Ruby Slippers: Emerald City
A/N: This story involves a slash pairing. That means two females in an intimate relationship. Don't like it? Don't read it. I will not tolerate flames so don't even bother.
telepathic thoughts
-in- indicates a scene break
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"Well we've been spectacularly stupid haven't we?"
Jubilee chuckled and turned to look at Emma who crossed the room to embrace her. "As I've said before, I was never the smartest out of our bunch. You on the other hand, I had figured for being much smarter."
"Serves you right then, I'm just as bad or worse." Emma reached out to touch her lover, her pale fingers brushing across Jubilee's face like soft dandelion blooms. "I'm sorry."
A tear slipped past Jubilee's clenched lids, waking her with a start. The ache was so intense she had to just breathe for a few minutes until she came back into control. There were too many memories that hurt; memories so sharp and so clear that they could tear a soul to shreds.
-in-
Weeks slipped past quietly and quickly as Jubilee traversed the world, carrying the precious cargo; tiny vials of DNA nestled in form packed foam. It was easy to forget, lose herself in the bright, over lit laboratory peering at minutiae of humanity. The last leaves had fled from the trees in Westchester before Jubilee returned back to the mansion, the cold rouging her cheeks as she stepped into the warmth of her home.
Jubilee's return resulted in no great heraldry, but quiet smiles and hugs from friends who had missed her. It seemed as if Logan's influence of staying on the fringes was finally catching on, and people were getting used to her absence. Cecelia had her baby, a beautiful girl who had her father's bright blue coloring but no hair (on her hair or body), much to the amusement of the household. Hank was still determined that the baby would sprout some before too long and had stocked up on ribbons of a bright pink for the upcoming day.
Most of the X-men were scattered to the globe, and Jubilee had slipped back in the lab work that called to her from all of the samples she had obtained. Whatever she had hoped to accomplish while she was gone, was never said, but she seemed unchanged and no less unhappy.
Storm watched the younger woman in silence, her eyes betraying nothing. Everyone else mere left Jubilee alone, unwilling the shatter the calm that many were sure was just a thin veneer over turmoil and grief.
-in-
Emma was not a happy camper. She hadn't been happy, camper or otherwise for several weeks and the man who was trying to get her to say a reason for her visit to the country wasn't making it better.
"Is this visit business or pleasure?"
Past students would have cleared the room as Emma narrowed her eyes, but the man merely smiled benignly. "You've arrived at a very exciting time…"
"Does it look like I am having fun?" The words were spoken very precisely as if the speaker was holding on to her patience by a very thin strand of control.
The man paused in flipping through Emma's passport to look at the older woman. Once pristine and well groomed, she now looked bedraggled and tired, her pristine white suit dusty and wrinkled. Ignoring all warning signs, the man grinned at her. "Well…."
"Little man," Emma leaned in and spoke very softly, "I am tired, I want to get in this country and I am trying to be a good sport about it. If you want to say I'm here to enjoy whatever the hell it is you have here, feel free. If you want to say that I'm here to establish a Starbucks on every corner, go ahead. But, I want to get in this country. I'm trying to find someone and you are hindering the process. Are we clear?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Good boy." A passport was summarily stamped and handed over with no further comment. Readjusting her hand luggage, she walked out into the hot dusty airport.
Shaking his head, the man waved the next person in line over. Such a beautiful woman, but so very sad, and her passport had been almost full; the stamps filling the pages, little wavy lines of red and blue marking her way across the world.
-in-
"See this; this is what we call a DNA fragment." A bright image appeared on the computer screen and little blue hands reached out to the colors. "That is absolutely right, we should."
Cecelia smiled from her position in the doorway. "Somehow I don't think that Lilly, at two months, no matter how brilliant quite gets the whole science of microbiology yet."
"Ah, but you forget she has two brilliant doctor parents." Jubilee remarked, carefully handing over the baby.
"Sometimes I forget." Cecelia replied dryly. "I happen to know of one so called brilliant doctor parent who is currently and completely baffled by a playpen."
Laughing Jubilee got up, stretching her back. "I thought Logan was going to help."
"Logan got distracted by the shiny objects. Apparently there was a mobile that you can attach, providing you can put it together."
"Why am I not surprised? So I'm guessing there was an ulterior motive to stopping Lilly's lesson in the wonderful world of itty bitty things?"
"Please?"
Jubilee shrugged smiling, throwing one last look at her computer. "No problem. Nothing like adding three cooks to the pot. If all else fails we can call Bishop, he's all mechanically inclined."
