~2253~
**Christmas**
Jesse had taken up permanent residence in the mansion along with a small staff consisting of several honor students that had mutant history at the forefront of their interest. Jett visited often, getting together with his son for lunch at least three times a week. This particular week had been incredibly busy, preparing the mansion for the annual Christmas Eve Open House. It was a casual event for XMU students where refreshments were served and attendees were required to bring a wrapped toy for charity. Jesse and the staff had decorated the house in grand style with fresh garlands and traditional decorations that were steeped in centuries old traditions. Jesse had brought in a caterer for refreshments and a few extra students to help with the toy drive. Everything was ready, and he knew it would be a long night.
Jett came, of course, and even stayed for the clean-up. He noted that as the evening wore on that Jesse's demeanor had become more and more snippy. Jesse was not the snippy type so naturally something was bothering him.
"Want to talk about it?" Jett asked.
"No, Pop," Jesse said quickly as he carried the empty punch bowl into the kitchen.
Jett smiled and sped around the other way to open the door for him. Jesse was brought up short by the annoying display of speed. "Show off," Jesse accused teasingly.
Jett took the bowl from him and grinned, "Always." He put the bowl on the counter and eyed his son's dark expression. "What's bothering you?"
"Thought he'd show up for Christmas," Jesse said dejectedly.
"You know the Old Man don't like crowds," Jett said. "He might show up tomorrow, he has a key."
"Maybe," Jesse said.
"Hey," Jett said seriously. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Pop," Jesse said. "See you tomorrow."
"Yup, Christmas Dinner, can't wait," Jett said as he left.
Maybe Logan would drop in for Christmas dinner. Jesse missed him these past months since they got back. Right after they returned, Logan had just left without a word. He didn't even stay long enough to get his tags back. Jesse figured that seeing Dani again had been hard for him. Jesse knew that losing her had been devastating, so seeing her like that might have brought back his grief. He shook off the thoughts of Kitty that just forced their way into his head and started washing the serving dishes.
"Hi, Jesse," Nikki said as she entered the kitchen. "Why don't you let me wash those for you? You had a long day."
"Hey, Nikki," Jesse said with a smile. "I thought your mom was going to take you back to Connecticut tonight for Christmas."
"No," she said softly. "Dad and mom got back together, so I'm not really welcome there anymore."
"Gee, Nik, I'm sorry," Jesse said. "You can have Christmas with me and Dad."
"Thanks," she said and put her arms around his waist for a hug. "I'll dry," she added as she grabbed a dishtowel.
She had never done that before. Nikki was very shy, usually. She was only about two years younger than he was, but a little on the naïve side. Her family wasn't overly tolerant of her ability to alter the molecular structure of any substance on the periodic table. Her turning lead-into-gold trick was a hoot at parties.
In the two months she'd been here, he had tried to keep his thoughts of her professional. He was failing miserably. As he handed her a dish to dry he finally decided to throw caution to the wind and just ask her.
"Nikki," he began. "Would you like to catch a movie sometime? And maybe have dinner?"
Nikki blushed. "I'd like that," she said smiling nervously.
Yee-ha! The dishwater in the sink suddenly shot straight up, "Ooops!" Jesse said as the water hovered in a bubble shape for a second, and then slowly lowered back into the sink.
Nikki laughed and she had a sweet musical quality to her voice. Jesse smiled. Merry Christmas to me! He thought.
~2003~
Most of the students were gone for the holiday, but there were a few that either didn't have homes to go to, or weren't welcome. The professor always put in the effort to make Christmas nice for those students that stayed at the mansion over the holiday. The kids were in the lounge watching White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Scott was surprised they were actually enjoying the classic musical. Dani and Jean were in the kitchen mixing up another batch of eggnog, the only way to be certain that it didn't get spiked.
"How have you been feeling?" Jean asked Dani who was now about seven months along.
"Apart from feeling a little like a beached whale, I've been feeling pretty good," Dani said. She gave the eggnog a frown and added, "I think I better lay off the nog, though. It's starting to turn my stomach."
Jean laughed. "How about some herbal tea?"
"Perfect. Thanks, Jean." Dani was glad that she and Jean had worked out their issues. When it came right down to it, it was just a matter of territory. Once Logan and Dani were officially married, the jealousy vibes just disappeared. She and Jean had actually become very close during this pregnancy.
"Let me carry that for you," Beast said as he took the large punch bowl from the counter before Dani could.
"I am not an invalid, Dr. McCoy!" Dani said firmly.
"Never entered my mind," he said smiling. "That was pure chivalry."
The trio laughed, and Jean told Dani she'd bring the tea when it was ready.
Logan was sitting on the floor by the tree assessing the packages. "Hey, Baby, what's in this one?" he asked Dani as he held up a box with his name on it.
"I didn't do that one," she said as she sat down on the couch.
"Oh, what about that one?" he pointed to another.
