Hi All,

I tried to get this chapter out as quickly as possible and I hope that you enjoy it. I'd like to thank Chica who has written a review on almost every chapter that I've posted, as well as everyone else who has been writing. Your reviews really make my day. Enjoy!

Chapter 6:

"Jean?" Scott said as he approached the tree that she was sitting under. As she quickly wiped her eyes and turned to face him, Scott could see that her eyes were red and puffy from crying. He had spent a few more minutes comforting Rogue after the traumatic encounter, and then he had gone in search of Jean. He had searched throughout the school, and he had finally found her sitting under the shade of a beautiful willow in the sunny afternoon.

As Jean stared up at Scott, she said, "How could you Scott? I thought that we were in love." All of the previous anger that had been in her voice had disappeared and had been replaced by confusion and immense pain. "I thought that I could handle this if she was the one who was to blame for everything, if she was the only reason that things were bad. But to think…"

Jean paused as tears began to fall from her eyes and she continued with a shaky breath, "But to think that you were just as much to blame, and willingly to blame at that, I just can't understand it."

"But neither of us is really to blame…" Scott began before Jean interrupted him. Standing as she regained some of her self-dignity and anger Jean said, "Oh don't give me that bull-crap Scott! I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear the classic, 'It's wasn't our fault, we're just in love, why can't you see that?' You're supposed to love me not her! We're engaged for Christ's sake!"

"Jean" Scott said with a loving laugh as he tried to caress her face and she turned away, "Don't you see that I do love you, and I would never give up our love for anything in the world, you mean more than anything to me."

"If I mean so much to you, where were you last night? And why does Rogue think that you are the father of her baby." Jean had thrown out the last statement in order to shock and hurt him, so when Scott didn't seem at all surprised at the idea that he might be the father, Jean felt deeply hurt. "You knew, you knew that you might be the father!" "Jean" Scott said lovingly, "Jean please listen to me."

"First of all, I didn't know that I might be the father, I know this hurts, but you're going to have to accept it, I am the father." Feeling confused on so many levels Jean said the first thing that came to her mind, "What do you mean you are the father, how could you know?"

Blushing a deep red of embarrassment and shame, Scott said in a whisper, "I know because I'm the only man she's ever slept with." Seeing his blush and then understanding the meaning of the words that she could only half hear, Jean furiously, "Oh my god Scott, how awful can you get! Not only do you cheat on me, with a student no less, but you take her virginity as well! That is horrible, no matter how much of a slut she may be."

"She's not a slut, Jean" Scott said patiently as he looked her in the eyes. "If you'll just take a seat and let me tell you the entire story, I promise that things will turn out right." Jean hesitated and seemed as if she might walk away before finally sitting down and saying, "I'll listen to what you have to say, if only to honor the years of love that we shared, but after that Scott, if I don't like what you have to say, I'm leaving and you have to promise not to try and stop me."

"Fair enough" Scott said praying that she would believe the truth, "If you don't believe what I have to say, I will leave you alone." After all, there was nothing else that he really could do. "I should probably first explain, that I was called into Xavier's office last night, and he was able to restore all of my memories for the six months that I was in the lab by transferring them from Rogue."

"Now obviously you know by now that if I'm the father of Marie…I mean Rogue's child, we had to have…well you know." Seeing the look of hatred and pain in her eyes, both from his accidental use of Rogue's name which they had made fun of together and which she had believed to be made up, as well as the pain from his final beyond a doubt acknowledgement that he had had sex with Rogue, Scott hurriedly continued, "Anyway, because of that thing we did, I lost my memory from the effects of her life-sucking powers."

At this point, Jean felt like hurling and had to focus all of her energies not to stand up and walk away without letting him finish. The image of her fiancé being so intimately connected with Rogue, and being absorbed into her very being was too much for even the restrained Jean to bear.

She tried to suppress a tearful intake of breath as she covered her mouth with her hand and both prayed for Scott to notice and stop this horrific tale, as well as for him to not notice and to continue so that she could finally know why her fiancé had slept with another woman.

Having noticed her pained breath, Scott said, "Jean, would it be easier for you to just get this over with quickly and use your telepathy to look inside my mind and see the whole story?" Trying to get her voice together through her tears, Jean said, "I…I don't think that I could handle seeing that image in my mind for real." "Alright," Scott said with a sigh, "Then I guess I'll start at the beginning."

