disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever in any way owned the X-Men. If I did, I would be rich and have lots more time to write about them. This is a work of fiction based on the X-Men comic book owned by Marvel Comics Group and I expect to receive absolutely no monetary compensation for it. Dammit.

Farewell Sunshine
by Dizi

Chapter 7

"Alright, I gotta know." Jubilee and I had gone up two flights of stairs and were now walking down what seemed to be an endless hallway. We hadn't spoken more than necessary so far, both of us probably thinking too much. Never a good thing, unless you were thinking about a case. Which I hadn't been. Gotta get rid of the distractions. "How come you're not pissed off at me? It was your husband I did my best to permanently damage."

"You didn't hear what he said before the whole thing happened. It went something like 'I'm gonna pay for this'. He knew you were going to retaliate and chose to do it anyway. His choice, his problem." There was an amusement in her voice I didn't understand. Maybe it showed. "Look, I know about you and Logan, okay? He's straight up with me and we go to Harry's enough that I've heard, like, LOTS about Detective Sanchez and her no first name policy. It's not like he won't heal even if you'd cut off that favorite body part of his. I understand, Sanchez, I get it, we're cool."

I've said I knew about Jubilee. Logan had talked about her and I think I knew he was in love with her before he did. Jenny spoke about her casually, like a friend. Even Harry mentioned her once or twice. But I guess I didn't know enough because I expected her to be possessive and very not happy with a woman who'd slept with her man, not to mention kicked him in the gonads. "I just don't get it."

"Well, geez! Think about it, why doncha! If I threw a fit every time I met a woman Wolvie'd screwed I'd never stop. Same thing for when he gets hurt. We're not the type to run from danger and he heals. I can't worry about him all the time and stay sane. This is more important."

Suppose there are things you learn to deal with when married to a man like Logan. Since I'd never wanted to get married, much less to Logan, I never thought of it like that. Live and learn.

"These are the smaller single bedrooms for students." Jubilee stopped in front of one that didn't look any different from the others. "And this one's Sunshine's"

After she opened the door, my first thought was 'This is the bedroom of a teenager?' By almost anyone's standards--and you need to remember mine is pretty low--it was immaculate. The bed was made without a wrinkle, not one piece of clothing was on the floor, not a speck of dust was anywhere I could see. Even the text books on the small desk were neatly stacked. But that wasn't all. There was no posters or pictures on the wall, no hairbrush on the dresser, and no make-up in any of the obvious places. Nothing in this room gave any details of the person living in it. It was damn unnatural.

"Please tell me Sunshine is an obsessive-compulsive neatnik." Not for once did I believe that was it.

"Um, well... she's what I'd call tidy," Jubilee answered uncertainly.

Rounding on her, I demanded, "Do you call this 'tidy'?" It wasn't her fault though, and I knew it. I can see Jubilee is just as surprised as I am, it's written all over her face. I'm still a little tense and I shouldn't take it out on her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'd say someone got here before us. Three guesses who and the first two don't count."

"I can't believe Emma..." She closed her eyes, shook her head. "Yes, I can."

"Probably I made a mistake telling them that her room would need to be processed. We're not going to get anything from here, dammit." But I went further inside anyway. If you can believe it, the books on the desk are stacked by size. Advanced Trig, French, one on plants - whadayacallit, Horticulture? - what looked to be English-Lit, and a biography of Shakespeare, mostly standard text books except for the last. "What kind of housekeeper was she, do you know? Would she have made her bed every morning?"

"Definitely. Sunshine took care of her area and was excited to get her own room because her last roommate was a slob, totally."

"I'll need a name and she'll go on the interview list." Jubilee had given me a legal pad before we started our hike. Page one would have all the people I needed to talk to. While Jubilee watched closely, I was writing down questions to pass along to Frost. 'Was the bed made?' would tell me if she'd even gotten to bed that night. 'What personal items were sitting out?' and 'Had there been any papers, notes, or a diary?' could tell me all kinds of things, obviously.

