Chapter Seven: Survival of the Fittest

"Are you sure you wanna do this? Mexico's a long ways off and there's your future god daughter's birth...or did you forget Animal?"

Tara frowned and continued tossing things over her shoulder into the bag that rested on her bed. She made a point to toss them so they'd land out of Angel's reach; her oldest friend was sitting on the bed, helping her pack and complaining. "I promise I'll be back before the baby's born, Angel...and let's face it...do you really want to sit through another wedding planned by Jean?" she asked, tossing a couple of shirts onto the bed then turning around. She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes in the direction of her friend. "Remember her own wedding to Scott?"

Angel shuddered. "I'm still scarred from that," she mumbled, attempting to fold a couple articles of clothing. She stuck them into the suitcase afterwards and hummed something; it wasn't exactly anything new. Angel had been humming it, randomly, mind you, for the last century or more. "The wedding from Hades..."

Scott and Jean's wedding had been the most annoying thing either of them had ever sat through. It was hard to keep children under the age of ten behaved enough to have an entire wedding; they'd ruined the reception afterwards. Angel started it by beginning a game of hide and seek that got stopped by Rogue entirely too late. The wedding cake and the other food had become dinner for a couple of stray dogs that had wandered up and Jean had locked herself in the bathroom. Scott cursed, sounding too much like Logan. A lot of cursing.

"Exactly. You really expect me to stick around to let that psycho plan another wedding especially my own?" she asked after folding a few more clothes and stuffing them into the bag. She tossed a couple more things into the bag then struggled to zip it.

"..I can see your point..." Angel frowned, placing her hand against her stomache once again. "Landon's okay with eloping in Mexico..?"

"That's why God made Mexico, Angel. A place to to lay low in and get married without the whole enchilada....you get it?" Tara asked. Her attention remained on the suitcase and she'd begun to bite the tip of her tongue; it was a miracle it hadn't bled yet.

She nodded, standing with some difficulty now that she was almost halfway into her pregnancy. Her mood swings were worse then ever, but she'd stopped throwing up and even allowed Juilus to get sleep every now and then. The name still wasn't decided on but at the rate those two were going, the kid would spend the rest of his or her natural life being called Animal.

"If Jean asks, where am I, Angel?" she asked after picking up her bag. She walked to the window and slid it open, attempting to toss the bag out the window. This move back fired when the bag hit a screen and fell to the floor.

"You and Landon are having some personal time together. You aren't sure about every detail of the wedding and need to discuss it with him before you make any serious decisions," she repeated back for the seventh time, checking her arm only once for the correct words. "I don't have the number neither do I know the address."

"If she presses you..?"

"I talk about the baby and possible name choices."

"Good job. I'll see you in a few weeks or more, kay?" Tara gave her best friend of almost two decades a hug then picked up her bag, heading for the exit door to their apartment. She wondered, briefly about where Natasha had gone for the last two and a half months she'd been missing then dismissed the thought, figuring she was either busy or Kitty found out about her job. "When was the last time you heard from Tasha...?"

"Not since the night we went to stay with the X-Men...you remember she went to see her father and them for awhile? She never came back and I ain't even heard a call from her...neither have any of our other friends," she replied, frowning and following her through the house. "Think she died?"

"Doubt it," Tara replied, pulling the door open and stopping, dead weight in the doorway. Her mouth fell open then a stream of curse words, some real and some newly created, fell from her mouth in a rapid succession that rivaled Logan's. "I can't believe her!"

Angel peered over her shoulder and into the hall. "Can't believe who?" she asked. The words died on her lips at the sight of Hank and Bobby pacing through the halls; one held a jug of kool-aid and the other held a giant box of twinkies. "Oh my.....Jean certainly...out did herself this time..."

Tara threw her bag against the wall. "Dammnit, what are you two doing here?!" she demanded, storming into the hall and glowering at the two there. Neither one stopped nor dropped their so-called weapons. "Answer me or I'm going to call Logan," she growled, sounding too much like the man who'd raised her.

Hank came to halt and was followed shortly by Bobby stopping and spraying a film of ice across the wall. It caused her lips to take on a blue tint and made her shiver, infuriating her further. Hank sensed this as he began to explain. "Hello, Tara...Angel," he said with a nod to her apartment buddy.

Angel smiled, waggled her fingers in a wave-like greeting, and went inside, leaving the door wide open to anyone who would bother to enter.

