The next chapter is finally up! My appologies for the longer than anticipated wait, hopefully the chapter is worth it. Enjoy!
Chapter 9:
"What are you doing to find her?" Scott demanded sharply as he walked back into the professor's office to join the meeting as if his previous outburst had not even happened.
"What plans do you have under way so far?" "Well Scott" the professor began gently as he tried to determine if Scott was ready to get his head back to planning a rescue. Then, having decided that there was no way to get Scott to relax or back down from helping, the professor continued, "I was just telling everyone that Rogue went off of my radar somewhere around Maine and has probably been placed under a similar shield to that which was used to hide the two of you before."
"Which means" Jean interjected as she tried to comfort her fiancé, "that Rogue is either being held somewhere very close to where she left the professor's tracking, or that her captors have managed to think of a way to create a portable version of their shield."
Waiting to hear more information and then noting the silence, Scott demanded, "Is that all you've got!" "Maybe" Logan growled as his voice rose to a yell louder than Scott's, "We might have more information if you had decided to stay and help rather than go off and pout!"
"I was not pouting!" Scott said as his voice rose to an angry yell to meet Logan's, "And where were you the first time this happened, huh? Maybe she wouldn't be going through any of the trauma she's had to endure if you had been here to help find us more quickly instead of searching for your past in Canada!"
"I do wish I could have been there sooner before," Logan yelled as he got in Scott's face, the two of them ignoring all the other occupants of the room, "I wasn't here before, but I am now! And this time I'm not the one slowing up the search, we would probably have more information right now if we hadn't had to take time to worry about how you were feeling and then take more time to catch you up on all the things that you missed while skulking off by yourself!"
Unable to think of a proper response to Logan's accusations, Scott sank back into his chair with a sigh and said, "You're right" "And don't tell me that you weren't skulking" Logan began angrily before his brain had time to process what Scott had said, "What!"
"I said 'you're right'" Scott said as he rubbed his temples, "I shouldn't have left and we shouldn't be arguing right now, the only thing that we should be doing is focusing on finding Marie."
"Alright" Logan agreed as he too took a seat. He mentally cringed at Scott's use of the name 'Marie' which had once belonged only to him and he was now forbidden to use, but now was not the time to be worried about such things, now was the time to get his Marie back so that he could have a chance to prove to her that he loved her still.
Sighing at the spectacle in front of him, two hopelessly love struck men pining after the same woman as all the while the one's fiancé remained oblivious, the professor cleared his throat and said, "The first thing we need to do is see if we can figure out whether they have stopped or if they are still moving. Scott, I want you to think of anything that you can remember that might suggest where there next camp would be placed. Logan, Storm, I want the two of you to go and get the jet ready so that we can be ready to leave as soon as we find something. And Jean, I want you to come with me so that we can see if their shield blocks your telepathy as well."
With that everyone went in their separate directions with only one thought on their minds, What might happen to Rogue if they couldn't get there in time?
Sitting by herself with her knees pulled up to her stomach on the hard bed that she had been given, Rogue began to contemplate what she ought to do. Should she try to escape? Should she try to talk to the rather insane Dr. Reed? Should she try to get out some sort of message to Xavier and everyone else back at the school?
As Rogue tried to think of a solution, she put her head in her hands and sighed. Ah could try to make a break for it, but Ah'm pregnant and Ah don't think Ah could run very fast. Ah should try to get out some sort of signal to the folks at school, but Ah don't know how Ah could do that. Ah definitely don't want to spend any more time with that Reed woman than Ah absolutely have to.
Where does that leave me? Rogue wondered as she ran a gloved hand through her hair. Could she use her powers to get past her captors? Probably, but…No! She did not like where this idea was going. Ah won't use my mutation unless it is a last resort, anyways they probably have something to keep me from doing just that.
Ah guess that means Ah'm just going to have to sit back and trust that everyone at school will try to find me. Will Scott be looking for me? Will Ah ever get a chance to tell him how much Ah care about him?
Hanging her head and curling into a ball, as much as any pregnant woman can, Rogue began to cry. This was never supposed to happen. None of it was. She was supposed to be a happy young girl living at a boarding school surrounded by her friends. She was never supposed to get pregnant, she wasn't supposed to lose her friends, the man she had loved wasn't supposed to leaved her, and she certainly wasn't supposed to be taken again right when it seemed like there was a possibility that her life could get better. But then again, she was never supposed to have a mutant power that could kill people.
