Hey Duckies, thanks for the patience! This took longer then expected to write, but I got it done and unlike most of my stories, I know where this one's headed! Hope you enjoy and keep reading! Please review so I know that I'm not just waisting my time! ~Tygger3389

Chapter 2

"What the hell was that?" Logan demanded, once they were all outside the medical room.

The Professor raised an eyebrow, "That being?"

"Your getting all friendly with Mystique!" Scott explained.

"Raven," He corrected, "She's a dear old friend of mine, before she was with Erik she was with me."

"With you?" Ororo frowned.

"Not like that!" He snapped, partly disgusted by the suggestion that they'd been intimate and partly annoyed by her tone, "She was like my sister."

Jean looked surprised, "The room! The one up stairs you said belonged to your sister? That was Mystique's room?"

"Raven," he corrected again, "And yes. She came to live here when she was ten years old… I wasn't much older at the time. I caught her burgling my kitchen, but at the time I was so relieved to find out that I wasn't the only mutant in the world that I offered her a home. She lived with me right through collage and then helped Erik, Hank and I form the first ever team of X-Men. She even gave us our names… Magneto, Professor X… she started all that."

"No offence, Professor," Rouge looked nervous, "but she's not really the girl you knew anymore, is she?"

"I promised her she'd always be safe here." He shook his head firmly, "Always have a home to come back to. I've broken a great many promises to her over the years. I at least owe her this one."

"Well that's all fine and well," Logan growled, "but that doesn't mean we should trust her."

"I'll understand if you feel she needs surveillance." The Professor nodded, turning to wheel away. He escaped down the hall as the others argued over who was going to watch Raven first, he didn't want to hear what they had to say about his baby sister. He couldn't deny it though, Rouge was right, he knew Raven, but there was no way of knowing that it would be his Raven waking up. He wheeled over to his desk and picked up the faded photo in its well worn frame and lightly brushed the glass with his fingertips, lovingly. Glancing out the window at the rose bushes in the garden, he smiled softly with worry. He'd picked this room as his office specifically for its view of the rose garden, which he'd helped Raven plant on her thirteenth birthday. He didn't have much of a green thumb, so he was ecstatic when Ororo had taken an interest in them; Raven had loved them so much that he couldn't bear to see them in disarray, "Well, my darling," He said quietly to himself, "I hope you prove them all wrong."

"I just don't get it," Rouge growled at Bobby, both of whom had drawn short straws and were stuck sitting in the medical room with Raven, "After everything she's done to him and everyone else, he just opens his arms and takes her right back like nothing ever happened."

Bobby was quiet for a moment, "You're an only child, right?"

"Yeah," she shrugged, "So?"

"So, you'll never understand the complexity of sibling relationships." He told her bluntly, then tried to explain, "It doesn't really matter what they do or how much you hate them, you're gonna stick up for them anyways. Especially in cases like Mystique and The Professor, they were really close even though she was adopted. Chances are, in his eyes, she can do no wrong… or at least nothing he'll blame her for."

"That makes no sense." She huffed, crossing her arms. For a moment it almost felt like the old days, back when she had powers and was untouchable… back when they were an item.

Bobby shrugged, "People do the strangest things for the people they love." He watched Rouge's face a bit longer, seeing she didn't understand, "Look, did you ever have pets when you were a kid?"

"No." She said bluntly.

"Oh," He scrambled for a moment, "Then I have no idea how to explain this."

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Ororo went to the room to try and see the Mystique that Charles did. She knew if she looked hard enough she could find the path that took the girl from this child's bedroom to a job as the right hand woman of Magneto. Ororo had never believed in simple people or black and white situations, despite how things appeared, they were always far more complex underneath. The first thing that caught her eye was a childish drawing on the desk. It was done in crayon by a young child, old, even when the room was finally abandoned it not a recent piece of art. This picture had been observed. She could clearly see the meaning of the picture, to the left side stood a family of stick people, a father, mother and little boy with brown hair, all happy together. Over on the right side of the page was a little blue stick girl with a sad look on her face, watching the family. It was signed in the lower right corner in messy printing, by Raven. In the top, left hand corner, someone had doctored the picture, writing in dark blue ink with gentle pen strokes. Storm ran her fingers over the words on the edge of the waxy paper and read them over to herself. Not Anymore. She smiled to herself, understanding exactly why Raven had become Mystique, she was searching for acceptance in a world that would see her dead. Storm, long time member of the X-Men and mentor to many, couldn't understand the feeling, she had all the acceptance she needed, but Ororo? Ororo Monroe, the frightened young woman who'd come here so any years ago searching for a way to fit in, she understood perfectly.

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Raven awoke with a small start, finding herself under guard of a small brown haired girl who looked just as nervous as she felt. She was sure that she'd fought the child before, but Charles had so many students now, she could hardly be expected to remember them all. The girl seemed to have noticed she was a wake and smiled awkwardly, "Um, hi."

"Hi." Raven managed, sitting up, if she was going to stay here, she should probably be on at least friendly terms with one or two students, "You're the girl who walks through walls, right?"

The girl blinked and nodded, "Kitty, Kitty Pryde."

"Raven Darkholm," She offered in return, "But you probably knew that."

Kitty nodded, "Could I ask you something?"

"Uh," She hesitated, "Sure?"

"Why did you come here?" Raven turned her gaze away sharply, staring at the floor. Kitty scrambled to make amends, "Not that I mind or anything! It's just…"

The former shape shifter drew her knees up to her chest as the young girl trailed off, biting back tears, "I… I had no where else to go."