A/N - I am absolutely making an effort to post fairly quickly for those still paying attention. It just so happens that I have a bizarre job that interferes with my writing. Go figure. Please remember to enable email notifications to get our updates in a timely manner! Kthanks!

Chapter 4 - Baby Watch

Alyssa had been doing a lot of her homework at the mansion simply because it was safer for her, especially with the backlash against James. There was a real concern that one of the idiotic hate groups would try to retaliate against him by going after her, and she was becoming a nearly permanent fixture in the library lately.

So when Kari came to sit down beside her, Alyssa almost didn't even look up. "Hi, Kari."

"Hey, Alyssa," Kari said, tipping her head to the laptop Alyssa had cracked open. "What are you working on?"

"I had to take a physical science course for the generals, and I thought geology would be a good fit," she said in a sigh. "And it's easy but also incredibly boring. So much busy work."

"I ended up opting out of the college route, so I really wouldn't know, sorry," Kari said with a dramatic wince.

"That's because you're already a famous artist," Alyssa pointed out. "You have natural talent."

"So do you," Kari pointed out quickly. "You're amazing at that vlog. I've never seen someone who has such a natural speaking talent."

"Except maybe a Summers," Alyssa teased lightly. "I've seen Chance on the news a couple times since the Texas thing."

"The team keeps getting ambushed by reporters," Kari assured her, thinking that it was a slight kind of jealousy at not getting the scoop that had Alyssa's shoulders slightly slumped, though when Alyssa's expression didn't lighten up at all, Kari frowned and leaned forward. "And what about you? Are you doing alright?"

Alyssa smiled at Kari for a moment before she couldn't quite hold it anymore and let the smile drop along with her shoulders. "It's not quite what I thought it would be," she admitted softly. "Dating an X-Man."

"Oh," Kari said, realizing the problem. She quickly nodded along, putting on her most sympathetic look as she laid a hand on Alyssa's shoulder. "Yeah, it's definitely not for the faint of heart."

"I can't even really get mad at him for scaring me," Alyssa said, abandoning her geology homework to turn toward Kari with bright eyes. "Especially when it's little kids. Who can get mad at someone for blocking kids from getting shot?"

"Believe me, I know," Kari said in a sigh. "I can't tell you how many times my parents or my brother or my sister have come back banged up… Krissy's been kidnapped and twisted up… Kaleb still has problems with being the most recognizably physically mutated person on the team…"

"You'd really think people would be over that by now, considering how long your dad has been an X-Man," Alyssa said, making a face.

"Yeah, you'd think, wouldn't you?" Kari said, matching the face Alyssa was making before she let out another long sigh. "It's just part of the job, really. People are always going to be afraid of us, because we don't subscribe to the theory that everyone has to be divided by their genetic makeup. And people will always be afraid of new ideas."

"That sounds like something your dad would say," Alyssa said with a small smile.

Kari smiled back at her. "Thanks," she said. "But actually, it's from Professor Xavier."

Alyssa nodded and fell silent for a long time — though her homework remained untouched, so Kari knew that she hadn't quite said everything that she wanted to. Finally, she looked Kari's way again. "Annie said that it would get easier, but I don't feel like it has," she said. "Every time he takes a hit, I feel like I got socked in the gut too."

"Me too," Kari admitted. "And it doesn't get easy so much as it gets familiar. Sort of like building up muscles, I think. Your legs aren't as sore the fiftieth time you dance as the first time, right?"

"That…" Alyssa couldn't help but smile at Kari. "That's probably the best way I've ever heard anyone explain it."

"A lifetime of experience," Kari said. She couldn't help but reach over and rest her hand on Alyssa's arm. "No one is asking you not to get upset that someone you care about is hurt. That's ridiculous. The trick is to figure out how to keep living even when that's hanging over your head."

"Yeah, I don't think I've figured that out yet," Alyssa said dryly.

Kari smiled. "I think you will."

"And what if I can't?" Alyssa asked. "What if I'm just not cut out for this kind of stress all the time?"

Kari opened her mouth to say something and then paused, thinking of Scott and all the problems he'd had with his health. "Yeah," she said quietly. "It's really wearing."

