Note from robbiepoo2341: In answer to your quick question, Scott's was the most-attended because of the story the defense was weaving and the story getting reported after the video. James had a SOLID self-defense argument, but Scott came in with intent to kill, so he's the one that started the whole thing. James's side was told mostly by the video, since, ya know, he got stabbed and reacted to that. No one knew what prompted the first-ever X-Man to finally try to end Magneto. Scott's a BIG name, and his testimony had the most unanswered questions.

And yes, you know for sure James could break out of anyplace they put him lol.

Also, in Kate's defense, her mom is very proud of her :P

Chapter 128: "Don't Tell Anyone"

After the attack Magneto's acolytes had tried to pull before the trial had started, Wanda wasn't taking any chances with Scott's safety, which he appreciated. After everyone had left the sort-of-party following the sentencing, she'd put some kind of spell on the house he'd be staying in for the next year that wouldn't allow anyone inside without Scott's express permission. Add in some minor shielding technology from Stark that would protect against arson and assassination attempts, and he was, for the most part, going to be perfectly safe. Especially since no one knew which house he'd be spending his house arrest in.

At first, Annie had tried to cheer him up with some offhanded joke about him living by vampire rules - what with the permission spell and all - but when he hadn't risen to the bait, she'd just sighed and sat down with him.

They talked for a bit - mostly about what the next year would entail. She wanted to stay with him, but she couldn't be out and about in Genosha without the risk of giving away his position, so she needed Billy and Wanda and Tommy to help her when she wanted to get in and out. And that worked out anyway, because someone needed to grocery shop, and she liked cooking.

Kate had already texted Scott promising to visit often and to spend half her maternity leave with them, too. She'd spend the first half with them and the second half at her apartment with her parents; she didn't want him to miss out on meeting his first grandchild.

His kids were already planning and plotting out how to visit him safely, and they had a rotation going on.

And that was all good. It was.

And the truth was that he was relieved, because the sentence could have been much worse. He appreciated that the judge hadn't given him anything longer, and he was beyond relieved that the judge had recognized that, on Genosha, the man convicted of trying to kill Magneto couldn't be held in a prison where he'd be a sitting duck.

He still felt like a prisoner in a way he hadn't felt since Greydon Creed, so that was weighing on him. But he was well-aware that this was one of the better scenarios that could have come out of the whole ordeal.

And so, he was caught between relief that he wasn't in prison and relief that the sentence was only a year… and bitter disappointment that he was trapped while his family went on. He'd be missing so much and hearing only secondhand about it. Kate's pregnancy. James going to Harvard. The team.

And Annie… God, he didn't know how she was still with him. They'd barely gotten engaged - and even that was by the skin of their teeth after Emma had tried everything to interfere - before he'd been locked up and convicted of attempted murder. The wedding she wanted was next to impossible now. And if they waited until after his sentence was up, her father probably wouldn't be able to attend, at the rate he was declining.

He was a mess of conflicting emotions, so he was grateful that Annie didn't try to get him to talk to her just yet. She instead got to work, texting a huge grocery list to Billy now that she knew they would be there semi-permanently. And once he wished himself over with two shopping carts full of recently-purchased food, Scott helped her put it all away, ignoring, for the moment, Billy's whispered apologies. He knew Billy had tried his best - his whole family had - to keep this from happening.

He didn't blame them.

Annie shooed him out of the kitchen once she was ready and set to work, though he couldn't help but laugh when he realized that, among the things Annie had asked Billy to bring, there was a copy of Dracula on the table.

He made sure she saw him pick it up, salute her with it, and take it to the living room to read. He knew it would make her smile, even if he didn't think he had the heart to get lost in any story just then.

About ten minutes into the attempt at reading, Annie paused and put aside her apron. "Oh, Craig's here," she said in a sigh.

Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course he is," he said. But he also knew that sending Craig away now would only get his family breathing down his neck. "Alright, let him in. I'll just…" He put the book away and looked around, settling on the small office space by the living room.

Annie was already talking to Craig by the time Scott cleared off the desk where he'd been keeping the tons and tons of notes that Jamie, Matt, and Jen had left him with.

"...and that sweet boy couldn't stop apologizing, so please make sure he knows we don't blame him at all."

