This has been fun to write. Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far. Especially thanks to lychee loving for the reviews. :)

Not many more chapters to go!

Chapter 12

While they drove back, she called Logan and explained what she needed him to do.

As Jean pulled the van up to the gate, they had to wait as Logan left with Ororo in one of the other cars. Laura suppressed the urge to duck down even though they couldn't see her. Even through the helmet, Laura saw the sadness in Ororo's eyes. She still couldn't figure out why it bothered her to this extent.

"So how are you going to have this ready while Logan has Ms. Munroe away? Even with my help a couple hours won't be long enough," Jean said thoughtfully, pulling into the driveway.

"I will tell the students to help me," Laura said factually. Jean looked over at her skeptically.

"Seriously? Just like that? And you expect them to?" she said. Laura stared at the pots stacked in her lap.

"No," she admitted. "In my plan this was the part where you would do it for me."

"No," Jean shook her head, "I'm not doing that for you. Eventually you need to figure out how to talk to people on your own. But my advice- do it right now while everyone's procrastinating on their homework."

And so, wearing pink, small, awkward, a little dirty, and in the center of attention in the rec room, Laura tried to talk to her peers. Jean had gathered them up and was standing next to Laura as a silent encouragement, which Laura would never admit was slightly comforting.

"You need to help-" she paused at Jean's not-so-subtle cough. "I need your help." And then she was at a loss for words with so many eyes on her, nearly all of them angry. Word had gotten out very quickly and several of the mansion residents had already been in the attic to see the mess. They loved Ororo like a family member, which by default made Laura the villain.

Jean glanced down at her out of the corner of her eyes, then at everyone giving Laura the evil eye.

"What for?" she prompted. Laura twitched, on edge.

"You know what happened. I broke everything. But I- we have purchased new things. A lot of new things."

"Too many new things to get situated up there by ourselves," Jean added, as Laura began rubbing her hands behind her back. Generally when that happened the girl was unconsciously checking to make sure she didn't have her blades out yet.

"Okay, so? You said it yourself, this is your fault," Jubilee spoke up. A few of the others nodded.

"I know," Laura said, glancing at Jean. "But you like her too. I think."

There was some tittering among the students. Ororo was like a mother to all of them, and the recent catastrophe's affect on her had been noticed. There were a few guilty glances by those who had refused to help with the gardening any other time she had asked.

"What exactly are you asking for?" Kurt pitched in from somewhere in the back.

"Help," Laura repeated. She had been momentarily distracted by the appearance of Professor Xavier. He stayed behind the student body, but she could sense him nearby. She wondered at his not saying anything, but didn't bring attention to it. She remembered the credit card in her back pocket. That was probably it.

"There's a ton of work we'd have to do tonight," Jean spoke up when Laura didn't elaborate, "And it'll take all of us to pull this off before Ms. Munroe gets up in the morning to garden. Now, we're going to divide you all up and Laura will explain what needs done."

Dinner was an informal affair that night, since everybody was busy with their parts in Laura's plan. After the indoor work had been finished, most of the students left to do homework, while Laura sat in the den, flipping through one of the books she had stopped to purchase during her errands. It was certainly not literature. It was a gardening book, mostly pictures showing different indoor gardens. She had flipped through a similar one that Ororo already owned, but had liked some of the pictures in this one as well. She glanced at different aspects on pages she had marked that afternoon, comparing them mentally to what she had manage to incorporate into her plans. A thought occurred to her, and she went to knock on Professor Xavier's office door.

"Come in, Laura," Xavier said before she had touched the door even once. Laura opened it just wide enough for her body and slid into the room. Ororo and Hank were sitting with Xavier at his desk, and Logan was leaning casually against the wall by the large windows. Hank smiled politely at her before continuing with whatever he had been talking about, but Ororo didn't. At least today she watched Laura, a step up from last night, though her face revealed nothing. Laura's face was carefully blank as well as she walked up to Xavier's desk and silently put his credit card and a small stack of papers on it.

"The receipts are all there as well," she said blandly, turning to leave.

"Thank you, Laura," Xavier said calmly, glancing at the receipts before sitting them aside and putting his card back in his wallet. She nodded once on her way to the door, already thinking about the penultimate part of her plan since she was not immediately being admonished for stealing the card to begin with.

"Laura," Xavier said from behind her. Maybe he did mean to lecture her after all. Laura amended her previous assumption. She turned.

"What?"

"We will all meet here at eight in the morning to discuss the garden incident. Please join us." Xavier said. It was not a suggestion. Laura nodded again.

"Of course."

She calmly left the room, waiting to run to check on her rose until she was out of hearing range. She burst into Logan's room and squatted next to her plant, studying it critically. There was no change. She hadn't expected there to be, it was far too soon. But something- anything- would have been nice.