Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters; please don't sue me I am a poor college student. I am not making any money off of this and I am just writing it for the benefit of my own entertainment as well as the entertainment of the other fans out there. Also, this is a story from my own imagination, any resemblance to real life events, or even those in fiction is completely coincidental. As an additional note, there are so many fan fiction stories out there on this site as well as others, so any similarity is coincidental or great minds just happen to think alike. I do claim the non-Marvel characters, such as the Williams family and the new offspring of the X-men, nor any of the copyrighted Halloween costumes. Thanks!
Note: I apologize for the spacing and random indents and anything of the sort. When the pages are loaded onto this site everything seems to get a bit messed up. I noticed that single lines get double spaced randomly. Sorry about that.
Through the Years
Chapter 32: It's in the Cards
Remy LeBeau sat at his kitchen table one lazy Sunday night in early December. He had already graded his students' papers and decided that it was too much effort to create his next batch of lesson plans for Xavier to approve. So instead he played Solitaire. It didn't matter how many times he played it, even if he won more than half the time, it still had this wonderful calming effect on him. Sometimes he'd play a game between classes and students would come in and ask if he'd ever get sick of it. He would just shoot them his most charming smile and say "Do you ever get sick of comin' to my class?" Naturally none of them could say no, especially when he applied a little charm. He was so engrossed with his game that he didn't hear footsteps in the room until the voice associated with those steps spoke to him.
"Care for a little company Poppa?"
Remy looked up at his daughter and smiled. "Sure mon petite Wildcard." She was in the process of sitting down across from him when he said "Wait a minute, did you finish your homework.?"
She smiled and rolled her eyes, "OuiPoppa." With one parent as a teacher she could never get away with anything school related. Then she inquired him challengingly, "Did you?"
Remy chuckled, "Fair enough den." He swept up the game he was playing and handed the deck over to her. She began to shuffle with the expertise that he trained her with. At this point Rogue had made her way to the kitchen and was watching the scene from the door way.
"Poker Poppa?"
"Naturally!"
Rogue couldn't help but smile to herself and recall the first time the two played Poker together. Remy had been reading the newspaper and Jessica, then eight years old, approached him with a deck of cards.
"Poppa, will you play cards with me," she asked him with that tone that Remy could never say no to.
At that point in time Remy had taught her to play 'Go Fish,' 'War,' and 'Old Maid.' So when he asked her what she wanted to play she smiled and said "Poker Poppa!"
He looked at her questioningly and said "But you don know how t'play." But she insisted that she did. So to humor her, Remy dealt the cards and played along with her ruse, assuming that she knew the lingo from watching his games with the guys that occurred so frequently in their house. But he never thought she seriously knew how to play, so he was caught completely off guard when he showed a pair of 7s and she had a full house. Completely shocked he asked her how she did that.
"Grand-Pere taught me last week how to play. I asked him to play cards with me and he said that the games you taught me weren't real cards. So he taught me Poker and Blackjack and some other stuff," she said very pleased with herself. While she spoke she made poor attempts to shuffle the deck.
Jean-Luc had spent a few weeks in New York visiting the family, a change from their annual visits down South. In fact he had only left yesterday. Remy would have to 'thank' his father for teaching his daughter these things during his visit. He was a little hurt because he wanted to be the one to teach her, but he knew that there would be certain things in life she'd have to learn from other people and certain things she'd have to learn on her own. That in itself was a great life lesson for Remy, and Rogue too when he shared these thoughts with her later.
Remy smiled at the child in front of him who had now made a mess of the cards that she had tried to shuffle, "Oh he did, did he? Well he certainly didn't teach you how to shuffle properly." With that he summoned her onto his lap and instructed her on the finer points of shuffling. After that Remy never let his guard down with his crafty daughter, card games or otherwise. Sometimes she'd win, but most of the time Remy was the victorious one. Although now that she was getting older, someday he'd have to realize that she would eventually surpass him. And that was the greatest joy for a parent, to watch their child succeed at something.
Rogue smiled at the memory and then looked lovingly at her family who were still unaware of her presence. She walked over to them and asked if she could join their game. They both looked up at her with the same patented LeBeau smirk on their faces.
"Well sure Chere, if you feel like losing."
"Yeah Momma, you know you never beat us at this."
"Well, just because ya both have that LeBeau luck in ya doesn't mean Ah'm going to give up without a fight!"
