I promise I don't own your precious X-Men.

A. N.: I apologize for the whole thing with chapter 4 going up twice and chapter 5 being chapter 6 and all that nonsense. Just the further battles of JuJuBe vs. her computer.

Chapter 6: Getting to know you

"I'm hungry!" Doria whined half-heartedly, slumping on a dissected dryer.

Mort rolled out a bit from under the car he was working on, and looked at the girl. It had only been a day, but he was getting used to this daddy thing. "Well, love, there's no' too much I can do abou' tha', now is there? You can't eat for twelve hours before your doctor appointment. Don' want them seein' a 'amburger in your stomach, do ya?"

"I could go for a burger..." He chuckled. She sat up to see the car. "Do you like fixing things, Daddy?"

"Sure, I like it."

She stared at him a minute with her little firefly eyes. "Do you like breaking things, too?"

"No' quite as much."

"Why'd you break me?" she said softly.

"Wha'?"

"Can you fix me?"

"Wha' are you talking abou', love?" He rolled out, and sat down next to her.

She took his hand, and stared at it. "Sandra said that you broke me. She said that you broke me, and now I'm useless. She said nobody could ever love a broken little girl. That's why I couldn't call her Mommy. She said that Mommies loved their children." She said it so seriously, and plainly like it was just a fact. Nothing more.

He scooped her up slowly and cradled her against his chest. "Doria, darlin'... you aren't broken! Sandra was the broken one. She was the one who needed fixin'. She should 'ave loved you if she 'ad any sense. You've got more potential than you could ever imagine. And I could never ask for a better little girl to be my daughter. I love you, Doria. I love you nomatter what. Always and forever. And don' you forget it."

She sobbed loudly into his chest. "I love you too, Daddy!" He felt a tear go down his own face, and he buried his head into her hair, imagining that, just maybe his tears would close up that cut. Maybe it could make all that go away. They sat there in the silence of his workshop, sobbing away the hurt for at least a half an hour before she became heavier. She was asleep.

He looked down at her small figure. "I promise I'm gonna make it all right, honey. Daddy's gonna make it all right."

He carried her up to her new room, not taking notice of the looks the others gave him.

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"Mort, I don't know how to explain this to you," said Mystique, holding Doria's medical files, "The abuse was far more extensive than we thought. Malnutrition, cuts, bruises, unset breaks in her fingers, toes, and wrist, burns..." She rifled through the file, and pulled out a picture. "Its a wonder she can walk." It was a picture of his daughter's feet, and to his horror, there were unmistakable burns in the shape of a stove top.

He gasped. "Tha' bitch..."

"I've got a list of vitamins, and ointments for her burns. We're going to have to do a small operation to re-break the bones, and set them. Your little angel's going to be out of commission for a while."

He was flustered. "I just... Mystique, 'ow could anyone do tha' to a child?"

Mystique looked down. "I just don't know, Mort. I don't know."

"I'll tell 'er then." He walked into the room to find Doria playing with the scale. "C'mere, love. Can you sit down for a minute?" She obediently strode over to a chair. "Now, Sandra did a lo' of things she shouldn't 'ave, but we're gonna do our best to undo it, alright? You're going to have a little operation to take care of some broken bones, okay?"

"Okay." She didn't seem fazed in the least bit.

He pressed on, making sure that it was okay. "It's okay to be scared, but you don't 'ave to worry 'cause it'll be some of Daddy's friends doing the operation."

"I'm not afraid," she said confidently.

He looked on at her with a grin. "Yeah, you've probably seen scarier, 'aven't you?" he muttered quietly.

She looked up at him quickly. "But it's okay if you're scared!" He was a little shocked at the statement. "Just because I'm not afraid, doesn't mean you can't be!"

"I think I'll make it," he said with a wink, "Now if I recall, you could go for a burger, isn't tha' right?"

She smiled brightly. "Uh-huh!"

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aww... so sweet... NOW REVIEW!