Freedom

by Stormkpr

The second book in my trilogy in which the X-men must fight back against the dominant FOH. Adults only please. COMPLETED

25. Chapter 25

Leigh's Fanfiction Archive Stormkeeper's Fanfiction Freedom Chapter 25

Freedom

By Stormkeeper

Chapter 25

Immediately after being beamed back to Freedom, Storm headed for the main conference room. When she reached it, she found most of the other X-men discussing Mark.

"How could he have been so stupid??" Jubilee was asking. "I mean, sheesh you gotta really mess up to blow up all the dilithium!"

"Stupid and careless!" Jeanne-Marie added, disgusted.

"But you must keep in mind, Jeanne-Marie and Jubilee," Shaman said, "those engines are tricky and not easy to clean."

"I must take some of the responsibility," Nightcrawler said. "I trained him on this process. Obviously my training was not sufficient."

"I don't think you need to take any of the blame, Kurt," Rogue said. "Are we so sure it was a blasted accident anyway??"

"I'm certain that it was," Jean said. "I can read his mind. I'd know if there was any malice. He truly did not mean to blow up our dilithium."

Rogue shook her head. "Well, whatever happens now, he ain't comin' on any more missions with us. Let him go back to washin' dishes on An'zhina if the damn fool wants to help' anymore."

Storm then entered the room, and everyone turned to look at her. Instinctively, Storm knew she always first sought out Wolverine whenever she entered a room. And there he was, looking right at her, with something of a glint in his eyes. What was he thinking of, Storm wondered. But she chased those thoughts out of her mind, knowing she needed to focus on business.

"Did they agree to help us?" Cyclops asked, getting right to the point.

"Where's Moonstar?" Bobby asked.

"She's remaining on board Marrow and Psylocke's ship for a little while----they have an actual starship now; they're not in a shuttle anymore." Storm said. "Marrow requested to speak with Moonstar. And yes, they did agree to help us---in exchange for something, of course."

"What do they want?" Cyclops asked.

Listening to the discussion, Wolverine fervently hoped that Betsy hadn't made some insane request of wanting him to permanently join them. She ain't that stupid,' he thought. They do somethin' like that and for all they know, we'll come on over there and take the damn dilithium from them.'

"They want us to sign an agreement," Storm said. She then went on to relay the details of the requested contract. The group discussed it for a short while. No one was thrilled with the idea of never being able to prevent Psylocke and Marrow from hurting others, but their options right now were severely limited and they needed the dilithium.

"It would be giving them free reign to do what they want," Rogue brought up.

"We don't have much choice," Storm replied.

"If we sign this agreement, we gotta stick with it," Wolverine said. "We can't give our word an' go back on it."

"I agree," Cyclops said. "So are we cer----"

He stopped when the doors to the conference room slid aside and Dani Moonstar entered. "Are you alright?" Cyclops asked.

"I'm fine," Dani said simply, a blank expression on her face.

"What did they want with you?" Northstar asked.

Moonstar shrugged. "They wanted to talk to me. That's it." Her expression was not going to give anything away. She then asked the group to fill her in on what she'd missed.

There was very little debate or discussion. The X-men agreed that they needed the dilithium and Psylocke and Marrow's terms were not the best, but acceptable. Jean contacted Psylocke to make the arrangements.

One half-hour later, Psylocke and Marrow beamed over a contract for the X-men to sign. Sparsely worded, it stated the exact terms of the agreement. The X-men were not to "hinder, or restrain" Psylocke, Marrow "or anyone else in their crew" "in any way, shape, or form." The X-men were not to beam any of them onto their ship without express approval and consent from the crew of the Vengeance, they were not to fire weapons on the Vengeance, not to use mind control against the crew of the Vengeance, not to use their tractor beam on the Vengeance, etc, etc. Psylocke and Marrow required that each member of the X-men on board Freedom sign the contract, and they did so.

In exchange, the X-men received a fairly sizable amount of dilithium. The amount would be sufficient for them to reach the moon they had been at before, the one containing mass amounts of dilithium. They did not have much to spare, but the dilithium they received would at least get them to the moon. The X-men estimated that the journey to the moon would require about four weeks at maximum warp.

As soon as the X-men had received and loaded the dilithium supplies, they set course for the moon at maximum speed. Their mission on earth would have to wait until their supplies could be replenished.

"What do we do with Mark now?" Storm asked. The X-men leadership---Storm, Cyclops, Hank, Wolverine and Rogue----stood in a circle in engineering moments after the dilithium had been loaded and Freedom began its expedition towards the moon with dilithium.

"I must say that I disagree with confining him to quarters as if he were a criminal," Hank said. "The situation is now under control and the ship is no longer at any immediate danger. It is time we had a discussion with Mark."

"To discuss what?" Rogue asked. "The fact that he's either a blasted fool or he's somehow fakin' Jean out and is some sorta super-spy."

"There is no way he could be faking Jean out," Scott said. "She's the second strongest telepath in the world! The galaxy," he corrected himself. "If she says that he made an honest mistake, then that's what happened."

"Maybe we gave the guy too much responsibility," Wolverine said.

Storm nodded. "That could indeed be it. Being an X-man and performing our duties is easy for us, but perhaps Mark was overwhelmed. He wanted to help so much and subsequently ended up taking on too much."

Rogue shook her head. "I still don't see it. Cleanin' the engines don't exactly require a brain surgeon."

"But it does require someone with great attention to detail, who can exercise caution and go about the work with precision," Hank said. "Perhaps we overestimated his skill set."

"I got an idea," Wolverine said after the group fell silent for a few seconds. "Hank, you're right that we can't leave the guy in his room all the time---he ain't a criminal. Let's let him go but keep him outta certain areas. Like the bridge and engineering."

Hank nodded. "I can easily program the doors to restrict access based on fingerprint. Thereby we can restrict Mark from the bridge and engineering."

