Chapter 13 - Listen Here, Mr. Summers

When Rachel had asked Alex what some of the best beach spots were in Hawaii, he'd been more than happy to give her his assessment of the best places for surfing, for swimming, and for just a good view — they were all different based on what you wanted — as well as the best places to eat and a few other suggestions that Rachel was sure she couldn't pack into a month in Hawaii, let alone a couple of weeks, but she appreciated it all the same.

Alex had been all smiles when Rachel and Bobby landed at the airstrip, obviously ready to show her around to some of his favorite spots — until he saw her travelling companion.

Don't start, she warned before he could even get there.

I'm not … I just …. Alex projected back, trying to regain his smile. He's older than I am.

She shrugged lightly. Yeah, I know. Don't tell Dad, alright?

Alex goggled at her for just a moment. He doesn't know?

Bobby's still in one piece, she pointed out reasonably. Come on; if you're taking it this way…

He's going to kill him, Alex said before he switched to speaking out loud. "Nice to see you guys," Alex said as they made it up to him the rest of the way. "I found a nice place for you to stay, but … I could find something closer if you'd rather."

"I'm sure it's great," Bobby said with an easy grin. "We don't want to intrude on you and Lorna and Magda anyhow."

"Yeah," Alex said, shaking his head in spite of himself. "It'd be no trouble, really."

"Come on," Rachel said, shooting him a look. "You said there were great beaches and good food. I'm sure we can meet up for a luau or something one of these nights if you really miss your favorite niece that badly," she teased.

"I'm just saying," Alex said with a shrug and a troublemaking smile. "Iceman is Magda's favorite classic X-Man."

"You're hilarious," Bobby deadpanned.

"No, really. Think about it," Alex said. "She lives in Hawaii. Snow is like … magic to her."

"Yeah, she told me about it on Christmas," Bobby said. "The sunshine in the holidays."

"And you know she loves shaved ice. So."

"We'll have a luau," Bobby agreed with a nod. "Any flavor of shaved ice she wants. She's a cute kid, Alex."

"Good genes," Rachel teased as she took Bobby's hand in hers. "See you around, then?" she asked Alex.

"Count on it," Alex replied as he gave them a little wave and let out a sigh.

You sound like my dad when you do that, Rachel projected as she was leaving.

Yeah, well … genetics.

Rachel was shaking her head to herself at the response as they headed for the beach resort Alex had suggested for them — for her — with rentable spaces with a little more privacy. "Well, that went well," she said.

"Yeah, that wasn't awkward at all," Bobby said with a roll of his eyes.

"My family is …" She waved her hand.

"Uptight? Yeah. In the genes," he teased. "At least it's confirmed in the genes and not in the jeans."

She rolled her eyes at him and lightly shrugged her shoulder against his. "It's a good thing you're not making those jokes in front of Alex — or, God forbid, my dad," she teased.

"Yeah, they'd hear that entirely wrong," he agreed.

She grinned. "Which is too bad. It's a good pun," she teased, pulling the suitcases along telekinetically behind them as she went. "I can turn him around if he tries to bother us if you want."

He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "I can handle Alex," Bobby replied. "Not really too concerned about Scott either. Honestly."

"He's a pushover," Rachel promised with a laugh as she turned to face him and wrapped her arms around him to kiss him quickly. "Usually," she amended.

"I seem to have read that somewhere …"

She laughed at that and kissed him again before they turned their attention to checking into the resort and finding their beach house. "There's supposed to be rain this week — cold snap with the storm," she told him as they walked down the sandy trail hand in hand.

"That's okay," Bobby said with a smile. "Keep the tourist population down a little bit."

"That was my thought too," she said with a smile to match. "That and you look so sad and wilted when it gets too warm," she had to tease.

"Who, me?" he asked as his breath froze in the air in front of them. "Never."

"All wilted and sad," she teased, still grinning. "Such a melting little snowman."

"I think I might need margaritas to keep me from melting. Or … maybe that makes me melt faster. I should think through my options."

"Well, we can always find out," she said, grinning.

"As long as our first night here isn't with judgey Alex and the big doe eyes of Magda and ready to pop Lorna? I'm good."

"No, I suggested that he wait until next weekend for a luau," Rachel told him with a twinkle in her eye.

"Oh. well. Are you suggesting anything right now?" he asked with a troublemaking grin.

She let out a little scoff. "Do you need it?" she teased.

