Chapter 9

Twenty minutes later

The boathouse

Scott hadn't said a word to her since leaving the mansion. The entire walk back to their house was made in silence. Jean didn't need to be a telepath to feel the hurt radiating off her husband. She hadn't done anything wrong she reminded herself… But then, why did she feel guilty?

Jean turned the key to their front door and she and Scott went in. Ororo was sitting on their couch watching TV. "Hey 'Ro," Jean greeted, forcing a cheerful tone in her voice. "Did the kids behave for you?"

"As always, my friend," Ororo answered, smiling. "Rachel and I finished the cookies. They actually turned out quite well, if I do say so myself."

"Thanks so much, 'Ro," Scott said. Those were the first words that came out of her husband's mouth in the last half hour or so. "Are the kids asleep?"

"Yes, Rachel fell asleep about twenty minutes ago," Ororo answered. "By the way, how many times have you read The Velveteen Rabbit to her? She asked me to read it to her as her bedtime story and she was able to recite the whole thing with me. For a second, I thought she had learned to read."

"I assure you, that's just memorization on her part," Jean answered. "Scott and I have probably read that book a hundred times to her combined."

"Ahhh, I see. You have one smart little girl. Well, I'll be on my way now," Ororo said, as she made her way to the door.

"Thanks again, 'Ro!" Jean said, embracing her friend, then shutting the door behind her.

Scott made his way to the kitchen and started putting away all of the baking material he and Rachel had used earlier. Jean began helping him when Scott yelled, "Jesus, Jean! What happened to your throat?!"

The lighting in their kitchen was a lot brighter than in the mansion. Jean had completely forgotten that, with her pale complexion, Logan's manhandling of her earlier that day would probably have left marks. A part of her was tempted to lie to Scott, but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to.

"When Logan woke up in the med bay, he was disoriented and felt threatened. He grabbed me by the throat. It was so quick I didn't have time to use my powers to defend myself."

"The fucking bastard!" Scott gritted through his teeth. He practically slammed the plates in his hands on the counter and made his way to the door.

"Scott! No! He didn't know what he was doing!" Jean yelled after her husband. She grabbed Scott's arm enough to slow him down. She then went around him to block the door. "He apologized to me. Please, let it go."

"He hurt you!" Scott said, angrily.

"He didn't mean to, Scott. Please… If you knew what that man's been through you'd understand why he would react that way," Jean said, putting her hands on her husband's chest, willing him to calm down.

"And you know what he's been through?" Scott asked.

"Have you forgotten where we first came across him? He was locked up like an animal in Stryker's military facility. We were the ones who freed him. I know you still remember that," Jean said.

Scott seemed to calm down a little, much to Jean's relief. He slowly backed away from her and started heading back to the kitchen. After a few moments of silence, Scott whispered, "If he ever lays a hand on you again… Even you won't be able to stop me the next time."

Jean had no words. The finality in his voice made it very clear he was not kidding. It frightened Jean because she knew Scott would go through with it… But with Logan's healing factor, heightened senses, adamantium claws and virtually indestructible body… her husband wouldn't stand a chance. And she would die first before she let anything happen to Scott. She made a silent vow to herself that if there was in fact a next time, Scott would never know about it.

Scott went back to ignoring her and continued cleaning the kitchen. How did they go from being so happy that morning to not even speaking anymore? Scott had a jealous streak, but he'd never taken it out on her before. Why was he so angry? It cut her deeply that he couldn't even bring himself to look at her at the moment.

Jean sighed and walked away. She knew she needed to give Scott some space to sort out his thoughts and to calm himself. It was obvious he didn't like Logan. She didn't need to be a telepath to see that. It was obvious he didn't like what he saw back at the mansion between her and Logan. But this was an overreaction Jean hadn't expected. She would get to the bottom of what was truly bothering her husband. But first, she'd give him some time to himself. In the meantime, she wanted to check on the children and grab a quick shower.

