Author's Note: And so Scott is dying, Jean's struggling over his potential death, Rogue and Remy have celebrated Rogue's "cure." Logan and Ororo discuss what happened, what could happen, and what will happen. Ororo also attempts to help Jean to move on incase worse comes to worst... Final chapter in this series, and I am very proud to say that this series has had the most views/reviews of all my fanfiction so far. Thank you!
Oh yes...there is a flashback scene in this chapter, and it is completely in italics. That is how you can tell when it starts/ends.
AshCarroll - Thanks to you, I added the conversation between Logan and Ororo. I hope it suffices!
Summary: My initial take on what X3: The Last Stand would be like. Centered around Scott, Logan,and Storm's grief for Jean...they quickly learn that Jean has grown far stronger than ever imagined.. Magneto is drawn to Jean's sudden growth in power, and is also alarmed by the human's decision to create the "cure"...
Rating: Between T-M. There is a fair amount of language, semi-frequent mildadult-type-themes, and violence.
Main Characters (most main to lesser): Scott Summers, Jean Grey/Phoenix, Logan (Wolverine), Ororo (Storm), Gambit, Rogue, Beast, Xavier...more in other chapters
Pairings: major Scott/Jean, minor Logan/Ororo,
X-men is in no way owned by me...because otherwise I would have changed the way X3: The Last Stand was written. This fan fiction is also completely movie-verse.
15 -- Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed
"Scott!" she screamed.
Her hand clasped his desperately. They were alone in the hospital room, but it was starting to look more and more like a prison each time she opened her eyes.
He coughed weakly, losing grip on the world around him. He knew she was crying, and he could feel his hand within hers, but everything else was too much to register with him.
"Scott…please…" she whispered, her tears falling freely. He was dying.
He was finally taking the dive.
He'd survived through Phoenix once, then Mystique coming back and shattering his heart, but facing Phoenix twice was just too much, he'd subconsciously decided. And there was nothing Jean, or anyone else could do or say to change it.
His fingers went lax in her hands. A sudden, violent wave of shudders raced through Jean. She looked like a frightened dog left alone in the rain because she shivered so much.
This time it didn't take so long for this fact to register: He was part of her, and without him she was incomplete.
She laid his cold hand beside his equally cold body, and then she clenched her jaws tightly. Her face screwed up as she tried to fight the next wave of tears.
Scott Summers was dead.
----
More than once that night she found herself out of breath. She wasn't functioning well anymore.
Jean wandered to the hospital wing, and invited herself into the cold room again. The Professor was inside, along with (of course) Scott. Charles did not look up, but stated, "Hello again, Jean." His chair was positioned behind Scott's "bed," and the Professor stared down at Scott's head pensively.
"I'm sorry," Jean breathed, "I didn't mean to interrupt…"
"It's nothing to worry about, Jean… I'm not making much progress at all…" Charles explained, "He's back to thinking he's in the past again." He paused and lifted his gaze to Jean, "He thinks of you very often."
Tears sprang up in the back of her eyes, and at the same time she blushed. She swallowed and then stammered, "How…how is he?"
Charles sighed heavily, and then closed his eyes, his head still very close to Scott's. With his eyebrows drawn together, the Professor replied, "His heart is still failing him. I fear he has internal damage that we did not catch initially."
Jean knew what that meant. Internal damage? Even internal bleeding gone unnoticed could be fatal. She blinked again, and then whispered, "Have you spoken to him?"
"Directly? No. Mentally? Yes."
Her eyes lit up slightly. At least it was something, right? "What did he say?" she asked anxiously.
"Nothing much… He is afraid. Doesn't want to die."
Her expression softened in pity. Scott rarely showed his fear to anyone. He must really be feeling the pain if he was speaking about his fear.
"Jean, I fear there is nothing we can do, except wait," the Professor lifted his head finally and sighed again.
"Professor…I can't do this. I can't sit around and wait for something to happen… It's killing me," she hissed.
"I know, Jean. I just heard that nightmare of yours. They're becoming very difficult to block out now," Charles replied gravely.
Meanwhile, Ororo and Logan stood in the kitchen. Now that news of Scott's potential death had gotten out the students would not sit still. Ororo knelt against the bar while staring out the window, and Logan leaned against the wall opposite her. Her arm was still in wraps, however the gash had healed considerably; it was her ribs that were giving her a tough time.
"Sorry about that," Logan murmured, motioning to her arm.
"Oh...this?" She held out the bandaged arm.
"Once I get on a roll you know it's hard to stop instinct," Logan smirked.
"It's just the animal inside you, huh?" Storm mused, "No matter...I know it was accidental, and it wasn't fatal."
"It'll probably leave a scar...and I'm sure it hurt like hell at the time," the man replied.
"Physical pain is nothing," she smirked.
A moment's silence came into play, and Logan took a drink of the soda he'd found in the pantry. It was no where near cold, but at this particular moment he didn't give a damn. "So...what about them, huh?" he sighed.
