A/N - deep apologies, friends ... this one has been sitting there waiting for me to get off my ass and just put it up. Next chapter won't take a whole friggin' month for me to edit. Promise. to our friendly reviewers - you've both gotten messages from me. Please ... enjoy. Much love from me (CC) and robbiepoo2341.

Chapter 107- There's A Chill In The Air

Kate had been out with both of her parents for several days as they chased down a few different leads and turned over several corrupt leaves in SHIELD, so even after Nate had gone after Vojteck and gotten nowhere - the guy honestly didn't know who would be in charge of Hydra because so many Hydra lieutenants would have had a shot at filling the power vacuum with Viper and her kids out of the way - Nate had plenty of time to cool off before Kate got done.

He'd just been talking with a few kids in Westchester, giving a new tour, sneaking over to see little Angela and Warren chatting like they'd known each other for ages and playing board games. He'd never seen Warren melt so hard before. Nate was still shaking his head to himself over it when he got back to his room and realized Kate was in there as well.

She was in the bathroom, actually, just toweling off her hair, and she looked his way when she heard the door, smirked, and went back to what she was doing. Now that she'd showered, she had a few cuts that needed new bandages, and once she was done with that, he had already gotten close enough to steal a kiss.

"Tours going well?" she teased him lightly. "You've got that look; you're always in a good mood when you get to see the new kids lighting up when they get the tour."

Nate had to shake his head, because it was plainly apparent she was still in her work mode - hyper-observant and more muted in her emotional displays. She was always so much like Clint that he sometimes forgot Natasha trained her - until moments like this when she was still, even relaxed, halfway playing the part of a politely dangerous little Widow. "Yeah, and you're still thinking about SHIELD."

Kate bit her lip and forced her shoulders to relax a little more. "Yeah, well, we found an entire cell of Hydra sleepers on day one, so…" She spread her hands out. "Been doing a lot of digging. Yesterday was a little more fun, because Mom asked me to be the emotional one, and I got to rage a little about all the crap Hydra's put me through. This morning, though? Playing it cooler."

"Having a little trouble turning it off?" he teased and stole another kiss for good measure.

She laughed when the kiss broke. "Okay, maybe," she admitted. "I'm not as good as Mom is. I can't switch it on and off on a dime - but I'm getting better."

"No, no, it's kind of cute," he had to tease her - just for the huff and the shove at his shoulder he got out of it. "No, really! You're stuck in mission mode."

"I'll have you know I was making Hydra plants squirm-"

"And you loved every second of it, right?" Nate grinned.

"Oh, totally," Kate agreed, finally breaking into a grin that looked more like her. "Dad just started laughing after the first day and said he was just going to lock every SHIELD agent in a room with the two of us for their semiannual reviews and there would never be another Hydra plant."

"Like he's wrong."

Kate grinned wider and stole a kiss. "So, how about things on the home front?" she teased. "You're in an excellent mood."

"Oh, nothing major - just watching in real time as a little girl adopts Angel."

Kate laughed. "Not the other way around?"

"Oh, definitely the other way around; he's just way slower on the uptake than she is."

"Sounds adorable."

"It is," Nate said - and then went ahead and projected his memory of Angela following Warren around like a tiny duckling for most of the first full day she was in Westchester, sticking close to him and taking her cues from him as she got used to being in a strange new place.

Kate grinned wider.. "Awww, are all the old X-Men not-so-secretly gigantic marshmallows?"

"I mean, last I saw Remy, he and Leslie Ann's family were practically having an accent competition, so…"

"So yes is what you're saying to me."

"That and you missed the accent competition."

"Remy won, right?"

"It was close."

Kate laughed again. "See, this is what happens when I leave you guys alone for too long. Have all the fun without me."

At that, though, Nate had to grin and catch her by the waist before she could step around him. "You sure about that?" he teased her.

Kate looked him up and down with her bottom lip in her teeth, grinned a little wider, and then kissed him for an answer, already pushing him backwards several steps until he picked them both up and floated them back into the bedroom.

As much as Annie had been trying to spend time with Scott's family - knowing they needed as much support as they could get, even if they were doing wonderfully picking themselves back up and getting back to as close to normal as they could get - and as much as she loved being in Westchester and seeing the change that came over Scott when he stepped into his leadership role in the X-Men, she was also still a teacher, and she had finals to give.

And Scott completely understood, seeing as he'd grown up in a school and was teaching in Westchester, so she appreciated that. She'd dated guys who couldn't fathom why some parts of the semester were busier than others, so, yeah, finding a fellow teacher was great.

She hadn't told anyone yet, but she was considering her options going forward. She adored Scott's family, and she wanted to be there for them, but they were in trouble constantly. It was hard to maintain a balance between what increasingly felt like two different lives - the one she lived with Scott and the X-Men and the one where she was a history teacher at a public school. She was ready to take the next step with Scott, but she didn't think he was, so she didn't think she could just walk away from the school, but she had been seriously thinking about talking to Ororo…

But she didn't want to seem like she was pushing, either. And she knew that Scott was genuinely scared of having a family out in Westchester. Moving in over there might be a bit hard for him to wrap his head around.

But she wanted to.

She sighed, stopped chewing on the end of her pen, and tried to focus on the paper in front of her. Her head wasn't where it needed to be, and she felt bad. She really needed to take the summer, once it came, to think about whether staying on was even viable when she really just wanted to be with Scott and his kids. If there was a way she could teach in Salem Center - it didn't have to be the institute itself…

She looked up when she heard the door open, expecting a student, but she was surprised to instead see a face that was almost familiar. She hadn't actually met Emma Frost in person yet, but between Scott, James, and Craig, she was genuinely surprised she hadn't run into her yet. "Oh," Annie said and then looked back down at her paper. "I'm sorry; I'm in the middle of gradin' papers. If you want to set up a parent-teacher conference…" She couldn't help the dig; she still hadn't forgiven the woman for anything she'd done to her brother.