"Robert and I were assigned to make sure that you didn't attempt to flee the town, dear child. It would be a terrible inconvenience to everyone if you left in the middle of planning your own wedding, wouldn't it?" Hank said, appealing to his friend who simply shrugged.

"Maybe."

I'm going to kill Jean. Mexico. Mexico. Mexico. I wanted to elope in Mexico and now I have to call and tell Landon that we aren't allowed to go anywhere because people are watching my apartment.

Tara stalked inside, kicking her bag through the door then slamming it shut so hard that the windows rattled. It did no good except to knock a couple of things off a nearby shelf and draw Angel's attention away from an episode of Smurfs that was playing out across the screen.

"Problem, Tara?"

"Jean's having our apartment watched to make sure I don't go anywhere! I hate her..."

Two and a Half Hours Later

"Are you still out there?"

"Nope, we've gone home to report to Jean," a voice called through the door except it didn't belong to either of her guards. This voice was somewhat foreign but gave her hope of ever escaping her new prison and running off to Mexico; Landon had seemed almost relieved when she'd called him.

Tara unbolted the door and threw it up, staring at her other friend. Bobby and Hank were still pacing the hall, weapons drawn and lifted. "Where have you been for two and a half months? Jax said you hadn't even been by...I thought you were staying there so Julius could stay here, to keep an eye on Angel and his offspring?"

Natasha shrugged. "Planned to, but Dad overheard me talking to Ravine about my job and freaked...I haven't been allowed out of the house in two months. It wasn't the easiest two months since I couldn't do much in my business affairs and couldn't play Scrabble unless I played with the guys," she said, twitching somewhat at the thought. "How's everything here?"

"I'm being held hostage in my own apartment by those morons outside the door. Angel's gotten worse mood swings and almost every morning I have to listen to her and Julius yell at each other, usually not even in ENGLISH. How do you think things are?" she fairly growled, slamming the door once Natasha came inside. She stalked over to her chair and sat down, beginning to draw some more; the drawing showed Jean being eaten by rabid wolves along with several other possible death options.

"That bad, huh?" Natasha mused after a moment, taking a seat on the couch by Angel. She glanced over at her then shook her head, looking around the messy apartment and listening to the sound of cartoons for a few moments. "That's it...we're going out tonight. The three of us are going to go find something fun to do, alright?"

"What fun do you expect to have with a Mexico obsessed chick and a four months pregnant chick? That reminds me...it's gonna be a girl, Tasha," Angel announced after clicking off the tv and standing. She glanced over at Tara then shook her head. "Don't look so murderous. You'll scare the neighbors."

"Good."

"We'll go out to a bar and get drunk like we used to do, alright? We're legal for it now!"

"Helloooo...four and a half months pregnant here. I'm not allowed to drink alcohol; Remy, John, and Julius have forbidden it." She shrugged and got a bottle of water out of the fridge, stared at it a moment then abandoned it on the counter.

Being forbidden hasn't even stopped you before, Tara thought after another kick to the bag that was still sitting, completly packed, at her feet. Why do I have to be the one getting married? I don't want to suffer through another Jean planned wedding...why does this stuff always happen to me?

Dumb luck?

Shut up, Angel.

"It serves unalcoholic drinks, dummy. You don't even have to drink unless you want...y'all come with me, please? I ain't seen you guys in going on three months!"

"That's not our fault! Where did you go for all that time...?"

Natasha looked uncomfortable then shrugged without saying anything.

"Let's just go. I'm sick of being locked in here with dumb and dumber pacing around outside like military cards...screw Jean and this wedding. Can we just get drunk like normal people...?"

"Sure..whenever you two are ready to go.."

"We're ready. Let's go, Angel..."
Silver Lizard Lounge (who doesn't love this place?)

"Okay, okay, okay. I've never...gotten arrested," Tara said, deciding it was the easiest option and one of the few things she was sure she hadn't done. A couple of her I Never things might not have been really I nevers; her intelligence turned off quite a bit once she'd started drinking.

Natasha rolled her eyes and took a drink while Angel simply frowned. She wasn't playing since she couldn't drink any form of alcohol but that didn't stop her from putting in her two cents every now and again. It wasn't usually anything important or even intelligent since she'd been downing nothing but orange juice and Sprite all night, a fact she was starting to hate.