"Nope!" He scooped her up and carried her down the beach. "Why would I need that?"

She grinned that much wider as she rearranged herself to wrap her arms around his neck. "I have no idea. You're the one who brought it up."

"Well … you said you were suggesting things. So I suggested you might be suggesting other things — but I can see I was mistaken."

"Yeah, you got there all on your own," she laughed and quickly stole a kiss.

"Annie, I'm headed out," Scott said as he hung up his phone and reached for his shoes to start pulling them on. The kids were asleep by then, and he had just been talking to Alex before he had intended to go to bed, but...

"Where are you headed now?" she asked with a little frown.

"Just zipping over to Hawaii. Alex let me know there's a problem with Rachel, so…"

"Well, maybe I should go with you then, if there's a problem with Rachel …"

"No, it's a quick fix," Scott promised.

"What kind of fix is it?" she asked, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes just the slightest bit.

Scott narrowed his eyes to himself as he finished pulling on his boots. "He'll re-form."

"Hold it right there, mister," she said, her tone a little more stern. "What have you got in that head of yours?"

He let out a sigh at her tone. "Annie, do you know how much older Bobby is than she is?" he asked. "He's my age!"

Her eyebrows went up for a moment. "Well, alright … but if I understand it right … how old is she now? They're not that far apart, right?"

"Twenty years, Annie," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Well," she said, letting out a sigh. "That's more than I thought. But she is still a grown woman."

"In her twenties," Scott argued.

"It just seems to me that you X-Men tend to need longer to grow up. The women, however …"

He gave her a dry look. "You don't… It's Bobby, Annie. He's been on the team longer than anyone but me."

"So you know better than anyone what kind of a person he is," she argued. "And if he wasn't a good person, he would not have been on the team for that long."

"She's twenty-eight," he said, exasperated.

"And by my count, just about every one of you heroes have married someone much younger," she pointed out. "Yourself included, Mr. Summers."

"That … that's different."

"How?" she challenged. "Are you under the false impression that my family wasn't thinking exactly the same thing? How old was I when we started up?"

"Annie…"

"How old, Mr. Summers?"

Scott let out a breath. "Twenty-nine."

Annie smirked. "All of you boys are older than your women, it seems."

"It just… seems to happen that way," Scott said with a small sigh.

"Then what are you arguin' for?" she said with a little scoff. "It's not as big of a gap as Kurt and Kate have to contend with. And she wasn't even twenty five. Did you even blink at that?"

"It's Rachel," Scott argued.

"Who, if I understand it right, has been through a lot in life. She's older than her years," she pointed out. "If he makes her happy, what's the big deal?"

Scott rubbed a spot on the bridge of his nose and shook his head slowly.

"Not everyone has the luxury of traipsin' around the world forever before they bump into someone they can love," she told him, starting to smile a little wider.

He glanced up at her for a moment and then almost did a double-take. "How long have you known about this, then?"

She smiled wider. "Long enough. Surprised you didn't see it yourself."

"I… it's not like I'd assume Bobby ... I mean…. She's my daughter, Annie. Other dimension or no."

She leaned forward and gave him a kiss. "You're awful cute when you're flustered."

He finally just had to shake his head at her and kissed her back. "When did you get so good at keeping secrets?" he teased.

"I got a good teacher," she replied with a grin.

"You'll be running the school at this rate; you don't even need me," he teased as he pulled his boots back off — since clearly, he wasn't going anywhere tonight.

"What fun would that be?" she asked.

"Right; then you wouldn't have time for the personal bakery you've made of the kitchen."

"I don't know; I might," she said, shaking her head as she sat down next to him. "That little feral has been pushing me out."

"She says it's pregnancy cravings," he said.

"My eye," Annie countered. "She makes it but doesn't eat it."

"How very rude of her," Scott laughed as he pulled her down. "Tell you what. We'll get you an actual bakery then."

"Is that you asking for cupcakes again?" she teased as she put her arms around his neck.

"It's me taking care of my wife — who is still very young and beautiful and hasn't aged a day," he said with a grin.

"And who very much wants to curl up and snuggle for the night," she replied.

"No Hawaii?" he had to tease.

"Not unless we're going for ourselves and not to bother them," she told him. "And I'd prefer that after the little one is here?"

"We could get away for Christmas," he said. "She'd be old enough then to let Alex babysit the kids for a day or two."

"That sounds perfect," she agreed, nodding and grinning outright before she pulled him into a much longer and more satisfying kiss.