Chapter 8

Title: Shadow's are darker when you can't see them

Author: Revelation
E-Mail: stealthyminx hotmail .com

Rating: NC-18 Sexual & references

Song inspiration: Staind -Its been a while

Telepathic communications.
Thought's

He made that promise to another before- that he'd look after her, maybe that's why he was making it to her now, time for her to know people were watching her back. Jade looked up at Logan she was sick of crying but she didn't know what else to do, she'd kept her life under wrap so long her barriers up, hell Jade had managed to create a mental barrier between her

and these memories, now they had flooded over her and she was drowning in them.

"If you tell ANYONE about what just happened, I'll kill you. And I'm not a little girl!" Jade was trying to look serious the wall came back up, pretend to be happy and maybe even she'd feel it herself.

"Course ya not kido." Logan's voice didn't sound so rough, almost friendly, but it didn't last long, slowly Logan felt Jade slip pull back again, this worried him. "But ya not worried about yourself are you kid." She shook her head. "As long as you're here, we've got everyone else

covered." Jade looked up at him with a sarcastic disbelieving look, he'd failed to take one thing into account. "You're one person, as great as you think you are, you can't protect everyone

in the mansion." Jade pulled back even tighter inside, but it wasn't emotional distress anymore, she was weighting up choices.

"I have to tell Xavier don't I?" Logan exhaled heavily and gave a half arse nod.

"No ones going to make you tell anyone, but yeah, we might want to give all Wheels a heads up if you think they'll have the brass to come here." Logan smiled at Jade, it seemed the best way to reassure her. "Hey, it's your call. If your ready to go to the Prof., we'll go to the Prof." Then, he turned his bottle up, and finished his beer. He dropped the bottle in the waste basket and turned to Jade. Something in her eye's, something inside him made him feel that hope

for this kid yet. Logan's eye fell onto Jade's bottle. She was fast picking up all his old habits. He wondered how long it would be before he started loosing cigars out of the blue. "Jade." She didn't look up, she was deep in thought. "Kido, lunch is up soon and ya need to eat, and more

importantly so do I." Jade nodded and stood up, finishing her beer before she headed to the door, she was just about out when Logan put something into her hand. Jade looked in her hand to find a stick of gum. "No need get us both into trouble." he said as he took the empty beer bottle from Jade, who nodded putting the gum in her mouth and headed down the hall, it

was a little while before lunch, she still needed to weigh things up about how she was going to explain to the head master why she felt they were about to be attacked.

Xavier closed his book and looked at the students busily working away on their problems, when he noticed Jarred wasn't looking at his text book but just writing in his notes, Charles sighed heavily, this had not been a good few days, and he could see that Jarred wasn't taking well to the distraction of school.

"Jarred could I talk to you outside for a moment, bring your books." With such small group all hope of a private talk went out the window, so they'd have to go into the hall, the professor wheeled outside of his office where he took his classes, Jean stuck her head out of the staff room across the hall with a raised eyebrow, a silent question, Xavier just shook his head.

"Nothing of great concern." He said dismissingly, Jean didn't look certain

"Jean really its fine." She nodded and closed the door just as Jarred opened the other and walked out, making sure the door was properly closed before he turned to look at the professor. "Jarred, it was brought to my attention that you too.. how shall I put this, a swing at Mr Logan."

"That's one way to put it.." Jarred muttered, Xavier didn't look impressed but not scolding, there was no point lecturing the lad.

"Jarred, you know the rules, what you did was.." Xavier had been told very little about what exactly had gone on in the med lab earlier, Jean and been reluctant to departed with the information that Scott had told her, all he knew was that Jarred had been physically aggressive towards Logan over an incident involving Jade.

"A heat of the moment thing sir, it wont happen again, it was a mindless defensive reaction." Jarred explained, his face was blank, no emotion, Jarred had been preparing the little speech for a while it seemed.

"Good, as long as you're aware, I don't see a need to punish you, you're one of our leading role models here, the younger students look up and follow your example."

"I know sir, wont happen again sir."