And for the rest of the evening they laughed, played, and talked together. Both Remy and Rogue were secretly glad for moments like this. It's never easy to get a teenager to spend some time with their parents. And if Jessica was willingly spending some time with them, then they were grateful for every moment they got with her. After all, someday she'd be off on her own, and since time tends to move so fast, that day could be here before they knew it.
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The next day at school Jessica and some of the girls she was friends with noticed a poster for the Winter Ball that Friday night; the most formal event next to the prom and unlike the public school prom, this one was open to all grade levels. The only other difference is that the Winter Dance was held in the gym while the prom was held at a fancy restaurant. Jessica always preferred the dances at the Xavier Institute, though, since they were open to everyone and she felt more comfortable in the atmosphere but that didn't stop her from attending functions at her own school. Every time there was a school function, especially a dance, Nathaniel, Jessica, and David attended together, sometimes with other friends too, but always the three of them together. For students who didn't know their connection with each other they seemed like an unlikely pair of friends. With his tuft of red hair and those intense blue eyes, Nathaniel looked every inch the football player that he was and at 6 feet 3 inches, the same height as his father. The average classmate would rave about Nathaniel's popularity, girls want to be with him and guys want to be him. With his blonde hair, deep brown eyes framed with glasses, and standing at 5 feet 10 inches, David was considered slightly computer geeky, a nice guy but his classmates really didn't know much more than that about him since he's so quiet. The fact he has his father's legacy to contend with didn't help either. With her white streaked brown hair and electric green eyes, Jessica was considered by most as the girl next door type. At 5 feet 4 inches she was much shorter than her parents and most of the X-men. Only Wolverine was stood an inch shorter than she did, and he would make her feel better reminding her that sometimes the greatest mutants came in small packages. Her average classmate would say she's fairly smart, cute but not drop dead gorgeous, and in the middle of the popularity scale she didn't have a specific clique, rather she hung out with people from all groups. But the three of them seems like an unlikely sort and they wouldn't have it any other way.
"So Jessica," a bouncy blonde named Cindy asked, "Are you thinking of going to the Winter Ball?"
"Sure, I bet David, Nathaniel, and I will go. I mean none of us have ever been to the Winter Ball before."
"What? No you obviously have never gone," said a brunette named Jane. "It's only THE most romantic dance of the year, even more so than prom! It's not the type of thing you go to with a group." She then got this goofy grin on her face as she said, "It's a night where love completely takes over every piece of your being: heart, soul,.."
"Gag reflex," Cindy interjected sending Jessica into a fit of laughter.
Jane smacked her friends in the arms. "I'm serious you guys." Before she could say anymore the bell rang signaling that they should be getting to first period. "Ok Jessica, seriously though, just think about what I said. If you play your cards right you'll wind up with your dream guy on the night of Winter Ball." With that she and Cindy ducked into their math class while Jessica headed down the hall to English.
Play my cards right, thought Jessica. Well I am a LeBeau, I do know a thing or two about cards. As she sat down at her desk she got out a piece of paper and began scribbling a note to what Jane would refer to as her dream guy.
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Meanwhile, down at the other end of the school Nathaniel and David were walking around the track for gym class. It was an unusually warm December morning and their teacher wanted to take advantage of it.
"Well, it's officially started," Nathaniel said to David.
"What has?"
"Girls getting all goofy about the Winter Ball. I walk down the hall today, and they point to the posters, look at me, and giggle."
"Confident aren't we," David said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Well I am one prime, grade A, piece of mutant beef," Nathaniel said while making an exaggerated motion of making a muscle.
"More like bologna," David retorted causing them both to laugh. This was the way they interacted all the time. They would exaggerate the way the world saw them and laugh about it. Any conversations David, Nathaniel, and Jessica would have together were always laced with silliness and dripping with sarcasm. They silently walked the track for a few minutes when Nathaniel spoke up.
"You're thinking about her again aren't you," Nathaniel said causing David to turn a deep shade of red.
"What…um… no, I'm not," he flustered.
"Dude, you totally are. I might not have Mom's empathic abilities but it's so freakin' obvious! Just tell her you like her or I'll do it for you! Maybe that's why you told me you like her, so that I'd tell her for you!"