The group liked that idea best of all. Cyclops asked Hank to go about making the programming changes and offered to speak more with Mark himself to determine exactly what went wrong. With that, their informal meeting was over.

Hank then turned to head for the bridge to make the programming changes, Cyclops went after Mark, and Rogue quickly made herself scarce, leaving Storm and Wolverine alone in engineering. They looked at each other, their eyes locking.

Storm detested the jitters she now felt. But she had to now initiate talking with Wolverine, had to see if their conversation could be resumed from where it had abruptly been cut off. Ever since Storm had returned from the negotiations with Marrow and Psylocke, she'd been taking brief glimpses at Logan and saw that he had been doing the same with her. The direct look he gave her now indicated that he also wanted to continue their discussion.

"Our…our conversation was interrupted," Storm managed, adding a small laugh onto the end. She actually felt herself blushing a bit and she wondered whether Logan were silently rejoicing, knowing he was one of the only people (maybe the only person) who could reduce her to this state.

"Yeah," Wolverine said. "You were sittin' on a chair and I was down on one knee in front of you."

Storm looked around the room and located a chair. Mustering all her gumption and trying to resist a smile, she walked over to it and sat down upon it as a queen might seat herself upon her throne.

A slight smile crept across Logan's face. He liked her nerve; always had. Playing along, he walked over towards her and again dropped to one knee. This surely was not going to be easy. But he had accepted that the alternative---no Storm---would be far, far worse.

"So, you were saying?" Storm asked, sounding now more like herself but also relaxed and a tad playful.

"I was sayin', darlin', that I regret what I did and that Psylocke ain't no substitute for you," he said sincerely.

"And…?" Storm prompted. She managed to keep from sounding too eager; her voice remained relaxed.

"And-----"

The doors to engineering slid aside and Bobby Drake walked in. "Hey, you guys seen Hank in here?" he asked. And then, taking note of the pose Storm and Wolverine were in, asked, "Am I interrupting anything? Like, a marriage proposal?"

Wolverine was decidedly not in the mood for joking with Bobby. He turned and gave the Iceman a sour look. "Beast went to the bridge. And you might wanna get yourself outta here too," he said gruffly.

"Sure thing, guys. See ya later," Bobby said breezily, ignoring Wolverine's ire, as he exited. He also fought back a little smirk on his face.

"Now, where were we?" Storm asked, smiling and deciding to have a sense of humor about the whole scenario.

Wolverine burst from his kneeling position and pulled himself towards Storm for a passionate kiss. He crushed his lips against hers, not wanting to hold himself back any longer, after having been denied---having denied himself----her for so long. "Darlin', I wanna be with you," he said, coming back up, gasping. "It's you I want. I miss you. An' whatever the hell we had before, I want it again."

Storm's heart was thumping, beating against her chest. She had waited for and dreamt about this for so long. Wolverine's kiss was intoxicating, the sharp bristles of his facial hair against her soft skin felt shocking but also familiarly delightful.

And yet. She had to continue to respect and honor herself. She had to keep her standards high and not settle for anything less than what she deserved or what she wanted. She forced herself to say what she needed to get out. "I liked what we had before," she admitted. "But I am not certain that it would be sufficient for me any longer."

Storm observed Wolverine's face falling, his very cautious hope seeming to disburse. Her heart started to break at seeing the expression of the man she loved. But she knew she had to hold firm. She reached down for one of his hands and held it between hers. "I want to be with you, Logan. I want us to be together. Not quite like what we had before, but something perhaps a little more serious. A little more committed. Something beyond just sex." She paused and attempted to gauge the effect her words were having on him. She felt that she had swallowed enough pride now. Let him have a turn.

"I want that too," he said. Storm was shocked to hear a twinge of….eagerness in his voice. Longing. He really did want her! "I want you to take me back, Storm." And then he finally verbalized what he'd been about to say to her in her room, before they'd been interrupted. "I love you, Storm."

Wolverine said the words and knew that he meant them, meant it fully. And as he'd realized before, it might be a different type of love than some others. He never felt for Storm the way he had felt for Jean when he'd first joined the X-men so long ago and Jean had occupied his thoughts morning, noon and night---how he'd dreamed of her, fumbled with words in her presence, salivated when Jean was in the room, obsessed over the intangible prize. And Wolverine had realized that he no longer wanted that futile yearning in his life anymore, or the false oasis of hope he'd felt when he'd met Jean's sister.

No, what he felt for Storm was a different kind of love, more rock steady and stable and natural. It wasn't the type of love that made your heart pound….but perhaps that was alright. It was more comfortable and less thrilling than the craving he'd felt for Jean. Maybe that had been why he'd fallen so hard for Jean in the first place. Logan had experienced so much pain in his lifetime that only the more intense feelings got through his thick defenses. But the time for those torrential feelings was past. Logan needed something real in his life now.

Storm digested those words. Even though she'd had an inkling that was the phrase he'd been about to utter as they'd been interrupted last time, it was still surprising and exciting. She looked down for a second and then let her eyes meet his. "Well, you already know how I feel about you. Don't you?" she asked softly.

"But I wanna hear you say it, Ro."

"I love you, Logan."

"Darlin'…I also wanna say I'm sorry. I didn't see what I had right in front of me all along. I'm sorry I was so thick-headed."

He then reached to kiss her but she pulled away. "But Logan….if we are to try our hand at a relationship, you must understand. There can be no more dalliances like the one you had with Psylocke." Storm hated to bring it up but knew she had to, or she'd regret it. She felt the strength and power of the universe flowing through her, giving her the mettle she needed to state her needs.

"It won't happen again."

Storm nodded. Where they were at now was almost beyond her wildest dreams. For several seconds she didn't know what to do and could tell that Wolverine wasn't certain either. They simply fell into an embrace, Wolverine still crouching down before her.