The look Cecelia gave her as the younger woman jogged up the stairs was not friendly. She yelled up to the girl's retreating back, "If I want my child transported to another dimension, yes, but I prefer to have her in this world thank you!"
Upstairs revealed a disaster only rivaled at 2am Christmas Eve when parents have the same look of desperation trying to put together toys that seemed like a good idea at the time. It had gotten to the point where Logan was using his claws, i.e. hacking at a random piece of plastic and then shoving it into a hole to see if it would fit. Hank had finally caved in and called the 1-800 number and was bellowing into the receiver that he could not find the piece of tubing marked 1-2a.
Laughing Jubilee settled down on her knees to help the two X-men tackled the horrific world of baby toy assembly.
-in-
It was a quiet Sunday, the usual rowdy gathering of people to watch the football game had gone off to watch it in person courtesy of the Professor's credit card. Jubilee wandered around aimlessly, the computer was analyzing a series of test results and there was really nothing she could do before it finished.
Free time was not something that Jubilee relished, it led to quiet time, which led to thinking and that was never good. So, she had worked out, showered, cleaned her bedroom, cleaned the lab, cleaned the family room and now was peering thoughtfully at the massive fridge in the kitchen that hadn't been touched since before Kitty joined and left the X-men.
A doorbell distracted her, and she went over to the big wood doors, Jubilee's hand pausing on the doorknob, unwilling to accept the presence on the other side of the door as real. Emma?
Let me in Jubilee. Please.
Shaking slightly, Jubilee opened the door to reveal a bedraggled Emma who instinctively reached out to touch Jubilee's face as soon as she saw her. "You look good."
"What happened to you?"
"Several countries, a couple of donkeys, a cell phone that is supposed to work everywhere only working in two places on the globe, and me trying to find you."
Jubilee frowned, a spark shooting from her fingers as she continued to hold the door open. "No, what happened to you?'
"Cowardice, Jubilee. Pure and simple."
Jubilee's harsh laugh made them both flinch. "Please, Emma Frost the White Queen a coward. At least do me the honor of lying decently."
Jubilee! Emma walked closer, stopping Jubilee from backing off by holding on to her arm. Out of the blue you appear and you love me despite everything. You of all people know what I've done and what I'm capable of and still you stayed and loved me. It was like having this huge expectation of me and knowing that I wouldn't live up to it.
"I know what you're capable of Em, even if you don't." Jubilee replied softly. "I know you're not perfect, hell none of us except possibly Monet and that's Ev's fault."
Despite herself Emma smiled. "You're ruining my rep here."
"I hate to break it to you Emma, but you never really had street cred." Jubilee's grin faded quickly. "Why are you here?"
I love you. I want you. I need you. Please. Emma drew Jubilee to her until she could feel the younger woman's shallow breath on her neck. Wherever you go I'll go. Want me to march I'll march. Want me to scream from the rooftop that I love you, I'll do it. What do want of me Jubilee?
A twinkle sparkled in the bright blue eye for a second. Grovel a little bit more?
Startled Emma grinned. "How about something else instead?" Letting their minds touch lightly, the two gently reminded themselves of the other, lips following suit softly and with the bright joy of coming home.
"Awww." A voice whispered from behind them.
"I can't see, did they make up yet?"
"They're making out, I think they made up."
"Oh crap, are you saying we have to deal with that woman again?" A slap was heard as someone's head was soundly thumped. "I meant the gushy Jubilee. Not the white bit…"
"Hush." Jubilee peered around Emma to see the rest of the household watching the progression with the utmost interest. "I happen to love this bitch."
-in-
-8 months later-
Brightly colored balloons bounced across the ceiling, hindered only by crepe paper and streamers. Presents towered in one corner and the person of the moment was currently drooling happily in her playpen.
The rest of the X-men laughed and talked as they enjoyed the party, and in a corner sat Jubilee and Emma smiling quietly to each other.
"What's got your tongue, Jubes?" Bobby asked, plopping down on the armchair beside her.
Two hands were presented, revealing matching silver bands with diamond settings. Jubilee grinned wryly. "I decided to make an honest woman out of her."
Bobby's shout of laughter and his hugs, caused the other adults in the room to turn around at the noise. Logan craned his neck to look at the two women. "What the hell's going on?"
To the man's utter astonishment Emma got up and embraced him tightly. Stepping back, Emma smirked waving her ring under his nose. "Hey dad."
-fin-
Well it's finished. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a happy ending. Thanks to everyone who yelled, prodded, shoved and pushed for me to finish. I hope you liked it, it's always hard to finish a story wayyyy after you started and when the old plot bunnies have deserted you. Please review and be kind. Flames will be used to make smores.