"No way," David exclaimed smacking Nathaniel in the arm. "Besides I can't tell her. What happens if we did start going out and things didn't work out."
"They will work out trust me."
"What, have you added psychic abilities to your repertoire now Natey?"
"I might have because I just know you and Jess are meant for each other." David gave him a look and Nathaniel continued: "Look, just ask her to the Winter Ball then, one step at a time. And while you do that, I'm going to go start narrowing my list down." With that he took off running down the track leaping over a set of hurdles that were idly on the side of the track, which happened to be situated near a group of cute girls from their class.
David walked along alone. One step at a time, he thought. Well, I guess one date couldn't hurt.
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Jessica held the note in her hand debating whether to slip it in his locker or not. She could just tell him in person how she felt but that would be too awkward, after all, they had known each other all their lives and this was something that she had been hiding from him for years now. After all this time, how could she tell him face to face that she had these feelings for him, that every time she saw him her heart skipped a beat, that she thought he was the most handsome guy to walk the face of the Earth? Well this is it, she thought to herself. Do it now or not at all. She was so intent on her plan that when the warning bell sounded for her to get to her next class she jumped, looked side to side, and became flustered and quickly shoved the note into the vent of the locker.
Nathaniel was walking towards his locker at that moment and paused when he saw Jessica looking his way, became flustered, slip something into his locker and run off. She always left notes for him or David; it's what she did since she didn't have a single class with either of them this year, unlike the other two years of high school. So she kept them updated on her day by slipping notes into their lockers. Once she had left he opened his locker, shoved his gym clothes in, pulled out the note, and was completely shocked by the content. Jessica liked him?! But how, this can't be right. But there it was all in black and white, well blue and white since the pen was blue. Normally her notes to him started with something like "Hey Natey-Nat," or "Dear God's Gift to Women," or something else sarcastic or silly. But this time she just launched right into the content of the note itself describing how she's felt like this for a long time but she's afraid to say anything since they've known each other all their lives and everything. Then at the end she said maybe he'd consider going to the Winter Ball with her at the end of the week.
"Hey Jess, wait up," Nathaniel called from down the hall. But she was already too far out of earshot. Well this wasn't going to be pretty. Jessica liked him, David like Jessica, and Natey was stuck in the middle. I'm starting to get a migraine, he thought to himself.
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After school that day Nathaniel made a point to talk to David. Jessica was staying after to work on her article for the school paper and Nathaniel knew he and David would be walking home alone. David was the only one of them who had a car, but his sister was home for the week and decided to borrow it. It was just as well that they had to walk since Nathaniel needed to talk to him and the walk would give them amble time to do it.
"So you're being awful quiet," David noted to Nathaniel. "That's my department you know, you're suppose to be the talkative one."
"David, I can't think of how to say this. Here, read this, I found it in my locker today."
David took the note from Nathaniel and read the content, his eyes saddened as he read it. "Oh...," was all he said.
"Look man, I'm so sorry, it's not supposed to be this way…," Nathaniel started to say but was cut off by David.
"No, no, it's alright, I just want her to be happy that's all. I'm still her best friend after all. I just wish she had told me that she felt like this about you."
"I'm so sorry; I don't know what to do."
"I'll tell you what you are going to do," David said intensely, it almost sounded like he would hunt him down and beat him if he didn't do what he said, "Make her happy and go to the dance with her."
"You sure? I mean…"
David interrupted again, "Yes, look Natey, she chose you. I mean I'm not saying that you have to like her back but she obviously doesn't feel the same way about me as I do about her. Take her to the dance and let her down gently if that's what you are going to do." He looked up at his friend with that same intense look again. "Just don't hurt her."
The walked home the rest of the way in silence.
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The next evening Jessica sat on the floor of her living room, books spread out for homework, but she sat with her back against the couch staring up at the ceiling. She was so entranced in thought that she didn't even notice her mother sat down on the couch above her. Rogue leaned over face to face with her daughter.
"Penny for yoah thoughts, Shugah?"
Jessica turned around to face her mother, "Momma, I don't know what to do. You see there's this guy I like and I've really liked him for a long time. So I decided to tell him."
"Oh," said Rogue quite intrigued. "And what did he say back?"
"Nothing, I wrote it in a note yesterday but he hasn't said anything to me yet."
