~2253~
**Family Reunion**
Logan never used his influence in school matters, but this time he had. He talked to the board about a replacement for Dr. Williams as the Executive Curator of the Xavier Mansion Museum. They had all agreed that Jesse was not only the most qualified, but deserved it for all he had done to help maintain their peaceful world.
"If you can retrieve him from the past, he has the job," the XMU president said.
"I've been working on the device that sent him there to see if I can modify it to allow him to return," Logan said.
"What if he wants to stay there?" another board member asked.
"Strictly speaking," the president said. "It is better to keep people in the time periods they were born to. There's no telling what may have been altered by his displacement."
"But if we do nothing, what will change?" the board member insisted.
"Logan?" the president asked.
Logan wanted him to come back. Jesse was the last of his family, and he didn't want to lose him. He wanted to see Jesse raise a family of his own. Watching over the family was Logan's way of keeping Dani alive in his heart. As long as he had one of their grandkids to keep track of, she wasn't really gone. But Logan remembered how much Jesse loved Kitty, and how he hated leaving her. Maybe he would give him the choice.
"I'll go get him, but let him choose if he wants to stay or come back," Logan conceded.
Just then, the door to the board room burst open and Jett Stanley stood there in a fit of fury. "What have you done with my son?"
"What's it to ya, Bub?" Logan asked impatiently.
"Don't pretend to know anything about my family," Jett said bitterly. "You're the one that broke it up."
Logan's claws popped out on sheer anger reflex. *Snikt!* This prick had a wonderful family and destroyed it. Logan hated the man.
"Gentlemen, kindly take your quarrel outside," the college president said.
Logan growled and sheathed his claws as he stormed out of the office with Jett on his heels.
"You and that museum director stole her from me," Jett said angrily.
"What are you talking about? I hadn't seen Andromeda since she was a child. You're the one that drove her away," Logan said.
"It was your little war with Orson," Jett explained. "He used her as leverage against you, admit it!"
Logan was shocked. He didn't realize Odium knew their family history. He must have suppressed Jesse's and Andromeda's powers to maintain control over them and keep them relatively helpless until he could use them against him.
"You didn't kill her?" Logan asked for confirmation.
"I loved her," Jett said softly. "I was too late that night, all the speed in the world and I wasn't fast enough to save her."
"She must have found out what he was planning," Logan said. "I shouldn't have kept my promise to her mother to stay out of her life. If I had stayed around, I could have prevented it."
"No," Jett said dejectedly. "Old granny Cass was a stubborn woman. She thought keeping you away would give Andi a normal life."
"Yeah," Logan said. "Not many families have their ancestors over for thanksgiving."
Jett smiled. "You bring my son back, and you can come for Christmas."
"He doesn't think of you fondly," Logan said.
"I know. I want to change that," Jett said seriously.
Logan looked him over. He wasn't the man he'd expected. Jett had changed since Andromeda died. He was a heartbroken man who wanted desperately to keep what was left of his family. Logan understood.
"I'll give him the choice, it's up to him if he comes back or not," Logan said.
"Then take me with you. If he won't come back, at least I can say goodbye," Jett said.
*****
Logan had been working on the device that Odium left behind for the past week. Jett had stopped by a few times to check on the progress. Today was one of those days and this time Logan had good news.
"How's the device coming along?" Jett asked as he poked his head in the lab.
Logan looked up from where he was working with an old white haired man and said, "It's done, thanks to old Tinker here."
"Hey," Tinker said as he waved at Jett.
"When can we go get him?" Jett asked.
"I'll power it up now if you like," Tinker said with a smile.
"That'd be fine, Tinker," Logan said.
Tinker went to work on adjusting the settings and powering up the machine.
"How does this work?" Jett asked Logan.
"Tinker will control the portal from here," Logan said. "He'll send us back and we'll have one hour before he opens the portal again."
"So we have an hour to find Jesse and talk him into coming home?" Jett asked.
"No, you have one hour," Logan said. "I don't think it would be a good idea to run into myself."
"Jesse might not want to talk to me," Jett said flatly.
"I'll go, but I'll stay by the portal and wait, just in case," Logan said.
"All right," Jett agreed.
