Notes: CC: Barney and his brother are totally ladies men and nothing can take this away from me, okay? :P Seriously, though, I adore the real family dynamics going on here. How can you not?

Arly: YAY! I'm so excited that you're on board the train for this family. They all deserve some happiness :D

Griezz: I think you're forgetting about the setting, though. This is an era before cell phones, and the Avengers aren't exactly on super buddy-buddy terms with the X-Men, so it wouldn't occur to them to talk to Jean or Charles right off the bat. Add to that the fact that Creed was able to sniff around the Tower twice now and likely figure out the circus connection... and that he's filthy rich and wouldn't have a problem getting there in a matter of hours and there really wasn't time to get past the "recover and freak out and try to catch him before we have to scare a kid by telling him a monster is coming" stage before Creed arrived. (Moral of the story: don't underestimate Creed. Something the Avengers do constantly.)

Chapter 16: Arrow the Archer Dog

Of course, being home in Westchester also meant that when Clint's birthday came up a few days later, there were plenty of people that wanted to spoil him — not just for the birthday but for everything that had happened in the past few weeks that they were trying to balance out.

K had started things out with chocolate chip pancakes, and things kept getting better from there. Barney had gotten him some purple arm guards and finger slings for his bow, and K had gotten him a bullwhip and an Indiana Jones hat that he refused to take off all day.

Storm had gotten him a few books, including one called Last of the Mohicans that Clint thought looked like it would be harder than the others, but Storm said he was up for it. And Jean and Jan had clearly conspired with what felt like half a wardrobe's worth of clothes for him.

The Avengers had sent over gifts, too, which had Barney in awe as Clint opened various archery-related gifts and what looked like an authentic helmet from Thor… which Clint giggled at and promised he was going to put it on his wall because his mom was Swedish so it meant he was following her footsteps.

Of course, the day didn't go past without at least one little hiccup, and the one noticeable absence was that of Logan — who had been with the Avengers since the day before on some kind of a Hydra mission. But even with that, Logan had managed to get back before the big birthday dinner was entirely over.

He hadn't been able to take the time to get out of uniform though, so when he came in, it was with a partially damaged yellow and blue uniform on, his cowl shredded, and with something very fluffy in his arms. "Got here as quick as I could," Logan said.

"Oh wow," Barney breathed out, even as Clint rushed over.

"Are you okay?" he blurted out.

Logan frowned at him and nodded. "'Course I am. Just took longer gettin' here than I figured. But … I thought you might help this little guy out." He shifted his arms so that the little black nose came out from under Logan's elbow with a high-pitched growl from being moved.

Clint froze for a second, blinking at the tiny yellow puppy, before he let out a delighted sort of sound and held his hands out for the little dog, grinning at him widely. "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow," he whispered.

"Whatcha think?" Logan asked as he straightened up. "Think he'll do?"

"Uh-huh," Clint whispered.

The little pup whimpered a little, then tipped his head back until his nose was under Clint's chin — sniffling and making little noises before he just started licking his chin and trying to snuggle up.

Clint giggled and snuggled right up to the little puppy. "I'm gonna name him Arrow," he declared.

"Of course you are," Jean said in a voice that said she was dying of cute.

K made her way over to give the pup a look, checking out his teeth and eyes — all while he wagged his tail and tried to lick her. Once she petted him, he leaned into her hand, clearly settling down a little. "Oh, he's a lover." She turned to Clint. "More than Sicem was at this age, even."

"That's perfect for Clint," Barney pointed out. "He needs lots of spoiling."

K swatted Barney's arm for that but didn't argue it as she made her way over to give Logan a kiss. "Good call."

"Happens now and again," Logan said with a shrug.

You're trying to kill me, Jean projected to Logan from where she was wiping her eyes.

We both know that's not true. Done that before. Didn't like it, Logan shot right back without missing a beat.

Jean shook her head at him. Yes, but now you've found a way to do it with sweetness.

You're overly emotional, that's all, Logan argued.

Yes, I am! She gave him a look. And that is the sweetest thing I've seen! She gestured toward where Clint was curled up with little Arrow. Just look at them!

Logan gave her a look but didn't comment — since there was no arguing with her like this. Kid needed his dog. That's all.

Jean nodded at that and at least tried to look more serious. He really did. That dog was his security blanket.

I know, Logan answered, though it was clear that he was trying to carry the blame for the dog getting cut down.

