened himself up to anyone else. He never let himself love or care for anyone aside from me. So Jean-Paul made a vow to change at that time. He stopped being a jerk and started being more kind to our teammates, even making friends. The incident with Joanne happened soon afterwards too, which helped him grow." Joanne was the baby he had adopted. "Not long after Joanne passed away, he met Phillippe and really fell in love for the first time. That was his first real relationship. It was a bit shocking to me; I was used to being the only person he was close to. But he changed, and he really changed for the better.
"You know the rest," she went on. "A few years later FOH rose to power, we were captured and tortured, and most of our surrogate brothers and sisters in Alpha Flight were killed. So, you see, Jean-Paul and I…..our personalities changed once more. As you know, we went back to earth and he found that Phillippe had been killed by FOH…..my Fredrick was killed too." I heard Jeanne-Marie's voice crack and strain at the mention of her deceased husband. "I thought Jean-Paul might go back to his old ways, but he didn't. Somehow he knew closing himself off wouldn't be the right thing to do. Then he met you, Bobby. It had been a long time since I saw my brother so happy. He loves you, Bobby. I think after this last bout with FOH…..for some reason, he's gone back to shutting everyone out, back to being an extreme version of his old self. He thinks that love brings pain, and that life brings pain, and that if he lets himself love you, that he's going to somehow lose you again."
She stopped talking then. I thought her ending was a bit abrupt after she'd said so much----but she apparently had no more to say.
I appreciated the history on Jean-Paul. He had told me bits and pieces at times but I'd never heard it all put together quite like that before. I knew that he'd had a reputation for arrogance---Wolverine had said as much----but I discounted it because the man I knew and loved wasn't like that. "Life does bring pain," I said.
"Yes."
"Sometimes you wonder if it's all worth it. I know people can change though." Somehow I found myself opening up to Jeanne-Marie, maybe because she had allowed me this glimpse of her own view of her brother, the man we both loved. "When I turned 30, I went through a big life change too. I rejoined the X-men after seven years away. It was the best thing I ever did."
She nodded and was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "Bobby, I think Jean-Paul can get out of the slump he's in. I don't really know just how. But I think he can do it and I don't doubt at all that he loves you."
I turned away from her and tore up some more weeds from my garden. "If he is to change, he's gotta be the one to do it. All I see is that he sits in his room all day, moping around. And I don't dare go back to him, not after what happened last time."
"Think about it, Bobby. Think of a way." I had to wonder why in the heck she was asking me to do that. She was the one who knew him all his life. She knew him a lot better than I did and had a way better chance of getting through to him. Jeanne-Marie then got to her feet. She stood, and then bent to place a hand on my shoulder. "Don't give up on him."
Wolverine tried to not get discouraged. During dinner, he had spotted Sara in the dining room with her children. Gail and Joe ran off somewhere after dessert, and Wolverine made his way over to Sara. He talked to her for a bit, and then asked if she wanted to accompany him on a walk. "I know most of the paths here," he had said, the usual gruffness in his voice tempered. "They're really beautiful. You want me to show you around?"
Sara had smiled, and tilted her head to the side. "Thanks for the invitation, Logan. But I have other plans. I appreciate it though."
Wolverine had watched her leave the dining room, thinking maybe he was being too aggressive. Sara had her sister to catch up with----surely that was who her other plans were with. No doubt Sara had an untold number of matters to attend to, such as assisting her children with their training, spending time with Jean and the rest of her family, exploring and adjusting to An'zhina. Logan strongly felt that he did not want to push her.
But still, he ruminated as he walked towards one of the paths alone. Sara had not yet given him any encouraging signals. Not one. Wolverine sighed. She just needs some time. She's goin' through a lot of major changes right now. I gotta slow down and give her some time. She'll come round.'
Two days after the X-men's first meeting, the group met again. They had two major topics to discuss: when to return to earth and what to do with the former FOH soldier residing on An'zhina.
"Is the Professor not coming to this meeting?" Kurt asked Storm, whom he was sitting next to.