"Not something that's required," she said, then took a few more steps closer before she looked at one of the desks as if it was covered in filth. "I won't take much of your time."

Annie sighed and set down her pen. "I'm afraid if you're not a parent or a student-"

"What can you tell me about the academic history of Ephraim Williams. He's applied to a school I represent, and I'd like to get an impression from his teachers on what kind of student he is."

At that, Annie raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, more engaged for the sake of the football player, since he was one of her best students. "Can I see some identification and proof of your interest? I don't talk about my students to strangers as a rule."

She looked almost put upon as she opened her attache case and pulled out a file, complete with the boy's application and photo. Then, she rifled around until she found an official identification with the crest of the Massachusetts Academy. "Anything else?"

Annie looked over the documents, nodded, and handed them back. "Thank you," she said. "I know it's a lot of trouble, but I'm protective of my kids." With that, once Emma took back the papers, Annie smiled lightly. "He's a good kid, honestly. He's one of my best students, not afraid to ask questions, either. He's well-liked."

"So he's had no viable reason to reconsider his current path."

Annie frowned and shook her head lightly. "Not that I'm aware of, but I'm not surprised he's reaching out. He's talked a few times about wanting to try new things."

"Has he shown any particular interest in current civil rights issues?"

Annie nodded, treading carefully. "I know I don't have to tell you if you've seen the local news that we had an X-Man on our campus until recently. He's one of the few that have been supportive before the celebrity spotlight. He's outspoken when the topic comes up, but he doesn't cause trouble, either." She smiled. "Like I said, he's a good kid."

Emma nodded to herself. "He's applied for a scholarship as well," she said. "And he listed you as a teacher of note."

Annie smiled, genuinely pleased - she was always glad to hear that she was making a difference, and it was why she wasn't entirely sure she could leave her job. "I think he's worth it," Annie said honestly. "He has so much potential."

"There are … frankly, dozens of applicants with similar backgrounds. What would make him stand out?"

Annie blinked. She knew this was a standard interview - but for the applicant. Teachers were usually only asked to give an overview, a testimonial. But then, she'd never been listed for this particular academy. "Well," she said, "he'll work hard to live up to the chance you give him. Every time I've given him an opportunity to go just that little bit beyond, he takes it. He's ready to be challenged; he just needs the chance."

Emma hummed to herself. "Our school … is without peers. We do not participate in sports as we have higher interests for our student body. Do you think that he'd be able to handle the stresses of an academic setting?"

"Miss Frost, he's been able to handle the stresses of an academic setting and a football career. I'm sure he's aware that your school doesn't have sports, or he wouldn't have applied."

Emma laughed at that. "Wonderful sense of humor, but I meant real academics. Not .. public school."

Annie's smile was still there, but it no longer reached her eyes. "Cute. But, Miss Frost, don't go bandyin' about your academic record when you don't have to get accredited with anythin' but a checkbook."

"And what are your credentials, Miss …" she checked the paperwork. "Ah. Hale. Of course. What high brow academics have you managed to achieve?"

"This interview isn't about me, but if you must know, I've been a teacher for ten years since graduating Duke."

"Charming." Emma gave Annie another once over. "Well. Thank you for your time, regardless."

Annie smiled tightly. "Alright, sweetheart. Thanks for droppin' in."

"Yes, it was a waste of time, but lovely all the same."

Annie narrowed her eyes. "I see," she said softly. "Well, don't let the door hit ya on the way out. Hate to see a woman of your age get hurt."

"All the charm of a backwoods girl."

"Thanks, honey, but I already know it," Annie said dismissively as she went back to grading her papers.

After classes were done for the day, Mia had texted Tommy - and the next thing she knew, she'd been swept away to Genosha for the weekend. Not that she was going to complain about it. As far as she was concerned, that was the best possible way to spend a Friday night anyway.

The funniest part, too, was that Tommy was technically becoming Storm's "official" liaison with Genosha. He wasn't the crown prince, but he was still a dignitary by birth, and that on top of all the spying he'd done for Storm meant he was kinda-sorta keeping an eye on things and making sure Genosha stayed as open and welcoming as Wanda had made it.

So technically, Tommy was doing his job running back to Genosha all the time. And technically, Mia had been looking at colleges there, too. She was only two years younger than Kate, so she'd be doing her college applications in a year. And Genosha's one and only university had Vision heading up the engineering and robotics courses that she wanted to take. Kinda hard to turn down.

So technically, they had good reason to be going to Genosha all the time - and not just so they could get some privacy and alone time.

But they were mostly going for the privacy and alone time.

And really, Mia loved it there. They always opened the windows right before they went to sleep, so that the ocean breeze and sunlight woke them up, and Mia loved to sit right where the light hit the bed and soak in it for a good, long time. She didn't actually get out of bed now she was awake, but there was something warm and comforting about being so close to the ocean.

Mia didn't know how to explain it to anyone but her mother, but ever since James had pointed out the lightning in her eyes when she got mad, she'd been paying more attention to how the forces of nature around her made her feel. She couldn't create her own weather or anything - though her dad was pretty sure she'd be able to when she got older - but being so close to the ocean, another force of the earth itself, she could almost reach for that power. It crackled inside her, and she loved the thrill of it.

And she liked being in the tower, too, away from everyone else. She'd spent her whole life - as far back as she could remember - being part of a larger whole. She could vaguely remember life with the Avengers, playing with Kate and letting Hank read her bedtime stories. And from then on, she'd been at the school, sharing her mom with the students and never being allowed to leave for fear of someone taking offense to her mutation.