Jean let out a sigh, but instead of trying to argue it, she simply projected to K what it was Logan was thinking. I'm too tired to deal with his nonsense when I could be drowning in your son's cuteness. Please tell him how wrong he is.

So drown in the cute and I'll deal with him. I figured as much anyhow, K replied.

Thank you, Jean said, giving K a warm smile as she leaned back against Scott and contentedly watched Barney getting in on the cuteness with Clint.

It didn't take much for Clint to get entirely wrapped up in Arrow — and he managed to get most of the kids at Xavier's following him right along, entirely entranced with the sweet little pup. Which was the perfect opportunity for K to grab a hold of Logan and pull him off to his room to have a little word.

"Bold move, getting him a pup with no warning," K said, though Logan took the opportunity to get out of the bloodied and sweaty uniform.

"Seemed like a good idea to me," he said. "And … seein' as I was runnin' late..."

"Don't even lie," K said as she slipped over to give him a kiss. "You had Jarvis watching that pup while you were out with your friends."

"I did," he agreed.

K paused and smiled almost to herself as she tipped her chin down. "I don't think I ever properly thanked you for getting us away from him — or for killing that idiot."

"My fault he was on your tail to start with," Logan said, but at that, K reached up fast to cover his mouth with her hand.

"No." She looked entirely serious, but wouldn't move her hand, so Logan's only means of questioning her thought process was to raise an eyebrow as he put his hands at her waist. "If we would have managed to escape the creeps that had me down when you swooped in to save us … he would have been the next step anyhow. I know it, you know it … I busted myself out and got him on my tail all on my own." He shook his head, and she shifted to place her hands on either side of his neck. "You did everything that I couldn't to get him gone. But go ahead and tell me I'm wrong. Just before you try to do that, think for one minute about what would have happened to us if he'd caught up to me before you did."

Logan was quiet for a moment, but he didn't drop his gaze from hers, and when he opened his mouth, she pushed forward to shut him up with a kiss before pushing him backwards into his shower stall.

Clint and Barney spent most of the holiday season playing with Arrow, completely wrapped up in the little puppy and in hanging out together. It was especially good for Clint that the sweet little ball of yellow fluff didn't seem to want to go to sleep unless he was curled up with Clint, too.

But for as much as the mansion was enjoying the boys and the puppy, it was only a few weeks before one more little addition joined the family, just a couple days after New Year's.

Clint hadn't actually been awake when Jean had her baby, but he heard what had happened when he came downstairs and almost immediately spun toward Kitty when she told him. "Can we go see?" he asked. "I promised Jean I was gonna help her!"

"Um … I don't see why not," Kitty said. "She's taking visitors."

"Okay, good," Clint said, nodding to himself before he rushed down, leaving Barney looking a little out of his depth and shrugging shyly Kitty's way before he decided to follow Clint anyway.

When he got down to the medical wing, Clint was't surprised at all to see that Jean was all curled up with Scott — nor was he surprised to see that the little one they had between them was redheaded. "Knew it!" he called out, rushing over to peer over the tops of Jean's arms to the little girl. "Knew she'd have red hair."

"Do you want to say hello?" Jean asked.

Clint nodded. "Uh-huh. Please." He sat down carefully so that Scott could show him how to gently support the baby's head as he held her, and then he broke into a grin. "Hi, Rachel," he said. "Looks like you're the new baby of the school, so I'm gonna show you some tricks and stuff for how to deal with all the attention."

"Sounds like a big job," Scott said with a grin that he wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

"Well, I got Barney," Clint said. "And he's real good at being a big brother, so he knows how to do that stuff. I'll just ask him."

"She'll be lucky to have you looking out for her," Jean said with a wide smile.

"Somebody's gotta," Clint pointed out. "I think everybody needs somebody."

"Oh, definitely," Jean said, her smile only widening — especially when she saw Barney standing at the door, hesitant to come in. Sure, he'd spent some time at the school, but he hadn't warmed up to everyone as fast as Clint had, and he was still a little shy in situations like this.

"C'mon, Barn. Come say hi!" Clint called out.

"Oh, okay," Barney said, glancing at Jean and Scott and only moving forward when he got nods from them both. He peeked over Clint's shoulder and grinned. "So… can I have this one and trade you for Clint?" he asked Jean. "She looks more like me."

"Ha ha, very funny," Clint said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, I am," Barney said, grinning even wider.

