Two
Jean's eyes brimmed with tears upon hearing the voice of her so dear friend. The last time they spoke had been three years ago; she tried to call Aislinn but she either wouldn't answer it or someone else would and tell her she wasn't there – despite being true or not. Now Jean finally had the chance to talk to her. If it hadn't been little Brendon to answer the phone, she probably wouldn't be able to hear Aislinn's voice again.
Oh, how grownup her godson was, Jean thought to herself. The boy even spoke like her mother. Although they spoke a few times, she hadn't seen him since his christening, where all the X-Men were present and she and Scott were made Brendon's godparents, almost five years ago. At the time he was nothing but a small baby, with 16 inches, 6.5 pounds and a dark-golden hair that spiked in every direction. She wondered if he would look like her friend.
"Linn? Please tell me it's really you. Tell me it's not some trick and I'm not dreaming" Jean pleaded to the other line of the phone, tears of joy rolled down her face when she heard a very distinct and unmistakable dry laugh.
"Well, you're not dreaming for sure" Aislinn told her in a warm voice wrapped in British accent.
Jean exhaled a relieved sigh and glanced at the anxious Scott sitting beside her in the War Room, staring at her demandingly. She lowered the phone to the table switching it to speaker mode.
"Scott's here too, Linn. We have something to tell you, well, ask" Jean informed Aislinn.
"Hi there, Scotty" Aislinn chuckled sadly.
Scott's eyes softened behind the ruby glasses. "I missed you, Linn"
"Yeah, I missed you too, One-eye" Scott and Jean snorted at her use of the 'affectionate' nickname she had created especially for Scott. "So, what is it that the two of you have to tell me that it's so important?"
Instinctively, in a caring gesture, the couple grabbed each others' hands, gazing deeply into the other's eyes for a brief moment.
"We're getting married" Jean said, happiness clearly dripping from each word.
No sound was heard during the ten seconds succeeding that new, only to be broken by a very excited reply from the other line: "Oh my god! Are you serious? I can't believe it! Poseidon, Persephone! Jean and Scott are getting married!"
They both laughed for they knew Aislinn had just poked her head through the kitchen door to yell the news at her companions. Actually, they could almost picture her red ringlets bouncing with her enthusiastic gesturing and rosy cheeks from the excitement.
"Linn, could you pay attention to us here for a second, please?" Pleaded Jean after Aislinn had been ranting to the other two for almost three minutes. 'Sure, sure', was her absent answer. "We didn't call just to tell you this... Of course we want all the Olympians to come to the wedding, but we also want you and Zeus to be our bestman and maid of honour"
Silence. Nothing but a deep, pained silence. Jean and Scott exchanged a worried look.
"Look guys... I'm sorry none of us told you sooner... I thought the others had told you, that's why I didn't..." Aislinn breathed harder before resuming where she left. "Zeus is dead"
Jean gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, tears spilling out of her deep green eyes, while Scott's head hung down in grief. Zeus had been their most dear friend, beside Aislinn that is; he was an endless pitch of happiness and glee that never ceased to shine. His death would most definitely hurt all the oldest of the X-Men, especially Gambit, who had always been so close to him.
"H-how..." Jean gulped, trying to earn the courage to say what she still couldn't believe. "How did he... die?"
"In a fire, three years ago. It was Valentine's day and he took me out to Barnard for dinner, you know how he loved to celebrate Valentine... Anyway, we came across a fire in one of the main buildings still with children inside and he just rushed towards it without any second thoughts, yelling me to go get Poseidon, since my power wouldn't do any good against the flames... That idiot didn't even remember that his power wouldn't do either!" Aislinn's voice raised, frustrated and full of despair, despite the control she kept fighting for. "Logan and the children died... I couldn't get there in time with Poseidon, so they died..." By the end of the sad tale, Jean hiccupped and sobbed against her fiancé's chest, mourning for her dear friend. However, Aislinn continued her speech. "I'm very happy for you two – I really am, Jeanie – but I can't go to the wedding... I left New York and I don't think I'll be going back any time soon; I hope you understand"
Scott pressed the bridge of his nose, while he stroke Jean's back soothingly. He could already feel a headache coming. "It's fine, Linn, don't worry about it. We'll manage something else. We love you, okay? Never forget that"
"I know, Scotty; I love you too. Bye, lovebirds, tell the others I said hi" The other line suddenly went silent and soon the irritating beep of the machine took over the previous warm voice.
He stayed in his place, shushing his love, trying to sooth the pain in her chest that he too felt ruthlessly. Not too long later, Jean's head lifted to gaze into Scott's hidden eyes, determination was written all over her sweet features.
"I want her in our wedding, Scott. Aislinn has to be my maid of honour otherwise there won't be marriage" She stated firmly.
Scott frowned slightly. "But she said she doesn't want to come, don't you think it's wiser not to push her?"
"She didn't say she didn't want to come, only that she won't. How about if we go get her with the Blackbird? All of them? The Olympians should have never left the X-Mansion in the first place; it's time for them to come back. Together we can all recover from Zeus' death" Jean stubbornly insisted; she wanted her friends back so badly. Her family should all be reunited during the happiest day of her life.