Shrugging an apology, she paced a bit. "Sorry, but she's not here anymore. Many students only stick around long enough to get a handle on their powers. Cassie was a low-level teke--that's telekinetic--and she left six months ago."

Which meant Cassie probably wouldn't be much help if I managed to locate her, but I'd keep the option open just in case. "What about teachers, Sunshine have a favorite?"

"Ororo Munroe, she's called Storm because she can control the weather." Jubilee went to the desk, picked up the book on plants. "Sunshine almost idolized her. When her parents drop-kicked her here, she didn't take it well. Ororo and her plants... soothed her pain, 'Ro's good at that. When she wasn't studying, Sunshine was working in the gardens or the conservatory."

She slowly closed the book and gently placed it back on the stack, squeezing her eyes closed. I hoped like hell she wasn't going to cry. I wouldn't know how to help her if she did. Oh, I could say all the right things, pat her on the back, but it never felt right and didn't really help. There aren't any right words to say when someone you know is going to die. Learned that my first month on the beat.

"God, this is hard. It's like... she's not here any more." As I watched she pulled herself together. Not surprising, she's got to be tough to meet Logan's standards long-term. "Another favorite is Remy LeBeau, Gambit--don't ask why he's called that, I don't know. Teaches French since he's from New Orleans and has been speaking it from birth. Not sure if he'd know anything, all the girls like him and take his class."

Her brief description clicks to a memory. LeBeau is another regular at Harry's. Popular with the women, I could see why the female students liked him. I'd bet he knew it too. As he might've noticed something, he went on the list. Actually all her current teachers would make the list, these two just went to the top.

"Okay, last question for now. Friends and enemies." This was most important. Teenage girls would tell their friends things they wouldn't tell an adult. No matter how well Jubilee knew Sunshine, she was still an adult. It was more than possible she hadn't told Jubilee everything that went on in her life. Enemies would give me a place to start looking for the perp.

Scrunching her forehead, she gave the question the consideration it deserved as she sat on the bed. "Enemies, none come to mind. Sunshine wasn't..." Jubilee paused, swallowed, "isn't the kind to make many of either one. Kinda quiet, not really shy but not very outgoing. The only real friend I know of is MaryJo. They bonded quick, studied together a lot."

MaryJo just made the number one top spot. I should immediately grab her from class and start getting as many answers as I could. Instead, I sit beside Jubilee and stare at the blank walls. My knowledge of Sunshine has grown, every detail will add to the picture, but I still don't know much about her. I needed to. Marian Jessup was more than a mutant girl who had been raped and assaulted. To determine a suspect, a good detective got to know the victim. And I wanted to know who Sunshine was. It was important to me personally. "Tell me about her."

"She's a telepath. Not as strong as Charles and Emma, but more than average. MaryJo has to use her powers more than anyone else I know. She doesn't talk at all, only 'paths." Jubilee made it sound like nothing unusual.

Not what I was asking but pertinent information. Sounded like it could be a problem. I know very little about telepathy, mainly that it has to do with reading minds. To communicate didn't both parties have to have some ability if she's not very strong? "Will I need to have pen and paper available for her? Can she... what did you say? 'Path' to me?"

"Oh, sure. MaryJo can send and receive short range." She waved her hand in a blasé manner. "As long as you're in the same room she can make herself heard. More important, now she can block out everyone else's thoughts so she's not invading the privacy of everybody she meets. It took her a long time to learn that."

"Ooooo-kay. Good to know." It might be common place to her, but stuff like this would take some getting used to for me. Feeling a little out of my depth here. To get through, I have to think in simple terms. The perp--whether mutant or not--is a person. A person has motives. That's what I need. To find it I have to know the victim. Now I'm back where I was before. "What I meant was, tell me about Sunshine. Everything you know about her I want to know too."

"Sorry, I didn't realize we changed the subject."

"Es nada, I should've been specific." She had that look on her face again. It's not easy for everyone to talk about someone who's in Sunshine's situation. I can sympathize but I can't let her off the hook. A nudge might be in order. "I know she's been in this place over three years. Did you meet her when she first arrived?"