The contented warmth of having his arms around Storm and pulling her towards him put Wolverine into orbit. And he greatly wanted to make love to her then, but at the same time he did not want his declaration of love to be taken as a plea for sex. He wanted Storm to understand that he meant what he said and wasn't just looking for a bed partner.

Storm meanwhile was a bit too overjoyed for sex. So the two of them remained in engineering, hugging and embracing, savoring the feelings they had finally let down their shields far enough to experience. They sat nestled together for a long while, until Wolverine's communicator sounded.

"Uh…Wolverine? It's Wraith. It's, um, time for your bridge duty shift."

Wolverine regretfully pulled away from Storm to take a peek at his timepiece. He was over 20 minutes late. "Sorry, Hector. I'll be up in a minute."

As he got up, Storm rose with him. "You don't haveta come with me, darlin.'"

"I would like to."

"With you there, I ain't gonna be able to pay much attention to the bridge."

Storm smiled. "I will only distract you for a little while. Actually, I…." she took a breath, "I need to apologize to Hector." She knew that his hyper-senses would have told him what she did with Hector that morning.

He gave a brief nod, understanding. Holding hands, the two headed for the bridge.

As soon as I could get Dani Moonstar alone for a bit, I asked her if she wanted to talk. The two of us went into her room to sit down with drinks (hers being hot chocolate and mine soda---we knew we'd be keeping a close watch on dilithium usage but these drinks had already been replicated. And besides, since we got the extra dilithium we needed, I couldn't imagine that we were expected to drink nothing but water till we got to the moon with the dilithium. Though with the way good old Cyclops sometimes watched the logs, who knew?)

"So you gotta tell me, Dani," I said, "what happened on Marrow and Psylocke's ship? And Storm said they have a real ship now, and not a shuttle."

"Yeah, they stole a ship from FOH and named it Vengeance. And Marrow said something about wanting to name her group The Pirates." Dani shook her head and then added sarcastically, "Maybe she can grow a bone over an eye and make it into a patch. Wouldn't that be cute?" We both giggled---we had the same sense of humor. She then took a sip of her drink. "God it's cold on this ship now! I know we're saving dilithium, but sheesh." She got up to put on another layer of clothing.

"Well that's great that Marrow and crew picked out a snazzy new name," I said, eager to steer the conversation back towards where I wanted it. And the cold never really bothered me so I didn't have much else to say along those lines. "But why did they ask you to stay later, after Storm'd beamed away??"

Dani was smiling at me, the smile you give someone when you have a piece of information they obviously want. "Why do you ask? Were people talking about it?"

"Yeah. Some of us were," I said, trying to sound a bit nonchalant. "When we weren't talking about Mark or wondering what the heck we'd do if we didn't get the dilithium we needed."

"Well, nothing much happened, really. Marrow asked me to sit in a conference room with her. She asked me about my background, where I grew up and all. So I told her a lot of the stuff I told you when we first met. And yeah, she did hit on me but I was totally not interested." She paused. "So that was basically all that happened."

"You're disappointed," I said. "You're trying to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal but deep down, you're disappointed."

"How did you know?" she asked, sounding a tad impressed at my insight.

"Cause I would feel the same way. I have felt the same way." I took a breath. "Before I'd ever met another gay mutant, I was really looking forward to the day when I would. I had a lot of high hopes. But the first time I met Northstar, he---and his sister and Shaman---had just survived like weeks and weeks of being prisoners of FOH. They'd seen the rest of their team killed, and they were separated from their families back on earth. And they'd been tortured. So obviously Jean-Paul wasn't much in the mood for meeting new people. I was disappointed---I remember talking about it with Jubilee one day." I continued on with my flashback, hoping Dani wouldn't mind. She leaned forward in her seat, looking interested. "In fact, that was the day Jubilee first told me that she was pregnant. I was so shocked. But anyway, I just remember feeling disappointed and telling her I was so bummed that Jean-Paul and I didn't have this cosmic connection when we first met. But a while later, our pa ths crossed again and we were both at different places in our lives than we were the first time----and we clicked then."

"That's very interesting. And it's cool that it worked out for you guys. But I don't see any amount of time changing the fact that I don't have any chemistry with Marrow. And she's cold-heartedly killed and tortured who-knows-how-many people. Honestly, I didn't even want to look at her. She's not who I want."

I listened to her words and something about the way she said that last sentence gave me an idea. "Who do you want?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is there someone on board this ship that you are interested in?"

"Why do you ask that?" she asked innocently, but I saw a glint in her eyes and the corner of her mouth twitched upwards, tellingly.

"Just a feeling I had." Moonstar was silent so I pursued. "Well….?"

Dani tilted her head up, as if listening for something. "What the heck are you doing?" I asked her.

"Hoping the red alert sound would save me," she replied with a straight face. We then looked at each other and giggled.

"If you can't tell these things to me, then who can you tell??" I leaned forward. "So there is someone here who you have a crush on. Who is it?"

"I'm not telling."

"Don't you trust me?" I teasingly asked.

"I would trust you with my life in the Danger Room or on the battlefield. But I'm not sure I trust you to keep this to yourself."

"Ouch!" I said, grasping my chest in mock-horror, as if I'd been shot by an arrow. "That smarts! Do I really have a reputation as a gossip?"

"I wouldn't say that. No one's said that to me, anyway. I just get the idea that you do like to talk and know what's going on, and you have a lot of friends you like to talk to. It wasn't meant as a stab at you, Bobby."

"Okay, though it still sounds like you're calling me a gossip." But that wasn't the end of the matter for me. I had to pursue the idea of Dani having a crush on someone; she'd captured my interest. "But if someone swears me to secrecy, I will keep my word. So please tell me, Dani. Who is it that you like?"

"Bobby. Dearest." She reached forward and touched a hand to my chin. "I really wanna keep this to myself. Okay?"

