A/N - so glad you're sticking around - thanks for the reviews! Your questions and concerns will be answered soon enough! - CC

Chapter 58 - So Many Summerses

The only thing that Alex could say to keep his father from making a scene and landing a spaceship in the middle of Scott's neighborhood was that they'd get the whole family in even more trouble than they already were with a display like that. Which was why they were dressed in civilian clothes before Wanda magicked him, Lorna, Corsair, and herself to Scott's home - leaving Vision to watch Alex and Lorna's kids. It was a totally reasonable move, seeing as Alex didn't want them traumatized seeing their uncle in whatever state he might have been in after all the blood they found around Magneto. There was no way all that blood had only been from Erik - and Alex could see it easily.

Still, Alex hadn't been expecting to arrive at Scott's home to find a fully-equipped emergency room worth of supplies in the living room around his brother, who was on a gurney and hooked up to every monitor known to man.

He also wasn't expecting to see an older version of his nephew, Billy, talking with freakin' Logan.

"What… what is even…?" Alex stared around the house. "What the hell is even going on?"

"Huh. Sounds like Nate. That explains so much," Logan said dryly.

"Billy?" Wanda stepped around Alex, frowning when she saw another version of her son - the correct one - asleep with his head on James' chest and his arm across his stomach on the couch nearby. James had woken up when they arrived, but Billy had been sound asleep until he heard his mom call his name and he blinked sleepily with a raspy sounding 'Mom?' before he'd even woken up fully.

"Hi." The older Billy waved from where he was leaning against the counters and talking to Hank and Logan - but he only held the smile in for a second before he rushed over to hug her. "Hi, sorry. Hi, Mom. Different dimension. Still me."

Wanda still looked stunned, but she automatically returned the hug. "You… you must have brought Logan with you," she said at last.

"Mmhmm," Billy agreed as he held on tight for a few more seconds.

"Nice to see you, darlin'," Logan drawled out, though he didn't move.

"So… is anyone gonna tell me what's going on, or am I supposed to just … patch it together myself?" Alex said.

"Oh, right." Billy straightened up, cleared his throat, and launched into his explanation. "Hi, so, I can hop dimensions where I'm from. We had a recent experience with Apocalypse. The guy made me watch countless universes of terrible, unspeakable realities where there was no hope and very little chance to live outside of his rule. I wanted to stop yours from getting any worse than what I already had to see of what had happened already. So… I brought myself and Logan to save Scott's life after his fight with Magneto went, you know, about as badly as it could have."

Wanda nodded, then glanced over at Scott. "How bad off is he? And what happened - exactly?"

"Well, he's not dying anymore," Rachel said quietly when no one spoke up first. "But, well…" She glanced toward James, not at all wanting to make him feel worse than he already felt but knowing that Wanda needed the truth. "Magneto yanked Dad's eyes out, and-"

"I didn't mean to kill him," James interjected suddenly. "I can't remember it. I'm sorry - even if it doesn't help, that's all I can … I'm sorry." He was clearly upset about it, but he wasn't going to hide it from her, regardless of how she'd handle it. He didn't try to soften it … not when he was feeling so guilty about it, and not when he honestly expected her to simply whisk him off to stand trial in Genosha.

"It wasn't your fault," Billy insisted to James before he spun on his heel, one hand still on James' chest. "It wasn't his fault," he told Wanda. He moved to stand between his mother and James in a protective move that took James off guard entirely. "Grandfather - he - as soon as James got in between him and Scott, he stabbed James. Knowing there was a dampener in play, he stabbed him. In the heart, Mom." It was clear in his expression and tone that he was also still upset about what had happened, but for a completely different reason than James was upset.

"I was just trying to separate them," James said, sounding incredibly torn, though quiet. "That's the last thing I remember until after."

