Chapter 62 - Long-Overdue Therapy
Morning came early, and Scott had to frown when he saw that Logan was already awake before him. It seemed like he was perfectly serious about driving him to that appointment.
Scott shook his head as he got his coffee. "You know I can drive myself," he said. "Transfusion helped. I'm on my feet."
"Yep, but I'm followin' through on what I promised you," Logan said without looking up at him.
"You've got plenty of other things you could do while you're here."
"Like what?" Logan asked.
"James could use your advice," Scott said. "He just killed someone after going into the red for the first time."
"We went over that," Logan said. "Couple times. And we'll hit it again before I go, but it's on his time."
"You could help the kids-"
"When I'm done drivin' you," Logan said.
Scott covered his eyes with his hand, though before he could argue it, there was a flash of light, and the other-dimensional Billy reappeared, this time with K.
Logan lit up with a bright grin and pulled her over to steal a kiss even as Billy started to give K the quick rundown, mostly ignoring the PDA as he explained, "So, like I said, Logan's looking out for Scott, and you're with the kids so he's not worried about them being on their own so soon after a trauma."
At first, K didn't acknowledge what Billy was saying, but after the kiss met its natural end, she stepped back and nodded. "Babysitting kids that don't know me. Perfect." She turned to see Scott, and her smile fell only a hair when she saw his obvious scars and how tired he looked before she went right over to wrap him up in a hug. "How's my hero?"
Scott finally managed to break out of his shock to hug her back. "Hi, K," he said in a breath, not at all prepared to see another friend back from the dead, especially not when his mind had been on the appointment he was dreading. He had a sneaking suspicion the other Billy had pulled K in not just for the kids but to throw Scott enough off his game that he couldn't talk his way out of going.
As for K, she didn't let go of Scott, instead snuggling in more. "You doing a little better with my sweetheart irritating the crap out of you?"
"I'm fine," he said without letting go of her.
"I know, I know. You're always fine. I didn't ask how you were like that. I gave you a simple yes or no, because I know better."
Scott let out a breath of a laugh. "I missed you too."
"I'm sorry you had to miss either of us," K told him softly.
"Not your fault," he said in a whisper.
"I just hate to see you upset," she said.
"I'm fine."
"Well, 'Fine'," Logan said, stepping close enough to the two of them that it was as close as he'd come to breaking them up without physically getting in between them - and only because he'd been around long enough to know how desperately Scott needed people around him like K who built him up. "You're gonna be late if you keep sayin' you're fine."
Scott rolled his eyes as he stepped back from K. "Your husband thinks he's my parole officer."
"He also thinks it hasn't been more than a few hours for me while he's been here, and he's impatient and spoiled."
Scott frowned at that. "I don't want to take him away from you."
"Didn't you hear me? He's been here with you for … um... however long, but I just noticed he was gone. To me, it's only been a few hours. He's the one that thinks it's been days." She shrugged. "Considering how spoiled he is."
Scott shook his head at that. "Seriously, I can handle myself, let you two get back to your lives…"
"So … you two go handle you," K said. "You know as well as I do that if he wasn't worried, he'd be back home already." She kissed his cheek. "When you get back, I'll let you look at our kids if it cheers you up."
Scott shook his head and gave her another quick hug. "Might be fair, since you'll be watching mine."
"They'll be safe," K promised.
"I know they will be," Scott said - and meant it.
But then, with his kids taken care of and everyone looking expectant, Scott had no more excuses to put off the inevitable. So, he let out a breath and headed for the door, not all that happy about the fact that Logan seemed to be holding tight to his promise to make Scott go to this appointment.
As soon as the two of them were gone, K turned and got herself a cup of coffee and then started looking in the fridge to see what she could come up with for breakfast. "Billy," K called out. "Is there anything you can think of that we should do while we wait for those two to come back?"
"Well, these kids have never had a mom before, so I'll defer to your expertise," Billy said.
"You think I can fix that in one morning?" K asked, one eyebrow arched high. "Such faith you put in me."
"Well, no, but they just realized their dad wanted to die, so I figured some momming might help?" Billy held both hands out to the side and shrugged. "I'm kind of winging this. My foresight isn't as good as it used to be, remember? Still a work in sanity-progress?"
"That's alright. I'll see what I can do," K assured him as she started pulling things out of the fridge. "Think you can find me some lingonberries and whipped cream?"
"Sure thing," Billy said, disappearing and then coming back about a minute later with some supplies. "Thanks again for letting me steal you for this. I promise I'll bring you back to the same time I took you."
"I think I needed to clear my head anyhow," K said. "My boy is doing better, but he's half afraid to put himself out there still. But I don't know what to do here so … this sounds good to me."