"He'll probably just be like that until it's all over," Craig said, still standing in the door.

Scott saw him pausing and sighed, waving him in. "Come on; I've got a spot in the office we can talk," he said. "Sorry you've had to come all this way."

"I don't mind; it's a nice break from that New England chill," he replied, which matched with the slightly cooler air that was settling in already. At least compared to Genosha on the equator.

"That's what I've been saying," Annie laughed. "A whole year of warm weather. I told him at least that's one silver lining."

"A solid year of air conditioning, you mean," Craig teased.

"Oh, you act like Wanda hasn't already invited me to spend time with her family when I get a little cabin fever," Annie said. "She's already offered to do the ceremony once all this is over, you know. She really feels so bad."

"You'll need the time to get to know 'em better before the boys get married."

"Exactly," Annie said, giving Craig a warm squeeze at his arm before she excused herself to get back to what was shaping up to be a complicated braided bread to go with the chicken dinner she was making.

Craig followed Scott then waited to see how they were going to move forward, letting Scott set the pace to begin.

Scott gestured for Craig to take a seat in the office, settling in more or less where he'd been sitting the whole time they'd been working out plans for the trial. "Look, I appreciate why you're here," he said once the door closed, "but this was honestly better than we hoped for."

And then, all at once, Scott felt a wave of a psychic attack. He couldn't physically move, and he couldn't speak, but he knew instantly who was sitting across from him, because the attack was far too familiar. He could feel cold fingers raking through his mind, but it wasn't until Sinister had solidified commands not to call for help or do anything to reveal Sinister's presence that Scott could speak - even if he couldn't yet move.

"How have you managed all these years, my dear boy?"

"Oh, go to hell," Scott said through his teeth.

"Now, Scott, that's no way to say hello." He gestured around them. "I'm surprised that you got off this easily, if I'm perfectly honest."

"I think the fact that Erik was causing issues with Victor von Doom weighed heavily in the consideration," Scott said dryly. "Disappointed, then?"

"No, not at all," Sinister replied. "In fact, I'm rather impressed."

"That's all - you just came to say you're glad I'm not locked away in some dungeon somewhere? Thanks; I'm glad too. Please don't come back."

"No, Scott, I'm impressed with all the good work you've done."

Scott sighed, narrowing his eyes, though he couldn't move more than that. "I thought you were dead after Logan and K went after you last time you touched my family."

"Yes, well … that was a bit tricky, I'll admit." He smiled. "But I never truly lost interest. Contact, certainly, but … here we are. You … right where I can find you for at least a year. A lovely waypoint to use as I continue what I started so long ago."

A muscle was tight in Scott's jaw as he glared at Sinister. "So you just came here to gloat."

"No, of course not. I don't need to gloat. I do, however, require some answers … and a bit of insight on the family tree as it stands. Fathers and sons … fascinating at the best of times."

"The second my kids realize who you are-"

"When exactly should I start to watch my back?" Sinister asked. "How would they know?"

"They're brilliant - all three of them. And they know how to look out for each other."

"Harder to do when they're all so far apart from each other," Sinister pointed out. "And so far … at least one has no clue."

"What did you do," Scott asked through his teeth.

Sinister looked almost hurt. "I haven't done a thing."

"Yet," Scott said, almost relieved - not that it lasted.

"I have no intentions of harming any of them," Sinister said. "Quite the opposite, in fact. I'd like to see them thrive."

"Yeah, I remember what you said when you went after Rachel," Scott said. Mentally, he was beating against the psychic commands, but Sinister had always known exactly what strings to pull; he'd been in his mind too long.

"As I said before, I'm more invested in fathers and sons. It's a shame I didn't get a closer start on Nate. He's far older than you were when I first found you."

"Don't you touch him."

"The other one, though … that is like looking into the past."

"Damnit, Sinister - leave them alone," Scott said in a tone that had, in the past, always accompanied glowing red eyes.

"You know James is nearly the same age that I met Logan?" He smiled warmly. "Stunning differences, just as amazing as the similarities."

That was new information, and enough to startle Scott out of his growing panic. "...the hell?"

Sinister almost laughed. "He never told you?" The look of amusement deepened. "He let you think you were the only reason… that's … well. It's possible he didn't remember. That was always a risk with that one."