"Uh, yes and no. I was here but a little self-absorbed at the time." Flushing, she looked down at her hands gripped tight in her lap. Body language again. It hadn't been a good time for Jubilee. "Just out of college and I was trying to get Wolvie's attention. Logan and I were... well, we weren't then. Nobody else got on my radar. I left again and ended up coming back with Wolvie more able to deal, ya know? That's when I got to know Sunshine. She'd been here about two years by then, she'd adjusted to life at Xavier's. It's not easy for everyone to make the transition to a place like this."

I'd think that would be an understatement. People new to Salem Center often have to get used to the idea of a school for mutants being 'up the hill', as they put it. Living in a place with very few, if any, regular humans would be a major adjustment, I assume.

"Kids like her with physical mutations have it hard. There's an ongoing debate whether it's worse to be born that way or suddenly change at puberty. Sunshine was 'normal' until a few weeks before she was bused here. Charles would have sprung for a plane ticket or sent one of us to pick her up but her parents refused, said they'd take care of it. No one knew they meant immediately until she showed up in a taxi at the gate. She didn't even have enough money to pay the entire fare."

In my head, I understand there are people who turn their backs on their kids. It happens all the time, we've all heard the stories. As a cop, I saw it too many times. In my heart, I have trouble grasping it. Including me, my parents have fourteen children. We know they'd either kill or die for any of us, that's what family means. Mama and Poppi don't get me but they love me. How some parents can just turn off love for their child is alien, but something I had to learn to accept in my line of work. Sure as hell don't like hearing about it though. Ever.

"Emma told me not to, but I called her parents, told them what happened to Sunshine. They were polite, that's the nicest thing I can say. Made it clear they have two normal children and don't want to know about their reject. Her father works in a bank in a small town. She was an embarrassment to them."

She looked up at me, suddenly fierce. Her blue eyes seemed brighter than earlier and I could swear sparks shimmered in the air around her. "You want to know what Sunshine was like? She was nice! She was smart, a straight A student if she studied. She was the kind that would have been Ms. Popular in a regular High School if she was normal. She would have joined the cheerleaders and dated a jock, she would have become a housewife and been happy doing it. If she hadn't turned yellow when she was twelve and a half, that is."

An image was forming in my head, incomplete but there. Not of who Sunshine was, who she could have been. Both play into the person she was. All information is pertinent. I'd never considered how someone's life changes when they find out they're a mutant. A kid just turning into a teenager, one of the most uncertain times in anyone's life when their body is changing, hormones are raging, just learning about peer pressure, the opposite sex becoming interesting, their future a great unknown looming ahead; then they suddenly become something else again. Could I have handled it? Not sure, probably not if my parents had turned against me. Which mine wouldn't.

"Becoming a mutant didn't even do anything for her but take away the life she knew, she had no powers." Calming down, Jubilee took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Some of that I got from 'Ro and some Sunshine told me over time. She'd adjusted but not forgotten, it still hurt her. I said she idolized 'Ro not that she was close to her, she didn't become a surrogate mother or anything like that. It was more that Sunshine... absorbed all 'Ro taught her. Plants won't turn their back on you or make fun of you."

Ah, a possible lead! "Make fun of her? Who?"

"She never said, always blew it off. Had to bother her though." Blowing a stray hair out of her eyes, she leaned back. "All groups of kids find something to pick on others about. Like I said, Sunshine had no powers while most everyone else here does. She was a target, that's the way it was. I got the feeling she'd learned to deal with that too. Might've been different if she'd been more outgoing, made more friends, had a boyfriend. She was pretty enough to attract attention even wearing minimal make-up. Very feminine in her way, always wore dresses. I tried to encourage her to look at the guys more, but she was focused on learning all about the plants and flowers. She'd have made a great botanist. I was going to talk to Warren or Emma about giving her start up money to open a flowershop or greenhouse when she graduated. She'd have been so totally into it."