"No," Storm said, addressing the group. "I spoke with the Professor beforehand. He asked us to go on and make decisions for ourselves. I will review them with him but he is willing to support whatever we decide."
Scott listened to Storm's words, feeling a surge of jealousy. The Professor had not sought him out before the meeting. Why Storm and not Cyclops?
He then felt Jean pat his hand. It's okayJean telepathically told' him. Remember we spent all morning at the beach with the rest of the family.Once again, John and Elaine Grey were providing babysitting services for their younger grandchildren and Jubilee's daughter. Maybe Storm was just more accessible this morning. You know Charles loves you and trusts your leadership as much as Storm. And she is so busy with that group she counsels that she didn't have time to get with you before this meeting, I'm sure.
"You're right, Jean," Scott said quietly, and then startled again, realizing he had spoken the words instead of thinking them. He glanced at Jean and they smiled at his error.
Storm looked at the group, oblivious to Cyclops and Jean's exchange. "So, what are people's thoughts about the timing for our next rescue mission to earth?"
"I would suggest that we should consider re-evaluating our strategy," Beast said. He had discussed his idea with several of the others before and they were expecting this comments. "Although I am pleased that we succeeded in rescuing 126 people on our last mission, we must realize that this low figure is the proverbial drop in the bucket. I think it is imperative that we come up with some ideas for more large-scale change."
"I agree," Wolverine said. "They got thousands of mutants in these camps. A couple hundred people ain't much to show for all the trips back and forth we made."
"We need to think of ways to make a greater impact," Rogue said, agreeing.
Storm opened her mouth to speak, but Cyclops got his comment in before she did. "I agree. So let's brainstorm. What sort of ideas do we have on ways we can really turn things around on earth?"
"We talked bout this before," Wolverine said. "An' I ain't heard anyone come up with a better idea. We need the Professor to change some of those bastards' minds."
"Didn't you say you—I mean, he---did that on the last mission?" Jubilee asked. "That before you got too far away, he did use his powers to try and get in their heads?"
"Yes," Storm answered. "At this point, we do not have an idea of whether or not it worked." Storm then looked at Jean.
"It's hard to say what the exact results of doing something like this will be," Jean added, contributing her expertise on telepathy and mind control. "Maybe one FOH higher-up's mind has been changed but he might not change his actions. Or what the Professor did might have affected another one, who decides to quit FOH rather than do anything or change anything. It's just hard to say."
"But isn't it still possible that enough of them might see things differently now?" Jubilee asked.
"It's possible, Jubilee," Jean said. "But hatred of mutants is so widespread on earth that it might take a lot to see any real change. Still, though, I like that plan."
"As do I," Beast said. "I think it is the best course of action we have yet come up with for enacting
any long-term change on earth."
"Ain't no one come up with anything better," Rogue added.
"Anyone got any other ideas?" Wolverine asked, feeling restless.
No one did. The X-men had spent months---years even----discussing several other strategies among themselves but they'd yet to find one that looked feasible.
Angel looked around. "So then, isn't the question now----when does the Professor want to go on another mission? Because if we're going ahead with this plan, then we need him. He's absolutely critical."
"Are dere any other telepaths among all the mutants we rescued so far?" Gambit asked, looking in the direction of those X-men who resided permanently on An'zhina.
"No," Jean replied. "I kept hoping we'd come across another telepath or even someone with telekinesis. Unfortunately, it looks like Charles and I are it."
"Then you're right, Angel," Storm said, looking at him. She noticed that Warren seemed very happy lately but she had not had a spare moment to find out why. She performed group healing ceremonies and pseudo-therapy sessions with a batch of 35 camp survivors, all of whom were despairing at the thought of Storm leaving them. She continued on, "The timing of our next mission to earth is contingent on the Professor since we can't do it without him. If we're to make any large-scale change on earth, we need a telepath. I don't think we'll win Psylocke back to us anytime soon, even if we could find her. She, the Professor, and Jean are our only telepaths."