"You're not trading me," Clint said. "That's not how it works."

"Jean would take you, wouldn'tcha, Jean?" Barney asked, looking up at Jean, who couldn't hide her amusement at the boys' antics.

"I would," she said with a nod. "But not in trade — I'll just keep all of you for myself." To prove her point, she telekinetically pulled all three of the kids over so that she could catch them in a hug and kiss Clint's cheek. She even got Barney, who flushed and tried to wipe off the kiss and only had Jean chuckling to herself.

"You can't keep us — Mom adopted both of us," Clint pointed out.

"Oh, I know. But I'm still keeping you," Jean teased. "Rachel needs big brothers."

"I thought you said the X-Men were good guys, Clint," Barney said. "But she's a kidnapper!"

"I think she's still high on the stuff Hank gave her for having a baby," Clint said, earning a sort of snerk out of Scott that had Jean rolling her eyes and pushing Scott a few steps back telekinetically in retaliation. Which of course only had Scott grinning harder.

"Don't you think you should wait a little bit before you start giving her that look?" K asked as she stepped in with a tray for Jean. "Your man said you were dying of hunger."

Jean beamed at her and nodded. "Oh, yeah, I absolutely was," she agreed as she waved K over. "Luckily, I had two of the cutest kids in the school to keep me company while I was wasting away to nothing."

"Clearly. You look like you lost at least twenty pounds, you poor lamb," K shot right back. "Has to be a shock to your system." She set the food down for Jean and gave her a little smile. "Congratulations, both of you."

"We're pretty pleased," Jean agreed with a smile, tipping her head down to the little girl. "Just so you know, your boys have already claimed her as their own. I couldn't stop them."

"And didn't try hard," Scott said, earning another little look from Jean.

"Of course they have," K said. "Why wouldn't they? They needed your little girl to spoil. Obviously."

"Barney says she looks like him," Clint reported. "He's being ridiculous."

"He thinks all redheads look like him," K said with a wave. "She clearly favors her mother."

"Which is what we were hoping for anyway," Scott said.

Jean rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder. "You're ridiculous."

"Oh, I don't know that's entirely true," K said. "I'm sure she was hoping for more from you."

"That's okay — Clint looks just like our dad but he's totally Mom," Barney said with an encouraging smile Jean's way. "You gotta wait and see."

"I think they want to take their time and enjoy their newborn," K said to the boys. "Just as she is."

"Oooh, we should let you guys do that," Clint said, scooting along with a little smirk as he handed Rachel back to Scott. "You guys are never gonna stop grinning, huh?"

"No reason to," Scott said as he settled Rachel into the crook of his arm.

"Well, she's real pretty," Clint told Jean and then gave her a hug. "Have fun with your baby!" he sang out to her before he darted over to grab K's hand, with Barney not far behind.

You have the sweetest boys in the world. You know that, right? Jean projected out to K as the little group headed out.

I know that they adore family, K replied. And they're both happy for yours.

It helps that they have you, Jean said. They know they have something solid. It makes a big difference.

They never should have had to deal with anything less, K replied. And if I could hunt down those responsible, I would. It's just a shame they're out of reach already.

I'd come with you, Jean admitted. One look at Rachel, and… I'd come with you.

Good thing all we have to do is stay here for now and spoil them.

I still can't wait to see you teaching them to shoot on horseback, Jean said, unable to hide the spark of laughter.

Working on it, K said. Finding the right horses takes time. But they'll be great.

Jean beamed at her. I'll take some Polaroids for them, I promise. Something they can show off to people when the horses aren't available. You and I both know those boys like to show off.

They really do, K said. You haven't seen them compete head to head yet. Just wait.

I've already seen a little of that with their schoolwork. Barney's working hard already and he's only just started — he can't stand Clint being ahead of him.

It won't take him long to catch up then, K said, her mental voice carrying a laugh along with it.

Jubilee already caught him practicing his multiplication tables over lunch… he's absolutely tuned into the competition, Jean laughed.

They'll never stop that, K answered. But you? You should get some rest. You worked hard. And you deserve the break.

Jean nodded, already leaning back into Scott. I've already been informed that there are no shortage of babysitters around here, she admitted. And that does sound nice.

All the more reason to soak up the time with her. Before the fights start.

Oh, I'm sure Logan will win, Jean said. Would you send him down? He's pretending he's being considerate by letting everyone else go first, but I'd like for him to meet Rachel.