I was silent for a bit as I mentally ran down the names of the women on board the ship. Moonstar didn't seem particularly close to Jean or Panda or Rogue. I think she liked them just fine but my intuition told me it wasn't one of those three and that it had to be one of the other three. And Dani had spent more significant time with the other three. She'd taught Storm the flute and they occasionally worked on music (and I think rituals too) together. I'd also seen her with Jubilee quite a bit, hanging out in the rec room, playing with Rory by the pool and such. Though Dani also seemed a bit chummy with Jean-Paul's sister Aurora too; especially that night we all got drunk in my room. "Okay, I got it narrowed down to three----Storm, Jubilee or Jeanne-Marie. Which is it?"

Dani made a face which told me that I'd correctly narrowed the field down. "Oh, Bobby you are so impossible. No wonder Hank's your best friend---he's the only one with enough patience to put up with you!" She was coming across jokingly though I'm sure we both knew there was truth in her words too.

"But what about Jean-Paul?" I kidded right back. "He's not exactly known for a lot of patience and he puts up with me!"

"Well maybe that's cause you treat him a whole lot better than you treat anyone else!"

"Do I?" I asked, switching to a more serious tone. I realized that she'd hit a note of truth. "Yeah, I guess I do, in a way."

"Well, I'd say you basically treat him like a king. And boy does he seem to like it," she added.

I shrugged. "He treats me very well too. He's very loving." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Though he hasn't let me have a turn for a long time," I pouted.

"He hasn't what? Oh---is this a reference to something in bed?"

"Yeah." Moonstar and I had talked pretty explicitly about our sex lives before; she and Jubilee were the two to whom I'd basically say anything on this topic. "In the past, I used to top every now and then and he didn't mind----he liked it for a change of pace and he'd even offer it sometimes. But he hasn't offered to bottom for a long time and ever since….ever since what happened to him with the soldiers, I'd feel like a jerk asking for it, you know?"

"But there's no harm in asking, is there? Worst he can do is say no," she said, shrugging. "But maybe you should hold off for a while----maybe he just needs to go for a while without it."

"I think so. It really hasn't been that long since he was assaulted, come to think of it. I guess I'm being selfish. But anyway, I'm not really upset about it."

"I'd say just be patient," Dani advised. "And understanding. You know, some women who've been raped need to go for a long time before they ever want someone inside them again. It can take a while to fully recover."

"I know," I paused and looked at her. "So, what about you, Dani? Do you feel yourself recovered from your time at the FOH camp?"

As always whenever this topic was broached, Moonstar adeptly changed the subject and moved on.

Storm and Wolverine arrived on the main bridge, Wolverine again apologizing to Hector for his tardiness. Hector rose from the captain's chair, not able to meet Storm's eyes.

"Hector," she began softly, "may I have a word with you?"

"Of course." He followed her to the nearest conference room and they sat down together. Hector had a strong feeling he knew what was coming.

"I wish to apologize to you for my behavior last night. This morning," Storm corrected herself. This day had been so momentous, it was hard to believe that so little time had truly passed. "I really hope that I did not misuse my position of leadership. There is no excuse for what I did, and I promise it will not happen again. I am very, very sorry if I hurt you."

"It's okay, Storm. Really," Hector replied. "I—I'm not mad. Really, there's no need to apologize. I mean, I understand that sometimes people…. people do things like having too much to drink."

Storm breathed a sigh of relief. "I am very glad to hear that. Thank you for being understanding, Hector."

"It's no big deal. If you want to, we can forget about it. It's okay with me."

Storm thanked him again, and Wraith then left the room. During their talk, she could see the blood coursing through Hector's system; she thought she might've seen him trembling even. Poor man,' she thought. I used him---there's no other way to say it. I hope he can truly forgive me someday.'

Unfortunately, Storm did not know the real reason why Hector appeared in such a state of excitement. He truly was not angry. In fact, he was elated. He was more excited and happy than he'd been in a long time. Because of Storm, he was able to join the ranks of a group of people he had thought he could never enter---he had become someone who had been kissed. And someone who had experienced sex. He'd known that Storm was drunk when she'd entered his room, and he'd known that their fling was not going to lead to anything more. And he hadn't cared one bit either. Hector was still flying high from the elation of their tryst.

Soon after my conversation with Moonstar, in which I'd failed to extract the identity of the woman she had a crush on, I found myself hanging out with Hank in his room. He and I no longer got a lot of one-on-one time anymore but he'd actually been taking a break from this research (believe it or not) and we wound up in the rec room at the same time. "I got an idea," I'd said. "How bout I brush you? For old times' sake."

He liked the idea so we'd left the rec room for his quarters, and soon I found myself straddling my large friend as I coaxed his fur into a more orderly state. It had been far, far too long since we'd done this.

"Your coat's looking in pretty decent shape," I said.

"Panda and I brush and scratch each other upon occasion," he explained.

We then talked for a bit about the events of the day, since it had been a busy one. Hank maintained that Mark's action had to have been an accident. I agreed, even though it did seem odd and a bit too coincidental that the former FOH soldier managed to blow up all our dilithium. As far as mistakes went, his was pretty colossal. But I basically agreed it had to have been unintentional. After all, that's what Jean said and how could Mark be faking her out? And from what I knew of Mark, I really believed he was a good guy.

"Do you have any baby news?" I asked.

"I do not," Hank said. "The pregnancy is progressing steadily and according to schedule. It is truly amazing---and fortunate----that Panda does not experience any of the common discomforts associated with gestation."

"With what? Oh—with being pregnant you mean. Sheesh, Hank, who are you trying to impress with these big words?? I can't understand you half the time."

Hank just sighed, I'm sure he rolled his eyes, and I continued to brush out his back. After being silent for a bit, he said, "Panda and I have decided to name the baby Robert."

"That's a nice na----." I stopped myself when it sank in. The movement of the brush came to a halt. "Robert'? You….you don't mean like after me, do you??"

"Yes."