Wanda looked between the two of them before, slowly, she made her way over and rested a hand on each of their shoulders. She tried to pull them both in closer for a hug, but James resisted, stuck to the spot and wide-eyed. Billy, of course, all but melted into his mom, still grasping for support while he processed watching the attempted murder of his boyfriend and the actual murder of his grandfather, but James was shocked by her attempt and did not want to intrude on Billy and his mother. And he stayed that way until Wanda said, quietly, "I wish it wasn't true, James, but I knew this would happen. Maybe not the details, but I knew he was going to get himself killed because he didn't know when to stop."

"I'm so sorry," James replied in a breath.

"It's not your fault," Wanda promised. But when James still looked anguished over his actions, she leaned toward him, her eyes still shining. "I talked to Scott about this a long time ago. I'm only sorry he attacked you and forced you to be the one to stop him." She searched his expression and then pulled him to her with the free hand that wasn't holding onto Billy. "I'm so sorry, James."

At that, James melted into her shoulder and held on tight, completely off guard in her outlook. She should have been angrier. Or … something. Not consoling him. But to James, that only meant that now, it was down to Lorna to be angry. He wasn't stupid enough to believe she'd take things as well as Wanda apparently had. He stayed right there until Wanda moved slightly, and then, he finally loosened up his grip on her, even if she didn't let go of him yet.

"I'm pretty sure no one in this family can do anything that's not insanely dramatic," Alex said. "So you're continuing to fit in, kiddo … with both sides of it now, too."

"Case in point," Corsair said with his eyes narrowed, tipping his head toward where Scott was sleeping.

"Their conversation went south too fast to stop things or warn anyone," Lorna said suddenly.

Both Rachel and Nate turned toward Lorna with their whole bodies, mirroring each other as only siblings could do. "Wait," Rachel said, "you saw what happened?"

"Afterward, yes," Lorna said as she took in each of the kids that had been there, letting her gaze rest on Billy and James. "You don't really think that I wouldn't check the surveillance after finding my father dead, do you?"

"Honestly surprised there is surveillance," Nate muttered. "Dad's usually careful."

"Father has his own methods," Lorna said. "Or had. The fact remains, though, that neither of them were planning on that fight."

"Dad was, though," Rachel said. "He had ceramics… and letters… and…"

"Yes, he planned to fight him, but not at that moment," Lorna said. "He knew it would happen, but not just then, and not where he expected it." She held Rachel's gaze. "And no, I won't show you."

"I wouldn't have asked to see when things got… bad," Rachel said. "You could always project what you saw up to the start of the fight."

"Telepaths," Alex muttered over Lorna's shoulder. "Just like her mom."

"Yes, but that's my perception of it. Not the actual tape," Lorna said. "I could mis-remember the things said and misquote it entirely."

Alex snorted as he put his arms around Lorna from behind. "Got ya there, Rach."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him, but on the other hand, she was glad to have more people around that could help with their dad, so instead of rising to their bait, she gestured for them to join everyone else. "We're all waiting for Dad to rest before we do anything else, but honestly, I'm glad you're here," she told them.

"I can't think of why we wouldn't be," Lorna said.

"Yes, well." Rachel sighed and then went ahead and projected to the newcomers everything that had happened since they got home - including and especially the fact that she'd found a will and letters, just to impress upon them the new problem they were facing.

I am so insulted that he wanted Avengers to take over on my nephews, Alex projected to Rachel, sure that it would get a smile out of her.

Rachel did smile, though she also had to point out, You know that was his plan for if Magneto killed him, right?

Yeah, I know, Alex replied. I know all about Billy's exes too, Alex said. And how overly sensitive Erik was for his boys. There's no reason he'd allow me to take James in with a scenario like that.

Then you know if that had happened, you'd be dead too, because you're his brother. So, you know, that's why he asked the Avengers to step in.

You are taking my hypothetical sorrow and stomping on it - while also taking my hypothetical sadness and refusing me nephews.

You've met my dad, right? I've been told I take after him.

"Me? Nooooooo, never," Alex replied - out loud this time.

"Oh, good, he's being dramatic," Nate said dryly. "Got past the shock of Dad wanting to die faster than I thought. Hi, Uncle Alex."

