Michele's nickname is Monkey from most people, but Princess from Logan. I decided this when I was sick of finding different ways of giving her a shorter name and it's also a tribute to one of my friends. Thus, you've probably never seen it, or Boo – Jane's nickname and a tribute to my sister – before, but there's the explanation. I decided Jane needed a nickname because to get one from Jane is pretty hard, and thus, came Boo. So ha. ENJOY!

I'm so sorry about how long this took. The end of it drove me insane, actually... I had to rewrite the ending I'd had just to make everything fit... I hope you still like it :D

Chapter 11

Jean and Logan stepped curiously off the Blackbird, eyes following Bobby's line of sight to fall on a small redhead seated comfortably in front of Ororo.

"What is she doing here?" Logan growled, ready to charge at his youngest daughter.

"How did she get here?" came Jean's next question also ready to give her daughter a piece of her mind.

It was Bobby that stopped both parents. "The last thing she needs is for you guys to yell and scream at her. We just got her calmed down after her first flight. Plus, she's here now and it won't do any of us any good to start friction over a terrified little girl."

Jean deflated. "I wanted her to stay at home, safe," she murmured with a shake of her head.

"She is our daughter," Logan pointed out.

Jean shook her head and started forward towards Jane and Ororo. Jane stiffened when Jean's hand brushed gently over her head.

"You shouldn't be here," Jean murmured softly.

"I'm sorry Mommy," she replied.

"For now, Boo, it's okay," Jean assured easily lifting the girl into her arms. "I wish you would have stayed safe at home though."

"I… I didn't want to stay there."

"Honey, we all want Monkey back but we can't just…"

"It's more than that," Jane admitted reluctantly, though still interrupting her mother.

Jean looked at her daughter carefully. "What does that mean?"

"I might've had a fight with Grandpa," she admitted.

"Might have?" Jean questioned suspiciously, eyebrow arched.

"I did?"

Jean sighed. "What on earth did you fight with Grandpa about?"

"You probably really don't want to know," Jane said seriously.

"I'm not going to ask again, Jane," Jean threatened, a warning note to her voice. Michele fighting with Charles she could understand, but her angelic Jane?

"You," Jane mumbled out.

"I beg your pardon?" Jean asked reflexively out of surprise.

You. Jane repeated, mentally projecting so the world wouldn't know. She saw her mother and father exchange a glance before Jean began walking away from the assembled group. It wasn't until Jane was sure that even her animalistic father couldn't hear that Jean stopped, setting Jane down and taking a seat at the trunk of a large tree. Jane sat beside her carefully and felt better when Jean wrapped her arm around Jane's shoulders.

For her part, Jean was torn between emotion after emotion. Anger, understanding, relief, hope and fear were just some of the emotions racing through her already tortured brain and it was starting to get a little overwhelming. She was still angry at Scott and angry at herself over Michele's disappearance and she was absolutely terrified for Michele's safety and development. She understood that Jane was scared too and really didn't want to be alone at home, and a part of her was glad Jane was sitting beside her simply because it meant she was still safe.

Nevertheless, Jean was also worried over what Jane had said to Xavier. Though Jean was upset with her long-time mentor, and probably would be for a large majority of her life, she'd been careful not to impress her dislike and resentment onto Michele and Jane and knew Logan had never spoken to the girls about what had occurred years before they were born.

"Mommy… What happened before me and Monkey were born?"

Jean tried her best not to flinch. "What do you mean?"

Jane huffed. "I've heard you and Daddy talk about it sometimes, when you don't think anyone's around. You're angry at Grandpa and so is Daddy, so I asked Grandpa about it."

Jean was stunned for a moment. She'd been so careful when bringing up Phoenix and the extent her mutation covered and truly had never believed her babies were around during her discussions with Logan. Apparently, Jane was more like her father than they thought.

"How much did he tell you?"

"Nothing I didn't already suspect or know," Jane admitted. "I keep hearing bits and pieces of thoughts and hearing Daddy thinking and the two of you talking – or yelling, I'm never exactly sure which – and it's always bad things about Grandpa, about something he did. When you have a headache and I've heard you curse him after a nightmare when Daddy's not home and when you were packing, you were mad at Grandpa and that's when I found out that Grandpa's afraid of you…"

"Jane," Jean interrupted. "Slow down."

"I talked to Grandpa, wondering why Magnet wanted you, because the entire mansion was crazy when Daddy came back from Brazil," Jane began slowly and carefully.

"What?" Jean asked surprised.

