Jess could hear her home phone ringing as she struggled to unlock the door to her apartment. "Hold on!" she called as the grocery bag that hung from her wrist swung up against the door. "Stupid door." she grunted as she shoved the door and stumbled into the apartment. "Hello?" she answered breathlessly as she finally reached the phone. Looking at her watch she saw that it was just after 8 pm and didn't know who might be calling her home phone at that hour.
"Jessica Bowden?" the voice on the other end inquired.
"Yes, this is she." she replied as she freed her wrist from the bag that had twisted itself and started cutting off circulation.
"This is Jean Grey, from Xavier's..."
"Is Jimmy okay?" Jess asked as she dropped the bag onto the floor, the large can of tomato sauce landing on her toe.
"He's fine. It's just that he's had some trouble the last couple of days." Jean replied. "He's having some trouble making the adjustment I'm afraid."
It had been a month since Jess had made the trip out east to see the school and she was hoping that his problems would be behind them. She knew it would be a big adjustment for him, being so far from home, his sister and the few friends he had left, but she was hoping being in a healthier environment, the transition would be easier on him.
"Fights?" she asked as she hobbled to the sofa and sat down to remove her shoe to inspect her battered toe. "He hasn't stolen any cars has he?"
"It's mostly academic." the woman on the other end explained patiently. "And a few behavioral problems as well. No fights or stolen cars though." she assured her.
"Okay, what do you need me to do?" she asked.
"I think he needs you." Jean replied.
"I talk to him on the phone every night, I text him through out the day..." Jess said, feeling almost defensive as the other woman spoke. She had been feeling guilty about sending her brother so far away, but she knew that it what was best for him. To make sure he was safe and that those around him were safe, they both had to make sacrifices. If he had needed her, why hadn't he told her any of the numerous times they'd spoken over the last month?
"I know." Jess could picture Jean nodded as she spoke. "I don't suppose there is any way you could come back here to visit with him, try to calm him a bit?"
"I have some money saved up." Jess grabbed her most recent bank statement and looked over it. "The biggest thing is getting some time off work. But, I'll make sure I get it."
"Give me a call and let me know when you've got things sorted and we'll have a room ready for you to stay in here." Jean sighed with relief. She really did feel that having his sister around would calm the boy's nerves.
"Can we not say anything about my coming out until I'm guaranteed the time off?" Jess asked. "I don't want to get his hopes up in case my boss decides to be an ass." she gave a half-hearted laugh.
"That's no problem." Jean agreed. "I'll be waiting for your call."
"Just put gas in the damn thing!" Scott Summers yelled as he followed Logan out of the garage.
"Read the gas gauge, it's not hard." Logan retorted.
"I swear you two were having this same conversation last time I was here." Jess said as she adjusted the travel bag that hung from her shoulder.
"And we'll keep having it until he fills up the tank." Scott nodded, taking a minute to remember who the woman who stood before them was.
"Have you ever considered hiding your keys?" she asked. "Or not filling it up so he runs out of gas?" she laughed.
"I don't like those ideas." Logan eyed the woman before him. Medium height, rather mousy brown hair. She didn't look familiar to him. He assumed he'd met her at some point since she seemed to know them. Damned if he knew who the hell she was though.
"Neither did I when my parents did it to me when I kept taking their cars when I snuck out at night." she frowned. "Learned my lesson when I didn't pay attention to the gas gauge and was stranded in the middle of a cornfield at 3 am and they wouldn't come pick me up." she then shrugged and changed the subject. "Do you know where I can find Jean?" she asked, adjusting the bag again.
"Jess!" Jimmy's voice called out and he was like an excited puppy, unable to contain his excitement at seeing his sister, and rushed over and nearly knocked her over with a hug.
"Hey there." she replied as she struggled to breathe as he squeezed her.
"You might want to loosen your grip if you wanna continue having one of those." Logan suggested, remembering the boy's initial visit with a woman, his sister if he wasn't mistaken.
"Sorry." Jimmy said. "Dr. Grey said you were coming to visit."
"And you obviously are unhappy about that." Jess replied as she let air fill her lungs again.
"How long are you here for?" he asked as he took the bag from her shoulder and started to lead her inside. "Was your boss an ass about giving you the time off?"
"Take a breath, Jimmy." Jess laughed as she followed him inside. "Why didn't you tell me you were having trouble?" she asked quietly as they walked along to the room where she would be staying.
"I didn't want to seem like a baby." he shrugged.
"But you nearly tackling me in front of the school, that makes you seem cool to all of your little classmates?" she teased.
"I just didn't know how to tell you." he looked a bit ashamed.
"You can tell me anything." she reminded him. "Anything at all."
"Yeah, okay." he opened a door and dropped her bag on a large wood-framed bed. "This is it."
"So I see." she put her arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder and felt him loosen up a bit. She didn't know how long she would be staying, but she wanted to make sure he was comfortable while she was around. "Does this place get wi-fi?" she asked.
"Of course." he looked at her like she was some sort of idiot. "I've got class I need to get to, so I'll catch up with you later."
"Okay." she smiled as she watched him leave and then closed the door behind him. Moving to the bed, she dug her laptop out its bag and started it up. She wasn't about to tell Jimmy that she had quit her job and was planning on moving to the area. Not yet. She needed to make sure she would be able to find a place to live first. She just hoped she was able to adapt to her new surroundings better than her younger brother had been.