Rogue patted the couch next to her beckoning her daughter to sit on the couch next to her. Jessica obliged. Things use to be so simple, she'd fall down and Rogue would kiss the boo-boo better, she'd have trouble sleeping and Rogue would sing her a lullaby. But now that's she's a junior in high school, things weren't going to be solved so easily. In fact, Rogue knew that she wasn't the one who would be able to help her. She could guide her, but Jessica would have to solve this one on her own.
"So why didn't ya just tell David face to face, then ya'd have known one way or the othah."
Jessica looked at her mother, a look of shock spread over her face. "Momma, I never told anyone that I liked David. How'd you know?!"
Rogue smiled and took her daughter into her arms the way she did when she was a little girl, her head laid on her shoulder and she held her tight. "Let's just call it mothah's intuition. Ah see the way ya look at him, the way ya act around him." She pushed a lock of hair out of Jessica's face, "Ya want to be with him so badly, but ya're afraid that something will go wrong and ya'll lose him forevah."
Jessica pulled away from Rogue and sat up facing her. "How did you know that," she whispered.
Rogue smiled and said softly, "Because that's how Ah felt about yoah Poppa. Just remember, baby girl, things might not work out the way ya planned, but in the end, they always work out somehow. Even if it doesn't seem like it's goin' the way it should, just know that somehow it'll be OK. Life might take a different path than ya expected but you'll get to where ya should be eventually."
"Thanks Momma, I'm glad we talked." Jessica rested her head back on her mother's shoulder and Rogue wrapped her arms around her again.
"Of course Shugah. Any time, you know that."
They sat in silence for a moment before Jessica spoke again, "You know, there's more to it then that." She proceeded to tell her mother about how Nathaniel asked her to the dance today and she said yes because she didn't want to hurt his feelings. She also talked about how David hadn't mentioned the note to her and how seemed to be avoiding her. He never seemed to be home when she called or stopped by, and she never seemed to find him at school.
When she finished she had tears in her eyes and she asked Rogue, "So you still think it's going to work out some how Momma?"
Rogue squeezed her tight, "Somehow it always does baby girl, somehow it always does.
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The rest of the week went on fairly uneventfully. Jessica didn't see much of Nathaniel or David that week with various activities they all had going on. Actually she didn't see David at all, except in passing in the hallway, and she was sure he was purposely avoiding her. Instead of being sad, it just made her angry and she decided that if he wasn't going to talk about the note with her, even if he didn't feel the same way about her, then she wasn't going to let that stop her from having a good time at the Winter Ball. Rogue had taken her shopping on Wednesday for a new dress to wear and was helping Jessica fix her hair up. Rogue had to smile, Jessica never did anything with her long hair; she would just pull it back half the time or just let it hang down. She would tell Rogue that if she had wavy hair like hers then maybe she'd do something with it, but she had poker straight hair. Even Remy's hair had more of a wave to it than hers did. No one knew where she got it from.
"There," Rogue said as she took a look at her final product. "Ya look lovely Jessica, let's go show your Poppa before Natey gets here. He's been waitin' down there with the camera since he got home from school."
Jessica giggled, "I know, I saw him and I said 'Poppa, why are you getting the camera out now?' and he just smiled and said nothing."
"Well then, let's not keep him waiting," Rogue said. Before heading downstairs, they took a few pictures of their own with two disposable cameras, one for Jessica to take with her to the dance and the other Rogue wouldn't mention why. When they finished their photography, Rogue then made her way downstairs with Jessica not far behind her.
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Remy sat on the couch in the living room waiting for his ladies to come downstairs. He heard footsteps and got up from his seat. He saw Rogue first and she said that Jessica looked lovely, so he got the camera ready to take a picture of his little girl coming down those stairs. And then the figure who came to the stairs wasn't his little girl. She was a grown woman. She wore a long flowing light blue slip dress with a light shawl and a pair of Rogue's elegant gloves tucked in her purse in case she got cold.
"Mon Dieu," Remy murmured, completely forgetting to take a picture.
"So what do you think Poppa," Jessica asked with a little twirl, the way her mother always did when she dressed up.
Before he could answer a car honked outside, Nathaniel and his friends had already appeared in the driveway and were ready to go. Jessica kissed her parents good-bye and headed out the door.
Once they had driven off and Rogue and closed the door she turned to her husband and said, "Well Remy, ya never answered her question. Why did ya think?"