"Grandpa doesn't lie to me because I caught him once so he told me about control and I basically figured out that Grandpa held you back and I got mad at him because the whole mansion is supposed to be a haven for mutants…"

Jean was stunned. She'd always encouraged Jane's natural curiosity and her keen interest in learning new things, but never in her life had Jean expected this. Sure, she'd previously known Jane was more than smart and had time after time considered starting her early on some of the class work, but then decided it wouldn't be fair to Michele.

Jean asked the only thing she could. "What happened?"

Jane looked down at her hands, which she'd folded in her lap. "I told him that what he did was wrong, that he can't believe you're stronger than he is, so he wants to cripple you."

Jean knew by the way Jane continued to play with her hands that there was more. "And?"

"He doesn't know when he's gone too far." When Jean didn't scold, or even reply, Jane looked up at the confused look on her mother's face.

"You and Daddy and Aunt Marie and Aunt Ro and everybody fight for what Grandpa thinks, and that's okay because that's what you want, but he keep getting people to follow him and people get hurt or killed. I told him I hoped by the time he found out he'd gone too far it wasn't too late."

Jean sighed, torn between chastising her daughter for fighting with her grandfather, berating herself for the rock she'd allowed her children to live under and being proud of Jane's intelligence and perception.

"Mommy?"

"I'm not mad at you sweetheart," Jean promised, pressing a kiss to Jane's head.

"You're not?" Jane asked in confusion.

With another sigh, Jean pulled Jane to her lap. "You should not have come here, Boo," she started sternly. "But you know a lot more about this than Daddy and I wanted you to and I'm starting to think that we made a mistake in holding it all back and not explaining things to you."

"I don't get it," Jane said bluntly and Jean couldn't help but smile.

"Part of me is angry at your grandfather for what I had to experience many years ago but he's also been the closest thing to a father I've had and as angry as I may be, he's my father."

Jane narrowed her eyes. "You're not telling me stuff," she accused.

Jean took a deep breath, her mind echoing back to the words Jane had spoken back at the mansion.

You couldn't keep Michele out of everything so why are you trying?

"I died, Jane," Jean finally whispered. "Years before you were born, I died." And as Jane sat on her mother's lap awed and stunned, the entire story of Alkali Lake and Magneto spilled from her lips.

"Grandpa promised me he would talk to Daddy and I before ever, EVER, considering doing something like that to you and Monkey," Jean finished, tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes where she'd held them back for as long as she could. "And I vowed to myself I would never do that to you girls."

Jean knew Logan was leaning against a tree across the clearing and had been for a large portion of her abbreviated story. She'd drawn strength from him as she told her story and drew strength from him now as he approached.

"The others want to have a plannin' meetin'," he said, speaking softly. Jean only nodded. Jane on the other hand was snapped from her processing and burst into tears.

Logan looked shocked, but Jean pulled the little redhead close, stroking her back and whispering reassurances.

What happened? Logan asked over their link.

I told her everything.

Marie couldn't sleep and it wasn't for lack of trying. It was the third night in a row that Michele had been whimpering in her fitful sleep and she was sure her little niece had been throwing up her meagre meals. Pyro had been making constant rounds in an attempt to make her better, but nothing had helped.

Marie had an inkling as to why.

"Monkey," she called softly, having heard the telltale small scream that signalled Michele's awakening.

Her only response was a pitiful whimper.

"Did yah have a nightmare?"

For that was the foundation of the problem. Marie knew from experience that when under stress and away from Logan, Jean was plagued with nightmares. With the sheer volume of power she possessed and the natural vulnerability of sleep, it was no wonder the terrors were always worse during the night.

If Michele's telepathy was developing, there was no way the poor girl was going to sleep well until she was taught how to shield against incoming thoughts.

"I want Mommy," came Michele's weak voice.

"Ah know, sugah, but ah can't help ya there. Is it a nightmare?"

"I keep hearing voices, Aunt Marie. I can't turn them off."

Marie flinched. The telepathy was manifesting and Marie knew was pretty sure both Grey children had been taught little in the ways of shielding their thoughts. "It's going to be okay," she tried to assure the young girl.

"But they won't go away," Michele insisted. Then even the whimpering stopped and Marie could only assume Michele had gone completely still.

She knew why a second later when she heard the door creak open and a disgruntled looking Pyro stepped in. An idea sparked in her mind as she watched his features school themselves into a passive, indifferent mask. "Pyro," she called, getting his attention.

"What do you want?"

"Why are you down here with a little girl instead of up strategizing with the rest of them?" Marie liked to believe Logan had trained her in the art of manipulation and thus, Marie knew which buttons to push. Pyro was cocky. Cocky meant preying on pride.

"He can't trust anyone outside of the inner circle with the brat," Pyro shot back.