"Your very worried about her aren't you Jarred." It was a statement more than a question, the boy nodded, looking at the floor. "Well it's my duty to inform you that Ms Nightingale has moved locations to her room." Xavier wheeled past Jarred to the door. "And ladies don't like to be kept

waiting." Xavier was inside the room before made the mental click over and he could hear Jarred's running steps grow too faint to hear, this brought a smile to his face, all for one, one for all.

He knocked, she didn't respond, he knocked again, the door was ajar so the young boy slipped into the room. She wasn't normally where she sat, in fact Jarred had to round the corner of the L shaped room before he could see her, she was in her study section, this alcove where the every wall had shelves back with book, her version of a private library. She draped over a

chair staring aimlessly into space, a cigarette held loosely between her fingers, though it wasn't lit, she'd stopped mid action lost in thought, Jarred walked slowly over, hoping she could see him before he got to close to deserve an aggressive reaction.

"Would you hate me if I told you I wasn't who you thought I was." Jarred looked puzzled, this isn't seem to faze Jade, she wasn't even looking at him. "Before I came here, I wasn't this, I wasn't me." Jarred knew the story, Jade had come to the mansion after being arrested for theft, the professor had managed to convince the authorities to let Jade off with the understanding she'd go into his care, rather than to social services.

"It doesn't matter who you were, you're different now, you're better."

"I'm medicated." She said sarcastically. "Medicated and monitored..." she got a shadowed look in her eye. "like the monst.."

"You're not a monster Jade." Jarred he interrupted, resisting he urge to take her in his arms and make it all go away, she didn't deserved to hate herself this much, she drew back inside, he wondered if she was even aware he was in the room still, if he turned and left.

"You have to promise me Jarred you'll look after them." She finally said, not looking at him but quite clearly aware of his presence. "They're so small and so many they'll need to be gathered and watched over." He understood what she was saying, slowly a giant hole was opening up inside him, she'd been trying to leave, that was what the argument on the lawn was, and now she was telling him what to do, because she wasn't going to be there to do it herself. "They need you."

"I need you." He said sitting on her bed, finally she looked at him, he'd expected to see the look that said she was already gone, instead he saw other things, worry, and calculation, a small pinthc of hope struck him, maybe she wasn't leaving, "I'll watch them." This made her happy, relieved, she wasn't going to take on what ever it was alone, she wasn't going to leave here, him, Jade was going to fight, though he did want to ask why she was asking him to do if something happened that would alter her desired outcome, or what happened to her that would make her unable to project 'them' "They wont get hurt as long as I'm there." Jade got up and walked over to him, Jarred put his arms around her, his face in her torso holding on tightly, Jade wrapped her arms around his shoulders, before she pulled back and kissed him lightly, as if it almost pained her to do it.

"Elephant juice." She whimpered slowly, before leaving the room, leaving him there, Jarred didn't look up when she left, in fact he sat there for what seemed like a lifetime before he looked up seeing his reflection in the bathroom mirror opposite, he said the words silently and watched his mouth form the words before he let a small tear slide down his face.

Logan had been waiting, in fact he'd just been sitting on his bed looking at the door waiting for the footsteps to stop outside his door, he got up and opened the door, Jade was there, she looked determined, but she was trying not to look as vulnerable as she so clearly felt.

"We have to protect the others. Xavier had to be told."

"Lets go." Logan put his hand on Jade shoulder, though he wasn't sure if it was to stop her from bolting as they got closer or if it was to comfort, Logan didn't even stop to knock, Charles had given him the telepathic okay to come in, having already dismissed the students to lunch. He opened the door and let Jade walk in first, she was holding herself with such pride it was a positive step forward.

"Logan, Jade, am I finally going to have last night and this morning incident explained to me?" Xavier asked bluntly, as the pair sat down in the chairs in front of his desk. "Since I thought we'd discussed the issue of scaring students before this and you two going at it like cat and dog on the front lawn isn't helping either of yours relationships with the other members of this school."

"It's my fault Professor," Jade stated firmly "But that's not why we're here."