"Hank!" I exclaimed. Words were failing me. "Wow. I mean, I'm honored. And I'm speechless. Thank you."

"There is no need to thank me. I wanted to pay tribute to my best friend."

I was grinning from ear to ear at that point. Incredible. I felt such pride that someone thought me worthy of naming their own child after. Little 'ole me, getting a baby named after himself. And I truly was speechless. I searched for something humorous to say since I was glowing with the compliment and even a bit uncomfortable. "Um, I heard that those ultrasounds are sometimes wrong. So if the baby turns out to be a girl, please---whatever you do---don't name her Roberta, okay? That is the ugliest name in the universe."

Hank chuckled. "That is good advice. Perhaps Panda and I should come up with a contingency plan in case the test was incorrect."

We were quiet for a bit. "So how does it feel?" I asked. "Hank McCoy becoming a Daddy for the first time at age thirty-six."

"Thirty-seven, by now," he corrected. And then he was silent.

"Okay, thirty-seven. It's hard to keep track of this stuff without calendars and stuff. So….how does it feel?"

"I feel many different emotions in regards to this. Most are quite pleasant. However, I admit that I feel some pressure too."

"Really? How so?"

"I aspire to be a good parent. My own father was somewhat distant with my sister, brother and I. I hope to do better than he."

"You never talk about him, Hank. What was he like?" I was sincerely curious. And perhaps because I preferred to basically forget about my biological family, I rarely asked people about theirs. I'd known Hank for like sixteen years but I can only vaguely recall us once or twice touching on the subject of his family. I'd assumed it was a sore subject with him as well.

"He was a….a tolerable father," Hank finally said. "He never mistreated or abused us. However, we saw him infrequently because he spent most of his time at his profession. What little leisure time he had, he spent performing things such as household repairs and improvements, or attending sporting events with his friends."

"How was he with the whole mutant thing?" I asked.

"My father's reaction was comparable to that of my mother and the rest of the family. I believe that they wanted to be supportive but they were uncomfortable and unsure how to proceed." Hank paused. I had finished brushing out his back and the backs of his arms and legs. He thanked me for my work, and I then took a seat near the bed as he sat up on the bed. "There is no doubt in my mind that my family wished I were normal," he admitted. "As I progressed through my teenage years, my skin began to turn blue and my beast-like features developed. My mother took me to see many doctors. However, only once did my father engage in a conversation with me regarding my mutation. His discomfort was quite palpable." Hank paused. "I hope that I will not be distant as my father was."

"I can't imagine that you would be anything but a great dad," I said. "I mean, I think back to how great you were helping me, when I was so lost and confused way back when. You were really supportive and helpful. And caring. You just have those great qualities. And besides, if the kid's a mutant, you won't freak out like your parents did, obviously."

Hank quietly thanked me and we were both silent for a bit. My thoughts then zoomed back to the news that Hank's son would be named after me. Yes, the more I thought of it, the more my heart swelled. It was amazing that someone thought that highly of me. "So are you gonna call the kid Rob or Robbie or Bob…or what?" I smiled.

"I have given thought to that question as well, and Panda likes best the idea of calling him Rob or Robbie to avoid confusion."

"Good plan." I paused. "Um…thanks again. I'll do my best to be a good Uncle to….to little Rob."

"You are already a strong role model for Aurora, Charlotte, and Christopher. I know you will be the same for my son."

Hank's words left me on cloud nine. I mean, not that I didn't already know that he thought I was cool, but I was just thrilled that he and Panda were naming their son after me! At dinnertime, I was so excited, I stood up to make the announcement and tell the entire group. Someone is naming their child after me! Amazingly cool.

But in writing that section above, I jumped ahead of myself. Before I left Hank's quarters that time, he said one more thing to me. "Bobby," he began, "when you next converse with Northstar, can you remind him that we are approaching the date when he should again be tested for sexually transmitted diseases? You are both due for another test."

"Yeah, sure," I said. Then I grumbled, "Though I don't see why I have to be tested. I wasn't assaulted."

"It is a precaution. And while we are on the subject of precautionary measures, I would not be performing my duty as your doctor if I did not remind you to use condoms. It is necessary up through six months after the time Northstar was assaulted, and assuming his tests continue to result in a negative."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, we are using the condoms, don't worry. Though I hate them," I grumpily added. I didn't actually hate them but they were a nuisance. No, I hated them. They were a barrier, a separation and I wanted Jean-Paul as close as possible. But like a pouty child taking his medicine, I made sure we unrolled a condom every time.

Storm visited Wolverine during his bridge duty shift once that day. She debated with herself a few times, whether or not to go. She didn't want to seem like a little girl, too eager to open her birthday presents or as a dog glued to its master. But finally, when his shift was not too far from ending, she went with her gut and headed up towards the bridge to see him.

Wolverine brightened considerably when she entered the bridge. "I just thought I'd see if you wanted some company," Storm smiled.

"Darlin', I always want your company."

"I hope," Storm began, walking towards the captain's chair in which he sat, "that I am not distracting you."

He held out his arms. "Come here an' distract me."

Moments later, Storm found herself sitting on Logan's lap, the two of them kissing passionately. Her fingers were buried in her hair as her tongue took possession of his mouth and freely explored it. She enjoyed getting reacquainted with this; it had seemed as though an eternity had passed since they were together.

Wolverine pulled away, panting. "How much more time I got on this shift?" he asked, fumbling around for a timepiece. "Still got a half hour," he disappointedly said.

Slowly, both turned their heads towards the door. Storm gave a questioning look, an invitation.

"Darlin', you're supposeda be the controlled one," he said, knowing what both of them were considering. "You know I ain't gonna say no to you."

Her pulse pounding, Storm found the chaotic winds inside her at war with each other. She had initiated this, came up to see him during her shift. And she wanted him so badly. She hadn't intended for things to get this heated so quickly though. Should've known better,' she thought. It's been so long.'