"Oh good," Billy said, giving her a quick hug. "This whole universe is pretty rotten, but they're finally starting on a path to something less bleak, and I really want it to work out."
"Any surprises I should know about?" K asked as she started mixing up her batter.
"Umm, Rachel and Nate are teenagers… Nate's dating Kate… that one seemed to shock Logan, apparently…"
"Cable is dating my big sister?" K said, doing her best to look scandalized.
Billy smirked. "Yep."
"Sweet time skipper stepped it up," K said, shaking her head.
Billy snorted. "They're highly competitive. Couple of sharp-shooters."
"Oooh, I wanna play too."
"Of course you do." Billy kissed her cheek. "This is why I love you."
"I love you too," K said, smirking at him. "It sounded like everyone was pretty beat down, if Scott is any kind of measuring stick."
Billy sighed. "You, Logan, Jubilee, Jean, Kurt, Charles … you all died."
"So all the fun people died."
Billy nodded. "It was pretty brutal. It was torture and manipulation the whole way."
"It'd have to be brutal to take all of us out," K said. "Tell me what I need to be careful of so I don't trip anyone off, okay?"
Billy nodded. "Alright," he said, sitting down at the table as he started to go over the story while she worked. He was only partway through filling her in when she slipped the first plate of pancakes under his nose and went right back to cooking, nodding now and again as he gave her the quick version. But even the "quick version" was a lot to get through, and by the time he was done, Billy looked downright tired. "This was one of the universes Apocalypse showed me to drive me nuts. I just want to help now," he summed up at last in a hoarse whisper.
"You are," K said, not leaving any room to dispute it.
"Yeah. Logan helped get Scott's plan a little less…" Billy made a motion with his hand. "So he's alive. That's already helping."
"Oh. Who're you?" Rachel asked, alerting Billy to the fact that the kids were starting to trickle in. She was standing in the doorway watching the two of them with a slight frown.
K smiled at her and gestured to the folded-over crepes. "Hi, Rachel," she said. "I'm K. Grab a plate; get some berries and whipped cream. You missed your Dad. He and Logan left a little while ago."
"K?" Rachel looked honestly surprised. "Dad needs two … he's that bad?"
"No, of course not," K said, scoffing. "He needed some Swedish pancakes, and Billy knows that in all the universes, I'm the best. So. here I am."
"She so is," Billy laughed.
"It's nice to meet you," Rachel said, not sure what else to say in the face of that kind of introduction.
"Entirely mutual," K said as she smiled up at her. "Go on. Billy will show you how it's done."
"Okay," Rachel said, though she clearly had no idea how to deal with this.
When Rachel had finally sat down and was still looking wary, K made her way over to her and squeezed both of her shoulders from behind. "I promise I'm not here for bad things," K told her quietly. "Or to offset them. I'm just Billy's favorite."
"It's just… we almost lost him and …"
"Rach, don't worry about the almost or you'll miss the right now," K said. "Right now, your dad is probably going nuts because Logan's fussing over him. But he's doing something he's refused to do for years. It's good. I promise it is. Considering all the wreckage he was hit with years ago? He's on a definite upswing, and I can promise you that if he hadn't had you three, it would have been a done deal for him too, way back then. I'm very sure of that." She kissed the top of her head before Rachel turned to face her. "And now, the four of you are all here to anchor each other. And he knows it. Don't get twisted up on the almosts."
Rachel finally relaxed a little and then reached out to hug K. Everyone's worried about him, she projected to K.
Of course they are, K replied, sure to wrap her up warmly.
James talked him out of it.
Excellent, good for him - for all of you.
Rachel let out a breath. "That… smells really good," she said, obviously doing the same thing her dad often did and pushing her worry aside for a new topic of conversation.
"Just let me know if you want more," K told her.
"She's using me as instant grocery shopping," Billy said with a smirk.
"Ooh, that reminds me, you should go get some of the good coffee," K said. "This stuff Scott has is like … survival grade."
"On it," Billy said, disappearing in a flash of light.
Rachel laughed. "Our Billy doesn't do that."
"Your Billy isn't the same power level," K said. "Ours is the only one that gets the 'favorite stargazer' title. Or whatever he calls it."
"That's kind of a shame. I think our Billy would love to be able to do wordless spells like that."
"I think he'll be able to as he gets more powerful," K said, tipping her head as she tried to think about it. "You know … ours worked with Doc Strange for a while to hone his skills and … wait. Yes, yes. A whole bunch of ladies ended up pregnant from his accidental wordless spell. Yeah. He'll be able to do wordless drama."
"Wait. What?"
