Disclaimer : I own none of the X-Men nor their surroundings, however Dell Tucker and Ilehana Xavier are mine.

A/N : The date at the start of a chapter refers to the timeline in respect to the Prologue. It's taken almost no time to write this, it came together so easily. I've loved writing Stifle - I'm sure she'll have another plot at some point. She'll certainly be making an appearance in one of Lamby's X-Men : Evolution fics, so watch out for that!

Epilogue

Six Months Previous, New York City

"Jubilation Lee, Jubilee, she can emit pulses of light from her hands."

"And her?"

"Kitty, though she prefers Shadowcat. She can phase through matter - walls and the like. She likes classical music, though she'd die of embarrassment if her friends found out."

"Impressive." Charles Xavier smiled at his newest protégée. "And that young lady?"

He pointed down to Rogue, so very sad and alone, sat watching Bobby Drake and some of the other boys playing a game of basketball on the court. Dell watched for a moment, her empathy going out to Marie as she saw the image of her boyfriend lying fitting on her bed after she had kissed him. By the Gods, what a burden for such a young girl to bear! Dell smiled suddenly, knowing that she was the only one who could give Rogue what she truly wanted.

"If you'll excuse me, Professor?" Dell was unfailingly polite to the man she had come so close to killing, how else could she behave? To his credit, he had never mentioned the incident, nor had Cyclops, whose arm now hung in a sling as he too watched the basketball game, though from the opposite side of the court to Rogue.

"Of course." Xavier nodded courteously, allowing his newest pupil to withdraw. He watched her leave the balcony through his room and close the door silently behind her. She'd come on leaps and bounds since returning with Cyclops, Jean and Storm to Westchester. No one else knew of what had passed between them all, but she behaved with enough shame for the pupils of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters to know that Dell had not been a friend initially. They treated her with the same respect they attributed to all guests, for which both were grateful, but it was clear she was not as yet welcome for the long term.

"Hey Rogue. What's up?"

"Nothing." She answered, just short of coldly.

"You miss him, don't you? Wolverine I mean."

"How d'you………?" She began to ask, then shrugged. There was no point in asking "How?" at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters – the explanations often ended up taking far, far longer than the question. "Yeah, I miss him."

Dell sat down beside the girl, uninvited, and sighed heavily. She looked across at Cyclops, suddenly all too aware of his deepest wish. She hated her empathy sometimes, it put her in the most awkward positions. Well, maybe she could sort that later, but right now she was here to help Rogue. She knew the Professor was watching her with interest – to see how she would react – but suddenly she couldn't care. Dell wanted so much to impress the man who had continued her training without the use of pain. And perhaps, at last, she might be able to do that. When Dell put an arm about her shoulders, bare forearm touching the skin of the back of Marie's neck, Rogue jerked away, suddenly terrified.

"Are you nuts? You could have………" Hang on, why wasn't Dell hurt? Why wasn't she gasping for breath and fighting for her life? Why was she sitting there smiling indulgently?

"You can't hurt me, Rogue. My mutant power allows me to stifle yours. It's perfectly safe. Look." And she reached out, taking Rogue's hand between hers. As they made contact, Dell was flooded by a world of such terrible loneliness, a loneliness no human or mutant could either understand or cure. And as Rogue, suddenly sobbing, collapsed into her arms, Dell knew she'd made a fatal mistake. She'd wanted to give Rogue a gift – a simple hug – but it had done nothing but bring the girl pain.

#You have given her a gift, Dell. Xavier finally intervened telepathically. Rogue is stronger than you think, she will take this for what it is. By giving her this moment, you have given her something greater than any of us ever could.#

Dell said nothing, cutting off Xavier's contact before he could know her thoughts.

SOMETIME LATER

"I'm sorry." She apologised softly, touching the shoulder of his bad arm gently. "if I could take the pain away I would."

"I know." Scott replied quietly. They were wandering through the wooded parkland not far from the school. The tall pines loomed high overhead, dappling the afternoon Sun as it shone through them. Dell was cosily warm in black jeans borrowed from Ilehana's wardrobe and a cream sweater of Scott's under her long black coat. She wasn't sure why Scott had lured her out from the mansion onto this little walk but she guessed that it had something to do with Xavier. "What will you do now?"

"Now?" She echoed softly. She sighed. "I want to see him - Magneto. I want to know why he lied to me, why he hurt me so badly. To know why he did it all."

"I can tell you the answer to the last." Cyclops shrugged, wincing as a flash of pain shot through his arm. "Because he wants………"

"A world where mutants don't have to live in fear. Where they can live without human attacks etc etc etc. I know that, Scott, but………" She shook her head. "Maybe I don't know what I want, all I know is that I want to look him in the eye……… and spit in his face."

Cyclops chuckled dryly, then let it evolve into a laugh, and Dell found it catching. She laughed alongside him, letting the tensions between them dissolve with it. After a few moments they descended into a comfortable silence, strolling along and enjoying the scenery. Eventually Scott returned to his original question. "So what do you want to do?"

"What I want isn't important. I have to leave."

"Have to?"

Dell stopped him, turning him to face her. Concentrating her will, letting it flow over him like a blanket, Dell reached up and reached up to remove Scott's red shades. He tried to stop her, but she was insistent. She looked straight into his chestnut brown eyes as he stared around. He could see! For the first time since his childhood, he could see through his own eyes.

"Now do you see?" Dell asked quietly.

"I see that you have a great gift for granting wishes." He answered in awe.

"No, Scott, I have a gift for working against everything Professor Xavier is trying to teach. He's taught you to embrace your power, to use it for good. How can I live amongst those who have such talents, knowing that all some of them will want is nothing more than for me to spend my life stifling them?"

"Fair point." Scott answered, taking his shades back and putting them on. "Thank you, Dell, for helping me see more clearly."

Dell released his power, setting him free from her will and sighed. "I'll go back to England. I can be of use to you all there, and I can trace my history now that the Professor has released my memories. The pictures are there, now all I need is the story, you know?"

"You'll be missed, Stifler."

"I was thinking just plain Stifle." She answered, grinning at him. "I'll miss you all too, but that's the way things have to be."

"I know, Stifle." Scott replied, a little sadly. "I know."

They began to walk again, making their way slowly back to the mansion. Dell hoped that some day she might return to them, to learn to embrace her power. For now she wanted answers to her questions. For now she wanted to be free to be herself, to not have to Stifle her own power for the sake of others. Just for a little while, she wanted to be almost human………

The End

A/N : "Almost Human" is dedicated to all my reviewers. Cheers peeps!