Scott stared at Sinister openly. "That must have been… a century before…"

Sinister leaned forward. "There is nothing you can possibly say to get me to step back, let me make that clear. Yes, I've followed your family line for generations, but … he was the first mutant I ever found. That is … not up for discussion. Neither is anything else, honestly."

"They're doing well - better than we did when we were that age," Scott argued.

"Yes, and that is in large part thanks to you."

Scott shook his head. "No, that's not-"

"It is, though. Think about it, Scott."

"I didn't want them to get into this life at all after what it did to my team," Scott argued.

"My dear boy, my involvement has nothing at all to do with any parading around with delusions of … heroism."

"They are heroes, though. Don't - don't let your need to insert yourself into my family get in between all the good that they're doing for mutants - for everyone-"

"I'm not touching that," Sinister said. "I want them to continue with all they're doing. I truly hoped to check in with you." He waved a hand. "I have all the time I'd like with the others."

"I'm fine," Scott said defensively, almost without meaning to - because like it or not, everyone had been asking after him all day, and it was tiring.

"But you're not. You're reliant on others for even simple defense. You're hanging your life on hold waiting for your children to live theirs first." He reached across the desk to rest a hand on Scott's arm. "I can help. You know I can."

"I've never wanted your help," Scott said, glaring at Sinister's hand.

"Yes, well, times change," Sinister said as he got to his feet. "I truly look forward to a moment with Nate … and of course, I am counting the hours until I can see how much James truly has healed from his last test." He held up his hand. "Academic test. Don't strain yourself. I haven't touched him."

"Good." Scott didn't take his eyes off of Sinister. "I can guarantee you this won't last, Sinister. And when you overstep - and I know you will - this time, you'll stay dead."

He glared right back at Scott. "Yes, well, I'll be seeing James far more frequently than you will. I'l make sure he keeps his head on straight."

"Go to hell," Scott bit out.

"Oh, Scott, you truly need to get out more."

Scott narrowed his eyes nearly to slits but couldn't get up to hit him like he wanted to. "I see you're just as much of a jackass as I remember."

"And you're just as much of a bore when you want to be stubborn. I will return. No one but you will know. Mind your manners or I may decide to keep one or both of those boys. Lord knows Nate would bend over backward to help his big brother, wouldn't he?"

Scott was almost shaking with panic and anger by that point. "Sinister…"

"What are you so worried about, Scott? It's not like I have any experience in shaping young minds…"

Scott could barely breathe. "Stop it," he said, though he'd lost a lot of the anger in his tone; it had faded to panic and hurt instead. "Let them live their lives. You've seen them; they could change the world, and you know it."

"Yes. They can," he agreed. "More than they realize."

"So leave them alone," Scott said in a breath.

"Absolutely not."

Scott glared at Sinister for some time, though before he could come up with anything to say, Annie knocked on the door.

"I hate to interrupt, but dinner's ready if you're done. I can keep it warm…"

"I think we're done for today," Sinister called back in Craig's voice. "But I have to run. Leave you love birds alone."

"Oh, alright," Annie said, sounding disappointed. "I'll put your plate away."

"Sorry to disappoint, Annie," Sinister called back. "Raincheck?"

"Oh, anytime," Annie agreed, with all the warmth she always gave her brother. "If you let me know you're coming, I'll even make Billy get me the right flour for real cornbread."

"Will do," Sinister said with a laugh that sounded spot on for Craig before he lowered his voice toward Scott. "I have a class in the morning. How about you?"

Scott scoffed. "I'll be here and you know it."

"Yes, I do."

Scott was furious as he watched Sinister leave, but despite his best efforts, he couldn't break through the blazing red mental barrier that prevented him from telling Annie who this man was that she was hugging and wishing well.

Annie waved "Craig" off and then turned back to Scott, her expression falling when she saw him. "Rough talk?" she asked, starting to plate up their food.

Scott did his best to try not to look as furious as he felt, because he couldn't tell Annie the truth, and the last thing he wanted was for her to think he was mad at her. "I just don't like feeling trapped," he said - which was the truth, especially with his kids facing his childhood tormentor.

"I know," Annie said. She waved him over, and once he came to help set the table, she stole a kiss. "We'll get through this together, alright?"

