Disclaimer: You know the drill. 'Mutant X' and all of it's characters = Not Mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray = Mine.
Author's Note: I'd like to thank tigereyes320 for providing Baby DeLauro-Kilmartin with a name.
Chapter 3
Their Physical Education class did a great deal to reconcile Lexi and Izzy to the idea of going to school.
By mid-morning the half-feral twins had been restless, unaccustomed to having to sit still for so long, and itching to take part in some kind of physical activity.
When Miss Roberts announced that it was time to change for gym, they had practically bowled her over in their rush to get to the dressing room, emerging, less than a minute later, in the white T-shirts and blue shorts that were the school's P.E. uniform.
Needless to say, both girls were more than happy to give their classmates a display of their physical prowess.
"Alexis!" Miss Roberts was horrified. "Get down from there this instant!"
From her precarious perch on the top of the climbing frame normally reserved for the older students, the five year old gave her a quizzical look.
"Why?" Lexi was genuinely confused.
"It's dangerous." Poor Miss Roberts was wishing that she had not refused the headmaster's offer to take the sixth grade instead of kindergarten.
"Not for me and Lexi." Izzy told her solemnly. "We can climb really high."
"That's nice, dear," Her teacher made an effort to smile. "But I would prefer if you girls did the same exercises that the other children are doing."
"Why?" Lexi wasn't prepared to leave her lofty position without a good reason.
Izzy gave Miss Roberts a sympathetic smile, crooking her finger to get her to bend down. "Is it 'cause the others would be jealous?" She whispered softly.
Miss Roberts nodded gratefully. "Yes. You don't want to make them feel bad, do you?" She kept her voice as low as Izzy's.
"No." Lexi's feral hearing had allowed her to overhear the entire conversation. "I'll get down on one condition." Miss Roberts gasped as the little girl released her hold on the climbing frame to raise a warning finger.
"Name it." The thought that the child might fall terrified her.
"That you call us Lexi and Izzy." The five year old negotiator demanded. "Not Alexis and Isabelle."
"Yes." Izzy nodded sagely. "We're only Alexis and Isabelle when we're in trouble."
"Fine." The teacher nodded hastily. "Now get down from there, Al . . . Lexi.
"Okie-dokie."
The agile little girl leapt from the top of the climbing frame, landing gracefully on her feet.
Miss Roberts felt her heart leap into her chest and sat down on the nearest bench, her knees feeling like rubber.
The twins gave her a look of genuine confusion.
"What?"
Sanctuary, the same time.
"Are you alright, Emma?" Jesse asked his wife, concerned by her pacing.
Emma sat down on the couch for a brief moment before standing and resuming her pacing. "I don't know. I just feel . . . restless." She rubbed her abdomen, attempting to ease the cramping she felt.
Shalimar, entering the room, took one look at her friend and smiled in understanding.
"Maybe we should get you to the lab, Em." She suggested gently.
Jesse shot his friend a look of confusion. "Why?" Shalimar glared at him. The penny dropped. "Oh."
"What?" Emma looked from her husband to her best friend, bewildered. Comprehension dawned. "Oh. You think . . ." A contraction hit, causing the young woman to double over in pain.
"That's right." Shalimar nodded grimly. "I think you're about to make the acquaintance of your son or daughter."
Kensington Junior School, an hour later, lunchtime.
The Fox-Mulwray sisters had been more than a little piqued when their parents, aunt and uncle, all of whom had experienced the atrocity that was school cafeteria food, had insisted on packing a lunch for the two of them.
The twins had objected, not wanting to be the only kids in their class with a packed lunch but now, seeing the unidentifiable stew served to their classmates, they were very glad to dig into the sandwiches, salad and fruit their parents had packed and had no objection to digging into the candy bars Uncle Jesse had sneaked into their lunch boxes.
There were times, Lexi reflected, when the grown-ups were good for something.
Two hours later.
Emma was in agony.
