A/N: Hi! Sorry for the delay, but there were so many distractions and presentations to prepare that I couldn't just sit down and type the story. But here it is. Also I forgot to site some stuff from last chapter. Jean' s flashbacks were from the X-Men Wedding Album and Classic X-Men #1. This chapter has some mentions of the death of Captain America and the future story arc in the X-Men series about the mutant extinction. My grammar might be off, again. Just give me some heads up because I need to practice to improve. Thanks. This originally was a lot longer, but I cut it off and moved it to the next chapter that I am working on. Again, read and review!

Disclaimer: They're not mine! Except the doctor ;)

Chapter 8 – Bonding

As the days passed, Jean has adjusted to life back at the mansion. The mansion was not as crowded as it used to be before the House of M event. It felt a little empty. It reminded her when there were only a handful of people who lived in the mansion a few years ago when the school was still a secret. Jean felt a little more at home and sad at the same time. What has happened to the mutant population?

Jean took her time to move her belongings in her new room, while Emma quietly envied her when they both passed each other in the hallway. I hate you, Emma projected a thought to Jean. Jean smiled to herself and just kept walking while shaking her head of how childish Emma is being.

It took some getting used to sleeping in a new room let alone a very big one. There are some advantages of having Charles' suite is the fact he needed a lot of room to use a wheelchair to get around. She is especially impressed with the walk-in closet, though. It's like another room within a room. Jean and Eris decided to do some shopping for new bedding and pillows. She knew that Charles sleeps on his back while Jean is more of a side-sleeper. The pillows were too soft for her and she's been waking up with a stiff neck every morning.

December 1st

Jean, Rachel and Eris went to the graveyard where the Grey Family was buried. Jean's emotions are all over the place, but she kept them under control. She has seen her family on the other side when they were killed and couldn't believe it at first. It wasn't their time yet. That made her mad. Jean looked at her father's headstone and smiled at the quote below his name:

"Any man can be a father; it takes someone special to be a dad – Unknown Author"

Jean thought of herself as "daddy's little girl." Now Jean being back on solid ground and her father buried six feet under, she felt like a little lost girl. She needed some kind of guidance. Charles is gone and so was her father. Scott is no use to her. Ororo is in another continent and might not have a lot of time to talk. Eris can be of help, but she wasn't around in Jean's adult years. They needed some catching up. Logan is her last chance. He has a lot of life experience, even if it were bad experiences.

"I tired to save them Mom," Rachel said as she was about to start crying. "I failed."

Jean turned to Rachel and went over to her to give her a hug. She comforted Rachel by stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head. "Ssssh, sweetie. It's okay. You did what you could. You were just caught off guard."

"I should have sensed them, Mom. I could have saved them."

"Ray, don't blame yourself."

"Grandma wished we didn't exist."

"…"

"She meant every word of it and I felt all the anger in each and every word."

Jean hugged Rachel even more which made her cry even harder. At this point Jean isn't sure what to say. Jean and her mom didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things. Her parents were somewhat conservative although her father can be lenient at times. She can understand why her mother would say such things. Having both daughters dead, does take a toll on any parent. As Rachel calmed down, Jean pulled back a bit and looked into her daughter's eyes.

"Look, Grandma has gone through a lot. She may say things at the time that she meant out of anger. She lost her two daughters because of the sacrifices we made. Sara fought for mutant rights and she was kidnapped and killed. I sacrificed my life in order to save others but I have the burden to be Phoenix. Being incarnated every so often can wear a person out. I don't think Grandma can take seeing death in the family anymore. All we did is brought grief, not happiness."

Rachel looked into her mom's eyes and she saw something that she missed so much. Passion. Fire. Jean Grey is back and stronger than ever. "Grandma can be a stickler at times, but don't let her words stop you. Prove to everybody that you are worth existing in this world. YOU are not a failure."

Rachel smiled at the last statement. She sounded more like Grandpa. Jean looked over to her father's grave one more time and kissed the headstone. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll do you proud." Jean looked over to Rachel and held out her hand to her. Rachel took her hand and stood by her mom. "We'll do you proud."

"I think we are all proud of ya," Eris said as she walked next to Jean. "And we couldn't be any happier."

December 5th

Some of the teams were sent out on missions. Most of the missions were mostly about the aftermath of the House of M. For Jean, she feels that the event has worsened the universes' state. The mutant population alone is something that Jean worried the most – there hasn't been any sign of new mutant development. It is stressing out Hank of the situation of no new mutant births.

