Darnit... I knew this would happen. My inability to write sweet, short fics! This is turning out a lot longer than I thought it would be! Humph... I'll try to finish in 7 chapters...

(Four days later. Logan has left to Canada and it is now about one am in the morning.)

"Can't sleep again?"

Marie looked up from her homework. She was in the alcove again with her books and laptop spread out on the coffee table and couches.

"Homework. I have a paper due in Professor's history class."

Bemused, Jean laughed.

"That's not due for another week!"

"I know, but I don't want to wait till the last minute."

The telepath grinned. Study skills were not her forte in high school or university. Jean walked into the alcove and sat beside Marie. Deliberately, Jean touched her bare knee to Marie's knee.

The teenager jerked away violently and pulled blankets over her knees. These days, she rarely ever wore clothing like shorts and tee shirts, but since it was night and no one was around, Marie wore them to sleep.

Jean grabbed Marie's arm lightly with her bare hand.

"No, it's alright." Jean said soothingly.

Marie gawked at her in bewilderment. She looked at where Jean's hand wrapped around her arm and then back to Jean for an explanation.

"A shield. I'm putting a molecule thin TK shield along your skin." She replied, her green eyes shone with the intensity of concentration she needed to keep the barrier up.

The young mutant's eyes widened. It felt like it was skin on skin. She felt Jean's body warmth and even Jean's nails digging lightly into her own arm.

"Mental... spandex?" Marie said giddily.

Jean nodded and watched, as Marie's other hand ventured to touch Jean's bare shoulder.

"Oh my god. I'm not actually touching you? It feels so... It feels like I am." Marie couldn't believe it. It wasn't skin contact per say, but it was close enough for now. She would have never known the difference if Jean never told her. Marie ran her hand down Jean's arm, drinking in the warmth, but the moment didn't last. Jean's focus broke as the effort to sustain such precise barrier became too much. She had no time to warn Marie and when Marie's skin touched her, Jean's breath caught in her throat and she felt Marie begin to drain her.

Marie felt it too, and managed to rip herself away from Jean before any real damage occurred.

"Jean? Jean?" Marie called out frantically. She didn't dare go near the other woman so she continued to call her name to the woman who was sprawled on her back amidst the cushions.

It took another few seconds for Jean to compose herself, but she still groaned as she sat up. Jean raised her hands to stop the almost tearful mutant's string of apologies.

"I'm okay. My fault really. I came up with this idea over breakfast and I've only been practicing for a couple hours. I wasn't really ready to try it out." Jean rubbed her arm where Marie had touched her. She looked up and saw the young teenager crouched low in the pillows staring at her wide-eyed. "Hey," Jean said to her. With her mind, Jean reached out and telekinetically brushed Marie's cheek. "Don't be like that. It was my fault. Now come on, pack your books. I've got something else I want to try that won't hurt either of us."

----

She and Jean sat across from each other at a stone table in Storm's arboretum. Jean had placed some freshly cut flowers between them.

"I think that your power affects anything living. So, maybe we can start resistance training with something small."

Marie raised an eyebrow, but removed her gloves and picked up a flower. Immediately, the veins in the flower bulged as then wilted.

"I'm not going to grow roots am I?" Marie asked hesitantly.

Jean chuckled.

"I don't think so. Besides, we'll only go through maybe five flowers tonight. I'm sure Storm doesn't appreciate me hacking away at her flowers without her permission."

Marie perked up as she understood what was happening.

"Oh! Are we going to see if I've developed a physical control by seeing if I affect flowers"?

Jean tilted her head.

"Not really. While I believe the Professor's conclusion about your powers and how it is a physical one, I also believe that your power follows the same laws as other physical functions. Like breathing. We all have to breathe, it is a physical function. But we can make ourselves hold our breath and therefore, stop breathing for a little while."

Marie nodded thoughtfully.

"Okay, what should I do then?"

Jean made a perplexed sound. She wasn't sure what the next step was either, but spoke anyway. When Xavier trained Jean to develop her telepathic and kinetic skills, he often got her to visualize her power as an object that she, if in the real world, could manipulate. Jean thought this would be a place to start.

"Maybe try visualizing your power as a river. And then picture a dam blocking it. Eventually the dam will break, but for a while, the water will be kept at bay."

Marie nodded and relaxed in her seat. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. Jean waited until she sensed that the river image was firmly implanted in Marie's mind before placing another flower in the teen's upturned palm. The flower, unfortunately, wilted right away.

Marie's eyes opened and she looked disappointedly at the flower.

"The image of the river broke when the flower was placed in my hand. I couldn't keep focused."

Jean had thought that would happen.

"That happens a lot. It takes a bit of training to be very mentally focused. But it's a place to start. The Professor can help you with that. If you ask him, he won't say no."

Marie cocked her head to the side a little.

"Could you teach me instead? I mean, we've already started and the Professor is usually busy with the new and younger kids."

Jean hesitated, but then nodded.

"Sure I can." Jean broke out in a grin. "It might be a bumpy lesson though, I've never taught anything like this before."

Marie smiled as she wore her gloves again.

"I'm sure I'll survive."