She hadn't realized how much she liked being alone until she got to be alone with Tommy. And then… she loved it. And Tommy, for his part, was thrilled to bits that she liked to get away from everything, too. The truth was that he wore himself out running everywhere. Time moved differently for him, so he always felt like he'd lived three days in the time it took everyone else to live one - and when he fell asleep, he stayed asleep.

So, yeah, staying in bed most of the morning and soaking in the ocean and sun was good for both of them. And fooling around all the time without worrying about getting caught? Also good.

It wasn't that Wanda didn't know what they were doing. Or Vision, for that matter. But it was different when they weren't in an entire mansion full of teenagers looking for drama.

Mia turned toward Tommy, who was still asleep. He'd woken up a bit when she had started to move, but when she hadn't gotten up, he'd gone back to sleep - and she thought it was ridiculously cute that he'd managed to snuggle tighter as soon as he was unconscious.

This was shaping up to be a great weekend.

When Annie arrived in Westchester that weekend, she was still upset - and it showed. She didn't even greet anyone on her way past, and she wasn't headed to Scott's office, either.

"What are your admissions criteria?" she asked Ororo as soon as she tracked her down.

Ororo looked up at her in surprise. "I thought you already knew that," she said. "We simply look for children in need - usually mutants, though we've taken in inhumans, aliens, mutates … why?"

"Because one of the sweetest football players I know - aside from Nate, obviously - came to me just about in tears today because that witch of a woman in the Massachusetts Snob School rejected him. He put me as a reference, she showed up in my classroom with her damn Yankee elitism and turned him down because of spite."

"What's his name? Has he applied here already?"

"I don't know if he's applied - if he has, his first name is Ephraim, but he goes by Tim - that's his middle name. Parents are strict, though, so he'll use that for official things." Annie ran a hand through her hair. "It's not fair to him to lose something like this on my account…"

"That doesn't ring a bell, though we've had a surge of applications since those idiotic scanners started showing up in schools." Ororo, started toward her office. "Help me look - do you know what his power set is?"

Annie shook her head. "I never press if they don't want to tell me," she said. "I know the accent doesn't help convince people I'm not racist, so I let 'em figure it out on their own that they can trust me."

"But you said he was on the football team?" Ororo said. "I'm sure Nate will know." As they got to the office, Ororo explained. "We try to pair up the right person to talk to them - often based on the powerset, simply so they can get an idea that they're not alone."

Annie nodded. "I remember - when Leslie Ann first got here. She still thinks the world of you, you know."

Ororo smiled as she thought it through. "I think I know who'd be perfect to talk to him." She smiled wider. "Power set won't matter one bit." She started to walk again, this time toward the Danger Room with Annie along side her. "It's part of the job, after all - and you might enjoy sending Nate on a mission, hmm?"

Annie couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not really part of the team, Ororo. I don't think it counts."

"You need to do this to see the look on his face," Ororo insisted. "Not to mention the look on Scott's face. Come on, it'll be fun."

Annie laughed again. "Oh, I knew I liked you for a reason," she said as they both walked the slightest bit faster.

When they got to the Danger Room, a team practice was still in session, so she and Ororo headed up to the observation booth, where Scott was fiddling with some of the controls and watching the group as a whole react. He'd noticed that Billy had a habit of leaning on James and America in a fight, especially without powers, so he was directing the sim so that each of the kids had to manage on their own until one of them could find the dampener.

Ororo had no trouble screwing with Scott's concentration, too. "It's like watching their parents all over again, isn't it?"

Scott smirked but didn't look her way. "Remember when Logan would run things like this just to remind us all how bad we were at hand to hand?"

"Vividly. How's his mini-me handling it?" Ororo laughed as she led Annie closer to the window to watch.

"He and Kate have decided it's a game. They're handling their fights fine. Enjoying it. They aren't even trying to look for the dampener."

"Time to push them, then," Ororo said.

"Yeah, got a wave coming Kate's direction that should pull James's attention too." He looked up and seemed to suddenly realize Annie was there. "Oh, hey," he said, smiling as he got to his feet to steal a kiss - then get right back to what he was doing.

Annie couldn't help but smile seeing him in work mode. "Hey yourself. I see Nate stole someone's gun again."

"America dared him. She's tired of being the only one looking for the dampener," Scott said, smirking as he flicked a few more switches. "Problem is, once they start teasing like this…" With that, the sim shifted, and several uniformed men seemed to swarm the scene. "...they're never prepared."

"Seriously?" Kate said as she picked herself up - having taken a hard hit right off the bat, since the swarm started close to her position. When James started to laugh, she stuck her tongue out at him - even if she knew he was just laughing because he was glad for the shift.

"They're SHIELD agents - see how many you can knock out," James shouted. "It's fun." Then he had to push it. "Bet you can beat America when she's out of her powerset!"

Kate smirked - though she hadn't yet gotten to her feet, so she wasn't entirely prepared to get picked up off her feet. In the control booth, Scott held his breath, knowing it was a risky move. He could see her eyes go wide and knew she had started to panic - but to her immense credit, she didn't give in to the panic and fought back well. Scott just hadn't programmed the sim to let her win - he needed the ones with any confidence in their fighting skills out of the scenario and he wanted to see how Kate and James would react to getting swarmed in the first place.

All things considered, Kate was doing relatively well. Scott could plainly see that she was having a panic attack, but she was handling herself without freezing up, and that was progress. He'd apologize to her after the sim, but really, she was making up a lot of ground.

James, on the other hand, had turned into his mother as soon as he was swarmed - and especially after he'd seen the look on Kate's face when someone picked her up. Where Logan would lose his temper and pull out the claws, K had always been precise, going right for the quick kill or the quick disarmament. All with a snarl rippling underneath.

As Scott had expected, between Kate's panic and James's snarl, the others on the team stepped up their game, finally putting into practice what Scott had known the whole time that they were capable of. So when the sim finally died down, Scott went down to join the team.

