AN: Apparently, and much to my eternal surprise, I have to week off. I have no idea why and I don't think I want to ask why anyway. It's always a nice to have a day off or two show up at some point especially since the weather's supposed to be nasty here all week and there's nothing that's worse than having to walk to school in the cold and the rain. Well, there's that and the fact I'm none to happy about my Girl Scout assignment this week. Since the Brownie leader's not around, I have to play double duty with both her troop and my troop and her troop is….well, to put it mildly….huge. Anywho, thanks for all the reviews and please keep them coming. I really appreciate any and all input and let me know what needs to be improved in this story. I like to hear everyone's opinions and will do my best to fix things accordingly.

Lindiel Eryn: Actually, Hope knows Niphredil since they were fellow Girl Scouts. That will most definitely come up later since I have this small issue with trying to tie most of my characters together (with the exception of the ones from "On Fairy's Wings"). As for her slipping up, Hope has two things working against her. She may be more intelligent than normal for a two year old but she is still able to think like a two year old and does so easily because that makes understanding things simpler. The other is the fact that she is "genetically predisposed" to being friendly to the point of annoying people because of her genetic disorder. That may make things a bit more interesting for her and her classmates.

LJP: Actually, Hope's trouble may come from the fact that she can be friendly to the point of annoying and, if anything, she may fall into trouble because she speaks Italian.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except a handful or two of made up characters. All of this wonderful stuff belongs to the geniuses at Marvel Comics. I'm just playing in their world. I'm broke and in graduate's school. All I own are my Pointe shoes.

From the Private Journal of Angelina "Bio" D'Amichi

I don't know why but I'm scared. Totally and utterly scared out of my wits and I'm not sure what's scaring me more. The fact that I'm going to be having Hope's little brother or sister in several long months or the fact I'm going to send my baby into the big wide world.

Maybe it's a combination of the two that's freaking me out so badly.

I know you're just a notebook and you can't know what it feels like but I think I understand now why mother's cry when their sons and daughters first start school- not this school per see but school in general. Parents would be crying for totally different reasons if they found out just why their kids were allowed to attend the prestigious Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

It's one of those half and half feelings. Half of me is sad because my baby- I'm sorry but it's impossible for me not to think of Hope as my baby because she's so much smaller than she should be and looks breakable when she's sick.- is growing up and going to be away from me. Someday she's not going to need me because she's all grown up and that's one of those thoughts that makes me horribly sad. My little baby all grown up…

The other part of me is scared because Hope's being thrown into a big wide world that is so not ready for her. This world- The school and its understanding students and staff. - wasn't ready for her when she came along and we're still trying to catch up with her. Every time we turn around she's got another surprise waiting for using the wings.

Now I'm sending her into a world that hates and fears us. We're public enemy number one in the "normal-" or if you're Hope, Wild Type- world of the genetic non-mutants. Hope knows that there's something "not good" about being a mutant but she doesn't know what that something is yet. We've tried to protect her from it because I don't want anything like that spoiling her childhood, breaking her innocence. She's going to have to grow up with that black cloud over her head eventually but I'm all for delaying the inevitable.

Who's with me?

I'm also worried because Hope doesn't really know how a proper two-year-old acts. True, she can and often does act like a child her age but she slips in and out of this other persona, so to speak. The one that can think and comprehend above the norm for her age. Like everything else that has to do with Hope's mutations, she has no control over it. She just does what she does because that's what's comfortable for her.

Don't understand?

Don't feel bad. I didn't either until Matt told me about a little misadventure he and Hope had in the park the other day.

Yes, I know this is a tangent but, my dear paged and lined friend; you should be use to my tangents now. I'm sorry, I have no control over them and it's wonder I can keep them in check sometimes when I teach.

Scratch that, I don't really. When I'm having a good day, I can bounce around from topic to topic like some sort of strange, mental kangaroo. How I keep my job is beyond me and how my kids manage to pass any test given by any other instructor is even further beyond my understanding.

SEE! There I go again, taking a tangent on a tangent. I'm out of control…and I apologize.

Anyway, back to my original tangent….Hope and Matt's little misadventure in the park.

Matt took her to the park one afternoon because he didn't have work and I was teaching and someone had to watch Hope during the day and who better than her daddy to do that. Since Hope is a William's Baby, she's overly friendly. No one sure why it happens to children with that mutation but it does and Hope has that characteristic.

She was sitting in the sand box playing with the other kids just like any normal two-year-old. According to Matt, she was just sitting there making a sand castle with the other kids. Not really a castle but a pile of sand that was a castle in their imagination. All of a sudden, Matt- Who was keeping close watch on Hope because he knows how she can get- hears her talking about moats and the defenses a good castle requires.

Stuff a normal two-year-old shouldn't know about.

It was just after she started talking about things like that that Matt took her back to the institute. At least here no one is bothered or weirded out by a two year old talking about castle defenses or anything else.

Anyway, back to my main point.

Hope isn't always the model two year old and it's really not her fault. She just understands things differently than the other kids and it's all because of her genes.

Matt's been a real trooper, though. He firmly believes that Hope will be fine. That she survived enough rough stuff- From the moment she came into the world to now. - that school should be no problem.

He's ever the optimist, you know, believing that, in the end, things are going to be alright. He had faith that Hope will be able to pretend that she is a normal child and that we are a normal family. He believes- No, he says he knows- that Hope won't reveal our "dirty little secret" to anyone she goes to school with.

Maybe I want to believe him and I'm just scared to do so. Just like he believes that the baby who'll be here in June- as Hope guessed and we're not sure what to do with her psychic powers. Someone suggested creating an inhibition device so she'll be unable to use them in school but that suggestion was nixed. Hope's had these mental powers since day one and taking them away from her would do more harm than good because it would be depriving her of one her strongest senses. Even taking away the everyday hum of the world around her might scarce her than the addition of new voices. - will be fine. That he or she won't be as "unique" as Hope is now.

I'm trying to believe. I really am but it's hard. Really, really hard.

Well, I guess I should get some rest because I'm going to take Hope to school tomorrow. Charles- Thank goodness he's as tolerant as he is because, if I were him, I would have thrown myself out ages ago- is giving me the morning off to be the one to take Hope to school.

A very scared Mommy,

Bio