In The Heat

An X-men: Evolution fanfic by Lavender Gaia

Editing and Assistance by: Laine

Chapter Two: Visitors

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution, any of its characters or Rachel Summers. They are all property of Marvel.


Two birds were chatting outside her window when Jean woke up. It was almost noon, so she wasn't surprised as she heard the calls of boys from the backyard, tossing a football to one another. Someone had come in to open her window, letting a refreshing breeze blow in as the sunlight warmed her.

Suddenly, she felt as if she had been wearing the same clothes for weeks. Taking a light blue shirt and a pair of jean shorts out, Jean slipped into the bathroom. The water from the shower cleansed her of yesterday. Not like she forgot it, of course. When you watch your own death, it's a little difficult to pretend it never happened.

After blowing out her hair and making sure she looked slightly presentable after the day she had yesterday, Jean went downstairs, where Amara was making herself a sandwich. "Oh, hi, Jean," the younger girl greeted her with a friendly smile. "Want one?"

Jean's stomach rumbled at the sight of the peanut butter. "Sure, thanks, Amara. I can make it myself though."

Magma shrugged. "It's no big deal, I can get it." She smiled at her own selflessness, proud that she had evolved a little from the princess from Nova Roma. "Could you get the jelly though?"

"You got it. Grape or strawberry?" She asked as she peered into the endless depths of the refrigerator.

"Grape, if that's ok with you."

"Grape it is," Jean pulled it out, then started spreading it on another piece of bread while Amara worked with the sticky peanut butter. They traded when they were finished, so they each had a full sandwich. "I'll get the milk." She looked through the fridge contents. "Or not…it seems we're out."

Amara groaned. "Kurt had five bowls of cereal this morning. I'm not surprised."

Jean shrugged and got two cans of soda instead. The two girls sat and chatted, Jean asking all about Amara's shopping trip yesterday. When they had almost finished, Jean suddenly felt a kiss on the top of her head. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty."

"Morning, Scott. Sleep well?" She asked as he pulled up a chair.

"Great, actually. And yourself?"

"Very well, surprisingly." Swallowing the last bite of her sandwich, she cleaned her mouth with the last gulp of Coke and threw out her plate with a swish of her TK. "Oh, by the way, you wouldn't happen to have an aunt or someone named Rachel Summers, would you?"

He blinked. "No…my mom's name is Mary, and my dad was an only child. Why?"

She shook her head. "It's not important. I just can't get that name out of my head. I probably just heard it on T.V. and forgot about it. Just forget it."

"Hey, Scott?" Amara began sweetly. "Could you take me and Tabby to the mall again?"

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Jean told the two, letting them work out the idea of going to the mall for the second day in a row. The bell rang two more times, as if whoever there was impatient. She opened it to find Lance leaning against the wall.

The blazing sun in his face was giving him an instant headache, not helping his already bad mood. He shielded his eyes. "Freaking bright, damned evil sun."

In the backyard, the boys were still playing football. Berzerker threw a long one to Roberto, who raised his arms to make the catch. Then, out of nowhere, Roberto sneezed once, sneezed again, harder, then sneezed so hard he accidentally powered up. Right as the football hit him in the face. And exploded.

"What the hell was that?" Ray asked.

Roberto sniffed. "I have no idea."

"Um, hey, Lance…" Jean said. "Here to see Kitty?"

"Yeah. She's here, right?"

"She's around somewhere. Come on in," She held the door open for him as he entered the foyer. "KITTY! Lance is here!"

There was thundering upstairs as Shadowcat appeared at the banister. "Hey!" She greeted him, grin splitting across her face.

Jean decided to leave them alone and settled in the library with a book. Pride and Prejudice was one of her favorites, and it was always comforting to lay back with something that she knew would never change. Books were good that way. They surprise you once or twice, then they became a good friend, always there to reassure you that some things never change.

Kitty and Lance came in. "Ok, so, like, what do you need to talk to me about?"