K chuckled at that then smiled at Billy when he reappeared holding a bag of her favorite brand of coffee. She gestured toward him as he poured out the old coffee. "He and his husband wanted kids, but the adoption people kept dropping the ball. He was pining for babies. I was already pregnant, so … it didn't bother me, but every other woman of age that was married ended up getting pregnant at the same time." She let out a wistful sigh. "If my daughter hadn't been so sweet and come out a girl, I was going to name her William the Strong just to screw with him."
"Oh wow." Rachel turned to point at Billy. "Please tell me that's not going to happen to me with this one."
K was chuckling at her. "You never kno-o-ow," she sang out.
"Hey, this one is dating James," Billy said, smirking K's way.
"Good for him," K shot back. "He should have little kids flocking to him by the time he gets wistful."
"Ex-actly," Billy laughed.
"They really love him here, too ... so I guess we'll just… see how it goes," Rachel said, smiling to herself as she thought of all the little kids that seemed to seek James out.
"Does your brother have a code name?" K asked, smirking Billy's way as she started up the fresh pot of coffee.
"Honestly, we talked about it, and he decided to take up Logan's, since everyone would call him that anyway," Rachel admitted. "He's not wrong."
"That's beautiful," K said, smiling. "Not the brother I was asking about, but ...how sweet. Does Logan know?"
Rachel nodded. "Yeah, he spent some time with the team."
"And what about your itty bitty baby baby brother?" K asked, though she'd already caught Nate's scent as he got closer, and she knew he was near enough to eavesdrop.
"Cable," Rachel said. "And I'm using 'Prestige'."
"Oh, good. I always liked that one better," K said, nodding as she set up another plate.
"So… K?" Nate asked as he poked his nose in, knowing he was busted anyway.
"You cheated and asked your sister," K said without looking his way.
Nate shrugged. "Hey, there was someone new in our house. We always check with each other."
"I get it. You were scared. I'm flattered," K sang before she slid him his plate, ready to go. "I'm too little to threaten anyone."
"Like that matters," Nate said. "Aunt Jan can take anyone down."
"Almost," K said, though it was purely to get a rise out of him.
"Mmm, no," he said. "She's the only Avenger who helped us debut the team."
"Ah, there's the modifier," she said. "Avenger. You're biased."
"We literally just started the X-Men again," Nate pointed out.
K reached up to pat his cheek. "You are so much like your father, tiny time skipper."
"Yeah, I'm getting that a lot lately," Nate said.
"Must be a reason for it," she said as she leaned against the counter, watching over them as they got into their breakfasts.
It wasn't long before James and Billy came down too, with Nate and Rachel smirking at each other over the fact that they came down together, though neither of them said anything out loud. They knew James and Billy were hanging onto each other to try to recover from the trauma they'd all been through, but hopefully, spending the night would be good for both of them to remember they were good for each other for more than staying sane.
"Give me two minutes and I'll have breakfast for both of you," K said without turning to look at them. "The coffee your dad had in here was almost as bad as what they had in that rotten facility in Saskatoon."
Of course, James stopped fully and blinked at her for a long moment as Rachel reached out to fill him in, though after Billy's spell, it really wasn't necessary. He was just frozen as he stared at his mother for the first time in his active memory.
"Nice to meet you," the younger Billy said with a small smile, waving at K with the tips of his fingers. "I guess I get to meet James' parents after all."
"And you're already one of my favorites," K told him when she turned their way. She set her mug aside and crossed the kitchen, then looked up at James. She barely beat him to it when she wrapped her arms around his neck before he scooped her up in a bear hug and held on tight.
"They both needed that," the older Billy whispered to Rachel. "She's been having a rough time too."
"Sorry to hear that," Rachel whispered back. "She seems okay."
"She likes to play house to relax, and she's happy to see this James happy. Hers hit a rough patch about a year ago. He's doing better now, but he's still struggling."
"How rough?"
"Yours is about a hundred times better adjusted."
"Wow, William," K said over James' shoulder. "You make me sound like a neglectful parent."
"I'm pretty sure they're all old enough to know you can have a loving family and still have issues not related to that part of your life," Billy pointed out.
"Still," K said as James finally set her down. She looked between the two boys and then gave the younger Billy a bear hug too. "You leave out how he got to be so screwed up. Just like you forgot to tell me this sweeter, younger you is dating my oldest son."
"They're pretty darn cute together, huh?" the older Billy said with a grin.
"Yes. Yes they are," K agreed with a troublemaking smile. "He makes you look good, Billy."
"Hey," the younger Billy said. "We both look like movie stars."
"It's not a pick at you, my precious little stargazer," K promised before she kissed his cheek. "Come on. You both need something more civilized for breakfast than the Pop Tarts that were in the cabinet."
"Yes, please," Billy agreed fervently.
K led him over and kept an arm around both boys as she told them what they should do before she slid them each a plate that was ready to go, leaving the older Billy simply grinning over the scene as the kids all enjoyed themselves.
