Kurt was happy to see Wanda was acting like herself again by sunset, and had suggested they visit one of Genosha's sprawling parks to watch the event together. She wore a tea-length black dress in place of her usual caped garb, and Kurt loved how her blue eyes were made even more dazzling against the dark fabric. He took her by the waist and held her against him, and she smiled at the familiar gesture as they teleported to the intricately-fashioned metal gates of her favorite park.

He felt so natural around her and in this place, where mutants-or 'homo-superiors' as Wanda called them-thrived, that he thought nothing of sharing a kiss with her in public. A small smile remained at the corner of her mouth afterwards, like a secret. As they strolled through the park beneath a sky of pastels; pink, orange and gold, he noticed they were not the only couple taking advantage of such a pristine setting. Many pairs of mutants walked close together hand-in-hand, or lounged on the grass chatting quietly throughout the sprawling park. Finally the two found an empty wrought-iron bench where they could relax in each other's arms and watch the peaceful explosion of color that was the sunset.

Kurt found himself thinking back to their earlier conversation; it was odd that she had never asked him about children before now. And this mysterious illness…he dared to wonder if she might even be pregnant. Truthfully he couldn't think of anyone he would rather start a family with, but surely she'd have told him, if she were. They had not been watching long when the familiar voice of Jean Grey reached him, calling out to him from a few yards away,

"Hey, Kurt!" she waved from the small park green where she and the fellow female members of the X-men were lounging, their collection of wrapped parcels and shopping bags cast around them in the grass like a halo.

The teleporter and his companion stood as he waved back, the firey-haired Jean Grey jogging up the green slope to meet them on the cobblestone path.

"Oh, hello," Jean caught her breath for a moment as she stared at Wanda,

"I don't think we've met," she extended her hand to her, and Wanda looked to Kurt for a second before accepting her hand and returning her gaze with a smile.

"Zis is Vanda Maximoff," Kurt said proudly, sliding his arm about his lover's shoulders.

"How do you do-oh!" Jean cried out in surprise as she shook Wanda's hand, making all three give a start,

"Kurt-why didn't you tell me you two were expecting?" she beamed at her comrade, who stood in silence as her words settled in his mind.

He looked to Wanda in confusion, who tore her hand from Jean's grasp and stepped back from them both.

"Vas?" Kurt's mind went blank as he stared in shock at Wanda,

"Vanda, is zhere something you…need to tell me?"

Jean Grey looked from Kurt's face to his companion's, and her smile vanished.

"Oh, I'm sorry-I didn't realize…," she stammered awkwardly and averted her eyes from the two.

"Who is this woman, Kurt?" Wanda asked in little more than a whisper as she stared down at the cobblestones.

"She ist one of ze doctors I mentioned earlier…" Kurt replied mechanically, his voice even despite the torrent of emotions riling through him,

"Und a telepath."

He suddenly took her hand in his own, giving her an imploring look,

"Vanda-?"

He saw tears brimming in her beloved blue eyes for the first time and knew at once that it was true. She looked up and noticed the other two women drawing near to meet their teammate,

"I can't do this-not here," she looked up at him pointedly, and he knew instantly what she meant.

Without so much as a nod to Jean, Kitty and Ororo he took Wanda's arm and they vanished, a spark of red smoke rising where they had stood seconds before.

Kitty knew immediately that something was wrong and looked at Jean curiously,

"Jean, what's going on?"

"Well…I scanned Wanda's mind when she shook my hand, just briefly, and found out something I don't think she was ready for Kurt to know." She placed a hand to her forehead and shut her eyes as guilt filled her,

"I didn't even mean to, it just happened…I'm still learning to control my impulses, and without the Professor here to help,"

"You don't need to make excuses, Jean," Ororo said comfortingly, placing a hand on her shoulder,

"It will be alright."

"I hope so," Jean said worriedly as she glanced up at the sky, where dusk hastily crept.

Wanda and Kurt reappeared in the metal palace's throne room, now empty of anyone else. Wanda moved to distance herself from the teleporter, but was halted by his grip on her arm.

"Vhy did you hide this from me?" he asked in a subdued voice, and she couldn't meet his eyes for fear of what she might find in them.

"I was going to tell you…I just wasn't ready yet, but I was going to!" she stared at the floor as a few hot tears burned their path down her face.

"I'm sorry, Kurt."

His silence weighed upon her shoulders like stone. Finally it grew too laborious to bear any longer, and she slumped onto her knees, the floor cold against her skin. Her face was moist with tears and her eyes shut tight as if it would stop them, when she felt his arms enclose about her.

"Hush, mien liebe." he said in a tone so kind Wanda found it unbelievable.

"Don't apologize, Vanda. I vish you could have told me yourself, but...I suspected this might be ze cause of your illness anyvay."

"Kurt," she said against his shoulder, her voice shaking,

"I don't expect you to be involved; I mean with all of this, I can handle it on my own I just-I wanted to enjoy what we have for a bit longer."

Kurt loosened their embrace to ease her face upwards to his own,

"Of course I vant to be involved," he said incredulously,

"Vanda, vas do you think of me? Did you think zis vould change how I feel for you?"

Tears welled in her eyes and her throat was too tight to speak as she watched him gently press his hand against her stomach,

"You're carrying our child, Vanda, I couldn't vant to be vith you any more than I do now-"

"But I don't want you to love me for this;" she argued as she placed her hand over his,

"I won't trap you into being with me, Kurt. If you stay," she paused for a moment and steadied her voice,

" Don't do it just because of the pregnancy."

"I love you for you, Vanda, nothing's going to change that," he said firmly. She stared into his eyes uneasily, but found a resolute look in them she could only compare to the one she had seen that night in The Hunting Grounds; unwavering determination.

As if to prove his words he kissed her softly, gently gliding his hand through her long hair as he was so fond of doing. When it ended, there were no doubts left in Wanda's mind. She flung her arms about his shoulders and clung to him as if her very life depended on it. He held her fast, and they sat kneeling together on the floor in blissful, hopeful silence.