He looked pointedly at Jean, who raised a hand up. "Ignore me, I'm not here."

He struggled with the decision for a second, then shrugged. "Kitty…I'm going away for a while."

"What…what do you mean?" She asked, blue eyes wide.

"Magneto said that he got one of his old houses redone and he wants the team to go there for a while to get to know each other better or something. I don't really know all that much about, really."

Jean put down her book and stared at the couple. Of course, some things did change, as was obvious from the pain on Lance's face and the tears that had started to pile up in Kitty's eyes.

"This is a joke, right? You're just kidding. Hahaha." Kitty supplied weakly.

"I'm really sorry, Kitty. I don't have much of a choice. I'll miss you a lot. You know I wouldn't leave if I didn't have to." He wiped off one of the tears that ran down her cheek. "Please don't cry."

"Don't cry? My boyfriend's leaving for who knows how long and I'm not supposed to cry!" The tears only came faster.

Lance ran a hand through his hair and grumbled. "I mean, we shouldn't be that long. No more than a few months, if Magneto's telling the truth. And I'll email you and call you and stuff."

"I can't believe you're leaving…" Kitty whispered in a choked voice.

All of a sudden, Scott Summers peeked into the room, eyes wide with disbelief behind his glasses. "You're leaving, Alvers?"

"For a while. What's it to you?"

Scott stared at the ceiling in wonder and enlightenment. "There is a god…"

Then again, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

"Scott!" Kitty screamed at him, taking hold of the library's door and slamming it in his face.

Lance hugged her as she continued to cry. "I'm really, really sorry. We're not leaving till tomorrow morning, so I have the rest of the day to spend with you. We can go to the mall, if you want. You like the mall! Or to a movie or anything. I just want to be with you…"

Kitty wiped her face and attempted to smile at him. "That sounds nice, Lance."

He opened the door, where Scott was still standing. Cyclops looked extremely guilty seeing Kitty's crying face. Before he could say anything, Shadowcat pulled her boyfriend past him, calling back, "Lance and I are going out. If I'm not back by curfew, you know why!"

Scott stared after them in horror. "Jean…did you hear…!"

"You shouldn't have said that, Scott," his girlfriend scolded.

He sighed. "I don't want her to cry. But this'll be good for her."

"Oh, yes, because having a broken heart is always good!"

"Jean, please, let's not fight over this. I have to drop Tabitha and Amara off at the mall. Again. Tell me, when did I become the Institute's chauffeur?" He leaned against the wall as she giggled.

Amara suddenly appeared behind him. "Scott, I already called Tabitha. We need to stop at the jewelers first though. I got my allowance yesterday." Jean and Scott gave her a weird look. The princess held up a gold necklace set with rubies. "My dad sent it over, I want to cash it in."

"Don't you want to wear it, Amara?" Jean asked incredulously.

"I have twenty more upstairs. I'd rather get the money for it. Unless you want it? Actually, I have a bunch upstairs that would look good on you. I'll show you later, ok?"

"Sure, that sounds great," Jean smiled.

Magma dragged Scott towards the door. "C'mon, we have to go! Tabitha's waiting!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Be back in a bit, Jean!"

The redhead chuckled, waving at the retreating pair before getting back to her book. She got all the way through the second chapter before there was another ring at the doorbell. After it dinged again with no one else in hearing range, Jean got up to open the door.

"Hi, Jean!" Amanda greeted her happily.

"Oh, hey, Amanda. Kurt's out in the back."

"Thanks. See you later!" The girl walked through the hallways; Amanda only knew how to get to five places in the Institute. Luckily, one of them was the backyard.

Jean rolled her eyes and returned to the silent solitude of the library. She engrossed herself in the life of Mr. Darcy. Almost through chapter six, there was a knock at the door. Jean groaned and put the book down.

Scott stood at the door, looking pissed. "I had to lend Amara my key, she forgot hers."