Once they were all eating, K sat down next to James with her coffee and waited to see what their plan was and to answer any questions they had for her while they waited.
It was pretty clear that James was deeply enjoying the morning with his mom. Even if she was from a different reality, she was enough like the one he'd seen in his memories that he couldn't stop looking at her, though for the life of him, he had no idea what to even ask her or what to say. So instead, he just decided to bask in her presence.
And K could see how deeply this James missed out on having a mother. Naturally, she didn't press him on anything and instead stuck close and did the same thing he was doing, even if it was seriously tugging at her heartstrings. They were thoroughly enjoying their quiet coffee time together when the doorbell rang, and K was on her feet before the boys could beat her to it. "I've got it," she promised. She waved Rachel off as she passed her by. "Seriously. Relax."
"It's okay," Rachel said, but when K projected to her, Rachel backed off. Especially when the message was that she expected all four of the kids that had been involved to spend the day recuperating.
K took just a moment to smooth her shirt over her stomach as she always did, then opened the door with a pleasant expression, though she wasn't expecting to see a rabbi standing there looking as if she'd already thrown cold water on him. "Hello," she said, then smiled warmly. "Can I help you?"
Rabbi Cohen took a moment or two to get his feet under himself before he could answer, though K didn't press him on it. "Yes." He looked past her to see Rachel sitting on the stairs, waving her fingertips at him. "I don't mean to intrude. Scott and I have a standing appointment for coffee, but if he's occupied-"
"He's not in right now," K said, but that only had Toby looking more surprised.
"You can come in and have coffee if you like, Rabbi Cohen," Rachel offered, and K turned to look at her long enough to nod her head once and then open the door wider to let him into the house. "Dad won't be gone all day, and I know you'll like the coffee that K made better than the stuff Dad makes."
"It's really good," James agreed from the kitchen table with Billy.
Toby stepped in, bewildered that Scott had left his kids alone with this tiny, attractive stranger.
"Come on," K said, closing the door behind him and then leading the way to the kitchen. "I was just feeding the zoo. You're welcome to join them."
"I'm not sure I should," Toby said, though he was smiling in spite of himself when he saw the way the kids were so comfortable around her already.
K looked over her shoulder and then turned on her heel to face him even as she picked up her mug from next to James and headed for the coffee maker. "It's kosher. You're fine."
"Alright then," Toby agreed, taking the seat nearest Billy and watching the whole scene for a long moment. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm at a disadvantage here. I know I would have remembered Scott saying something about a friend coming by."
"It was a surprise visit," K answered as she worked up more crepes. "He hasn't seen me in a long time." She set up a plate for Toby as Rachel grabbed a cup of coffee for him, and as soon as K handed him the crepes, James straightened up with a little smirk as she sat down with him.
All of it had Toby in a state of shock - but the kids were comfortable with her, and she seemed perfectly at ease with them, so naturally, he started to wonder as he had his breakfast what the story was there. And how much of that story he could figure out before he got to talk to Scott.
Meanwhile, Scott had arrived at Craig Hale's office, irritated further when Logan went with him. "You don't have to hold my hand," he grumbled.
"You want me to wait in the car like a dog?" Logan challenged, knowing it would rile Scott.
Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. "Obviously not."
"Then what are my other options?" Logan asked. "Cruise the downtown pickin' up chicks to introduce you to?"
"No," Scott said.
"Drink at the bar? Start a fight … well. Maybe that one."
"Fine. You can just... Fine." Scott shook his head as they waited, though it wasn't long before Craig came out to introduce himself.
His Southern accent was as strong in person as it had been over the phone, but seeing his bright smile in person as well as his brown hair and slightly plump size… All at once, Scott realized that this therapist and Nate's teacher must have been brother and sister to look so much alike. "Oh hell, you're all conspiring," Scott muttered to Logan under his breath.
Logan was chuckling at him by that point. "He's a good guy," Logan told him low enough that Scott barely caught it. "And I'm pretty sure he won't try to seduce you. But who knows."
Scott gave him a ridiculously dry look even as Craig introduced himself to Logan as well. "You must be the friend from the phone call."
"You bet," Logan replied.
"He's a professional pain," Scott said.
"He only says that when he knows I'm right," Logan said with a smirk.
Craig nodded. "In that case, why don't you tell me what you're right about? I've found that if someone's loved ones are concerned enough to push for a meetin' like this, it's good to ask."
Logan turned to Scott and held his gaze. "It's time," Logan said. "He's been struggling for years. Lost a lot of people that were important to him at once and ended up raising three kids alone because of it. He never got the chance to cope. So … it's time."
Craig looked between the two of them and nodded before he invited Scott back. "Well, I just want to take some time to get to know you and see what you need. We'll set up a schedule for future visits once I've got my bearings, alright?"
