I was incredibly surprised at and totally unprepared for the reaction I got from my parents. They were completely accepting of the fact I was a mutant. They said they had totally been against Senator Kelly's mutant registration idea. My father even told me a story of how, when Michael was nineteen, he dumped his girlfriend because she hated mutants. Suzanne, apparently, was a mutant, able to manipulate water much like my friend Pyro could manipulate fire. I told my parents about him, as well as all my friends and teachers at school. I especially told them about Kurt, who had fallen asleep in my arms. We were sure to lower our voices as not to wake him.

"I think he's beautiful," Mom said quietly, studying his face. "You said he's sick?"

I nodded. "The night of my birthday, he threw me a surprise party, and then the next morning he left the school early to go to that abandoned church I told you about when he was kidnapped." I told them about his father, the testing and our rescue of him and how he had been sick for the past few days.

"I can't lose him….. Kurt means the world to me."

My mother smiled at me. "He's going to be fine, I know it. Oh, Erin, you didn't even tell us about your powers!"

"That's right, I haven't!" I grinned. "Well hang on….. Kurt? Wake up." Kurt opened his eyes and they immediately found me. "Hey, you," I smiled. "C'mon, I'm gonna help you to the sofa. And… let's try to stay there this time, okay?"

Kurt grinned at me and nodded.

"First off, I want you to meet my parents, Maggie and Jim Murphy."

"Nice to meet you," Mom smiled at him. Dad shook his hand.

"Guten abend," he nodded to each of them.

"As for an official introduction, Mom, Dad, this is Kurt Wagner—"

"But in the Munich circus I was known as the incredible Nightcrawler."
I burst out laughing and Kurt smiled sheepishly up at me. "Aww…." I pulled him towards me in a tight hug as Kurt's smile widened into a grin. My parents were laughing too as I helped Kurt to his feet and over to the sofa for a second time. Mom had gone upstairs to finish some laundry, and Dad had gone in the garage to finish cleaning before Michael arrived. Pulling the quilt over Kurt I smiled at him, taking his hand. "Now, no more teleporting, okay?"

"Okay," he smiled back, giving my nose a tap. Behind me I could hear the front door open quietly. I turned around and listened to the voices coming from the front door.

"Sssh, Suze, be quiet…" Michael's familiar voice drifted to my ears as he tried to supress laughter.

"Daddy?"

"Be real quiet, baby, we're gonna surprise Granma and Granpa."

"Okay."

Walking over to the hallway I peered around the corner at them. Michael stopped when he saw me. "Mom?"

I couldn't say anything, but managed to shake my head. My heart was spinning at seeing my brother, whom I loved yet was still childishly mad at for smoking. He switched the lights on.

Silence dripped from the walls as the two of us stared each other down. "Oh, my… oh, my God! Erin? Erin, is that you?" Michael's eyes welled up with tears as his little girl, my niece, tugged at his arm.

"I'm right here, Daddy."

Michael knelt down to her level, laughing. "No, honey, look…." he pointed at me. "You remember me telling me about your aunt you were named after?"

Little Erin nodded.

Michael took in a shaking breath. "That's her."

"Michael….." I started towards him, and he jumped up and hugged me.

"God, Erin, don't you ever do that to me again…." He gave a sob before pulling me away. "Look at you, you're… you're all grown up…" Michael sniffed, giving a laugh. "My baby sister…"

I grinned. "I'm okay, Michael, I'm okay."

"Where have you been?"

"With friends, don't worry…. With friends." I paused. "Michael, I have some news for you." I turned to his wife. "You're Suzanne?"

There were tears in her eyes as she nodded. "Hi, I'm Erin, I'm your daughter's namesake." We shook hands, and she laughed. "Hi, Erin, it's nice to meet you."

"You, too. My mom and Dad tell me you're a mutant?"

"Uh…. Well, erm….. yes. Why?"

"Well…" I grinned, looking back at Michael. "I am, too." Next to me, Suzanne's face lit up.

"What, you— is that why you left, honey?"

I nodded.

"Oh, my God…" Mike pulled me back into a hug and cried again.

"Mike, Mike….. it's okay…." I smiled. "C'mere, I'll show you…." Taking his hand, I pulled him into the family room, but when little Erin gave a cry and ran behind her mother, I stopped.

"Hey!" I pointed at the couch, where Kurt still lay, staring at us. I grinned at him. "Don't you move."

Kurt smiled back at me and shook his head.

"They're not gonna hurt you."

"I know."

"Mommy…."

I turned to my niece. "Erin?" She turned to look at me. "C'mere, honey." She slowly walked over to me and took my outstretched hands.