"Then why not send Emma or Mystique? Or Scott for that matter? Why someone who's been loyal for so long?"

"He only trusts a few and I'm one of them."

Magneto wouldn't trust a butterfly, Marie thought to herself.

For her part, Michele whimpered as Pyro opened the door to her cell and Maire figured it was as good a time as any to step in.

"Let me take her."

"No."

"Why not? What do you have to lose?" She was, after all, right on. What did he have to lose? Both knew he had more to gain, especially if Marie could make Michele feel better.

"If I let her in there, how do I know you don't have a plan to get her out of here?"

Marie rolled her eyes at the lack of trust. "How am I supposed to plan something in here?" she shot back scathingly.

"Grey's telepathic."

"I haven't been talking to Jean. There's no way to contact her from here because I can't project that well." Marie knew that she was stretching the truth but she knew Jean hadn't contacted her, nor, now that she thought about it, had she contacted Jean.

She also knew Pyro was seriously considering her proposal.

"She's not going to talk to you," Marie pushed. "Let me find out what's wrong."

For a few mintues, she only heard shuffling, but then came the telltale footsteps of someone walking towards her. She moved away from the door and almost fainted in relief when it opened and Pyro stepped in, Michele awkwardly in his arms.

"You've got two hours," he said shortly, setting Michele on the ground and closing the door. Aunt and niece stared at each other for a few minutes, hearing his steps retreat down the passing before the small redhead's face dissolved. Marie instantly closed the space between them. They held each other like lifelines as salty tears soaked Marie's neck and she valiantly held back her own.

"Its okay, Monkey," Marie whispered, stroking Michele's hair. "It's all going to be okay."

"I'm scared," Michele finally managed through her sobs.

"So am I," Marie murmured back.

"Make them stop. Make the voices go away," she whined, burying her head further in Marie's neck.

Marie sighed, deciding it was better just to get straight to the point. "What do you know about telepathy?"

Michele's head came up in confusion. "Mommy and Grandpa both have it," she replied. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"It's genetic. Your Mommy gave it to you. That's why you're having nightmares, that's why you're getting sick."

"What am I supposed to do?" Michele asked.

Marie met Michele's gaze unflinchingly.

"I'm going to teach you."

Logan and Jean made their way back to the camp site, a finally quiet Jane cuddled in Logan's arms. Jean had cried along with her daughter, remarkably releasing very little of her pent up resentment.

"They want to meet," Bobby said, coming up to meet them and ignoring the puffy eyes of the elder redhead.

"About what?" Logan asked, knowing from experience that Jean would not be up to talking as normally as any other time.

"How we're going to go about getting into that place and back out with everyone alive," Bobby replied, his tone slightly on the joking side, but his eyes holding a fierce strength and determination.

"Let's just go, we don't have time to plan it out," Jean shot back, her throat still raw from her tears and thus, her voice raspy, just as she, Logan and Bobby reached the campfire at which the others were negotiating.

"Are you crazy?" Kitty squeaked.

"We don't know how much time we've got," Jean almost growled, her emotions still frazzled from her explosion.

"We can't go in there blind," Ororo pointed out rationally. "We don't have the power and we don't have the numbers."

:"We can't leave them in there for much longer," Jean snarled. Jane whimpered slightly in Logan's arms, sensing Jean's anger.

"Which is why we're planning now," Kitty said gently, hoping to keep confrontations to a minimum. "With cooperation we could have them out as early as tomorrow."

"They should have been out yesterday," Jean shot back angrily, emotions completely fried.

"And if we'd 'ad de resources dey would 'ave been," Remy assured the fuming redhead. Sometimes it was amazing to him how alike Jean and Marie actually were. "But we didn't and dey aren't and we can't do anyt'ing about it now except plan for de next attack."

"Jeannie, the Cajun's right," Logan said slowly, well aware that Jean's mood swings were ticking time bombs.

"I don't care if he's right," Jean growled. "That's my daughter in there and she's scared and—" Jean trailed off with a gasp, her eyes widening just as Jane's head shot up from where it was resting against Logan's neck.

"Jean?" Logan's immediate response was not his daughter for the simple reason that her mother probably knew more about the mental attack. Interestingly enough, it was his daughter who answered.

"That was Michele," she whispered, stunned.

Logan glanced at her. "Michele?"

Jane nodded.

"Her mental abilities are kicking in," Jean explained further, rubbing her temples against the oncoming headache. "She was always telekinetically and telepathically slower than Jane."

"She's just got more of me in her," Logan shot back. "What does it mean?"

"It means we've got less time," Ororo stepped in, voice agreeable. "We all know the possibilities, what could happen with an uncontrolled, untrained telepath."