But Storm was already deflated from her lapse with Hector. She'd made one bad judgement call today; distracting the person on bridge duty would be yet another. Ninety-nine percent of one's time on the bridge was uneventful, but the X-men's lives were generally shaped by that other one-percent. As one of the leaders, Storm could not afford another mistake.

But her eagerness was strong. "Perhaps," she panted, "something quick."

Logan thought about it. He desired her but he forced himself to exert some control. "You know, darlin'….you deserve somethin' better than that. Better than somethin' quick and sloppy here on the bridge."

Seeing his resolve to wait, Storm's own was strengthened. "You are right."

"Lemme make love to you for hours. Let's do it right. After this damn shift is over."

Storm nodded and slowly rose from his lap. The receding of her warmth pained him. "Come to my room as soon as your shift is finished," she breathed. "Then we can be together." With a quick kiss, Storm scrambled off.

This is gonna be a long half hour,' Wolverine grumbled.

Indeed it was. But when his shift was finished, he headed straight for Storm's room. Once there, his restraint was gone -- but Storm's was strong. They made love, Storm setting the pace to be slow and languorous. After hours the sheets were soaked with perspiration. After so much time, even Wolverine's legendary stamina started to fade and the lovers collapsed together, bound in each other's arms.

Freedom continued its journey towards the moon it had once visited to re-stock its dwindling dilithium supply. Although the detour took them away from their mission on earth and away from their base on An'zhina, the X-men had no choice.

Storm rose from bed after a most momentous day. Yesterday the man she loved had opened up to her and admitted his feelings for her. And she had reciprocated, admitting that she loved him as well---another milestone. Two proud, powerful people with fortresses around their emotions had finally let their guard down for a bit. As Storm brushed her teeth, showered, and dressed herself, she sang with happiness. Peculiar and exciting feelings coursed through her. She wondered what sort of permutations the relationship would take. She doubted that Wolverine would ever magically transform into the flowers-and-candy type (and she didn't necessarily want that either)---but what exactly would happen?

An hour after a light breakfast, Storm's destination was a training session in the Danger Room. The reduced dilithium supply meant that the room was open for limited hours only now, and she wanted to ensure she made use of it as much as possible. After a successful session, she headed back towards the mess hall for more water and a light snack to tide her over until lunchtime.

Storm smiled when she realized that she was not alone in the mess hall. Gambit, clad in a bathrobe (apparently with pajamas underneath) and slippers, hair tousled and eyes sleepy, was sipping a cup of coffee with his breakfast. "Stormy!" he smiled upon seeing her.

Storm was too happy to let the annoying nickname deflate her. "How are you this morning, Remy?" she asked as she sat next to him. The two were alone in the mess hall.

"Gambit will be jus' fine when dis coffee kicks in," he said, grogginess in his voice.

"Where's Rogue?"

"She went to her bridge shift. Gambit wanted to get up in time to see her off."

"You are so kind." Storm then snuck a glance at her timepiece and restrained a chuckle. The hour was not exactly early. Gambit was quieter than usual as he sipped his coffee. Storm noted his mood improving and that he appeared less sleepy with each sip. As the Cajun bit into his scrambled eggs, which were sprinkled with paprika, he gradually began to appear more interested in conversation.

"You seem very happy, Storm," Gambit stated. Somehow she was radiating sheer joy and he had not seen his friend in that condition for a long time.

"I am," she said, unable to suppress a small smile. After that, she fell silent.

"Care to let Gambit in on dat?" he gently asked.

Storm continued to smile. "I would like to keep it private. No offense, Remy. It's just something I want to keep to myself----for now."

Gambit wasn't thrilled with her answer, but he accepted it. After some time had passed, he then brought up another item on his mind. "I t'ink somethin' fishy goin' on here," he stated.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Gambit been doin' some investigating. I check the bridge's logs and see dat some logs were deleted the night before las'. And den the whole explosion in engineering. Gambit smell a rat," he declared as he dipped some of his eggs into a pool of Tabasco sauce on his plate.

Storm debated herself on what to tell him. She knew he had to be referring to the logs that had recorded Wolverine's beaming of Psylocke onto and off of Freedom. And as for the explosion, Storm fully believed Mark that an accident had occurred. "Surely Jean would alert us if something were amiss."

Gambit eyed her, studying her features. "You t'ink so?"

"Well, of course. And if she says that Mark caused the explosion by accident and not by any intent to hurt us, then I believe her."

"But what about dose logs dat were deleted? Dey were not only erased but someone put a lot of effort into coverin' deir tracks. I really had to dig and I still couldn't find the erased logs. Dis be very strange. What would someone be tryin' to cover up?" As he spoke, Gambit continued to watch Storm closely. She was silent. "What you t'ink, Storm?" he pursued.

"I—I cannot say," she said, her voice hesitant and her eyes on her fruit salad. "But again, surely if someone on this ship had any ill intentions, Jean would know about it." She took a bite of pineapple and chewed, having a strong feeling that Gambit was looking through her as easily as one looked through Hector's transparent skin.

Gambit was silent for a few moments. "Okay, Storm….what you be hidin'?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, trying to sound innocent

"I know you better dan dat. You hidin' something. Now out with it."

Storm continued to deny any knowledge of the erased logs for a bit, until Gambit's pursuit wore down her resolve and she became uncomfortable with lying to her friend. She then reached to pat one of Gambit's hands. "Alright, Remy," she said softly. "You are right. A very minor incident occurred the evening before last. The ship was and is in no harm. Everything is alright—it was just a….a miscue on someone's part, but it's been taken care of."

Storm was silent for a bit, Gambit incredulous at her shoddy answer. Seeing his disbelief, she continued, "Please, Remy, trust me. It was nothing to be concerned about. All is well."

Gambit set his fork down and pointedly drew a breath. "Gambit got a question for you, Storm," his voice firm and solid as a plank of wood. He paused for emphasis. "You still my friend?"