Scott forced his shoulders to drop and cupped her face. "Thanks, Annie," he said. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Annie smiled delightedly. "Probably be about thirty pounds lighter," she teased. "You're trapped in here with me and a kitchen."

"Good point," he said, though his smile didn't touch his eyes. He could tell she was worried about him, and he wished he could explain it, but… for the moment, he could sit down with her and compliment her cooking. And work every second to try to break Sinister's telepathic wall.

By the time the trial in Genosha had wrapped up, and the Summers family found themselves going their separate ways (forcibly so) James was incredibly unsure of the decision he'd made to go to Harvard. This … was not the time to be away from everyone.

Sure, it was helpful that Billy was going to the same school, and yeah, that absolutely made it much easier to follow a whim and get wished back to Genosha for a little while now and again … especially if James thought Scott didn't sound alright on the phone. Or if he refused a phone call and insisted on sticking to text.

The problem was that James … just couldn't shake the feeling that Scott was paying for James' crimes.

That wasn't the kind of problem he was going to be able to solve today. Not when he had to get to the genetics lab and try to prove that he should even be there. But to his absolute shock, when he got to the lab, the professor in charge looked pleased to see him there. That … couldn't be right. Especially since he'd missed the first two weeks of the semester. Most of the other teachers were looking at him with an air of suspicion … this was just … odd.

James opened his mouth to explain himself - not as a means to get out of whatever he'd missed, but to inform the man of what had taken him so long - when he introduced himself instead and dove right into the thick of it.

"I'm well aware of your recent troubles, Mr. Howlett," the professor said, and James stopped his rush to listen as the man continued. "This program isn't like those that you dealt with at MIT. The only one you could possibly have hurt by missing time is yourself - and the doctorate program isn't quite as strict or pressed for a schedule as those you've gone through before."

"Okay-"

"Still," he said, cutting across him in a way that had James deciding to simply be quiet. "I would very much like to know what it is you think you're doing in my classroom. As I understand it, your previous work has been dedicated to engineering, chemistry, robotics … there is precious little that crosses over from those disciplines to genetics."

James let out a sigh and set his bookbag down. This was going to take a more serious tone than he'd expected … even factoring in being so late. "There are questions I'd like to know the answers to that revolve around the x-gene, if I'm being frank," James started out, though Dr. Windsor didn't let him get much further.

"Another attempt to stop it or turn it off?"

"No, actually," James said with a frown. He knew he hadn't told anyone about his first real foray into genetic research … but it took him a moment to remember that most researchers devoted to all things x-gene related were trying to stop it. "I want to know more about how it activates, how it expresses itself so differently from one person to the next - if there is a way to determine which abilities are dominant or recessive -"

"You have a lot of questions, then," Windsor said, barely restraining the smile.

James hedged. "Yeah. No one looks into that part of it - as far as I've been able to find, research wise- everyone in the field is trying to put an end to it."

"And you don't want to put an end to it?"

"No," James said, then forced his shoulders to relax. "But there are a lot more possibilities than just on and off.

"Yes, there are," Windsor agreed, watching him carefully, leaving James wondering what he was looking at so intently. "Well. take a seat. As I understand it, we may need to do a few tests to see how much work you have ahead of you in this field."

James nodded and followed Windsor's direction as he took a seat and pulled a pencil out to start taking tests. He knew this was coming … and he'd anticipated as much from this department in particular. The others? They were looking at him as if he'd either sink or swim … but that wouldn't show until later anyhow.

James was through the first page of his test when he did a small double take, realizing that Dr. Windsor was watching him intently as he took his test. He almost looked as if he wanted to glare a hole through James' head. But before James could go back to his test, Windsor spoke up.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Howlett?"

"No," James replied as he shook his head. "Just taking a moment to breathe." It was a lie, but it was all he could think of in the moment. And it was believable enough that Windsor didn't seem to notice - or care. So James quickly shifted his focus back to his test and tried to get back on track. He had to read the first question on the second page four times before the words sunk in, and then he felt like an idiot because it was such a simple question.