Scott let out a breath and then followed Craig back, leaving Logan to wait for them to get done.
A couple hours later, Craig was actually the first one to leave the room - though Logan could see into the room that Scott was seated still and had his head in his hands. Without a word, Craig crossed to Logan and then pulled him aside, his expression urgent.
"You can't leave him alone," he said. "At all."
"I know," Logan said.
"I'd recommend hospitalization if I didn't think it would make it worse."
"Can't do that to him," Logan said, shaking his head.
"No, isolation would be devastating for him," Craig said. "Which is why I'm talking to you. You can't leave him alone, and I need to know that you have the resources to do that or if I need to get involved."
"He's got a good support system that he's been ignoring this whole time. I'll make sure he isn't alone if I gotta handcuff myself to him to do it."
"Good." Craig shook his head, looking just like the Annie Hale that Logan knew as he worried his hands through his hair. "Every morning at this time until further notice."
Logan nodded at that. "He'll probably try to go quiet on you," Logan warned.
"Yeah, not my first rodeo," Craig said.
"Well saddle up," Logan said.
"Who do I need to talk to to get clearance for whatever happened?" Craig asked, then held up a hand. "I've treated plenty of soldiers with PTSD. I know when someone's holding back details because they hurt and when they're holding back because it's not something they can reveal."
Logan gestured to Scott. "He's the guy. If he's holding back, it's because he's waitin' for me to finish lookin' into you to make sure he can open up without backlash."
Craig nodded at that. "It's a good thing he's got a friend like you."
"That's part of the problem," Logan said. "But once you hear more, you'll understand."
Craig nodded again as Scott finally decided he had enough of a hold of himself to join them. "Alright, Mr. Mueller," Craig said, "you've got a standing appointment every day at this time except Sundays. My sister and I go to church together Sunday mornings." He pointed at Scott. "But if I think you're slipping, I'll make an exception."
"I don't think it's necessary-"
"It is," Craig said.
Logan was doing a good job of keeping his expression under control as Scott did exactly what he knew he would as went quiet. "We'll make the arrangements," Logan said. "Don't be surprised if you get a rotation."
"I'd be happy to see it. Support systems matter," Craig told him honestly.
"C'mon, Slim," Logan said, dropping his hand on Scott's shoulder.
Scott let out a breath but knew he couldn't argue without making Craig more determined, somehow, so he headed out with Logan, still shaking his head to himself. "You knew he was related to Nate's teacher, didn't you?" he asked once they were in the car.
Logan stopped and turned his way. "Nate's teacher?" he frowned as he thought it over. "The one he's flunking history with?"
"Yeah, I told you about that stunt," Scott said, shaking his head.
"You didn't tell me what her name was," Logan pointed out.
"No, but you must have talked to Nate," Scott reasoned. "You were so convinced just from his name."
"I've got my reasons, and not a one of 'em has a thing to do with Nate."
Scott turned to face him fully. "Okay, tell me what you know."
"No," Logan said, shaking his head. "Figure it out yourself."
"You obviously trust that family," Scott said. "And I know what a high bar that is."
"So don't question it," Logan said.
"I just want to be sure this family is the same in this universe," Scott said.
Logan held up both hands. "I … will have K do the digging."
"Because Craig told you not to leave me alone," Scott said dully, his expression going blank as he turned toward the windshield again.
"Because K can get into their faces, and they won't know who she is," Logan said. "She can blend in anywhere and you know it."
"Fine."
"You rather she stuck with you and babied you while I ran it down?" Logan asked. "Because all I gotta do is tell her what he said …"
"No," Scott said, holding up a hand. "And you really don't need to spend all this time…"
Logan sighed. "Our Billy - the one with universes in his eyes - he's the most powerful being there is. He can drop us exactly when we left. It's not an issue, and since we don't really age, no one will notice if it's a few weeks or even longer."
Scott let out a breath. "I'm fine, Logan. I'll go along with this whole thing; you know I will. The kids need me to do it."
"And I'm telling you: he's not wrong," Logan said, shaking his head. "What's it gonna hurt to admit that you need a little help to get you back on your feet? Or would you rather lay it all on the kids?"
"No, of course I'm not going to do that to them," Scott said. "I just meant I can handle it so the kids won't have to worry."
"You can't do this alone," Logan told him.
"I thought that was the point of going to go see this guy."
"It is, but it's not just that, Scott." Logan shook his head. "Yeah, don't listen to me. That's okay. It's not like I've been locked up in a loony bin before to tell you what the story is."
Scott let his shoulders drop at that, and he scrubbed a hand over his face. "I'm just…" He sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, which wasn't something Logan was used to hearing from him.