Despite the fact he hadn't addressed who he was talking about, Storm knew. She gave a heavy sigh and whispered, "I hope he survives. If he doesn't..god only knows what will happen."
Logan nodded slightly in response. Despite the fact he often picked fights with Scott, he did honestly enjoy his company. His death would most likely impact Jean, but Logan was sure he could help her move on if that so happened. "I actually haven't heard much about anything that's happened down there. Jean's been dodging us, it seems," he stated finally.
Storm blinked furiously. She'd known Scott since he'd come to the mansion when he was a teenager, and seeing him die would hurt just as bad as if a sibling had died. She closed her eyes at the thought, and gave a shuddering sigh. He had fought through everything Phoenix had thrown at him, and to see him fall now that it was over was extremely heart-wrenching.
"Well...one thing's for sure," Logan managed to smile.
Storm looked up. "What's that?" she questioned lightly.
"Phoenix is gone for good." He took another swig of the soda, and Ororo smiled. At least things couldn't get much worse, right?
----
It'd been a couple more days, and Scott's condition had slightly worsened. His heartbeat dropped frequently now, instead of every few hours as it had when they were first introduced back to the mansion. Storm saw Jean struggling, and asked that she help her with moving a few things out of her classroom. Jean reluctantly agreed, but she knew it would help take her mind off things.
"Storm…I just worry for him…"
"Jean, I know. Remember when you first told me?"
Jean smiled to herself. She remembered the night very vividly.
"You're happy, for once," Ororo commented, a sly grin coming to her face.
"Yeah…so?" Jean replied, finding it hard to hide her wide smile.
"Who is it?" Ororo asked excitedly, connecting with Jean's thoughts.
The red head blushed further and adverted her eyes. "Why should I have to tell you?" she was making up excuses jokingly.
Ororo's mouth dropped slightly and she threw a pillow at Jean. She let it hit her, rather than stopping it telepathically. She laughed as it smacked against her, whileOroro was readying another pillow to throw as she cleared her throat.
"Fine…" Jean looked down at her feet, which were positioned cross-legged on the edge of Ororo's bed.
Ororo gasped. "Wait!" her smile grew even with her mouth dropped open. "I bet I can guess!"
Jean rubbed her nose and left the hand over her face. Her smile was no longer hidden.
"It's Scott, isn't it?" she cried.
Jean looked up at her friend in affirmation.
"Aww! You two are so cute!" Ororo squealed."So...is he the one?"
Jean's mouth fell. "Ororo..we're still teenagers...it's too early to even think of marrying anyone."
Ororo smirked in response. "You always seem like the kind of person that is devoted to something, whether it's a class or a relationship. Unless he totally screws something up, I have no doubt the two of you will still be together when you're 30."
Jean blushed. In all honesty, Scott had been something else. "But...there is something..." she whispered, "something I hadn't quite expected..."
Ororo leaned closer and listened intently. "What?"
Jean sighed. "I don't know exactly...but... It almost seems that he can talk to me telepathically, just like I can to you and anyone else," she replied. Ororo's eyes widened. Scott didn't possess telepathic powers, or at least not any that Xavier had identified. So for him to be able to reply to her telepathic-speak was something incredible.
"Have you told Xavier?" She asked quickly.
"No...because I'm not sure if it's real," Jean stated.
"How can you not know if it's real, Jean? If he was talking back to you, wouldn't you hear it in your mind?"
"Yeah...but sometimes its easy to pick up on impulses and sudden emotions, and its possible I'm mistaking the two."
"Well...then what has he been saying?"
"Mostly just things along the lines of that he loves me...I've caught him saying, or thinking that I'm beautiful...I think. Mostly stuff that he says only when its us two."
"Well how can you mistake that?"
"Well...when we're together I would almost say that he projects his emotions so much so that it's easy to pick up on them without even trying. And besides...it's not like we've held an actualconversation..."
"Maybe you two should try! Younever know if you can until you try..."
"Too bad things aren't like they were back then," Jean whispered, upon shunning the memory away.
"What do you mean?" Storm asked, although she could guess at several answers to that question. When she didn't receive an answer almost immediately, she looked over her shoulder at Jean, who now had tears in her eyes. Storm dropped her box gently and turned back to her friend. "Oh…Jean…I'm sorry…I didn't mean for that --" she miserably failed at trying to console her.
Jean shook her head, signaling for Ororo to stop. She wouldn't meet the weather-woman's eyes, but she knew very well that even without looking at her, she was stricken with guilty pain.
"I guess I just miss the times when he and I were just…more free," Jean finally admitted.
Ororo looked back at her again as they continued through the halls. She turned away again, and then smirked, "You like Scott being young and rough, huh?"
Jean gave a small smile of laughter. "Am I projecting that much?" she chuckled.
