A/N: R/R... that's all I'm saying... no wait. I wanna thank my Beta Carmilla. You've been a great help. Thank you.

No, please read on!

CHAPTER TWO

"You'll never believe what I just saw!" Bobby exclaimed when he stormed into the kitchen, where most of the older students were already eating due to the extra lunchtime they got from the Professor's early dismissal. Everyone turned to him with big eyes, all hoping for something that would explain the Professor's strange behavior.

By taking deep breathes and putting a dramatic pause between his exclamation and the anticipated explanation, he wanted to gain their whole attention.

"Now, don't be an ass and simply tell us!" One of his fellow students shouted from behind the crowd and everyone laughed. Embarrassed he shrunk one inch or two and told them.

"Okay, okay! I found the Professor opening the door. Waiting outside was a young woman, she must be about our age." He pointed at Rogue and smiled at her before he went on.

"And?" Rogue asked, smiling at him in return.

"Nothing. They just stared at each other for some minutes before she finally came in."

The listeners began to whisper and grumbled if this had been all, but Bobby rose his hands to silence them.

"Wait!" he requested. They obeyed. "I just turned to leave, when" The tension reached it's peak. "She crawled onto the Professor's lap, …and…kissed…him!" Bobby pronounced the last three words, added some not so true elements but the reaction was worth it. An uproar went through the crowd.

"No way!" – "Shut up!" – "Oh…my…God!" were only some of the outcries.

Instantly the guessing started about how she might look like, if she was a mutant too, and what her powers might be like, where the Professor knew her from, why she was this young and why the Professor was kissing her. Did he have a younger girlfriend? Was her power to seduce nice, old men? Was she staying? And if she stayed, where was she going to sleep? Everyone but Rogue, who only sat there and thought about what Bobby had told them, was on a rumor high.

"What the hell is going on here? And why are all already here? Aren't you supposed to be in class?" a deep, rough voice cut through the babbling. "And why the heck do ya disturb my lunch?" Logan growled under his breath, chewing on his unlitcigar for he was not allowed to smoke it inside the mansion building. Still in an even worse mood than usual he took a seat next to Rogue. She smiled at him and got a grin in return. Always a grin.

"What kinda kiss was it?" Rogue asked finally, bringing her attention back to the main topic and everyone including Logan looked at her.

Bobby frowned. "What do you mean?"

Logan had no idea what she was talking about.

"Was the kiss only soft? Did she just kiss him on the lips and let go? Or was it something more deep? Something more…passionate?" Her cheeks turned slightly pink and she looked at Booby, after a short glanceat Logan. Now all eyes were back on Bobby.

"What kiss?" Logan asked but got no answer.

"Mhh, well it seemed more intimate. They definitely didn't kiss for the first time", Bobby answered after some thinking. To underline his statement he made a final nod.

"Okay, whatever." Logan said more or less uninterested and rose from his chair.

Rogue let out a long breath and shook her head in mere pity.

"Logan, Logan, Logan." She teased, shaking her head and slapped him on the back. "Never knew you were the nosy kinda guy. But I'll inform Jubes to put you on her 'Gossip News List'"

He looked at her and growled, while she left the kitchen.

"Tell me, where have you been all those years? It must be ten now!" Charles said and laid next to her into the green grass. She lay on her back, staring at the indigo blue sky with the fluffy white clouds, sliding her feet slowly time and again over the greenest grass she had ever seen. They had spent some time now walking silently hand in hand through this quiet, perfect world he had created for them.

"Here and there. The world is a big place!" she turned and faced him, smiling. "This is a wonderful place."

"I've been looking for a long time now to share this with someone." he said, now it was his turn to look up into the intense blue of the sky.

"You're coming here often?"

He nodded. "I can rest here" he explained. He closed his eyes. Memories erupted, hers, his and they mixed. Memories of their shared past and memories of their time apart. He smiled at the warmth that began to spread, the familiar feeling, to have her here with him, inside of his head. But he suddenly began to frown. Something was different. It felt as if he was running again and again against a solid wall and he couldn't break through it nor see over it.