"You got nothing to apologize to me for,' Logan said. "All I'm trying to tell you is that you're close to gettin' locked up if you don't do something stupid to yourself. You do not want to do that if you can avoid it. As much as you like a schedule, you don't want to be treated like an invalid, so just … do as this guy says and let your old team help."
Scott was quiet for a long time before he let out a loud, long breath. "I'm trying," he said at last.
"I know."
"I'm not ignoring you either. It's just… this is difficult for me," Scott clarified.
"I know," Logan said again. "You think I've ever been the guy to talk about my feelings? Come on, Scotty."
Scott smirked at that. "Fair enough," he agreed, falling silent for the rest of the drive home.
When they got back, Scott was already pretty worn out. It was exhausting just talking about all that he'd been trying to shoulder - and if he was being honest, he'd only given Craig Hale a peek into everything that had happened. He couldn't just … open up to someone like that. Not without knowing everything about him. So he was looking forward to seeing if this K was as proficient at digging up dirt as the K they'd lost so many years ago.
In a paranoid move Scott had missed seeing, Logan sent him in first as he decided to take a sweep around the neighborhood … just to check things over. Which left Scott both staring after him for a moment and trying to shake the realization of how much that Logan used to do that he'd taken for granted. So he was entirely off his game when he stepped into his house to find Toby grinning at K as if she'd brought him the answer to the meaning of life.
"How'd it go?" K asked as she got to her feet and headed over to pour up more coffee.
"It … was alright," Scott said as she slid the mug to him. "I'm going to need to talk to you privately about that."
"Just tell me when," she said with a nod, then tipped her chin toward Toby. "You forgot to cancel your coffee date." Scott looked over at Toby and shook his head as K continued on, already back to James with her mug in one hand. "But now that you're here, I'll just take my favorite boys to chat and leave you to … whatever it is you usually do."
"Thanks," Scott said on his way to the table, where Toby was grinning wider. "Have you been here long?"
"Just long enough to meet her," Toby said, gesturing toward K as she and James headed toward the living room with Billy on her opposite side. "Honestly, Scott, if I knew you had someone like that coming around, I wouldn't have kept trying to set you up."
Scott couldn't help the grin when he saw K stop cold and whirl around on her heel. Toby had no idea what he was bringing down on himself.
"It's clear the kids love her already, so when can I perform the wedding?" Toby asked with an unrestrained grin.
"What?" K said, though she'd only taken one step back toward them and was still halfway between the kitchen and the entry. She met Scott's highly amused grin and shook her head. "No." She shook her head, dipping her chin down almost to her chest as she stared between the two of them. "No … I … no." She took a few steps backward, nearly bumping into James, though as he reached out to avoid the collision, several things happened at once.
Scott broke out laughing, Toby looked as if he clearly had no idea what had just happened, and Logan came in with a crooked smirk on his face to look between the gathered group. He took one look at K and how she was clearly beyond words, tipped his head to the side, then looked toward Scott as he took a hold of her elbow. "What the hell'd you do to break her, Slim?"
Scott was still laughing as he shook his head. "Not my fault she has terrible taste!"
K narrowed her eyes and pointed at him again. "My tastes are just fine. I would break you." As Logan took K's coffee with one hand, he pulled her over to steal a kiss, just to get her to return to her usual sassiness - and it worked perfectly, as evidenced by the fact that as soon as the kiss had ended, she turned toward Scott with one finger pointed his way. "So far out of your league, hero."
Which Logan found hilarious. As did James and Billy. "I thought you were on board for buildin' his ego back up," Logan teased.
"That - no," K said, turning on Logan. "Too far." She went through a full body shiver as Scott laughed harder. "Ugh. You'd be worse than him with the kids thing."
"No," the older Billy said. "Stark would be worse."
K and Logan both turned toward him, though Logan was smirking as he pulled her closer. "You're really not funny, Harbinger," K said.
"He's just throwin' down a challenge, way I see it," Logan teased quietly. "We can prove 'im wrong."
"Just telling the truth," Billy said, his galaxies swirling brighter. "Small army of super geniuses."
"I can't decide if you're on his side or if you just want me to kick you," K said, which had the younger Billy laughing to himself.
"That's where you get the lack of fear, huh?" he laughed under his breath to James, who nodded with a muted 'mmhmm'.
Scott was still clearly in a good mood - something he'd sorely needed after that chat with Craig Hale - as he put a hand on Toby's shoulder. "Old friends," he explained.
"Uh-huh," Toby said, frowning as he looked between the newcomers. "Are you going to explain why I'm seeing double?" He had assumed some sort of familial relationship with the version of Billy that had silver in his hair, but the older version of James was too much to ignore.
"Different universe," Scott explained as casually as he would any other development in their lives. "Older Billy… and that…" He paused, his expression softening. "That is Wolverine and K."
