Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution

Chapter Thirty Four – Love is All You Need

December 1998

By the beginning of December, the hell of Apocalypse had been driven from memory. In fact, it was shaping up to be one of the best winters in X-Men history.

Lorelai LeBeau had already surprised everyone by blowing up her teddy-bear when she was crying, disproving the theory that mutation appeared around puberty; apparently having two mutant parents was enough to cause powers to manifest earlier.

Pietro and Lexa, although they hadn't started dating after the HYDRA debacle, were spending a lot of time together, much to Logan's consternation, but she had met his concerns with a simple, "He's a good friend, Wolverine, and he makes me feel normal for once."

It was a mark of how fond Logan had become of his 'daughter' that he dropped the subject after that.

Lorna and Alex had also slipped comfortably into friendship, occasionally having conversations that lasted for hours and switched subjects so often that no one could keep track, except Kitty, who had apparently had had her fair share of similar conversations with Lance back in Northbrook.

"I'm telling you," Kitty was saying through the bathroom door, "we once had a ten minute conversation about what we would be if the world was a sandwich." She laughed quietly at the memory, leaning against the way. She'd been talking to Jubilee about it when the other girl had ducked into a bathroom as they passed, telling her to carry on as she did.

Kitty frowned and tapped on the door, realising that she'd been in there a while and there were strange noises coming from inside. "Jubes? Hun, you okay? I'm coming in." She phased through the door to find Jubilee hunched over the toilet, emptying her stomach. "Oh honey …"

Jubilee took gulps of air, resting her forehead against the rim as Kitty pulled her hair back, rubbing her back soothingly. "Thanks."

Kitty pressed a hand against her forehead. "I don't think you've got a fever. Maybe it was something you ate?"

"I've been eating the same as the rest of you." Jubilee pointed out. "The only other thing it could be is …" She trailed off, her face paling. "Shit."

"What?" Kitty asked, moving back as Jubilee pushed her hand away and stumbled to the medicine cabinet.

"Shit, shit, shit …" Jubilee mumbled, rooting through it until she found what she was looking for.

"Oh my God …" Kitty whispered. "You and Bobby …?"

"Only once." Jubilee stared at the box. "But once is enough."

"We'll always have tonight."

"Come on." Kitty wrapped an arm around her shoulders and phased them back into the hallway. "At least do it in the privacy of your own room."

"Hang on." Jubilee put a hand out and stopped Jamie as he ran past. "Jamie, where's Bobby?"

"Outside, I think." Jamie answered. "He got a letter from his parents and went out there to read it; haven't seen him since."

Jubilee slipped the small box into her pocket. "I'm gonna go find him, Kitty."

Kitty nodded. "That's a better idea; forget mine." She smiled supportively. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Jubilee muttered, grabbing her jacket from hallway closet and opening the front door. "What the …?"

At her surprised exclamation, Kitty joined her, but she had no explanation either.

Yesterday, despite the bitterly cold weather, the front door had opened out onto blue skies and green grass, even if the trees were now bare and lifeless.

Now, the view was white, but this was no winter wonderland. The wind howled, chilling them both to the bone, and a fierce blizzard raged, reducing their vision to a haze of snow.

"It was fine this morning." Kitty commented, stating the obvious but feeling the need to say something. "Maybe Storm's having a bad day."

"That's not me." The woman in question disagreed from behind them.

"There's no way this is natural." Kitty insisted. "You think it has something to do with the letter Bobby got?"

"From his parents?" Jubilee questioned. "Can't be. He's always gotten on fine with them. If this is him, something must have upset him."

"Well …" Kitty hesitated. "When everyone found out we were mutant, Bobby told us that his parents didn't even know he was mutant and I don't think they ever found out. Did you get a call from them when we flew out?"

"I don't think so …" Jubilee thought back. "No. No, I didn't, because I remember being relieved that I didn't have to talk to them. Didn't think I could handle it. Could this be Bobby?"

"Theoretically." Ororo agreed slowly. "I'll go and talk to Professor Xavier. In the meantime, Jubilee, try and find him."

Jubilee nodded, glancing at her coat. "I'm gonna need a thicker jacket."

Finding Bobby turned out to be easier said than done.

Half-blinded by snow and ice, Jubilee fought her way through the gale-force wind, having to scrunch up her face in order to see more than a few feet in front of her face. "Bobby?" She squinted towards the summer-house, just able to make out the shape of her boyfriend slumped inside it, apparently oblivious to the harsh conditions around him. "Bobby!"

Inside, the wind wasn't as harsh, but it was still bitterly cold and she collapsed to her knees beside him, shivering violently. "Bobby … Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

In response, Bobby thrust the letter he was holding into her hand. Squinting at the text through the swirling blizzard, she could only just make out certain phrases, but it was enough to make her blood boil.

'… never been so ashamed … disgusted to learn … no child of ours …'

It was signed William and Madeline Drake. Not Mom and Dad, or even the less personal Mother and Father.

"Bobby …" Jubilee reached out to touch his face; his skin was ice-cold. "Honey?"

"Why can't they love me?" Bobby whispered, though she still wasn't entirely sure he really knew she was there; a tear rolled down his cheek and froze instantly. "I tried, Jubes. I tried to be a good kid; a good son. What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing!" Jubilee seized his shoulders and shook him lightly to get his attention. "Bobby, there is nothing wrong with you. This is their problem; not yours. C'mon; let's get back inside."