"No ma'am, I'm just a mind-reader," Ororo laughed as she dumped the boxes she carried on the floor beside a door in the far end of the hall. She then picked through her pockets for the soft-jangling keys to the door. Her comment brought a smile to Jean's face; a seldom experience these days.
Once Ororo unlocked the door, she shoved the few boxes inside, and then leaned against the doorframe, folding her arms over her chest. Jean was in a similar fashion against the wall just outside the room, except her hands were against the wall, and her eyes were closed.
"So how is he doing, in actuality?" Ororo said softly, "I haven't heard much…"
Jean sighed and her eyes fluttered open. She did not move her head to meet the woman's gaze. "He's not getting better, and the Professor says only time will tell," she rushed the words together.
Ororo looked down and raised her eyebrows. Same old, same old, she thought.
"I've tried to tell myself that he may not come back…but I just can't deal with it--"
"Jean…"
"I start tearing the room up and I just feel so alone--"
"Jean."
"Then I start thinking about how it used to be...how we came to be--"
"Jean!"
She looked up again. "What?" she asked suddenly, a slight anger in her voice.
Ororo pointed a hand past her. Jean followed it's direction, and her lips parted upon what she found.
"How…?" she breathed, pushing herself from the wall.
Scott Summers slowly made his way down the hall, presumably headed towards his room. His head hung low and he didn't see Jean nor Ororo yet. Jean didn't care. She bounded towards him, and collided with his body with no forewarning. He coughed at the impact, but after he hit the wall with Jean pinning him down, he chuckled.
"Glad to see you too, babe," he stated.
"You…!" she began, accusingly. Tears were visible in her eyes, and this pained Scott. She drew in a breath as she shook her head regrettably, "are a mess…"
"Love you too," he smiled weakly. His hair was slightly ruffled, and his clothes rumpled as well. Jean clung to him as if the world was meeting it's end, and Scott looked to Ororo in confusion, and mouthed, "What happened to her?"
Ororo merely mouthed back, "You."
Jean backed off slightly, and looked up to Scott's lenses. Storm, who stood off to the side in the open doorway, smiled to herself. "Three…two…one," she murmured, peering at the two.
They kissed. Storm smiled as she stole into her new classroom.
----
"…but how? I don't understand…" Jean stammered. The two had made it back to their suite at this point. The afternoon had changed to evening quickly, and the couple lied side by side on the bed.
"The Professor couldn't explain it either, I assume…" he replied, twirling a bit of her hair in his fingers.
"Scott -- you nearly died on me."
"I didn't…I didn't mean to, Jean."
She gave him a short, taunting kiss before arching her neck back and whispering, "I know, Slim. I know you didn't." She felt his heart jump, without even trying. He, in turn, chased her lips entrancingly.
His breath was cold, most likely from being near-death all week during recovery. But behind the ice was a burst of fire, embedded deep within him. When she met the sudden shift, she gasped quietly. They captivated each other when they shortly broke the kiss. Scott stared between her eyes, and she pried through the lenses to find his eyes.
Finally she whispered, "Take them off, Scott."
"What?" he snapped-to. "Jean…no," he replied firmly.
"I'm strong enough," she objected quietly.
"Jean…I won't," he remained objected.
She looked inebriated, but at the same time she narrowed her eyes calmly and eased herself closer to him. She was perched over him, and as her neck dropped, her lips teased with the edges of his.
"Jean…" he found it hard to argue, 'You know I swore I wouldn't.'
'It's okay to break this promise, Slim,' she returned.
Scott's jaw tightened, but he pushed himself into a sitting position. Jean crept towards him, her knees draped to the side. One hand kept her balance against the bed, and the other she lifted slightly.
"You ready?" she whispered. Excitement bubbled through her, but she wouldn't dare show it just yet.
He gave a short, reluctant nod.
Her fingers flicked ever so slightly, and she telepathically removed the glasses. At first his eyes were lightly closed, and then Jean inched closer and whispered, "It's alright."
Drawn by her captivating voice, he opened his eyes. Unshielded, uncovered, exposed. Energy exploded into Jean's senses as she fought back the red beams. Her heart skipped a few beats as she managed to push the energy to contain it's self just over his eyes, giving them a reddish glow.
"It's alright," she smiled softly in the shadows. The red light glowed dimly though the room.
Ecstatic over her accomplishment, he pulled her close and kissed her lovingly again.
"You're amazing, Jean," he whispered between breaths. "You…are…amazing."
The world seem to being to spin again at that moment. The moon began to rise in the darkened, star-dotted sky, and just outside their window, the first firefly danced delightedly in the summer air.
A/N:
1. I realize fire doesn't do internal damage. Haha. It just...happened.
2. Sappy ending. I realize /
3. Totally made up that scene from Storm/Jean's past.
4. "Seeing yet blind" --It relates to the story because everyone had seen Jean Grey return, but they they had turned a blind eye (especially Scott) to Phoenix's rise.
5.Hope you enjoyed it (:
6. Want more? A sequel-series titled, "Untouchable Flame," is in progress.