Jean looked at her hands, folded in front of her on the table. Jean was an exceedingly powerful telepath in her own right—nearly as powerful as Professor X---, and they all knew that. But I just can't leave Charlotte or Chris. And I can't risk bringing them with…Especially not given what happened on the last mission. Surely the others understand that. If any of them had children, they'd feel the same way. Banshee hasn't left An'zhina since he arrived here because he wants to be with his daughter and she doesn't want him to go.' Either through the mindlink or because he knew her so well, Scott sensed what she was thinking. He reached for one of her thighs under the table and patted it reassuringly.
"Next time I see the Professor, I will ask him when he would like to return to earth," Storm concluded. "Keeping in mind that he does need time to recoup," she added.
"I was shocked at how tired he looked," Jubilee said, though her voice was not so loud and not everyone heard her. Banshee, sitting next to her, murmured, "I agree, lass."
"Too bad we can't win dat Emma Frost over to our side," Gambit said. "She seem almost as powerful as the Professor."
Storm nodded. "She does seem really entrenched with FOH, at least from what Mark told us. But I wonder if maybe Charles can dialog with her and try to convince her that our cause is better."
"From what we know of the Hellfire Club," Cyclops began, "I doubt Emma's much interested in which cause' to support. It sounds like she likes the riches and luxury she lives in with FOH and that's that----I think her only 'cause' is herself.."
"Still, we can ask the Professor to try," Storm said, keeping her voice even.
Cyclops then changed the subject back to Mark. "Speaking of Mark----or, we were a second ago….let's pick up the discussion about what to do with our former Friends of Humanity soldier."
"I've touched his mind," Jean said. "I completely agree with the Professor's assessment of him. He possess no threat or danger to us." Although Jean's words were absolutely true, when she touched his mind, she felt something else too. Mark was hiding something. She knew that what he hid was of no great import and that Mark remained harmless. Jean had then stopped herself from probing deeper---it was none of her business and as great a temptation as it may have been to learn more, she would have been committing a violation had she gone further.
"Shouldna we return him to earth?" Banshee said. "After all, I
dona know if An'zhina is the place for him."
"What do you mean?" Storm asked.
"I see An'zhina as a refuge for mutants. And for those who care about them and will work to help them," he said, looking at his wife. "But as I understand it, Mark doesna necessarily fit in either category and the lad landed here accidentally."
"He helped us to escape," Nightcrawler said. "He supports our cause."
"An' he can't go back to earth," Gambit said. "The other FOH all saw him helpin' us. Dey'll kill him if dey get deir hands on him."
As Rogue heard her husband speak those words, she couldn't help but to turn her head in his direction and fight back some of the feelings swirling around her. Remy and I have gone through this before,' she thought. No use gettin' my knickers in a twist bout it again. I gotta deal with it. We agree on this----he's just more merciful towards the bastard than I am.' She tried to get a handle on her emotions.
"He really has nowhere else to go," Nightcrawler said, nodding at Gambit's comment. "I see no harm in allowing him to stay because, as the Professor and Jean have said, he poses no threat to us."
Hank then added, "And our constitution clearly prohibits discrimination based on whether or not one is a mutant. The circumstances that brought him here are irrelevant, and he is now as much a target of the Friends of Humanity as we are. He needs a refuge."
Cyclops looked around the room. "Can we all then agree that Mark can stay here, assuming he wants to?"
"He does," Angel added. "I spoke with him about it just yesterday."
No one voiced any objections to Mark residing on An'zhina.
"I don't have a problem with him stayin' here," Rogue said. "But I am wonderin' bout when he's gonna get what's comin' to him for what he did when he was an FOH soldier." All eyes turned to Rogue now. "I spoke with the little bastard and asked him if he'd raped any mutants at the camp he was at. The piece of hogslop looks me in the eye and said that he did."
Moira looked at Rogue, surprised --- perhaps even a little shocked --- by the younger woman's revelation. She had met with and spoken to Mark numerous times. Somehow….somehow it just seemed that a nice, normal, good-natured person like Mark would never do such a thing. Moira shut her eyes and sighed quietly. Ah, the banality of evil,' Charles would say. FOH had to be full of "nice and normal" men. Evil happens when good men and women fail to do the right thing. When will any of them get the courage to stop what they're doing?' Moira wondered despondently.