"It is," Alyssa said, her shoulders scrunched forward as she rested her chin on her arms crossed in front of her.

Kari paused before she laid a gentle hand on her friend's back. "There's no shame in saying that this isn't the life you want," she said quietly.

"He's protecting kids, Kari."

"Yeah." Kari let out her breath, knowing that there really wasn't a good answer here. "I wish I knew what to tell you."

Alyssa nodded against her arms for a moment before she straightened up and seemed to try to shake off her bad mood. "Right," she said to herself. "I think… do you want to grab some coffee with me? I still have another two essays to write, and this might be a long night, so caffeine would be good."

K had of course cancelled her classes by this stage of her pregnancy and was just about as miserable as she could remember being with any one of the little ones before this one. She had gone out of her way to avoid everyone and had found a rarely-used sitting room down the hall from the teacher's offices to curl up and avoid everyone. Or almost everyone.

Somehow, Cody had still managed to find her there. He didn't say a word at first as he simply sat down beside her, kicking his feet up as he watched her with his head tipped to the side before he said, "It wasn't you; it's just that your baby's loud, so he was easy to find."

"Why does that not surprise me?" K asked with a little frown. "Not even born and he's got opinions on things."

Cody couldn't help but smirk at that. "He's got a wicked sense of humor, too. And thinks your laugh is the best thing ever."

"He really doesn't have anything to compare it to," K pointed out.

"Maybe," Cody conceded. "But he gets a roller coaster ride when you laugh, so therefore, it's the best."

"Then he's going to be sick of me very fast once he's out," K said, nodding. "Good to know." She tipped her head to watch him for a moment. "Is this your new pastime?"

"What, babywatching?" Cody asked with a smirk. "Oh yeah. It's all the rage nowadays."

She had to smile at that. "Well I'm glad that's what you're here for anyhow. You're not allowed any secondary mutations at this point. I'm retired."

Cody burst out laughing. "Yeah, I don't want anymore, thanks," he said, still chuckling to himself.

"So, in that case, maybe you can tell me how someone who is so young has such a great sense of humor," she said. "What can he possibly find funny at this point?"

"Right now? He's figured out the sound of people's voices and that you laugh when certain people are around," Cody said. "It's basic, but he likes it."

She shifted how she was sitting so she was leaning on his arm. "That's actually nice to know, all things considered."

"Logan is his favorite, obviously," Cody said. "But he likes my dad too, because you can usually get a good laugh out of teasing him."

"And Kurt," she said, nodding. "That might explain why the kids all followed the adults they did to start."

"Probably helps that Kurt sings to all of the little kids," Cody pointed out. "All of them."

"So does Logan," K pointed out with a smirk. "When they need it."

"Think he'll do that for Chance and Elin's when they get around to that?" Cody asked. "Or is that something he can't get past? I can hear the growl when it comes up in conversation, you know."

"I'm sure he will," K said. "He's alright with the idea; it's the reality of it that will be harder to grasp." She shrugged one shoulder. "I've been keeping him honest about it. If he didn't want them having a family, he never should have given the kid permission. And he has less room than anyone else to even begin to think about judging."

Cody had to smirk at that and nodded. "I appreciate that," he said. "Especially because they're both driving me and Charlie a little bit nuts."

"That's out of my hands. I won't get in the middle of that," K said.

Cody's smirk widened. "Oh, I know. I just meant we'd also like a live brother once he does get his way," he said, unable to quite stop the little chuckle.

She gave him a little smile. "Logan won't kill him," she promised. "He's actually been just waiting. He knows it's coming. He'll be fine."

"Everyone does. My brother is a lot of things, but he's not at all subtle," Cody said with a smirk.

"No, no he is not," K said with a little chuckle. "Complete fail in subtlety."

"It's a family trait," Cody said, shrugging with both arms out. "I think Chloe might actually be the best at it, considering how she's handling Kaleb."

K raised an eyebrow his way and shook her head before she snuggled in. "No. You're winning at subtlety. Chloe is doing better than the others, but … No. You're leaving yourself out of it, and you can't do that."

"I'm not really… no, I'm not," Cody defended, a frown creasing his forehead.