"After we were captured, the scientists at the lab told us that not only did they know about our individual powers, but they also knew how to block cerebro and even how to kill one of us if the other acted out. They told us that if we agreed to do a few tests to be used as proof that mutants were normal people, they would let us go. Seeing as we had no other choices, and it seemed as if they were working for a good cause, Rogue and I agreed."

Looking over at Jean to be sure that she was still okay, Scott continued, "They put us into a series of glass walled rooms where they could observe all of our living patterns and habits. As the weeks and months went on, since we were all that we had for company, Rogue and I became very good friends. And, look at me Jean, I need you to hear what I am about to say. We became good friends, but we never slept together. We didn't even think about it, all we could think about was getting out to see the people who loved us, you and Logan."

"Yeah right" Jean said angrily under her breath, "I mean it Jean. We only wanted to get out to see you, I even ranted to Rogue about it. Me, the 'big team leader', I broke down like a little child and told her how much I wanted to be home. Which I believe is part of the reason that what happened actually happened, but there's nothing I can do about that now. Anyway, one day Rogue was called into the office of the head scientist. She wouldn't tell me what the scientist had said at first, but after a few days she admitted that if we were to undergo a final test we could leave. God I was so excited to come home, so when she told me what the test was I was heart broken. And oh God Jean this makes me a horrible person, even after finding out, a part of me still wanted to do the experiment so that I could come home."

"What was the experiment Scott?" Jean asked impatiently, having no care for his self pity, "They told us that if they could observe mutant reproduction we could leave," "So you eagerly jumped in the sac with the hot young student so that you could come home to me? Is that what you're saying!" "No, no not at all! I said that a small part of me wanted to do the experiment and get home, that doesn't mean that I'm an asshole. No, I told her that my friendship and our engagement meant way to much to me to jeopardize them for such a thing."

"So you slept with her because you wanted to protect your friendship, that's so much better." Jean said sarcastically. This time though, Scott didn't respond to Jean, he didn't even seem to notice her, "She seemed so relieved when I told her that I wouldn't make her do that," he said with a voice shaky and close to tears, "When I told her that I wouldn't put her through something so devastating," Scott broke down and put his hand over his face as silent tears slipped from his eyes. Feeling slightly more sympathetic and far more confused, Jean said, "So what did happen Scott, if you didn't agree to the experiment, what happened?"

Regaining his composure Scott stared off at the school grounds and said, "A few mornings later, the lead scientist and a couple of her thugs came in as I was showering and Rogue was eating breakfast. They told her something, and then she screamed. I came running out of the bathroom in my towel only to see her passed out on the floor. I tried to protect her, I tried to fight them, but before I could reach my visor they had pulled a gun on me and pointed one at Rogue."

Scott stared off into the distance for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, and then he continued his story as if he was truly remembering the events for the first time. "They dragged Rogue out of the room and told me to sit on the couch and be obedient if I didn't want her to get hurt. They said that the budget was running short and that they were going to move things along. They gave me some sort of shot that made it so I couldn't control my body, so that it was stiff and unmanageable. Then they told me to get up and go into Rogue's room. They said that if I tried anything funny they would kill her and then they would kill me."

Jean watched in shock as tears of pain slid down Scott's face while he recounted the story. "When they shoved me into the room, I saw Rogue lying chained on the bed naked. They said that I knew what I had to do." "Scott no" Jean said as realization dawned on her. "As I walked towards her, I looked into her eyes and I told her how sorry I was. Oh God Jean, you should have seen those eyes. She was so afraid, so hurt, so sad. She begged me not to do it Jean, she said that there must have been another way, but I simply told her how sorry I was."

As Scott truly began to sob he said, "I couldn't stop it Jean, I couldn't protect her. As I forced myself to do it, I felt myself slipping away. I felt her tear beneath me, and I heard her scream Jean, she was I so much pain and it was all my fault. The last thing that I remember before I woke up here is her thought, I'll never forget I for my entire life, she thought 'Oh God don't let him die because of me.' She thought it was her fault, but it was never her fault." Then turning to look at Jean with a painful and meaningful gaze, Scott whispered, "It was never her fault Jean."

"Oh Scott" Jean said as she looked into his honest stare, "I never knew, I wouldn't have accused you, I didn't mean, I'm so sorry." Wiping the tears from his eyes, Scott reached over and wiped the tears that had begun to trickle down her cheek and said, "I forgive you Jean, I know that you didn't understand, but I'm not the person that truly needs your apology, nor am I the person who can offer you true forgiveness." Realizing what he was saying Jean broke down, "Oh my God, Rogue! All of those things that I accused her of, the things I said. The things that everyone said, the way everyone acted. Why didn't she just tell us?"