The next morning

The mansion

Scott pushed the food around his plate aimlessly, not really having much of an appetite to eat. He and Jean took the kids with them to the mansion to have breakfast with their friends. It was something they did every Friday and Rachel loved it because she got to run around freely in a much bigger house.

Logan sat beside Hank, directly across from Jean who sat beside Scott. Scott did his best to ignore Logan, who didn't even bother hiding his interest in Jean. "You have a very beautiful daughter, Red. Takes after her mother," Logan said, obviously a subtle dig at Scott.

"Thank you, Logan," Jean said, a genuine smile on her face, as was usual whenever she talked about either Rachel or Nathan. "Peter was just joking the other day, said I should start calling her 'mini-me'."

"She's a darling!" Ororo chimed in.

"Yup, my little partner in crime," Peter added, winking at Jean. He obviously still had the previous morning's breakfast incident fresh in his mind. Jean turned a bright shade of pink and looked away, not wanting to get into that particular story.

Scott didn't bother joining in the conversation and instead forced a bite of food down his rather dry throat. He knew what Logan was doing. He was using Rachel to further worm his way into Jean's good graces. It didn't escape Scott's notice earlier when Logan first laid eyes on Rachel and realized not only was Jean spoken for, she had children too. The look on his face was one of pure disappointment.

It also irked Scott that after only spending a day with Jean, he had the audacity to give her a pet name of 'Red'. It irked him even more that Jean would allow it. Then again, their other friends occasionally called her that too; Peter and Hank were the usual culprits… But then again, they didn't have this fixation on his wife.

"You and your little girl are like two peas in a pod," Logan said, addressing Jean.

"Oh, don't be fooled by our outward likeness, she's just like her father in every other way," Jean said, smiling at her husband.

Scott knew that Jean was trying to get him out of his shell and invite him into the conversation, but all he could muster up was a small smile. More for the sake of not making their friends feel uncomfortable at the table as opposed to him actually having anything to smile about. He felt a little bad when Jean's face fell slightly at his lack of… participation.

"Oh, she's totally a daddy's girl," Peter said. "Rachel broke Jean's expensive Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses just a few months ago because she wanted to have shades like her father."

"Yes, Scott's indeed her hero," Kurt added.

Scott couldn't be sure, but it looked like Logan mumbled something like, "More's the pity," as he bent down and took a sip of his coffee.

Jean hadn't noticed, but it seemed Hank did as he quickly said, "Scott, since you're here perhaps you could help me with something on the Blackbird?"

Thank God for perceptive friends, Scott thought. He welcomed a reprieve. "Sure Hank, lead the way," Scott said. The two men got up and left the table.

The Hangar Bay

"You don't like our new friend much, do you?" Hank said to Scott. It was more a statement than a question.

"Gee, Hank… You developing telepathy?" Scott said, sarcastically.

Hank just chuckled. "You know, you should give him a chance. This is the first time I've met this version of him. But I did meet him back in 1973 when his future-self's consciousness took over his body. Obviously, it's not exactly the same man, but it's close enough. And he's a good man deep down."

"Yeah, I've heard bits and pieces of the story from the others. Apparently, the future where he came from was this apocalyptic time where Sentinels were eradicating humans and mutants alike. Professor Xavier and Magneto sent his consciousness back in time to change the course of history," Scott said.

"We're living in a better world thanks to what he's done," Hank said.

"His future-self, you mean?" Scott said, correcting his friend.

Hank laughed. "Yes, I guess so. But the core of the man is the same. Just take yourself for example, you've lost the last ten years of your memory, but at heart, you're still you."

"Thanks…" Scott said, awkwardly. "Perhaps if it wasn't my wife he's so fixated on, I might feel differently."

"Come on, Scott… What man hasn't had a crush on Jean at one point or another? You have a very attractive wife, but more than that she's got a warmth and kindness to her that draws men like moths to a flame," Hank said.

"It isn't that…" Scott said. If he was truly being honest with himself, it wasn't because Logan was attracted to Jean… It was because he saw a mutual attraction between the two of them. But he wasn't prepared to voice that to Hank, despite their close friendship.

"Then what is it, my friend?" Hank asked, looking genuinely concerned for Scott.