"Oh?" K said, the smile starting to form. "So you're telling me my nose is wrong? And that you're not crushing on someone? Please … before you answer, remember that my sense of smell is even more amped up right now than it usually is. And I'll bet Charlie knows too, but she's got that ridiculous 'don't get involved' nonsense going on."

"Hey, I actually get that rule," Cody said. "Ever since I started hearing other people's thoughts ... it's amazing how much she doesn't interfere."

"I'm sure your dad's a much busier listen," K said. "My best guess is that he says something for every seven hundred thoughts he has."

"You have no idea," Cody said, starting to chuckle at that.

She grinned at him. "Clearly I do. But I'm glad you have some trouble with Logan and I. Other telepaths have said we're desperately hard to follow."

"You are. And you know… Chance is slightly harder now too?" Cody said with one eye closed.

"I'm not surprised. But I meant not just hard to get into but harder to follow once they get in."

Cody shrugged. "Okay, then, speedy mindreader. What do you know that I don't?" he asked with a troublemaking smile.

"I know that there is a young lady who is interested but … cautious. And you light up when you're around her," K said, smirking. "I was starting to wonder if you were going to slowly get more and more tattoos in more hidden spots just so you could show her. Privately. As an opener."

Cody shook his head at that as he got to his feet. "Yeah, just for that, I'm getting a tattoo on my neck so it's visible and you can't tease," he said with a smirk. "Besides, Zoe and I aren't anywhere close to dating right now."

"What's wrong with her?" K asked. "And don't cancel your tattoo ideas on my account. Her birth chart on your backside would be very tasteful."

Cody rolled his eyes hard. "There's nothing wrong with her," he said. "We grew up playing pranks on people. Of course I like being around her; she's fun."

"Yes, but it's different, sweetheart. You pulled pranks with the Elflings and my kids too; you don't light up around them like this."

Cody rubbed a hand through his hair for a long moment before he simply shook his head. He didn't want to rehash with K all the reasons he didn't feel ready for a relationship. But on the other hand, the fact that she was actually teasing and even pushing him a little bit in Zoe's direction… that was telling. Maybe he wasn't as ill-prepared for dating as he thought he was, considering one of his best defenders seemed to think he was okay enough for teases like that.

"I'll see you around, K," he said, headed for the door.

"Love you, Cody," she sang out.

"Love you too," he called over his shoulder.

James was glad to get out of the house after a long stretch of hard missions and the hit in Texas that had been playing nonstop on the news still. He never did get the memory of that mission back — or the few days leading up to it — though the footage he watched that showed him taking a round to the head from a sniper rifle was an easy enough explanation for that at least.

Now, he was having a lot of trouble getting used to the bigger influx of strangers in and out of Westchester walking up to him to say hello or take a picture. Particularly the little kids that wanted to say hi, but that part wasn't problematic.

Still, he needed to get out. So, he snuck out sometime after Alyssa's midterms were done with; he had a date to get to. And to be honest, he was looking forward to a little peace and quiet with his sweetheart outside of the mansion. The two of them met up at the cafe, and she was waiting for him — already with her drink in hand, though James had to frown at the fact that she smelled anxious.

"I'm glad to see you out and about, Mr. Publicity," Alyssa said with a smile that looked genuine, but her shoulders hadn't relaxed at all.

"It wasn't easy," he promised before he made a point to give her another, slightly longer and involved kiss — since she looked like she needed something to relax. And it worked. Partially.

She let out a breath and grinned, but it was clear she wasn't quite herself. James held his breath, wondering what it was that had her on edge. "Someone screw with you?" he asked as he offered her his hand.

Alyssa frowned, glanced around the cafe, and quickly shook her head. "What? No. No. Nothing like that," she said, again with a slightly put-on smile. "Just … um. Did you have anything planned for tonight?"

He shook his head lightly as they headed out of the place. "You mean outside of the hike and picnic you picked out?" he asked with a crooked smile. "I guess we can see how it goes. If you're up for it, the meteor shower should be visible. Stargazing's always fun."

She had to grin at that and chuckle lightly to herself. "Yeah, well … I'm not sure I've ever spotted more than a couple meteors when we've gone out."