He didn't usually get this distracted during tests. And he couldn't see or otherwise sense a reason to panic. Great. This will be fun to try and force myself to ignore. Like I needed a new complex during school hours, James thought to himself as he resolutely decided to ignore that stupid fight or flight response - blaming his injury and recovery for his anxiety. He'd over reacted far too much to small things during recovery … this was probably just more of that.

What James didn't - and couldn't know - was that Dr. Windsor was incredibly pleased. Not only with how well he was doing with his test post-heavily traumatic brain injury, but how he was redirecting himself to ignore the instinct to be suspicious of how he was being watched. He was just as smart as he'd been when he'd taken the entry exams in Oxford - but James didn't realize that Dr. Windsor, the proctor in Oxford, and Mr. Sinister were one in the same. He'd taken care, after all, in making use of a fabulous mutant power he'd procured many years ago - while James was likely in Kindergarten - that allowed him to shift his scent enough that someone with James' abilities couldn't tell who was in front of them while he was shapeshifted into a new form.

Sinister had tested this out on several lesser-powered feral-types over the years, but this was the first test with someone with senses as acute as James'. The possibility remained that he simply didn't remember the proctor's scent in Oxford, but Sinister wasn't about to take that chance by being lazy about this boy's abilities. He'd made those mistakes with Logan. He wouldn't repeat them now. Especially not when the boy was so much more useful than his father could have been.

When James was done with his tests, his lab time, his library time, and his classes for the day, he was pleasantly surprised to run into Billy, who met him just outside of the Science and Engineering campus wearing a grin. It was enough to break James out of his mood - and he honestly didn't care if there were photographers following either of them as he took Billy's hand and stole a quick hello kiss. "How were classes?"

"Pretty good," Billy said, grinning as they started toward where they'd parked. "It's so weird to be going to school together."

"You were the one that decided that," James said, though he was smiling brilliantly. "Not that I'm about to complain. It's been way too long since I attended with anyone I wanted to be around." They fell into step easily, though they didn't really have much to say at all until they were back in their apartment, both of them a little caught up in their new whirlwind, but glad to be in it together.

When Nate and Kate stopped by to see Scott, the very first thing that Scott noticed was the fact that Kate hadn't taken the ring off now that the trial was over.

She'd seemed sincere enough when she told Nate that she wasn't only wearing the ring for tactical purposes, but the question had been weighing so heavily on Nate - and the possibility was still out there that she really had been thinking with her head and not her heart - that Scott could see the distinct difference in the way Nate carried himself now that Kate wasn't backing away from her decision.

He waited until Kate was talking to Annie, though, before he said anything, putting a hand on Nate's shoulder with his back to the girls as he said, "You look like the weight of the world has been lifted. I'd even say you were getting excited about being married if you hadn't walked in here looking so concerned."

Nate smirked, though he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at the way his dad had approached him. Usually, he would have just projected something like that, something he'd want to keep between the two of them. And when Nate reached out to his mind, it was even more closed off than usual.

"Well, now I'm worried about you," Nate said, but Scott instantly waved him off.

"You don't need to hear that. Annie can tell you it's a mess and she's not even a telepath. We can just talk, right?"

"Suuuure." Nate narrowed his eyes at his dad, but Annie had Kate well and truly distracted, so they did have some sort of privacy. "Seriously, you're never this closed off."

"Just lately. Don't worry about it. I'm more concerned about you. You okay? You're not as happy as I figured you'd be with a fiance on your arm."

"Still getting used to the idea," Nate admitted. He glanced toward Kate, who was starting to show a little bit more without the aid of Jan's fashion magic.

"In a good way?"

"Yeah." Nate hedged. "Still waiting to see - I mean, you know…"

"I know that feeling," Scott said. He put his hand on Nate's shoulder. "I did the same thing - both times. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop right up until the day Jean and I got married."

"In your defense, I've heard the stories."

"Yeah. I was kind of hoping you wouldn't inherit this from me - whatever this is." He gestured between the two of them. "This whole… this thing where we fall in love and stay guarded? Stop doing that. It's too late for me, but-"

"Oh, come on, Dad. You've got Annie."

"Despite everything with Emma and despite being literally under house arrest-"

"Dad." Nate shook his head. "Dad, if she was going to leave, she'd have dipped out by now, right?"

Scott smirked and looked Nate in the eyes. "Think that applies to Kate too?"