Looking at her surroundings with a sense of apprehension and fear, Rogue sobbed quietly, "Where are you Scott?" Are you trying to find me? Does anyone even know that Ah'm gone? Does anyone care?
As Rogue wondered if anyone cared where she was, the two men who cared the most were being drive out of their minds with worry.
"Why haven't they found where she is yet?" Logan growled as he, Scott and Storm waited outside of Cerebro. "I don't know, but they should be finished by now." Scott answered his companion's complaint.
Sometime between their argument in the professor's office and the hour that they had been waiting since their individual tasks were done, Scott and Logan had found their common fear for Rogue to be a unifying factor instead of one to fight over. "Surly with powers as great as theirs they must have found something!" Logan practically whined.
"I'm sure they're just being through" Storm said in an attempt to placate the two men beside her, even as her own worry threatened to over take her better judgment. She wanted to break down the doors, storm into Cerebro, and demand an explanation just as much as they did. They all cared about Rogue, and no one wanted to see her get hurt.
After what seemed like hours more, Xavier and Jean finally emerged from Cerebro. "Well?" Scott said as he and Logan both stood up, "What have you found?" Logan asked quickly.
"Unfortunately," the professor began as all three faces around him fell dramatically, "Their shield does block Jean's telepathy as well as mine, but…"
"Then why in the hell were you guys in there for so long!" Logan growled in the most primitive sense of the word. "But" Xavier continued accentuating the word, "We have been searching the minds of mutants in the area near where Rogue dropped off my radar and we have found multiple who spotted a van such as the one Rogue was taken in."
"As best as we can figure" Jean began as she took over from the professor and carefully eyed both Scott and Logan. She hesitated for a moment expecting one of them to comment on the fact that they had snooped unethically in the minds of other mutants, but neither one of them said a word.
"As best as we can figure they have managed to create a portable version of the shield and were still moving when it was activated. From the accounts of different mutants we have been able to deduce that they were headed westward and that the last account was located somewhere near the Canadian border."
"Well that's a start" Storm said with as she shook her head sadly, "At least now we can rule out a search in the area directly around where the professor lost contact."
"Yeah, that's something alright" Scott said sarcastically in a comment that would usually have been made by Logan. "I need a drink" Logan said as he headed towards the elevator and was stopped, much to his surprise by Scott who entered the elevator as well and said, "Wait for me."
Once the two of them had gotten beers from the kitchen and were slowly and contemplatively sipping them at the counter, Jean poked her head rather timidly around the kitchen door. "Scott," she said hesitantly, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Scott looked at her for a moment and even considered saying 'no' before he realized that he was being rather callous, "Yeah, sure." "Thanks" Jean said as she released the breath that she didn't know she had been holding.
When she and Scott were out of the kitchen and alone in the hall, Jean looked into his eyes and asked lovingly, "Is everything all right?"
"What?" Scott said in disbelief, "Of course everything isn't alright Jean! Rogue is missing and quite possibly being held captive by the same people who destroyed her life the first time…"
"That's not what…I didn't mean that Scott and you know it!" Sighing Scott looked at her and said, "Yeah I do, you're right."
"What I was trying to ask" Jean said as she put a hand on his cheek, "is whether there is anything in particular about this that has gotten to you?"
Smiling sadly at him she continued, "We've been through thousands of tough experiences Scott, we've dealt with controlling our powers, discrimination of humans, fighting the brotherhood. And every time you have always been this unbreakable leader, even when you feel your worst you never let anything get to you. But now…"
Jean remained silent for a moment before looking him directly in the eye, "Now you seem affected, in a different way, like somehow this matters more to you…"
Turning away and unable to meet her eyes, Scott said abruptly, "Let's just focus on getting Rogue back for now, okay? You can play shrink when this whole thing is over with."
Feeling guilty over having brushed of his fiancé as well as about the fact that she was one hundred percent correct in her accusations, Scott walked away towards the outside grounds that had now become his safe haven. As he walked Scott's guilt increased as he realized that he also felt slightly sad that he hadn't taken the opportunity to tell Jean the truth about his feelings for Rogue.
He knew that he really ought to tall her the truth before things went any further, who knew maybe she would find way to comfort him and prove his love incorrect, but for now Scott decided that he would do whatever it took to get Rogue back safely.
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The chapter is somewhat short, but I wanted to get your opinion on something before I continued. Who wants Rogue and the baby to get through everything fine, and who wants something to happen to one or both? Let me know what you think and as always reviews are loved and greatly appreciated.