"I need you guys to learn how to pick up each other's slack if someone is injured or incapacitated. Your heavy hitters aren't always going to be able to hit as hard; I need you to be able to fill each other's roles in a pinch," Scott said. "Dampeners and collars aren't new. You've got to take self-defense more seriously."

Nate had made his way over to Kate as soon as the sim had died and had to tease her. Look at you, heavy hitter. Are you alright?

Yeah, she said, though she had one hand against the wall as she caught her breath. Working on it, anyway.

Anything I can do to help?

Kate shook her head. Just getting my body to stop going into 'we're gonna die' mode. Give it a minute to chill.

As Nate and Kate chatted, Scott turned their way. "Sorry about the ambush, Kate. For what it's worth, you're handling it better."

Kate waved at him with one hand. "I know, I know. Actively working on being less jumpy."

"That's what I said," Scott said, one eyebrow raised, before he turned to the others. "That last ten minutes? That was what this team's capable of. You did good. Hit the showers," he said, cracking a smirk as the kids left, checking up on each other and teasing as always.

"Nate, wait!" Annie called out before he could disappear with Kate. "I need to steal you, actually." When Nate and Kate shared a look and came to a stop, Annie tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'd like you to go give the recruitment pitch to Tim."

"Oh. Yeah, okay. Is he having trouble?" Nate asked, frowning and not looking surprised at all. "How did you find out?"

"He applied to the Massachusetts Academy."

"Eeew. Why?"

"I don't know," Annie admitted. "But he was crushed when they rejected him."

"Okay, yeah, I'll talk to him," Nate promised.

"Thank you," Annie said softly. "I really owe this to him. I'm half convinced he got turned down because Emma saw 'Hale' on his recommended teachers list."

"Then we need to celebrate with ice cream for how you saved him," Nate argued. "The way Dad and James frame it, going to her school is like a one way ticket to indentured servitude."

"He's not wrong," Scott said, reaching out to grab Annie's hand.

"Yes, well, you should have seen the look on her-"

"Wait." Scott turned to frown at her. "She came to you?"

Annie bit her lip. "Yes, well … I would have said something sooner, but it's been so busy, and she had a legitimate reason-"

"No." Scott shook his head. "That was her excuse to come looking." He frowned and looked Nate's way. "Looking into my son's football team. Didn't you say she was snooping around after Kate's identity broke?" he asked Nate.

"Yeah, she was," Nate agreed. "But I blocked her from me."

Scott narrowed his eyes. "Alright. Take Kitty with you when you go talk to Tim. I have full faith in your abilities, but just to be safe."

"Oh… okay then," Nate said, frowning at his father. "Is that because taking one of my siblings would end up with her dead, because I'm not opposed …"

"Neither of them needs that right now, and we both know it. Kitty always knew how to stand up to Emma. You'll be fine."

"Okay, but that's not a no," Nate teased.

"Don't you have a mission assignment from Annie?" Scott teased right back.

"Oh. It's like that. Should I take a shower first, or do you think stinky ex-teammate is the path to take?" Nate held both arms out with a grin. "Uniform? Letter Jacket? Both? Nothing? I need better direction here, Dad."

Scott smirked and turned Annie's way. "It's your op," he told her, and she gaped at him before she laughed and hit him with the back of her hand.

"Shower first," she said through her laughter. "And my suggestion? Go in uniform. He already knows you, and to see you in the uniform inviting him to the school… You know he needs the boost sometimes."

Nate grinned and pointed at his father with both hands. "You heard the lady. I think I can ditch the mask all together if this goes well."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Scott said dryly.

By that time, Nate was in high spirits and jogging backward. "Sure, sure."

Nate was quick to change, and just as fast to reach out to Kitty. The two of them headed out in uniform as this was less a social call and more an official offer for the school … of course, Nate was the perfect bait, too, and Kitty was both excited for him to be able to tell someone and ready to tear into Emma should she show her face.

"You're totally taking the lead on this one," Kitty said. "I'm just going to hang back and be the back up. Keep an eye out for Emma for you."

"Perfect," Nate said, taking just a second to adjust his mask - that he planned to take off once he got a moment to talk to the guy. "We'll be back soon, I'm sure."

The two of them had silently landed a block over, then Nate had masked his presence from everyone near by so he could go up to the house stealthily. But that made it feel entirely awkward when he knocked on the door and cleared his throat, waiting for someone to show up with literature from Ororo in his free hand.

Of course, he'd been keeping an ear out for telepathic interference, all things considered - and it took him no time at all to pinpoint Emma … two blocks down in the back of a black car. "Oh, that's real original," he muttered under his breath, then straightened up and reinforced his psychic camouflage- just in case. With a second to consider it, Nate decided it would be best to simply freeze Emma in place until they were gone. So he did, smirking to himself as he did so.

Just then, the door opened, and Tim gaped for a second before he broke into a grin and stepped back, waving them in. "I knew it," he said before the door was all the way closed.

"If you did, it wasn't until after the fact," Nate said, though he was smiling too as he took his mask off. "Heard you had an encounter with a snooty second rate school. What's up with that?"

"You know how it is, gotta put applications out there," Tim said.

"Yeah, but Massachusetts? They have a general lackluster in most of the schools that way, as I hear it," Nate had to tease, all things considered. "My brother just washed his hands of a school out in Massachusetts."

"Kinda where I'm at, though - powers-wise, I mean," Tim pointed out.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nate asked with a frown. "You don't need to be crazy powered up to go to Xavier's."

"My folks didn't even know I had powers until we went college hunting with my brother and I set off an alarm I couldn't find a way not to walk through."

"Oh, man, yeah … I know my brother is working on disruptors for that kind of thing, but … there are better options than supporting places that go that way." He smiled crookedly. "You've only got a year left, right?"

"Yeah, but I'll be eighteen halfway through, so my folks said I need a place that boards," Tim said.