Logan paused as he watched Toby for a moment, though K blew what little sneak he had at the first opportunity. "My beloved wants to know who your neighbor is," K said to Scott, half holding Logan back with one hand. "So talk fast if you don't want the third wheel."
At that, Logan gave her a dry look, then shooed her off with the boys so he could dive in with Scott and Toby - invited or not. "How close are you two?" Logan asked.
"We have coffee a couple times a week," Toby answered.
Logan turned to Scott for verification, and when Scott nodded, he turned back to Toby. "You up to helpin' him out?"
Toby leaned forward, already nodding. "What's the problem?" He knew there was more going on than a simple visit, seeing as Scott wasn't even fully healed yet from whatever had him looking so rough - but he'd been so tickled to see K that he hadn't gotten around to asking yet.
"He needs people watching out for him that won't believe the crappy 'fine' line that he's gonna pull when he's havin' a hard time." Logan crossed his arms. "Can you do that? Call him on his crap?"
"Why do you think I come over as often as I do?" Toby pointed out, though he was frowning hard. "What's changed, Scott?" he asked seriously, all trace of his earlier good mood gone.
Scott shrugged and let out a long sigh. "I dealt with the problem."
Logan frowned deeper at that, then reached over to poke him in a sore spot hard enough to get a good reaction. "With help, no plan, and by the skin of your teeth."
Scott glared at Logan before he shook his head and looked away again. "James dealt with the problem," he corrected himself.
"Yeah, that's not the part that's got me checkin' into your friends," Logan said. "It's the half-assed plotting you did ahead of time - with an even sloppier backup … that you never told when to be in place." He held Scott's gaze for a long while. "Your brother's lookin' for a place to stay nearby that'll give you a little breathin' room."
"My brother has more important things to do right now, considering the mess of things on that island right now," Scott said impatiently.
"Wanda has most things covered by the sound of it," Logan said. "Oughta be a public announcement soon. For now, though, Alex is runnin' interference with Lorna and still kickin' himself on why he didn't push to make sure you were set before this went down the way it did."
"Happened fast," Scott said, his gaze beyond both of the others at the table.
"Uh-huh," Logan said, nodding slowly. "You know … that'd work comin' from just about anyone on the planet but you. Your backups have backups, and everyone knows where they stand. Try again."
"It did," Scott said stubbornly. "I went in to give him one last chance, and he blew it, and I had to move. That's it."
Logan simply raised one eyebrow. "Fine. You need Warren, Betsy, or 'Ro to move in - or should I tell Alex the boys can bunk up to make room for him?"
"No one's moving in. God, Logan, who asked you anyway?" Scott snapped back.
"You're right. I'm free for a while," he said, stepping past him to get more coffee. "Billy can get us back whenever we need to go. No rush."
Scott leaned forward and rubbed his eyes before he glanced up at Toby. "Ignore him. He's a professional pain."
"Alright … but what's he saying that's wrong?" Toby asked. "You do always have backups and redundancies and extra options on everything. Why don't you tell me what happened? What really happened? And don't say you did already, because things changed after you went with the kids this spring. And it got worse after that military thing went down, too. And professional pain or not, it's pretty clear your friend is concerned for you. Concerned enough to come from another universe? That's not just because you forgot something."
"I like this one," Logan said, then turned toward the fridge with a line that would get Scott worked up. "How old do the kids gotta be to buy beer here?"
"Shut up, Logan. You know damn well you're not buying them beer," Scott said irritably, rubbing his eyes again before he met Toby's gaze and sighed. "It went sideways, alright? I didn't get a clean hit because I'm rusty, that's what happened. And the kids came to get me because Billy had me… I don't know. 'Magically wired in case of emergency' is strangely the only way to explain that."
"Smart kid," Toby said. "I guess that makes sense. No good way to practice for something like that."
But that had Logan laughing into the back of his hand. "Not without askin' for help, anyhow," Logan said. "Still have trouble believin' you'd lose a fair fight with Buckethead. Even blind," he added, which had Toby raising his eyebrows. "Never stopped you before."
Scott rolled his eyes. "Damn, Logan, is this how you treat the retired heroes in your universe? They must feel great about themselves."
"Nah, I'm takin' it easy on you," Logan said flatly. "Cause the ones that've retired haven't tried to take themselves out of the game like that."
Toby didn't say anything at first, but he did hold up one finger between himself and Scott as he gathered his thoughts. It took a good couple of minutes for him to decide on the right path to start, though Scott hadn't said a word to defend himself from what Logan had said.
He drew in a breath, then sighed, only to repeat the quick, audible motion. "Do you know what that would have done to those kids?" Toby said softly.