Jean sits on an exam bed in the Med Unit located in the lower levels of the mansion. Clad in a hospital gown, she looked around the room observing the changes made. She knew Dr. Eris Kingston was rearranging the Med Unit to a working condition for emergencies. It is a mixture of Shi'ar technology and the traditional medical equipment you find at hospitals. It was Eris who suggested Jean to come by and get a check-up since she was back. Now Jean is sitting in an exam room waiting for the news.

The sliding doors opened and Eris walked in holding onto a palm pilot with a confused look on her face. "What's wrong?" Jean asked worriedly.

"Oh, nothin' is wrong Jean," Eris said insecurely. "Well, I don't know if ya consider it wrong."

Eris walked over to the counter across from the bed and transfers the data in the computer. Out of thin air, a holographic image of a DNA strand appeared in the middle of the room. "Did you find something strange with my DNA?" Jean asked looking at the images curiously.

"Strange, but also impressive," Eris said as she faced Jean.

"You're starting to sound like Hank," Jean said with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't tell him that. I like the bloke, but havin' to hear him go on and on about genetics is givin' me a headache," Eris said returning the same look to Jean.

"So, what is it?"

Getting serious now, Eris walked over to the image and explained as best as she could of the changes that are going on with Jean. "It seems that your original record of your blood sample only matches 90 percent of the blood sample I have now."

"What?! What's the 10 percent?"

"A new genetic trait you never had before."

Jean ran a hand through her face not being able to believe of the news. She stared at the image that shows the animation of DNA replication. However not only is it replicating itself as it should, but it is replacing a part of the strand with a new one. Jean sighed.

"Ya remember your biology right, Jean?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Alright, this is my theory. Based on your medical records and past mission reports, it seems that not only did the Phoenix force merged with you in body, but also by blood. Somehow it managed to be part of your genetic make-up," Eris said as she showed Jean the animation before her. "It is replacin' and destroyin' a dormant genetic trait and replacin' it with an active genetic trait."

"But that's impossible."

"You're Phoenix, Jean. Nothin' is impossible with ya."

"But I don't feel any differently?"

"Maybe not now, but eventually there had to have been some things you are able to do now than before."

Jean looked to her hands on her lap which she started to fiddle with. Thinking of the past few weeks she had been back in her body, she didn't realize that there were some things that she was able to do now. She looked up to Eris nervously and biting her bottom lip. "Well, I didn't notice that I can fly around space with no assistance of oxygen."

"Huh."

"I think I can also control fire as well."

"Like on command?"

Jean thought about it and raised her right arm then she snapped her fingers. Out of thin air, her fingertips ignited in a small orange-yellow flame and she looked at her hand from all sides. She opened her hand and closed it into a fist to extinguish the flame. Eris just shook her head with amazement. "You're just full of surprises, Jean."

"So what would this mean for me?"

"Well, your no avatar that's for sure. You and Phoenix are one in the same person. Instead of the bloodline of the Greys' it's goin' to be the Phoenix bloodline. Each offspring are goin' to carry the Phoenix power from here on out."

"You mean like Cable?"

Eris went back to the computer to pull up Nathan's records and scanned through them. She turned the computer off and turned to Jean to share her theory. "Sort of. Madelyn may have carried a small portion of the Phoenix force at the time she was pregnant, but I think that your offspring will be a lot stronger than him."

Jean took a deep breath taking in all the news. She's not sure what to think of it. "Look Jean, it may not mean much so try not to look into it too much. It could be a blessin'."

"Or a curse."

"Look, would ya trust me if ya found out that your doctor's first name is named after the Greek goddess of discord and chaos?"

Jean shook her head of the ironic profession Eris chose. Eris smiled at her reaction.

"Quit thinkin' of the negatives. This new power can be a beneficial for ya and everyone else around ya."

Jean thought about it feeling that her friend is right. Then Jean thought of something funny. "So, you haven't had any incidents while you practiced as a surgeon?"

"Honey, I AM the best surgeon in this country!" Eris said with a smirk. She knows where Jean is going with this. "Besides, if anybody rubs me the wrong way, I can give a botched surgery and still get away with it." Jean nodded understanding Eris' ways of practice. "Emma is already at my ends wits," Eris added. Jean giggled.

December 6th, 12:05 a.m.

Back patio …

Some of the teams came back from their mission and with little incident. Jean decided to keep the news of her new genetic trait to herself as she didn't want to have everybody worry about her. Jean somehow couldn't find any sleep and decided to take a walk around the mansion. The mansion is a bit on the cold side even if there is no sign of snow. Jean walked around with her long, black, wool trench coat on from keeping the cold air away. The bath robe wouldn't do any justice to keep her warm. Since she is feeling like a caged bird in the mansion, she walked out to the back patio and took a seat on one of the lounge chairs.