"I know for a fact you can go to Xavier's for your senior year, and they carry scholarships for colleges, too."

Tim's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, for real? I didn't even apply there."

"Most people don't have to apply there, but … a little bird told me you got shut down by Massachusetts Academy."

"Yeah," Tim said tightly.

"No big loss, man," Nate promised. "Really. I know a few people that would rant against them pretty harshly."

"Well, yeah, nothing compares to where the X-Men train, right?" Tim said with a crooked smirk.

Nate grinned. "I am entirely biased, and … I went there for a while, too. Only draw back is that they don't have anyone to play ball with - but now and again, the teachers and the team will play a fun game with the kids that want in." His smile widened. "Football is hilarious with powers added in."

"Oh, man, I bet," Tim said, grinning.

Kitty cleared her throat, hating to interject. "So this is the part where I have to officially cover what Nate's missed so far," she said. "Like … are you in any danger where you are now?"

"No," Tim promised quickly. "No, my family's actually been pretty cool, relatively speaking. I mean, they're not super thrilled, but Dad put his foot down, said they're not cutting me off or anything, I promise."

"If you want to wait for the fall - or late summer, that's fine," Kitty said. "But I'm going to insist on leaving you with a way to get in touch if you need help before then."

"And you totally need to get a tour first, so …"

"Um, yeah," Tim said. "I need the tour yesterday, man."

"Soonest we can offer is today - but that might rile up the family, so …" Kitty shrugged. "You tell us what works for you and we'll make sure you can get there and back safely."

Tim looked like he couldn't stop grinning. "You're on."

"Great," Kitty said, then took her panic button out of her pocket. "Keep this on you at all times. If you have an emergency, we'll come get you. Otherwise …" she handed him a crisp white business card. "Call. Any time, day or night. Whoever answers will direct you to someone that can do a tour."

"And, if you think your parents might give you flack, I can swing by in the letterman jacket and jeans instead," Nate offered.

"I'll let you know," Tim promised. "Thanks, seriously. Highlight of the semester."

Nate laughed, but was smiling all the same. "I don't know … what about that cheerleader that was chasing you around?"

"The one with the-"

"And that's enough of that," Kitty said, rolling her eyes as she pulled on Nate's arm. "Nice to meet you, Tim. See you soon!"

Annie barely made it to church on time and slid into her seat next to her brother, who gave her a crooked smirk, knowing exactly why she was late. It was getting harder and harder to hide the fact that she was spending as much time with Scott and his family as she could, and she was taking papers and tests with her everywhere to get in some grading where she could.

"You know you're going to need to talk to him ab-"

"Craig, we're 'bout to listen to a preacher; don't take his thunder with a sermon of your own," Annie said, and he burst into a laugh behind his hand.

Still, Craig couldn't help but smile the whole time, because his little sister was the happiest he'd seen her in a long time. Even though she was barely staying afloat with her job, she wanted to be spending her time where she was. She was head over heels not only for Scott but his whole family.

If Craig was honest with himself, the only reason he hadn't confronted Scott about keeping his sister in suspense was that he was his therapist, and the lines of propriety were different there. Normally, he wouldn't have kept Scott as a client once he and Annie started dating, but again, this was a different case - and he knew how hard it was for them to find a therapist they could trust.

Still, once church was over, Craig pulled his sister aside and put his arm around her shoulders, laughing when she playfully pushed him away. "Do I need to start having intentions talks?" he teased.

Annie rolled her eyes at him. "You know good and well where we both stand. Truth be told, this is the most involved you've been in any relationship of mine, and you know it."

Craig chuckled. "I still feel like I should be doing more to put the fear of God in him or something."

"That's not my problem," Annie said. "Besides, your job is the opposite, isn't it?"

"Something like that," Craig said, though he dropped his teasing tone for a little brotherly advice. "Really, Annie. You need to sit down and figure it out before too long. You can't keep going back and forth like this or you'll burn out."

"I know," Annie said, finally letting some of how tired she was show. "Believe me; I do. I've been meaning to talk to him for a while, it's just-"

"Yeah, trust me. I know. Hard to get any of 'em to focus on little things like living when their every day is something out of the news reels."

Annie nodded. "Don't worry about trying to act all protective. Anton's already promised to give him the 'if you hurt her' speech if we get around to getting engaged."

"If?" Craig repeated.

"Craig, this may be news to you, but I'm dating a widower with abandonment issues."

Craig grinned wider. "News to me."

"You're ridiculous," Annie said, sticking her tongue out at him as they walked toward their cars. She was parked farther out in the lot because she was late, so he was walking her out; that was how they'd been raised.

"It's just fun to see you smiling more," Craig said.

"Turns you into the obnoxious kid you were when we were growin' up," Annie teased him.

"Can't help that."

"I know." She gave him a hug as they got to her car. "Love you too."

"Ugh. No wonder the Hellfire Club sent me to break up this moment. It's sickly," said a new voice, and both Hales spun to see a woman in a golden mask leaning against the car next to Annie's. When she saw Craig immediately stand in front of Annie, she laughed. "Oh, don't bother. I'd just as soon not waste my time with a petty skirmish." With that, she hit a button on the keys she was playing with between her fingers, and the locks on the car she was leaning on audibly unlocked. "Let's go for a drive, Annette."

"Pass," Annie said, her eyes narrowed and her hands in fists.

The woman did a full-body sigh as she practically slid off of the car - and then rushed the two of them, switching from lazy to deadly in a second.

She'd obviously meant to try to take Craig out fast and then move on, but she hadn't counted on him actually knowing how to fight. Craig had been raised by an Army veteran with PTSD; he had graduated high school knowing dirty tricks and had been on the wrestling team. He also knew how to disarm an opponent. So, when the woman rushed him, he grabbed her wrist, and slammed her against the car.