"That was sneaky," Nate said - and couldn't quite hide his pride.

"I've been around a while," Scott teased. He dropped his head to look at Nate closer. "Seriously, Nate, you're engaged. You're having a baby together. It's okay to relax and be excited."

"Says the guy who's so stressed he won't let me into his head."

"This is definitely one of those 'do as I say and not as I do' moments."

"Sure, Dad."

Before either of them could say anything else, though, Annie let out a delighted squeal and grabbed Kate by the hand, all but dragging her over to the boys. "Did he tell you yet?" she demanded of Scott.

"Tell me…?"

Kate grinned. "We're going to do the ceremony nice and small. Just immediate family and their girlfriends and boyfriends. Here."

Scott's eyes went wide, and he turned toward Nate. "You don't have to-"

"You really think I'm getting married without my dad there?" Nate asked, and when Scott was still standing there in shock, he pulled his dad into a hug.

"Our schedule is completely open," Annie gushed. "Just give me enough time to make the cake, okay?"

"Yeah, we've got to work with Tony's schedule. He's throwing the huge reception for us - and Jan's going to make sure he doesn't go too far," Kate said, grinning steadily wider. "He's throwing it together kinda quick, because I don't think weddings and newborns mix, you know?"

"Yeah, you'll be sleep deprived for months," Scott said, grinning as he finally stopped hugging Nate. "Hope you're ready."

"Definitely not, but my mom keeps saying no one is, so I think I'm okay," Kate said. She smiled toward Nate. "He's been reading baby books."

"Of course he is," Annie said in a voice full of warmth. "I love this family."

"You better; you're marrying in too," Kate said, and the two women shared grins.

"They're definitely conspiring," Nate whispered to Scott.

"Are you surprised?"

"Not even a little bit. Pretty sure they're about to involve us in the planning."

"Whatever makes them happy, right?"

"That's how I'm handling it."

"Atta boy."

Since the house arrest was still relatively new, Scott realized quickly that he wasn't going to want for visitors - at least not when the concern was still fresh. Alex had already dropped by multiple times a week, Craig (the real Craig) had come often as well, and the kids were constantly checking in online and over the phone when they weren't there in person.

Still, the last person he expected to see show up one drizzly Wednesday afternoon was Bobby. Scott knew he hated even being on the island on a good day because of the literal climate. Add in how Magneto had treated him, and Bobby had every right not to ever want to set foot on Genosha again. Scott had honestly been shocked he'd been at the trial.

But Scott also wasn't going to turn away his oldest friend in the world. "There's air conditioning inside," he said, already waving Bobby in.

"Thank God," Bobby said as he stepped in and pulled Scott into a one-armed hug. "Brought you your favorite beer."

Scott laughed outright when he saw the six-pack … of root beer. "It's like you know me so well," he teased.

"Weird, right?" Bobby said with a laugh. "If I wasn't so cool, I'd be psychic."

"I can't believe you're still using lines like that," Scott said as they headed into the living room.

"They still apply, Slim."

"That and your boyfriend hasn't changed his one catchphrase since the dawn of time," Scott pointed out, smirking as he cracked open one ofo the glass root beer bottles.

Bobby rested one hand over his heart. "It's not my fault that I have so many amazing one liners and he's stuck with like … three."

"He must be jealous of you constantly."

"Oh, all the time," Bobby agreed.

Scott smirked. "How's that going, anyway?"

Bobby shrugged. "It's … going, I guess. I'm the one on the fence, if you can believe it."

"Really?" Scott turned so he and Bobby were facing each other on the couch. "You and not the serial dater?"

"Yeah, well … he's the one still feeling like trash for not trying to help sooner and I'm the one with abandonment issues. Apparently."

"We'll form a support group," Scott said dryly.

"I'd be too afraid no one would show up," Bobby said just as dryly.

"Me too, probably." Scott chuckled and shook his head and let the sentiment drop for a moment. "Waited for a rainy day to visit?"

"Wasn't exactly planned that way, but I'll take it," Bobby said.

"I was honestly shocked you came at all," Scott admitted.

"Why?" Bobby asked with a deep frown.

Scott gestured with one hand to indicate all around them. "It's Genosha. You know I wouldn't ever ask you to come here now that you've gotten away from it."