"I t'ink my lil' Wildcard is all grown up Chere. When did dat happen?"
Rogue smiled knowing what he meant, "Ah think it happened when we weren't lookin'"
Then Remy cursed in French at a sudden realization, "I never took a picture of her!"
"S'ok, Ah was prepared for the situation." She pulled a disposable camera out of her pocket. "We took some pictures before coming downstairs."
A smile broke out on Remy's face, "Did Remy ever tell you dat he love t'way your mind works?" Then he pulled her in for a kiss.
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Jessica and Nathaniel shone on the dance floor, perhaps because they were the only kids their own age who were forced to learn how to dance when they were younger. When one grew up in an environment where formal events were plentiful at Xavier's Mansion, then one had to learn all the right moves. So they could waltz, salsa, or as the case may be at a high school dance, perfectly execute all the latest dance moves. They had been dancing so hard that they welcomed the chance to change speeds with a slow song.
"Oh man, Natey, I'm having a great time," Jessica said breathlessly.
"I'm glad," he smiled back at her. He couldn't catch himself before he said, "Too bad David didn't come."
A little taken back by his words she said, "You know how he hates to dance. Every time I dance with him, I'm the one leading!"
"Yeah but you know you love it."
"Yeah," she said.
After a few moments of silence, he said, "Jessica, we need to talk."
"About what?"
"Well… I mean…we've known each other all our lives, and well I got your note and I…"
"Wait a second, hold on! YOU got my note," she exclaimed with surprise.
"Um yeah?"
She stopped dancing and Nathaniel led her off the dance floor and into the empty hallway. "What is it Jess?"
"Natey, I don't know how to say this, but that note wasn't for you. I… I got mixed up when the bell rang and I must have mistakenly put it in your locker instead…"
"Instead of David's whose locker is right next to mine, right," Nathaniel said finishing her thought.
"YES," she exclaimed with sudden realization.
Nathaniel started to put the pieces out for her, "The only reason I asked you to the dance was because of that silly note!"
Glad that he wasn't interested in her she couldn't help but feign surprise, "You mean you aren't interested in me?"
Nathaniel laughed and said, "No offense Jess, but you aren't my type."
"Well!" she exclaimed in mock huff.
"Seriously Jessica, you're like a sister to me, but I know how David feels about you."
"Wait, you know what?"
"Ooops, I've said too much already." He put his arms on her shoulders. "You have to go talk to him. Then maybe we can resume our lives as normal."
"You don't mind me leaving you here all alone," she asked before breaking into a smile, "Oh wait that's right I forgot, I'm speaking to Nathaniel Rowan Summers, lady's man."
"Yes that's true," he said with a smirk before returning to a serious tone that made him sound an awful lot like his father. "But you are wasting time, GO," he exclaimed. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. Then she took a quick look around to make sure no one was coming before flying down the hallway, out the door, and presumably to David's house.
Nathaniel shook his head, smiled, and felt that for the first time all week that things were going to be all right.
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Jessica landed in David's backyard ready to head to the front and knock on his door, but she noticed that the light wasn't on in his room. Then she heard movement in the clubhouse and something just told her that's where she needed to be.
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That Friday night David sat alone in his club house. Funny, after all these years it still was able to accommodate him and his friends comfortably, not that they used it much, but when they had to get away from the world, they'd drop by their childhood haunt. David did come here more often than his friends did; he used it as a place to think. This time he came by to think, think about how he let her get away. He didn't want Nathaniel to take her to the dance, but it was what she wanted, and he loved her enough to let her go. He would do anything for her, he always had and he always will. Even if she didn't feel the same way he did it wouldn't stop him from loving her. He couldn't help it; there was just something about her. In fact he was so wrapped up in thinking about her that he didn't realize she was actually standing in front of him. And she looked absolutely radiant in her flowing formal dress and her hair done up on top of her head. It made him feel rather underdressed in his cargo pants and jacket over a sweat shirt.
"Jessica, what are you doing here?"
"Maybe I should ask you what are you doing here?"
"Don't you have a dance to be at?"
"Don't you have something better to do than sit in our clubhouse alone?"
"Is there a reason we are only speaking in questions tonight?"