"She didn't want to hurt me when I didn't remember anything. Would you have believed her if she had told you? Would I?" Understanding the truth, that Rogue had tried to tell her she was wrong, that she might even have told her the whole story if she hadn't tried to kill her, Jean shook her head sadly, "No, I wouldn't have believed her." As she stood from the base of the tree, Jean said, "We can talk more later Scott, but for now there's something that I have to go do."

"Rogue?" Jean said tentatively as she knocked on the doorframe to her room, "Are you in here?" As she entered the room, Jean saw Rogue sitting on the floor collecting the pieces of the broken mirror into a trash bag. Jean watched as Rogue, not having noticed her, picked up one of the broken pieces of glass and began to gently trail her skin.

She traced up and down her arm, though not hard enough to leave a mark, and she finally paused as the edge came over her wrist. Jean watched in a trance as Rogue ran her finger along the smooth surface of the glass and thought, Just one cut and then it would all be over. No more small meaningless cuts on the arm, just one time, that's all it would take. Then there would be no more taunts, no more hurtful stares, no more days wondering if Logan would ever return, simply no more days at all.

Yes but now you have Scott as a friend again Bobby's voice thought with a cheerful outlook, and he wouldn't want you to be gone.

Yeah, but one-eye won't stick around for long Logan thought with a gruff voice.

Give him more of a chance than that. Came the aggravated and indignant voice of Scott from inside her mind.

No, no Magneto said as he interrupted, the wolverine might actually have a point on this one. It is simply a fact of human nature that those we care for most will let us down.

Magneto's right John said and then added with a snigger, after all, where's Logan? You cared about him a lot and he left without even letting you explain. So I wouldn't bank on your friend sticking around for long.

You're lying! Rogue shouted in her head Scott will always be my friend.

Whatever you say Pyro continued with satisfaction, but I'm just saying that you ought to think about that mirror thing. I bet it wouldn't hurt anymore than all those other scars you've made, and besides this time there would be no consequences to deal with.

Maybe so, but Scott would miss me, wouldn't that be a consequence Rogue shot back angrily.

For a time yes, Magneto said coolly, but if you are thinking that he will not abandon your memory and go straight back to being happy with his little fiancé, you are sorely mistaken. At least this way you would get to choose how you died, instead of letting Jean choose for you the next time she decides that you're acting like a slut.

That's not fair Ah… "Rogue" Jean said as the sound of her own name among Rogue's crazed and dizzying thoughts jerked her out of her trance. At the same time, Rogue dropped the glass and spun to face her, "Rogue what are you doing?" Jean asked with concern

"Nothing, Ah swear, Scott's not here, really." Seeing the fear in her eyes, Jean realized that Rogue was still worried about their earlier encounters, and did not sense the concern in her voice. "That's not what I meant Rogue. I should never have said the things that I said, you were right the first time that I threatened you, I didn't understand what was going on. I had no right to treat you the way I did and I'm sorry." "Really?" Rogue said cautiously, "You talked to Scott, did he tell you the whole story?" When Jean nodded Rogue thought See, he is my friend!

Hearing this Jean felt so awful she began to cry. "I'm so sorry Rogue, you should never have had to go through what you did, but you did, and we should have been here to make things easier for you, not harder." When Jean looked down and saw Rogue's bear arms for the first time in a while, she understood what Rogue's mind voices had been talking about.

Rogue's beautiful silky arms had become covered in a patchwork of scars and scabs. "Oh Rogue," Jean sighed as she almost put her hand on the young girls arm, "I might be able to help you to control the voices in your head, to control their impact on your thoughts."

"What…" Rogue began confused before she realized that Jean was telepathic as well as telekinetic, and she had heard the entire conversation. Turning a deep red Rogue mumbled "Ah was really thinking about doing it exactly, Ah just feel better sometimes to know that it's an option."

Pulling the young girl into a hug, although being careful not to touch her skin, Jean said, "It shouldn't have to be an option Rogue. And Scott and I will do everything in our power to keep you from ever having to think that it is an option again. I will help you to deal with the voices in your head, and he, he will never stop being your friend." "Thank you Jean" Rogue whispered happy to have the woman as her ally again.

xxxxx

It had been three hours since Logan received a phone call from professor Xavier at what seemed like an ungodly hour of he morning, and now Logan found himself on what was once Scott's motorcycle headed towards New York.