Her resolve to have a natural birth had disappeared after approximately five minutes, after which she had pleaded with Adam for an anesthetic of some kind – any kind.
Shalimar, the only one of her friends who could truly empathize with her situation, held her hand and whispered encouragement, while Jesse, desperate to help, alternated between having his hand crushed by his wife and trying to 'help' Adam.
Brennan, unnerved by his friend's agonized screams, had volunteered to collect the twins from and escaped the lab at the first possible opportunity.
Shalimar watched her husband flee the lab, torn between amusement and exasperation. "Wuss!"
"What can I do? What can I do?" It was killing Jesse to see the woman he loved in such pain. "Will I try to phase it out?" He asked, hating the feeling that he was helpless in this matter.
Even Emma, despite her pain, had to smile at that one.
"That won't be necessary." Adam told the younger man. "It won't be much longer now."
Emma groaned. "Easy for you to say. Oh God!"
"Alright, Emma." Adam kept his tone calm and encouraging. "You're fully dilated. It's time to push."
Had Emma possessed feral strength, neither Shalimar nor Jesse would have been left with an unbroken bone in their hands.
As it was, they were in almost as much pain as the psionic mother to be was.
"I can see the head." Adam's relief was plain. "We're nearly there."
Another push and the baby slid into his waiting hands.
Jesse darted to the bed, looking down at the red, squirming infant in awe.
"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He declared reverently. He glanced up at his exhausted wife. "The second most beautiful thing."
The baby, forced from its warm nest into a strange, bright environment, opened its mouth and wailed at the full pitch of what were obviously very healthy lungs.
Half an hour later.
Not wanting his daughters to witness their aunt's labour, Brennan had prudently waited until he got the all clear from Shalimar before bringing them back to Sanctuary.
The twins led the way to the lab, eager to see the newest addition to the family.
Emma and Jesse were sitting side by side on the bed when Lexi tore into the room, Izzy following at a more sedate pace.
Emma looked up from the carefully wrapped bundle in her arms, smiling at her two nieces. "Hi, girls. We've got someone we want to introduce you to." She shifted the sleeping baby in her arms so that the twins could get a clear view. "This is Ryan." She stroked her newborn son's cheek gently. "Ryan, these are your cousins Lexi and Izzy."
"That's right." Jesse hadn't stopped smiling since his son was born. "They're the ones who set Mommy and Daddy up so you can thank them for bringing you here."
Izzy, slightly wary of the new arrival, retreated to her mother's side while Lexi, fascinated, approached, touching Ryan's chubby cheeks and the thick thatch of downy chestnut hair adorning his small scalp with awed fingers.
"He's so small!"
Emma gave a brief, inelegant snort of laughter. "Nine pounds isn't small for a baby, Lexi. He's nearly as big as you and Izzy were put together when you were born."
"Is he special?" Lexi asked, beaming as the baby boy clutched at one of her fingers.
"Yes, he is." Adam answered, looking at the monitor where the details of the abilities of the newest member of Mutant X were listed. "Ryan looks like Emma but his molecular side is dominant. He still has empathic abilities but they are nowhere near as strong as Emma's. He will be able to phase and mass like Jesse and, just to keep us all on our toes, he had propulsion abilities as well."
"A baby with superspeed who can walk through walls?" Brennan clapped a sympathetic hand on Jesse's shoulder. "Have fun, bro."
"Just wait." Jesse took his son in his arms. "In a few years, you're going to help Daddy kick Uncle Brennan's ass at basket ball, aren't you?" He spoke in a slightly babyish voice. "Yes you are."
Ryan yawned, wrinkling his tiny button nose.
Lexi stood next to Jesse, laying a gentle hand on Ryan's downy head. He opened wide blue eyes, regarding her intently.
"When you're bigger you can play with me and Izzy." Lexi promised solemnly. She leaned closer, whispering in his tiny ear. "And we'll teach you how to play tricks on Uncle Jesse."
If Ryan's coos were any indication, he didn't have any problems with that idea.
TBC.