"You're my daddy's sister. He gave me your name. You're my aunt."

"That's right, very good!" I laughed. "Erin, I'd like you to meet a very dear friend of mine. Now, he's not going to hurt you, okay?" She nodded as I picked her up and continued, walking over to the couch. "Erin, this is my friend Kurt. Kurt, angel, I'd like you to meet the rest of my family. This is my niece Erin, my brother Michael and my sister-in-law, Suzanne."

"Guten abend," Kurt smiled, then turned to my niece. "You know, little Erin, I used to be in the circus."

My little niece's whole face lit up.

"It's the truth. I'm from Germany, and that's where I was in the circus."

"Were there elephants?"

"Yes, many elephants. Tigers, too."

"Tigers?" Erin cried.

"Oh, yes, the biggest tigers you could ever imagine. But they were very sweet."

"You and the tigers were friends?"

Kurt nodded. "I helped take care of them."

Erin squirmed around in my arms to face her mother. "Mommy, Kurt was friends with tigers and elephants!"

All four of us laughed. "Yes they were, little beetle," Suzie smiled, giving little Erin's nose a tap.

When my parents came down and greeted the other half of my family, my mother, Michael, Suzie and I went into the kitchen to talk to Mom as she started preparing a salad for dinner. Suddenly, mid-sentence, she gave a cry, holding her hand.

"You okay, Mom?" Mike stepped forward.

"Oh, I just cut my hand…." It looked pretty bad, but I grinned. "Erin, darling, would you go up and get--" My mother looked up at me, noticing my smile. "What? Erin, what is that? What's so funny? I cut my hand!"

"Well see, that is just the thing…." Kurt's weak voice reached us from the family room. "She can heal others. That's one of her powers."

I went red. "Thank you, oh darling one," I smiled.

"Bitte schön, kleines;" I could almost hear the grin in his voice as Suzanne laughed.

"Is that true?" Mom gaped at me, still clutching her hand, which I took from her.

"Hold your hand out in front of you, cut up." In the other room I could hear Dad tell Kurt he'd be right back, and he and Little Erin came in the room and Dad lifted her up onto his shoulders so she could see.

Mom did as she was told, and I held my hands out over her injured one. The bright light came, and in an instant the cut was gone. All that was left was a bit of blood, which Mom continued to gape at before washing it off. She held it out for all to see, and my family clapped.

"Well done, Erin!" My dad grinned.

"Thanks," I said. "Well, I'm gonna go sit with Kurt a while; it seems he's been deserted!"

"I am just fine, Erin, I promise," Kurt laughed from his spot on the sofa.
"Well, I just wanted to come see you! Keep you company, you know?"

Soon my father and my niece joined us. "Now wait a minute," Dad said to me, taking a seat in his favorite char. I couldn't believe he still had the thing after all those years. "Kurt, you said it was one of her powers."

Kurt nodded.

"Ah, so you have more than one, Erin?"

"Yes, yes, I do, I do….."

"Well?"

"Argh!" I couldn't help a smile. "Fine. Anyone wanna see somethin' else?"

"Oo, yeah, sure!" A chorus of voices came from the kitchen as the rest of the family came in.
"Okay. My second power- of three, mind you- I don't want to do the third in here or else I'm afraid I'd break something--"

Kurt snickered, and without a hitch I whacked him. "Ow!"

I continued with a smile. "Anyway, as for my second power…." I turned to Michael. "Mike, this is the power I first got. Do you remember when I was thirteen and you saw me do this, with… the….." I motioned. "You know…?"

Mike nodded, smiling. "Yes, the cigarette, I know."

"Okay. I didn't know if…. You know… you guys had resolved that or anything….." Mom chuckled. "Okay! Anyway. Yeah. This is why I left in the first place.

"Dad, pick up that book, will ya?"

"Uh, yeah, sure thing." He picked up the dictionary off the coffee table. "What now?"

"Just hold it out in front of you. Yeah, like that. Perfect! Okay, now hold still."

No one breathed as I lifted the dictionary from my father's hands and into the air. Spinning it around a bit, I opened it up and made it fly through pages. Finally, I had it slam shut mid-air, and fall to the floor at my brother's feet.

"Wow." No one moved for a moment as Mike gaped at the book, studying it for a moment. "That was a hell of a thing."

"Alright, and as for the third and final one?" Mom asked. "What was that about breaking something?"

At that Kurt gave a full on laugh, and I whacked him even harder. "Well, if this guy would shut up for a minute," I laughed, trying to poke him. He grabbed my hands in laughter, preventing me from doing any more 'damage,' and I slowly turned to my family. "I… I can fly."