"Which is impressive considering how many we've watched." But that really only had Alyssa's smile slipping a little bit more. James, of course, didn't miss it. "Hey," he said before he pulled her over to wrap his arms around her and kiss her forehead. "Come on. What's on your mind?"

"Am I that obvious?"

"Oh yeah," James said, one eyebrow raised. "So … what's the deal, sweetheart?"

She looked highly uncomfortable and bit her lip as she mulled it over, which really only had James more concerned, until of course, she finally spit it out. "I'm late," she said very quietly, sure that he'd hear her. "And I'm never late. I'm two weeks over … and I'm … I don't know …"

James couldn't help but let out a breath at that. "You're afraid you're pregnant?"

She blinked and looked up at him with a little sigh. "Well … yeah. It's a reasonable worry, don't you think?"

"You're not pregnant," James said in a perfectly conciliatory tone.

She drew herself up. "Excuse me, but I think I'd know if I was that far off," she said, an angry blush rising up in her cheeks. "I just … I haven't taken a test yet. I was going to find out for sure before I talked to you. but I …."

"Alyssa," James said, taking both of her hands in his. "Take a test if you want to see it in front of you, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that you're not." He smiled lightly. "If you were, I would have smelled it the first week. And I would have told you."

Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. "You… can smell that?"

James nodded slowly. "I can scent things out better than a bloodhound. And that scent is hard to miss." He shrugged and looked down at their entwined hands. "I'm not as good at nailing down how far in someone is like Dad, but that could have something to do with the hundred and thirty-ish years he's got on me." When she just stared up at him for a long moment with nothing to add, he tried one more time. "But … none of that really applies here, because that is not the case." He looked up to catch her gaze and watched her until he realized her shoulders had relaxed substantially.

"You never told me you could do that," Alyssa said quietly.

"It's not exactly something that comes up in most conversations," James pointed out. "And you've been pretty respectful about not asking too many questions on the specifics of how my mutation works or the limits of what I can do."

She laced their fingers together and blushed deeply, clearly not sure how to process the whole thing. "I should have just taken the test and not freaked myself out so much," Alyssa said, almost whisper quiet.

"You still can, if you want to ease your mind. I'm sure it's hard to just accept something like this," James said. "I'll get it for you if you want me to."

"That would be a horrible idea," Alyssa said, shaking her head quickly. "For as recognizable as you are? Forget it." She let out her breath and then popped up to give him a much more proper kiss than what she'd done so far. "I panicked."

"How long have you been panicking?" James asked as she stepped in and wrapped her arms around his middle, clearly in need of a solid snuggle.

"About a week or so. I didn't even realize it at first," she said. "Which I know is a long time to ignore it, but I thought I might have miscounted … and then I thought … maybe stress, and I've been non-stop studying …"

He frowned to himself at that, sure that that wasn't entirely right, timeline-wise. "You know I wouldn't leave you hanging, right?" James said, trying to get her to breathe more evenly — particularly since that sharp note in the air that tipped him off about her anxiety was not ebbing nearly enough. Which was enough for him to get that first tang in his chest that was the sure evidence that things were more than a little off.

"I wasn't worried about you ditching," Alyssa replied, smiling much more warmly at him before she kissed him again. "Everyone knows you're too sweet to do anything like that."

"Oh," he said, grabbing on to the opportunity to change the subject quickly. "It's gonna be like that, is it?"

She finally smiled more earnestly as he leaned toward her, growling lightly until she darted forward to kiss him. "It's not a bad thing," she defended.

"Okay, if you say so. All the heroes have a rep for being sweet," James said, rolling his eyes, but at least the subject was changed and Alyssa was once again enjoying herself as she slipped under his arm and snuggled in.

When James got back from his date, he was clearly not quite himself, his hands in his pockets and his forehead lined.

"What's with the face?" Chance said, clearly enjoying the rare opportunity to give some teasing back to James.

But instead of raising to the bait or picking back, the younger man stopped and held Chance's gaze for a long moment before he narrowed his eyes and slowly tipped his head to the side. "Ye-ah, no." He shook his head and started toward the kitchen, fully intending to get a bottle of water before he headed up to his room.

"Oh, come on," Chance laughed. "You can talk to me, little bro."