Rogue continued, "I got a problem with him walkin' around free while we spend half our days dealin' with the people that he and his former buddies roughed up. We seen the effects of what they did. Hell, most every woman in this room has lived through it herself! So we just gonna let him get off scott-free?" She hadn't intended for it to happen, but her voice had risen in pitch and intensity.
"I agree wit' Rogue," Gambit said. "I don't know what be right way to do it but somehow Mark gotta realize what he did an' he gotta pay the piper. We don't do anyt'ing and it be like what he did was no big deal, you know? We can't let him say somet'in' like he was jus' going along wit' the crowd because that still don't excuse it."
Several looks were exchanged and people started to whisper to others. Cyclops then spoke, quieting the chatter that had begun, "Personally, I agree with you. He should realize what he did was extremely serious and….and a horrible thing. I think he should face retribution but I don't know what an appropriate punishment would be."
"Neither do I," Storm admitted. "I do not think we should construct a jail cell and put him inside it. Even though I would not hesitate to suggest that for any other rapist back on earth."
"I dona think that's such a bad idea, actually," Banshee said. He clenched his fist and fought to keep his voice temperate. "Why not? When I think of what those FOH lowlifes did to my daughter and how she is still hurting today, sitting in a jail cell is a wee price to pay."
"Does sitting in a jail cell make him realize he did something wrong though?" Storm asked. "I would like for him to understand what he did and how it affected his victims."
"Perhaps he should do some work with the camp survivors here," Jean suggested. "I don't know exactly what type of work, but somehow interact with them----in a way that would be emotionally safe and non-threatening to the survivors, of course. But at least he could see what he put people through, see the impact of his actions. Not that I don't think Mark regrets what he did----he does regret it. I know that from the time I probed his mind. But I agree with what's been said, that he needs to not just regret it but to really needs to understand it. Some sort of retribution is justified."
"I think havin' him do somethin' with the survivors is a good idea," Wolverine said, "but I also like the idea of him facing some plain old punishment too. He did a crime and he needs to pay. Fair and simple."
The X-men discussed and debated the issue for a while longer. Finally they decided that Mark would perform manual and clean-up tasks around An'zhina. Most such work was handled by automation now, but Mark would be required to perform some of it himself. Additionally, Jean would come up with a way for Mark to interact with and possibly assist camp survivors so he could reach an understanding of what they had suffered through. Rogue was satisfied with the outcome.
It was awkward, being a regular human being on An'zhina, bereft of any mutant status. Mark knew he was one of a handful of the non-mutants there, but what made it even worse was the fact that he was a former soldier in the Friends of Humanity.
Maybe it's karma, coming back to me,' Mark mused one day, if there even is such a thing. I joined an organization that tormented mutants, and now I live somewhere where I get a chance to be the outcast.'
Of course no one was openly hostile towards Mark. Not since the incident on board Freedom with Rogue had Mark ever been given cause to fear for his safety. But word traveled fast on An'zhina and soon everyone knew Mark was a former FOH soldier.
Friends were few and far between, not that he'd had any real ones on earth anymore either. That kindly Scottish woman, Moira, was always gentle and one of the few who made time to converse with him. (Despite the fact, as Mark had found out, that FOH had killed her son, imprisoned and raped her step-daughter, and had shipped her husband out to the far reaches of space to perform slave labor. Moira's amiable countenance in the face of all this was remarkable.) The elderly Greys were friendly enough too. But in general, Hector Rendoza was the only one Mark could term a "friend." It was ironic. Hector, just by virtue of his physical appearance, would have been one of FOH's most obvious targets on earth. But now Hector was the only one to befriend a former FOH soldier.
Of course, Hector was a bit of an outcast too. On An'zhina, you saw all sorts of mutants. Most were attractive---in either a conventional or unconventional way. There were many who had unusual appearances but still were not bad looking. However, none were as revolting in appearance as Hector.