The woman laughed. "So you're not just a pretty face," she said. She didn't sound excited, the way Scott had told Craig Viper was when she found a good opponent. She just sounded surprised - and glad to be surprised. She threw her head back, and Craig had to step back to avoid a broken nose. That gave her enough space that she could yank herself free of his grip, and she made a grab for her side-

"It's not there," Annie said, and the woman turned her way to see that Annie had her gun in her hands. "Get out of here before I decide to put this to better use than you would've."

The woman looked between Annie and Craig and made a decision all at once. Instead of putting her hands up or backing away or anything anyone reasonable would do, she kicked Craig right between the legs and grabbed his shoulder, putting him between her and Annie while he was reeling too hard to stop her. "That was a neat trick, I'll admit it," the woman said. "But I don't think you understand the situation here. No one turns down an invitation from the Hellfire Club, especially a hand-delivered one." She reached around behind her for a small pistol that fit into the palm of her hand and held it against Craig's ear. "Drop the gun, get in the car, and I don't mess up your brother's handsome face. Keep playing games, and I'll make it non-lethal so you can watch him do nothing but drool for the rest of his life. Do we understand each other?"

Annie swore under her breath but dropped the gun all the same. "Now let him go."

"Get in the car, and I will," the woman replied.

"Fine." Annie's hands were shaking, and Craig could see that she was almost holding her breath. He knew she was trying not to panic and make him feel any worse, but he knew this was bad. And once she was in the car, the masked woman hit Craig hard enough that he was seeing stars long after he heard the car peel out.

"Damnit," Craig said, dragging himself to his feet once he could see again and then digging in his pocket for his phone. "Scott, someone attacked me and Annie at our church," he said in lieu of any pleasantries.

"Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm still in the parking lot," Craig said. "Annie's gone - they drove off!"

There was a loaded silence on the other end of the line as it occurred to Craig suddenly that he could have called someone else for help - preferably someone who wasn't his client and who wasn't half scared to death that being back on the team was going to get everyone he loved killed. But, well, the damage was done, and his instinct had been to call Scott, so… there it was.

Finally, Scott said, "I'm going to have Billy wish you here. We'll get her back, Craig. I swear."

Craig nodded, though Scott couldn't see it. "Yeah, I know," he said - and a few seconds later, he found himself standing in the kitchen at Scott's house, where Rachel and America were in the living room beyond the kitchen chatting with Kate, while the boys were still finishing a late breakfast.

As he was taking in where he was, exactly, James reached up to hand him a cup of coffee while Scott started to direct traffic.

"Tell me what happened," Scott said. "How is she - if Rachel reaches out, will she be conscious enough to show us where she is?"

Craig held up his hands. "I don't know. Last I saw her, she got in the back of a masked woman's car so I wouldn't get shot in the head." He was starting to feel like his fingers were numb; he knew that was a sign of shock, but it was wild experiencing it himself.

"Masked woman, that was on your bingo card," James whispered to Nate. "We should get some shoes on so Billy can switch us with Miss Hale."

"What, you don't think I can deal with the problem in my shorts and bare feet?" Nate teased back.

"Sure, but who knows what you'd be stepping in," James said. "You're more delicate and you want to kick things, right?"

Nate snickered, though not loudly enough to miss it when Craig told the rest of the group about their encounter - and what the woman had said about an invitation from the Hellfire Club.

Scott groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Emma," he said.

"We're done with breakfast," Nate said, belatedly pushing his plate aside. "We can go."

"Ten minutes, that's all we want," James agreed.

"I'm not sending either of you to the Hellfire Club," Scott said.

"Technically, it'd be Billy…" James said.

"Why not?" Nate asked. "We can handle it."

"Because they actually do have heavy hitters," Scott said. "And Billy can just wish Annie back home."

"Yeah, but … come on," Nate said. "You stopped James from beating up SHIELD and between the two of us, we wrecked Madripoor … come on."

"Nate…"

"I'm okay with losing my grip for a little bit," James said. "It's warranted."

"James, no," Scott said, shaking his head before he turned toward Billy. "Bring her home, please."

"Will do," Billy said, smiling to himself as he took James' hand and wished Annie there.

It took Annie a second to realize where she was, and when she did, she threw her arms around Scott's neck - and he hugged her tightly to him, knowing she must have been terrified. "In the church parking lot!" she said, somehow managing to sound scandalized despite the fact that her voice was shaking - which at least had Kate trying hard not to laugh at Annie's priorities.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked, trying to see if she was hurt without letting up on the hug, though that wasn't working too well.

Annie nodded, holding on tighter. "Madder'n anything," she admitted. "We didn't get wherever she thought she was drivin' me, and she wasn't much for conversation once we left." She took a deep breath that shook, so Scott picked her up to move her to the couch so she could crumble like she was obviously threatening to do.

Scott kept one hand in her hair and held her until she got her breath back, and then, he said, "No one - no one - is going to hurt you if I can help it, alright?"

Annie nodded. "Thanks for the quick rescue," she said, obviously trying to rally, especially with an audience.

"You should grab some breakfast and take a load off," Billy suggested.

"Maybe I will," Annie agreed, though she didn't move from where she was with Scott.

"Everyone on the team has a panic button that the Avengers gave us when we first started out," Kate said - and tossed Annie hers. "I'll get a new one from Tony."

James took his out of his pocket and threw it to Kate. "I'll make a new one. Tony's doing … Tony things."

"Tony's always doing Tony things," Kate pointed out with a smirk.

"Yeah, but he's stressed," James said. "And insulted over the school nonsense. He'll get over it, but still."

"That's okay. I'll tell him I got my GED yesterday and he can throw me a party like the over-the-top godfather he is," Kate laughed.

"There ya go," James agreed. "Give him something good."