"No. Not this time I can't." James was shaking his head slowly. It was most definitely not the conversation he wanted to have with Chance. Not with the baby face he'd been making. He did not need to tell Chance about what Alyssa thought was going on with her.

Chance was already shaking his head as he caught up to James. "Whatever it is, I can help. Come on."

James almost rolled his eyes as he let out a sigh. "No, I don't think you can. But I appreciate the offer." He turned Chance's way. "It's nothing. Really."

"I've never seen you make that face, though," Chance said, clearly not about to let it drop.

"That's only because you're just starting to pay attention to the world around you," James said as if it was a reasonable explanation. "You've been too busy staring at my sister. It's okay. Observation isn't your strong suit."

Chance couldn't help but laugh at that. "Okay, yeah, I've been distracted with Elin. But still."

"Just over-thinking things," James said. "No biggie. Really." He made some shooing motions. "Go … do … whatever it was you were doing before you got distracted."

"Alright," Chance said slowly. "But if I can help? Let me. It's my job. Big brother prerogative."

"You'd be my first call," James said — though he clearly didn't mean it. At all.

Chance shook his head to himself but headed back to go find Elin, who was helping with John now that K was just a few weeks away from her due date.

"What's wrong with your face?" Elin had to ask.

"It's like an echo in here," Chance muttered, then shook his head and sat down beside her.

She grinned at him. "Why do you think I asked?"

He leaned over and kissed her. "Well, I'm fine, but your brother looks like he's in his head. And you know how well that works, historically."

"Do you think he needs an intervention?" K asked. "You could go hug him … just … maybe wait for him to finish his shower first. That'd be … odd. Otherwise."

Chance chuckled at that. "I'm not sure. Maybe he needs a big sister. He seemed reluctant to talk to me."

"He's not going to talk to me," Elin said. "Not if he's looking all sour grapes after his sneaking out date."

"Yeah, well, if he keeps looking like that, I'll hug him. Or we could sic Kari on him," Chance pointed out. "That's what I do with you if you're beyond the point of hugs — find the best friend."

Both Elin and K just gave him a look and answered almost in unison. "Uh-huh."

"Hey." Chance held up his hands. "I'm just saying."

"Yeah, but do you know …" Elin stopped and shook her head. "Nevermind."

"Do I know that she likes him?" Chance finished. "Yeah. Charlie just about dies over it. But that doesn't mean they're not best friends either. Come on, El."

She held up both hands. "Just saying. You're biased. This is definitely one of those hands-off situations."

Chance let out a sigh as he leaned back, tipping his head back to look up at the ceiling. "Anyway," he said, letting the word out in a sigh all at once. "We'll let Mom tackle him if he stays like that. Pregnant mom tackles fix everything."

"Um. no," K said, frowning at him. "That's just not gonna happen."

"Not a full tackle, obviously. But a good solid hug…"

"That is not a tackle," K argued. "But I'll show you a tackle in about six weeks."

"Fine by me," Chance said with a smirk. "You said you were going to teach me a few new takedowns before you got pregnant…"

"Blame Logan," she said with her chin tipped up.

"Yeah, I know how it works," Chance said, leaning over to rest his chin on Elin's shoulder.

"Good. Because I'd hate to have to call Clint over to bust out the charts and diagrams," K said. "But I will. For you."

Chance made a show of looking disturbed. "Elin, I found where you get the scary gene from," he teased.

She gave him a kiss on the chin. "Where else would it come from? I keep telling you that Dad's a pushover."

"Comparatively, El. Comparatively."

"Just depends on what you're afraid of," K replied. "And you've both been darling, but really, I can take the little man upstairs. He should go to sleep anyhow."

Chance let out a sigh and pretended to look more disappointed than he was. "El, she's taking the baby brothers away," he teased.

"She's like that," Elin agreed. "Of course ... we could take John up for her …"

"Yes, good. I like that plan," he agreed.

"He needs a bath," K called out as Chance picked John up. "Then he'll pass out on you before he's in his pj's."

Chance grinned at Elin as he carried John up the stairs, tickling and playing with him the whole time. "We can use the hanging basketball hoop," he told John with a smirk.