"The door was open. And what happened to your shirt?" There was now a large red stain in the center of the yellow material.

"Tabitha. Juice."

"No need to say more. Why don't you go change and see if Storm can treat that to get the stain out?" Jean suggested.

"Good idea. Be right back."

She hadn't necessarily meant to get rid of Scott, but everyone needed some personal time every once in a while. Jean settled back in her comfortable position on the couch, where she resolved not to let anything disturb her until she finished reading.

Unfortunately, the world had a different idea, as there was yet another ring of the doorbell. Luckily, she heard the faint sounds of a German accent. "Kurt, could you get that?"

"Yeah, I got it, Jean!" He called back, letting her sigh in relief.

A minute or two later, Amanda stuck her head in the library. "It's for you, Jean."

The redhead groaned. "It would be…" Setting her book down for practically the billionth time in her mind, she walked out into the foyer where a young girl with short red hair was waiting. "I'm Jean. Do I know you?"

"You're Jean…Grey?" The girl asked incredulously.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?"

At that moment, Scott was coming downstairs, caring his stained shirt. "Scott, this girl was looking for you," Kurt informed him.

"You're Scott Summer? And you're Jean Grey?" She asked cautiously. "You wouldn't maybe happen to be Jean and Scott the second, would you?"

"No, we're the only ones. Why don't you tell us what this is all about?" Scott suggested, adjusting his glasses nervously.

"Well, this is just my luck…" she grumbled, running a hand through her shoulder length hair. "My name is Rachel Summers. And I'm your daughter…I guess…"

Kurt's jaw dropped as he openly gaped at the three. "I may not be the best student, but isn't that kind of…physically impossible?"

"Um…Rachel? How old are you?" Amanda asked.

"I'm fifteen."

"Well, we're nineteen, so I really don't think we could be your parents…" Jean said, still thinking how uncanny Rachel's resemblance was to her.

"How many Jean Greys are there in the world who know a guy named Scott Summers who has to wear ruby quartz glasses because of special "eye problems"?" Rachel pointed out.

"How did you know about that?" Scott asked.

"My dad wears the same glasses for the same reason."

"Why don't you guys go see the Professor?" Kurt suggested. "We saw him in his study."

"That's probably a good idea," Jean agreed, pasting a fake smile on her face. She wasn't exactly up to meeting with the professor, but at the moment there was no other choice.

They walked through the Institute, and knocked on his door. "Come in!"

Ororo, Xavier and Hank were discussing something when the teenagers entered. "Oh, I'm sorry, are we interrupting something?" Scott asked.

"It's alright. Is there something you needed to talk about?" Professor X wondered, looking through the crowd.

"Who's this?" Ororo smiled motherly at Rachel.

Scott wasn't exactly sure how to answer the question. "Well…uh…she's me and Jean's…daughter..."

A feral growl was heard behind them and before anyone could do anything, Scott was pinned to the wall. One of Logan's hands was wrapped around his throat, while the claws on the other one were exposed. "You knocked her up, Summers!"

"Logan!" Hank admonished.

Wolverine looked at Jean, to see if he could sense the baby, then at the small redhead next to her. "Who're you?"

"I'm the daughter," Rachel told him, raising one eyebrow.

Logan blinked. He looked from Scott to Jean to Rachel, then back at Scott, who he released. Cyclops fell to the ground as Logan sheathed his claws. "I'm confused."

"I think we all are," the Professor established. "Why don't you all sit down and we can figure out what's going on."

"Let's go get a snack, Kurt," Amanda said pointedly, dragging the fuzzy blue dude away.

"Awww, alright. But I want details later!" Nightcrawler shouted before teleporting himself and Amanda into the kitchen.

The Summers family made themselves comfortable on the couch as Logan sat in a chair. "Mind telling us what this is all about?"