Mark shook his head. He would've thought that Wraith's fellow mutants would take pity on him and befriend him, but that didn't appear to the be the case either. Wraith trained with the X-men and, as he told Mark, they were all pleasant and nice enough but Hector hadn't really felt like any of them wanted to strike up a friendship either. Each seemed wrapped up in either their own happiness or own depression.
Mark usually ate his meals by himself or with Hector. Eating with the mutant could be a trying experience. Given Wraith's see-through skin, one could see a hazy outline of the food as he chewed it. The contractions of his muscles as the morsels slid down his esophagus could be observed as well. As much as Wraith covered himself up, his neck was usually exposed ---and obviously his mouth had to be uncovered as he ate. Mark would have to look down at his plate during much of the meal, and a few times he fought back retching. Hector, of course, knew and understood what was going on and even had apologized more than once, making Mark feel even worse about it all.
On this particular day however, Hector was going to be late due to a training session and Mark would be eating alone as he so often did. As Mark bit into his sandwich, he heard a voice ask, "Would you like some company?"
Mark looked up and saw Jean Grey stranding before him, holding her daughter in her arms. "Of course," he said, in wonderment at the woman's beauty. That Scott is a lucky guy,' he mused. It freaked him out when he fleetingly remembered that only weeks ago, he had seized this woman's family and been taking them to an FOH camp. She's got reason enough to hate me. They all do.' Yet Jean was polite towards Mark as always. Mark marveled at the forgiveness he had been granted.
Jean then sat with him, intermittently conversing with Mark as she fed Charlotte and ate her own lunch. Jean kept the tone of the dialogue light---she had such a way of disarming someone, such a pleasantness about her. After a while, Mark ascertained that she was subtly gaining information on how Mark enjoyed An'zhina, how he spent his days, what he thought of the other inhabitants, and so on. She eventually got to the heart of the matter---letting Mark know what the X-men had discussed at their last meeting. Only Jean could've made the discussion unthreatening.
"I understand," Mark said, when Jean was finished. "I know what I did was very wrong and I welcome the chance to so something—no matter how small." He spoke the truth about his feelings. I just need to hope that the Professor never tells them that my own brother was one of the soldiers who kidnapped and tortured them….'
I was finding myself enjoying my garden even more than usual and spending a lot of time there. I loved it all—being outdoors, working with nature and watching things grow. My past resentment towards the others for not maintaining the garden to my standards had melted away----the garden was just fine. The weather was getting a bit cooler on An'zhina now but it really never snowed there either. We'd never had a frost. I was trying to understand the cycles this magical moon went through but it almost seemed as though robust, succulent vegetables could grow year round.
On this particular day, I was using my powers to water the garden. I no longer needed to completely change into my iced-over form. One of my hands was iced over and I shot water out of my fingertips. I even had the ability to control the temperature and not shock the plants with freezing water. My gifts never seemed the least bit odd to me and I knew I even took them for granted a bit.
After finishing with watering the plants, I sat down to take a rest, crossing my legs in front of me. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples…..and then startled and gasped when I felt someone crawl into my lap!
"Sorry about that, Bobby," Cyclops said. His daughter Charlotte had waddled over to me and was now sitting in my lap.
"Hey, no need to apologize," I said. "She just surprised me. I think-----"
"Bobby sad," Charlotte said. "He feel sad. Help him." I raised my eyebrows at her declaration, even though it was true. Everyone knew by now that Jean and Scott's daughter had powers of empathy. Not that it exactly took a genius to figure out that I wasn't happy though.
Cyclops knelt down next to his daughter. He spoke to her in such a gentle tone that I was momentarily stunned. Neither of my parents had ever used such a tone with me and I was reminded that Scott was more than the stringent leader. And I had such a craving to hear someone address me with tenderness too.
"Charlotte, honey, you remember what Mommy and I spoke about with you?" he said to the girl. "You have wonderful gifts. Most other people cannot tell how others are feeling inside. But sometimes, some people might not like it if you say out loud what they are feeling. Feelings are private."