No way on Earth would it be possible for me to really know Sunshine, only about her. Now I know more that added to the picture that was her. I could conjure up an image of the pretty yellow girl in a sundress tending a potted plant. I could practically see it. I wish I had instead of seeing her only in a hospital bed. From what I just heard, Sunshine was keeping everyone away, mostly, through those plants. Who could blame her? Everyone deals in their own way, she'd found hers. Whether she'd realized it or not, Sunshine had slowly developed a new life at Xaviers, a future for herself. They'd at least given that to her. And someone had viciously taken it away. Everything I hear makes me want to find the bastard even more. His future deserves to be locked up behind bars for the majority of his life.

"Hey, Kentucky, did you finish your first assignment?" Jubilee's forced cheerfulness brings me back to the here and now. "Sanchez has, like, a whole list of people to rake over."

Sam's in the hall watching us. From his expression, it's safe to say he's been there long enough to have heard at least some of what Jubilee said. His eyes are haunted, the same way they were in the waiting room last night. Beginning to think my head isn't going to be straight until after this case is closed, I should have been paying enough attention to know the instant he arrived.

"Got the small teacher's room near the class wing," he answered, shifting his feet. "It's already got shieldin'. Ah thought yah would appreciate that, Ma'am, after the meetin'. Added privacy an' all."

As he straightens his back and slides his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, I'm reminded of other events of last night. Was it only last night? I shouldn't go there, I'm on the job and it's a bad idea to get involved with anyone connected to a case. Always a bad idea. Very bad. One night of great sex, which I don't even really remember very well, does not make involvement. I don't get involved, I screw men and send them on their way. That's the way I like it. That's what I want. I don't have time for that kind of thing. I have to stay focused on Sunshine and catching the perp.

Back to business. The room's 'shielded'? As in for telepaths? Such as the Ice Bitch? Makes sense, Frost isn't the kind to take a step back. Oh, but what about... "Hold on. How will that affect MaryJo?"

"No worries, she'll be fine." Jubilee spoke up, not Sam. Oops, forgot she was there for a second. "Shielded rooms keep stray thoughts in and others out, not block powers altogether. Like sound proofing for the brain."

"Okay, great. Good job, Sam." Lots to learn around here and I'm behind. Need to move things along. Tearing the second page off the pad, I hold it out to Jubilee. "See if you can get some of the answers to these questions from Frost, then meet us in the interview room with MaryJo. I figure you're not on her hit list, so you get this job. "

"Whatever. Remember, I volunteered to help you." She took the paper, standing with a grimace. "But I've been around Frosty enough that I know how to get my way. Most of the time."

"Do your best. As an added incentive, after you're done you can take a break to track down your husband and make sure his parts are in working order." I didn't want to give her the wrong impression here, I don't forgive and forget. "Because I like you, he's not off my hit list yet."

"Gotcha."

She's off like a shot. I'm a little slower on the uptake, lots to take in. Distraction is a bitch who's ass I can't kick. My attention doesn't need to be divided, that's a debate I've already had with myself. But something in me won't let me ignore the look in Sam's eyes. "You okay?"

"Ah'll be alright," was all he'd admit to.

I should drop it. I want to drop it. It would be best if I just dropped it. However, in a way, Sam is now my partner. Kinda. Him and Jubilee both, I guess. So what if that's an excuse? Instead of dropping it, I decide to wait him out. Sam isn't like me, he'll talk if I give him a chance. It doesn't take long.

"Guess Ah just don't like it."

"Which part?" That was just a little bit sarcastic. Not much I've heard so far has many good points.

"This ain't supposed tah be a dumping ground for the kids people don't want." Hanging his head, Sam eases down beside me on the bed. "Ah know there are kids whose parents don't want 'em 'cause they're mutants, but we're supposed tah make it bettah for 'em, give 'em opportunities they didn't have before. It don't sound like we done that for Sunshine. Now Ah'm wonderin' who else we missed."

"Well..." My understanding is there are a couple hundred kids in Xavier's at any given time. Probably many are getting 'missed'. But that's not going to reassure him, is it? "Maybe she wasn't really missed. Jubilee was going to get her financial backing, and she did learn a trade, sort of. Sounds like she had some issues and it took her a long time to deal with them."

He nods, though not like I was helping.