"Well, I'm Rachel Summers. My parents are Scott and Jean Summers. I just woke up one morning and I was in ancient Bayville. I asked around and they said I could find them at the Xavier Institute. I remember Mom and Dad talking about it all the time, so I figured they'd be here," Rachel shrugged. "I just didn't realize they'd be my age."

"You say 'ancient Bayville,'" Hank said. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, we lived in Westchester. And this is what? The twenty-first century?" Everyone else nodded. "Back home it was the year 3056."

Everyone's jaw dropped, and even Xavier looked flustered. After a moment's thought, he said, "This may sound…different, but I think you've somehow fell through the cracks of time. You're the future alternate reality child of our Jean and Scott here, as I'm almost positive that they won't live over a thousand years. Of course, I could be wrong."

Logan groaned. "Am I the only one whose head hurts?"

Suddenly, there was a sound of ringing. It took a second for Scott to realize it was his cell phone and pull it out. "Hello? Oh, hey. Uh huh. Uh huh. Not again. Ok, I'll be there in a second, wait on the corner." He turned off the cell. "Sorry, that was Amara. Tabitha blew up a vending machine; I have to go pick them up."

Xavier sighed. "Very well, Scott."

Cyclops kissed his girlfriend on the cheek, then looked at Rachel, unsure of what to do. "Uuuh…" finally, he settled for a pat on the shoulder, then left the conference.

"Rachel, do you have any idea of how to get home?" Storm asked.

"I don't have any idea how I got here. Why would I know how to get home? Trust me, if I did, I wouldn't be here. No offense, I just miss my parents." She looked at Jean quickly. "I mean, my real parents. I mean…you know what I mean!"

"That we do," the Professor chuckled. "Well, until we've figured it out, you are more than welcome to stay here. We have plenty of room and I'm sure everyone will love you."

The young girl blinked. "Really, sir? I don't want to be any trouble."

"It's no trouble at all. Jean, there's an extra room next to yours, right? Please get Rachel settled in there and she can meet everyone else later."

"Ok, Professor. Follow me, Rachel," Jean got up and showed the other girl to an empty room upstairs. "Is this ok?"

Rachel gawked openly at the room. It was huge, with antique furniture and a soft comforter. "It's gorgeous…"

"I'm glad you like it," Jean smiled and opened the curtains, letting sunlight stream in from the excellent scenic view of the backyard and surrounding woodland areas. "I'll get you some sheets."

After a visit to the linen closet, she returned and gave the white sheets to Rachel. They younger girl held them for a second, inhaling the comforting scent of laundry soap, and enjoying the feeling of the softness that only came from being washed over and over. "Thank you…uh…what should I call you?"

"Oh, right. I guess Jean is fine." She sat on the bed with her daughter. "Do you have anything with you?"

Rachel shook her head. "All I have is what I'm wearing," she gestured to the navy shirt, jean pants and worn in sneakers.

"You look about Kitty or Amara's size. Kitty practically has stock in the mall and Amara's a princess, so I'm sure between the two of them we can find something for you to wear. Or I could take you shopping tomorrow," Jean offered.

"I don't have any money," the other redhead whispered.

"So? I mean, if I'm supposed to be your mom, then I'm supposed to provide you with clothes and stuff, aren't I? Besides, if you hug him enough, Scott will come and hold your bags…even if he does complain the whole way," she grinned.

Rachel smiled slowly. "I think I'd like that…"

Jean put a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "You know, I would too."


Downstairs, the Professor was still talking to his colleagues. "She seems like a nice child," Ororo insisted.

"If she really is their kid, she's certainly her mother's daughter," the Wolverine agreed.

"You have no idea, Logan," the Professor said thoughtfully.

Beast frowned. "What do you mean, Charles? Did you get a look in her mind?"

"For a short time, yes," Xavier nodded. "She let me in long enough to show me that she was telling the truth, and is indeed the daughter of Scott and Jean Summers. She has her mother's powers as well. When I was satisfied, yet admittedly curious enough to look for more, she told me "No disrespect, sir, but my mother is a telepath. I know how to put up a mental block," and she shut me out. A very powerful block, I wouldn't even think of trying to get past it."