I shrugged. "It's okay with me. It's no big secret anyway. I am sad."
Scott looked uncomfortable---whether due to people having the nerve to actually talk about how they felt or the cause of my sadness itself, I didn't know. "So, uh, how is Northstar?" he asked.
Well, I give him points for asking. Actually, I'm not being fair to Scott at all. Soon after we'd returned to An'zhina, he made a point to ask about Jean-Paul's state then too, busy as he was with Jean's family having returned. Sometimes I think I can never make up my mind about Scott but that day I was willing to entertain the idea that he did always strive to do the right thing even if it made him uneasy.
I answered something like, "The same," when some members of Scott's family came looking for him. Jean Grey walked up to us, with the baby Christopher inside a carrier that she wore. Jean's parents and niece were there too and they greeted us.
"You want to join us, Bobby?" Jean asked. "We're going to take a walk in the forest. The trees are so beautiful now we want to look at them as much as we can."
"Thanks, Jean," I replied, "but I really need to take care of this garden."
"You do such wonders with it. Have the others been taking good care of it while you were gone? I wished I could've tended to it more, but with the two babies….."
"I understand. Yeah, the garden looks great," I lied. The others could've been doing a way better job with it but whatever.
"Come on, sweetie," Scott said, gesturing for Charlotte to get up from my lap and join them.
Charlotte turned her head and looked at me before getting up. It was really uncanny that one so young could show so much caring and concern in her face. She really was worried about me. I was amazed.
So the others set out for their walk and I got back to gardening. I reached for a hoe and picked out some more weeds and pebbles from the soil. After some time had passed, I had another visitor. I felt a strong gust of wind and looked up to find that Jeanne-Marie Beaubier had flown in, quick as a wink. She landed next to me.
"Hi, Bobby," she said, her voice with a lighter, somewhat more friendly air than usual.
"Hi Jeanne-Marie," I said. "How are you?"
"Okay. And you?"
"Alright. How's ---er, how are things?" I stopped myself just in time. I'd been about to ask her how Stephan was. Ridiculous to ask that, I know, but my mind had been on autopilot and I temporarily forgot that FOH took her son from her. Sometimes working in the garden put me in a near-trance state, which I loved. The mental relaxation was great though sometimes I forgot important stuff like that.
"Things might be better if you'd go talk to Jean-Paul," she said. "He'd like to see you."
"Really?" I asked. My heart rate wasn't jumping out of my chest and I wasn't going to take off then and go run to see him that instant, as I might've before. Instead I sat down on my mat and began work on planting a few seedlings.
"Yes. Both today and yesterday he has been asking for you. He wishes you'd come to see him."
"He can tell me that himself," I said, trying to keep my voice as flat as possible. "He has a communicator. Or he can just get up and knock on my door." Truly, I missed him and loved him the same as always. Thinking about him pained me. But I was really hurt—especially by our last encounter---and I sure wasn't about to go running back like a whipped dog. At the same time, I couldn't deny the twinge of excitement and hope at hearing the news that he wanted to see me.
Jeanne-Marie seemed to hesitate before answering and several seconds passed. She then said, "He is not good at this sort of thing. You know from what we spoke about before. It is hard for him to admit that he's been wrong or done something wrong." She knelt down beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I turned my face towards hers and really looked at her. For a second. it was breathtaking. She and Jean-Paul had basically the same features----hers more feminine and soft of course, but the eyes were virtually the same. Both had led difficult lives and I swear I saw it all, looking at Jeanne-Marie. Looking into her beautiful eyes was like gazing at her brother's too----especially given that I saw respect in those eyes, I saw caring, a bit of warmth, and maybe a hint of love. "Please, Bobby. Go to see him. He is sorry for what he did." I knew, of course, what she was referring to; she and her brother shared everything just as Jubilee and I usually did. "There is no excuse for it but he is really hurting and really down. He needs you. He needs you to share some strength with him and to accept that he is not perfect."
