Quick author's note: I. Do not. Hate. Jean. Got it? She is not a bitch, she is not a stupid prep, she is not the out of character she-whore that so many authors here write her as! Just because she is having problems with Scott right now does not mean I want anyone to hate her. The poor girl tries to be so nice to everyone while still staying on top of her class, so kindly cut her a break people! I try to write her in character in this fic, but I can see how anyone rooting for Tabby and Scott in this fic might vilify her. No. God damnit if I hear of one person who likes this fic because they think it's Jean-bashing, I swear I'll stop this fic all together and go write the Jeaniest Jean fic that ever Jeaned! GOT IT?

... good. /rant

Back to the story.

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"Scott?"

"Uh... yes, Tabby?"

"You should, uh... probably put me down now."

"Oh! Right! Sorry about that..."

Scott Summers slowly lowered Tabitha back onto the bed before turning away from her, his cheeks blazing even more crimson than his eyes. He heard the sheets shifting behind him as Tabitha slipped beneath them, hopefully covering up her exposed upper-half as well. Waiting until he heard the movement stop, Scott turned around to see that, thankfully, she had wrapped the sheet up around her torso.

"Tabitha, are you ok?"

Tabby had to pause a minute before answering. Was she ok? She felt hot, and her vision was swimming before her eyes, and the whole thing back in the bathroom... if the delirium hadn't been enough, that bump on the head she got was throbbing unpleasantly as well. Pile on a heaping load of embarrassment on top of all that, and well...

"I'll be fine, Scott. Don't worry about me right now, you should go find your girl and smooth things over with her. I think we all have a pretty good idea what she thought was going on in here."

She gave Scott a playful wink, though her stomach did a rather uncomfortable flip-flop as she referred to Jean as Scott's 'girl'. Why? She had no clue. This was Scott Summers here! The guy that would kick her out of bed each morning for Danger Room sessions and yell at her for slacking off and totally ruining any plans she ever had for sneaking out to parties and... and the guy that had come back into the shambles of her life to sweep her away on his white horse to safety.

But I'm not the type to fall for that kind of fairytale crap! That stuff's for kids who still believe the world is a wonderful, magical place to live in and all that bullshit. This is Scott Summers here! What the hell are you thinking, girl?

"She... she's not my girl."

Tabitha paused in her inner-monologue ranting at that, looking back up at Scott.

"Jean, I mean we're not... well, it's complicated, but I guess I should go explain things to her anyways."

The thrill that leapt through Tabby at these words only further confused her.

"Ok then, you run off and clear things up and I'll get ready for school."

"Oh no you don't."

Scott put a hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her back down so that she had her head against the pillow.

"You're sick, unsurprisingly enough after seeing that room you've been sleeping in. No, you'll be staying here for today. I'll talk to your teachers and get any homework you'll be missing so don't worry about that, but you have to stay in bed today until you feel better. Consider it an order."

Tabby was about to reply with her typical 'not taking orders' remark but she saw the smile on Scott's lips. Was he teasing her? Was Scott "Boyscout" Summers teasing her? Or was that just the fever?

"All... all right then, fine. Whatever you say, Slim. But, uh... you might want to grab some pants or something before going to find Jean."

Blushing brightly once more, Scott looked down to realize he was still dressed only in his towel. Mumbling a quick apology, he grabbed some clean clothes from his closet and went into the bathroom to change his clothes.

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"Jean!"

Scott ran up to Jean as she exited her room, looking quite uncomfortable. She had her books tucked under her arm, clearly ready to slip off to school without having to face Scott again that morning.

"Scott, I'm going to be late for school... just-"

"No, listen to me Jean, it's not-"

"Not what it looked like? Come on, Scott, tell me that's not your main defense here! The two of you were... and she was... and you were... and she slept in your room last night? What is she even doing here? She's with the Brotherhood, remember? The Professor-"

"Already knows, Jean. He met us last night when I picked her up from... well, from somewhere that wasn't the Brotherhood's boarding house. Listen, just give me a chance, please? Let me explain what happened."

Looking at the floor, concern and jealously still painted Jean's features as she listened to Scott. If Xavier had let Tabitha in with Scott?

"If you'd like, I can save us both a lot of time..."

Jean held a hand out to Scott's temple, still not making eye contact with him.

"I promise I'll only read-"

"Don't worry, Jean, I know. I trust you."

Smiling, Jean finally lifted her gaze to meet Scott's ruby glasses. She nodded once before stretching out with her powers to pick up on the events of the previous night. She saw the diner, the harassment, Scott stepping in, the rescue, the Professor's approval, the apartment Tabitha had been staying in, the decision to let her sleep in Scott's room last night. She saw Tabitha stumbling into the bathroom, hot with a fever, heard her talking to whom she thought was Amara, reaching into the shower. An amused smirk tugged at Jean's lips as she saw the following events, though concern returned when she saw Tabitha collapse in the bathroom. She pulled away from Scott's mind when she saw herself opening the door to his room.

"Oh... Scott, I'm so sorry... I thought that- well, I'm sure you know."

Nodding, Scott reached out to hug Jean, but stopped before his arms got too far. It wasn't like they were dating, after all. There was a long, awkward silence, broken only by the ever-responsible Jean.

"We should probably get going... I'm sorry, Scott. Really, I should have trusted you."

"It's no problem, Jean. Let me just grab my books and I'll drive us to school."