"Oh, Jean, I don't know..." Before the pleading look in her eyes still red and puffy from the tear-shed, all he could do was sigh. "Fine, go talk to the professor; it's his daughter anyway"
More than satisfied for having won the battle, Jean rose from her seat, after kissing heavily her future husband of course, and ran out of the War Room. Just as the doors of the elevator opened on the first floor, she ran into a hard, muscled chest, almost falling on her back hadn't two sets of equally muscled arms prevented it.
"Hey red, you in a hurry?" Logan took a real notice of the read headed woman he had grown fond of, seeing her eyes all swollen. "Have ya been cryin'? What did that one-eyed jerk do t' you? I swear am gonna kill 'im!"
Jean chuckled at his sudden reaction. "No, no, Logan. Scott didn't do me anything, I promise. Hum... I was just going to speak with the Professor, wanna come?" She asked politely.
"Yeah, sure"
They walked together in silence through the hallways of Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. The students were all in classes at the moment, so there were no teenagers running wild, chatting loudly, nor firing fireworks or throwing snowballs for that matter. When upon an oak woodened door, Jean ever so gently knocked, hearing instantaneously the invitation. The professor was quietly sitting in his usual place: behind the desk, in his metallic wheel chair. A book rested above the table, left forgotten upon the visit of the two X-Men, as Charles Xavier looked at them with his kind yet perspective brown eyes.
"Were you asking for me, dear Jean?" He asked, gesturing for the chairs in front of him so they might sit.
"Scott and I spoke to Aislinn..." Jean said carefully, alert to the professor's facial expression.
There was something that flickered in Charles eyes, Logan noticed unaware of the pang of pain the man had felt at the simple mention of her name.
"Who's Aislinn?" Asked Logan curious.
It took a while for Charles to answer. "Aislinn, Logan, is my daughter"
"Wait, ya have a daughter? Why didn't I hear about her sooner? Where is she?" Logan was surprised to hear something like that; never once had he heard about Xavier having a daughter, or any family for all purposes.
"Thirty years ago, during my youth, Erik and I took a trip to Ireland, where I met this amazing woman by the name of Eileen. She truly was a vision... I remember clearly that Erik and I made a fool out of ourselves at the pub where she worked trying to earn her affections" Charles sadly chuckled a little at the memory. "We were very young, you see? Anyway, Eileen and I fell deeply in love, so we married and soon had Aislinn... but Eileen died giving birth to her and I came back to New York to build the school and raise her"
Jean looked at Logan with those big green eyes of hers. "I knew her when the Professor brought me here; she was only two years older than me and became my best friend. Aislinn also helped saving Scott from the orphanage and convinced us to accept Rogue and helped Gambit to settle permanently and brought the Olympians to school. She was always there..."
"If she was so important, then why she left?" Logan inquired without fully understanding.
"Aislinn got married a few years ago to her childhood friend and got pregnant" The professor sighed. "She refused to live in a place where her child would be in permanent danger, so she left; the Olympians went with her. The last time I spoke to Aislinn was in Brendon's christening, three years ago. How is she, Jean?"
Her face turned slightly sad. "I think she's doing fine, but... Zeus is dead, Professor" She told, her voice quivering a little.
"Oh, my... Linn must be so very heartbroken... I should've figured something might've happened for her not to call in the last years, but I could have never guessed... How did it happen?"
"He decided to play the hero again and stormed into a building on fire to save the children inside without waiting for Poseidon. Typical, huh?" Charlie nodded gloomily at Jean. "Well, that's not what I wanted to speak to you about. I asked her to bring the guys to the wedding and be my maid of honour, but she won't budge, she says she's not coming and I need her to be here. Aislinn has to be here"
"Jean, I understand your feelings but if my daughter does not wish to be here than there is nothing we can do about it. You should know that Aislinn doesn't do well under pressure" He said, rolling his wheel chair to stop in front of the red headed beauty sitting by the desk.
Jean shoke her head franticly, tears shining in her gaze. "She didn't say she didn't want to come! I think she just needs a little push and I know the Professor thinks so too. Please, Professor, let me go get her... her and the Olympians. It's more than time for them to come back. The X-Men never really surpassed their leaving; imagine how happy Gambit and Rogue would be, even Storm and Hank"
Logan had never seen Jean so desperate, whoever that Aislinn was he was most definitely sure she didn't deserve all the work Jean was having to get her back. Neither was he at all enthusiastic to have more people around; the students, the X-Men... they alone already made enough noise to make him go mad.
"Alright, Jean" Charles sighed defeated. "But you must take at least Scott, Gambit and Logan with you. Unless the others wish to go"
"Hey wait a flamin' minute, why do I have t' go too? I don't even know the woman" Exclaimed indignantly Logan, reaching to pull out a cigar, although he thought better upon seeing the look Xavier gave him.
"Because I say you have to, is not that enough reason?"
He shrugged his iron-like shoulders. "I guess"
Jean rose from her seat and launched herself at the Professor's neck, thanking him a million times, before departing from the room, probably to go inform the others about the journey. The men gazed at each other for a moment.
"So... Ol' Chuck got 'imself a woman 'fore Lilandra, huh?" Logan laughed, combing a hand through his thick black hair.
"Logan? Do me a favour: shut up and go prepare yourself" Charles scowled at his obnoxious friend.
"Alright, alright"