Her words were getting me to thaw a bit and I started to wonder whether I was being selfish again. Yeah, Jean-Paul had been treating me pretty poorly but FOH put him through hell. How might I have reacted if I'd been through the same? I had been losing my patience with Jean-Paul but that wasn't really fair. I had tried to support him before but perhaps he hadn't been ready for it then.
"Okay," I said, sighing. "I'll go to him."
Jeanne-Marie then rose to her feet. "Now?" she asked.
"No," I said, looking down at my garden. "I want to finish planting this row here. Then I'll go."
She bent down and laid a hand on my back. "Thank you, Bobby," she said softly. She then flew off in a flash, ascending into the sky and disappearing as quickly as she had arrived. Watching her go, I envied again those who could fly and thought of how I missed the times Northstar would carry me as we zoomed around the sky.
After that, I took my time to get to Jean-Paul. When I had finished with the garden, I returned to my room and washed my hands and face. I brushed my teeth. I then combed my hair, briefly noting that very few mutant men----with the notable exception of Professor X----ever seemed to lose their hair as they aged. I didn't even see anyone with a receding hairline. I saw Hank and Panda all the time and always meant to ask one of them for their scientific opinions on this matter. I also looked at myself and thought that I never seemed to age much; I had to be nearly 33 by then but I looked the same as I had when I was 25. Same was true of the guys who were a few years older than I, like Cyke and Angel. And Jean-Paul.
I exited my room and then walked over to Jean-Paul's, which was next door. I heard some noise and saw a few people walking down the hall, which made me hesitate for a bit. But I found myself knocking on the door, though somewhat softly. Quite a bit of time seemed to pass as I kept straining to either hear a response or hear the door opening. Nothing. "Jean-Paul?" I called out, though I knew the rooms were largely sound-proof. More people walked down the hall and I felt stupid standing there like that, but I reminded myself not to worry what they might be thinking----who knew if they even noticed me there or not? I waited a bit and then knocked again, louder.
No response. I felt certain that he was in the room, though. You rarely saw him anywhere else. Since arriving on An'zhina, I'd never seen him in the dining hall for a meal and my reconnaissance team (consisting solely of Jubilee and Rory) had never seen him eat with the group either. I then made the decision to just open the door and step in.
I pressed the code to slide the doors aside and peaked my head in. "Jean-Paul?" I called out. The room was dark, and I was hit with a gust of chilly air as the window was wide open.
"Here," he called. He was in his usual spot, laying on the bed.
"Want some company?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
"Yes," he said. His voice sounded throaty and tired.
"Aren't you getting cold in here?" I asked, taking a few steps inside. Cold weather never bothered me---I loved it, in fact----but I noticed Jean-Paul was bundled under layers of blankets.
"No," he said. "Would you come sit here?"
So I went over to the bed and sat down next to him. All my anger and resentment towards him vanished. He looked haggard and depressed. "Oh, my sweetheart," I said, touching a hand to his head. "What are you doing cooped up in here?"
He reached for my hand and kissed it. He didn't answer my question and I prompted him gently, "Hmmmm? Don't you ever want to take a walk? Or work-out in the gym again?" He used to love exercise too.
Jean-Paul simply remained holding my hand. After a while, he just said, "I don't know."
"When's the last time you saw Hank? Have you had a medical exam lately?"
"Yes," he said. "Hank was in here just the other day."
"What does he say about your condition?"
"He says I need to go see Xavier."
"You should, my love," I said, still holding onto his hand. I was speaking more slowly than you'd usually talk to someone. "You need someone who can help you get through this and get out of this. You need to talk to someone." I then added, "You could talk to me."
"I don't want to talk now . Not to anyone. I don't want to relive it." A long silence, and then he asked, "Will you just stay here with me?"
So that's what happened. I respected his desire for quiet. We'd already spoken more during this exchange than we had since after his surgery. I sat on the side of the bed, holding his hand and stroking his face for a long time. Before I left, he thanked me for visiting him and I felt very happy. I had only an inkling of it at the time, but it was the start of Jean-Paul's recovery.
Chapter 17
Chapter 19