"I've never tried to run off and elope in Mexico," she said, returning the favor after hearing the details of Tara's attempted escape. It had gotten them quite a few strange glances but kept them entertained especially with Bobby and Hank's weapons. "Nor do I plan to try."

"Ha ha. You'd have to find someone to marry you first." Tara smiled then downed her shot then dropped the glass back onto the table. It made a tiny pinging sound but didn't break or even crack a little.

"Be glad I actually like you," came the reply before she became intent on waving down another waiter to request more shots. It took a few moments for the conversation to wrap up and the waiter to vanish; he was in fifteen minutes with their shots and a strange announcement.

"Ms. Creed, there was a John Allerdyce on the phone. He was looking for an Angel Blade-Lebeau who he was sure was here with a couple of friends; his request was that she call him back...have you any idea who this person is...?" he asked, glancing around somewhat nervously at his boss' friends. He seemed like the type of person who was uncomfortable in his own skin but tried not to show it.

Angel smiled, standing so suddenly that she almost knocked her glasses over. "Johnny called? I have to call him back...where's the phones at?" she asked, stumbling slightly over her chair then straighted, looking at the waiter. His attention had gone to her stomache. "Never seen a pregnant woman before..?"

"Umm..." The poor guy looked at a loss for words but shook his head and hurried away, mumbling an apology on his way.

Tara shook her head and fixed their next couple of shots. "You gonna go call John back or wait until we get back to the apartment?" she asked then realized she was talking to no one. Angel was already gone from their table and halfway across the bar, shoving her way past several people and toward the back where the pay phoens were. "Should we worry?"

"Yep."

"Anyway...I've never..."
X-Mansion (Next Morning) 11:45 A.M.

"I found the cutest outfit for the baby and just had to buy it!" Jean gushed, coming up and wrapping her arms around Angel in a tight hug. Angel cringed, visibly but endured the hug and even managed to nod in a somewhat gracious manner.

"Thank you, Jean, though Animal isn't set to be born for another five months," she said, forcing herself to smile and open the gift. She forced a smile into place at the sight of the ugly green outfit with the ducks on it. "Oh look, Julius...ducks...again..."

Juilus cringed. "More ducks. What is with the ducks, Jean? I'm sick of the damn ducks!" he snarled at the clothes before Angel patted the top of his head. He glowered at her a moment then stopped when Remy entered the room with Santiago and David being dragged along behind him.

"What did you two do now?" Jean demanded, glaring first at her son then his younger play mate. Her expression wasn't friendly but her temporary distraction gave Juilus enough time to throw the duck outfit out the window then return to his position by Angel. "It better not be another case of stealing..."

"De chil'ren thought it would be in deir best interests to create a gift for de wedding in a couple of months," Remy said, glaring at the two. His attention then went behind him to another figure. "And another homme decided to contribute his share...right, John?"

"Johnny, what did you do?" Angel asked, sounding like his mother ran than his youngest friend.

John opened his mouth but Remy interrupted. "Why don't y'check de front lawn, Tara, petite? Remy sure you'll enjoy your wedding present....before he kills it's creators," he said, glowering at the two boys. Santiago just smirked while David looked a little ashamed. "Stop smirking."

Toad shook his head at his son but followed his sister outside. There was a shocked gasp then a rush of words, swears and praise; it was hard to tell which there was more of sense both flower quite steadily. "It's beautiful. It's almost as good as eloping in Mexico..."

"Eloping in Mexico?! Never."

"Give it a rest, Jeannie. The kid's still here, ain't she?" Logan said, entering with a cigar in his mouth. His expression was almost humored until he noticed all the people present especially the new males that were present. "Who the hell invited you lot...?"

"Logan, that is no way to talk to our guests! They're here because they will soon be joining our wonderful family," Scott stated, recieving a firm nod of agreement from his wife. He looked around for a moment then smiled, holding out his arms. "Group hug."

"Did Storm just call for lunch? Ah think she did... yeah, Storm called for lunch. Anyone else hungry?" Rogue asked after standing and putting an arm around Angel then Juilus. She started out with the others following, rather fast, faster then most of them had moved in...well, ever. "Ah think we're gonna have chicken. Y'all like chicken right? I have to make sure my grand daughter, or the closest thing ah'll ever have to one, gets plenty to eat.."

Angel rolled her eyes. "You're making me sick again, Rogue."

"Would you prefer me or Scott, sugah...?"

