Disclaimer: The only things I own are a slightly worn stuffed dog and a boatload of student debt … which is, apparently, going to get even bigger. Thanks government!

Anyway, apologies for the delay; I was on a Harry Potter kick, which was a novelty for me, so I decided to get some of those stories written, or continued at the very least.

Chapter Forty One – Family

February 1999

For a few seconds, time seemed to be suspended; the entire infirmary plunged into a state of shock by Lexa's revelation.

Finally, Lorna broke the silence. "How is that possible?"

"Lorna's right, Lexa." Jean agreed, her voice wavering slightly. "Aunt Judy definitely only had two babies and Lorna's only a few months younger than them; there's no way …"

"Oh, wake up, Jean!" Kitty rolled her eyes, having recovered a lot quicker. "Magneto abducted their children when they were three months old; I don't think he'd be above cheating on her. And it would explain her powers."

"Look, I know DNA." Lexa told them. "They are related. Look."

Jean took the files and compared the samples, holding them every which way before finally looking up and meeting Lorna's gaze. "I'm afraid she's right, Lor. Even if you're not their sister …"

"Which she is." Lexa inserted.

Jean glared at her, before turning back to Lorna. "Even if you're not, you're definitely related."

Lexa returned to the filing cabinet and found Jean's file. "You're filed under 'M', Jeannie."

"Don't call me that." Jean told her. "And of course. Where else would I be?" She rolled her eyes. "Why am I under 'M'?"

"Marvel Girl." Lexa shrugged. "I thought it was cool in a super-hero kinda way. You know, there's Superman, Wonder Woman and now …" She gestured to Jean.

"Marvel Girl." Jean finished, clearly trying to be polite. "Well … I'll think about it."

Lexa chuckled. "You don't have to like it, Jean; it was just a suggestion. No, you and Lorna aren't related at all; it must be through Magneto, which makes sense because of the powers thing."

"Yeah, it'd be weird if they were related through Judy and she ended up with Magneto's powers anyway." Kitty muttered.

"Do you think my mother knew?" Lorna whispered, staring at the files Jean handed her and ignoring Kitty. "Do you think he did the same thing to her as he did to your aunt? Did she just sit at home waiting for him to come back?"

Alex, who had been watching the exchange silently, got up and perched on the edge of her hospital bed, wrapping his good arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Lor; it's not the end of the world."

But this did little to comfort her. She slumped sideways into his chest and began to cry, her body heaving with sobs.

The three girls looked at each other, unsure of what to say or do. Finally, the intercom buzzed, breaking the awkward tension.

Almost automatically, Kitty answered it. "Good evening; Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters."

"It's Abby."

"Let her in, Kitty." Jean told her.

"Come in." Kitty released the gates and sent a telepathic message up to the rec room. Could someone get the door and show Abby down to the infirmary?

Got it. Scott's voice responded.

A few minutes later, the infirmary doors swung open, revealing Scott, Abby and another familiar face.

"Nice to see you again, Mrs. Maximoff." Lexa greeted, as Abby hugged her son, explaining that her husband couldn't get away from work at the same time as searching him for other injuries.

Judy pulled a face. "Please, dear, call me Judy. Or Ms Grey if you prefer. The only reason I haven't divorced him is that I can't find him."

"You could if you could prove he'd cheated on you." Jean suggested. "Then the courts should just absolve the marriage."

"Now just how am I supposed to do that?" Judy sighed. "I can't even find him; let along go through his phone records?"

"Well, you've got an indisputable piece of evidence right here." Lorna whispered.

Jean cleared her throat. "Aunt Judy, you remember Lorna from Christmas? Well, we've just found out she's Pietro and Wanda's half-sister through their father." She gave Scott a look as though daring him to say something.

Luckily for him, he kept his mouth shut.

Lorna kept her gaze fixed on her lap as Judy took the seat beside the cot, reaching out to her.

"Come on, dear; it's not your fault." The older woman smiled weakly. "And I'll try not to turn into the wicked stepmother, okay?"

The corners of Lorna's mouth twitched as she looked up. "So no poisoned apples then?"

Judy pulled her into a hug. "I'll do my best."

"Mom …" Alex whined, trying to get away from Abby. "I'm fine!"

Jean sniggered. "He's telling the truth, Abby; it's just a broken arm."

"Just?" Abby repeated incredulously. "Jean, someone beat my son purely because he was born! Did you see who it was, sweetheart?"

"Yeah." Alex pulled a face. "At least, enough to pick them out of a line-up; I haven't been here long, so I couldn't name them. I think they were BHS students, thought; they were wearing Varsity jackets."

"That doesn't mean anything." Jean sighed. "Most jocks keep their jackets for ages afterwards."

"I think it's because they can't get into college." Kitty added thoughtfully.

Lexa snorted. "There's a surprise. What are they going to major in? Mutant Hating 101?"

"Speaking of majors, you thought about yours?" Jean asked Kitty.

Kitty shrugged. "I'm still not sure if I'm even going to college yet."

"What?" Jean demanded.

Everyone grabbed their head as her shout echoed inside everyone's heads as she unwittingly broadcast her surprise.

"Dammit, Jean!" Kitty snapped, rubbing her temples. "Cut it out!"

The other door to the infirmary opened and Belladonna staggered in. "Mon dieu … You'd think I'd get used to that."

"None of us are." Kitty scowled. "What was that for?"

"Kitty, why don't you want to go to college?" Jean asked, unfazed by their frustration.