Scott sighed. "Toby…"
"Scott. Honestly. What do you think each of them would do? How would they react to that kind of news at this point in their lives?" He kept an open expression, trying to get Scott to get back into his usual habit of thinking a dozen steps ahead or more. "Start with Rachel."
"Toby, it didn't happen that way," Scott said almost gently.
"No, but you had to have considered how they'd take it if it had." Toby reached over to rest his hand on Scott's arm. "And you didn't have your million different brilliant strategies in place to prevent it. So … that made it a more likely possibility. So … Rachel." When Scott only locked his jaw down tighter, Toby let out a sigh. "Fine then. Let's go the other way. Nate."
Scott's lips were pressed into a thin line before he let out his breath and shook his head. "I left instructions-"
"That's not what I asked. That's admitting you had a plan for the worst on how to provide for them. But that doesn't tell me how they'd handle it," Toby said.
Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. "I swear," he said. "I swear I went in with every intention of coming back out. This is getting blown out of proportion."
"Except your brother didn't know about the first opportunity, right?" Toby said. "It's not blown out of proportion if I can't even get you to answer simply what your kids would do if you hadn't been able to make it out."
"I promised James I would, Toby," Scott said, and he'd meant to shout it, but it came out at a whisper. He let his shoulders drop. "I promised," he said again, still feeling like he'd failed on so many levels, not least of which being the one thing he'd done right since he lost his team - being a father.
"Yes, I'm sure you did," Toby said. "And I'm glad to hear that, but I'm not asking about him, and I'm not going to ask about the other two again either. Not when I can see you know what the answer is and it's worse to you than actually not coming back." He forced a small smile. "Let me help. Wherever I can. James is still showing up twice a week. Now at least I have a heads up on what we need to discuss, too." Then, he tried for a bit of levity. "Another shock, Scott? How long has Billy been coming over here?"
Scott shook his head and almost managed a smirk. "Guess it took a transdimensional visit to get him here," he joked, even though he'd heard Billy ask to come home and was prouder than he could say that Billy's home was with his family.
"See, you say things like that, but Scott, it's not normal," Toby teased. "I'm not even sure I know what that means."
"Welcome to the X-Men," Scott said dryly.
"So," Logan said, leaning on the counter. "You want in on the rotation to get him to therapy? Or do I need to make sure whoever's drivin' you has enough juice to make you go?"
"He'll go with me," Toby said calmly. "And of course, I'd be happy to join the rotation."
"I'd like to see that," Logan said with a nod. "I'll talk to the others before the next appointment."
While Logan and Scott were making practical arrangements for the near future and how to get Scott the backup he needed, K had decided after watching Billy be nervous for the last ten minutes that it was time to go get a drink from down the block. She made a point to give both of them a kiss on the cheek, then got to her feet. "I'll be back. Just going to get a little fresh air, watch the perimeter … you know how it is."
"Not yet, but I'm learning," James said, which earned a pleased but proud smile from her before she headed for the door.
"All the same, you two need a moment alone. Stay here; be adorable. I'll be back before you know it."
James watched her go but was still shell-shocked from the time they'd been spending with his other dimensional parents. But Billy had things that needed to be done, too.
"So," Billy said as he took James' hand and drew his attention back to him. "I need to go back home with Tommy. I don't know how long it will take, but I know that I can't - and don't want to - miss it." He looked anxious as he readjusted how he was seated with James, who very suddenly didn't look like he could quite look Billy in the eyes. The guilt was that easy to see.
James wanted to reply with something more reassuring than what he had to offer. The simple "I'm sorry" that had been said over and over just … it wasn't enough, and because James had been the one that had dealt the fatal blow, there was no way that James could have gone with Billy to pay his respects. It didn't matter how horribly he felt about it; it would ring hollow and only serve to hurt Billy and his family, as far as James was concerned.
The very real threat on James' life was inconsequential to him at that point in time, and the fact was that James honestly felt like he deserved it. In trying to preserve his father's life, he'd taken the patriarch of Billy's family.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," Billy promised. "I don't want to walk out on Mom or Aunt Lorna before they're okay, though."
James nodded his agreement and swallowed, staring at their hands before he ran his thumb across Billy's. "I'll just be here with Dad. And Logan and Mom." He finally looked up to meet Billy's gaze. "I wish there was something I could do…"
Billy reached up to rest his hand at the back of James' neck before he leaned toward him to rest their foreheads together. "Just try to remember that I don't blame you, okay? Neither does Mom or anyone else that matters."
"Well, I blame me," James said. "Does that mean that-"
Billy leaned forward the rest of the way to steal a kiss and stop him from finishing his sentence. "You know what I meant."
"Yeah," James breathed out before he pulled Billy over to wrap him up in a tight hug. "I'm still sorry for everything."
"And I'm still just glad you're alive."
"Love you too."