Logan had left the manor about two months before, and he had headed straight for Canada. He had spent the last few months in a drunken stupor trying to understand why Marie had done this to him.

So naturally, Logan was quite surprised to get a call from Chuck saying that he felt Logan ought to come home as soon as possible. This in and of itself made Logan worried, and his fear was only increased when Xavier refused to tell him why he ought to return. Had something happened to Marie? Had something happened to Jean?

What made Logan more nervous than anything though was the fact that he would have sworn he could hear one-eye in the background pestering the professor not to ask Logan to come back. Logan knew that if Scott didn't want him back and Xavier did, that was definitely reason enough for him to come back and find out what was going on.

xxxxxx

"Alright Rogue, I need you to focus really hard on one specific voice in your head." Jean said, as she stood in front of Rogue in the medical lab. "I should be able to create a wall between your own thoughts and the thoughts of the people you absorbed if you stay focused. I don't know how long it will take, but hopefully not any longer than a couple of sessions. Who do you want to start with?"

"Ah guess Ah want to start with Pyro. Ah want him out of my head for good." "Good choice" Jean said as she remembered what she had heard Pyro saying to Rogue while Rogue was in her room. Jean knew that Pyro's influence above any other could be very dangerous to Rogue and that she needed to block him out as soon as possible.

After they had been working for about an hour, there was a small nock at the door as Scott said, "Is everything going okay in there?" "All finished" Jean said as he opened the door, turning to face Rogue she added, "Let me know if you hear anything from Pyro this week and then if this worked we'll move on to the next person." "Alright" Rogue said as she hopped down from the exam table.

"So," Scott said as he came and put his arm around Rogue's covered shoulders, "So what?" she said as she looked up at him with a smile. "I was just thinking that maybe the three of us should go and do something fun since you haven't any fun in a long time."

"That's a great idea!" Jean said as she smiled at her fiancé's caring personality and wondered how she ever could have doubted him. "Ah don't know" Rogue said tentatively, "If we go out people will stare at me."

"Well then" Scott said lightly, "We simply won't go out. We'll stay at the manor and play a fun board game. Okay?" "Okay" Rogue said as her smile broadened and she skipped happily up towards the main levels of the school.

Two weeks later, Jean, Scott, and Rogue were in the TV lounge playing scrabble, as had become a sort of tradition, when Logan walked through the door. "Logan" Rogue exclaimed in surprise not really sure if she was happy or upset to see him.

"Hey" he said gruffly as he looked over at her and then glanced to Scott "So why'd the proffesor call?" Logan asked bluntly. Marie seemed to be okay, so if he wasn't going to be worried about her he was going to continue to be mad at her. "Maybe we should go talk in the other room…" Scott began before Logan cut him off.

"I don't think so, the professor refused to tell me what was going on, and seeing as I drove all the way down here, albeit with a few stops, I deserve to know why I got called!"

Rogue looked over at Jean and Scott as she tried to figure out what was going on. Jean looked just as confused as she did, but when she looked at Scott, Rogue knew that he understood what was going on.

"Scott, Ah don't understand, what's going on?" She asked in a confused and worried voice. "Don't worry Marie" Scott said, Rogue had given him permission to call her Marie in front of Jean, "Nothing's wrong the professor just thought that he should talk to Logan. Although," Scott said as he glared over at Wolverine, "I still think that it was a bad idea."

"If this has got to do with her," Logan said referring to Rogue as if she were not even there, although he hadn't missed the fact that Scott had called her Marie, "or anything else, then jut go ahead and tell me."

Stop ignoring her Logan! Jean said telepathically unable to handle the emotional stress emanating from Rogue any longer You've got to stop talking like she's not here, you're going to hurt her feelings!

"I'll hurt her feelings as much as I damn well please!" Logan roared allowed as he turned to face Jean, feeling very hurt, "I have no obligations to her after what she did to me."

"Logan!" Jean snapped angrily as Rogue realized that he was talking about her and ran out of the room crying. "Marie," Scott called as he headed down the hall behind her.

"We have to talk," Jean said as she motioned for Logan to follow her up to the teacher's lounge where no students could interrupt their conversation. "Now!" she added impatiently when he did not immediately follow her.

XXXX

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I haven't begun to write the next one yet because I wanted your imput. What couples do you want to get together in the end? Right now the story seems to be leaning towards the classic Scott/Jean and Rogue/Logan pairing, but with a little work I could get different couples in the end. Please send me a review telling me what you want to happen, thanks a lot!