Chapter Two: Lost and Found

There was silence. Everyone stared at Xavier like he had turned into a woman or something.

"It's true. This morning I was in Cerebro checking on some things when a thought crossed my mind...only it was not my thought. It was Jean's. She called to me saying that she is alive, but not awake," Xavier explained.

"Where is she? How can this be?" Kurt asked. Scott looked as if he were about to pass out and Storm was gripping the arms of her chair. Logan sat on the edge of his seat, his face still sporting a look of surprise.

"Those are questions to which I do not know the answers to. I need you four to go search for her, immediately. She may not have much time."

"The mansion. Let's go," Logan announced, standing up and striding out. Cyclops quickly followed and Kurt wrapped his arms around Storm to transport them both to the flying machine located in the school's high-tech garage.

Not too long after they took off, the X-Men arrived at the site. The place was completely barren and empty, a land of snow, ice, and wind-extreme cold. They stepped onto the ice and began to look around. They seemed to be on top of a huge mountain overlooking a forest of trees.

"Where should we begin?" Storm asked.

"Jean..." There was a whisper from the edge of the cliff. Scott was kneeling in the snow engrossed with something he was holding in his palm. Storm ran over to him.

"What is it, Scott?" She grabbed his hand and gasped at the ring he held. It was Jean's and Storm wore a ring identical to it. It was their pair of friendship rings they had given each other one year at Christmas. Both Jean and Ororo were two of Xavier's very first students, after Cyclops. They had been best friends for years...Ororo swallowed back tears as she twisted her own ring around her finger. "You keep it, Cyclops. Keep it until we find her," she whispered, helping him up. Logan sniffed the air.

"She's not up here," he said and looked down at the trees beneath them. Kurt walked to the edge also and took a deep breath.

"I'll be right back," he said and disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of grey smoke. They watched, wondering where he had teleported to. About a minute later he reappeared.

"Nightcrawler! Are you alright?" Storm touched his arm which had a large gash in it.

"Yes. I couldn't see where I was going, but I found a small clearing anyway," he said in his slight Spanish accent before transporting her there. He came back a moment later and wrapped his arms around Cyclops, but when he returned for Wolverine he wasn't there. "Logan!" he cried and then he heard a gruff noise. He walked to the edge to find Logan, claws out, trying to climb his way down. "SeƱor, what are you doing?" Logan answered, panting every few words from exertion.

"There's no way...I'm about to get huggy with...a guy. Now if it were Storm doing...the teleporting..."

"Logan, let me transport you," Kurt said, grabbing Wolverine by the arm as he lost his footing. Finally, Logan grunted agreement and let Nightcrawler help him up. Logan tensed as Kurt wrapped his arms around him.

"This stays between us," he growled threateningly, squeezing his eyes shut with a frown. Kurt stayed silent, not moving. "Well? What's the delay? Somethin' wrong?" Logan asked.

"Nah, nothin'. I just like to see you sweat...honey!" Kurt grinned and they were gone before Logan could even frown.

Down in the woods, they walked between the pines and oak trees searching for another clue. They all were silently walking and looking around, occasionally bending to the ground or over a bush. Each was left to his or her own thoughts. Good thing Xavier wasn't there to hear them. Cyclops mostly kept his head down, eyes on the ground, hoping to find something else of Jean's. He felt the ring on his finger and thought about his girl. When I find her, I won't wait any longer. I'll giver her a ring that means more than friendship...and I'll kill Logan if he tries to stop me. Wolverine was prowling around pricking up his ears and often sniffing the air, too. He paused though, when he spied Scott glare at him out of the corner of his eye. He rolled his eyes. Who the hell is he lookin' at? Here I am helpin' him...well, not really him, but here I am doing all the work! Isn't Jean supposed to be "his" girl? He smirked to himself. Well, not for long actually, because when I bring Jean back safely, she'll realize that she's with the wrong guy.

Kurt kept transporting back and forth, trying to find other places that Jean could be. Each time, he came back with new cuts and injuries. Storm was searching for clues, but she also had an eye on Nightcrawler. Look at him. He's such a fool. He's really gonna hurt himself. Suddenly Kurt turned to face her, and seeing Storm looking at him, he smiled a small smile at her. Ororo looked away. He may be a fool, she thought, but he is very caring...and kind of cute too. She smiled to herself and kept looking around. She may have looked away, but he saw her smile. He always saw her smile.

The sound of blades extracting from skin pierced the silence, also piercing Kurt's thoughts. Wolverine was standing there in a fighting stance, ready for the worst. "We're not alone," he said, and suddenly a huge pair of wings became visible, revealing a man sitting high above them in a tree.

"Do not fire, I may have what you're looking for," he said when he saw Scott reach for the button on his eye shield. He jumped and his white wings opened to their full 16 foot wingspan as he glided down to the group. He landed gracefully. "I am Archangel. You must be Cyclops," he said without extending a hand.

"You have her don't you?" Storm asked and stepped forward.

"I believe so. Follow me." The crew walked for miles it seemed before Archangel spoke again. "I was flying through the sky to come home when I saw the rushing water. I also saw the plane take off, so I wondered what people were doing down there in such danger. That's when I saw auburn-red through the blue-white of water and snow. I rushed down thinking it was blood, but soon I saw that it was hair. I brought the woman here, to my home," he said.

They had finally arrived at a cabin in a very large clearing. He led them inside and they saw Jean lying still on the couch underneath a quilt. Scott ran to her and buried his head into the crevice of her neck, feeling her pulse, feeling her warmth, feeling the movement of her chest as she took each breath. He began to quietly sob into her hair.

"She's still unconscious but she's alive," Archangel said and tears of relief ran down Storm's cheeks.

"Thank you for taking care of her," Kurt said. Logan cleared his throat and Scott calmed down.

"It's time to get her back. Professor said she might not have much time." He opened the cabin door and everyone walked outside, Scott carrying Jean in his arms.

Soon they were back at Xavier's mansion, Jean safe in the school's infirmary. Scott was there, too, watching Jean in her state of rest. He refused to take his eyes off of her-just watching her breathe put him a little more at ease. A few hours later, his body got the best of him and he drifted to sleep, his head on her bed. Just minutes later, Logan walked in and sat down to watch her also, but he too fell asleep on her other side. Right when he began to snore softly, Jean's breathing pattern changed and her eyes slowly blinked open.