Kate grinned. "Exactly." She got up from the couch and threw a smile Annie's way. "Personal experience from getting Hydra-napped since literally age three - snuggles, comfort food, and privacy. So I'm taking everyone elsewhere."

"Yeah, we're leaving, too," James said as he and Billy got themselves together.

"Other things to do," Billy agreed. "Come on, Doc. We'll get you coffee before you go home."

"Always," Kate teased - as the kids all slipped out.

Once everyone was gone, Scott could feel Annie relax into him, crumbling once more now that no one was around to see how shaken she was. So, he pulled her tight and let her set the pace. She'd never been through something like that before; he didn't know what she needed, but he would jump to get whatever she asked for in a heartbeat.

Annie didn't fall apart for too long, though, before she looked up at him, still crying, and said, "Everyone seems to take it in their stride. I'm sorry I'm so…" She took a breath that hitched.

"Hey, no," Scott said quickly. "The first time is the hardest for everyone. It's … it's a shock. You know what can happen, but when it does happen…" He trailed off, knowing there weren't actually words for that feeling.

Thankfully, Annie understood what he meant to say without needing it spelled out, and she held onto him tighter. "I just feel so silly," she said. "Everyone here can joke about it-"

"You can't use us as a measuring stick," Scott said, shaking his head and barely containing his laugh, if only because he didn't want Annie to think he was laughing at her. "Every single one of those kids saw some kind of trauma before they were old enough to drive. They grew up knowing that, at any second, they might lose someone they loved - or be found out by a school nurse, like my kids were. You haven't had trauma drilled into you since you were a kid; you're allowed to react to an attempted kidnapping like a normal person."

Annie met Scott's gaze, wiped her eyes, and broke into a soft laugh. "I love when you get eloquent like that," she teased him lightly.

He laughed. "Seriously?"

"You always do it when you're defending your family, too, so it's nice," Annie continued, smiling crookedly, "to hear how much you love me."

Scott shook his head, unable to stop his smile as he leaned down and stole a kiss. "I thought that was obvious."

"It is. I just like it when you say it," Annie pointed out, her smile getting wider with every word.

Scott smiled to match her and then pulled her into a longer, much more involved kiss. "Love you, Annie," he said when the kiss broke - and then kissed her all over again.

When Mia and Tommy got back home on Sunday night, they thought they had gotten away with their plans scot-free. They were in excellent moods and were already back to stealing kisses as soon as Tommy ran them into Mia's room.

…but they weren't exactly alone.

"Mia," Forge said - and Mia nearly came out of her skin, her tail straight up as she jumped away from Tommy, blushing a brilliant purple.

"Dad!" Mia gulped, blinked, and then saw that Storm was there, too, just sitting on Mia's bed with one eyebrow raised. "Mom! Hi! I'm back home!"

"I can see that," Ororo said, and her tone already had Tommy holding his hands up and backing away.

"I . . . am just gonna go sleep. In my room. So I can get up early and study. Obviously."

Before Tommy could back his way to the window, though, Storm raised a hand, and the window slammed shut in a gust of wind. "No," she said, "I think you should stay."

Mia was bouncing on her toes as she looked between her parents and Tommy. "Mom, I thought you liked Tommy…"

"I do, but that doesn't mean I'm alright with the two of you disappearing for the weekend, Mia," Ororo said with a flash of lightning in her eyes. "I thought that Tommy would be more responsible seeing as his brother just went through a whole fiasco of keeping distance while he was underage."

Tommy buzzed his lips. "No one cares what I do. I'm not ever gonna be king."

"Just because Billy is the crown prince does not mean that whatever Tommy does is off the table," Forge pointed out, keeping his gaze on Mia. "I know you love him, but you're moving too fast."

"Dad," Mia said cajolingly, "it's no big deal, really."

"Oh?" Ororo didn't say anything. Instead, she took out her phone and handed it to Mia, with a news website already pulled up showing pictures of the two of them locked in a passionate kiss on a Genoshan beach. The headline - and it was on the front page, no less - read:

The Prince and the 'Porter: Prince Thomas Spotted in Steamy Vacation with Nightcrawler

"Okay, points for creative title skills," Tommy tried to joke, though he was just as interested in the article as Mia was.

The article started out exactly the way the two of them had expected it to, slavering over the fact that they were out in the open with their relationship and being so overtly sexual, even if they'd obviously thought they were alone. But from there, it went on to talk not just about Tommy's heritage but Mia's.

Having recently surfaced with the newly formed X-Men, the new Nightcrawler is the daughter of the late Kurt Wagner, who used the same codename when he was in the original X-Men. Famed for sacrificing himself to save the world from the Phoenix, Nightcrawler left a legacy one can only imagine would be daunting to fill. Still, if old rumors are to be believed about his reputation with the ladies, Nightcrawler's namesake seems to be filling his shoes in at least that regard.

Mia's eyes were wide as she kept reading. The article had a link to another, similar, report at the bottom, and she clicked on that one, too, hungrily reading through it all. She'd known that the world knew about what her father had done, and she was, vaguely, aware that he was most famous for his death. But article after article had nothing but praise for him, for his heroics, for his sacrifice.

It wasn't exactly the message Ororo and Forge had been trying to send her, but she couldn't help it. She was so used to her friends having to deal with the burdens of their legacies, with Rachel and the Phoenix and James and the weapons groups. But here was her legacy to live up to, in black and white, paraded around like a savior.

It was nice, actually. It was really, really nice to read article after article that heaped praise on her father and that heaped praise on her. Some of them were already talking about how she was living up to his name, even including testimonials from mutants she had saved.

It was flattering, to say the least.

And then, finally, when she broke out of her shock and pleasure, she could start to see what had her parents so upset. Tommy was eighteen, and she was still sixteen - and that had been a huge problem for Billy and James just months ago. Not to mention the fact that the press was already talking about him as if he was only good for celebrity gossip and not much else.