Tinker threw the switch that opened the portal and the room was flooded with light. "Okay, Logan, you can go through now," Tinker said. "I'll open it again in exactly one hour."
"How does that work between here and there?" Jett asked.
"The times are parallel. One hour here is one hour there, now go," Tinker said.
Logan ran through the swirling light and Jett followed.
~2003~
Baseball was one thing that Jesse knew well. He smiled to himself, thinking about the way he showed up here that first day. The weather had washed that scorch mark away by now, but Jesse knew the spot. He forced himself to concentrate on the game. He was at first, of course, and Bobby was about to pitch to Rogue. There was a runner on second, Jubilee, and Jesse knew she was going to steal if she had the chance.
"Relax, Cher, you got dis," Remy shouted from the dugout.
Bobby checked the base and gave Jubes a knowing smile before he faked a pitch and threw the ball to John on second.
"You're out!" Beast called when the ploy worked. "That's three, folks. Change up!"
There was a sudden rolling in of dark clouds and a rumble of thunder. Everyone turned to look at Storm who just shrugged. Jesse had a knot in his stomach when he saw a huge bolt of green lightening crackle across the sky and strike in the woods about a hundred yards in.
Xavier ordered the students inside. "All the students will return to the mansion immediately," he said. "Kurt, Gambit and Beast, will you go with them?"
They all headed in while the rest of the team waited for what Xavier wanted to do. Logan was just itching to send Dani inside but knew better. She'd rip him a new one for being over protective and he would get the cold shoulder for a day or two. He decided to keep his mouth shut.
Scott got impatient and just couldn't wait. "Well?" he asked the professor.
"He'll be along in a minute," Xavier said. "Be patient."
A tall stocky man with thick white hair walked out of the woods toward them. Jesse stood like a statue with his face set in stone. He knew the truth now, his father wasn't the one who killed his mother, but Jesse didn't trust him. He didn't really even know him.
"Jesse?" Jett said when he spotted him.
"What are you doing here?" Jesse asked bitterly. Jett looked around at the X-men that were staring at him sternly. Jean and Xavier knew who he was, and Jean took it upon herself to let the rest of the team know. Jesse's father, she said. No one was overly impressed.
"Look, I came to talk," Jett said. "I want you to come home, son."
"I'm Andromeda's son," Jesse said bitterly. "You're just some guy that shared our house."
Ouch, kid, Logan thought.
"Jesse, hear him out," Dani said seriously. She had been standing close enough to see his eyes. He was being sincere.
Jesse looked at Dani. He sighed, "Only for you," he said to Dani. "Not because he wants it."
"Look, can we get a moment here?" Jett asked Xavier rudely.
"Show a little respect," Scott said harshly. "You're talking to the man in charge."
"I know who he is," Jett said quickly. "Laser-face."
Let it go Scott, Jean warned.
"Dani and Logan can stay, but the rest of us will retire back to the mansion now," Xavier said firmly as he headed in. Jean followed, and Storm, but Scott didn't like it.
"Professor," Scott began.
"Go inside, Scott," Dani reassured him.
He glared at the white haired newcomer one last time and then headed in.
Jett walked over to Jesse who still hadn't moved. "Jesse," he began.
"Save it," Jesse said.
"I know I wasn't there for you," Jett said. "I want the chance to start over. Please, son, come home."
Jesse hadn't expected someone to come looking for him. He definitely didn't expect it to be his father.
"There's nothing for me there," Jesse said.
"You have a job waiting for you," Jett said. "You're the new Executive Curator, if you want it."
"How?"
"Logan talked to the XMU board of directors," Jett said. "He's the one who arranged for me to come here to talk to you."
"Why would he do that?" Jesse asked.
"Because I asked him to," Jett told him.
"Why?" Jesse asked.
"I know you remember things different than I do. You think I didn't care, but I loved your mother. You are my son, all I have left in the world that really matters. I came because I love you, son," Jett said with a lump in his throat.
Jesse didn't know what to say. He never would have expected a confession like that from the stuck up football star. "I never knew…" Jesse said.
"I promise things will be different," Jett said.
"You can even include your old granddad here in the family if you want," Jett said humorously as he pointed to a very annoyed Wolverine.