"Come on, lets get back. They're probably wondering where you are!" she said, ripping them both out of this fantasy. He nodded, slightly taking aback by that barrier he had felt.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Scott shouted, looking into the perplexed faces of his fellow X-Men. None of them knew what to say, nor did anyone dare to say anything. Since Jean's death Scott had changed. Everyone had thought that he would mourn his wife, but he had never done that. He had changed into a biting, snapping at everyone passing his way and foulmooded defeatist. For some time no one had said anything, thinking this was his way to get over it, or at least to forget it sometimes. But he never changed back, he was worse than Logan...sometimes.

"Surely he'll be back soon!" Storm said, trying to soothe the tension in the room.

They had been surprised to hear of the Professor's "friend" but that he would leave the mansion without telling anyone was not very likely for the old and experienced man.

"He should know better than this! Especially he!" Scott roared back. "Anything could happen!"

No one had the courage to stand up against him when he was like that but Logan.

"Cool down, Buddy! The man wants some fun, let him" Logan said, leaning against the door-frame in the Professor's office and rose his hands. Scott spun around and faced Logan, wanting so badly to lower his ruby colored glasses and give the Wolverine a taste of what he was capable of, not for the first time. But like all the other times he resisted the urge to scorch the man to death.

"First," Scott had stormed over to Logan, standing only inches away from him, talking in a low and deadly voice. "I'm not your Buddy. Secondly, Magneto is still out there, planning whatever he is planning and Professor Xavier is wandering around like everything's alright. That's not very wise for a man his age in my eyes."

"Eye!" Logan added under his breath earning another glance from the X-Men team leader.

Marie who had watched the whole fight from a corner of the room shook her head, slightly amused. Logan never tried to talk rational with Scott, he had always to blow another beat under the waistline. But on the other hand she had never seen Logan handling something or someone rational. Bobby stood right next to her and they held hands. She looked at him and smiled. They both were still very proud that they were chosen to be two of the few X-Men. Some things had changed since then. They were training now on a regular basis with Logan as their instructor and Marie had realized very fast that she enjoyed their training sessions not only because of her growing strength and fighting abilities – she also liked watching their trainer. It had never been a secret that she had a crush on the big, bad Wolverine, but that was nothing compared to the emotions she had now. She was sure that if the Professor was ever going to read her mind while she was observing Logan he would blush. She started to think about her "oldest" mutant friend sweating in his worn out jeans and his old white undershirt when she heard someone saying her name.

"Rogue!" Bobby gestured with his head in direction of the door. She forced her mind away from her fantasies and back into reality and saw the Professor and a girl standing in the doorway. She looked at him and something about him was different. He smiled like she had never seen him smile before. She couldn't quite grasp it but to her he seemed happy. Marie frowned.

How sad! she thought. I have never seen him that happy before. And she asked herself if he was happy at all. The Professor turned his face to look at her and gave her a reassuring grin to let her know that he received her concern and appreciated it.

"Hello everyone. I'm glad to find all of you here. I'd like to introduce Isobel Young to you. She is a very good friend of mine. These are the X-Men. Scott, Ororo, Bobby, Rogue and Logan." he said proudly, and looked back at her. Isobel gave everyone a small, but charming smile to show her interest in them.

"We've heard." Scott muttered silently.

"I'm sorry if I worried you!" he turned to Scott in particular who lowered his gaze, clenching his jaw still angry with his mentor. He'd expected so much more from him. So much more.

"But we had a lot to catch up."

Logan watched the stranger curiously. The moment they had entered the room he had suddenly tensed up; even before he had looked at her. Her scent was in some weird way familiar. To smell her sent a shiver down his spine and a memory back into his conscious.

"You shouldn't leave!" she said with a grave face. A band was playing in the background, an old song he hadn't heard in ages.