Storm's eyes widened. "Of course, Gambit. You know that. I consider you one of my best friends in the entire universe."

"Den can you tell me why the hell you never tell me shit? I ask you what you be happy bout, you can't even tell me dat. An' now you not tellin' me what goin' on wit' dese ship logs." He spoke rapidly and angrily. "I open up wit' you all the time. So do Rogue. But you never tell us nothin'," his hurt came through in the last sentence.

Storm closed her eyes, turning her head away momentarily, unable to meet his fiery eyes. She knew he spoke the truth. "Gambit, I am sorry," she said after a bit. "I know that I do not share as much as some others. I----"

"You don't share at all."

She closed her eyes and digested that. "You are right, Gambit."

"Well? Dat ever gonna change or you jus' gonna keep on bein' mystery woman, woman of steel?"

She was quiet for a bit. "It is difficult for us to change our behavior patterns sometimes. When one has been operating the same way for a long amount of time, I think that the mind becomes comfortable with the status quo."

"Okay, Dr. Hank McCoy," he said flatly. "So you jus' gonna keep on bein' the same way an' never lettin' anyone in?"

"No," she resolutely said. "No. In fact, yesterday something quite significant happened. It was a milestone for me."

At that instant, Jubilee and Dani Moonstar entered the bridge. Although Storm felt she had nothing to hide, she really wanted only Gambit to be privy to her disclosure. "Let's finish this up later," she urged quietly.

Gambit resisted the temptation to sigh. "How 'bout right after I'm done here," he said, gesturing to his food. Storm had already finished her last bite. When she agreed, he said, "I'm holdin' you to it, Storm." And with that, Gambit proceeded to polish off the remaining eggs and sausage on his plate in record time. He then scooped up the remaining pieces of his greasy biscuit into a napkin and gestured for Storm to rise from the table with him. "Let's go."

Gambit and Storm quickly relocated to the nearest empty conference room. As they walked together, Storm admitted to herself that she felt discomfort. Opening up like this would not be easy, and she had had more than her share of difficult moments the past few days. But her friendship with Gambit meant so much to her, and she forced herself to step out of her usual boundaries, for his sake.

"Alright, Remy," she said pleasantly, as soon as the two were seated in the small conference room. "I will share my happiness with you. I trust you to not divulge this to everyone." She paused, noting Gambit eagerly leaned forward on his seat. "The reason that I am so happy is because Wolverine and I are back together again."

"Dat so?" Gambit asked, truly surprised. I shoulda guessed,' he thought to himself. Then he asked, "How you feel? Happy bout it?"

"Yes, very much so. We had a very good discussion and we talked through a lot of things. We finally talked about how we really feel for each other."

Gambit's eyes were wide. This was news indeed. "So the two wit' deir emotions most under wraps finally had a talk, eh?"

"Yes. So you see, that is what I am happy about today."

Gambit reached for her hand and touched it. "Den Gambit happy for you too, Storm." He was surprised at this turn of events, but truly joyful for Storm.

A second or two later, Storm noticed Gambit craning his head around to take a look outside their conference room. Although the walls of the room were opaque, the door was transparent; the hallway could be seen through it. "What is it?" she asked.

"Jus' saw Mark walk by, dat's all."

"I wonder how he is doing," Storm said. She sincerely was interested in the former FOH soldier's condition; however, she also looked forward to the chance to deflect the conversation. "I hope people are being civil towards him, at least."

Gambit knew and understood that she wanted a change of topic and, mollified that she'd opened up to this extent, was happy to oblige. "I t'ink people be okay wit' him. I t'ought ole' Cyke would jump down his t'roat for messin' up, but One-Eye's actually been very sympat'etic and nice to Mark."

"He is always quite nice to Mark," Storm noted evenly. "So I am not surprised that it is continuing. Starting when Mark first came aboard this ship, Scott sort of took him under his wing. And you frequently see Mark babysitting Scott and Jean's kids. I think Scott has always seen Mark as a basically good man who lost his way, and Scott seems to like making Mark feel welcome."

"Funny t'ing," Gambit observed, shaking his head. "Cyke be more acceptin' of Mark, a former FOH member den he is wit' Bobby for bein' gay."

Storm thought about it and slowly nodded. "That does seem to be the case."

"An' Rogue on de other hand is jus' as prejudice with Mark as the FOH are wit'….wit' everyone, mutants or gays or whatever be different." Gambit silently added, Not dat I can blame her for bein' angry. But sometimes seems she can't get past it.'

"Is that so?" Storm asked.

"Oh, she been fit to be tied after dis stuff wit' the dilit'um explodin.' I'm jus' glad she ain't beatin' him again."

"I am sure she will not."

"I dunno. Gambit hope not. She already hate him enough for everyt'ing he did when he was in Friends of Humanity."

Storm then remained silent. She was beginning to find the subject of Mark's past cloying. Back on An'zhina, she had gotten into a disagreement with a few of the (non-Xmen) An'zhinins. They had argued that Mark deserved complete absolution since "he had no choice" but to go along with the gang rapes. That argument always angered Storm. No one---to her knowledge---had put a gun to Mark's head and forced him to commit the rapes. He was still accountable for what he had done. And although Storm did not necessarily think that Gambit would argue with her that morning, she had no wish to discuss Mark's history then either.

Enough of focusing on the negative. Storm was elated over the turn of events with Wolverine, and perhaps just as thrilled that she'd managed to open up with her friend Remy too.

Freedom continued on towards the moon, moving quietly, efficiently, and invisibly through space. Their journey towards the source of dilithium was undisturbed. The X-men continued to pass the time as they usually did---when not training or working out (despite the curtailed hours the gym was now open), they tended to congregate in the rec room, playing games and talking. Watching and playing with the three children on board the ship was a favorite past time for virtually everyone.