"I believe you were accused of being my mini," Alex told Nate with a grin. "Lucky accusation." He clapped his hands together. "Going for a game of chicken on this … see who can be more ridiculous until you tap out or do I need to be serious-er for another minute?"

"If you're going to do that, I'm going to have to tap out now," James said with a deep yawn, ready to crash hard now that some of the adrenaline was fading off.

"I'll come with you," Billy offered with a quiet smile.

"You don't have to," James said, and a moment later, Wanda spoke up as well.

"I was planning on offering you some time at home, sweetheart," she said to Billy as she brushed his hair out of his eyes.

Billy looked between them both with a slowly growing smile. "See, that's the thing," he said, then gestured around the living room. "I was trying to figure out how I ended up here when I've never even been here before. And… I realized … I asked my spell to take us home." He smiled even wider at James. "I guess my home is your home."

James was at a clear loss for words as Billy squeezed his hand, both of them still within easy reach of Wanda. "That's the sweetest thing I think I've ever heard," Wanda said with a hand over her heart. "Will you be staying with James then, while we make arrangements?

Billy grinned at James and slipped over to put his arm around his back. "Yeah. I think I will."

"Probably best if all of you called it a night for now," Corsair said. "Go on, kids. I'm going to stay here with my boys and keep watch."

Wanda and Lorna hadn't stuck around for too long after that- just long enough to be sure that Billy was alright, really, and then the sisters had left to deal with the fallout on Genosha leaving Alex and Corsair to help look out for Scott and see for themselves exactly how bad off he was. For a little while, anyhow.

Hank didn't leave until he had left strict, crystal clear instructions on what was alright and what wasn't regarding Scott's care, though he swore he'd be back as quickly as he could if there was any backsliding in Scott's condition. With that, Logan insisted Hank go back to the tower and get some damn sleep. Which … was something Logan was willing to do for himself as long as Alex was around to keep an eye open for Scott.

"He's my brother, of course I'm going to stick around for him," Alex said. "Really, we've got it. You can just … go back to wherever-"

"Not your call," Logan said, crossing his arms. "When Billy says it's time to go, we'll head out."

"So … that's a thing in your universe too, then, huh?" Alex said, which had Billy laughing outright not only at Alex's presumption, but at the expression Logan was wearing.

"No," the older Billy said, though he was grinning. "We just share a daughter between us."

"Yeah, that totally clears it up," Alex deadpanned as Rachel got Logan to at least step into Scott's office to look through the incoming intel like he'd asked about before Alex had started being Alex.

It was an easy bait, too … the older Billy and Logan both really wanted to see what the news was saying and what intelligence people were picking up about the drama in Genosha. Logan to see what was on the horizon and for Billy to see that they were on the right path, since he seemed to think they weren't out of the woods just yet.

Which left the original Summers boys with their father.

Corsair had his arms crossed, looking not only uncomfortable with the setting, but anxious … and there was something behind his eyes that wasn't entirely familiar to Alex. At least, not with his father wearing that expression. If he didn't know better, he'd think it was because Corsair had regretted something… something he didn't consider until his oldest son was teetering between life and death on a hospital gurney.

Not that it was the first time for Scott to be in a position like that … he'd done that many, many times … but this was the first time that Corsair had seen it. The years of hiding away from his sons in space were finally starting to show on the old space pirate.

Alex reached over to rest a hand on Corsair's shoulder. "You can take a break, Dad. Get some sleep. I can keep watch over Scotty on my own just fine."

"I know you can," Corsair said, his voice constricted. "You two always have watched out for each other. I just …"

"I know, Dad. It's okay. You can take the second shift."

Corsair didn't know what to do, honestly, but he was grateful for the free pass to step aside all the same, so instead of acting like Scott or Alex would have - and insisted on staying with their injured kid, Corsair nodded to himself, thanked Alex, and headed off to find a place to crash for a while.