They laughed an uncomfortable laugh. Jessica rubbed her hands together, in her haste she forgot her gloves and shawl and for someone whose mutant powers have a side effect that cause her to lose body heat, that wasn't a smart move, especially in December. Knowing the way only a best friend could David walked over to her, took his own jacket off, and threw it around her shoulders. Then he took her hands into his own and began to rub them.
"You're freezing," he said when they spoke again.
"Thank you Captain Obvious," she retorted jokingly.
As hard as it was he looked into her eyes, "What are you doing here?"
"You know the note that Natey got from me?"
Crushed by the feelings that note brought up from him he choked out, "Yeah, I saw it, he showed it to me." He let go of her hands and turned away from her.
"Guess it was stupid of me not to put your name on it."
Confused he asked, "What are you talking about?"
"There was a mix up, it wasn't mean for Natey, it was meant for you."
He couldn't believe what he was hearing, maybe he was dreaming, yeah that's it and soon he'd wake up and be heartbroken again. He turned to look at her and she was still there, looking right at him.
"Natey's handsome and popular, and well, I'm just me. David Williams, normal human, no super powers. What have I got to offer you?"
"MerdeDavid, you know that doesn't matter to me," she exclaimed exasperatedly. Then she softned her tone again and looked up into his deep brown, glasses framed eyes. "David, I've known you all my life, and at point, I don't even remember when, but I fell in love with you. And I guess you confided in Natey a little secret that you've been harboring for quite a while because he let it slip a little this evening, but something tells me that maybe you feel the same way about me?
He took her hands again, "Jessica, I just wanted you to be happy, that's why I told Natey to take you to the Winter Ball."
She smiled up at him, "You've always looked out for me, for as along as I can remember."
He smiled, the kind of smile that lit up his whole face and made Jessica fall in love with him all over again, "That's because you're my Jessie-Rose. I'd do anything for you. I just want you to be happy."
"Well you know what would make me happy?"
"What?"
She smiled and said, "Being with you."
He pulled her close for a hug, not wanting to let go or find out this was all just a dream. If it was a dream, he never wanted to wake up. Then he pulled back a little and lifted her lips up to his, the first kiss for both of them, one of many that would come in the future. For the rest of the evening they sat in the clubhouse, saying all the things that needed to be said, getting everything out in the open. Jessica couldn't help but smile to herself. Momma was right; things always did have a way of working out in the end. As Momma had put it "Life might take a different path than ya expected but you'll get to where ya should be eventually." How true that was!
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Author's Note- So I should have been doing all these reading and all these papers today, but well, oops. I've had this chapter sitting around, partially unfinished, but I got inspired and had to get it out to you right away! Some of you expressed sadness about this story coming to an end, FEAR NOT! You'll know when it's the end and this isn't it, not yet anyway, there are still a few more pieces to put into the puzzle.
Ishandahalf- Glad you enjoyed the events of the last chapter. Remy and Rogue in love is definitely great to see, hear, read, whatever, it's just great, I don't care where I just want it! :-D As for the device the FOH has created, well, we'll just have to wait on that one ;-) Perhaps the kid's costumes were a little bit of a hint to this chapter? I'm so obvious and cheesy sometimes, it's amazing people still read this! :-P
Quing- Yeah, I wanted Damien to find some happiness too and well Kitty just came to mind…Glad you liked everyone's costumes, and the Bobby Ninja Turtle part was fun to write :-)
Enigmagirl2727- I'm glad the time gap worked out ok, I was afraid to do it but I didn't want to bore everyone with a decade of minor events because I wanted to get to the next part of the story. As for a spin-off, I'm not sure about that but I do want to write other stories, I have some ideas floating around in my head and partially on paper :-)
Tammy- I think that if Munroe walked for the Drakes then Bobby and Jubilee would feel the wrath of Storm and Wolverine :-P No I think they'd be happy that their baby boy is walking. Oddly enough I wrote that part originally with Jessica and Nathaniel in mind as babysitters in the Mansion, but something with Bobby and Jubilee just seemed better and it grew from there :-)
Alex L- I'm so glad that you enjoyed the part with Bobby and Jubilee :-)
GiveGodtheglory- Glad that you like Munroe's Halloween costume :-)
Bibliothecaire- I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chapter. I don't know about a sequel, I mean you never know, but I don't see it at the present time since I have other stories I'd love to tell. I talk of ending this story, but I keep coming up with ideas while filling in plot holes so you'll definitely get a few more chapters out of me still :-)