The first month at Mac's went by in a blur of long hard days, sunup to sunset. Kitty and Jubliee had a better time of it, left with energy to spare at the end of the day; but for Jean, long hours and little sleep left her exhausted, most often found on the couch asleep when the day was done.
Justin was kind enough to move into his uncle's house and let them use his place just a few feet away. It was small, but it had three bedrooms for them to have their own spaces, and they were safe. As everyone adjusted to their new roles, Mac was easier about leaving them to work on their own. But first, he wanted them to know how to protect themselves, which Jean found very funny until she saw what he meant by that.
"Here," he held out a shotgun to Jean.
"What is this for?"
"If you're gonna be here, you need to know how to shoot."
"You're acting like this is the old West," she joked dryly.
"With the Meyers, it might as well be."
Jean didn't bother to ask why he didn't call the police, Mac was a proud man, he settled his problems on his own. She turned as Justin's pickup pulled up next to Mac's, with the girls next to him. Mac nodded at her disapproving expression, but took out more rifles of a smaller size. "They have to learn, too."
"I know," she muttered.
Justin watched Jean take a few shots. "What is it, Justin," she asked between her last two strikes on a target.
"You might want to move your stance a little."
"Like this?"
"No, like-" he put his hands to her hips, making Jean's cheeks flush unexpectedly.
"Thank you." When she was tired, she sat next to Mac and watched Justin help the girls with aim, handing the gun back.
"It's yours. Carry it on you at all times."
Something about that reminded her of Logan, and she teared up unexpectedly.
"Thank you."
"Ford. What you're runnin' from, it isn't going to follow you here, is it?"
"No," she lied. She wasn't sure if they'd be safe here, but if it put Mac and Justin in danger, she'd have the girls long gone before any trouble came to this place.
"Okay Justin, let's head back to the house."

After dinner, Jean stood out on the porch with a cup of coffee, looking out on the dark purple sky.
"Seems like you're a million miles away," Justin walked over with a smile.
"I think I was," she admitted.
"Ford."
"Yeah?"
"You want to go out sometime?"
She paused, unsure what to say. Jean was in love with Logan, but Ford was unattached. Who knows how long it would be before Logan came around, if he ever did. It couldn't hurt having a friend. "How about Friday?"
"Mac has me doing stuff then."
"What stuff?"
"Spying on the Meyers."
"Can't go alone."
"He wouldn't want you out there, Ford."
"I can handle myself, Justin. The girls will stay in the house with him, I haven't been on a mission in a long time," she smiled.
"I'll run it by him first."
"Sure. I'm gonna head to bed."
"Let me take that," he took the cup from her hand.
"Thanks."

Jean leaned back on her elbows, looking into the night sky.
"Nice, isn't it?"
"Very."
She leaned into Justin, enjoying the closeness of another person sitting beside her. They went without a fire, to keep their location to themselves, but the thermos of coffee and a heavy jacket kept the chill away. Every time she let herself relax, the thought of Logan popped into her head. Time and again, she brushed it away, only to have it remind her that this man and this place wasn't her first choice. She wanted to be with Logan, in whatever Hell he was in, just so she knew she was still Jean Grey. But he told her to go with the girls, and that fact made her angry. He treated her like his equal in all other aspects of their lives, and yet when it came down to it, he chose the Warrior role for himself and chose for her as well, the Woman.
"The girls aren't too happy with us out here, are they?"
Jean snorted. To say they weren't happy was an understatement. When they found out, they acted like children of divorced parents, angry that their mother was going out with someone other than their father. The three Mutants were still not speaking when Jean walked out the door that afternoon.
"They hinted to me that there was someone else, is that true?"
She sighed. "Justin, we were all close to someone, and he's gone now."
"Your husband?"
She shook her head with a startled chuckle. Logan, a husband? Anything more than a lover was a stretch, and they never gotten that far.
"Logan was our...protector."
"How did he die?"
"We aren't sure he's dead, only that he's gone."
"So he abandoned you?"
"In a way," she nodded.
"I can't imagine anyone abandoning you-" his sentence was cut off with a touch of Jean's lips on his.
"I appreciate your concern, but I'd rather not talk about it anymore." Justin nodded, and Jean raised her eyes to the sky once more.