"I didn't say I wasn't going." Kitty rolled her eyes. "I just don't see the point in going, majoring in something that doesn't interest me and wasting three years of my life. It's alright for you; you want to be a doctor; you've wanted to be a doctor since you were, what, five? I've got no idea what I want to do and, until I do …"

"You once said you were interested in law." Jean reminded her.

Kitty pulled a face. "Yeah, back before I realised how many ins and outs there were – no thank you."

"Dammit, Jean!" Anna snapped from the doorway, unknowingly repeating Kitty's earlier reprimand. "I just got Lorie to sleep!"

"Sorry." Jean sighed. "You're right, Kitty."

"I always am." Kitty smirked. "Can we do anything about the guys that did this?" She asked, changing the subject back to Alex and Lorna's predicament.

"I don't think so." Belladonna admitted. "You could log a complaint with the police, but since neither of them can ID their attackers …"

"Not much we can do." Jean sighed. "And Lance just contacted me; they've talked to the detectives on the shooting case."

This caught Kitty's attention, and Lexa's too apparently, by the way she stiffened. "And?"

"Duncan's pleading not guilty." Jean grimaced. "Which means it's going to court."

"Great." Lexa groaned.

"How is that even possible?" Abby demanded, having been filled in on the whole situation on New Year's Day. "You have it on camera, don't you?"

Belladonna looked worried. "Actually, there is one way a defence attorney could argue for a dismissal."

"What's that?" Kitty asked quietly.

"The charge would be attempted homicide, I should think," Bella whispered, "and, genetically, you're not human. You're mutants. Theoretically …"

"If that argument works," Kitty stated darkly, "we're dead the second we step out the door." Her hands drifted down to her stomach again automatically. "They can't accept that as a defence … can they?"

"They can." Jean buried her face in her hands. "Oh, this is bad."

"Well, we shouldn't have just assumed that attitudes would just be completely resolved after Apocalypse." Anna commented with a sigh. "Humans will always fear what they don't understand. It's part of human nature." She glanced at Lorna. "You alright, sugar?"

Lorna took a deep breath. "Apparently Magneto is my father."

Anna winced sympathetically. "Not your fault. Talk to Kurt; he had to deal with finding out Mystique was his mother."

"You did that too." Jean reminded her.

"Yeah, but I'm adopted." Anna reminded her. "Kurt's not."

"You'd better call Pietro and Wanda." Lexa added. "They deserve to know."

Lorna nodded. "Am I clear to leave?"

"Go ahead." Belladonna answered. "You too, Alex, but keep that sling on."

"He will." Abby helped her son out of the hospital bed. "C'mon; I want to see where you live."

Jean's baby monitor crackled on her belt. "Go with them, hon." She told Scott. "I'll get the twins."

Anna sighed. "I'd better check that Remy's got Lorie off to sleep." She followed Lorna and Judy out of the room, leaving Belladonna and Kitty alone.

"They won't win." Belladonna told her quietly. "They can't win."

Kitty nodded jerkily, but she couldn't help worrying. "Could you …?"

Belladonna pushed the door to the infirmary closed and flicked a switch that would turn on a red light outside, signalling that she couldn't be disturbed. "Take a seat."

"Thanks." Kitty settled on one of the hospital beds and waited for Bella to warm up the sonogram.

"You're sure about not telling anyone?" Belladonna asked.

Kitty smiled weakly. "Yeah. My mom had loads of problems when she was trying to have me; I don't want to jinx it."

"Or put your body through the stress of having to deal with their reactions?" Belladonna guessed wryly.

"That too." Kitty agreed, almost absently.

"So you're about six weeks along." Belladonna commented. "Any nausea?"

"Not that I've noticed." Kitty answered, her eyes on the screen. "But my appetite's getting bigger."

"That's normal." Belladonna assured her. "Unfortunately, it's usually followed by morning sickness … Here we go …"

An hour later, Kitty slipped into the boarding house, hearing the soft noise of voices in the living room. She phased her head through the door, but no one flinched, completely used to it by now.

"Lance?" She asked.

"His room." Pietro answered, not opening his eyes. He was sprawled across the couch, one arm over his face.

"Jean told us what happened." Kitty said softly. "It'll be okay."

"I couldn't care less what happens to Matthews." Pietro growled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "As long as Lexa was okay … but now I've got to worry about everyone else."

"It'll be okay." Kitty repeated. "We'll fix it."

"Thanks, Kit-Kat." She heard him call as she withdrew and jogged up the stairs.

Just like with the front door and the living room, Kitty didn't bother knocking, letting herself into her boyfriend's room. "Hey."

"Hey, beautiful." Lance stood up, putting his guitar to one side.

"Am I interrupting something?" Kitty asked, kissing him softly.

"Just tuning up." Lance told her, concern drifting into his eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Kitty assured him. "I just thought you'd like to see this." She handed him the picture Belladonna had produced.

Lance sat down heavily, staring at it. "Is this what I think it is?"

Kitty smiled shakily. "That's our baby."

"Oh my God …" Lance pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. "I love you, Kitten."

"I love you too." Kitty whispered, their hands joining on her stomach.

In that moment she couldn't help agreeing with Pietro; Duncan Matthew's fate seemed unimportant.

As long as they had each other, they could face anything that was thrown at them.

AN: Bit of a cheesy ending, I'll admit. So sue me … On second thoughts, please don't. Keep those reviews coming please!