But that gave Alex a window to be able to talk to his brother when he woke up again in need of pain meds. So, Alex waited in the unsettling quiet that was only punctuated by the rhythmic beeping of the machinery attached to his big brother. He waited, turning the bottle of pain meds over in his hands slowly enough that the clicks of the pills against the plastic bottle weren't sharp enough to be distracting or a point of irritation. He waited, thinking to himself how very familiar this was to when they were kids and Alex did all he could to sit with his brother after the plane crash, crying and terrified while his big brother - his hero- couldn't wake up. He thought about how little time the doctors and nurses and officials gave him before they took him away from Scott, and how the last childhood memory he had of his big brother was of him lying in bed while the doctors, who thought Alex couldn't hear them, talked in the hall about how he would never wake up and how he was a lost cause.

He thought about a lot in those few hours in the middle of the night, but mostly, he thought about how even though they were grown, and even though Scott's kids were grown … he wasn't anywhere near ready to face losing his brother again. And he was so deeply in thought that he didn't notice that Scott had woken up again and was watching him.

Alex was so focused as he leaned forward on the couch, his elbows on his knees as he stared at the bottle of pills in his hands, frowning deeply at them, he didn't notice it as a few tears slipped down his cheeks. But that's what Scott woke up to …

"Hey," Scott said, his voice rough as he tried to sit more upright. "You okay?"

Alex sniffled and straightened up, the back of one hand already erasing any evidence that he'd been crying in spite of himself. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Alex said as he composed himself and sat back in his seat. "You scared the hell out of me, Scotty." As always, Alex had never seen the point in hiding his worries too much. "We saw the throne room … and the hall … and … I thought -" He cut himself off as his emotions got the better of him. "I thought I was supposed to help you. I was your back up and I didn't know. There wasn't even a way to tell me."

"Alex," Scott said, trying to slow him down, but the more Alex tried to stop himself from speaking, the more it all tumbled out.

"You didn't wait," Alex said. "You never wait. And I wanted to be the one to back you up and instead it … it was just like when we were kids and you were fine one minute and then you were gone. You were gone, Scott, and I was trying to figure out how that had even ... " He stopped again and tried to get it back together. "I know … you said your piece with the kids. And I understand it, but I gotta tell you, big brother - I can't take finding out from anyone that you died again. I did that once and I never got over it. I never will. I know I've been in Genosha all this time, and I'm not around as much as I should be - and I know you don't need me, and maybe it's selfish, but .. I don't want to be without my brother."

"Alex, stop," Scott said, his eyes wide. He tried to sit up better simply as a means to buy time for himself to think, then let out a long breath when he couldn't do that. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to- It happened too fast, and I thought I'd have more time," he tried to explain. "I didn't mean to leave you out. Really."

"I know, Scott. I wasn't trying to … I just had to tell you what it looked like from my side. It really doesn't matter, and I know. I do. You just scared me, okay?" Alex sighed heavily. "Just forget it." He cleared his throat. "It's a little overdue for your painkillers."

"Yeah." Scott was quiet for a long time. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I screwed up."

"Yeah, you did," Alex said just as quietly. "But not the way you think you did."

The silence hung in the air between them for a long time as Scott stared at the pills Alex had given him, not ready to drift back off when his little brother was that upset.

Finally, Scott said, "You know, travel to and from Genosha should be a little easier now."

Alex snorted a laugh. "Really? That's what you took out of what I said?"

"You were the one saying you weren't around - which isn't true, for the record. You came over plenty."

Alex shook his head. "Take your meds, Scott."

Scott smirked, glad to see Alex looking at least a little better, then did, in fact, take the pills, leaning back as he waited for it to kick in. He was already starting to get drowsy after not too long, which meant he wasn't holding back his thoughts as he said, softly and with his eyes closed as he started to drift off, "I don't want to say goodbye to my brother either. Why do you think I couldn't leave a note for you?"

"Go to sleep, Scotty. I'm not going anywhere," Alex said.