"An' if she lives? Will she evah be able to even do what she wanted tah?" He's not looking at me, his head still hanging down.

That's a good thing. He must not have understood the reality of her condition. "Sam... Sunshine isn't going to get better. She will die. You need to come to terms with that. She's as good as dead already even if she's still laying in a hospital bed. When we find this perp, it's with the understanding that he's a murderer."

He jerks his whole body like I hit him and I look away. Was I too blunt? Should I have softened it somehow? Damn, I'm no good at this kind of thing. I couldn't let him go on thinking that way. She is going to die. It's going to happen. There is no saving Sunshine. Only getting justice for her. I believe in justice, I have to. What's the point otherwise? Perpetrators have to pay for their crimes.

"Yah just did it again." He's turned to look up at me, his back bent over his knees. "Ah wish Ah could do that."

Now he's not making sense. "Do what?"

"Yah care, Ah can see yah do, but yah push it aside. You'll be thinkin' 'bout her, 'bout Sunshine, an' ever'thang 'bout yah will be soft. Then yah flip a switch in yore head an' yah change, gettin' hard as steel. Ah can see it," he repeats. "But Ah can't do it, an' Ah wish Ah could."

Again, was it only last night we met? He's seeing into me. That's exactly what I feel as I go back and forth between Sunshine and the perp. It's why I would've burned out at some point, living an emotional rollercoaster not even my own as I sympathize too much with the victim. Might not be such a good thing that I'm so open to him. No matter how good it feels to be understood. He doesn't need to know that though.

"I can't help how I feel about Sunshine, we've already talked about that. On the other hand, I can't let myself be soft when it comes to her assailant. I had to learn to keep the vic and perp separate to do my job." And it was a hard lesson as I found myself sympathizing with both at times. "It's not easy and I don't recommend it to anyone. Most cops don't connect to the vic, or don't want to let themselves, because it's too hard to be either way at any given moment. Not and still be able to do the job." Sighing, I have to admit the truth to him. "This isn't the first time I've cared too much for a victim. I was on the edge of burnout when this case came along to me."

"It's lucky for us yah didn't an' that yah got Sunshine's case, lucky yah care so much." He's wrong, Sam can change pretty quickly too. It was a damn quick change from a haunted eyed young man to a determined and assured one. "You're gonna find him, Ma'am. You're gonna find him an' put him away where he cain't hurt no one else."

"Damn right I will." Oh, he's good. And he's hot. God, he's so freaking hot right now! Looking at me as though I'm going to go out and right all the wrongs and fix the world. Which we both know isn't going to happen, but I will catch this bastard. One way or the other. He's made me feel good, strong and capable. I haven't felt that way for some time now. Sam did that for me.

Here in this room belonging to a girl waiting to die, I lean over to close the distance between us. I kiss him with all the sexual hunger he keeps stirring inside me. Being a guy, he responds instantly. I've wanted those large workman's hands on me and he doesn't disappoint. My shirt is untucked from my jeans within seconds, those hands roaming up my back...

Before it gets out of hand--pun intended--with both of us almost breathless, I push him away and stand up. I'll admit I was a little wobbly on my feet.

"Let's go do what we can to find the bastard." This isn't playtime after all. Heading for the door, I smile at him in a way that lets him know I wasn't teasing. "And later tonight we'll play with my handcuffs."

"Yes, Ma'am." He managed to make it a promise along with agreement. Oh, he got the message loud and clear.

So, okay, distractions are a bitch. I can live with certain ones. And sex still doesn't mean involvement. I'm just going to enjoy my job perk. Nothing wrong with that, right?

to be continued.

note: Well, we got lots of info on Sunshine, not too much on the bad guy. Sanchez is doing her thing. There's lots I could say but I don't want to give anything away. And we did get another OC from one of my other stories. Most of you will know who she is, but I'll see who can guess first. I like that part. The guessing and having characters from other stories. It's like seeing an old friend.

Next chapter will be in two weeks. I haven't actually gotten it back from my beta yet, so that's assuming she can get it to me in time. She's a teacher and the school year is just ending where she is.

Thanks for reading and the support,
Dizi