"No." Bobby shook his head. "No, I need to be out here, Jubes."

As he finally met her eyes, Jubilee bit back a gasp, realising that his dark brown eyes had changed to a stormy-grey, in a side-effect to his mutation she'd yet to see. "Bobby, listen to me; you're having some kind of power surge. You need to calm down."

"I can't." Bobby admitted in a low voice. "I don't know how to stop it."

Holding him close, Jubilee could feel his heart starting to race, the wind picked up even more and she knew she had to do something. Threading her fingers into his hair, she kissed him passionately, praying that he'd start focusing on her as opposed to his powers.

It only took a few minutes for Bobby to respond, his arms snaking round her waist to pull her into his lap.

Gradually, the wind dropped and the snow began to settle into soft flurries, looking more like a Christmas card than a winter nightmare.

Gently pulling away, Bobby rested his forehead against hers "I love you."

"I love you too." Jubilee searched his gaze, relieved to see that his eyes were back to their usual colour. "Are you alright?"

"I'll live." Bobby shrugged. "I don't need them."

"No, you don't." Jubilee agreed without hesitation.

"I need you." Bobby added softly.

"You've got me." Jubilee whispered.

Bobby held her close. "I can't lose you."

"You never will." Jubilee leaned up to kiss him and stood, pulling him up with her. "Come on. I think that Professor X will wanna talk to you about this."

"You're probably right." Bobby sighed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Alright, time to face the music."

"You didn't do anything wrong." Jubilee reminded him gently, pushing open the side door to the mansion; the journey back didn't seem to take nearly as long, probably because they weren't fighting the elements at the same time. She stayed at his side until they reached the professor's office, where she slipped out from under his arm and kissed his cheek. "I'll meet you in your room, okay?"

Bobby nodded and she squeezed his hand once before heading in the opposite direction.

Ray was lounging on his bed when she knocked on the door, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. "Come …" He trailed off. "Jubes, most people wait for an invitation before they open the door."

"I'm not most people." Jubilee reminded him. "Out. I need to talk to Bobby."

Ray sighed, sitting up. "He's not here."

"I know that." Jubilee rolled her eyes. "He's with the Professor. But when he gets back, I need to talk to him in private. Please."

Ray just looked at her for a few minutes. "You alright?"

"Yes, of course." Jubilee brushed off his concern.

Ray didn't look convinced. "Okay. But you owe me one."

"Yeah." Jubilee smiled weakly. "Thanks." She waited for the door to close and headed straight for the bathroom, pulling the box out of her pocket.

Bobby closed his door behind him with a sigh, only to realise that the room was empty, causing him to think back to his girlfriend's earlier request. "Jubes? You did say my room, right?" He tapped on the closed bathroom door. "Jubes?"

"Come in." Jubilee called weakly.

Bobby pushed the door open, only to find his girlfriend in the process of throwing up. "Are you okay?" He was at her side in a second, holding her hair back for her as she heaved once more.

"Been better." Jubilee muttered, leaning against him. "You got a spare toothbrush?"

"No." Bobby felt her forehead. "You don't feel warm; you want me to grab you some painkillers or something?"

"I'm not sick." Jubilee assured him.

"Oh. In that case, you can borrow my toothbrush." Bobby grinned, helping her to her feet. He watched her brush her teeth, not entirely sure whether to believe her about her health, when something on the counter caught his eye. "Jubes … is that …?"

Jubilee followed his eye-line and rinsed her mouth out. "Yes. It is."

"But we've only …" Bobby trailed off, resorting to a vague gesture. "You know."

"So we've only slept together once." Jubilee scooped the test up and dumped it in the small bin in the corner of the bathroom. "All it takes, Bobby. And we didn't …"

"We were a little preoccupied, Jubes." Bobby reminded her gently, thinking back to the night before they'd flown out to fight Apocalypse. "Was it …?"

"Was it what?" Jubilee asked, slipping past him.

Bobby followed her back into the main room, catching her arm. "You know what I mean. Are you pregnant?"

Jubilee held his gaze for a second, before dissolving into tears with a nod. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, murmuring soothing words of comfort to her, using the time to desperately try to get his get around it.

They were having a baby.

Finally, his babbled words began to make sense, both in his head and out loud. "Baby, we're going to be fine, okay?" He pulled back slightly and cupped her face tenderly. "The second I met you, I knew I loved you and I always saw us having children one day … didn't you?"

"Well, yeah." Jubilee admitted, tears still streaming down her face but subsiding slightly. "But not this soon. And not before we were married."

"That can easily be fixed." Bobby pointed out, kissing her forehead.

Jubilee sighed. "Bobby, I don't want you to feel like you have to propose to me just because I'm pregnant."

"Who said anything about that being the reason?" Bobby asked quietly. "I've had this planned for a while; talked to your parents and everything."

"You're kidding?" Jubilee searched his eyes. "You're not kidding. Oh my God …"

"So what do you say?" Bobby grinned. "Fancy being stuck with me for the rest of your life?"

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "Ask me properly and I'll think about it."

"As you wish." Bobby ran her hands down her arms and took her hands, lifting them to his lips and kissed them softly, before lowering himself on one knee. "Jubilee, will you marry me?"

"Yes." Jubilee whispered, falling to her knees next to him. "Yes, I'll marry you."

AN: Review please!