"That's not my choice to make!" he said, holding her tighter. They danced slow to the music. "I'll be alright, you know that." He gave her a soothing and knowing smile. She returned the gesture and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Be careful though!"

Logan shook his head, feeling slightly dizzy. He looked at the young woman in horror.

"She is going to stay for a while!" Charles said, and with a final nod he dismissed them.

"We'll meet later, I'd like to fresh up a bit. " Isobel leaned down and kissed the Professor on the cheek. He nodded took her hand and gave it one last squeeze before she turned and left. All X-Men watched this time with their own wide open eyes. "It was nice to meet all of you!"

Logan took another glimpse at the petite young woman as she walked past him and was not able to tell whether or not she was the one he'd seen in this memories, or whatever they were, or did he only imagine it? He didn't know for sure, the last minutes had blurred in his mind.

Marie had witnessed Logan's interested glances. Somehow disappointed she shook her head. It was hard for her to be a little girl to him, still . She was now over twenty and slowly got annoyed every time he called her kid. It was cute in some ways, but she wasn't a kid anymore. She was of the same age like the woman he had laid an eye on now and she wanted sometimes so desperate to show him that she wasn't a kid anymore. She thought that he finally found a substitute for Jean although she had hoped that it would be her this time.

"You're coming?" Bobby asked and pulled softly at her hand, that was still entwined with his.

"Yeah!"

"Come in!" Charles said when he sensed Isobel just rising her hand to knock on his door.

The doorknob turned and revealed Isobel, grinning at him.

"Being telepathic kind of makes a door bell useless." she said and stepped in.

"It's very helpful to read someone's thoughts from time to time", he remarked with a little smirk.

It was very late and everyone was fast asleep, apart from the Professor, Isobel and certainly Logan. Charles had already changed into his night clothes and lay in bed, reading a book, Jules Verne, when Isobel was about to knock. He put the book aside and looked up at her how she stood in her nightgown next to him. He always had to look up at people, he thought wryly.

"What brings you here?"

"I don't know!"

'You do know!' he said in her thoughts and she smiled, nodding ruefully. She liked it when he did this, talking to her in her head. It was so intimate and private.

After some moments of silently staring at each other she walked around the bed, lifted the sheet and lay down beside him.

"Would you believe me when I tell you that I can't sleep alone in my bed?" she asked with an innocent look in her eyes that changed into a more teasing smile before he could even answer.

"No, but that doesn't matter!"

Resting her head on her hand she watched him. "The age suits you well, Charles."

A little uneasy and with awkward but trained movements he slid down so they were facing each other. "I hope that is a compliment from someone who does not age." he retorted.

"Absolutely. I have seen a lot of old people and people getting older." she said convinced but soon her grin faded for a brief moment and she rose a hand to his cheek and stroke it softly.

"Now that I see you from a more…usual perspective," they both had to grin at that. "I realize just how much I missed you. I should have returned way earlier." Regret was rising in her eyes. A small laugh escaped his lips. Stuck in memories they were quiet again, not daring to say anything.

He looked at her and still couldn't believe that she was here. All these years he had once in a while wondered if he was going to see her again and now the answer lay right next beside him. Her hand was still on his cheek. Her skin was just as soft as he remembered it to be. She hadn't changed a bit. Her face, her hands, her scent, everything was like it had been all those years ago. He didn't remember the exact reasons for their last parting but how her hair felt on his skin was still burned in his memory.

"Maybe you should have, but past is past." he said focusing on the present again and tore the two of them away from the memory lane back into reality.

"You know, I love what you have done, building this school and taking the children. They are doing great under your observation. The last time we met you only taught these three kids. What were their names?"

"Scott, Jean and Ororo" he answered.

"Yes, you surely are proud of them!"

He nodded, sadly thinking about the scholar he had lost not so long ago but he shook his head, trying to force the painful memories back down.

"I'm glad I'm back!" she said.

He smiled and he took her head and let it rest on his chest. "Yes, so am I", he replied.