He is being considerate, K said. But yeah, consider it done.

Thank you! Jean beamed at her. And if he argues, tell him I insisted and that it's his duty to a brand new mom.

He doesn't argue with me.

So, can you stay forever? Jean teased.

I'm not so sure that we wouldn't wear out the welcome well before then.

Are you kidding? Jean shook her head. Have you seen the kids playing with Clint and Arrow? There would be a revolt if you left. There almost was one when you were gone this summer.

I think you're overstating things, but okay.

Really, K, you'd think you of all people wouldn't underestimate how loved your boys are, Jean said, shaking her head again.

Well if you're going to be specific, then I guess I'll stick around until they're graduated.

Jean rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Yes, you and Logan are a matched set, she teased. We'll just see how things are when we get there, shall we?

K didn't bother answering her at that, mostly because the elevator doors had opened up on the main floor and the boys were already headed for the kitchen to get breakfast. She hadn't gotten her coffee poured before Logan walked in and she was quick to re-route him. "Jean says you need to go meet her little one before she decides you hate her."

"That's not what she said," Logan said, shaking his head at her.

"Close enough," K said before she popped up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Go on. I'm sure the boys will still be scarfing down food when you get back."

Logan shook his head at her again, then turned to see that yes, the Barton boys were indeed doing their best savage routine on their breakfasts — though they hadn't gotten to the food fight stage that always accidentally happened to consist only of things that Arrow would eat ... just yet. He set his mug down without filling it up first and then simply headed down to meet little Rachel.

By the time he got down there, Hank was just finishing up a few checks on the little one that he insisted needed to be done before they could head upstairs — though of course, Jean couldn't help teasing him that he really only wanted more time with the baby.

"Easy enough to bust him," Logan said. "Not like he'll even argue it hard."

"Not in the least," Hank agreed with a smile. "And when you meet her, you'll back me up."

"She looks just like Jean," Scott said, still grinning.

"Lucky kid," Logan said.

"That's what I said," Scott said, plucking Rachel up once Hank was done and very obviously not caring about anything else at the moment.

Logan shook his head at that, but kept his distance. "You two did good work," he said.

"You really should say hello," Jean said. "She's even more amazing in person." When Logan didn't immediately respond, though, Jean telekinetically pulled him over. "Please?" she said, fluttering her eyelashes for effect.

"I'm here ain't I?" Logan said, frowning slightly at her. "I'm just not gettin' in the middle of you three."

"When are you going to learn — we don't argue with Jean," Scott said with a more subdued smirk, shaking his head before he simply handed Rachel to Logan. "You'd think you'd know that by now."

"Slow learner," Logan muttered, though he adjusted the way the little one was curled into him.

Jean smiled as she got to her feet and came over to stand between Scott and Logan, leaning over to smile at Rachel — who was sound asleep. "See? This is all I wanted," she said. "She'll be spoiled rotten."

"She's a newborn. That's most of what they do," Logan deadpanned.

"Oh, go ahead and be like that," Jean said. "Doesn't change the fact that she's going to have the best extended family known to the universe."

"Jean has high hopes," Scott joked. "No idea what we're going to do if anyone else has any little ones."

"Oh, hush," Jean said, shaking her head at him and kissing his cheek.

"Pretty sure you don't have any competition there, Slim."

"You know me; always planning for the future," Scott joked, though that had Jean hitting him in the shoulder and then kissing him, projecting for him to stop before he pushed Logan into panicking.

Which surprised Scott. I wasn't—

You were, Jean said. Don't get me wrong; the excitement is very cute. But don't go pushing any of them. You know better.

I wasn't, Jean.

Sure, Scott.

Scott shook his head at that, but seeing as Jean was kissing him anyway… "Think you could watch Rachel for a little while, Logan?" he asked, not waiting for an answer as he swept Jean up with a grin.

Logan looked up at him with a little frown. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm just going to make sure Jean's comfortable," Scott said, already carrying her out. "It'll just be a little while."

"Sure you don't want … I dunno, anyone else to watch her for you?" Logan asked, but when the two of them were entirely wrapped up and not looking back, Logan looked down at Rachel with a frown. "Yeah, sure, I'll bring her up for you," Logan said, shaking his head at them — though Hank was quick to stop him from leaving just yet, doing his best to give the Summerses a head start.