Logan was angry and didn't know why. The tall man seemed sincere, but Logan knew too many things about him to like him much. He also looked familiar. Who was it he looked like? "Jesse, just who was it your dad was related to?" Logan asked as he stared at the man.
"Eric Lehnsherr," Jett said. "And yes, I look like him a little."
Logan frowned. Well, that explained a lot.
"Logan, go get Kitty," Dani said to him quietly.
Logan looked at his wife and understood. Jesse was going to leave and would want to say goodbye. He didn't like leaving right now, but nodded and headed to the mansion.
Jett watched him leave and took that as his opportunity to do the old man a favor. "You're Dani?" Jett asked.
"Yes," she answered. What does he want?
"I brought someone with me that might like to see you," he said to her and pointed down the path he had come from. "It's not far."
Dani got a knot in her throat and butterflies in her stomach. It could only be one person. She turned and ran down the path. He wouldn't come to her, she knew that. She had to see him.
He stood there against a tree smoking a cigar, waiting. He saw her run into the clearing and straightened up. She stopped in her tracks and just stared at him. Damn, she was more beautiful than he remembered. He tossed his cigar on the ground and stepped on it.
"You look good," Logan said.
"So do you," Dani said as she walked toward him. He hadn't changed a bit.
"I didn't expect to see you," Logan said walking toward her.
They stood right in front of each other, staring into each other's eyes. A single tear ran down Logan's cheek. "What do you see in my eyes now, baby?" Logan asked her softly.
"You still love me, even after all the time that separates us," she said with a quiver in her voice as she hugged him. They just stood there holding each other. Dani knew she'd been gone from his life for a very long time. She hoped that seeing her this way would give him comfort and not pain.
"I missed you," he said quietly. "I've been looking after the family, though, so you don't have to worry about them."
"Oh, god, Logan, I'm sorry," she said.
"Don't be," Logan said. "I'm not." He stepped back to look at her and lifted her left hand to look at the ring he'd placed there only days ago. "Nothing, Dani, not even death …I meant it then, and I mean it now." He smiled at her affectionately and brushed that wayward curl he loved from her forehead and kissed her cheek.
"Logan, I love you."
Logan smiled and released her hand. "I love you too, now go to him," Logan said pointing to the path. "Go back to your Logan."
Dani reached for him again but he just caught her hand and kissed it. "Thanks for coming," he said and backed away. He needed for her to go, so she reluctantly complied. He watched her longingly until she disappeared into the trees.
The tears didn't hit until she was halfway back to the baseball field and that is where her Logan found her. He just wrapped his arms around her and let her cry. Jett had warned him to wait for her, and he had a feeling what was going on. It felt strange to be jealous of himself, but he did. He'd made her cry, and he was angry.
"Logan, I love you," she said between sobs.
"I love you too." He said. "Always."
*****
Kitty stood by Jesse as he introduced her to his father, "This is my father, Jett Stanley," he said. "And this is Katherine Pride."
"Kitty," she said with a smile and offered her hand. Jett gave her hand a friendly shake and understood why Logan said he'd give Jesse the choice.
"Nice to meet you," Jett said. "Jesse, you got five minutes."
"Right, I'll be right there." Jesse turned to Kitty and knew that leaving was right, but he hated it.
"I knew you'd be leaving the minute you got here, and I wouldn't trade one minute," Kitty said.
"Me neither," Jesse said. "I know it sounds cliché, but I'll never forget you, and that's the truth."
Kitty smiled and giggled, "We'll always have the library."
"I'll never look at the library the same way after this," Jesse admitted chuckling.
"Kitty…" he started to say.
"I know, me too," she said and kissed him.
Jett had stood by the tree line discreetly waiting. He observed the kiss and just rolled his eyes. Jesse wasn't a kid anymore. He'd missed so much of his life already. He wouldn't miss out on the rest if he could help it.
Logan and Dani emerged from the woods and Dani turned to Jett as they walked by. "Thanks," was all she said and kept walking.
Jesse gave Kitty one last kiss and headed for the woods. He paused to give Dani a hug. "Bye grandma," he teased.
"Oh, go home you scallywag!" she said laughing.
"Take care of yourself, kid." Logan said and ruffled his hair.
Logan and Dani walked Kitty back to the mansion. They reached the door when the green lightening tore across the sky again. They were gone.