She didn't want him to be reduced to that.

When she glanced up to see that both of her parents were watching her, she let out a long sigh, letting her tail drop along with her shoulders. "Okay, so, um… I didn't know about the spotlight. I didn't know anybody… cared." She was trying to word it better, but she couldn't find a way to say it that didn't sound like she was getting down on herself.

But it was also the truth. She'd spent her life having to hide who she was, only getting to be true to herself when she was in the confines of her own home - and even then, only when she couldn't be seen by anyone who might be looking for a reason to deem the school dangerous. She'd only been able to be herself in Wakanda and, more recently, Genosha. She'd finally found somewhere she didn't have to second-guess every move she made… and now she had to second-guess every move she made in a different aspect of her life.

Still, the look on her face was enough to get both of her parents to ease up - at least a little bit. She was still in trouble, but Ororo let out a breath and pulled her into a gentle hug. "The world is seeing you for the first time, Mia - and they love you already. As they should. Now, you have that burden to bear."

"Don't worry," Tommy spoke up. When Mia and her parents turned to look at him, he shrugged with his hands in his back pockets. "Hey, I'm not an idiot. I know better than to screw up a good thing. Even the press likes Mia - because she's a goddess - and I'm not going to mess that up for her. We'll be more careful, promise." He put one hand on his heart, paused, and couldn't help but add, "And I'm not just saying that because I know she'd hate if we had to date behind your back, but that's a really, really big motivation."

"Then let me remind you of another really big motivation," Ororo said, once again trying to keep her temper in check. "You will not be slipping away for weekends in Genosha or anywhere else while you're underage - at least. I'll be speaking to Wanda more thoroughly after she's had time to decide how to handle you, Tommy. And liaison or not, there is little I take as seriously as my daughter's best interests. See that you remain on the good side of that."

Tommy straightened up - especially when he noticed that there were storm clouds on the other side of Mia's window rumbling a threatening warning. "Got it, yeah. Do we have to call my mom…?"

"We already spoke, she's waiting to hear back on how this went before she finds a way to contact you appropriately." Ororo raised an eyebrow. "Especially since she seems to have been under the impression that I was aware of what you were doing before hand."

"I didn't tell her anything like that," he said.

"I didn't say you did, but she didn't think you'd take my minor daughter across the world for a sordid soiree."

"Mom, that's not fair," Mia protested. "It wasn't a sordid soiree."

"Then tell me what all you two did all weekend," Ororo challenged, knowing full well it wasn't a laundry list of g-rated activities.

Mia turned slightly purple, though Tommy tried his best. "Had a blast on the beach, you know?"

"Yes, as does half the world, who is paying attention to that," Ororo replied, her expression unreadable though she was still amused at his sense of humor.

"Yeah, well, like we said, didn't realize I was, like, newsworthy, so it's not like we knew anyone saw…"

"Tommy, of course you're newsworthy," Ororo said. "It's not just Mia or your brother that the world can see are amazing."

"I mean, I obviously am?" Tommy said with an easy shrug. "But, like, I'm also not Billy? So…"

Ororo gave him a significant look. "I don't believe that for a moment." She took Mia by the arm. "Come on … your father would like a private word."

Tommy pointed vaguely at the door. "Okay, so can I…?"

"No, we can do this here," Forge said. "Ororo wants a word with Mia as well. Alone."

Tommy looked between the three of them, shrugged, and then zipped over to where Mia and Ororo were to steal a kiss before they could head out. "Okay, good luck, don't get zapped."

"That's more something you need to worry about," Mia said quietly, then kissed him back very quickly.

"Nah, I'm always fine," he promised, watching the girls head out before he spun to see Forge watching him. "Oh. Hi?"

"Hi," Forge said as he seemed to check his watch. "You can't really have thought that you'd both get off scot-free with this, did you?"

"Okay, in our defense, we did actually talk to my dad about college in Genosha."

"Which I think is amazing," Forge said. "And probably a great move for her when she gets there."

Tommy grinned. "That's what I keep telling her!" he said. "And Dad thinks she's a shoo-in, really. She's smart but doesn't show it off, that's-"

"On the other hand," Forge said. "Considering all the two of you seem to be up to? It's probably long over due that I make sure you understand that even if I am usually pretty laid back, I will start taking off parts of you if my daughter doesn't get to make her own decisions before becoming a mother far. Too. early."

"Woah." Tommy backed up a step and held up both hands. "No, no, we're not gonna - no, see. Geez, not the conversation I want to have-"

"Too bad. I was eighteen once. I know where your mind is."

"I do know what a condom is, ya know?" Tommy said. "Geez, I keep saying I'm not an idiot but wow the bar is low."

"Even at that, accidents happen," Forge said. "I'm telling you to make sure they don't happen."

"Okay, got it, will do," Tommy said and took a few running steps toward the window and then came to a stop, frowning. "Dampener?" he guessed.

"Nope," Forge said. "Just had to make sure you understood that I have my own ways to make sure I can get my hands on you."

"Right, message received," Tommy said. "Can you turn it off now? Being slow is the worst."

"Learn to love being slow," Forge advised. "Fast might just kill you."

"You know, I was dreading this talk with my mom, but thank you - you know - for the crash course."

"My pleasure," Forge said with a warm smile. "And for the record, I agree with Ororo and Mia. Keep it in your lane - at the right speed limit - and I'll be looking forward to having a much more sedate version of this talk down the road. It'll be nice to see you realize you're worth just as much as your brother."

Tommy blinked a few times. "Okay, whiplash, but thanks, I think."

"You're welcome," Forge said. "I don't hate you, Tommy. Neither does Ororo. But we're all worried about both of you." He smirked crookedly then adjusted his 'watch' again. "Good luck with your mother."

"I'll need it," Tommy agreed - and zipped off.