"Magento's lot's mounting an attack, we think.." Logan got to the point.

"You think?" Xavier asked looking gravely concerned about his new information.

"Call it a gut feeling.." . Jade smug attitude earned her a kick in the foot from Logan. "Ouch!"

"Jade if there's something you need to tell me then I want you to know that what ever it is you're not going to get in trouble I'm here to help." Jade looked at the floor, then at Logan and back at Xavier, she believed Logan when he said that because he had six, seven inch adimatium claws to go with it, Xavier, it didn't sound so reassuring, but he had to know,

he'd given her a home and a get out of jail free card and now she had put everyone in harms way, Jade took a deep breath. .

"I know because I'm the reason that they're coming." Jade replied but she didn't look up, she couldn't bring herself to do that. There was a long heavy pause. She hadn't told anyone this, and it was taking all the mental strength she could muster, it had been easy getting Logan onside, he'd promise protection with out actually understanding who he was protecting or why.

"Jade?" She finally drew her gaze from the floor and looked at Xavier, small tears ran down her checks.

"I remember now, I would have told if I had remembered before." She wasn't sure if she would have but it made her feel better to say it.

"Start at the beginning." Xavier wheeled around the desk so there wasn't a barrier between them, he would of held her hand if it would made it easier, but Jade was already rubbing her own arms protectively.

"When I came to the states, I didn't have any money, I wouldn't sell mums things, I just left home and came here, I had nothing, I had to survive, so I stole." Xavier nodded letting her talk, even if her sentences were static. "The, the New York police, they didn't like it, a thief they

couldn't catch, couldn't see." Jade started to rock, not a good sign. "But, but one day they did, see, they found me, they.. they wouldn't stop, I couldn't make them stop.. then.. I didn't mean to, I didn't know what I was doing." Slow tears. "911, meant to heal, not hurt.." she muttered,

Logan got up, he didn't want to think about what they'd done "then he came, he told me I'd be safe, he made it safe, no more running, no more hungry, all I had to do was behave, do what I was told and I'd be fed, the chains were a precaution encase I snapped again, it was fair, behave get food." Xavier cast a glance at Logan who was looking out the window, breathing hard. "But then, Big kitty wanted little kitty to play, and little kitty didn't want to play that game ever again, but that made him mad, told me to behave, he made me behave, made me play." Logan let out a feral growl, so that was what the blanket was. "Couldn't stay after that,

had to leave, not safe anymore." Xavier looked at Jade who glazed over, she was just recalling now, not aware of them or anything else but what went on in her own head. "I didn't know they'd find me, that they'd want me back, I would have told." Jade suddenly grabbed Charles's hand. "I would have told, I've behaved, I've been a good girl, I would have told." Xavier

took Jade hand in his.

"You've been a good girl Jade, it will be alright." He should of tried harder to pull Jade's memory back together when she'd come, how much of this new wounding was his fault.

"Please don't tell anyone you know, they'll make me go back, don't make me go back, not to chains, not to him." Jade seemed to crumble off her chair and put her head onto Xavier lap and begged him not to send her away. Xavier patted her hair trying to comfort the child, before he was able to lift her head up enough to look Jade in the eye.

"No one is going to make you go back Jade, no one, we'll take care of this." Xavier pulled out a handkerchief from his top pocket and wiped her face. "No one else has to know." This made Jade feel better, Logan came up behind her, helping her off the floor and back up onto her seat, he'd almost come swooping down when Jade had broken down in front of the

Professor, Logan pushed some of Jade's hair off her face and looked at Charles.

"Charles?" The professor turned to face Logan. "I agree that we should keep this between us, but the other students should be put on alert. If the Brotherhood does come busting through here... the other students should be ready for 'em."

"Agreed Logan, I'll notify the students they'll be confined to the mansion, the X-men will have to be told that Erik could be coming, they're trained to handle these type of situations." Both looked back at Jade who was back to being her normal self, her eyes weren't distant, in fact they were staring out the window, she could sense them coming, this overwhelming sense of dread, it was only a matter of time.