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Chapter 4

            The oak in Charles' office gleamed with the satisfied air of the well-polished. A spicy scent radiated pleasantly from the leather chairs and the soft light played into his eyes. He blinked. Then his eyes began to water in the intensity of the afternoon light. He contemplated closing the blind but decided instead to put all; his focus on the young woman in front of him.

            Storm had her head bowed and gazed absently at her hands like a child expecting a detention and lecture. For a second she glanced into his own calm stare but then dropped her eyes to inspect her fingernails. Charles watched her with a hint of bemusement.

"What's been troubling you Storm? I heard you had a fainting-spell in class this afternoon. I trust you are feeling better..?"

She jerked her head noncommittally. Charles sighed. He could almost hear her thinking "Well, of course you'd know". He decided to change his tact.

"Tell me what's troubling you Storm. This is indeed a hard time for the entire school and also mutant population with Jean dead and the humans lobbying for the mutant registration act to be passed. I need my staff to be alert and cheery, to prevent the students from becoming sober and unhopeful."

Storm sighed under his scrutiny, and shrugged uncomfortably. "Just stress I guess..."

Charles allowed himself a dry chuckle. "M'dear, I don't believe for one minute that you arrange a meeting with me simply because of stress. You know that you can change things on your own without me glaring over your shoulder and you know how to take care of yourself. No, I think you called this interview to tell me something but now don't know how to."

Storm shrugged again. She was getting good at it.

Something in her eyes told Charles he'd hit the nail bang on. She scratched at her neck idly but stared at him with his eyes wide, as if trying to give him a hint. Charles was tempted to dip into her mind and find the source of her troubles but only entertained this idea only for a second. Minds were not for tampering with. He strongly believed that if Storm wanted to tell him she'd do so when she was ready... minds were incredibly good at revealing their secrets at the right time.

With nothing else to do, he dismissed her. He stayed looking where she had sat for a long time after she'd left, seemingly not seeing anything. Storm was strong. She had a strong will, a strong character and a strong sense of moral rightness. Whatever she was facing could not break her.

There was a knock at the door. Somehow this knock sounded gruff, like the knocker would not take 'sorry, busy' or 'sorry, out' for an answer.

"Come in, Logan" Charles said tiredly, rubbing his brow.

Logan sidled in and took Storm's vacated chair. Charles could tell by the way his fingers itched that he longed for a smoke. Logan had, at the request of many in the mansion, given up smoking. If grudgingly and perhaps with a bit of cheating and lying on the side. But at least he wasn't smoking as much as obviously now.

"Doc, I think something's troubling Storm."

Charles raised his eyebrows and gestured Logan to continue.

"She's been acting weird lately. Not herself at all. And there's something in her expressions that's not.. not very Storm-ish."

Charles nodded encouragingly. Logan squirmed.

"Well," Charles said. "She has just come to see me and has told me that she is feeling stressed. We should behave with consideration towards her.'

Logan gave him a sidelong look. It had a lot of cunning in it, that look, like that of a crafty fox deciding how to eat a plucky pheasant. Charles hoped he wasn't the pheasant and matched the look with a poker-face glance of his own.

"You don't believe that do ya Charles?"

Charles maintained his poker-face with ease. "Storm has expressed a desire to solve things on her own. With consideration.."

"From others she will heal herself, yeah, I know. You've told me that a great many times. But really?"

Charles looked at him blankly, and Logan chose this moment to excuse himself. After he had been gone for almost ten minutes Charles allowed himself a brief smile of exasperation. For appearing to have the tact of a tiger in an empty birdhouse, Logan could analyse people surprisingly well when he wanted to.

Well, at least there were two people looking out for Storm now. That was encouraging.

Xavier wondered what was wrong with Storm. He felt there was something playing on his mind but couldn't figure out what. Why. Anyway, would Storm, so official in her behaviour, ask for help but then ask for nothing? Another mystery of the world.

He began marking some physics papers distractedly, "I hope things work out for her" He mused to himself.