"We should be there in ten days," Scott said softly to Jean one evening, in their crowded room. Several toys were scattered on the floor, a hand washed baby outfit hung to dry in the bathroom and part of their small room was taken up with a diaper pail. At one point in his life, Scott would not have been able to abide by the clutter. However, he had adjusted to some degree of disorganization out of necessity; with two babies, there were no options.

"We're making good time, then," Jean said, mirroring Scott's quiet tone. Both children had been put to bed for the night and the parents had to be careful to not wake them.

"Yes. I can't wait to get back to An'zhina. The kids need to get out and see the sun again."

"And play in the sand," Jean added. Charlotte particularly loved to do so. "But I really can't wait for them to be back with their grandparents either." The X-men had all made the decision that once they stocked up on dilithium, they would return to An'zhina for a lay-over of at least a week. It was agreed that the children needed that rest time. Besides, as far as space distances went, the dilithium-bearing moon was not too far from Endarian space, when travelling at maximum warp.

"It's hard to be away from your parents and sister," Scott said, with as much longing in his voice as Jean would've conveyed because he loved them too.

"Yes." She paused. "I think what makes it difficult is just that this is longer than we'd planned to be away. By now, we're a little overdue. I know that Charles had discussed with my family that we didn't know exactly how long the mission near earth would take, but if I've been keeping track of things correctly, by the time we get to the moon with dilithium, we will be noticeably late." Jean had spoken with Shaman earlier in the day and knew that he terribly missed his wife and daughter, who were back on An'zhina. Sadly, Jean had even mused that due to the nature of this mission, so far they hadn't even really needed Shaman's powers , but he was so dedicated it would not have occurred to him to remain on their new home.

"Long enough for them to start worrying. Like we did when the others were late returning from the last mission."

"Exactly." Jean then walked up to her husband, who was sitting on the bed. She placed her hands on his shoulders and rubbed, knowing that his muscles were tired.

"Thanks, love," he said quietly.

"Well, what can we do?" Jean asked rhetorically, continuing with her last thought. "We'll be back with the rest of the family sooner or later. And I'm sure the Professor is talking to them, letting them know that we sometimes run into delays like this."

"The Professor can be very reassuring," Scott added. "And you know your parents trust him. They always have." He loved what Jean's hands were doing. He couldn't explain why his shoulders and neck were feeling so strained. He had not injured himself anytime recently during Danger Room sessions.

There was silence in the room for a bit. The children continued to slumber soundly. Jean was rhythmically coaxing the cricks out of the back of Scott's neck. "How does it feel to be co-leader on a mission again?" she asked.

"Okay, I guess. It is a bit different than running things on An'zhina." After a pause, he queried, "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering. I thought I felt a bit of tension in the room when you and Storm were discussing the decision to stop over on An'zhina once we get the dilithium, before we return to earth to complete our mission."

Scott was quiet for a bit. "I guess there was some," he admitted. "Sometimes she gets a look on her face when she's about to disagree. I saw it and I just didn't want to get into a conflict with her, this time."

"I know. And I'm sure that Storm, like you, wants to work together well as a team and reach decisions that are best for everyone."

"Yeah, you're right. But you just knew Wolverine was going to start arguing with the idea of a lay-over on An'zhina. And ever since he and Storm have gotten back together…." his voice trailed off. "Well, I was surprised she didn't argue the point more."

"I think Storm understands the wisdom in taking a break. All of us on this ship are now so cramped together, especially with so many ship areas shut down. But it looked like Storm wanted to present the other side, I think."

Scott thought for a bit. Jean's fingers were working magic in relaxing him. But a disturbing thought crept in nonetheless. "Seems that people listen to her."

"Yes. They listen to you, too though."

"Yeah. But every now and then I get the idea that….." again, Scott's voice trailed off. He wasn't sure he truly wanted to go down the pathway he was heading to. At times he'd been tempted to ask Jean what people thought of him, and what they thought of Storm. But when he really thought of it, he knew that he didn't really want the answers, nor did he want to ask Jean into an awkward position.

"It might be hard for everyone to get used to the idea of having two leaders again," Jean said.

"And three field commanders too. Not that I don't think the field commander level wasn't a good idea," he quickly added, liking the fact that the conversation was heading away from some thoughts that disturbed him. "I think it's great to have more leaders to delegate things to. But we do have a lot of people on this ship in leadership positions, compared to those who aren't." He then quietly added, in regards to the massaging she was doing, "That's good. Thanks, love."

Jean ceased the work of her hands and shook her head at Scott's offer to reciprocate. "Well, it's not like anyone throws their weight around. Thank goodness," she added. "I think the X-men function best when we all work together, as a team. And when we encounter problems, it's best if we work together to find the best answer for everyone."

"You are as wise as you are beautiful, my love," Scott said.

Indeed she was. Jean knew how to find a way to give him some gentle feedback while preventing him from becoming defensive or upset. And she smiled at the compliment. "After all these years, you still make me blush like a teenager."

TO BE CONTINUED

Note from the author

We are getting close to the end of "Freedom"; this is the penultimate chapter. But don't worry----a sequel is already in the works!

In the meantime, I am brainstorming on ideas for a name for this series. We have "X-men: Friends of Humanity", then "Freedom", and then the third book in the trilogy but I need a name for the entire series. I have a few suggestions below---please take a look:

1. Looking for Dilithium

2. Love Scenes Unlimited

3. Bobby Whining

4. Deep and Weighty Issues Discussed Here!

5. One Author Practices Writing Sex Scenes

6. Star Trek: The X Generation

7. Scenic Vacation Spots

8. Hangin' in the Rec Room, Bridge and Sick Bay

9. No Sabretooth in this Fic

10. Well, it's Better than the Movie….

Got any others? Email 'em to me at stormkprusa.net or post on fanfiction.net

Seriously, thanks for reading and I hope you'll enjoy the final chapter of "Freedom", coming soon.

Chapter 24

Chapter 26