"Fly?!" Little Erin jumped up from her seat. "You mean like Peter Pan?"

"Yes, just like Peter Pan!"

Little Erin gave a squeal of delight. "Oh, Mommy, Mommy, please, can I go flying with Aunt Erin, please?"

"It's too late, honey, too dark…." Suzie was still laughing from her daughter's excitement.

"Tomorrow, then! Aunt Erin, will you take me flying tomorrow?"

"Ah--" I smiled, motioning at Suzie. "That's really up to your momma, honey."

She whirled back to Suzie and gave her one of those innocent looks that kids do when they really, really want that candy bar at the super market.

"I… well…." Suzie looked up at me. "She's sixty pounds. Do you think you can handle her?"

"Hey, I helped this goof, flew with him all the way from New York City with him just today."

"Well, I guess that settles that, now doesn't it?" Suzie laughed. "Oh, but are you staying the night?"

I turned to Kurt. "I think at this point we'd better. Kurt's, ah…. Kurt's a little sick, and I don't wanna have to put him through it again so soon."

"Oh," Suzie frowned at him. "I hope you get better."

"Danke schon."

"Es ist nichts, freund. It's nothing, friend."

Kurt gaped at her. "Sie sprechen Deutsches? You speak German?"

"Nur wenig. Ich erlernte einiges in der Schule. Only a little. I learned some in school."

"Wow, hey, Suzie, you're speakin' German! Cool."

She smiled. "I just told him I picked some up in school."

I looked at Kurt, who just shrugged and smiled. "That is what she said."

Laughing, I remembered something. "Oh, how could I be so stupid? Hey, I can't risk having someone see me tomorrow morning. I think I should take Erin for a spin tonight."

"YAY!"

"Oh boy…" Suzie sighed. "Well, alright, it sounds fine to me."

Mike nodded. "Yeah, sounds good. Just don't go too far, now, okay?"

"You got it, man, I hear ya. But first," I turned back to Kurt, lightly tapping his nose. "I have to call Jean!"

"Tell Marie she's off the hook, but I'll still buy her lunch."

Jean laughed. "Uh, okay, I'll do that." She paused. "Honey, I'm glad you're gettin' to see your family, but you should have told us!"

"I know, I know…. it's just that Kurt really wanted to come with me, and I was sure to use some of my powers on him to help him, too, so…"
"Okay, well, good. When will you be back?"

"Uh… tomorrow night, I'm thinking. I'm gonna fly back with him tomorrow night. I think it's the safest way."

Jean sighed. "Okay. Just be careful, alright?"

"You bet. Oh- oh, hang on…" I laughed. "My niece is trying to talk to me. What's up, hon?"

"Are you ready?"

"Almost, almost!" I laughed. "Go wait out in the other room and get your shoes on. I'm almost done here."

"Okay." Erin ran back into the other room as I turned back to the phone.

"You're an aunt?"

"Yeah, I know, I can't believe it, either!"

"That's great, Erin, that's wonderful. What's her name? How old is she?"

I laughed. "Erin. She's four."

Jean took in a breath. "Oh, she's got your name! How sweet. Your older brother's girl, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Well I'd better let you go. Have fun."

"I will, thanks. Say hello to everyone at home for me."

"No problem."

When it was time for bed I insisted upon having Kurt sleep in my old room, since Mike, Suzie and Erin had the guestroom, so I took a sleeping bag and a pillow in my room and slept on the floor in my room. I wanted to stay with Kurt in case he needed anything.

The next morning I brought Kurt some breakfast, as he was still so weak. It took all his strength just to get up the stairs the night before. "Gutenmorgen, Prinzessin!" he cried with a grin when I came in, making me laugh. At least he was in good spirits. After I ate, Suzie let me borrow some of her clothes and Mom got Kurt and me extra toothbrushes. Turns out, my family had planned on going to do stuff that day.

I got dressed once back upstairs and then went to talk to Kurt about my family going out. "Listen, I'm just going to go by my old school. That is, unless you want me to stay here with you." I gave his hand a squeeze.

"No, no…." Kurt shook his head and smiled. "You go. Do not worry about me, I'll be fine. I'm still so tired…"

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely."
"Okay." I smiled, rising to my feet. "I'll be back soon, honey."

"Bis später, schönes Mädchen."

I turned my head at him, and, smiling, he shook his head, pretending to be annoyed at my lack of German-speaking skills.
"It means 'See you later, beautiful girl.'"