The Decision

"I…" his fist was strongly closed as the adrenaline ran through his body, knowing that whatever decision he may make in that moment, would change his future forever. "How dare you? I won't forgive you for tampering with my mind as if it was a thing you can tinker at will so you can have Jean for yourself! I know you're selfish but this..." he shook his head, trying to say too many things at once. "Have you ever come across the word 'unfair' in your quest for new experiences?" he asked her spitefully. "I've got the right to choose who I love, it's called free will! You're not supposed to interfere with it, you know!" Scott yelled at the Phoenix.

" The mind modification was her doing. It was her wish that you ceased to suffer. I was just there and have nothing to do with you and this human you call Emma. It's not me you should be angry with. I'm just trying to make it up to you for what I've done."

"What about all the grief you've brought to Jean's life? Do you think it was Jean who chose to ruin her life and future to forever serve as your vessel? And what the rest of our friends… are you not guilty of their pain as well?" "I'm trying to atone for that as well, yes." It said.

"The human you know as Jean Grey no longer exists as an independent life form and I take the blame for that, but the galaxy needed to be protected and as a leader, you know well that a single life is not worth the entire universe." He tightened his fists. Jean's life was worth a thousand universes to him, but the bird continued before he could protest. "That is why I am here tonight, to compose what I've destroyed." It explained. "You're a monster!" He accused the fire bird. "On the other hand, if you wish to continue with your life as you know it now, so be it" he didn't know how, but Scott just knew that the Phoenix was getting ready to disappear from his life forever, leaving him with that uncomfortable emptiness inside every time he was around Emma.

"No! Wait! I accept!" he shouted trying to stop the presence from leaving. "Take me to Jean! Do whatever you want to do to this world. I don't care! A world without Jean is not a world worth living in anymore."

The mythological animal stayed put and looked at Scott with its almond shaped eyes, made of the same fire as the rest of its body. A moment later, it started singing its song and, as it did, a barely human form appeared inside the its flaming, feathery chest. Scott startled when that happened, but couldn't take his eyes away from the process.

The fetus kept developing more and more every second, rapidly taking the form of a little girl, which soon began to transform into a red haired woman. Her body and factions looking more and more like Jean's. Scott had to admit it was an amazing thing to watch, the Phoenix reconstructing her body cell by cell from a single zygote.

When the growth spur finally ended, Jean's body appeared to be corporeous for the first time and stopped being just a translucent silhouette in the bird's interior. As she materialized progressively, both the fire and the bird surrounding her disappeared as a symbol that the amend was fulfilled.

Scott looked at the red-haired woman floating in front of him, apparently unaffected by gravity and wondered if she really was his Jean. It certainly looked like it, but with her eyes closed as they were, it was impossible for hi to tell. Not that Scott would have been able to see the amazing green color those eyes had with his ruby quartz glasses on, but he was sure he would have been able to know if it was really her by their expression.

Was she going to return with her memories untouched or would he have to breing her up to date and explain all the painful little details he didn't quite understand himself? He feared the answer to that question, but it seemed like a small price to pay for having her back, all to himself. No sharing with any entity or painful death and revival cycles. He would have a chance to see what their life together would have been like if the Phoenix had never existed, a thought that had kept him awake many nights in the past years.

He approached her slowly and took a good look at her beautiful features, unsure about what he was supposed to do to wake her up or, for that matter, if he was supposed to do anything at all. Jean seemed to be asleep, lying on a nonexistant bed that was too short and thin for her body, causing her head to lean backwards and her arms to fall out of it as well at her sides.

The Phoenix was gone as well as the suit she wore representing it but it took Scott several minutes to realize that she wasn't wearing anything at all. Despite all the things that they had lived together, he blushed deeply and, seconds later, she opened her eyes.

Jean stared at him, confusion written all over her face. She frowned at the huge effort that were recognizing the room around her and trying to remember how she had gotten there. Still glowing unnaturally, her body began to descend slowly to the floor while her hair floated around her like that of a ghost. Scott instinctively picked her up before she got to the floor and helped her stand on her own.

For a moment, she stood there like a real sized doll; motionless, with her arms hanging at both sides of her body and red locks of silky hair floating everywhere. She looked at Scott intently, as if the rest of the world didn't matter. Then the glowing slowly ceased and her fiery mane fell under the gravity's effects once more.

None of them spoke for an indefinite amount of time that stretched in front of them and that could have been just a few seconds or many years. After that, she blinked to break the spell and came back to life like a computer that has just finished loading the operative system.

She smiled at him warmly, as she realized what had just happened. Scott looked in her eyes, afraid of what he might find and recognized the love and tenderness he had been longing for. This was Jean. His Jean. He smiled back at her and she threw her arms around his neck.

Scott drew her closer by the waist, and joined her in a hug so tight it seemed as if their lives depended on it.

In the precise moment they touched, the room around them disappeared, along with everything and everyone in it. Emma was gone as well and a white light surrounded them as they were translated to a different universe. A happier one.

~ O ~

Author's note: This chapter was easier to edit than the previous one, thanks to the time my old friend Nightcrawler took to proof-read it for me. I haven't talked to him in at least two years and I really miss him. I hope that wheverer he is, he has found a woman worthy of his love and that the old wounds left by our despicable mutual friend are finally closed forever like mine.

Here's the original credits: I want to thank my friend Nightcrawler for giving me the courage I lacked to write this chapter and pointing out my mistakes. I also want to thank CykePhoenixSummers and Ororo Howlett for the reviews.