Sitting up and hugging her legs closer to her body for more warmth, Jean looks up to the partial clear night skies. She notices the bright full moon and a few passing clouds that blocked the moonlight for a few seconds. It looks like snow will be coming soon, Jean thought to herself.

Many of the residents were waiting for the snow to come to Westchester. They were so desperate; they even wished that Storm was still around. Bobby got lucky that he wasn't hounded by the kids since he was out on mission. Jean can feel the moisture in the air. Snow is definitely coming soon.

Lost in thought, Jean didn't notice that she isn't alone. As the mysterious figure came closer, Jean came out of her daydream and sensed a worried Wolverine. She slowly turned her head to the left to see Logan standing a few feet away from her with his hands in his pockets. Jean gives him a small smile and Logan took it as a signal to approach her. He sat at the foot of the lounge chair facing Jean and noticing her somber mood. Jean sees the worry in his eyes and gives him a smile. "Back from the bar already? It's barely after midnight."

"Who said I went to a bar?"

"Strip Club?"

Logan chuckled and shook his head knowing that Jean is joking around. "What are ya doin' out here, Redd?"

"Can't sleep."

"So comin' out here in the cold is goin' to help ya sleep?"

"No. It's just that I'm feeling a little caged in, that's all."

"I understand that."

Silence fell between them. Logan stared at the ground in front of him. Jean stared at Logan's profile and studied him. All the things that she was told about Logan from Rachel, Kitty, Ororo, and Jubilee made Jean worry about her friend even more. "I'm sorry about Captain America," Jean said quietly. Logan didn't react, but his eyes said it all and Jean noticed it. "I know he meant a lot to you Logan, even if you two butted heads at times. How are you doing?"

Knowing Logan, Jean isn't really expecting an answer from him or at least an answer that contains more than one word. Logan slowly faced Jean with sad eyes. It is still clear that Logan is still mourning Captain's death. "I'm okay."

Jean nodded understanding that he is still hurt of the tragic events. She didn't want to push any further. "I always imagined if Steve were to have ever died, he would have died in battle. Not assassinated in broad daylight on the front steps of a federal courthouse."

Logan raised an eyebrow wondering how Jean knew about the news since it had happened months ago. He doesn't remember telling her when she visited him when he was asleep. Jean caught his reactions and quickly explained herself. "I did some catching up with some reading. This is what happens when you have a lot of free time on your hands," Jean said trying to lighten up the mood a bit with a small smile.

Logan gave her a sad smile in return. "It's okay, Jeannie. I'm just tryin' to get used to the idea that he is really gone, is all. I've been through a lot with him. Even if I tried to kill him more than once."

"But you would never let him die."

"Nah. I couldn't."

"He was a good man. It's saddening he died the way he did."

"Yeah. Whoever set him up is goin' to pay," Logan said with venom in his voice. Calming down and wanting to change the subject, Logan looked at Jean to see how she is doing so far. "How 'bout ya? How are ya doin' since I've been gone?"

"You've only been gone for three days, Logan."

"Yeah, I know," Logan said giving Jean his winning smile. Jean smiled back and shook her head and then became serious again.

"Promise not to say anything to anyone?"

"You can count on me, darlin'."

"Eris had me do a check-up earlier and she found something interesting."

"Are ya okay?"

"Yeah, it's not bad or anything. It's just that my genetic make-up is changing."

Logan just raised an eyebrow. Jean rolled her eyes trying to explain it. "Eris says that the Phoenix force has not only merged into my body, but my DNA as well. I probably can do more things that I have never done before."

"Such as?"

Jean held out her hand and did the same example she did with Eris. Logan is amazed that she has control over her new powers. "I can also fly through space with no problem."

Logan didn't say anything, but nodded. "Anything else?"

"No. Eris says I won't be able to notice any of the changes. Besides, I haven't really tested my full potential yet."

"So, ya need some trainin'?"

"Are you offering me your teachings?"

"Depends. Are you willin' to let me kick your butt around?"

"If it means that I can kick your butt around in return?"

Pretending to think about it, Logan looked at her with a small smile. "I doubt ya can do that Redd."

Jean chuckled at Logan's arrogance. "Mark my words, dear Logan … your ass is mine!"

They both laughed and smiled at each other. They kept smiling at each other until Jean noticed something falling from the sky and landed on Logan's hair. She looked up at the sky and a light flurry or snow has started to come down. "We better get inside."

Logan also saw the snow and agreed with Jean. Logan stood up and held out a hand to help Jean up from the lounge chair. They both walked towards the French doors that lead to the recreation room with their arms wrapped around each others waist. "Thanks for keeping me company Logan."

"Anytime, Jeannie."

Okay. Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter will be a little more fun because it's Christmas at the mansion. Hopefully I can get that done soon instead of two weeks. A week tops. Review!