"I don't know," Scott lied.

"If I may be so bold, Scott… Don't take it out on Jean. I saw how hurt she was this morning seeing you so distant. It's subtle, but I noticed it. You wouldn't want her running into the arms of another man now, would you?" Hank said,

Scott's head shot up, not having even considered that. "You think she would?"

Hank gave him a sad smile. "No, she loves you too much for that… But don't push her to a point where she would want to. Don't push her to a point where she'd have to remind herself why she loves you. Don't close yourself off to her… Especially when there's another man not so far away just waiting with open arms."

"I thought you said Logan was a good man?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"I never said he was a saint either," Hank said, wryly. "But heed my words, my friend. Your wife is a telepath. I can only imagine how painful it is for her whenever you close yourself off. Openness is a trait telepaths find incredibly appealing. If I understood you correctly earlier, Logan practically invited Jean to have free rein in his mind the night before."

"Among other things," Scott mumbled, sardonically.

"How long did you eavesdrop on the two of them last night anyway?" Hank asked.

"First of all, I wasn't eavesdropping… Second of all, it was long enough," Scott said, evasively.

"Whatever you say…" Hank said. Both men were just leaning on the airstair of the Blackbird. There wasn't really anything Hank needed to show Scott as far as the jet was concerned.

"Hey Hank… What was I like… Before my accident. Before I forgot everything. Jean's told me a lot, but she's my wife… I'd like to hear from a friend," Scott said.

Hank didn't answer right away. He looked thoughtful, probably thinking about how best to describe his friend. "You were a master tactician. You showed signs of your tactical brilliance even when you were in your teens, back when Alex introduced you to us. The professor and I marvelled at your strategies and plans behind closed doors, long before you even became leader of the team. But you really came into your own the last couple of years before you retired."

"Could you tell me more?" Scott asked.

"Well, I'll give you an example… Seven years ago, we were on a mission to rescue Moira MacTaggert who was captured alongside several of her fellow CIA agents by a group called The Reavers, led by their leader Donald Pierce…" Hank started.

"I'm afraid, other than Moira, none of the other names ring a bell…" Scott said.

"It's alright, they don't need to," Hank said, "Anyway, all our intel was wrong… To make a long story short, we walked into a trap. I thought we were all done for. But with your quick thinking and cool head under pressure, we made it out of there with no casualties on our side. You knew exactly what to do, the enemies to target first, you knew how to utilize all our powers for maximum effect. You knew how to spread us out, you knew how to delegate tasks, how to separate our enemies and hit 'em where it hurt… It all just came naturally to you."

"Sounds like quite the adventure," Scott said.

"You have no idea… Anyway, don't get me wrong, Storm is an amazing leader… But no one could replace you. Your strategic brilliance, your confidence under pressure, your tactical genius is unsurpassed. Despite my incredibly high IQ, I couldn't have gotten us out of that mess. But you did… And you made it all look so easy," Hank said. "That's something you're lacking now without your memories… You lack that swagger."

Scott scoffed. "Swagger is the last thing I've got right about now."

"I'm thinking that's one of the things that's bothering you about Logan… He oozes confidence… You, not so much. I think you're threatened by that," Hank said, honestly.

Scott shrugged, knowing Hank was right, at least partially. "Experience builds confidence… And I've lost a lot of mine."

"I'm not saying I blame you… Merely stating what I observe," Hank said. "You know another thing I observed?"

Scott was somewhat regretting asking Hank to be so candid with him… The man was hitting a little too close to home. But Scott figured, in for a penny, in for a pound. "What's that?"

"I don't think Logan would have gotten under your skin so much if you remembered everything you and Jean have been through together. I'm sure she's told you a lot, but it's not the same as having lived through them. You two have been through hell and back together. You've experienced more in the last ten years what most couples have in five lifetimes. If you remembered, then you'd know she wouldn't trade you for anything in the world… But just heed my warning, don't push her to a point where she'd want to," Hank said, solemnly.

Scott took his friend's advice to heart.

To be continued…