*Walks in nonchalantly* *Looks around* *Posts chapter* *Leaves*

X-Men is not mine, it's Marvel's unfortunately.

Morgan POV

I opened the bedroom door a little wider, poking my head into the room. My eyes finally found Tante Cécile sitting on her bed, staring out of the bay window that looked out into the backyard. I remember spending hours sitting in that window, reading and letting the sun warm my body. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Tante?" I asked tentatively.

"Come in Morgan," she replied, her eyes trained on the backyard.

I slowly stepped into the room, afraid to make any sudden movements for fear of upsetting her. "How had it come to this?" I thought to myself. "What happened so that I am now afraid to walk around the woman who means so much to me, who gave me a home, loved me as though I was her own flesh and blood, and who helped me realize that I was not any different than a normal human?" Oh yea, I fled from my home two years ago.

"Sit down," she said, motioning with her head to the seat under the window.

I sat down, head bowed, afraid to look her in the eye. I was acutely aware of my surroundings. I could hear the birds singing outside. The sunlight seemed brighter, the leaves on the trees greener, as if nothing was wrong in the world. It did not reflect my mood and did nothing to ease the knots in my stomach. I sat waiting for Tante Cécile to speak first.

After a few agonizingly slow minutes, she finally spoke. "I heard what you said to Amy."

I risked a quick glance at Tante, trying to gauge her mood. She definitely was starting to show her age. Her dark hair had stripes of white in it, and there were more lines around her eyes and mouth. There seemed to be a permanent crease in her brow, something that I knew I had partly caused. Her eyes wandered to my face, causing me to duck my head back down. "Look at me Morgan." I looked up slowly, afraid to see any kind of disapproval or anger in her dark eyes. Before I could stop myself, words started to gush out of my mouth in an attempt to explain myself and my decision.

"I am so sorry Tante. I never meant to hurt you or cause you to worry, though I know that running probably didn't help any. I just wanted to keep you safe. Stryker would stop at nothing to get what he wants and the feral is so dangerous. I just couldn't put you in that position and risk you or Amy getting hurt, or worse. I would never have been able to live with myself. I didn't think I would be gone so long or that I would get caught. I'm just so sorry." I babbled on frantically, tears starting to stream down my face, until Tante finally shushed me.

"I know why you did what you did. You do not need to explain yourself to me my child. I probably would have done the same thing with my parents if I thought I would put them in danger when I was your age."

"Really?" I asked, sniffling.

"Yes," she replied, a small smile forming on her lips. "I knew as soon as I saw the bar and Amy told me about you leaving that something was not right. I could feel the presence of other mutants, not just you."

"I thought you could only sense them if they were near you?" I said, confused, momentarily forgetting about the subject at hand.

"Yes but if a mutant actively uses their power, then I can sometimes feel their presence, even after they are long gone. Once I knew that mutants were involved, I knew there was little I could do for you, something that tore me up every day. I had to put all my trust into you and believe that you were strong enough to overcome this. I prayed for you everyday."

"So, you didn't go to the police or try to get help?" I asked, a slight tone of disbelief in my voice.

"No I didn't. The police don't know how to deal with mutants yet, we are still a mystery to them. No, it was the Thieves Guild that helped me attempt to find you and watch over you. I always knew that Remy LeBeau was more than he appeared. Apart of the Thieves Guild." She chuckled to herself, shaking her head. "Anyway, they helped me come up with a story to tell the folks around town about your disappearance and of course why the bar was smashed up."

"What did you tell them?"

"Well," she started, "the bar was easy enough to explain. It was vandals who had tried to destroy the bar. They haven't been caught yet." She gave me a small smirk and a wink. The corners of my mouth twitched up in a ghost of a smile. "Your story was a bit harder to convince the people of," she said with a sigh. "I told them that you had left for Houston, to visit your parents' grave and to visit any relatives that you had left. I told them that I didn't know how long you planned on staying. Some people had their doubts but if you tell them the same story long enough then they begin to accept it as truth."

"What if I hadn't come back?" I asked.

Again Tante Cécile turned her head to look out of the window. "I never even once stopped to consider that. I knew you would fight your way back, one way or another. You are a strong woman," she said, her eyes finding mine again.

We stayed like that for a few heartbeats, letting the whole situation sink in. Tante slowly wrapped her arms around my shoulder in a motherly hug. "Yes," she whispered into my hair, "I knew you would come back."

She finally pulled back and held me at arms length. "Now come. We must be joyous right now and cast these dark thoughts away for the time being. My child is finally back where she belongs and I want to enjoy her company. We will deal with the repercussions of this whole ordeal later but for now, you need to eat. You are far too skinny," she said, a full fledged grin on her face.

I couldn't help but smile back as she rose and made her way to the front part of the house.

"I'm home," I whispered to myself, turning to face the window. I felt slightly nervous about trying to get back into the normal routine of life, yet excited at the same time. I would start over, with Remy and Tante Cécile's help of course. I would mend the friendship with Amy and I would put Stryker and the island behind me and leave the past where it belonged, in the past. Yes, things would get better.

With that final thought, I slowly rose to follow Tante Cécile, and start moving forward.

If anyone is still around reading this... THANK YOU! I am a horrible author, I don't post enough. I'm like Morgan, dissappearing for a long time and then popping back up unexpectedly. I tried to cover all of my bases in this chapter and not leave any holes in the story. If you notice a gaping one or see that I have not addressed a major issue, please tell me. I am still a novice writer after all. I am NOT going to promise that I will get another chapter out in the near future because look at my track record. Not good. So I leave you with these final words. Reviews and constuctive critism welcome.