"Honestly, Logan, you're worse than the students!" Ororo said with a grin.
"In Germany, we open our presents on Christmas Eve," Kurt said.
"That's a great idea," Jamie said.
"Definitely!" Bobby and John agreed.
"You made that up, Kurt," Scott accused with a smile.
Jean walked in to hand Dani a cup of tea, and stopped dead. Dani showed no outward sign, but Jean had felt the mental strain of pain control that gave her away. "Dani, how long have you been having contractions?" Logan's head shot up and he stared at his wife.
"Jean, they're just those Braxton-Hicks contractions," Dani said lightly. "Relax."
Logan was off the floor and across the room so fast it made Scott nearly jump. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked her softly as he placed a hand over her swollen belly. He felt the muscles suddenly tense and heard the subtle change in her breathing and heart rate. "Jean?" he asked more strongly.
Jean just looked at her face and knew this was it. "Logan, would you mind bringing her downstairs?" Jean said firmly. "It looks like you two might get a present on Christmas Eve after all."
~2253~
Jesse wasn't in any hurry to go downstairs. The dinner wasn't until one o'clock, and there was only him and Nikki in the mansion. Nikki was a late sleeper, and Jesse didn't expect to see her until at least ten. He glanced at the clock. Seven, yuck. He stretched and sat up. He smelled bacon. Maybe Nikki was going all out for Christmas and making breakfast. He decided not to keep her waiting. He took a quick shower and put on jeans and a t-shirt with a picture of a kid hanging a six-foot long stocking on the mantle. He ran a comb through his hair and headed down the stairs. He walked in the kitchen and just stopped. He couldn't believe his eyes. Logan was standing at the stove cooking eggs and bacon. He just turned and smiled at Jesse.
"It's about time you got up," Logan said with a smile. "Sit down, it's ready."
Jesse sat down and eyed the unexpected visitor suspiciously. "Logan, where'd you go?"
Logan sighed. "I just needed to get away for a while," he said. "Merry Christmas, kid," he added as he set a plate in front of Jesse.
Nikki quietly walked into the kitchen still in her pink pajamas, with her hair disheveled. She didn't look at either of them, and didn't say a word. She pored herself a cup of coffee and disappeared right back up the stairs. Logan watched Jesse's expression as he watched the girl head right back up the stairs.
"Who's that?" Logan asked.
"That's Nikki," Jesse said with a warm smile. "She's not a morning person." Jesse seemed to be lost in his thoughts and had a sappy smile on his face.
"I've seen that look before," Logan said dryly as he took a bite of eggs.
Jesse blushed. "She's a student," Jesse said.
"And?"
"We have a date Saturday," Jesse said. "Our first."
"Good boy," Logan said with a smile. If Jesse looked at her that way when she looked like that, he'd have a new grandkid to look after by next Christmas.
Jesse got up and disappeared for a minute, and returned holding a cigar sized box. "Open it," he said as he handed it to him.
Logan gave him a surprised smile and opened it. It was a wooden cigar box, with an etching of their family tree burned into the lid. Logan traced his finger gingerly across Dani's name and smiled. He opened it and found his tags tucked inside along with a bunch of very expensive Cubans. Logan put the tags back on and grabbed a cigar.
"Kid, I don't even want to know where or how you got these," he said as he lit one up. He smiled as he took a long drag. "Thanks, Jesse."
"Merry Christmas, Grandpa," Jesse said with a laugh.
"Back at ya," Logan said.
~2003~
It was nearly six in the morning when Dani finally gave birth to a healthy baby girl. While Jean assessed the baby's condition and Beast checked on Dani's erratic heart rate, Logan stared into his wife's eyes with burning pride.
"You did great, Dani," he said softly as he stroked her hair.
Dani just smiled and passed out. She'd wanted to have the child naturally, but her tiny frame had made it a difficult labor. Jean gave the baby a clean bill of health and placed her in Logan's arms.
"She's healthy, and appears to be right on time. We must have miscalculated," Jean said with a smile. "You did great, Dad," she added with a wink.
Logan didn't see anything but the little beauty in his arms. He reached up to touch her face and she grabbed his finger. He looked like he was going to bust he was so excited. He looked back at Dani who was still out.
"Hank, is Dani okay?" Logan asked with a hint of panic creeping into his voice.
Hank turned to look at the new arrival and just smiled. "Dani is just fine, she's just exhausted."
"I'm fine Logan," she said softly.
Logan sat down on the bed beside her and placed their daughter in her arms. His two ladies were so beautiful. "What should we call her?" Logan asked.
"Andromeda Marie," Dani said firmly.
"For Jesse's mom and Rogue?" Logan asked.
"Yes," Dani said.
"Oh, baby, I love you," he said as he kissed her forehead, "Merry Christmas."
"Back at ya," Dani said with a smile and fell asleep holding their daughter.