"Oh. That." Bobby shook his head. "Not the same Genosha."

"Maybe, but still. It looks the same." Scott paused, turning the bottle cap between his fingers. "I never asked … I saw you sometimes when I'd see Alex and I keep looking back wondering how often you got early parole so the royals looked good."

"Ah … how often did you come by?" Bobby asked.

"Not that often. Once a year once the kids were born, maybe. Alex mostly came to us."

"I didn't get in trouble here until after the mess," Bobby said thoughtfully. "But not often. Storm didn't come to visit with Mia, and the rest of the team acted pretty allergic to this place, so … not often."

Scott let his gaze drop. "Sorry about that."

"Hey. Bygones. If you'd known I was locked up, you'd have broken a few dozen laws to get me out. Just like the first time around."

Scott chuckled to himself. "Yeah, we make a habit of it, don't we? At this rate, we'll have to keep a running tally of how many days one of us isn't in jail or house arrest."

"We had a good streak there for a while," Bobby said. "But at least, as I understand it, Wanda and your probable future son in law have done a lot to pare down the angry mobs."

"Probable?" Scott repeated with a smirk. "Ye of little faith."

"Just … watching your kid display some serious K qualities at opportune times, that's all."

"Fair point," Scott said. "He thinks like she did but looks like Logan."

"Yeah, the whole world is in danger."

Scott chuckled. "Even worse, Rachel's got Jean's looks and my stubbornness…"

"We're all gonna die," Bobby teased in a mocking far away scream.

"It was a good run."

"Yep. Great company, too," Bobby said before he lifted his bottle to toast him. "Can't think of any other fellow jailbird I'd want to do this ride with."

Scott smiled back and toasted Bobby in return. "We should do this more often when I'm back in Westchester."

"Yeah, and before then, too," Bobby said.

"Careful; I don't want to be a sitting duck if your flaming boyfriend thinks I'm a threat," Scott teased.

"Please. Warren was the pretty one."

"And knew it."

"Yeah. Now look at him."

"In his defense, he did just recently become a dad. He's experiencing a whole new world with Angela," Scott laughed.

"Yeah, but he's skinnier than you."

"Yeah, that Logan who visited gave him grief. Let up a bit when Warren said he hadn't been able to fly in years, though. You'd have thought Warren sucker-punched the guy."

"That's something. There's a Logan out there that can let up. What's that like, long term?"

"I mean, the pictures K showed me had at least five kids in them; I think he must have mellowed with each baby," Scott chuckled. "He did get easier to deal with in our universe after James was born."

"Yeah," Bobby said, sounding a little distant. He let it hang there between them, and just before Scott could say anything, Bobby turned his way. "So what's your excuse?"

Scott snorted a surprised laugh. "We've met, right?"

"Once or twice, yeah, I think so."

"And you think me being worried about screwing up a tiny human was going to make me less anxious because…"

"Well I mean, if it helped Logan mellow …"

"Then obviously it had the opposite effect on me," Scott finished. "That's how that worked, right?"

"Not true. I've seen you drunk. Same effect."

"I don't think that's a good measuring stick," Scott said, leaning back. "If that were true, you and Boom Boom would be the same person."

"Sam would be so jealous."

Scott laughed. "Didn't he end up on Muir Island?"

"I don't know, actually. Sounds like something he'd do."

"Last I talked to Moira, he was there - but that was years ago."

"You got a leg up on me," Bobby replied. "I haven't even tried. Figured she'd attack me with her knitting."

"To be fair, you weren't getting phone calls out of prison, so you've got a good excuse." Scott sighed. "Seriously, Bobby, we'd have-"

"Oh, I know. You don't have to feel guilty. You would have come yourself. I know it."

"Probably would have dealt with Magneto sooner, too," Scott said, shaking his head. "Storm told me about finding Remy. God."

"Yeah, he was pretty tightly locked down," Bobby agreed.

"Kitty had mentioned you two were getting in trouble a few times. I guess most of us just didn't realize the extent of it."

"How could you?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah. Still gonna apologize. You probably could have been running circles around the Avengers instead of sitting in Genosha."

"Still can."

"Oh, without a doubt. James told Stark that his team was the Intro to Superheroes prerequisite class for joining the X-Men."