"Well, you'd expect Jean and Scott to be protective of their child," Storm pointed out.

Logan snorted. "Plus, what kid would want their parents peeking into their head whenever they wanted?"

"Both very good points. She had excellent control, which leads me to believe that she's been trained since she was very young, even if her powers had not manifested yet," Charles told them.

"But how did she get here?" Hank wanted to know. "It's not every day that a child from an alternate timeline randomly shows up at our door."

"Yes…" Charles Xavier said slowly. "That would be the question…"


Jean gave Rachel a shirt and a pair of light sweatpants to wear while she put everything else in the wash; her clothes were filthy, most likely from being on the streets since she got to Bayville.

She instructed her daughter on how to use the shower, in order to get rid of all the dirt that could be gathered from walking around, asking directions from strange people in a strange place. Rachel was more than grateful, she was practically ecstatic at the idea of a bath. Or as ecstatic as one could be when you just found out your mother was nineteen years old.

After sticking Rachel's clothes in the washer with a few things of her own, Jean settled on her bed, closing her eyes as a flash of heat went through her body. She could feel a slight headache coming, and was prepared to nurse it with God's gift: aspirin. "In an hour's time I've suddenly become the nineteen year old mother of a fifteen year old from a completely different reality," She mused. "What else could possibly happen?"


A/N: I don't know much about Rachel's personality in the comics, besides their little conversation in the one where Jean and Scott get married. I'm basing it almost completely off that, where she and Jean were close. I believe I made her younger than she was there, so I thought a little bit more vulnerable would do, but that's just how I want it, I guess. Please tell me what you think, and, comic readers, if you can give me some insight it is ALWAYS appreciated!

And no, I don't plan on leaving the Brotherhood out of this entire fic. I love those guys and Wanda so much, I don't think I could stand that. Plus, it's me, I need to add at least some Lancitty to be happy.

Quick note to everyone waiting for the last chapter of The Basket Auction: I'm working on it, but between studying for exams and stuff, I'm swamped. Tomorrow I'm on spring break as of 1 pm, so I'll try to get it finished by then. I originally wanted to post this after I finished the third chapter, but screw that concept.

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.


First of all, I was BLOWN AWAY by the amount of people who reviewed. It literally blew my mind. I'm so happy I could just burst! Thank you all so much!

Review Responses:

Jen1703: I love Jean, there should be more Jean stories and less Rogue stories. Rogue got enough attention in the series. I'm glad you like it.

Wen1: JOTT is so much fun to write. You can make it all mushy or shy or however you want it because that's how those characters are. I hope you keep reading!

Xmengirlzrule: I love JOTT, they're really the only couple that's continuously canon in any X-men universe. I'm glad you'll keep reading, thank you!

Heartsyhawk: Thank you, I'm happy you like it!

LanceIsHot: That's one of my favorite parts too, it tends to stick out as one of the only comedic parts in that chapter. Hopefully this one's a little more humorous and a little less angsty. I hope you like it!

DOJ: You are so sweet. I mean, seriously, you never fail to read and review everything I write and you're always so nice about it! So thank you for being the ultimate sweetheart and I hope you like the story

StarStar16: Thanks!

Helen: I love writing JOTT moments, they're so sweet. I hope you keep reading!

Slickboy444: Are there really not that man XME Phoenix Sagas? I had this idea that it had been done a billion times before…but if not, all the better! I'm SO happy that you like it so much! Thank you!

JOTT luver: Jean's death, hm? Well, yes, angst does come with death, but I have cooked up a remedy to overcome that! Does anyone know what it'll be? Well, one person besides me, so I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out.

Rogue14: Thank you so much!

Laine-chan: Should I be worried that my beta can't spell "excellent" or "constructive"? Thank you for reviewing! Love you!

X00001: Of course I'll continue. I just hope you keep reading!