Scott turned, heading back towards his room to collect his things.

"You know, that was really sweet of you, what you did for Tabitha."

He paused mid-step, though not turning back to face Jean.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she falls for you, after you did something like that for her."

There was another long moment before Scott spoke again.

"Tabitha? And... and me? Come on, Jean! We've got nothing in common! And Tabby... she's probably more annoyed at me for prying into her life and... and walking all over her girl-power and independence. She'd never... In fact, I bet she'll want to leave the mansion again as soon as she's better."

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Why did I ever leave the mansion?

Tabitha stared up at the ceiling of Scott's room, her pajama shirt back on, though unbuttoned at the top, and her covers kicked off. It felt like she was burning up from the inside, starting in her forehead and moving throughout the rest of her body. Still, after so many weeks in that horrible, freezing little apartment, being able to lie on a soft bed in a secure house was like heaven itself. Sure, back when she'd left she'd definitely had her reasons. The whole father thing had opened up a few tender spots that would only hurt worse if she stayed under someone's thumb. She'd never liked to be controlled, for reasons quite obvious to anyone who knew exactly what had happened between her and her father. Not that she'd expected the same thing to happen at the mansion as she hardly saw Chuck as the type, but what she'd needed then was freedom. Freedom she'd thought she'd find with the Brotherhood. And after that, she thought that living on her own would give her the ultimate freedom...

Who'd have thought it would have come with the ultimate restrictions? Aside from all the overtime at work and the inappropriately placed hands of the customers, having to keep up with school and a job totally killed her social life. But she didn't want to go crawling back to anyone, so she kept her mouth shut about it.

However, she hadn't come crawling back this time. Scott had hauled her off. So now, there she was, lying in a comfortable bed back in the mansion, happily guilt-free.

Thanks to Scott...

Groaning uncomfortably, Tabitha turned over in the bed, lying now on her stomach with her head hanging just slightly off the bed. What was going on with her and Scott? Well, obviously nothing, seeing as it was her and Scott, but... all the awkwardness, the blushing, the comforting warmth of his hands on her body...

Woah-hoh-hoh-hoh! No! Stop that right now, Tabby! Don't even think about that!

But, it did feel nice... and safe. Protected.

Oh, so you need protection now? Is that it? Need I remind you of a little thing called independence? How about that time spent as one of the Bayville Sirens? Or how about you saving yourself from your own life, huh? Did you need a big strong man for any of that?

No! But... I don't need Scott! It was just... nice. Not many people take the time to care much about what happens to me. It's almost flattering to think that he'd do all that for me.

Please. You're no damsel in distress, girl. And you're definitely not his type! You know who is his type?

Jean. I know, I know... I'm certainly not Jean. Not that I'd want to be! She can play miss perfect all she wants, but I have no ambition to be Miss Best All-Around in the yearbook.

So, this whole Scott thing?

Yeah... I'll forget it. It's nothing to begin with, anyways.

The door to the room swung open and Tabitha looked up as she heard the soft, familiar footsteps of one Ororo Monroe entering the room.

"Tabitha. It's good to see you again."

Tabby gave her a delirious-looking grin as she pulled herself back onto the bed. "Hey, Miss Monroe. Long time no see, huh?"

A soft hand pressed itself to Tabitha's sweat-drenched forehead. Ororo's pretty features drew tight with worry as she felt the heat coming from her skin.

"Oh, you poor child. You're burning up. Here, let me take you back to your room. We've already put the sheets back on your old bed. We'll get your things later, but now you have to rest."

Holding onto Ororo's arm, Tabitha managed to pull herself to her feet and stumble down the hallway to the girl's wing of the mansion and back to her old room. It looked like Amara had already left for school, so things would be quiet in there for a bit. The familiar line of porcelain unicorns and teddy bears on Amara's side of the room did wonders for cheering Tabitha up. Slipping between a set of cool, new sheets made her sigh in relief as she settled back into her old bed. Ororo went into the adjoining bathroom and came back with a glass of cold water.

"Here, drink this. We don't want you to get dehydrated."

Tabitha took the glass in shaky hands and drank half of it in one long gulp, gasping in relief as she set it down on the bedside table.

"Mmm, thanks Miss Monroe."

"Think nothing of it, my child. We're happy to have you back."

"Thanks. I'm glad to be back."

She was glad. Whether or not she'd be rejoining the X-Men again, it was good to be living with friends again, not to mention not having to worry about bringing in enough tips to keep her bed for another month. Perhaps whatever was going on with Scott would be uncomfortable, and perhaps she'd have to deal with some more rules now that she was under someone else's roof again, but all of that was overshadowed by everything from the kind smile on Ororo's face to the familiar setting of her old room to the thought of seeing her friends again after school... Sure, she could decide to look on the downside of all this and spend the rest of the day brooding and angsting to herself, but she chose to look on the brighter side of life.

"Oh, Tabitha, your glass is already half empty. Here, let me get you some more."

"Actually, Miss Monroe, I'd say it's half full."

They looked at each other for a moment as the rather cheesy comment sunk in. Ororo chuckled softly, shaking her head.

"I think you'll be fine, Tabitha. I'll get you another glass anyways. You stay here and rest up."

"Well, I was thinking of running a marathon, but since you asked so nicely..."

Ororo shook her head again as she left the room, leaving Tabitha to nuzzle her head against her own pillow, her eyelid growing heavy.