Agent-G: interesting would be a very correct desription of what it would be when they meet the family. And with C, you'll just have to wait, eh?

Fire Inu: am I in it now? checks Yes, I'm now on your author-alert.

A/N: this is basically a short piece in between, just to have Marianne and Michael be ready for what happends in my next story with them. I think compared to the rest of the series, this is a rather light piece. The next story after this one will be a bit... err... heavy.

A/N: Agent-G is doing a story based on Mutant Underground series, I'd suggest you'd read it. It's very good.

Vacation - That went well

The nervous feeling in the pit of Marianne's stomache worsened as they drew closer to her brother's place, she felt down right sick when the van pulled over there and the engine stopped. She got out, to immediately find herself in a bearhug from her brother, who she hadn't seen for a long time.

"Devon!" she choked out, "airsupply, cutting of, lemme go!"

'Leave it to my brother to nearly strangle me on accident,' Marianne dryly thought to herself as Devon let go of her.

"It's so good to see you again," the next thing Marianne knew, she was being hugged by Bridget, Devon's wife. It must have been hugging day or something, Marianne later decided.

"It's good to see you too, Bridget, you're happy here with my brother?" Marianne smiled happily, not aware that Michael, in the mean time was shooting mental daggers at her father, who was returning them just as hard.

"Extremely," Bridget giggled, "I heard you were very busy in the USA, something about working to help other mutants?"

"Yes, very busy," Marianne smiled, "but Michael and me are on vacation now. We would have gotten here sooner, but we ran into someone we knew, we spend the night there."

She kept quiet about C and all, she would really have loved to take the little girl with her back to the USA, but it wasn't safe enough yet. Perhaps when they had taken care of certain things, she told herself, they could pick her up there. For now, Marianne just hoped that Vincent kept her safe. She knew he would do everything he could, but still.

"And... ehm... Michael and I have an anouncement to make, but we'll do that inside, allright?" Marianne fidgetted a little under the look her father gave her.

Devon nodded and everyone entered the small house that belonged to Devon and Bridget. Marianne shrugged off her jacket in the hall before walking further inside, closely followed by Michael, she could feel he was nervous about this too. It was odd, Marianne thought, he was about two years younger then her brother and she was closing in on her 23. They were still nervous. Perhaps it was the age difference, even though it was just four years.

"What was the announcement?" Marianne's father asked her as soon as everyone had gathered in the main room.

Marianne looked nervously up at Michael, he nodded at her, making clear he would tell them about their engagement.

"Marianne and I are engaged," Michael simply stated, causing Marianne to wince: so much for a tactful approach with massive diplomacy.

"Micheal. Talk. Now." Devon stated in short, bitten out sentences, before turning on his heels and stalking out to the back yard.

"Good luck, if you survive," Marianne ushered Devon after him, when she turned, however, she came face to face with her father, who obviously also had a few things to say about it.

"I'll go make sure Devon doesn't kill Michael, I'm very happy for you two," Bridget whispered to her, before sneaking out herself after Devon.

"Are you certain about this... man?" her father looked at her.

"Yes, I love Michael very much, and those feelings are more then returned. I am very certain," Marianne looked at her father, a smile on her face, Raymond was his name.

"I won't stand for it," Raymond suddenly stated after a moment of silence, looking sternly at his daughter, "I stood aside when you wanted to work as a doctor for that... that organization while you could have done so much more."

"What? Dad? What would I have become? I am a known mutant, dad. No hospital would hire me. This way, I can do something for people who weren't as lucky in life as I am. Tell me, how can I become more then this?" Marianne interrupted him, not understanding how he, her father, could act like this.

"I admire your drive to help others, but to throw your life away like this," he held his hand up to stop Marianne from interrupting him again, "I understand that if you see something in him, then he must be good, but I also understood from our conversations that what he does is dangerous. And by that he is willingly putting you in danger. I'm sorry, but I can't stand by and watch you marry someone like that."

"I can't believe this," Marianne first moved to turn away from Raymond, but then whipped her head around to look at him bith barely with held anger and contempt.

"I can't believe this," she repeated, "you all but disappeared from my life and now you have the nerve to tell me I can't marry the man I love more then my own life? That he is reckless and egoistic?! You have no right..." her voice shook a little as she paused for breath, "You have no right to give your opinion in this and expect for me to take it into full consideration. You have no idea... No idea what we have been through, your sanity wouldn't survive a day of what I go through. Do you know how I survive? How my sanity survives? Michael. When he has his arms around me, I'm safe, no one can get me, when he's with me, I'm strong."

"You're just a child," Raymond refused to relent to his daughter.

"No, I stopped being a child when my power surfaced. Granted, I still had a lot of growing to do, but now I see reality, while you see this limited part of just your world that consist out of business and traveling. I grew up dad, I'm no longer that awkward teenager, I'm a doctor and I know damned well what I want and who I need and that is Michael. And if you can't accept that, then we... we have nothing else to say to eachother anymore. You have my phone number, call me when you decide to be rational," Marianne was seething, though a part of her understood her father's wish to protect her from losing a loved one early in life. But couldn't he see that it was her choice?

- = With Devon = -

"You think I'm going to stand by and watch Marianne marry you... why?" Devon looked coldly at Michael.

"Because that's what she wants and you won't stand in her way. You didn't have trouble with me dating her," Michael looked at the older man, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Humor me," Devon smirked, "what makes you think you're good enough for her?"

"I'm not," Michael shook his head, "but she loves me and I love her. If I'd lose her..." he shuddered nearly unnoticably, remembering just how close he had got to losing her. Devon noticed this, however, but contributed it to Michael imagening what it would be like without Marianne.

"Allright, then I expect an invite to the wedding, and if I heard you made her unhappy in any way possible, I will personally skin you alive, mutant or no mutant," Devon said light heartedly, but his eyes said clearly he wouldn't think twice about fullfilling the just delivered threat.

Michael was just about to reply as Marianne came storming out.

"Devon, I'm sorry, but we can't stay here any longer. Father and I are not seeing eye to eye on my engagement. Michael, we're leaving," Marianne said, looking very, very mad. Before anyone could say anything, she was already inside the van.

"I'm sorry," Michael said to them as he moved to get into the van too, it was no point argueing with Marianne on this, "I'll get her to call you when she has calmed down."

Devon only nodded, smiling sadly as Bridget was uttering complaints and several threats towards her father-in-law. Michael waved at them before starting the van and driving off. Marianne looking just as sad at her brother, already feeling bad for her outburst, but her pride not allowing her to turn back.

"Dad disagreed with our engagement, he said he wouldn't stand for it," Marianne said after a while, "we had an arguement. I said that when he decided to be rational, we could talk again."

Michael didn't know what to say to that, and put one of his hands over Marianne's, squeezing them gently: "Everything will be allright. He'll call."

Marianne sniffled slightly: "it's odd, I thought I'd feel worse after this, but I only feel kinda disappointed, not even surprised. How did it go with Devon?"

"He threatened to skin me alive if I made you unhappy," Michael said with a chuckle, not mentioning that he had been about to say that there would be a very long line for that if it should happen, Michael himself the first one of that line.

It was quiet for a while, untill Marianne giggled: "That went well. But I must say, it felt very good when you told them we were engaged."