"I love you, Rogue. Please don't leave me alone with him...."
Lunch with the X-Men (Dun Dun Duuuuun) 12:00 P.M.

"Have you two thought up any names for the baby?" Landon asked, breaking the silence that had taken over the table beyond Logan's chomping and snapping. It was a welcome sound to hear someone talking instead of just people munching on food.

Julius started to open his mouth then shook his head. "Julian got vetoed when we learned we're gonna have a little girl. I can't think of names for a girl...anyone else got a suggestion?" he asked around a mouthful of something or other.

Remy nodded after a moment, ignoring Rogue's glare and the shake of her head. "Do you remember de first time y'got drunk, mon ange?" he asked the question of Angel who nodded after a moment of thinking. Her expression was somewhat grave. "Do y'remember what y'said to Remy when he said it wasn't safe to swim drunk..?"

She thought a moment then nodded. "I ain't drunk or something similar to it...why do you have to bring that up?"

"How old were you the first time you got drunk?" Juilus asked, staring at her as if she'd grown another head. She shrugged and mumbled under her breathe, staring at her food but not really seeing it. "What was that..?"

"Fifteen. I got drunk at fifteen while playing Poker with the guys...I won a grand total of one-hundred-and-seventeen dollars then made a fool of myself by jumping into the swimming pool fully clothed. Roguey freaked...and took it out on Scott. Why?"

"Amethyst means not drunk."

She blinked. "So what's your point, Remy?"

Remy frowned. "Remy's point, mon belle ange, is dat it would make a perfect name for de chile. If she be anyt'ing like her mot'er, it be a very fitting name, aye, mon amis?" he asked, directing the question towards the other X-Men who were sitting around him. This comment earned him an elbow to the ribs from Rogue. "What was dat for, Roguey?"

"Ya know darn good and well what that was about, Remy Lebeau. Now shut up and eat your fried chicken," Rogue commanded with a quick glare around the table. Every head went down and began to eat, including the ones who were older than Rogue or the few stronger then her.
David's Bedroom, Across the Hall from Santiago's Room 11:45 P.M.

"January 15th."

"Febuary 9th."

"I claim December 17th!"

"That date's already taken by Bobby along with seven others. Pick a different one, Dad," David said, marking a couple of dates onto his calendar. He made a few notes in a notebook then flipped to another section. "Anything new on the wedding section?"

Santiago glanced at his notes then handed them over. "Two more votes that Tara and Landon manage to run off to Mexico...three claim Jean will die before the wedding gets planned...four refuse to vote...and Angel's voting in favor of the first two both happening..."

"Santiago, what the hell are you doing?" Nanaki demanded, coming through the door and ordering everyone out. They scurried from the room, looking and sounding like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off or a mad cow pack. "I thought I told you not to make anymore polls or voting things for money."

He just stared at her, barely noticing the dagger that she was playing with. "Hey, Mom...it's for a school project and what's up with the dagger?" he asked, watching her as he often did when Celesta came out. His expression didn't change at all except for his expression to become a smirk. "I thought you'd never tried to kill me."

"I lied, you little monster. Now end your damn voting booths and GO TO BED."

"Can I finish recording the last couple of predictions...?"

"NO."

"You can't tell me what to do. Technically, by yours and Dad's standards, I'm old enough to make my own decisions. What were you two doing at my age?" The dagger flew across the room and landed right beside his foot, piercing the matteress and barely avoiding slicing his foot. "Right...I guess that's a mind your own business throw.."

"Damn straight. Next time I won't miss, Santiago."

He shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time....I'm going to bed...sheesh, you're worse then my mother, Celesta..."

"Shut up and go to bed, you little monster," Celesta growled with another glare at the eleven-year-old. She stormed out, slamming the door shut and mumbling to herself.

David stared at the door for a moment then turned, looking at his friend. "Does that mean we have a new topic for voting...?"

"Mom's going to kill someone before this wedding and pregnancy are over...Mom or Celesta..."

"Twenty bucks..?"

"Twenty bucks."
A/N: I hate this ending but couldn't think of a better one. Sorry, y'all. If you can't figure out what David and Santiago are doing...they're taking bets on the day Angel and Juilus' baby will be born plus what will happen before, during, or after Tara and Landon's wedding. I won't be updating Bayville, Intergrated or this story until I've added another chapter to my original fic; yes, cry for the loss. Now get over it. Later, y'all.