"And that he grew out of it," Bobby said. "Stark still has his panties in a wad over it."

"Yeah, I…" Scott leaned back. "I wanted him to stay on the team, to be honest. You remember how bad it was when we insulated the X-Men too much."

Bobby considered it for a long time before he spoke up. "Logan was an Avenger and it didn't do him a damn bit of good."

Scott let all of his breath out and nodded, sitting in pregnant silence with Bobby for a long while. "Yeah," he said and then cleared his throat. "Kate threatened to quit too - says it's the perfect middle finger to SHIELD. Her parents nearly had strokes."

"About that … Kitty's been digging into all that since the whole … Press celebration of gossip? Still doesn't have much to go on but she's determined to beat Fury's systems."

"If anyone can, it's Kitty," Scott said, smiling fondly.

"She's super mad after all that came out publicly, you know. Rampaging Shadowcat."

"Everyone off the roads," Scott laughed.

"She said she's got a spot picked out for Fury, his lackeys, and Emma. She was lookin' super nasty over that one, too."

Scott worked a muscle in the corner of his jaw. "Yeah… you know Kitty was the one who clued me in when Emma and I were dating. She kept asking if it was me or Emma talking."

"You wouldn't listen to anyone else, so … glad we at least had Kitty to break through."

"I mean, no offense, but you guys just kept trying to pick apart my plans and Kitty just went right for Emma."

"I dunno. I think K's insistence that Emma was low class was pretty on point."

"Fair." Scott leaned back. "I thought she was just being protective. We met when I was still in shock after Jean died." He paused. "The first time."

"So you missed the whole super snooty look over coffee just about every morning? The whole … snotty girl stand off that ended with Emma pissed off about being called trash? How."

"I'm gonna be honest with you, Bobby? I genuinely can't tell which memories of that period of time in my life were manipulated, so it's hard to give you an answer here."

Bobby scoffed, then slapped his knees with both hands. "Well, my friend, I am totally going to sequester your kids to blast my favorite memories of that time to you because you need it. You really need it."

"I'm sure Rachel will take you up on it. She keeps asking what she can do to help - and is avoiding her brother like the plague because he's an anxious mess over Kate having panic attacks at her doctor visits and projecting that to her. She could use a good laugh - and K stories? Always a good laugh," Scott said, smiling the more he thought of it.

"I'll text her and find out when she wants to link up then," Bobby promised.

"Great." Scott finished the root beer in his hand and set it aside, enjoying the companionable quiet for a moment. "I meant to ask if you've seen Remy since the trial," he said.

"Ah … not really," Bobby admitted. "He didn't go back with the group, though, so who knows what he's up to."

"Yeah." Scott couldn't say what had made him think of Remy, since he'd just been thinking about seeing Bobby and Remy after the trial and realized he hadn't heard from his old friend since then… not even a text. And considering Remy's old ties to Sinister…

"He was swearing in that butchered up French he uses though. A lot."

"Yeah, thought he looked more annoyed than called for," Scott said. "Let me know if you see him, okay? I meant to make sure he's alright."

"Will do," Bobby agreed. "But I can tell you he's not."

"Yeah, Storm's worried, and since all I can do from here is gather intel, I promised I'd put out feelers," he said - which was partially true. "She knows he's not the same since he spent all that time in Erik's prison, but …" He let the thought hang in the air. Anyone with eyes had seen that Remy was almost a shadow of himself, even if he kept joking and flirting. If Sinister found him again, that… would be bad.

"Has your techy kid brought you something high powered and dangerous in the computer department?"

"He's setting up my office with something new this weekend," Scott said.

"So he's making something from scratch that could crack the NSA with a pretty please tacked on."

"Almost definitely," Scott said. He got up to get another root beer and tossed one to Bobby.

"Great. You can delete my back taxes for me then. James seemed to think I was joking."

"You're an accountant, aren't you?"

"Hello- an accountant who's been in prison out of the country for years."

"Probably get a better result if you talk to Jamie. That seems like a legal thing," Scott said, smirking.

"Yeah, but I know James could just …" he mimed typing. "Woosh."

"Let's try not to push my son to the side of evil," Scott teased. "Come on; I've got a new deck of cards and we haven't played in a while."